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Why people love and fall out of love with wrestling is a separate entry all on its own. As for why the games still seem to hold universal appeal I'm not sure. Perhaps because for fans of the television product it gives them a chance to relive Monday night any night. Maybe for those like myself who have become jaded with the current promotion it gives us a chance to do wrestling our way.
Whatever the reason, wrestling games are here to stay and make developers lots of money on an annual basis. Just like with the current state of the wrestling industry, there's really only one titan of video games and its THQ with its WWE branded games. For those that know where to look there's other, but as far as mainstream goes its THQ or bust. As a result, there's little competition and little incentive for THQ to mix things up. Yes they've tried their hand with more arcade-centered titles like the Legends title and upcoming Superstars, but the Smackdown series is mostly a roster update with a new mode thrown in and an old one taken away. Some are perfectly content with this, others long for the past, but is anyone right? Are wrestling games of a lower quality now than they were in the past or are those past games tainted by nostalgia?
For as long as the arcade scene has existed, there's been wrestling games. And more often than not, the games have been WWF/WWE related. Some of the earliest ones I can remember were WWF Superstars and WWF Wrestlefest. Both were fairly similar, even sharing many of the same characters. Really, wrestling games have not changed a whole lot from a fundamental perspective since. Each wrestler controlled exactly the same as the other, there were grapples and strikes, and each wrestler had his own signature move. Of course, sit today's 10 year old down in front of a PC running one of these games and he'll tell you there's no comparison, but it's there if you want to look.
The games really didn't change much for awhile. Sure whenever a game was ported to the NES or Gameboy the visuals were greatly impacted and often the roster cut way down. The unlicensed NES game Pro Wrestling is almost laughably bad (though some still remember it fondly). Some games added in gimmicks such as Tag Team Wrestling and the WWF Steel Cage Challenge. WCW did have a game for the NES as well, just titled World Championship Wrestling, but I never played it. For the most part, I wasn't a big fan of the NES era for wrestling games and the 16-bit era was superior, though not leaps and bounds.
My fondest memories of the 16-bit era are of playing WWF Royal Rumble for the SNES. The Genesis version had Hogan, but I never played it. The better technology allowed for the home console games the ability to match the arcade's roster and personality. The WWF brand was apparent in everything and for the first time the characters were a bit more colorful and unique. Though the gameplay really hadn't changed much. Worse off, the popularity fighting games like Street Fighter 2 and Mortal Kombat lead developer the games to a more fighting genre feel complete with health bars and quarter-circle moves. WWF Raw was basically the same game, but with a new match type and updated roster. Unbeknownst to most Americans at the time, the best wrestling games were in Japan. Many years later, the internet allowed us to experience the awesomeness that is Super Fire Pro Wrestling X Premium, still one of the all time bests.
The early part of the 32/64-bit era nearly destroyed the genre. WWF In Your House is as bad as it gets. If Royal Rumble and Raw borrowed a little from the fighting games of the times, In Your House was a direct rip-off. The game used digitized sprites, same technique popularized by Mortal Kombat, and featured fireballs and ridiculous moves set in stages as opposed to an arena. You still had to pin your opponent to win, but it was just a formality accomplished after depleting the health bar. The game even had "fatalities," though they didn't result in a wrestler's demise. This game is the absolute bottom of the barrel. Not far from the bottom though, were the two WCW games featured on the Playstation; Nitro and Thunder. These games chose to imitate the then popular Tekken franchise with over complicated button presses for moves and a very un-wrestling feel. The Playstation really got hosed for a long time when it came to wrestling games. The absolute truth in that resides in the fact that WWF War Zone was once the best wrestling game on the Playstation, as flawed a game as it was. It did introduce the now standard create-a-wrestler feature, though here it was very minimal but effective nonetheless. The game isn't all bad, as it does at least feel like wrestling. The inclusion of health bars and stiff visual presentation was a bit of a turn-off though. It's sequel, Attitude, was a big improvement but the engine just did not lend itself to authentic wrestling matches. Both games were entertaining at the time, but not much more. They also were both released on the N64.
WCW was riding high in the ratings and in the hearts of gamers during the mid-90's. The Aki developed WCW/NWO World Tour and Revenge were big hits with the wrestling crowd. For the first time, sim-styled games were making their way to the US. Gone were the stupid health bars and same boring move-set for each wrestler. Now momentum determined the flow of the match and a grapple system allowing for weak and strong type moves added great depth and feel. The games weren't perfect, but at the time a sure revelation. And the roster was loaded with all of the big names in WCW at the time plus additional Japan only stars. Revenge only further refined the gameplay and look while up****** the roster to include the, at the time, mega-popular Goldberg.
