With women’s wrestling (called joshi puroresu in Japan) reaching unprecedented popularity in the mid-1980’s, the promotion Japan Women’s Pro-Wrestling (ジャパン女子プロレス) formed in March 1986 and then-17-year-old Yumi Suzuki joined as part of the initial roster, receiving the ring name “Cutie” Suzuki. When the agency that owned the promotion needed to garner more nationwide attention, they decided to push Cutie, who became the first “idol wrestler” and went from an unknown and ‘weak’ talent to a national sensation after appearing on the cover of Weekly Young Jump in 1989. Cutie would go on to become a singer, model, actress, and celebrity, so naturally this boom of popularity would lead to a video game appearance as well.

With Sega’s Mega Drive console from 1988 having no wrestling titles up to that point, it seemed like the perfect time to hop on the yet-untapped market— Copya System, developer of titles including Air Diver and Go! Go! Tank, stepped up to the task and created Cutie Suzuki no Ringside Angel, with Asmik publishing it on December 12^th, 1990 in Japan only. Not only the first wrestling title for the Mega Drive, Ringside Angel is one of the first joshi video games, and features Cutie herself with no ties to any promotions or other licenses. The game’s story features a fictional pro wrestling federation with five titles to obtain. Players choose one of nine women that strive to become the undisputed champion— each wrestler, aside from Cutie, is designed to resemble a real wrestler Cutie faced.

Characters

Cutie Suzuki (spelled “Cuty” Suzuki in-game)
Age: 20
Stature: 155cm (5’1”)
Weight: 56kg (123 lbs.)
B: 82
W: 62
H: 86
Signature Move: Cutie Special

The only licensed wrestler in the game; wears a yellow outfit with teal accents, and is the only wrestler able to use the Cutie Special attack.

Guns Oyama
Age: 20
Stature: 171cm (5’7”)
Weight: 60kg (132 lbs.)
B: 78
W: 58
H: 82
Signature Move: Torture Rack

Based on Mayumi Ozaki, Cutie’s main rival and heel wrestler that holds a Guinness World Record alongside Jaguar Yokota for being the oldest tag-team champions. Wears a teal outfit with red accents.

Keilie Katuhara
Age: 22
Stature: 173cm (5’8”)
Weight: 59kg (130 lbs.)
B: 81
W: 60
H: 85
Signature Move: Jumping Headbutt

Based on Devil Masami, and gives the middle finger to the camera when she’s in high spirits. Wears a black outfit with gray accents. Is one of the game’s three heel wrestlers.

Cindy Nakano
Age: 19
Stature: 165cm (5’4”)
Weight: 50kg (110 lbs.)
B: 72
W: 55
H: 75
Signature Move: Romero Special

Based on Candy Okutsu, who was briefly known as Tiger Dream, the first female Tiger Mask. Wears a pink outfit with yellow accents, and has the fewest selectable moves.

Kingdom Kato
Age: 20
Stature: 175cm (5’8”)
Weight: 60kg (132 lbs.)
B: 83
W: 60
H: 80
Signature Move: Double Underhook Suplex

Based on Dynamite Kansai, although she doesn’t use the Splash Mountain powerbomb in-game. Wears a pale blue outfit with red accents.

Lighting Harada
Age: 22
Stature: 172cm (5’7”)
Weight: 57kg (125 lbs.)
B: 79
W: 60
H: 85
Signature Move: Body Attack

Based on Akira Hokuto, and has the only signature move that must be performed while the opponent is running. Wears a black outfit with gray accents like the other two heels. Perhaps her name was supposed to be “Lightning?”

Miamore Yajima
Age: 21
Stature: 169cm (5’6”)
Weight: 52kg (114 lbs.)
B: 70
W: 55
H: 75
Signature Move: German Suplex

Based on the late Plum Mariko, who was Cutie’s tag-team partner in the Fighting Dolls, and unfortunately passed away from in-ring injuries in 1997. Wears a blue outfit with yellow accents.

Helloween I. Sato
Age: 20
Stature: 175cm (5’8”)
Weight: 59kg (130 lbs.)
B: 77
W: 56
H: 83
Signature Move: Scorpion Deathlock

Based on Jaguar Yokota, who was considered to be one of the best wrestlers of the 80’s, and shares the aforementioned Guinness World Record with Mayumi Ozaki. Wears a purple outfit with gray accents.

Megadeath Saito
Age: 22
Stature: 175cm (5’8”)
Weight: 70kg (154 lbs.)
B: 85
W: 60
H: 85
Signature Move: Bloody Special Attack

Based on Bull Nakano, one of the most famous heels in joshi history. Wears a black outfit with gray accents, and starts with the Bloody Special Attack (which completely drains momentum!) by default, despite the other two heels being able to access it as well. Is also the final boss of the game.

Upon starting the game, the player is greeted by a digitized photo of Cutie before a demo displaying the wrestlers’ vitals and signature moves is shown. Unlike other wrestling games, Ringside Angel lacks options, only offering “1 Player”, “2 Player”, “Battles” (1P vs. CPU), and “Watch” (CPU vs. CPU) modes. The game offers nearly no customisation, with the controls, difficulty, sound, and rules being unchangeable. Instead, difficulty is determined by which title the player is currently fighting for: “New Face” is the easiest, and each successive title increases the strength of the CPU opponents, as well as their ability to resist pins and submissions. The other titles are “Straw Berry”, “White Snow”, “Star Light”, and “Grand Champion”, respectively. Unique to Ringside Angel, however, is the ability to select two of the wrestler’s moves before the match begins: each wrestler has her own pool of moves, with each title unlocking more.

