Pro Wrestling (video game) 

Pro Wrestling
The boxart for Pro Wrestling

Developer(s) Nintendo R&D3
Publisher(s) Nintendo
Platform(s) Nintendo Entertainment System, Famicom Disk System, Virtual Console
Release date(s) FDS version
October 21, 1986 (Japan)
NES version
March, 1987 (USA)
September 15, 1987 (Europe)
Genre(s) Wrestling
Mode(s) Single player, multiplayer
Rating(s) ESRB: E (Everyone) (Wii)[1]
Media Cartridge

There is also a game called Pro Wrestling for the Sega Master System. HAL Wrestling for Game Boy was titled Pro Wrestling in Japan.

Pro Wrestling (プロレス?) is a Nintendo Entertainment System game, as well as a Famicom Disk System game for one or two players first released in 1986. The game was the first wrestling game on the Nintendo Entertainment System and was ranked 172 on Nintendo Power's Top 200 Nintendo Games Ever.

Contents

Gameplay

The player chooses a wrestler with unique skills and presses various combinations of buttons to use different wrestling moves. It is possible to leave the ring; however, a player who does so must re-enter the ring before the referee's 20-count. Failure to do so results in a loss (via count-out) or a draw (double count-out), if both wrestlers fail to re-enter in time. (Note: The referee's count is broken only after both wrestlers have re-entered the ring. That is, as long as at least one wrestler is outside the ring, the referee's count continues. Moreover, it is possible for a wrestler to be counted out while executing a Plunger if he has crossed the ring ropes by the count of 20.)

The game was one of the first wrestling games to feature an in-ring referee. The referee in the game is fairly accurate. For example, whenever a pinfall is attempted, the referee must run to where the two wrestlers are, lay on his stomach, and begin the three count. In effect, if the referee is on the other side of the ring when an opponent initiates a pin, the player will have additional time to try and escape. The game was also the first wrestling title to feature a cameraman at ringside (though he does not interact with the wrestlers).

Single player

Single player mode consists of two parts. First, the player fights in matches against increasingly difficult CPU opponents. After winning five matches, the player fights King Slender, the Video Wrestling Association (VWA) Champion. If the player has selected King Slender for play, then he will face Giant Panther for the VWA Championship, though some versions of the game have a bug requiring King Slender to win more than the usual five matches before being granted the title shot.

After winning the VWA Title, the second stage of gameplay begins. As the VWA Champion, the player has to defend the title. Making ten successful title defenses (two against each of the five remaining characters) will result in a title match against the Great Puma, champion of the Video Wrestling Federation. Defeating Puma will make a player the interpromotional VWA/VWF Champion and end the game.

Two players

The two player mode in Pro Wrestling features essentially the same gameplay as single player, though without the championship quest. Each player selects a wrestler and then proceed directly into the match. The game prevents the same character from being chosen for both players. Unlike the single player mode, each match is a best-of-three-falls match.

A screenshot of Pro Wrestling. The wrestler on the left is Fighter Hayabusa. The wrestler on the right is Starman.

Wrestlers

English Name Japanese Name Nickname Specialty moves
Fighter Hayabusa ファイター隼 The invincible warrior Back Brain Kick
Starman スターマン Super space-traveller Somersault Kick, Flying Cross Chop
Kin Corn Karn キン・コン・カーン A living karate tool Karate Kick, Mongolian Chop
Giant Panther ジャイアント・パンサー The ultimate human weapon Iron Claw, Head Butt
The Amazon ジ・アマゾン Half-piranha, half-man Piranha Bite, Outlaw Choke
King Slender キング・スレンダー Cold-blooded warrior, Jr. Back Breaker
Great Puma グレート・プーマ The perfect warrior multiple

References


External links