Ultimate Muscle: The Kinnikuman - Legends vs. New Generation

Fans of the Saturday morning FoxBox cartoon Ultimate Muscle have been anxiously awaiting a videogame based on the show’s outlandish frenetic fighting and assortment of new generation Muscle Leaguers in their pursuit to show up their respective elders for quite some time now.  And thanks to critically-acclaimed wrestling game developer Aki, fans of the cartoon will get just that.  Aki, as you may or may not know, is credited as pioneering the grapple system used in the recent wave of wrestling games.  Aki made the N64 the system to own for fans of wrestling games then a few months ago they proved that they still haven’t lost their touch by creating Def Jam Vendetta, hands down the best next-gen grappler yet.  So it’s only natural that Aki handle the development chores for Ultimate Muscle: Legends vs. New Generation, and the result of this dream-team collaboration is a wrestling game unlike any before it.  Boasting wildly over-the-top Ultimate Muscle moves taken straight from the show and over 20 personalities each with their own story.  Fans of the source material and wrestling games alike will inevitably find a lot to like in this game.

Make no mistake, Ultimate Muscle is a unique experience in and of itself even though it utilizes Aki’s trademarked grappling system.  The action is fast-paced to the extent that button-mashing is favored over thought-out strategy, and the arsenal of moves at your disposal are unlike anything you’ll ever see in a WWE game.  But eventually you’ll get the hang of the hectic gameplay and be able to strategize your methods of attack, though when you do get to the point of mastery there isn’t nearly as much depth to the game as, say, Def Jam Vendetta.  That coupled with the fact that Ultimate Muscle just doesn’t seem to be put together as tightly as it should have been considering the solid engine it uses puts the game a peg or two below its closest competitor.

But fans of the cartoon will easily overlook the fact that the physics seems a little janky and the gameplay a tad unresponsive, and that’s a good thing because when it’s all said and done there is plenty of good stuff to be had here.  Nearly every wrestling personality depicted in the show is accounted for, that means you’ll be able to fight as or against Muscle Leaguers like Kid Muscle, King Muscle, Wally Tusket, Terryman, Terry Kenyon, Checkmate, Robin Mask, Kevin Mask, Jeager, Sunshine, Ramenman, Buffaloman. Brocken Jr, and the inscrutable Dik Dik Van Dik, whose name I’ll never get tired of saying.  Even more fighters can be recruited, though they are merely pre-made characters created with the game’s build-a-fighter mode.

The main differences that separate Ultimate Muscle from other wrestling games, aside from the increased speed, are the ways you’ll actually perform certain moves.  Throwing an opponent against the ropes is now a matter of pushing the grapple and strike button at the same time, and the opponent doesn’t simply run towards the ropes and run back, instead he literally goes flying towards the ropes and flies back without his feet ever touching the ground.  Also you are able to jump in Ultimate Muscle, a feature that has been left out of every other Aki brawler.  The ability to jump opens up an assortment of different aerial moves.  For example, instead of throwing your opponent against the ropes you can knock them straight up into the stratosphere then jump up after them and come crashing down with a piledriver or other moves that are specific to each fighter.  You can even jump on top of the ring ropes to gain extra altitude and then perform a flying jump kick to the opponent’s head or grab the opponent with your legs and slam them down to the mat.  I wouldn’t go so far as to say that the mid-air attacks add a whole new dimension to the gameplay but it certainly makes for some fun times.

Another interesting addition to the gameplay is the inclusion of items, which are randomly thrown into the ring.  These items range from health boasts, power boasts, random items whose effect is unknown until you touch it, bombs which cause damage to the fighter who is unfortunate enough to come in contact with it, and KIN medals which can later be used at the toy shop.  The special moves system used in Ultimate Muscle is not unlike that of other fighting games such as the Street Fighter vs. series.  By pummeling your opponent or getting pummeled you’ll slowly increase your special moves meter, it has three levels and each level allows you to perform a different special move.  With one level of juice you can perform a single strong attack, with two you are able to execute a powerful grappling move, and with three you’ll be able to pull off an extra special super move that has to be shown in a unique real-time cut-scene to be seen in all its glory.

