Ka-Ge-Ki: Fists of Steel

"Abysmal"

There are games, there are legends, there are epics, then there's Ka Ge ki.

Let's Fight! …or not.

As you start up Ka Ge Ki, you'll see an angry fist smashing concrete. The word, ''cool'', goes through your mind, such as that of a little kid getting extra candy on Halloween. Some games are better left alone, and this is one of them. Want plot? The plot is about like a poor man's Rocky, minus the action. You go out to finish a bunch of Japanese tough guys off. I'd rather be maimed by Richard Simmons in a pink bunny outfit than to start up this game ever again. I'm not a workout video fan either, I may add.

And one, and two , and one, and two

Considering all you do is battle in a pit and make your way up a building; which is for this why this game is so lengthy and tedious. Defeating opponents requires nothing more than button mashing. Bashing in the first two henchmens' faces might force you to move your fingers a little bit. Makes me irritable when I have to input effort, rather have my hands in my pants instead of the controller. What’s up next!? You’re presented with the boss of that level, which is usually some Asian guy that is bad with weapons, and has a head that looks like he is inflicted with elephantiasis. The guys' heads are so inflated that when you punch them, I don’t see why they don’t wobble back and forth. They've got the ugliest faces too. The second boss looks like his face got stuck in a meat grinder. By the third one, you’ll realize why kids stop being scared of the boogieman. Watch out, because when you punch them enough, you’ll hear: “Is that all you got” after he is knocked cold. If you think that line is bad, you hear a lot of “Ohhohohoh” which sounds like a mass of drunken college kids falling off a pier at night.

You’ve got two buttons that controller the “action”. Usually you have to set down and train for every hours on end to beat the computer. Thankfully, for me, this game can be played with one hand, making other activities assessable. Now that you’ve got the controls down, let’s get into the fighting. Fighting off most “Tough men” brings up one of the two options: punching him or retreating. Punching him does damage, and retreating makes you look like an airborne, constipated bird. There's nothing like flying through midair with your butt sticking out. I bet the audience gets a thrill, if they haven't all left by then. Maybe they went to cash in on some whelkman skee-ball action, but who knows?

After beating up a couple of guys and finishing off a boss or two, you’ll finally get annoyed by yet another aspect of the game: The music. Nothing more than high pitched sounds that where made on a .25C synthesizer in the middle of an ally. They could have tried a lot harder by making actual beats. Not just some annoying themes that are out of place. Who wants to hear dance club music while trying to save a poor mans life? They make the poor mans life not important, and me feel not important by playing the game. Sacrilege!

Graphics make up for some of the major faults in Ka Ge ki. Most of the textures actually resemble a block of stone. Apples look like apples and boxing gloves look like boxing gloves. Being able to tell what angle your fighter is looking at can be easily distinguished by just looking at the screen. Graphically, compared to others genesis games, Ka Ge ki won’t stand up though.

What you have here is a failed attempt at a “game”. A very small, barely established company produced Ka Ge Ki, so I, for one, am not surprised it failed miserably. However, I can’t see giving it a 1.

Final Verdict
Game-play=1
Control=2
Graphics=6
Sound=1

Final=2

I don’t ever seeing myself giving a game a 1, but this is as close to it as it gets. Hopefully there will never be a sequel to Ka Ge Ki. Ka Ge Ki will go down as a shame. In one word, I can sum this game up: Abysmal

Reviewer's Score: 2/10, Originally Posted: 03/05/03, Updated 07/29/03