WWE 2K14 is around the corner and I want to remind my fellow wrestling fans that there were several alternatives to the Smackdown vs. Raw series over the years.
Gameplay & Plot:
Rumble Roses features an all female cast. There are regular matches and mud wrestling matches. There is also a story mode and an option to allow two computer controlled girls to "duke it out while you watch." Each character is claimed to contain 10,000 polygons, a record number for the PlayStation 2.Rumble Roses boasts a heel/face system. Each character has an alternate side, bringing the total character count up to 22. Most characters start as a face, or good side. Three of them, however (Bloody Shadow, Candy Cane, and Evil Rose), start as the heel or evil side. Alternate forms of each character are unlocked through the Vow System. Vows are specific things the player must complete during matches, such as not using weapons, using a Killer Move, or winning the match within a certain time limit.
The game's unique unlock system allows only one version of each character (either heel or face) to be unlocked for exhibition matches at any time. The characters can still change back and forth, and unlocked characters remain open for story mode and gallery mode. This effectively cuts the roster in half for exhibition mode.
Plot: A mad scientist disguised as a nurse (Anesthesia) holds an international women's wrestling tournament, and brainwashes and takes DNA samples from the participants to create super soldiers.
Playable Characters:
Aigle is a member of a nomadic minority living on the great plains of Mongolia. Her father and brother are grand champions in Mongolian Sumo. She also possesses the great strength of her father and brother. Aigle joined Rumble Roses in order to convince her father and brother that she is a great warrior. Somewhat lacking in self-esteem for her under-developed body, Aigle has a running gag of comparing the "teats" of the sheep she tended back home to those buxom women she faces in the ring.Great Khan, also known as Killer Khan, is the alter ego of Aigle. Aigle didn't know that being a noble warrior would be a difficult path and began to make fouls. She didn't go back home thinking her father and brother would laugh at her. Aigle decided to become Great Khan and plans to conquer the world.
Aisha is a highly successful money-making star who has won every contemporary Grammy available. Aisha is often rude to those she encounters, namely her rival Dixie Clemets.
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| My personal favorite Rumble Rose -- Showbiz (Sista A) |
Anesthesia is a mysterious self-appointed nurse who serves as Lady X's assistant. She is particularly gifted at complicated submission moves.
Dr. Anesthesia, also known as Dr. Cutter, is the alter ego of Anesthesia. This is Anesthesia when operating. After her project with Lady X went horribly wrong, Anesthesia became Dr. Anesthesia, with hopes of rebuilding Lady X and improving her, as well as getting revenge on those who defeated her and turn them into the so-called donors of the Lady X Project then turning them into an unbeatable army of cyborgs and experiments.
Benikage is a female ninja wrestler working undercover for the Japanese government to investigate the Rumble Roses organization. Her code name is Bloody Shadow.
Yasha, also known as Judgment, is the "true self" of Benikage. She believes in justice, liberty, and all sorts of other things that would define the typical "hero".
Candy Cane (Rebecca Welsh) sings lead vocals of the all girl punk band The Killer Barbies. Society has labeled her a misfit and a punk, but in reality, she has a pure heart. She entered Rumble Roses in order to win the prize money and to save the orphanage where she was raised.
Becky is the alter ego of Candy Cane. She is a typical cheery cheerleader. Miss Spencer convinced Candy Cane to go back to school, and Candy soon joined the cheerleading squad. She uses this to her wrestling advantage, as many of her attacks and moves focus on various cheerleading stunts.
Dixie Clemets is the only daughter of a prominent Texan ranch owner. Dixie helps out with the family ranch while also working at the local sheriffs' office. She decided to try her hand at Rumble Roses when she found out that the daughter of her idol, the legendary wrestler Kamikaze Rose, entered the tournament.
Sgt. Clemets is her alter ego after performing various "fouls", which resulted in fans "booing" her. She then became a cop, though with her changed attitude, became a rather "crooked" cop.
Evil Rose (Fujiko Hinomoto) is a feared masked wrestler who is known for her very rough tactics. She has superhuman reflexes and agility, which she uses to full advantage while torturing her opponents.
Noble Rose is the alter ego of Evil Rose. Like Yasha, Noble Rose believes in things that define the typical hero.
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| Credit: GameSpot |
Lady X Subsistence is the alter ego of Lady X Substance. Though there really isn't any noticeable change, Lady X Subsistence is exactly identical to Lady X. However, Lady X Subsistence is in her true "cyborg" form.
Makoto Aihara (藍原誠 Aihara Makoto?) is child prodigy of Judo. She has elite status as a judo practitioner, but yearns to avenge her loss in her childhood at the hands of another girl. She joins Rumble Roses when she finds out the other girl entered.
