Asuka 120% Burning Fest

Asuka 120% BURNING Fest. (あすか120% BURNING Fest.) is a Japanese bishōjo fighting game series produced by Fill-in-Cafe that was published and distributed by FamilySoft and Kodansha. It is set in a school where members of school clubs fight each other in a fighting tournament. Masatoshi Imaizumi led development, and artwork provided by manga artist Aoi Nanase.

Front cover of the FM Towns version of Asuka 120% BURNING Fest., Illustrated by Aoi Nanase
Developer(s)Fill-in-Cafe (insolvent)
Success (Final and Return)
Publisher(s)FamilySoft
Designer(s)Masatoshi Imaizumi
Aoi Nanase
Composer(s)Keishi Yonao
Platform(s)FM Towns, X68000, TurboDuo, PC-Engine, Sega Saturn, PlayStation
Release
Genre(s)Fighting game, bishōjo
Mode(s)1–2 players

Originally released on the FM Towns home personal computer in 1994, it was released for multiple systems through the years.

Plot

The game is set at the Ryōran Private School for Women which educates the daughters of the upper echelons of society. The school's clubs hold a martial arts tournament called the Club Rivalry Budget Contest Mega Fight annually. The main character is Asuka Honda of the Chemistry Club. Other characters include members from the Tennis club, Volleyball club, Cheer leading Club, and Karate club. Each character employs a different fighting style and the techniques are unique to each club.

Gameplay

The game has a very simplified input system in comparison to other fighting games, where all characters share the same movesets.[1] The game features a "clash system", where if both characters hit each other, it doesn't cause damage, rather they can continue their combo.[1]

Development

Asuka 120% was produced by just two full-time programmers who comprised the company Fill-in-Cafe. The franchise was programmed and designed by Masatoshi Imaizumi, its music was composed by Keishi Yonao,[2] and the games' illustrations were designed by Aoi Nanase.

Asuka 120% Burning Fest was just one fighting game of the era which had female characters, humor, and fan service. Similar games from that era include games such as Tōkidenshō Angel Eyes, Pretty Fighter X, and Variable Geo.[3]

Categorized as a bishōjo game, eleven versions were released for various platforms between 1994 and 2002. The combat system of Asuka 120% was based on the beat-em-up Mad Stalker, and is also similar to Makeruna! Makendō 2: Kimero Youkai Souri.[4] Development of Mad Stalker for the X68000, FM Towns and PlayStation (PCE CD port was co-developed by Kogado Studio); and the PlayStation port of Makeruna! Makendō 2: Kimero Youkai Souri (Super Famicom version was developed by Success), were done by Fill-in-Cafe.

Fill-in-Cafe went bankrupt around 1998. After that, the developers moved on to Treasure, and the Asuka 120% input system influenced future Treasure fighting games.

Versions
Asuka vs. Kumi in the original FM Towns version

Asuka 120% BURNING Fest. is the debut title of the franchise. It was initially released for the Fujitsu FM Towns, but a short time later it was ported to the Sharp X68000 with three versions of its soundtrack, as well as slightly updated graphics.

Asuka 120% BURNING Fest. Excellent - Unlike its predecessor, this version features adventure elements found in most detective-based video games such as the Famicom Tantei Club series, but in this game, the player must collect as much currency as possible by socializing to make high scores. This game was later remade for the Sony PlayStation using graphics from Asuka 120% BURNING Fest. Special.

Asuka 120% BURNING Fest. Maxima featured altered graphics and BGM, and some new characters. The gameplay controls in this version were simplified due to the NEC PC-Engine's limited number of buttons; although a six-button controller exists, it is not compatible with this game. The object of the game's Story Mode is to win two rounds in a row to earn the largest amount of currency.

Asuka 120% BURNING Fest. Special is a remake of the PC-Engine version Maxima. A new secret character, plus extra combos and moves were added, as well as the graphics and BGM being altered again. With this version, the franchise comes into its own, while the BGM sound font are not updated from then on. However, some new songs were added in later games using the same BGM sound font.

Asuka 120% BURNING Fest. Limited - For the last time, the graphics were heavily altered to larger sprites and artworks, but the BGM remained unchanged. In addition, the game system was vastly improved. This is the last entry in the franchise developed by Fill-in-Cafe before they filed for bankruptcy a year after this title's release. A S-TV based arcade version was planned with Kaneko as the publisher, but it was canceled because of Fill-in-Cafe's bankruptcy issues. An unofficial updated version titled Asuka 120% BURNING Fest. LimitOver was released by former Fill-in-Cafe employees.

Asuka 120% BURNING Fest. Final - After publisher FamilySoft bought the rights to Fill-in-Cafe's library of video games, they hired Success Corporation to develop this version. Success developed the Super Famicom version of Makeruna! Makendō 2, while Fill-in-Cafe developed the PlayStation version of it. Many of the features were improved from the Limited version. In addition, a Windows port of the game titled, Asuka 120% BURNING Fest. Return was released as the very last entry of the franchise with very minor tweaks added.

A dubbed version, Asuka 120% Special BURNING Fest was released for the PlayStation in 1996, followed by a balanced update released as Asuka 120% Excellent BURNING Fest. In 1997 Asuka 120% Limited BURNING Fest was released for the Sega Saturn with substantially revised graphics and many changed characters.

