Despite the title, this is not a game about a sea creature gaining the power of lightning. Although, thinking about it, that would be a cool idea.
No, what Thunder Ray from Purple Tree is, is a boxing game that will make those of us old enough to remember Super Punch Out feel all warm and nostalgic. So, what I hope to establish over the next few minutes is whether Thunder Ray is fit to hold Super Punch Out’s dressing gown… Seconds out, it’s time to rumble!
The story in Thunder Ray is a highlight, and given that rarely does a fighting game bother with narrative, we’re onto a bit of a bonus here. We are Thunder Ray, the greatest fighter ever. However it looks like we are about to retire, mostly as there is no decent match-up to be found anywhere on Earth. But hold tight, as faster than you can say “Holy Plot Twist, Batman!” we are whisked away to fight the rest of the Universe. Can our skills translate to fighting space ninjas, witches and massive cyborgs? Well, there’s only one way to find out! It is time to throw hands against a weird and wonderful line up of aliens…
Presentation is a highlight here. The characters of Thunder Ray and his trainer, who appears to have gone intergalactic with him, as well as the foes he fights, are very well designed. The animation of the fighting is good, and the little cues that tell us what we need to do in order to avoid getting hit are all there. The amount of blood and guts on display is a step up from the old days, with enemies crumbling into a pile of entrails as Ray defeats them. Neatly, I’ve been impressed with the way that Ray gets more and more bloody the more hits he takes.
The backgrounds to the various arenas are nicely animated as well; each have a good amount of motion to them, and the cartoon style aesthetic works extremely well. And it’s safe to say that the sound is also taken care of, with meaty sounding punches and smacks all present. There’s even some voice over too, but that is repetitive and starts to grate as fights drag on. In all though, the style of the game is pretty cool and works well.
Going deep into the gameplay, and if you played Super Punch Out way back when, you may end up feeling a wave of deja vu as you go into a fight with Thunder Ray.
We are viewed from the traditional behind-the-fighter viewpoint, and our little Thunder Ray is dwarfed by the enemies that we go up against. The first alien is a massive cyborg, and the size difference is staggering, as is to be expected. Thankfully, old Ray has quite a few tricks up his sleeves, both offensive and defensive. He can throw hooks, jabs and uppercuts to either the head or body, for starters. The plan being to judge where the opponent is guarding, and then throw the opposite; if they are blocking low, punch ‘em in the face, and vice versa.
As we hit our opponents, we can also charge up a super attack – once the bar is full, unleashing it will do significant damage to those in front of us. Ray can also charge up a regular attack, which does extra damage.
What about a bit of defence? As any enemy is about to attack, they telegraph which way they are going to move, allowing Ray to slip the attack by moving left or right. He can also block attacks by pressing up on the left stick, and duck high attacks by pulling down. With the dodge moves mapped to the left stick, it isn’t as precise as I might have hoped, as quite often the game has interpreted my down instruction as a side to side attempt, and I’d end up getting smacked in the teeth. Still, with practice you learn which attacks go where, and your directional inputs become cleaner, and so the problem is sort of minimised.
As the fights go on and Ray moves up the leaderboard, they get harder, as you may expect. And when I say, harder, I mean a lot harder. There are three difficulty levels for each fight – Rookie, Contender and Beast – and while Contender is just about doable, Beast is a different animal altogether. Thankfully, Thunder Ray will allow you to grab Xbox achievements for playing on the Rookie difficulty.
There’s the traditional count when either you or the enemy gets knocked down as well. And while you are the last one standing, rapidly tapping the A button will let you recover some health, which you will definitely need. Get knocked down three times and it is game over, mind.
I’ve found Thunder Ray to be pretty enjoyable, but there are some bits that are a little annoying. One of the things I remember from all those years ago, is that there were counter moves that could turn the tide of battle in your favour. Unfortunately anything of the like are completely missing in Thunder Ray. Saving up our special attack until the right moment, when the supposedly super attack can just be blocked by a foe is another annoyance, and usually leads to the enemy punishing you for your mistake.
But for the most part, there’s much to love about Thunder Ray. With multiple difficulties and many different foes to learn attack patterns for, you’ll find Thunder Ray lasting as long as you want it to. When you consider that you can blast through on Rookie for an easy 1000 Gamerscore, or try and push yourself to be better and defeat it on Beast level, then the levels of content are much appreciated.
