Episode 137: Revisiting WWF SmackDown! WWF SmackDown! (also called Exciting Pro Wrestling in Japan) is a professional wrestling video game developed by Yuke's and released for the PlayStation by THQ.
I remember getting this back in the day. Picked it up from Kmart and got Dominos on the way home. Popped it in and was blown away. People that never played these games will look at this and be disgusted but us hardcore WWF fans(in the ps1 era) went from War Zone and Attitude to this. It was a HUGE improvement. I remember being blown away that the hair moved, lol.
Same here except I got the game from Walmart and got pizza from Pizza Hit if I recall correctly. This game had a lot of flash and flare that other wrestling games on the ps1 just didn’t have.
Yeah, it was so refreshing to finally be able to play a wrestling game that was easier to play than Warzone. If you want to strike, just press X and hit O to grab them, then press L1 for the finisher (when it's time to do it). It's that simple.
I never understood why the early Smackdown games had the logos of the arenas plastered on the center of the rings. It carried over into Just Bring It! For some reason it bothered me as a kid 😂🤦🏻♂️
As a pure N64 owner, I mastered the AKI titles, but when I played Smackdown games at a friend's house, I would always feel completely lost, all I could do was admire the graphics as they all whooped my ass lol
Never understand why these classics became overlooked throughout the years, No Mercy is literally the n64 version of SD2, they where both awesome in there own ways. The Smackdown games where more fast paced action packed, had cool backstage areas, wrestlers actual music enstead of a low res loop, more match types, and better graphics. The N64 games you had better moves sets, better caws, bigger rosters, actual arenas of PPVs instead of generic stage with the ppvs logo on the ring apron. Also You could hack the n64 games with a gameshark and create almost endless features. So it just depends on the mood you where in but they where both fun and both awesome to grow up with.
I remember playing this one, and thought it was the greatest thing ever. The problem: i had never played the n64 ones despite owning a 64. I owned WWF warzone, and was horribly tired of it and didn't have the money to buy anything new. Didn't know WrestleMania 2000 existed
Warzone was my first WWF game. WWF games in 3D were brand new so I didn't know what to expect. But God you needed to have an entire page worth of notes to do common moves and finishers. Just was not a game to pick up and play. Attitude was the same thing with a better roster. Smackdown and Wrestlemania 2000 just changed the game with the easy pick up and play mechanics and I found myself never going back to those Acclaim games. I guess they just couldn't crack the code but THQ got it right and then some.
I rented this game from Blockbuster when it came out. I felt disappointed, mainly because I was spoiled by playing WrestleMania 2000 (which I thought was the perfect wrestling game at the time). Glad that they improved this series drastically with "Know your role", but even that didn't beat the N64 wrestling games. Good video bro.
Thanks! It’s funny because I can definitely relate to your experience. There are a lot of people though that didn’t grow up with the AKI titles or just plain didn’t like them, so SmackDown! appealed so much more to them. We can definitely all agree though that as wrestling fans it was a fantastic time, as we had options. Especially if you were lucky enough to own multiple consoles. What a great time.
@@NikateeN Agree bro. Options were nice, and we had them in everything genre (especially with WWF and NFL games. Now it's just one company for both....). I was lucky that my friend had an N64 because I only had a PlayStation. He let me borrow his 64 Alot while dating my sister lol, so I was lucky to experience those games on both systems thanks to him. One more thing. Nice touch adding the TMNT Tournament Fighters music to this video 🙂.
This is my feeling as well. Anothe reason why I am excited for AEW's game. A mix of Yukes/Aki team. They know fans miss that type of game engine and it is theirs to provide to us.
I remember i turned 12 in March of 2000. I begged my older sister for this game and she took me to Gamestop and got it for me. I remember the the guy behind the counter handing it to me and my excitement just turning it over reading the back of the case and going "wow" at all the pictures too happy lol. One of my best memories with her ive never been so happy or excited over a game. I still bring it up and thank her to this day. Was blown away/obsessed with this game for months
Thanks for sharing Junior! I can still vividly remember my purchase of WWF Attitude and it was very similar. We were at a mall shopping for back to school and the game had JUST dropped. I begged my mom for the entire mall visit to get the game and she finally caved, stating “that means less clothes for school though” which I could care less about. 😂 I stared at the box the entire rest of the day until we got home and then I played that game nonstop for the remainder of summer vacation. I miss having that sort of passion for video games, because those days are long behind me. Even games I’m excited for don’t get those extended plays from me like they once did.
@@NikateeN Yea same here! Id get all worked up reading up on an upcoming game in my Game Informer for months constantly re-reading the same articles and updates abt it, studying the pictures. Then wen id get the game id read the entire game booklet thoroughly on the way home from the store get super amped up and literally run to the living room to play it as soon as we got home. Stay obsessed with a game for months on end really appreciating everything from the story to the graphics to the menus and soundtrack etc. I dont think anything nowadays will ever see that sort of passion from me lol kinda sad
Fun fact: AKI wanted to develop the WWF PS2 titles after No Mercy but obviously we would be graced with the Yukes developed games. Behold Def Jam Vendetta. Also I love this game but I will say it's a little hard to play these days when SmackDown 2 was more fine tuned.
