Lost Nintendo Games Volume 2. Joy Mecha Fight

Lost Nintendo Games is a series of articles about Nintendo games that have been lost to Nintendo fans.  This usually means that the game has been canceled or the game was just not released in a particular region for whatever reason.  Let us not forget about the Nintendo titles that many people never got to play.

Lost Nintendo Games Volume 1. Chibi Robo! 3

Lost Nintendo Games Volume 3. Disaster Day Of Crisis

Title: Joy Mecha Fight
Developer: Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo
Platform: Famicom
Release Date: May 23, 1993 (Japan)

Joy Mecha Fight was released in Japan on May 23, 1993 for the Famicom.  For those who don’t know the Famicom is the Japanese version of the Nintendo Entertainment System.  This fighting game never left Japan but, at the time, was very revolutionary in many ways.

The plot in this game sounds as though it were stolen directly from the instruction booklet of Mega Man 1.  Two scientists worked together to make a bunch of robots.  Then one of the two scientists decided to steal all but one robot in a mad quest for world domination.  Sound like Dr. Wily to anyone else?

Players start the game as Sukapon, a robot who the good scientist reprogrammed into a war machine in an attempt to stop the evil scientist.  You then play through different levels.  Once bosses are defeated you can then play as them in single player or multiplayer modes.  If this doesn’t scream Mega Man then I don’t know what does.

With all of this story likeness to Mega Man you may wonder why I called this game revolutionary.  You see in Joy Mecha Fight the characters were made with detached body parts in order for the game to work properly and smoothly on the Famicom.  This game also had a whopping 36 characters to play as once they are all unlocked.  This was, at the time of its release, the largest roster in a fighting game and on the Famicom no less.  Joy Mecha Fight also features a two player vs. mode in addition to the story mode.

I’ve never had a chance to play this game but have wanted to for a while now.  Joy Mecha Fight was released on the Wii’s Virtual Console on March 11, 2008 in Japan.  I’d love to see this title come to the Virtual Console in the rest of the world and I’m pretty sure that it wouldn’t be that difficult for Nintendo to translate it.  Until that day comes, which unfortunately isn’t very likely, Nintendo fans outside of Japan will have to just enjoy Sukapon as a sticker in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and just hope to someday play this title.