ComingSoon Editor-in-Chief Tyler Treese spoke with iconic wrestler and Executive Producer of Wrestling Jeff Jarrett and Mega Cat Studios founders James Deighan and Zack Manko about the wrestling RPG WrestleQuest. The game is set to release on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, PC, and iOS and Android via Netflix on August 22.
“Pro wrestling and RPG fantasy collide in the ultimate pixel powered adventure,” reads the game‘s description. “Macho Man Randy Savage and tons of other icons offer guidance as you powerbomb your way to glory beyond the ring. This hero’s journey ain’t just an epic quest, it’s WRESTLEQUEST!”
Tyler Treese: Jeff, tell me a bit about how you got involved with WrestleQuest. It’s such a celebration of what makes Pro Wrestling so great and so fun, which is the characters. You’re not just lending your appearance — you’re going all out promoting this. Tell me about your involvement.
Jeff Jarrett: I am! I dove head first, so to speak. My fancy title there, Tyler, that I’m going to try to impress you with — it impresses me — is Executive Producer of Wrestling in WrestleQuest. All kidding aside, from my very first conversations with James and Mega Cat Studios, we were talking about a completely different project. We weren’t talking WrestleQuest, we were talking about gamifying a live event, –which is right up my alley, being in the live event business for years and years. The line that is used as a marketing line, “A love letter to professional wrestling,” that was right up my alley. My family’s been in the business since 1946. My grandmother got into the business selling wrestling tickets and then worked her way up on the business side to being a promoter.
So it’s in my blood. The vision [that] was laid out of WrestleQuest at the stage of the game when I was brought on board several years ago is something that I fell in love with. It’s an emotional connection that I had. There’s been simulation games that I’ve been a part of as a talent since the ’90s. At TNA, I was involved in every facet of putting out a video game with the folks at Midway. Being this involved in this type of game — a JRPG game — it is something that is very authentic to my industry in that it’s obviously not true sport, and a simulation game is really simulating the sporting aspect.
But WrestleQuest and the JRPG is storytelling and characters larger than life and the ups and downs, trials and tribulations, the rags to riches, the protagonist/antagonists, good vs. evil, everything that really goes in with my industry — it checked every box. So it was a no-brainer. I’m incredibly grateful they brought me onboard a couple of years ago and now, here we are. The game is coming out and I couldn’t be more excited. The buzz is in the air, it’s just like a wrestling event. So I’m as excited — maybe even more excited — because there’s only a first [time] for me to be involved in a game like this and for it to be coming out … again, all the buzz is in the air and all the press that I’ve done … you’re right. I’ve done a lot of promos and interviews and press for this, but it’s something I’ve got a passion for and it shows through, or at least I hope it does, in every word I say, because I absolutely mean it.
It definitely shows through. James, what I really noticed playing the game is you had some real fun with the enemy designs, like the luchador pigs. Can you talk about the team’s process when it came to coming up with these ridiculous character types that we get to face off against?
James Deighan: So much of WrestleQuest is built around our childhood and also not just our introduction to gaming through 16-bit RPGs or introduction to wrestling, but that fantasy of taking your, your G.I. Joe, your Transformer, and your Hulk Hogan and making them go at it, right? So as we were talking about how to wrestlefy the game design systems, we started talking about how to wrestlefy all the toys too. [Laughs]. Your luchador pig as an example, which there aren’t enough luchador-based swine in games, so it’s something that we’re contributing to the industry. One of the things that makes that era of wrestling so fantastic — because that’s when they had some of the craziest gimmicks ever. There’s nothing that is off the table, right? So it almost makes sense in that era that you’d have things like a luchador pig, like that may have actually been pitched at some point whenever Mantaur got greenlit. You just don’t know, right? [Laugh]. And only in wrestling could you have people have a match for like, custody of someone’s child or their hair, right?
I can’t wait to see it. And Zack, as Jeff was kind of touching upon, so many video games in the past focused so much on recreating matches, but the reason why I love wrestling is the characters and we get to see that personality on display in this game. The larger-than-life personas are just so captured so well with all the legends you got in here. So what is most refreshing about seeing wrestling in a different context and have it go in this fun fantastical realm that we see in WrestleQuest?
Zack Manko: From the ground up, we wanted WrestleQuest to appeal to both RPG gamers and Pro Wrestling fans. Like you mentioned, so many wrestling games just focus on the simulation aspect of it, just what happens in the ring. But wrestling is so much more than that. It’s perfect fertile ground, too, for an RPG — all these stories and everything that happens beyond the ring: the betrayals, the behind-the-stage machinations, the business side of it with the promotions at war with one another and things like that — all that’s fertile, fertile ground for storytelling and has never been explored in an RPG before. So it’s really something unique and fresh from a storytelling perspective, let alone how we add wrestling to the RPG combat system and wrestlefy that. It’s the perfect blend of both worlds.
