Rumble Roses
Rumble Roses (ランブルローズ?) is a professional wrestling video game that was developed by Yuke's Future Media Creators and Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo, and published by Konami in 2004 for the PlayStation 2. The game uses the same engine as Yuke's 2003 release WWE SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain. Rumble Roses later received a sequel titled Rumble Roses XX for the Xbox 360.
Features
Rumble Roses features an all female cast. There are regular matches and mud wrestling matches. There is also a story mode and an option to allow two computer controlled girls to "duke it out while you watch." Each character is claimed to contain 10,000 polygons, a record for the PlayStation 2.
Rumble Roses' boasts a heel/face system. Each character has an alternate side, bringing the total character count up to 22. Most characters start as a face, or good side. Three of them, however (Bloody Shadow, Candy Cane, and Evil Rose), start as the heel or evil side. Alternate forms of each character are unlocked through the Vow System. Vows are specific things the player must complete during matches, such as not using weapons, using a Killer Move, or winning the match within a certain time limit.
Rumble Roses' unique unlock system allows only one version of each character (either heel or face) to be unlocked for exhibition matches at any time. The characters can still change back and forth, and unlocked characters remain open for story mode and gallery mode. This effectively cuts the roster in half for exhibition mode.
Characters
These are both face and heel forms of all the wrestlers
- Aigle is a member of a nomadic minority living on the great plains of Mongolia. Her father and brother are grand champions in Mongolian Sumo. She also possesses the great strength of her father and brother. Aigle joined Rumble Roses in order to convince her father and brother that she is a great warrior. Somewhat lacking in self-esteem for her under-developed body, Aigle has a running gag of comparing the "teats" of the sheep she tended back home to those buxom women she faces in the ring
- Great Khan, also known as Killer Khan, is the alter ego of Aigle. Aigle didn't know that being a noble warrior would be a difficult path and began to make fouls. She didn't go back home thinking her father and brother would laugh at her. Aigle decided to become Great Khan and plans to conquer the world.
- Aisha is a highly successful money-making star who has won every contemporary Grammy available. Aisha is often rude to those she encounters, namely her rival Dixie Clemets.
- Sista A, also known as Showbiz, is the alter ego of Aisha. After Rumble Roses, Aisha's record sales took a severe downfall, resulting in failure to make any money and soon being out of the business. However, Aisha still had a passion for dancing, and entered the Rumble Roses tournament just to dance on the stage.
- Anesthesia is a mysterious self-appointed nurse who serves as Lady X's assistant. She is particularly gifted at complicated submission moves.
- Dr. Anesthesia, also known as Dr. Cutter, is the alter ego of Anesthesia. This is Anesthesia when operating. After her project with Lady X went horribly wrong, Anesthesia became Dr. Anesthesia, with hopes of rebuilding Lady X and improving her, as well as getting revenge on those who defeated her and turn them into the so-called donors of the Lady X Project then turning them into an unbeatable army of cyborgs and experiments.
- Benikage is a female ninja wrestler working undercover for the Japanese government to investigate the Rumble Roses organization. Her code name is Bloody Shadow.
- Yasha, also known as Judgment, is the "true self" of Benikage. She believes in justice, liberty, and all sorts of other things that would define the typical "hero".
- Candy Cane (Rebecca Welsh) sings lead vocals of the all girl punk band "The Killer Barbies". Society has labeled her a misfit and a punk, but in reality, she has a pure heart. She entered Rumble Roses in order to win the prize money and to save the orphanage where she was raised.
- Becky is the alter ego of Candy Cane. She is a typical cheery cheerleader. Miss Spencer convinced Candy Cane to go back to school, and Candy soon joined the cheerleading squad. She uses this to her wrestling advantage, as many of her attacks and moves focus on various cheerleading stunts.
- Dixie Clemets is the only daughter of a prominent Texan ranch owner. Dixie helps out with the family ranch while also working at the local sheriffs' office. She decided to try her hand at Rumble Roses when she found out that the daughter of her idol, the legendary wrestler Kamikaze Rose, entered the tournament.
- Sgt. Clemets is her alter ego after performing various "fouls", which resulted in fans "booing" her. She then became a cop, though with her changed attitude, became a rather "crooked" cop.
