TAG TEAM WITH DESTINY

September 7, 2023 1:35 PM

WrestleQuest [Launch Trailer] “WrestleQuest fuses turn-based gameplay of traditional fantasy RPGs like Final Fantasy or Earthbound, with the fantastical world of pro wrestling. In WrestleQuest, players explore a fantasy realm dotted with gyms, arenas, and even shrines to the legends of yesteryear. Combat takes place in the ring (usually) and follows a familiar turn-based cadence, with wrestling moves and action points nimbly taking the place of spells and mana. Land a particularly devastating move from the top rope, and a guy’s plastic arm might pop off. No worries, he just sticks it back on. [...] The characters — 12 of them playable, 400 of them NPCs, and about 30 of those real-life, old-school heroes from the past 40 years — are all action-figure representations. Some aren’t even wrestlers. The world in which the main protagonist “Muchacho Man” lives is a fantasy realm of toys, the kind a middle-schooler would spread out on the bedroom floor and mash up in glorious crossover, non-canonical throwdowns.” [via: Polygon | Game Review]
posted by Fizz (9 comments total)

(Xbox Series S/X/One/PS5/PS4/Steam/Netflix, in case you were wondering like I was.)

I'm not sure how I feel about the 'inspired by wrestling legends' part.

Like, 'Muchacho Man'? He wears a bandana and wraparound sunglasses. I'll bet you a dollar he does a top-rope elbow drop. Does he say 'Ooh yes'? Is he managed by Ms. Eliza?

While I like a good nostalgia trigger as much as the next person, the execution looks like it might fall in a sort of uncanny-valley-esque edging as close as you can to someone's likeness without getting sued.

On the other hand, most of these characters are probably owned by WWE, and Vince McMahon could get chokeslammed through a Hell in a Cell cage for eternity and it still wouldn't make up for how much he's exploited people over the years, so... yeah, I dunno.

Either way, the gameplay looks fun.
posted by box at 2:14 PM on September 7, 2023

When I first heard about this, I was skeptical about how turn-paged, RPG-style combat would mesh with a wrestling them. Having now watched some of the video included in the Polygon review, it looks like it probably works well enough and would be fun.

I don't know if I have enough nostalgia for old school WWF/WWE, but maybe I'll try it out for free via the Netflix mobile version and shell out for the Switch version if I enjoy it enough.
posted by asnider at 2:24 PM on September 7, 2023

Ok, but..... can you suplex a train?
posted by Jacen at 3:00 PM on September 7, 2023 [12 favorites]

From the description o wanted the characters to look like the River City Ransom dudes.

And it is flipping close! That graphics style just screams fun to me
posted by eustatic at 6:17 PM on September 7, 2023

The trailer says, "30+ licensed wrestlers" and includes Macho Man Randy Savage, Andre the Giant, Jake the Snake, etc. So it seems pretty above board, and more like they're making an original character who is literally in-game inspired by Macho Man, in order to use a familiar aesthetic while also having a blank slate to tell a story.
posted by ictow at 6:57 PM on September 7, 2023 [4 favorites]

I'll probably get this and give it a whirl, but why is there no roll up a wrestler and decide your own shtick mode? Or is there and I missed it?
posted by vrakatar at 8:30 PM on September 7, 2023 [1 favorite]

I do not enjoy JRPGs, or give a damn about wrestling, but I find myself very glad that this game exists for the intersection of people who do like those two things. I hope that it it is everything someone who likes those two things could dream it would be, and that if it isn't, this is only because the developers had to leave a few ideas on the cutting room floor for WrestleQuest 2, and that this sells well enough for them to be able to dive into making that if they're not totally burnt out on making games now.
posted by egypturnash at 11:42 PM on September 7, 2023 [2 favorites]

I'll bet you a dollar he does a top-rope elbow drop.
At 0:42 in the trailer, yes.
posted by xedrik at 10:02 AM on September 8, 2023 [1 favorite]

I played the Netflix-published Android version briefly, but the frequent (and apparently well-documented) loading times put me off of the experience. I imagine other ports have it better.
posted by lumensimus at 11:21 AM on September 8, 2023