WWF Superstars is an Average Game Boy Game

WWF Superstars was released by LJN in 1991. It is a Game Boy exclusive and one of the few wrestling games available on the handheld. I had never played this game before, and it is what I was expecting from a handheld wrestling game from 1991.

TLDR: This is a decent handheld wrestling game.

Narrative

There is no story here. It is an arcade experience that is meant to give you a distraction while on the go. It is exactly what you should expect from a Game Boy game of the time.

Gameplay

I wasn’t sure what I was getting into with this game. The gameplay is basic and more of an arcade game than a simulation. It isn’t bad, but I recommend reviewing the manual to learn the controls. Thankfully, the manual can be found online (Link).

There are only five wrestlers in the game. This is a pathetically small roster. Here are the five wrestlers:

• Mr Perfect
• Hulk Hogan
• Ted DiBiase
• Randy Savage
• Ultimate Warrior

This greatly limits what you can do in the game. Given the lack of game modes, I suppose this is somewhat understandable. There were more wrestlers on the WWF roster at the time, and it would’ve been nice if the developer had gotten a few more wrestlers in the game.

Single matches are the only option here. You can choose how many falls you want and a time limit. This is the bare minimum for what could be done with a wrestling game.

This is like one of the early wrestling games on the NES. It reminds me of M.U.S.C.L.E. and Tag Team Wrestling. Those were basic arcade-style wrestling games that worked for early arcade games and NES games.

The manual says there is a tournament mode, but it is more like a gauntlet. You wrestle each of the other wrestlers. It isn’t too different from the other wrestling games released in the late 1980s on the NES.

There is a two-player mode. It requires you to have two copies of the game, two Game Boys, and a link cable. I’m sure someone was able to experience this.

The controls are pretty good. You have a limited move set due to the Game Boy’s control scheme. The developers got the most out of what they had.

The Game Boy was capable of doing more than this. In 1990 and 1991, the system was still fairly new, and I assume the developers were learning how to create games for it. Hopefully, the next games will have more to do.

Visuals

This game looks good for a handheld game released in 1991. The wrestlers look different from each other, which isn’t something you can always say about a wrestling game published by LJN. This is a nice-looking game.

The ring and wrestlers look good. The character pictures are decent enough. The only thing I don’t like are the move animations.

They probably look better on the Game Boy’s screen than on a TV. I was playing this using a Retron 5, so I was seeing a larger than normal picture. It is what you would see if you played this with a Super Game Boy.

On a bigger screen, the animations, lockups, and moves don’t look great. It can be hard to tell who is performing some of the moves until after the fact. It isn’t all bad, though.

The cutscenes before and after the match are fun! I like how the developers did this by having the wrestlers talk trash to each other. It adds some characters to an otherwise bland game. After the match, the announcer gives you a rundown of what happened, which is nice.

7/10. This is an average game. There isn’t much to do, but what is there is pretty good. I don’t have too many issues with the game.

Conclusion

I like the game, but it isn’t something I would come back to. If I was riding in a car somewhere, this would have been a fun distraction for a short time. In 1991, I would have been happy to play a game like this.

Looking at it now, I don’t think I will go back to it. There are other games that can be played on the portable consoles of the day. This was fine for 1991, but not for today.

If you like this post, please check out my other wrestling content, such as my review of WCW Main Event.