Fight Crab Review (Nintendo Switch)

Game: Fight Crab
Genre: Fighting, Simulation, Action
Developers | Publishers: Calappa Games | Mastiff
Age Rating: EU 12 | USA T
Price: EU €19,99 | US $19.99 | UK £19.99
Release Date: September 15th, 2020

Review code used, with many thanks to Mastiff!

A Crabtivating Game!

If you are already rolling your eyes at that crab pun, well start doing some eye-ball exercises now because the puns are going to keep on coming.

Fight Crab is an over-the-top, 3D, action, fighting game where you become a crab. As said crab, you will be thrust into battle after battle, your only goal: to flip the opposing crab onto their back thus rendering them incapable of getting back up and continuing the fight.

If you think that’s where it ends, you are dead wrong; while you can simply fight with your deadly, deadly pincers, each stage is full of various items and weapons that you can pick up at any time to enhance your attack power.

Want to strut around as a snow crab with some sweet sai? That can be arranged. Want to wail on your enemies with a flail? That can be arranged. Want to dual wield a samurai sword to smash shell? Well, yes, that can be arranged!

How Do I Get Into This Pinch!?

When you first boot up the game, you will have access to the initial tutorial stages. While I’m sure you COULD just jump in and button mash your way through the majority of the game, I wouldn’t recommend it.

The controls seem simple enough on paper, but I found them to be extremely difficult to master. You can play with the controller like normal, or you can use the joy-con motion controls. 

Using the two joysticks to manoeuvre your crab’s two main arms, you can then hit the left and right triggers to unleash punches. The left and right buttons will let you pinch your pincers and grab onto opponents (continuously inflicting damage if you manage it), as well as grabbing onto various weapons for your crabby-buddy to hold. Holding down both L and R at the same time will make your claws shine blue, and this will defend you against incoming attacks: a very useful skill.

As you move on in the tutorial and story you will unlock more attacks such as the Kanihameha: a super-powerful energy blast (yes, just like the fabled Dragon Ball Kamehameha). 

My advice: play through the tutorial. Even after playing through some of the tutorial stages twice, I found I was still struggling to efficiently control my crab. However, even for someone like me: a person who is awful at ALL fighting games, I – with some practice – was able to get to a point where I felt comfortable with the controls. Now that is an achievement.

The Scuttle To Happiness

The game boasts 7 tutorial stages (each one teaching you a different crab-skill), and 34 stages in the Campaign Mode. That’s a lot of crabs! 

Speaking of a lot of crabs: there are a bunch of different crabs you can unlock. When you play through a stage in the campaign you will collect coins that you can use to unlock various things: new crab fighters, weapons, and levels for your favourite crab.

Each crab fighter feels different: some are faster at walking but have very slow punches, some are good at turning quickly in a circle, some are better at taking hits are harder to flip over.

Part of the fun of Fight Crab is acquiring all of the different crab fighters and finding the one you like the best. I personally always love a fast character, and there are some cute little crabs who have quick punches – the downside is that usually, their range is quite short, so you really have to get in your opponents face in order to hit them. Though, if you’ve got a couple of really long katanas in your pincers. The variety of fighters is fun, and I had a blast trying out all of the different ones. 

The amount of weapons available is pretty astounding as well. As you see these weapons in your battles, you will then see them available for purchase in the shop. The weapons are almost essential in battle, especially as you progress further into the campaign.

Daily Dose of Carbohydrates

I’m not going to lie, the controls were frustrating at times for me. I felt like I did better simply mashing the buttons on the controller than I did when I was actively trying to properly fight: you know, doing things like defending properly, trying to strafe around my opponent. 

I could only win if I was walking straight into my opponent and mashing the punch combined with plenty of flailing. 

There is a certain joy to a fighting game that doesn’t demand much technical skill, but on the other hand, there is also a joy that comes from mastering a technical control combo as well. 

So it simply depends on what you are into. I personally prefer my fighting games more like Fight Crab and less like Street Fighter. I’d rather the computer not always beat me, even on easy mode. 

Fight Crab, More Like Delight Crab!

When I saw the trailer for Fight Crab I knew it would be a delight to play. It is over-the-top, ridiculous fighting game action, and the sheer silliness of it all makes it worth the purchase.

It is one of those games that is fun to play with your friends couch-co-op-style. If you’re looking for a precision fighting game where you can master a button combo and devastate every opponent, then this probably isn’t the fighting game for you.

If, however, you’re just looking for a fun fighting game where you can have a ridiculous time with your friends, then Fight Crab is the game for you. It even has the added caveat that you can make everyone use the joy-con controls and have a flailing crab-charades party! 

Conclusion

All of the crab fighters you can unlock are cute, and each feels unique and different. The weapons you can wield range from katana to chair, and it is a blast smashing your opponents with each one. 

You can play solo, couch co-op, or online. There are so many different arenas and battle modes, and once you find your crab-soulmate, you can level the bejeezus out of them to create your own ultimate crab fighter. 

Consider this one for your library if you’re a fan of fighting games, silliness, and/or crustaceans! 

Final Verdict:  I Like It