Warriors of Fate (Arcade) CO-OP Playthrough / Not every story can have a happy ending.... We failed.

Описание: Warriors of Fate (1992) by Capcom is another arcade beat’em up, this time loosely inspired by the classic Chinese historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms. We control five powerful warriors — Portor, Kassar, Subutai, Abaka and Kadan — summoned by the great leader Kuan-Ti to stop invading armies from occupying their lands. The forces are commanded by the ruthless Akkila-Orkhan, and naturally the only reasonable response is to punch, kick and slice our way through his entire army. :P
Visually, Warriors of Fate is a pretty solid game and does not look out of place next to its arcade competition from 1992. The sprites are detailed and attractive, although their animations could have been a little smoother. The stages are also nicely designed and full of details, but they are not quite as spectacular as those in some other beat’em ups.
The main reason is the size of the playable area. There is plenty of room to move around, which is useful for the player, but it also means that the road or path takes up most of the screen. Instead of constantly showing impressive scenery, the game often gives us a large stretch of ground with the background pushed into the distance. This gets a little dull after a while. Whenever the scenery does get a chance to shine, however, it looks pretty good.
The sound effects are perfectly fine, especially during combat, but the soundtrack is rather monotonous. It tries to sound grand and imposing, with what I can only describe as endless imperial rhythms, yet the music barely changes its tone or pace. It keeps going without giving us many memorable moments.
Gameplay-wise, Warriors of Fate takes a fairly traditional approach to the genre. We have a jump, a basic combo, a special move and an area-clearing attack that consumes some health. That last option is useful when we are surrounded and need to escape a nasty situation, but it obviously comes at a cost.
Every warrior has a unique special attack, from moves resembling a Shoryuken to flashy somersault kicks. We can also grab enemies and follow up with punches, throws or other grappling moves, depending on the character. Unfortunately, there is no running mechanic or proper dodge, so combat can feel less dynamic than in some competing games. You have to rely on positioning and timing rather than constantly rushing around the screen.
Weapons are scattered throughout the stages, and picking one up can give us a longer reach and more damage. Some legendary weapons are especially powerful, practically turning their owners into enemy-cutting machines. There is one catch, though: getting knocked down can make us drop the weapon, so these excellent tools can disappear just when we need them most.
Horses also appear during the adventure. Riding one increases our mobility and attack range, and we can charge into enemies or perform powerful attacks from horseback. It adds a welcome change of pace to the usual foot-slogging combat. There is also a small food-eating minigame, if I remember correctly, but it is mainly for points, so we did not exactly lose sleep over it. :P
Apparently, the game has two endings. Unfortunately, we unlocked the bad one. During the final confrontation, we were suddenly given only fifteen seconds to finish off the main villain. We were not expecting that, because up to that point defeating a boss had always ended the stage and moved us on to the next scene. We briefly put our controllers down, made a couple of bad decisions and missed the proper ending by what felt like a single hit. :P
Overall, Warriors of Fate is widely regarded as a classic, and I can understand why. It is a solid beat’em up with attractive visuals, plenty of combat options, multiple characters, weapons and horseback sections. There is nothing particularly broken about it, and playing with a friend makes the journey more enjoyable.
For us, though, it remains an average experience. It does not do enough to stand out from the many other games in the genre, and its historical setting and story are simply not our cup of tea. It is worth a look for beat’em up fans, but there are other arcade brawlers we would choose first. A good game, just not a personal favourite.
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"Music by Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio"