Legends of Wrestling game series

[sek69]

So I've heard about these games released for PS2, and I finally got around to picking them up. Turns out they may be some of the most underrated wrestling games around.

 

First off, just to get it out of the way, they're clearly not as polished as any WWE produced game. That may turn a lot of casual players off right from the jump, but if you get past that there's a lot of fun to be had.

 

The first game is the most basic, but what it lacks in moveset it makes up for in the roster. Here's who's available in that one:

 

* Hulk Hogan

* Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka

* Road Warrior Hawk

* Road Warrior Animal

* Bret "Hitman" Hart

* The Iron Sheik

* Mr. Fuji

* "The King of Hardcore" Terry Funk

* Don Muraco

* Jerry "The King" Lawler

* George "The Animal" Steele

* "Mr. USA" Tony Atlas

* Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat

* Nikolai Volkoff

* "The Million $ Man" Ted DiBiase

* Tito Santana

* King Kong Bundy

* "The Bird Man" Koko B. Ware

* One Man Gang

* Greg "The Hammer" Valentine

* "The King" Harley Race

* Dynamite Kid

* Ricky Morton

* Robert Gibson

* "Flyin'" Brian Pillman

* "Superstar" Billy Graham

* "Hot Stuff" Eddie Gilbert

* Rick Martel

* Ivan Koloff

* Ivan Putski

* "Cowboy" Bob Orton

* The Sheik

* Kerry Von Erich

* Fritz Von Erich

* Kevin Von Erich

* Mike Von Erich

* David Von Erich

* Dory Funk, Jr.

* Rob Van Dam

* Sabu

* "Captain" Lou Albano

* "The Mouth of the South" Jimmy Hart

 

 

The second one features everyone from the first game (except RVD, who returned to WWE in the meantime) plus the following:

 

* Abdullah the Butcher

* André the Giant

* Andy Kaufman

* Bam Bam Bigelow

* Baron von Raschke

* Big John Studd

* Bob Backlund

* Bobby "The Brain" Heenan

* "British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith

* Bruno Sammartino

* The Nasty Boys

* "Dr. Death" Steve Williams

* "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan

* Killer Kowalski

* Mil Mascaras

* "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff

* Owen Hart

* "Soulman" Rocky Johnson

* "Rowdy" Roddy Piper

* The Steiner Brothers

* Sid Vicious

* Eddie Guerrero

* The Grand Wizard

 

 

The third, Showdown: Legends of Wrestling, had the roster from the second game (this time minus Mike and David Von Erich) plus the following:

 

# "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig

# Diamond Dallas Page

# "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes

# Jake "The Snake" Roberts

# Nikita Koloff

# "The Macho Man" Randy Savage

# "Ravishing" Rick Rude

# Sting

# Ultimate Warrior

 

 

It also has announcing by Tony Shiavone, Larry Zbyszko, and Bobby Heenan (unfortunately this is post-cancer, so it's a little sad to listen to), plus the ability to play in the following arenas:

 

* Madison Square Garden in New York City

* Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan

* Cobo Arena in Detroit, Michigan

* The Omni in Atlanta, Georgia

* Cow Palace in San Francisco, California

* The Spectrum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

* Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

* Boston Garden in Boston, Massachusetts

* Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan

* Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina

* Skydome in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

* Mid-South Coliseum in Memphis, Tennessee

* Texas Stadium in Irving, Texas

* L.A. Sports Arena in Los Angeles, California

* Wembley Stadium in London, England

* Moscow

* Dory Funk's Gym

* Legends Colosseum in Austin, Texas

 

Also features Gary Michael Capetta as ring announcer.

 

 

Not quite sure how they got the rights to all those wrestlers, some of them clearly seem like WWF/E creations and I don't know how they were able to include them. They did, so whatever they had to do apparently passed legal muster.

 

 

All three are probably in the bargain bin of your favorite game store for less than $10, and for that price you really can't beat it. A lot of people complain about Showdown being buggy, but I've been playing it and haven't really run into any game-ruining issues. Sometimes there's a bit of clipping wackiness, but anyone who played the Aki N64 games probably wouldn't even notice.

 

The biggest draw is clearly creating your own old school matchups. Think Superstar should have gotten his win back from Backlund? Make it happen. Want to relive some Mid South classics? DiBiase, Williams, and Duggan are all there. You can have some JCP tag team goodness with the Rock n' Rolls, The Road Warriors, and the Koloffs. World Class fans can avenge the Von Erichs against Harley Race. You can even go really old school and have Bruno vs Killer Kowalski.

[JMFabianoRPL]

The second one features everyone from the first game (except RVD, who returned to WWE in the meantime) plus the following:

 

So I guess it was a one-shot deal (ducking)?

[JMFabianoRPL]

Sorry, double post...

[Isaacduke]

Actually I remember one of the main things people had against these releases were the movesets. Even the game reviewers that weren't big wrestling fans would say, "Somehow, I don't think Harley Race was doing moonsaults back in '72."

