Rotate your joystick around in circles to raise your ‘special’ level as we rank some classic and not-so-classic Nintendo 64 wrestling games!
#7 WCW NITRO (1998)
WCW Nitro is the worst wrestling game I’ve ever played. The game opens with a series of wrestling moves with barely any sound FX or background music, and looks largely unedited as it freezes at the end of every clip for a second. We then open to the main menu, which is sparse and lacking game modes once you progress from the start screen. The game just seems like something they released unfinished, with a tiny roster and the game itself is clogged and just not enjoyable to play.
#6 BACKSTAGE ASSAULT (2000)
What do you get when you take away all wrestling rings to create realistic grungy brawls? WCW Backstage assault. I guess on paper it sounded good, right? “Let’s create a game that re-creates the off-ring fights between wrestlers.” The only problem is that it’s a one-trick pony that tires very quickly despite its sub-par graphics and ability to control wrestlers. This game came out in 2000, but it is worse than what we had in 1997 with’ World Tour’. Surely they could have improved upon that, but not this time around.
#5 WCW Mayhem (1999)
WCW Mayhem is the first wrestling video game produced and published by Electronic Arts (EA). Although I have not rated this game at the top of my list, Mayhem still plays, looks and sounds very good. It has a large roster of wrestlers and features all twelve WCW pay-per-view venues, and allows you to create your own wrestler.
#4 WWF Wrestlemania 2000 (1999)
Wrestlemania (WM) looks, feels and sounds like WCW/NWO Revenge, and that is because it uses the exact same game engine previously seen the year before it. But this is a wrestling game developed by AKI, so we safely say we are in good hands. A massive wrestler roster of over 50 stars with the ability to create-a-wrestler and alter them as you please.
#3 WCW vs NWO World Tour (1997)
Released in 1997, ‘World Tour’ was the first wrestling game for the Nintendo 64 console and is the 2nd best-selling wrestling game of all time for the N64. Although limited with no features like the ability to create and customise a wrestler, story mode or ring entrances, World Tour introduced the ‘grappling system’ in which all moves of attack are started by holding and grappling the opponent. It is generally well thought through and enjoyable to play despite its lack of features. A classic game that paved the way, inspiring some of the games that followed it.
#2 WCW/NWO Revenge (1998)
Released in 1998, ‘Revenge’ gained critical praise and success, becoming the best-selling wrestling game for the N64 console and, at the time, rated as the top-selling third-party N64 game ever. Before the opening start screen, we open with wrestler Sting standing on the road, stopping a truck all to the sound of simple electronic rock music. This rather cheesy beginning had groundbreaking and impressive 3D graphics for its time.
Known by many to be the best WCW/NWO game for Nintendo 64 ever, Revenge had Championship, Exhibition and Special Match (multiplayer) modes, allowing up to 4 players to play at once. The best game mode is Battle Royale, which allows up to 40 Wrestlers to come out overall (max of 4 on the wrestling mat at a time). If one player is knocked off the ring or submitted by another wrestler, this player would then play as the next wrestler to enter the ring. Revenge was also the first wrestling game to introduce the ring entrances for each Wrestler, of which there is a large roster compared to other wrestling games of this generation of games.
#1 WWF No Mercy (2000)
The last AKI wrestling game was developed for the Nintendo 64, and it certainly does end on a high note. No Mercy has the best graphics, sounds and music, an in-depth create-a-wrestler and simply lots of fun to play. It has everything, all the games before it did right and has over sixty playable WWF wrestling stars. It sold over 1 million copies and stands as the third-best-selling wrestling game for the Nintendo 64.
That concludes our list ranking the Nintendo 64 wrestling games, and I hope you enjoyed reading. As a special mention and clear according to the list, I have very fond memories of ‘World Tour’ and ‘Revenge’. Many great hours playing against friends and family for those 2. I even found an old photo of us playing Revenge!
