WWF WrestleFest
Encyclopedia
WWF WrestleFest is a professional wrestling
arcade game
released by Technos
in 1991, featuring stars of the World Wrestling Federation. The game is the sequel
to WWF Superstars
. The game was distributed by Technos in Japan
and North America
and by Tecmo in Europe
and Australasia
.
Wrestlefest included a new Royal Rumble
mode as well as four-player simultaneous play. There are also voice samples, including commentary and pre-match introductions by WWF ring announcer Mike McGuirk
. The voiced cut scenes featuring Gene Okerlund
from Superstars returned as well.
Gameplay in WrestleFest is similar to its predecessor. In Saturday Night's Main Event mode, the player must pick two wrestlers to form a tag team
and take them through a series of matches, including a title match with the unplayable Legion of Doom
. After winning the title match, the player must once again take their team through a series of matches and finally defeat the Legion of Doom a second time to complete the game.
Players can perform numerous double-team moves by tagging their partner with the opponent in the proper position or tagging while holding the opponent in a headlock. Additionally, after a team member has been on the apron for a certain length of time, they will "power up," temporarily giving them the ability to win all grapples and inflict more damage than usual.
In Royal Rumble
mode, the player picks one superstar and takes him through a Royal Rumble match. Elimination occurs by pinfall, submission, or being thrown out of the ring. Before a new wrestler enters the match, an insert of the wrestler taunting in front of a camera appears on screen.
The moveset in WrestleFest differs from WWF Superstars in that more than one maneuver is assigned to each control combination, and these vary widely among the characters. For example, Ted DiBiase
may respond to the "punch" button during a grapple by performing a backbreaker
, a piledriver
, a suplex, or his Million Dollar Dream finisher. The move he performs depends partially on a CPU "variety" sequence and on the energy level of the opponent.
, The Ultimate Warrior
, Jake "The Snake" Roberts
, The Big Boss Man
, Sgt. Slaughter
, Mr. Perfect
, Earthquake
, "Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase
and Demolition
(Smash
and Crush
). The Legion of Doom
(Hawk
and Animal
) are a non-selectable boss tag team.
In the original version, Demolition must be selected as a team in Main Event mode, and can not be teamed with any other playable characters. Under emulation
, however, cheat codes were created that allow the player to team Smash or Crush with other characters.
Hawk and Animal are not initially selectable in the arcade version, but cheat codes exist to allow them to be playable (both together and separately) under emulation. A second player can also "buy-in" to the game while the first player battles Legion of Doom in the Main Event mode, allowing them to control Hawk and Animal and continue playing as them if they win the two-player match. Hawk and Animal both have twice as much energy as the other characters.
All playable characters can perform their familiar finishing maneuvers when the opponent is weakened enough. The Legion of Doom can perform their team finisher, the Doomsday Device
; however, if the move is not set up in a precise area of the ring, Hawk will not go to the top rope, and the timer will have to be allowed to run out or the game will need to be reset. The Demolition Decapitation finisher does not appear in the game. Instead, Smash and Crush perform a suplex and a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker, respectively, as finishers.
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
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...
released by Technos
Technos Japan Corporation
is a defunct Japanese video game developer, best known for the Kunio-kun and Double Dragon franchises...
in 1991, featuring stars of the World Wrestling Federation. The game is the sequel
Sequel
A sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...
to WWF Superstars
WWF Superstars
WWF Superstars is an arcade game manufactured by Technos and released in 1989. It is the first WWF arcade game to be released. A series of unrelated games with the same title were released by LJN for the original Game Boy...
. The game was distributed by Technos in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and by Tecmo in 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...
and Australasia
Australasia
Australasia is a region of Oceania comprising Australia, New Zealand, the island of New Guinea, and neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term was coined by Charles de Brosses in Histoire des navigations aux terres australes...
.