@@MR.__G Yea so basically they wanted to work on PS2 WWF titles but that was given to yukes. So the went over WCW and started development on the new WCW game which eventually morphed into Def Jam Vendetta after the purchase
I really enjoy this game. When I first played it back in 2018, I was blown away by how great and fun it was for PS1 standards. I heard this was one of, if not the first wrestling game on the PS1 to have a lot of features that made gamers go “whoa!”, such as a lot of match types, and all that, that weren’t featured in other games at the time. Also heard it was the first PS1 wrestling game to get critical acclaim/positive reviews. If I’m wrong, I’m sorry as I don’t know everything. I love the arcade like gameplay, as it creates more hectic and fun moments in my opinion. The simplified controls over the MK-like controls of the past was a god-send. Although I prefer the AKI games over the first two SmackDown games, I still have fun with this one and SmackDown 2 still to this day. Great review, homie and I really hope you had a fantastic holiday and I hope you have a wonderful new year. Much love to you, man.❤️
@@SaudiSymbol Smackdown 1 was generic but 2 was very replayable and had the longest season mode. Smackdown 2 was miles better than Just Bring It on Ps2
The O.G. of wrestling game reviews is back. Bro I did the same thing recording entrance music with a small tape recorder. Just to use for my figures. I did the same with Attitude's music lol. I couldn't agree more with entrances and set.
The 🐐 Nikateen returns! Dope video idea. My thoughts on some games have changed throughout the years. It's always Dope going back to all of these games as time goes by.
SD's menus have that Y2K aesthetic over that gritty WWF Attitude look that No Mercy and even War Zone have with backstage chain link fence and barrels. RIP NXT 1.0
This was great idea thank you for the great video. Been a fan of your wrestling review videos for sometime now as someone now close to the 30's who grew up playing these major original releases its great taking a look back at how influential these games were flaws and all! I still have all my original wrestling PS1 games in my wrestling collection such as Smackdown!, WCW Backstage Assault, WWF Attitude, and WCW Mayhem
I first had WWF SmackDown in April of 2000 I was 15 years old at the time it was an early birthday present my birthday was in May and I was completely blown away by it
Yes, please do Smackdown 2 as well! I'd rate this one a 6.0 out of 10, it wasn't the worse game ever; but it came up short compared to much more intricate games like Revenge or No Mercy. Those had a wider variety of moves, bigger rosters and more things in the form of unlockable stuff.
I enjoyed Smackdown 2 and Fire Pro much more than No Mercy when I was a kid but now that I'm playing it with the forever Indy mod I'm enjoying it much more and getting deeper into the systems.
I remember when smack down came out I was blown away by WM2000 and No Mercy just took the cake I just remember how blown away I was when you fell on the canvas in the ring an the apron would move an the turn buckles only thing bad about this game was the entrances.
Remember reading about special referee mode in Playstation magazine as a kid and it blew my mind! Spent so many hours on this with friends when it came out and not a single second was wasted (sequels and N64 games were better obviously) Love your vids, keep up the good work dude
I remember when Smackdown Ps1 first came out, I had to go over to my cousins house to play it. I thought the graphics were so cool compared to the N64 games I was used to. I wanted the game so bad the second I saw live entrance videos. I was so excited about the game that I ignored the things I didn’t like such as the entrances, and no title belts in the game, when I finally got the game I played it for hours at night as a kid before my mom made me turn it off. Early 2000’s was a good time to be a kid/preteen. By the way I love the futuristic main menu music from Smackdown 1 and 2. thats what made the game stand out to me.
This was my favorite WWF game upon release. Smackdown 2 improved on every shortcoming this game had, however few they were. Better Create options, more match options, AMAZING career mode, better entrances. This game paved the way for what became my old PlayStation's most played game.
I'm right there with you. Entrances in wrestling video games were one of the most important aspects to me. And no matter how fun a wrestling game was, if they messed up on the entrances then my enjoyment with them was severely hindered. Same thing goes for the other way around. If the entrances were really well done and the gameplay wasn't so good I would still have a much better time with the game. Raw one and raw two for example had perfect entrances. But the gameplay was a little to be desired. I still put many hours into both games
I can watch wrestling game reviews forever. Fell down the wrestling lore rabbit hole recently and remembered I needed my game review fix. I'm kind of pissed I never played this game. I collected every PlayStation/Xbox/Gamecube wrestling game I could find (unfortunately played the WCW PS1 titles) and I played every Smackdown game besides this one. Maybe I got distracted with Here Comes the Pain and Smackdown vs Raw 2007. Always love the reviews and your comedy bits. I like how you go into detail when it comes to things like attires and if the game modes hold up. Man. I'm sad that pick up and play games like this seem to be non-existent now and we're stuck with overly technical games with slow movement. I've been too spoiled by the classics. These tutorial ass games can suck it.
Thanks for the kind words! You’re right, those pick up and play games were great. Especially now as I’m older with limited time, I don’t have the time to sit through tutorials and slow gameplay and all that, I just want to play!
I never played any of the PS1 Smackdown titles... my first SD game was "Just Bring It" on PS2. I played Warzone and Attitude, and I LIVED World Tour and Revenge back in the day (and that's not a typo... I LIVED those games), but I was out doin' dumb shit for most of the PS1 era... though I had a PS, I only ever played MK Trilogy, Twisted Metal, WCW v The World, Power Move Pro Wrestling, and the aforementioned WWF games. So I'll definitely be adding this and SD2 to my collection. Another awesome video, Nik! Oh yeah... definitely revisit as many of the other games as you feel necessary. I mean, it has been several years, and opinions/perspectives change over time. I'll watch em' all, just like I did the first time around!
I'm surprised you've never really gone into the weird and unique for the series RPG elements with CAWs (such as most moves being only usable depending on your move level) and the JBI-esque Pre-Season Mode's branching paths to unlock Characteristics. Unlocking Characteristics is basically the single player endgame after all. That being said I wouldn't be surprised if most people who played SD! avoided really engaging with the CAW side of the game due to how bad the appearance part of CAWs was. SD! has some odd elements that were never brought over to later games but I never knew anything about them until I actually played the game myself since nobody ever talks about them. It's also worth noting to anyone who plays the game that it was announced alongside SD!2. To me it gives the game kind of a "early access SD!2" vibe, by buying the game you're basically getting an extended preview for SD!2. Side note, but SD!2 tripled the number of backstage segments, but even so SD!'s Hardcore mode is a whole reason to get the game on its own at the time. It was such a great mode and WM2000 simply didn't have anything like it. Even No Mercy's backstage almost feels like it's trying to catch up with SD!
