Why I bought the game: It was my favorite game before I got a Nintendo 64.
Thoughts: This is very similar to other wrestling titles that were released in the early 90s. What makes this game stand out to me is that it has a Royal Rumble in which the 12 superstars go at it to see who is going to Wrestlemania. As a kid, I could never figure out how to throw guys over the top rope. Now, I have the magic of the internet and was able to master the control scheme pretty quickly. The finishing moves, which I only did once as a kid on accident, became doable and made this game quite a joy. Mr. Perfect's Perfect Plex and Razor Ramon's Razor's Edge were a blast to do. I also liked that this game featured a char on the outside of the ring that you could use as a weapon. However, gameplay was pretty bad. You had a punch, a kick, a splash and four grapple moves. The movesets were the exact same for every wrestler besides the aforementioned finishing moves. What I find intersting about WWF Royal Rumble for SNES vs. Sega Genesis is that their rosters varied significantly.
SNES: Crush, Macho Man, Razor Ramon, Undertaker, Bret Hart, Lex Luger, Shawn Michaels, Tatanka, Ted DiBiase, Mr. Perfect, Yokozuna, Ric Flair
Gensis: Replaced Tatanka, Ted DiBiase, Mr. Perfect, Yokozuna, Ric Flair with Hulk Hogan, Papa Shango, IRS, The Model Rick Martel, Jim Duggan
It was released 3 months later on Genesis yet managed to have a less up-to-date roster.
I don't know why they would only have Hulk Hogan on one of the versions, but I would take Yokozuna and the SNES version any day.
Anyway, my biggest complaint with this game is that I had to win a tournament for the WWF Championship. However, this tournament managed to have 11 rounds. With only 12 wrestlers, a true tournament should only have had 4 rounds at most. Because there was no loser's bracket, I can only assume that there were 2048 wrestlers who took part in this tournament. Mr. Perfect was perfect and was the last guy standing as the "WWF World's Champion". Mean Gene raised my hand and I was able to finally beat this game after 20 years. This tournament was so hard for me as a kid. Forgive me if I am still celebrating this monumental victory.
Should I have bought it: Yes. I have never enjoyed a wrestling game more than I enjoyed this one.
Oh, man! I have such vivid memories of playing this over at my neighbor's as a kid with many similar frustrations as you. The controls are clunky, and performing any special moves was always a bit of mystery. I remember constantly entering into headlocks with opponents and never figuring out how to pin or throw them, thus never winning the game. My friend (the owner of the game) understood the game's inner-workings and would rule me all the time. Frustrating moments. Still, loved playing as The Undertaker and waiting out through a Royal Rumble to try a secure a win - though I never would.
ReplyDeleteHeartwarming to see this title unearthed after all these years.