Saturday Night Slam Masters

thumb|300px|right|Intro with Profiles Saturday Night Slam Masters (Muscle Bomber in Japan) was a 1993 arcade game, which was ported to the SNES and Sega Genesis home consoles in 1994. It was updated and retitled Muscle Bomber Duo and followed by a sequel, Ring of Destruction: Slam Masters 2.

Professional wrestling experienced a sudden increase in popularity during the early 1980's, where many professional wrestling organizations were started all over the world. A severe rivalry existed among the organizations.

In order to resolve this conflict, 8 organizations combined to form the Capcom Wrestling Association (CWA), led by Victor Ortega, the CWA’s first champion.

One day, Ortega suddenly vanished. He was considered to be the axis of the sport and his unexpected disappearance caused the CWA to enter an age of confusion and disorder. The BWA, a dark underground wrestling organization, chose to take advantage of this opportunity and began moving. With "Fighters of Muscle Bomber = Destiny" as the theme, the CWA chief executives decided to hold a world tour called the “Crash Carnival,” to decide the new king of the CWA.

The gong that determines the new “Master of Muscle Bomber” is sounded…

Characters

• Biff Slamkovich
• Titanic Tim
• El Stingray
• Mike Haggar
• Alexander The Grater
• King Rasta Mon
• Jumbo Flapjack
• Victor Ortega - (non-playable)
• The Great Oni (nickname: "The Demon of Sobriety") - is a Japanese wrestler whose theatrical appearance (said to be that of a Kabuki leader) excites the audience. He has been called the "pale-faced devil" because of the white face paint he began wearing at the request of a local promoter during the period he spent training overseas. His appearance influences his words sounding like the drama tunes of that period. Oni is frequently at odds with fellow CWA member El Stingray, whose flashy wrestling style is similar to his own. Oni's swift movements enable him to toy with his opponents.

• Gunloc (Lucky Colt in Japan) - The "Florida Wild Horse" trained under Mike Haggar. He once tried to put the moves on Jessica, and was beaten by Cody for it. Haggar was probably not amused by this, either.

• The Scorpion (Astro in Japan) - The Scorpion is a masked wrestler whose true identity and personal history are shrouded in darkness. He is the leader of the dark professional wrestling organization known as the BWA, and the main villain of the Slam Masters games. The Scorpion's moveset appears to have been based on Japanese wrestler Tiger Mask, although his American name and his mask could be a subtle reference to the infamous "Black Scorpion" gimmick in WCW. The Scorpion's mask also looks very similar to the mask of Mexican wrestler Tinieblas.

• Harry Hicks- is the referee in the two Muscle Bomber games. He makes the most accurate judgements and is very trustworthy/reliable. Because of this, the fans love him.

Gameplay

The first game (and Muscle Bomber Duo) was played like a traditional wrestling game, only it used a view similar to that commonly used in the fighting game genre. Each character was given a lifebar and had three buttons to push (an attack button, a jump button, and a grapple/pin button).

Each character was also given two special attacks to use in the game (one used normally outside of a grapple and one that was performed during a grapple, commonly known as a finisher). When an opponent's life is depleted, he must either be pinned for a three-count or forced to submit. Defeating all of the other wrestlers results in winning the championship belt, which must then be defended against the entire roster.

Muscle Bomber Duo

Muscle Bomber Duo is a Japan-only update of Saturday Night Slam Masters. It was never ported to home consoles. To decide who will enter the Team Battle Royal as Number One, the "Heat Up Scramble" is held! Which team will be titled the strongest?

Gameplay

Other than being a very minor upgrade (like some of the Street Fighter games revisions), Muscle Bomber Duo actually did feature some changes from the original game. Now, instead of walking into an opponent and automatically grabbing him, the player had to press the grapple button at the right moment.

You could either play the game with three other people, or as one player with a CPU-controlled partner against another team.

Gallery

The Great Oni

Gunloc

The Scorpion

Packaging Artwork

Slam Masters Arcade

Slam Masters Japan

Slam Masters SNES

Slam Masters Genesis

Muscle Bomber Duo Arcade