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For the Game Ranked #1
1.
Kaiju Big Battel: Fighto Fantasy
by
The Wobbler
Release Type:
Original Release
Funky Description:
On the night of the big Kaiju Big Battel championship bout, American Beetle is about to clobber the evil Dr. Cube and claim his victory, when Dr. Cube pulls out the chair and turns the tables on American Beetle. But Dr. Cube doesn’t stop with this cheap shot. Oh, no, bro. His follow-up move is even more dastardly, as it involves a giant slug, time travel, and a plot to leave Cube propaganda all over human history. Thankfully, American Beetle is not yet down for the count, and he embarks on a mission with his fellow Kaiju bros to counterpunch the uncool Dr. Cube, pin him to the present, and restore history back to its normal, funky self.
Based on and licensed by the Kaiju Big Battel intellectual property. Has demo and full versions available for play.
Average Score:
Total Voters:
Highest Rating:
10
Lowest Rating:
7
Achievements
Achievement
Monster Victory
–Kaiju Big Battel: Fighto Fantasy not only features monster wrestlers, but it also defeated its closest competition (Bale) by nearly two full points. It’s a smash!
Achievement
King Tracker
-Like Hinterlands: Pilgrimage, Kaiju Big Battel: Fighto Fantasy keeps thorough track of the player’s progress, including progress with unlocking heroes and villains, but it does so through a setting device that allows the player to stay immersed in the characters’ predicament, making it the superior version of the convention (it uses an in-game computer at Hero HQ). Dark Planet also has a similar feature, but the game is not yet developed enough to make it effective.
Achievement
Time Champion
–Spoiler alert: They win.
Achievement
Best Use of Characters
-Just as the Oscars get a category for “Best Sound” and another for “Best Sound Editing,” two separate categories that should probably be the same, especially considering that the same movie always wins both (a two-for-one deal—Loud Movie, winner of two Oscars and starring “Weird” Al Yankovich and Gilbert Gottfried…), Heart of the OHR 2018 gives two awards for the same thing in “Best Characters” and “Best Use of Characters.” In this case, Kaiju Big Battel: Fighto Fantasy not only distinguishes itself through its use of characters in battle, but also through its use of characters on the map. Certain characters are required to solve certain puzzles in order to unlock closed-off areas. Most games don’t bother with this convention, making it the standout winner for this category.
Achievement
Best Story
-Wrestling monsters travel through time to prevent a corruption of history. Honestly, what beats this? Hero takes an errand from the king to rescue his daughter? Yawn.
Achievement
Scratches the Android Itch and Gives Some Steam
–Kaiju Big Battel: Fighto Fantasy is one of the few games that has transcended the halls of the Hamster Republic and its community annex, Slime Salad, to reach the larger audience on Android, Steam, and Itch.io.
Achievement
Arcade Hero
–Kaiju Big Battel: Fighto Fantasy is a big game, but it’s not the only game playable when playing it. At Hero Headquarters, the player can choose to play two different arcade games that are both complete in their own right. Getting Kaiju Big Battel: Fighto Fantasy is like getting three games in one.
Achievement
Visually Repaired
–Kaiju Big Battel: Fighto Fantasy goes the extra mile to help those with vision issues by providing a large swath of color filters to alter the user’s viewing experience for the better or the gimmicky.
Achievement
Best Gameplay
-Rather than subject the player to a sprawling world map that crosses large continents and requires a vehicle to get anywhere quickly, Kaiju Big Battel: Fighto Fantasy keeps its maps small and easily accessible from multiple angles, making for reasonably fast play, but also for simple revisiting to complete outstanding side missions. Each map also has a secret area that utilizes the gift of at least one hero, usually the one who’s unlocked on that map. It also allows for easy healing, easy avoidance of battles, easy adjustment of difficulty, and pretty much everything the casual RPG player dreams about when he doesn’t want to spend 100 hours slaying blobs in a field.
