The loooong awaited # 1…

#1: WCW vs. nWo World Tour/WCW Revenge/Wrestlemania 2000/Virtual Pro Wrestling 2/WWF No Mercy (N64 – 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2000)

Yes, five games at number one. “Cheating!” you decry. Well, maybe. But it’s my list. And the five games are so closely connected I couldn’t possibly separate them. Each sequel improved on the others, but each game in the series has its own unique charm that I frequently revisit them.

What they’re about: Wrestling. Two games covering WCW, 2 games covering WWF, and another covering every major Japanese promotion.

Why they’re here: The AKI engine. As I said in previous posts, coming up with a solid wrestling engine is hard – how do you adapt a fake sport to make it real. Given the landslide of shitty home wrestling games, it’s not an easy task. Most games revolved around “button mashing,” meaning control would go to whoever could pound the controls the most. But the Aki system – having to use weak grapples and building up to stronger moves, plus weak and strong striking and “special” moves – was not only the most “realistic” engine, it also involved a good amount of strategy.

Even the first game, WCW vs. nWo World Tour (by far the weakest entry in the series), was a quantum leap forward from any prior home wrestling game. That particular game introduced the engine that would largely remain unchanged for the duration of the series. Also, half the game was made up Japanese wrestlers with different names, which was odd. It’s like having a MLB game and leaving out the Milwaukee Brewers in favor of the Yomiuri Giants. No matter – I had a blast playing with anyone, even Ali Baba.

A year later, WCW/nWo Revenge hit the stores and was superior in its predecessor in every way. Much better graphics, actual entrances, replays, more moves, the ability to edit a wrestler’s outfit, a scary attention to detail, and a humongous roster. Seriously, everyone was in this game, even random folks like Stevie Ray, Yuji Nagata, and Larry Zybysko. There were a few Japanese wrestlers back as well, but due to copyright issues they changed everyone’s appearance in addition to their name. Needless to say, Maya Inca Boy and Hawk Hana did not get much use.

This was all well and good, but WCW was pretty stinky around this time, while the WWF was heating up. “If only THQ/AKI could make a WWF game,” we wondered – and then it happened! Thus came Wrestlemania 2000, which not only had a full WWF roster, but also added entrances and music, a solid season mode, and best of all, a Create-A-Wrestler function, allowing you to recreated all the WCW and ECW wrestlers who were no longer in the game.

While waiting for the next sequel I invested in Virtual Pro Wrestling 2, the Japanese version of the THQ/AKI series, with obviously wrestlers from the various Japanese companies. Best of all was adding a shoot fighting, which took me a while to appreciate, but added a whole new dimension to the game. If the game wasn’t in Japanese it may be my favorite of the bunch. Hell, it may be my favorite anyway.

Last but not least was WWF No Mercy in 2000, the last game in the series. Not a major leap forward, but they added am improved season mode with several different paths (where you had to lose certain matches in order to proceed) as well as the Smackdown mall, where you could use money won in the game to purchase different moves and items of clothing.

Sadly, that was it for THQ and AKI. THQ went on to produce the Smackdown games for the PS2 (which are decent but a bit too arcade-y for me), while AKI took its engine to such wacky games as Def Jam Vendetta.

Personal Memories: I’ll just leave you with this tidbit: before I played WCW vs. nWo World Tour I had no desire to buy a Nintendo 64 system. After I played it I was determined to buy one, and even worked on my Christmas Vacation at Blockbuster Video to do so (including New Year’s Eve, which may have been one of the crappiest days of my life). Didn’t matter – it was so very worth it. And if that’s not the number one game of all time, I don’t know what is.

Two notes from the last entry:

1. Vodka Drunkenski actually was a character in the Super Punch Out arcade game.
2. Piston Honda was actually Piston Hurricane in the arcade version, from Detroit. Curiously, in the SNES version of Super Punch Out, he now hailed from Cuba.

#2 Tecmo Super Bowl (NES 1991)

What it’s about: Football, duh. This was the sequel to the legendary Tecmo Bowl, also for the NES.

