Fighting Vipers
Encyclopedia
Fighting Vipers is a 3D
3D computer graphics
3D computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data that is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images...

 fighting game developed
Video game developer
A video game developer is a software developer that creates video games. A developer may specialize in a certain video game console, such as Nintendo's Wii, Microsoft's Xbox 360, Sony's PlayStation 3, or may develop for a variety of systems, including personal computers.Most developers also...

 by Sega AM2.

The game was first released in the arcade in 1995 using the Sega Model 2 hardware and ported
Porting
In computer science, porting is the process of adapting software so that an executable program can be created for a computing environment that is different from the one for which it was originally designed...

 the same year to the Sega Saturn
Sega Saturn
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console that was first released by Sega on November 22, 1994 in Japan, May 11, 1995 in North America, and July 8, 1995 in Europe...

 with significantly reduced graphics
Computer graphics
Computer graphics are graphics created using computers and, more generally, the representation and manipulation of image data by a computer with help from specialized software and hardware....

.

Gameplay

Fighting Vipers features a similar style of gameplay to Sega-AM2's more renowned Virtua Fighter
Virtua Fighter series
is a series of 3D competitive fighting games created by Sega studio AM2 and designer Yu Suzuki.The basic gameplay involves two combatants needing to win two of three rounds, with each round being 30 seconds long or more. If a character is knocked out of the ring, the opponent wins the round...

series, specifically Virtua Fighter 2
Virtua Fighter 2
is a fighting game developed by Sega. It is the sequel to Virtua Fighter and the second game in the Virtua Fighter series. It was created by the Sega's Yu Suzuki-headed AM2 and was released in the arcade in 1994. It was subsequently ported to the Sega Saturn in 1995 and Microsoft Windows in 1997...

, using simply a Guard, Punch and Kick attack buttons with a focus on combo moves (the Saturn version using its three extra buttons for three smaller combos).

The game is set apart with two unique features. Most notably, each of the 9 characters featured in the game sports armor of some kind or another that can be broken off by opponents leaving characters much more vulnerable and able to take much more damage. A human shaped meter in the top corners of the screen monitors the damage to your armor. Secondly walls surround each arena, caging the combatants in, allowing for attacks in conjunction with them (bouncing off etc.), and if the correct combination is hit at the round's finale, characters can punch their opponent straight through the walls.

When ported, Fighting Vipers offered other modes besides Arcade and Vs. Playback Mode and Training Mode both of which are now used widely in the genre, by games such as Tekken and Soul Calibur
Soul Calibur
is a 3D, weapons-based fighting game developed by Project Soul and produced by Namco. It is the second game in the Soul series, preceeded by Soul Edge. It was released in arcades in 1998, and it ran on the Namco System 12 hardware. In 1999 it was ported to the Dreamcast with improved graphics and...

. Players could save their matches and play them again in Playback Mode, while Training Mode talked you through the moves of each character one-by-one.

Characters

Grace: the game's major 'sex symbol' Grace is an attractive 19-year-old African-American born in Armstone City whose armor is themed after the protective gear for In-Line Skating, including the skates themselves. Grace is making her living as a fashion model, though she once dreamed of becoming a professional figure skater, her lover and coach betrayed her, leaving her disillusioned.

Bahn: despite only being a 17-year-old high school student from Nishino Machi, Bahn is a powerful and imposing fighter in a long coat and hat, who has come overseas to find and fight his father, whom he has never met and abandoned him and his mother when they were small, he has declared himself 'Gengis Bahn III'.

Raxel: the narcissistic lead singer and guitarist for a hair metal band called 'Death Crunch' with KISS
KISS (band)
Kiss is an American rock band formed in New York City in January 1973. Well-known for its members' face paint and flamboyant stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid to late 1970s on the basis of their elaborate live performances, which featured fire breathing, blood spitting,...

-styled armor (pretty much looking like Ace Frehley
Ace Frehley
Paul Daniel "Ace" Frehley is an American musician best known as the lead guitarist of the rock band Kiss. He took on the persona of the "Spaceman" or "Space Ace" when the band adopted costumes and theatrics...

