Taking a good look back after playing part 2, This is by far the better of the series.
Now the Reversals are a lot harder to catch in this game. Being the original it has a couple of flaws that DOR 2 did not. For instance theres a tendancy for the opponant to get up uncontrollably fast sometimes during the match. You can put him down with any high impact move and they just keep getting back up time and time again. Other flaws could be its speed and strikes that tend to miss the oppenent when they should have struck but other than that the games are almost carbon copies of each other.
Final words before break down, I honestly think you should play an entire season of DOR 2 on easy then go back and play the season on DOR 1 on normal. You will see just how much easier the game is. A great example and experiance I went through was in a Smash match against Ric Flair in DOR 1. The game has Ric Flair playing like hes in his 20s again reversing all of your moves and basically making a fool of you. Now in my first experiance with this DOR 1, I got my butt destroyed. Comming back after playing DOR 2' s season, I ripped Flair appart but due to the fact that the match was fixed, there was nothing I could do to get the win. I must have reversed the living crap out of Flair and hit a ton of specials.
HEY HEY HEY, I enjoy a challenging game but man, DOR 2 was out of line with all the AI beatings I had to endure just to come out on top.
Break Down
Gameplay: A Classic rip off the Old wcw vs. nwo from revenge all the way to No Mercy. Controls are a bit stiff at times. Contact can often be too off or too on at times. Reguardless, its that old school beatem till their beggin for their mommy type WRASSlin. Reversals are a bit tough when it comes to striking but grappling stays on point. Onces you train your index fingers well, you should do alright.
Graphics: Well DOR 2 is much better than this no doubt but. Any issue with this game is probaly the abundance of gloss on your wrestler. I understand that the wreslter needs to look real but not like marble tile. You cant expect too much so I feel it was great for the actual time period it was released.
Sound: Its okay. I think its better than DOR 2. Sorry if cant express any futhre detail. Due to the fact that it lacks voice acting of PS2 and Commentary from Taz, Cole, Jerry and JR Its just a good ol wreslting game. Might I add the sound trak is better than DOR 2 (At least more tollerable.)
Value: Well I bought it despite owning part 2 and I must say I'm glad I did. Theres so much there that I missed from it. As for you people who havent touched it, give it a try.