I plan on covering the most recent one soon. There’s just a whole lot to learn as I’ve still never played it, so it’s one of those productions that will take me twice as long as most videos, and those already take up so much of my time. So basically I haven’t touched them yet out of convenience, but I definitely plan to one of these days!
4:22 That promising rookie is gonna be big one day, mate. He might be go one-on-one with Hulkster and as well as The Hitman at WrestleMania, mate. He's gonna have a really great career and they should push him better because he's main event worthy and gonna be the future Hall of Famer because he's gonna be a real Legend.
Your wrestling game reviews are my absolute favorite you clearly have a gift bro. I really would love to see you review 007 Goldeneye and The World is not Enough. Interested in a trip down memory lane
Yes Happy Holidays Nikateen I actually still have a copy of WWF SmackDown on the PS1 hey are there going to be more videos coming for 2022 and are u ever going to do a re review of Smackdown Here Comes The Pain
When this game was released I was 17 and was working my first job as an adult. I bought WWF Smackdown for the PS1 with one of my first paychecks and I spent hours playing it. I’ll admit it wasn’t on the same level as the n64 WWF games, but compared to WCW Nitro/Thunder or WWF Warzone/Attitude, it was revolutionary. I got hours of gameplay on end out of the season mode and it was the first PS1 wrestling game that had really well done cutscenes in season mode. The graphics weren’t great but neither were the graphics on the n64 games. The only real downside was the fast paced arcade style of gameplay but some enjoyed that aspect. This game was a big deal because it was a huge step up from anything else on that console.
im just like you as far as entrances. To me it's a huge part of not just wrestling games but wrestling itself. Im still annoyed by Smackdown 1 & 2 not having proper entrances. I remember watching your vids back in like 2015. Cool to see your reviews getting more attention bro:)
14:14 Nikateen in 2000? O.O 17:47 I though you gonna mention the "inspiration" taken from Good God by Korn jajaj that and the Season Mode Match Card are my favourite tunes from the game (which is also an inspiration, this from Bombtrack by Rage Against The Machine). I loved so much this game many years ago when I played it a lot. Many of you will probably hate me, but I stopped playing the AKI titles when I started with SmackDown!. Since then until today I prefer more the arcade gameplay instead of simulation on wrestling games. Great re-review! I'm waiting for others and reviews for the recent WWE games.
I feel Smackdown 2 was better in almost every way - or at least a massive amount of QoL improvements with basically the same fun gameplay. I spent an extreme amount of time with 2 (and its far better CAW mode) but really struggled to go back to this one after.
The WWE games on GameCube (made with two AKI/No Mercy vets on Lead Desgin) like WWE Day of Reckoning let you store specials and use the No Mercy-like Special status. You can't really hit special moves by surpise like the SD games, however.
I am 9000% biased towards AKI. I was an N64 kid. No Mercy was my first wrestling games and I assumed all games played like AKI engine games, and I was unpleasantly surpised. When I played SVR I was surprised that with the better tech I saw stiffer animations and CAWS that outright looked like computer characters. That I had to sit through long People's Elbow animations rather than manually doing it myselfs, elbow pads coming off be damned. I'm trying to play a game not watch warps and mid-match cutscenes. That said, even tho I see a couple things I don't like in the new AEW trailers like Jungle Boy's Springboard Arm Drag as a corner move instead of a front grapple as AKI might have done, but I think WWE and later 2K and also 9 month development cycles really hamstrung their creativity. I'm excited to see what they can do with Geta from AKI, though I don't expect much from a first effort with a new engine from scratch. Took AKI and Yuke's several games to get out the gate and Acclaim never achieved much even after 3 or 4 games, IMO
The first wrestling game I played was wwf attitude and later meet the wwf smackdown 1 and my mind was blowing I was like a "this game it's so fast and the buttons an moves easy to do" in that time smackdown 1 and 2 where too realistic to me
Love the revisited videos! They’re some of my favorite videos of yours! Have you reviewed legends of wrestling 2? I can’t seem to find that on your channel! 😭 and if you have time can you do a review on WWE 2K20? I wanna hear your opinion and thoughts soooo bad lol
Like, especially because you’re super sensitive about CAW modes (cause I am too!) The graphics for the create a superstar was so weird to me and stood out from the actual wrestlers. I wanna hear your thoughts. Happy holidays to you!
Would enjoy vids made from 2k18 to present especially with 2k22 almost out . Re watched your your vids a lot and enjoy them made me grab a ps2 and get some old titles .
I actually thought this game and Smackdown 2 was better than the AKI games at the time. For starters I never seen Revenge or Wrestlemania 2000 outside of rental stores and the one cousin who randomly owned Revenge. No mercy I saw once at walmart for 89.99 you can imagine how expensive that was back in 2000 while SD and most new PS1 games were 59.99 max. So obviously it was easier to convince my parents to buy it for me. I was like only 7 or 8 at the time. I happened to own WCW vs NWO World Tour and while I did enjoy that I didn't know who most of the wrestlers were as I wasn't a WCW fan and my family didnt even get the channel WCW came on so I had no way to watch it. So I spent a lot of time playing shit like Attitude and Warzone. Smackdown 1 was a godsend to in comparison to Attitude and SD2 was even better. They were also the first wrestling games my young self was able to figure out how to hit finishers in as the AKI games never really explained how to do it in game at all. The move list editor just said analog stick never said you had to do hard grapple first. Nowadays I prefer the gameplay of AKI but SD2 has the better Season mode as it's like a never ending random shit storm thats fun as hell and can be played with like 4 players. Never could stand the story modes in AKI games that got ridiculously hard and had points where you failed if you lost. I prefer when I can lose and the story continues on. I think Fire Pro is better than both tbh but there's still a reason to play each game series. Smackdown has the season modes and GM Mode and decent gameplay with a pretty good CAW mode, AKI has the gameplay with decent CAW mode and attire editing, Fire Pro has the deep creation with AI editing as well as great gameplay.
