Posted December 04, 2020
high rated
Here are some tips for getting the most out of Bop'N Wrestle!
Gameplay Tips
We strongly recommend reviewing the manual before playing the game (which includes a handy Keyboard Controls reference on page 2), as due to the game's age it does not follow many modern conventions in interface and controls. There's a bit of a learning curve to wrap your mind around how 80s game designers found a way for players to execute dozens of wrestling moves with only a single 'action' button, but it's a rewarding trip worth taking.
Basic controls for Player 1 are arrow keys for movement and Enter to fire the versatile 'action' button (alternatively, numpad directions for movement and numpad 5 for 'action'). For player two, movement is controlled with the WAXD keys, with the S key in the center used for 'action'.
When you advance past the game's opening screen, you're taken straight to the ring where a demo match plays out until you're ready to start the game. While in "demo" mode, you can adjust settings with the following keys:
Press 2 to toggle one- or two-player modes. With two-player mode selected, while still in demo mode, press 'up' or 'down' on the controls (W and X for player two) to select your wrestler. In one-player mode, you always play as the striking hero Gorgeous George.
Press 4 to toggle between keyboard and joystick controls while in demo mode.
Press 1 when you're ready to start the match. In single-player mode you face a series of 9 opponents – be sure to defeat each one before time runs out!
While in any match, pressing 3 will end the match and return the game to "demo mode".
In controlling your wrestler, it's important to note that (like many modern fighting games) the commands you input on the controls are read by the game relative to the direction your wrestler is facing at the moment you press the button. For example, if you're facing left and want to turn around to face right, pressing the right arrow will not cause you to turn around and walk right (like in many modern games). Pressing right while facing left will instead cause you to walk backward, as it's a universal input in the game to walk backward when pressing the opposite of the direction you're currently facing. To turn around from left-facing to right-facing, you'll need to instead make two turns (by pressing down then right to turn counter-clockwise, or by pressing up then right to turn clockwise). We found this to be one of the trickier things to get used to in mastering the game's controls, so wanted to make special note of it here.
Now you know the basics, review the manual for the full explanation of the game's striking and grappling mechanics and how to execute each of the moves (and the intricacies of which moves can be countered or escaped with properly timed inputs) and you'll be wrestling your way to the top in no time.
DOSBox Tips
To make this game playable on modern systems, this version of Bop'N Wrestle is played through DOSBox. Launch options from GOG Galaxy are included for full screen (with "Play") and multiple windowed resolutions (in "Additional Executables").
The game runs at an emulated 1350 "cycles" setting in DOSBox (1,350 million instructions per second). We found this to be the best setting for playback of the game's vocal sound effects (when wrestlers get hit, and when the ref counts during a pin). You can adjust the game to a higher cycle count for faster paced play with the Control+F12 keyboard shortcut (or lower it with Control+F11), or set an exact cycle count in the conf files of the DOSBox folder of the install directory (note there are separate conf files for each resolution option).
If you are having trouble running the game at full screen, you may want to change the fullresolution parameter in the dosbox_fs.conf (and any other .conf files you use to launch the game). We found that most systems run best with this parameter set to fullresolution=desktop by default, but saw some configurations (like the Surface Pro X) where changing this parameter to fullresolution=original was necessary for the game to run properly.
You can make many other adjustments to how the game runs via the .conf file for each resolution in the install directory's DOSBox folder. We recommend backing up any files before changing them, as changes could produce undesired effects.
Useful DOSBox shortcuts
- While in windowed mode, Control+F10 toggles locking the mouse to the window. This prevents the mouse from wandering outside the game area onto anything outside the game window.
- If you leave the mouse active and click outside the game window, or alt+tab out of the game, it will pause the game until DOSBox regains focus.
- Alt+Enter can be used to switch between windowed and full screen mode while in any resolution view. If playing full screen, this can be a useful way to exit the game.
