Fighting Masters

File:MD Fighting Masters.png

Fighting Masters is a fighting game where the player fights against other opponents in one-on-one matches and the fighter who manages to deplete the health bar of the opponent wins the bout, becoming the winner of the match.Fighting Masters instruction manual (Sega Genesis, US){{cite web|last=Thornburg|first=Vince|url=https://www.sega-16.com/2007/02/fighting-masters/|title=Genesis Reviews - Fighting Masters|website=sega-16.com|date=February 22, 2007|access-date=2020-08-14|archive-date=30 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191230205336/http://www.sega-16.com/2007/02/fighting-masters/|url-status=live}}

In single-player mode, players can choose from twelve playable characters and fight against computer-controlled fighters. Three buttons are available in the game: block (A), attack (B) and jump (C). The d-pad cannot be used to jump directly, instead, players have to walk in a certain direction and press the jump button to perform said action. The attack button allows players to perform various attacks, special moves and combos. Besides the single-player mode, other modes include matches against another human opponent or a watch mode to view a fight between two CPU-controlled opponents.

Fighting Masters takes place in a pre-apocalyptic universe, where an enormous red sun is about to go supernova within hours, leading representatives from multiple alien races to fight against each other to gain trust and service of an ultra-intelligent race known as Primaries, who will grant another galaxy to live in for them and their future generations. However, the in-game plot tells a different story involving a demon lord known as Lord Valgasu, who leads an underground campaign against a twelve-star galaxy to take control of it, conquering all of the stars' rulers and making them his slaves except one. Assuming the role of a lone hero, the player battles against the enslaved rulers and Valgasu himself.

Some of the character's names were changed between the North American and Japanese releases:

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• Larry/Dirk – A human lightweight wrestler.
• Elepha/Mastodon – An anthropomorphic elephant.
• Flamer/Equus – An anthropomorphic kickboxing horse.
• Morin – An amazon warrior who fights with a tonfa.
• Beowolf/Grinder – A razor-clawed machine.
• Goldrock – A living golem with an Egyptian motif.

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• Tomahawk/Phoenix – An anthropomorphic hawk-like griffin.
• Zrygunte/Zygrunt – An anthropomorphic lobster.
• Medusa/Rotundo – A Jellyfish creature.
• Drason/Xenon – A fire-breathing dragon.
• DIO – A sentient man-eating plant.
• Eyesight/Uppercut – A cyclops boxer.

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Fighting Masters was created, along with Aicom and ALU, by some of the staff members that would later work on various projects at Almanic Corporation such as E.V.O.: Search for Eden for SNES. Both Hajime Kusano and Ramō Kobayashi assisted as directors, with Taito's Superman director Toshiyuki Nishimura and a member under the pseudonym of "Yazawa" serving as programmers. Masahiko Ujita, Masami Takizawa, Naoyuki Hayakawa, T. Shigemura, Toshiyuki Nishimura and Yasuo Wakatsuki acted as artists and designers respectively. Both Masaki "Masapi" Kase and Hiromitsu Shioya worked as sound designers.

Fighting Masters was first released in Japan on December 6, 1991, and later in North America in February 1992 by Treco.

{{Video game reviews

|CVG = 91%{{cite magazine|last=Boone|first=Tim|url=https://archive.org/stream/computer-video-games-magazine-123#page/n85/mode/1up|title=CVG Review - Fighting Masters|magazine=Computer and Video Games|issue=122|publisher=EMAP|date=February 1992|page=36|access-date=2019-05-11}}

|GMaster = 65%{{cite magazine|title=Reviews - Fighting Masters|magazine=GamesMaster|issue=14|publisher=Future Publishing|date=February 1994}}

|rev1 = Beep! Mega Drive

|rev1Score = 6.5/10{{cite magazine|url=https://retrocdn.net/index.php?title=File%3ABeepMD_JP_1992-01.pdf&page=79|title=BEメガドッグレース – ファイティングマスターズ|magazine=Beep! Mega Drive|issue=28|publisher=SoftBank Creative|date=January 1992|page=77|lang=ja}}

|rev2 = Consoles +

|rev2Score = 72%{{cite magazine|last=Hermellin|first=François|url=https://www.abandonware-magazines.org/affiche_mag.php?mag=51&num=8895&album=oui|title=Megadrive Review - Fighting Masters|magazine=Consoles +|issue=5|publisher=M.E.R.7|date=January 1992|pages=30–31|lang=fr|access-date=14 August 2020|archive-date=8 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170908161204/http://abandonware-magazines.org/affiche_mag.php?mag=51&num=8895&album=oui|url-status=live}}

|rev3 = Entertainment Weekly

|rev3Score = B+{{cite magazine|last=Strauss|first=Bob|url=https://ew.com/article/1992/06/12/fighting-masters/|title=Fighting Masters|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|issue=122|publisher=Meredith Corporation|date=June 12, 1992|access-date=2020-08-14|archive-date=7 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180907183126/https://ew.com/article/1992/06/12/fighting-masters/|url-status=live}}

|rev4 = Games-X

|rev4Score = {{Rating|2.5|5}}{{cite magazine|url=https://retrocdn.net/index.php?title=File%3AGamesX_UK_36.pdf&page=22|title=Console Connexions - Reviews: Fighting Masters|magazine=Games-X|issue=36|publisher=Europress|date=January 2–9, 1992|page=22}}

|rev5 = Génération 4

|rev5Score = 84%{{cite magazine|url=http://download.abandonware.org/magazines/Generation%204/generation4_numero040/Gen4%20N040%20-%20Janvier%201992%20-%20Page%20141.jpg|title=Console Test - Fighting Masters|magazine=Génération 4|issue=40|publisher=Computec Media France|date=January 1992|page=141|lang=fr}}

|rev6 = Hippon Super!

