Sumo wrestling, as everyone knows, is a noble and ancient Japanese art where a rotund man bounces around like a ping pong ball, occasionally careening into other sumo wrestlers, and shoveling rice down his gullet as quickly as possible to increase his size and convert all adversaries into clones of himself. At least that's what I've learned from Hungry Sumo, the newest title from perennial JIG favorites NinjaKiwi. Fifty Sixty levels of addictive arcade goodness await.
The controls couldn't be simpler: click anywhere on the "ready" screen to start a level. When you hover over a sumo that you control (the jolly-looking fellows clutching red rice bowls), he will start chomping down rice like a college student at all you can eat sushi, and begin to grow in circumference. If you bump into an enemy sumo while growing, your sumo will immediately "pop" and be turned into a baby sumo of the enemy sumo's type, so avoid bumping into enemy sumo while growing. You can bump into your own sumo while growing with no damage.
Recently updated with 10 NEW Levels!
Every time your own sumo hits an enemy sumo (except the statue sumo), both sumo will take damage relative to the size differential between the two. In general, a big sumo is going to cause a lot of damage to a small sumo, the exception being the oni sumo, who hits harder the smaller he gets. Your object is to leave no enemy sumo remaining on the level. While you start out facing only simple blue ninja, you're soon dealing with many more difficult challenges, such as the fiendish poison sumo. Don't be fooled by his "durrrr" expression and Frankenstein-ish friendly monster looks; a sumo that hits him will continue to shrink for a while, a horrible condition in a game where yes, size matters.
While the game play is completely different, Hungry Sumo has a lot of the jazzy Japanese charm that made the Sushi Cat series such a success. Even the music has that same kind of catchy funk. At first glance the game might seem to be unfairly luck-based, since you're at the mercy of the physics engine when it comes to where the little sumos bounce to. But in order to get far, you'll need to figure out that there's actually a lot under your control. You can influence trajectories by which sumo you choose to grow, for example, and in certain levels you may wish to make controlled sacrifices in order to gain an advantage elsewhere.
So loosen your belt, grab your industrial-strength chopsticks, and jump into Hungry Sumo for seconds. Or tenths. Or fiftieths. Yum.
Walkthrough Guide
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Hungry Sumo Tips and Tricks:
Types of Sumos:
Pink Sumo: you
Blue Sumo: the basic type of enemy, no special powers
Statue Sumo: bumps into you, he doesn't hurt you, and you don't hurt him, but if you bump him while growing, you turn into a statue, and that statue can not be undone
Ninja Sumo: works like a blue sumo, but does more damage per hit
Grower Sumo (in green): grows in pulses
Oni Sumo (red demon): hits harder as he shrinks (the opposite of others), and pursues your sumo when he's small
Poison Sumo (green skin): causes damage over time to sumos that bump into him
General Tips:
Patience is actually really important. Most of the time it's not necessary to try to take risks with feeding until the last possible second, because the consequences of bumping while growing are so dire. Focus your attention more on people in the clear.
Another area in which patience pays off is that making mistakes isn't the end. "If there's life there's hope" is definitely true in this game, so don't think you have to restart a level just because you've lost one sumo, even if due to a mistake on your part. Even if you're down to one tiny sumo, it's frequently possible to make a comeback, if you stay calm and play prudently.
Take advantage of the fact that your sumo can hit each other without penalty. If you have a sumo shielded by other sumos, focus on making that one huge.
The poison sumo is the most dangerous. On levels with more than one kind of enemy, get rid of the poison sumos first.
Remember that statue sumos, while they can't be changed by you, also can't be changed by your enemy. Sometimes it pays to purposefully let a sumo be turned to stone, rather than to let it float where it will be turned into an enemy sumo.
Posted by: joye
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June 2, 2011 11:09 PM