I'm a longtime fan of professional wrestling. I was born in the late '80s, so I came into the world just as names like Macho Man Randy Savage, Jake "The Snake" Roberts, and The Road Warriors were ascending to superstardom (if they weren't already there). I owned the action figures and the plastic ring, and I would make them wrestle one another until I fell asleep next to the ring. Those are cherished memories for me…and somehow WrestleQuest turned those memories into a turn-based RPG.
WrestleQuest is hard to adequately describe without launching into a tirade, so I'll borrow a phrase from Mega Cat Studios that was used during its PAX East panel: It's not a wrestling game, it's a game about wrestling. Those expecting a simulation-style wrestling experience like what's found in the WWE 2K franchise will not find it here; these devs instead list Chrono Trigger and Super Mario RPG among their biggest influences, and that inspiration shows in every facet of the game.
The game is structured like a classic turn-based RPG: travel a vast world, meet friends and enemies, drop into fights, and repeat until the story's over. However, there are a multitude of little things this game does that not only sets it apart from its RPG brethren, but also makes it one of the best homages to that era of pro wrestling – and crucially, pro wrestling fandom – to date.
Case in point: I mentioned earlier I'd owned the action figures and would make them wrestle. Sometimes, however, I didn't have the wrestler I needed for my match, so I had to use a stand-in. Sometimes that stand-in was a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, or a G.I. Joe, or even a Power Ranger. WrestleQuest, unbelievably, acknowledges this in perfect fashion.
As soon as I get to one of the main areas, a giant statue paying homage to the late Macho Man, I can talk to a scattered group of NPCs. Among the other wrestling figures here I see, admittedly sticking out like a sore thumb, are a Sailor Moon-looking anime character and her "father," who is a Voltron-esque mech. I laughed out loud at the realization of what was happening, and the demo only continued its antics from there.
Of course, one of the biggest parts of the pro wrestling culture is the wrestling, and WrestleQuest has managed to turn a standard wrestling match into a clever turn-based combat system with a lot of moving parts. A momentum meter representing the crowd's reaction to your match looms overhead, gifting buffs to the wrestler in control and negatively impacting the one lagging behind. Standard attacks are kicks and punches, while the "special attacks" are actual wrestling moves. Time a hit correctly and you'll send the opponent into the ropes, which allows for an extra hit when they return.
The most novel – and most important, to be honest – spin on turn-based combat is how you win a match. It's not enough to get the HP to 0, you have to get the three-count by activating a pin. Pins are represented by a brief rhythm-based mini game, where pressing a button at the right time signifies the ref's hand hitting the mat, and if you should fail the opponent kicks out and gains a bit of health back. If this sounds cumbersome it's honestly not that bad; I don't think I failed a single one in my half-hour demo.
There are other elements that will impact a fight, which also borrow from the pro wrestling playbook. Big boss fights are preceded by cutting a promo, where the answers you select will impact how much momentum you have entering the fight. Similarly, you'll be able to customize your entrance with pyro and poses to appeal to the crowd and go for an early advantage. Best of all, multiple real-world wrestling legends are in the game as summons, including every wrestler I've mentioned in this article so far.
WrestleQuest was always a game I had been keeping an eye on, but after getting a taste of the action it has shot up my list of most anticipated games. Super Mario RPG is an all-time favorite game of mine, and pro wrestling is still one of my main hobbies, so to play a game involving the latter that was heavily influenced by the former is a total no-brainer. The game doesn't drop until late May, so there's still some time left in this match, but if the full release is any indication, we're going to be talking about a new champion in the RPG landscape next month.
