I mistakenly played No Mercy before WrestleMania 2000. For some reason, I thought they were released in a different order, which was my mistake. Both games are very good!
This is my first time playing this game. I wasn’t sure where to start, so I played a few exhibition games. Then I looked up some information on the game and went to the Road to WrestleMania mode. This is a story mode, and I think it is pretty good.
This is the last game on the N64 that I had to play. I had always heard about how good the wrestling games for the system are. The exclusive games are very good, and I would’ve liked playing them when I was a kid. WrestleMania 2000 was no exception.
TLDR: The Second Best Wrestling Game on the N64
Narrative
Much like they would do with WWF No Mercy, the developers included a story mode in WWF WrestleMania 2000. There is a season mode, but it doesn’t have a storyline. It is closer to chasing a championship than a more traditional story.
This mode is considerably better than the career mode in WWF Attitude. It is less tedious, and it is more fun to play. It reminds me of the career mode in the first Smackdown game.
Gameplay
The roster is great! There are a bunch of wrestlers to choose from, and it might be because this was made at a time when I was watching wrestling, but I loved the roster. Playing as my favorite wrestlers and recreating the team Head Cheese is cool.
The roster is wonderful! If you were a fan of the WWF in the late 1990s, or if you love watching retrospectives on pro wrestling, you’ll recognize the wrestlers. There are also some unlockable characters, which is always fun.
WWF WrestleMania 2000 has a ton of game modes. I spent most of my time on the Road to WrestleMania because it is a season mode. There are a bunch of multiplayer modes, and it would’ve been awesome to play with a few friends on game nights in the 1990s and early 2000s.
The controls are great. The simple moves are easy to learn, and it might take some time to learn the cooler looking moves. There is most likely a list of them somewhere online. You need to use the analog stick to perform the special moves, which I found awkward at first but eventually got used to it.
The manual is available online. This helped me out when I was looking up the controls. I don’t collect the manuals for these games, so having the scans of the manuals is extremely helpful.
I loved the gameplay in WWF WrestleMania 2000. The roster is wonderful, the controls are great, and the season mode is awesome! I have no problems with the gameplay. This is one of the best wrestling games I’ve played. It is better than the first Smackdown game, but not as good as WWF: No Mercy or Smackdown 2.
Visuals
WrestleMania 2000 looks dated compared to the other wrestling games released in 1999 and 2000. It doesn’t look bad; it is blockier than the other games. The gameplay makes up for this, but it does need to be pointed out.
The animations are much better than WWF Attitude, ECW: Hardcore Revolution, and WCW Mayhem. Every move looks smooth and better than other games I’ve played on the N64. I also like how you can tell when your opponent is tired or hurt.
Because of the blocky graphics, there are a few moments where things don’t look as good as they could. This mostly came up during submission holds. This was rare, but it did occur every once in a while.
The ring entrances look excellent! Much like No Mercy, they couldn’t use the music videos that normally played, but the workaround was great. No Mercy would improve on this, but both games look great!
This is a wonderful-looking game. The blocky look of the character models doesn’t have a big impact on the game. It also looks better than something like Power Move Pro Wrestling and WCW/NWO: Revenge.
Reviews at the time
The reviews for this game were overwhelmingly positive. I selected four reviews to look at here. This time, it was GameSpot, Nintendo Power, N64 Magazine, and Game Informer.
There was only one surprise out of these four. GameSpot gave this game a 7.1/10. This is the lowest score out of all the reviews, not just the ones I choose to spotlight. The reviewer compared this game to WCW/NWO: Revenge and discussed how the developers didn’t do much to improve the game. The sound and the graphics were an issue for this reviewer, which continues the trend of prioritizing graphics over gameplay.
Game Informer used an aggregate of three reviewers to give the game a 9/10. They point out that WrestleMania 2000 is an improved version of the WCW games and “not just Revenge with a WWF paint job.” They also call the game “Revenge on steroids” but also say that WWF Attitude is better. This last past is something I don’t agree with.
The five reviewers for Nintendo Power really liked the game and gave it an 8/10. There are some odd things with this review. The final scores for each reviewer are given, but not the individual scores. This raises some questions about what they didn’t like, as I can only see praise for the game. I can only assume they grade the games harsher than other magazines.
N64 Magazine called this game “the perfect alternative to WWF Attitude.” This seems like a great justification for giving the game a 90/100. The reviewer also mentions that WrestleMania 2000 is an improvement on Revenge and is tons of fun.
Looking back at these reviews can tell you a lot about what the media thought at the time. You can see what parts of games they focused on, and it can be fun to pick them apart. I’m sure that they weren’t planning on some jackass to come back 25-30 years after the fact and read them. It seems like they emphasized graphics at the time, or at least many of the publications did.
8.5/10. This is one of the best wrestling games from the 1990s and early 2000s. I like it more than the WCW games on the N64, and it is up there with the best games on the PS1.
Pros
- Great Gameplay
- Season Mode
- Awesome Controls
Cons
- No FMV
- Blocky Graphics
Conclusion
WWF WrestleMania 2000 is a spectacular game. I missed out on this game when it was released, and I’m glad I decided to play through the wrestling games on the N64. Seeing what I missed out on was very cool!
The controls are great, the gameplay is awesome, and this game has a spectacular roster. The career mode is awesome! It is a huge upgrade over the one in WWF Attitude and ECW Hardcore Revolution. This game is as good as the Smackdown games on the PS1.
If you liked this post, please check out my other N64 wrestling reviews, like WCW/NWO: World Tour and WWF: No Mercy.