- To close DOSBox and exit the game completely at any time, press Control+F9.
Gameplay Tips
We strongly recommend reviewing the manual before playing the game (which includes a handy Keyboard Controls reference on page 2), as due to the game's age it does not follow many modern conventions in interface and controls. There's a bit of a learning curve to wrap your mind around how 80s game designers found a way for players to execute dozens of wrestling moves with only a single 'action' button, but it's a rewarding trip worth taking.
Basic controls for Player 1 are arrow keys for movement and Enter to fire the versatile 'action' button (alternatively, numpad directions for movement and numpad 5 for 'action'). For player two, movement is controlled with the WAXD keys, with the S key in the center used for 'action'.
When you advance past the game's opening screen, you're taken straight to the ring where a demo match plays out until you're ready to start the game. While in "demo" mode, you can adjust settings with the following keys:
Press 2 to toggle one- or two-player modes. With two-player mode selected, while still in demo mode, press 'up' or 'down' on the controls (W and X for player two) to select your wrestler. In one-player mode, you always play as the striking hero Gorgeous George.
Press 4 to toggle between keyboard and joystick controls while in demo mode.
Press 1 when you're ready to start the match. In single-player mode you face a series of 9 opponents – be sure to defeat each one before time runs out!
While in any match, pressing 3 will end the match and return the game to "demo mode".
In controlling your wrestler, it's important to note that (like many modern fighting games) the commands you input on the controls are read by the game relative to the direction your wrestler is facing at the moment you press the button. For example, if you're facing left and want to turn around to face right, pressing the right arrow will not cause you to turn around and walk right (like in many modern games). Pressing right while facing left will instead cause you to walk backward, as it's a universal input in the game to walk backward when pressing the opposite of the direction you're currently facing. To turn around from left-facing to right-facing, you'll need to instead make two turns (by pressing down then right to turn counter-clockwise, or by pressing up then right to turn clockwise). We found this to be one of the trickier things to get used to in mastering the game's controls, so wanted to make special note of it here.
Now you know the basics, review the manual for the full explanation of the game's striking and grappling mechanics and how to execute each of the moves (and the intricacies of which moves can be countered or escaped with properly timed inputs) and you'll be wrestling your way to the top in no time.
DOSBox Tips
To make this game playable on modern systems, this version of Bop'N Wrestle is played through DOSBox. Launch options from GOG Galaxy are included for full screen (with "Play") and multiple windowed resolutions (in "Additional Executables").
The game runs at an emulated 1350 "cycles" setting in DOSBox (1,350 million instructions per second). We found this to be the best setting for playback of the game's vocal sound effects (when wrestlers get hit, and when the ref counts during a pin). You can adjust the game to a higher cycle count for faster paced play with the Control+F12 keyboard shortcut (or lower it with Control+F11), or set an exact cycle count in the conf files of the DOSBox folder of the install directory (note there are separate conf files for each resolution option).
If you are having trouble running the game at full screen, you may want to change the fullresolution parameter in the dosbox_fs.conf (and any other .conf files you use to launch the game). We found that most systems run best with this parameter set to fullresolution=desktop by default, but saw some configurations (like the Surface Pro X) where changing this parameter to fullresolution=original was necessary for the game to run properly.
You can make many other adjustments to how the game runs via the .conf file for each resolution in the install directory's DOSBox folder. We recommend backing up any files before changing them, as changes could produce undesired effects.
Useful DOSBox shortcuts
- While in windowed mode, Control+F10 toggles locking the mouse to the window. This prevents the mouse from wandering outside the game area onto anything outside the game window.
- If you leave the mouse active and click outside the game window, or alt+tab out of the game, it will pause the game until DOSBox regains focus.
- Alt+Enter can be used to switch between windowed and full screen mode while in any resolution view. If playing full screen, this can be a useful way to exit the game.
- To close DOSBox and exit the game completely at any time, press Control+F9.