Nekketsu Oyako

"A Smooth, Humourous, and Fun Beat-'Em-Up"

As my first item under my new ebay account, today was a joyous day for me. As I walked back from the post office, I attempted to read the manual, but to no avail. I popped the disc in my Saturn, and away I went. Once I went to start game, I immediately noticed a large similarity to Final Fight (my favourite and the best beat 'em up ever). Game play will begin to describe the many similarities.

Game play: 9/10

A very simple game, smooth/effortless controls, and response are key elements of game play that stand out. That is the first similarity to Final Fight. Another similarity is your choice of character. You have the father, Rando, a large Haggar-ish character. Then, there is Rio, who is very similar to Maki, and her brother-in-law, Guy. Finally, there is Tora, the Cody/Carlos clone. There are 5 worlds with 2-4 acts per world, and each is unique and interesting (ranging from a whale to a roller coaster). The similarities continue in the story.

Story: 9/10

The family is nice and at peace. Everything is going great. All of a sudden, Big Black corporation kidnaps the mother of the family. In a heated rage, the rest of the family sets out on a mission to get their mother back. The rest is history. Graphics will be next.

Graphics: 7/10

The score takes a slight hit here, but is still respectable. The graphics aren't by any means bad, shoddy, or even below average. They are decent. The characters themselves (aside from the 3 main characters and the bosses) are poor, however the 3 main characters and the bosses look great. The backgrounds really stand out though; they are a work of art. Sound is a bit better.

Sounds: 8/10

Excellent sounds, with the highlight being the music (yet another similarity to Final Fight). The sounds are normal sounds that you would find in a beat-'em-up, yet the music is superb; Not repetitive, long, and it fits the game well. The game is not very replay-able though.

Replay ability: 4/10

I beat this game in about an hour, give or take ten minutes or so, and then again, in the same time period. Unless you love to just play hours upon hours of beat-'em-ups (such as myself), you will not really play this game very much, though it is a good game.

Buy or rent?

Being a Japanese Saturn game, you will not be able to rent it (maybe in Japan you can?). If you're a fan of beat-'em-ups, this is a must buy, and if you are a casual gamer, this is good for retro purposes. Regardless of what kind of a gamer you are, get the game; you will enjoy it.

The game was worth its slightly hefty price tag, and it was A LOT of fun to play. Not as much fun, or as perfect as Final Fight, but not far off either. Sega proves yet again, that it is the beat-'em-up king.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 07/12/07, Updated 09/11/09

Game Release: Nekketsu Oyako (JP, 07/21/95)