WCW/nWo Revenge
WCW/nWo Revenge is a wrestling video game developed by Asmik Ace Entertainment and AKI Corporation for the Nintendo 64 and published by THQ. The game is a follow up to the immensely popular WCW vs nWo: World Tour release the year prior in 1997. The game once again utilizes the World Championship Wrestling brand during its height of popularity and builds upon the revolutionary gameplay mechanics that were implemented in World Tour.
The development of the game began under the title WCW/nWo Live and was later changed to WCW/nWo Revenge. In early 1998 THQ had two separate wrestling games in development, one for the Nintendo 64, WCW/nWo Live and one for the PlayStation, WCW/nWo Revenge. The PlayStation game was being developed by Japanese game studio Yuke’s and was originally given the title WCW/nWo Revenge.
While the games were in development THQ made the decision to switch the name of the games. The N64 game would be renamed to WCW/nWo Revenge while the PlayStation game would use the title WCW/nWo Live. It is unknown why THQ made the decision to swap the name of the games around especially after marketing material for the games were already being made.
An advertisement for WCW/nWo Live for the Nintendo 64 was published before THQ made the decision to rename the game. While the Nintendo 64 title would continue forward with development just under a revised name, the PlayStation game would ultimately be cancelled after spending several months in development until the WCW/nWo Live title.
| Developer(s) | Asmik Ace Entertainment AKI Corporation |
| Publisher(s) | THQ |
| License | WCW |
| License Owner | World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. |
| Series | THQ Wrestling |
| Predecessor | WCW vs. nWo: World Tour |
| Successor | WWF WrestleMania 2000 |
| Platform(s) | Nintendo 64 |
| Media Type | Cartridge |
| Release | NA: October 26, 1998 EU: November 30, 1998 |
| Genre(s) | Sports Wrestling |
| Mode(s) | Single-player Multiplayer |
| Sales | 1.88 million |
| Rating | ESRB: E ELSPA: 3+ |
| Rereleased Platform(s) | None |
Revenge featured AKI’s revolutionary grappling system which was extremely simple to learn and allowed for a variety of moves to be preformed based on the selected wrestler’s wrestling style. The continued use of the grappling system along with improved graphics, extended roster and newly added features expanded the popular of the THQ Wrestling series. The game was praised by critics upon release and was a tremendous commercial success becoming the best-selling wrestling game for the Nintendo 64.
The game would become THQ’s swan song for WCW based wrestling games on the Nintendo 64. During the game’s development, the Monday Night Wrestling Wars were starting to move in favour of the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and during development THQ announced that they have chose not to renew its license to publish WCW games. Despite the WCW brand losing popularity in the Monday Night Wars WCW/nWo Revenge was generally recognized as the best wrestling game of 1998.
After THQ’s World Championship Wrestling license agreement expired Electronic Arts signed a five-year exclusive deal with WCW to release wrestling games starting in 1999. THQ opted to sign a contract with the World Wrestling Federation to utilize the WWF brand for future wrestling titles. Revenge was the last Asmik Ace Entertainment and AKI Corporation developed WCW game for the Nintendo 64. The development team continued to build upon the core gameplay mechanics and features they introduced in their previous WCW based games and began creating games using the WWF brand. Their next wrestling game for the Nintendo 64 was WWF WrestleMania 2000.
Revenge surpassed the success of its predecessor, World Tour and is regarded as one of the best wrestling games and the best WCW based wrestling game on any platform. Within a month, the game became the best-selling console game in North America and ended up selling over 1.88 million copies in North America.
Game Screenshots:
Game Intro & Commercials
Main Features:
- Over 60 Wrestlers (including 50 Superstars from WCW and NWO) with their unique signature entrances, moves, and taunts.
- Pumping four player action with Rumble Pak support for thudding realism.
- Customize your favourite wrestler and prepare to rumble with the best.
- Real events, including "Bash at the Beach" and "Starcade".
- Advanced game engine giving smoother animations, faster speed and improved character AI.
- Instant replay feature to show off your deadly finishing moves.
- 40-man "Battle Royal" mode - the winner takes all!
- Full user statistics - tracking win/loss/tie records for each wrestler.
Arenas:
- Monday Nitro
- Souled Out (Souled Out '98 - Hara Arena - Dayton, OH)
- SuperBrawl (SuperBrawl VIII - Cow Palace - San Francisco, California)
- Bash at the Beach (Bash at the Beach '97 - Ocean Center - Daytona Beach, Florida)
- Halloween Havoc (Halloween Havoc '97 - MGM Grand Garden Arena - paradise, Nevada)
- Starrcade (Starrcade '97 - MCI Center - Washington, D.C.)
Roster:
nWo White
- Hollywood Hogan
- Giant
- Brian Adams
- Scott Hall
- Scott Norton
- Buff Bagwell
- Eric Bischoff
- Scott Steiner
- Curt Henning (Unlockable)
nWo Red
- Kevin Nash
- Sting
- Lex Luger
- Macho Man Randy Savage
- Konnan
The Flock
- Raven
- Lodi
- Riggs
- Sick Boy
- Reese
- Kidman (Unlockable)
WCW 1
- Roddy Piper (Unlockable)
- Diamond Dallas Page
- Goldberg
- Bret Hart
- Chris Benoit
- Rick Steiner
- Fit Finley
- Booker T
WCW 2
- Saturn
- Disco Inferno
- Jim Neidhart
- British Bulldog
- Glacier
- Meng (Unlockable)
- Van Hammer
- Kanyon (Unlockable) / Mortis (Hidden)
WCW 3
- Yugi Nagata
- Larry Zbysko
- Barbarian (Unlockable)
- La Parka
- Stevie Ray
- Wrath (Unlockable via Game Shark/Pro Action Replay)
WCW 4
- Chris Jericho
- Eddy Guerrero
- Psychosis
- Rey Misterio Jr.
