Evolution Schematic 03.22.08: WWE Video Games (Part 3)

Hello, hello, and welcome to yet another in a seemingly never ending parade of columns on WWE Video Games, albeit ah so slightly late. Damm my need to be complete and include details. They take up so much time. So I guess don’t be surprised if next week is an Un-Dream Match or something since they are a hell of a lot easier.

411’s WM Countdown is going strong, and my entry is locked and loaded. Given the reaction to Meehan’s Index, I expect many bitchy remarks. Or maybe not, just as long as you read the damm thing.

Part 1 and Part 2 of this series would be visible by clicking on the blue text. When we left off, the SNES and Genesis were the big dogs in the park. And while they would continue to be huge, a new technology had begun, and suddenly things looked a LOT better…

Phase 14- Video? In a Video Game? The hell?

Name: WWF Rage In The Cage
Console/s: Sega CD
Release Date: December 1993
Playable Characters: Bam Bam Bigelow, The Big Boss Man, Bret ‘The Hitman’ Hart, Crush, Headshrinker Fatu, Headshrinker Samu, Irwin R. Schyster, Kamala, ‘The Narcissist’ Lex Luger, Mr. Perfect, Nasty Boy Knobbs, Nasty Boy Sags, ‘Macho Man’ Randy Savage, Razor Ramon, ‘The Model’ Rick Martel, ‘GThe Heartbreak Kid’ Shawn Michaels, Tatanka, ‘The Million Dollar Man’ Ted DiBiase, The Undertaker, Yokozuna.
Unplayable Character/s: Howard Finkel
Match Type/s: One Fall, Brawl, Cage Match, Tournament.
Other Features: Full Motion Video, Audio introductions, biggest roster ever (up until then), mirror matches.
Screenshot:

Info:

A new media format allowed new experiences, new features. The most obvious of which was the video. It was still small beginnings, merely clips of each wrestler’s finisher at the select screen, and little clips between matches of each wrestler being themselves basically. You had ‘full’ audio introductions from Finkel to introduce everyone. Sure, mild by today’s standards, but at the time this was huge.

Unfortunately, this was about all the game had going for it in terms of new and revolutionary stuff. The game played all right, but with just a normal match, a No DQ Brawl (which was more in essence a Last Man Standing match given that you had to remove all the health from the other guy to win), a Cage match and a Tournament mode where you went through everyone else to win the title (and get a special little video of your guy), but no tag team match, even though you had two full time tag teams in the Headshrinkers and the Nastys, plus Money Inc. in the game.

Regardless, the game was a poorly sold game for a poorly sold add-on that was on a not hugely successful console. So it’s understandable as to why it’s not widely known/loved/whatever.

Back in the mainstream, the WWF had finally brought all their divisions in a line, and released one game on ‘all’ consoles, even if this took almost a year before they came out on every main console. Well, all the main ones and that other Sega add-on.

Phase 15- Kwang as the secret character. KWANG. Oh, and Chyna’s not rhe first woman in there with the big boys.

Name: WWF Raw
Console/s: SNES, Genesis, Sega 32X, Game Gear, Game Boy.
Release Date: November 1994
Playable Characters: 1-2-3 Kid (SNES/Genesis/32X only), Bam Bam Bigelow (SNES/Genesis/32X/Game Gear only), Bret ‘The Hitman’ Hart, Crush (Game Gear Only), Diesel, Doink the Clown (SNES/Genesis/32X/Game Boy only), Kwang (32X only), Lex Luger, Luna Vachon (!!!) (SNES/Genesis/32X only), Owen Hart (SNES/Genesis/32X only), ‘The Macho Man’ Randy Savage (Game Gear only), Razor Ramon, ‘The Heartbreak Kid’ Shawn Michaels, The Undertaker, Yokozuna.
Unplayable Character/s: None.
Match Type/s: One-on-One (One Fall, Brawl, Tournament), Tag Team (One Fall, Brawl, Tournament), Bedlam (Tornado Tag), Survivor Series, Royal Rumble, Raw Endurance (Handicap, a.k.a the DX Special).
Other Features: Different move sets, signature moves, ‘Mega Moves’, Different attributes.
Screenshots: Oh boy.
SNES:

Genesis:

32X:

Game Boy:

Game Gear:

Info:

This is probably the first ‘Modern’ WWF video game. It lacks Create A Wrestler, it lacks gimmick matches, and a few other things we nowadays come to expect from games, but it has some things that are still mainstays. Different move sets, attributes and finishers. A decent selection of match types, include Tornado Tag, Survivor Series, Royal Rumble and Handicap matches (Raw Endurance sees you pick a character and UP to 5 partners to take on another team of 6.). The game picked up most of the game play and non-video parts of Rage and transferred them into the ‘normal’ games, and it was pretty good. Of course the handhelds lacked most of the good stuff, (Bedlam, Rumble and Endurance modes all removed) but that’s to be expected. At least the Gear had a couple of unique characters.

