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Pro Wrestling (video game)
Encyclopedia
is a Nintendo Entertainment System
game, as well as a Family Computer Disk System game for one or two players first released in 1986. The game was the second wrestling game on the Nintendo Entertainment System (after M.U.S.C.L.E.
) and was ranked 172 on Nintendo Power
's Top 200 Nintendo Games Ever.
The game was one of the first wrestling games to feature an in-ring referee. The referee in the game is fairly accurate. For example, whenever a pinfall is attempted, the referee must run to where the two wrestlers are, lay on his stomach, and begin the three count. In effect, if the referee is on the other side of the ring when an opponent initiates a pin, the player will have additional time to try and escape. The game was also the first wrestling title to feature a cameraman at ringside (though he does not interact with the wrestlers).
After winning the VWA Title, the second stage of gameplay begins. As the VWA Champion, the player has to defend the title. Making ten successful title defenses (two against each of the five remaining characters) will result in a title match against the Great Puma, champion of the Video Wrestling Federation. Defeating Puma will make a player the interpromotional VWA/VWF Champion and end the game. It is worth noting that some Nintendo aficionados consider the Great Puma to be one of the most difficult boss characters to ever appear on the NES.
to English
. The unintentional comedic effect makes this a popular example of Engrish
.
In internet subculture
, the phrase a winner is you has become a popular meme
, denoting success with or without a note of irony
. This transition from mistranslation to meme is similar to the phenomenon of the "all your base are belong to us
" quote, in that instance taken from the Europe
an version of the Sega Mega Drive
port of the arcade game
Zero Wing
. The message has been referenced in games such as Pokemon Diamond and Pearl
, Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver
, Pokemon Gold and Silver
, Kingdom of Loathing
, and Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story.
. Masuda later worked on Human's popular Fire Pro Wrestling
series. US copyright records list "Try Company, Ltd." as the author.
reported that Pro Wrestling was the #1 video game in the United States
for about two months.
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
game, as well as a Family Computer Disk System game for one or two players first released in 1986. The game was the second wrestling game on the Nintendo Entertainment System (after M.U.S.C.L.E.
M.U.S.C.L.E. (video game)
M.U.S.C.L.E., known in Japan as , is a NES wrestling game based on characters from the Yudetamago's manga and anime series Kinnikuman. It has eight playable characters, each with his own special move. The game's full title is Tag Team Match M.U.S.C.L.E....
) and was ranked 172 on Nintendo Power
Nintendo Power
Nintendo Power magazine is a monthly news and strategy magazine formerly published in-house by Nintendo of America, but now run independently. As of issue #222 , Nintendo contracted publishing duties to Future US, the U.S. subsidiary of British publisher Future.The first issue published was...
's Top 200 Nintendo Games Ever.
Gameplay
The player chooses a wrestler with unique skills and presses various combinations of buttons to use different wrestling moves. It is possible to leave the ring; however, a player who does so must re-enter the ring before the referee's 20-count. Failure to do so results in a loss (via count-out) or a draw (double count-out), if both wrestlers fail to re-enter in time. (Note: The referee's count is broken only after both wrestlers have re-entered the ring. That is, as long as at least one wrestler is outside the ring, the referee's count continues. Moreover, it is possible for a wrestler to be counted out while executing a Plunger if he has crossed the ring ropes by the count of 20.)The game was one of the first wrestling games to feature an in-ring referee. The referee in the game is fairly accurate. For example, whenever a pinfall is attempted, the referee must run to where the two wrestlers are, lay on his stomach, and begin the three count. In effect, if the referee is on the other side of the ring when an opponent initiates a pin, the player will have additional time to try and escape. The game was also the first wrestling title to feature a cameraman at ringside (though he does not interact with the wrestlers).
Single player
Single player mode consists of two parts. First, the player fights in matches against increasingly difficult CPU opponents. After winning five matches, the player fights King Slender, the Video Wrestling Association (VWA) Champion. If the player has selected King Slender for play, then he will face Giant Panther for the VWA Championship, though some versions of the game have a bug requiring King Slender to win more than the usual five matches before being granted the title shot.After winning the VWA Title, the second stage of gameplay begins. As the VWA Champion, the player has to defend the title. Making ten successful title defenses (two against each of the five remaining characters) will result in a title match against the Great Puma, champion of the Video Wrestling Federation. Defeating Puma will make a player the interpromotional VWA/VWF Champion and end the game. It is worth noting that some Nintendo aficionados consider the Great Puma to be one of the most difficult boss characters to ever appear on the NES.
