Published , by Donovan Erskine
Published , by Donovan Erskine
We’ve seen the JRPG format take on many iterations, but Mega Cat studios is looking to pull off something completely fresh with WrestleQuest, an RPG all about the world of wrestling. Inspired by games like Earthbound and Dragon Quest, we had the opportunity to play a brief demo of WrestleQuest at PAX East and walked away pretty fascinated with what we saw.
WrestleQuest puts players in the shoes of a lifelong wrestling fan, one that idolized Macho Man Randy Savage and aspired to be just like him one day. Thus kicks off a journey to establish yourself as one of the world’s best. What’s neat about WrestleQuest is that the game was able to score the licenses to over thirty real-world wrestlers. In addition to Randy Savage, Jake the Snake Roberts and Andre the Giant are among the stars found in the game.
Combat in WrestleQuest is a true marriage of the JRPG formula with wrestling techniques. When taking turns, players have the option to strike their opponent, taunt them, or perform a gimmick. Gimmicks include an arsenal of signature moves, as well as the ability to pin a downed enemy. When performing a strike, players will be prompted to hit a button, which will let them deal some extra damage, similar to in Super Mario RPG.. There’s a tangible flow to battle that captures the spectacle of pro wrestling showdowns.
A lot of WrestleQuest’s JRPG influence is evident in its world exploration and quest design. Players navigate the overworld similar to what we see in the earlier Dragon Quest titles. There are several side characters that players will meet on their journey that will give them quests, which will yield various rewards. The developers emphasized that there is a large chunk of content in WrestleQuest to be explored outside of the main storyline.
WrestleQuest is ambitious in its combining of two unlikely genres, but it’s shaping up quite well if our short time with the game is any indicator. A fun spin on combat and a vast world of characters and locations are the key reasons that we’re excited to play more when the game launches later this year.
These impressions are based on an in-person demo played at PAX East. WrestleQuest launches later this year for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and PC.