SONIC PALETTE

Fighting Climax was built for Sega’s Ring Edge 2 arcade system, and the publisher has lent much to the game. Virtua Fighter’s Akira is the arcade mode’s boss, with assist support from Pai Chan. There are Sega backgrounds, too, but they sit rather oddly within the game as a whole. Seeing modern anime fighters flinging vending machines at each other in front of Valkyria Chronicles tanks – or, worse, in Green Hill Zone – proves too jarring a disconnect. At least Sonic isn’t playable.