is a fighting

Fighting game

Fighting game is a video game genre where the player controls an on-screen character and engages in close combat with an opponent. These characters tend to be of equal power and fight matches consisting of several rounds, which take place in an arena. Players must master techniques such as...

 arcade game

Arcade game

An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...

 developed by Sega-AM2

Sega-AM2

Sega Amusement Machine Research and Development Department 2 is a research and development team for the video game company Sega. Originally known as "Sega Amusement Developing Section 8", AM2 was previously headed up by famed designer Yu Suzuki...

 and published by Sega

Sega

, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...

. It was released exclusively in Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

 in July 1993. It was also the first fighting game developed by Sega-AM2; however, Virtua Fighter and Shenmue

Shenmue

is a 1999 open-world adventure video game developed by Sega AM2 and published by Sega for the Dreamcast, produced and directed by Yu Suzuki. Suzuki coined a genre title, "FREE" , for the game, based on the interactivity and freedom he wanted to give to the player...

 creator Yu Suzuki

Yu Suzuki

is a Japanese game designer and producer who has spent his entire career with Sega Enterprises. Often referred to as Sega's answer to Shigeru Miyamoto, he has been responsible for the creation of many of Sega's most important arcade games such as Hang-On, Out Run, After Burner II, Virtua Fighter,...

 wasn't involved in this work. It was created during the fighting game trend of the 1990s that was popularized by Capcom

Capcom

is a Japanese developer and publisher of video games, known for creating multi-million-selling franchises such as Devil May Cry, Chaos Legion, Street Fighter, Mega Man and Resident Evil. Capcom developed and published Bionic Commando, Lost Planet and Dark Void too, but they are less known. Its...

's Street Fighter II

Street Fighter II

is a competitive fighting game originally released for the arcades in . It is the arcade sequel to the original Street Fighter released in and was Capcom's fourteenth title that ran on the CP System arcade hardware...

. It is noted for its distinct 2D graphics and animations by Zero-One Ltd..

Plot

The game takes place in a fictional city located in central Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 known as "Destiny City," a midsized American metropolis. Once every few years, strong fighters gather here and hold a violent, secret no-holds-barred fighting spree. This year, too, a group of extraordinary fighters gathered, sick of fighting by the rules. Some coveted the titled of "World's Strongest," while others dreamt of acquiring vast wealth. Things in Destiny City heated up before the tournament began.

Gameplay

Burning Rival plays similarly to other 2D versus fighting games during its release, which the player's character fights against his or her opponent in best two-out-of-three matches in a single player tournament mode with the computer or against another human player. The player has a character roster of eight selectable fighters to choose from, each with their own fighting style and special techniques. In one player mode, after selecting a character, the arcade randomly selects an opponent.

Characters

There are eight playable characters, and one boss. Their voices were recorded at the Power House Studio. (voice actor: Francis Silva) - The lead character of the game. An orphaned karate

Karate

is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Islands in what is now Okinawa, Japan. It was developed from indigenous fighting methods called and Chinese kenpō. Karate is a striking art using punching, kicking, knee and elbow strikes, and open-handed techniques such as knife-hands. Grappling, locks,...

 student. He travels the country training, still in mourning for his master, whom he accidentally killed. (voice actor: Susumu Imura) - The best street fighter

Street fighting

Street fighting is a colloquial term used to denote unsanctioned, illegal in some countries, hand-to-hand fighting in public places, between individuals or groups of people....

 in the whole city. Bored with street fighting day after day, he's come to test his strength. (voice actor: Haruka Itoh) - A modern-day female ninja

Kunoichi

is the term for a female ninja or practitioner of ninjutsu .-Etymology:The term is thought to derive from the names of characters that resemble the three strokes in the kanji character for ; said in the order they are written: ku - no - ichi...

. She wanders the world trying to find her older brother who disappeared while he was training. (voice actor: Greg Irwin) - A luchador

Lucha libre

Lucha libre is a term used in Mexico, and other Spanish-speaking countries, for a form of professional wrestling that has developed within those countries...

 nicknamed "The Fiery Wind of Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

." His goal is to use the prize money to help his little sister, who suffers from a grave illness. (voice actor: Toshihiro Nagoshi

Toshihiro Nagoshi

is a Japanese video game producer and designer for Sega. Nagoshi headed Sega AM4/Amusement Vision. He is best known as the producer and director of the Super Monkey Ball series, excluding Super Monkey Ball Adventure. His credits also include Virtua Striker, Daytona USA, and Spikeout...

) - The current kickboxing

Kickboxing

Kickboxing refers to a group of martial arts and stand-up combat sports based on kicking and punching, historically developed from karate, Muay Thai and western boxing....

 champion. He uses Muay Thai

Muay Thai

Muay Thai is a combat sport from Thailand that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. It is similar to other Indochinese kickboxing systems, namely pradal serey from Cambodia, tomoi from Malaysia, lethwei from Myanmar and muay Lao from Laos...

 and finishes off his opponents by incapacitating them. (voice actor: Takenobu Mitsuyoshi

Takenobu Mitsuyoshi

is a Japanese composer of video game music. He has composed music for various games produced by Sega, including Virtua Fighter 2 and Shenmue. He was also the voice actor of Bill in Sega-AM2's 1993 fighting arcade game, Burning Rival.-Biography:...

) - A bodyguard for a secret organization. He entered the tournament for his beloved family, counting on the strength he gained playing football

Gridiron football

Gridiron football , sometimes known as North American football, is an umbrella term for related codes of football primarily played in the United States and Canada. The predominant forms of gridiron football are American football and Canadian football...

 to see him through. (voice actor: Takehito Tsumagari) - A kung fu master who owns a ramen

Ramen

is a Japanese noodle dish. It consists of Chinese-style wheat noodles served in a meat- or fish-based broth, often flavored with soy sauce or miso, and uses toppings such as , , kamaboko, green onions, and occasionally corn...

shop. He entered the tournament to win the prize money and use it to expand his shop. (voice actor: Yasuhiro Takagi) - The spirit of a dead warrior. He is shrouded in mystery. The answer to where he came from and why he participated at the tournament is unknown. Appears again as the boss.

External links

• Burning Rival at The Large Cult Fighting Game March
• Burning Rival at arcade-history