Algunos

~ ALGUNOS ~

Fill-in Cafe / INTEC

Super CD-ROM

1994

I was really looking forward to trying Algunos simply because it was made by the same folks who produced Asuka 120%, which is my favorite fighting game. Acquiring it wasn't easy, as it isn't the most common title, and some sellers try to make a fortune off it. So when I finally got it (on the cheap, as you should too if you decide to buy it), I quickly and anticipatedly powered it up and... promptly crushed the whole Story Mode. Then I started over on "Hard" and crushed that too. I hadn't looked at the instruction manual, so the only special move I knew throughout any of this was a fireball toss (because it's performed via the usual quarter-circle routine), and I hardly ever used it because it just wasn't necessary. And keep in mind I'm pretty bad at fighting games.

Yeah, this is a ridiculously easy game, but it does have a number of things going for it. The stages look great, the characters are cool, and the music is very good (though there's very little of it). Unfortunately, the gameplay is lacking; Algunos basically feels like a slower, rougher Asuka. This is sad, because if it were as fast and as smooth as Asuka, I'd probably be calling it one of the PCE's better fighting games. As it is, it's kind of in the middle of the pack, and I think a lot of people would be harsher on it than I'm being.

I'll take this body, please.

The story in Story Mode is that you meet some cool (if incompetent) fighters and kick the shit out of them.

Fill-in Cafe did some pretty good work on the character designs and background art...

...but they completely forgot about challenge. It really doesn't matter which character you use or whom you face. Victories will come easily.

The final fight is really dumb.