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Post by Jay "The Brain" Mann [OFSU] on Jul 2, 2013 5:37:47 GMT -5
I've played plenty of wrestling games in my time, so I know what's crap. Usually, when the subject of awful wrestling games comes up, I like to say "every MDickie game", but I've found a game that's worse than any of his games. This game came out a day before its console counterpart (which is actually pretty good) in America. This game boasts a large roster, however over half of it is locked away, having to be unlocked through the grueling Career mode. The roster itself is good, but the graphics show that the developers of this version (Powerhead Games, which despite being around since 2000, have developed 16 games, including Mary-Kate and Ashley: Pocket Planner, E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial: Digital Companion, Trollz: Hair Affair! and Imagine: Soccer Captain) did not have a clue what they were doing. Many characters looked nothing like their real selves. What was this game?
Legends of Wrestling II for the Game Boy Advance
Hoo boy. I know some people will say "it's a GBA game, what do you expect?", but I'd point them to Fire Pro Wrestling and Fire Pro Wrestling 2, WWF Road to WrestleMania, WWE Road to WrestleMania X8 and WWE Survivor Series, which are all pretty good games. For comparison:
Fire Pro Wrestling
Legends of Wrestling II
WWF Road to WrestleMania
Legends of Wrestling II
WWE Road to WrestleMania X8 (they almost look like the GameCube models!)
Legends of Wrestling II (guess who that is? Yeah, I don't know either)
WWE Survivor Series
Legends of Wrestling II
Alright, enough picture time. As you can tell, most of the wrestlers don't look like they do at all. Here's a list of what all the wrestlers look like (well, the ones that are unlocked from the beginning, at least):
There are other wrestlers, but you have to unlock them by completing the Career mode with (I presume) all the available wrestlers. This is where it gets hard. See, while the Acclaim gameplay is tolerable on other consoles, on the GBA it's almost impossible because all you have is two front buttons, the D-pad and the L&R buttons. Not to mention the game is heavily unresponsive. Oh, and hoping for a count-out victory? Just remember that for every match it's a 20 count. Back to the Career mode... you start off with either Captain Lou Albano (heels) or Jimmy Hart (faces) talking about you starting your career in the territories (kinda like the console versions). You then choose which territory you want to start in. Unlike the console versions, there aren't any storylines and no jobbers. In fact, my first match in the Midwest was a fatal four way (described by Captain Lou as a "three-on-one match") against Bret Hart, Road Warrior Animal and Harley Race. My main opponent was apparently Harley Race, as when I lost the match via count-out (I was getting sick of none of my hits landing while his did), it said he won the match. I'm not willing to go through all that junk just to unlock more wrestlers. If you want to play Legends of Wrestling II on the go, go grab a PS2 emulator, grab the PS2 version from an online video game store (maybe the PAL version, which has 4 exclusive wrestlers that are famous in Britain) and play it on your computer. It's infinitely better than the GBA version. Plus, the wrestlers actually look like they're supposed to.
Legends of Wrestling II for the Game Boy Advance
Hoo boy. I know some people will say "it's a GBA game, what do you expect?", but I'd point them to Fire Pro Wrestling and Fire Pro Wrestling 2, WWF Road to WrestleMania, WWE Road to WrestleMania X8 and WWE Survivor Series, which are all pretty good games. For comparison:
Fire Pro Wrestling
Legends of Wrestling II
WWF Road to WrestleMania
Legends of Wrestling II
WWE Road to WrestleMania X8 (they almost look like the GameCube models!)
Legends of Wrestling II (guess who that is? Yeah, I don't know either)
WWE Survivor Series
Legends of Wrestling II
Alright, enough picture time. As you can tell, most of the wrestlers don't look like they do at all. Here's a list of what all the wrestlers look like (well, the ones that are unlocked from the beginning, at least):
- Hulk Hogan is in his normal 80's attire, with red wrist tape.
- Roddy Piper is in blue jeans with no shirt.
- Bruno Sammartino in is dark blue trunks with no knee pads and gray boots.
- Bret Hart is in a heavily bastardized version of his pink/black outfit.
- Jerry Lawler has a singlet with two sleeves and tights that are the same color as his singlet (gray).
- Scott Steiner's outfit looks more like Stone Cold's outfit, and his hair is indistinguishable from his skin, making him look even more like Stone Cold.
- Sid has black trunks with white knee pads and gray boots.
- Eddie Guerrero has poop brown (think HBK at Survivor Series 2002) tights and boots.
- Owen Hart has black trunks with pink knee pads and black boots. He also looks nothing like Owen Hart. Did Martha approve of this?!
- George Steele is obese and wearing black trunks, no knee pads and red boots.
- Bam Bam Bigelow has a maroon singlet top, black trunks and maroon boots. Also looks nothing like Bam Bam Bigelow.
- Jimmy Snuka has dark orange trunks, gray knee pads and no boots.
- Billy Graham has Sandow-esque purple trunks, white knee pads and yellow boots.
- Road Warrior Hawk has black trunks, white knee pads and red boots.
- Road Warrior Animal has black trunks, white knee pads and BLUE boots.
- Mr. #1derful Paul Orndorff has dark red trunks, white knee pads and red boots.
- Sabu has green tights and gray shoes.
- The Sheik has black trunks and red boots.
- Koko B. Ware is fat, has green trunks, no knee pads and white boots. He reminds me of Bobo Brazil more than Koko B. Ware.
- Flyin' Brian has orange trunks, orange-red knee pads and white boots.
- Harley Race has black trunks, no knee pads, gray boots and his sideburns have turned into a full beard.
- Dr. Death has dark red trunks, red knee pads and white boots. Probably the most accurate looking wrestler, which is odd all in of itself.
- Eddie Gilbert has red trunks, black knee pads and red boots.
There are other wrestlers, but you have to unlock them by completing the Career mode with (I presume) all the available wrestlers. This is where it gets hard. See, while the Acclaim gameplay is tolerable on other consoles, on the GBA it's almost impossible because all you have is two front buttons, the D-pad and the L&R buttons. Not to mention the game is heavily unresponsive. Oh, and hoping for a count-out victory? Just remember that for every match it's a 20 count. Back to the Career mode... you start off with either Captain Lou Albano (heels) or Jimmy Hart (faces) talking about you starting your career in the territories (kinda like the console versions). You then choose which territory you want to start in. Unlike the console versions, there aren't any storylines and no jobbers. In fact, my first match in the Midwest was a fatal four way (described by Captain Lou as a "three-on-one match") against Bret Hart, Road Warrior Animal and Harley Race. My main opponent was apparently Harley Race, as when I lost the match via count-out (I was getting sick of none of my hits landing while his did), it said he won the match. I'm not willing to go through all that junk just to unlock more wrestlers. If you want to play Legends of Wrestling II on the go, go grab a PS2 emulator, grab the PS2 version from an online video game store (maybe the PAL version, which has 4 exclusive wrestlers that are famous in Britain) and play it on your computer. It's infinitely better than the GBA version. Plus, the wrestlers actually look like they're supposed to.
