Heavyweight Champ

Heavyweight Champ
Publisher: Sega, Sims Developer: SIMS System(s): Sega System 16, Master System, Game Gear ROM Size: 256kB, 128kB Genre: Sports Release Date RRP Code World 1987  ? US 1991 $? 7063 EU 1991 £29.99 7063 EU (G. Foreman) 1992 £? MK-27041-50 BR 1991 $? 024180 BR (G. Foreman) 1992 $? 026180 JP 1991-12-27 ¥4,200 T-44027 US 1992 $?  ? EU 1992 £?  ? Tectoy

For the discrete logic arcade game, see Heavyweight Champ (1976). For the Sega Mega Drive game, see George Foreman's KO Boxing.

Heavyweight Champ (ヘビーウェイトチャンプ) is a boxing game released for the Sega System 16 arcade in 1987 and later ported to the Master System and Game Gear in 1991. The game has had an unusual history, having been tied to two professional boxing champions, George Foreman and James "Buster" Douglas.

For a brief period in North America, the game was titled James "Buster" Douglas Knockout Boxing, to accompany the Sega Mega Drive game of the same name. It is, however, a very different game to the Mega Drive version, and is sometimes even seen as the superior product. In Europe and Brazil, it was titled George Foreman's KO Boxing, and is again unrelated to the Mega Drive game with the same name. In more recent releases the game has simply been titled as "Heavyweight Champ", assumably because SIMS and Sega no longer had the rights to pair it with those celebrity boxers.

Gameplay

The original arcade game is played as if from a first-person perspective, though the player's character is visible as an outline on the screen. The controls are two special handles which allow the player to perform actual punching motions, which are translated into the game as attacks on the opponent.

The Master System conversion is a more traditional fighting game, viewed from the side of the action and controlled using a standard control pad.

Production Credits

Master System Version

Planners: All Members
Programmers: Nonchan, S.Kawa
Designers: Yasukuni, Tommy
Sound Composer: Kin
Presented by: Sega

Physical Scans

Master System Version

	67	Sega Retro Average
		Based on 2 reviews
Publication Score Source Computer & Video Games 69 №114 Raze 65 №9

Master System, US (James "Buster" Douglas)
Cover

Master System, EU (Heavyweight Champ)
Cover

Master System, EU (George Foreman)
Cover

Master System, BR (Heavyweight Champ)
Cover

Master System, BR (George Foreman)
Cover

Game Gear Version

	55	Sega Retro Average
		Based on 1 review
Publication Score Source Sega Force (UK) 55

Game Gear, US (George Foreman)
Cover
Cart

Game Gear, EU (George Foreman)
Cover
Cart

Game Gear, JP (Heavyweight Champ)
Cover