ClayFighter 63⅓ is a 1997 fighting game developed and published by Interplay Productions for the Nintendo 64. It is the third installment in the ClayFighter series. The title is a parody of the 64 suffix common in Nintendo 64 games, and a reference to Naked Gun 33 1/3.
Upon release, ClayFighter 63⅓ was negatively received by critics for its gameplay, animation and AI. An updated version, titled ClayFighter: Sculptor's Cut, was released in 1998 as a Blockbuster rental exclusive. Due to its limited distribution, Sculptor's Cut is one of the rarest and most valuable Nintendo 64 games.
Gameplay Like its predecessors, ClayFighter and ClayFighter 2: Judgment Clay, ClayFighter 63⅓ uses stop motion animation and claymation rather than traditional computer animation, producing a unique visual effect.
The arenas in ClayFighter 63⅓ are distinctive, as most feature multiple rooms. During fights, players can punch or kick their opponents into different rooms, and the fight will continue there. There are 26 different rooms to fight in.
The game parodies other fighting games. It incorporates a 3-level bar for super combos, similar to the Street Fighter Alpha series, and uses parries like in the Street Fighter III series. Many of the super attacks are clear variations of attacks from the Street Fighter series. It also features a combo system similar to Killer Instinct, though it humorously mocks the combo names (e.g., "Itty Bitty Combo" or "Triple Brown Betty Combo"). During battles, players can use various attacks, each with its own strengths and weaknesses.
Plot The Isle of Klaymodo is home to Bessie, a purple meteor that crashed onto the island. Bessie contains the essential ingredient, Bawk Choy, which Dr. Kiln needs for his world-dominating Mutagen. Klaymodo's chief villains are the devious Dr. Kiln and the local voodoo practitioner, Happy Harry Houngan.
Using a mix of laboratory experiments and voodoo spells, they have created a bizarre group of henchmen to assist in their plan to take over the world. These grotesque goons include Bonker, a clown gone bad, and Ickybod Clay, a mysterious entity from down under.
Dr. Kiln is putting the finishing touches on his top-secret mutagen, code-named "Clayotic Claymorphisis," when Houngan enters the lab. Upon discovering Dr. Kiln's secret formula, chaos ensues. In the commotion, a vial of the mutagen shatters in Dr. Kiln's hand, and it begins to take on a life of its own.
The condition spreads quickly, forcing Dr. Kiln to amputate his own hand. As the severed hand hits the floor, it scurries out of the lab and into the dense jungle of Klaymodo. Houngan immediately rushes out in pursuit of the rogue hand, while Dr. Kiln writhes in agony.
Meanwhile, as Dr. Kiln copes with his new stump, a ship on a three-hour tour capsizes near Rubbage Reef. The ship's passengers are an eclectic group, each with their own goals. Among them is Bad Mister Frosty®, a former villain turned good, and Kung Pow, a wok chef known as Chef Boy R' Clay. Taffyman and Blob complete the castaways of the SS Manure.
Characters There are twelve characters in ClayFighter 63⅓, six of whom return from previous games in the ClayFighter series. Four characters make their debut in this game, and two are from other game series. The first nine characters are available for play from the start, while the remaining three are hidden and can be unlocked using cheat codes or by completing the game with each character.
All twelve characters from ClayFighter 63⅓ also appear in the updated version of the game, ClayFighter: Sculptor's Cut, which includes four additional characters, bringing the total roster to sixteen.
Default characters Bad Mr. Frosty: The Fighting Snowman
Once again reformed, Bad Mr. Frosty is a grouchy snowman determined to stop Dr. Kiln's sinister plot and reclaim the North Pole from Sumo Santa. Frosty fights by transforming his frozen body in various ways, creating snowballs, ice picks, and other icy weapons. He often attacks while growling the taunt, "Call me Daddy!" Frosty is one of the few characters to appear in every ClayFighter game, though his appearance has significantly changed in each installment. He is a parody of Frosty the Snowman.
Blob
Blob is an amorphous green blob with a dopey grin, who may not seem like a skilled fighter at first glance. However, Blob is a master of morphing, able to transform his body into various weapons, such as cannons, sledgehammers, and boxing gloves. He also has a taste for living clay and doesn't hesitate to devour a downed opponent for a quick snack. Blob has appeared in all three games in the series. In previous entries, he had a high-pitched voice and a sadistic grin, but in this installment, he is given a Quasimodo-like voice and a dopey expression.
Bonker
Once a children's entertainer, Bonker went insane years ago and now seeks revenge on anyone who laughed at him. With a perpetual scowl and a somber tone, Bonker's homicidal tendencies contrast sharply with his flamboyant dress and makeup. He attacks with cream pies, mallets, and a portable cannon, making his enemies suffer in creative ways. Bonker returns from the first ClayFighter game but with a completely different design. The original Bonker had a manic grin and a cheerfully goofy voice.
Earthworm Jim
The mightiest worm in all creation, Earthworm Jim is vacationing on Klaymodo Island when he hears of Dr. Kiln's mad scheme. Never one to allow evil to triumph, Jim springs into action, showcasing the head-whipping, raygun-blasting, and cow-dropping moves his fans adore. Jim is a guest character from his own game series, with Dan Castellaneta reprising his role from the cartoon series. In ClayFighter: Sculptor's Cut, Jim is only playable as a secret character.
