This is a blast. Great tone, pitch-perfect retro video game look, and lots of fun references to classic characters and games.
The rules changes are so clever and effective in capturing the spirit of fighting games — in particular, I love the way healing doubles as a quiet character-building scene and the way weapons can easily change hands.
The one thing that doesn't quite work for me is the specific choice of battles in the tournament. For a game that emulates fighting games and tournaments, it's weird to have the players fighting together against groups of enemies. I would have liked to see more one-on-one fights, ideally with something for the other player to do while they're waiting for their turn.
That's a small complaint, though. Overall, this is super fun and a perfect game for a casual one-off session.