Features
Like Superstars before it, the game features many of the trademark moves and taunts of the featured WWF Superstars. The game also allows the player to insert more credits into the machine to buy energy—a feature similar to one used in an earlier Technos release, The Combatribes.Wrestlefest included a new Royal Rumble
Royal Rumble
The Royal Rumble is a professional wrestling pay-per-view event, produced every January by WWE, a professional wrestling promotion based in Connecticut. The event was created in 1988, with its inaugural event taking place on January 24, 1988 at the Copps Coliseum in Hamilton, Ontario...
mode as well as four-player simultaneous play. There are also voice samples, including commentary and pre-match introductions by WWF ring announcer Mike McGuirk
Mike McGuirk
Michelle McGuirk is an American professional wrestling personality, best known as a ring announcer for the World Wrestling Federation from 1987–1994. She is the daughter of Leroy McGuirk.-Professional wrestling career:...
. The voiced cut scenes featuring Gene Okerlund
Gene Okerlund
Eugene "Mean Gene" Okerlund is a semi-retired American professional wrestling interviewer and announcer. He is best known for his work in the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2006 by Hulk Hogan...
from Superstars returned as well.
Gameplay
Tag team
Tag team professional wrestling is a variation in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. A tag team may comprise two wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of established teams who wrestle regularly as a unit and have a team name...
and take them through a series of matches, including a title match with the unplayable Legion of Doom
Road Warriors
The Road Warriors were a professional wrestling tag team composed of Michael "Hawk" Hegstrand and Joseph "Animal" Laurinaitis. They performed under the name "Road Warriors" in the American Wrestling Association, the National Wrestling Alliance, and World Championship Wrestling, and the name Legion...
. After winning the title match, the player must once again take their team through a series of matches and finally defeat the Legion of Doom a second time to complete the game.
Players can perform numerous double-team moves by tagging their partner with the opponent in the proper position or tagging while holding the opponent in a headlock. Additionally, after a team member has been on the apron for a certain length of time, they will "power up," temporarily giving them the ability to win all grapples and inflict more damage than usual.
In Royal Rumble
Royal Rumble
The Royal Rumble is a professional wrestling pay-per-view event, produced every January by WWE, a professional wrestling promotion based in Connecticut. The event was created in 1988, with its inaugural event taking place on January 24, 1988 at the Copps Coliseum in Hamilton, Ontario...
mode, the player picks one superstar and takes him through a Royal Rumble match. Elimination occurs by pinfall, submission, or being thrown out of the ring. Before a new wrestler enters the match, an insert of the wrestler taunting in front of a camera appears on screen.
The moveset in WrestleFest differs from WWF Superstars in that more than one maneuver is assigned to each control combination, and these vary widely among the characters. For example, Ted DiBiase
Ted DiBiase
Theodore Marvin "Ted" DiBiase, Sr. is a retired professional wrestler, manager, ordained minister and color commentator. DiBiase achieved championship success in a number of wrestling promotions, holding thirty titles during his professional wrestling career...
may respond to the "punch" button during a grapple by performing a backbreaker
Backbreaker
A backbreaker refers to professional wrestling moves which see a wrestler dropping an opponent so that the opponent's back impacts or is bent backwards against a part of the wrestler's body, usually the knee...
, a piledriver
Piledriver (professional wrestling)
A piledriver is a professional wrestling driver move in which the wrestler grabs his opponent, turns him upside-down, and drops into a sitting or kneeling position, driving the opponent head-first into the mat. The most common piledrivers are the basic belly-to-back, or Texas piledriver, and the...
, a suplex, or his Million Dollar Dream finisher. The move he performs depends partially on a CPU "variety" sequence and on the energy level of the opponent.
Featured wrestlers
The game features ten selectable wrestlers: Hulk HoganHulk Hogan
Terrance Gene "Terry" Bollea , better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American Semi-retired professional wrestler, actor, television personality, and musician currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ....
, The Ultimate Warrior
Warrior (wrestler)
Also see Warrior .Warrior is an American retired professional wrestler who notably performed under the ring names The Ultimate Warrior and Warrior...
, Jake "The Snake" Roberts
Jake Roberts
Aurelian Jake Smith, Jr. is a second-generation American professional wrestler, the son of former wrestler Aurelian "Grizzly" Smith...
, The Big Boss Man
Ray Traylor
Ray Walter Traylor, Jr. was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his appearances with World Wrestling Entertainment under the ring name Big Boss Man and World Championship Wrestling under various ring names, most notably Big Bubba Rogers.-Early years:Traylor, a prison guard in...
