RetroMania is about to hit all your gaming platforms.
With a dash of WWF WrestleFest, RetroMania looks to bring back an old favorite. WrestleFest holds a special place in the heart of Fightful -- Jimmy Van even owns an arcade cabinet! We were also able to speak with Mike from Retrosoft Studios to answer some of your questions about the game!
Fightful: I saw you mention Demolition was blocked from the game. Was that via WWE?
Retrosoft: "I will just say that the ownership of the gimmick of Demolition is disputed and we can not take a chance on including it."
Fightful: How did you all land the blessing to be considered the official WrestleFest sequel?
Retrosoft: "We contacted the current license holders of the game Arc System Works. Part of the licensing deal we reached with them was the right to call ourselves the Official Sequel to Wrestlefest."
Fightful: I saw where you all had reached out to Cody's reps about being in the game, but didn't hear back. Has there been any follow up?
Retrosoft: "We actually did hear back from his manager. Keep in mind this was right before AEW started so he was pretty busy."
Fightful: House of Hardcore and NWA are involved in the game. How did those talks happen, what was the process, and will there be any other promotions added?
Retrosoft: "So Mike Archer who works with me use to work with both Tommy Dreamer and the NWA. Mike use to work for WWE. Mike kept in contact and was able to setup meetings with both of them and we were able to negotiate a license agreement. As for other promotions, you never know."
Fightful: Any plans to put women wrestlers in the game in the future?
Retrosoft: "We would love to. The initial game launch needs to have enough success though. It is a decent sized investment to do the female characters properly so we need to release the initial game first."
Fightful: Are there cutscenes during story mode or is it arcade style match after match? Does The rumble have the mini window entrances?
Retrosoft: "There are interactive cut scenes between matches in the story mode. Your decisions will affect the outcome."
Fightful: Can you explain the process of landing Matt Cardona and Brian Myers for the game?
Retrosoft: "Right place at the right time. When I saw that they were released I wanted to jump on signing them. Again, Mike Archer already had a relationship with them so it was very easy to get them on the phone and negotiate a license agreement. Both great guys!!"
Fightful: What are some challenges you've faced in creating the game?
Retrosoft: "The biggest challenge has been having to pick between what features to do now and what need to wait for an update. Being an indie studio, we can afford to do everything at once. So the goal is to make a fun wrestling game that we can build on. With that said we are jamming the launch game full of features and modes."
Fightful: Was there anyone you were surprised actually got added to the roster?
Retrosoft: "The Road Warriors. Even though they were the first signed, I did not think it was even possible. They were the boss of the original game and I did not think it would be possible."
Fightful: Is there any more information on career mode you can provide?
Retrosoft: "There is no real career mode, there is a story mode. The story mode has interactive cut scenes. The decisions you make, shape the story."
Fightful: Are there customization options -- move set and the like?
Retrosoft: "Not yet. This is definitely something we would like to add, but as of now we have not included any customization. We really wanted to focus on the core gameplay and then build off of that."
Fightful: How long could you see DLC being produced for this game? We see games like GTA with DLC for 6+ years.
Retrosoft: "Hard to say, but as long as the audience is big enough and still interested we will keep supporting it."
Fightful: How has the roster developed. Did you reach out to them individually, them to you, and any interesting stories behind that?
Retrosoft: "As I said in a previous answer, Mike Archer worked at WWE for 15 years. So he has a ton of contacts. A couple people did reach out to us. None of the stories are too crazy and thanks to Mike went very smoothly."
The tentative release date is late August, after being pushed back from July. You can pre-order Retrosoft's RetroMania Wrestling on PS4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One and Steam.
