Remember those little wrestler erasers you had for your pencil in 2nd grade? I doubt you do. I just figured out what they were myself Ultimate Muscle wrestlers. With their outrageous names, outlandish costumes and over-the-top antics, its like the way of the pro wrestler. In Japan, they took the next logical step years ago, creating a wildly popular cartoon series about the Ultimate Muscle wrestlers. Now the animated adversaries of Ultimate Muscle are about to land an elbow drop on your head courtesy of Bandai and developer Aki. Based on the popular Fox Box cartoon (not the original anime Kinnikuman in Japan) Ultimate Muscle: Legends vs. New Generation is perfect for fans of arcade style grapplers. But not perfect for all read on.

In all, you have 20 characters available (more hidden) to play as or against in either Story or Tournament modes. The former consists of individual matches against a series of computer opponents, while the latter supports up to 16 players in a round-robin format. Moves are designed to mimic those found in the television series, so players can expect to be propelled high into the air, trigger massive explosions after body slams, and more. Each wrestler also has a trademark maneuver, such as Kid Muscle's devastating Butt Buster (sounds painful huh?). And ya’know what I like it, but players keep in mind it's an arcade fighter, not your typical Aki wrestling simulation. The fighting is fast & furious and the computer hates losing. Although it looks like something a little kid can sit down and play, but the difficulty is enough to send any little 10 year old crying to mommy & daddy. Something that’s a major bummer since the yo ung gamers are the ones who’ll play the game. The same button does different things at different times. Example, the attack button becomes the counter to grapples when pressed during a different situation. Gameplay is pretty quick and designed for those who are in the “Button Mash Till My Fingers Bleed” Club. There is no pinning or submitting players. It’s just beat’em down until they can’t move anymore. There are many play modes to satisfy, from 4-player rumble, to co-op tag team, down to simple one-on-one. There is a character editor that’s pretty damn sweet. Oh yeah major disappointment. Battles can not spill outta the ring. You’re in the squared circle 24/7.

Want cool cartoon visuals well Ultimate Muscle has plenty of it and some. Well the bad first, some stuttering problems have occurred during gameplay, but it doesn’t seem to deter from the gameplay. As the characters hit and do their moves, their are dulled down colors to add the feeling of power in the hit. The bright colors everywhere else work famously with the style of the game, and doesn’t make it look to childish. It looks 80.9% like the cartoon and that’s all we wanted right? But sometimes textures do look a little blurry. The audio is pretty fresh. All the voice actors from the toon lend a hand so that’s great. The effects like slams & kicks are all on the mark with good collision detection. Other than that it’s not more to say. The sound is well… perfect! Ok that was a lie the commentary is so annoying it made me want stick hot needles in my ears.

If you fit this description this game is for you. A) You love wrestling; B) You love the Ultimate Muscle cartoon, C) You enjoy pick up and play fun not simulation. Well this game is too perfect for you. But if you enjoyed the N64 wrasslin games and the recent Def Jam Vendetta. That it’s possible you might just throw this game outta a window. So even with the overall 8 score. I suggest you rent before buying. But most likely the addictive fast paced gameplay will win you over.