WCW vs The World

[TGM]

Anybody else remember playing this? I was really disappointed by the roster as a kid as it only had a couple of actual WCW wrestlers in it and the rest were nobodies. It was only until years later I realised that there generics were get out of copyright free versions of actual Japanese wrestlers. Some of these names are complete wtf though, Sabu being named David Harley.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}
Empire Wrestling Federation (All Japan Pro Wrestling)

Bear Breath (Gary Albright)
The Count (Stan Hansen)
Fujigami (Tatsumi Fujinami)
Kapuna (Toshiaki Kawada)
Mongrel (Jumbo Tsuruta)
Sam Song (Kenta Kobashi)
Samoa (Giant Baba)
Siberia (Steve Williams)
Wu Fang (Mitsuharu Misawa)

Samurai Wrestling Federation (Pancrase / Universal Wrestling Federation)

200 Wins (Yoji Anjoh)
Akira (Akira Maeda)
Billy Gaijin (Scott Norton)
Kaiji (Yoshiaki Fujiwara)
Konaka (Shiro Koshinaka)
Moma (Nobuhiko Takada)
Sherlock (Ken Shamrock)
Thunder Dome (Bas Rutten)
Uraki (Masakastsu Funaki)
Yamagiwa (Kazumo Yamazaki)

Dead or Alive (Frontier Martial Arts Wrestling / WAR)

Blackheart (Tarzan Goto)
David Harley (Sabu)
Habanero (Hayabusa)
Kim Chee (Koji Kiato)
Puchteca (Atsushi Onita)
Saladin (Genichiro Tenryu)

Independent Union (Michinoku Pro Wrestling)

Black Belt (TAKA Michinoku)
Black Ninja (The Great Sasuke)
Mukluk (Kensuke Sasaki)
Shaolin (Jinsei Shinzaki)
El Bolador (Hiroyoshi Tenzan)

Neo Strong Wrestling (New Japan Pro Wrestling)

Abispa (Jushin "Thunder" Liger)
Bad Blood (The Great Muta)
Bolt Jamison (Kensuke Sasaki)
Dakota (Hiroshi Hase)
Dojo (Shinya Hashimoto)
Mad Oahu (Riki Chōshū)
Mongol (Keiji Mutoh)
Overdose (Road Warrior Hawk)
The Turk (Dynamite Kid)

[DSR]

I loved it, and I still break it out and play it every once in a while.

[Can you afford to pay me, Gah]

Fun game and awesome roster once you realized they where all real guys with fake names. I did find it funny for a WCW game, that there where only like 10 guys from WCW. Kind of odd picks too when you factor in the NWO red hot and how on the booklet had guys like Piper and DDP on it and neither was in the game. The hidden boss if you will was unplayable (I never figure out otherwise) was Jarrett.

[BorneAgain]

Its interesting to see as a prototype of the evolved THQ/AKI formula that really took off a few months later with WCW/nWo World Tour. The elements are there, but a bit awkward and clunky compared to what we'd get later.

[Futureraven: Beelzebruv]

They called Hawk Overdose... well not a MILLION miles away.

[chronocross]

I loved this game, me and my friends would have tournaments and play it all day. Ultimo Dragon was my favorite wrestler to play as.

[MC Blowfish]

My friends and I rented it one time. It was fun, but weird with the roster. We used to play WCW/NWO Revenge much more.

[Johnny B. Decent]

It had a really cool soundtrack:

[cjh]

The reason for the knockoffs wasn't because of copyrights but because to use the actual wrestlers, THQ would have had to go to those wrestlers, get their permission, and pay them.  It's the same reason why you can go on WWE Network and see, for example, Val Venis, but if WWE wanted to make an action figure of him today or put him in their next game, they or the game/toy company would have to contact him and get him to agree.

[celtics543]

I got this game at the same time I got the PS1. I remember really enjoying it at the time even though I had no idea that they were real people with fake names. Weird that the first wrestling game for the PS1 wasn't a WWF game when I was 100% a WWF kid at the time. Apparently my parents just decided wrestling was wrestling and knew who Sting was.

[The Ichi]

Habanero was my boy.

[Aceorton]

I loved this game. It was fun to play with a friend and just select a couple of random Japanese characters and see what crazy shit was in their movesets. Some of the moves and strikes were vicious.

[Deleted]

I own the game. Really insane stuff, but World Tour did it better. By the way, I prefer the Japanese version over the THQ port.

[nickcave]

The first wrestling game I ever played, I used to play as Unknown a lot for some reason. Also kind of messed up that the fake Hawk was named Overdose

[Heeltown, USA]

This game is the granddaddy of the best wrestling games America ever got.
An American port of Virtual Pro Wrestling, it was revolutionary at the time. I can see how the roster could throw people off at first, but if you think about the name it kind of made sense. And while the nWo was red hot when the game came out, you have to remember the game was developed long before. In fact, one thing the WCW version had that the Japanese version didn't was an nWo outfit for Hogan. That and they put a recently debuted Ultimo Dragon in the WCW faction.

I loved this game. Its what made me buy a PSX. Somewhere out there is my memory card where Dean Malenko is still my Jr. Heavyweight champion with over a hundred defenses. I remember the v. counter resetting after 99.
And that brings up another memory, of my friends and I bringing our memory cards over to eachothers' houses and having matches for our own made belts.
It was great when you captured your buddy's belt. We all made our own promotions with our own titles too.

The only gripe I ever had with the game at the time was there was no tag team matches. At the time I would constantly bitch about why the Steiner Brothers were there without it. But it was a small complaint.

Admittedly the game hasn't held up over the years. The engine evolved and pinnacles with VPW 2, sorry No Mercy marks.

But to whomever posted the soundtrack, amen. The PSX using CDs allowed it alot more music than the AKI N64 games ever gave us.

Great thread. Love hearing everyone's memories and thoughts about the game.

[Heeltown, USA]

Jan 12, 2018 10:16:57 GMT -5 celtics543 said:

I got this game at the same time I got the PS1. I remember really enjoying it at the time even though I had no idea that they were real people with fake names. Weird that the first wrestling game for the PS1 wasn't a WWF game when I was 100% a WWF kid at the time. Apparently my parents just decided wrestling was wrestling and knew who Sting was.

Power Move Pro Wrestling would like to talk to you.
Agent Orange was the man.

[Wolf Hawkfield no1 NZ poster]

I would say it was aright at best.

Which is a f*** of a lot more than can be said about both the Nitro and Thunder video games.

[DSR]

I wanna say this was the second wrestling game I played on the PS1. When we first got the system, we also got a copy of WWF In Your House. Which comparing the two of them, WCW vs. The World is VASTLY superior.

[Father Dougal McGuire]

One thing I loved about the game is the crack you heard when you won via submission, if you had that option on.

[chazraps]

Jan 12, 2018 6:54:25 GMT -5 Can you afford to pay me, Gah said:

Fun game and awesome roster once you realized they where all real guys with fake names. I did find it funny for a WCW game, that there where only like 10 guys from WCW. Kind of odd picks too when you factor in the NWO red hot and how on the booklet had guys like Piper and DDP on it and neither was in the game. The hidden boss if you will was unplayable (I never figure out otherwise) was Jarrett.

You had to go to the very bottom of the character selection screen and hit down one more time, you'd see Jarrett's picture and him listed as "The All American."

However, he wasn't the end-end boss, just the end boss of WCW. Once you toppled every promotion's boss, I believe you faced Andre the Giant under another name, but clearly Andre.