Warzard
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| Warzard / Red Earth | |
|---|---|
 Title Screen of Warzard (Japanese version) |
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| Developer(s) | Capcom |
| Publisher(s) | Capcom |
| Release date(s) | December 1996 |
| Genre(s) | Versus Fighting |
| Mode(s) | Up to 2 players simultaneously |
| Platform(s) | Arcade |
| Arcade cabinet | Upright |
| Arcade system(s) | CPS-3 |
| Arcade display | Raster (Horizontal) |
Warzard (ウォーザード), known as Red Earth outside of Japan, is a fighting game by Capcom released in 1996 for arcades. It was the first game to run on Capcom's CPS-3 arcade hardware. Despite being quite common in Japan, it was only minimally distributed overseas.
As of 2006, there has been no console port of the title, making it the only CPS-3 game that never made it out of arcades.
Contents |
[edit] Story
Warzard takes place on earth in 1999. It is an altered earth that is stuck in a medieval/mythological state. A new country has risen led by the evil wizard Valdoll who sends out various monsters to take over the world. Four heroes emerge to defend earth.
[edit] Gameplay
[edit] Overview
There are four heroes and eight bosses; and two game modes, Quest and Versus. In Quest Mode, the player chooses one of the four hero characters, and progresses through a story while battling the various boss characters and gaining experience. In Versus Mode, two players fight against each other, but they can only choose from the four main characters. Warzard also uses a special password system that allows the player to play the game later on the same skill level he reached when it ended the last time. The character is able to "learn" special attacks and gain new equipment depending on the skill level that has been reached.
The fighting engine itself is similar to games such as Street Fighter, however with a few differences. First of all, the health bar of the enemy 'bosses' the player battles in Quest mode is displayed across the bottom of the screen, and is much larger than that of the players. Also, as the player lands hits on the bosses, various coins and treasure chests come out. Collecting coins provides experience, while various things can be found in treasure chests such as orbs (used for super attacks) and food (that restores health). These elements make the game very similar to an action/beat-em-up style game rather than a traditional 1vs1 fighter.
In addition, Warzard is one of few Capcom games with "Fatality" attacks; fatalities include, splitting the opponent in half both horizonally or vertically, decapitation, artery rupture, organ removal, limb slicing.
[edit] Playable Characters
- Leo - Once the King of Greedia, Leo was partially transformed into a lion by three wise men in order to protect earth. He has a gruff and harded personality, and does not like to speak to those he does not deem worthy. However, he is actually a kind spirit who always tries to help the weak and oppressed.
- Mukuro (Kenji in Red Earth) - A ninja with a strong sense of justice. He serves general Naosuke of Zipang.
- Tabasa (Tessa in Red Earth) - A powerful sorcerologist who excels in the use of magic. Tessa is very curious and is always in the pursuit of knowledge, traveling across various realms, attempting to learn something new.
"Tabasa" is probably a mis-Romanization of the far more common American name "Tabatha," which is also (at least homonymous with) the name of the baby daughter from Bewitched.
- Tao (Mai-Ling in Red Earth) - A Chinese girl who studies martial arts.
[edit] Boss Characters
- Hauzer - An earth dragon. Inhabits the Greedia stage.
- Kongou - A Japanese demon. Inhabits the Zipang stage.
- Secmeto (Ravange in Red Earth) - A cross between a Egyptian sphinx and a Greek chimera. Inhabits the Alanbird stage.
- Luan (Lavia in Red Earth) - A harpy. Inhabits the Gora stage.
- Gigi - A living Aztec statue. Inhabits the Crypt stage.
- Blade (Jihad in Red Earth) - A robotic knight created by Valdoll. Inhabits the Darminor stage.
- Valdoll (Scion in Red Earth) - A evil wizard and final boss of the game. Inhabits the Darminor stage.
[edit] Reception
Contrary to popular belief, Warzard actually had a fairly strong fan-following in Japan. However, it was due to the single-player oriented gameplay of the title that made it unable to obtain the constant large crowds and long arcade life that the strictly competition-based fighters such as the Street Fighter Alpha series were achieving at the time.
Outside of Japan, the release of the game as Red Earth had such a limited distribution that there was never any chance for it to really make any kind of impact.
[edit] Voice Cast
- Daisuke Gōri: Leo, Kongou, Valdoll/Scion
- Yukimasa Kishino: Mukuro/Kenji, Blade/Jihad
- Megumi Urawa: Tao/Mai-Ling
- Tomoko Naka: Tabasa/Tessa, Luan/Lavia
- Osamu Hosoi: Nool/Hydron, Gigi
Note: Hauzer and Secmeto/Ravange weren't given seiyuu. They both make roaring and growling sounds.
[edit] Soundtrack
An official soundtrack of the game was released on December 18 1996, for ¥3200. It was composed by Takayuki Iwai with additional help by Ryoji Yamamoto and Wataru Hachisako. It contains 72 tracks over 2 CDs. Certain tracks were later featured in the 2004 game Capcom Fighting Evolution, although they are noticeably worse versions by being slightly offtune.
[edit] Other Merchandise
Two books about the game were released only in Japan. The first one, titled 'All About Warzard', is an in depth look at the creation of the game. It contains many pages of concept art and screenshots, details on technical and musical aspects of the game as well as gameplay strategies. The other book, titled 'Gamest Mook #65: Warzard', was a similar, although unofficial book. This book also contained a fan-art section.
Capcom also released several figurines of the various characters and bosses from the game.
[edit] Trivia
- The character Leo was inspired by Conan the Barbarian.
- Warzard and other games that used the CPS-3 hardware were very advanced both graphically and from a gameplay standpoint, but were not accepted very well by arcade operators due to the high price and fragility of the software.
- Despite the game's obscurity, some of its characters have appeared in other games outside the series as playable characters. This includes Capcom Fighting Evolution (Leo, Mukuro/Kenji, Hauzer and Nool/Hydron), SVC Chaos: SNK vs. Capcom and Pocket Fighter (Tessa).
- Tao (Mai-Ling) is the only one of the 4 heroes who hasn't appeared in another game as a playable character, though she has made many cameo appearances. For example in Pocket Fighter, instead of a star-shaped shield, Tessa may block using her.
- Valdoll/Scion has an attack similar to Ouke no Sabaki, a move used by Anakaris from the Darkstalker series, in which it changes a character into a weaker, miniature version of his/herself. Leo becomes a lion cub doll, Mukuro/Kenji becomes a Japanese rhinoceros beetle, Tabasa/Tessa becomes a penguin, and Tao/Mai-Ling becomes a monkey. Tabasa/Tessa's penguin form is later used in Pocket Fighter during her ending and is her transformed state after being defeated by Athena in SVC Chaos: SNK vs. Capcom. Leo and Mukuro/Kenji's transformations were reused in Capcom Fighting Evolution when Anakaris used Ouke no Sabaki on them.
[edit] External links
- Gameplay footage from Warzard (Original source of footage from www.snk-capcom.com)
