WWE has released many games over the years and most of them got quite popular and fans still play some of them. However, there is a game called ‘WWE Brawl’ that was officially announced, got a series of trailers courtesy of WWE for release on Xbox 360 and PS3, but was never released. It was not known until now that there is a Nintendo 3DS version of Brawl that is still in the works, even a decade after the game was scrapped. A handheld version of the game appears to be in good condition, considering the development cartridge was discovered so many years later.
The footage of unreleased game surfaced online
The cartridge was recently found by YouTuber Nichslvl and he shared full details of the discovery and WWE Brawl’s history in the video. It is really interesting to see footage from a 15-year-old WWE game that no one knew about until now.
The 3Ds version of Brawl is so incomplete that it doesn’t even have an on-screen game card. Clicking on the placeholder opens it and, again, the incomplete nature of Brawl only takes you to two menu options. There are 12 wrestlers to choose from, John Cena and Triple H are among them. Nichslvl compared the game to the WWE version of Super Smash Bros, which is probably where the name Brawl comes from, while Time Extension compares it to Capcom’s Power Stone.
The game was being developed in 2009
The 3Ds version is significantly less polished on the graphics and gameplay front compared to the short footage of what the game looked like on the home console. Not only is this version of the game running on a much less powerful system, but even then, it was clearly no closer to being finished. Development on Brawl began in 2009, meaning work on it was well into its stride around the time THQ began facing financial struggle the following year, which is the main reason for game cancellation. The studio’s long relationship with WWE ended in 2012, with 2K taking things from there.
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Brawl has an interesting concept that was ahead of its time. The continued success of Super Smash Bros. led to a flood of Smash-Likes launching recently, including Multiverse and Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl. A well-made WWE version of this could have done great if the game had been released back then.
