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  Released on December 28th, 1993, Zen-Nippon Pro Wrestling Dash: Sekai Saikyou Tag was one of a number of All Japan releases on the Super Nintendo. This game's main unique feature is that tag team wrestling is the focus, although single matches were still possible as well. Graphics - For 1993, the graphics here are quite good, as you can see from the pictures below. You could tell who the wrestlers are from their body types and appearances and most of the moves are instantly recognizable. Each wrestler has their own unique entrance and the ring looks great. No complaints whatsoever. Score: 8.0
Controls - Pretty simple. The Y and B buttons do strikes while X runs, and to grapple you simply walk into your opponent. Once in the grapple hitting a combination of A, B, or Y with a direction will do a grapple move while X does an Irish whip. When an opponent is down you are able to do a strike, a submission, pick them up, or pin them. With L and R, one does a pin and the other a taunt. Nothing too complicated but nothing special either. Score: 5.0 Single Player Mode - The Real World Tag League is the main feature, which is a round robin tag team tournament. The tag teams are pre-set to illustrate the real life tag teams found in All Japan. The team with the most points at the end of the tournament wins! It should be noted that this game is quite hard, as it is timing based and once you are off of Easy the timing is difficult. It isn't impossible though and it makes every victory very satisfying, as it seems like you earned it. Score: 7.5
Other Game Play Options - Beyond that there is also a singles campaign and also a tag team run-the-gauntlet type mode. For that mode you can pick any two wrestlers to tag together. I liked the RWTL, but having a singles mode is key to success as sometimes I don't want to bother with another wrestler breaking up my pins. It is not a lot, but it is solid. Score: 7.0 Wrestling Moves - Each wrestler has six grapple moves, two strikes. Some of the grapple moves are the same (lots of DDTs) but each wrestler has a finisher. My complaint here is that you can do your finisher any time... it is just a regular move (usually Down and A). Unique finishers is always a plus, I just wish they meant more. But the Ace Crusher (he actually does it more like a Stunner, bottom right picture) is pretty fun. Score: 5.0
Wrestler Options - This is who the game includes: Kenta Kobashi, Jun Akiyama, Mitsuharu Misawa, Giant Baba, Stan Hansen, Steve Williams, Terry Gordy, Dan Spivey, Dan Kroffat, Akira Taue, Toshiaki Kawada, Jumbo Tsuruta, Doug Furnas, The Patriot, The Eagle, and Johnny Ace. 16 wrestlers is pretty good and none of the big stars of All Japan were left out. Score: 7.5
Edits - No CAW, that really wasn't happening back in the mid-90s outside of the Fire Pro Wrestling games. Score: N/A Long Term Appeal - A good deal. First, you have sixteen different wrestlers to use that are slightly different enough (even some of the powerbombs are done differently) that they are fun to go through. Then you have the singles campaign, RWTL, and the tag team gauntlet to use the wrestlers. The Hard setting is pretty damn hard so there isn't an issue of being able to breeze through it. Overall it will keep you entertained for at least 10 hours, which is about all you can ask for from an older wrestling game. Score: 8.0 Final Thoughts - This game is basically just a tag team version of the same game released earlier in the year. It is a really fun game that is only brought down by the lack of special finishers. Being able to make the Ace Crusher or Tiger Driver the first move of the match but then end the match with a kick to the stomach just makes the matches seem anti-climatic. Other then that the modes are entertaining and the difficulty is hard enough that it is challenging to beat the opponent. The graphics are more then acceptable and overall I'd give this game a passing grade. |
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