WWF WrestleFest is a professional wrestling arcade game released by Technos in 1991, featuring stars of the World Wrestling Federation. The game was distributed by Technōs in Japan and North America and by Tecmo in Europe and Australasia. It is the sequel to Technōs' previous WWF game, WWF Superstars. Compared to Superstars, WrestleFest adds a variety of different wrestlers to the roster as well as enhanced graphics and sound. There are more 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.
On February 21, 2012, THQ released a remake of the game for iOS featuring both current and former wrestlers, retitled WWE WrestleFest.
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 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[]
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.
Featured wrestlers[]
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.
Remake[]
On February 21, 2012, THQ released a remake of the game for iOS under the title WWE WrestleFest.
The remake features modern WWE stars The Undertaker, John Cena, Randy Orton and Rey Mysterio, along with former performers The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Jake Roberts and Randy Savage (who was not in the original). In addition to the return of the Saturday Night's Main Event and Royal Rumble game modes, the remake also features standard one-on-one, tag team, steel cage and gauntlet match types. Also featured is a Road to WrestleMania mode, where the player goes through a series of matches to try and win various WWE titles. Players can also have online multiplayer matches. The game features Tony Chimel and Justin Roberts as announcers and also, Mike Chioda is the only referee in the game. Mean Gene Okerlund returns in the remake during the Road To WrestleMania mode in the game.
The game also featured modern WWE divas Beth Phoenix, Kelly Kelly, Eve Torres and Natalya, with other former divas Trish Stratus, Lita, Sable and Stacy Keibler
Downloadable content[]
Released alongside the game was the first pack of downloadable content, featuring CM Punk, Triple H, Sheamus, Shawn Michaels, Big Boss Man and a classic Survivor Series arena.
The second DLC pack, released on March 22, features Alberto Del Rio, The Miz, Sgt. Slaughter, Zack Ryder, Yokozuna and a WrestleMania XXVII arena.
On April 12, a third pack was released, featuring Big Show, R-Truth, Christian, The Road Warriors and a WCW Nitro arena. Before DLC pack 3 was released, a folder titled "Hogan" was found in the game files hinting that Hulk Hogan may be included in the remake of the original game.
On May 10, DLC Pack 4 was released which included Mark Henry, Daniel Bryan, Edge, Eddie Guerrero, Mr. Perfect and the Raw is War arena.
On June 7, DLC Pack 5 was released which included Sin Cara, Kane, Roddy Piper, Cody Rhodes, "Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase and the classic SmackDown arena.
On July 5, DLC Pack 6 was released which included Batista, Kevin Nash, Dolph Ziggler, Dusty Rhodes, Kofi Kingston and the Classic Summer Slam Arena.
On August 13, DLC Pack 7 was released which included Heath Slater, Jimmy Snuka, Skip Sheffield, Papa Shango, Ted DiBiase and a WrestleMania XXVI arena.
On September 6, DLC Pack 8 was released which included Wade Barrett, Torrie Wilson, Justin Gabriel, John Morrison, André the Giant and the NXT arena.
On October 15, DLC Pack 9 was released which included Mason Ryan, The Ultimate Warrior, Michael Tarver, Tamina Snuka, The Usos and the SummerSlam (2010) arena.
On November 20, DLC Pack 10 was released which included Ricky Steamboat, Kharma, Brock Lesnar, Mick Foley, Michelle McCool and the Hell in a Cell (2010) arena.
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