Last Bronx

I know this isn't a "right" thing to do, but I feel that it is really a necessary post. Last Bronx is a 3-button (VF2 style) 2.5d fighter from the last days of the Sega Saturn, but you could easily find that out from reading Wikipedia. I'm going to try to make this post about shit that you can't find on Wikipedia. This game was supposed to be the fastest 3d fighter on Saturn, and it accomplished that. Unfortunately, VF3 came out in arcades soon after its release and not many people cared about Last Bronx after that. When I say it's the fastest, I mean that it runs at 60 frames per second. Because of this, the graphics aren't as fancy and cool as the VF-series. Other than the whole sitting in VF's shadow, LB came out very near to the end of Saturn's reign (late meaning 1997, not Final Fight Revenge-type late) and suffered from the loss in popularity. Not only was it untimely, but there is also nothing really innovative, special, or fun about this game. The two best things are the plot and logo.

Right from. the .hlp file:

TOKYO — The Last Bronx
Tokyo was riding high on the tsunami of global economic supremacy when the Bubble broke in ‘91. Then things fell apart. Hundred billion yen building complexes were left half-finished, and salarymen started having instant ramen for lunch as the slush-money supplies dried up. And slowly, the hidden Japan began to emerge, crawling in from the shadows on the outskirts of town. Biker gangs and Chinese mafia; loansharks and slave-traders; Doomsday cults, madmen and thieves.

Those were the days of the first All-Tokyo StreetWar — where young gangs met and clashed and slid into ruin down streets slick with their own blood. Then a single crew of unstoppable riders appeared to put an end to the violence and bloodshed. Through fair-handed dealings and iron-fisted fighting skills, the Soul Crew gang blazed a path for the future of Tokyo’s young...

.... until, under circumstances still riddled with doubt and accusations, the leader of the Soul Crew was viciously killed. The tenuous balance of power was thrown out of whack, and every street tribe with pride, dreams or ambition felt the shockwave of his fall like a call to arms. The Second StreetWar was ignited.

At the height of the fighting, an ominously worded challenge to the leaders of the toughest gangs appeared in graffiti scrawls all over town:

Fellow Citizens:

We all grow weary of this bitter strife. And so now I call on each of you in the name of peace. You all know how useless and regrettable these recent squabbles are, and how wasteful of the blood of the young. I have a modest proposal to remedy this unfortunate situation: I call for a fighting tournament, solely between the chosen leaders of each worthy gang — a decisive battle that will spare the lives of the young while settling the thorny question of which group has the power needed to rule Tokyo. Of course the fights will be held in secrecy, and the results will not be made public. This is a fight for honor, not fame.

A final word: I regret that under no circumstances can a refusal to participate be accepted. In the event that any of you do not attend, I will make arrangements to have flowers sent to the funeral. I look forward to meeting each of you at the appointed hour.

Several of the recipients of this very peculiar challenge shrugged it off as a practical joke or thought it was a trap set by a rival gang. But when members of their crews were found face-down in Tokyo Bay, the truth of its warning became very clear.

There will be no RSVPs to the Last Bronx.

If any of this interests you, buy the PC port off of Amazon. As far as I can tell it's arcade perfect. New copies are available for 1 penny (shipping is about $4) LAST BRONX on Amazon
If you don't feel it's worthwhile, try it out first (PC version): LAST BRONX on Megaupload