WWF WrestleMania

Download WWF WrestleMania and step into the ring in this classic wrestling game. Choose from iconic WWF superstars, perform devastating moves, and compete for the championship title. Can you rise through the ranks and become the ultimate WWF champion? Play now!
a game by LJN
Genre: Fighting Games
Platforms: PC, Playstation, NESNES
Editor Rating: 7.7/10, based on 8 reviews, 9 reviews are shown
User Rating: 6.0/10 - 3 votes
Rate this game:
See also: Sport Games, WWE Games, WWF Games

Published by Acclaim Entertainment, Inc. and developed by Rare, Ltd. for Nintendo Entertainment System, the game was released in 1988.

The game features the game characters of such greatest wrestling stars as Andre The Giant, Bam Bam Bigelow, The Honky Tonk Man, Hulk Hogan, "Macho Man" Randy Savage, "Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase. All of them share the same basic moves like standing punches and kicks, headbutts, a running attack, a body slam, and a move off the turnbuckle (Andre the Giant can't do this). The player can select from a few different ways to play, as well as Tournament action. Here you can pick the wrestler of your choice and then fight the rest of them in timed matches. When you have got two to six players, you may proceed in the best tournament action. At the end of the Tournament, the wrestler who have the most wins is announced the Champion and gets the coveted solid-gold WWF Championship Title to wear.

Download WWF WrestleMania

PC

System requirements:

  • PC compatible
  • Operating systems: Windows 10/Windows 8/Windows 7/2000/Vista/WinXP
Playstation

System requirements:

  • PC compatible
  • Operating systems: Windows 10/Windows 8/Windows 7/2000/Vista/WinXP
NES

System requirements:

  • PC compatible
  • Operating systems: Windows 10/Windows 8/Windows 7/2000/Vista/WinXP
  • P-200, 32 MB RAM

Game Reviews

This review is something of a penance for me. If you see this game in the shops you'll notice the quote: 'You'll love it to bits' from the late and much lamented Zero magazine. 'What tosser wrote that?' I cried, flicking through some back issues. What tosser was it? It was this tosser.

So first things first: the excuses. What I actually said was if you liked wwf you'd love this to bits... and I was reviewing the Amiga version... and I'd been feeling run-down. But enough whinging. Wrestlemania isn't as appalling as all that, and as a budget game is fairly reasonable.

The game is about as basic as they get. In practice mode it's a two player beat 'em-up with a choice of three wrestlers (Hulk Hogan. Ultimate Warrior and British Bulldog, if you're interested) and a limited range of fighting moves. Fights consist of one five minute round with victory going to the first fighter to pin the other down for three seconds.

Alternatively you can compete for the belt which involves fighting your way past five 'of the toughest and meanest wrestlers in the wwf'. Which brings you to drawback number one. there ain't a lot of game here: five levels if you like.

The fighting itself is fairly basic. Before each bout there is a completely pointless 'taunting' session and then the fight itself starts. One problem with the bout is the range of moves - about six. More seriously most bouts consist largely of grapples. These are resolved by the person who key bashes/or joystick waggles the fastest. This is not only a quick way of destroying some expensive hardware and rather embarrassing if someone is watching you. but it is also virtually unwinnable when playing against the computer. As fast as you bash or waggle the computer waggles or bashes faster.

By it's very nature Wrestlemania is aimed at wwf fans who tend to be children. On these terms, and in view of the price, it's not too bad a game, though now I would hesitate to say even a wwf fan would love it to bits. Most of the wwf generation have got consoles and there are better wwf games on snes, though not for ten quid.

Who would have thought that the WWF license would still be producing great games in '95? Some would say that the WWF's glory days have long since come and gone, but if this disc is anything to judge by, it still has a lot of life left in it. Based on the kick-butt arcade game, Acclaim has managed to deliver a near-perfect arcade translation here. Everything that was in the arcade is on the PlayStation. Heck, the only difference is that you don't have to keep pumping quarters in at home! While faithful to the real life WWF, the game is wrestling amped-up beyond belief. How else could Bam-Bam Bigelow do a flaming headbutt, or Doink the Evil Clown execute a vicious clown-shoe kick? Rather than working against the game, these Street Fighter-style special moves enhance it and blow away the competition. A must-own.

  • Manufacturer: Acclaim
  • Machine: Nintendo Entertainment System

I'm sure you've seen a professional wrestling match, those spectacles where some of the craziest things happen - and I'm not talking about the wrestling. For the past couple of years, professional wrestling hasn't fared well as a video game in the arcade or on home-computer and video-game systems. And it hasn't been entirely the fault of the software. On the contrary, Absolute Entertainment's versions of pro wrestling for the Atari 2600 and 7800 are well-designed and playable as is Konami's coin-op The Main Event.

The problem lies in the fact that actual pro wrestling is more of a show than a sport. Now, regardless of whether or not you believe pro wrestling is fake, you have to admit that watching the zaniness being played out on the mat is probably more fun than a moving video version of a wrestler on a game screen. With baseball, football or other sports, you dream about taking part in the action as you watch. Pro wrestling, on the other hand, is something to be visually enjoyed - much like a circus stunt show or movie. Few people in the audience want to actually participate.