However, Raw does have two notable historical points. One, in the main 3 versions of the game, Luna Vachon was playable, and while small and quick, was a threat, albeit only in the hands of an experienced player. For the first time in history, you could play as a Woman in a WWF game. This chance would not be seen again for a while. Secondly, the 32X version, among other cosmetic enhancements like rotating referees, weapons and announce teams (although there was no actual play by play), and a couple of move and music adjustments, had a secret character, only pickable by a code. Ok, the character was Kwang which wasn’t the biggest name they could have used, still, this was a new thing, a truly hidden character. The WWF was moving with the times.

But this has a down side. Because Video Games have modes, have changes of their own. Things come into vogue and out of vogue all the time, (Bullet Time, Wisecracking Protagonists, Hot Female Protagonists, Downloadable Content, take your pick) and the mid-90’s was no exception. And the trend setter was Mortal Kombat, and their developer Midway. Hence the WWF followed, hired Midway, and thus produced one of the more infamous WWF games ever.

Phase 16- I guess this makes me a lyer then.

Name: WWF WrestleMania: The Arcade Game.
Console/s: Arcade, Sega Mega Drive, SNES, PlayStation, Sega Saturn, PC, Sega 32X. *weeps*
Release Date: 1995
Playable Characters: Bam Bam Bigelow (Removed in SNES), Bret “The Hitman” Hart, Doink the Clown, Lex Luger, Razor Ramon, Shawn Michaels, The Undertaker, Yokozuna (Removed In SNES)
Unplayable Character/s: Vince McMahon, Jerry ‘The King’ Lawler.
Match Type/s: Intercontinental Title, WWF Title, 2 Player One On One, WWF Tag Title.
Other Features: Digitized graphics, over the top attacks, rounds, Mortal Kombat style gameplay with lots of handicap matches.
Screenshots:
Arcade:

Genesis

SNES

Playstation

Saturn (in inverted commas)

PC

32X

Info:

That’s a lot of work. And I couldn’t for the life of me find a Saturn photo, so I just subbed in one of my favourites. Feel free to point out where I should have looked.

Regardless, this game totally threw out everything that came before it. Gone was the ‘realism’, gone was the weapons, hell, even the most basic aspects of Professional Wrestling was taken away. Instead, you had The Undertaker throwing purple fireballs, Doink using his buzzer, and lots and lots of handicap matches. You see, to win the IC title, you had to win four one-on-one matches, then two two-on-one matches, and one three-on-one match to win the title. But the WWF title was harder. In that, you had to win four two-on-one matches, two three-on-one matches, and finally a “WrestleMania Challenge,” where you had to defeat every wrestler in the game in a gauntlet, starting with a three-on-one setup, with each eliminated opponent being replaced with another until all eight have been defeated. The Tag Title run was a little easier, where two players teamed up to beat all 8 guys in pairs to win the belts.

This is what we call a Quarter Eater.

Really, this should be considered as the first non-wrestling WWF game, as it wasn’t wrestling. This was fighting, there’s a difference. You had to win 2 out of 3 rounds, you had combos, you had over the top attacks, blocks, this was a fighting game. And taken on that level, it’s not THAT bad.

But really, Wrestling Fans want a Wrestling Game. So this was all over the place, and yet left a bit of bad taste in everyone’s mouths, at least everyone who liked wrestling. But this was just a one off, right? I mean, the next one couldn’t be any worse, surely?

Alas, this was just a 20 hit combo. The next game brought the Fatality.

Phase 17- A magic lamp? A MAGIC FRICKING LAMP?

Name: WWF In Your House: There Goes The Neighbourhood
Console/s: PlayStation, Sega Saturn, DOS
Release Date: 1996
Playable Characters: Ahmed Johnson, Bret ‘The Hitman’ Hart, The British Bulldog, Goldust, Hunter Hearst Helmsley, Owen Hart, ‘The Heartbreak Kid’ Shawn Michaels, The Ultimate Warrior, The Undertaker, Vader.
Unplayable Character/s: Mr. Perfect, Vince McMahon
Match Type/s: IC Title, WWF Title, WWF Tag, Battle Royal, Tag Battle Royal, 2 Player One on One, Co-Op, 3 Way, 4 Way.
Other Features: Commentary, End videos, Personalised Arenas, “Finishers”.
Screenshots:
PlayStation

Saturn

PC

Info:

So the next game was a sequel to the Arcade game, although it was for the home market only. And basically it took everything from the last game and amped it up a bit. When you hit your opponent, items would fly out as opposed to sweat or blood. Cactuses, Tombstone, Kisses, etc. Each character had his own unique arena, albeit a totally unrealistic, cartoony one. Players still have some add attacks, like Bret Hart whipping you with his whip, Goldust hitting you with a feather boa, and then there’s the finishers.

Not simply Sweet Chin Music or Vaderbombs, they are in there, but the MK style finishers, called Super Pins. Like HBK dropping his Heartbreak Hotel interview set on you. Or Owen Hart nailing you with a giant playing card (he was the King Of Harts at this point, see). Or Hunter rubbing a magic lamp and making you disappear.

Insert Creative Control joke here.

It was, above all, just a mess of a ‘wrestling’ game. It was a fighting game, which is all well and good, but a lot of people wanted a real wrestling game. And while they had to wait a little while, they at least began to head in the right direction…