The Combatribes Longplay (Arcade) [4K]

Developed and published by Technos in 1990
Follow me on Twitter @ / al82_retro
A number of comments from viewers of my recent Mug Smashers pointed out it was a rip-off of Combatribes, so I thought it only fitting that I played through the game on which it's based.
Initial impressions of The Combatribes are good. The game looks great and the brawling is great fun, and I particularly liked the ability to smash your enemy's heads together, or grind their faces into the sidewalk.
Later on, however, the game ratchets up the difficulty to force you to insert more coins. The final boss was definitely the worst part of the game, often entering a state where she becomes seemingly invulnerable until she has initiated an attack.
Other than that, this is a fun game, and definitely an improvement over Double Dragon 3.
#technos
#retrogaming
#thecombatribes

[@thunderlightning1980]

I fucking miss Technos Japan so much! 😢

[@retrovin9269]

They made some absolute belters✌️

[@ekaterinamarkarian5516]

Кпрое

[@claytonwright2416]

I miss them, too. Double Dragon took such a weird turn after the second game. And Combatribes seems it was a spinoff. I suppose it was.

[@sainttan]

I'm impress with the final boss, very rare they go with such plot twist. For that time at least.

[@chengfu7063]

Good times here back when you could actually live

[@MrRyguy2112]

Loved bashing two mimes heads together in the demon clown stage.😂

[@chicswag4657]

23:21 that girl went super saiyan

[@evanhanley6437]

This game is really awesome.

[@rockford717]

Thanks KZbin AI. I still remember the days when I played (actually watched other people played) this game in that hot, crowded, and dirty arcade room in center-south China 35 years ago. Those were good times.

[@Religious_man]

You mean Chinatown?

[@rockford717]

@@Religious_man not Chinatown... in China. PRC.

[@Religious_man]

@@rockford717 Why would a communist country supply their citizens with arcade rooms? That's not one of their values.

[@rockford717]

@@Religious_man Communism or not. People love playing video games :)

[@JV-ll1cu]

Those moves on the grounded enemies are brutal

[@maxrocans2668]

I like how the woman out of no where was the kingpin of the game😂

[@HOTRODRICO]

7'1" , 6'9", and 6'8" man these guys were tall as hell but look short on screen lol

[@DonVecta]

The trick to make this game easier (and still fun) is to abuse the gigantic swing over your enemies for crowd control, for the bosses this is essential so you can use the mook against them. You just can run into them and then grab them and swing. I think Blitz is better as he swings for the longest time. For Martha Splatterhead, keep your distance and poke her with kicks. She's hard AF. And yes, it's 100% superior than Mug Smashers.

[@officialtruvotru-druvevoch7049]

They seem to be the same to me

[@swoopdown27]

It's actually Bullova with the longest spin throw. Blitz has the shortest spin throw.

[@williaml9445]

I see You've spent much time on this game huh 😂

[@DonVecta]

@@swoopdown27 stand myself corrected: Bullova is the one with the longest swing.

[@DonVecta]

@@williaml9445 back in the day I played the living crap of it. Love this game.

[@amandawashington4239]

"Winners Don't Use Drugs". "Winners get a prescription first".

[@lucasmr3215]

The real sequel to Renegade!

[@Religious_man]

The big guy throws a few of them down the subway stairway, lmao.

[@pnvgordinho]

I love the sound of the punches.

[@miketate3445]

If the player character is 7 feet tall, then apparently the office building in the final stage was built for people who are 9 feet tall.

[@aayushpal6621]

The Leader of the Bad Guys is 10 feet tall compared to him

[@chano7053]

LOL!! I love the HC Punk references on this game. Aside from the third boss having a total Punk Look, on the stadium level one the banners read "Black Flag" which was a legendary HC Punk band from California and the name of the last boss is "Martha Splatterhead", which was the name of the zombie mascot of the HC Punk Metal band The Accüsed.

[@xraypunch5959]

Bro, I'm gonna be honest, I think the Indian boss at the stadium was probably a reference to either the Village People or the Cleveland Indians mascot.

[@edinsonbahamondesjara1943]

Berzerker se parece a Billy idol

[@MegaMrJIN]

Why oh why couldn't DOUBLE DRAGON 3 THE ROSETTA STONE be like THISSSSSSSSSS?????????? I LOVE IT!!!!!

