Old Games: Encyclopedia Bombastica: Ultimate Muscle: Legends vs. New Generation

In the words of The Doctor: "What? WHAT!?"

Whatever floats your boat!

This ain't wrastlin'!

Anime+Wrasslin= Yes?

Man I remember watching the show as a kid. Had no idea they actually made a video game lol

I don't remember anything from the show...

Muscle bustaaaaaaaaaaah.

Dik Dik Van Dik compels you!

I love how short the load times are. The performance seems solid as well.

I used to like this show.

Also, Dik Dik Van Dik is the best character name.

This looks really familiar, but yet not familiar at all :S

Guess all anime themes sorta merge into one at some point.

Yeahhhh. Played a bunch of this game before it got too boring to handle.

It must be the Dik Dik in him.

words can't express how hot that thumbnail is making me right now

Thanks Anime Editor

God, I wish 2k would go out and buy the Aki engine and hire some fo the key people that worked on it for future WWE games.

This is all wonderful.

Best Opening Theme!

This game looks real fun.

I wish Nintendo would make an over the top, cartoony wrestling game in the same vein as PunchOut.

Wow, I actually remember this show...

This is one of my favorite games as a kid, I'm so happy to relive this game on my birthday thanks Alex for reminding me of this amazing game.

That was the best wrestling engine, ever.

Did the Def Jam games use that engine? I had no idea they were made by the same people.

Hello I'm moderator rmanthorp and this is my most anticipated video on Giant Bomb dot com. Based and praised be to Anime in Chief @alex

Also watch the show for a laugh man. It has so prettttty crazy twist and turns that are all wrestling '''''related''''.

@earlgreigh said: I wish Nintendo would make an over the top, cartoony wrestling game in the same vein as PunchOut.

I had an email read on the podcast a few years ago where I wondered why (after doing Punch Out and essentially every other 80's franchise) that they still hadn't done a game based off Pro Wrestling. They could have done the exact same thing as Punch Out - make it extra cartoony and stay basically true to the original gameplay, just adding a bit so it doesn't seem too basic. Put The Amazon and Starman on the cover. Sold.

Anyway, I had never seen this game in action before, although I certainly had a large bucketful of figures. I hated finding out the real character names any time games came out and stuck with my own made up names. Dude with the two steamrollers for a chest was my monster heel, but I don't see him in this game.

Also, after watching this it REALLY reminds me of that shit-tastic Fire Pro game for XBLA from a while back, as far as how the gameplay is presented (bouncy and fast animation, ridiculous moves). Heck, I think the sound that plays when a guy charges up is identical to the charge up sound in that Fire Pro. Despite that, this game actually looks decent, while Fire Pro makes me want to kill Mother Teresa.

Alex, you'll always be our Special Chihuahua Bomber.

I remember the show on fox the dub for it was f'in terribly good. If I remember correctly there was an Onigiri wrestler.

HEY ALEX TELL BAMCO TO BRING THIS BACK

Fake wrestling is the best wrestling ... wait.

Never got to play this game, but remember hearing that "Must be the Dik Dik in me"-line on Extended Play with Adam Sessler. Thanks for the video, Alex. Always a pleasure!

WOW What a Quick Look! I Imagine critique never tasted so great!

As a big classic Kinnikuman fan I could probably go on for hours about it's history and influence, but I'll just keep that mostly to myself.

'Ultimate Muscle' was based on the sequel series that centered around the "second generation" of wrestling super heroes, and the translated version (by 4Kids) played up on the humor aspect of it alot more, (For example, Dik Dik is originally just called Gazelleman) regardless these games were a lot of fun though I preferred the PS2 version. (Despite the long load times and ho-hum visuals, it had more characters and focused more on the 80s series)

AKI was also involved in a couple more games for this series, though they were closer to more traditional 3D fighting games like Tekken. (It still used some of the same animations, visuals and music) That series was referred to as Kinnikuman Muscle Grand Prix and it is definitely worth checking out.

Goddammit Toonami, how did you not pick the anime up when i was still a young lad? I feel like I missed out on something special. This looks utterly ridiculous in such a glorious way

Ultimate Muscle grossed me out when I was young, but after watching this, I want to play this dang game. Looks really fun.

And let's push Dik Dik Van Dik vs. Chihuahua Man for the Wrestlemania 30 main event!

@viking_funeral said:

i think the def jam games even had some animations ripped straight from no mercy

God I played the shit out of this game when I was a kid.

Why is Alex the only one doing Encyclopedia Bombasticas? Are the other guys out of ideas for games? I miss seeing Jeff and Patrick talk about older games that they love. I'm not saying I don't appreciate Alex's contributions, I'm just saying I'd like to see the other guys do some more Bombasticas too.

I totally still own this game, and it is utterly fantastic to see a Bombastica video up for it. It is exactly as great as it looks.

God, I really loved this show, it was so beautifully stupid...

Love this game. Excellent combination of decent wrestling mechanics and a faithfulness to the absurdity of the source material. So many hours I spent playing this and Galactic Wrestling for the PS2.

Wrestling is full of infantile behavior. Why so surprised, Alex?

Pro wrestling is basically just anime to begin with, minus the actual animation and dudes shouting the names of their special moves. Just imagine Steve Austin shouting "STONE COLD STUNNAAAAAH!!!" at the top of his lungs in an impassioned voice as he's about to nail some poor sap.

Always was interested in the magazine coverage I read about this, now I regret never playing it. I think that crowd animation from the last few matches Alex played is my new favorite.

Beef Bowls!

I'd probably be way more into wrestling currently if that were the case. Which reminds me I need to watch Sekai de Ichiban Tsuyoku Naritai at some point.

Somewhere in the world, Adam Sessler just screamed, "DIK DIK," at the top of his lungs.

Wrestling would be a lot better if they did shout the names of their moves and finishers as they did them. Also they could use some more vertical anime hair.

The announcer is James from Pokemon right?

Oh man, I remember playing this game when it was released. Absolutely loved it.

The announcers in this game, even with the limited amount of lines they say, are still better than Michael Cole.

I could watch Alex playing old wrestling games for hours.