Mucha Lucha Review
The game plays like the side-scrolling beat’em-ups of yore, with one huge, major problem, there is no gameplay to speak of. There are supposed to be fifteen different moves available for the young masked wrestlers or “mascaritas” to pull off, and that very well may be the truth, although I didn’t find, nor need them. The game quickly deteriorates into mashing on the punch or kick, there’s really no difference other than preference, to beat the enemies into submission. This proves to be the easiest, quickest way to fight your way through the levels. However, “quick” might not have been the best choice of words to use. The average, ordinary, “garden variety” foes on each level take a minimum, of a very boss like, twenty blows to do away with. This does not mean that the enemies are hard, because they’re not, they’ll stand there and take all that you want to dish out, it’s that they are very time consuming. Being that the game is on the very short side (it took me a little under two hours with one life to beat the game using only the punch button), one almost has to wonder if the developer used this as a means of artificially extending the life of the game. The actual boss battles differ only in the fact that they take up more of the screen than the other enemies, and they’ll take at least double the punches as their henchmen.
While the gameplay is very weak, the graphics are the exact opposite. The graphics have a cell shaded look that does an impressive job of capturing the look and feel of the show. The main characters, while on the small side, are carbon copies of their Saturday morning counterparts. They look and move precisely as the characters do on the show, which I’m sure, was no small feat of programming on the handheld. Another impressive aspect of the graphics is that there is no visible slow down even when there are five enemies on screen at once. I’ve played games on my beloved little, gray, box from Sony with lesser graphics and truckloads more slowdown with fewer enemies. A lot of this is probably due to the fact that the environments are very bare and lifeless, but it’s still admirable nonetheless. The sound on the other hand, is more comparable to the gameplay. The music is very “tinny” sounding as it loops the same song over and over and over. The sound effects are virtually non-existent most of the time. Every once in a while you might hear one of your punches or kicks land, but usually there is no aural report to let you know if blows are being landed or not. Rest assured however, if the enemy is before you and you’re hitting a button, your enemy will eventually fall.
In the end, not even the great, almighty Flea is enough to save this cart. I love the show as does the little Bearer, but the characters are just not enough to overcome the repetitive, flawed gameplay. If you love the show, spend your time watching the episodes and hoping that the developer will take the graphics engine and craft an actual wrestling game with the license, which would be much more fitting.
Gameplay: 4
Repetitive,
repetitive, repetitive. Each and every enemy is defeated in the same way as
the last, from beginning to end.
Graphics: 7.5
The characters,
both good and bad, look and move just like they do on the show. This should
be the graphical goal with any licensed game, and they have mostly succeeded
except for the plain, drab environments.
Sound: 4
See gameplay
explanation. There is absolutely no variety to be had.
Difficulty: Easy
One button will
see you through the entire game, although you’ll feel like you’ve played
considerably longer.
Concept: 5
I’m all for games
based on great licenses, but wouldn’t you think that a show based on masked
children wrestlers would be all about the wrestling?
Overall: 4.5
There’s just not
a whole lot here, even for fans of the show.
Mucha Lucha Comments (0)
GameZone Review Detail
| Gameplay | 4 |
| Graphics | 7.5 |
| Sound | 4 |
| Difficulty | Easy |
| Concept | 5 |
| Overall | 4.5 |
4.5
GZ Rating
“Mucha Lucha: Mascaritas of the Lost Code” wrestles its way onto the Game Boy Advance.
Reviewer: The Bearer
Review Date: 12/16/2003
3.4
ESRB Rating
Violence







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