Achievement
Best Monster Wrestling Simulator
-See above.
Achievement
Gone Commercial
–Kaiju Big Battel: Fighto Fantasy is the only game in Heart of the OHR 2018 to require a wallet in order to play the full game. Somehow, this didn’t stop it from becoming number one. It has a really strong free demo, too.
Achievement
Beetle and Potato’s Excellent Adventure
-The story of Kaiju Big Battel: Fighto Fantasy takes our heroes on a journey through time to fix a corrupted history and save the future.
Achievement
Best Characters
-Each character in Kaiju Big Battel: Fighto Fantasy is unique, designed well, clearly defined, and important to the progression of the story. They also complement each other well in battle.
Achievement
Best Graphics and Sound
–Kaiju Big Battel: Fighto Fantasy, utilizes the walk-tall graphics feature to great effect, implements sound effects appropriate for the situation, and music that sets the proper mood wherever the player may be traveling. Hits all the right notes.
Achievement
Candidate for Best of 2018
-This award, adjusted for year, is given to any Heart of the OHR winner that scores an average above 8.0. Previous winners include Motrya (2010; 9.5) and DUNGEONMEN: Men of Dungeons (2012; 8.8). Comes from a season when the community still voted on Game of the Year.
Achievement
Monster Victory
–Kaiju Big Battel: Fighto Fantasy not only features monster wrestlers, but it also defeated its closest competition (Bale) by nearly two full points. It’s a smash!
Achievement
Scratches the Android Itch and Gives Some Steam
–Kaiju Big Battel: Fighto Fantasy is one of the few games that has transcended the halls of the Hamster Republic and its community annex, Slime Salad, to reach the larger audience on Android, Steam, and Itch.io.
Achievement
Gone Commercial
–Kaiju Big Battel: Fighto Fantasy is the only game in Heart of the OHR 2018 to require a wallet in order to play the full game. Somehow, this didn’t stop it from becoming number one. It has a really strong free demo, too.
Achievement
King Tracker
-Like Hinterlands: Pilgrimage, Kaiju Big Battel: Fighto Fantasy keeps thorough track of the player’s progress, including progress with unlocking heroes and villains, but it does so through a setting device that allows the player to stay immersed in the characters’ predicament, making it the superior version of the convention (it uses an in-game computer at Hero HQ). Dark Planet also has a similar feature, but the game is not yet developed enough to make it effective.
Achievement
Arcade Hero
–Kaiju Big Battel: Fighto Fantasy is a big game, but it’s not the only game playable when playing it. At Hero Headquarters, the player can choose to play two different arcade games that are both complete in their own right. Getting Kaiju Big Battel: Fighto Fantasy is like getting three games in one.
Achievement
Beetle and Potato’s Excellent Adventure
-The story of Kaiju Big Battel: Fighto Fantasy takes our heroes on a journey through time to fix a corrupted history and save the future.
Achievement
Time Champion
–Spoiler alert: They win.
Achievement
Visually Repaired
–Kaiju Big Battel: Fighto Fantasy goes the extra mile to help those with vision issues by providing a large swath of color filters to alter the user’s viewing experience for the better or the gimmicky.
Achievement
Best Characters
-Each character in Kaiju Big Battel: Fighto Fantasy is unique, designed well, clearly defined, and important to the progression of the story. They also complement each other well in battle.
Achievement
Best Use of Characters
-Just as the Oscars get a category for “Best Sound” and another for “Best Sound Editing,” two separate categories that should probably be the same, especially considering that the same movie always wins both (a two-for-one deal—Loud Movie, winner of two Oscars and starring “Weird” Al Yankovich and Gilbert Gottfried…), Heart of the OHR 2018 gives two awards for the same thing in “Best Characters” and “Best Use of Characters.” In this case, Kaiju Big Battel: Fighto Fantasy not only distinguishes itself through its use of characters in battle, but also through its use of characters on the map. Certain characters are required to solve certain puzzles in order to unlock closed-off areas. Most games don’t bother with this convention, making it the standout winner for this category.
