Magazine Archives: “WWF Betrayal”: A Pocketable Pursuit for Gold (Patreon)

By Rob Sutter From Fightful Magazine -- all issues available for purchase on Select!!

From a commercial standpoint, video games are designed to make money and little else. This may seem like a pessimistic way to begin what has been, up to this point, a fairly upbeat series of retro gaming articles. It’s difficult to argue, though, that sales matter in this industry. No matter how much we may enjoy certain games, unless they make money, their success will be limited. There’s a reason like series such as Super Marioand Call of Dutysee one sequel after another while your favorite indie game may very well start and end at the same point.

This dependence on commercial success, however, comes with a major advantage: creativity. No matter how outlandish an idea is, if it can make money, developers have the freedom to bring it to life. As someone who’s been gaming since the early 90s, I found this especially prevalent on portable systems. The original Game Boy was a prime example, offering handheld gaming at a reasonable cost, albeit with less power under the hood compared to its home console counterparts. The Game Boy thrived, even past what many considered its best-by date, before being followed up by the Game Boy Color. Due to the limitations of these systems, developers had to be more resourceful, making the most of every last pixel and kilobyte. While these platforms were home to memorable experiences, others fell short of the mark.

In August 2001, the Game Boy Color became the home of one of the more offbeat wrestling games of its time. WWF Betrayal was published by THQ and developed by WayForward Technologies. The latter may elicit head tilts from certain readers, but essentially, WayForward is a California-based independent developer. Prior to WWF Betrayal, the company’s line of work was modest, featuring licensed games based on properties including Casperand Sabrina: The Animated Series. Betrayalwas the company’s first, and only, foray into the professional wrestling world.

WWF Betrayal is not what one would consider a standard wrestling game. It plays less like a grappling and striking simulation and more like an old-school beat ‘em up title along the lines of Double Dragon or Streets of Rage. On the surface, gameplay that deviates from the norm isn’t inherently negative. Keep in mind that pro wrestling doesn’t adhere to the same philosophies as other sports and athletics where rules are clearly defined. To expand on this, if you play a baseball game, you know that the goal is to hit as many runs as possible within multiple innings. For those that are partial to football, scoring more touchdowns than the opposing team is the objective.

While it can be argued that pro wrestling has a main goal, namely defeating the opposition, the road to get there can be as winding and unpredictable as the story allows. After all, wrestling is just as much about the narrative as the bell-to-bell action. WWF Betrayal proves this through its plot. As one of four playable wrestlers – “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, The Rock, The Undertaker, or Triple H – you open the game by competing in a match. After being cheated out of a victory, you return backstage, where you’re approached by Vince McMahon. The Chairman informs you that Stephanie McMahonhas been kidnapped. In exchange for his daughter’s safe return, Vince promises you a WWF Championship match. This is where the game proper begins.

Credit must be given to WWF Betrayalin that its story is off the beaten path from more conventional wrestling games. The player’s goal isn’t to make their way from developmental to the main roster or main event WrestleMania. Instead, their focus is on playing hero to gain a championship match. Admittedly, this story doesn’t place the player in a white-hat role, though given the choices of playable characters, it wasn’t like said hat was worn very often back then. Furthermore, each character is given dialogue that fits their characters, such as Triple H recognizing Stephanie as his wife and The Rock comically referring to her as Vince’s “Roody-Poo daughter.”

In terms of sound design, WWF Betrayal is a mixed bag. Admittedly, the 8-bit renditions of Austin, Rock, and Triple H’s themes are charming, being recreated to fit the Game Boy Color’s hardware. The Undertaker’s theme is suspect, as it doesn’t sound much like either “American Bad Ass” by Kid Rock or “Rollin’” byLimp Bizkit. Outside of these real-life themes, the rest of the soundtrack is very middle of the road. Each level’s theme is far from egregious, but these aren’t tunes you’ll find yourself humming after the end credits roll.

Gameplay-wise, WWF Betrayalis a simple affair, which should be expected given the Game Boy Color’s limitations. The A and B buttons are assigned to punching and kicking, respectively. By pulling off subsequent strikes, a bar above the player’s health fills; when the bar is complete, the player can execute a signature move, including Austin’s Stone Cold Stunner, The Rock’s Rock Bottom, Triple H’s Pedigree, and a Chokeslam courtesy of The Undertaker. Throughout the game’s 6 levels, the player will face referees, police officers, and other grunts. The enemies are fine for the genre of game Betrayalis, though the addition of lower-card wrestlers as mid-level bosses would have been a nice touch.

Where the cracks truly begin to show in WWF Betrayal, however, are in its boss fights. By choosing one playable character, other characters serve as antagonists, stopping you in your pursuit of the Chairman’s daughter. As one may imagine, these encounters are far more grueling than brief battles with grunts. However, where these boss battles falter is their ability to stun lock the player. Essentially, by performing multiple strikes at once, the player will be unable to move, their health being reduced in seconds. For this reason, boss fights can devolve into cat-and-mouse encounters, the player hitting and running. In my experience, these boss fights weren’t tough because they were challenging, but more often than not, how unfair they felt.

WWF Betrayal is not a complex game, nor is it one with staying power. Boasting 6 levels in total, you’re likely to see the end credits in a dedicated afternoon. However, upon digging deeper into this game, it becomes a more interesting topic of conversation. In October 2021, Fanbyte spoke with the original Creative Director with WayForward,Matt Bozon. According to Bozon, Betrayalcame to life following the 2000 release of the Game Boy Color version of WCW Mayhem. The year after, THQ and their partner, Jakks, approached Bozon and his team to create a similar game with the WWF license.

Bozon also mentioned that, early into Betrayal’sdevelopment, the team didn’t know which wrestlers would be part of the game. In the meantime, WayForward created a generic, trunks-wearing, stand-in character known as “Naked Man.” By the time Betrayal was completed, “Naked Man” became absent, though his model was built upon to create the sprites for the game’s four playable characters. These were some of the more interesting tidbits from the interview, providing context to what was, mechanically speaking, a rudimentary beat ‘em up.

Despite these criticisms toward WWF Betrayal, it’s tough to deny WayForward’s quality as a developer. As time went on, the company created more high-quality titles. Case and point, the year following WWF Betrayal’sarrival on store shelves, WayForward released Shantae, an often-overlooked Game Boy Color gem that sparked a series spanning multiple platforms. Other notable WayForward titles include DuckTales: Remasteredand the Mightyseries, the latter beginning with Mighty Flip Champs! in 2009. Under the right circumstances, especially with the positive reputation WayForward developed over the years, I would be open to the team crafting another wrestling title that stands independently from more traditional outings.

Rob Sutteris the current Editor and Department Manager at Last Word on Pro Wrestling and a contributor for Last Word on Gaming. He has extensive knowledge about the wrestling world as a fan for over 20 years.

Twitter: @KHsNotebook