is a 1995arcadefighting game originally developed and published by Sunsoft for the Neo-Geo MVS arcades. It was Sunsoft's second fighting game after their 1994Super Famicom spin-off of their Hebereke series, Sugoi Hebereke, as well as their first side-viewed 2D fighting game. A year later in 1996, Sunsoft produced another 2D fighting game also for the Neo-Geo titled Waku Waku 7. Two years after that, in 1998, they joined a small company SANTACLAUS in producing the Sega ST-V powered arcade gameAstra Superstars. The arcade version of Galaxy Fight uses 32 4-megabit ROM chips. In 2017 the game was re-released under the Arcade Archives, developed by Hamster Corporation for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, followed by a Nintendo Switch version a week later.
Gameplay
Though Galaxy Fight is similar to Sunsoft's later game Waku Waku 7, the games have few elements in common. The players choose one of eight characters and travel among the in-game solar system to defeat the opponents inhabiting each of the planets before they get the chance to fight Felden and settle their personal scores with him. The game uses a four-button layout where the first three buttons are used for non-specified striking attacks with each specific button yielding different strengths of attacks. The fourth button is used specifically for taunts which has no practical impact. Combining several buttons together may yield new attacks or special moves depending on the character. There are no walls in the stages to corner players; instead, the screen can scroll indefinitely.
Characters
Alvan: Alvan is the "Prince of the Ruined Planet". His planet, Rozalis, was invaded and destroyed and his family was murdered by Felden 1000 years ago. Alvan managed to survive thanks to the magic crimson stone and challenges Felden to save the life of the few living beings that are still left in his planet. He is the smallest playable fighter in the game.
Bonus Kun: Rouwe's own punching bag that has come to life. Rouwe has taught him basic fighting techniques. Bonus-Kun is a homage/parody of Ryu from Street Fighter.
Gunter: A gigantic green-skinned fire-breathing monster of immense power from the planet Guljeff. Only he and Alvan appear to recognize G. Done's mystical nature. Gunter's fighting style is simple yet extremely violent. Like Musafar, he is one of the two largest characters in the game.
Felden: The final boss of the game. He is a being composed of golden flame with a fiery blue crown. When facing Alvan, Felden reveals that he was the one who placed the curse on Alvan's planet.
Golden Done: The amnesiac thug from the planet Mani. Nobody knows much about this street thug character except for Alvin and Gunter, who can apparently sense his mystical nature. Despite his appearance, he desires nothing more than his freedom in peace and is on a self-given mission regarding the reappeared tyrant Felden. In his ending, G. Done is free, but Felden warns him that if he dies, G. Done will be the next.
Juri: A female thief from the planet Lezaar that is obsessed with becoming stronger and more beautiful, she despises those she considers ugly. In her ending, Juri thinks that Felden is "immortal", but Felden is even weaker than her. She then tells him that if he's not strong or beautiful, he will face such consequences. Not only that she will be stronger and more beautiful, but good fortune will soon belong to her.
Kazuma: "The Raging Storm" who lives in Airrass, the same planet that Rolf lived in. Kazuma travels with Rolf in his adventures throughout the galaxy, looking for powerful warriors, seeking to be stronger and continue with the tradition of the martial arts of his family.
Musafar: Musafar is a robot built by the Fakir Empire. His objective is to defeat all the warriors and get their weaknesses so that the Fakir Empire can take over the Galaxy. In his ending, Musafar is about to be picked up by the Fakir Empire, only to ultimately annihilate the messenger. Musafar then takes off his mask and finally remembers everything. He then starts to rebel against the entire Fakir Empire, wishing it to be destroyed, and then flies off to the Fakir Empire. Musafar is one of the two largest characters in the game, the other being Gunter.
Rolf: The self-proclaimed "Hero of the Galaxy" living in the planet Airrass. He fights in a battle suit that resembles a 20th-century space suit sans helmet, equipped with a short-range flamethrower, jetpack, small energy pistol, and an ear-mounted single-eye visor. In his ending, Felden's defeat avenged the deaths of Caron, Barny and Tetsuya, all three of whom are the deceased friends of Rolf. His vacation was postponed when he hears someone from the sky about a swarm of aliens from the Dinosaur Empire attacking the Feed Star System. Rolf then embarks on a journey in order to protect peace and tranquility on all the planets in the Star System, and teams up with Kazuma and Musafar to battle the aliens.
Roomi: Roomi is an alien from the planet Lutecia. She has the special power to sense her opponent's feelings before they attack. She is ditsy, childish girl and her dream is to become popular, like Juri. During the course of the game, Rolf is commissioned by her father to bring her back home. In her ending, she becomes a singer that doubles as a fighter. There is a hack in Sega's Streets Of Rage 2 that has her as a playable character that can be downloaded and played on Sega Genesis emulators.
Rouwe: A special boss that appears only if a player beats the game without losing a round. He was apparently responsible for the death of Kazuma's father. His punching bag became the character Bonus-kun and was playable in Waku Waku 7.
Yacopu: Yacopu is Rouwe's pet rabbit and the game's midboss, fought before Felden. He originated from the Nintendo Game Boy title, Trip World. He has the ability to shape-shift into whoever he fights against, providing a mirror match.
Ports and related releases
Galaxy Fight: Universal Warriors was later ported to the Neo-Geo AES home console, which includes easy-to-access difficulty settings and limited credits. Its next port was the Neo-Geo CD version, which was ported by Sunsoft and features some of the same features as the Neo-Geo AES version, but with arranged background music. This version was later ported to the Sega Saturn and released worldwide. Later, a SonyPlayStation port was released in Japan and Europe. In 2008, the Neo-Geo CD version of Galaxy Fight: Universal Warriors was included with the Neo-Geo AES version of Sunsoft's other fighting game Waku Waku 7 in Vol.11 of the Neo Geo Online Collection series for the Sony PlayStation 2, titled Sunsoft Collection. While the Neo-Geo CD soundtrack of Galaxy Fight: Universal Warriors was added in this version, the soundtrack of Waku Waku 7 is completely different from the unreleased Neo-Geo CD version that was later ported to the Sega Saturn. SNK was unable to add the Neo-Geo CD / Sega Saturn version of the soundtrack because of licensing issues. The Neo-Geo AES home console version of Galaxy Fight: Universal Warriors was later ported to the Wii Virtual Console in Japan by D4 Enterprise on March 23, 2010 and on the Nintendo Switch eShop worldwide on May 18, 2017.
Soundtrack
A soundtrack album of the Neo-Geo version was released by Pony Canyon and Scitron Label on March 17, 1995 exclusively in Japan under the catalog number PCCB-00177. It contains nearly every background music, as well as sound effects and voice samples from the arcade version. It was composed by Masato Araikawa and Takayuki Sasaki, and performed by Jun Kojime.
Reception
In Japan, Game Machine listed Galaxy Fight: Universal Warriors on their March 15, 1995 issue as being the fourteenth most-successful arcade game of the year. GamePro gave the Neo Geo version a positive review. They complimented the graphics, music, and the way each attack is suited to its particular character, but added that the game lacks the originality and polish to reach true greatness, concluding that "Galaxy Fight will definitely whet the appetite of fighters everywhere. But it doesn't provide the Big Bang needed to unseat Mortal or Killer in the arcades." Next Generation reviewed the Saturn version several months after the game's release. It assessed that the game "looks and plays like an average Neo-Geo fighter," and scored it two out of five stars.
