32X Fighting Games – Virtua Fighter, Mortal Kombat 2, Cosmic Carnage

Since practically each system (or add-on) has it’s own selection of fighting games, it should come as no surprise that the 32X would as well. I own 3 of the most well known fighting games for the system.

Virtua Fighter is the granddaddy of the 3D polygon era and this arcade port certainly plays well on the 32X. Simple controls and gameplay are what drew me to the Virtua Fighter series as opposed to the Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat series. Let’s just put it this way, my 6 year old daughter prefers this series as well (she has beaten me a few times too), if that says anything about my preference for simplicity. Is the 32X version of Virtua Fighter better than or equal to the Saturn version? No, but its still a must own for any 32X collector. “I win.”

Mortal Kombat 2 for the 32X is the best home console version of this title I’ve played. It looks great, plays great (even though I’m not a huge fan of the series) and sounds great. Additional sound effects are what make this version standout and the they amp up the screams and fatalities to the next level. This was supposed to be next-gen right? You had to give Genesis owners a reason to buy this version of MK2 for their 32X assuming they probably already had MK2 for the Genesis. I’m not sure its special enough to warrant owning it at the time of its release if you already had the Genesis version, but I certainly think that for your 32X collection, you can’t go wrong. MK2 for the 32X isn’t a costly game and it is a stand out.

Last up is Cosmic Carnage. This game gets ripped on for its cheesy outer space atmosphere and over the top gore but at it’s basic core, its not a bad fighting game. Instead of humans fighting each other, you control animal-like aliens that have commandeered the prisoner ship they are on in order to escape. You must fight your fellow alien prisoners for the right to the last remaining escape pod. Interesting concept but honestly the backstory of fighting games is not usually something I pay close attention to.  I haven’t spent as much time with this as the other two so my review is being withheld at this time. I don’t get all the hate this game receives after playing it only a few times though.

Currently in my collection:

• Cosmic Carnage – game only
• Mortal Kombat 2 – game only B+
• Virtua Fighter – game only A-