Overall 6.4 Graphics 4 Sound 8 Addictive 2.5 Depth 2.5 Difficulty 4
4
For WWF(E), not a good way to start out in the videogame circuit. Azul Fria
OVERVIEW
Today, World Wrestling Federation now known as World Wrestling Entertainment or simply WWE is best known for its WWE 2K games with 3D graphics and realistic graphics that fits each wrestler uniquely. However, their first venture into the game industry was not so good. WWF Wrestlemania for the NES was met with what today would be a critical failure. During its time, no one made such a big deal about it as Nintendo NES games were just still a run of a mill where people played it no matter how good or bad and there was no internet to deter anyone from buying the game.
STORY
You play as one of the six wrestlers in a bid to win the championship. You get to choose from Hulk Hogan, Macho Man Randy Savage, Million Dollar Man Ted Dibiase, Bam Bam Bigelow, Honky Tonk Man, and Andre the Giant. The roster would not make sense today. Aside from the roster size, some bigger wrestlers could have made the roster like Ultimate Warrior and Rick Rude but they were still relatively new at the time. Even the Million Dollar Man didn't have his most infamous theme music at the time so he was given the theme music from Strike Force (Titio Santana and Rick Martel). Luckily for Ultimate Warrior and Rick Rude as well as Big Boss Man, Brutus the Barber Beefcake, and Hacksaw Jim Duggan, they all made the cut for their much better next game, WWF Wrestlemania Challenge.
GRAPHICS - B
The graphics really are not that bad to tell you the truth, the wrestlers do look exactly like their real life counterparts and it even matches the height and weight of the characters shown in the game and you may not have noticed but the game did take physics based on their looks into effect. Now way in hell would you see Andre the Giant or Bam Bam Bigelow jump onto the top turnbuckle like they way 200-250lbs. Even though they did climb onto the top rope at one point in their career (Bam Bam actually used top-rope headbutt and moonsault finishers during his 2nd WWF stint), they never did it like that. The flashing lights of the title screen was also a good use of graphics as was the sparkling of the title belt in the ending. The only thing I found wrong with the graphics were the attack animations and that was it. Everything else was fine.
CONTROLS - D+
Oh the horror. The controls function like a kindergarten child was responsible for the programming of them. You got your basic punch and kick which seem to be hard to connect but you also got the wrestlers moving around like they got Down's Syndrome. I am not saying that to be offensive to those who do have Down's Syndrome. I'm just stating the facts based on the wrestlers' movements. One thing I do give this game credit for is that the wrestlers each have at least have one unique feature. The three that stand out the most are Bam Bam Bigelow's cartwheels which he did during his early career, Andre the Giant's barge attack, and Macho Man's 12-6 elbow strike n' Macho Hammer from the top rope including his Ooh Yeah theatrics. The biggest blunder of all is the controls needed to pin the opponent. It is hard to get in position to do so.
SOUND - B+
The only good part of this game was the music and the sound. Each wrestler has a unique theme song that plays throughout the match interchangeably. Hulk Hogan, Macho Man and Honky Tonk Man's theme play perfectly as does Ted Dibiase's borrowed Strike Force theme. Both of Bam Bam Bigelow's theme used around the time of release are in the game as well. Aside from the one you here during the match, his first theme serves as the main theme song to the game itself. Andre the Giant never had a theme song during his days in WWF so he was given a rendition of the song Stand Back which was sung by Vince McMahon.
REPLAYABILITY - F
Why would anyone want to play this game a second time. Even after fighting against a group of friends and playing the tournament, it is not worth putting in any more hours on this game. It is horrid as hell and should be thrown in the trash if you own a physical copy but if you are just possessing the game for collection purposes like I am then keep it with you just for that purpose and that purpose alone. I warn you.
OVERALL - D-
Even though this game ending up bombing, the next game, WWF Wrestlemanina Challenge, was so much better. It had better graphics and better animations and better music. It also had better wrestlers.This game cannot fight it way out of a paper bag. I'm not knocking on Bam Bam for being in the game he has a cartwheel move implemented into the game. However, they could have used a larger roster size, more wrestlers that could have been added include Junkyard Dog, Iron Shiek, Don Muraco, Kamala, Nikolai Volkoff, and even One Man Gang before he became Akeem but to be honest, I don't know they would have fit into the fold of the game as far as the wrestling moves they were known for at the time that this game had came out.
