Opinions of WWF games?

[Cobra Kai]

I'm truly interested in WWF Royal Rumble because it's from THQ, and I was curious if it is as good as their N64 wrestling games? The other one, WWF Attitude is from Acclaim, and their track record with wrestling isn't great, so my suspicion is that this is a lesser offering. I'm not really interested in the ECW Hardcore game on the system, just because I probably wouldn't know the roster.

[roots.genoa]

According to the book Wrestling with Pixels, WWF Royal Rumble was not as good as the N64 games or the PlayStation ones in terms of options or roster, and even graphics were not that much better, but it's a fun arcade game, especially with friends. WWF Attitude was not that bad actually, at least it was very popular, but had the same problem as War Zone; each wrestler has its own move list with specific controls, which makes it very tedious. The best wrestling games on Dreamcast are clearly the Japanese ones (Fire Pro, Giant Gram, etc.).

[derFunkenstein]

None of the Dreamcast wrestling games are made by AKI, who made all the good N64 wrestling titles like WCW vs. nWo World Tour or Wrestlemania 2000. IMO those are the height of excellent wrestling titles, and it's a shame the Dreamcast missed out. 

 

OTOH, I really enjoyed WWF Attitude for what it was. It's more in line with the Smackdown games on the PS1. I believe WWF Attitude was on the PS1, for that matter. It was a super early Dreamcast game so the graphics aren't stellar, but at least the Dreamcast had perspective correction so there wasn't any warping like PS1 3D titles. 

Edited February 23, 2022 by derFunkenstein

[dudeguy]

double post

Edited May 13, 2022 by dudeguy

[dudeguy]

Me and my brother put a crapload of hours into the Dreamcast version of Attitude growing up. We created Nintendo characters. always funny to see Mario with Stone Cold Steve Austin's voice. Jerry Lawler was always funny as color commentator

[SwanSong]

I have both the ecw games as a fan from back in the day but nothing beat revenge on N64 in my opinion. 

[+Biff Burgertime]

Royal Rumble disappointed me back in the day, because I've spent more hours playing the SD games then any other activity in my life. Bought a GameShark and spent hours typing in long codes to unlock the hidden legends heads, play Buried Alive matches, everything. 

 

I wanted Royal Rumble to be SD2 with better graphics, more features... but it was just an arcade game. 

 

Nowadays I fully appreciate it for what it is and still pop it in once in a while. Hell, it better fits the DC game library the way it is, anyway - DC's the ultimate console for fun, accurate arcade ports. (it's my favorite console)

 

 

I eventually got the WWE game of my dreams with Here Comes the Pain (with Shut Your Mouth being a close 2nd). Sadly it was downhill from there.... after HCTP came SvR, which was the first time I ever saw a sequel have less features than its predecessor. 

[+Biff Burgertime]

As @roots.genoa mentioned, the Japanese games are where it's at. I played the hell out of Fire Pro D back in the day, so much that I kinda ruined it haha. I can't play it anymore, I've already done/seen all there is, you know? I would use 8 memory cards to load up all the DLC moves, custom rosters, logos, etc. Loved it.

 

Giant Gram 2000 has a slight learning curve as it's control scheme is a little different than anything I was previously used to. But once you've got it, you'll be hitting your opponents with 10 different kinds of Ace Crushers. 

 

As for Toukon Retsuden 4... I've given it so many tries over the years but can't get into it. All the reviews on places like GameFAQs are like "10/10 BEST WRESTLING GAME EVER!" so surely the problem must be me... but no. It's just a very slow game using the SD engine, which is an oxymoron to me. I suppose I'm just not the target audience. 

[Austin]

Not a wrestling game fan (gameplay has always been too slow for my tastes, Wrestlemania the Arcade Game aside), but I always wanted to try Royal Rumble BECAUSE it was an arcade game. Figured it would be more fun to me than the typical game in the genre. I still haven't gotten around to trying it though.

[famicommander]

None of the US wrestling games on Dreamcast are playable.

 

If you want good Dreamcast wrestling games you want FirePro, Toukon Retsuden, and Giant Gram.

