I learned about the Savaki fighting game from “Great Sega Saturn 3D Fighter Extravaganza!, Retro Muel” , and of course with my love for Virtua Fighter 2 and Last Bronx (and hate for Fighting Vipers) I had to check it out.
It is a very grounded game, in more than one sense. There are seven fighers, each representing real style: karate, muay thai, taekwondo. They don’t have names, just the style they use. There are no astrojumps, and really almost no jumps at all, except a couple of special moves. The game uses five button setup, but what a setup: punch, kick, feint punch, feint kick, and namesake “savaki”, which is like a counter.
This is the first fighting game that has fall damage. Meaning you hit your opponent, he takes some damage, and if he falls, he takes more damage. Also, hit detection is surprisingly good: you can low kick your opponent as they fall for additional hit.
The game is also surprisingly easy. Considering I barely understand its mechanics, I managed to get to the final boss, who’s this huge freestyle luchador. He is though, though.
