Survival Arts is an arcade-exclusivenote 2D Fighting Game developed by Scarab (who would take another knack at the genre with Battle Monsters), released in 1993 by Sammy. While it uses digitized graphics and blood and gorenote are present, it would be a misnomer to call it a Mortal Kombat ripoff, as the gameplay is more modeled towards the Street Fighter II mold, complete with the six-button layout.
One notable feature is cribbed from the Beat 'em Up genre: the ability to get weapons from stages and use them, replacing the standing fierce punches.
Survival Arts provides examples of the following tropes:
- Alien Blood: Kane the alien bleeds green.
- Amazing Technicolor Population: Kane, being an alien, has gray skin.
- Bash Brothers: Hiryu and Tasha are part of the same Cobra ninja clan.
- Blinded by the Light: One of many Mongo's special moves involves him making the screen flash.
- Blood Knight: Mongo lives for combat. In his ending, disappointed that Dantel wasn't as powerful as he had hoped, he heads back into the battlefield and is never seen again.
- Bottomless Magazines: Gunner and Mongo's guns are not affected by the ammo shortage. Averted by the pistols the rest of the cast pick up, as these come with limited ammo.
- Colonel Kilgore: Mongo is basically this, as his bio states.He believes that it is fighting that makes life worth living. He is a former army soldier who knows how to fight effectively.
- Dash Attack: Viper has a dashing elbow strike, while Kane has dashing punches, kicks and a grab.
- Desolation Shot: Mongo's stage is a ruined, scorched city that wouldn't look out of place in The Terminator.
- Eye Beams: Dantel has this as a special move, and he fires the beams either straight or in two non-standard paths.
- Family Man: As his ending cutscene shows, Kane fathers two kids.
- Grappling-Hook Pistol: Mongo has an mid-air-exclusive special move that has him do a kick while hooking up at the ceiling.
- The Gunslinger: The aptly named Gunner, whose special moves all involve using his pistol, being able to fire it standing, crouching or in three different directions in the air.
- Heel: Santana is described as a villainous wrestler in his attract screen bio.
- Heel–Face Turn: In Santana's ending, he decides to take off his mask and become a face, or, in his words:"Yes, from now on I will be a good fighter!"
- Hurricane Kick: Viper has quite a spin on this. He can do a "ground-based" variant of this that has him do sweeping motions and an "aerial" variant that has him float during the spin.
- I'll Kill You!: Mongo says the last two words of this during his machine gun attack. He also utters "You die" during his flame thrower attack.
- I'm a Humanitarian: The Final Boss Dantel, who is said to be eating the flesh of powerful people for immortality.
- Inevitable Tournament: The game's plot uses this setup. This is all a ploy for Dantel to have the fighters kill each other and then consume the "winner".
- Katanas Are Just Better: A katana is the second strongest weapon that can be obtained during the fight (second only to the pistol). Tasha comes armed with a katana of her own.
- Keet: Viper might has shades of this, considering the noises he shouts during his special attacksnote , as well as his Victory Pose.note
- Knockback Evasion: The game has an early example of throw teching in the genre. When a fighter gets thrown, one falls while spinning, and when the command for throws is inputted, the spin gets frozen. If you'd time it right to point feet-first to the ground, the character would be able to get a smooth landing without taking any damage.
- Masked Luchador: Santana - aptly enough a heel wrestler - is stylized after a luchador.
- Mind over Matter: Hanna and Dantel have telekinetic throw special moves.
- More Dakka: Mongo is capable of firing a straight stream of bullets out of gun as a special move. The Final Boss Dantel is cappable of doing the same with his fingers.
- Ninja: Represented by Hiryu and Tasha, both out of the Cobra ninja clan.
- Only in It for the Money: Viper is a case of a money-oriented fighting game protagonist, entering the tournament to earn enough money to build his own dojo.
- Pistol-Whipping: Mongo's crouching attacks involve thrusting or swinging his assault rifle.
- Player-Guided Missile: Hiryu - while holding the button after doing the special command - can mentally control his Shurikens in three directions.
- Rapid-Fire Fisticuffs: Viper and Kane have this as one of their special moves, while Mongo and Dantel have rapid fire stabs.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: The cutscene when you get to reach Dantel in the arcade mode has him sporting these.
- Shock and Awe: Hanna has this weird vibrating special move that generates electric shocks. There's also Mongo's taser.
- Shoryuken: Tasha has an anti-air special styled after this, and the only special move like that in the entire game. That also happens to be her only special move, which makes up for it being quite powerful. Yes, this also means the game's Shotoclone Viper lacks one.
- Shotoclone: Viper mostly fits this build with his martial artist background, a projectile attack, and his interesting spins on the Hurricane Kick. Oddly enough, he lacks an Shoryuken, having an Elbow Dash, Rapid-Fire Fisticuffs and an aerial Diving Punch instead.
- Slide Attack: Viper, Tasha and Dantel have a sliding kick.
- SNK Boss: As goofy as his design is, Dantel is certainly no joke. He sports quite a roster of life-shredding attacks, including a Rapid Fire Blade Stabs, a Bowling Ball Morph, a fire breath, Eye Beams, telekinetic throws, and he cannot get knocked down.
- Sole Survivor: Hanna, out of her family that was massacred.
- Swiss-Army Weapon: Mongo's gun is capable of being used as a machine gun, and has also an under-slung taser and a flame thrower, and that's not even half of his special movelist.
- Throw Down the Bomblet: Mongo has not only grenades, but also an ability to jump and carpet drop miniature nukes from the air.
- Turn in Your Badge: Gunner describes himself as unable to carry on his duties as a police officer after killing his partner. It is a bit ambiguous on whenever the partner in question happens to be someone in the character's backstory, or was Dantel the former cop.Gunner's ending: Even though it was said to be an act of rightousness since killing my partner I am unable to carry on my duties as a police officer. But as long as evil exists I will continue to fight in the name of justice!
- Unusable Enemy Equipment: Downplayed. Gunner can't pick up pistols (not like he needs to considering he has a gun of his own), and neither Tasha nor Mongo can pick up any weapons at all (not like they need to with their own katana and Swiss-Army Weapon respectively).
- Vengeance Feels Empty: Hanna's ending has shades of this, "realizing that she was left alone. No one could bring back her family and she was to spend her remaining days alone, lost deep in thought."
- Walking Shirtless Scene: Spandex pants and shoulder bands are all Kane ever wears, not even shoes. Santana is only barely more conservatively dressed.
