Big Bang Pro Wrestling is a fun, if somewhat simple, wrestling game that serves as another solid entry into the NEO GEO Pocket Color Classic library. While your enthusiasm for wrestling will largely determine how you feel about the game, it’s quite enjoyable in short bursts, even if you’re not too passionate about the sport.
Big Bang Pro Wrestling
Developer: SNK
Price: $8
Platform: Nintendo Switch (reviewed)
Monster Vine provided a Switch code for review
Though I love these NEO GEO Pocket Color classics, I’ve never been a wrestling guy. I don’t dislike it or anything, it just never really stood out as interesting to me. I did have fun with Wrestle Wars on the Dreamcast, but that’s really the extent of my experience. Even with this lack of knowledge, I had fun with Big Bang Pro Wrestling, though it isn’t as robust as some of the other SNK classic offerings on the Switch.
There are a number of modes in Big Bang Pro Wrestling, including a story-ish mode and free battles. The arcade mode gives players a little bit of story with a quick character summary at the start and a series of static ending pictures at the end. They’re fun incentives to play as different characters, and the sprite work in these endings is quite nice.
The main focus of Big Bang Wrestling is, naturally, wrestling. Using two buttons, you can smack, kick, or grab your foes. Depending on the direction you hold or press when you attack, you’ll perform different moves and functions. There’s a surprising amount of available moves, as you can see in the digital manual, but this variety of attacks doesn’t add a ton of length to the game if you aren’t huge on wrestling.
“The flashy visuals when you do Finishing Moves look quite good in particular, giving off a very “sports shonen anime” vibe.“
There’s not much else to the game though, beyond story endings and tournaments. If you get really into the gameplay, you may find this to be worthwhile, but this title simply doesn’t have the length of the recently released SNK VS. Capcom: Card Fighters’ Clash or the minigames and additional content of games like SNK Vs Capcom: Match Of The Millennium. It’s still fun to play in bursts, but playing for too long could definitely make you start to get bored from the fairly repetitive gameplay.
Visually, Big Bang Wrestling looks pretty nice considering how much happens on screen. It has a less cartoony style than most of the other SNK classics, which makes it look a bit odd given the limitations, but the style present does work well in conveying the different characters on display. The flashy visuals when you do Finishing Moves look quite good in particular, giving off a very “sports shonen anime” vibe.
The Final Word
Big Bang Pro Wrestling is another neat little NEO GEO Pocket game on the Switch. It’s not as full of content as previous offerings, but what’s here is fun enough to keep wrestling fans or NEO GEO fans entertained for a little while. I’d maybe wait for the next NEO GEO Collection for this one.
MonsterVine Rating: 3.5 out of 5 – Fair
