Rumble Roses XX (ランブルローズXX, Ranburu Rōzu XX) is a professional wrestling fighting game developed by Yuke's for the Xbox 360 as the sequel to the 2004 PlayStation 2 game Rumble Roses. The game was released by Konami in 2006.

Rumble Roses XX
North American box art
Developer(s)Yuke's
Publisher(s)Konami
Artist(s)Shiro Kotobuki
Composer(s)Sota Fujimori
Norihiko Hibino
Michiru Yamane
Akira Yamaoka
Platform(s)Xbox 360
Release
  • NA: March 28, 2006
  • JP: March 30, 2006
  • EU: May 12, 2006
  • KOR: 2006[1]
Genre(s)Fighting game
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Unlike the previous game in the series, Rumble Roses XX lacks a story mode.[2]

Gameplay

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With the exception of a simple street fighting mode, the bulk of the gameplay focuses on matches which take place in various locales. Matches can be between individual wrestlers, between tag teams of two wrestlers each, or between a wrestler and a team (a more difficult handicap match).

Matches are won either through pinning an opponent or forcing the opponent to tap out with a submission move. Players can break free of these through rapid button presses, although as wrestlers suffer more damage (both overall and to specific body parts), this becomes more difficult.

The general game mechanics involve striking and grappling with foes to inflict damage upon different body parts. As successful strikes and grapples are performed, players fill a finishing move gauge which can be expended to activate special moves. Attacks can also be countered with the correct timing, resulting in humiliation for the opposing character. When humiliation builds up to a certain level, wrestlers become vulnerable to special "H-Moves", which have a high probability of inflicting a knockout.[3] Other special moves activated via the filled gauges include "Killer Moves" and "Lethal Moves", which differ for each wrestler.

Rumble Roses XX supports online Xbox Live gameplay for up to four players, playing as a team or against each other. The online content also allowed the player to upload or download images from the game's photo shoot mode.

A wide array of character customization options are available from within the Customization Mode. These include various unlockable costumes and swimsuits, as well as adjustable sliders which can be used to increase or decrease body and muscle attributes.

The game also includes a Tag Team mode where two players can partake in a tag match. Whenever two specific wrestlers are teamed up, they will have their own special team intro, team name, tag-out sequence, Special Double X move and a special victory pose. There are only three characters in the game that don't have a team partner, Yasha, Becky and Evil Rose.

Development

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The animations for Rumble Roses XX were created with a mixture of traditional animation and motion-capture.[2] In an interview for Kotaku at the 2005 Tokyo Game Show, producer Akari Uchida said: "For this game, we've done a lot of motion capture and rendered individual motions for every character. No two characters will be moving the same way".[4]

Uchida also said that they wanted to develop a game for the original Xbox, but the decision was made to develop for the 360 upon learning of its superior technical abilities.[2]

To promote the game, three of its theme songs were made available for karaoke at Joy Sound starting on April 10, 2006.[5][6] Reiko Hinomoto and her alter ego Rowdy Reiko were included as guest characters in Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence.

Reception

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Rumble Roses XX received "mixed" reviews according to video game review aggregator Metacritic.[8] In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of one nine, two eights, and one seven for a total of 32 out of 40.[11]

Although the game was generally unpopular in North America, it was relatively well received in Japan and rereleased in a Platinum Collection edition.[22] It was the fifth best selling Xbox 360 title in Japan from the console's launch in December 2005 to June 2006.[unreliable source?] By December 2007, the game had dropped to 18th place in Japanese sales.[23]

The character Reiko Hinomoto came in fourth place in a poll that asked 1,500 Japanese gamers to name their favorite Xbox 360 heroine.[24]

Future

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In 2006, a pachislot game inspired by the original Rumble Roses game was released. In 2008, a machine based on Rumble Roses XX was released, with a third original machine entitled Rumble Roses 3D being released in 2012.[25]

Konami Mobile developed and released Java spin-off, Rumble Roses: Sexy Pinball, for mobile devices in the United States in September 2006.