- Evil Rose (Fujiko Hinomoto) is a feared masked wrestler who is known for her very rough tactics. She has superhuman reflexes and agility, which she uses to full advantage while torturing her opponents.
- Noble Rose is the alter ego of Evil Rose. Like Yasha, Noble Rose believes in things that define the typical hero.
- Lady X Substance is an artificial being made from the genetic codes of the famous Japanese female wrestler, Kamikaze Rose. She is a cyborg, as sufficient portions of her are mechanical. Lady X was created by Anesthesia to alter the military balance on a global scale and to plunge the world into fear and suffering.
- Lady X Subsistence is the alter ego of Lady X Substance. Though there really isn't any noticeable change, Lady X Subsistence is exactly identical to Lady X. However, Lady X Subsistence is in her true "cyborg" form.
- Makoto Aihara (藍原誠, Aihara Makoto?) is child prodigy of Judo. She has elite status as a judo practitioner, but yearns to avenge her loss in her childhood at the hands of another girl. She joins Rumble Roses when she finds out the other girl entered.
- The Black Belt Demon is the alter ego of Makoto Aihara. With amazing strength and skill, she hopes to win Rumble Roses again. However, she is purely possessed. She wishes to kill Reiko and Aigle, her best friends and greatest rivals.
- Muriel Spencer, referred to as Miss Spencer, is a History teacher who joins Rumble Roses in order to drag her most rebellious student, Rebecca Welsh, back to school.
- Mistress Spencer is a "dominatrix" version of Miss Spencer, though they both have different personalities. To go with her dominatrix gimmick she has a "slave", a homosexual man in clown make-up named "Sebastian"
- Reiko Hinomoto (日ノ本零子, Hinomoto Reiko?) is a girl that loves competition and is not afraid to show it. She respects her opponents, her mother's legacy as a legendary wrestler, and often prays to her before and after a match.
- Rowdy Reiko is her alter ego after she joins a group of bikers who called themselves "The Road Warriors". Reiko became their leader, and was given the name "Queen Cobra". She denies being Reiko, saying she has killed her.
Music
- Rumble Roses Project feat. Teresa James - "Yankee Rose" (Dixie Clemets)
- The Killer Barbies - "Have Some Fun" (Candy Cane)
- Aisha - "FATE" performed (Aisha)
- Aisha - "NO MORE" performed (Showbiz)
- Sota Fujimori feat. yoshiko - "Look At The Sky" (Reiko Hinomoto)
- Akira Yamaoka - "Pluck The Roses!" (Evil Rose)
- Akira Yamaoka - "I'm Too Virtuous" (Miss Spencer)
- Sota Fujimori - "Whip Me Hard!" (Mistress Spencer)
- Sota Fujimori - "The Cutter" (Dr. Cutter)
- Sota Fujimori - THE MECH;MOTHER (Lady X)
- Becky - "B.E.C.K.Y." (Becky)
- Yuka Kawahara - "Junction Rainy Blue" (Rowdy Reiko)
- Yuka Watanabe - "The Spirit Hawk" (Aigle)
- Chuji Nagoka - "The Imperial Carnival" (Killer Khan)
- Michiru Yamane - "Immortal Revenger" (Judgement)
- Michiru Yamane - "The Thorn of Justice" (Noble Rose)
- dj TAKA - "The Shadow Appears" (Bloody Shadow)
- Ayice - "Summer Memories" (Makoto Aihara)
- Des-ROW - "The Bitter Road" (The Black Belt Demon)
- Mutsuhiko Izumi - "Dice Away" (Sgt. Clemets)
- dj nagureo - "Keep on Liftin'" (Anesthesia)
Reception
The game has received average reviews having an aggregate score of 66% on Metacritic.[1]
Trivia
- Both of Lady X's surnames could be viewed as references to the Metal Gear series, also by Konami. The bonus re-releases of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty and Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater have the subtitles "Substance" and "Subsistence" respectively. However, the "Subsistence" surname is only used in Rumble Roses own re-release, Rumble Roses XX, "Substance" being Lady X's original alter-ego.
- In addition, in the online mode included with the Subsistence re-release, a game setting allowed the highest scoring player on each team to play as either Reiko Hinomoto for red team or Rowdy Reiko for blue after the first round was over and points were totaled. These players had modified CQC attacks in which Reiko would perform her signature "Sunrise Suplex" move on their opponent.
See also
References
External links