The vast majority of pro wrestling games are either simulators like the WWE 2K series or more arcadey experiences like AEW Fight Forever, and that's exactly why turn-based RPG WrestleQuest stands out from the pack. Developed by Mega Cat Studios, WrestleQuest is a love letter to pro wrestling from the 80s and 90s, giving fans the chance to explore an expansive pro wrestling-themed RPG world.
To ensure that the game is as authentic to the world of pro wrestling as possible, Mega Cat Studios enlisted the aid of Jeff Jarrett, a WWE Hall of Famer and current AEW star who is also featured in the game as one of its recruitable legends. Game ZXC recently had the chance to chat with Jeff Jarrett and Mega Cat's Zack Manko and James Deighan about Jarrett's impact on the game and plans for its future.
This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
Q: Can you explain what kind of input you had on the game's development? Any input you had on things that were featured, how your own character was represented, anything that you may have suggested the developers add to the experience that made it into the game?
Jeff Jarrett: My fancy title is Executive Producer of Wrestling. And what an amazing job [the developers] have done with the game in all facets. I don't like to use the word "real." I've never liked to use that in my industry. I think it's a double-edged sword using that word. But there is a word we have all kind of gravitated around and that's "authentic." I wanted to be authentic to the world of professional wrestling. As you navigate your way through it, whether it's the Easter eggs, the storyline, coming to each town and seeing these massive statues that really pay tribute to the legends in the game - Andre, Macho Man, Road Warriors, Rocky "Soulman" Johnson, JYD - it really pays tribute. It's really respectful.
Q: So correct me if I'm wrong, but the legends in the game, when you recruit them for your party, they're labeled as "managers," right?
Zack Manko: Legends are represented in different ways. Each one has their statue and each one has their side quest, and the side quests are themed after that wrestler. In the case of DDP, his quest is all about this wrestler who's injured, and you can choose how that wrestler gets back on their feet. Do they do the quick and dirty path or do they take the slower path that's healthier through DDP Yoga? And afterward, DDP joins your party as a manager, which is a system we've added where this fourth party member can add abilities to your team or passive bonuses. However, you might end up fighting the other legends. Road Warriors is an early side quest you can run into that culminates in this boss battle in the back of a moving big rig. And if you beat them, then you can unlock them as a summon. They'll come in and do their Doomsday Device finisher in battle. There are different rewards for different legends, and it was all about finding the quest and something RPGish that would fit their ethos, fit the personality of that wrestler.
Q: Are there any classic managers in the game like Bobby Heenan, Jim Cornette, J.J. Dillon, anyone like that? Or just all wrestlers?
James Deighan: Those folks are not in the game, but Jim Cornette has always been on our wish list. But the problem is since we're such serious wrestling fans, we've blown the game out of scope. If you include the side content it's 80 hours. Just the critical path's 40 hours. We can't stop. We have a wrestling addiction. So at some point we had to draw the line, at least unofficially, and start talking about DLC and sequels, things like that. But I wish we would have had Cornette. I'm a huge Cornette fan. I'm in the Cornette Facebook groups. Even when I fell out of following wrestling closely, I was still following the Cornette stuff.
Q: So maybe Jim Cornette DLC or in a sequel though is what I'm hearing?
James Deighan: Nothing's signed yet, but it's on the wish list.
Q: Are there any wrestling legends that you wish could've made the cut?
James Deighan: There were some folks we wanted to include, like Zangief. When you think about the intersection of wrestling and gaming, I'd say Zangief's up there. Zangief's on our wish list. Starman from the NES Pro Wrestling game was on our wish list.
Q: So I know that 90s Jeff Jarrett's in the game. Are there any hints or nods at like Attitude Era Jeff Jarrett, WCW Jarrett, TNA Jarrett, AEW Jarrett?
James Deighan: I wanted to put Jeff into every scene.
Zack Manko: We were talking about making it a Double J RPG, but that's for the future.
James Deighan: We actually have some mannequins on display showing some other nods to different Jeff outfits over the years.
Jeff Jarrett: Get outta here.
James Deighan: We call them Jeffster Eggs.
Q: I read that your podcast co-host Conrad Thompson is in the game. Is that legitimate? He's in the game?
Jeff Jarrett: All kidding aside. The Easter eggs - Dave Meltzer, Conrad Thompson -
James Deighan: Chris Van Vliet.
Jeff Jarrett: -Chris Van Vliet, Fite TV the streaming service...that word "authentic," I've used it a lot doing the press. But if you're a fan of wrestling, you know the depth of the world we live in. You can be a Japan fan, a lucha libre fan, an AEW fan, a WWE fan. If you're into professional wrestling in 2023, you're going to see so many touchpoints. I call them touchpoints because they're going to resonate with you. You're going to see Conrad Thompson. He is doing something day in and day out that's really a part of what we do in WrestleQuest: a love letter to professional wrestling of the 80s and the 90s. Having him in the game just resonated, and that's something that really attracted me to the Mega Cat team. Every attention to detail just screams through the game.
