15 Best Wrestling Games Of All Time
13. Saturday Night Slam Masters
Capcom struck gold by creating this wrestling gem for arcades in 1993. The developers went for a unique blend of side on fighting game visuals (Street Fighter II, Mortal Kombat etc style) with grappling mechanics. This wasn't to be a simple kick and punch fest. Nah, Saturday Night Slam Masters was gloriously over the top in terms of presentation and gameplay, but it had some good wrestling action underneath all the flash.
Taking your chosen star from jobber to World Champion is the key aim here. Being honest, you can sprint through everything the game has to offer quickly, but it's important to remember that this was designed to be a coin muncher in arcades first and foremost. Ports to home consoles were largely faithful, although they did add in a few choice modes (Death Matches on Genesis/Mega Drive, for example) of their own to keep things interesting.
Seeing Hagger from the Final Fight series pop up as a playable character thrilled those who loved Capcom's beat 'em up franchise. Similarly, there were obvious parallels between chief antagonist Biff Slamkovich and characters like Guile and Alex from Street Fighter, or even Axel from Streets Of Rage. The lore and comparisons are shockingly deep for such a seemingly simple button masher.
It's a shame Capcom couldn't secure the WWF license for a full-on arcade thriller based on the real-life roster. They'd have done a bang up job with stars like Hulk Hogan, The Undertaker, Bret Hart, Yokozuna and more. Regardless, don't overlook Slam Masters just because it has made up gimmicks.
This is an essential must play for fighting and grappling fans alike.