Urban Champion

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Template:Short description Template:DMCA

Template:Short descriptionPage Module:Infobox/styles.css has no content.Page Template:Infobox video game/styles.css has no content.

Urban Champion
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:InfoboxImage/data' not found.
North American NES cover art
DeveloperTemplate:Pluralize from textNintendo R&D1
PublisherTemplate:Pluralize from textNintendo
DirectorTemplate:Pluralize from textTemplate:If first display both
ProducerTemplate:Pluralize from textGunpei Yokoi
DesignerTemplate:Pluralize from textMakoto Kanoh
ProgrammerTemplate:Pluralize from textTemplate:If first display both
ArtistTemplate:Pluralize from textTemplate:If first display both
WriterTemplate:Pluralize from textTemplate:If first display both
ComposerTemplate:Pluralize from textHirokazu Tanaka
SeriesTemplate:If first display both
EngineTemplate:If first display both
PlatformTemplate:Pluralize from textNintendo Entertainment System, arcade, Nintendo e-Reader, Nintendo 3DS
Release
Page Template:Nobold/styles.css has no content.November 14, 1984
  • NES Script error: No such module "Video game release". Arcade Script error: No such module "Video game release". e-ReaderScript error: No such module "Video game release". Nintendo 3DSScript error: No such module "Video game release".
GenreTemplate:Pluralize from textFighting
ModeTemplate:Pluralize from textSingle-player, multiplayer
Arcade systemNintendo VS. System
Template:Edit on Wikidata

Script error: No such module "Check for conflicting parameters".

Script error: No such module "Nihongo". is a fighting video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It was first released for the Famicom and Nintendo VS. System for arcades in 1984, and later released for the NES in North America and Europe in 1986. It is Nintendo's first 2D fighting game, eventually followed by the 1993 Famicom game Joy Mech Fight. The game was poorly received, and has been retroactively regarded as one of the weaker Nintendo-published games for the NES.

Gameplay

File:Urbanchamp2.jpeg
A gameplay screenshot depicting the player character on the verge of being pushed back into the street by the computer-controlled opponent

In Urban Champion, players participate in one-on-one street fights, competing with opponents to push each other off the sidewalk and past the edge of the screen.[1] Fighters automatically assume a defensive stance when not attacking, and can raise or lower their arms to shift between blocking and attacking high or blocking and attacking low; the player must strike the area not protected by their opponent's arms to inflict damage and push the opponent back towards the screen's edge.[2] The player has access to two types of attacks: a weak punch, which does less damage and knockback but is faster and therefore harder to defend against; and a strong punch, which does more damage and knockback but takes longer to perform, making it easier to block, dodge or interrupt.[3]

Battles use a "best 3-of-5 rounds" format.[4] At the start of each round, both fighters begin with 200 stamina points.[4] Each punch costs the player one point of stamina to perform, while the weak punch inflicts four points of stamina damage and the strong punch inflicts ten points. A man will occasionally drop flower pots from the windows; if hit by a pot, a fighter will take five points of damage and be temporarily dazed.[1][5] In addition, a police car may pass by at any point in the fight, which causes the fighters to return to their starting positions.[1] If a fighter runs out of stamina, they become vulnerable and every attack will inflict the same amount of knockback on them as a strong punch. When a fighter is pushed to the edge of the screen, the round ends as they are knocked off the sidewalk onto the street, and the battle shifts to the next block for the next round.[3] Each round also features a 99-second timer; if time runs out before the round is complete, the police will arrest the fighter closest to the edge of the screen, making the other player the winner of the round.[5] When a fighter has lost two rounds, an open sewer manhole appears on the street behind them; the player who successfully pushes their opponent into the manhole is declared the winner, briefly celebrating as a woman showers them with confetti from a window.[3]

The game has two gameplay modes: the single-player Game A, and the multiplayer Game B.[1] In Game A, each time the player knocks their opponent into a manhole, a symbol appears in the bottom corner of the screen denoting their victory. The goal is to earn 45 consecutive victories, at which point the player earns the rank of Champion.

Release

Urban Champion was inspired by the 1984 Game & Watch game Boxing (also known as Punch-Out!!).[3] The game was first released in Japan on November 14, 1984, for the Family Computer; it was later released in North America and Europe in 1986 for the system's western counterpart, the Nintendo Entertainment System. An arcade version was released in 1985 under the name Vs. Urban Champion.[6]

Urban Champion has been re-released via emulation on several later Nintendo consoles. It was first re-released on November 11, 2002 as a set of cards for the Nintendo e-Reader.[7] The game was digitally re-released for the Virtual Console service, first for the Wii in December 2006,[3] then for the Wii U in October 2013.[2] An updated version for the Nintendo 3DS that utilized autostereoscopic 3D was developed by Arika as part of the 3D Classics series, and was released on July 13, 2011 in Japan and the rest of the world on August 18.[8]

Hamster Corporation released the arcade version as part of their Arcade Archives series for the Nintendo Switch on November 9, 2018.[9] The NES version was also added to the Nintendo Classics service on July 4, 2024.[10]

Reception

Urban Champion received largely negative reception. In the special edition Pak Source included in the January/February 1990 volume of Nintendo Power, which rated all the NES games released in North America from October 1985 to March 1990, Urban Champion received (out of 5) scores of 2.5, 2.5, 1.5, and 1.5 for the four categories evaluated.[11] Along with Chubby Cherub, it is one of the only two games to obtain a score below 2 in a category.[11]

