LogFAQs > #975183926

I don't know if it "ruined" a game, because I had many years of enjoyment out of it, but a re-evaluation of the programming in WWF No Mercy has led me to unofficially retire from the game. The game is rigged in ways that attempts to "git gud" will never account for.

The game's algorithm decides whether or not you win. The difficulty will randomly spike on any level medium or above. And if the game decides, they can make it impossible to win by conventional gameplay. You can kick an opponent in the back and the game will register it as a counter, repositioning you so that you're standing in front of your opponent with them holding your foot. An opponent on their leg can stagger back to their feet and the moment you grab them, they counter. At which point, your character may be held to the mat as if gravity had increased ten fold. The opponent, who was nowhere near achieving a special move, can suddenly jump in their momentum and hit you with one out of nowhere. And even if you have enough stamina to withstand it, the game can give them a second one out of nowhere that you won't kick out of.

Sometimes, the game will go into auto-counter mode and it will pass after a period of time. Other times, it goes into auto-counter mode and remains that way for the duration of the match. It can reach a point where the only way to win is to exploit thinking-outside-the-box tactics like pulling an opponent out of the ring from the outside, running away and taunting to get your spirit meter up, or throwing weapons at an opponent from outside of the ring so that you won't be disqualified.

It's not fun to be forced to wrestle as if I were the cowardly bad guy. It's okay if I want to play the game that way. But the game shouldn't be able to say to me, "There's nothing you can do to beat this guy in a fair fight. You're going to have to exploit cheap tactics or lose."