"Double J, in particular, has been amazing to work with": Zack Manko of WrestleQuest talks input, storytelling, and gameplay style

WrestleQuest might be the most unique wrestling game to ever appear on the market. Mega Cat Studios is working on this title, and it will be a turn-based JRPG-style video game, featuring some of the biggest names from the 80s and 90s in professional wrestling.

Randy “Macho Man” Savage, the Road Warriors, Andre the Giant, and Jake “the Snake” Roberts are all confirmed to be appearing in the game. In a recent interaction with Sportskeeda Esports' Jason Parker, Zack Manko of Mega Cat Studios spoke about the JRPGs that inspired them, the team’s love of professional wrestling, and so much more.

It’s a genuinely fascinating game, and while it has no release date confirmed, it is reportedly coming soon and will give wrestling fans something new and interesting to play.

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Zack Manko of WrestleQuest discusses the team’s RPG inspirations

Q. Thank you for taking the time to speak to us! As a lifelong RPG and Professional Wrestling fan, I'm very excited about WrestleQuest. What inspired the game's creation?

Zack: Our crew consists of big-time wrestling fans, and we’ve had a long-time dream of doing an RPG. WrestleQuest is really a love letter to that classic era of the 80s and 90s wrestling, which also happens to be the golden era of RPGs, with games like Super Mario RPG, Chrono Trigger, Earthbound, and Final Fantasy 6.

While conceptualizing the game, we quickly realized how natural the combination of pro wrestling and RPGs was. The storyline is the foundation of both these art forms. Larger-than-life characters, plot twists, dramatic reveals, and betrayals are the lifeblood of RPGs, and the same is true of wrestling. It’s not just about people slamming each other in the ring. It’s Shakespeare plus suplexes.

With so much shared DNA, we were surprised that a pro-wrestling RPG hadn’t been done sooner!

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Q. WrestleQuest blends fantasy RPG visuals with some of the greatest careers of the glory days of professional wrestling. Why did you decide to make it a fantasy game instead of grounding it more in the 80s or 90s?

Zack: For many of us (on the team and in countless forums and Facebook groups), our earliest wrestle-memories are of playing with wrestling toys. We leaned into this to create an action figure aesthetic and world where every character is a toy or action figure.

This setting allowed us to do some of the more fantastical things we wanted to do in terms of action and plot. It really calls into mind this idea of a child playing with his toy box, creating the pro-wrestling world of his dreams.

Ultimately, our vision for the game is to have Lord of the Rings storytelling in a Toy Story world through the lens of pro-wrestling.

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Q. I saw that the game draws inspiration from characters like Jake "The Snake" Roberts and "Macho Man" Randy Savage. Are famous wrestlers actually mentioned in WrestleQuest or is it just their likeness?

Zack: WrestleQuest puts these famous wrestlers on the pedestal they deserve. These legends appear in the game as colossal statues or shrines across the world map that people visit from all over to pay tribute and honor to. What’s more, each of these statues is the starting point for a special side quest themed around that wrestler.

For example, the Road Warriors quest has players going toe-to-toe with a cult of Mad Max-style wrestle raiders and bandits that roam the wasteland looking for baby oil and face paint.

The quest leads to an exciting showdown with Hawk and Animal themselves on the back of a speeding big rig. Victorious players will earn the Road Warriors’ respect as well as the ability to summon them into battle to perform their devastating Doomsday Device finisher!

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Q. It's very clear looking at WrestleQuest that the developers, or at least some of them, are fans of wrestling. Who are the team's favorites?

Zack: We often joke about how ironic it is for a Pittsburgh-based team to get more excited about these wrestlers than the Steelers! Team favorites definitely include Macho Man (obviously), Andre the Giant, Jake the Snake, and Jeff Jarrett.

Double J, in particular, has been amazing to work with. He’s helped us make sure the game authentically represents the ins and outs of wrestling. Plus, he has cool hair.

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Q. Were there any issues in portraying classic wrestlers in WrestleQuest?

Zack: The most arduous challenge was getting the licenses for these wrestlers in the first place. It was a process of earning trust and demonstrating that we were doing right by their legacies, not to mention navigating some tricky legal waters.

Many of these legends still have a tight-knit camaraderie, so once we built some credit with one and our genuine fandom was apparent, it went a long way in building a solid rapport with the others.

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Q. Combat takes place in the ring, as it should, but for people that don't know, how does combat actually work in WrestleQuest?

Zack: The goal with WrestleQuest’s combat was to take that classic turn-based JRPG formula and then increase the engagement and fun factor by 'wrestlifying' it. You and your stable will take turns trading strikes and taunts with your enemies to take control of the Hype Meter.

