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Dedicated to Road Warrior Hawk
(1958 - 2003)
Platform: NES
Developer: FCI/pony Canyon
Publisher: FCI
Players: 2 Players
Release Date: 1989
Genre: Sports
Saving Option: Password Feature
"WCW Wrestling" was released just months after Ted Turner purchased the once-aired TBS wrestling show, "World Championship Wrestling" from the NWA (National Wrestling Alliance) and made it it's own federation and so WCW was born. The NES game was actually better than all the WWF games combined; with actual finishers and "realistic" sound effects, WCW Wrestling was practically the best NES Wrestling game. Apparently, FCI pulled a "Doki Doki" on us by using the Famicom game, "Superstar Pro Wrestling" and then giving it to us in all of its WCW glory!
Storyline: You as a selected WCW Superstar must fight all the superstars (in either singles or tag competition) and become the best by beating the best in WCW. On your quest you have many challenges by having to beat the best of the NWA stars including the Road Warriors and "The Nature Boy" Ric flair! Eventual you end up with opportunities to face opponents for actual WCW belts like the TV title, US title, the tag titles or even the World Heavyweight title! I can't stand it any longer: "In order to be the man... whoooo... you got to beat the man!"Here's all the wrestlers with their patented finishers:
"The Nature Boy" Ric Flair: Jumping Neck Breaker Drop
Sting: Scorpion Death Lock
Lex Luger: Neck Wringer
"Gamesmaster" Kevin Sullivan: Brain buster
Mike Rotunda: Double Arm Suplex
"Dr. Death" Steve Willams: Oklahoma Stampede
"Hot Stuff" Eddie Gilbert: Jumping Elbow Drop
P.S. Michael Hayes: DDT (Brain buster DDT)
Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat: Flying Body Press
"Dog Face Gremlin" Rick Steiner: Belly To Belly Suplex (T-Bone Suplex)
Road Warrior Hawk (R.I.P.): The Lariat
Road Warrior Animal: Power Slam
Graphics: Awesomely done for a 1989 wrestling game don't you think? It sure beats the hell out of poor ol' Tag Team Wrestling and it has more detail than M.U.S.C.L.E., that's for sure. The wrestlers are all identifiable; the Road Warriors have face paint as well as Sting, Flair has the bleach blonde hair, etc. The crowd is the numerous heads in flashes like you would see anywhere. Also, you got to love the flash that appears when you deliver your finisher. It ain't the animation stuff that you see in... oh... let's say Tecmo World Wrestling, but it still gets the job done.
Sound: The music in the game is pretty catchy, almost urging you to wrestle. The title screen features Paul E. Dangerously saying “World Championship Wrestling” in a pretty clear voice. Voice effects were very, very rare in NES games, it was even rarer that any of them would be clear, but this game is the exception to the rule. These voices include: the ref saying "1... 2... 3!" for the pinfall, "break" for the rope break, and "fight" to start the match! Also, the wrestlers themselves talk. They say, "I give up!" when they tap out and say, "yeah!" when they win a match! Pretty awesome if you ask me!Gameplay: The gameplay of the game is quite unique. There are numerous gameplay modes in the game, from the standard singles and tag team matches, there is a progressive championship mode. In these modes you go through tiers of opponents, in the singles mode, there are three tiers, each representing a WCW singles title. The first tier is for the WCW Television title, the second tier is for the WCW United States title, and the third and final tier is for the WCW World heavyweight title. At the end of this mode, you will fight a big blue Andre the Giant knock-off called the "WCW Master", he is big, and impossible to slam and is billed at 7'4" 510 lbs. Funny thing is that in actual fact is Andre The Giant wrestling as a former character when he wrestled in Japan. His name was "Giant Machine"! The tag team championship mode has two tiers of opponents, each tier represents the two WCW tag titles. The first tier represents the United States tag team titles, and the second tier represents the WCW World tag team titles. Each of these tiers, no matter if it’s singles or tag team, gets harder as you go along. Gameplay is handled via a grappling system, you grapple with your opponent, execute a button press, and presto, your move appears.
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.
Fun Factor: Well, you have 12 moves (1 for each directional button so you get 4 moves) and you have a finisher by mashing a & b in the center of the ring at the same time. You also have the kick, punch and top rope attack, and some more fun on the arena floor. I still can't think of any other Wrestling games on the NES that has the variety of moves this game does. Plus, there are probably 20+ moves combined, since you would see some people use moves others wouldn't such as Hawk & Animal's hangman, people like Sting or Steamboat wouldn't use. Plus you have finishers which would add another 12 so there is possibly 30 or more different holds in the game. Also, on the outside of the ring a wrench is sometimes thrown from the crowd to smash your opponent with.
Frustration: Just playing (or trying to play) the game can get very annoying while in 1 player mode or even against a friend. When you attack your opponent expect to be clobbered with kicks and your lucky to even get a punch in, seriously. The trick is to haul out the Max controller or Advantage and turn on the turbo option! but even with that you still have to be careful. In this game, you have to be quick with the buttons or expect to be pummeled!
.BOTTOM LINE: Overall, WCW Wrestling is one of the finest wrestling games for the NES. The graphics are a mixed bag, and knock my score down a bit, but the sound is amazing, and the gameplay is super-addictive. I whole-heartedly recommend a purchase of this game. It packs in tons of fun and is a game that you will never forget. This is the only game to ever feature each member of the NWA's Varsity Club. It is also the first game to feature "Hot Stuff" Eddie Gilbert. This game is also noteworthy because it is the only one to ever feature both ''The Nature Boy'' Ric Flair, and Ricky ''The Dragon'' Steamboat in one game. Classic Flair/Steamboat matches can only be officially recreated in this game. Fans of the NWA will love this game, if, for no other reason, than for it's roster that captures the spirit of the NWA in it's prime.-Jason Hogan
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