Pit-Fighter (Game)

Pit-Fighter

GAME » on August 1990

Amiga (Platform)Amstrad CPC (Platform)Arcade (Platform)Atari Lynx (Platform)Atari ST (Platform)Commodore 64 (Platform)Game Boy (Platform)Genesis (Platform)PC (Platform)Sega Master System (Platform)Super Nintendo Entertainment System (Platform)ZX Spectrum (Platform)

An early '90s fighting game that made use of beat-'em-up mechanics while being the first fighting game to use digitized real-life actors as a replacement for hand-drawn sprites, influencing games like Mortal Kombat.

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Overview

Pit-Fighter is a belt-scrolling fighting game developed and released by Atari Games (Company) (with Konami (Company) releasing it in Japan) for arcades in August 1990.

Similar to Violence Fight (Game) and Street Smart (Game), Pit-Fighter is an early example of a fighting game that incorporates several gameplay mechanics from beat-'em-ups such as Double Dragon and Final Fight (Game), including belt-scrolling movement for traversing the arena and items that can be picked up around the arena (including weapons, throwable objects, and power-ups). It is also the first fighting game to incorporate real-life actors for the game's characters (through blue-screen digital processing), a technique later becoming popular due to the Mortal Kombat (Franchise) series. It also features heavy use of sprite scaling. It later received a beat-'em-up successor, known as Guardians of the 'Hood.

Up to three players fight their way through an underground fighting circuit as either ex-pro wrestler Buzz (Character), champion kickboxer Ty (Character), or karate black belt Kato (Character), earning prize money (score) based on their performance. Unlike other fighting games of the type, the game focuses primarily on co-operative play, with the game having up to six fighters on-screen at once (for three-on-three fights). However, players can attack each-other for points and prioritizing final blows on enemies, and the game includes bonus "Grudge Matches" for player-only fights.

The game is known for its ports of varying quality throughout 1991 and 1992 for numerous platforms, including the Sega Genesis, Super Nintendo Entertainment System (Platform), Game Boy (Platform), and Atari Lynx (Platform). In North America, the game was published by either Tengen (Company) (Atari Games's home brand) or THQ (Company). In Europe, the game was converted to various computer-based systems (the Amiga (Platform), Amstrad CPC (Platform), Atari ST (Platform), Commodore 64 (Platform), DOS PCs, and ZX Spectrum (Platform)), all of which were published by Domark.

The original arcade version of the game was also included in various Midway compilations for sixth-to-seventh generation consoles, including the 2004 Midway Arcade Treasures 2 (Game), the 2006 Midway Arcade Treasures Deluxe Edition (Game), the 2006 Japan-exclusive Game Center USA: Midway Arcade Treasures, and the 2012 Midway Arcade Origins (Game).

Gameplay

Pit-Fighter is a three-button game, with two attack buttons (Punch and Kick) and one button for Jump. Each of these buttons can be combined to perform special maneuvers:

Pressing Punch + Kick performs a grab attack, in which the player's fighter attempts to lift their opponent overhead and carry them around (where they can then throw them at other opponents or objects). Some heavier opponents, such as the bosses, cannot be thrown without a Power Pill.
Pressing Punch + Jump performs an evasive block/dodge, with a crouching dodge when the joystick is held downward.
Pressing Kick + Jump performs a jumping kick attack.
Pressing Punch + Kick + Jump performs the character's unique special move.

Other special techniques include:

Double-tapping left/right performs an invincible dodge.
Pressing either attack button near a downed opponent performs an on-the-ground attack.
Pressing Punch button while their back is to an opponent performs a back attack.
Pressing Punch while over an item picks it up, which can be used as weapons (such as knives and sticks), throwable objects (such as barrels), and the Power Pill (which buffs both damage dealt and damage resistance).

Characters

Playable Fighters

Each of the three playable fighters have their own unique attacks and stats. Unlike most fighting and beat-'em-up games at the time, players can choose the same character, with the color of their pants based on the player position (left being blue, center being red, and right being yellow).

Buzz (Character), the ex-professional wrestler, specializes in powerful attacks. His special move is a powerful command grab which, depending on what direction the opponent is facing, is either a body slam or a piledriver. He can also perform a special move on downed opponents for a powerful body splash.
Ty (Character), the kickboxing champion, specializes in longer-reaching attacks. His special move is a jumping two-hit spin kick. His kick attacks are sometimes powerful roundhouse kicks.
Kato (Character), the third-degree black belt, specializes in speedy attacks. His special move is a standing six-hit combination attack. His punch attacks are sometimes powerful backhand strikes.

Unplayable Opponents

The game includes eight unplayable opponents, with each match including a combination of them based on how many players are playing.

The Executioner - A shirtless fighter who wears an executioner's hood. He is the game's first opponent and, later on, is paired with Angel.
Southside Jim - Wears a tank top and sweat pants. He is paired with either Mad Miles or C.C. Rider.
Mad Miles - Wears a tank top and camo pants. He is paired with either Southside Jim, Chainman Eddie, or Heavy Metal.
Angel - Femme fatale. She is paired with The Executioner.
C.C. Rider - Wears a biker outfit. He is paired with either Southside Jim or Heavy Metal.
Heavy Metal - Resembles a punk rocker. He only appears in the latter half of the game and is paired with either C.C. Rider or Mad Miles.
Chainman Eddie - The game's sub-boss and a hulking fighter wearing chains and shorts. He is earlier paired with Mad Miles, and later on is fought in doubles (which can be easy for three-player games and difficult for single-player games).
Masked Warrior - The game's final boss and a hulking masked fighter. He can only be fought in a one-on-one fight, and is very difficult to take down.

Progression

There are ten matches that must be cleared before challenging the Masked Warrior. After completing every two matches, players face-off in a bonus knockdown-based Grudge Match.

	1+ Players	2+ Players	3 Players
Match 1	The Executioner	The Executioner	-
Match 2	Southside Jim	Mad Miles	Southside Jim
Match 3	Angel	The Executioner	Angel
Match 4	C.C. Rider	Southside Jim	C.C. Rider
Match 5	Chainman Eddie	Mad Miles	Chainman Eddie
Match 6	Heavy Metal	C.C. Rider	Heavy Metal
Match 7	Angel	The Executioner	Angel
Match 8	Mad Miles	Heavy Metal	Mad Miles
Match 9	Southside Jim	C.C. Rider	Southside Jim
Match 10	Chainman Eddie (x2)	-	-

After clearing the ten matches, all remaining players fight an Elimination Match with continues disabled to determine which player faces off against the Masked Warrior in the Championship Match.

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