 

If you want good WWF wrestling games you want a Nintendo 64.

[+Biff Burgertime]

On 9/1/2023 at 10:16 AM, Austin said:

Not a wrestling game fan (gameplay has always been too slow for my tastes, Wrestlemania the Arcade Game aside), but I always wanted to try Royal Rumble BECAUSE it was an arcade game. Figured it would be more fun to me than the typical game in the genre. I still haven't gotten around to trying it though.

It's a good time. Fast-paced, simple controls, and a dash of silliness.

[Cynicaster]

I just played Royal Rumble for the first time a few weeks ago and I found it pretty easy to pick up but I wasn't crazy about it.  That mechanic where you call in the partners (or whatever they're called) to interfere with the match grated on my nerves because it seemed to be happening every 10-15 seconds.  

 

I was a huge fan of wrestling games in the 80s and early 90s and I've wanted to recapture that fun factor with newer games but it seems elusive.  

 

To be fair, there is also the problem that I really struggle to get into newer sportsy-type games and one-on-one fighters because 90% of the time my only option is to play against computer opponents.  I was somehow able to enjoy that as a kid, but these days I just feel like matches in these types of games against computer opponents are inherently rigged.  When there is some kind of "algorithm" that determines success or failure at key moments - like whether or not a shot in a basketball game will go in the basket or whether you will successfully win a grapple in a wrestling game - the computer can just force whatever outcome the programmer wants to "calibrate" the difficulty.  At least when you play against human opponents, most of this problem goes away if everyone is subject to the same algorithms. 

 

  

[+Biff Burgertime]

On 9/1/2023 at 10:16 AM, Austin said:

Not a wrestling game fan (gameplay has always been too slow for my tastes, Wrestlemania the Arcade Game aside), but I always wanted to try Royal Rumble BECAUSE it was an arcade game. Figured it would be more fun to me than the typical game in the genre. I still haven't gotten around to trying it though.

So have you had a chance to pop in Royal Rumble yet? I mean your name is Austin, just spam that A button and you'll be opening cans of whoop ass complete with middle fingers with Steve Austin! Then build up a special, press R, Stone Cold Stunner, 1 2 3!

[roots.genoa]

Maybe he's another Austin...

[Austin]

10 hours ago, Biff Burgertime said:

So have you had a chance to pop in Royal Rumble yet? I mean your name is Austin, just spam that A button and you'll be opening cans of whoop ass complete with middle fingers with Steve Austin! Then build up a special, press R, Stone Cold Stunner, 1 2 3!

I have not!

[+5-11under]

First thing I think of...

 

[+Biff Burgertime]

2 hours ago, 5-11under said:

First thing I think of...

 

 Their "Get the F Out" campaign following the rebrand to WWE is one of the more memorable & clever things I've seen in marketing to this day. They took a forced, shitty situation, and managed a cool catchphrase out of it - overnight! Most of the time someone's legally forced to change their name, whatever they pick just comes across a lazy "good enough" lesser-version of what they had before. Not WWE!

(Plus that situation gave us the timelessly-amazing panda image above.)

[GiygasKaz]

On 9/2/2023 at 10:45 PM, famicommander said:

None of the US wrestling games on Dreamcast are playable.

 

If you want good Dreamcast wrestling games you want FirePro, Toukon Retsuden, and Giant Gram.

 

If you want good WWF wrestling games you want a Nintendo 64.

Although I don't think the WWF Dreamcast titles are /that/ bad (Royale Rumble can be a fun time with buddies) I will also vouch for the JP titles being in a different league, especially Fire Pro. If the visuals seem off-putting to any newcomers, trust me, just give it a chance. Still one of the greatest wrestling titles ever made, both casually and as a hardcore fan.

[SUPER STREET FIGHTER II TURBO]

I thought Attitude was terrible.

 

I love Royal Rumble. You can't judge Royal Rumble against the N64 games. It's an arcade game. But it's a lot of fun and has a lot of strategy, if you take the time to really learn the mechanics. I miss playing Royal Rumble mode in the arcade with 4 players. Hard to find an arcade with the 4 player set up.