One Must Fall 2097 (MS-DOS)

I optimized the scoring system for fighting games. Tell me what you think.

The Main Menu. The music will get stuck in your head.

One Must Fall 2097 was my introduction to the fighting game genre, and it left one hell of an impression. To this day, I still hold it as one of the best fighting games I've played. Also, it is about giant robots beating each other up, and it is awesome.

The gameplay is classic 90's fare. It's a simple one-on-one, best of three fighting game. There aren't even supers. The complexity in the gameplay instead comes from a few other things. The first you can see on the selection screen. You don't just select a robot to fight in, you select the pilot, too. Each pilot has their own individual set of stats, which modify how the robot fights. You can use this to balance out a robots flaws, or help support your playstyle, helping the bot better suit the way you fight. Unfortunately, this being a fighting game, understanding little details like that is a matter of trying everything, and then playing for a while with a setup you like.

Fatalities are for pussies. Try destroying your opponents by dropping them..

The next layer of complexity comes from the stages. Each stage (barring one) has some type of hazard that can harm either player, and using the hazards is part of the strategy of the game. We're talking stuff varying from a holographic orb which will shoot fire at the opponent when hit to spikes coming from the background to electrified walls to fighter jets strafing the ground. The last bit's a little unoriginal, though, as it was in SF2. There's a stun meter, and a lot of high level play revolves around stunning an opponent to set up a good combo. You get hit, the meter goes down. It hits zero, you're stunned for a couple seconds while your opponent takes the time to make you wish you remembered to block.

You know, I lied. There's a couple other things that are somewhat unusual. For starters, every robot in the game has a two part finishing move that can be preformed while the end of round score tallying is going on. These live up to the name of the company that made the game. (EPIC, by the way.) They can also be used to earn secret fights in tournament mode.

Tournament mode. I stick to the Jaguar, but that's my preference.

 

Tournament mode is, in essence, what happens when an RPG meets a fighting game, and the result is done right. You start off a newbie in the tournaments with an un-upgraded Jaguar (read: slow, weak, and easily screwed over). The points earned each match translate into winnings that can be used to upgrade your current robot, improve yourself (starting stats are 0,0,0 out of 16,16,16), or even just buying a different robot. It's quite fun, and noticeably easier than Arcade mode.

The story's a confusing wreck, really. There's something about a company named WAR hosting a tournament, and a colony on Ganymede, but honestly, you don't need to know any of it. The only time the plot matters is in the endings, and it explains what you need to know in the process anyhow. Mind you, the dialog is actually amusing for the most part. Arcade mode is full of little humorous exchanges, character development, and even the occasional sheer moment of awesome. Tournament mode, where most of the characters aren't playable, has some memorable characters in addition to the playable ones from arcade and versus mode.

A Shadow up against an Electra. Result? I win.

The game really shines in two major areas though, one of which I've been carefully treading around for this entire review. The other one is the music. The game's music is awesome enough that it's hard to mind the fact that there are only 7 songs in the entire game. Hell, I've found myself humming the main menu them to myself when I work.

The former of the two major areas that the game shines in is the sheer weight of the battles. This being a battle between gigantic robots, the players would need some weight to keep the game interesting, but OMF 2097 goes well beyond the call of duty here. You can almost feel every hit you deal, and seeing sparks and bits of metal fly off of the other robot with a strong hit is a gratifying experience. It's a game worth playing for the weight alone.

Graphics: 0

Music: +3

+1 Good on Own

+1 Fits Well

+1 Sounds Mesh

Gameplay: +9

+2 Pacing

+2 Fun

+2 Challenging

+2 Longevity

+1 Weight

Story/Storytelling: 0

Characters: +7

+1 Unique Visual Design

+1 Good Visual Design

+2 Unique Gameplay

+3 Well Balanced