Hello and welcome to Lost Gems, the feature where I cover games that have been abandoned, forgotten or simply lost to time. This week, to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the debut of WCW Monday Nitro, I will be covering WCW/nWo Revenge for Nintendo 64. Developed by AKI Corporation and Asmik Ace Entertainment, it is considered one of the best in the genre, thanks to the large roster and dedicated AKI grappling system.
Disclaimer: while the game discussed here is no longer officially on sale, there are ways to obtain the game. This can either be through the second hand market, or via unofficial digital roms/rips. I do not condone or promote piracy, so there won’t be any links to roms or rips of the game being covered.
So with the introductions out of the way, let’s get started. I will be discussing the general game experience, then give my personal thoughts on the title.
About the game
WCW/nWo Revenge is a pro wrestling game, which was released during the boom period of pro wrestling, when WCW and the then WWF were locked in the Monday Night War. Revenge is the sequel to World Tour, which released the year before. This iteration of the game had several improvements over the first, with a larger roster of wrestlers, improved graphics and real world arenas, based on the TV and Pay Per View events.
There are several gameplay modes, with Exhibition matches, with single and tag team matches, allowing for one on one/two on two fights. This is alongside the special matches, with handicap two on one matches and battle royal, which are elimination matches with up to 40 wrestlers in the match. All of the matches can have their settings modified, changing the win condition, time limit and more giving it a decent amount of customisation.
The biggest addition for this title is the Championship mode, where players can challenge for one of five championship titles. There are three available from the start, with United States, Cruiserweight and Tag Team, with Television and World Heavyweight unlocked later. Championship mode functions like arcade mode, with a series of matches to reach the champion. By defeating them, they are unlocked for play and replaced by the player wrestler.
Within a match itself, the player can perform a variety of moves to defeat their opponent. The most basic is the strikes, where the player can use punches and kicks to damage their foe. By tapping the button, the attacks will be light and holding the button down makes them heavy. The player can also press a button to run, allowing them to perform running attacks. If the opponent is downed, ground strikes can be used on them for further damage.
Then we get to the grappling, which is where the real action comes from. By tapping the grapple button, the player will be able to perform a set of light moves. If the player holds the button down, they will be able to perform a heavy grapple. All characters have six light and heavy grapples in the front, with four additional moves that can be used by switching to the back. Various grapples can also be performed on a grounded opponent.
The grapple moves are made up of strikes, holds and slams. Performing these moves will wear down their opponent, reducing their spirit in battle and causing body damage over time. This shows up with a change in the pose of the wrestler, holding their head or gut after taking enough damage. The spirit meter has colors for the status, with green in the middle, red for positive and blue for negative, with danger as the very lowest.
If a wrestler does well, they will be able to enter the SPECIAL state, where the meter flashes while it is red. To activate this super state, the wrestler must perform a taunt which will cause SPECIAL to appear over the bar. During this time, the finishing move for the wrestler can be used and if a button combo is pressed, they can even steal the opponents finisher. These special moves can be devastating, doing significant damage on the way to victory.
To win the match, the player must try to pin, submit or knock their opponent out. In a standard singles or tag match, a pinfall or submission will be cancelled if it is attempted by the ring ropes, causing a rope break. The best way to guarantee an attempt is not interrupted, the player must keep their opponent close to the center of the ring. When a wrestler is in the danger state, they will be more susceptible to being defeated.
In a match, there are other ways for it to end, as a win, loss or even a draw. If there is a time limit, when it expires the match will be ruled a draw game. Then if the wrestlers are out of the ring, the wrestler will start to count if ring out is activated. These can be 10 or 20 counts, and if there is one or both wrestlers outside the ring when the count expires, the match will be over. It will be a draw if both are out, but if one is in they will win the match.
The last thing to discuss for matches is the extra modifiers. There are settings that can change how the match works, with no DQ that allows falls to count anywhere, lumberjack that prevents leaving the ring and more. There can also be interference, where a random wrestler will run to the ring and help the opponent, hanging out for a while. Weapons can also be used, with the ability to pull them from the crowd and some wrestlers start a match with them.
There is a lot of depth to the game, with the modifiers, match types that can be put together and over 60 wrestling superstars to play as. There are no entrance themes, using generic themes and music that plays during matches as a replacement for commentary. The menu theme has a variation of the WCW Monday Nitro theme. There is also a score system with rankings, as well as a simple costume customisation system, adding more replay value.
Personal Thoughts
It has been 30 years since the debut of WCW Monday Nitro, which kicked off the 6 year long rise, peak and fall of WCW. I grew up during the Monday Night War between WCW and the WWF, watching what I could on British TV and getting the occasional VHS tape. This extended to playing the games on the Mega Drive, Super Nintendo and Game Boy. However, my main interest during the time was with WCW with wrestlers like Sting and Goldberg being my favourite.
I first got the WWF Warzone game, which I liked but felt awkward and stiff. So when I was gifted a copy of WCW/nWo Revenge, I was completely blown away, as it was so easy to play and pull off cool moves. The copy I received was pre-owned, so it had all of the characters unlocked, which meant I didn’t know there was characters to unlock. I did discover this later, resetting the cartridge and unlocking all of the wrestlers and clearing the championships.
This is a special game for me, as I wasn’t able to watch all of the shows and events, due to both cost and general availability of content. So being able to play this game, allowed me to see matches like Hollywood Hogan VS Roddy Piper using CPU wrestlers. While this wasn’t a true alternative, being able to play out dream matches was a lot of fun. I also had a lot of fun messing with the settings, having specialty matches with the adjustable settings.
In the years that followed, I returned to the game regularly, playing through the different championship ladders as well as general play. I was also able to watch the 6 year run of WCW, where they reached their peak with the New World Order, as well as their decline and death in 2001. This brought everything full circle, allowing me to fully appreciate the amount of detail with the roster, arenas and general game experience.
The action flows in a way that feels right, with the grappling and striking that can be done with few buttons, which gave a good sense of impact for the time. Then there is the instant replay feature, which will activate in singles matches, showing big impactful moves again. They also have a post-match replay feature, which will show the move that finished the match, offering multiple angles that were rare for wrestling games of the time.
There were games that came after it, with WWF Wrestlemania 2000 and No Mercy, using the AKI engine, as well as the less good WCW games. However, they don’t feel the same as this, with the simple yet deep gameplay keeping me coming back for more. It is one of those games I can pull out any time, going back to that time when I was a kid. That comfort and warm sense of nostalgia is something that the other games simply don’t have.
This title is perfect for fans of WCW and those who enjoy wrestling games, with the price on the second hand market being pretty low. This makes it very accessible to players, as the pricing for the N64 consoles are accessible, as well as the ability to get clone systems. Due to the wide spread availability of the game, this can be found pretty easily across various markets. So it is one of those that would fit a collection for game nights with ease.
Sadly, this is one of those games that will likely never be re-released, due to licensing as WCW was bought out, with all of the rights and licenses going with it. Then there is the original publisher THQ, who went under and the developers have changed since. A modern release of this game will likely never happen, as the WWE who own WCW are focused on the 2K series. Which is disappointing as it is a snapshot of a magical time, which should be experienced.
If you have enjoyed this feature, then please stick around and see what else catches your eye. I cover a wide range of games in reviews, get special previews and put out regular features. I have Lost Gems, Retro Revival where I discuss re-releases and the occasional Gaming Oddities piece, where I cover weird and wacky titles. So stay a while and have a look around.
W.Kohaku Media 