Unfortunately for WCW, their contract with THQ expired after Revenge was released and the WWF promptly scooped it up, leaving longtime partner Acclaim open for ECW. Two ECW games were made using the Attitude/War Zone engine, both pretty much sucked. EA snagged WCW and put out Mayhem and Backstage Brawl. While Mayhem was seriously flawed, it showed promise and added in the backstage elements that would be emulated for years to come. Sadly, the sequel was a major step backwards and proved to be the final nail in the coffin for WCW video games.
THQ and WWF (now WWE) ended up being a match made in heaven. WWF Wrestlemania 2000 was little more than Revenge with WWF wrestlers instead of WCW ones but no one seemed to mind. No Mercy followed, and is still remembered fondly, to the point where most have forgotten its flaws. The major flaw being slowdown when more than two wrestlers are present, and the gimmick matches were all severely lacking in comparison with the Smackdown series. And while the grapple styled gameplay still proved fun, it was hardly authentic when compared with the television product. A great game for sure, but the best ever? Not even close.
On the Playstation side THQ chose to go with a different game and brought in developer Yukes to handle the Smackdown series. In comparison to the Aki-developed N64 titles Smackdown was faster, much faster. The first title was bare bones but was received warmly. It played way too fast, but wrestling starved Playstation fans weren't in a position to be picky. The sequel, Know Your Role, improved upon the first game in every conceivable way giving rise to a debate amongst fans over which game was superior, No Mercy or Smackdown 2. Smackdown had introduced an open-ended story mode that was expanded to a never-ending one in the sequel. After playing several in game years things would repeat themselves but it was still quite an achievement. The Create-A-Wrestler mode was the best one yet, and the engine was slowed down a tick. The animations were extremely fluid giving the matches a realistic look (though still too fast) and over-the-top gimmick matches like TLC and Hell in a Cell proved to be a great time waster.
Since then, THQ has focused primarily on the Smackdown series. It has been nearly perfected on a few occasions with Yukes slowing the game down to more human levels and adding in more complex move-sets to give each character a varied arsenal. Unfortunately, success does not breed ingenuity and the Smackdown series has become the Madden of wrestling. Little more than a roster update each year, it's more than worn out its welcome with many and an overhaul seems to be in order. As long as THQ continues to make big money off of the franchise though, you're not likely to see much change.
The Xbox got its own franchise, beginning with WWF Raw (not to be confused with the SNES game of the same name). While it looked excellent at the time, it played horribly and the Xbox was a disaster zone for wrestling games. The Gamecube faired much better with the Day of Reckoning series. It added in some new play mechanics and re-introduced some of the gameplay found in No Mercy which delighted many hardcore fans. Unfortunately, sales weren't great and the series was scrapped after two games. Likely to save money on development costs, THQ decided to primarily focus on the Smackdown franchise (rebranding it Smackdown vs Raw) and began releasing that across all platforms starting with the Xbox 360.
Human Entertainment/Spike continued to churn out Fire Pro games in Japan to massive approval. Fire Pro Wrestling finally got its due in American with a release on the Gameboy Advance when the system launched. It spawned one sequel. Both were praised as being authentic wrestling experiences but with no WWF license it was a hard sell for mainstream audiences. The no-nonsense approach and steep learning curve also work against the game, but for pure wrestling action, the PS2 Fire Pro Wrestling Returns is the cream of the crop. Right now the series is in limbo but hopefully rumors of a new Fire Pro are not unfounded.
Just like the wrestling industry as a whole, we've exited a golden age and entered a transitional one. We're all waiting for the next big thing in gaming to come along and wake everyone up but right now that game does not appear to be in development. The Smackdown series is still very good and very entertaining, it's just become stale. I firmly believe it is not beyond redemption and refined career/GM mode and improved AI could help make the next Smackdown game the best ever. Forgive me for being a pessimist though, but I've been waiting for that to happen since Here Comes the Pain and that game came out in 2003 so I'm not convinced Smackdown will ever elevate itself beyond its current state.
# 2
statum71 @ Jul 8
@Djwlfpack..... Exactly, exactly, exactly. HCTP was indeed the last good wrestling game. I keep waiting as well as you.
CAS is good but it kills the element of surprise. They should have a random CAS that you can edit (as far as who's champ or whatever within those random stories).
CAS is good but it kills the element of surprise. They should have a random CAS that you can edit (as far as who's champ or whatever within those random stories).
# 5
ruchika @ Jul 9
Hi, Nice stuff & This is memorable event or games,I am really enjoy wrestling game.thanks for sharing this great & interesting posting.
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I do like where THQ is going with the create-a-story mode. Definitely opens the game up for those that want to spend the time crafting storylines. I did something similar (in a notebook) for Legends of Wrestlemania and just let the CPU vs. CPU matches determine the outcomes. I don't know if we'll ever get competent-enough AI to make the single-player games enjoyable over the long haul. It seems like once you master the controls, it is impossible to lose in WWE games.
I just picked up Fire Pro Wrestling Returns for my PS2 and am looking forward to giving that game a go. I loved the GBA version.