[@Shoevibechat]

This game has two characters that strongly resemble Billy and Jimmy so back in the day I said this was double dragon🤷🏾‍♂️ same creator

[@David-ky8es]

Graphics so clean

[@bloodtyrantkorr4076]

i remember playing this at are old pizza spot cut a lot of lawns for it lol

[@AdruMcOnTheBeat]

Tiene una muy buena calidad para ser del 1990, se nota que los programadores usaron todos los recursos de aquella época, me encanta esa paleta de colores, además de que es un juegazo.

[@edinsonbahamondesjara1943]

Siiiiii, 2 años antes sacaron double dragon y 2 años antes sacaron el Xaind sleena

[@officialtruvotru-druvevoch7049]

16:36 here comes the inspiration for M. Bison

[@bashirjohnson4120]

The switch h and ps4 need to get this game!

[@genericnamehere7602]

YES...With optional multi-player

[@bashirjohnson4120]

@@genericnamehere7602 ok now we'll talking good idea!!

[@kimjongun2946]

24:13 this game definitely rewarded the player for the $30 in quarters it took to see this ending. Riveting text and a rich story.

[@breezetha27]

I guess the gameplay makes up for it

[@ZnotQ633]

23:21 Martha Splatterhead! Okay, I gotta level with you all… I’ve been playing River City Girls 2. One of the many characters you can recruit for assist attacks is this Martha Splatterhead. Her mini-description mentions the Combatribes, which led me to find this video and post this comment you’re reading right now. Now you know the rest of the story.

[@edinsonbahamondesjara1943]

The accused

[@T0R0RIKI]

The reference to robot policeman in world warrior perfect

[@fuckzogtube]

I played the crap out of the SNES version. Really enjoyed the versus mode with the bosses as playable characters too. Loved this little gem.

[@jayboogie7956]

Wooooooow, the memories.

[@Play2win080]

So during level three- the Technos ads in the background- I get the Blockout ad, but what’s the second one with the lady in the blue hat? MiO or something like that!?

[@37BIGJIM]

I loved playing this in the arcade! I've observed the following from repeated plays: 1. It's possible to defeat regular enemies on Level 1 just by knocking them down the stairs at the stage's far right. 2. The first boss will lose his two-by-four if he lands enough hits with it (it bursts into splinters and disappears). 3. The red clowns of Level 2 actually do take some damage from being thrown, even though they land on their feet. 4. The Slaughter Troops cannot hit players who are sitting on/face slamming one of their own (though they try anyway).

[@Heroselohim]

4K video 😎

[@victormalyar9200]

I remember when I played the arcade version I just about always picked Berserker.

[@ildenete]

buttons with turbo function is life

[@rugalb98]

Still an amazing brawler. Next to Final Fight and SoR series this is one of my faves (and the decent SNES port with the fighting mode and revamped story). Do love that Wayforward put the 3rd boss,Trash, as an enemy and assist in River City Girls.

[@genericnamehere7602]

They did a bunch of shout-outs. Abobo was hilarious, especially with the Puberty clip at the school.

[@angeldeb82]

Wow! This is so cool with the 1990 Bild at the airport, the Steak & Brew Burger in the city, and the WTC Twin Towers in New York (11 years before 9/11) in the final battle. Weird.

[@luffy-yy9zc]

very great memory this game thanks

[@adamtherenegade2001]

I still play this game on an emulator. I even made gameplays too. I thought tough for me to not get hit so much til i can swing around dudes to make space. Nice gameplay

[@maingreazy21]

I remember this game. And remember those clowns being annoying

[@andrzejkulakowski]

1:30 the guy with a log is my favorite boss - so memorable

[@officialtruvotru-druvevoch7049]

31 years later and it's Better than the SNES 1992 Console Version after I beat that version I returned the Game in disappointment.

[@stephenaremu78]

The real double Dragon 3

[@malavenda3291]

what a great game, and what gorgeous art. I reminisce P.O.W., and Double Dragon, in the design and combat workings! I wonder if there's some kinda connection with all 3!

[@stonetic2515]

Combatribes and Double Dragon were developed by the same team. POW was by SNK, a knock off but a fun one.

