When it comes down to classic arcade fighting games from the early 00s the Royal Rumble game for the Sega Dreamcast is considered to be iconic. The WWF Royal Rumble game from ‘00 was co-developed by Yuke’s and Sega and published by THQ and was unlike any other pro wrestling game ever made. In fact, WWF Royal Rumble was the very first game to include gameplay that allowed up to eight characters to fight simultaneously inside and outside the ring. WWF Royal Rumble allowed up to four players and featured two game modes which included Exhibition and Royal Rumble. The Exhibition mode was simply about brawling until players won by pinball or technical knockout. The Royal Rumble mode was about players eliminating as many opponents as possible until time expired. Throwing opponents over the top ropes added more time to the clock and players were able to utilize stored Specials to save themselves from being eliminated. The gameplay for WWF Royal Rumble was chaotic and fun with gameplay resembling the WWF Smackdown game for the PS1. The WWF Royal Rumble look great for its time and was addictive because of its unpredictable and fast paced gameplay. Players were allowed to call for assistance from their partners in the middle of battles similar to that Marvel vs Capcom from 1998.
Even though, the presentation for WWF Royal Rumble looked impressive the game has often been criticized for its lack of depth. WWF Royal Rumble only had two game modes and a very small roster which caused duplicate characters to appear at certain times. But on the plus side players were able to brawl in various backstage venues outside of the ring including the boiler room, kitchen, parking lot and other places. WWF Royal Rumble had also featured an all-star roster which included the likes of Stone Cold, The Rock, The Undertaker, Triple H, Chris Jericho, Big Show, Edge & Christian and others. WWF Royal Rumble had the lite to be a much better game than it was but there was most likely more time devoted to the development of Smackdown 2: Know Your Role for the PS1 back in 2000. While the WWF Royal Rumble game was not necessarily the best pro wrestling game to have emerged from the 00’s decade; there is no doubt that it was the most addictive for casual fans of pro wrestling at the time.
Gaming Hearts Collection 