WWE Legends of Wrestlemania

[JoeMimic]

Legends aims to recreate the telecasts of the time with "signature ring entrances, renowned commentators, notable venues and much more" and will also implement a brand new combo fighting system that is grapple-based. Taunts, strike attacks, and reversals will also make up the control scheme as Superstars battle in "current and nostalgic match types."

Interesting that the game will have a different control scheme; it sounds similar to the old N64 games.

[Mick]

There's a trailer on that page. Bobby Heenan is confirmed to be in the game in some capacity. There will be more info in the week.

Most likely as a manager, perhaps commentator; I know he managed Andre and King Kong Bundy during their respective matches against Hogan at WrestleMania.

I just wonder what defines a "WrestleMania" Legend; certainly we're going to see obvious names like Hogan, Andre, Flair, Undertaker, and HBK, but I do wonder about the rest given certain events that have happened.

Eddie Guerrero...why not.

Benoit....probably not going to be in it.

[JoeMimic]

There's a trailer on that page. Bobby Heenan is confirmed to be in the game in some capacity. There will be more info in the week.

Most likely as a manager, perhaps commentator; I know he managed Andre and King Kong Bundy during their respective matches against Hogan at WrestleMania.

I just wonder what defines a "WrestleMania" Legend; certainly we're going to see obvious names like Hogan, Andre, Flair, Undertaker, and HBK, but I do wonder about the rest given certain events that have happened.

Eddie Guerrero...why not.

Benoit....probably not going to be in it.

Ricky Steamboat for sure will be in it but his Wrestlemania moment is with the one person who I really doubt will be in this game. You'll see Stone Cold/Bret Hart I'm sure. Could we get a possible Owen Hart for his match against Bret? I've been thinking that the control scheme has changed because for a game like this you won't need as many moves. I look forward to short arm clotheslining people and then dropping them with the DDT. Also, I'd like to see a return of the moving cart entrances ala the old WWF arcade games and the old Wrestlemanias.

[Jam]

I'd love them to some how be able to recreate the commentry of Monsoon and Heenan, but of course that can't happen due to Monsoon's passing away and Heenans throat. Using some old clips of them would work I suppose.

I can see the roster having something like:

Andre The Giant, Hulk Hogan, Bret Hart, Steve Austin, The Rock, The Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Razor Ramon, Diesel, Yokozuna, Roddy Piper, Ricky Steamboat, King Kong Bundy, Kane, Ted Dibiase, Ultimate Warrior, Eddie Guerrero, John Cena, Rick Rude, Jimmy Snuka and Ric Flair

All have contributed in some way to Wrestlemania and have delivered some sort of Wrestlemania moment. Obviously that won't be the definative list, but I'd be surprised if it was much different

Owen Hart, Randy Savage, Mr T, Mr Perfect, Lawrence Taylor, Vince McMahon and Pete Rose will all possible be in there too

Edited July 15, 2008 by Jam

[YI]

I think to a certain extent people are reading too much into the "...Wrestlemania" tag. It's probably called "Legends Of Wrestlemania" as it's a cool sounding name and makes it WWE unique from the "Legends Of Wrestling" franchise. It'll basically just be a fuckload of WWF veterans, regardless of their Wrestlemania impact.

Edited July 15, 2008 by YI

[zero]

The focus of the storyline seems to be on "redefining" and "reliving" WrestleMania moments, so I suspect that will play a big role in the game. That said, I do pretty much expect anyone that's ever been a Legend in a Smackdown game to make an appearance in this.

[King.]

The game better have Doink, that is all.

[Guest Mr. Potato Head]

Heenan will be in the game as a manager (and managers will apparently have a greater impact in this game than any other), so likely not a commentator.

[JoeMimic]

July 16, 2008 - Since this generation of consoles debuted, I've seen realistic vistas, amazing control schemes, and stories that have brought me to the brink of tears. However, there's one thing I've been begging for but thought I'd never see. At least, that's what I thought up until this afternoon.

If you missed the announcement earlier this week, THQ and Yuke's are bringing your childhood heroes back next March with WWE Legends of WrestleMania. Although the game is still quite a ways off, a closed-door demo was part of the THQ E3 experience today and looked pretty solid.

With so much time left -- and a completely separate title called WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2009 set to come out before it -- the details were a bit slim during today's demo, but I did get to see Hulk Hogan square off against Andre the Giant. Now, even at this early stage, it's clear to see that this game is going to be all about presentation. When Real American hit the speakers and Hogan exploded from behind a simple black curtain, I was taken way, way back to WrestleMania III. There were no fireworks, no TitanTron, and no black barrier. Instead, a beefy Hogan -- the models are exaggerated a bit to harken back to how you remembered these in-ring giants -- made his way to the ring posing and wearing his red and yellow bandana. He walked past the classic gray metal barricades, and the old school yellow text with a red underline popped up on the screen to introduce the Hulkster. In the ring, it's red, white, and blue ropes with the classic WWE logo on the turnbuckles. Hogan stomped around the ring pumping up the crowd and leaning onto the ropes as they cheered.

