| Beast Wrestler Beast Warriors |
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|---|---|
Japanese cover art |
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| Developer(s) | Riot[1] |
| Publisher(s) | Renovation Products[1] |
| Composer(s) | Shinobu Ogawa[2] Takaharu Umezu[2] |
| Platform(s) | Sega Mega Drive |
| Release date(s) | |
| Genre(s) | Fighting[1] |
| Mode(s) | Single-player[4] Multiplayer (up to two players[4]) |
| Media/distribution | ROM cartridge |
Beast Wrestler (ビースト・ウォリアーズ, "Beast Warriors") is a 1991 fighting video game that was released exclusively for the Sega Mega Drive in Japan and North America. The original manufacturer's suggested retail price of this game was ¥8,400 (approximately $108 USD).[5]
This game is a one-on-one fighting game that allows beasts and dragons to "wrestle" each other using an isometric view.[6] Despite the fantastical appearance of the beasts, the video game takes place in a sci-fi futuristic environment.[7] The Japanese version of the instruction manual places the era of this video game precisely in the year 2020.[8]
The two basic attacks are a punch and a tail attack.[6] Throws and choking moves can also be made at appropriate spots in the match.[6] Once all three icons are red, the player automatically loses the fight.[6] The arena is surrounded by an electric fence that can either be used for an attack or as a way to initate a jump attack.[6] It very difficult to pull off a close attack from behind. However, these attacks have the distinct advantage of being irreversible by the opponent. Regular matches are like exhibition games while tournaments are more like role-playing games where the player's chosen beast/dragon is weak and has to power up by defeating stronger foes.[6] A store can be visited which provided strength-increasing food between fights in the arena.[6] Diskettes containing the vital statistics of the different monsters, dragons, and miscellaneous beasts can also be found.[6] They provide vital knowledge needed to defeat future opponents.[6]
During certain parts of the game, the DNA of the beast can be spliced with defeated monsters to learn new abilities for future fights.[6]
The gaming website Sega-16 gave this game a 30% rating due to its massive levels of capitalization, spelling and grammatical errors.[9]
Sega-16 also critizes about the game playing like the characters were refrigerator magnets and says it suffers from "bad hit detection.[9]" Unlike real professional wrestling, "pinning" the opponent in the game requires it to make the monster cry out a "surrender" scream while it's on the mat.[9] This situation makes every match more like an "I Quit" match in the WWF/WWE. Punching and whipping an opponent from an angle is prohibited in the game.[9] Instead, the attack is directed towards the direct left or direct right of the character.[9]