Beast Wrestler
| Beast Wrestler | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Telenet Japan |
| Publisher(s) | |
| Composer(s) | Shinobu Ogawa Takaharu Umezu[3] |
| Platform(s) | Mega Drive |
| Release | |
| Genre(s) | Fighting |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer[4] |
Beast Wrestler (ビースト・ウォリアーズ, "Beast Warriors") is a 1991 fighting game published for the Mega Drive in Japan and North America. The game's cover art was created by Yasushi Nirasawa, in his position as a model-builder for Hobby Japan magazine.[5]
Gameplay
Beast Wrestler is a wrestling beat 'em up video game containing two modes: Match and Tournament. Match is a single-round that can be played with two human players or one player and a computer opponent, whereas Tournament has multiple rounds and requires the player to showdown with every beast in the game.[6]
Reception
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| Aktueller Software Markt | 4/12[7] |
| Beep! MegaDrive | 4.75/10[8] |
| Computer and Video Games | 26/100[9] |
| Famitsu | 20/40[10] |
| Games-X |   [6] |
| Joystick | 60%[11] |
| Console XS | 30/100[12] |
| Entertainment Weekly | C+[13] |
| Mega | 29%[14] |
| MegaTech | 45%[15] |
| Sega Pro | 30/100[16] |
The presentation, although generally the most-well received aspect of Beast Wrestler, garnered a mixed response. Joystick called it the best part.[11]
Paul Rand of Computer and Video Games found the premise of monsters in a wrestling game interesting, but strongly dismissed its gameplay as "dull, simplistic and annoying in equal parts", heavily attributed to unresponsive controls.[9] He also criticized the unsuitable music and visuals.[9] Although appreciating the monsters' design, he was critical of the sprites' animation, shadows, their identical sizes, and flickering.[9] Mega also found it a "tedious" experience with very few attacks to experiment with.[14] He disliked the graphics, such as the "boring empty ring-type arena thingy" and choppy animation.[14]
Entertainment Weekly's Bob Strauss also called the gameplay tedious, despite its "thumb-busting array of holds and throws".[13] He praised the presentation, such as the "electrified, three-dimensional playing field" and "appropriately gruesome creatures (which look like something out of a David Cronenberg movie)", although also joked, "When the monsters tangle it up in the ring, you're reminded of those intricate mating rituals Marlin Perkins used to narrate on Wild Kingdom."[13]
References
- ^ "Software List (Released by Soft Licensees)". セガ 製品情報サイト (in Japanese). Sega. Retrieved May 15, 2023.
- ^ Beast Wrestler at GameFAQs
- ^ Beast Wrestler at Project 2612
- ^ Beast Wrestler at RF Generation
- ^ Nirasawa, Yasushi (Dec 28, 1992). Creature Core. Hobby Japan. p. 56. ISBN 4-938461-76-5.
- ^ a b "Game: Beast Warriors". Games-X. No. 34. December 1991. p. 22. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
- ^ "Naturkatastrophen". Aktueller Software Markt (in German). March 1992. p. 119. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
- ^ "ビースト・ウォリアーズ". Beep! Mega Drive (in Japanese). November 1991. p. 35. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
- ^ a b c d Rand, Paul (February 1992). "Beast Warriors". Computer and Video Games. No. 123. p. 87. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
- ^ "ビースト・ウォリアーズ". Famitsu (in Japanese). No. 153. November 1991. p. 39. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
- ^ a b Trazom (January 1992). "Beast Warriors". Joystick (in French). No. 23. p. 141. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
- ^ "Beast Warriors". Console XS. No. 1. June 1992. p. 127. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
- ^ a b c Strauss, Bob (June 12, 1992). "Beast Wrestler". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
- ^ a b c "One-on-One Beat-'em-Ups". Mega. No. 15. December 1993. pp. 76–77. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
- ^ Mark; Paul (February 1992). "Beast Warriors". MegaTech. No. 2. pp. 52–53. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
- ^ Ellis, Les (February 1992). "Beast Warriors". Sega Pro. No. 4. p. 38. Retrieved January 15, 2022.