Fighting Vipers
Saturn
AM R&D Department #2 / Sega of America

Fighting Vipers is a fighting arcade game you probably never heard of, which is not surprising since the machine saw limited release in the US. But, Sega was nice enough to bring the game to Saturn. The easiest way to describe Fighting Vipers is as Virtua Fighter on steroids. It is fast paced and has similar controls, A is guard, B punch, and C kick. The major differences are the armor system and the arenas. All fighter have armor divided into two sections, upper and lower, which can be knocked off during battle after weakening it and using a special move, which causes a brief replay from other angles of the armor flying off. The armor not only gives protection, but it also dictates what moves can be done. The arenas unlike Virtua Fighter are all enclosed allowing you to pin your opponents, and at the end of the round using special moves you can knock the opponent through the wall! Fighting Vipers characters also stray from the fighting standards, no ninjas or such. You have Grace the fashion model who is an in-line skater; Raxel, the rock star; Tokio, the ex-gang member; Sanman, the biker; Jane, the ex-navy construction worker; Candy, the fashion school student; Picky, the skateboarder; Bahn, the mandatory fighter who is here to prove himself; and B. Mahler, the boss character, who is a Mexican wrestler. Like most of Sega's arcade ports don't expect to find much more than the arcade version, but Fighting Vipers is a great fighting game to add to anyone's collection.

Score: 8.6

Cabal