In Career Mode, you will play as El Gordo (default name) and take on wrestlers of increasing difficulty with the guidance of an Eccentric Mentor called "Churro." Earn macho points from beating other wrestlers to train your wrestler’s chest, legs, and arms and learn new moves. Defeated luchadores will be available to be fought freely in Match Mode.
The Mechanics:
- What sets this fighting game apart from others is that mere punches and kicks don’t drain a character’s HP but reduces his Macho Meter instead (represented by chili peppers). The number of peppers in the Macho Meter determines how much stronger and faster the wrestler is, how much damage he'll take, and the chances of being grabbed.
- In place of HP, there is the Stamina Meter and it can be reduced by holds and throws which can be performed after a successful grab. A grab is successful when you’ve pressed the OK or 5 button when the opposing wrestler’s eyes pop out (you must be successful 2 out of 3 times; If you are the one who's been grabbed, pressing the OK or 5 button when your wrestler's eyes are popping out is an opportunity to break free). The type of hold or throw that will be performed is determined by a roulette-like minigame and as you progress, you can learn more of them. If a wrestler’s stamina is in the red, he can be pinned down for the count. It can also be reduced by the damage from a rope jump.
- Reversal: Executing the same hold or throw twice in a row will cause this and the opposing luchador will instead perform the move. This is why it is necessary for your wrestler to learn new moves.
- MUY MACHO: This is a 20-second increase in power that a luchador will be able to use when he completes three successful throws in a row against an opponent.
Tropes featured include:
- Acrofatic: All of the wrestlers can perform moves like body slams, piledrivers, and suplexes and can jump from turnbuckles.
- Ambiguous Gender: Parodied. El Gordo wonders if Francis is a man or a woman even when they look alike except for their outfit.
- Animal Battle Aura: A bull's head appears above a wrestler's head when using Muy Macho, along with his Macho and Stamina Meters set on fire.
- Animal Theme Naming: Conejo (rabbit), El Spider, Jaguar, La Rana (frog), and Oso (bear).
- Big Ball of Violence: During a reversal.
- Bilingual Bonus: On names that are in Spanish even in the English and Portuguese options.
- Character Customization: The "Train" feature.
- Circling Birdies: When a wrestler takes a bad hit. A wrestler on the floor has glowing circles/planets while a standing one has birds that seem to be pooping.
- Crippling Overspecialization: Conejo only knows one move so every other time he uses it, it will be a sure reversal and therefore, he can't use Muy Macho.
- Dark and Troubled Past: Parodied.
- The Arms' mother was killed by a gorilla who is also his father. It's unknown how much of this is true as it's told by Churro.
- Loco is loco because he was dropped as a child. When El Gordo asks if it's on a carpet or stone floor, Churro replies that it's down a well.
- Even El Gordo has one (see this page's example of You Killed My Father).
- Dub Name Change: The English and Portuguese language options have the same mix of English and Spanish names, but the Spanish option uses Spanish names (or El Spanish "-o" variants) exclusively.
- Extra Eyes: Surge/Sergio's third eye is not just a part of his mask because it pops out when he is being grabbed and choked. Same thing with El Spider/Araña, Oso, Red Rojo, Crusher, and Plague/La Plaga.
- Eye Pop: A cue that you should be pressing the 5/OK button.
- Fixed-Floor Fighting: The wrestling ring is projected isometrically but not the wrestlers and they can only move to the left or right.
- Flawless Victory: Winning against an opponent without getting damaged in Career Mode nets extra macho points.
- Gratuitous Spanish: The game has language options for English, Spanish, and Portuguese, but even the English option has several Spanish words.
- Handicapped Badass: Parodied by El Easy/El Fácil. He is blind and deaf and his purpose is to be a human punching bag for teaching new players the controls and mechanics, but he can possibly perform a reversal just like everyone else.
- Hitbox Dissonance: A wrestler knocked to the floor cannot be hit by a charge, even if he's in its way.
