Retro Replay Review

Gameplay

The first thing Tokumori gets right is giving you a lot of Kinnikuman to dig into. Thirty-nine fighters is a substantial roster for a licensed wrestling-fighting game, and the six additions are not treated as a footnote: Kinnikuman Super Phoenix, Zebra, Mariposa, Big Body, Neptuneman, and Big the Budou are the clearest reason to pick this sequel over Muscle Grand Prix Max. If you already have favorites from the series, that expanded selection is likely to be the hook.

The mode list also makes the package feel more durable than a string of disconnected matches. History gives you a dedicated route to work through, Tournament is the obvious choice when you want a more competitive run, and Practice is welcome when you want room to work on your fighting without a bracket hanging over you. It is a sensible spread, especially for a game whose pleasure rests heavily on spending time with a large licensed cast.

Collection is the mode with the most interesting long-term nudge. Unlocking fighter picture galleries by executing certain movements during a fight gives you a reason to vary what you do instead of treating every bout as disposable. That can be satisfying for completion-minded fans, though it also means the game asks you to pay attention to more than winning. Special sweetens the deal further with M.U.S.C.L.E. and Kinnikuman: Kinnikusei Oui Soudatsusen, two early games from the same universe that make this feel like more than a standard sequel.

Graphics

The roster and arenas are the visual draw: you are getting a crowded Kinnikuman lineup spread across familiar-sounding fight locations including Osaka Castle, the Cube Ring, and the Fist of Heracles. Those three new stages give the matches more variety in backdrop than a single-ring setup, while the game’s anime and manga license keeps the focus firmly on its recognizable fighters.

Story

History mode is the natural destination if you want your matches arranged as something more deliberate than one-off exhibitions. Its presence matters because a cast this large can otherwise become a menu of disconnected novelty picks; a directed mode gives you a reason to stay with the game after sampling the newcomers.

The real narrative pull comes from the Kinnikuman name and the chance to use characters spanning the game’s roster, including the six new fighters. Fans invested in those personalities will get more from the matchups than someone who only wants a purely mechanical wrestling game, because the license is the main reason this particular lineup has weight.

Tokumori is therefore stronger as a fan-focused continuation than as a story-first recommendation. Go in wanting bouts with Kinnikuman characters and a History mode to organize that time, rather than expecting the reviewable center of the game to be an elaborate narrative.

Overall Experience

Tokumori feels like an expansion-minded sequel in the good sense: more fighters, more stages, more modes, and two older Kinnikuman games folded into Special. It does not merely repeat Muscle Grand Prix Max with a new subtitle. The additions give you several ways to settle in, whether you want a tournament run, practice time, gallery hunting, or retro curiosities.

The frustration point is also easy to predict. If the Kinnikuman license means little to you, much of the game’s value is tied to a roster whose biggest strength is familiarity and breadth. You can still find a sizable fighting package here, but fans are the ones most likely to care that Super Phoenix, Zebra, Mariposa, Big Body, Neptuneman, and Big the Budou made the cut.

For Kinnikuman devotees, this is an easy sequel to recommend: it respects the desire for more characters and gives you enough surrounding modes to keep the fights from going stale immediately. Anyone else should give it a chance only if a large, license-driven wrestling-fighting roster and the unusual retro-game extras sound more inviting than a streamlined modern fighting experience.

Retro Replay Score

7.3/10