Famicom World

Intro (Storyline) 1.0

Irem came out with a few gems during the 8-bit era. Two of the well-known titles to collectors are Daiku no Gen-San and Daiku no Gen-San 2, better known to us English-speaking fans as Hammerin' Harry and Hammerin' Harry 2. But another game that exhibited the quality of Irem's games is Gekitotsu Yonku Battle. The concept of this game is simple: You, a race car, drive around a square-shaped plot of land and ram into other cars. That's it.

There is no story line. And really, there doesn't need to be. What can be better than straight-up demolition derby destruction. You ram enemies and they go bom. I'm not kidding. When you hit a car, it blows into bits and a little flashing cloud reads: Bom. The entire game is in English, aside from the title...so they screwed up the onomatopoeia.

Graphics 3.5

Everything looks very clean, from the details of the cars to the very simple components of the battlefields. None of it took too much time because of a lack of details, however. The game has mostly smooth sprites, like round rocks, tiled ground, jet black oil slicks, and squared ice patches. The graphics are very uniform; the developers didn't try very hard to create something visually stunning. But, the graphics do their job and aren't distracting.

Audio 3.5

The creators of the game mustn't have intended for Gekitotsu Yonku Battle to be a rough and tough beat 'em up game. If they had, they would have put together some meaner music. The music of the game gives off a very cheerful tone, not one you'd expect for a game of this type. Oh well. At least the music sounds good.

The few sound effects serve their purpose. When you hit a wall or rock, there's a thud. When you slide on some oil and are spinning helplessly, the sound of screeching tires fires off.

Gameplay 3.0

To begin playing, you get to select from two different race cars: "Battle Boomerang" or "Battle Fox." The only visual difference is a slight body change, one looks bulkier than the other. But for each car you can select from eight different color variations, including pink. After selecting your car's build and color, you begin the first of eight battles. Each battle is on a different battlefield with various enemy race cars and hazards.

The purpose of each level is to ram into a certain number of enemy race cars before they ram into you. For example, to complete Stage 1 you have to hit 50 enemy race cars. On each level, your car is given a life meter that will be reduced anytime you get hit by another car. But beware of getting rammed even once, because getting hit can send your car flying into rocks and walls. When you wreck into a wall on your own, your car's life meter goes unchanged, but when you wreck into a wall because you were rammed, your car's life meter will fall fast. The same is true of some hazards. If you slip on a slick of oil and then slide into a wall, your car's life meter will suffer. Each battlefield is accompanied by a mini-layout at the top left of the screen that helps you locate the enemy race cars and flags.

All the while, you get to race around the battlefield searching for goodies to juice up your car:

HURRICANE SYMBOL:
Makes your car drive faster.

SMILEY-FACED STAR:
Makes your car temporarily invincible.

X-MARKED FLAG:
Refills your life meter.

The numbered flags and crown give you more points, and if each of the number flags are gathered, the level is completed even before all the enemy cars are destroyed.

Every time you beat a stage, two new cars are unlocked. The cars have no unique abilities. They all do the same thing; they just look different. There are three bonus stages in between the stages. In these, you drive around and pick up flags before your time expires.

Controls 4.0

The race car you get to control has an amazing ability to haul ass and make sharp turns quickly. The way the race car moves would be impossible for the real thing. Your car practically can turn 360 degrees from a near standstill.

Like in most racing games, you've got to press a button to get your car moving. For Gekitotsu Yonku Battle, that button is A. Though the car will move forward without the push of a button, A helps speed it up. When you're spinning out of control, A and B pressed together stabilizes your car. As expected Start pauses the game.

Frustrations 1.0

The game isn't frustrating at all. All the levels are easy, with the exception of the bombardments of recklessness from the enemies of Stage 8. You can often easily win a stage by driving around in circles while the enemies blow themselves up by skidding off some oil and plowing into a rock. They also accidentally ram each other.

Fun Factor 3.0

I liked what the game had to offer, but there just wasn't enough of it. The game easily could be beaten in 20 minutes or less. And since the battlefields and enemies are pretty much the same throughout the game, with the enemies only increasing in how erratically they drive, the game has little replay value. It's fun while it lasts, but it doesn't last.

Overall 3.0

Gekitotsu Yonku Battle certainly is worth picking up for a few minutes of fun play. It's a good game that'll entertain you and won't give you an ounce of frustration. If you have 20 minutes to kill, pop Gekitotsu Yonku Battle into your Famicom and ram into some enemies.