I've always considered myself a pretty harsh critic. If a game fails to meet my staggeringly high standards, then I mince it until there's nothing left. Depending on the genre, I can get outright cruel, almost as if I believe myself to be the foremost authority on the games that involve a lot of punching or flying ships around bullets. Truth is, I have a ton of weak points, and there just happens to be a title that strikes all of them at once. With Beat Down: Fists of Vengeance, Cavia has given me everything that I could ever want. It has character customization, RPG elements, a Suikoden / Pokémon recruitment system, a CPU vs CPU mode for watching recruits duke it out, and some very tasty jank. I am well-aware of every single one of this beatemup / fighter's flaws, yet I also can't stop myself from ignoring 2025's many all-time greats to spend a dozen hours playing it.
Much like every other 3D beatemup released in 2005, the story revolves around gangs at war with each other. A drug deal gone wrong has resulted in a lot of dead bodies and none of the goods. The bloodbath was pinned on Five gangsters, and you're taking control of one of them in the hopes of clearing your - already sordid - name. Over the course of seven chapters, you'll unearth clues to who is behind the conspiracy and crack the skulls of anyone who gets in your way. I'd use the term "standard stuff" to describe what's happening, but I received a notice that I'd be pushed out of an open window if I used it one more-
...Huh. I didn't expect that to happen. Pity I live in a one-story house.
Las Sombras and its many loading screens are where you'll be spending the entirety of the game. Almost every location is available from the outset, so feel free to wander around and take note of potentially important landmarks. The game also likes to leave crates full of healing items or other goodies just lying around, further incentivizing exploration. However, you might find your progress stymied by frequent enemy encounters. As tempting as it may be to brawl with every single cop or goon in the vicinity, you'll get a lot more done in a shorter time if you stop dressing like a mobster. I mentioned character customization, right? Hit up the local Rag Shack to buy some new clothes, visit Dick the Barber to get a fresh cut, or check into the hospital for plastic surgery. The options are pretty extensive for a 2005 game. Enemies won't recognize you with a new look, but they'll catch on eventually. There is an extremely mild stealth element at-play here. Avoid running into gangsters - including those who wear badges - to keep the brawls at a minimum.
Of course, there's no escaping a fight when the game demands it, and this is where we get into the first issue in Beat Down: Fists of Vengeance. The combat speed is 10-15% faster than it should be. I can't claim to know the innerworkings of this software, so I'm just going by what my eyes and fingers are telling me. Everyone's animations look like they've been sped up, and they all move around like they're on some sort of illicit substance. This extends to the player-character, affecting their response to button-presses. If you're trying to perform a combo, then get used to mashing the punch or kick buttons a little faster than you'd expect. Reacting to enemy attacks is also slightly more difficult, but unless you're purposefully making life difficult by playing on the hardest setting or avoiding leveling, then you're unlikely to struggle too much.
I say all this, without acknowledging the fact that this game can lay down the hurt when it feels like it. Occasional punches to the face won't affect health meters too much but expect a world of pain if somebody grabs you and you can't shake out of their grasp. Getting thrown will do a lot of damage. Getting shoved face first into a wall or pummeled by nearby goons will result in immense suffering. Oh, and you're guaranteed to go from 100 to 0 if somebody throws you off of bridge. Game Overs only happen under specific circumstances, but you're clearly overextending yourself, if the "Try again?" option keeps popping up. If running away is an option, then use it. If you can stand dealing with the blurry vision, an alcoholic beverage mid-fight will slow everything down. Oh, and most importantly, try to avoid getting into brawls all by your lonesome.
Shortly after acquiring The Blacklist, players can seek out fellow criminals located throughout Las Sombras. An attempt can be made to negotiate with these named individuals, but you're better off preparing for a fight. What follows is a one-on-one battle. Whatever strategy you decide on here is the right one. Opponents are susceptible to combos, launchers, grabs, or weapons. Choose the method of violence that suits your style of play. What keeps these fights compelling is that you're not trying to deplete their health meter, but rather their pride gauge. Once this gauge is exhausted, your opponent becomes susceptible to grabs initiated by the circle button. If successful, you can force them to join your crew, demand information, take their cash, or give them a Beat Down with your Fists of Vengeance. Finding and recruiting allies represents the bulk of the game. While playing, there's a good chance that the compulsion to "collect 'em all" will take over. It's certainly the case for me.
