Clay Fighter 63 1/3 - Nintendo 64

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Skinr

Clay Fighter 63 1/3 - Nintendo 64

Postby Skinr » September 5th, 2011, 9:36 pm

Why do so many people love to hate the Clay Fighter series? Okay, even I'll admit that the Genesis installments were far from masterpieces. But this one gets almost everything right.

I first read about this game in an old back issue of Nintendo Power, from 1997. It mentioned numerous characters that eventually got the axe; some, like Lady Liberty and the Zappa Yow Yow Boys, were remolded for the "Sculptor's Cut" released to rental outlets. Another, HoboCop, was gone for good. However, since I only had molasses-fast dialup, I was unaware of these facts. When I saw it, along with a Nintendo 64, in a game store less than a year later, I knew I had to have it. As the first N64 game I ever owned, it may not recieve a totally objective evaluation, but I'll try my hardest to be fair.

The one thing that immediately jumps out at the player is the self-mocking sense of humour. The moment you see the P in the Interplay logo fall apart into a C, you know what you're in for. During fights, the characters themselves spew out one-liners and funny quips almost as much as they do punches; while this gets repetitive after a while, it still brings on a chuckle or two.

As one would expect, the fighters are all made out of clay, and animated via stop-motion. While a few (namely 'Ickybod Clay') are a little uninspired, the rest are a joy to behold, and all are animated smoothly with nary a hint of pixellation. Unfortunately, the polygonal backgrounds, while often funny in their own right, don't hold up nearly as well; they range from decent to horribly angular.

The selection of characters is slightly limited at the start, giving you nine clay combatants, but three more can be unlocked. Numerous characters return from the previous outings, including mainstays Bad Mr. Frosty, the Blob, and Taffy. Ickybod Clay and Bonker return from the first game, and Hoppy from C2: Judgement Clay (not making that up) comes back as T-Hoppy. The other fighters include Kung Pow, Houngan, and Interplay's own Earthworm Jim. The characters are balanced well for the most part, and their moves are just as funny as the fighters themselves.

My favorite aspect of this game is the control. The N64's controller has its share of detractors who say it's not ideal for fighting games; they couldn't be more wrong. The six-button scheme works in the same way as other one-on-one fighters, but here each level of punch or kick (weak, medium, and Brutal) has a noticeable difference. The combos are also easy to grasp and easy to execute, something that few fighting games as of late are able to get right.

The story, as with most fighting games, is so inconsequential as to be vestigial, but it's slightly humorous nonetheless. Basically, Dr. Kiln, who took control of the clay meteor in Judgement Clay, is now trying to take over the world by spreading the clayified state to the whole planet, and then he can somehow control it. I dunno, but you fight him as the last boss.

Overall, this game is certainly the best in the series. Anyone who likes fighting games at all should grab this, as it's certainly worth claying.

Score: 8.0

JustLikeHeaven1
Posts: 2971
Joined: December 31st, 1969, 7:00 pm

Clay Fighter 63 1/3 - Nintendo 64

Postby JustLikeHeaven1 » September 7th, 2011, 12:53 pm

I've always had a soft-spot for any videogame using "claymation" and the Clayfighter series was one that I really enjoyed when I was younger.  Just seeing all those characters in action was pure joy to me. I do have to correct you that Ickybod Clay is not "un-inspired"...he was the coolest character in the game!  The fact that he was a weird amalgamation from the short story "Sleepy Hollow" made me always want to play him! 

I remember following the series all the way up to the Nintendo 64 era.  I loved the first game and for some reason I don't remember enjoying 63 1/3.  However, it is a game I'm actively seeking to re-acquire.  

Thanks for the review...it's always nice to hear the dissenting opinion on a game that is heavily trashed.  

Skinr

Clay Fighter 63 1/3 - Nintendo 64

Postby Skinr » September 7th, 2011, 11:37 pm

Well, when I said 'uninspired,' I didn't mean that he looked bad or wasn't a good character; quite the opposite. I just mean that he's about as stereotypical "pumpkinhead/scarecrow" as one can imagine.

Actually, come to think of it, the developers probably intended that. Just look at Kung Pow.


Cuddlesworth1
Posts: 4
Joined: December 31st, 1969, 7:00 pm

Clay Fighter 63 1/3 - Nintendo 64

Postby Cuddlesworth1 » September 8th, 2011, 9:11 pm

Being someone who will play even the worst fighting games and find enjoyment out of them(There are few fighting games I can not find enjoyment in. Brutal, Cosmic Clash, and Fatman are examples), this would probably be up my alley.

Skinr

Clay Fighter 63 1/3 - Nintendo 64

Postby Skinr » September 8th, 2011, 11:43 pm

Heard of Brutal, haven't played it. What the hey is Fatman?

Cuddlesworth1
Posts: 4
Joined: December 31st, 1969, 7:00 pm

Clay Fighter 63 1/3 - Nintendo 64

Postby Cuddlesworth1 » September 9th, 2011, 1:31 pm

[QUOTE=Skinr]Heard of Brutal, haven't played it. What the hey is Fatman?<br>[/QUOTE]

I'm not going to lie, Brutal is a game that I just plain wanted to like so badly, as it combines two things I like so much: Fighting Games and Anthropomorphized Animals. But... the game is just so... so HORRIBLE!!! The characters look like crap, the gameplay's rough around the edges, the fighting styles are completely FAKE, the stages are among the most boring I've seen in fighting games, and this is all coming from a guy who can say they actually found enjoyment in SHAQ FU! And I don't even mean the Genesis version, I mean the SNES VERSION! The fact that a game that combines two things I like and manages to be so horrible is an outrage. To make things worse, it's about the only fighting game about anthro animals, except for Sonic Fighters(And Bloody Roar if you consider Anthro-Morphs close enough)(And of coarse if you consider games that have, but aren't limited to Anthro animals close enough). Neither Sonic Fighters OR Bloody Roar have I ever played but I'm sure they can't be as bad as Brutal. /rant

Also, Fatman is a very obscure fighting game where the main antagonist is this disgustingly fat slob with a talking belly. The game is obscure because it's just downright bad.

Me, I'll be honest, I do actually play Clayfighter 2 when I'm not playing better fighting games like Super Street Fighter 2(A personal favorite of mine) or King of Fighters series or Samurai Shodown 2 or 4(Just cause a game may have non-humans doesn't mean I'm going to suck up to it). As you'd expect, I play as the animal/material characters a lot. To be honest, though, Clayfighter 2 has some of the most uncreative movesets I've ever seen in fighting games. Even Clayfighter ONE pioneered the fake stun maneuver. Ironically, I play Clayfighter 2 a lot more than the first one. But honestly, I have so many fighting games I go back to play every once in a while.

Skinr

Clay Fighter 63 1/3 - Nintendo 64

Postby Skinr » September 11th, 2011, 10:43 am

Hang on...do you mean Tongue of the Fatman? If so, I think I played it back in the 90s. Christ, that game is weird.


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