released in Europe as Athlete Kings due to a licensing issue, is a track-and-field themed arcade sports video game. On its unveiling, the gaming media generally described it as a modern clone of Daley Thompson's Decathlon. Released in 1996, it was developed by Sega AM3 and produced by Sega. A home port was released on the Sega Saturn in 1996, largely identical to the arcade version, due to the similar hardware of the ST-V hardware and the Saturn. It was released on the PlayStation 2 in Japan only as part of the Sega Ages 2500 series. Compared to other decathlon based games, Decathlete has a more comic and cartoon-like style. A sequel followed in 1997, which was the winter sports-based Winter Heat.
Gameplay
The overall gameplay is largely based on quick, repeated button pressing for gaining speed, and timed single button presses for jumping and releasing projectiles, in a similar style to the 1983 Konami arcade game, Track & Field. The game differs with a slightly more advanced control system and 3-D graphics.
The player must select one of eight fictional international athletes. In all versions, the player competes in ten traditional decathlon events: 100 metres, Long jump, Shot put, High jump, 400 metres, 110 metre hurdles, Discus throw, Pole vault, Javelin throw and 1500 metres. In the arcade version, the player is required to meet a minimum set time, height or distance to qualify for the next event. The home console versions allow the player to compete in a full decathlon featuring all ten events without qualifying limit. Despite a potential for a multiplayer gameplay, the game is limited to two players at a time. In a one-player game, the player competes against one AI-controlled opponent, chosen from the list of playable characters. The only exception to this is in the 1500 metres, where six generic athletes also participate in the race.
The PlayStation 2 port still allows only up to two human players to participate, but all playable characters appear in the sprint and dash events.
Characters
Rick Blade: Also known as the "Pennsylvanian Power", the 25-year-old American athlete Blade is an all-rounder, making him a favourite in any event. He is roughly based on legendary athlete Carl Lewis. Karl Vain: A 28-year-old German competitor with long blonde hair who's known for his sheer confidence, to the point of arrogance. Although competitive in all events, he is said to be able to jump over anything. Robin Banks: A veteran at 38 years old, zebra print leotard-clad Banks is the reigning champion from the previous decathlon. The giant Briton is particularly strong in the throwing events. He is roughly similar in appearance to legendary athlete Daley Thompson. For the home releases of the game, his name was changed to Jef Jansens. He was also removed altogether from the US release. Aleksei Rigel: A seasoned decathlon competitor, Rigel is physically the strongest of the eight competitors. This makes the 31-year-old Russian athlete good at throwing events. Joe Kudou: At 19, Japanese athlete Kudou is the youngest of the male competitors and thus lacks experience. He relies on his high skill levels in all event types. He wears a reversed baseball cap. Femi Kadiena: A national record breaker in her home nation, Kadiena has come to break records on the world stage. The 24-year-old Jamaican athlete specialises in jumping events. Ellen Reggiani: Due to her speed and stamina, Reggiani is known as the "French Express". The 20-year-old French competitor also works as a model. In others versions, her name was changed to Pilar Jimenez (as was her nationality to Spanish). Li Huang: The youngest competitor here at 15, Huang of China has silenced her critics, who object to her age, with her tremendous speed. She received a slight redesign in the US releases to make her appear less childish. Mankichi Kazami: A hidden character available only in the Japanese version of the game on the Sega Saturn. Appears to be based on a character from a Japanese Manga comic, "Decathlon". According to the synopsis of this comic, he is a 20-year-old "yokel" with significant natural athletic ability, but very little knowledge, who simply turns up for trials for the Olympics, having never competed before.