Power Instinct: Matrimelee
 

 
STORY:  The king of certain country wants to find a worthy successor for the throne and the ideal husband for his little daughter (or a beautiful and strong woman for his older son). So he holds a fighting tournament where the prize is the hand of the princess and the throne succession.
 

 
REVIEW:  Power Instinct: Matrimelee is a sequel to the obscure and lesser known Power Instinct series. The characters of Matrimelee range from incredibly strange (including two hobbit-granny sprite clones & a furry) to the I've-seen-you-somewhere-before stereotypes (complete with a cut & paste ninja, a generic native American, and your basic karate guy). Several characters from Rage of The Dragons also make a cross-over to the game.
 

 
In Matrimelee, the staple super combo gauge is replaced with the "Stress Gauge". Unlike most combo gauges, the Street Gauge doesn't fill when players connect with attacks. Instead it fills when attacks are blocked and when damage is taken. This is to simulate the "stress" of not having your moves land, and/or the stress one may feel when punched in the face. When the Stress Gauge fills up, a super combo can be performed. Characters also become invulnerable to attacks and will also interrupt combos.
 

 
In some stages, a referee will be standing in the background. Players can actually call him into the foreground and use him to attack their enemies... either sending the ref flying into the opponent, or using him as a human shield for opponent's projectiles. A "Bloodline Battle" can also be initiated if two players taunt one after the other. When a Bloodline Battle begins, both characters move to the middle of the screen. Between them lowers a television screen which randomly shows different buttons (A,B,C,D). Which ever player hits the buttons first, their character will gain a free attack on the opponent.
 

Page Updated: November 10th, 2014 Developer(s): Noise Factory Publisher(s): SNK Playmore, Sun Amusement Designer(s): Noise Factory Platform(s): Arcade, Neo Geo Release Date(s): May 29, 2003 Characters:  Billy, Lynn, Elias, Mr. Jones, Gouketsu Ume, Gouketsu Tane, Kanji Kokuin, Clara, Reiji Oyama, Keith Wayne, Anny Hamilton, Chinnen, Saizo Hattori, White Buffalo, Poochy, Buntaro, Shintaro, Olof, Hikaru, Princess Sissy Featured Video: Related Games: Rage of The Dragons , The King of Fighters 2002, Guilty Gear XX, Capcom VS SNK 2, Marvel VS Capcom 2, Samurai Shodown 5    Gameplay Engine  6.5 / 10 Story / Theme  4.0 / 10 Overall Graphics  7.5 / 10 Animation  7.0 / 10 Music / Sound Effects  5.0 / 10 Innovation  4.0 / 10 Art Direction  7.5 / 10 Customization  5.0 / 10 Options / Extras  5.0 / 10 Intro / Presentation  5.5 / 10 Replayability / Fun  4.0 / 10 "Ouch" Factor  5.5 / 10 Characters  5.0 / 10 BOTTOM LINE  6.0 / 10  Review based on Arcade version       Final Words: Matrimelee is a very kooky and unorthodox 2D fighting game. Perhaps some 2D purists will appreciate the game for that very reason. I can almost give the game respect for its blatant weirdness and random funny moments... at least it's trying to be original. However, I'll go on the record and say that if you actually "like" and play this game.... You're weird. Especially because there are so many better fighting games you could be playing in 2003. (And that's just 2003.) Point made. *Grins and slowly walks away* As a 2D fighting game in 2003, Matrimelee obviously leaves much to be desired compared to many recent titles. It's easily outshined by many other 2D and 3D fighting games of the era. I actually gave this game a chance... but neither the characters or the gameplay are compelling. To be perfectly honest, I didn't want to spend any more than 30 minutes playing this. ~TFG Webmaster | @FIGHTERS_GEN