WWE Games Review Part 1: The 8-bit Years (1987-1993)

Game: WWF Wrestlemania

Console: Nintendo Entertainment System

Developer: Rare

Release Date: 1989

The first proper licensed WWF action-based wrestling game ever; WWF Wrestlemania allows players to choose from 6 big names; Ted DiBiase, Bam Bam Bigelow, Honky Tonk Man, Randy Savage, Andre The Giant, and Hulk Hogan. Players use the NES's limited set of buttons to attack in combination with the d-pad. While there's an impressive variety of moves for the time, there's a lot of legitimate wrestling moves missing too, and of course no jumping off the ringposts or anything fancy like that. 

The only mode of the game appears to be in tournament format, but having struggled to win a single match this was hard for me to verify. The reason matches are so difficult to win is partly the game's hit detection, which requires players to be standing directly in front of their opponent, facing them, side on from the screen view. A little in front or behind will mean a missed attack, and when coupled with the fact that opponents continuously move around it's difficult to stay consistently on the attack. Each player has an energy bar which is drained both by attacking and being hit, though the latter drains the bar more quickly. Staying still appears to replenish energy but never as quickly for the player as the opponent. Once an energy bar is empty, that wrestler can be pinned for a 3 count.

Graphically the game doesn't look at all bad for the era, with recognisable wrestlers both in the ring and their top of screen portraits. The open-ring view of the action works well and prevents the game from having too much of a top-down style too. Instrumentals of wrestling themes accompany gameplay, which is fun and likely a better choice than 8-bit sound effects for physical contact.

Overall WWF Wrestlemania isn't much to look at or play thesedays, and it can be incredibly frustrating to even win a single match, but as the very first proper WWE wrestling game it shows a number of ideas which would be refined and improved upon to make later wrestling games. It can definitely be considered the start of an era of wrestling games which played more like fighting games with a wrestling theme added to them.

Rating: 44/100
Grade: E

Game: WWF Wrestlemania Challenge

Console: Nintendo Entertainment System

Developer: Rare

Release Date: 1990

If you thought WWF Wrestlemania was a bad game then Wrestlemania Challenge from just a year later may well put into perspective how competent of a game the first release actually was. Roster-wise things aren't too bad with 8 licensed wrestlers and an option to play as "yourself" should you wish to. The addition of 2-on-2 and 3-on-3 matches is also welcome, though they're played with 1 wrestler from each team in the ring at any one time.

The real issues begin as soon as players start a match; gameplay has switched to an isometric view meaning that simply moving around the ring becomes far more complex than it needs to be with 8 directions to worry about instead of 4. The hit detection is a little better, and each wrestler has some unique moves but the frustration and difficulty factor remains as it's tough to get consistent hits in before the opponent inevitably recovers their stamina. A successful pin requires stamina to be in the final section of the bar, but once again it's not a game which is easy to pick up and play.

Graphically this is worse than the original WWF Wrestlemania with simpler depictions of wrestlers and basic animation. There's a visible crowd which is nice, but overall it feels like a less enjoyable visual and gameplay experience than the first game. There are more 8-bit wrestling themes which is the only real positive point to the game, everything else is either the same as before or worse.

Overall Wrestlemania Challenge's decision to go isometric was the first mis-step of many which doomed this game to being one of the worst in the early era. It's only forgiveable since it was a second attempt at making a licensed wrestling game. This is the sort of game that you'll find yourself playing only if you're trying to play every licensed WWE game in existence.

Rating: 26/100
Grade: F

Game: WWF Wrestlemania Steel Cage Challenge
Console: Nintendo Entertainment System
Developer: Sculptured Software
Release Date: 1992

Released after the first Mega Drive WWF release, Steel Cage Challenge could have been a scaled down version of the 2D fighting game style adopted by the 16-bit games. Instead it focused a little better on wrestling, adding optional steel cage matches, and including a roster of 10 licensed wrestlers as well as WWF Championship and Tag Team Belt modes where players fight through the roster to lay claim to the titles.

Gameplay is fast and responsive with simple but effective gameplay and enough moves to satisfy most wrestling fans of the era, if not more modern fans. Steel cage matches are a good addition, and slightly more easily winnable than a regular match since the cage needs to be escaped while the opponent is down, rather than a pinfall occuring. In terms of difficulty level, there are 3 difficult options but the controls are also far easier to use and hit detection is much better.

Graphically the game isn't the best with small wrestler sprites and little detail or distinctive features for each. With the cage in the way for some of the matches too, it's potentially the least graphically impressive so far, but with some rocking wrestler themes and one that sounds a little too close to We Will Rock You, it wins back some points for its sound design. Crowd chants are white noise behind matches which isn't ideal, but then music behind matches isn't realistic either so it's hard to please everyone.

Overall what WWF Wrestlemania Steel Cage Challenge lacks in visuals, it makes up for in gameplay which is by far the most important part of a wrestling game, or any other game for that matter. For the first time, players are able to take full control of their wrestler without being hindered by poor controls, and challenge themselves with several difficulty levels and modes. 

Rating: 62/100

Grade: C

Game: WWF: King Of The Ring

Console: Nintendo Entertainment System

Developer: Grey Matter Inc.

Release Date: 1993

Released after two of the Mega Drive WWF games, King of the Ring for the Nintendo Entertainment System did a great job of showing just how much better the 16-bit generation was than the outgoing 8-bit one. Featuring 10 wrestlers, and an eleventh "customise your own" wrestler, the movesets featured in the game were identical, with the only differences between wrestlers being their stats, which are the only customisable detail on the create-a-wrestler. 

Gameplay is semi-enjoyable with decent hit detection and flow. As with the other 8 bit games, health is managed via a bar, which allows for 3 count pinfalls when depleted far enough. It seems like the bar doesn't need to go too much past half way for a pinfall to last to a 3 count, but health is so easily taken away from opponents by button mashing that players might as well see off most of their health bar before going for the pin anyway. 

Graphically the game is nowhere near as detailed as any of the 16-bit releases; I had some issues telling some of the more homogeneous wrestlers apart and as their movesets are literally identical, this can be a major issue. The sound effects are one of the least impressive parts of the game, and the only audio which plays during matches is once again white noise to imitate the crowd. 

Overall there's not too much to like about WWF: King of the Ring. Inferior for the time of its release and shackled to the limitations of the 8-bit system, it struggles to provide any coherent wrestling action and instead turns into a button mashing challenge of distinguishing wrestlers from one another. 

Rating: 48/100
Grade: D

So that's all four 8-bit WWE games from the dark ages of wrestling games when it was hard to tell who was who, there were hardly any movesets and more than one game mode was a rare treat. In part two I'll be looking at 4 2D Mega Drive games, and one 2D Playstation game!