One of the best, most hilarious black box covers.
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Say it ain't so, Starman!
PLAYERS: 1-2 simultaneous
PUBLISHER: Nintendo
DEVELOPER: Human Entertainment
GENRE: Sports
RELEASE DATE: March 1987
Nintendo covered just about every sport on the NES. From ice hockey
to baseball to tennis to football to soccer, and yes, even wrestling.
Pro Wrestling isn't as crazy as the WWE nor is it as boring as
authentic wrestling. It's the perfect blend of surreal and natural.
There are zany characters like The Amazon (Creature from the Black
Lagoon), Starman, and my personal favorite, Kin Corn Karn (he's
labeled as Korean and Japanese typically don't like Koreans, hence
the crazy name?), but there are also realistic moves like the
Piledriver, the Back Drop, and the Lariat. All of the wrestlers get a
couple character-specific moves, as well. Stay away from the Amazon's
Outlaw Choke! It's a doozy! If you're hoping to be the best wrestler
who ever was, you're in it for the long haul. You start out ranked
fifth. With each match you win, you move up and eventually battle
King Slender, the VWA (Video Wrestling Association) Champion. Defeat
him and you get to carry the VWA title proudly!... through ten more
matches, twice with each of the five selectable characters. After
these matches, you will fight Great Puma, supposedly one of the
hardest boss battles on the NES. I've never gotten to him personally,
but he sounds about as tough as Tyson on Punch-Out!!; greenhorns
and weaksauce jabronis should shut their mouths and stay in their
seats. If each Nintendo-produced sports game were to wrestle in the
VWA, Pro Wrestling would come out on top. Whereas Baseball
and 10-Yard Fight feel sterile and hollow (despite my love
for the former), Pro Wrestling exudes personality and
character. A winner is it.
B+
Sorry, haven't commented in a while. Had my first baby!
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I've gotten to the Great Puma several times, though I think I've only beaten him once without a turbo button, and that was by letting him throw me out of the ring then getting lucky on the 20 count by doing rolling sole butts.
I wouldn't call him as difficult as Mike Tyson, though you're more likely to be worn out from all the button mashing by the time you get to him.
My personal favorite is Fighter Hyabusa. No idez why, but I've become a master at his head kick that requires timing and precision. Maybe it's because I'm so bad at button mashing that I picked a character where it wasn't needed.
Congratulations on your newborn! I'd say that's a solid reason to not show yourself around these parts ;)
ReplyDeleteYeah, I'm not the best at these types of games, admittedly. I highly doubt I'll ever see Great Puma, and if I do, our meeting will be brief.
Fighter Hayabusa did seem really well-rounded when I used him. I stuck with him for my "playthrough."
I saw this review and then went to the store and picked up this title. It looks like fun. Unfortunately, back-in-the-day the only wrestling game I played was Tag Team Wrestling!
ReplyDeleteThis is a rad old school game. It is addicting once you get the taste for... well, no blood, but hell who cares. The computer will shoot you straight up until about your seventh or eighth title defense. Then, hold on to your fuckin' hat, cause the BS is coming! And its coming fast and furious, buddy! Remember the good old days when you could actually get in a move after grappling? Well, kiss those days goodbye, big time, cause this here is for all the marbles. Never played it with turbo enabled, so maybe thats the key. Still, a couple o' handfuls of early nes glory. Just don't set your sights on taking down the Great One.
ReplyDelete