's outfit) and carrying a red Gibson Flying-V electric guitar, Raxel is the son of an Armstone City councilman, a drop out who left home after a fight with said father, Raxel has simply entered the tournament to heighten his own profile and become further famous.
  • Note: Raxel's name is strikingly similar to Guns N' Roses
    Guns N' Roses
    Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band, formed in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, in 1985. The band has released six studio albums, three EPs, and one live album...

    ' frontman Axl Rose
    Axl Rose
    W. Axl Rose is an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is the lead vocalist and only remaining original member of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he enjoyed great success and recognition in the late 1980s and early 1990s, before disappearing from the public eye for several years...

    . There is no official confirmation however that he is in any way based on him, as he doesn't really look like Rose, but more like ex-Skid Row singer Sebastian Bach
    Sebastian Bach
    Sebastian Bach is a Canadian heavy metal singer who achieved mainstream success as frontman of Skid Row from 1987 to 1996. Since his departure from Skid Row, he has had many television roles, acted within Broadway plays, and leads a successful solo career.-Early life:Bach was born Sebastian...

     or Poison
    Poison (band)
    Poison is an American glam metal band that achieved great success in the mid-1980s to mid-1990s. To date, Poison has sold over 30 million records worldwide and have sold 15 million records in the United States alone. The band has also charted ten singles to the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100,...

    's vocalist Bret Michaels
    Bret Michaels
    Bret Michaels is an American musician, actor, director, screenwriter, producer and reality television personality. He first gained fame as the lead vocalist of the glam metal band Poison. Besides his career as lead singer, he has several solo albums to his credit, as well as one chart single...

    .


Tokio: a 16 year old pretty boy rebelling against a strict kabuki actor's household, Tokio is a former leader of a street gang called 'Black Thunder' but left after feeling responsible for another gangmember's death. He has entered the tournament for a challenge and for thrills.

Sanman: a mysterious fat oriental-looking man about whom nothing is known, other than his birthday (3 March) and an obsession with the number 3, hence the name for which he goes (san in the Japanese for "three"). Sanman drives a large customised scooter.

Jane: a butch and muscled 18 year old part-time construction worker, Jane trained her whole life to join the Navy, but did not make it past training. She was discharged after repeatedly losing control of herself during fights and injuring fellow seamen. Jane now wants to test just how tough she is, hence entering the Fighting Vipers tournament. Due to all these flagrant traits, Jane is believed to be either a bisexual or a lesbian until further notice.

Honey: a petite 16 year old Fashion Student with a pleasant nature, Honey designed her trademark plastic fairy suit herself, and has entered the tournament to promote her original fashion line. Honey became, by far, the most popular of the characters, and remains so, particularly in Japan, with, for instance, people regularly dressing as her (Cosplay
Cosplay
, short for "costume play", is a type of performance art in which participants don costumes and accessories to represent a specific character or idea. Characters are often drawn from popular fiction in Japan, but recent trends have included American cartoons and science fiction...

) for Video Game conventions. In the US version and the PAL Version, this character is known as "Candy." Honey the Cat, a scrapped character in Sonic the Fighters(also known as Sonic Championship), was based on her design.

Picky: a 14 year old stereotypical skateboarder Picky's armour is styled after protective gear for skateboarders, he carries his skateboard on his back, and hits opponents with it. Picky began skateboarding to impress his first love, but later on he left her for Honey.

Mahler: the ninth character, not selectable, and unlockable in the Sega Saturn port, Mahler is a mysterious 20-year-old with a grudge against the Mayor of Armstone City (who has organised the tournament) wearing poisonous armor resembling a snake. He isn't officially registered as a member of the tournament.

B.M. is the boss of the game and is a powered-up version of Mahler. Both Mahler and B.M.'s names may have been inspired by musician Samuel Coleridge-Taylor
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor was an English composer who achieved such success that he was once called the "African Mahler".-Early life and education:...

, who was known in America as the "Big Mahler".

Kumachan:: a 10-year-old smiling bear mascot in an orange hat that has no points of articulation that is unlockable
Secret character
A secret character can be a player character or a non-player character in a video game that must be unlocked by completing a goal within the game...

 character. In the Old Armstone Town, at the bottom of the stage a giant statue of Kumachan with a green scarf is seem. Its counterpart is called Pandachan.

