The History of Wrestling Games




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Before American companies found out that they could profit by releasing what is essentially the same wrestling game under a different title over and over again, things were done a little differently. In the days of 8 and 16 bit consoles, the Japanese tried a little thing with their wrestling games called "innovation". Unfortunately, it didn't work out as well as one might think...




Appoooh!!

      Although Appoooh!! has the best name of any wrestling game to date, it also has the worst character design. Of course, the long, pixel-thin stick-arms that most of the characters have make throws look really cool. The gameplay is about average, nothing special, but nothing particularly horrible. Not to say that this isn't a memorable game...

Rating: 2.5/5

The guy on the left has some messed up legs...



Mat Mania (aka Exciting Hour)

      I really love this game. Even though you have to start from the beginning if you lose a match, it's good anyway. The gameplay rivals that of Pro Wrestling, and the pre-match commentator's broken English / hand gestures are unintentionally hilarious. Not to mention that this is from my favorite 8-bit era developer, Technos. How can you go wrong with the company that taught us eating hamburgers makes you smarter, and that reading books gives you the power to grab people by the legs and throw them hundreds of yards?

Rating: 4/5

Note numerous celebrity cameos in the audience. Like the real thing, only cheaper!



On to Part 2: The NES Years

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