Review by Pokejedservo

"Tis' a decent deviation from the ordinary but alas Jaleco made it WAY too short."

Arm Wrestling, one of the oldest tests of strength throughout all that is human history. It is of the game where you & your opponent hold hands as you try to push your opponents arm down and vice versa. Its about as old as the likes of "Rock, Paper, Scissors" & Chances are you've most likely played it before at LEAST once. However despite on the fact that its absolutely well-known out in the real world its actually an almost unheard of concept in Video Game History. Sure this game is NOT the only game that uses Arm-Wrestling (after all there was a Arm Wrestling game in the Konami NES title "Track & Field II") but still HOW many times have you actually Arm Wrestled anyone in a Video Game? And besides this is probably the only Arm Wrestling Video Arcade Machine you'll ever find anyways. (That uses a sturdy plastic arm that you arm-wrestle with in a rather interactive fashion.)

Jaleco was a rather average-at-best 3rd party company, their handiwork certainly can be entertaining but lets just say there is a reason why they are not as remembered as Capcom & Konami and the like. However if there is anything that should be truly praised for is that they can at least grasp the concept of originality. Now mind you this isn't exactly one of THE biggest innovations to ever grace an arcade mind you but lets just say its certainly no overly derivative experience. The graphics have an old fashion "Cartoonish Caricature" style that fits the game well with decent music. The roster of your characters you wrestle against are not original but they have a decent amount of variety nevertheless. And how does the control fare well you might ask? Rest assured it works JUST fine here...

The biggest problem with this game is well... lets just say that Jaleco was thinking a BIT too small here. You have about 9 characters you play and you get to pick which one you play against which is good. However one foolish thing is that well... get this you ONLY play three stages (well aside from the 8th & 9th opponents). Yes believe it or not you can only have up to 3 matches on one play. Okay Jaleco one question, WHY?! It gives the game a serious blow to its replay factor if you beat it in only 3 rounnds despite having plenty more characters than 3. This awfully stupid mistake seriously lowers its potential for greatness. However either way its still more for those whom are more into Arm Wrestling than anyone else. So if your the kind of individual to be Arm Wrestling on a regular basis then needless to say this'll appeal to you JUST fine. Its not a total waste to everyone else mind you but it doesn't have a really broad sense of appeal. The Challenge Factor is awfully high so do be cautious when you try to play as well.

Overall Jaleco could've used the concept considerably better, but all things considered they didn't do a terrible job on it either. This early 90's title can make one wonder how good a more currently made Arm Wrestling game can be, well it certainly DOES have the potential. And as for Availibility? Check the "Cons" list at the end of this review and you'll know, trust me it won't be a very surprising one. But overall this is a decently unique little game that is worth a try at least once.

+ One of the few games to actually USE the concept of Arm-Wrestling (not too mention using it well)
+ Above average Graphics with decent Music
+ Decent variety of Opponents you Arm Wrestle
+ Perfectly fine Responsiveness
+ It can make one wonder if a more modern Arcade game can use the concept even better
- This game is WAY too short
- Only those whom are really into Arm-Wrestling will really be able to get into this.
- Challenge Factor is considerly high
- Underutilized concept
- Another Arcade game thats not really easy to find

Reviewer's Score: 6/10 | Originally Posted: 05/19/04

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