WCW/nWo Revenge

Release Date - October 26, 1998 (JP)

Developer - Asmik Ace Entertainment, AKI Corporation

Publisher - THQ

Platform - Nintendo 64

Pro wrestling was hot in the late 90s. Pro wrestling was positively on fire in the late 90s. After the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) had dominated most of the 80s with a national expansion and major pay-per-view events such as Wrestlemania, the public would be forgiven for thinking that the industry was something of a one-horse race.

WWF would air their weekly program ‘WWF Monday Night Raw’ on Monday evenings. In September 1995, World Championship Wrestling (WCW), backed by billionaire media mogul Ted Turner, would launch WCW Monday Nitro. It would air at the same time as Monday Night Raw, and kicked off a cut-throat ratings war between the two giants that would last over five years.

The famed WCW Cruiserweight division is in full swing.

In this time, pro wrestling would start to breach into the mainstream of pop culture, by 1998 names such as ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin, The Rock, Bill Goldberg and Kevin Nash were known in every schoolyard (and most workplaces) around the world. The WCW had overtaken WWF in popularity, but WWF was on the cusp of reinventing itself and taking back the #1 spot. It was during this chaotic, exciting and ruthless competition that the Nintendo 64 received what was widely considered to be the best wrestling game of all time.

AKI Corporation released an intriguing game called Virtual Pro Wrestling for the PlayStation in 1996. In 1997 this title would come to the west under the new name WCW vs the World. It was the debut of their signature ‘grappling’ system, a new take on wrestling games that was somewhat more in line with fighting games. It used simple inputs, huge move-lists, and a scissors/paper/rock relationship between attack and defence options. The game proved to be popular, and a sequel was soon released for the Nintendo 64 in 1997; WCW vs nWo: World Tour.

Up to four wrestlers can be on screen at once, making for some hectic moments.

With the combination of the WCW’s runaway popularity, and the game’s fun and addictive gameplay, World Tour proved to be a massive hit for THQ. The game quickly went on to sell well over a million copies! A sequel was inevitable, and WCW/nWo: Revenge would build on the strengths of AKI’s previous games. The key to AKI’s success with critics and gamers was in their previously mentioned ‘grapple’ system. Perhaps most importantly was the way the ‘wrestling’ itself was handled, with players initiating a ‘quick’ hold by pressing a designated button, or a ‘strong’ hold by holding the button down. Both would lead to the wrestler grabbing their opponent, after which the player can follow up with several options. If you got the opponent in a ‘quick’ hold, the moves did less damage but the hold was initiated faster. Strong holds took longer to connect (requiring more of a ‘wind up’ animation before grabbing your opponent), but made far more powerful techniques, slams and submission moves available!

By the same token, striking moves were handled by pressing or holding the attack button to unleash quick or strong striking attacks. Strikes could beat hold attempts, but players also had access to a block button to guard strikes or an evade button to move out of the way quickly. The combination of all these techniques made for a fine balance of offensive and defensive manoeuvres that made for a far more compelling wrestling game than any before.

Even with the huge roster, wrestlers had excellent likeness and accurate costumes!

The grappling system was also massively adaptable, and allowed for a huge amount of moves. Not only is there a big list of strikes and grapples, but also a multitude of unique pro wrestling moves like top rope aerial attacks, running and jumping strikes and even the ability to baseball slide out of the ring! Individual wrestler’s signature moves were also more detailed than ever before, with each wrestler’s personal flourishes added into the animations.

WCW/nWo Revenge also added more features to the previous game. Championship mode provided the bulk of the single player experience, with the ability to play as a wrestler and go through a series of matches on WCW Monday Nitro and various pay-per-view events. As you defeat the other challengers, you’ll eventually challenge the champ and claim the belt. You could fight for a number of belts, including the World Tag Team titles, TV title and of course the World Heavyweight title. The mode was quite thin on content compared to later releases, with it essentially being a series of matches with no story, but it did allow you to unlock additional wrestlers by completing the various runs!

These are the default championships you can fight for, but more can be unlocked! Along with secret characters…

Battle Royale was also added to the game, where players had to endure a free-for-all elimination match, with up to four wrestlers in the ring at any given time. When one opponent was defeated, another would run into the ring to replace them! Two players could play this mode as well, but the match would continue until all challengers were defeated and only one man was left standing!

TV accurate presentation was awesome! Sweeping camera angles and visual effects added some weight to the proceedings.

The graphics were a noticeable improvement over the previous title too, with better arenas, more detailed character models and some enhanced animations. The improved animations were nicely shown off with some dynamic camera movement during the matches. They did a great job capturing the look of the TV show’s set, and also the various pay-per-view events like the Halloween themed ‘Halloween Havoc’ or the summer themed ‘Bash at the Beach’. Wrestlers also got entrances now, something that was missing from the previous game! These were complete with the TV-presentation style name plates, fireworks and sometimes even accompanying managers! The managers weren’t just for show either, sometimes they would try to interfere with matches to turn the table in their wrestler’s favour! 

All the wrestlers could be customised, with various tights, masks and lots of colour options! Classic variants of costumes are also included.

The Nintendo 64 had some stiff competition for top multiplayer fun, with games like GoldenEye, Turok 2 and Mario Party, but WCW/nWo Revenge was a solid contender in the mix for the best multiplayer game on the console. Up to four players could compete in free for all, tag team matches or even take place in a battle royale! Endless hours were spent recreating the mayhem of Monday night wrestling across bedrooms around the world. The in-depth grappling system meant it was easy to pick up, but had lots of depth once players got familiar.

Much like World Tour, Revenge would become a commercial smash hit. In fact, it became one of the best selling Nintendo 64 games of all time, moving more than 1.8 million copies. On release it was considered by many to be one of, if not the best pro wrestling game ever made. WCW/nWo Revenge is still fondly remembered not only as one of the very last WCW video games (the company’s fortunes would turn shortly after the release of this game, as they would plummet in popularity in the coming years), but also as one of the best wrestling games ever made.

Relive what many argue to be the golden age of pro wrestling in modern times, check out Revenge for a near-lethal hit of nostalgia and fun!