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Legends of Wrestling II for Xbox Original
Legends of Wrestling II for Xbox Original brings wrestlers from different generations together in one ring. You can choose Hulk Hogan, André the Giant, Roddy Piper or Bret Hart, among others, and use strikes, throws and grapples to wear down an opponent. The ISP system lets you branch from an initiated grapple into different follow-up moves. You therefore need not only to get close, but also to recognise which position makes another attack possible.
In the career, you travel through five American wrestling regions before competing for the world title. Each region has a promoter with particular tasks and storylines. Winning over the crowd is part of your progress: victory is not the only thing that counts, as your performance in the ring also builds popularity. You spend earned coins in the shop on unlockable content. Outside the career, you can immediately choose an exhibition match or a tournament.
Cage matches, ladder matches, Battle Royals and tag-team matches change what you try to achieve in the ring. The Xbox version supports up to four people playing locally; each player needs an Xbox controller. Six- and eight-man matches do not mean that eight human players can join. Create-A-Legend also lets you make your own wrestler. You choose his appearance and moves and place him among the established names, without depending on an internet connection.
Region and language
Our Xbox Original games are PAL editions and come with a Dutch or English box, unless stated otherwise. By default, you receive the version for the European market. We note it in the product details if the region is different or the box is in another language. In almost all cases, the game is playable at least in English, and often in the other five common European languages too.
The packaging shown for this copy bears a French age warning. The game title appears in English on the front. Dutch in the game or manual is not guaranteed.
Manual
Legends of Wrestling II for Xbox Original includes the manual unless the product title states otherwise. If the booklet is missing, the title says “No Manual”. This lets you see before ordering whether the game comes with a manual.
The manuals included with our games usually contain at least English and often around six European languages. The exact languages vary by edition, so Dutch is not always included. The booklet explains the controls and the main rules. You can use it to check how to control the game, which actions are available and how its different features work.
The history of Legends of Wrestling II
Acclaim Studios Salt Lake City developed Legends of Wrestling II as a sequel to the first Legends of Wrestling. Published by Acclaim, the Xbox game appeared in North America in late 2002 and Europe in early 2003. The series brought together well-known wrestlers from different organisations and eras. This let you pit rivals against each other who did not appear together on contemporary television shows. The selection centred on recognisable personalities, entrances and signature moves, rather than one current championship season.
The second game expanded the selection to more than 65 wrestlers and added cage and ladder matches, among other types. Big Daddy, Giant Haystacks, Mick McManus and Kendo Nagasaki also received places in the European release. Acclaim announced these British names separately, referring to their earlier television appearances. This gave the European selection its own emphasis alongside the American stars. It remained a game about wrestling history, but with a broader range of matches and participants.
The Xbox disc also contains video interviews in which various participants discuss their careers. These connect the large, stylised game models with the real people behind the characters. The later Showdown: Legends of Wrestling, released in 2004, came from Acclaim Studios Austin and gave the series another interpretation. Legends of Wrestling II instead preserves the Salt Lake City team’s combination of linked grapples, a regional career, a custom wrestler and a collection of memories from the wrestlers themselves.
Similar games for Xbox Original
Legends of Wrestling already uses the ISP system on Xbox Original and the same idea of a ring filled with historical names. The second game builds on that with more participants and additional match types, including cages and ladders. Both games let you pursue a wrestling career and create a fighter. You mainly notice the difference when you want to try different rules after an ordinary match without leaving the familiar grappling system behind.
Showdown: Legends of Wrestling continues the same historical approach on Xbox Original, but organises its Showdown Challenge around the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. Legends of Wrestling II instead takes you through regional promoters and their storylines. Showdown also adds a spoken commentary team. Comparing the two therefore reveals more than a different selection of wrestlers: the presentation of both a career and an individual match changes too.
Def Jam: Fight for NY combines grapples and throws with street fights, hip-hop artists and the development of a custom character on Xbox Original. Legends of Wrestling II stays closer to the spectacle of professional wrestling, with entrances, ring ropes and title matches. In Def Jam, crowds and street venues strongly influence fights. Both let you build a fighter, but Def Jam blends fighting styles while Legends keeps its historical wrestlers and their ring work central.
Dead or Alive 3 focuses on fast punches, kicks, throws and timed counters on Xbox Original. As in Legends of Wrestling II, you need to recognise an opponent’s actions at close range. Dead or Alive 3 settles fights through knockouts and short rounds, however, rather than pins, championship belts or promoters’ tasks. Height differences make its arenas important, while Legends makes ring position and transitions between grapples determine how you continue attacking.
Soulcalibur II gives each fighter a weapon with its own reach on Xbox Original. Keeping your distance and sidestepping can matter more than establishing a grapple. Legends of Wrestling II repeatedly brings you back to physical contact, throws and restraining an opponent. Both games let you learn to control a recognisable character, but the practice differs: in Soulcalibur you read weapon arcs and open arena edges, while in Legends you seek a useful wrestling position.
