028 - TAG TEAM WRESTLING
TAG TEAM WRESTLING
Episode 028
OUR THOUGHTS
MIKE
What an archaic first attempt at wrestling on the NES. While I didn't necessarily love Urban Champion because of how simple and boring the gameplay was, at least that one had controls that made sense and connected. You can only play as one character against one other character (Strongbad) and chances of your punches connecting is reduced to possibly worse than a coin toss. The game understands wrestling and has the flair of production that the WWF was currently experiencing. I like some of the little touches and the zaniness of the grappling moves, but it doesn't allow a lot of time to appreciate it because of the clunky controls. There is only so much you can do with two buttons, but cycling through a menu for your attacks completely disrupts the flow of gameplay on a level that takes me out of the fun.
SEAN
I never thought that the first wrestling game I'd play on this console would resemble some bizarre turn-based strategy game. I'm all for experimentation when grappling with game-design problems, but I think the developers should have thrown a few more ideas against the wall before sticking with a pop-up move menu. I may have been able to deal with it, if it weren't for the fact that I could never register a hit before the superhuman computer opponent got to me first.
It was fun discovering the inspiration for the now ancient Strongbad internet sensation, but other than that, this game's got nothing.
THE VERDICT - NOT ESSENTIAL
Onto the next fight against the same exact dudes as before...
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