The game aims for a more realistic feel compared to other arcade fighters and features a unusual system in which buttons are used to move forward or backwards or pressing both to block, and the joystick is used to attack and grab the opponent. Taking cues from Mixed Martial Arts, players must knock out their opponent, make them submit, or winning a 3-point judgment after the timer runs out. Fighters can be knocked out of the ring, but instead of ending the round, this resets them to their initial position when the fight begins. The game also lacks projectiles, favoring close combat instead.
The game is recognizable for its protagonist Gai Tendo, who appeared in other SNK artworks and games in cameos as well as a Breakout Character in The King of Fighters series, where he and boss character Silber featured as bonus characters in The King Of Fighters XI. Also, this game featured an older Ryo Sakazaki as the representative of Karate in this game, following AOF and FF chronology as the new Mr. Karate, being older than his previous appearances outside KOF and has appeared in other games, notably NeoGeo Battle Coliseum.
At the moment, actually playing the game is a bit of a challenge, as it received no home release and emulation of the Hyper Neo-Geo 64 hasn't reached a satisfactory level, this has affected other HNG64-based games like the Samurai Shodown 64 series. There are clips of this game on YouTube, but the only options at the moment for actually playing it are to buy the HNG64 hardware and the game to play by your own or travel to Japan and hit up a local arcade.
The Other Wiki has an article about this game here
, as does the SNK Wiki. Also, Wayback Machine has an archive of the official page on SNK's old site here.
Disciplines represented in Buriki One:
- Total Fighting: Gai Tendo (Japan)
- Karate: Ryo Sakazaki (Japan)
- Boxing: Rob Python (USA)
- Taekwondo: Seo Yongsong (South Korea)
- Aikido: Takato Saionji (Japan)
- Judo: Jacques Ducalis (France)
- Professional Wrestling: Patrick Van Heyting (Netherlands)
- Greco-Roman Wrestling: Ivan Sokolov (Russia)
- Tai Chi Chuan: Song Xuandao (China)
- Muay Thai: Payak Sitipitak (Thailand)
- Sumo: Akatsuki-Maru (Japan)
- Original Karate: Silber (Germany)
World Grapple Tournament '99 in Tokyo features examples of:
- The Ace: Takato and Yongsong.
- Ambiguous Gender: Takato Saionji, who has been mistaken for a girl In-Universe.
- Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy: Like the half of the cast, especially Seo Yongsong.
- Badass Normal: All characters from this game are skilled fighters in their disciplines. Since it's a game with a realistic feel, there's no powers here (maybe except appearances in other games, mainly Ryo and Silber).
- Badass Longcoat: Gai has one in his entrance that he throws away before the fight, this intro also was used in his appearances on The King of Fighters series ('99 Evolution and 2000 as striker and XI as a Mid-Boss and Unlockable Fighter.)
- Bait-and-Switch Boss: For the final battle, you come out to face your opponent, one of the other fighters, only to see his unconscious body get tossed down the aisle by Silber.
- Bilingual Bonus: Silber means "silver" in German, so technically being misspelled as Silver is also correct.
- Butt-Monkey: Payak Sitipitak, who appears as the human punching bag to show all the techniques can be made in the game during the intro. Even this is used for Silber's intro in The King of Fighters XI.
- The Cameo: Various characters from this game appears have cameos in other SNK games, mostly in backgrounds for The King of Fighters series and as cards in SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters Clash series, with Gai as the poster boy of this game.
- The Casanova: Rob Python, even having A Lady on Each Arm in one artwork.
- Chromosome Casting: A game full of men with no fighting girls (at least selectable, Buriki Girls is another case.)
- Continuity Nod: Of original Art of Fighting and Fatal Fury In-Universe continuity:
- An older Ryo Sakazaki (30s, close to the 40s) appears in the game and taking the mantle of Mr. Karate after Takuma retired from fighting, and is now the head of the Sakazaki dojo. Indeed, in NeoGeo Battle Coliseum, this Ryo is used for the game, and is directly referred to as "Mr. Karate" or "Mr. Karate II".
- Seo Yongsong is Kim Kaphwan's star pupil who was chosen to represent not just his school, but taekwondo as a whole.
- Payak Sitipitak's son is a fan of Joe Higashi.
