WWE WrestleMania X8
Systems: Gamecube
Hello! It’s been a while! Seeing as WrestleMania season is officially behind us, the next two weeks will be dedicated to WrestleMania games to keep up the Mania spirit! The first one that we have lined up is the first in a long line of games for the Nintendo Gamecube: WWE WrestleMania X8 from 2002. This was the first WWF game to be changed to WWE due to the World Wildlife Foundation lawsuit. The packaging all says “WWE”, but once the game is loaded up, the giant WWF logo we all know and love greets you. This game laid the foundation for what was to come for future WWE Gamecube titles.
ROSTER
The roster that was in this title was top-notch, to say the least. Well…at least in my opinion. This has some personal favorites of my own!
- Albert
- Rikishi
- Scotty 2 Hotty
- Lance Storm
- Test
- Rob Van Dam
- William Regal
- Christian
- Kurt Angle
- Kane
- The Undertaker
- Ric Flair
- Edge
- Booker T
- Steve Austin
- Scott Hall
- Kevin Nash
- Faarooq
- Bradshaw
- Bubba Ray Dudley
- D-Von
- Matt Hardy
- Jeff Hardy
- The Rock
- Hollywood Hogan
- Triple H
- Chris Jericho
- Vince McMahon
- Shane McMahon
- Rhyno
- Raven
- Chris Benoit
- The Big Show
- Tajiri
- Tazz
- Lita
- Stephanie McMahon
- Trish Stratus
- Stacy Keibler
- Molly Holly
- Jacqueline
DDP and Tommy Dreamer were originally slated for this game, but were sadly taken out.
GABE FUN FACT: This is the only game until WWE ‘13 that included all of the nWo under one game title. Also, it was the only time that Jeff Hardy would appear in a Gamecube WWE video game before his departure. Aside from WWE Crush Hour, but does that even count as a wrestling game?
Looking back and seeing as this is where it all started, why isn’t this game discussed as much? Well, it’s complicated. While it plays similar enough to future titles that people rave about, the gameplay was clunkier. The animations were nowhere as smooth as they soon became with WrestleMania XIX. The AI also struggles with this thing that I like to call, “can’t stay down disease”. The computer constantly no-sells your moves making it quite frustrating to have a normal match. The models were decently made for their time on this system, but were the worst of the 4 games of this series. After you take the action outside of the ring, the creation suite was where I spent my most time as a child.
CREATION SUITE
You could make some decent create-a-wrestlers in this suite, and I say decent with a capital D. They sure do look rough, but they did include a feature that you could edit the moveset for the superstars that are already in the game to keep you busy if you wanted. Besides the faces always looking a bit awkward it was still enjoyable!
CHAMPIONSHIP MODE
The championship mode in this game was something that was both memorable and frustrating for me. Championship mode is where you take a superstar down a path to try and win a certain title. On that path, you face many opponents until you get to the title match. Once you defeat the champion, you take the strap for yourself and unlock a new superstar. Easy right? Well, personally this was a nightmare for me. I would fight my way until the end and once I defeated the champion…nothing would happen. I would spend so much time trying to unlock Raven with the Light Heavyweight Title path and yet he would never unlock. Why? I have absolutely no idea.
CONCLUSION
OVERALL: 5/10 This game has a great foundation. And it showed that with its future titles. But this one is very forgetful. Is it the worst game ever? Oh God no, far from that. But compared to it’s 3 sequels, it is the weakest of the bunch. Definitely the type of game to play once in your life, then only keep it for the collection.
Do you have a wrestling game suggestion for me to review?
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