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ostalgia plays a big part in any wrestling fan's mindset when watching wrestling, and growing up as a fan probably meant you played a wrestling game on a console. From the original Nintendo Entertainment System through to today's current consoles, wrestling games have evolved from simple controls to complex move sets and storylines.
However, there are some retro games that will fill that nostalgia bar to max. Superstars from Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock to Ric Flair and Antonio Inoki all feature in various games across all platforms, enabling fans to live out their dreams of being a pro wrestler. Whether you were a die-hard Vince McMahon fan, a Paul Heyman guy or a stalwart Ted Turner believer, wrestling games were fun, interactive and instantly playable for young and old and alike.
With retro gaming becoming more and more popular, from 8 bit through to 128 bit, how many of these games do you remember and how many did you own?
#5 Tecmo World Wrestling (NES)
One of the first really playable NES wrestling games came from Tecmo, which took Japanese likeness wrestlers and created Tecmo World Wrestling. Other titles around at the time on the NES such as WWF Wrestlemania and WWF Wrestlemania Challenge didn't quite hit the mark with making the gameplay interesting and varied for the fan, so Tecmo World Wrestling was a welcome departure. (Also, no, we didn't forget about Nintendo's black box original Pro Wrestling, either.)
With named characters such as Rex Beast, El Tigre and Akira Dragon (representing wrestling legends Road Warrior Hawk, Tiger Mask and Antonio Inoki respectively), this game allowed American and European wrestling fans to experience personas that they perhaps would not have seen without tape trading. It was also the first pro wrestling game to feature "live" commentary - albeit pretty limited and in text form.
The NES obviously had its limitations with its graphics and gameplay, but gave the home gamer an arcade like experience and re-playable fun for hours. Although future games would become more advanced and 'life-like', titles such as this hold a sentimental place in the hearts of many.
#4. Fire Pro Wrestling Returns
For this entry, I'm handing the duties over to my Sportskeeda colleague, WWE news & features writer and editor Kevin C. Sullivan:
Thanks, Adam!
Fire Pro Wrestling series has been some of the most critically acclaimed wrestling game franchises in the world. Beginning with Fire Pro Wrestling Combination Tag, released in Japan in 1989 for the PC Engine (aka the TurboGraphix-16), it has spanned nearly all of the home console generations - hitting this current series of consoles with Fire Pro Wrestling World for the PS4. Which is awesome, go play that.
But, here we're talking about Fire Pro Wrestling Returns for the PS2, which you should also go play, too. Well, read this article first. Then go play it. Well, you might have to buy it on eBay or something if you don't already have it, since game stores aren't really open right... you know what? I'm getting sidetracked. Let's keep going.
Returns was released in Japan in 2005, and two years later in the United States. It features a roster of a whopping 327 wrestlers, including a number of WWE stars altered just enough to get past copyright infringment. Since it's a pro wrestling game released since 2001, it has the obligatory create-a-wrestler feature, and a damn good one at that.
One of the reasons this game is able to cram so much amazing content into one game is partly due to the graphical style. Despite being on a powerhouse of a system (for its time, obviously), the game's developers stuck with the 2D sprites and all-around game presentation. This is not a bad thing. All the character models are highly detailed, and the 16-bit asthetic also gives it a little bit of extra charm.
But, the best part about this game is the Match Maker mode. If you're a fan of the GM modes present in a lot of the Smackdown vs Raw titles in the past, this will be right up your alley. It's essentially a wrestling promotion simulator - you pick your roster, you book the matches, and those matches are judged based on "audience reaction." It's addiction-level fun.
If you can't find this one to play, World on the PS4 is just about as good - and even features the roster of New Japan Pro Wrestling circa 2018, including Kenny Omega.
Anyway, back to you, Adam!
#3. WWF Smackdown 2: Know Your Role (PS1)
Sony would go on to license over twenty WWF/WWE affiliated games after the original success of WWF Attitude. What Attitude and the original WWF Smackdown games started, Smackdown 2: Know Your Role perfected. Increased numbers of wrestlers, match types and an enhanced story mode make this game a great pick up and play title, while still being simple enough for any age of wrestling fan. Even today it's a lot of fun, and not just for the nostalgia aspect, either.
New additions to the roster such as Kurt Angle, The Dudley Boyz and Eddie Guerrero gave gamers over 60 playable characters, even being able to play as Stephanie McMahon. There were a variety of matches, such as Fatal 4 Ways, Ladder matches and Hardcore weapon matches. PS1 graphics haven't aged particularly well, with characters looking blocky and rigid, but the hours of fun had with taking a freshly created wrestler from rookie through to the WWF championship more than make up for it.
#2. WCW/nWo Revenge (N64)
Just missing out on the top spot is WCW's best entry into the annals of the N64 wrestling games. Nintendo's powerhouse of a system gave fans many different titles to play, arguably becoming the premier platform for wrestling games at the time. WCW Revenge took the absorbing storyline being played out on 'Monday Night Nitro', pitting the main WCW roster such as Sting and Goldberg against the heel nWo lead by Hollywood Hogan, Scott Hall and Kevin Nash, giving the fan an interactive way to experience the story and play it out.
Fans of either brand could enjoy matches in their favorite WCW PPV arenas, such as 'Bash at the Beach', 'Halloween Havoc' and 'Starrcade', ensuring move sets were simple to learn and master, maximising the playing time for the fan. Other WCW titles like WCW vs the World and WCW/nWo: World Tour all remain solid games on the N64, but this entry tops them all for the most fondly remembered WCW titles by gamers and wrestling fans alike on the system.
#1. WWF No Mercy (N64)
Just like the culmination of the Monday Night Wars, WWF managed to release the greatest retro wrestling video game in WWF No Mercy, beating out WCW's Revenge instalment.
With a huge superstar library to choose from, a deep 'Create a Wrestler' mode and many different match stipulation options, No Mercy managed to blend the best realism at that time available for gamers alongside playability for all ages. The N64 gave WWF fans titles such as WWF Attitude, WWF Wrestlemania 2000 and WWF Warzone, but this game far outweighed those for how realistic the game felt, how involved the Championship story mode was, and how advanced the gameplay mechanics felt.
Fans of WWF would start to be deluged by wrestling video game titles in years to come, but none of the 2K games come close to hitting the mark that 'No Mercy' did and is widely regarded as the greatest wrestling game ever made (to this point).