Q: Is Conrad's appearance in the game something you pushed for or was that an idea a developer had?
Jeff Jarrett: I will never forget the phone call. James sent a quick text that said, "Hey man, do you have a couple minutes?" We jump on the phone, and he says, "Hey, what do you think about The Podfather?" And I just said, "Here's his number."
James Deighan: He was on the wish list, actually. So I feel like if you're making a wrestling game about how wrestling fans experience and consume wrestling content in 2023, you have to have The Podfather in it.
Q: Jeff, you've had a career spanning decades in the wrestling business, and you've worked with just about everybody. Is there anyone you still want to work with? Anyone that's current or maybe one of the legends from the game that you didn't get to work with that you wish you had?
Jeff Jarrett: It's real simple: Andre the Giant. He was definitely on the tail-end of his career when I was breaking in. But he worked for my father off and on for shots in the late 70s, little early 80s. I never got to wrestle Jake Roberts. There's a long line of 80s mega stars that I never did really get to step in the ring with. The modern era, or today's era, I'm lucky enough that I'm still stepping in the ring. Not every Wednesday, but a lot of Wednesdays on AEW Dynamite. So who knows who the opponents will be, but never say never.
Q: If a non-wrestling fan plays this game, and they decide they want to learn more about Jeff Jarrett, what match or matches of yours would you point them to?
Jeff Jarrett: Wrestling is subjective. So what I think maybe a good match may not be what a fan wants to see. But when I look back on my career and my series of matches with Shawn Michaels and "Razor Ramon" Scott Hall, Kurt Angle, Jerry Lawler...I had a match when I was 19 years of age against 51-year-old Nick Bockwinkel. There's 32 year age difference, but that's a match to this day I'm very proud of. The first time I won the world title against DDP will always be a special match for me. Those are kind of the highlights of my career when I look back over it.
Q: With your experience working on WrestleQuest, would you ever consider working on another game? Maybe a sequel to this or a completely other game?
James Deighan: Don't spoil it.
Jeff Jarrett: Pardon the pun, but I am all in on Mega Cat in so many ways. I think this relationship started brewing a little over two to three years ago and here we are, coming up on the launch of WrestleQuest. But candidly, we're just getting started. The DLC is being worked on. The Quest franchise, we're just taking off.
Q: Can I get a tease about any of this DLC? Any hints about what we're looking at here?
Jeff Jarrett: You might be shocked. Think outside the box. It's not big. It's huge.
James Deighan: If you're a fan of video games, it's really going to be exciting. It's beyond our wildest dreams. And it really just speaks to the perception around WrestleQuest. And the amount of wrestling intelligence that Jeff has inspired us to follow through with. It's super exciting. I can't wait to announce it to everybody.
Q: So with WrestleQuest, you've been in nine video games so far, Jeff. Is there any chance of you showing up in the Fight Forever game as DLC?
Jeff Jarrett: I'm definitely not speaking for that game, but DLC's to come. It would certainly be an honor to be in that game.
Q: What would you say to sell WrestleQuest to someone that doesn't like wrestling, and on the flip side of that, sell it to a wrestling fan who doesn't care for JRPGs?
Zack Manko: From the ground up, the game was designed to appeal to both RPG fans and pro wrestling fans. To a non-wrestling fan, there's still everything you would expect from an RPG. There's the epic story in terms of scale and epic and meaning. And also depth of content. The story alone is almost 40 hours. There's a huge cast of playable characters. There's the turn-based combat you grew up with, but wrestlefied to make it more dynamic and engaging and interesting. So everything's there that you would expect, it's just told through this new, unique wrestling lens. So on top of all that it's something completely different than you've ever experienced before. It's a wild, insane, crazy wrestling world that I think will delight you. Especially since every RPG is typically this pseudo-medieval fantasy world where this is something completely different.
Jeff Jarrett: As far as talking to a wrestling fan, if you are an 80s Golden Era fan, if you're a 90s Attitude Era fan, if you're a lapsed fan, or if you literally just started watching wrestling in the last couple of years, you're attracted to wrestling whether you realize it or not. Because of the emotional engagement, the emotional attachment that you have to the characters via the story. That's what this game does. Whether it's Dash Talent, Muchacho Man, or whatever character you want to pick out mixed with the true icons of the industry through the years. It's the stars combined with the storytelling that creates that emotional engagement and that's why we're fans. You look back over the history of professional wrestling. You don't really remember the hip toss or the hurracanrana or this move or that move. You remember the story in how you felt when Stone Cold finally conquered the evil boss Mr. McMahon or when WCW finally overcame nWo. That's what makes WrestleQuest so unique. That's why there's an incredible buzz going on around the game. Because it's resonating with JRPG fans and wrestling fans.
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WrestleQuest launches August 22 for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