Retrospective reviews of the game's Virtual Console release were similarly critical. Levi Buchanan noted it as one of the weakest NES games for the Virtual Console.[12] GameSpot's Jeff Gerstmann called it tedious when it was originally released, and in the modern day is "about as boring as it can possibly be".[1] GamePro described it as a second tier Virtual Console game.[13] 1UP.com's Jeremy Parish commented that he would rather have nothing at all on the Virtual Console in its debut week than Urban Champion.[14] He also cited it as an example of a poor game that gamers would still buy for the e-Reader.[15] He listed it as one of the worst Virtual Console games.[16] 1UP.com's Patrick Klepek criticized Nintendo for releasing only this and Baseball in one week, calling both poor games.[17] Writer Bob Mackey called it questionable, calling it the "Bad Street Brawler of its day".[18] GameSpy's Phil Theobald called it "awful", criticizing its cameo in Tetris DS.[19] IGN's Lucas M. Thomas called it too shallow for an NES game, adding that there was no reason to purchase it.[3] He also commented that it didn't deserve the distinction of being Nintendo's first head-to-head fighting game.[20] IGN AU's Cam Shea called it "god awful", and "worse than actually falling down a manhole".[21] Screw Attack advised that Wii owners not waste their money on it, calling it simple and slow.[22] However, video game developer Ron Alpert found it to be an acceptable game, calling it one of the simplest of its day, but also an easy game to pick up and play.[23]

Notes


References

Page Template:Reflist/styles.css has no content.

  1. ^ a b c d e Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Gerstmann, Jeff (January 1, 2007). "Urban Champion Review for Wii". GameSpot. Archived from the original on May 25, 2011. Retrieved February 25, 2011.
  2. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Whitehead, Thomas (October 29, 2013). "Review: Urban Champion (Wii U eShop / NES)". Nintendo Life. Retrieved September 16, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Thomas, Lucas M. (February 15, 2007). "Urban Champion". IGN. Archived from the original on April 28, 2025. Retrieved April 28, 2025.
  4. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Urban Champion (instruction manual). Nintendo. 1986. p. 5.
  5. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Urban Champion (instruction manual). Nintendo. 1986. p. 6.
  6. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Vs. Urban Champion - Videogame by Nintendo". www.arcade-museum.com. Archived from the original on June 3, 2020. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
  7. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Harris, Craig (November 15, 2002). "Urban Champion-e". IGN. Archived from the original on May 31, 2016.
  8. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Thomas, Lucas M. (August 19, 2011). "3D Classics: Urban Champion Review". IGN. Retrieved September 16, 2024.
  9. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Frank, Allegra (November 15, 2018). "Nintendo Switch eShop has a stellar week, from Pokémon to Civ 6". Polygon. Retrieved September 16, 2024.
  10. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."NES – Nintendo Switch Online adds COBRA TRIANGLE, Donkey Kong Jr. Math, Golf, Mach Rider, The Mystery of Atlantis, SOLAR JETMAN, and Urban Champion". Gematsu. July 4, 2024. Retrieved July 4, 2024.
  11. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Pak Source". Nintendo Power. Nintendo of America. January 1990.
  12. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Buchanan, Levi (January 17, 2007). "Console makers take games beyond the shelf". NBC News. Retrieved September 16, 2024.
  13. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Opinion: What's wrong with the Virtual Console anyway?". GamePro. April 26, 2007. Archived from the original on January 6, 2010. Retrieved February 25, 2011.
  14. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Retro Roundup 1/11 Edition: Gradius, Jumping Flash! and Ms. Pac-Man: News from". 1UP.com. Archived from the original on October 17, 2012. Retrieved February 25, 2011.
  15. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."EGM Retro: 20 Years of NES". 1up.com. Archived from the original on June 3, 2011. Retrieved February 25, 2011.
  16. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."The Best Virtual Console Wii Games from". 1UP.com. Archived from the original on June 16, 2016. Retrieved February 25, 2011.
  17. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Virtual (Yawn) Console: Baseball, Urban Champion: News from". 1UP.com. Archived from the original on July 23, 2012. Retrieved February 25, 2011.
  18. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."The Best and Worst Videogame Comebacks from". 1UP.com. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved February 25, 2011.
  19. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."GameSpy: Tetris DS - Page 1". Ds.gamespy.com. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved February 25, 2011.
  20. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Thomas, Lucas M. (September 22, 2007). "Konami's Crew". IGN. Retrieved September 16, 2024.
  21. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Shea, Cam (August 7, 2008). "The Worst Games on Virtual Console: Part 1". IGN. Retrieved September 16, 2024.
  22. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."ScrewAttack Video Game, Video Game Vault: Urban Champion | Video Clip | Game Trailers & Videos". GameTrailers.com. June 14, 2007. Archived from the original on September 26, 2011. Retrieved February 25, 2011.
  23. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Ron Alpert's Blog - Retro Game of the Day! Urban Champion". Gamasutra. September 16, 2010. Archived from the original on May 10, 2011. Retrieved February 25, 2011.
Retrieved from "https://cosmopedia.co/index.php?title=Urban_Champion&oldid=862358"