I must concur that entrances are a huge part of the game and I'll never forget being blown away by WWF attitude and the actual man that was awesome. But when this came out I too was so disappointed like I never understood it and I guess it's because they were adding you so much other features but honestly without the entrances it's not complete. A question I have for you though are you a fan of all elite wrestling and did you ever think that would be a company that would put WWE down again?
They definitely haven’t put WWE down by any means. Ratings and attendance are both low right now for WWE but they are still extremely profitable from ad revenue and merchandise. With that being said, I haven’t watched much AEW as I don’t have cable but from what I’ve seen, I’ve enjoyed it more than the current WWE product.
Smackdown was definitely a better change of pace compared to War Zone and Attitude and way more fun to just grab a controller and play especially being 12 at the time. Always owning a Playstation Smackdown was definitely a breath of fresh air late it the PS1's cycle. Outside of WCW vs. The World & Mayhem was decent for what it was, all of the WCW games on Playstation were terrible even back then. Smackdown 2 still hits more on the nostalgia scale for me over Smackdown. Flashbacks of constantly renting Smackdown 1 & 2 at Blockbuster until I actually owned it and still have both to this day wouldn't mind if Smackdown 2 is revisited at some point. Smackdown sparked years of enjoyment as a Playstation owner heading into the next gen of consoles and beyond. Always enjoyed it for what it was.
Man, the memories of renting games from Blockbuster and Hollywood Video. I was lucky enough that I usually got every wrestling title upon release day, but other than that most games were rentals for me. Good times!
I remember wondering why Bubba Ray was spelled Buh Buh Ray in these games until it was later spelled correctly then I realized it was a reference to his stuttering impediment at tha time|
Aside from the overly arcade gameplay these were great titles. I still prefer AKI games but Smackdown 1 & 2 were really good, I especially liked the seasons. Also Smackdown 1 was what I had always hoped WCW Nitro would have been.
The Outlaws also have hilarious pictures from when they returned to WWE and won the tag titles. They're making funny faces and on top of that WWE photoshopped them smooth as flan.
I remember getting this back in the day. Picked it up from Kmart and got Dominos on the way home. Popped it in and was blown away. People that never played these games will look at this and be disgusted but us hardcore WWF fans(in the ps1 era) went from War Zone and Attitude to this. It was a HUGE improvement. I remember being blown away that the hair moved, lol.
Same here except I got the game from Walmart and got pizza from Pizza Hit if I recall correctly. This game had a lot of flash and flare that other wrestling games on the ps1 just didn’t have.
We all miss good ole Kmart 😂
Yeah, it was so refreshing to finally be able to play a wrestling game that was easier to play than Warzone. If you want to strike, just press X and hit O to grab them, then press L1 for the finisher (when it's time to do it). It's that simple.
Seriously, it was amazing. I played an absurd amount of Smackdown 2 back when lol
Yeah this one was so great being a kid back in the day awesome memories 😊
Would love to see a Smackdown 2 revisited soon!
Just have to wait 4 mins for it to load 😂
This one paved the way. Truly the start of something special
I never understood why the early Smackdown games had the logos of the arenas plastered on the center of the rings. It carried over into Just Bring It! For some reason it bothered me as a kid 😂🤦🏻♂️
You have the option to change what you want the ring mat to look like. You can change it before you start a match if I remember correctly.
As a pure N64 owner, I mastered the AKI titles, but when I played Smackdown games at a friend's house, I would always feel completely lost, all I could do was admire the graphics as they all whooped my ass lol
Never understand why these classics became overlooked throughout the years, No Mercy is literally the n64 version of SD2, they where both awesome in there own ways. The Smackdown games where more fast paced action packed, had cool backstage areas, wrestlers actual music enstead of a low res loop, more match types, and better graphics. The N64 games you had better moves sets, better caws, bigger rosters, actual arenas of PPVs instead of generic stage with the ppvs logo on the ring apron. Also You could hack the n64 games with a gameshark and create almost endless features. So it just depends on the mood you where in but they where both fun and both awesome to grow up with.
I’ve started collecting old wrestling games and I literally got this game for Christmas yesterday lol. Perfect timing!
I remember playing this one, and thought it was the greatest thing ever. The problem: i had never played the n64 ones despite owning a 64. I owned WWF warzone, and was horribly tired of it and didn't have the money to buy anything new. Didn't know WrestleMania 2000 existed
Warzone was my first WWF game. WWF games in 3D were brand new so I didn't know what to expect. But God you needed to have an entire page worth of notes to do common moves and finishers. Just was not a game to pick up and play. Attitude was the same thing with a better roster. Smackdown and Wrestlemania 2000 just changed the game with the easy pick up and play mechanics and I found myself never going back to those Acclaim games. I guess they just couldn't crack the code but THQ got it right and then some.
I rented this game from Blockbuster when it came out. I felt disappointed, mainly because I was spoiled by playing WrestleMania 2000 (which I thought was the perfect wrestling game at the time). Glad that they improved this series drastically with "Know your role", but even that didn't beat the N64 wrestling games. Good video bro.