Using the graphics from Limited, Asuka 120% Final BURNING Fest was released for the PlayStation in 1999, coupling the graphics engine of Limited with overhauled fighting mechanics. The voice cast was largely replaced with new actors. Despite these changes, the game did not recover its popularity.

Asuka 120% LimitOver BURNING Fest is an unofficial update for the Sega Saturn version of the game released on the internet.[5] Story mode has been removed, replaced by an all-new 'Death Match Mode'. and extensive additions have been made to the gameplay. Changes include new moves, new techniques, and balance changes.[6]

Games

A list of releases in the series.[7]

Title Platform Publisher(s) Release date
Asuka 120% BURNING Fest FM Towns Fill-in-Cafe, FamilySoft March 11, 1994
Asuka 120% BURNING Fest Sharp X68000 Fill-in-Cafe, FamilySoft April 22, 1994
Asuka 120% Excellent BURNING Fest FM Towns Fill-in-Cafe, FamilySoft December 22, 1994
Asuka 120% Maxima BURNING Fest PC Engine Super CD-ROM² Fill-in-Cafe, NEC Avenue July 28, 1995[8]
Asuka 120% Special BURNING Fest PlayStation FamilySoft March 29, 1996[9]
Asuka 120% Excellent BURNING Fest PlayStation FamilySoft May 9, 1997[10]
Asuka 120% Limited BURNING Fest Sega Saturn Kodansha Publishers, Ltd. October 9, 1997[11]
Asuka 120% LimitOver BURNING Fest Sega Saturn Unofficial September 1998[12][13]
Asuka 120% Final BURNING Fest PlayStation FamilySoft May 27, 1999[14]
Asuka 120% Return BURNING Fest PC Windows FamilySoft September 24, 1999
Asuka 120% Final BURNING Fest PlayStation (SuperLite 1500 series) SUCCESS September 22, 2002[14]

Reception

Japanese game magazine Famitsu reviewed several versions of the game. Maxima Burning Fest was given a score of 21 out of 40, Special Burning Fest was given a score of 23 out of 40, and Burning Fest Final was given a score of 28 out of 40.[9][8]

GameSpot reviewed Burning Festival gave it 7.1 in its review.[15]

Writing in Viz Media's online magazine, Ted Thomas recommended that the game is not worth importing.[16]

The game has been featured at fighting game tournaments, such as EVO Japan 2020.[17]

See also

References
  1. Miller, Patrick. "17 mold-breaking fighting games that all developers should study". Archived from the original on 2017-12-29. Retrieved 2018-07-31.
  2. "Galgun And Asuka 120% Burning Fest Composer Creates Tunes In KORG M01D - Siliconera". Siliconera. 2013-07-02. Archived from the original on 2014-08-19. Retrieved 2018-07-31.
  3. "This Week in Games - Delays All Around". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on 2018-10-16. Retrieved 2018-12-06.
  4. Kalata, Kurt (February 9, 2018). "Asuka 120% Final Burning Fest". HG101. Archived from the original on May 13, 2018. Retrieved February 15, 2018. Fill-In Cafe’s Asuka 120% Burning Fest series’ distinguishes itself by featuring a roster almost entirely made of high school girls.
  5. "『nero』で作ってみよう". 2008-07-30. Archived from the original on 2008-07-30. Retrieved 2018-05-06.
  6. Moriya, Eiji. "about LimitOver". www.geocities.jp. Archived from the original on 2018-07-31. Retrieved 2018-05-06.
  7. "Japanese listing of all known Asuka 120% releases". Archived from the original on 2007-09-29. Retrieved 2007-04-21.
  8. "あすか120％マキシマ バーニング フェスト. [PCエンジン] / ファミ通.com". www.famitsu.com. Archived from the original on 2018-07-27. Retrieved 2018-07-26.
  9. "あすか120%スペシャル BURNING Fest. [PS] / ファミ通.com". www.famitsu.com. Archived from the original on 2018-07-31. Retrieved 2018-07-26.
  10. "あすか120％エクセレント BURNING Fest. [PS] / ファミ通.com". www.famitsu.com. Archived from the original on 2015-10-04. Retrieved 2018-07-26.
  11. "あすか120％ リミテッド 〜BURNING Fest.LIMITED〜 [セガサターン] / ファミ通.com". www.famitsu.com. Archived from the original on 2018-07-27. Retrieved 2018-07-26.
  12. "A collective release history of Asuka 120% games". Archived from the original on 2011-07-16. Retrieved 2009-12-17.
  13. Another collective release history of Asuka 120% games
  14. "あすか120％ファイナル BURNING Fest.FINAL [PS] / ファミ通.com". www.famitsu.com. Archived from the original on 2015-11-16. Retrieved 2018-07-26.
  15. Gerstmann, Jeff (1997-05-27). "Asuka 120% Excellent: Burning Festival (Import) Review". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 2016-10-21. Retrieved 2018-07-31.
  16. Thomas, Ted. "Femme Fatales". J-Pop.com. Archived from the original on 2001-07-17. Retrieved 2020-10-10.
  17. 株式会社インプレス (2020-01-28). "格ゲー界最大の祭典「EVO Japan 2020」の醍醐味はサイドトーナメントにあり！ サイドトーナメントはまるで格ゲー全盛時代のゲームセンター!! 夢のような2日間をレポート". GAME Watch (in Japanese). Retrieved 2020-10-10.
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