Andre came to the ring next, and the Brain walked behind him. Andre looked huge of course. When the match got underway, the camera position was a lot tighter than what I was expecting. In fact, the angle is more of a fighting game perspective with both of the brawlers in a face-to-face stare down from the side. When a move or something happens, the camera seamlessly moves to a cinematic view, but when you're setting that stuff up, it's basically shot from the apron. The first thing to notice is that the view cuts the closest set of ropes out of the picture. They're still there if you bounce into them or whatever, but they're not blocking this camera. Another thing I was caught off guard by was the fact that the crowd was huge. From this perspective, it's like a wall of fans that just keeps going back and up. Of course, the crowd isn't just any old crowd, it's a rocking '80s/'90s pro-wrestling audience. There are folks in tie-dye, big ol' yellow foam fingers, that Hulk Hogan shirt where his grimacing face was put in front of an American flag, and that hideous white Bret "The Hitman" Hart shirt that had his black and white visage with a pair of pink glasses and tons of pink writing.

Just like the visuals, the controls for Legends are a completely different beast than SmackDown. THQ's been very up front about saying they hope this game appeals to videogame fans who might have fallen out of the pro-wrestling demographic. If you haven't picked up a SmackDown because the controls seemed too complicated, you won't have to worry about that when it comes of Legends. This title currently uses the left stick or D-pad to move and then the four face buttons.

That's it. Those four buttons strike, block/reverse, grapple, and Irish whip.

To seasoned SmackDown vets, that control scheme might sound like it won't offer that many moves, but Legends has an interesting answer to that. Underneath the wrestler's name and health bar -- which from a healthy gold to a pin-able red -- is a number between one and three. Keep in mind that this system could easily change by the time it ships, but as of now, these numbers light up as you perform successful chains of attacks. In my demo, Hogan went to town punching and kicking Andre before launching into a string of headlocks, chokes, and double axe-handle hits. This successful chain lit up the two beneath the Hulkster's HUD, and at the next grapple, Hogan slammed the behemoth and flashbulbs went crazy as the host of American Gladiators held his back and grimaced. After a few longer chains of attacks, Hogan's third slot lit up and it was time to finish the match. Once that last slot is ready, any grapple you do will be going for the finisher. When Hulk took Andre into a collar-and-elbow tie-up, he threw the big man to the ropes, connected with the big boot, and dropped the leg.

Hulkamania was running wild and the screen counted one-two-three.

Of course, that's a simplified version of how easy it is to go from the opening bell to a winning pinfall. When you're attempting to pull off these chain attacks, the screen will flash between moves. When that happens, both players have to hit a button. If the wrestler on the offensive side gets the tap in first, the chain continues. If the guy on the defense blocks the move, the chain is broken and he's in control.

I've saved the best for last -- Bobby. I'm sure you remember that managers and valets used to be a huge part of wrestling. They were bosses and partners, friends and wives, bodyguards and babies. In the Hogan/Andre match, Bobby floated around the ring on his own -- stalking his prey. When Hogan was whipped to the ropes, Bobby grabbed his feet to trip him up. When the fighting got too close to his side of the ring, Bobby climbed onto the apron to distract Hulk and got punched in the face. When Hogan pinned Andre, Bobby put Andre's foot on the rope and pointed it out to the omniscient, disembodied ref. It was just like the old days!

Sadly, that's all THQ was ready to show me when it comes to WWE Legends of WrestleMania. There will be commentary eventually, the roster will include more than 40 wrestlers, online play, Create-A-Legend, and every move is going to be new -- i.e. no recycling SmackDown moves and calling it retro.

Its sounding pretty good. I'm not super sure on the control scheme yet but I'll wait until I actually play with it to decide. Every move being new sounds awesome. And oh yeah I wanna see some Twin Tower Akeem/Bossman with their manager the Doctor Of Style Slick!

Edited July 21, 2008 by JoeMimic

[apsham]

Holy shit! I know they are going for simple... but this sounds like it's going to be my new favorite game... just from these pockets of info! Bobby putting Andre's foot on the ropes is brilliant.

[Godfatha]

July 16, 2008 - Since this generation of consoles debuted, I've seen realistic vistas, amazing control schemes, and stories that have brought me to the brink of tears. However, there's one thing I've been begging for but thought I'd never see. At least, that's what I thought up until this afternoon.

If you missed the announcement earlier this week, THQ and Yuke's are bringing your childhood heroes back next March with WWE Legends of WrestleMania. Although the game is still quite a ways off, a closed-door demo was part of the THQ E3 experience today and looked pretty solid.