Thanks! It’s funny because I can definitely relate to your experience. There are a lot of people though that didn’t grow up with the AKI titles or just plain didn’t like them, so SmackDown! appealed so much more to them. We can definitely all agree though that as wrestling fans it was a fantastic time, as we had options. Especially if you were lucky enough to own multiple consoles. What a great time.
@@NikateeN Agree bro. Options were nice, and we had them in everything genre (especially with WWF and NFL games. Now it's just one company for both....). I was lucky that my friend had an N64 because I only had a PlayStation. He let me borrow his 64 Alot while dating my sister lol, so I was lucky to experience those games on both systems thanks to him.
One more thing. Nice touch adding the TMNT Tournament Fighters music to this video 🙂.
This is my feeling as well. Anothe reason why I am excited for AEW's game. A mix of Yukes/Aki team. They know fans miss that type of game engine and it is theirs to provide to us.
This game still has the best season mode out of all the smackdown games imo
I will never get tired of watching videos about any PS1 Wrestling games. I wish ECW and WCW got more love.
I didn’t get a chance to play the PS1 Smackdown games considering that I was 2 years old when both games came out. Thank goodness for TH-cam.
I was 4 in 2000 but Thankfully my cousin bought the game in 2002 so I got to play it as a kid.
Its still ahead of its time. I still love it.
I remember i turned 12 in March of 2000. I begged my older sister for this game and she took me to Gamestop and got it for me. I remember the the guy behind the counter handing it to me and my excitement just turning it over reading the back of the case and going "wow" at all the pictures too happy lol. One of my best memories with her ive never been so happy or excited over a game. I still bring it up and thank her to this day. Was blown away/obsessed with this game for months
Thanks for sharing Junior! I can still vividly remember my purchase of WWF Attitude and it was very similar. We were at a mall shopping for back to school and the game had JUST dropped. I begged my mom for the entire mall visit to get the game and she finally caved, stating “that means less clothes for school though” which I could care less about. 😂 I stared at the box the entire rest of the day until we got home and then I played that game nonstop for the remainder of summer vacation. I miss having that sort of passion for video games, because those days are long behind me. Even games I’m excited for don’t get those extended plays from me like they once did.
@@NikateeN Yea same here! Id get all worked up reading up on an upcoming game in my Game Informer for months constantly re-reading the same articles and updates abt it, studying the pictures. Then wen id get the game id read the entire game booklet thoroughly on the way home from the store get super amped up and literally run to the living room to play it as soon as we got home. Stay obsessed with a game for months on end really appreciating everything from the story to the graphics to the menus and soundtrack etc. I dont think anything nowadays will ever see that sort of passion from me lol kinda sad
Fun fact: AKI wanted to develop the WWF PS2 titles after No Mercy but obviously we would be graced with the Yukes developed games. Behold Def Jam Vendetta.
Also I love this game but I will say it's a little hard to play these days when SmackDown 2 was more fine tuned.
I thought they were going to work on mayhem 2 but wwf bought out wcw. Then def jam took its place.
@@MR.__G Yea so basically they wanted to work on PS2 WWF titles but that was given to yukes. So the went over WCW and started development on the new WCW game which eventually morphed into Def Jam Vendetta after the purchase
One of my favorite games of all time
I really enjoy this game. When I first played it back in 2018, I was blown away by how great and fun it was for PS1 standards. I heard this was one of, if not the first wrestling game on the PS1 to have a lot of features that made gamers go “whoa!”, such as a lot of match types, and all that, that weren’t featured in other games at the time. Also heard it was the first PS1 wrestling game to get critical acclaim/positive reviews. If I’m wrong, I’m sorry as I don’t know everything. I love the arcade like gameplay, as it creates more hectic and fun moments in my opinion. The simplified controls over the MK-like controls of the past was a god-send. Although I prefer the AKI games over the first two SmackDown games, I still have fun with this one and SmackDown 2 still to this day. Great review, homie and I really hope you had a fantastic holiday and I hope you have a wonderful new year. Much love to you, man.❤️
Thanks man! Happy Holidays brother!
Lol but how. Bro. Nothing to really do in the game. No mercy and wrestlemania 2000 was way better lol.
@@SaudiSymbol Smackdown 1 was generic but 2 was very replayable and had the longest season mode. Smackdown 2 was miles better than Just Bring It on Ps2
The O.G. of wrestling game reviews is back. Bro I did the same thing recording entrance music with a small tape recorder. Just to use for my figures. I did the same with Attitude's music lol. I couldn't agree more with entrances and set.
The 🐐 Nikateen returns! Dope video idea. My thoughts on some games have changed throughout the years. It's always Dope going back to all of these games as time goes by.
SmackDown! was always an underrated & underappreciated game. Great to see you revisit it!
Great to see you back revisiting these games 😁💛
Loved your original reviews of the old wrestling games, have watched them back many times now haha
Thanks a lot! I plan on revisiting them all in due time!
SD's menus have that Y2K aesthetic over that gritty WWF Attitude look that No Mercy and even War Zone have with backstage chain link fence and barrels. RIP NXT 1.0
Dude your editing in this one is off the charts good. So many great little moments.
Thanks!
Except for the constant focus shift. So tiring to watch!
@@buhshmuh you should make a 3rd comment about it! 😭
Well I'm glad that you went back and reviewed it hopefully you do know your role
A video detailing the history and progress of backstage areas from all the games would be cool
This was great idea thank you for the great video. Been a fan of your wrestling review videos for sometime now as someone now close to the 30's who grew up playing these major original releases its great taking a look back at how influential these games were flaws and all! I still have all my original wrestling PS1 games in my wrestling collection such as Smackdown!, WCW Backstage Assault, WWF Attitude, and WCW Mayhem
Hang on to those gems! Thanks for being a regular, I appreciate the support dude!
