Tag Team Wrestling

"Not so bad when you get used to it"

Yeah, I rated this an 8. But before you call the insane asylum, hear me out. First off, this is an NES game created in 1986. That doesn't make a bad game good, of course, but let's face it, Quake 3 Arena (or whatever your favorite intense action game is) is always going to be more interesting than Pong, but there was a time Pong was (almost) the only thing you could get. Likewise, WWF Raw for SNES is always going to be more interesting, in a sense, than Tag Team Wrestling for NES.

But the game does hold its own, if just a little. For instance, I wouldn't even mind playing an SNES version with minor changes. The gameplay was clunky, but I can't think of a game that wasn't clunky in the early to mid 1980s and more complex than, say, Pac-Man, especially on the NES. If the game sucks because of its age, it's not the game's fault. Thus, I am rating it accordingly.

You control one of two teams: the Ricky Fighters or the Strong Bads. (Yes, this game is the source of the Homestar Runner character Strong Bad.) There's not much difference between the two teams, so that there are "only" two teams isn't that big a deal -- what variety would you add, anyway? Everybody has a fair arsenal of moves. Each round can be won in one of two ways: pinning an opponent for three seconds, or your opponent being out of the ring for 20 seconds. The latter is much easier if you have good timing. Here's a catch, though: if after 20 seconds have elapsed while out of the ring, and both teams are still out of the ring, they both lose and you still get Game Over. That puts the odds in the CPU's favor a bit. While in the ring, the CPU can also get mad, in which case it's very difficult to grab them -- and you have to grab them to do any attacks. That also puts things in their favor. But where things are in your favor is that the AI is pretty stupid. You can rack up 20 consecutive 25-second "ring out" victories and the CPU still won't catch on. That makes the game too easy, unfortunately.

Probably the worst thing about the game is how moves are executed. First you have to grab your opponent, then you have three seconds to select a move by pressing the B button to scroll through a list, then pressing the A button. It is possible to fight well with this system when you get used to it, and it quickly becomes second nature. The moves themselves aren't any great spectacles, but they're good considering the time period. If, hypothetically, this game were ported to a newer system, this is the thing that needs changing the most. But, again, it's not a big deal when you get used to it.

I'm not going to discuss graphics and sound much, since a game from 1986 doesn't leave a lot of room for it unless they are particularly good or bad -- and they aren't.The game occasionally palette swaps your characters, so you do get some graphical variety, and you also fight in a special ring for championship matches. The use of a few voice samples in an NES game was very unusual for the time, so it was a neat feature even though it sounds pretty silly by now.

On the whole, I think it did capture some of the spirit of silly professional wrestling, even if you can't jump up on the turnbuckle and give your opponent a face full of your butt. That's pretty good for 1986, don't you think? Play the game for more than three seconds. Give it a chance. You'll probably appreciate the game -- and more modern games -- much more.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 07/14/04