Three years ago at PAX East 2020, I had the opportunity to check out an Indie game that ultimately would become one of the top games I would look forward to checking out at each PAX. Over the last three years, I have attempted to keep up to date on this project and see how it was coming along. Between a wide variety of mini-games and combat that flowed smoothly, this game had dealt a devastating promo that had me hooked and on the edge of my seat. For those who don’t already know what I am talking about, then let me tell you something brother. The game I am talking about is Mega Cat Studios WrestleQuest.
Over the last three years, the game has seen a variety of changes including the addition of Skybound Entertainment as a publisher. In addition to Mega Cat Studios and Skybound forming a tag team, WrestleQuest received a visual update and some minor gameplay changes. Like any demo, there is always the chance that the demo overhyped the base game. So did WrestleQuest live up to expectations or did it get Smackdown into the dirt to be trampled on and forgotten? Before getting to play the game, I had the chance to interview the Mega Cat team. Now let’s jump into this wrestling world.
Story
Before we even booted up WrestleQuest, we knew roughly how the first two chapters would go. The first chapter would introduce players to Machismo Randy Santos, a die-hard fan of Macho Man Randy Savage, who has dreamed of becoming a professional wrestler like his idol; his path has not been the typical path and has taken several years to get there. On the other side, players are introduced to Brink Logan, a character inspired by Bret the Hitman Hart. For Brink, wrestling is all he knows and loves; his goal is ultimately to become a renowned professional wrestler as well. Brink is a devoted son that puts the needs of his family’s wrestling promotion before his own desires.
These two men have different paths to stardom and the game has the player alternate between the stories. With Brink, his acceptance to PAW almost feels too easy. With Randy Santos, he has to claw his way through the independent circuit in the hopes of getting a PAW offer. The character of Brink almost has a nativity to him as he wants to please his boss, his partner, and other wrestlers. With Santos, he will do whatever it takes to get to the top, but his friends and his idols inspire him even further.
Heel vs Face & Sidequests
Throughout the story, both of the wrestlers face different trials. With Brink, it seems more about pleasing others but eventually, his character does grow and finds his own spine. With Randy Santos, he finds that what he dreamed of becoming is a false dream, but he is able to create his own path to fulfill his dream. Like any RPG from the 90s and 2000s, the story is slow to progress if you don’t rush through it; it gives players the opportunity to connect with each character and find out what makes them tick. The game’s sidequests add a new layer to each character by enhancing their background and occasionally their personality.
Each choice the player makes has consequences whether good or bad. Do you choose to side with the corrupt organization or do you fight for the people? The choice you make will determine who is in your stable or wants to help you out on missions. These choices impact how your character will face each trial throughout the game and determines how the final showdown will play out. Who will be the ultimate wrestling legend of the Toy Room?
Story Takeaways
When looking at WrestleQuest just for its story alone, the game manages to check all the boxes of a wrestling story and most of the boxes of a JRPG. Rather than having a story that forces each character from point A to Point B for narrative sake, the game explains each character’s motivation for what they have to do next. The game does not feel like it forces the story for progression’s sake even when you throw in the side quests; each side quest is a chance to learn about your character while learning about the world they inhabit.
Rather than forcing a quest, the player can choose if they want to do a side quest often rewarding the player with better gear, money, and a legendary interaction. Honestly, this is rather refreshing when you compare it to other RPGs and Wrestling games; you don’t have to fill in the gaps to make the story or side quests make sense. When you look at WrestleQuest’s story, you can tell that it was created by gamers who have a deep love for wrestling and RPGs. MegaCat wanted to create a tale that told the story of not one but two larger-than-life toy characters and have the player experience different perspectives to the story.
On numerous occasions, we have seen JRPGs fail to blend the story when they want to introduce a new character or go to a new area. This is where Mega Cat has once again done an amazing job. Rather than immediately jumping to the other area, they have talk show hosts explain what is going on and tie in what is transpiring. When a quest ends, they clearly show that it has finished before jumping to the other character with each character sharing the spotlight.
Gameplay
Combat
So going into WrestleQuest, players need to be aware that the game is a turn-based JRPG. Each character in the Toy Room has its own unique abilities and as they level, new abilities become unlocked. While playing through the game, the player can recruit different characters to join their stable; characters within the stable help the player fight off wild creatures and wrestlers. Each side character has their own persona and style causing you to think about who you want to help you for a mission. In certain instances, you will need to choose who you leave behind or who will go with who to overcome a challenge.