I first had WWF SmackDown in April of 2000 I was 15 years old at the time it was an early birthday present my birthday was in May and I was completely blown away by it
Awesome video bro, this is why you are in my top 3 of my favorite youtubers
Thanks a lot dude!
@@NikateeN No problem bro, you should revisit WWE 2k14
Yes, please do Smackdown 2 as well! I'd rate this one a 6.0 out of 10, it wasn't the worse game ever; but it came up short compared to much more intricate games like Revenge or No Mercy. Those had a wider variety of moves, bigger rosters and more things in the form of unlockable stuff.
I enjoyed Smackdown 2 and Fire Pro much more than No Mercy when I was a kid but now that I'm playing it with the forever Indy mod I'm enjoying it much more and getting deeper into the systems.
The elbow pad leaving off The Rocks arm out did Revenge and No Mercy alone lol
However this was the first wwf game that was actually good on PlayStation. It blew attitude & warzone out the water. Good step in the right direction
I'm replayin all the smackdown games with a royal rumble challenge. this one is next up. would love for you to stop in homie. and great work as always
I remember when smack down came out I was blown away by WM2000 and No Mercy just took the cake I just remember how blown away I was when you fell on the canvas in the ring an the apron would move an the turn buckles only thing bad about this game was the entrances.
Playing this back in the day was addicting. I still have Smackdown 1 and 2 on the Shelf don't play them but keep them for the Memories.
Was that before or after you tried playing “hide the soul” with Andy?!
Remember reading about special referee mode in Playstation magazine as a kid and it blew my mind! Spent so many hours on this with friends when it came out and not a single second was wasted (sequels and N64 games were better obviously) Love your vids, keep up the good work dude
Thanks a lot man!
Here come the pain bots
One of my favourite games!
I remember when Smackdown Ps1 first came out, I had to go over to my cousins house to play it. I thought the graphics were so cool compared to the N64 games I was used to. I wanted the game so bad the second I saw live entrance videos. I was so excited about the game that I ignored the things I didn’t like such as the entrances, and no title belts in the game, when I finally got the game I played it for hours at night as a kid before my mom made me turn it off. Early 2000’s was a good time to be a kid/preteen. By the way I love the futuristic main menu music from Smackdown 1 and 2. thats what made the game stand out to me.
No worries brother. Entrances were a huge plus for me in those days. But I still played the hell outta this game. I wore it the fuck out!
This was my favorite WWF game upon release. Smackdown 2 improved on every shortcoming this game had, however few they were. Better Create options, more match options, AMAZING career mode, better entrances. This game paved the way for what became my old PlayStation's most played game.
You should revisit every wrestling game.
I'm right there with you. Entrances in wrestling video games were one of the most important aspects to me. And no matter how fun a wrestling game was, if they messed up on the entrances then my enjoyment with them was severely hindered. Same thing goes for the other way around. If the entrances were really well done and the gameplay wasn't so good I would still have a much better time with the game. Raw one and raw two for example had perfect entrances. But the gameplay was a little to be desired. I still put many hours into both games
I can watch wrestling game reviews forever. Fell down the wrestling lore rabbit hole recently and remembered I needed my game review fix. I'm kind of pissed I never played this game. I collected every PlayStation/Xbox/Gamecube wrestling game I could find (unfortunately played the WCW PS1 titles) and I played every Smackdown game besides this one. Maybe I got distracted with Here Comes the Pain and Smackdown vs Raw 2007.
Always love the reviews and your comedy bits. I like how you go into detail when it comes to things like attires and if the game modes hold up. Man. I'm sad that pick up and play games like this seem to be non-existent now and we're stuck with overly technical games with slow movement. I've been too spoiled by the classics. These tutorial ass games can suck it.
Thanks for the kind words! You’re right, those pick up and play games were great. Especially now as I’m older with limited time, I don’t have the time to sit through tutorials and slow gameplay and all that, I just want to play!
I never played any of the PS1 Smackdown titles... my first SD game was "Just Bring It" on PS2.
I played Warzone and Attitude, and I LIVED World Tour and Revenge back in the day (and that's not a typo... I LIVED those games), but I was out doin' dumb shit for most of the PS1 era... though I had a PS, I only ever played MK Trilogy, Twisted Metal, WCW v The World, Power Move Pro Wrestling, and the aforementioned WWF games.
So I'll definitely be adding this and SD2 to my collection. Another awesome video, Nik!
Oh yeah... definitely revisit as many of the other games as you feel necessary.
I mean, it has been several years, and opinions/perspectives change over time.
I'll watch em' all, just like I did the first time around!
I'm surprised you've never really gone into the weird and unique for the series RPG elements with CAWs (such as most moves being only usable depending on your move level) and the JBI-esque Pre-Season Mode's branching paths to unlock Characteristics. Unlocking Characteristics is basically the single player endgame after all. That being said I wouldn't be surprised if most people who played SD! avoided really engaging with the CAW side of the game due to how bad the appearance part of CAWs was.
SD! has some odd elements that were never brought over to later games but I never knew anything about them until I actually played the game myself since nobody ever talks about them. It's also worth noting to anyone who plays the game that it was announced alongside SD!2. To me it gives the game kind of a "early access SD!2" vibe, by buying the game you're basically getting an extended preview for SD!2.
Side note, but SD!2 tripled the number of backstage segments, but even so SD!'s Hardcore mode is a whole reason to get the game on its own at the time. It was such a great mode and WM2000 simply didn't have anything like it. Even No Mercy's backstage almost feels like it's trying to catch up with SD!
Great Video as always! Its crazy how old this game is now... I grow up with SmackDown 2...
Thanks! Yea it’s a trip, I can remember buying this game on release day at KB Toys. Feels like yesterday!
