SNES

Rival Turf

Klare Aussage: Technisch macht Rushing Beat einen besseren Eindruck als der Zwillingsbruder Final Fight, spielerisch fällt die Neuheit klar ab. Rushing Beat ist trotz ansehnlicher Grafik und gut gemeintem Zwei-Spieler-Modus langweilig. Ständig prügeln wir auf dieselben Gegner ein, kaum ein Gag versüßt uns den "Dich mach ich nieder!"-Alltag. Absolute Prügel-Freaks werden halbwegs zufrieden sein, etwas anspruchsvollere Spieler können die 140 Mark sinnvoller anlegen. Schade um die professionelle Präsentation - leider hält der Spielwitz mit der technischen Kompetenz nicht mit. P.S.: Einen dreisteren Final-Fight-Clone habe ich noch nicht gesehen.

Another odd (and annoying) aspect of the game is the pronounced delay between the time you hit an enemy and when the damage is reflected in his life meter. It can be confusing. I enjoyed most of the urban scenery (like the bus ride), but a few areas are boring (like the locker room and parking garage). You'll see some nice city skylines, but in later stages the action moves south of the border where the scenery is exceptionally bland. The mediocre audio features repetitive tunes and muffled sound effects. The two-player mode exhibits some slow-down, but the single player action is highly playable. Rival Turf is as derivative as they come, but if you're okay with that, you'll have a good time.

A dull, uninspired and stupidly easy beat 'em up. It might feature two player action, but other than that Final Fight beats the pants off it.

Unfortunately, redundant enemies, slow gameplay, weak character designs, repetitive sounds, and overly familiar action ruin any potential the title may have had. For a better, more varied game of this type (punch, kick, repeat), try Final Fight 2 for the SNES or Streets of Rage for the Genesis.

My good friend Tachibana Ukyo offered the aggressive suggestion of flushing this crappy game down the toilet. Then I would leave the toilet seat up, because that's MANLY. But like I said before, it's time for manliness to DIE! Lose the husky bravado — just don't buy Rival Turf at all and then you won't have to dream up some elaborate way to destroy it.