Panza Kick Boxing
| Developer: Futura | Graphics: |
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| Publisher: Loriciel | Sound: |
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| Year: 1990 | Difficulty: |
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| Genre: Fighting | Lastability: |
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| Number of players: 2 simultaneous | Rating: |
7/10 | |
This kickboxing/karate simulator was developed in collaboration with triple world champion André Panza.
The focus is on realism and high-quality animation. All the characters look physically identical, but you can customise your fighter by building a repertoire of techniques (kicks, punches), each mapped to joystick directions, with or without the single button pressed. This results in up to 13 possible moves (chosen from a list of 55!), executed simply, avoiding complex combos that are a pain to pull off using anything other than a console controller. It’s an interesting concept, reflective of a bygone era unshackled by the conventions imposed by Street Fighter 2.
That said, one aspect of the “kickboxer career simulation” I enjoyed far less was the endless grind of training to boost attack and defence stats just to stand a chance against increasingly tough and resilient opponents.
The training mode takes the form of tedious mini-games:
- Skipping rope: rhythmically waggle the joystick left and right.
- Weightlifting: waggle the joystick in all directions as fast as possible.
- Punching dummy: push the joystick toward the target’s location (high, middle, low).
Naturally, the game saves your progress.
Another drawback is the lack of varied environments (just three: the training room; the ring, first without and then with spectators), which gives the whole experience a claustrophobic feel.
The game was ported to consoles in 1992 (Sega Genesis, Super Nintendo, and Game Boy) under the title Best of the Best: Championship Karate. This version, which added a “Kumate” mode—where fights go to a KO, free of rules or a referee—was re-released on the Amiga the same year.
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