, Sgt. Slaughter
Sgt. Slaughter
Robert Remus , better known by his ring name Sgt. Slaughter, is an American former WWE personality and semi-retired professional wrestler. From the late 1970s to the early 1990s, Slaughter had success in the National Wrestling Alliance, American Wrestling Association, and World Wrestling...
, Mr. Perfect
Curt Hennig
Curtis Michael "Curt" Hennig , also known by the ring name Mr. Perfect, was an American professional wrestler, manager and color commentator who worked for, among other promotions, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , the American Wrestling Association , World Championship Wrestling and the World...
, Earthquake
John Tenta
John Anthony Tenta was a Canadian professional wrestler known for his work in the World Wrestling Federation as Earthquake and later Golga, and in World Championship Wrestling as Avalanche and The Shark.-Early life:John Tenta was born in Surrey, British Columbia...
, "Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase
Ted DiBiase
Theodore Marvin "Ted" DiBiase, Sr. is a retired professional wrestler, manager, ordained minister and color commentator. DiBiase achieved championship success in a number of wrestling promotions, holding thirty titles during his professional wrestling career...
and Demolition
Demolition (professional wrestling)
Demolition is a professional wrestling tag team most prominent during the late 1980s / early 1990s in the World Wrestling Federation made up of Ax , Smash , and later Crush . In WWF, Demolition were three-time Tag Team Champions, and hold the records for both the single longest tag title reign...
(Smash
Barry Darsow
Barry Darsow is a former American professional wrestler who is known as Smash, one half of the tag team Demolition, and as Krusher Kruschev, Repo Man, and The Blacktop Bully...
and Crush
Brian Adams (wrestler)
Brian Keith Adams was an American professional wrestler. Adams gained fame in the 1990s while performing for the World Wrestling Federation , under the name Crush, and for World Championship Wrestling under his given name.Trained in Japan by Antonio Inoki, Adams was a two time WCW World Tag Team...
). The Legion of Doom
Road Warriors
The Road Warriors were a professional wrestling tag team composed of Michael "Hawk" Hegstrand and Joseph "Animal" Laurinaitis. They performed under the name "Road Warriors" in the American Wrestling Association, the National Wrestling Alliance, and World Championship Wrestling, and the name Legion...
(Hawk
Road Warrior Hawk
Michael James Hegstrand was an American professional wrestler. He is best remembered as Road Warrior Hawk, one half of the tag team known as the Road Warriors or The Legion of Doom , with Road Warrior Animal.-Early life:While living in Chicago, Hegstrand met Joe Lauranaitis, who would be later...
and Animal
Road Warrior Animal
Joseph Aaron "Joe" Laurinaitis is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring names, Road Warrior Animal and Road Warrior...
) are a non-selectable boss tag team.
In the original version, Demolition must be selected as a team in Main Event mode, and can not be teamed with any other playable characters. Under emulation
Emulator
In computing, an emulator is hardware or software or both that duplicates the functions of a first computer system in a different second computer system, so that the behavior of the second system closely resembles the behavior of the first system...
, however, cheat codes were created that allow the player to team Smash or Crush with other characters.
Hawk and Animal are not initially selectable in the arcade version, but cheat codes exist to allow them to be playable (both together and separately) under emulation. A second player can also "buy-in" to the game while the first player battles Legion of Doom in the Main Event mode, allowing them to control Hawk and Animal and continue playing as them if they win the two-player match. Hawk and Animal both have twice as much energy as the other characters.
All playable characters can perform their familiar finishing maneuvers when the opponent is weakened enough. The Legion of Doom can perform their team finisher, the Doomsday Device
Doomsday Device
Doomsday Device, often shortened to Device, is a term used in professional wrestling to reference a tandem move in which one wrestler hoists the opponent on their shoulders so that they are facing in the same direction in what is known as the electric chair position, while another wrestler climbs...
; however, if the move is not set up in a precise area of the ring, Hawk will not go to the top rope, and the timer will have to be allowed to run out or the game will need to be reset. The Demolition Decapitation finisher does not appear in the game. Instead, Smash and Crush perform a suplex and a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker, respectively, as finishers.