WCW vs. nWo - World Tour
Platform: Nintendo 64
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Rumble Pak
Genre: VS Fighter > Wrestling
Release Year: 1997
Developer: Asmik Ace Entertainment/Aki Corporation
Publisher: THQ
Players: 1 to 4 VS; Co-Op
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Description

Over 40 wrestlers in all, including over 20 WCW and NWO superstars like Hollywood Hogan, Sting, The Giant, Lex Luger, Ric Flair, The Outsiders, and many more! Each wrestler is capable of performing 30 to 40 moves, including his own signature moves! Featuring five different gameplay modes, and Tag Team and simultaneous four-player action!

Info

The game was THQ's first foray into the Nintendo 64 wrestling scene and is a semi sequel to the lesser known WCW vs. The World for the PlayStation. In the beginning, Asmik Ace and AKI began producing a wrestling game that was similar to Puroresu and fighting games for WCW. The game was very well received due to its tight construction and ease of play, especially compared to Acclaim's comparatively more difficult and convoluted game, WWF War Zone.

Gameplay

The game introduced Asmik/AKI's critically acclaimed grappling system, in which all moves are started by holds. Choosing to either tap or hold the A button will subsequently produce either "weak" or strong results once the move is performed, while a similar system is used for strikes. Wrestlers can also perform taunts to help elevate their Spirit gauge and perform "Special" front and rear grapple moves when their gauge peaks.

In addition to single, tag team, handicap, and battle royal, match modes not seen in future releases include a WCW versus nWo tournament, round-robin tournament, and league tournaments more familiar to Japanese wrestling. Unlike today's wrestling games, World Tour features no create-a-wrestler mode, no story mode, no ring entrances, and has a limited amount of actual WCW wrestlers. It also makes no reference to championship belts and, upon the successful completion of a tournament, shows an illustration of a fist raising a gold trophy.

Asmik Ace and THQ did include a number of "fictional" characters in the game, who are actually Japanese wrestlers that appeared in that country's version of the game, Virtual Pro Wrestling 64. They appear in the American version with names changed due to copyright laws. These Japanese wrestlers include, among others FMW stars such as Hayabusa, who was renamed "Hannibal," and Atsushi Onita, who was renamed "Puchtecha," as well as future WWF stars such as Taka Michinoku, who went by the moniker of "Black Belt." These characters were also given extravagant profiles in the game's official strategy guide (Abdullah the Butcher, renamed "Saladin," is described as a former Afghan Secret service operative who refused orders to assassinate Mikhail Gorbachev).[1] The player can also enable bleeding despite the practice being forbidden in WCW at the time due to its more family-friendly presentation.

The sequel to World Tour, WCW/nWo Revenge, would continue the success of its predecessor. Revenge built upon the engine tremendously by introducing ring entrances, improved graphics, more arenas, more signature moves, actual WCW championships, attire modification, and other improvements.