Brutal: Paws of Fury

Brutal: Paws of Fury was published in 1994 by GameTek and Cybersoft in the US and Europe, and Kemco in Japan. The game was released for the Sega CD, Commodore Amiga, Commodore Amiga CD32, Sega Genesis, and SNES. An updated version, Brutal Unleashed: Above the Claw (also titled Brutal: Above the Claw), was released for the Sega 32X and MS-DOS computers in 1995 with two new playable characters, new arenas, a remixed intro, and new music. The general content and gameplay mechanics remained constant throughout all incarnations, although the Sega CD and Sega 32X versions boasted superior sound and graphics, respectively.

All of the characters in the game are anthropomorphic animals. The original Brutal: Paws of Fury includes:

• Kung-Fu Bunny – A rabbit monk.
• Prince Leon of Kenya – A lion rock star, who has an undisclosed vendetta with Tai Cheetah and Kendo Coyote.
• Rhei Rat – A rat who is an accomplished and arrogant Thai boxer.
• Tai Cheetah – A cheetah who is mentoring Kendo Coyote.
• Kendo Coyote – A coyote who is motivated by greed, an estranged pupil of Tai Cheetah.
• Foxy Roxy – A lycra-wearing vixen who is a politician and social activist.
• Ivan the Bear – A bear who is an ex-Soviet commando and claims to be the strongest animal in the world.
• The Pantha – A panther who is a member of a sinister cult.
• Karate Croc – A crocodile bar brawler.
• Dali Llama – A llama who is currently the holder of the Belt of Heaven championship.

Notes: Karate Croc and Dali Llama are only playable by means of inputting a secret button sequence. Also, The Pantha and Karate Croc are absent from the 16-bit versions of the game.

Brutal Unleashed: Above the Claw introduces two additional characters:

• Chung Poe – A mole who transforms into an anthropomorphic bat-dragon hybrid during battle.
• Psycho Kitty – A cat who apparently suffers from hyperactivity.

British gaming magazine The One interviewed Gordon Fong, one of the developers behind the conversion for the Amiga port of Brutal: Paws of Fury, who revealed much about the game's development. The Amiga port is based on the Mega Drive version, and is "a basic conversion rather than rewriting the code." Gordon goes on to state that "The instructions on this are quite strict, 'it's to be a Mega Drive conversion. It has to be as close to the console version as it can be' ... As a copy of the Mega Drive Game, the product's 99 percent identical." Despite the Amiga's smaller memory, the Amiga version has more of the game than the original Mega Drive version, as the two extra characters in the Mega Drive CD version, Pantha and Croc, are included. The Amiga version used, according to Gordon, "new techniques that have been used to pack [data] all down and expand it again. To give you some idea, each character takes up 250k, but on the disk they can take up to as little as 50k." Another space-saving measure is that, in the Amiga version, the mirrored characters aren't on the disk: they are created as needed by flipping the right-facing sprites.[1] A flaw in the faithfulness to the console version of Brutal is that the Mega Drive version uses a 16-colour palette, and "you can't nescessarily do that on the Amiga without losing a lot of the colours, so what I've had to do is design a palette that would suit everybody as close as can be ... We don't actually lose any of the pixels, but the colours of the pixels may change."[1]

The Mega Drive version is controlled by a three-button joypad, while the Amiga version is controlled by a single-button joystick. In Brutal, the player can hit opponents in three varying strengths; weak, medium, and hard. In the Mega Drive version, this is controlled by the three buttons, and in the Amiga version, the strength of a hit is determined by how long the single button is held down before being released. In the Amiga version, special moves are more joystick-based due to fewer buttons. The Amiga version includes "extra bits" that are not in any of the other versions, described by Gordon as "humorous animations".[1]

Electronic Gaming Monthly gave the Sega CD version a 6.25 out of 10. They praised the music and the cinemas as stunning and among the best seen on the Sega CD, and also approved of the mechanic of learning special moves. However, they criticized the gameplay action as sluggish and unresponsive.[5] Electronic Gaming Monthly gave the Super NES and Genesis versions scores of 6.5 and 6 out of 10, respectively. Though they again praised the idea of learning special moves, some of their reviewers commented that this mechanic ultimately makes the game less exciting rather than more, and all of them remarked that the controls are weak.[3] Electronic Gaming Monthly expressed that the 32X version has far better graphics and sound than previous versions, but contended that this is irrelevant since it still suffers from the same "shallow and sluggish" gameplay and "mediocre" controls. They gave it an average of 6.375 out of 10.[4]

Scary Larry of GamePro commented that the game "tries a few new things", but remarked that the Sega CD version plays "too slow", and also criticized that the way the backgrounds often block the view of the action, while intentional, is unduly frustrating.[9] GamePro's Larry gave the 32X version a positive review. He remarked that the game can be unfairly difficult, but praised the graphics, lack of slowdown, unique and enjoyable music, and the use of real life martial arts techniques and philosophies.[10] Drumhead and Captain Squideo of GamePro remarked that the controls of the Super NES and Genesis versions are greatly improved from the Sega CD original, and that the action is much faster and more responsive in these versions as well. Though they noted that some of the Sega CD version's content was cut and that the view-blocking backgrounds are still a problem, they gave both versions an overall positive recommendation.[11][12]

Next Generation expressed that the Super NES version was a notable improvement over the Sega CD original, particularly the "rich, shaded backgrounds". They further remarked that "The gameplay is fine, although the character control is delayed, and special moves are tricky" and gave it three out of five stars.[6] Next Generation stated in its review for the 32X version of Brutal that "New animation, a pumping techno soundtrack, and four additional characters ... infuse enough fresh blood to make this new game really shine." They further praised the game's uniqueness and said its only problem was that it is possible to win most fights by using one kick or punch over and over. Despite this, they gave it three out of five stars.[8] Next Generation reviewed the PC version of the game, rating it three stars out of five, and stated that "Brutal is a solid fighting game that should please any fan of the genre. If you don't need to see blood and gore to be entertained, check it out."[7]

The One gave the Amiga version of Brutal an overall score of 69%, stating it "looks stunning but unfortunately it is all let down by the severe lack of gameplay. The fighting isn't as fluid as [other fighting games], and instead of blending quick reactions with simple joystick combinations it all ends up with you frantically waggling the stick without much thought or skill involved at all ... Brutal is superbly presented but leaves you with the feeling that something is lacking ... a match can be won simply by repeating the same moves over and over again."[2]

• List of fighting games

• Brutal: Paws of Fury at Eurocom
• Brutal: Paws of Fury at MobyGames