The Combatribes was released in the arcades in 1990. Technos brought it to the SNES in 1992, the version of the game we’re playing. There are several differences between the two versions.
I never saw the arcade game, and I had never heard of the SNES version. A story was added to the SNES game, along with cutscenes. This is one of those things that doesn’t matter until it is bad or nonexistent.
In some ways, this game reminds me of the movie The Warriors. It also feels like it could’ve inspired one scene in the Double Dragon live-action movies, which made so little of an impression that it gets forgotten when people talk about the worst video game movies.
TLDR: The Combatribes is a unique Beat’em Up that Should’ve been a Double Dragon Game.
Narrative
As far as I can tell, the story was created for the SNES release. It is almost played for comedy, as your character complains about being given the run-around. The characters are cyborgs who are being sent to New York City to fight Ground Zero. I need to say that it was made in 1990 and released in 1992.
The leader of Ground Zero is a woman who used to fight alongside your characters. Apparently, she went crazy and is an early model. Maybe she realized she was being sent on stupid missions like this one.
That is it. You’re given the character names, motivations, and a little backstory. It isn’t anything amazing, but it is good enough for 1992. Stories in this don’t matter much unless they are nonexistent or devoid of humor for one reason or another.
Gameplay
This is a strange beat’em up. You aren’t walking through a level like in other games, and it feels like a single-screen beat’em up. Depending on whether you’re playing single- or two-player, there are a maximum of six sprites on the screen simultaneously.
How you move through the game makes it feel like a fighting game. You can move left and right but not on a set path like Streets of Rage, Final Fight, or Double Dragon. This makes it stand out to me.
There are three playable characters to choose from, and at this point, I feel like I’m saying this for most of the beat’em up games I cover. Each has different special moves, and you can switch between them after death.
You can get seven continues in the game. This is pretty cool until you realize each continue only gives you one life. I didn’t like this part of the game. I would’ve wanted to have unlimited continues and three lives, but there are many things I would like that don’t always happen.
I love the little combos and extra moves you can use against enemies. You can pick up an enemy, swing them around, smash their heads on the ground, and knock them together. It is a nice addition to an otherwise monotonous genre.
There are some special attacks. They’re annoying and don’t help out as much as they should. These are the running attacks. The manual calls these attacks something different.
Every character in the game, including the base enemies, has a fireball attack. However, I couldn’t do this in the game and didn’t see one of the enemies do it. So, what gives? These attacks are for one-on-one fighting mode.
The boss fights are annoying. Your character moves slowly, and the boss has a kill zone in front of him. The bosses can lock you down, making the game feel a little cheap.
The bosses start with a weapon, which makes them even more annoying. You can knock them out of their hands, but this doesn’t always help and can sometimes worsen things. There is also a chance that you can defeat the boss without kicking their weapon away.
Something very odd is the lack of items in the game. I didn’t see weapons or health items. I could’ve missed them, though.
(Edit) There were items in the Arcade version. The stages were also larger. These changes would have had an impact on this game for me. I wonder why it was changed.
Overall, I think this is a fun game. I like the gameplay despite some of its rough edges. The game sometimes feels cheap, but it isn’t unbeatable once you learn the pattern of the enemies and the bosses.
Visuals
Combatribes looks like it could’ve been a Double Dragon game, which makes sense, given who made it. The sprites are very detailed, and each stage looks unique. The enemies also look specific to each stage.
The stages made me feel like I was playing a cartoon version of The Warriors. It did not have the violence or memorable lines, but The Warriors, nonetheless. Unfortunately, the stages aren’t very big.
Like a fighting game, Combatribes has a playfield that scrolls slightly to the left and right. You don’t walk through a stage like in Golden Axe, Streets of Rage, Final Fight, etc. Once you defeat all of the enemies, the Boss character will appear. There is also that “Go This Way” sign that appears in almost every Beat’em up from the 80s and 90s.
Even though the levels are small, they have a lot of detail. It is different to see something like this. It reminded me of a single-screen game, but that comparison isn’t good.
7.5/10. If there is such a thing as a starter Beat’em Up, I think The Combatribes would fit the bill. There are no major flaws in the game, but it has a lot of little things that add up. I prefer to play something else.
Pros
- Great Graphics
- Decent Controls
- Funny Dialog
Cons
- Small Stages
- No items or weapons
- Cheap Boss Fights
Conclusion
When I picked this game, I thought it was something else. I had it confused with a Cacom beat’em up on a collection they released a while ago. Unfortunately, I don’t think this is as good as any of the Capcom games.
It feels like a spinoff of Double Dragon, which makes sense because of the developer. The art style looks the same, and some of the enemies look similar. It is missing the typical Double Dragon characters, and some of the characters are missing from the Arcade version.
I don’t think this is a game that I would return to. It is fine, but there isn’t anything special. The Combatribes has some good ideas, but I don’t like them all that much. It is also strange that the story had to be created for the Console release.