Ultimate Muscle: Legends vs. New Generation

"Ya caht have yer cow until yah eat yer rice..."

Wrestling games are still a hot item, despite the decline in popularity of WWE. However, while the typical wrestling game is either licensed, or has wrestlers quite similar to real ones, Ultimate Muscle is quite different from the pack. It's based on a Saturday morning cartoon show imported from Japan. So...is it worth a wrestling gamer's time?

I took it for granted it would--with an AKI logo on the box, it seems a sure bet. AKI is well-known as the developers of N64's WWF No Mercy, arguably the best U.S. wrestling game on the market. However, after No Mercy AKI lost use of the WWF license, although they didn't quit making wrestling games. Recently they released the multi-platform Def Jam Vendetta and this Gamecube-exclusive.

Having sold my N64 and No Mercy, and later regretting it due to the lack of a proper follow up to No Mercy, I needed to get my fix from one of the two titles. Due to my dislike of the other's subject matter (I-yiiii-yiiii hate rap), I went with Ultimate Muscle.

While I'm not disappointed, what I got was far different than what I expected. If you likened No Mercy to a rock-solid, stragetic fighting game like Street Fighter II, then Ultimate Muscle is the equivalent of those Capcom/Marvel crossover titles.

The basic button layout looks similar to the AKI wrestling titles of old, except: there is no run button anymore--dashing is done with a tap of the control stick; plus there's a jump button, allowing your wrestler to take high leaps before attacking an opponent, and catching even more air from jumping on the ring ropes.

There is a three-tier ''Super Power Meter.'' Typically, level one attacks are physical blows, level two attacks are more powerful grapple techniques, and level three attacks are the wacky and/or painful looking highlights of a wrestler's arsenal. When activated, you grab your helpless opponent and kick back and watch a real-time sequence of your opponent being pummeled with a move that no real wrestler is capable of performing or surviving. For example, turning into a centaur, double underhooking your opponent as you leap high into the air, and spiking your opponent into the mat by stomping your hoofs onto the bottom of the opponents' boots.

The only moves that they take a back seat to are the double team moves--which are twice as cool-looking and even more devastating.

This approach to gameplay means this is hardly a sim. Like in the Vs. titles, you can pop an opponent up into the air and attack from that position. Irish whips are replaced by slightly-less-realistic hits that send your opponent flying from set of ropes to set of ropes like a pinball.

In keeping with the rules of the show--I'm assuming--there are no pinfalls or submissions. Matches continue until opponents are KOed. In tag team mode, both opponents must be eliminated. Unfortunately, there is no out-of-ring action; matches are always confined to the ring.

Despite the great number of ways to devastate your opponent, there are far less normal grapple moves at your disposal than in No Mercy. Because of the lack of body-part-specific damage in the game, it isn't a big deal, but you'll like be seeing many of the same moves in a match, making gameplay slightly repetitive if you shy away from the flashier moves at first. Plus, most of the normal grapples tend to be moves used as finishing moves in actual wrestling matches--I assume to stress how powerful the Muscle crew is.

The game is fun solo, but like other titles in the genre, really comes into its own with multiplayer. In tag matches, a partner can't come in to double team (except for the Level 3 double team specials), but can still assist his partner. A partner, or in singles matches a second, can assist the wrestler in the ring by lending power and energy, throwing a power up/power down into the ring, and sometimes giving ''advice'' (seemingly done at random) that will break up a grapple.

You can play singles match, story mode, singles with a second, tag matches, battle royal, tournament, etc. So there's plenty to do in the game. The highlight of the game for solo gamers is the story mode. While at its core it is simply a matter of ''beat all of the opponents in order, watch the credits,'' the stories are okay and sometimes quite funny. Also, they grant you the opportunity to unlock hidden wrestlers. The game is enhanced by offbeat humor, and the TV shows voice actors speak out the dialogue in story mode, adding quite a bit to the game. The demented but fun nature of the game really shines through in many of the stories.

One of the most clever, and simultaneously irritating, gameplay modes is the Toy mode. Medals earned in gameplay can be put in vending machines to earn MUSCLE toys. That is, photos and bio info on the figures. The more you collect, the more hidden fighters you can unlock (some only are available by buying the toys). However, for those not really into the figures like me, it's a pointless addition. Plus, you have to earn lots of medals to unlock 'em all. For each medal you put in, the figure you get is random. So after you've gotten a bunch of figures out of a machine, you get plenty of repeats, and many of your medals end up wasted. Since the only way to get a respectable amount of medals is to replay Story mode, you often are forced to do it to get more characters. Not a major annoyance, but a little irritating that a lot of effort is wasted.

Aside from the lack of variety in grapple moves, the other weakness in the game is the wrestler creation mode. There are several fan-made fighters not available in story mode that are available in other modes. Yet when you try Create mode you don't get much to chose from appearance-wise except for mixing-and-matching parts of these wrestlers. Also, you can only pick the Level 3 technique for moves--you can't even use the Level 3 techniques of all of the regular Story Mode characters. So the Create mode is little more than an afterthought, adding almost to the game.

Despite having no interest in the show or figures, this game sucked me in with the simple, yet fun and addictive gameplay, so it is still doing plenty of things right. So don't be too shy of picking it up or checking it out.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 09/28/03