Houngan
Happy Harry Houngan is an evil Jamaican witch doctor and master of voodoo with a sinister set of abilities to aid his quest for world domination through black magic. His primary weapon is a rubber chicken that he has transformed into a zombie. Houngan also wields a juju staff and a wooden tiki mask, which he can use as a bludgeon or even as a snowboard. Some of his attacks summon rotting zombie hands that reach out of the ground to grab his opponent. Upon entering the Battle Stage, Houngan rotates his head around, parodying The Exorcist.
Ickybod Clay
Ickybod Clay is a withered ghoul with a mushy Jack-o'-lantern for a head. He resides in his own haunted mansion, but his squeaky voice and somewhat geeky personality make him less terrifying than he aspires to be. His attacks include throwing his own head as a weapon, performing a parody of the shoryuken called the "Boo-Hoo Ken," and teleporting. Ickybod appeared in the original ClayFighter but had a more whispery and creepy voice. His name is a parody of Ichabod Crane.
Kung Pow
Kung Pow resembles a bucktoothed version of Bruce Lee and is a Chinese chef who also excels in martial arts. He wears a white gi and delivers dialogue filled with bland and questionable "oriental" wisdom. Most of his attacks are named after Chinese cuisine (such as Egg foo young and chop suey), and he uses utensils like chopsticks, woks, and meat cleavers as weapons. His name is a reference to Kung Pao chicken.
T-Hoppy: The Battle Bunny
T-Hoppy is a cyborg rabbit created by Dr. Kiln, who combined the disfigured Hoppy from ClayFighter 2 with mechanical implants to transform him into a living weapon. However, T-Hoppy rebelled against his creator and now fights to destroy Kiln and find peace of mind. Along with his impressive physical strength and cybernetic enhancements, T-Hoppy is also a skilled stage magician. In ClayFighter 2, Hoppy had an Austrian accent, parodying Arnold Schwarzenegger (despite not yet having his implants). The "T" in his name references Schwarzenegger's role as the Terminator; however , in this installment, he is given a generic drill sergeant-style voice to match his new design. Hoppy is the only new character from ClayFighter 2 to return, as all other new characters from that game were removed.
Taffy
Taffy, a former circus freak and partner of Bonker, is a bizarre creature made entirely out of taffy, granting him extraordinary flexibility and agility. He also uses gumballs as throwing weapons and carries a pair of six-shooters. Taffy frequently mimics Curly Howard of The Three Stooges, especially Moe's iconic line, "Oh, a wise guy, eh?" This vocal resemblance was more pronounced in the original ClayFighter, where Taffy first appeared.
Unlockable characters
Boogerman
Boogerman, another hero from previous Interplay games, joins the Clayfighters to save the day and outshine his old rival, Earthworm Jim. Boogerman fights using his signature bodily emissions, including mucus, belches, and explosive flatulence. Additionally, he can summon a barrage of falling toilets to crush his foes.
Dr. Kilnklein (often referred to as Dr. Kiln)
Dr. Generic Kiln is the main villain of the game. After being indirectly responsible for the events of ClayFighter 2 (he is mentioned in the manual but doesn't appear in the game), Dr. Kiln's latest scheme is to transform the entire world into clay, allowing him to mold it as he pleases. His hand, now replaced with a piece of clay, can transform into various weapons such as a propeller, machine gun, chainsaw, jumper cables, and a scalpel. Meanwhile, his lost hand gained sentience and became High Five, a hidden character in Sculptor's Cut. With his opaque eyeglasses, hunched back, and thick Germanic accent, Dr. Kiln embodies the archetype of the mad scientist.
Sumo Santa
Sumo Santa is an evil doppelgänger of Santa Claus, dressed in little more than a loincloth. Characterized as megalomaniacal and power-hungry, Sumo Santa has conquered the North Pole and now views it as his domain, with Frosty the Snowman serving as his primary opponent. Despite his grotesque obesity, Sumo Santa is surprisingly agile and delights in using his massive bulk to flatten his opponents.
Development ClayFighter 63⅓ was developed by Interplay Entertainment as part of its ClayFighter series, which originated on the Super NES. Initially titled ClayFighter 3, the project was produced by Jeremy Airey, who had worked on previous titles in the franchise, alongside designers Eric Hart and Rodney Relosa. The development team's goal was to create a legitimate fighting game while humorously parodying popular franchises in the genre, such as Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, and Killer Instinct. Airey explained that the team aimed to replace the extreme violence of those games with gross or humorous actions: "Buckets of blood and gore get boring after a while. We want to make a game that stays fresh [...] We think this sort of thing works better than gore because each character has something unique and funny to show".
Dissatisfied with the clay animation in ClayFighter 2, Interplay reached out to Danger Productions for the new game's character models and stop motion animation, as they had done with the original ClayFighter. Once Interplay's artists had sketched out the game's characters, Danger Productions transformed the illustrations into maquettes for plastic molds, which were then crafted into models using clay, foam, and wire. Interplay directed Danger Productions to film the models in various positions using stop motion photography with backlighting. Interplay then digitized the photographs and integrated the animation, sound, and player input using computer scripting tools. These tools had been created during the short production of ClayFighter 2 but were not fully refined until work began on this third entry in the series.