WCW World Championship Wrestling

"WCW circa 1989"

"P.S. does not stand for Prissy Sissy" - Michael P.S. Hayes

Introduction
This is one of my favorite wrestling games for the NES system. This game was originally called Super Star Pro Wrestling in Japan. They slapped on a WCW license, changed the characters to some great old school WCW wrestlers and WCW Wrestling was born.

Game Modes
WCW World Championship Wrestling has single and tag team matches for 1 and 2 players. 1P Single Match is a series of matches to become WCW Champ by beating the 13th wrestler in the game "WCW Master". All singles matches are 1 fall with a 5 minute time limit. 1P Tag Team Match is a round-robin tournament with all matches being 1 fall with a 10 minute time limit. 2P Single match is a head to head match that is 2 out of 3 falls and has a 15 minute time limit. 2P Tag Team Match is also head to head and is best 2 out of 3 falls with a 20 minute time limit.

Gameplay
WCW Wrestling has some awesome gameplay value. There are many aspects of wrestling that you just can't get in other NES wrestling games. The game allows you to choose several special moves before each match in both 1P mode and between falls of 2P matches. That helps add some variety as you can pick and choose your moves. You can throw your opponent to the outside (even though throwing people over the top rope used to get you disqualified in WCW) and fight out there. The cool thing about going to the outside is that out there you can use a weapon! That's right, a steel wrench of DOOM randomly falls to the floor and you are able to pick it up and brain your opponent. Another neat thing about fighting outside is that there are multiple view angles for outside of ring. The perspective even rotates as you move around ring. There is also a different view for when a wrestler climbs to the top rope! Each wrestler has a unique finisher and moves that match style that the wrestler uses. The big guys have power moves, the technicians have submissions. The only thing that is inexcusable is that Ric Flair does not have the Figure Four Leg Lock as his finisher or even as a special move.

Control
Expect punches and kicks galore. Button mash some kicks on your opponent until he bends over in pain. That is when you can grapple. WCW Wrestling has an excellent grapple system that is timing based, not a button masher. When pulling off a grapple move you use a combination of D-Pad and A or B with the timer that pops up. That timer determines how much damage your move will do. When you perform the grapple you hold the button down, watch the timer bar and release the button. I suggest you set it on 2p and practice your grapples. It's an easy system that saves the game from becoming a total button masher. The are also two different running attacks and two top rope moves for each wrestler. While on the defensive, you will rely on the old NES stand-by of mashing some buttons to escape submissions and pinfalls. When in a submission move during a tag team match, your partner will fly in and make the save. Although you can lose by submission in Tag matches if you have suffered a lot of damage. While he will save you from submission, your partner will not break up any pinfall attempts. Overall the controls are all very responsive.

Graphics
These graphics are limited on the 8-Bit system, but they make the most out of what they have. All of the wrestlers appearances look good. Even though all wrestlers are wearing different colored long tights with black shorts and boots, you can still tell who everyone is because each wrestler has his own head. The heads are all very distinctive. "Hot Stuff" Eddie Gilbert is even wearing his sunglasses during matches! The graphics and multiple view angles look really good and as I said before, they really add to the gameplay. Tag team partners appear on the ring apron only when you are able to make a tag and they seem to fly in from the rafters when they make a save. All in all, the graphics are excellent, even with the fact that you can't see your tag team partner.

Sound
WCW Wrestling game has some good sound with a few really good tunes, my favorite being the funky music played in the intro while the demo scrolls through the character marquees. The game has a lot of voice effects. On the opening screen there is a voice that says "World Championship Wrestling!" The referee has voices for all of his interactions, like at the beginning of the matches he says "Fight!". He also counts along "one, two, THREE!" with the pinfalls . He also says "Rope!" when enforcing a rope break. The wrestler also have speech. A wrestler who loses by submission says "I Give Up!" and the winning wrestler says "Yeah!" in a comically gruff voice. The sound effects are passable, except for the ring bell after match. That is the best sound effect in the game.

Recommendation
Wrestling fans will love this game as there is a lot of replayability to it. You have twelve different guys to beat the game with. Then there is also the tag team tournament to win. The 2P capability also adds life to this game. Get in there and beat up on your friends. This game certainly won't replace your WWE Smackdown! game, but it is a great alternative to take a break to. Take the time to figure out all of the controls and you will be pleasantly surprised. This is a fun little game that combines elements of timing and button mashing. Overall, it is a great game. I would give the game a 10/10 score if not for the unholiest of things: Ric Flair has no Figure 4 Leg Lock. Without the Figure Four, it just isn't Flair.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 10/13/04, Updated 01/09/06