Achievement
Best Gameplay
-Rather than subject the player to a sprawling world map that crosses large continents and requires a vehicle to get anywhere quickly, Kaiju Big Battel: Fighto Fantasy keeps its maps small and easily accessible from multiple angles, making for reasonably fast play, but also for simple revisiting to complete outstanding side missions. Each map also has a secret area that utilizes the gift of at least one hero, usually the one who’s unlocked on that map. It also allows for easy healing, easy avoidance of battles, easy adjustment of difficulty, and pretty much everything the casual RPG player dreams about when he doesn’t want to spend 100 hours slaying blobs in a field.
Achievement
Best Graphics and Sound
–Kaiju Big Battel: Fighto Fantasy, utilizes the walk-tall graphics feature to great effect, implements sound effects appropriate for the situation, and music that sets the proper mood wherever the player may be traveling. Hits all the right notes.
Achievement
Best Story
-Wrestling monsters travel through time to prevent a corruption of history. Honestly, what beats this? Hero takes an errand from the king to rescue his daughter? Yawn.
Achievement
Best Monster Wrestling Simulator
-See above.
Achievement
Candidate for Best of 2018
-This award, adjusted for year, is given to any Heart of the OHR winner that scores an average above 8.0. Previous winners include Motrya (2010; 9.5) and DUNGEONMEN: Men of Dungeons (2012; 8.8). Comes from a season when the community still voted on Game of the Year.
Audience Consensus:
Essentially perfect, Kaiju Big Battel: Fighto Fantasy steps forward with a high, glossy polish, streamlined game design, multiple on-the-fly difficulty levels, funny characters with sensible skills, and a professional presentation all around. And, with its fun personality, good looks, and catchy sound, it’s hard to deny its place at the top of the Heart of the OHR food chain. The demo is already expertly crafted, but the complete version seals the deal. This is a game that no OHR player should miss, especially if he or she has the ten dollars required to buy it on Steam, Google, or Itch.io. Excellent game.
And there you have it, your lineup for the 2018 Heart of the OHR Contest.
Thanks again to everyone who participated this year, and special thanks to the Wobbler for giving the community an excellent (and complete) game in Kaiju Big Battel: Fighto Fantasy. Thanks also to everyone who helped make this contest run smoothly, keeping the controversies down and the votes up. I do think this turned out to be one of our best seasons, and I thank everyone who participated, regardless of the capacity in how you participated. Every year I wonder if I should keep going, as community participation in the OHR seems to dwindle. But then Heart of the OHR comes around again, and I’m reminded that the heart of the OHR still beats, even after 20 years since James Paige had first uploaded the engine to the public. This year was especially surprising as it shattered all participation records, including the previous record-holding 2012 season (at 17 entries). It’s exciting to see new releases hit the Slime Salad gamelist, and this year has given us plenty of quality titles and throwbacks to our yesteryears. So, thanks again to everyone who came out of hiding to produce a night’s worth of free entertainment, and thanks to those who still have something coming up the line for our next contest. Great job to all of you. I hope you continue to work on your projects and bring this crop of games to completion. And to those who didn’t upload anything during the Heart of the OHR window, I hope you’ll still upload something soon. As always, the year needs more hits, especially in the off-seasons.
Thanks also to James Paige, TMC, Kylekrack, FnrrfYgmSchnish, MorpheusKitami, Wobbler, Spoonweaver, Gaplan, and Foxley for helping with the prizes. I hope you all remembered what you offered (Hint: It’s on the contest’s front page). Also thanks to James Paige for hosting the first public upload of this retrospective.
Heart of the OHR 6 begins on May 1st, 2020, and runs until December 20th, 2020, so get your entries started now if you want to make it even better than this year’s crop.
—Pepsi Ranger
