Nintendo isn’t really known for fighting games. Oh, sure they have Smash Bros, and Pokken did well, but the traditional fighters weren’t really a genre Nintendo has touched. We all remember the disastrous attempt at an NES fighting game that was Urban Champion, but there was another as well. Joy Mech Fight, a Japan-only Famicom game, was another early attempt at a fighting game from Nintendo and one that was an overall better experience. The game took a lot of influence from other fighting games like Capcom’s Street Fighter series but interestingly also was inspired by Capcom’s Mega Man series. It had 2 scientists who made robots, with one of the scientists going evil and reprograming all the robots except one. The difference in Joy Mech Fight was that instead of Sukapon gaining the abilities of the other robots, they instead became playable characters, much like story mode unlocks in modern fighting games.
The graphics and music in Joy Mech Fight were impressive for the time, even as they fought hard against the limitations of the Famicom system, and in this author’s opinion, they still hold up well today. The game actually had the largest roster for a fighting game, with 36 characters, until the King of Fighters 98 came out and had 38. The catch however, was that many were pallete swap versions of existing characters. The characters that were unique though, were fun to play as and the matches had a neat version of the round system. Think a variation of the double life bar system where you had to defeat three life bar’s of an opponent, and you got a bit of life back each time.
It may be weird to say this about an NES/Famicom game, but Joy Mech Fight has aged far better than many 16 bit arcade and console fighting games. It knew its limitations and worked around them and was incredibly fun. The controls were simple, but the characters that weren’t just pallete swaps did have a unique playstyle. It was cool to check out each character and I cannot figure out why Nintendo hasn’t done more with this IP. It is a genuinely well done experience and one they should bring back
The game can be played today by anyone with a Nintendo Switch online account. Because you can access the Japanese store and Famicom classics app, you can play the game that way. It may not be translated, but you will be able to easily figure out what to do. It is an excellent experience and one every Nintendo fan should try.