I have already talked about My Top 5 8-Bit WWF games so today we are jumping forward a generation to look at the top 5 16-bit WWF games! This list was a bit trickier to do, to be honest with you. I thought about the Game Boy Advance WWF games, but technically that system is 32-bit so I decided against it.
Anyway, prepare to enter the WWF’s New Generation as we look at the best the WWF had to offer during this time. If your opinion is different, be sure to leave what you feel are the top 5 16-bit WWF games in the comments section.
Number 5
WWF Super WrestleMania
Specifically, I am talking about the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis version of 1992’s WWF Super WrestleMania here. Yes, it had a smaller roster, but it actually had a WWF Championship mode and the wrestlers had finishing moves. The SNES version of Super WrestleMania may look better, but none of the wrestlers have their finishing moves, you cannot even pick your opponent and there is no single-player championship mode! The Sega version is not a perfect wrestling game and it can be quite boring, but it is way better than what the SNES offered. Plus, this game had The Ultimate Warrior in it and it was also the first appearance of Shawn Michaels in a WWF game.
Number 4
WWF Rage in the Cage
Coming out in between WWF Royal Rumble and WWF RAW, Rage in the Cage could have been the best 16-bit WWF game! Released for the Sega Mega CD, this game featured a roster of 20 wrestlers, something that would not be beaten until 1999’s WWF Attitude! The game also had “amazing” FMV clips of the wrestlers as well as some voice samples too. The gameplay is exactly the same as Royal Rumble and I am ok with that. The big addition here was the cage match and at the time, this was so cool. However, outside of that, this is missing many features that Royal Rumble had, most notably the Royal Rumble match and most bizarrely, tag team matches! That is right, despite featuring The Nasty Boyz, The Head Shrinkers, and Money Inc., you cannot play tag matches in this game.
Number 3
WWF WrestleMania The Arcade Game
Just like Super WrestleMania, we are talking about the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis version. I have no idea what happened, but the SNES version is a freaking mess, it is missing two characters, but as well as that, it runs so poorly. On Sega, this is a solid 16-bit port of a great arcade game. It is more of a fighting game than a wrestling one, but it has so much charm. Each wrestler feels unique and you can go for the Intercontinental and the WWF Championship. As expected, the PlayStation and Saturn ports are better, but this more than holds its own, but as there are better versions (the 32X has a fantastic port) I could not put this any higher on my list. Still, while this is great for wrestling fans, even non wrestling fans can have fun with this.
Number 2
WWF Royal Rumble
The leap from Super WrestleMania to Royal Rumble is massive. The roster was expanded to 12 and the rosters are different on SNES and Sega which is fun. For example, on SNES you have Ric Flair and on Sega, you have Hulk Hogan. This game added in more match types, more moves such as chair shots, and illegal moves when the ref is knocked down. In addition to trying to win the WWF Championship, you can make a tag team and go for the Tag Team Championship. The actual Royal Rumble match type was a blast to play. The game also got a pretty decent visual and audio upgrade too. This is a game that many people hold in high regard and from what I have seen over the years, there are many people who have this as their number one WWF game of this era.
Number 1
WWF RAW
I love Royal Rumble, but WWF RAW is my favorite 16-bit WWF game. To be honest, the Sega 32X has the best version of this game, but I spent tons of hours with the SNES version as a kid. The SNES and Sega versions are nearly identical this time with both versions having the same roster. I always wished that they brought Randy Savage and Crush from the Game Gear version to the home consoles. The leap from Royal Rumble to RAW is not as big as it was from Super WrestleMania to Royal Rumble. However, this adds many cool things. The wrestlers now do not all have the same moves, each wrestler has their own moveset. As well as a finishing move, wrestlers also have a crazy mayhem move as well. Wrestlers now have different attributes such as speed and strength. There are a couple of new match types added to the game, but I always wished they brought over the cage match from Rage in the Cage. Plus, it has more of a TV-style presentation now which is a lot of fun.
So there you have it, my top 5 16-bit WWF games. Let me know what your favorite WWF game on the 16-bit machines was. Hey, if you want to put one of the two Amiga/Atari ST games on your list I will allow it, sure they play like crap, but they looked amazing at the time.