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“Invincible” is an extremely generic title for a video game, even
in Korean. So it didn't jar me in the least when countless unrelated hits came
up in my search for information on a game thusly named. The next logical step
would be to search for the company that produced the game. As bad luck would
have it that company's name was Softry, which meant that, since the letters
'l' and 'r' are used interchangeably by Koreans, my searches yielded endless
hits about the song “Killing me Softly.”
It should also be noted that information about video games produced in South
Korea during the “golden age” of its software market — the '80s
and early '90s — is extremely hard to come by, even within the country
itself. Added to which the vast majority of Koreans have little to no interest
in discussing titles they worked on “so long ago.” This means that
even if one is lucky enough to actually come across the contact information
for a particular developer, the likelihood of actually having a discussion
with that person about an “ancient” video game they no longer care
about, is low.
About this point most anyone would just say, “Screw it!” and move
on. After all, Invincible isn't a particularly good game. In fact, it stinks.
However a certain, stubborn young man wouldn't let a few search engine
annoyances stop him from nabbing what he hoped would be at least a passively
interesting story. No, sir! That's why, aided by my translator friend in
Seoul, I set out to find someone actually willing to discuss this dreadful
piece of software.
BACKGROUND
Softry started strong by producing Astonishia Story — a successful RPG
for the PC — putting them in prime position to light up the South Korean
software market. Sadly they wasted their chance by deciding to quickly slap
together a completely unplayable Street Fighter II clone with ridiculous
controls including very unorthodox button combinations to perform each
character's special attacks. Heck, not even all of those attacks were listed
in the manual! The author of said manual even mentions this, writing that the
player, “will have more fun discovering them.” He was wrong.
By now you're probably wondering how such an abysmal product could have
possibly interested me in the first place. The answer is simple: one of the
fighters it features is a North Korean. Yes, you read that right. Invincible
is the first, and so far only, fighting game to include a character from the
Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), the South's estranged neighbor.
That uniqueness in itself was enough for me to not only take interest, it also
piqued my curiousity about the possible motives behind such a shocking choice.
DIGGING DEEPER
As luck would have it I was able, with the help of my translator friend, to
locate a former Softry employee named Donghyun Chung, and squeeze a bit of
info out of him. Though he himself did not work on Invincible, he was employed
by the company at the time the game was developed.
According to Donghyun, Invincible was planned to be the first truly
impressive fighting game for the PC. Trouble was, no one from the game's
development team had ever had the chance to properly play a fighting game
before, meaning there was a lot about the basic formula that they simply did
not understand. This is what led to, for example the game's controls being
completely different from those popularized by Street Fighter II, the standard
at the time. In addition the game featured no option to continue after a loss,
meaning the already ridiculously difficult game became virtually impossible to
complete. All in all, said Donghyun, Invincible was “the worst game
Softry came up with.”
The only things that stood out to gamers were the unique character concepts,
the fighter from North Korea being especially appealing. Turns out that
fighter, named Ri Seong Il, had been introduced as a hopeful boon to the
marketing campaign, which he was. Among the other characters are a mob boss's
daughter who fights with a whip, a fat Japanese man who cries like a baby when
he loses, and a modern-day viking.
TABLE SCRAPS
Many games that are rushed through to completion contain pieces of unused
material, and Invincible is no exception. The back of the game box includes
photos of two background stages that never made it into the final product.
Sadly a full decompilation of the game data revealed no trace of their
graphics, leaving the photos as perhaps the only remnants of their existence.
What I was able to fully uncover, however, were a rough set of graphics
announcing the round numbers — in the final game only a “Fight”
message is displayed at the start of each round — and a short animation
of a young lady leaning in to deliver a kiss. Presumably, the amorous gal was
originally meant to be delivering a smooch to a victorious Baron Balboa, as
her graphics were contained in a data file related to this fighter's stage
set. But we'll never know for sure.
DEATH BECOMES THEM
Though strong sales from Astonishia Story built up trust in Softry and helped
create sales for Invincible, the mediocre fighter left a bitter taste in many
gamers' mouths. To make matters worse, following the completion of the game
its development team quit Softry complaining of receiving low wages.
In the end Softry's reputation was ruined. Their future titles sold poorly by
comparison, and even a 1996 name change could not absolve the company of its
sins. Then perhaps it came as no surprise when, in 1998, the vincible Softry
— by then named FEW — closed its doors for good.
INSPIRATION
But that's not the end of the story.
One lasting effect Invincible and its North Korean character had on me was to
help reignite my childhood interest in the DPRK, the fascinating “hermit
kingdom” the rest of the world knows so little about. I began reading every
book I could find on the country, delving into its history, culture, politics...
any information I could get access to was eagerly digested.
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My curiosity finally overwhelmed me: it was time for me to visit this strange,
isolated nation. After comparing companies I booked a trip to the DPRK through
the China-based Young Pioneer Tours,
who were highly recommended for their fun, engaging, and detailed itineraries.
The fact that they provided Western guides to supplement the state appointed
Korean minders made me feel comfortable that someone with a familiar perspective
would be at my disposal any time.
In June of 2014, I spent nearly ten days in North Korea, exploring several
cities including Pyongyang, Hamhung and Wonsan. During my time in the country
I hiked up beautiful mountains, visited stunning cultural sites and monuments,
enjoyed a bonfire on the beach, experienced what may be the world's most
impressive war history museum and so much more. But the moment that most
closely tied in with Invincible was when I toured the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ)
guided by an officer in the Korean People's Army (KPA), the country's military
service in which the game character Ri Seong Il serves. |
Brandon Cobb with KPA officer at the DMZ
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I also had the chance to give my Korean guides a demonstration of Sango Fighter 2 —
one of my all time favorites — in their native language, thanks to the
Korean script we at Super Fighter Team implemented into our updated version of
the game which we'd released in 2013. Both Koreans stated that the
translation was of good quality, and that they found the game's story
interesting. When I founded Super Fighter Team back in 2004, I never imagined
that one day, one of the video games I worked on would be on display in the
DPRK. It was a surreal experience.
My visit to the DPRK was an incredible adventure, my favorite overseas
excursion to date. I learned a great many things about the country, making new
friends along the way. It's possible that none of this would have happened at
all were it not for a crappy old fighting game for the PC named Invincible:
sure proof that a video game doesn't necessarily have to be any good in order
to provide a great experience.
“Invincible” article and website content © Brandon Cobb.
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