Shin Nippon Pro Wrestling: Toukon Retsuden – Review

Touken Retsuden: New Japan Pro Wrestling was released in 1995 by Tomy. TR: NJPW was developed by Yukes. This game was later given an American adaptation called Power Move Pro Wrestling. Touken Retsuden was the first 3-D wrestling game ever. The game features four rings and four arenas, you can mix and match these options. The game also gives you the ability to save your best matches to your memory card, this is truly one of the best options ever in a wrestling game and is one of the reasons why I am giving the game a high score. The game features eight modes of play: Now then, without further ado, let's get onto the review.

Graphics- 10/10- The graphics were revolutionary when the game was released. The third dimension allowed for things that had never been done before, like dramatic camera anges, and the use of polygons to increase the level of detail in wrestlers. The game features some of the smoothest animation ever in a wrestling game, some of it is so good that it was recycled in the new WWF game, WWF SmackDown 2: Know Your Role. The wrestlers in the game look great, they are all gourad shaded to increase the level of detail and their costumes are all highly detailed. The in-game referee was very well animated, his arm movements were as smooth as one could imagine. The game features many little graphical touches, like the way that the wrestlers breathe when they are on the mat, and the staining of the face with blood on a wrestler's face (the blood comes out depending on where you are hit.) Unfortunately, it’s not all peaches and cream in the graphics department, the characters’ shoulders have a, now common, problem, they don’t touch their bodies. Thankfully, it doesn’t detract much from the actual game.

Pros- Great character and referee animation. Small graphical touches.
Cons- The shoulders of the characters don’t touch their bodies.

Sound- 8/10- The pre-match announcing very clear, it’s not at all garbled, considering that it’s a five year old game, this is amazing, the same goes for the referee's commands. Unfortunately the in-game music is very generic and gets repetitious after a while (thankfully it doesn't affect the game too much.)

Pros- Pre-match announcing is very innovative.
Cons- In-game music is annoying.

Gameplay- 10/10- The game engine is amazing. It allows for so many things to be done. Matches can have psychology, or they can be all-out high-flying matches, or virtually anything in between. The engine is very versatile. The gameplay is based on three basic attack techniques: striking moves, power moves, and submission moves. These three techniques are employed in a rock/paper/scissors type method in which one overrides the other. I love this option because it makes you think your way through a match, for example, you can’t just strike your way through a match, because a submission move will override it. All of the modes are variations of one on one matches. But they’re all done very well.

Pros- Versatile game engine. Gameplay system makes you think your way to victory.
Cons- None.

Control- 10/10- The game’s control is rock solid. Everything in the game can be done easily. The game’s control scheme looks a little something like this; X executes strikes, Triangle executes submissions, and Circle is used for Strength moves. Square is used to throw your opponent into the ropes or turnbuckle. L2 and R2 are the camera buttons and L1 and R1 are the taunting buttons. The control is some of the most responsive ever in a wrestling game.

Pros- Super-smooth control.
Cons- None.

Challenge- 7/10- Well, the game has four difficulty levels. The first three levels are cakewalks, the last one is very tough, mainly because your opponent kicks out of
EVERYTHING.

Replay Value- 10/10- The ability to save your matches to a memory card is the reason that this score is so high, this unique option allows you to share your best matches with your friends, or you can send them to people via a Dex Drive. It really gives the game unlimited replay value.

Presentation- 5/10- Well, it is pretty bland.

Overall- 10/10- The game combines great graphics, sound, control, and revolutionary gameplay to make one of the most enjoyable wrestling games ever.

Final Thought- This is one of the most historic wrestling games ever. It was the first 3-D wrestling game in the world, without the oriignal game, there would be no modern day classics like WWF No Mercy and WWF SmackDown 2. It also featured one of the most original and welcomed options ever seen in wrestling games, the ability to save matches to a memory card.

Differences Between Touken Retsuden and Power Move Pro Wrestling- The games have the same basic modes, but the wrestlers’ names and appearances were drastically changed in Power Move Pro Wrestling. The game features 12 wrestlers, I will post the wrestler's original name in Touken Retsuden in parenthesis next to their Power Move name, which will be to the left, that is, if a Power Move name is applicable: Agent Orange (Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Jushin “Thunder” Lyger, Chaingang (Shinya Hashimoto),The Commandant (Keji Mutoh), Da' Judge (Tatsumi Fujinami),Danny McGee (Riki Chosu), The Egyptian Conniption (Masahiro Chono), El Tremblor (Koji Kanemoto),King Og (Scott ''Flash'' Norton), Lance DewLock (Kensuki Sasake), Malibu Mike Swanson (Hiroshi Hase), and Zombie (Shiro Koshinaka.) The wrestler’s costume, hair, and/or skin colors/textures were changed in all of these characters for Power Move Pro Wrestling. Jushin “Thunder” Lyger wasn’t in Power Move Pro Wrestling in any way, shape, form, or fashion.

Words to the Wise- The game is very Japanese intensive for a wrestling game, if at all possible, use an FAQ to navigate your way through the menus. The layout of the menus is pretty straightforward, so it's not too bad.