Graphically LOWII is pretty shoddy looking, with bad models that all look almost exactly identical minus the different color schemes. Also, the in LOWII animations are quite poor, everything from how the wrestlers walk and run (actually they look constipated), to how they interact with one another. Furthermore, there will be a number of times when you will have no idea what your wrestler is doing, because the animations are just plain and simply bad. For example, when two wrestlers grapple each other they like a giant wiggling, pixilated pile-o’-dog-poo. However, there is one small bright spot in even this sloppy looking GBA game. The before the fights and after fights slide shows look pretty good, and represent the wrestlers and managers of old very well. It is just too bad that most people won’t see them very much because most of them won’t be able to stomach the lame-duck graphics and animations for an entire match.

Sadly, LOWII doesn’t get too much better in the gameplay department. In order to pull off the more powerful strikes, you have to hold the directional pad in different directions while pressing the ‘A’. This doesn’t sound too complicated or difficult in theory; however, while pressing the D-pad your wrestler will continue to move taking you out of striking range. The grappling combos in Legends of Wrestling II are definitely implemented better. Instead of the classic button mashing technique from the wrestling games of old, LOW II uses a timing system. When two wrestlers lockup in a grapple a tiny bar will appear under the name of the wrestler; the bar is red and a part of green in the bar. The button you are suppose to press will slide along the bar and you are suppose to time it so that the slider in the green portion of the bar. After you successfully get the move off, depending on the move you did, you will get an opportunity to string together a longer, more powerful combo. Via the same method as before, only this time your green bar will be smaller, making it harder to successfully time the meter. I really enjoyed the concept of this system; however, it was pulled off quite sloppily. First of all the meter was far too small, especially for a one player game on the GBA (only one player can play on one GBA at any given time). This makes the game’s strongest play mechanic a weakness because it is hard to see and at times even harder to understand what is going on. Furthermore, reversals show up under the name of the wrestler you are wrestling with, which in a free-for-all is just no good at all. And finally, with the poor graphics and animations knowing who grappled first is almost impossible, making you miss which side the bar will appear on, which becomes very frustrating after awhile.

All in all LOWII for the GBA is a major disappointment, outside having a super impressive roster of old school wrestlers like Hulk Hogan, Iron Sheik, George “the Animal” Steele, just to name a few. It falls short in every category that makes a great wrestling game fun. I was hoping that with the super star roster that LOWII boast, it could take 2D wrestling back to the glory days of Pro Wrestling and Tecmo’s Wrestling. However, with poor graphics and animations, as well as, sloppy and unrefined controls; Legends of Wrestling II is really just a futile exercise in frustration. If you need a good wrestling game for the GBA, go on the hunt for Fire Pro Wrestling 1 or 2 and just avoid this title at all cost, because this is the type of game that will drive a person to alcoholism just to forget that they played it. Now if you will excuse me, I need a double shot of Crown Royal on the rocks…