Super Dodge Ball (くにおの熱血闘球伝説, Kunio's Hot Blooded Dodge Ball Legend) is a dodge ball-based sports game released for the Neo Geo platform in 1996. Developed by Technos Japan Corp. and published by SNK, it was the last game the former company developed before they went out of business. The game was not officially released in Japan (only a Western version was produced, even though it was exhibited at the Japan Amusement Expo) but the game can be played with Japanese settings if the Neo Geo's motherboard is set to that region.
Gameplay[]
The rules of the game are similar to that of the original arcade version of Super Dodge Ball. Two teams battle each other out, with each team restricted to their side of the court, attacking each other with a ball, until all the members of one team are all eliminated. This time, teams are composed of only three members: a captain and two teammates. When a character's vitality gauge runs out completely, instead of being eliminated completely from the match, they are moved to the opposing team's outfield, where they can still assist their remaining teammates by attacking them from within the opposing side of the court. The Power Shots in the game are now performed by inputting fighting game-style commands. The captains in each team have two Power Shots, a Counter Shot, a Special Pass, and a Super Power Shot that can only be performed when the team's power gauge is completely filled. The generic teammates only have one power shot each.
The controls of the game changes depending on whether the player's team is in possession with the ball (offense) or without it (defense). During offense mode, the player can shoot the ball at the opposing team, pass it to a teammate, jump, or feint a shot. In defense mode, the player can try to catch an opponent's shot, crouch to avoid, jump, or provoke. Pressing the A and B simultaneously in defense mode will cause the player's current character to charge the power gauge (which is normally filled when the player performs Power Shots). When two members of opposing teams pick up the ball at the same, they will be prompted to press any button rapidly until one character overpowers the other and gets a free shot.
Players can choose between seven different teams. Each team has its own unique captain with unique special ability, with the other two members being composed of generic characters form five different types, each type having it own gameplay style.