Graphics 3 Sound 8 Addictive 2 Depth 1 Difficulty 2
Review Rating: 5/5
Submitted: 06-29-16
Review Replies: 1
5.9
The first of many WWF(E) Console Games.. But not the best mattk1982
For the better part of my life, I have been a big fan of WWF (now WWE) wrestling. But in these days, with all the Randy Orton- John Cena feuds, the same 6 WWE divas, and too many TV Shows and Champions, I miss the old days of wrestling. Every week Id watch the "heroes" of my generation (Hulk Hogan, Bret Hart, Sgt. Slaughter, Ultimate Warrior, and Jake Roberts.). So when I found out that there was a WWF NES game, myself and a few of my friends would attempt to have our own recreation of the epic Wrestlemania IV championship tournament. And boy was I thrilled when I got this game for Christmas one year. 20 years later well, I'm neutral, especially when the current WWE games are pretty much rehashes of the previous years. But anyway.. on to my review.
GRAPHICS- The graphics are actually quite good for a game that came out on either 1988 or 1989. The wrestlers look pretty good for 8 bit renditions of themselves. The ring has the (at the time) blue apron and red, white, and blue ropes and the WWF Wrestlemania logo. The camera angle, is set up like having a ring-side seat, which is confusing at first. Mostly because the wrestlers can pull off moves on a 3D like plane, but its a 2d game. The wrestlers costumes also look very accurate for the time: Bam Bam Bigelow has the flame jumpsuit, and the Honky Tonk Man has his red Elvis Jumpsuit. Not bad for something that's almost 30 years old.
But even though the graphics are a decent point, there are a lot of flaws. Mostly the wrestler
selection, did the folks at akklaim have a problem with finding wrestlers, or did the WWE have a problem with licensing some superstars. There are 6, whereas the sequel, WWF Wrestlemania Challenge had 8 plus "yourself". And the 6 you get are debatable if they were popular in the late 1980s. You get: "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase, Bam Bam Bigelow, The Honky Tonk Man, "Macho Man" Randy Savage, Andre The Giant, and Hulk Hogan. Not a bad roster, even thou Bigelow and Dibiase never won a title, Andre held it for 45 seconds, and Honky Tonk set an Intercontinental record. But they could have put a few more of the popular faces and heels like: Roddy Piper, Tito Santana, Greg Valentine, and Rick Rude. Average attempt for a first try, but very sub-par by today's standards.
SOUND- This is about the only strong point of the whole game. The opening theme is an accurate rendition of the Wrestlemania IV theme, while the menu and part of the game have I think the 1980s Superstars theme. The wrestlers themes are accurate as well. Hogan has the "Real American" Theme, and HTM has "Cool, Cocky, Bad". Not bad for a NES game. But again there are many shortcomings with this. Bam Bam and Andre never had ring music, but they do in the game. And the designers gave "Million Dollar Man" who had a theme song, the song "Girls In Cars", which was the theme for the Tag Team Strike-Force. Just like Hogan in red trunks, a major downfall if your a hardcore fan, but again almost 30 years ago so no complaints.
STORY- N/A as its a wrestling game, Fight, pin repeat.
DEPTH- Another weak point, s today you get about 30 different match modes and career modes. This has two. Exhibition which is a standard one on one match. And Tournament which is pick a wrestler and take on the remaining five. Its better with more people as the game supports a 6 person tournament this adds about an hour of game play, as all 6 fight and the 2 with the highest points fight for the championship.
DIFFICULTY- While its a standard wrestling game, this is the biggest flaw altogether. The game can be downright unforgiving. In tournament after the 3rd fight the CPU gets hard. And like I said before the controls are like 3D in a 2D game. It can be frustrating to have the CPU pull off moves while its walking but again early NES. The controls are pretty easy to follow. A- Punches and B- Kicks, but when u push them together u can do special moves, which varies among wrestlers. The only down fall is that only 3 can body slam, and 3 can do turnbuckle moves. Again a major downside. But again early nes wasnt as complex as today.
Overall, it was worth a play when it came out, but by toady's standards, it falls way short. If you have it play it, or check it out on here. But mostly id stay away from this one, and only pick it up if your a die hard collector of vintage wrestling memorabilia. Once again thanks for reading and take care...
Matt
Graphics 5 Sound 8 Addictive 3 Depth 4 Difficulty 6
Review Rating: 5/5
Submitted: 02-23-14
Review Replies: 0
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