@@NikateeN I missed out on this one but I played SmackDown 2 with my friends and brother the whole year.. good old days^^
Dammmmn😆. . I seriously don't remember you going that hard the first time. BYW needs a revisit too.!!
Quality Video bro. Big fan.
Still waiting for the Super Fire Pro Wrestling reviews tho.
Lol. Nothin but love man.
I plan on covering the most recent one soon. There’s just a whole lot to learn as I’ve still never played it, so it’s one of those productions that will take me twice as long as most videos, and those already take up so much of my time. So basically I haven’t touched them yet out of convenience, but I definitely plan to one of these days!
Yes I would love to watch a revisit of the smack down games !!
4:22 That promising rookie is gonna be big one day, mate.
He might be go one-on-one with Hulkster and as well as The Hitman at WrestleMania, mate.
He's gonna have a really great career and they should push him better because he's main event worthy and gonna be the future Hall of Famer because he's gonna be a real Legend.
You can play 'mirror matches' in prototypes of this game, btw.
dope vids brother watching all of these now!
Thanks!
Your wrestling game reviews are my absolute favorite you clearly have a gift bro. I really would love to see you review 007 Goldeneye and The World is not Enough. Interested in a trip down memory lane
Thanks a lot! I love those games, it would be fun to cover those.
Yes Happy Holidays Nikateen I actually still have a copy of WWF SmackDown on the PS1 hey are there going to be more videos coming for 2022 and are u ever going to do a re review of Smackdown Here Comes The Pain
I've been following this channel for the better part of 8 years and love what I see. Fuck a regular upload schedule
Haha! Thanks a lot for the support, it’s truly appreciated!!
When this game was released I was 17 and was working my first job as an adult. I bought WWF Smackdown for the PS1 with one of my first paychecks and I spent hours playing it. I’ll admit it wasn’t on the same level as the n64 WWF games, but compared to WCW Nitro/Thunder or WWF Warzone/Attitude, it was revolutionary. I got hours of gameplay on end out of the season mode and it was the first PS1 wrestling game that had really well done cutscenes in season mode. The graphics weren’t great but neither were the graphics on the n64 games. The only real downside was the fast paced arcade style of gameplay but some enjoyed that aspect. This game was a big deal because it was a huge step up from anything else on that console.
The 1st 2 smackdowns are 2nd favs. WWF games 1st being No Mercy and Wrestlemania 2000
im just like you as far as entrances. To me it's a huge part of not just wrestling games but wrestling itself. Im still annoyed by Smackdown 1 & 2 not having proper entrances. I remember watching your vids back in like 2015. Cool to see your reviews getting more attention bro:)
Thanks a lot Jake! Entrance junkies unite! 😂
@@NikateeN entrances matter people!!! lol
Finally bro. Well documented
14:14 Nikateen in 2000? O.O
17:47 I though you gonna mention the "inspiration" taken from Good God by Korn jajaj that and the Season Mode Match Card are my favourite tunes from the game (which is also an inspiration, this from Bombtrack by Rage Against The Machine).
I loved so much this game many years ago when I played it a lot. Many of you will probably hate me, but I stopped playing the AKI titles when I started with SmackDown!. Since then until today I prefer more the arcade gameplay instead of simulation on wrestling games.
Great re-review! I'm waiting for others and reviews for the recent WWE games.
I find it hilarious how these wrestlers are able to easily swing a hundred pound casket with ease.
Haha
The PPV set was modeled after The Arrowhead Pond in LA and you could do title matches in Smackdown and Smackdown 2
You got me with the video is unavailable. I really thought that happened 😂
😆 😎
@5:35 same here my friend! It was hard not yo expect WM 2000 level full entrances. I used to tap my ps1 to make just the Trons Play on their own 😂
I like WWF Smackdown it's a great video game on Playstation 1 and this is an awesome video from Nikateen
Thank you!
The game that changed the WWE video games series forever.
Loved this video! My main dislike of the game was the use of titantron instead of entrance stage!!! Can’t wait for the SmackDown 2 video!!!
Thanks! We can definitely agree on the entrances.
Welcome Back Nikateen
i Hope You Can Review Smackdown
Mod Games Too On
Playstation And PSP Emulator
Thank you. I currently don’t have a way to play those, so it’s not something planned for the channel.
Great content bro!
Thanks a lot!
5:35 i think most fans back then especially the kids would agree with this take. It was a big deal to us.
I feel Smackdown 2 was better in almost every way - or at least a massive amount of QoL improvements with basically the same fun gameplay. I spent an extreme amount of time with 2 (and its far better CAW mode) but really struggled to go back to this one after.
Be great to see a raw and raw 2 REview on the Xbox, loved those game's and wish they had continued the series
The WWE games on GameCube (made with two AKI/No Mercy vets on Lead Desgin) like WWE Day of Reckoning let you store specials and use the No Mercy-like Special status. You can't really hit special moves by surpise like the SD games, however.
I loved season mode I played chris Jericho ranked him all the way to number 1....its just the entrances....they blowed
I am 9000% biased towards AKI. I was an N64 kid. No Mercy was my first wrestling games and I assumed all games played like AKI engine games, and I was unpleasantly surpised. When I played SVR I was surprised that with the better tech I saw stiffer animations and CAWS that outright looked like computer characters. That I had to sit through long People's Elbow animations rather than manually doing it myselfs, elbow pads coming off be damned. I'm trying to play a game not watch warps and mid-match cutscenes.
That said, even tho I see a couple things I don't like in the new AEW trailers like Jungle Boy's Springboard Arm Drag as a corner move instead of a front grapple as AKI might have done, but I think WWE and later 2K and also 9 month development cycles really hamstrung their creativity. I'm excited to see what they can do with Geta from AKI, though I don't expect much from a first effort with a new engine from scratch. Took AKI and Yuke's several games to get out the gate and Acclaim never achieved much even after 3 or 4 games, IMO
This was a pleasant surprise!