Gameplay consists of walking around the ring, attacking with punches and kicks to set up grapples. Additionally, both wrestlers have momentum that increases when landing attacks; high momentum allows for occasional reversals and some signature moves. When nailing a signature move with maximum momentum, the crowd cheers on the performer, briefly allowing them to recover stamina and win grapples more easily. Thankfully, the controls have a simple layout: the A button punches/pins, B kicks/picks the opponent up, and C accesses additional moves including submissions. Wrestlers may climb on the turnbuckles or use the ropes for Irish whips, and can run by double-tapping left or right; tapping the opposite direction stops them. If knocked out of the ring, tapping toward it makes the wrestler climb back inside to avoid being counted out. To grapple, both wrestlers must touch without attacking, causing them to lock arms. The wrestler with greater timing (affected by stamina/momentum) will perform their input move. Unfortunately, aside from specific signature moves, the move sets are nearly the same across all wrestlers despite the selection feature.

While attacks are easy to perform, landing them is tough: strikes are clunky and CPU opponents win grapples easily regardless of difficulty. The hit detection is also dodgy, with strikes sometimes landing well after the animation completes or missing altogether. It can also be difficult to line your wrestler up with ‘where’ they should be to perform many attacks due to ‘sweet spots’ that aren’t quite clear, especially when facing north or south. Further adding to potential frustrations, the strikes tend to be much more effective than grappling since opponents can be kept away by simply striking repeatedly. This tactic deals heavy damage and shifts momentum quickly, allowing easy access to signature moves while devastating the opponent. Like most wrestling games, though, recovery from being knocked down, pinned, or put in a hold is accomplished by mashing buttons. The CPU is poor at this, making it easy to obtain a 20-count outside the ring or a draw via both wrestlers being counted out. It’s often easier to mash buttons at any given moment to win, eliminating the deep strategy that Japanese-developed wrestling games are known for.

Like most wrestling games, much of the screen is dedicated to the wrestling action. The top third contains move name indicators, portraits of the combatants, their momentum meters, and random referees & play-by-play commentators that feature guests like Colonel Sanders, the T-800, and even the Asmik dinosaur! In lieu of traditional bars, the wrestlers’ portraits convey stamina: a cheerful/spirited expression represents high stamina, but as it depletes, the expression becomes increasingly pained. If the portrait shakes, the wrestler is more susceptible to being knocked down. Lavish golden borders often adorn screen elements, giving the game an air of a beauty pageant rather than a wrestling promotion, although menus are flat black with occasional colour gradients present, by contrast.

Ringside Angel’s visuals, overall, are a mixed bag. The animation is limited and snappy (some moves are only one frame!) with the sprites featuring minimal shading, but the colours are vibrant throughout. The wrestlers have fairly large sprites with a decent amount of detail, but everyone wears the same leotard with matching boots, differing only in palette. A split-screen effect allows both wrestlers to walk to separate areas without interrupting the action, which is a nice touch. Also present is a crowd with a good variety of members, helping make the arena feel packed to the brim, but the arena itself lacks any sort of definition; the ring is blue and grey with the outside area sharing the look. There are no visual differences between any of the titles either, aside from brief introductions featuring a blonde bunny girl. Thankfully, all of the wrestling moves look authentic, giving bouts just enough impact to be exciting, and the girls themselves are cute and rather voluptuous which keeps the mood light-hearted overall. There are even replays after the matches that show the finishing move being performed with its name underneath, which adds a nice touch of style to the overall package.

Being a pre-Sonic title, the sound is fairly weak: the game’s audio only utilizes the Mega Drive’s FM channels, with no samples or additional channels used. The effects sound crude and muffled, with little impact on the attacks or slams, definitely lending to the negative view the console sometimes receives regarding its sound capabilities. Despite this, there are decent bell sounds and “1, 2, 3” counts from the referee. The music, composed by the late Akihiko Mori (credited as DON), is actually quite good, standing out over the effects and offering some stereo separation. There aren’t many tracks to listen to with only three available in-ring and no sound test available, but the soundtrack as a whole is upbeat and keeps the action moving along.

Lacking overall replay value, the game’s “1 Player” mode offers the most depth. The player chooses their favourite wrestler and sets out to win five tournaments. These alternate between single elimination and round robin, totaling 17 matches. After completing “Grand Champion”, the player faces Megadeath Saito one last time and obtains a secret move after defeating her. With no codes, passwords, or saves, the player has to start from the beginning each time they play. Lacking different match types hurts Ringside Angel further, especially when compared to other titles such as Human Entertainment’s Fire Pro Wrestling Combination Tag for the PC Engine, released a year earlier: it includes multiple match types and 18 wrestlers, as well as blood, limb damage, and team-up moves. Even Human’s HAL Wrestling for the Game Boy, debuting 3 months prior to Ringside Angel, included 8 wrestlers with unique move sets!

Overall, Cutie Suzuki no Ringside Angel offers a quick burst of fun for those that enjoy pro wrestling. The curvy in-game sprites and beauty-themed presentation help it stand out amongst the crowd of early wrestling games and other joshi titles as well. Cutie herself, nicknamed “the ultimate babyface,” would feature in only a few more video games before retiring from professional wrestling in 1998, winning five tag-team titles and one singles title. Copya System would go on to become Shangri-La Corporation in 1996, developing several horse racing and strategy games before shutting down in 2000 themselves. Interestingly, they never developed any other wrestling games after Ringside Angel, leaving it as an interesting footnote in their history; a sequel with improved gameplay and more modes, moves, and wrestlers would have certainly been a welcome addition to the Mega Drive.

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Cutie Suzuki no Ringside Angel was first posted on June 29, 2025 at 8:44 pm.
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Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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