Post by The Chupster on May 1, 2017 1:34:15 GMT -5
Just curious. Pick your, let's say what, top 5 wrestling games! Naturally #1 should be your fav.
5. Tecmo World Wrestling {NES}
First off, I have to mention the game that tried to up Pro Wrestling's game, Tecmo World Wrestling. Better graphics, theatrical-style moves when you wore your opponent down, the first console wrestling game to have commentary (even if you had to read it), and the ability to rename players- it wasn't Fire Pro-style editing, but they were trying. This would probably be #4 if it had some more imaginative characters and the ability to utilize the lower half of the ring. LOL
4. Pro Wrestling {NES}
The king of wrestlers! Yes, everything from the roster to the moveset was limited, but by God, you had fun playing it! And the characters were awesome. I still don't know why no one out there has picked up this license and ran with it. I know Ready to Rumble was supposed to have a wrestling game, and I'm still sad I didn't get to see cartoony wrestlers fucking each other up. DAMMIT!!!
3. Fire Pro Wrestling D {Dreamcast}
This game got so much play amongst myself and some friends back in the day. I recently (finally) got rid of my dust-gathering Dreamcast, but not before taking an English-hacked-in version of the game for a spin, and it's just as awesome today as it was back then. Incredibly deep create-a-character and customization married to some really good, timing-based gameplay made for a game where you finally stopped bashing buttons and really worked on your gameplay to kick the shit out of your friends. Sometimes with fluorescent lightbulbs! And barbed wire! And exploding C4! AGH, DAMMIT!!!
2. WWE All Stars {XBox 360}
Sadly, this game got NO love on release, with wrestling gamers unable to see past the cartoonish presentation. However, the only thing you could really complain about were the load times, because this game- with an excellent (if small) roster, beautifully cartoony characters, a CAW mode (!!!), and just insanely over-the-top but recognizable moves- played so much like No Mercy that it hurt. It wasn't a button-masher; it was a game that could've launched a new franchise, with surprisingly deep gameplay, and if you hit your signatures or a finisher and didn't have fun watching your character leap a zillion feet in the air before planting someone in the mat, there was just something wrong with you.
Of all the wasted potential out there, this game should've been one of those games that caused rejoicing and made like, all the money, and spawned a zillion sequels. Instead, wrestling fans farted on it for being so cartoony, gaming fans griped because it was too far from the SvR games that were being put out, and everyone lost out because no one wanted to admit that the game really, really was a spiritual successor to WWE No Mercy. It didn't have the sizeable roster, it didn't have the greatest customization options (hell, moveset options went as far as "pick a moveset, pick your finisher, you're done!"), but if you wanted pure fun and didn't grab this, you really missed out.
1. No Mercy (I know, I know, but it is, dammit!) {N64}
Of course I have to say No Mercy. Despite being ugly as fuck, it still had everything- deep gameplay, excellent controls, tons of match types, and it was just FUN. Hell, it still IS. Add in the fact that you could edit all 4 of a wrestlers' attires and as long as you didn't mind the movesets, you could quadruple the number of wrestlers you had in the game, AND make more on the memory cards while you were at it! This was the pinnacle of wrestling gaming, and no one has been able to get close to duplicating it, aside from WWE All Stars, which got damn close. Pro Wrestling X and MDickie tried in their own ways to ape the gameplay, but they just can't touch it. It still completely amazes me that a company can create a wrestling game engine, make 6 games off of it (if you count the more arena-based Def Jam: Fight for NY), and then just drop it completely. Especially when just adding in some better graphics alone and rereleasing it on current systems would make just about all the money a game could.
Okay, folks. What's your 5?
5. Tecmo World Wrestling {NES}
First off, I have to mention the game that tried to up Pro Wrestling's game, Tecmo World Wrestling. Better graphics, theatrical-style moves when you wore your opponent down, the first console wrestling game to have commentary (even if you had to read it), and the ability to rename players- it wasn't Fire Pro-style editing, but they were trying. This would probably be #4 if it had some more imaginative characters and the ability to utilize the lower half of the ring. LOL
4. Pro Wrestling {NES}
The king of wrestlers! Yes, everything from the roster to the moveset was limited, but by God, you had fun playing it! And the characters were awesome. I still don't know why no one out there has picked up this license and ran with it. I know Ready to Rumble was supposed to have a wrestling game, and I'm still sad I didn't get to see cartoony wrestlers fucking each other up. DAMMIT!!!
3. Fire Pro Wrestling D {Dreamcast}
This game got so much play amongst myself and some friends back in the day. I recently (finally) got rid of my dust-gathering Dreamcast, but not before taking an English-hacked-in version of the game for a spin, and it's just as awesome today as it was back then. Incredibly deep create-a-character and customization married to some really good, timing-based gameplay made for a game where you finally stopped bashing buttons and really worked on your gameplay to kick the shit out of your friends. Sometimes with fluorescent lightbulbs! And barbed wire! And exploding C4! AGH, DAMMIT!!!
2. WWE All Stars {XBox 360}
Sadly, this game got NO love on release, with wrestling gamers unable to see past the cartoonish presentation. However, the only thing you could really complain about were the load times, because this game- with an excellent (if small) roster, beautifully cartoony characters, a CAW mode (!!!), and just insanely over-the-top but recognizable moves- played so much like No Mercy that it hurt. It wasn't a button-masher; it was a game that could've launched a new franchise, with surprisingly deep gameplay, and if you hit your signatures or a finisher and didn't have fun watching your character leap a zillion feet in the air before planting someone in the mat, there was just something wrong with you.
Of all the wasted potential out there, this game should've been one of those games that caused rejoicing and made like, all the money, and spawned a zillion sequels. Instead, wrestling fans farted on it for being so cartoony, gaming fans griped because it was too far from the SvR games that were being put out, and everyone lost out because no one wanted to admit that the game really, really was a spiritual successor to WWE No Mercy. It didn't have the sizeable roster, it didn't have the greatest customization options (hell, moveset options went as far as "pick a moveset, pick your finisher, you're done!"), but if you wanted pure fun and didn't grab this, you really missed out.
1. No Mercy (I know, I know, but it is, dammit!) {N64}
Of course I have to say No Mercy. Despite being ugly as fuck, it still had everything- deep gameplay, excellent controls, tons of match types, and it was just FUN. Hell, it still IS. Add in the fact that you could edit all 4 of a wrestlers' attires and as long as you didn't mind the movesets, you could quadruple the number of wrestlers you had in the game, AND make more on the memory cards while you were at it! This was the pinnacle of wrestling gaming, and no one has been able to get close to duplicating it, aside from WWE All Stars, which got damn close. Pro Wrestling X and MDickie tried in their own ways to ape the gameplay, but they just can't touch it. It still completely amazes me that a company can create a wrestling game engine, make 6 games off of it (if you count the more arena-based Def Jam: Fight for NY), and then just drop it completely. Especially when just adding in some better graphics alone and rereleasing it on current systems would make just about all the money a game could.
Okay, folks. What's your 5?