The Black Belt Demon is the alter ego of Makoto Aihara. With amazing strength and skill, she hopes to win Rumble Roses again. However, she is purely possessed. She wishes to kill Reiko and Aigle, her best friends and greatest rivals.
Muriel Spencer, referred to as Miss Spencer, is a history teacher who joins Rumble Roses in order to drag her most rebellious student, Rebecca Welsh, back to school.
Mistress Spencer is a dominatrix version of Miss Spencer, though they both have different personalities. To go with her dominatrix gimmick she has a "slave", a flamboyant man in clown make-up named Sebastian.
Reiko Hinomoto (日ノ本零子 Hinomoto Reiko?) is a girl that loves competition and is not afraid to show it. She respects her opponents, her mother's legacy as a legendary wrestler, and often prays to her before and after a match.
Rowdy Reiko is her alter ego after she joins a group of bikers who called themselves The Road Warriors. Reiko became their leader, and was given the name Queen Cobra. She denies being Reiko, saying she has killed her.
The Verdict:
At first glance, most people will not give this game a fair chance as it's marketed as sheer eye candy, while underneath the surface, this game is not your sissy, girly wrestling that you can find in a typical WWE-themed game. Rumble Roses is actually based and heavily influenced by Japanese joshi puroresu (female wrestling), so don't miss out on this chance to experience this type of wrestling first hand.Veterans of wrestling games from over the last few decades should recognize the control scheme for this game instantly as it's identical to the control layout from AKI's wrestling games from the Nintendo 64, such as WCW/nWo Revenge and the highly popular WWF No Mercy.
One thing I won't forget about this game is the amount of detail that is put into the character models and every single one of the Roses' stellar entrances. If only the WWE games would take this amount of effort with their character models, then I would be VERY impressed with their character models. Keep in mind, this is PlayStation 2 game that manages to hold up to the current crop of wrestling titles on the market today.
Each one of the playable Roses have their own unique movesets, with their unlockable alternate personas have enough differences between them to justify unlocking them all for play. While there's no creation suite in this game, the Single Player Story Mode makes up for it, providing hours of gameplay and background stories on each of the playable characters on their road to win the Rumble Roses Championship. I would be lying if I didn't admit that some of the voice acting is almost downright horrible in this, but it's not as bad as your typical group of bad actresses in today's mainstream wrestling product.
There is also a Gallery Mode that is familiar to anyone who has used a similar feature from the Dead or Alive games that allows players to snap photos of their favorite characters doing different poses in various unlockable costumes and swimwear. One thing that's pretty unique about this mode is that if you let the game go idle for a minute, it triggers a shoot interview with each of the Roses, providing a bit more insight on each of their individual personalities.
Why should I play this?
Women's wrestling seems to get little to no love at all when it comes proper representation in wrestling video games. Unless you have the hard cash to import the Fire Pro Wrestling games internationally or "acquire" them through other means, such as emulation, this is one of your only means to have women compete as equals in the squared circle. If you can look past the skimpy outfits and the overly sexually-oriented nature of the roster, you will see that this is great wrestling game at it's core.
Responsive controls, fluid reversals, and spectacular finishing maneuvers that you will have to witness first hand to believe. Believe it or not, many of these finishers are actually REAL wrestling moves.
Each of the Roses can hold their own in a fight and each one represents different styles of wrestling - so there's something for everyone here. Much like any fighting game, it will just take some time to figure out which one of the Roses suits your personal playstyle the most.
Since this is a last generation title, you pick this up brand new dirt cheap online - I bought my copy for less than $10 I don't expect you to pay more than that either. All that I'm asking is that you guys give this title a chance. Who knows, guys AND gals might find something they like here. The girls are strong, beautiful, and they kick ass. What's there not to like here? I'm giving this original entry in the Rumble Roses series a 8.25 out of 10, with its only shortcomings being the lack of gameplay modes. Fortunately, that issue is remedied in Rumble Roses XX, which will be covered in a future iteration of this series.
Responsive controls, fluid reversals, and spectacular finishing maneuvers that you will have to witness first hand to believe. Believe it or not, many of these finishers are actually REAL wrestling moves.
Each of the Roses can hold their own in a fight and each one represents different styles of wrestling - so there's something for everyone here. Much like any fighting game, it will just take some time to figure out which one of the Roses suits your personal playstyle the most.
Since this is a last generation title, you pick this up brand new dirt cheap online - I bought my copy for less than $10 I don't expect you to pay more than that either. All that I'm asking is that you guys give this title a chance. Who knows, guys AND gals might find something they like here. The girls are strong, beautiful, and they kick ass. What's there not to like here? I'm giving this original entry in the Rumble Roses series a 8.25 out of 10, with its only shortcomings being the lack of gameplay modes. Fortunately, that issue is remedied in Rumble Roses XX, which will be covered in a future iteration of this series.
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