''Uchi Mata'' (also known as ''Judo Uchi Mata'') is a

judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyc ...

fighting game released for various

home computer Home computers were a class of microcomputers that entered the market in 1977 and became common during the 1980s. They were marketed to consumers as affordable and accessible computers that, for the first time, were intended for the use of a s ...

s by

Martech Games Martech was a video game publisher which operated in Pevensey Bay between 1982 and 1989. It was founded as Martech Games. The company published a number of successful video games for the BBC Model B, ZX Spectrum, ZX81, MSX, Amstrad CPC, Commodore ...

. It was promoted by British Olympic judoka

Brian Jacks Brian Jacks (born 5 October 1946) is a British judoka who won Britain's first medal at a World Championships taking a bronze in Salt Lake City 1967, and gained a second bronze at the 1972 Munich Olympics. Superstars Brian Jacks later ach ...

, who also acted as technical advisor. It is the first fighting game to feature counters and hidden moves.

Summary

This computer game is notable for its control scheme that allowed users to perform various fighting techniques. A similar control scheme would be used a year later in Capcom's arcade game ''

Street Fighter is a Media mix, Japanese media franchise centered on a series of fighting games developed and published by Capcom. Street Fighter 1, The first game in the series was released in 1987, followed by List of Street Fighter video games, six other ma ...

''. Another feature that would later appear in ''Street Fighter'' was the inclusion of hidden moves: moves that were not included in the instruction manual that players would have to find on their own. Unlike most other martial arts games the approach is more important than the actual kick/shove/punch etc., since the player must first grab the opponent and subsequently do an up/down/left/right combo (about ten different options to choose from) on the joystick before anything happens. The most powerful move is called

uchi mata is one of the original 40 throws of Judo as developed by Kanō Jigorō. It belongs to the second group, Dai Nikyo, of the traditional throwing list, Gokyo (no waza), of Kodokan Judo. It is also part of the current 67 Throws of Kodokan Judo. It ...

and if performed correctly it will knock out the opponent no matter how much strength he may have left. A nice little detail here is that the opponent's eyes (really just two black dots, and only one since the game is a side scroller) close/disappear when he lands on his back after a knock out-move, as if to say 'he's gone'. Punching is not allowed, yet there's one available punch in the game, and if executed the player is immediately disqualified. There are six to seven opponents in each level and you can continue play working your way up the 'Dan' ratings.

Reception

The game received mixed reviews. The animation was praised by

Sinclair User The ''Sinclair User'' was a magazine dedicated to the Sinclair Research range of home computers, most specifically the ZX Spectrum (while also occasionally covering arcade games). Initially published by ECC Publications, and later EMAP, it was pub ...

, but Crash criticised the controls. CVG said it was realistic but difficult. Phil South of

Your Sinclair ''Your Sinclair'', originally ''Your Spectrum'' or ''YS'', is a discontinued British computer magazine for the Sinclair range of computers, mainly the ZX Spectrum. It was commercially published between 1984 and 1993. History The magazine was la ...

said "Uchi Mata is quite good fun, but it seemed a bit unfinished to me. Shame, 'cos with a bit of tickling up this could have been a surefire hit." ''Uchi Mata'' sold poorly and it was soon re-released at budget price by

Alternative Software Alternative Software is a British software developer and publisher founded in 1985. From the mid 1980s to the early 1990s, the company published well over a hundred games, primarily for the 8-bit computer formats in the budget (£1.99 to £3.99) ...

. Alternative renamed the game as according to managing director Roger Hulley "the name didn't click, so we put the sport first and our title is called ''Judo Uchi Mata'', which really sells". ''Judo Uchi Mata'' reached the number nine in the UK video games charts in Autumn 1987.

References

External links

* * {{WoS game, id=0005497
''Uchi Mata''
at Lemon64 1986 video games 1986 in judo Amstrad CPC games Commodore 64 games Judo video games Video games developed in the United Kingdom ZX Spectrum games Video games based on real people Jacks Jacks Martech games Multiplayer and single-player video games Alternative Software games