Big Bang Pro Wrestling by SNK Corporation was originally released for NeoGeoPocket Color back in 2000 and it was the studio’s attempt to capture its audience in the wrestling genre as well. SNK is known for its solid fighting games however for its NeoGeoPocket consoles, SNK wanted a wrestling title as well and it actually managed to release a quite solid title for its console. Big Bang Pro Wrestling is the latest release from SNK’s NeoGeoPocket Color Selection. It is the ninth title to come out in the series with more titles to come in the future as well. This is our review of Big Bang Pro Wrestling on Nintendo Switch in which we rough up our opponents and use some chairs to knock them out.
The gameplay of Big Bang Pro Wrestling appears to be really simple since you only have to press two keys apart from the joystick for movement however mastering the controls is really tricky and if you are not using the easy control mode, you are in for a world of pain. You use the left joystick for moving your character around and A key is for striking for B key is used for running and other movement actions. Apart from the basic moves, you also have tons of additional moves in the game as well which you can land with the combination of the movement and these two action keys.
During fights, most encounters start with a grapple, and to win the grapple, your timing matters immensely. Depending on your mood, you can land combos by pressing the corresponding button-combo or perform an Irish Whip and then stand ready as they come hurtling at you. While your enemy is running at you, you can run back at them as well to land a running attack or wait until they come to you for a landing blow. If your strike throws the opponent on the ground, you can perform lock moves or even strike them. Your main goal in nearly all of the modes is the same whether make your enemies give up using lock moves or win from a pinfall three-count.
Big Bang Pro Wrestling comes with moves for every scenario in the game however remembering them all and mastering them will take hours. I have plenty of hours put into the game however still I have to check again and again for correct moves and their inputs because there are tons of moves for you to master. The enemies are no slouch either so have to be at your A-game to beat them all. You have moves for Front Grapple, back Grapple, Standing, Near Ropes, Running, and whatnot. If you see yourself in a scenario in the game, there are probably multiple moves for that scenario, and this is what I love about this game. It is always giving you different opportunities to try out something new on your opponents.
Apart from the normal moves, each of the wrestlers in the game comes with their own unique finishing moves as well. Depending on your opponent, you might need more than one finishing move to win the game, but they deal massive damage to your opponent and every single one that you use in a match increases your chances of winning that match. However, you cannot perform these finishing moves always. You have to deal a certain amount of damage to your enemies first and remember that enemies will use these moves on you as well.
I found this by accident, but it turns out that you can knock out the referee in the game as well. During this time, the game enters into a No Rule mode which I found out later was actually a thing in the game. During this time, you can use all of the illegal attacks and moves on your opponent without any repercussions. If you fancy, you can leave the ring and pick up chairs to use them in your fights as well however you need to make sure that the referee does not see you doing these illegal moves. This is an excellent feature and one that I kept using to my advantage after figuring it out.
Big Bang Pro Wrestling offers plenty of game modes for you to play. You have the One Match mode where you can choose your wrestler, set your own custom rules, and wrestle it out for one match. You can customize options such as Time Limit, Level of Difficulty, Ring Color, Ring Type, and Rules such as Normal, Coffin, Reward, or even No Rule for a brutal match. Coffin, Reward, and No Rule are special modes that alter the overall rule book of the matches. In Coffin, you must throw your opponent at a coffin to win which is placed outside the ring.
In Reward, you can only win if you get the money bag from the top of the pole and No Rule removes all winning conditions and normal rules for an ultimate fight which can only finish after one of the wrestlers gives up or a successful pinfall three-count. I love the No Rule mode because it gives you the freedom of doing whatever you want to your opponent without worrying about anything illegal happening in the ring. VS mode splits the screen into two screens with one facing each end of the screen with two players playing on the same screen.
If you are looking for longer modes and want to kill some time, you can go for the Tournament Mode or the IEW Champion Mode. Both are basically a series of matches in a row however in IEW, you cannot change the settings or rules and must play with just one wrestler whereas, in the Tournament mode, you can adjust all of the settings according to your own will. Despite them in the game, I rarely spent my time with them because the game really shines in the One Match mode with special rules. Both these modes are a good option if you are looking to go for bigger titles rather than just one or two fun matches in the game.
Pressing the – key opens up the emulator’s menu which allows you to tinker with some of the modern features of the title. These include a Rewind option which allows you to quickly rewind the game if you make a mistake and rectify it. This is similar to Forza Horizon’s rewind. Apart from this, you can reset the emulator and set custom controls for the game as well. Nintendo Switch comes with plenty of keys, but the original NeoGeoPocket did not have a big selection so this time around, you can set custom keys as well.
If you want a new console skin, you can do so in the Display option as well. You can opt for the much brighter modern look or relive the classic, much-dimmer CRT feel with the CRT filter as well. Apart from this, you can also access Big Bang Pro Wrestling’s original manual here which is really awesome. Games nowadays barely come with manuals but older titles include full-color manuals with them as well since there was limited internet back then and you only had printed guides or manuals. The color manual is perfect to look at and really informational as well.
Big Bang Pro Wrestling is probably one of the lost gems of its time and now SNK has finally released it for Nintendo Switch for modern fans to experience it with modern touches or fans who played the original title as well and now want to give this game another shot. Using just two keys, the game manages to deliver an authentic wrestling experience that even modern wrestling titles fail to deliver. With brilliant, pixelated visuals with sprites and a solid moveset, and satisfying wrestling, Big Bang Pro Wrestling is a great addition to SNK’s modern Nintendo Switch releases.
Final Verdict:
SNK is back with another stellar NeoGeoPocket release for Nintendo Switch, and I absolutely had a blast playing Big Bang Pro Wrestling. This was my first time playing the game and I was surprised by how authentic and modern the controls of the game really feel if you ignore the retro visuals and pixelated characters, you can hardly tell that this game originally came out in 2000. For retro wrestling title fans, this is surely a treat and if you have been enjoying the recent onslaught of NeoGeo titles coming to Nintendo Switch, then you should definitely give Big Bang Pro Wrestling a shot since SNK knows its way around fighting games, but they have aced the wrestling genre as well.
Final Score: 8.5/10
