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Exploding Fist (NES)

 
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Sardius
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Joined: 21 Sep 2003
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PostPosted: Tue Apr 17, 2012 7:10 pm    Post subject: Exploding Fist (NES) Reply with quote



The Way of the Exploding Fist was a Karate Champ-inspired fighting game released in Europe in 1985 for the Amstrad CPC, the Commodore 64, the ZX Spectrum, and the BBC Micro. The C64 port was the only version to arrive stateside. An NES release (simply titled Exploding Fist) was planned, but never released.

An early version of the NES port was dumped and released via a run of reproduction carts. That version is here. A more complete version was discovered recently, and can be downloaded here.

The NES version was to be published by Tradewest, apparently, with development handled by Beam Software, of The Three Stooges fame (and Bad Street Brawler infamy). The sprites are fairly large, and one of the modes allows two players to beat up on an AI-controlled third opponent, which is kind of neat.

Otherwise, the game suffers from a lack of content, and doesn't do much to expand on the concepts introduced in Karate Champ, which might explain why it was never released. It's worth noting that even the newer version may still be incomplete, though we currently have no way of verifying this.

Tip: If you want to win, just hold an upper diagonal on the d-pad until you kick the other guy in the face, and then keep doing that until the end of the match.
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DarkTetsuya



Joined: 05 Sep 2003
Posts: 80

PostPosted: Tue Apr 17, 2012 7:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I don't know if it was the emulator in question (UberNES) but my opponent just *disappeared* mid-round and the game got stuck after time ran out.

It's no SF2 or MK, but fun for a little while anyway.
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NESPlayer



Joined: 10 Dec 2010
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 18, 2012 5:20 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The newer prototype freezes when you reach level 18 (using FCEUX):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZisYkiD4hk

EDIT: I looked through the game's text, and found all of the available characters' names:



Level 1: MATUISAITO
Level 2: KANEGA
Level 3: MITSUIMANO
Level 4: ATOCHO (+ RYU)
Level 5: RYU
Level 6: NORIYUKI
Level 7: HIKIJI
Level 8: TATSUTARO (+ KATSUICHI)
Level 9: KATSUICHI
Level 10: UBAGAMI
Level 11: MIYAMOTO
Level 12: SHINOBI (+ HANZO)
Level 13: HANZO
Level 14 HEBI
Level 15: MANUAOKI
Level 16: GOMBEI (+ Unnamed Character)
Level 17: Unnamed Character

After you beat Level 17, the game says that you dropped out.

Thanks for the release, by the way!
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Skrybe
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 18, 2012 4:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Probably worth mentioning here that the older proto seems to loop indefinitely. adaml played up to level 99, and while the level counter stops there, the game keeps going.
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Doommaster1994



Joined: 02 May 2012
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PostPosted: Wed May 02, 2012 1:13 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I find it unfortunate the game doesn't credit the composer Tania Smith.
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Nosuch



Joined: 01 Dec 2006
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PostPosted: Wed May 02, 2012 3:41 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

So, does the later version crash for anyone else if they do too many roundhouse kicks (back + B) or is it just my emu?
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Skrybe
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PostPosted: Wed May 02, 2012 7:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I don't know what caused it, but I had my opponent disappear entirely in the newer proto, followed by the game crashing when time expired. So, there's definitely still some bugs.
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AndrewDavie



Joined: 14 Jun 2012
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 14, 2012 6:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Stumbled on this. Although this was my work, there are a few things in it which leave me wondering what's up. The game was written in 1989, by the way... so it IS a long time ago. Nonetheless, I *definitely* don't recall the embedded player names... and I have never heard of "Tania Smith". And TradeWest was never mentioned to me as a publisher. It's very strange, because these things I should have been aware of. It's almost as if someone's modified the game after it was abandoned by Beam. If my name isn't in the default high score table... then that's what's happened! Um, and in the YouTube video link where it says "ASSHOLE READY" that's somebody has hacked the ROM, right? Because I'd never released a version which would have said that. So, just saying... there are some anomalies here. Uh, also... my games may have been crap, but they didn't crash Smile And, for the record, "The Three Stooges fame (and Bad Street Brawler infamy)"... I wrote both of those as well Smile
Cheers
A
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Skrybe
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 14, 2012 7:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Mr. Davie, good to have you here.

Well, the newer proto (see here for scans) was purchased from a former Sunsoft employee. I didn't ask where he got it when we bought the cart, but I just now sent him an email to see if he could clear things up. The older proto was from a copy that turned up at a flea market in the UK around 6 years ago. I remember you participating in the discussion at Digital Press back when that copy was first found.

Both copies do have your name on the high score screen, as well as Fred Milgrom and Adam Lancman. The newer proto allows the player to enter their name before the start of the game, that's where "ASSHOLE READY" comes from in that Youtube video. The credit to Tania Smith as the composer apparently came from Gavan Anderson, according to this page. I'm assuming someone contacted Gavan Anderson directly to get that quote.

EDIT - From the seller:
Quote:
It was so long ago I really don’t know. I just remember a group was shopping it around. Someone had sent Sunsoft the files and we got it running on Sunsoft prototype board.
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AndrewDavie



Joined: 14 Jun 2012
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 15, 2012 12:09 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Skrybe wrote:

Both copies do have your name on the high score screen, as well as Fred Milgrom and Adam Lancman. The newer proto allows the player to enter their name before the start of the game, that's where "ASSHOLE READY" comes from in that Youtube video.


I don't recall doing that. Nor the embedded names. Possibly it has been modified since I did the final version; but it's strange due to the timing. I left BEAM in 1994, but this game was finished in 1989. I may simply have forgotten.

Skrybe wrote:
The credit to Tania Smith as the composer apparently came from Gavan Anderson


Well, Gavan would definitely be the authority on that. Again, VERY strange because there was no Tania Smith working at BEAM up until when I left, 1994. Perhaps an external composer...?

Skrybe wrote:
Someone had sent Sunsoft the files and we got it running on Sunsoft prototype board.


Yeah, that's very strange right there! That's not generally the sort of thing we did; pass around binaries. The handwriting on the EPROMs is definitely not mine, and I'm kind of surprised to hear that binaries were being passed around to Sunsoft.
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TheRedEye
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Joined: 26 Aug 2003
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 15, 2012 5:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Jay really does not remember where it came from. From what I've gathered it was either submitted as a possible game for Sunsoft, it was sent during his very brief time as a game reviewer/previewer for EGM when the magazine first debuted, or the file was sort of traded around in a little underground developer circle of guys who sent each other prototype builds to play with (which believe it or not was happening in the U.S. at the time, unfortunately most of that stuff seems to just be gone now).
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KingMike



Joined: 04 Nov 2003
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 15, 2012 5:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

TheRedEye wrote:
or the file was sort of traded around in a little underground developer circle of guys who sent each other prototype builds to play with (which believe it or not was happening in the U.S. at the time, unfortunately most of that stuff seems to just be gone now).


So that's rumored how we got the TMNT SS NO DIE proto.
(possibly SS means Stage Select, but the article author suggested it meant Sunsoft). To part the NO DIE part seems to be not included. :(
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