In 1994, Namco released Outfoxies. Sadly, it was completely ignored at release, and recived no ports or sequels. That's too bad, because Outfoxies is one of the most innovate fighting games out there, and sometimes, it feels like the inspiration to Smash Brothers with its big levels and crazy gameplay.

You pick one of seven hitmen, and are instructed by a mysterious benefactor named Mr. Acme to eliminate the other six. The goal of each fight is to, as the game informs you, 'kill your enemy by any means'.

The 7 playable hitmen include:

John Smith: A man with a cool leather jacket, John's the most normal of the bunch, with no special attributes.

Betty Doe: A businesswoman who turned to the life of a hitwoman to fund her several businesses. Like John, she has no special attributes.

Eve: A has-been film starlet who turned to a life of crime. Her pet iguana follows her everywhere she goes, even if it gets seperated from her.

Bernard White: A bio-engineer who lost his hand in an experiment, so he replaced it with a metal prosthetic. He's the tallest fighter in the game, which unfortunately makes him a bigger target.

Professor Ching: A brilliant scientist, stuck in a wheelchair. He's loaded it with gadgets, though, and although he's crippled, he's a famous martial art master. He can also block bullets with the back of his wheelchair.

Dani & Debi: Two Siamese twins seperated by a train crash, who are constantly holding on to each hand. Though they're young, they're just as deadly as the rest of the hitmen.

Dweeb: Just because he's a chimpanzee, doesn't mean Dweeb is any less deadly. Dressed up with a top hat and tux, Dweeb is the most acrobatic fighter, able to jump higher and run faster than the rest of the cast. He's also the smallest target.

The gameplay's completely different than any fighting game that was out at the time, and feels like a cross between Rolling Thunder and Elevator Action Returns. There's only two buttons, Attack and Jump. Holding the joystick up or down when jumping lets you climb through platforms to reach higher or lower levels, and different joystick directions let you aim your weapons and close-quarter attacks.

"Weapons?" you say. That's right. Close-quarter attacks only do very slight damage, plus knocking whatever your foe may be holding out of his hands, so if you want to cause some real pain, you'll need weapons. They run from standard things like pistols, machine guns, rocket launchers and flamethrowers, to more creative weaponry like swords, hot soup, and even pie.

The stages are just as fun as the weapons and characters themselves. Most of them, when time reaches a certain point, will change somehow, opening up more of the level or making things tougher for you. One of the most creative levels is an aquarium that's constantly blowing up around you. Water constantly floods from the broken tanks, and escaped sea creatures chomp anybody who gets too close. The whole game feels like an over-the-top action movie.

Outfoxies uses a lot of scaling and rotation effects, and not only do they look great, if a little pixellated, they're also part of the gameplay instead of just being there to look pretty. The screen zooms out as the fighters get farther away from each other, and zooms back in when they meet up again. When the cargo plane you'll fight in takes a nosedive, you'll constantly slide towards the end, making precision aiming difficult.

The sound is pretty good, too. Most of the music is pretty jazzy, with a lot of synth saxaphones and pianos. The sound effects are just as loud and clear as they should be, although none of the playable characters speak, aside from grunts and screams.

Outfoxies recieved no more attention after its' initial release in the arcades, and was soon forgotten after. Super Smash Brothers plays eerily similar to it, though, with its big levels and free movement, which makes you wonder if Nintendo got some inspiration from Namco. Although there's a lot of similarities with SSB, Outfoxies is truly a one of a kind game.