I never owned an NES while it was current, but my grandmother had one and Pro Wrestling was one of the games she had. I played the shit out of it at her lake house near Charlotte, North Carolina many a summer break. She died several rears ago, and I inherited her NES games. I got that same copy of Pro Wrestling at home today. I quickly realized as a kid that almost nothing came close to the fun and quality of Super Mario. But after playing Mario to death, I had to play other stuff. Games my grandmother had, like Pro Wrestling and Capcom's Legendary Wings, while far from the NES's best, hold a lot of nostalgia for me.
I was born in 1994, and my brother bought himself an N64 in 1997. I still remember us renting wrestling games from Albertson's and playing 4 player mode right before the turn of the millennium. Feels like a completely different lifetime.
The THQ N64 wrestling games are untouchable. WCW/NWO Revenge was the first game I played where all of the guys would play 4 player and our girlfriends would have to sit there and watch looking all pissed off. Great times
The Beaver 840 The only problem with WCW Revenge is that moving the analog stick makes you kick out of any pinfall. That literally ruined the multiplayer.
Wrestlefest is still my favorite wrestling game, ever since the first time I saw Mr. Perfect bridge the Perfect 'Plex for the pin. Finishing moves that actually finish? Yes, please!
I played all the modern wrestling games and WWF NO MERCY is still the best. The game received a lot of upgrades via emulation. Cleaner graphics and various content were added such as an 80’s WWF mode with all the wrestlers
My two cents on this video are: 1. Wrestling today isn't what it used to be. Ever since WCW was bought, the lack of competition drove the stories to something mundane and stated as "sports entertainment"... 2. I still have wwf royal rumble but for the game gear.
Pro Wrestling on the NES is still my favorite - I just have no idea what I'm doing in any other wrestling game, and none of them (that I've played) ever bother to give you a tutorial. I'm not sure where you're supposed to have acquired the knowledge to know all the moves and to know what to do once you start grappling, but apparently everyone else must know since I never see anyone complaining about it.
Wrestlefest is my fav all-time wrestling game ever. Played the crap out of it and wwf superstars in the arcades. Retromania Wrestling coming out in end of august is a throw back to that. Look out for it. I love wwf royal rumble also,was an awesome party game too \m/ Long live The Ultimate Warrior!
"Mat Mania" (also known as "Exciting Hour") will always be my favorite. I relate a lot with what you said about it in this video, I basicly had the same experience. Also worth mentioning is "Champion Pro Wrestling", released for the SG-1000 by Sega in 1985 and then ported to arcades and MSX (I played this one a lot in my MSX).
I am not much in Wrestler games but I had a lot of fun back in the days with WWF Superstars and WWF Wrestlefest in the arcade. Playing with your friends was an amazing experience. Thank you for the video and all the passion and work you put in it.
0:58 I just live-streamed the 4 AKI wrestling games myself recently; I'm trying to get the world record of 1st person to beat every North American N64 game. I'm at game #24 of 296. 5:50 My god, look at that crowd, they're giants! Or are the wrestlers tiny?🤔 9:22 Darth Vader in the upper-right corner of the crowd (Also Superman, Popeye, & ZZ Top).
Got em' both on a modded PS classic mun, worth every penny :) I strongly recommend getting one, you can buy a flash drive by itself, or the whole sytem
I was wondering the same thing, the PS1 smackdown games were great fun too and imo thanks to the CD base was able to recreate the attitude era perfectly. Having the legit og intro from SD! will always give ya the goosebumps.
The two PSX Smackdown games are two of the most overlooked (in modern times) wrestling games ever. The N64 AKI games have more nostalgia for some, especially since they were a last hurrah, while the Smackdown series would go the way of Madden and become both ubiquitous and easy to hate - and well-deserved imo, the last couple have just been garbage. But yeah, people forget what a leap forward they were at the time. I love the AKI N64 games as much as the next guy, but Smackdown felt like the next step up from their chunky models and gameplay that hadn't really changed after 4 iterations
So many great memories playing WWF Wrestlefest. I used to go to Misquamicut Beach in RI as a kid, and I would always beg my mom for quarters to play that while we were there. I think I had more fun playing that than actually being at the beach.