|rev6Score = 70/100{{cite magazine|title=TV Game･Broad-Way: ファイティング マスターズ|magazine=Hippon Super!|issue=13|publisher=Takarajimasha|date=January 1992|page=93|lang=ja}}

|rev7 = Joystick

|rev7Score = 82%{{cite magazine|author=Franck|url=http://download.abandonware.org/magazines/Joystick/joystick_numero023/Joystick%20023%20-%20Janvier%201992%20-%20Page%20133.jpg|title=Consoles News - Fighting Masters|magazine=Joystick|issue=23|publisher=Anuman Interactive|date=January 1992|page=133|lang=fr}}

|rev8 = Mean Machines

|rev8Score = 81%{{cite magazine|last1=Rignall|first1=Julian|author-link1=Julian Rignall|last2=Automatic|first2=Radion|url=https://archive.org/stream/Mean_Machines_Issue_17_1992-02_EMAP_Images_GB#page/n87/mode/2up|title=Megadrive Review – Fighting Masters|magazine=Mean Machines|issue=17|publisher=EMAP|date=February 1992|pages=88–90}}

|rev9 = Mega

|rev9Score = 50%{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/stream/mega-10#page/33/mode/1up|title=Street Fighter 2: And in the Red Corner... - Fighting Masters|magazine=Mega|issue=10|publisher=Future Publishing|date=July 1993|page=33}}
20%{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/stream/mega15_202004#page/n70/mode/1up|title=Mega Retro: One-On-One Beat-'Em-Ups - A Brief History Of Crime|magazine=Mega|issue=15|publisher=Future Publishing|date=December 1993|page=77}}

|rev10 = Mega Drive Advanced Gaming

|rev10Score = 44%{{cite magazine|title=Review: Fighting Masters|magazine=Mega Drive Advanced Gaming|issue=3|publisher=Maverick Magazines|date=November 1992|page=79}}

|rev11 = MegaTech

|rev11Score = 86%{{cite magazine|last1=Patterson|first1=Mark|last2=Glancey|first2=Paul|url=https://retrocdn.net/index.php?title=File:MegaTech_UK_02.pdf&page=54|title=Review: Fighting Masters|magazine=MegaTech|issue=2|publisher=EMAP|date=February 1992|pages=54–55}}
84/100{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/stream/mt-17#page/51/mode/1up|title=Megadrive Review: King of the Monsters - Alternatively|magazine=MegaTech|issue=17|publisher=EMAP|date=May 1993|page=51}}

|rev12 = Power Play

|rev12Score = 17%{{cite magazine|last=Weitz|first=Volker|url=https://archive.org/stream/powerplaymagazine-1992-05#page/n147/mode/1up|title=Videospiele / Tests - Fighting Masters|magazine=Power Play|issue=50|publisher=Future Verlag|date=May 1992|page=148|lang=de}}

|rev13 = Sega Pro

|rev13Score = 66/100{{cite magazine|last=Butt|first=Damian|url=https://archive.org/stream/segapro04#page/n62/mode/1up|title=ProReview: Fighting Masters|magazine=Sega Pro|issue=4|publisher=Paragon Publishing|date=April 1992|page=65}}
30%{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/stream/segapro18#page/n64/mode/1up|title=The Profile: Mega Drive - Fighting Masters|magazine=Sega Pro|issue=18|publisher=Paragon Publishing|date=April 1993|page=65}}

}}

Entertainment Weekly gave the game a B+, writing that "As artlessly crowd-pleasing as a Golden Gloves tournament, this high-energy slugfest has you sparring with, and stepping into the ring as, a motley assortment of aliens (my faves are Dio, a head-chomping carnivorous plant, and Rotundo, who looks like a cross between the Michelin Man and George Foreman). The battles are quick, they're vicious, and they're over fast — which alone gives Fighting Masters an easy TKO over its video-game competition." Video game magazine Mega gave the game a score of 20% in their December 1993 issue. AllGame gave it a rating of 3 stars out of a possible 5.{{cite web|last=Marriott|first=Scott Alan|url=http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=210|title=Fighting Masters - Overview|work=AllGame|publisher=All Media Network|date=1998|access-date=2020-08-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141114225813/http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=210|archive-date=2014-11-14|url-status=live}}

{{Clear}}

{{Notelist}}

{{Reflist|30em}}

• [https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/genesis/586184-fighting-masters Fighting Masters] at GameFAQs
• [https://www.giantbomb.com/fighting-masters/3030-10105/ Fighting Masters] at Giant Bomb
• [https://www.mobygames.com/game/genesis/fighting-masters Fighting Masters] at MobyGames

{{Portal bar|1990s|Japan|Video games}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fighting Masters}}

Category:1991 video games

Category:Aicom games

Category:Fighting games

Category:Multiplayer and single-player video games

Category:Sega Genesis games

Category:Sega Genesis-only games

Category:Side-scrolling video games

Category:Treco games

Category:Video games developed in Japan

Category:Video games scored by Masaki Kase