History of WWF/E Games Part 14-3
WWF RAW
Release
1994
Format
Sega Game Gear
Nintendo Game Boy
Time to look at the hand held versions of WWF RAW.
Background
WWF RAW would be the fourth WWF game to be released for the Nintendo Game Boy. It was also the seccond and last WWF game to be released for the Sega Game Gear. When WWF RAW was being released, a big deal was made about how the game was going to be released on four different formats. At the same time the hand held versions kind of got lost in the shuffle, as the focus was all on the Super Nintendo and Sega Mega Drive versions.
Presentation
In regards to the Game Boy version for me it has been like every release since the first WWF Superstars, which got worse and worse when it came to visuals. WWF RAW is no different. For starters the wrestlers look tiny. Now to be fair you can tell who they are supposed to be, but my God they look weird. I think part of this is because the wrestling ring takes up the whole screen. This makes the wrestlers look even smaller. You can see the fans in the audience but its like they are painted as they do not move at all. Of course there are less wrestlers than on the console versions, but that is to be expected.
As far as the Game Gear version goes this game looks amazing. Everything about this game looks great……… until a match starts. Much like the Game Boy version the wrestlers are tiny. You can tell who they are, and they due to being in colour do look a little better than the Game Boy version, but its still nothing to shout about.
One thing that annoys the hell out of me about the Game Gear version is that it featured two exclusive wrestlers in Macho Man Randy Savage and Crush. I would have killed as a kid to have been able to play as Randy Savage and Crush on the Super Nintendo or the Mega Drive version.
Game Play
Like the last few hand held WWF games, WWF RAW makes the huge mistake of trying to be like its console big brother. Game Gear and Game Boy simply were not capable of pulling this of. I am not even talking about the hand held’s limitations. No, the reason for this is the lack of buttons. It really makes playing both versions of this game a real chore to play through. When I first played WWF RAW on the Game Boy I hated it, I mean I really hated it. After awhile I managed to get the hang of it, but in truth it was no fun at all to play.
To be fair as far as game modes go, both versions are pretty stacked. You have more than enough different match types. It is just unfortunate that no mater what match type you pick, you still have to put up the pretty poor game play.
Final Thoughts
WWF RAW is easily my least favourite of all the hand held WWF games. They should have just made there own game instead of trying to be like the Super Nintendo and Sega Mega Drive. I still to this day however wish that Randy Savage and Crush were on the home consoles. I probably would only pick this up if you are a hardcore WWF fan. Even then I would be surprised if you played it more than a couple of times.
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