Great videos. A lot of those are before my time but here’s my list, based on what I owned 1. Smackdown 5 Here Comes The Pain 2. Smackdown 2 Know Your Role 3. WWF Attitude 4. Smackdown 1 5. Smackdown 4 Shut Your Mouth 6. WWF Royal Rumble (Dreamcast) 7. ECW Anarchy Rules 8. WWF Warzone 9. WCW Mayhem (only WCW game I played) 10. The Simpsons Wrestling That’s about all the ones that maybe count as retro. The first Smackdown v Raw and SvR 07 was pretty good too. Not played a wrestling game since. Wrestlemania 2000 and No Mercy would probably make the list had I owned them
Old school wrestling is where it is at. I still watch to this day, but nothing beats the times I went to Richmond coliseum . WWF and WCW were always there. Richmond Coliseum
2:54 Suppose to say Northern LIGHT Suplex. Guess the translator wasn't a hardcore wrestling fan and flipped a coin on whether the original Japanese should be transliterated with an L or an R.
Also being a huge wrestling fan as a kid and experiencing the golden wra of the late '80s , early '90s, I hungered for an arcade quality wrestler on my NES. Tecmo wrestling was that game. It's really impressive to this day and I still play it often. Whilst not great, I also have a lot of live for wwf wrestlemania challenge.
I was a wrestling fan growing up and I played a lot of these games quite a bit. Pro Wrestling on the NES was very good for its time. It was impressive to see how much detail they put into that game. I was obsessed with the WWF Superstars arcade game. I would play it at every arcade I saw it at for several years, even after Wrestlefest was out. There are some things I like about Superstars more than Wrestlefest, though that one is superior in many ways for sure. I do like the music in Superstars. I love both games and would play Wrestlefest several years after it came out as well as a nearby bowling alley had one in 1994. I played a ton of AJPW for Saturn as well. I actually got into AJPW tapes right around the same time and it was my favorite wrestling promotion instantly. I played that career mode quite thoroughly and my character, which used the Sabu body, won the Triple Crown championship quite a few times. A chronic neck injury is the main reason I lost. The precision of timing in the career mode was pretty crazy, but it was very satisfying to play it at that level. The Saturn's Fire Pro Wrestling S: 6 Men Scramble is probably the wrestling game I've played most of all and I would call that my favorite. While they would improve upon that game, the roster is my favorite in that one. After seeing this, I'll have to make a note to try Tecmo World Wrestling and Mat Mania. It also reminded me that I'd like to put more time into the old NJPW games on PS1 and Virtual Pro Wrestling. Fun video. Thanks.
Lmaooooo I lost it when the Mighty SEGA Lord X appeared on stage at the end!! Fantastic content as always. You never disappoint SLX - (btw, 10:45 Darth Vader and Superman at the background!)
WCW vs NWO: World Tour was my favorite, I had it marked on my calendar and got it on release day. Man I loved wrestling back then. I got Revenge but Goldberg was killing wrestling for me, and stuff was getting bonkers on WWF. I still watched through '99 but started to fall off early '00s. I got back into it around 2012, basically to watch the old WCW guys retire.
The newest FirePro on steam and PS4 is literally the greatest wrestling game ever. Especially with all the dlc including the one where you can craft our own moves. It’s been one if not the greatest wrestling series all the way back to Super FirePro X Premium. On Snes. I literally bought a Saturn for FirePro Six Man Scramble (six player yeah) and AJPW featuring Virtua.
Mat Mania for the win. :D The look on your guy's face when you've thrown them out of the ring, and do the running over the ropes flying bodypress. Supafly.
WWF Wrestlemania the Arcade game was the best looking wrestling game by far at its time of release. I used to watch people playing it at the arcades and marvel at the life like animations.
Pro Wrestling on NES and the second WWF game by Technos were (and still are) my favorite wrestling games. I was surprised to see both show up. I never knew there was a first WWF game by Technos in the arcade. I'll have to track that down. Mat Match looks like it might be fun to look into as well.
Happy to see Mat Mania on this list. Whenever I found this game in an arcade I'd be paying it until I had to leave. Great combination of gameplay, sounds, and visuals. For its time, it was way ahead of anything else in the wrestling genre.
Fire Pro Wrestling World on Steam and PS4 is probably my favourite wrestling game ever. It's not often a modern game is my all-time favourite in a genre, but it's technical, has the highest amount of customization I've ever seen in a wrestling game, and features the wrestlers from New Japan Pro Wrestling, which is undoubtedly the best promotion in the world for non-casual fans.