With so much time left -- and a completely separate title called WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2009 set to come out before it -- the details were a bit slim during today's demo, but I did get to see Hulk Hogan square off against Andre the Giant. Now, even at this early stage, it's clear to see that this game is going to be all about presentation. When Real American hit the speakers and Hogan exploded from behind a simple black curtain, I was taken way, way back to WrestleMania III. There were no fireworks, no TitanTron, and no black barrier. Instead, a beefy Hogan -- the models are exaggerated a bit to harken back to how you remembered these in-ring giants -- made his way to the ring posing and wearing his red and yellow bandana. He walked past the classic gray metal barricades, and the old school yellow text with a red underline popped up on the screen to introduce the Hulkster. In the ring, it's red, white, and blue ropes with the classic WWE logo on the turnbuckles. Hogan stomped around the ring pumping up the crowd and leaning onto the ropes as they cheered.

Andre came to the ring next, and the Brain walked behind him. Andre looked huge of course. When the match got underway, the camera position was a lot tighter than what I was expecting. In fact, the angle is more of a fighting game perspective with both of the brawlers in a face-to-face stare down from the side. When a move or something happens, the camera seamlessly moves to a cinematic view, but when you're setting that stuff up, it's basically shot from the apron. The first thing to notice is that the view cuts the closest set of ropes out of the picture. They're still there if you bounce into them or whatever, but they're not blocking this camera. Another thing I was caught off guard by was the fact that the crowd was huge. From this perspective, it's like a wall of fans that just keeps going back and up. Of course, the crowd isn't just any old crowd, it's a rocking '80s/'90s pro-wrestling audience. There are folks in tie-dye, big ol' yellow foam fingers, that Hulk Hogan shirt where his grimacing face was put in front of an American flag, and that hideous white Bret "The Hitman" Hart shirt that had his black and white visage with a pair of pink glasses and tons of pink writing.

Just like the visuals, the controls for Legends are a completely different beast than SmackDown. THQ's been very up front about saying they hope this game appeals to videogame fans who might have fallen out of the pro-wrestling demographic. If you haven't picked up a SmackDown because the controls seemed too complicated, you won't have to worry about that when it comes of Legends. This title currently uses the left stick or D-pad to move and then the four face buttons.

That's it. Those four buttons strike, block/reverse, grapple, and Irish whip.

To seasoned SmackDown vets, that control scheme might sound like it won't offer that many moves, but Legends has an interesting answer to that. Underneath the wrestler's name and health bar -- which from a healthy gold to a pin-able red -- is a number between one and three. Keep in mind that this system could easily change by the time it ships, but as of now, these numbers light up as you perform successful chains of attacks. In my demo, Hogan went to town punching and kicking Andre before launching into a string of headlocks, chokes, and double axe-handle hits. This successful chain lit up the two beneath the Hulkster's HUD, and at the next grapple, Hogan slammed the behemoth and flashbulbs went crazy as the host of American Gladiators held his back and grimaced. After a few longer chains of attacks, Hogan's third slot lit up and it was time to finish the match. Once that last slot is ready, any grapple you do will be going for the finisher. When Hulk took Andre into a collar-and-elbow tie-up, he threw the big man to the ropes, connected with the big boot, and dropped the leg.

Hulkamania was running wild and the screen counted one-two-three.

Of course, that's a simplified version of how easy it is to go from the opening bell to a winning pinfall. When you're attempting to pull off these chain attacks, the screen will flash between moves. When that happens, both players have to hit a button. If the wrestler on the offensive side gets the tap in first, the chain continues. If the guy on the defense blocks the move, the chain is broken and he's in control.

I've saved the best for last -- Bobby. I'm sure you remember that managers and valets used to be a huge part of wrestling. They were bosses and partners, friends and wives, bodyguards and babies. In the Hogan/Andre match, Bobby floated around the ring on his own -- stalking his prey. When Hogan was whipped to the ropes, Bobby grabbed his feet to trip him up. When the fighting got too close to his side of the ring, Bobby climbed onto the apron to distract Hulk and got punched in the face. When Hogan pinned Andre, Bobby put Andre's foot on the rope and pointed it out to the omniscient, disembodied ref. It was just like the old days!

Sadly, that's all THQ was ready to show me when it comes to WWE Legends of WrestleMania. There will be commentary eventually, the roster will include more than 40 wrestlers, online play, Create-A-Legend, and every move is going to be new -- i.e. no recycling SmackDown moves and calling it retro.

Its sounding pretty good. I'm not super sure on the control scheme yet but I'll wait until I actually play with it to decide. Every move being new sounds awesome. And oh yeah I wanna see some Twin Tower Akeem/Bossman with their manager the Doctor Of Style Slick!

