39. Tag Team Wrestling
Y'like rasslin'? Old Hank really, reaaaalllly likes rasslin'. I've spent many an evening with brother Scoot front-row at the Kenosha Auditorium, cheering the babyfaces, booing the heels, practically foaming at the mouth from the spectacle of every German suplex and Mongolian backbreaker. Thus, it should come as no surprise that I'd be trying to play any 8-bit wrestling game within reach, and tonight I landed on a selection by the name of Tag Team Wrestling by Data East.
Tag Team Wrestling (known as The Big Pro Wrestling in Japan) is the first simulation-based wrestling game and was a hit in arcades of the early 80s before being ported to a plethora of home computers and consoles. You control the babyface team of Sunny and Terry, the Gemini Brothers, and face off against the team of Bloody Mask and Mad Bull Giant (..over, and over, and over, but we'll stick with the positives for now).
Quicksilver Software handles the C64 port: while it largely plays like many wrestling games of the era, it isn't a "1-to-1" conversion, and there are some vital differences in look, feel, and features that make it feel more like a new game inspired by the coin-op original. The C64 version doesn't keep score, features a smaller selection of moves vs. the arcade version, and (in keeping with the C64's screen resolution limitations) uses a smaller ring with a slightly tilted approach compared to the arcade's more top-down landscape-format perspective.
For an early wrestling game, Tag Team Wrestling makes a valiant attempt to incorporate every possible element of real-life squared-circle action, and the resulting amount of nuance and niceties for an 8-bit sports title are impressive. You get a decent selection of grapple moves given the C64's one-button control layout and can throw punches that stun the enemy and make it easier to apply your holds and maneuvers. You can also brawl outside of the ring, though most of the time you'll be waiting on the apron for your opponent to stop putzing around (they never seem to climb back in till the "16" count at least). Very rarely, a chair will also materialize on the outside of the ring, and danged if that isn't incredibly cathartic to charge across ringside and kablam that Strong Bad-looking antigonist right upside his stupid head! THIS IS AWESOME (clap clap clap-clap-clap).
The game sounds OK, but much like most arcade ports, the C64's hardware limitations become apparent. The crowd noise and (admittedly crappy) voice samples of the arcade version are replaced by a few basic sound effects and a monophonic jingle that will immediately burrow into your psyche with its cheerful melody and constant, never-ending repetition. Mind you, there is an option to toggle the music off, but I guarantee you'd still be humming that tune for hours regardless, so you'd might as well keep it on.
While the game generally controls smoothly and the NTSC version feels brisk and responsive, there still needs to be fun and challenging gameplay to keep players engaged, and Tag Team Wrestling unfortunately doesn't handle this challenge quite as well. The game's biggest fault comes in that it's very easy and very repetitive. Most matches only last a minute or two, difficulty stayed the same with each level, and wrestling the same two opponents over and over again quickly became tiresome. I managed to cruise through to American Champ level while barely understanding how the controls worked and gave up due to lack of challenge before long.
So I'm left feeling conflicted: is Tag Team Wrestling worth the trouble of lacing your boots? From an objective standpoint, and comparing it to most wrestling titles past, say, 1993 or so, this is a bad game, and anyone going in expecting Pac-Man-tier perfection in gameplay mechanics will be sorely disappointed. However, I'd be lying if I said there wasn't an element of novelty and humor that comes off hugely endearing (and boy do I love that in-game jingle). As a child of the 80s, I would've felt pretty jilted paying more than a couple of bucks for this game, but as an adult of the 2020s, I'd recommend checking it out at least once. If you don't go in expecting it to be outright-great, you'll probably end up enjoying yourself by the time the ref's hand slaps the mat for the 3-count.
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