Why it’s here: Football is a complex game. Concepts like stunt coverage, prevent defense, safety blitzing, it’s a bit much if you’re not a student of the game. That’s why a game like Madden can be so daunting to casual fans. But the genius of Super Tecmo Bowl is that it strips football down to it’s simplest elements while still making it feel like football. You have 8 plays to choose from on offense, four run and four pass. On defense, you have the same 8 plays to choose from. If you guess the right play, your defense (usually) stops the play for a big loss. It’s that easy.

It’s also possibly the most improved sequel ever. Here’s a list of things they added: an NFL license, including team logo and player names, a full schedule including playoffs, player injuries, player status (ranging from “excellent” to “bad”), stat tracking (everything you can think of, from punt average to yards per interception return), more players on the field, double the number of plays to choose from, the ability to pick your own playbook, and a wacky Super Bowl halftime show featuring Mighty Jack.

Drawbacks? Sometimes while playing a game, the computer will just decide that you ain’t gonna win. You’ll drop passes, fumble like the ball was dipped in grease, and have the other team break for an 80 yard score. You just ain’t gonna win.

Some players were a little too good. Lawrence Taylor played like he smoked a mountain of crack before every game.

Personal Memories: Winning the Super Bowl with the Buffalo Bills with my buddy Sean. Lots of Super Bowl wins, including the Houston Oilers with an unbeatable Warren Moon-Drew Hill combo. My college roommate Bill breaking every receiving record imaginable with HC alum Gil Fennerty of the Saints.

Next: #1

Oops, long time no update.

#3 Mike Tyson's Punch-Out (NES 1987)

What it's about: You, play Mac, a boxer with a lot of guts even though he's only three feet tall. With manager Doc at your side to rub your shoulder, you take on assorted weirdos and stereotypes to get a shot at Iron Mike himself.

Why it's here: Well, first of all, this one probably the best arcade port of the 80's, really an amazing achievement considering the limitations of the NES back in the day. In the arcade version, your character was "see through," something they couldn't recreate on the NES, so they just shrunk your character to pint size. The graphics obviously weren't as sharp, but the way they carried over the feel of the game is astounding.

The amazing thing about the game is it's high replay value. You'd think, once you beat the game, why bother playing again? Well, MTPO may have the highest replay value of any game ever. It's the type of game you want to master, the kind you want to play until you TKO every fighter in round one. I just played this last week on my computer, and I'll bet I'll still be playing ten years.

Given the timeframe, the graphics, sound, and control are all the aces.

Drawbacks? Sadly, they couldn't recreate the announcer from the arcade screaming "Body blow! Body blow!"

Personal memories:

Let's go by this one by one.

Glass Joe: Sissy Frenchman. I actually lost to him the first time I played it. Really.
Von Kaiser: Nazi fighter who wears pants in the ring for some reason. I love beating the piss out of him.
Piston Honda: Amazingly, Honda was a black man in the original arcade game, and was changed to Japanese for the NES version. He'll give you a TKO from Tokyo!
Don Flamenco: Foppish Spainard. Everyone knew the trick of alternating A B uppercuts. I could beat him with my eyes closed.
King Hippo: 'Nuff said.
Great Tiger: Mystical Indian. Same body type as Von Kaiser, also wears pants. I could beat this man's ass before he even got to the Tiger Punch.
Bald Bull: Scary Turk. Took me forever to master countering the Bull Charge.
Piston Honda: Yes, again, and he's only slightly more difficult.
Soda Popinksi: Original name for the character: Vodka Drunkinski. Someone thought this may not be appropriate for children. I weird fighter that didn't have any special tricks, but his did wear pink underwear and had a neat little song.
Bald Bull: The "you have to use a star to knock him down" trick was EVIL.
Don Flamenco: Why was he ranked over Bald Bull? Never figured that out. He's only slightly trickier this time around.
Mr. Sandman: EVIL. Scariest fighter in the game. Beware the Razor Uppercut. I remember my dad telling me "hit him in the gut," which is the key to getting anywhere.
Super Macho Man: Same body type as Soda Popinski. Some people think he's tough - I can TKO him in the first round without taking a punch.
Mike Tyson: One of the all time great NES challenges - it took me six years to beat Iron Mike. 'Nuff said.

Coming up: Hike!