[MikeCampbell]

The moveset thing is really annoying. Ricky Morton will be able to spike someone with a Tiger driver '91 and get a one count, but when he hits his finisher, the dropkick, it's over. Also, the little things that you can find in WWE games, like champions wearing belts to the ring (LOW 2 has World, U.S. and maybe Tag Team Champions), and the thing that I really found annoying, when tag teams would come out separately despite having the same music and video.

[sek69]

Yeah, the first game is pretty bad with the recycled movesets, but I'm really digging the third game (Showdown). I think it would have got more attention had it not come out right before Acclaim went in the shitter.

[Guest Hail Sabin]

The first Legends of Wrestling had problems because it was going to be the last ECW game before they went bankrupt and switched to Legends of Wrestling. Showdown I played at Besy But back in the day and my only problem was the horrible glitches that made the game hard to play.

[Cross Face Chicken Wing]

The first Legends of Wrestling had problems because it was going to be the last ECW game before they went bankrupt and switched to Legends of Wrestling. Showdown I played at Besy But back in the day and my only problem was the horrible glitches that made the game hard to play.

Anyone play the Legends of Wrestlemania game for the PS3 or 360? I downloaded the PS3 demo and wasn't very impressed so I never bothered checking out the actual game. I've heard mostly negative things......

[sek69]

I have it for the 360, it's not bad. I think people expected it to play like a Smackdown vs Raw game, and got upset that it didn't. It's aimed at people who were fans in the 80s-90s and lapsed since then so anything not marketed at the "hardcore" market gets bashed.

[Cross Face Chicken Wing]

Just picked up Legends of Wrestlemania for PS3 and it's solid fun. If they come out w/ another one, assuming you can import the roster from the first version over the second version, here's who I would like to see included:

 

1. Savage

2. Steamboath

3. Dynamite

4. Blanchard

5. One Man Gang (Akeem unlockable)

6. Orndorff

7. Santana

8. Martel

9. Windham

10. Rotundo

11. Adonis

12. Reed

13. Muraco

14. Steele

15. Funk

16. Race

17. Orton

18. Haku

19. Hercules

20. Ax

21. Smash

22. Bad News Brown

23. Von Erich

24. Brian Knobbs

25. Jerry Saggs

26. Sid

27. Luke

28. Butch

29. Earthquake

30. Hall

31. Nash

32. Luger

33. Owen Hart

34. Backlund

35. Vader

36. Golddust

 

Managers:

1. Slick

2. Lou Albano

3. Cornette

4. Miss. Elizabeth

 

Unlockable (legends that never participated in Mania)

1. Bruno

2. Pat Patterson

3. Billy Graham

 

Announcers:

1. Monsoon

2. Ventura (yeah right)

 

Interviewer:

1. Mean Gene

 

Authority figure:

1. Jack Tunney

 

That's all I can think of for now.

[JHawk]

Not to nitpick, but Bruno did appear at ringside as a manager at WMI and was in the battle royal at WM2.

 

Definitely the next version (if there is one) needs more "legends" and less lower rung wrestlers. I'd love to redo the Savage-Steamboat WM3 match (or redo the WMIV tournament match for match).

[Guest kidd]

The follow up to Legends of Wrestlemania is going to be called WWE: All-Stars and will be a mix of the current roster and legends. Only two wrestlers confirmed so far from the video shown at E3 are The Rock and John Cena. The interesting thing about this game is even though its a wrestling game its being stylized soemwha tlike a fighting game

 

Here is some info the devloper discussed at E3

If you think of the SmackDown! vs. Raw series as the "sim" WWE game, then All Stars is pure arcade action top to bottom. From a combat standpoint, DiVita says that All Stars has as much in common with a fighting game as it does with a traditional wrestling game. Part of that similarity comes in the overall speed of the game. Punches and kicks fly quickly in the game, and the recovery time of struck wrestlers is quicker than you might expect. As a result, the action in the ring is a good clip quicker than what SVR veterans may be used to.

 

Another aspect of that fighting game mentality comes in the controls themselves. The face buttons are used for strong and light grapples and strikes, and you'll be able to charge your strikes by moving and holding the right stick away from your opponent. Combos will play a large role in wearing your opponent down. We watched as Cena laid out The Rock with multiple lefts and rights to the jaw--during one more-complicated sequence, Cena was able to throw a quick one-two punch, then do a scissor take-down on The People's Champ.

 

Combos aren't just for standing, however, thanks to a juggle system that will let you string together multiple midair slams and throws in a row. The timing is delicate, but with a bit of practice, you can get a two- or three-hit chained slam full of huge leaps in the air and devastating slams on the mat. The early build of the game we played used slo-mo frequently, especially during juggle combos, perhaps as a way to make stringing moves together easier, as well as to illustrate the destructive power of the moves. As for defense, you'll have a small window in which you can reverse both grapples and strikes using the respective shoulder buttons (and you'll be notified of that window thanks to icons that will briefly appear onscreen).