Publisher: 505 Games
Developer: Kung Fu Factory
Genre: Fighting
ESRB rating: Mature
Release date: Available now

Fighting games work best when they adhere to a simple design philosophy: “easy to play – hard to master.” A good fighting game should be built around a model where anybody can pick it up and have fun, but still be deep enough that those willing to commit the time to learning its systems can mine the true treasure beneath. A good fighting game should evolve the better you get at it. That’s the standard I apply when reviewing a fighter. Can someone mash away and come off feeling satisfied while experts are able to discover a whole new level of strategy? That’s the challenge Supremacy MMA faces today.

In a welcome change of pace, Supremacy MMA is a mixed martial arts fighting game that was developed along the lines of an arcade fighter, and not the close-to-the-vest simulation of the explosive sport that we usually see in this genre. Titles like UFC 2010 are so complicated that they appeal primarily to fans of the sport; more niche curio than mass market success. MMA’s control design immediately opens the title to the masses. The game plays fast and loose with the fighters, mimicking contemporary fighting games such as the Tekken series, which means players don’t have to be as concerned with the real-life affairs of mixed martial artists.

With 12 fighters to choose from, including a couple female characters featured in the alternate Femme Fatale mode, players can choose a fighter from the discipline they like best (with fighters varying in their use of judo, kickboxing or submission wrestling) and work through each fighter’s Supremacy Story. The Supremacy Story is played across a series of rounds in which you learn their story and motivations for wanting to inflict so much pain and torture upon their frames and their opponents’ faces. This is the core to the game and players who groove to the fighting style will likely want to play through each player’s story to get the full picture before tackling opponents in competitive play.

Supremacy MMA’s controls are probably the best facet of the game. As I mentioned in the intro, this title is designed as an arcade fighter, which makes for a notable contrast from the most complicated, sim-based UFC titles. That being said, there isn’t a lot of depth found once you get beneath the surface. This is a button-masher’s paradise, but there isn’t a deeper, more complex fighting system for expert players to grapple with. Instead, everyone is treated to easily controlled, graphic bouts between the two pugilists; a conceit that is likely to turn off the devoted MMA fans.

As with the real-world equivalent, this is a dark and gritty sport on display here. Bones break and blood flies, and as you fight through a series of dank prisons and slaughterhouses, the fun inherent in an arcade title is diminished. Games like Tekken and the Street Fighter series garner their fans based on the marriage of their pulp-comic aesthetic and a flexible fighting style. With the arcade emphasis of this game mixed with the dark MMA surroundings, the title doesn’t really appeal to any group. Fighting fans have plenty of competition to choose from that provides a more rewarding completion while MMA fans are likely to be turned off by the lean roster of fighters and the lack of sim features. The casual fans that have no interest in the MMA are likely scared off by MMA’s Fight Club-esque motions and surroundings.

While I admire Kung Fu Factory’s goal to ape the arcade fighters in this release, I think the ultimate product ends up dead-on-arrival. I do appreciate the pick-up-and-play controls, but I don’t think casual fighting fans will find the litany of colorful characters they embrace in the fantastic Street Fighter and Tekken series. MMA fans will find their favorites but are likely to be put off by the diminished depth in this fighter. The game has a nice, gritty look and the visceral bouts certainly look like they hurt, but aside from that, I can’t recommend you wrestle with the decision to purchase this one.

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