8 PC Wrestling Games Only True Fans Will Remember
Nostalgia is not what it used to be, brother!
The recent fiasco that is WWE 2K20 has left a bitter taste on the tongues of wrestling and video game fans the globe over. The utter failure of the WWE's latest video game installment has caused many fans to strap on their nostalgia goggles and gaze into the glorious past at bygone eras for their wrestling related, button-smashing satisfaction.
Countless fans cite No Mercy and WrestleMania 2000 for the Nintendo 64 as high watermarks for wrestling gaming. Others sing the praises of the SmackDown series of releases for the PlayStation and PS2. Younger fans look back fondly on SmackDown vs. RAW or earlier WWE 2K installments. In online discourse, one common theme has emerged: regardless of the objective quality of a game, people have a great affinity for the games the grew up playing.
Although wrestling games are mostly restricted to consoles nowadays, from the late 1980s to the early 2000s, many wrestling games were released exclusively for various personal home computer systems. Some of these games have faded into obscurity while others have maintained a sizable and dedicated cult following. Whether these games are still being regularly played today or not, each of them is bound to bring back a flood of memories to a wrestling fan somewhere.
8. Rock'n Wrestle
1985's Rock'n Wrestle by Australia's Melbourne House has the distinction of being the first wrestling video game ever released for personal home computers. Known as Bop'n Wrestle in the U.S., this 8-bit brawl fest was notable for featuring sampled sound effects including a referee's three count and a ringing bell. The inclusion of sampled audio in home computer games was fairly rare at this time.
In singles mode, gamers would play as a stereotypical, muscle-bound wrestler named Gorgeous Greg. Greg would compete against a rogues' gallery of 1980s wrestling archetypes including a punk rocker, a masked luchador and a hillbilly. As a product of its time, each wrestler had an identical move set, with only their head sprite and attire color serving as distinguishing physical attributes. In two-player mode, gamers were allowed to choose which wrestler they played as, though for all intents and purposes this didn't really mean anything.
Despite breaking new ground,this game was not well received upon its release. The controls were understandably limited and the wonky ring view during game play coupled with the wrestlers' inability to move diagonally has prevented this game from ageing well. That being said, this piece of wrestling video game history from Down Under is still worth exploring for vintage video game enthusiasts and professional wrestling historians.