- Horsemen of the Apocalypse: The four wrestlers to be fought right before El Diablo are named War, Plague, Famine, and Death/La Muerte.
- Informed Attribute: If a wrestler is described with a physical trait that can differentiate him from the others, it wouldn't be obvious on his character sprite. This may or may not be gimmicks.Churro: This is Los Legs. He was born with four arms and no legs.El Gordo: He has legs. I can see them.Churro: Well, they make him special gloves that look like boots!
- Masked Luchador: Everyone.
- Meaningful Name:
- The Player Character's default name is El Gordo which means "The Fat One," pretty generic considering that everyone is fat. It also has another meaning which is "The Big Prize" and it fits his quest to be the top wrestler.
- The first opponent in Career Mode is named El Easy.
- Parodied with El Skeleto/Esqueleto as his thinness is an Informed Attribute because he has the same body as everyone else.
El Gordo: This one is a little skinny.Churro: That is why he is named El Skeleto.El Gordo: Shouldn't he eat something?Churro: But then he would need a new name.- Jumpi and La Rana (lit. "The Frog") jump from the ropes whenever they have the opportunity to deal damage with it.
- Inverted with Los Legs who is said to have four arms and no legs.
- Red Rojo likes red (perhaps too much).
- On El Barro:
El Gordo: El Barro? The mud, why is he called that?Churro: He used to be called El Polvo, the dirt.El Gordo: What happened?Churro: He lost to El Agua.- Grinder is called as such because of his job. He made sandwiches.
- Famine is starving.
El Gordo: I hear this guy has a rancho.Churro: He does, in Chihuahua. 10,000 head of cattle.El Gordo: Really? Why is he starving?Churro: No bodies, just heads. - Names to Run Away from Really Fast: All wrestlers after Loco have names (Grinder, Crusher, War, Plague, Famine, Death, El Diablo) that are neither silly nor underwhelming (though some of their origins still are).
- Power-Up Food: Hamburger and pepper, which refills Stamina and Macho Meter respectively, sometimes drop from a wrestler being damaged.
- Pro Wrestling Is Real
- Rated M for Manly: With its emphasis on machismo, it definitely is.
- Redundancy Department of Redundancy: The matches take place in San Santos (lit. "Saint Saints") and there's a wrestler named Red Rojo (REDundant, indeed).
- Regional Riff: Synthesized Mexican guitars and trumpets in the BGM.
- Shout-Out:
- Two of the wrestlers are named Esqueleto and Nachos.
- Four wrestlers have names that make them The Four Horsemen.
- Skull for a Head: The wrestlers Skeleto, El Barro, Loco, Death, and El Diablo wear skull masks.
- Spell My Name with a "The": As shown in the other examples, the English article "the" and Spanish articles "el," "los," and "la" are present in a lot of the wrestlers' names. Exaggerated in the Spanish option when some of those that didn't have any article in the English option are given Spanish ones.
- Stout Strength: All characters are fat and can carry opponents over their heads.
- Video Game Cruelty Potential: When a wrestler's stamina and macho meters are drained, it's almost assured that he wouldn't be able to get up from being pinned, but a player can still keep beating him up as long as he doesn't pin him.
- Wheel o' Feet: When a wrestler charges.
- Wingding Eyes: When a wrestler is lifted up to be thrown, his eyes are drawn as X's.
- Wrestling Doesn't Pay: A conversation between El Gordo and his mentor reveals that they're only being paid 25 pesos for a match and subsequent matches has El Gordo asking Churro where his pay is.
- X-Ray Sparks: A particularly strong throw calls a lightning to strike both wrestlers and flash their skeletons.
- You ALL Look Familiar: The wrestlers have the same stout build and differs only in their masks and the colors of their shorts, wristbands, and boots.
- You Killed My Father: Subverted and parodied when El Gordo fights Death.El Gordo: Finally, my chance to avenge my father!Churro: This man didn't kill your father!Churro: Your father died in a gardening accident!
