Monday Morning MAME Club [5/03/04] - Battle Circuit

[Flack]

ManekiNeko sent me two different games to pick from this week, and since one of them is a "wacky wild side-scrolling beat 'em up by Capcom" in his words, I think it's only fitting that we go with that one as a tribute to the current "topic of the week!" With that in mind, it's time to stop talking and start fighting, because ...

BATTLE CIRCUIT is ManekiNeko's MAME Club pick of the week!
Download ROM HERE.



This week's contest: Let us know how far you can get and what your high score is!

Download the ROM if you don't already have it, give it a spin, and respond to this topic with your review! Have you played this game before, or is it brand new to you? Do you like the genre? How did it run on your computer? Did you beat it? If so, how long did it take? What was your high score? How far can you get? Did you have any problems emulating the game? When writing your review, post it right here in the sticky topic and include any thoughts you have about the game. Remember, YOU are the reviewer. Let us know anything and everything you think about the game!

Club Members:

Gamereviewgod (ESP Ra.De.)
Wisesalesman (Waku Waku 7)
scooterb23 (I'm Sorry)
ddockery (Penguin-Kun Wars)
AlanD (Dr. Micro)
digitalpress (N/A)
IntvGene (Strike Force)
NE146 (Portman)
jonjandran (Bronze Adventure)
Flack (Rollergames, Yie-Ar Kung-Fu)
IGotTheDot (N/A)
zektor (Battle Bakraid, Haunted Castle)
buttasuperb (Blazing Star)
chadtower (Berkerk)
Sotenga (Caliber 50)
Stark (Mighty! Pang)
christianscott27 (Darius Gaiden)
ECWSandmanECW (League Bowling)
TripppsK (Lady Bug)
vespertillio (Rampart!)
ghsqb (N/A)
TheSmirk (Bomb Jack)
Flukkake (Elevator Action)
BHvrd (NARC)
ManekiNeko (Battle Circuit)
MarioAllStar2600
Ze_ro
slip81
Qbert
k8track
Hamsnibit
Lady Jaye
Sofa King Gud
jgenotte
Schenley
Kaine23
Arqueologia_Digital

Congratulations to AlanD for scoring the highest on Elevator Action last week.

Next week, MarioAllStar2600 will be doing the honors. Until then, let's punch, kick, and ...

... MAME On!

[Flack]

25 views and no reviews yet? Looks like the MAME Club is becomming the MAIMED Club! What's going on guys?

I gave Battle Circuit a whirl last night. I had never played the game before, but I instantly saw how it would fit in with Beat Em Up week here at Digital Press! I liked the futuristic style of the game and I thought the graphics were pretty well done. As far as strategy goes, it seems that the same old jump/kick and moving up/down to sneak up on your enemies works pretty well. I enjoyed punching the level one boss in the brain a lot.

[Jicsan]

This game is great. It’s unbelievable that I overlooked this game for so long. Have I the right to even claim myself a Capcom fan anymore? Playing this through has made me miss the days of old school 2D beat-em-ups. If Battle Circuit must be Capcom’s final game in the BEU genre (2D), at least their legacy rests on an excellent game.

In many ways this game reminds me of Guardian Heroes on the Saturn. Both have extremely detailed sprites, with generous amounts of animation. You are rewarded for ‘juggling’ the enemies with your attacks by earning coins. At the end of a stage you then get to spend the coins to upgrade your characters attacks. The variety in game play and technique is amazing, considering it only uses two buttons. I didn’t get to play Battle Circuit multi-player, though I’m sure it’s a fun ride.

The characters are freaky though, that may be the games only weak point. After seeing the likes of Captain Silver, it’s clear why no Battle Circuit guys have ever shown up in a Capcom Vs. game. And maybe I’m missing something but isn’t the name of this game a little misleading too? Sounds like a wrestling game or something…

I played through the game twice, once with Captain Silver then again with Yellow Iris. The second time through it took me 15 virtual credits… I don’t even want to think about the number of continues I used the first time through. Some of those bosses were just plain brutal. The actual amount of time to play through was about 40 minutes; that was for the second time, when I was fast forwarding through the cut scenes. I’m planning to get back to it at some point and try out the other characters.

Did anyone else think that Harry (the white suit guy, your employer) was animated exactly like Stan from the Secret of Monkey Island? The way that he was flapping his mouth and moving his arms… you’d almost think it was the same guy!



Thank you ManekiNeko for suggesting such an awesome game.

[IntvGene]

I knew that ManekiNeko's pick would be an interesting one.

Strangely enough, I had come across this game awhile ago, when I was sorting the games by company and noticed some Capcom games I never played before.

Anyway, it's a weird fun game. I like purchasing powerups. I also like the colorful, and large sprites. The characters and the bosses are all pretty weird, that's for sure. Unfortunately, as with any beat em up, some of the fun is lost playing it only single player (especially with unlimited credits). But, it's definitely worth a whirl, at least once through. This was a game that I never saw in my local arcades, that's for sure.

My favorite character is Pink Flamingo... did anyone else notice that the Robots are named R.O.B?

If I wasn't in the middle of moving apartments, I'd be writing more. Sorry.

[scooterb23]

Nice graphics.

Like has been said before, BEUs with just one player aren't as much fun. I stopped playing in the second level...

I liked the 60 second time limit in the very first level...talk about getting the action going quickly!!

I played as the giant plant...forgot it's name

[ArnoldRimmer83]

This game is one of my all time favorite beat em ups. The game has great atmosphere that is pretty lighthearted and doesn't feel repetitious. And the main characters and bosses are all pretty quirky, which helps make the game more memorable. This game reminds me a lot of Captain Commando.

[Flack]

Is there a reason people aren't playing this? Are people burned out from beat-em-up week or what?

[Ze_ro]

I've been crazy busy this week, and only now did I finally get a chance to play this game. Whew! What a game!

Kind of an odd one... Reminds me a lot of Captain Commando. The game doesn't seem to take itself very seriously, what with the outlandish characters and all. And what was with that giant ape?

I'll have to give it a few more plays with some of the other characters. I pretty much stuck with Captain Blue the whole way through. I managed to beat the game, but I used a ton of continues in the process. That damn Octopus machine thing was especially annoying. Other than the bosses though, I didn't think the game was all that difficult.

I still claim Alien vs. Predator as my favorite arcade beat 'em up, but this game is definitely good stuff. Could have used some larger sprites and perhaps some weapons and stuff to throw around (aside from the enemies that is).

--Zero

[Gamereviewgod]

Yeah, I immediately thought Captain Commando too. This is far from Capcoms best, but still an enjoyable BEU. I feels like Cads. and Dinos to me. I'm not a big quirky fan, but I love BEU's, so this works in my books.

[ManekiNeko]

Is there a reason people aren't playing this? Are people burned out from beat-em-up week or what?

It's to be expected, Flack. I've been trying to get feedback for my MAMExpose column for over a year now, and people are very reluctant to discuss it on this forum. Joe assures me that it gets a lot of hits... it just doesn't seem like people want to talk about it.

JR

[buttasuperb]

This game rocks. I actually first played it a few weeks ago on the xbocks.

I like the variety of moves at your disposal, and how you can buy new stuff at the end of each level.

This may be a future cps2 purchase.

[Jibbajaba]

The link to the ROM doesnt work.

[Flack]

The link to the ROM doesnt work.

I have limited storage space, so I just keep the current week's ROM online.

EDIT: I put the rom back out there for a few more days.