In 2018, Rumble Roses XX was made available on Xbox One and via backwards compatibility.[26] These were also playable on the Xbox Series X and Series S upon their release in 2021.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Rumble Roses XX Release Information for Xbox 360". GameFAQs. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved August 17, 2015.
  2. ^ a b c Semsey, Rob (September 23, 2005). "Rumble Roses XX – Akari Uchida Interview". TeamXbox. Archived from the original on July 20, 2013. Retrieved August 17, 2015.
  3. ^ a b Swann, Graham (June 13, 2006). "Rumble Roses XX". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on September 23, 2012. Retrieved March 22, 2012.
  4. ^ Ashcraft, Brian (September 20, 2005). "New Rumble Roses to Have "Uniform Mode"?". Kotaku. Archived from the original on February 5, 2011. Retrieved August 17, 2015.
  5. ^ Ashcraft, Brian (March 31, 2006). "Rumble Roses Hit Japanese Karaoke Boxes". Kotaku. Archived from the original on October 9, 2010. Retrieved August 17, 2015.
  6. ^ "コナミ、Xbox 360「ランブルローズ ダブルエックス」カラオケ登場。JOYSOUND「HyperJoy V2」でオリジナル映像も楽しめる" (in Japanese). Game Watch. March 30, 2006. Archived from the original on June 28, 2013. Retrieved February 15, 2013.
  7. ^ "Rumble Roses XX for Xbox 360". GameRankings. Archived from the original on September 8, 2015. Retrieved August 17, 2015.
  8. ^ a b "Rumble Roses XX for Xbox 360 Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved August 17, 2015.
  9. ^ Edge staff (June 2006). "Rumble Roses XX". Edge. No. 163. p. 91.
  10. ^ EGM staff (May 2006). "Rumble Roses XX". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 203. p. 89.
  11. ^ a b "Famitsu scores for a bunch of Jap 360 exclusives and DS RPG's". Eurogamer. March 23, 2006. Archived from the original on October 6, 2016. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
  12. ^ "Rumble Roses XX". Game Informer. No. 157. May 2006. p. 104.
  13. ^ Long Haired Offender (March 28, 2006). "Rumble Roses XX Review for Xbox 360 on GamePro.com". GamePro. Archived from the original on April 10, 2006. Retrieved August 17, 2015.
  14. ^ Reilly, Mike (April 8, 2006). "Rumble Roses XX Review". Game Revolution. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved August 17, 2015.
  15. ^ Navarro, Alex (March 28, 2006). "Rumble Roses XX Review". GameSpot. Archived from the original on November 1, 2013. Retrieved August 17, 2015.
  16. ^ McGarvey, Sterling (April 3, 2006). "GameSpy: Rumble Roses XX". GameSpy. Archived from the original on September 8, 2015. Retrieved August 17, 2015.
  17. ^ "Rumble Roses XX, Review". GameTrailers. March 31, 2006. Archived from the original on January 27, 2014. Retrieved February 27, 2016.
  18. ^ Zacarias, Eduardo (April 10, 2006). "Rumble Roses XX - 360 - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on October 6, 2008. Retrieved August 17, 2015.
  19. ^ Miller, Jonathan (March 28, 2006). "Rumble Roses XX". IGN. Retrieved August 17, 2015.
  20. ^ "Rumble Roses XX". Official Xbox Magazine. May 2006. p. 83.
  21. ^ Ashish (July 27, 2006). "Rumble Roses XX". 411Mania. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved August 17, 2015.
  22. ^ Spencer (October 26, 2006). "Bikini babes a dime a dozen on the Xbox 360". Siliconera. Archived from the original on December 31, 2013. Retrieved February 15, 2013.
  23. ^ Wilson, Mark (December 27, 2007). "Xbox 360 Games Don't Sell In Japan". Kotaku. Archived from the original on December 28, 2007. Retrieved August 17, 2015.
  24. ^ Ashcraft, Brian (March 12, 2007). "Japan's Most Popular Xbox 360 Female Characters". Kotaku. Archived from the original on October 8, 2009. Retrieved August 17, 2015.
  25. ^ "Every Konami Game Turned Into A Pachinko Machine (So Far)". ScreenRant. 2021-06-07. Archived from the original on 2023-05-20. Retrieved 2023-05-20.
  26. ^ @majornelson (11 September 2018). "Zone of the Enders HD Collection and Rumble Roses XX are coming to Xbox One Backward Compatibility today" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
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