Jeff, there are some incredible legends in this game and some have sadly passed on, like Andre the Giant and Macho Man. What does it mean for you to see these wrestlers and their legacy be carried on so respectfully and to get to see their characters larger than life, immortalized in this fun fantasy realm? It is such a great tribute.
Jeff Jarrett: You are really talking to me Tyler, now, because that was part of the original conversation when James was basically just giving me a real bullet point list. I had to stop him and I said, “You really have Andre the Giant, like THE Andre the Giant?” “Yep.” “You have Macho Man Randy Savage?” “Yep.” But when you take a step back and look at that ’80s and ’90s and look at the magnitude, and these are all guys that my grandmother and my father promoted — my dad was partners with Randy Savage, Andre worked for him on occasion, the Road Warriors,the list goes on and on — Jake the Snake, Rocky Johnson, JYD — we could just go down that whole list. The thing that I like, again, so much about it is the authenticity.
Because this game … when you get into the gameplay, it’s not just mashing the same button over and over and over. You kind of have to listen to the audience, and these guys were masters. My generation is being taught by their generation in a lot of ways. I can remember Randy … I’m riding in the same car and they spoke in, a lot of ways, a different language in talking about a wrestling match. And it’s all about listening to the people and connecting with the audience and connecting with your opponent across the ring and just these iconic, legendary talents. And now here they are in this first-of-its-kind game. It’s the tip of the cap.
And I say this — I shouldn’t even be in the game, but these guys deserve to have themselves to be immortalized in a JRPG game because it’s so authentic to what they really paved the way for all those many years ago. There will never be another Macho Man Randy Savage. There’ll never be another Andre the Giant. They were the first of the first of their kind, so it’s very cool to see them in in this. I just did San Diego Comic-Con with Sgt. Slaughter, and Sarge is another guy that, when you hear his story, he wasn’t Sgt. Slaughter from day one. In our version it’s Randy Santos, but you know, as you work your way up through the ranks, that’s what Sarge did.
The whole world knows about Sarge, both inside the business and in the G.I. Joe World. But you know, Sarge is the guy that that started in Minneapolis and worked his way up and he may have been a WrestleMania, and he’s in this game, so I could just go on and on and talking about the legends. But they’re part of what makes this so magical — Zack and his team, James putting together the IP, I get to get lucky and just play a very small part of being a part of it. But in reality, we’re making history tomorrow.
James, one of the elements I really loved about the game that I saw was that the enemies are actually on screen. It reminds me a lot of like Chrono Trigger as there’s so much strategy in actually moving around the environment. Can you just talk about all the perks that come with using that kind of implementation in the game? It’s not new, but you don’t see it super often in RPGs even now, so it’s very fun and fresh mechanically.
James Deighan: Well, it’s probably not represented often because it’s just wildly expensive to animate that many enemies. But the one thing we started with in WrestleQuest was, “How do we demonstrate the visual identity to make it unique and also make it fun to watch? How do we prepare something that simulates this over the top spectacle of wrestling?” And you have to have the moves, you have to have the enemies, and you have to show the hits and the feedback and have this satisfying visual return on someone doing a hurricanrana or the Road Warriors doing the Doomsday Device. So, from the very beginning days of WrestleQuest, we knew we wanted something with some Chrono Trigger and a dash of Super Mario RPG. But with modern sensibilities, things that don’t torture the player that are probably not part of this era … so borrow from the best of the past and then look a little bit to the future on what we think RPGs could adopt. Then everything gets that wrestling lens treatment too. I
Zack, speaking of that wrestling lens, the pinfall mechanic is so unique to this game and it really adds to the wrestling identity because that’s how wrestling matches end. Can you speak to adding that and giving the battles that wrestling flavor? It really plays unlike any other RPG.
Zack Manko: With the combat system, Wrestlefication was the goal. It was about how do we take this turn-based system that a lot of us grew up with, but now is kind of stale by modern standards and might be a blocker for some, new gamers because it’s not very accessible unless you’re used to this type of setup. So again, through rectification, we were able to take that turn-based system and make it more interesting, more engaging, and really make you pay attention between the Hype Meter and paying attention to the crowd and keeping them involved and the follow-up attacks. Also this pinning, like you mentioned — all of that makes it so you can’t just sit back and zone out. You have to be paying attention. You have to be seeing what’s going on and thinking of your next move and thinking ahead of, “Oh, do I pin this guy now or leave him down? Do I have time to leave him? Is he going to get back up?” All of that goes back into making the combat more dynamic and more engaging.