As we previously mentioned, WrestleQuest is a turn-based RPG. When each fight starts, the player will notice a hype meter down at the bottom of the screen. The hype meter can go up or down based on the moves each wrestler performs and the damage they take. Having it overcharged will grant your team additional benefits such as a money or damage increase, or restoring some of your wrestler’s AP or HP. This meter can impact how much damage your moves deal to the enemy.
The Hype Meter feature adds an additional layer to the standard JRPG combat system and makes you think harder about your actions. Additionally, there will occasionally be special match objectives that if met will grant additional bonuses. In some instances, you will be required to pin your enemy after knocking them down. The pin system itself is a minigame that has players try to score a three-count by landing the marker in the green block.
Performance Enhancers
Rather than taking the get good approach that some JRPGs have, WrestleQuest gives its players the choice of how they want to play the game beyond the Face/Hell and Stable dynamics. Players can go to the combat settings in the main menu to modify the game’s gameplay. For those looking to just experience the story, you can turn on MAX Damage, Slower QTEs, Auto Pin counting, and Immortality. The immortality setting does apply when facing hazards in the overworld.
In addition to combat enhancers, WrestleQuest features not one but two streaming modes to have viewers interact with streamers; the game features Muxy Control and Crowd Control. Streamers can set the price list for the crowd to be able to control a certain action. Streamers can jump into their save with the Muxy control but Crowd Control users will have to start a new game.
The crafting system within the game is fairly simple to use. In fact, the menu system alone is very user-friendly. Unlike other games, you don’t have to search long for what you are looking for.
Positives
When looking at WrestleQuest, there are a ton of positive aspects but certain features stand out above the rest. The story gives players insight into the territory absorbing of professional wrestling before WWE. With the use of different main characters, you get a deeper insight into the overarching world and see alternate perspectives. The game’s side quests also do a good job of expanding the game’s lore and deepening the characters.
WrestleQuest features a good variety of monsters each with its own unique abilities; when you are in an area you know what monsters to expect and the monsters aren’t cookie-cutter. On top of a wide variety of monsters, no area looks exactly the same. Outside of story quests, the game features a wide variety of mini-games for the player to find; some of these games are easier to find than others, but offer a break from the standard combat. Each area within the game also has its own specific feel embodying the wrestling deity whose statue graces its environment.
Whether using a controller or the keypad, WrestleQuest‘s controls are easy to use and easy to reprogram to meet your needs. The game’s audio does a pretty good job of setting the mood. Players can adjust the sound settings to meet their needs. The combat soundtrack does an excellent job of getting you in the right mood.
Negatives
Despite the combat soundtrack setting a great mood, the dialog voices when engaging in conversation can drive you mad; the random stuff a character will say when you start talking with them will make you say wtf? Probably the weirdest one we found during our playthrough was a character saying they were going to touch grass. Additionally, certain overworld songs made us feel tired rather than adventurous.
Later in the game, we found that load times into combat and leaving combat took a bit longer. This could be due to the humidity in the house and the computer running hot, or it could be something with the game itself. We’d like to hear from you about your experiences here. Most of the gameplay elements within WrestleQuest gave us what we were expecting/wanted; however, there were two things that we found missing that were a bit irritating.
Despite having a minimap, the game does not seem to have a giant map for players to look at; this made it fairly easy to get lost at times. Our second big grievance with the game was that you could not sneak up on enemies; as you got closer, the enemies would detect you whether you were in their blind spot or not.
Verdict
Going into WrestleQuest, between the hype and expectations, there was already a pretty high bar for the game. After playing the game, we can say that Mega Cat Studios has delivered what they promised and created a one-of-a-kind wrestling JRPG. Outside of some minor nit-picky areas, WrestleQuest delivered everything we were expecting and went beyond. The story gives characters with different perspectives and lets the player decide which side is right. Players have almost complete control over who they want their character to be and the path they choose.
The game manages to provide players with fun and playful gameplay while still appealing to tactical players. The graphics give players a nostalgic feel of some of the early Turn-based JRPGs but with more detail. The game’s soundtrack does a good job of setting the mood for combat but misses slightly on the overworld and dialog voices. The game’s controls are easy to use and reprogram if something isn’t hitting expectations.
At the end of the day, WrestleQuest provides fun and well-balanced tactical turn-based JRPG gameplay while creating one of the best wrestling stories that we have ever seen. This game’s story easily over 99% of any other wrestling game’s stories and even gives some of the most renowned wrestling stories a run for their money.
A review copy of WrestleQuest was provided for review purposes. WrestleQuest will be released on August 8th, 2023 for Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PlayStation®5, PlayStation®4 gaming consoles, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam. The game will also be available on Netflix, included with all memberships.
