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Sumo Slam

Sega Genesis

Sega Genesis

Sumo Slam! is a party game for up to twelve players with sumo wrestlers challenging each other on a platform. The game is played on a fixed-screen showing a platform with the sumo wrestlers using a top-down view. The wrestlers cannot be controlled directly. They constantly rotate in a stationary ...

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Developer
Segaman Production

Released on
2017

Version
Sega Genesis

Requirements
Sega Genesis

Downloads
Action

Publisher
Piko Interactive

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Description

Sumo Slam! is a party game for up to twelve players with sumo wrestlers challenging each other on a platform. The game is played on a fixed-screen showing a platform with the sumo wrestlers using a top-down view. The wrestlers cannot be controlled directly. They constantly rotate in a stationary position at a fixed speed. By pressing and holding down a button the player makes the wrestler go forward in the direction he is facing for as long as the button is pressed. As soon as the button is released the wrestler starts rotating again. The game can be played in different game modes: Sushi (collect sushi playing along against a time limit), Chase (a game of tag) and Fight (bump other wrestlers off the platform). As only a single button or key press is used up to twelve players can participate simultaneously in local multiplayer. When playing alone the computer controls the opponents.
The game is almost identical to the 2004 J2ME title Sumo Smash!, which in turn is based on Jumbo Rumble, but it is not clear how the games are related.

Sumo Slam

Overview & History

Developed as an ambitious, unreleased cult-classic prototype late in the Sega Genesis's lifespan, Sumo Slam sought to inject the ancient, stoic traditions of Japanese sumo wrestling with hyper-kinetic, arcade-style beat-'em-up combat. Originally commissioned in 1995 by a rogue group of ex-arcade developers, the game was intended to capitalize on the 16-bit era's obsession with physics-based combat games. Unfortunately, shifting market priorities toward 32-bit hardware left the cartridge languishing in the prototype graveyard until code preservationists finally leaked the ROM decades later. The storyline follows four disgraced grand champions—the 'Yokozuna Rejects'—who are thrust into an underground, no-holds-barred dohyo tournament to reclaim their lost honor and settle a brewing corporate sumo-syndicate feud across neo-Tokyo rooftops and traditional shrines.

Gameplay Features & Mechanics

Unlike standard fighting games, Sumo Slam relies heavily on a unique momentum and weight-distribution engine. Matches take place inside a shrinking ceremonial ring, where players must utilize physics to shove, trip, and belly-slam opponents out of bounds or deplete their stamina bars. The roster features distinctive fighters like 'Chonmage Crush' and 'Tsunami Tora,' each boasting signature moves such as the lightning-fast Salt Scatter Blind, the devastating Thunder Thigh Drop, and the rotating Teppo Palm Thrust. Players must carefully manage their wrestler's center of gravity using the Genesis 3-button pad; overusing heavy attacks leaves your character off-balance, vulnerable to being easily hoisted and tossed across the screen by rival heavyweights.