Reviewed: January 1, 2004
Reviewed by: Loki

Publisher
Ubisoft

Developer
Digital Eclipse

Released: November 18, 2003
Genre: Fighter
Players: 1
ESRB: Everyone

3
3
3
2
2.3

Supported Features:

  • Cartridge Save (4 Slots)
    • Mucha Lucha: Mascaritas of the Lost Code has the distinct honor of being the last game I played in 2003, which makes it only that much more profound when I tell you it is also the worst game I have played in 2003. Seriously, it’s games like this that make me want to strap a car battery to my back and lug around my GameCube. If this is the future of GBA titles then I may have to break down and look at a (gasp) N-Gage.

    Mucha Lucha, for those that don’t know, is based on a WB cartoon of the same name that is based on a style of masked Mexican wrestling founded in the 30’s. I had never seen the cartoon but I subjected myself to a few episodes during this review just to make any relevant comparisons – there are none.

    The game follows a trio of aspiring wrestlers, The Flea, Rikochet, and Buena Girl, who are enrolled in the International School of Lucha. The Code of Masked Wrestling has been stolen (why couldn’t they have stolen this game proposal instead) and it’s up to our three “heroes” to find and return the book or be expelled.

    Even if this were a first-generation GBA title Mucha Lucha would be considered a horrible game. Digital Eclipse is a proven GBA design studio so I’m not sure exactly what happened here, but just about every aspect of this game is wrong starting with the gameplay.

    This game is all about combat and the action is totally detached from the controls. The collision detection is either off or non-existent. You can pummel guys that just stand there and don’t react to your punches or kicks and they will eventually go down. There is no style required and even though there are various enemies none have unique fighting styles that require you to mix up your tactics.

    Each character supposedly has 15 moves but you can twitch the A button until you win 98% of the encounters including many of the boss battles. I suppose if the target audience for this game is 2-4 then it may be challenging. This is one of those games you can play and win without paying attention or even looking at the screen half the time.

    Mucha Lucha (the show) is purposefully primitive (much like South Park) which gives the series a bit of “charm”. The designers have tried to bring the same style of artwork to the GBA and while the game “looks” like the show it doesn’t “move” like the show. The animation is incredibly jerky which further detracts from the gameplay.

    The backgrounds are varied and colorful and the cutscenes are moderately interesting interesting (even the guy with the testicals on his head), but the entire presentation just smacks of rush job and cheapness.

    The sound and music are highly repetitive and equally as annoying. The only good thing is that so is the show so in some weird way the game does a good job of mimicking its origins. There are some sampled effects and generic fight sounds that do nothing to enhance the action or even make you want to turn the sound up to audible levels.

    Mucha Lucha has four levels and three characters. Only Rikochet is available from the start and you have to fight your way through the first part of the game to get access to the other two. Since the gameplay doesn’t change at all throughout the game there is no real reason to change characters or even finish the game.

    Assuming you do finish the game you will have wasted about three hours of yoru life and assuming you don’t do it all in one sitting there is a cartridge save feature so you won’t have to write down some “launch code”-style password to continue – a nice feature and about the only good thing I have to say about the entire game.

    And once again we have a shining example of a TV franchise trying to turn a quick buck with a lame-ass game. Mucha Lucha: Mascaritas of the Lost Code is a horrible piece of work that should have never been released, certainly not by Ubisoft who has quickly been rising up the ladder of success with mega-hit after mega-hit in 2003. Then again, they are just the publisher and I hold Digital Eclipse responsible for this lemon.

    At least Santa had a new stocking-stuffer for the bad kids when he ran out of coal last week. All I want to know is whom do I send the bill to for the four hours of my life I lost playing and writing about this game?