Fighting games have been around since the arcade days. They have evolved from simple button mashers to combo and combo breaker mayhem. A few Mortal Kombat games ago I figured out I’m never going to be good at these newer fighters. Enter Goonya Fighter, a 3D fighter with simple controls and no combos in sight.
Minecraft Steve?
In Goonya Fighter you get to pick from 6 starting characters. They all look like Steve from Minecraft with a different color scheme. The differences in character are purely aesthetic as they all control pretty much the same. Punch, Kick, Jump and Guard are the only things to worry about besides the d-pad to move your character. This simplicity obviously implies a very basic and easy to understand button layout. Opposite current Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat games, this game is picked up quite easily. Ideal for those Saturday night (alcohol-fueled) game nights. The game supports up to 4 players per fight.
Bomberman?
Each fight takes place in an arena. Goonya Fighter has 90 arena’s to fight in. The arena’s all feature a form of hazard. Some have bombs which are activated when a player touches them, others have conveyor belts which throw you off the stage. Which arena you get, greatly influences the way you’ll fight your opponents. Some will favor aggressive jump kicks while others will favor a more defensive approach. While the fighters don’t have much variation wise, the arena’s are what breaks the monotony.
Are you Jelly?
As I mentioned before, the fighting mechanics in Goonya Fighter is very basic. If you factor in to avoid the hazards on the arena, you’ll be landing your punches and kicks in no time. The only other thing you’ll be struggling with in the beginning is the way the characters move. They feel more or less like a jelly pudding. Some of Newton’s laws don’t seem to apply to their movements. If you walk to fast you’ll actually fall over. You’ll fly like a ragdoll when jump kicked in the right way. This was done on purpose (and coined “floppy moves”) to emphasize the silliness of this game. While it goes for the whole 3D brawler thing, it does it with an obvious wink to make sure it’s not taking seriously.
Game modes galore
Goonya Fighter will mostly be played as a party game. If you can’t get enough, you might also try out the online mode (which surprisingly filled up really quick during my test run). Or you could go for the story mode which helps you master the floppy moves. Since variation is key in party games, Goonya Fighter offers 3 different game styles to spice things up. The normal battle is pretty classic. Next, “coin battle” lets you collect the most coins. Lastly “race” lets you capture numbered flags as fast as possible.
Conclusion
Goonya Fighter is a decent party game. Calling it a decent fighter would be stretching it. The main goal of this title is to have fun with friends and this game will certainly reach this goal. Somehow I doubt this game will have any form of longevity once you played it a few times. Get it for a quick laugh and remember to not take it too seriously.