The single-player experience with Ultimate Muscle can be best appreciated via the story mode, which provides a unique series of dialogue exchanges and simple cut-scenes for each of the 20 included fighters.  At first you’ll only be able to play story mode as a handful of the game’s roster of fighters, but as you complete one character’s story another fighter will open up.  While including a unique story for each fighter is a nice addition, the story mode gets pretty tedious after you’ve beaten it with five or six characters since the progression and eventual outcome of each story are very similar.  They always start out with an introduction by the Muscle Leagues official trainer Meat, and then are pushed forward via a series of dialogue exchanges between your character and the one you are about to fight.  The other modes of play are basically simple exhibition type matches, or simple tiered tournaments, or basic multiplayer games.  Versus mode allows up to four players to play simultaneously using a tag-team approach, or free-for-all battle.  

As you play through the game’s story mode and other modes you’ll be awarded with KIN medals, the exact amount you get depends on how much you play and at what difficulty.  KIN medals can be spent in the game’s Toy mode, where you can purchase the Muscle Men toys of yore.  It’s a lot like Super Smash Bros. Melee where you spend coins on trophies.  Outside of building up a collection of figurines and looking at their unique statistics and other information, the only real reward for spending KIN is that you can unlock new fighters for each 100 toys you purchase.  There are 434 Muscle Men to collect so it will take quite a few hours to catch’em all.

The game’s visual style is great and almost does justice to the cartoon on which it is based.  It uses a cel-shading technique to achieve its unique look, and while it’s safe to say that cel-shading in on the verge of becoming passé, Aki pulled it off quite nicely.  The fighter’s faces will appropriately grimace in pain or smile in glee depending on if they are on the sending on receiving side of the pain, and all the moves in the game animate very smoothly, though lots of moves are repeated from wrestler to wrestler.  The overall look of the game is very energetic and colorful, just like the show.  In terms of sound Ultimate Muscle delivers in spades.  All the voice talent from the cartoon reprise their respective roles in the game and since there is quite a bit of dialogue it’s a good thing, too.  The sound effects adequately do the job of representing the on-screen action, and the music manages to keep the aural ambiance up to par.

Overall, Ultimate Muscle: Legends vs New Generation is a great spin-off of an excellent cartoon.  Fans of the show and gamers just looking for some solid grappling action would do well to check this game out.  Just keep in mind that the usual depth of Aki wrestling games is toned down quite a bit here.  There is no out-of-ring fighting or objects to pick up and use as weapons, and the dizzying speed at which the game runs may turn off a few wrestling purists.  But if you can get over those few small issues with the game then you’ll find plenty to like.

Gameplay: 7.7
That trademark Aki style returns in fine form here, though the hectic pacing and occasionally confusing controls do take some getting used to.

Graphics: 8.9
The world of Ultimate Muscle is nicely depicted with Aki’s use of cel-shading and every fighter looks exactly as they do in the cartoon.

Sound: 8.2
A forgettable soundtrack, but the inclusion of the cartoon’s original voice actors help to keep its sound presentation well within the green.

Difficulty: Medium
The computer AI is brutal on all but the easiest difficulty and will often beat you down before you’ve had a chance to blink.  Newcomers to Aki wrestling games are advised to start from the easiest setting and work their way up.

Concept: 8.2
Why hasn’t anyone thought of making a wrestling game out of the Ultimate Muscle franchise before?  It’s a perfect foundation for a great game.

Multiplayer: 8.3

Up to four players can fight simultaneously in a few different modes of play.  Targeting different opponents using the c-stick can leave you open for cheap shots but overall Ultimate Muscle is best played with friends.

Overall: 8.1

Ultimate Muscle is an entirely original wrestling experience and does a great job of recreating the frenetic action of the cartoon, though it must be said that it is an acquired taste.