Two players
The two player mode in Pro Wrestling features essentially the same gameplay as single player, though without the championship quest. Each player selects a wrestler and then proceed directly into the match. The game prevents the same character from being chosen for both players. Unlike the single player mode, each match is a best-of-three-falls match.Wrestlers
| English Name | Japanese Name | Nickname | Specialty moves |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fighter Hayabusa | ファイター隼 | The invincible warrior | Back Brain Kick |
| Starman | スターマン | Super space-traveller | Somersault Kick, Flying Cross Chop |
| Kin Corn Karn | キン・コン・カーン | A living karate tool | Karate Kick, Mongolian Chop |
| Giant Panther | ジャイアント・パンサー | The ultimate human weapon | Iron Claw, Head Butt |
| The Amazon | ジ・アマゾン | Half-piranha, half-man | Piranha Bite, Outlaw Choke |
| King Slender | キング・スレンダー | Cold-blooded warrior, Jr. | Back Breaker |
| Great Puma | グレート・プーマ | The perfect warrior | multiple |
"A winner is you"
When the player wins a match, the game displays the message, "A WINNER IS YOU". The incorrect grammar of this phrase suggests it is the result of poor translation from JapaneseJapanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
to English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. The unintentional comedic effect makes this a popular example of Engrish
Engrish
refers to unusual forms of English language usage by native speakers of some East Asian languages. The term itself relates to Japanese speakers' tendency to inadvertently substitute the English phonemes "R" and "L" for one another, because the Japanese language has one alveolar consonant in place...
.
In internet subculture
Cyberculture
Cyberculture is the culture that has emerged, or is emerging, from the use of computer networks for communication, entertainment and business. It is also the study of various social phenomena associated with the Internet and other new forms of network communication, such as online communities,...
, the phrase a winner is you has become a popular meme
Meme
A meme is "an idea, behaviour or style that spreads from person to person within a culture."A meme acts as a unit for carrying cultural ideas, symbols or practices, which can be transmitted from one mind to another through writing, speech, gestures, rituals or other imitable phenomena...
, denoting success with or without a note of irony
Irony
Irony is a rhetorical device, literary technique, or situation in which there is a sharp incongruity or discordance that goes beyond the simple and evident intention of words or actions...
. This transition from mistranslation to meme is similar to the phenomenon of the "all your base are belong to us
All your base are belong to us
"All your base are belong to us" is a broken English phrase that became an Internet phenomenon or meme in 2000–2002...
" quote, in that instance taken from the Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an version of the Sega Mega Drive
Sega Mega Drive
The Sega Genesis is a fourth-generation video game console developed and produced by Sega. It was originally released in Japan in 1988 as , then in North America in 1989 as Sega Genesis, and in Europe, Australia and other PAL regions in 1990 as Mega Drive. The reason for the two names is that...
port of the arcade game
Arcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
Zero Wing
Zero Wing
is a 1989 side-scrolling shoot 'em up arcade game developed by Toaplan and published by Taito. The player is a lone hero who will save the universe from an evil force....
. The message has been referenced in games such as Pokemon Diamond and Pearl
Pokémon Diamond and Pearl
are role-playing games developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS. With the enhanced remake Pokémon Platinum, the games comprise the fifth installment and fourth generation of the Pokémon series of RPGs...
, Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver
Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver
are enhanced remakes of the 1999 video games Pokémon Gold and Silver. The games are part of the Pokémon series of role-playing video games, and were developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS...
, Pokemon Gold and Silver
Pokémon Gold and Silver
are the second installments of the Pokémon series of role-playing video games developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Color. The games have dual-mode capabilities allowing them to also be played on earlier Game Boy models. They were first released in Japan in 1999 and to...
, Kingdom of Loathing
Kingdom of Loathing
Kingdom of Loathing is a browser-based, multiplayer role-playing game designed and operated by Asymmetric Publications, including creator Zack "Jick" Johnson and writer Josh "Mr. Skullhead" Nite. The game was released in 2003...
, and Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story.
Development
Masato Masuda thought up the game system and was the sole programmer. At the time, Masuda was working for TRY, which later became HumanHuman Entertainment
Human Entertainment was a Japanese computer and video game developer and publisher. The company produced games for a number of platforms, including Dreamcast, Game Boy, Nintendo 64, TurboGrafx-16, PC , PlayStation, Saturn, Sega CD, Super NES, TurboGrafx-CD, and WonderSwan...
. Masuda later worked on Human's popular Fire Pro Wrestling
Fire Pro Wrestling
Fire Pro Wrestling is a long-running professional wrestling video game series originating from Japan, started in 1989 by Human Entertainment and continued by Spike in 2000.-History:...
series. US copyright records list "Try Company, Ltd." as the author.
Reception
FamitsūFamitsu
is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Enterbrain, Inc. and Tokuma. Currently, there are five Famitsū magazines: Shūkan Famitsū, Famitsū PS3 + PSP, Famitsū Xbox 360, Famitsū Wii+DS, and Famitsū Wave DVD...
reported that Pro Wrestling was the #1 video game in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
for about two months.