Tom & Jerry in Fists of Furry

We all love a good blast from the past, a little rekindling of childhood; what says childhood more than Tom and Jerry? The developers at NewKidCo finally had the good sense to take the classic cartoon animals at each other’s throats and put them into a fighting game. You know, for kids. To be honest, there’s plenty for young children and adults alike to enjoy in this game for Microsoft PC and Nintendo 64, and if you can still manage to get your hands on it, you’re in for a fun time.

The Nitty Gritty

Not unlike Capcom’s Power Stone, Fists of Furry is a fighting game centred on Tom and Jerry as well as many other cartoon characters, such as Butch, Spike and Toodles. You simply select your character (or fighter) and away you go. Although the actual fight mechanics consist of the player hitting a single button, each of the characters has their own unique strengths and weaknesses.

Like other competitive games and the classic Mario Kart, projectiles are a crucial part of the game play, and a fun one at that. The fun comes from when you throw an object; your opponent can catch it and hurl it back at you, amping up the risk and adrenaline. There are plenty of power ups as well such as temporary invisibility, which add extra dynamics to the game. Each fight takes place in an environment or stage that is relevant to the characters and is usually for a popularised cartoon, such as a barnyard or suburban neighbourhood.

What I Liked

The straightforward design of the game very much appealed to me. If a game bogs me down with complicated controls and control screens that are hard to navigate, it puts me off immediately. The simplicity of Fists of Furry drew me in; the controls are easy to get a handle on and the characters, even if some are slightly unfamiliar, are appealing and fun to use, especially with all the added powers-ons and items to throw! The soundtrack is well suited to the game also; tunes that are either inspired by old Tom and Jerry cartoons or directly lifted from them play in the background, allowing you to bop along to some 1940’s big band music while the characters beat each other silly!

What I Didn’t Like

I guess the only real complaint is the lack of variation in the controls when it comes to fighting (yes, simplicity is great but a single attack button is a little bit too minimal) and the fact that coordinated movements like your character turning around can sometimes take a bit longer than you’d like, especially if there’s a projectile being thrown your way. The difficulty level is surprisingly high at points, as if the game directly marketed at children sometimes forgets who its target audience is.

Pros

• Lovely animations and colours
• Fun soundtrack
• Characters and battles have enough going on to keep them engaging every time

Cons

• Could do with more variety in attacking buttons
• Sometimes the difficulty is a bit too high for children