jsumo

With laser-blast-firing sumo wrestlers on horses, Japan Sumo Derby was one of the best things we’ve seen this year. So, how can it be topped? With Street Fighter characters!

The original Japan Sumo Derby game, produced for the JRA (Japan Racing Association) and Nihon Sumo Kyokai (Japan Sumo Organization), was a free browser game made to promote sumo, horse racing, and, presumably, the people who make laser blasts. Players could even race against a robot sumo wrestler, which probably satisfies Rule 34 for someone.

Sadly, Japan Sumo Derby is no longer online, possibly because the Internet can only contain so much awesomeness without a tube bursting. Fortunately, though, there is a silver lining to this dark cloud: A new version of the game featuring Street Fighter characters has been announced!

The new game will be released on November 22, which is this Sunday! We can only assume that means Monday will be the least productive day this year, despite what you may have heard about Fallout 4 and certain websites involving videos of people doing, um, things to each other.

Japan Sumo Derby featured a variety of real sumo wrestlers and horses and had players using “special attacks” to speed their steeds to the finish line. Its animation and models were mediocre at best and the game was seemingly made by throwing darts at a dictionary — which probably explains why it was so popular. Adding the likes of Ryu and Chun-Li will only increase the insanity level, so you can believe we will be hooked.

Keep an eye on Japan Sumo Cup this weekend for what promises to be the Game of the Year!

Reference: Japan Sumo Cup
Featured image: YouTube/jraofficial