I would love to know what drugs Capcom was on when they made Battle Circuit. The plot and characters are crazy. Anytime you can play as a plant, it will be a good time.
This is one of the games on the Capcom Beat’em up Bundle, and it might be my favorite out of the bunch. The characters are absurd, the plot is fairly generic, and it is a funny game. I was laughing while I was playing this.
This game was released in 1997. It was only in Japanese and European arcades, which means if you wanted to play this before the Capcom Beat’em up Bundle, you had to get the ROM for MAME. It was also included on the Capcom Arcade Stadium, released in 2021.
TLDR: An Absurd and Awesome Beat’em up.
Narrative
Battle Circuit has a simple story. It has to do with a group of mercenaries, or whatever you’re supposed to be, tracking down a disk that can control all the computers in the world. It doesn’t start that way.
You first fight Dr. Saturn as he is in a ship orbiting the Earth. Once you turn him in, you’re off to fight the Delete Gang. They have created or obtained a disk that can control all the computers in the world.
While you fight the gang, Dr. Saturn shows up to try and capture the disk. He does this a few times, and it is pretty funny when he does. Eventually, you defeat Dr Saturn and the Delete gang. Then you turn the disk over to your employer, Harry, and the day is saved.
The story has a lot of funny moments. I particularly like the recurring villain Dr. Saturn. He doesn’t need to keep showing up, but it is awesome that he is in this. You also capture him again at the end of the game.
Gameplay
The gameplay is very enjoyable. This is an absurd game where you can beat up bad guys while playing as a plant or a little girl riding a giant pink bird. There is also a “store” where you can buy special moves.
There are five playable characters, each of whom has a name associated with a color. You have a generic good guy, and then things get crazy! Here are the characters:
- Cyber Blue
- Captain Silver
- Yellow Iris
- Pink Ostrich
- Alien Green
Alien Green and Yellow Iris were my favorite. I thought the idea of fighting as a mutant Venus fly trap to be hilarious. Once I realized I sucked with that character; I moved on to Yellow Iris and had a much better time.
During the game, you collect coins from defeated enemies and from breaking objects. These can be used to buy power-ups at the end of each section. This is a cool idea, and I like that it was in the game.
Battle Circuit consists of fewer stages than some of the other beat’em ups I’ve played recently. It was less than an hour long, which is about right for an arcade game. Some of that run time was padded by cutscenes.
Each stage ends with a boss. They each have patterns to their attacks, which can be exploited. This is standard for most beat’em ups.
I didn’t notice weapons in this game. There are plenty of health items and coins for you to pick up, but I didn’t notice weapons. This is a bit different from the other beat’em ups. The skills you can purchase at the end of each stage probably make up for it.
I like the gameplay quite a bit. Battle Circuit adds a store and special moves to the genre, while eliminating temporary weapons. Each character does something different, so the gameplay feels like there is more variety. This is a funny game to play because of how absurd the game’s world is.
It’s perfect for playing with friends. If you’re so inclined, you can even host an arcade beat-’em-up challenge, specifically featuring Battle Circuit as a must-play event. You can even get custom medals as prizes. The front features the game’s iconic “Pink Ostrich” and “Alien Green” characters fighting side by side, with the words “Battle Circuit Champion” engraved below. The back boasts the slogan “Ridiculous Battlegrounds, Become the King of Strength.” Only the person who clears the level fastest and defeats the most bosses can get this medal.
This isn’t just a symbol of your gaming prowess; it’s also a wonderful memory with your friends. Every time you see this medal and the characters on the screen, you’ll be reminded of that challenge and the friends who played with you.
Visuals
This is a pretty good-looking game. I don’t think it looks as nice as Warriors of Fate, King of Dragons, or Knights of the Round, but it is nice to look at. The enemies look good, the playable characters are unique, and boss characters look awesome!
Battle Circuit’s story plays out through cutscenes. These look good for the time, and not something you would normally see in a beat’em up. Usually, there are simple text boxes that explain things, but this game goes a step further.
The stages look good. I did like the vertical scrolling stages as they were a nice change of pace. There isn’t anything amazing about the level design. It is exactly what you should expect from a 1990s beat’em up. They do match the ridiculous tone of the game.
I love the playable characters in this game! They are so different from other beat’em ups and look very cool. You have the standard good guy, then the Mr. Fantastic rip-off, a yellow cat girl, a Venus flytrap, and a little girl riding an ostrich. The bosses are equally ridiculous.
This game looks like a collection of rejected ideas from other Capcom beat’em ups. It looks great, and I love how it plays into the funny parts of the game’s plot. There is nothing to complain about when it comes to the graphics.
8/10. Battle Circuit has an absurd story that is rather funny. It looks very good, and I love how everything feels unique.
Pros
- Great Characters
- Funny Story
- Interesting Store mechanic
Cons
- Repetitive enemies
- Cheap boss fights
- Shorter than I would like
Conclusion
Battle Circuit is a very fun beat’em up. It has an absurd story that I kept laughing at. I loved the main characters. They were so unique and felt different from all the other beat’em ups I’ve played so far.
It isn’t a very long beat’em up, but it has some interesting things in it. Because I was playing on the Capcom Beat’em Up Bundle I had unlimited continues. This helped a lot as I was trying to get to the ending.
While I was doing some research on this game, I stumbled across the Capcom Arcade Stadium. I was very excited to see this because it has a bunch of games I’ve never played. Specifically, it has Dynasty Wars, which is a game I really want to play!
If you liked this post, please check out my other reviews of beat’em ups, such as King of Dragons and Warriors of Fate.