The Combatribes holds the unlikely distinction of being my first import game. I know that this is a weird one to start with but they can’t all be winners. As to why this particular game it was simply a matter of circumstance. I happened to meet someone who sold import games when I was young and Combatribes stood out to me. My first red flag should have been the price. At a time where the average import title would run you $70-90 he was selling this for $30. When you are twelve that is practically a steal. Except in this case he stole my money. The Combatribes, while it has some promising elements, simply does not come together and is one of the weaker brawlers for the SNES.
If anyone even remembers the Combatribes more than likely it is because of its advertisement. In it head crime boss Martha Splatterhead taunts our heroes before saying “you wouldn’t hit a lady would you?” At which point she gets the five knuckle shuffle, apparently because cyborgs ain’t ladies. Now if only the rest of the game were so memorable.
The Combatribes was originally an arcade game from Technos and plays like a better version of Renegade. The three heroes (Berserker, Bullova, and Blitz) follow the genre tropes to a tee but that isn’t important. In terms of mechanics the Combatribes bests many other brawlers with its large move set. Aside from the standard punch and kick combos there are various throws and a few other brutal moves. You can knock enemy heads together, bang downed opponent’s heads on concrete and even perform a 360 spinning throw. It’s a lot of options and the controls are simple with just two buttons.
This SNES version is a heavily stripped down version of the arcade game. There’s been tons of censorship slapped all over the game. All traces of blood and usable weapons have been removed, the last one having a significant impact on the game. Whereas the arcade levels were broken down into two separate segments here there is only one. It makes an already short game even briefer. The fifth level was changed and is now an annoying boss rush. I’m not particularly fond of boss rushes in general and here it feels like artificially padding out the game.
Brawlers are notorious for their cheap difficulty, especially in the arcade. The Combatribes wears that on its sleeve like a badge. Despite the brevity of its levels the game is no less frustrating. Most enemies are resilient as hell, more than likely to make up for their lacking numbers. It becomes a chore to beat on the same random mooks for what seems like forever to move on. Every single boss is insanely cheap, with insane range and damage. You can’t throw them either which makes these fights a slog. The missing weapons helped in this regard which makes their absence that much worse. It is almost impossible to defeat any of them without dying once or twice. Even though the game is short the limited continues and high challenge make it last longer. The problem is whether you’ll stick around that long.
For those that don’t find the story mode enough Combatribes takes a page from Double Dragon and has a competitive fighting mode. Almost every enemy in the game is unlockable with passwords, including the bosses. That makes for a large roster but it doesn’t matter. The combat might work in a scrolling beat em up but is terrible for a fighting game. It is so simple it is a novelty at best. At least they tried.
Normally I wouldn’t comment on the graphics but I have to here. The Combatribes is odd in that it uses a half step between SD characters and normal proportioned sprites. It’s weird to say the least and I don’t know if I like or hate it. The heavily muscled but squat sprites just look strange. If there is one benefit to the weird art style it’s the number of sprites on screen. Most SNES brawlers stop at three enemies at once. The Combatribes will throw five or six enemies at once with no slowdown. It’s pretty cool to see but it doesn’t make the game any more interesting.
In Closing
The Combatribes could have been a decent game. From a gameplay standpoint it has a lot going for it such as plenty of moves and enemy variety. But it fails when it comes to its overbearing difficulty and structure. There are plenty of quality brawlers to spend your money on for the SNES before sinking to this level.