Jeff, I’d love to hear what your reaction was when you finally got to see your character’s sprite moving around and doing the chair shots. The animation in this game is so fun and it’s full of character. What was your reaction when you first got to see that character on screen?
Jeff Jarrett: So Tyler, I just gotta ask you, why is my statue your favorite statue in the game?
Oh, it’s the most beautiful, of course.
Jeff Jarrett: [Laughs]. I’m kidding with you! No, again, just the whole style. I’ve told this story earlier today, but the pixel art … James had some 8x10s made up of that and we were at a trade show, comic-con-type deal. It was the number one seller. So just the look — not me hitting somebody over the head or me strutting with Ric Flair or me winning the IC title — it’s the WrestleQuest pixel art with all the colors and all that. It’s cool. I’ve obviously had action figures and been in games and all that, but seeing … we’ll call it Double-J of the ’90s come to life alongside Jake and everybody else that’s … for a 12 year old kid from Hendersonville, Tennessee that loved Jerry Lawler and Jackie Fargo, it’s a pretty cool deal, to say the least.
James, we were talking about all the legends in this game before, and getting those rights had to be a ton of work and a bunch of effort. How was navigating those conversations and showing your pitch since this isn’t the avid wrestling game,
James Deighan: The pitch is easy, because it’s just so from-the-heart, you know? I feel like the enthusiasm and passion is easy to pick up on. Can you imagine, Tyler, that someone comes to you and says, “After your 400th wrestling game, in this game, we want to have cities built in your honor, where wrestlers will come to the city center and ask for your advice?” It’s easy on the creative side. It’s been a massive challenge on the legal and conflict side to make sure that we’re crossing all of our T’s because there’s no singular database. Wrestling is unlike any other industry for talent — particularly talent in this era — because it was like the founding fathers of sports, entertainment, and wrestling, right? So, it definitely has been an uphill battle.
When people ask why this hasn’t been done before, that’s one of the reasons. [Laughs]. But you know, we’re very happy with what we built, and you can probably see each pixel’s been lovingly crafted to tuck in these Easter eggs and these characters. This is a very curated list of talent too. We had a much bigger list at the top of the funnel that we had to go through and validate and explore. There’s really only a handful of people that didn’t make it in that we really wanted in because they had other conflicts and licenses that were limiting their use. But we knew we always wanted the must-haves of Macho, Andre, Road Warriors — the top. And then we knew we needed somebody who could bring the inside wrestling business knowledge. Then Jeff brought that plus talent, and who doesn’t want to get hit with a guitar? [Laughs]. Everything else fell into place from there.
Zack, one thing that really stood out, like James said, is how there’s so much love put into this game and so many Easter eggs. What can wrestling fans really expect out of this game?
Zack Manko: That was one of the funnest parts, writing those and fitting them in. They’re sprinkled throughout the entire game. It’s a big game — 40 hours of story alone, and right up until the end, there’s these little delightful references and surprises that I think will get a big pop out of the wrestling fans.
Jeff, from the wrestling side, your reinvention over the years has been so remarkable, and to be still entertaining so many decades on, I’d love to get your thoughts on your longevity. I feel like it’s kind of because you’re so great at the small elements, the fundamentals, the basics — stuff that’s never going to expire, never going to go out of fashion, and the fact that you’re able to just do these little things so well — and some people take it for granted — that you’ve been able to just continue entertaining us in and outside of the ring for decades. But what do you think your secret is?
Jeff Jarrett: I don’t know if it’s a secret, but I will say this — my teachers, my mentors, my grandmother, my dad, Jerry Lawler — I could go on and on, you know? It was ingrained in me to learn the basics and just learn that my grandmother always said, “Try to learn to do every possible job in the wrestling industry that you can.” Back in those days, set up the ring, referee, hang posters, and run a concession stand and all the facets. Then as we get into production and the legal and the finance and the marketing, and now social media and the digital age, should just kind of be well-versed. But I think at the very top of it that, the thing that drives me is that I’ve got a passion for this industry and I love the industry.
I can say this out of all sincerity: I love it more today than I ever have. I think the opportunities, obviously with the digital age that we’ve been in for several years now — opened up a whole new horizon. You can connect with your fanbase 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days. So me trying to be a student of the game, I think that’s what I encourage. If I ever teach seminars, I try to tell guys, “Look, you need to learn to have a match with everybody.” So learn the basics. On the flip side of that is “don’t get in it for money.” Get in it because you love it and the passion. I think that has served me well, that I truly do love the industry and love every facet of it. I wake up every day super excited that I am in the wrestling industry, and I think that serves me well, that I have a passion not just for wrestling industry, but for life.