Retro Replay Review

Gameplay

The first pull is simple: you are Kid Muscle, powered up and immediately pointed at a succession of dMp villains. That gives Story Mode a clean arcade-like drive. Instead of spending its opening trying to establish why the fights matter, the game lets the series’ superhero wrestling logic do the work and sends you toward the next strange-looking opponent.

There are 23 wrestlers here, which matters more than it might in a smaller Game Boy Advance fighter. Even if Story Mode keeps your attention on Kid Muscle, the broader roster gives the other modes a reason to exist. Survival is the obvious choice when you want repeated fights without the campaign framing, while 3 vs. 3 is the mode to try when a single match is not enough and you want more of the cast involved.

Training Mode is a welcome part of the package because this is a fighting game first, even with wrestling at its center. Spend a little time there before judging the combat on a rough early loss; it is the sensible route if you want to make the most of the roster rather than treating it as a quick licensed diversion. The game’s strongest hook remains the clash between familiar anime personalities, not an elaborate progression system.

Graphics

The game uses a side-view, 2D scrolling format, keeping the wrestlers in clear focus during bouts. Its most memorable images come from the source material itself: Kid Muscle and the dMp lineup are a highly picturesque collection of exaggerated wrestling characters, and that cartoonish variety is a real asset when you are moving from fight to fight.

Story

This is a sequel-minded setup that assumes you are ready for Kid Muscle at full strength. Evil Bone Cold has already fallen before the game begins, and Kid Muscle has obtained the Ultimate Muscle’s maximum power. That is a bold starting point for fans, since it skips the origin-story hesitation and drops you into the next threat.

The campaign’s structure is straightforward: Kid Muscle must meet the evil fighters of the dMp one by one. It is not a story that asks you to untangle competing plotlines. Its value is in seeing a recognizable hero run through a gallery of villains from the Kinnikuman saga, with each new encounter offering another chance for the license’s peculiar character designs to carry the mood.

If you know the newer Kinnikuman seasons, that directness is a benefit rather than a shortcoming. You get a focused Kid Muscle adventure built around his status as Muscleman’s son and a series of confrontations with the clan in his way. If you are coming in cold, the premise is still easy to follow: powerful young hero, ridiculous adversaries, and a fight to settle every disagreement.

Overall Experience

Ultimate Muscle: The Kinnikuman Legacy – The Path of the Superhero is a solidly scoped handheld wrestling fighter with enough modes to avoid feeling exhausted after Story Mode. The campaign gives you a clear reason to start, then Survival, 3 vs. 3, and the full 23-wrestler lineup offer reasons to keep sampling matches once Kid Muscle’s path is complete.

The biggest payoff comes from the license’s personality. Kinnikuman has never been about restrained character work, and a roster of bizarre heroes and dMp enemies suits a compact 2D fighting game far better than a generic collection of wrestlers would. You should give it a chance if that exaggerated anime wrestling tone sounds fun, especially if you want something portable and immediately match-focused.

At the same time, this is not a game that disguises what it is. You are getting a Kid Muscle-led run through dMp opponents and a selection of modes built around wrestling fights, not a sprawling sports simulation. That clarity works in its favor. It earns its 7.3 as a good licensed Game Boy Advance game with a distinctive cast and a worthwhile amount to do after the first story bout.

Retro Replay Score

7.3/10