WWF WrestleFest

WWF WrestleFest[lower-alpha 1][1] is a professional wrestling video game developed and released by Technōs Japan for arcades in 1991, featuring stars of the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). The game was distributed by Technōs in Japan and North America, and by Tecmo in Japan,[1] Europe and Australasia. It is the sequel to Technōs' previous WWF game, WWF Superstars.[3] Compared to Superstars, WrestleFest adds a variety of different wrestlers to the roster as well as enhanced graphics and sound. There are more voice samples, including commentary and pre-match introductions by WWF ring announcer Mike McGuirk. The voiced cut scenes featuring Gene Okerlund from Superstars returned as well.

See also: Terry Funk's WrestleFest
WWF WrestleFest
Arcade flyer featuring Big Boss Man, The Legion of Doom (Hawk and Animal), Jake "The Snake" Roberts, Ted Dibiase, The Ultimate Warrior, Hulk Hogan, Earthquake, Mr. Perfect, Demolition (Crush and Smash), and Sgt. Slaughter
Developer(s)Technōs Japan
Publisher(s)
Director(s)Yoshihisa Kishimoto
Shinichi Saito
Producer(s)Kunio Taki
Platform(s)Arcade
Release
June 1991
Genre(s)Sports, professional wrestling
Mode(s)1-4 players (simultaneous)
Arcade systemCPU:
68000, Z80
Sound chips:
YM2151, MSM6295

In February 2012, THQ released a remake of the game for iOS featuring both current and former wrestlers, retitled WWE WrestleFest.[4]

Gameplay
Hulk Hogan and Sgt. Slaughter team up against Ultimate Warrior and Big Boss Man.

Just like its predecessor, WrestleFest simulates professional wrestling matches. The game adds support for up to four simultaneous players and the ability to insert more credits into the machine to buy energy. Two modes of play are available. In the new Royal Rumble mode, the player picks one superstar and takes him through a Royal Rumble match. In Saturday Night's Main Event mode, the player must pick two wrestlers to form a tag team and take them through a series of matches, including a title match with the Legion of Doom. In this mode, players can perform numerous double team moves.[5] Additionally, after a team member has been on the apron for a certain length of time, they will "power up," temporarily giving them the ability to win all grapples and inflict more damage than usual.

The game features ten selectable wrestlers. Hulk Hogan, The Ultimate Warrior, "Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase and Big Boss Man return from WWF Superstars. Jake "The Snake" Roberts, Earthquake, Mr. Perfect, Sgt. Slaughter, Demolition Smash, and Demolition Crush, are available as new superstars, with The Legion of Doom (Hawk and Animal) making an appearance as a non-selectable boss tag team champions. Each wrestler has their own signature maneuvers.[5][6]

Reception

In North America, RePlay reported WWF WrestleFest to be the second most-popular arcade game of the month in October 1991.[11] It went on to be the highest-grossing arcade conversion kit of 1992 in the United States, according to the Amusement & Music Operators Association (AMOA).[12] In Japan, Game Machine listed WWF WrestleFest on their December 1, 1991 issue as being the third most-popular arcade at the time.[13]

Zero gave the game a 3 out of 5. While critical to the graphics being cartoony, they praised its gameplay.[2] Sinclair User rated the game with an 88% score, citing the game's variety of characters and high replay value.[9] Computer and Video Games also gave the game a positive review, describing the gameplay as enjoyable.[3]

Sinclair User magazine awarded it "Best Beat'Em Up Game" in 1991, along with Konami's Vendetta.[10]

Follow-up titles

THQ released a remake of the game for iOS under the title WWE WrestleFest on February 21, 2012.[4] The remake introduced a roster composed of more contemporary WWE stars such as The Undertaker, John Cena, Randy Orton and Rey Mysterio, along with former performers including The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Jake Roberts and Randy Savage. In addition to the return of the Saturday Night's Main Event and Royal Rumble game modes, the remake also featured standard one-on-one, tag team, steel cage and gauntlet match types, along with online multiplayer. The game also included "Road to WrestleMania" mode, where the player goes through a series of matches to try to win various WWE titles.[14] A series of downloadable content packs were released for the game, featuring additional wrestlers and arenas.[15][16] Versions for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Android were also announced, but never released.[14]

The 2021 title RetroMania Wrestling was heavily inspired by WrestleFest and was also promoted as a successor to the original arcade game.[17][18]

Notes
  1. Japanese: WWFレッスルフェスト, Hepburn: WWF Ressuru Fesuto

References
  1. Akagi, Masumi (October 13, 2006). アーケードTVゲームリスト国内•海外編(1971–2005) [Arcade TV Game List: Domestic • Overseas Edition (1971–2005)] (in Japanese). Japan: Amusement News Agency. p. 49. ISBN 978-4990251215.
  2. Stokes, Doris (November 1991). "Dosh Eaters: WWF WrestleFest (Data East/50p a go/£1 for 3 creds)". Zero. No. 26 (December 1991). Dennis Publishing. p. 92.
  3. Rignall, Julian (15 December 1991). "Arcade Action - WWF". Computer and Video Games. No. 122 (January 1992). EMAP. p. 98.
  4. Good, Owen (2012-02-16). "Rasslin' Goes Mobile Next Week With WWE WrestleFest". Kotaku. Retrieved 2012-02-17.
  5. Clayton, Corey (2012-02-16). "Bring It Back!: "WWE WrestleFest""". WWE. Retrieved 2012-02-29.
  6. "WWF Wrestlefest operator's manual, p.6" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-07-25. Retrieved 2012-03-01.
  7. Baize, Anthony (1998). "WWF WrestleFest - Review". AllGame. All Media Network. Archived from the original on 2014-11-16. Retrieved 2020-07-11.
  8. Wilson, David (December 1991). "Kill Zone - WWF Wrestlefest". Game Zone. Vol. 1, no. 2. Dennis Publishing. p. 74.
  9. Cook, John (January 1992). "Coin Ops - WWF WrestleFest (Technos)". Sinclair User. No. 119. EMAP. p. 55.
  10. "Coin Ops". Sinclair User. No. 117. November 1991. pp. 62–63.
  11. "The Player's Choice - Top Games Now in Operation, Based on Earnings-Opinion Poll of Operators: Best Dedicated Videos". RePlay. Vol. 17, no. 1. RePlay Publishing, Inc. October 1991. p. 4.
  12. "Banquet Hoedown! Game Awards". RePlay. Vol. 18, no. 2. November 1992. pp. 78–80.
  13. "Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 - テーブル型TVゲーム機 (Table Videos)". Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 416. Amusement Press, Inc. 1 December 1991. p. 25.
  14. Clayton, Corey (2012-02-21). "It's back! THQ's 'WWE WrestleFest' arrives in Apple's app store". WWE. Retrieved 2012-04-10.
  15. Turi, Tim (2012-02-21). "Superstars Classic & Current Clash In WWE Wrestlefest". Game Informer. Retrieved 2012-02-29.
  16. THQ-stephensonmc (2012-03-22). "WWE WRESTLEFEST "BROSKI PACK" RELEASED!". Game Informer. Archived from the original on 2012-03-24. Retrieved 2012-03-23.
  17. Peeples, Jeremy (November 12, 2019). "RetroMania Wrestling Now Official Sequel to WrestleFest – Mat Mania DLC Planned". Hardcore Gamer.
  18. Good, Owen S. (November 13, 2019). "Classic WWF arcade wrestling game is getting a surprising official sequel". Polygon. Vox Media.
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