Chavez

"How does this game escape getting the recognition it deserves?"

In 1993, games about the sport of boxing were coming out everywhere. Most of them weren't worth the box the cartridge was in, but out in Mexico the game with then undefeated Julio Ceaser Chavez was just coming out. This game impressed the Mexican reviewers and evidently Malibu Gaming America who later released the game in early 1994 as the Americanized, Riddick Bowe Boxing. Sadly this game was never popular because just as it was released in Mexico, Chavez had lost and his record stood at 90-1, and Riddick Bowe had dropped the title back to Evander Holyfield in the United States. People passed this game over because they didn't care about the man on the cover. Little did they know what they were missing...

Graphics 10/10
The 2D graphics on this game can be summed up in one word... Phenomenal. For the time this was released the graphics were the best ever seen on the Super Nintendo. The graphics on Chavez easily rival those that would come out years later in Donkey Kong Country 1, 2, and 3. The characters are very large, and the characters are smooth looking and not blocky like most boxing games were expected to be. The colors were bright and it was easy to tell exactly who you were and who your opponents are.

Sound 10/10
This game doesn't have too much in the sound, and background music department except for effects. The effects it uses though are very, very, good. Most of the punches sound very life like as do the grunts released by the characters when they are hit. The game may have no background music, but it doesn't really matter, the sound effects make up for it. This game also featured several taunts, of course in the Spanish language, that are brilliantly done. The sound comes out when it's supposed to come out and doesn't end up having some horrid loading time problem like a lot of games at the time had. This game also has the bell ringing, and the ten count, things alot of games at the time failed to even attempt to use.

Gameplay 10/10
This game's gameplay is amazing for a boxing game. The collision detection is not screwed up, when a fighter is hit, he is hit, there is no going through a human body in this one. The gameplay is also lightning fast and impressive in it's reaction speed. All kinds of punches can be used in this game, from simple jabs into hard uppercuts. The career mode in this game is a true example of how careers go. The records continue to tabulate each time you defeat someone and each time the computer defeats another computer opponent. No more of the ''I beat you 7 times yet your record is still 24-1'' type of thing that went on with all the other games until this point. The create-a-boxer on this game is also excellent. The hair color and faces can be changed quite a bit. The boxing gloves and trunks can also be changed to whatever color you want, this may not have had many options compared to the EA Sports games of now, but you have to remember that this still has better gameplay, and still has better graphics, and was made 7 years earlier.

Difficulty 10/10
This is one of the high points of the game, the fact that it really does simulate a boxing career. You start off at the bottom trying to get to the top and win the title, but instead of just figuring out different styles and never really having any major attributes, in this game everyone has attributes, and they matter. The game goes from incredibly simple in the early part of the game, to incredibly difficult when you are working your way up to get to Chavez, and when you get there. This game may result in a few broken controllers when you get mad, but you will never want to stop playing this game. You may beat it six or seven times and defend the title until you are 3.4 million and 0 but you are going to keep playing this game, and it will keep giving you a challenge, that's the beauty of it.

Overall 10/10
This game really has no flaws, and if it does have a single flaw in it, it is that it was never able to secure a real boxing federation's license and so it has all fake boxers except for Chavez. This game is indeed great and I advise you to try and find a copy for five or six dollars at a used game shop and play this game until your thumbs fall off.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 06/11/01, Updated 06/11/01