Top Fighter 2000 MK VIII is an unlicensed fighting game created for the Sega Mega Drive, presumably in the year 2000 by the Taiwanese company X Boy. It features 8 characters from many different places and sources, including real-life personalities such as athletic all-stars from recent EA Sports titles such as Michael Jordan and Muhammad Ali.
Since 2005, many recent reprints of Top Fighter 2000 drop the original name from the cartridge label, using the name Mortal Kombat 8: Top Fighter 2000, and feature character artwork from Mortal Kombat Gold (1999) and Mortal Kombat: Deception (2004).
Overview[]
Ending screen.
Top Fighter 2000 MK VIII is a fighting game with 8 opponents and no repeats between them. Each character has their own special moves and one super move, along with 8 stages that aren't character-specific. The stages are cobbled together using elements of backgrounds found in several different games, including Street Fighter II: The World Warrior, World Heroes, Garou Densetsu Special, and The King of Fighters '95. The controls appear to be somewhat better than other Mega Drive bootleg fighting games, such as Tekken 3 Special. However, the A button is unused, leaving B and C as attack buttons.
Each fight lasts until one fighter wins 1 or 3 rounds and each round can last for up to 30, 60 or 99 seconds, depending on the settings. The hit detection is poor, with many attacks missing. The ending cutscene is minimal, with only a portrait of your character on a simple "YOU ARE BEST. GAME OVER" screen.
Plot[]
The underworld crime boss of South Town infamously known as Geese Howard hosts another tournament with the sponsorship of ESPN to host the Top Fighter 2000 tournament. 3 American fighters (Jordan, Ali and Cyclops), 3 Japanese fighters (Kyo, Ryo and Ryu) and a Super Saiyan (Son Goku) compete in the tournament with Geese.
Characters[]
- Michael Jordan (misspelled "Joden" in-game)
- [Sprite remodeled from The King of Fighters '94]
- Geese Howard (misspelled "Gees" in-game)
- [Sprite taken from Garou Densetsu Special]
- Ryu (no shortened or misspelled name)
- [Sprite taken from Street Fighter Zero]
- Son Goku (simply named "Goku" in-game)
- [Sprite taken from Dragon Ball Z: Super Butouden 3]
- Kyo Kusanagi (simply named "Kyo" in-game)
- [Sprite taken from The King of Fighters '94/95]
- Cyclops (misspelled "Cycl" in-game)
- [Sprite taken from X-Men vs. Street Fighter]
- Muhammad Ali (named "Ali" in-game)
- [Sprite remodeled from The King of Fighters '94]
- Ryo Sakazaki (simply named "Ryo" in-game)
- [Sprite taken from Garou Densetsu Special]
Trivia[]
- Even though the roster mainly focuses on fighters from Garou Densetsu Special (1993), The King of Fighters '94 (1994), X-Men vs. Street Fighter (1996), and non-fictional EA Sports PlayStation franchises such as NBA Live and Knockout Kings, Son Goku from Dragon Ball Z: Super Butouden 3 is the only random fighter on the roster.
- This game was later re-released as Top Fighter 2005 The King of Fighters, only being a simple Chinese translation and not as a false advertisement of being a Mortal Kombat game.
- The sprites for Michael Jordan from NBA Live and Muhammad Ali from Knockout Kings are both modded-edits of Lucky Glauber and Heavy D from The King of Fighters '94.
- An overlooked control bug exists in both versions; characters are unable to attack if Forward + B are pressed at the same time. Additionally, characters may perform special moves if the attack button is held down and then the directional movements are put in. For example, holding B then pressing D, DF, F will allow Ali to throw his flaming punch.
- The sounds come from many different games. The death cries are from Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers (1993). Kyo, Joden and Ali's voices are from The King of Fighters 98, Gees' voice is from the PlayStation version of Real Bout Garou Densetsu (1996), the "Winner" sound clip is ALSO from The King of Fighters 98 (1998), the Continue Countdown is from Real Bout Garou Densetsu and the "Round 1!" and "Fight!" sound clips are from the PlayStation port of X-Men vs. Street Fighter.
- The background graphics are stolen from different games, including Garou Densetsu Special (Gees Stage), Fighters History (Ryu Stage), The King of Fighters 94 (Kyo stage), etc.
- Ali's theme is remade from the character select music of the SNES/Mega Drive version of Soul Blade vs. Samurai Spirits, while Ryu uses the "Go Go Power Rangers!" theme.
- Some of the projectile sprites, including Ryo's Ka-oh Ken and Haoh Shokou Ken (both recolored from gold to purple) and Ryu's Shinkuu Hadou-ken, were reused in The King of Fighters 2000 for the SNES.
- As well as an unused stage, the box back shows a different title screen where 'Ali' has a mustache.
- The unused stage is Axel Hawk's from Garou Densetsu Special, and shows Ali in it, suggesting that the developers may have originally intended to edit his sprite (Axel Hawk is a boxer) instead of Heavy D!'s.
- The sound engine in the game is taken from any of the various Data East games for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive such as High Seas Havoc.
- "Top Fighter" is a mistranslation of one of the Chinese names for The King of Fighters series, so the intended title would have been "The King of Fighters 2000 Mortal Kombat VIII".
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