I really enjoyed the first Sumo 64 game, much to my surprise. It had simple but quick gameplay, and an intriguing story that went a bit off the rails (in a fun way) by the end. As a result, I was very interested in seeing how the second one would be like. Unfortunately, I was quite disapointed.

There are some improvements, and I think the language barrier does hinder these improvements somewhat. The combat system is much more in depth, with special moves and abilities that I could never quite figure out – and even then, I liked the simplicity of the first game. It still retains the more rhythm style of combat, though.

You do get to create your own character in this game. There’s a few options to change and you can enter your name, which is used for just the opening cutscene – then you pick your Sumo name (from a limited set of Japanese words – possibly linked to what the announcer can say) and the first name you inputted is never used again.

The story this time no longer unfolds in between individual matches (you very occasionally get a standalone little skit, but it doesn’t advance the story), but instead in between tournaments. You can pick different locations to visit. Important events are highlighted, but outside of that, where you pick makes no difference. Some cutscenes are just random little skits, while others further your relationship with a few women.

After around 20 tournaments, I ended up giving up on the game. No overall plot had begun (even at the start of the first game, you had a few rivals and would have some fights outside the tournaments), just standalone stories with three different women. Two of them crop up occasionally, with the main one being a restaurant owner where you spend years trying to help her come up with a new menu. I kept waiting for the main story to start, but just got fed up in the end.

I got strangely addicted to getting through the first Sumo 64, but the changes to how the story works (and seeming lack of a main plotline) means that this wasn’t as enjoyable.

Fun

Remake or Remaster?

I would still like to see both of these games – perhaps I missed some stuff due to Google Translate?

Official Ways to get the game

There’s no official way to play Sumo 64 2.