Fossil Fighters (video game)
Excavate fossils, revive vivosaurs, and battle for Vivosaur Island.
Players excavate fossils and revive them into creatures called vivosaurs for turn-based battles. The game received mixed to positive reviews and was followed by two sequels.
Quick Facts
- Developer
- Nintendo SPD
- Red Entertainment
- M2
- Artdink
- Publisher
- Nintendo
- Composer
- Asuka Ito
- Megumi Inoue
- Daisuke Shiiba
- Platforms
- Nintendo DS
- Released
- April 17, 2008 (JP)
- August 10, 2009 (NA)
- September 17, 2009 (AUS)
- Genre
- Role-playing
- Modes
- Single-player, Multiplayer
Facts from the source article.
Gameplay
Fossil Fighters is a role-playing game where players explore dig sites to excavate fossil rocks containing fossilized body parts. Each vivosaur requires a head fossil for revival, with arms, legs, and body parts providing statistical bonuses. Cleaning fossils involves a touchscreen minigame using tools like a hammer and drill within a 90-second time limit; cleaning quality affects the vivosaur's strength. Battles are turn-based with teams of up to three vivosaurs, using Fossil Power (FP) for attacks and abilities. An elemental affinity system assigns types such as Fire, Water, Air, Earth, and Neutral, with strengths and weaknesses between primary elements. Legendary-element vivosaurs have no elemental advantages or disadvantages.
Plot
The player arrives on Vivosaur Island and trains as a Fossil Fighter after helping Rosie recover stolen Dino Medals. They repeatedly encounter the BB Bandits, who seek mysterious idols. After exposing the police chief as the band's leader and rescuing Rosie, Mr. Richmond suggests the bandits worked for an unknown client. The player meets Duna, a dinaurian extraterrestrial, who reveals the idols form the Idolcomp, a supercomputer for Project: Mother Planet, intended to devolve humanity. Duna sympathizes with humans and refuses to participate; Dr. Diggins sabotages the process. The dinaurians' homeworld was destroyed by Guhnash, and they seeded Earth with genetic material. King Dynal resumes the project but is defeated. The Idolcomp reveals humanity evolved independently and summons Guhnash to eradicate life.
Reception
Fossil Fighters scored 32 out of 40 from Famitsu. American reviews averaged between 7 and 8, praising the cleaning minigame and battles while noting similarities to Pokémon. IGN gave a 5.3, criticizing repetition and the Pokémon comparison.
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