Roof Rage

There weren't a whole lot of great fighting games released on the Nintendo Entertainment System. From Urban Champion to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to that one mode in Double Dragon, the selection was woefully limited and not much fun to play. If only the NES had Roof Rage, the brand-new throwback fighting game starring a bunch of 8-bit samurais slashing their way to victory high above the city streets. It's basically Smash Bros. for people who have a shelf full of Criterion Collection blu-rays, which pretty much makes me (and possibly only me) the target audience for this fun little fighter.

The name Roof Rage does a terrible job of conveying just how cool this game is. You play one of twelve fighters plucked out of the last 70 years of Japanese cinema. The goal is to face off against at least one other opponent in a high-stakes game of hacking, slashing, kicking and throwing fireballs. And because most of the levels are set on rooftops, you'll also be able to smack the opponents off the level and to their death below.

If you've played a Smash Bros. game (or any of the recent string of clones) then you'll feel right at home with Roof Rage. The gameplay is purposely simple, with an emphasis on fast-paced action and matches that end with the bad guy flying off screen. There's a standard attack button and a special move, and if you find yourself getting kicked off of the stage, you'll be able to double, triple and even quadruple jump your way back to safety.

Of course, all this makes sense when you look at the cast. Roof Rage is full of every ninja and samurai movie mainstay, from the hero swordsman with a bloody past to the wise old man who throws needles to the female assassin with a deadly staff. There's a street fighter who throws fireballs, a sumo wrestler with a temper, a punk character with a bat and even a pistol-wielding man who shares more than a striking resemblance to Leon the Professional. This is an instantly likable cast filled with characters that bring a lot of different fighting styles and weapons to the table, which keeps it from being a series of repetitive sword fights.

With only two attack buttons to worry about, Roof Rage is incredibly easy to get into. There are massive differences between the characters, but the basics remain the same no matter who you pick. While there's a real push to be accessible to all skill levels, that doesn't mean that the fighting mechanics are shallow. The developers make the most out of the two-button controls, giving us a lot of moves to learn and master. You won't be able to beat every opponent the same way, as the different types of levels will force you mix up your strategy and try something new. The action is always exciting, but I can only imagine how intense the fights would be with high-level players.

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Unfortunately, it's the roof part of Roof Rage that proves to be the weakest part of the game. I like the level designs, for the most part, but I feel like the developers didn't do enough with them. There are a few stages where the separate roofs ultimately hurt the flow of the action, while others aren't roofs at all. I wish the developers had found a way to give each setting a little more personality, especially when it comes to obstacles. There's a stage where you can get knocked around by a train, but that kind of thing is limited to a single location. I would like to see more of that.

I also wish the game had more of a story. I love the look of the characters, but we don't learn much about them in Roof Rage. This is a game that needed some sort of intro movie, or maybe an ending or two. It's not that I expect hours of cinemas like Mortal Kombat 11, but a few character bios would have gone a long way to make me invested in these fighters.

Without endings or many extras to unlock, there isn't a whole lot here for a solo player. Don't get me wrong, fighting against the computer is fast and exciting, but it gets old after a few hours. This is a game meant to be played with friends, and in that sense, it excels. This is a great choice for people who like fighting games, but don't want to spend a lot of time mastering frame combos and lengthy special moves. You can pick it up quickly and have no problem putting up a good fight. And for those who want to put in the time, you'll be rewarded with a deep experience with a great cast of characters. I'm simultaneously excited and terrified to see what the competition looks like when the online multiplayer mode gets added.