The Combatribes (ザ・コンバットライブス Za Konbattoraibusu) is a 1990 beat 'em up game released for the arcades by Technōs Japan Corp. The game centers on three vigilantes who must fight against numerous street gangs in futuristic New York City. A home version for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System was released in 1992. The SNES version was released for the Wii Virtual Console in North America on November 30, 2009.
The game shares some similarities with two previous Technōs' games: Renegade and Double Dragon; emulating the former's gameplay style where the player must defeat a gauntlet of enemies in a closed arena, as well as visual similarities and choreographic moves often seen in the latter.
The game has been considered by some to be an spiritual successor of the Double Dragon series.
Gameplay[]
The player takes control of one of three strongmen, the titular "Combatribes":
- Berserker: A blond-haired man in a blue outfit who is endowed with a balance of speed and strength.
- Bullova: A man in a yellow outfit who is the strongest of the trio, but also the slowest.
- Blitz: A long-haired man in a red outfit who has the most agile attacks, but lacks the strength of the other two characters.
The heroes boast a variety of unique techniques in addition to the standard punch and kick combos. They can also pick up certain large-sized objects and toss them over enemies.
The game is composed of six different stages set in unique locations, each featuring a themed gang. The majority of the stages are composed of a single playing field where the player must take on a set number of underlings before facing the gang's leader, similar to Renegade.
The final stage is a boss rush against all the previous gangs while chasing a big crime boss at the harbor. After the gangs are defeated once again, the crime boss is killed by a female cyborg named Martha Splatterhead. Martha then engages the player in a final battle.
Stages[]
| Act | Name | Boss | Music |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Motorcycle Nuclear Warheads in Times Square | Fats | "The Motorcycle Nuclear Warheads" |
| 2 | The Demon Clowns in Coney Island | Salamander | "Amusement Park Nightmare" |
| 3 | The Slash Skate Screamers at the Lexington Disco | Trash | "The Slash Skate Screamers" |
| 4 | The Stadium Barbarians in Harlem | Wind-Walker | "Place of S.O.D." |
| 5 | The Slaughter Troops at Ground Zero Headquarters | Swastika | "The Slaughter Troops" |
| 6 | The Final Battle | Martha Splatterhead | "The Final Battle (Martha Splatterhead)" |
Credits[]
Arcade credits[]
© 1990 Technōs Japan Corp. |
SNES credits[]
|
Reception[]
Somewhere in May 1990, The Combatribes earned a high test market performance in the United States.[1] On their August 1, 1990 issue, Japanese publication Game Machine cited the game as the second most successful table arcade unit within the month of June.[2] In his January 30, 2005 retrospective review of The Combatribes, Matt Paprocki of Digital Press gave the arcade version 8 out of 10 points. He wrote, "The games stages are relatively short as is the game as a whole, but that's no reason NOT to play this one. It may not be as revered as say, Double Dragon, but this is still one of the better arcade games from the early 90's. It's not exactly Street Fighter II, it's just light years ahead of the countless knock off's that would come later."[3]
The SNES version of The Combatribes received mostly subpar reviews from critics, with Ação Games being one of the few to give it a perfect score of 4 out of 4. The magazine called the port similar to the arcade in terms of movements, graphics and soundtrack.[4] Joystick, a French publication, gave the SNES game 68%, criticizing it for its limited combat technique and only using two buttons on the controller for attacks.[5] U.K. magazine Computer and Video Games rated the title 51%, writing it off as "a horizontally scrolling beat-'em-up, in the vein of everything released since Renegade, with no new touches whatsoever."[6] The staff at N-Force scored it 43%, citing its lack of inspiration in gameplay, character designs, and sound. They declared it, "A below average beat-'em-up to stay well clear of."[7]
Soundtrack[]
- Main article: Double Dragon 3/The Combatribes
A soundtrack album released by Pony Canyon (under their Scitron imprint) on June 21, 1991 called Double Dragon 3/The Combatribes. As the name implies, it features the soundtracks from Double Dragon 3: The Rosetta Stone and The Combatribes.
Gallery[]
Packaging artwork[]
_-_01.jpg "The Combatribes - (SNES) - 01.jpg (2.61 MB)")
_-_01.jpg "The Combatribes - (SFC) - 01.jpg (3.6 MB)")
_-_02.jpg "The Combatribes - (SFC) - 02.jpg (3.69 MB)")
_-_03.jpg "The Combatribes - (SFC) - 03.jpg (1.5 MB)")
Screenshots[]
(arcade)
Promotional artwork[]
(front)
(back)
Artworks and sprites[]
Trivia[]
- A billboard advertising The Combatribes can be seen in the background during Shinji's boss fight in Shin Nekketsu Kōha: Kunio-tachi no Banka.
- Berserker, Bullova and Blitz appear as assist characters in Code Shifter.
- Trash, the area boss of Stage 3, appears as a common enemy in River City Girls.
- Martha Splatterhead, the final boss in The Combatribes, can also be fought as a common enemy in River City Girls.
- Berserker and Bullova make cameo appearances as store clerks in River City Girls and River City Girls 2.
References[]
- ↑ "Combatribes!", RePlay, Vol. 15, No. 9, pp. 32–6. (June 1990)
- ↑ "Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 - テーブル型TVゲーム機 (Table Videos)", Game Machine of , No. 385., pp. 29 Amusement Press, Inc. (August 1, 1990)
- ↑ "The Combatribes" review at Digit Press - Classic Video Games (January 30, 2005)
- ↑ "The Combatribes", Ação Games, Issue #29, pp. 10-11 (February 1993)
- ↑ "The Combatribes", Joystick, No. 35, pp. 203 (February 1993)
- ↑ "The Combatribes" Computer and Video Games, Issue #139, pp. 100 (June 1993)
- ↑ "The Combatribes", N-Force, Issue #10 pp. 44 (April 1993)
External links[]
- The Combatribes at Moby Games
- The Combatribes at GameFAQs
- The Combatribes manual at Internet Archive
- The Combatribes at Hardcore Gaming 101
- The Combatribes at Killer List of Video Games
- The Combatribes at The Cutting Room Floor
| This page uses content from the English Wikipedia. The original content was at The Combatribes. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with the Double Dragon Wiki, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons License. |