RANMA 1/2: CHOUGI RAMBUHEN
Original Release: Toho, 1994, SNES
The third Super Famicom Ranma fighting game is the best of the bunch, and the last of the 2D console games for the series
Ranma ½: Chougi Rambuhen (SNES, Toho, 1994)
Where to Buy: eBay
How to Emulate: SNES Emulation Guide
Review by: C. M0use
This was the last of the mostly-Japan-only trilogy of Ranma fighting games for the Super Fami/SNES, with the setup being the participants fighting to be granted a wish by some golden luck cat. The immediate prequel to this got a localization in the West as "Ranma Hard Battle," and word is that this one was slated for the same until Toho saw the miserable sales of Super Godzilla in the US and pulled the plug.
Kind of a shame, it wasn't an amazing fighter but it was a pretty solid one and easily the most polished of these early Ranma games. It's somewhat slow and deliberate with detailed attack animations, kinda feeling like a halfway point between Street Fighter 2 and the original Fatal Fury; there really aren't a whole lot of old-school games with this style that were also fun to play. Now to be honest, I'm not sure exactly how much of this is intentional and how much is owed to slowdown from non-optimal programming. But it's definitely a game that stresses timing over super moves or being a Combo Meister.
Aside from being kinda mid-ish, the only big knock against it is a general lack of content. Single players only have one straightforward "story mode," where you fight most of the rest of the roster then take on Prince Dragon Fruit (who is actually easier than some of the regular foes) in an ultimate battle. You get an extremely threadbare ending at the end of this, literally just one small picture of your character with a dab of accompanying text before the credits roll. The big selling point for this one is the added "Tag Mode" option for two players, which is basically like a prototype Tekken Tag; the downside is you actually have to have two players to make use of it.
Accompanying all this are some backgrounds that are very nice at times, but also very meh music (especially considering this was a 1994 release). The game is good enough that it's a worthy pickup for big Ranma fans, though, or if you're looking for an offbeat old-school fighter for some competitive play.
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