[@oscarjimenezgarrido7591]

The Combatribes, Double Dragon and the predecessor to all of them, Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun/Renegade, were conceived and directed by one of the godfathers of the beat 'em up genre, Yoshihisa Kishimoto. He had nothing to do with P.O.W. however - at least, relatively speaking, as it could be argued that SNK's game follows the Double Dragon template so closely that if it weren't for the latter, the former wouldn't have existed in the first place.

[@SergeantPsycho]

Canonically, this game, River City Ransom, and Double Dragon exist in the same continuity.

[@dansmith1661]

The spinning kick of that fire eater is hilariously bad.

[@nowhere2bfound7734]

Who played this in the compton swapmeet in the early 90s?

[@gilessaint-loup2426]

Okay... I did not see the final boss coming.

[@Zebpro]

Good old Technos Japan browler!!!!! :-]

[@arubinojr5670]

15:48 NO SMIRKING

[@Soyuz2578]

This game never got the love it deserved. Better than a lot of the same genre

[@rubensantino9078]

The boss from stage 5..is that..Biaken from WH

[@HeroQuestFans]

people who say this game has no ending were wrong... I think it's because when the game was first emulated it skipped the ending. play it again and be as disappointed as you were by the ending of Super Double Dragon! still, a truly great arcade game to play with a friend or two

[@jeremyfischer7856]

You know, the three playable characters have the same naming conventions as The Powerpuff Girls.

[@warsong5]

Sigma ending

[@MONSTRUOSOCULTOS]

This game deserved a sequel...

[@followerofmessiah9744]

New York could sure use them 3 guys right about now.

[@RetroWill]

Cyborg ain't ladies!

[@chcobri9777]

Este era un juegazo muy entretenido en los arcade

[@ianheidern]

El indio q sale en el estadio me costó muchas fichas ($)

[@diegoservangarrido2207]

La verdad es que era muy original. No tenía los graficos tan vistosos para la época, como eran Final Fight, Double Dragon, Captain Commando, etc, pero ese simple detallazo de aplastar cabezas contra el suelo o entre los enemigos, le dió un toque brutal, que éstos que menciono, no tenía y eso lo hizo muy adictivo y entretenido. Aquí en España no duró mucho, probablemente porque la gente se quejaría del exceso de violencia, sino, no lo entiendo.

[@edinsonbahamondesjara1943]

Juegazooooo

[@mkaplan1383]

1:00 & 3:02 Rolf must discipline the nutty boat!

[@Crabomax]

Triple Dragons!

[@binkaram6577]

the final level music gives Robocop vibes

[@sutarjatsutarjat6789]

声の出演: 堀秀行 屋良有作 郷里大輔 江森浩子 内海賢二

[@keness4768]

That’s some badass gaming there…. I’m inspired. I can 1cc crime fighters american rom easily now, but this game just seemed impossibly cheap to me. I’m gonna try my luck at what you’ve been able to do here. Question though. Is there any difference between the roms? I.e., is any of them easier than the other, etc.?

[@utasavbiswas5109]

I love you video game

[@duanemartin4958]

I miss these types of games

[@murkhim504]

The guy with robot hands is a character in World Heroes

[@followerofmessiah9744]

Ground face smash my favorite.

[@sasapetroski981]

I was 10 years old when play this😊😊😊

[@funkydanieluk]

As a kid I thought this game was about beating up dwarfs.

[@patton72010]

looks and plays like Double Dragon.

[@YeOldeGamerGrampsofOlde]

Both games from Technos. Why fix what ain't broken? Unline nowadays.

[@one7decimal2eight]

What double dragon 3 should have been

[@FartSmucker]

Would be cool to be 7 foot tall and you and your other basically 7 foot tall friends are just out and about destroying dudes on the street.

[@Vikashar]

I wanted to be Haggar back then

[@johntitor.]

All winners use drugs, let's not kid ourselves.

[@user-kr9df8xf4d]

이 게임 제목이 뭐입니까? 오락실 에서도 진짜 많이 했었죠

[@pachondeck]

컴뱃트라이브스 입니다.

[@roms2488]

Great game with really cool soundtrack

[@Akumasaori]

Very excellent !

[@KindredEmotions]

This is like Double Dragon if you played as Abobo.

