WRESTLEQUEST
A wrestling-theme RPG that’ll make you go, “OH YEAH”
IN THE RING ITSELF, MATCHES TAKE PLACE AS JRPG TURN-BASED COMBAT
Finally, a turn-based RPG that appreciates the wacky performance art of professional wrestling. WrestleQuest feels like a game an eight-year-old wrestling fan would have dreamed up. Meet the world’s greatest wrestlers in a goofy adventure as you suplex your way to the top and make some fans along the way.
The glory days of professional wrestling are alive and well in this goofy yet charming wrestling RPG. In some ways, WrestleQuest is honouring all your old favourite wrestlers like Jeff Jarrett and Sergeant Slaughter, and of course, Macho Man Randy Savage. If reading those names makes you smile, this might be the game for you.
The story’s hero is an up-and-coming wrestler who idolises the Macho Man and needs to go on an epic quest to battle baddies and help people in hopes of one day becoming the greatest wrestler of all time. There will be times you’ll get to choose to be a face (good guy) or a heel (bad guy) when cutting a pre-match promo or deciding what sort of entrance you want to make as you enter the ring. These little flourishes prove that the team at Mega Cat Studios aren’t just wrestling fans but wrestling fanatics.
The 16-bit SNES pixel aesthetic is really nice, though the true charm comes in the design for the character models inspired by poseable action figures. Anyone who’s ever just dropped all their toys on the floor and made them all fight each other as a kid will appreciate the vibe here.
In the ring itself, matches take place in JRPG turn-based combat. The twist is that crowd work is just as important as bashing the opposing wrestlers over the head as you grip with a hype meter. Depending if the crowd is on your side, you can be hit with various buffs or debuffs. This is why you want to balance damaging your opponent and playing to the fans watching the match.
When your opponent’s health is low, you can trigger a minigame to land a powerful finisher and pin them down to a 1-2-3 count. The presentation is fun, and watching these dopey-looking toys beat up each other never gets old.
When you’re not pinning fools for the win, you’ll explore various worlds themed after the careers of famous wrestlers, including Andre The Giant, Rocky Johnson, and Jake ‘The Snake’ Roberts. Expect to lace up around 12 playable wrestlers who’ll join the cause.
WrestleQuest happily leans in on everything that makes professional wrestling great: over-the-top personalities and ridiculous action. Throw in the fact that this is all done as an old-school JRPG and we could end up with the sleeper hit of 2023.