AbalaBurn

Developed by Tamsoft (the studio behind the Battle Arena Toshinden series) and published by Takara in 1998, AbalaBurn (also known as AbalaBurn: A Battle Legend of Astterica) is a fascinating hybrid title. It attempts to blend 3D action-adventure exploration with traditional 1v1 fighting game mechanics. While the "Arcade Mode" offers standard 3D combat, the "Story Mode" plays like a proto-action RPG, featuring platforming, equipment management, and large 3D environments to explore before transitioning into a fighting-game engine for boss encounters.