Release Date: December 23, 2016
Developed by the independent developer QUByte Interactive, 99Vidas is a conventional 2D beat'em up game. The titular 99Vidas is an incredibly powerful artifact, which was stolen by the Evil Boss. The main characters are fighters trained to guard the artifact - their goal is to defeat the adversary along with the six allies of his, apart from retrieving the item before it gets used for evil purposes.
Games belonging to such franchises as Final Fight, Double Dragon or Streets of Rage, as well as those alike, symbolize an important period in the history of gaming. Such games were also a source of inspiration for the creators of 99Vidas, an independent studio QUByte Interactive. The game is a conventional beat'em up and it came out for many systems.
The titular 99Vidas is an incredibly powerful artifact, which was stolen by the Evil Boss. In the hands of a wrongdoer, the item can bring chaos into this world – it is not surprising then, that the main characters that have been trained their entire lives to be the guardians of the artifact, had to embark on a dangerous journey. The goal they are facing is to defeat the adversary along with the six allies of his. Obviously, they must also retrieve the artifact before it is too late.
As other brawlers in general, 99Vidas for PC, PS4 and etc. is played from a side view. The player traverses diverse levels and eliminates hordes of adversaries while moving to the right. From time to time, it is necessary to fight powerful enemies that serve the role of bosses.
The game offers 11 playable characters that differ mainly in terms of their traits (such as strength or speed) and the preferred fighting style (apart from sluggish, though powerful kicks or quick but lighter punches, they make use of special skills based on the elements). Attacks can be linked into spectacular combinations, but the player can also modify their parameters, increasing the amount of damage they cause – the main characters gain experience points and collect special items allowing to unlock new combos and abilities, as well as to upgrade ones the player already has.
99Vidas for PC, PS4 and etc. offers a lot of game modes that deliver the player with both singleplayer and multiplayer types of experience. While the versions for home consoles and PCs give an opportunity to play online or using a shared screen, the PlayStation Vita edition offers exclusively an online multiplayer component.
The Story Mode is the core component in this game – playing solo or with up to 3 companions on PCs and home consoles (with 1 other player in case of the version for PlayStation Vita), one gets acquainted with the subsequent chapters. The same applies to the Survival and the Versus modes. In the first case, alone or accompanied by others, the player fights subsequent waves of enemies. The latter mode gives an opportunity to take part in duels against characters controlled by other players.
99Vidas for PC, PS4 and etc. reaches back to the classics of the genre also thanks to its visuals, as the game employs a specific, pixel-art graphic style. It is worth adding, that the editions for Sony's consoles are distributed in the so-called cross-buy and support the cross-save service – owners of this Japanese company’s home consoles can also play together thanks to a cross-platform multiplayer mode.
Platforms:
PC Windows December 23, 2016
PlayStation 3 July 18, 2017
PlayStation Vita July 18, 2017
PlayStation 4 July 18, 2017
Nintendo Switch November 27, 2018
Developer: QUByte Interactive
Publisher: QUByte Interactive
Age restrictions: none
Game Ratings for 99Vidas Video Game.
New Game Network: 62 / 100 by Charlie Nicholson
If Double Dragon, Final Fight, Streets of Rage or Golden Axe were your go-to coin-ops on childhood trips to the arcade, 99Vidas might well resurface some fond, pre-millennium memories. But alas, nostalgia only gets a game so far, and once the thrill-ride is over, there's very little reason to return for a second playthrough.
Digital Chumps: 7.5 / 10 by Nathaniel Stevens
While the beat 'em up genre will be lost on most gamers, and the story experience isn't that long in 99Vidas to keep some engaged, there is still some fun to be had in this game. It kicks up some nostalgia of what once was cool in the arcades and at home during the 16-bit war, while trying to mix in some new material and motivation to keep the experience going. QUByte did a good job with their action title, so definitely give it a look.
Cubed3: 5 / 10 by Gabriel Jones
What it all comes down to is that 99Vidas simply isn't as fun as it could be. A good beat 'em up is more than just hitting bad guys until they fall over. There has to be enough nuance and depth for skilful players to develop their own style, while using very little, if any, resources, such as health restoring food or lives. There also have to be enough leniencies to make the game appealing to someone who just wants a "mindless" yet still entertaining button masher. This game deserves top marks for its aesthetics and charm, but its mechanics and overall design leave something to be desired. If the difficulty was better balanced and the heroes had more viable attack options, this would be a title deserving of a spot in any brawler fan's library.
Average score from votes.
![[1:01] trailer #1](https://cdn.gracza.pl/galeria/filmy/640x360/445079838.jpg)
