Play Power Moves Online

Summary

Power Moves (known as Power Athlete on other platforms) feels like a classic 2‑D fighter, but it throws a few quirks into the mix. The single‑player campaign sticks you with Joe, an American kenpo practitioner, and lets you grind his strength, speed and endurance like a light‑RPG, while the versus mode uses a two‑plane arena reminiscent of Fatal Fury’s split‑screen battles.

The roster is a globe‑trotting oddball crew: Warren the hulking Hawaiian bruiser, Reayon the lone female Thai‑Chinese flexible‑fist master, Vagnad the onyx‑skinned Russian wrestler with a grim backstory, Spanish matador‑knife‑wielder Nick, Japanese kabuki ninja Buoh, hard‑fist Chinese fighter Gaoluon, and Baraki, the Kenyan tribal chief who also works for the secret Junk organization. The hidden final boss, Ranker, is the American Champion of Champions and can only be accessed via passwords.

Despite the different box art—Genesis’s blood‑splattered punch versus the SNES’s sweat‑colored splash—the gameplay, characters and moves are identical across versions. Nintendo’s stricter no‑violence stance forced the cover redesign, but the game itself contains no graphic blood or death moves.

Storyline

In Power Moves, the single‑player campaign puts you in the shoes of Joe, a scrappy fighter determined to rise through the ranks and claim the title of champion of champions. Each bout pits Joe against a colorful roster of opponents, each with their own quirks, as he battles his way across the tournament circuit.

The ultimate showdown arrives when Joe finally faces Ranker, the mysterious final boss who guards the championship crown. Defeating Ranker crowns Joe as the champion of champions and brings the story to its conclusion.