Original Release: Sega, 1996, Arcade
Other Releases: Saturn (1996), PS2 (2004)
Also called “Athlete Kings” in the European release, Decathlete is a similarly simple update of Track & Field that capitalized on then-new 3D polygonal graphics
DecAthlete (PS2, Sega, 2004)
Where to Buy: eBay
How to Emulate: PlayStation 2 Emulation Guide
Review by: C. M0use
With Decathlete, Sega basically just takes your button-mashing Olympic arcade titles of the 80s (like Track & Field and Hyper Sports) and updates them with 3D models … and really that’s all the game does, making its appeal fairly limited.
The standard mode of the game takes you through a linear series of events, all of which involve either some kind of button-pounding to build speed, or some kind of button press timing (or both). Always seems to be the same order of events, so if you get stuck on one you can’t quite get the timing of, that’s it for you! At least you get infinite re-tries.
The home versions just add the ability to play any single event, or an “edit” mode where you can set the order of events yourself. But that’s pretty much it. The PS2 release (Japan-only, in the Sega Ages series) just spiffed up the graphics a tad.
I don’t really see a modern market for this game outside of pure personal nostalgia. I mean, I get it at the time it was released; it was an arcade showpiece for Sega’s then-new Titan board in the mid-90s, probably meant to capitalize on the ’96 Olympics, and probably with a relatively short development time. You know, back when these chonky polygons would still be impressive and capture some quarters all by themselves. I don’t see much modern appeal though, unless you want a simple-as-possible arcadey track-and-field game with goofy characters for just two players (and don’t mind beating up a controller with constant button slamming).
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