~ ADVANCED V.G. ~
TGL
Super CD-ROM
1994
I had a pretty good idea of what AVG is (a mere all-girl Street Fighter II clone, and an unexceptional one at that) long before playing it. Its nature was never really in doubt.
But I wasn't prepared for the complaints expressed by my furious cousin Zigfriedofsky after he'd completed the game. The enraged lad screamed and howled about stupid, unskippable voice-acted bits; invisible bosses; and a ridiculous storyline made laughable
by out-of-place emotional moments. (Incidentally, you can and should read his un-IvaNEC-paraphrased commentary here.) His points were pretty much right
on, especially in regard to the game's dopey plot...
...I mean, what are we going for here, silly waitress vs. bunny girl conflict featuring right-in-your-face panty shots or deep, heartfelt storytelling? It's a horrible clump of hogwash as it is.
Still, I wouldn't be quite as harsh in my final assessment of the game as Zigfriedofsky was in his. Unlike, say, Fighting Street, AVG is not a monumental disaster. Its gameplay is decent enough, a few of its tunes are of extremely high quality, and some of
its cinematic material is quite cool and well presented.
But its fighting system isn't deep; this is SF2 copycat stuff on the surface with nothing to discover underneath but cheap tactics. And since it's only natural to compare this title with the PCE's other "girl fighter," I'll note that Asuka 120% is a much
stronger product.