- Dean Malenko
- Juventud Guerrera
- Ultimo Dragon
- Chavo Guerrero Jr.
- Alex Wright
EWF
- AKI Man / THQ Man (Hidden)
- Shogun
- Executioner
- Dr. Frank
- Jekel
- Maya Inca Boy
DAW
- Hawk Hana
- Kim Chee
- Dake Ken
- Brickowski
- Ming Chee
- Han Zo Ma
Managers (NPC)
- Jimmy Hart (Accompanies Meng & Barbarian)
- Kimberly Page (Accompanies Diamond Dallas Page)
- Miss Elizabeth (Accompanies Eric Bishoff & Macho Man Randy Savage)
- Vincent (Accompanies Scott Norton, Scott Steiner & Brian Adams)
- Rick Rude (Accompanies Curt Hennig)
- Dusty Rhodes (Accompanies Scott Hall)
- Sonny Onoo (Accompanies Yuji Nagata)
| Profile | Name | Role |
|---|---|---|
 | Shuji Yoshida | Executive Producer |
| Geta San | Director |
| Take | Assistant Director |
| Hiro Abe | N64 System Program 3D System Program Sound Program |
| Masaaki Kudou | Main Program |
| Shika Nakayama | Menu Program Opening & Ending Program |
| Muneshige Ikeshita | Menu Design Gate Model Texture Design Wrestler Texture Design |
| Yoshihiro Nakagawachi | Wrestler Texture Design Information Design |
| Kenji Kimura | Graphic Director |
| Ben | Opening Design & Direction Ending Design & Direction Music Director |
| Kazuhito Toyama | Wrestler Modeling Texture Administrator Wrestler Model and Texture |
|
| Kazuki Nishida | 3D Animation Opening 3D Animation |
|
| Shunsuke Katsumata | 3D Animation | |
| Makoto Fukahori | 3D Animation | |
| Taku Kono | Special Effects | |
| Kōji Niikura | Music Composer | |
| Yukie Sugawara | Sound Effects Sound Editing |
|
| Michihiro Ito | Sound Effects | |
| Guy Perryman | Voice Overs | |
| Yasuaki Sumi | Studio Management | |
| Megumi Hasegawa | Special Thanks | |
| Mayumi Ogawa | Special Thanks | |
| Kazuhiro Ichimura | Special Thanks | |
| Kunihiko Shimizu | Testing | |
| Katsuyo Motegi | Testing | |
| Jun Morooka | Testing | |
| Takeshi Kajii | Producer | |
| Yoshinobu Sato | Promotion Staff | |
| Toshihide Ōnishi | Promotion Staff | |
| Shunsuke Wada | Promotion Staff | |
| Masashi Suzuki | Promotion Staff | |
| Maki Kazuno | Promotion Staff | |
| Mikio Ono | Product Staff | |
| Junko Hosoya | Product Staff | |
| Hiroaki Kai | Exective Producer | |
| Steve Ryno | VP of Product Development | |
| Dave Hoffman | Producer | |
| Sanders Keel | Associate Producer | |
| Germaine Gioia | VP of Marketing | |
| John Ardell | Product Manager | |
| Kirk Somdal | Associate Product Manager | |
| Donn W. Nauert | Director of Quality Assurance | |
| Edward J. Ramiro | Lead Tester | |
| Carlos Ramirez | Testing | |
| Victor Biron | Testing | |
| James Ritchie | Testing | |
| Jun Jun Caliva | Testing | |
| Eric Feldman | Testing | |
| Jason Predmore | Testing | |
| Jason Pislaan | Testing | |
| Jason Shelnutt | Testing | |
| Jason de Heras | Testing | |
| Matt Azali | Testing | |
| Lee Liu | Testing | |
| Brian J. Farrell | Special Thanks | |
| Mike Haller | Special Thanks | |
| Jym Killy | Special Thanks | |
| Greg Gibson | Special Thanks | |
| Jon Osborn | Special Thanks | |
| Gabriel Jones | Special Thanks | |
| Erick Fernandez | Special Thanks | |
| Leland Mah | Special Thanks | |
| Andrew Brown | Special Thanks | |
| Aimee Greenholtz | Special Thanks | |
| Don Choi | Special Thanks | |
| Tim Walsh | Special Thanks | |
| Kevin Hooper | Special Thanks | |
| Alison Locke | Special Thanks | |
| Jason Lewis | Special Thanks | |
| Tom Harrison | Special Thanks | |
| Erik van Rooy | Special Thanks | |
| Michael Murray | Special Thanks | |
| Daryl Pitts | Special Thanks | |
| Tommy Tallarico | Special Thanks | |
| Steve Keel | Special Thanks | |
| Yvonne Perryman | Special Thanks |
Nintendo 64 (North American Release)
Nintendo 64 (European Release)
Media & Promotional Material
