BATTLE CIRCUIT
Developer: Capcom Year: 1997 Genre: Scrolling fighter
Considering just how prolific Capcom’s output was on the Saturn and Playstation it’s strange that the excellent Battle Circuit never received a home release.
The game itself is not only Capcom’s last arcade scrolling fighter, but one of the most bizarre games it has ever churned out. Catering for up to four players, the five available bounty hunters are incredibly strange and include a pink sentient ostrich, an odd-looking alien that looks like a bipedal Venus flytrap and a cat-like humanoid, called Yellow Iris, who sometimes works as a part-time fashion model.
Each character plays differently to the next and have their own special moves that can be upgraded. While the levels aren’t quite as memorable as the characters that battle in them, they’re occasionally spruced up with some entertaining bonus rounds and the ridiculous bosses that wait at the end of each stage.
Filled with some stunning animation and surprisingly deep combat mechanics, it’s a pity that Capcom’s beat-’em-up never made it to home systems, because it still holds up exceptionally well. It’s never turned up on any later compilations, either, making it a true unconverted gem.