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 played through the entire Story Mode. Then I started over on "Hard"... and crushed every challenger I encountered. I hadn't yet looked at the instruction manual, so the only special move I made use of during these runs was a fireball toss (as it's performed via the usual quarter-circle routine). Rarely did I resort to using that move, as I simply didn't need it. And keep in mind that 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 (but there's very little of it). Unfortunately, the gameplay is lacking; Algunos basically feels like a slower, rougher Asuka. This really is sad; 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 but a mediocre, middle-of-the-pack entry in my eyes, 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 as follows: you meet some cool-looking (if incompetent) fighters and beat the living crap out of them.

Fill-in Cafe came up with appealing character designs and background art...

...but they delivered a product completely lacking in challenge. It really doesn't matter which character you use or whom you face. Victories will come easily.

The final fight is simply stupid.