The first wrestling game I played was wwf attitude and later meet the wwf smackdown 1 and my mind was blowing I was like a "this game it's so fast and the buttons an moves easy to do" in that time smackdown 1 and 2 where too realistic to me
Love the revisited videos! They’re some of my favorite videos of yours! Have you reviewed legends of wrestling 2? I can’t seem to find that on your channel! 😭 and if you have time can you do a review on WWE 2K20? I wanna hear your opinion and thoughts soooo bad lol
Like, especially because you’re super sensitive about CAW modes (cause I am too!) The graphics for the create a superstar was so weird to me and stood out from the actual wrestlers. I wanna hear your thoughts. Happy holidays to you!
Thanks man! Happy Holidays to you as well!
It’s been a while since I heard Kayin’s theme. Nice choice!
happy to see you doing well ❤
Thanks!
Would enjoy vids made from 2k18 to present especially with 2k22 almost out . Re watched your your vids a lot and enjoy them made me grab a ps2 and get some old titles .
Thanks! I’m sure I will tackle the newer titles sooner than later. I’ve got to get my hands on them, I’ve never even bothered to play them.
@@NikateeN ❤️❤️
WWF smackdown ! & know your role are my favorite wrestling games. Prefer it over the warzone & such
Pour Stone Cold. They used to make him look like he just came out of the womb 😂😂
Road doggs face 😂😂😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣LMFAO Big shows face too
Nice video game review man 😎!
Thanks!
Loved playing this Game
Ah sweet!
I started with the aki n64 games so I never got in to the smackdown games
I actually thought this game and Smackdown 2 was better than the AKI games at the time. For starters I never seen Revenge or Wrestlemania 2000 outside of rental stores and the one cousin who randomly owned Revenge. No mercy I saw once at walmart for 89.99 you can imagine how expensive that was back in 2000 while SD and most new PS1 games were 59.99 max. So obviously it was easier to convince my parents to buy it for me. I was like only 7 or 8 at the time. I happened to own WCW vs NWO World Tour and while I did enjoy that I didn't know who most of the wrestlers were as I wasn't a WCW fan and my family didnt even get the channel WCW came on so I had no way to watch it. So I spent a lot of time playing shit like Attitude and Warzone. Smackdown 1 was a godsend to in comparison to Attitude and SD2 was even better. They were also the first wrestling games my young self was able to figure out how to hit finishers in as the AKI games never really explained how to do it in game at all. The move list editor just said analog stick never said you had to do hard grapple first. Nowadays I prefer the gameplay of AKI but SD2 has the better Season mode as it's like a never ending random shit storm thats fun as hell and can be played with like 4 players. Never could stand the story modes in AKI games that got ridiculously hard and had points where you failed if you lost. I prefer when I can lose and the story continues on. I think Fire Pro is better than both tbh but there's still a reason to play each game series. Smackdown has the season modes and GM Mode and decent gameplay with a pretty good CAW mode, AKI has the gameplay with decent CAW mode and attire editing, Fire Pro has the deep creation with AI editing as well as great gameplay.
I must concur that entrances are a huge part of the game and I'll never forget being blown away by WWF attitude and the actual man that was awesome. But when this came out I too was so disappointed like I never understood it and I guess it's because they were adding you so much other features but honestly without the entrances it's not complete. A question I have for you though are you a fan of all elite wrestling and did you ever think that would be a company that would put WWE down again?
They definitely haven’t put WWE down by any means. Ratings and attendance are both low right now for WWE but they are still extremely profitable from ad revenue and merchandise. With that being said, I haven’t watched much AEW as I don’t have cable but from what I’ve seen, I’ve enjoyed it more than the current WWE product.
Happy holidays bro
Same to you dude!
I would describe it as "jagged" ...... And swore that song was boutta be thunderkiss 65
I loved this game!
hope you make more Revisiting Episodes
Thanks! I’ll definitely be doing some more!
Smackdown was definitely a better change of pace compared to War Zone and Attitude and way more fun to just grab a controller and play especially being 12 at the time. Always owning a Playstation Smackdown was definitely a breath of fresh air late it the PS1's cycle. Outside of WCW vs. The World & Mayhem was decent for what it was, all of the WCW games on Playstation were terrible even back then. Smackdown 2 still hits more on the nostalgia scale for me over Smackdown. Flashbacks of constantly renting Smackdown 1 & 2 at Blockbuster until I actually owned it and still have both to this day wouldn't mind if Smackdown 2 is revisited at some point. Smackdown sparked years of enjoyment as a Playstation owner heading into the next gen of consoles and beyond. Always enjoyed it for what it was.
Man, the memories of renting games from Blockbuster and Hollywood Video. I was lucky enough that I usually got every wrestling title upon release day, but other than that most games were rentals for me. Good times!
I remember wondering why Bubba Ray was spelled Buh Buh Ray in these games until it was later spelled correctly then I realized it was a reference to his stuttering impediment at tha time|
Aside from the overly arcade gameplay these were great titles. I still prefer AKI games but Smackdown 1 & 2 were really good, I especially liked the seasons. Also Smackdown 1 was what I had always hoped WCW Nitro would have been.
Well said! Imagine if Nitro had the features and gameplay of SmackDown!
The Outlaws also have hilarious pictures from when they returned to WWE and won the tag titles. They're making funny faces and on top of that WWE photoshopped them smooth as flan.
I’ve still never played the first 2 smackdown games . The oldest one I’ve played is just bring it
0:00 R.I P Scott.
back in a day I was a wrestling weirdo too.
Ken Shamrock was a beast in this game. I could win a match in under a min or 2. Just keep ankle locking the opponent. 🤣