Pepsiman: the Japanese mascot of Pepsi
Pepsi
Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink that is produced and manufactured by PepsiCo...

 who only appears in the Japanese Sega Saturn version of the game as an unlockable character. He was removed from the US and PAL releases.

Sequels and re-releases

A sequel
Sequel
A sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...

, Fighting Vipers 2
Fighting Vipers 2
Fighting Vipers 2 is a 3D fighting game developed by Sega AM2 and published by Sega for their Model 3 arcade board in 1998, and later the Dreamcast in 2001. It is the sequel to the 1995 game Fighting Vipers....

was released, introducing new characters (Emi, a computer geek who fights with a self-developed mecha armor, and Charlie, a BMX rider - also some bonus ones, like Del Sol, a Mexican wrestler with a Sun mask, and Kuhn, a Dural exact copycat) and was ported to the Dreamcast but only in Japan and Europe.

All of the Fighting Vipers characters were used in Sega-AM2's Fighters Megamix
Fighters Megamix
is a 1996 fighting game developed by AM2 for the Sega Saturn and Game.com. It combines several characters from various Sega games, from the complete cast of Virtua Fighter 2 and Fighting Vipers to Janet from Virtua Cop 2 and the Hornet car from Daytona USA, while allowing to play the bosses of both...

for the Sega Saturn. Fighting Vipers was also re-released for the PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...

 as part of the Sega Ages
Sega Ages
Sega Ages refers to a number of compilations or re-releases of classic video games from developer and publisher Sega.-Saturn version:Sega-AM2 released several Sega Ages games for the Sega Saturn in Japan:...

 line. A PAL version was planned, but never released.

Sonic the Fighters

Fighting Vipers has a direct link with Sega's famous blue mascot
Mascot
The term mascot – defined as a term for any person, animal, or object thought to bring luck – colloquially includes anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name...

 Sonic the Hedgehog
Sonic the Hedgehog (character)
, trademarked Sonic The Hedgehog, is a video game character and the main protagonist of the Sonic video game series released by Sega, as well as in numerous spin-off comics, cartoons, and a feature film. The first game was released on June 23, 1991, to provide Sega with a mascot to rival Nintendo's...

 via the less known Sonic title Sonic the Fighters
Sonic the Fighters
Sonic the Fighters is a fighting game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. The game's original Japanese title, Sonic The Fighters, is used in North American and European releases of Sonic Gems Collection.-Plot:...

(a.k.a. Sonic Championship). The story behind Sonic the Fighters is that a bored Sega-AM2 programmer working on Fighting Vipers decided to put in Sonic the Hedgehog in the game for amusement (through hacking both Sonic and Tails are playable). After winning the approval of Sega-AM2 head 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,...

 and Sonic Team
Sonic Team
is a Japanese computer and video game developer established in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan in 1990, originally known as Sega AM8. The Japan-based division is also known as G.E. Department Global Entertainment. The studio has collaborated with several in-house Japanese studios as well as other American-based...

 head Yuji Naka
Yuji Naka
, is a video game designer and programmer, best known as the former head of Sonic Team, a group of Sega programmers/designers, where he was the lead programmer of the original Sonic the Hedgehog....

, Sega-AM2 commissioned a Sonic fighting game that became Sonic the Fighters.
Sonic the Fighters plays very similar to Fighting Vipers, minus the armor feature and with the addition of the depleting Barrier System (limiting how much you may block an opponent's attacks). An early screenshot even shows the game using the character select screen of Fighting Vipers (or possibly Tails
Miles "Tails" Prower
, better known by his nickname , is a character, as well as the main deuteragonist in the Sonic the Hedgehog series of video games, comics, animated series and film released by Sega....

 and Sonic in Fighting Vipers).

Hidden within the data of the arcade version of Sonic the Fighters is an additional character named Honey, a yellow cat wearing Candy's red plastic fairy costume, even the name being a nod to this character. Through hacking of the arcade version rom, she is fully playable, has multiple face expressions, and Knuckles' moveset. Honey's model was removed from the Sonic the Fighters port on Sonic Gems Collection. However, her data is still there, though it is scrambled.

Sources

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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