Acclaim's Wrestlemania is the latest Nintendo pro-wrestling game (and certainly not the last). But it's the first to license the names and wrestling personalities of the famous World Wrestling Federation. You can take on the role of any one of six WWF stars: Hulk Hogan, Andre the Giant, Bam Bam Bigelow, Randy Savage, the Honky Tonk Man or Ted DiBiase. Colorful, digitized pictures of all six of these wrestlers with their stats are provided during character selection. Though the information shown is not pertinent, they are indeed pretty to look at. Most of Wrestlemania, you'll find, is like this - there are lots of nice things to see.

The object is to pin your opponent (human or computer-controlled) down on the mat for three counts. The winner of the game is the one who wins the most bouts. You select your computer adversary's character, and it can even be your own wrestler. Thus, Hulk Hogan can battle with Hulk Hogan. Both standard and tournament play are offered: standard utilizes the wrestler of your choice while tournament pits you against all the wrestlers. Finally, up to six "wrestlemaniacs" can play, competing against each other for the coveted WWF belt.

The first indication of problems with Wrestlemania is the extreme number of moves that must be memorized in order to play well. Besides the standard drop-kick, body-slam and pinning maneuvers found in many wrestling video games, there are headbutts, elbow smashes, swipes, cartwheels and more. And the controls you press to make your wrestler initiate one move while he's facing his opponent are different when he's facing away. What's more, each of the six wrestlers has his own special maneuvers, meaning there are even more control sequences to memorize. And that's not all; different moves are performed when your wrestler is in a different mode - running or punching. The instruction manual is thick, most of it dedicated to pages and pages of charts listing offensive and defensive moves with their appropriate controls. At times, memorizing formulas in college chemistry textbook seems to be much easier than wrestling with your brain while playing Wrestlemania.

Another thing wrong is the mysterious absence of the fanatical audience. The arena is set in a nebulous, black void, giving the feel of WWF professional wrestling set in The Outer Limits. What's pro wrestling without the hysterical crowds booing at their favorite villains and cheering their hero? Booor-ing. Like a bad sitcom without the laugh tracks, that's what.

I don't want to knock Acclaim's Wrestlemania. In fact, I'll tell you right off that it is the best pro-wrestling game there is on the NES - for now. There are problems, of course, but most of these are because of the many features Acclaim's programmers crammed into the cartridge to make their version of professional wrestling the best. Lots of detail and effort was put into Wrestlemania and it obviously shows. However, all their work might have been futile. It's like translating tic-tac-toe into a video game. No matter how fancy the graphics and music are, it's still plain ol' tic-tac-toe. Wrestlemania is just that - lots of shiny bells and whistles added to an old game we've seen done over and over again to no avail.

  • Difficulty: Average
  • Available: August 1992
  • Theme: Sports

Climb Into The Ring!

Are you ready to face the battle in the steel cage? If so, WrestleMania Steel Cage Challenge is here for the NES! You can control a half dozen of the greatest wrestlers ever! Pick from the likes of "Rowdy Roddy Piper, Jake The Snake "Roberts" and, of course, Hulk Hogan.

Select exactly the kind of match you want. You decide whether it is a two-player bout or a match against the computer! You can play a tag-team game or just an ordinary head-to-head battle. For real wrestling excitement, you can battle it out in a steel cage where your only hopes are your strength and wits!

Check out WrestleMania Steel Cage Challenge and perform a flying body block in your own living room! This game will have you against the ropes!

Challenge

Climb into the ring with the likes of the Million Dollar Man; Big Boss Man, Ultimate Warrior, or even the immortal Hulk Hogan in this hard-hitting and action-packed game for your NES system! Master the moves, learn the special techniques, and pin your opponent in this highly detailed wrestling extravaganza!

Challenge the best names in wrestling with Acclaim's Wrestle Mania! You can punch, kick, and body slam the biggest and baddest wrestlers around, like Hulk Hogan, Andre the Giant, and the Honkey Tonk Man! Make your move and put your man down for the count of three with the only game endorsed by the World Wrestling Federation!

Body-Slamming WWF Wrestling Action for Nintendo Gamers! Relive championship battles with Hulk Hogan and other WWF Superstars. With exciting wrestling moves in your arsenal, the rough and tumble fun has just begun.

Get ready for the thrills and chills of big-time wrestling-World Wrestling Federation style. WWF Wrestlemania puts you in the ring with wrestling greats Hulk Hogan, Randy "Macho Man" Savage, and Andre the Giant. Wrestle your friends or take on the computer. This game has its own style of "body English" with such moves as the brutal bodyslam, the horrendous headlock, the deadly drop-kick, and more. It's bone crunching, head knocking, wrestling action at its best.

Snapshots and Media

Playstation Screenshots

NES/Famicom/Dendy Screenshots

See Also

Viewing games 1 to 2
WWF Super Wrestlemania
Enter the ring to become the WWF Champion in WWF Super Wrestlemania. There are 10 WWF stars to choose from.
WWF Raw
Well let's face it, there's really only one game in town anymore as far as wrestling is concerned, and you're reading the review of its latest installment -- RAW.