- Defeat Means Playable: Silber is unlocked when you defeat him with all characters.
- Final Boss: Silber, who is unlocked after defeating him with all characters.
- Guest Fighter: Ryo Sakazaki, who represents Karate in the game.
- Breakout Character: This older version of Ryo also appears in Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition (also for Hyper Neo-Geo 64) with another outfit, in The King of Fighters: Maximum Impact series (in the first as Ryo's Another Costume and as a Secret Character in the second as Mr. Karate, who's Another Costume is from Wild Ambition) and in NeoGeo Battle Coliseum as Mr. Karate.
- Anachronism Stew: The first Art of Fighting game takes place in the The '70s and Ryo is 21 years old, but in Buriki One which is set in 1999 he is 32 when he should be in the 40s. This is also noticeable with his birth date in both games (1957 in AOF1, 1967 in Buriki One).
- I Know Karate: Silber stated his martial art is Karate, but also learned other types of martial arts to complement his style. In the game, his style is named "Original Karate".
- Legacy Character:
- Ryo Sakazaki, who has taken Takuma's place as the head of the Sakazaki dojo, as well as the mantle of Mr.Karate.
- Seo Yongsong, who represents Kim Kaphwan's Taekwondo school in this tournament.
- Masked Luchador: An interesting example is Patrick, which his 2P outfit is a Luchador with a skeleton/calaca inspiration. This version is also famous for appearing in one card of SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters DS for Nintendo DS.
- Mythology Gag: In The King of Fighters XI:
- If you complete the game with the custom team of Ryo Sakazaki, Gai Tendo and Silber, you'll obtain a Buriki One illustration◊ with Gai celebrating with Yongsong and with Ryo (in his black gi) and Silber in the background.
- Gai's SDM "Rush" is a dashing tackle that if connects, you can continue as a manual combo with arrows instead of buttons, just like the attacks were made in Buriki One.
- If you complete the game with the custom team of Ryo Sakazaki, Gai Tendo and Silber, you'll obtain a Buriki One illustration
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: Most of the characters are based on real fighters:
- Gai Tendo: Mixed martial artist and pro wrestler Kazushi Sakuraba.
- Patrick Van Heyting: Various American pro wrestlers like Goldberg and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin.
- Jacques Ducalis: French Judoka David Douillet and Brazillian mixed martial artist Royce Gracie.
- Ivan Sokolov: Russian Olympic wrestling legend Aleksandr Karelin.
- Rob Python: American boxers Mike Tyson and George Foreman, with touches of NBA player Dennis Rodman.
- NPC: The Buriki Girls.
- Overly Long Name: The complete name of the game: Buriki One: World Grapple Tournament '99 in Tokyo.
- Padded Sumo Gameplay: Akatsuki-Maru.
- Power Trio: Gai, Takato and Yongsong, who became friends during the tournament and appear together in various official artworks.
- Product Placement: Various real Japanese companies as sponsors of the tournament (that probably were sponsors of the game in real life), such as Suntory, Mizuno and Konica.
- Red/Green Contrast: Gai Tendo is a Fiery Redhead who also uses red in his outfit, and Silber is a brutish karateka with White Hair, Black Heart who also uses green in his karategi.
- Red Is Violent: Gai Tendo, a Hot-Blooded guy who's a Fiery Redhead and also has red as one of the colors used in his outfit.
- Retired Badass: Some fighters were retired, but entered the tournament anyway just to prove they could still kick ass.
- Some Dexterity Required: The odd control scheme can come as a shock for those used to the traditional method.
- Spell My Name With An S: For Gai's last name (Tendou for Tendo) and Silver for Silber.
- Sports Hero Backstory: Jacques Ducalis and Ivan Sokolov were gold medalists. Also, most of the roster have or had titles in their respective arts, or were at least well known in their countries.
- Stout Strength: Akatsuki-Maru, as fitting for a sumo wrestler.
- Tournament Arc: The setting for this game in general.
- Videogame Dashing: The only 2 buttons move you Forward and Back. Pressing them 2 times lets you dash in these directions.
- Wrestler in All of Us: In this game there's professional wrestling (Patrick) and Greco-Roman wrestling (Ivan).
- You Don't Look Like You: All fighters have a totally different outfit when you select them with other buttons like other 3D games like Tekken and Dead or Alive.