The Hype Meter indicates how entertained the audience is, so if you just spam the Attack button every round, they’ll start to get bored, and the meter drains. When that happens, your enemies get stronger. But if you get creative and mix up your moves, the meter will fill, and you’ll unlock special signature abilities and finishing moves. It’s all about wrestling being a show and a spectacle.

Add in some time-based button presses, characters bouncing off the ropes after strikes, and a pinning mechanic to put your opponents out once and for all, and the wrestling meets JRPG combat combination really takes shape!

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Q. Were there any particular challenges in changing wrestling into an RPG?

Zack: Just the opposite, actually! Wrestling allowed us to take many RPG staples and make them fresh again. For example, most RPGs feature locked doors and hidden keys. In WrestleQuest, tables block your path and there’s only one way through a table, right? You have to find a token that summons a hapless wrestler that you slam through the table to unblock your way.

Wrestling was also the perfect way to make iconic RPG boss battles even more exciting. The game features a Walk-on Customizer, so you can pick out your theme music, pyrotechnics, and other effects as you make your way down the entrance ramp.

Once you’re in the ring, you’ll get the chance to cut a promo on your enemy. Lay down the smacktalk and you’ll build up the Hype Meter before the battle even starts! However, the boss will also be throwing insults, so be sure to have a snappy comeback.

Wrestling was fertile ground not just for RPG mechanics, but for the storyline as well. The game is about a starry-eyed amateur looking to become a champion without losing his soul along the way. His journey brings him up against a villain expanding his promotion until he controls every ring and arena across the map. It’s very wrestly, but it also captures the high-stakes “epic” nature of RPG plotlines.

These are just a few examples. The game is chock-full of wrestlifications to turn the standard RPG formula into a heavyweight champ.

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Q. Will WrestleQuest players be able to perform tag-team attacks as well, as well as tag-team finishers?

Zack: Definitely, as there is a cast of twelve playable characters, and every combination has their own tag-team and triple-team maneuvers. It’s all about how the players want to structure their team and approach combat.

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Q. Will players be able to customize their moveset in WrestleQuest, and if so, will you be including moves that perhaps didn't really make waves in the West? A good example would be Kenta Kobashi's "Burning Hammer".

Zack: Character progression is mostly linear, with new abilities unlocking at certain levels. That being said, there is more customization and agency with regards to the player’s overall strategy towards combat. You can assign your characters Hype Types, which affect how they generate Hype.

For example, the Powerhouse type will build hype with strikes and eliminations, while the Technician type generates hype with every successful button press, submission hold, or debuff. Savvy players will mix and match these types to build that hype fast and early to unlock more powerful moves.

As far as obscure or non-traditional moves, rest assured that there are plenty of them. Part of the fun has been using the fantasy elements of RPGs to take off the limitations of what’s possible, so you’ll be seeing triple backflips off the top rope, explosions, and more.

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Q. On the note of international wrestlers, what sort of research did you guys do to flesh out the characters portrayed in WrestleQuest?

Zack: Showcasing all the various regional styles of wrestling was critical for us. We’ve worked with Pro Wrestling Revolution, a luchador federation, to get the lucha libre-inspired characters right. Similarly, the game has a Japanese-based area, which features sumo, Joshi, Kaiju, and strong style pro-wrestling. We wanted to authentically show all the different spices that wrestling has to offer.

Similarly, we wanted the characters to feel genuine and real. Lachador, for example, showcases the incredible dedication and sacrifice pro-wrestlers display, being on the road most of the year, away from family and home. Brink Logan is a mid-card jobber in his father’s promotion, eternally frustrated, stuck between supporting the family business or trying to break out on his own.

We wanted our characters to show not just the spectacle of wrestling, but its struggles and sacrifices as well.

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Q. If you could add any modern wrestlers to the game such as Kenny Omega, Kevin Owens, and Kazuchika Okada, to name a few, are there any that come to mind?

Zack: Kenny Omega, for sure, and I know many of us on the WrestleQuest team have a fondness for Orange Cassidy. I think Drew McIntyre and Charlotte Flair would make cool action figures. From an RPG mechanics standpoint, hotswapping the members of Death Triangle for a battle sounds like insane fun. Including Konosuke Takeshita or Tetsuya Naito would be great!

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Q. Are there any plans for a post-game for WrestleQuest? Perhaps secret bosses/areas or further content?

Zack: Let’s just say, from new content to new wrestlers, we have plenty in mind to keep the Wrestleverse slamming!

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According to Steam, WrestleQuest is “Coming Soon” and brings together the genres of professional wrestling and turn-based RPGs in a way that is both fun and interesting while featuring a variety of well-known professional wrestlers from some of the sport’s biggest eras.