Arm Wrestling (video Game)
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''Arm Wrestling'' is a 1985 arcade game developed by
Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto. It develops, publishes, and releases both video games and video game consoles. The history of Nintendo began when craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi ...
and released only in
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
. As a
spin-off Spin-off, Spin Off, Spin-Off, or Spinoff may refer to: Entertainment and media *Spinoff (media), a media work derived from an existing work *''The Spinoff'', a New Zealand current affairs magazine * ''Spin Off'' (Canadian game show), a 2013 Canad ...
of the ''
Punch-Out!! is a boxing video game series created by Genyo Takeda, and published by Nintendo. The player controls Little Mac, a boxer who aims to become the World Video Boxing Association (W.V.B.A.) champion. The original '' Punch-Out!!'' arcade game w ...
'' series, and created by the same development team, ''Arm Wrestling'' has many of the same features, such as a dual-monitor system and quirky computer opponents.


Development

The game was developed by
Nintendo R&D3 commonly abbreviated as Nintendo IRD, was a division of Nintendo that developed video game console hardware and associated peripherals. Originally established in 1980 with engineer Genyo Takeda acting as manager, Nintendo Research & Development ...
, the same team that created the ''
Punch-Out!! is a boxing video game series created by Genyo Takeda, and published by Nintendo. The player controls Little Mac, a boxer who aims to become the World Video Boxing Association (W.V.B.A.) champion. The original '' Punch-Out!!'' arcade game w ...
'' series. It is the final dedicated arcade game Nintendo both developed and distributed. The game's announcer uses some voice samples of Han (
Shih Kien Shek Wing-cheung (1 January 1913 – 3 June 2009), better known by his stage name Shih Kien, Sek Kin, Sek Gin or Shek Kin (), was a Hong Kong actor and martial artist. Shih is best known for playing antagonists and villains in several early Hon ...
) from the 1973 film ''
Enter the Dragon ''Enter the Dragon'' ( zh, t=龍爭虎鬥) is a 1973 martial arts film directed by Robert Clouse and written by Michael Allin. The film stars Bruce Lee, John Saxon, Ahna Capri, Bob Wall, Shih Kien and Jim Kelly. ''Enter the Dragon'' was ...
'', and original ones. It shares multiple similarities to the ''Punch-Out!!'' arcade games, including the use of multiple screens, similar visuals, and the same graphics engine.


Gameplay

The goal is to become the World Arm Wrestling Champion by defeating as many opponents in
arm wrestling Arm wrestling (also spelled "armwrestling") is a sport in which two participants, facing each other with their bent elbows placed on a flat surface (usually a table) and hands firmly gripped, each attempt to "pin" their opponent's hand by forcing ...
as possible. The player must compete against five different computer opponents and pin them in a timed match. The opponents are: * Texas Mac, a stereotypical Texan in a
cowboy hat The cowboy hat is a high-crowned, wide-brimmed hat best known as the defining piece of attire for the North American cowboy. Today it is worn by many people, and is particularly associated with ranch workers in the United States, Canada, Mexico, C ...
* Kabuki, a Japanese
sumo wrestler A , or, more colloquially, , is a sumo wrestler. Although used to define all wrestlers participating in sumo wrestling matches, the term is more commonly used to refer to professional wrestlers, employed by the Japan Sumo Association, who part ...
* Mask X, actually
Bald Bull is a series of boxing video games created by Genyo Takeda and Makoto Wada, and published by Nintendo. The main protagonist and player character of the series is Little Mac (Punch-Out!!), Little Mac, a short boxer from the Bronx who climbs the r ...
from ''Punch-Out!!'' in a mask * Alice & Ape III, a little girl controlling a monkey robot via remote * Frank Jr., an homage to
Frankenstein's monster Frankenstein's monster, commonly referred to as Frankenstein, is a fictional character that first appeared in Mary Shelley's 1818 novel '' Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' as its main antagonist. Shelley's title compares the monster's ...
as popularized in the 1930s films Controls consist of a button and a two-position
joystick A joystick, sometimes called a flight stick, is an input device consisting of a stick that pivots on a base and reports its angle or direction to the device it is controlling. Also known as the control column, it is the principal control devic ...
that can also be pulled straight up from the panel. A referee gives a signal to begin each match. Touching any control before the signal is given results in a foul; if the player commits two fouls in the same match, the game immediately ends. During the match, the player must attack the computer opponent by pressing left on the joystick. The game foreshadows a counterattack when the opponent makes a strange face. Moving the joystick to the right at the proper moment causes the opponent to become briefly stunned, during which time the player can tap the button for bonus points and an increase in attacking power. Against certain opponents, the player must move the joystick in particular ways to dodge surprise attacks, some of which can lead to an instant loss if they connect. In order to win a match, the player must pin the opponent's arm to the table within one minute; the game ends if the player is pinned or if time runs out. After the second and fifth victories, the player can earn bonus points by catching a sack of money thrown from above, pulling up on the joystick at the proper moment as it falls. Once Frank Jr. is defeated, the game begins again with increased difficulty and Kabuki as the fifth opponent rather than the second. If the player wins a total of 20 matches, the tournament organizer declares the event closed due to running out of prize money and the game ends.


Reception

''Arm Wrestling'' was neither as popular or as well-received as the ''Punch-Out!!'' arcade games. JC Fletcher of ''
Joystiq ''Joystiq'' was a video gaming blog which was part of the Weblogs, Inc. family later owned by AOL. It was active from 2004 to 2015, acting as the primary video game blog for the group, and operating alongside ''Engadget'' and sister blogs such ...
'' hoped that ''Arm Wrestling'' would be released on the
Wii The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America, and in December 2006 for most other regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major home game console, f ...
's
Virtual Console The Virtual Console was a line of downloadable retro video games for Nintendo's Wii and Wii U home video game consoles and the Nintendo 3DS family of handheld systems. The Virtual Console lineup consisted of titles originally released on pa ...
service, to widen its audience. Anthony Burch of ''
Destructoid ''Destructoid'' is a website that was founded as a video game-focused blog in March 2006 by Yanier Gonzalez, a Cuban-American cartoonist and author. Enthusiast Gaming acquired the website in 2017 and sold it to Gamurs Group in 2022. Histor ...
'' said it was strange due to it not representing what arm wrestling actually feels like, though that the strange controls and visual similarity to ''Punch-Out!!'' make it intriguing. He ultimately enjoyed the game, which may be due to its speed and the fact that he felt soreness in his arm after playing. However, he found it too shallow and short. Jeremy Parish of ''
USgamer Gamer Network Limited (formerly Eurogamer Network Limited) is a British digital media company based in London. Founded in 1999 by Rupert and Nick Loman, it owns brands—primarily editorial websites—relating to video game journalism and ot ...
'' said its obscurity was due to it being too visually impressive to be reproduced on the NES, and that adapting it would be difficult due to shallow gameplay. He said that ''Arm Wrestling'' cabinets were likely hard to find and expensive.


References


External links

* *
Arm Wrestling
' at arcade-history *

' a
NinDB
{{Punch-Out series 1985 video games Arcade video games Arcade-only video games Arm wrestling North America-exclusive video games Punch-Out!! Video games developed in Japan Video games scored by Koji Kondo Single-player video games Nintendo arcade games Cancelled Nintendo Switch games