When I was 14, I loved watching WWF. Hulk Hogan caving Jake The Snake Roberts face in. Macho Man Randy Savage’s ongoing saga with Miss Elizabeth. The Undertaker locking Ultimate Warrior in an airtight coffin and suffocating him. All high points and all, along with the fights themselves, 100% real despite my father telling me otherwise. Now of course, plenty of years later, I know that it’s just big sweaty men, play acting and in a word bollocks. I probably owe my father an apology. So, with this in mind, I’m approaching this game tentatively. Modern day “wrestling is wank” Sull is going to have to take a back seat for the time being to 14 year old “wrestling is ace” Sull…
There are two high score on the Twin Galaxies scoreboard for 3 Bout Count, one of which is for the two player Tag Team Mode, and the other single player being Most Money Earned. Already this seems like a record for records sake. Something to have to register it on the scoreboard but I’ll have a go at it nonetheless. The present record is held by Rodrigo Lopes with a score of $662,900.00. Considering second place is $49,200.00 I may have some way to go.
The enforced settings are as follows;
Romset: 3CountB Play Time: 3 Min 0 Sec VS Time: 3 Min 0 Sec Tag Time: 5 Min 0 Sec Continue: WITHOUT Difficulty: LEVEL 4 Demo Sounds: ON Credit Disp.: WITH Level Disp.: WITH Language: English Special Rules: This is a Single Player ONLY Variation! Continues are NOT allowed!
When starting you have a choice of 10 different wrestlers whose only differences, on the face of it, are either being lean or fat. Typically corny names such as in force such as Terry Rodgers and Big Bomberder to STD sounding The Gandhara. I chose Terry Rodgers on account of him being the first in the list.
According to the pre game demo, A is punch, B is kick, C is jump, D is go for the count.
On the first attempt I score $4600 whilst being defeated spectacularly but Gandhara. It’s not a fair fight though. He breathes fire and I’m shit.
It 
turns out that when you go into a grapple you have to tap A as quick as possible to increase a sliding energy bar. If you have the higher energy when told to stop, you can then perform wrestling moves. Throw your opponent out the ring, piledrive them, suplex etc. Nice idea but it all happens so quick that you’re hardly given more than a couple of seconds to win the right to perform the aforementioned move. So with this in mind I choose a new fighter. Sod it, if Gonnarhea or whatever he’s called can fire smoke I’m picking Leo Bradley. That mother fights with chains. I progress to past the first level with ease, pass the second, which is a street fight, and return to the ring to then lose to a wrestler whose name I can’t remember but judging by the difficulty he was probably called steep learning curve or something. I manage to muster up a score of $42,000. Not brilliant but neither is this game to be honest.
I’m sure there are fans of this game who will defend it’s playability and enduring quality to the very end. Ricardo Lopes must be one of those to achieve such a commendable world record but to be honest, it’s pretty weak. The controls are clunky, the grapple system is flawed, and fuckers cheat with fire. All it’s serve to do is re-inforce my adult opinion of wrestingl. Dogshit. And with that I begin my final attempt.
I manage to make it through to the 3rd fight with certain ease (perhaps I’m getting the hang of this and may grow to like it?) and I’m yet again defeated. Oh well, I manage a score of $48,100 which is a bit shit really. Never mind. It’s getting submitted anyway.
Next up: 4 en Raya