Super Duper Sumos (GBA) Review

Developer	Midway
Publisher	Midway
Genre	Action

Super Duper Sumos, a popular children cartoon series; finally get their own game. Instead of a rushed, poorly developed title used for the sole purpose of capitalizing on scamming the youth of America, Super Duper Sumos surprisingly is a thorough, well designed GameBoy Advance game worthy of a try, especially for frequent watchers of the cartoon.

Gameplay - Three oversized eighteen year olds are sent into the future with nothing but their knowledge, which consists of Honor, Truth, and Peace. The three sumos are Mamoo, Kimo, and Boomer; each diversified not only with their looks, but also with their “Phat” attacks. Midway, not to throw together a rushed title, provided different lines for different characters, making the game last a little longer with the need to play with all three sumos.

Mamoo, adopted from a remote village in Africa, focuses on Truth. Kimo, however, comes from an island north of Japan, and is the Defender of Honor. And lastly there is Boomer, Defender of Peace, who is attributed as “the master of the butt”, and is always in go mode. No matter which character is selected, they all follow the same story; mainly, protecting Generic City from the dreaded Ms. Mister.

While linear, Super Duper Sumos’ gameplay works a lot like classic NES and SNES side scrollers. The range of movement is limited; players move from left to right, with the ability to go up and down. Environments tend to be somewhat interactive; parking meters, along with other pole-like objects, in the street can be obtained to hit enemies, as well as holes in the ground capable of causing the character to drop down into. The weather may hamper gameplay, especially when cold, resulting in a frozen sumo.

Attacks are pretty generic, sadly. Punching the enemy is basically the only choice, until the Phat meters are filled. By jumping and pressing punch, the sumo performs a flying butt attack, which should captivate the young ones. To fill the meters, players must eliminate the enemies. Once all three meters are filled, the Phat attack can be performed, which vary depending upon which character is selected. Mamoo performs a bear hug-like maneuver, though it only works on one enemy. Kimo does the “Honorable Thunderball” where he rolls up and destroys the enemies. Finally, Boomer performs the Gluteus Maximus.

At the end of each chapter, a boss fight ensues. Oddly, no information on how to fight the bosses is presented, causing slight confusion. Thankfully, after the general idea is realized, defeating the bosses is not hard at all. Still, it’s a fun and rewarding experience fighting these particular battles; the camera angle changes and the boss appears in the distance creating intimidation, and adding something out of the ordinary..

Being a fan of classics like River City Ransom and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on NES, I cannot help but desire a little more options. In these listed titles, all sorts of weapons could be utilized to attack enemies with, and in both, movement seemed to be a lot better. Thankfully, the game was designed to appeal to children, and the gameplay is just fine for those who lack the mental capacity to play a complex game. For the older crowd, interest will gradually slip after the first few chapters.

Graphics - Super Duper Sumos features a decently looking game with beautiful environments and a wonderful color palette. The game does an excellent job of capturing the cartoon’s general look, from the characters to the levels. Animations are very well done, especially the Phat attacks. Enemies are very different, and their design certainly shows it; enemies like giant penguins, bees, giant fish, and exploding robots. Overall, the game looks great, and the kids and elders should love it.

Sound - Other than the grunts uttered by the sumos, there’s not much to hear. Ideally, the characters from the show would provide voice-overs, but unfortunately, they’re a no-show. Gratefully, the in-game and menu music redeem the lack of substance in the sound category with nicely composed songs. The cartoon’s theme song opens the game, and is used to start off each chapter. Fans of the series will immediately recognize the tune, but once again, it lacks the actual lyrics.

Overall Value - In the end, Super Duper Sumos is a mixed bag. Obviously it was developed with the young ones in mind, and while they’ll have a blast, it really depends on the person when it comes to the older generation. Maneuvers like the “flying butt attack” lose their novelty quick with a mature mind, yet provide excitement for children. So, what it boils down to is really the age of the gamer; anyone from ages four to ten will no doubt love Super Duper Sumos, but for the majority of the gaming mass, it’s just another cartoon series title on the GBA.

Review by Brian Williams