Are you Tuff E Nuff to challenge The Fighting King?

This blog is about old miniatures, board games, card games and nostalgia. But every now and then an old video game crashes back into my memory because it reminds me of  oldhammer, and today it's the turn of  Super Nintendo fighting game Tuff E Nuff.

Hey Punk! - Ah the 90s

Tuff E Nuff* for the Super Nintendo. Made in 1993 at the height of the 2D fighting game boom. It sat on shelves being ignored as gamers picked up Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, Killer Instinct or maybe Fatal Fury. Not me though, I rented games from the VHS Rental store and one weekend I brought home Tuff E Nuff. Although it didn't look like the above, that is the USA box art. In Europe we got this art instead.

Well that looks 100% better

Apparently UK gaming magazine CVG needed artwork for a preview but hadn't been sent any official images, so the magazine created its own illustration instead. Jaleco (game's developer) liked it and adopted the fan-made artwork as the game's art. Imagine that happening today, marketing executives would run screaming. I digress let's talk about the game and why it's on a primarily an oldhammer blog.

Choose your path, or enter the cheat code here.

Now I'll be honest for a second here. Tuff E Nuff is not the greatest fighting game ever made. It only has 4 playable characters** two of which are clones of each other. It has no combo mechanics and it's not topping a fighting game poll anytime soon. Yet, the bosses are all flamboyantly memorable including ninjas, wrestlers, a man with a missile launcher and even one guy wearing clogs. The music is actually amazing; seriously go check out Beans Stage theme music or Sirou's stage music. While some of the special moves are super cool especially the final boss Jade (even if he is so cheap).

That's right, Dolf brought a bazooka to a street fight!

You may wonder why I am even giving it room for a blog post and well the answer is the game is set in a post apocalyptic earth where men and women fight to survive, be it in gangs or as individuals over resources. They are either for or against the self proclaimed Fighting King. A man (Jade) who found a near full body suit of "Fighting Armour".

K's (yes that's a name apparently) and his electric wall of doom move

So let's recap we have gangs, people trying to survive in a post apocalyptic world and a man in a blue armour who is absurdly strong looking for people strong enough to best him in combat. Sounds a bit like some Necromunda gangers and an ultramarine got lost and joined a fighting cult.

Storm, lightning, a man in a blue suit about to gut punch you violently. Fun times :)

And that's why this game has stuck with me for over thirty years. Long before I ever rolled dice in the Underhive, Tuff E Nuff had already planted the seed. Looking back now, it feels like an accidental prototype for the sort of world that Necromunda would soon bring to life.***. Not to mention the Confrontation game had been released before this and that game introduced brat gangs as a thing. 

Jade is the shadowy figure, the guy in the forefront is a henchman known as Beans.

Apparently Mr. Beans is Dutch, he also has the more amazing laugh in game.

Tell me Beans wouldn't fit straight into a Brat Gang. The hairstyle, the attitude, the ridiculous clothing. Fur shoulder pads and clogs?!... he's halfway to the Underhive already. Then again, you could probably say the same for half the nameless thugs in Fist of the North Star. Mind you those guys were usually 8ft tall to make Kenshiro look even more badass.

The underhive wishes it kept it's spires looking this good.

So no, Tuff E Nuff isn't an overlooked masterpiece. But every now and then a game sticks in your memory for reasons that have nothing to do with review scores. For me, this odd little fighter became permanently tangled up with the grimy aesthetic of Necromunda. Every time I see Jade's blue armour or Syoh's design. (I mean just look at Syoh above, he could be one of the plastic orlocks that came in the box.) I can't help imagining them wandering the Underhive looking for their next gang fight.

House of Iron or House of Tuff'e'Nuff?

Maybe it's just nostalgia talking. Either way, thirty-odd years later, I'm still thinking about it.

Until next time :)

* Known in Japan as Dead Dance, honestly I don't know which is the odder name. maybe a poor translation of Dance of Death?

** With a cheat code you can play as the other characters in VS mode.

*** By the time I rented this game Necromunda was probably released to the public.