Hal Wrestling, The Best Wrestling game on the Game Boy

Hal Wrestling is part of the Fire Pro Wrestling series, and it is one of the better wrestling games on the Game Boy. The Fire Pro Wrestling series of games has an odd release history outside of Japan. For whatever reason, these games didn’t always make it to North America, despite being much better than the LJN and FCI published games.

This game was released in 1990, and it shows. The in-game graphics are not as good as some other wrestling games on the Game Boy. It isn’t a bad-looking game for 1990, but the graphics are the least impressive part of the game.

Hal Wrestling is a fairly deep wrestling game. You can see the similarities between this and Pro Wrestling on the NES. Both have a lot of moves and better controls than the other NES and Game Boy wrestling games.

TLDR: Hal Wrestling is the Best wrestling game on the Game Boy.

Narrative

Hal Wrestling doesn’t have a story. It is a short arcade experience. It is exactly what you should expect from a wrestling game on the Game Boy.

Gameplay

It took me some time to get used to the controls. Unlike the LJN and FCI wrestling games on the Game Boy, Hal Wrestling relies on its grapple system. This means you can’t punch or kick your way through the game.

The roster is a mix of wrestlers inspired by the New Japan Pro Wrestling and All Japan Pro Wrestling rosters. The names have been changed either during localization or to avoid licensing fees. Here is the roster:

• Masaki Ryu
• Joker
• Kansuke Yamada
• Big Crusher
• Death Monster
• Super Cyber
• Special (NPC Boss)
• Kim Riki
• King Samson

There are only two game modes for a single player. While it is a little disappointing, it is just something you have to deal with when it comes to Game Boy games. The cartridge wasn’t very big, especially in 1990.

The one-on-one matches are two out of three falls, and there is a four-on-four elimination match. If you can find a friend with the necessary equipment, you can play two players. You can win matches by pinfall or submission.

This is a surprisingly deep wrestling game. Much like Pro Wrestling on the NES, each wrestler feels unique and has a lot of moves. This game is way better than the other wrestling games on the Game Boy.

Strikes aren’t all that effective in this game. Hal Wrestling focuses on grapple moves, and there are quite a few of them. Instead of listing all the moves for the different wrestlers, here is a link to the move list on GameFAQs (Link).

The developers got a little creative with the controls. For a few moves, the START button was used instead of a direction and either the A or B buttons. I would never have thought of that if I hadn’t found a move list.

The gameplay takes some time to get used to. If you take the time to get used to the controls, then you’ll find a great wrestling game. It is much better than the other wrestling games on the Game Boy.

Visuals

This is the weakest part of Hal Wrestling. You can tell this is an early Game Boy game. The wrestlers don’t look that great, and the animations on the moves are strange.

There are a few good things about the graphics. The pictures of the wrestlers look good. In some cases, you can tell who they were inspired by. The crowd also looks pretty good for a Game Boy game.

While the characters look different from each other, they don’t look all that great. I can see the art style growing on me over time, but it isn’t as good as the other wrestling games. It doesn’t help that the move animations don’t look good. The moves just happen, and in some cases, you can’t tell how they happened.

Overall, this isn’t a bad-looking Game Boy game. It blends in with the other games released for handheld in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The graphics get the job done, which is the best thing I can say about them.

8.5/10. Dated graphics, poor animations, and a steep learning curve keep this game from being amazing. It is still much better than the other wrestling games on the Game Boy.

Pros

• Good Roster
• Decent Controls
• Challenging but Fun
• Good Hit Detection

Cons

• Dated Graphics
• Bad Animations

Conclusion

I’m glad I got to play a good wrestling game on the Game Boy. Hal Wrestling is much better than the other games, and I was surprised that it was as good as it was. The game is so much better than the other Game Boy wrestling games.

I wish the other wrestling games had taken inspiration from the Fire Pro series. The developers probably didn’t know the series existed, especially those working with Acclaim. It is amazing to see how far ahead the Fire Pro games were compared to the competition.

I’m glad I didn’t play this game first. It might’ve changed my opinion of the other wrestling games. I can’t overstate how much better this game is compared to the LJN and FCI games. It is also much better than Ring Rage.

If you liked this post, check out my other reviews of Game Boy wrestling games, such as WWF SuperStars and WCW The Main Event.