The last of the WWF games on the NES is the best one. It is a little better than WCW Wrestling because I had more fun with it. I only had minor issues with the game regarding gameplay and graphics.
There are several game modes, and you have a custom character similar to WrestleMania Challenge. The roster is okay, it has good graphics, and it is an easy game to play. I liked this one a lot.
I have a few issues with this game. It can sometimes be too easy, and each character plays the same. Matches can feel repetitive as you can mash buttons repeatedly to win.
TLDR: The Best WWF Game, but Not the Best Wrestling Game on the NES.
Narrative
There isn’t a story with this game, except the King of the Ring tournament. Even with that game mode, you need to craft a story yourself, but the framework is there for you. It is nice to see something like this in one of the WWF games.
The King of the Ring tournament is short and has you wrestle three matches to win the tournament. You can come up with a reason for your character being in the tournament and craft a storyline for the participants. It can be fun to do this.
Aside from the King of the Ring mode, nothing might give you an option for a story. You have a single match, a tag team match, and the gauntlet match that the game calls a tournament. It is what you should expect from a game in the late 80s and early 90s.
Gameplay
The gameplay is good. The controls are good, but I have similar issues with the game as with Steel Cage Challenge. It is an easy game to pick up and play.
The roster is pretty good. It is based on the 1992 roster, but like the other licensed games, it is missing some wrestlers I would have liked to see in the game. Here is the roster:
- Hulk Hogan
- Randy Savage
- Mr. Perfect
- Brett Hart
- Shawn Michaels
- Yokozuna
- Lex Luger
- Razor Ramon
- Bam Bam Bigalow
- The Undertaker
- You, a customizable character
All of these characters have the same move set. This is disappointing, but it makes sense when you look at the other WWF games. None of them had the wrestlers finishing moves, and they all had basic lists of moves.
It was like these games were trying to be arcade games with simple controls. It is a little disappointing, but the games sometimes benefit from this simplicity. WWF King of the Ring is one of those games that is better because it is simple.
Because of the limited moves, this isn’t going to beat out Pro Wrestling or Tecmo World Wrestling. Here is a list of the controls and the moves:
| Your Status | Opponent Status | Buttons | Action |
| Standing | Any | Directional Pad | Walk |
| Standing | Any | Left or Right and A | Run |
| Standing | Standing | A | Punch |
| Standing | Standing | B | Kick |
| Standing | On the Mat | A | Elbowdrop |
| Standing | On the Mat | B | Stomp |
| Standing | On the Mat | Left or Right and A | Pin |
| Standing | Running | A | Clothesline |
| Standing | Running | B | Hip Toss |
| Running | Standing or Running | B | Flying Dropkick |
| Running | On the Mat | B | Flying Elbow |
| Grappled | Grappled | A | Headbutt |
| Grappled | Grappled | B | Bodyslam |
| Grappled | Grappled | Left or Right and A | Throw |
| Grappled | Grappled | Up and A | Suplex |
| On the Mat | Any | A+B | Get up |
These controls are the same for every character. There are no finishing moves or signature moves. This is my biggest issue with the gameplay. I would have liked it if they had some unique moves, but it makes the game simple and easy for anyone.
One thing that isn’t in this chart but is in the manual is the turnbuckle attacks. They exist in the game, and you can control where your character lands using the D-pad. This gives you the illusion of control over the attacks. When I tried these, the opponent walked out of range.
Even though they are simple, the controls are very good. It is easy to perform the moves, and winning the lockups is easy. It is a bit of a button masher or a game, but it is good.
There are a few game modes. King of the Ring offers more than most other games on the NES. Here is a list of the game modes:
- One on One – Only a single match
- Tag Team – Only a single match
- Tournament – Gauntlet match where you wrestle the other characters on the roster.
- King of the Ring – Single Elimination tournament where you have to win three matches to become the King of the Ring.
Overall, the gameplay is good. It is much better than the other WWF games and is on par with WCW Wrestling. It isn’t as good as Tecmo World Wrestling or Pro Wrestling.
Visuals
WWF King of the Ring looks good. Each of the characters looks different, and they resemble their real-life counterparts. My only issue is with some animations for the few moves you can do.
The character sprites are big and cartoonish. I like this look quite a bit; it works well for an NES game. This game was released in 1993, and developers were able to get more out of the graphics at this point.
However, I don’t think the developers did a good job with the animations. It can be hard to tell what happened with some moves, specifically when the characters kept hitting each other and falling. I have no idea why this was going on!
The ring also looks a little plain. The crowd is sparse and doesn’t look as good as the other games. I also wondered if I could throw my opponent out of the ring.
It looks like you could do this, but I was never in a position to do so. It isn’t a big deal, but it was bothering me. The other pro wrestling games I played would let you do this, but I couldn’t see if it was possible here.
WWF King of the Ring looks very good compared to the other pro wrestling games. The characters look great, and there are only a few nitpicks about the graphics.
7.5/10. This is a great game! I like it more than WCW Wrestling, but it isn’t as good as Pro Wrestling or Tecmo World Wrestling. WWF King of the Ring has good graphics and controls and is easy to play. However, it lacks the number of moves you will find in WCW Wrestling, Pro Wrestling, or Tecmo World Wrestling.
Pros
- Good Graphics
- Good Roster
- Great Controls
- Easy to Play
Cons
- Limited Moves
- Animations are a little wonky
- The Tag Team mode is not good
Conclusion
This is a fun game to play. WWF King of the Ring is a great-looking game that is easy to pick up and play. It feels like an arcade game with how easy and simple the controls are.
WWF King of the Ring is better than the other WWF games on the NES. I think it is better than WCW Wrestling, but not by much. I had more fun playing this one, even though there are more features in WCW Wrestling.
This is the last pro wrestling game on the NES. I think it is the third-best game of this genre on the NES. It isn’t as good as Tecmo World Wrestling or Pro Wrestling, but it is one of the better games on the NES.