I really enjoyed "Pro Wrestling" on the NES. My favorite wrestler was Great Tiger. This game, like many others, was made easier by turbo controllers. Papa Shango, the Model, and Crush are there, so you showed the Genesis version, which I also owned and still enjoy every once in awhile.
Even without watching I knew the top rated games would be the AKI developed ones. Glad to see I wasn't wrong and numero uno was exactly what I expected/hoped to see!
I loved WWF and WCW as a kid. One day, our local civic center held a show and it was awesome! After the show, my sister, who worked the crew handed me a bat that had been nearly sawed in half beforehand. It took a lot of thought, but I finally realized it was all fake. I still cherish the memories though.
Yeah man, I was in the Hampton Colosseum when I saw Rick Flair blade right in front of me at the crowd barricade. It was an eye opener for an 11 year old.
The N64 Wrestling games were always great. I loved playing WCW/NWO Revenge and Wrestlemania 2000, WWF Super Wrestlemania was also very fun. I had the Genesis version which had more characters
3:00 That shit brought so many memories back! I remember we used to pick the bald wrestler and named him StonCold. He was named StonCold because there weren't any more letter slots for the E!!!
Saturn’s All Japan game looks amazing. Is that light sourcing? The moves looked more devastating than even the Aki games. Too bad it didn’t come to the states. All I got on the Saturn was the WWF Arcade game.
God....looking at most of the wrestling games in this video brings back my childhood! AKI wrestling games still holds up to this day! The only games that comes close to the AKI games is WWE Day of Reckoning on the Gamecube and Wrestle Kingdom on PS2/X360 and the latter was Japan only.....let that sink in!
I grew up in Central VA during that time as a wrestling fan. I thought I had made the list as you went through yours! I agree w almost everything. I never had a 64 so I didn’t play 1 and 2 much. I did really enjoy Power Move Pro and WCW V.S. the World for the psx (WCW was part of the virtua series but I know it wasn’t said to be as good as it’s 64 cousins). I also really enjoyed every Fire Pro I could play (psx and Saturn at first I guess??). I know you mentioned the 20 year gap but right around there is Here Comes the Pain for PS2. That game was probably my #1 choice. Natsume Pro for SNES was another winner and ridiculously difficult.
I had wwf raw for the genius and i fucking love that game they had finishing moves and a super move for every character regular, tag team, royal rumble, survivor series, and bedlam (hardcore) matches. And with a physical ref in the ring you could do ref spots where you knock him down and cheat before he got back up. I still play that from time to time.
I like your list. I would also add Natsume Championship wrestling on SNES. It has a high learning curve, but once you get that part down it plays great. I'm also very fond of Wrestlemania Challenge on NES. That game is really fun with 2 players especially when you learn how to have other wrestlers interfere in the match. Also Saturday Night Slam Masters is awesome.
Man number 3 took so many of my quarters. Almost broke a finger trying to get up lol. If you made it to round two in the arcade you was either really good or had a lot of money lol
I played the Hell out of WWF Wrestlefest. If an arcade had it, I was all over it, or would even just watch others play. I have to add this thought with the end footage of Wrestlemania The Arcade Game. Two Razors? Definitely WWF accurate. Too bad Diesel isn't in it then you could have Two Diesels vs Two Razors and try to figure out with ones were the fakes? Man, I miss these old school wrestling days. Never got to see WCW but my Dad and I would go to the old Boston Garden back in the 80s to see WWF when they were in town. Good times.
I’ve not got to play the game, but I highly, highly suggest anyone who has even a slight passing interest in professional wrestling check out all Japan pro wrestling from the years of like 1986 to 1999. Some of the best wrestling ever. Just huge burly dudes smackin the crap out of each other and dropping people on their heads. As always excellent video my friend. 🤘🤘🤘
Off topic but related; The Hogan 86 belt is such a good design. It breaks my heart its never been used again by a mainstream company. Also, SLAM MASTERS!!
My top 10 Fire Pro Wrestling Six Man Scramble for Saturn WWF Saturday Nights for the arcade Virtual Pro Wrestling 2 for N64 Toukon Retsuden 4 for PS1 Giant Gram for DC Slam Masters for SFC Blazing Tornado for Saturn Wrestlemania 2000 for N64 No Mercy for N64 Fire Pro Wrestling D for DC
Six man scramble was the greatest console FirePro with d in a close second. The newest one on steam and ps4 destroys all previous firepros though. Now that they’ve finally got all the dlc out they promised. The move craft has changed the whole scene. If you use the CarlZilla? Mods it takes it to the next level.