[@MajinOsirus]

23:17 this was a turning point

[@Thetrue777luck777]

And they never return...😐

[@victormalyar9200]

Berserker looks like Billy Idol.

[@edinsonbahamondesjara1943]

Si, se parece a Billy idol

[@phlebiax5592]

Pennywise and the Joker are getting beat up by a Guile-Billy-Goofy lookalike.

[@WarlockX4]

"IT" would have been a very short movie if these dudes were around.

[@chocolatestraw3971]

How can you say that after all the Combatribes did for the city?

[@lewisf18]

Wow. Made it look so easy

[@TheNaturalPatHarris]

If they remake this game today, they’d had to make a lot of changes for the PC warriors

[@BenjaminNixon]

11:21 The Combatribes is so cancelled

[@rafihossen6477]

A woman is the final boss?

[@swoopdown27]

Yes. A cyborg and hard as hell.

[@wroughtironmgtow9558]

I didnt know the boss at the end of the first stage was David Crosby.

[@mfeliz04]

It's very easy, it's like you're fighting with the kindergarteners. there are no challenges and nothing that complicates you, it's just like abusing everyone. the scenarios are perfect. but they were able to take some concepts from other games. Double dragon forever! Thanks for de video.

[@cherokeefit4248]

He literally killed the guy at 7:44 via pinball machine lol

[@franciscolopez4739]

Very music!!

[@mikeman4695]

Odd one, but fun play through on SNES

[@reelrocknrolla4251]

I guess they were politically correct 40 years ago as well (no black/brown gangs)

[@spiderklanblaze3124]

Can u beat punch out

[@jtheexistentialist1221]

And just like that I went home. No point at all. Lol

[@Vectormantudeoz]

SPOILER ALERT: *The final boss is Barbie*

[@wingedhussar5528]

I love how back in those days developers didnt quite understand the whole concept of height, weight, muscle mass ratio. I'm 5'7 and 202lb lean; these guys would dwarf me with size yet they all weigh less than me.

[@incubustimelord5947]

This was a good video game for its time but it looks very dated and even outdated, especially for an early 1990s side-scrolling beat'em up similar to Double Dragon, Final Fight and Streets Of Rage. This story needs to get either a reboot and/or remake that re-imagines and retells the plot in a much more contemporary, and modernized way that updates it for the present, or it needs a continuation story and/or sequel that could possibly lead to a prequel story that explains the origins of the main characters Berserker, Bullova and Blitz, and maybe even a spin-off with all-different, all-new characters. But for what it was, the Combatribes is a cult classic of early '90s video arcade games that remains a great thrasher game for nostalgic reasons but is also clearly a product of its time, created during the scrolling beat'em up video game craze that was very much in style back then, but unlike other video games similar to it, sadly just did not age well over the last 30 years.

[@nebularain3338]

I don't think the game had much of a story tbh. It clearly has some Double Dragon DNA in it (same director, same artist, same composer), but you are right, it was very very dated looking for 1990.

[@incubustimelord5947]

@Nebula Rain Well then, good. All the better and all the more reason for them to make either a sequel or remake that actually fleshes out the characters and the story, right?

[@lucasmr3215]

For a 1990 title it looks really good! But double dragon 3 in other hand...

[@incubustimelord5947]

@LucasMR321 The Combatribes has the same kind of "blocky" art style of My Heavy Barrell. But that art is an acquired taste. Double Dragon III: The Rosetta Stone was terrible. The standard should be the much more realistic appearances of the sprites from such video games as Streets Of Rage, Final Fight and Street Fighter. If they don't look at least that decent in terms of art design, then they make the video game look bad.

[@AngryCalvin]

I love Techno's! One of my favorite game companies of all time. I played a ton of Double Dragon/Kunio back in the day and still to this day. This game just doesn't resonate with me at all. The controls, the gameplay, and overall presentation are just not what I love about Technos. It's better than Double Dragon V. But I even prefer Double Dragon 3 over this. This just doesn't represent anything great at all. Not a good game.

[@user-ch9hh1dh6t]

凄い！

[@villsonthong1654]

Actually the final boss is her own wife

[@Wide-screen]

😊

[@mkpalmer99]

7.01 feet tall but only 176 lbs? Yeesh

[@buckweezy1942]

Xbox arcade please