Title : Boxing Legends of the Ring
Publisher : Electro Brain
Developer : Sculptured Software
Genre : Boxing
Players : 1 / 2 Players
Release Date : 1993
Estimated Value (as of today's date) : $2-$4
Boxing was never my thing. Even when my friends invited me over for some pay-per-view match or something, I really didn't care. I usually went for the food and beer. Hell, that was typically the best part. Binge eating crappy delivery while drinking around a case of beer while goofing off with friends. Then you watch 20 minutes of a fight, and do it all over again.
Beer + Food = Good.
Boxing = Boring.
In fact, the only thing that ever interested me about Boxing were the Rocky movies. ADRIAAAAAAAAAAAN!! I LOVE YOU ADRIAAAAAAAAN! You can't go wrong with the Balboa story. A true legend. But here we have other legends. Real boxing legends that you are able to box as in the Grand Ol Hilton Casino in Las Vegas! Sponsored by HBO. No joke. You can see banners hanging up over the arena inside the game.
Apparently, this game is actually based off a famous boxing magazine called, The Ring. I'm sure boxing fans would have gotten the reference, but I didn't even know there were boxing magazines. Okay, I'm sure there are, I just don't pay enough attention to the sport to really care.
I figured this game would have some legends I heard of, but the only one I recognize is Sugar Ray Leonard. The others you could play as are Roberto Duran, Thomas Hearns, James Toney, Marvin Hagler, Jake LaMotta, Sugar Ray Robinson, and Rocky Graziano. No...not Rocky Balboa.
They could have made up names, and I would have believed they were actual boxers. That's how I little I know. Ah well, let's step into the ring shall we?
There are three different modes available in this game. In exhibition mode you can choose from any of the existing fighters in the game and duke it out in one match. In career mode, you create your fighter and send him against all the other legends in the ring. You're basically trying to make a name for yourself and be the best of the best. Cue the song...YOU'RE THE BEST.....Ah...this isn't Karate Kid though.
Finally, there is BATTLE OF THE LEGENDS, which only appears after you defeat career mode. It's basically an elimination mode tournament where each fighter is a thousand times more difficult than when you faced them previously. Fun! No, seriously. It is!
Career mode is pretty self explanatory. The bouts get progressively harder with each person you fight being better than the last. This is randomized each time you do it so you could be fighting an entirely different person first and last. Mixes things up a bit.
The fights are set up that you are looking over the shoulder of the fighter you are playing as. It's sort of like a twist on the classic punch out view if you come to think of it. Movement is pretty limited unfortunately, and you can basically only move left or right in order to avoid your opponent. At least you do have a large number of attacks at your disposal from jabs, to upper cuts, to BODY SLAMS....no...no body slams.
The boxing glove at the top of the screen represents how much energy your fighter has left in his punches.The more punches you throw, the weaker they become so you actually have to think before you attack. You can't just button mash, since you'll just tire yourself out. The image of your fighter also acts as your health meter. The more beat up your guy looks, obviously the more damage you've taken. It is entertaining to see all the bruises and cuts magically appear.
Surprisingly enough, this boxing game was pretty decent for the SNES. Like I said, I'm not into boxing at all, but this game was able to hold my attention long enough for me to enjoy a few bouts. The graphics are pretty good, but sometimes they look a bit washed. It's got this weird water color / pastel effect going for it and it somewhat works. The portraits look like they're from the 8-bit generation though.
Sound wise...eesh...pretty bad. Music is irritating at best, and the sound is very grainy.Not the best work to come out of a SNES game.
In terms of gameplay though? Hey, you've got quite a challenge on your hand, and a good replay value. I mean, you beat the game once, and you're immediately offered the legends challenge that will just absolutely destroy you. Too bad boxing just doesn't interest me enough where I want to suffer someone beating the crap out of me for few rounds.
So...not bad - but I'd still rather play Punch Out.
Final Score (out of 5) :
Until next time, keep on gaming!
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