Besides furthering the story, the main purpose of recruiting likeminded individuals to your criminal cause is to have a couple buddies for when the next brawl goes down. They also serve as backup in case you lose a 1v1. Occasionally, you'll meet someone with a unique talent, such as an expert at breaking into cars. These hot cars serve as a one-time fast travel and a source of quick cash. I doubt most players will take advantage of every talent, since their effect on the game is often negligible. Still, I appreciate the flavor they add. Recruits can also level up, but like Shin Megami Tensei, you're better off replacing them when stronger troops become available.
Side-missions are available for anyone needing cash or desiring that 100% completion rating. Typical of Cavia, their level of quality is mediocre to excruciating. On the mediocre end, there's the standard "find a guy and punch them a bunch" missions, sometimes involving the tiniest scrap of puzzle-solving. For excruciating, look no further than the mission where you have to deliver a live bomb from one end of the city to the other. Funny thing about this explosive is that it goes off the instant you take any damage. Imagine getting into a brawl where the slightest tap forces you to go through the whole Game Over -> wait for title screen to load -> choose last game-save to load -> head back to the man who gave you the mission to try again rigmarole. I suppose I should've expected this level of trolling from the company responsible for both Drakengard and Nier.
I imagine even the most annoying missions would be easier to stomach if this game wasn't broken up by so many loading screens. Areas are often small and contain only a few NPCs, so I can't imagine why the constant transitions are so... constant. Further impacting my enjoyment is my sometimes overly cautious nature. As I said earlier, Game Overs and the lost progress that comes with are very rare, yet I still find myself saving as often as possible. There's a reporter who handles that feature, but she only shows up in a few areas or just before important events. Yes, I am purposefully putting myself through more loading screens. The frequent trudges through the same handful of areas also makes it sound as if the game with 30+ songs in its OST only has 5 or 6.
There's also something to be said about the repetitive structure that holds Beat Down: Fists of Vengeance together. If you're not hunting down recruits, working through side-missions, or playing dress-up, then I can't imagine what else you'd be doing. The fighting systems aren't really designed to facilitate complex inputs or strategic play, especially when the fights themselves run at what feels like 66 FPS. I say all this, yet I am eerily charmed by this game's entire nature. The cycle of running the streets, coming up with new outfits, and filling out that completion rating is like getting multiple itches scratched at the same time. The over-the-top amounts of coarse language and bits of sometimes gruesome violence glue everything together. In spite of myself, I am compelled to keep playing.
Perhaps the one feature that speaks to me on an individual level is the Custom Versus mode. This allows players to use their save data to pit three of their dozens upon dozens recruits against one another in 1v1 battles. While this mode supports both player vs player and player vs CPU, it's the CPU vs CPU option that I got an absurd amount of mileage from. Something about myself that I don't bring up in this blog is that I'm actually a massive fan of simulating fights. When it comes to wrestling games and even some fighters, I prefer to spend my time creating participants and watching them duke it out. This is a side of me that was first realized in Smackdown: Here Comes the Pain, and I've since indulged in with the likes of Soul Calibur VI, Fire Pro Wrestling, and subsequent WWE video games. I even have a blog detailing some of my SC6 and WWE 2K20 creations. Also, you don't want to know how many hours I've logged on to WWE 2K20, often touted as being one of the worst in the series. I remember myself giving it a scathing review!
On a "professional" level, I can't or at least shouldn't recommend Beat Down: Fists of Vengeance. However, it's impossible to ignore that this is one of those games that flicks all of my switches and activates every neuron at once. This is also just an adventure that revels in its ridiculousness. Enter a world where everyone shrugs off non-cutscene bullets and can't go a single fucking sentence without an expletive. If it was possible for something to age like wine and like milk at the same time, then I believe this Cavia title would be that something. It is as 2005 as 2005 can get.
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