I had one of those shirts. Seriously though, I can't wait for this game. This has the potential to be everything Legends of Wrestling never was. I'm glad that the controls are different than the SD series as it helps distinguish the two "brands."

[JoeMimic]

Here's a roster that I made up of who I'd like to see. *'s for people who I'm pretty sure will be in the game. I didn't put Savage/Warrior because I think those are too out of the ballpark. I'm hoping for some people who have multiple WM moments (Hogan/Michaels) that instead of putting them in as say 80s Hogan and nWo Hogan they just put them as different attires. It being THQ it probably won't happen.

Already In -

Hulk Hogan

Andre The Giant

Bobby Heenan (Manager)

====================

Nikolai Volkoff/Iron Sheik*

"Big" John Studd

Ricky Steamboat*

King Kong Bundy

Junkyard Dog*

"Mr Wonderful" Paul Orndorff

Roddy Piper*

George "The Animal" Steele

Jake "The Snake" Roberts*

Harley Race

Bret Hart*

Honkytonk Man

"Hacksaw" Jim Duggan*

"The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase*

"Ravishing" Rick Rude*

Ax/Smash Of Demolition

Big Boss Man*

Mr Perfect*

Jimmy Snuka*

Tito Santana/Rick Martel as Strikeforce

Brutus Beefcake

Wendi Richter

Fabulous Moolah

"The British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith*

Greg "The Hammer" Valentine

Dusty Rhodes*

Sgt.Slaughter*

The Undertaker*

Shawn Michaels*

Ric Flair* (Funny fact is Flair is 0-3 in WM Singles matches)

Owen Hart*

Razor Ramon

Yokozuna

"Stone Cold" Steve Austin*

The Rock*

Triple H*

Mick Foley*

Managers -

Mr Fuji - Both as Demolition's manager with the hat and cane and as Yoko's manager with the salt bucket.

Paul Bearer - For Undertaker

Sensational Sherri

"Classy" Freddie Blassie

"Captain" Lou Albano

"The Doctor Of Style" Slick

"The Mouth Of The South" Jimmy Hart.

Thinking about the control system a little more it seems like it's put in place so you don't start off doing powerbombs and such. 1's will be smaller moves and if you chain enough together and inflict enough damage the 2's will be available which will likely include signature moves and what not and if you can continue onto the 3 you'll get the finish. Hopefully this works well; I can't wait to play this game.

[mystikz]

create a legend mode sounds dumb, how do you just create a legend? legends don't just appear. ah well.

[rocksta]

You can create legends who aren't in the game. How is that dumb?

[apsham]

....they had that mode in the Legends Of Wrestling games, you could basically put parts together to make legends that were NOT put into the game, or your own custom wrestlers. It's really just called that to further tie it into the game but, yeah... certainly not dumb... hah.

[Toe]

The Official Site

The leading sports entertainment videogame experience embraces its colorful roots to deliver the definitive elements of WWE from the Eighties and Nineties. Featuring an impressive lineup of Legendary Superstars and Managers, a new combo fighting system, an authentic presentation and more, WWE Legends of WrestleMania enables gamers of yesterday and today to compete in classic feuds, create history of their own and secure a spot in the WWE Hall of Fame. It's time to relive, rewrite or redefine the greatest moments in WWE history!

DISTINGUISHED ROSTER AND MANAGERS - Relive the entertaining lives of more than 40 larger-than-life WWE Legends. Legendary Managers will also have extensive functionality, playing important roles in match outcomes.

ABSOLUTE REALISM - Embrace a historically accurate representation of WWE telecasts from the Eighties and Nineties, including dynamic visual treatments, signature ring entrances, renowned commentators, notable venues and much more.

COMBO FIGHTING SYSTEM - Explore a new, grapple-based fighting system that captures the high-energy action and drama seen in historic WWE matches. Players will have each Legend's arsenal of grapple moves, strike attacks, reversals and taunts at their disposal throughout a variety of current and nostalgic match types.

WRESTLEMANIA TOUR MODE - Participate in key matches from multiple WrestleMania events. Vintage WWE footage will set up matches, explain feuds and detail the rivalries behind them, situating players in the heart of each contest.

CREATE-A-LEGEND - Create the Legends of tomorrow, complete with customizable costumes, entrances, move sets and more.

ONLINE FUNCTIONALITY - Challenge players around the world to matches on the biggest stages in WWE history.

I haven't been excited for any of the current wrestling games except this one. I have a feeling they are going to really blow us away with this game. I hope they are taking old commentary from Heenan and Monsoon and all the other great announcers from the old events and editing it for the game.

I hope they include Ramon and HBK with a ladder.

[sahyder1]

http://www.ewbattleground.com/forum/index....hl=wrestlemania

[zero]

Box art revealed... it is amazing:

[rocksta]

I would get that as a poster.That looks really slick.

[King Ellis]

There's something not quite right with The Rock.