I was a big wrestling fan and played many of these. My favourites from this list are Royal Rumble, WrestleFest and WWF No Mercy (my all time favourite). I'm so disappointed with the lack of evolution in the genre. The last wrestling game I bought was SmackDown vs Raw 2006. I felt like I'd essentially been playing the same game for nearly a decade. I always thought it would be cool if physics could be integrated into a wrestling game or at least some kind of dynamic animation system to give more of a sense of weight and momentum. I always felt that Yuke's games (SmackDown vs Raw etc) failed to create the illusion that the wrestlers were solid/tangible. It's hard to describe, but I could never break away from the sensation that these were stitched together animations with a skin applied on top. It didn't help that Yuke's recycled the vast majority of animations from older titles. The problem with this approach is the quality of the old animations didn't match that of the newly introduced ones which lead to this feeling of inconsistency because they were essentially tacking new bits on to an old base. At one point in the series there were relatively basic animations from the PS1 games alongside at least two distinctly different feeling "generations" of animation. It just felt sloppy and ruined immersion. The whole thing was badly in need of a complete overhaul when I stopped playing and when I looked years later it still looked far too familiar. I would love to play an entirely new wrestling game one day. I miss the days when more than one company were producing wrestling games. Even if they weren't all great, it kept things interesting. You'd get to see different takes on the genre, different gameplay mechanics, different approaches to animation and entirely new engines from time to time. There's the expression of a game "feeling next gen". I'm struggling to think of the last time I felt that with a wresting game because even the transition from the PS1 SmackDown games to the PS2 SmackDown games didn't wholeheartedly give me that feeling. At least the original XBOX got some (three?) games that served as a distraction despite their flaws.
my top 5: 1) wwf wrestlefest 2) wcw/nwo revenge 3) pro wrestling (generic titled NES game) 4) wwf smackdown 2 and 5) wwf royal rumble (snes version) i 2 watched it from the late 80s til end of wcw/early 2000s
Sega Lord, you NEED to play the GameCube wrestling games. Imo, they're actually the best, especially the Day of Reckoning ones. And I loved the N64 Aki games.
3rd game on your list was in our chip shop when I was about 15 yo, I swear down the old Indian couple made more 10p's of us kids than they sold £ fish & chips to the people actually there for something to munch. Bubble Bobble was a great hit of course, they had a couple titty arcades at times and the big one was Daytona USA. That chippy is no more, entire block flattened and a superstore is in place now. Us lot in our 40's+ will remember that chip shop for the rest of our lives without a doubt.
As others have mentioned WWE Allstars on PS3 / 360 is an absolute must buy and was the last great wrestling game and is as low as $12 bucks on ebay today. Get it while the dlc character packs are still available and enjoy the greatest arcade style wrestling game of our generation.
That AJPW wrestling game actually looks pretty sweet, I am a fan of early-mid 90s Japanese pro wrestling, I'm gonna have to look into that. The N64 era wrestling games were really good, I loved Wrestlemania 2000. I feel like all of the games based on that engine were some of the most complete wrestling games ever made. Even later titles in the Smackdown series for PS2 built on the work those games did. But I feel like they got progressively worse after Smackdown vs Raw 2007, where they changed the whole grappling system and basically took a step backwards from the elegant systems used by those original N64 games. I wouldn't worry too much about the modern wrestling games, I hear the modern WWE games are a buggy mess.
The amount of time I can spend ranting about wrestling is silly. I love these games. When I started buying arcade cabinets and pcbs years ago, WWF Wrestlefest was an absolute must, as it was a big part of my skating rink and 7-11 experiences growing up. If I was going to slap together a hasty top ten, it'd look pretty similar to yours: WWF Wrestlemania 2000 WCW/nWo Revenge WWF Wrestlefest Fire Pro Wrestling Returns 3 Count Bout Saturday Night Slam Masters WWF Royal Rumble Wrestle Kingdom AJPW featuring Virtua Pro Wrestling Gameplay is king, but having your favorite wrestlers sure helped a lot, too. Anyone who got into the Fire Pro character creation scene surely has a lot of memories as well as save files full of carefully re-created favorites from their youth. Showing off to friends your spot-on doppelgangers from hours of color edits and scrutinizing the animations of each move was special, and was even fun to put on all CPU and watch your own little fed play out. The Aki games on N64 were the most fun to actually play, though, without a doubt.
