Any wrestling promotion worth its salt
needs a video game, and the higher ups at All Elite Wrestling (AEW),
the newborn potential competitor to the heretofore hegemonic WWE,
seem to apprehend this. Evidently, no one understands this better
than Kenny Omega, AEW's sine qua non who is widely renowned
for his transcendent in-ring performances. Omega has not only flagged
a good video game as a necessary part of AEW’s future, but he has
also publicly stated that this hypothetical game should be built
around the legendary AKI gameplay system.
This only further confirms Omega's
aesthetic discernment. The AKI engine, with its grappling system
based on weak and strong tie-ups, is widely regarded as the benchmark
of videogame wrestling schemas. Though it relies on button-mashing,
to some degree, and may not have the precision of Fire Pro
Wrestling's timing-based system, the AKI mechanic is considerably
easier to pick up and play. Flagship AKI N64 titles like WCW/NWO
Revenge (1998) and WWF No Mercy (2000), as well as the
Japan-only Virtual Pro Wrestling 2 (2000), are still being
played at present, holding their own against—and even
outperforming—contemporary wrestling video games.
That said, the AKI engine has not appeared in full force in nearly two decades, the 2000 release WWF No Mercy representing the last true iteration of the schema. Modified versions of the AKI system appear in Def Jam Vendetta (2003), Ultimate Muscle: Legends vs. New Generation (2003), and (to some degree) WrestleMania XIX (2003), but these games were little consolation for diehards, who have been consistently clamoring for a proper AKI sequel throughout the entirety of the twenty-first century. Said diehards have even kept afloat a dedicated modding community, which has produced many a buggy bootleg classic, including WCW Feel the Bang.
The AKI engine would be a perfect fit for AEW, as the company has predicated itself upon pleasing precisely this kind of diehard fan. With that being said, the system is not too involved so as to alienate newcomers, and thereby strikes a crucial balance between the uninspired WWE 2K games and the hardcore, sprite-based Fire Pro. As this sort of happy medium (and high medium at that), the engine can also help AEW court non-wrestling fans who might otherwise dismiss "entertainment" of WWE’s ilk. The AKI engine's minimal learning curve made the games eminently playable, and actually brought people to wrestling. Even wrestling skeptics couldn't deny the appeal of four-player AKI battles royal. As such, an AKI game could be an effective means by which AEW can create positive associations with its product and expand its fan-base, generating enthusiasts wholly unsullied by WWE.
A number of difficulties stand in the way of AEW's AKI game, however. First off, there is the fact that AKI doesn't exist anymore. Rather, it has rebranded itself syn Sophia, and mostly just releases fashion games for portable systems. Secondly, were AEW to convince syn Sophia to resurrect its wrestling engine, it remains to be seen how a schema so closely tied to the N64’s controller and graphical style will translate to the current generation. Graphics were never the main appeal of AKI grappling games (they rarely are for good wrestling titles), and the animations, in their purest form, might not satisfy the ragdoll-obsessed visual sensibilities of current-generation gamers. That said, an AEW game could be done up retro-styled with N64-era visuals, and this would still make for a highly appealing download.
No Mercy, Revenge and Virtual Pro 2 quintessentially encapsulated peak historical junctures for the WWF, WCW, and All-Japan promotions, respectively, saving for posterity little dispatches from an era when wrestling was achieving its full potential. Can an AKI-styled game help hoist AEW to the pinnacle of professional wrestling? The question will remain unanswered for a while, as an AEW game by any company is at minimum two years away. And if AEW cannot compete with the WWE's lackluster but nonetheless entrenched product, the promotion itself might not even be around in two years.
That said, the AKI engine has not appeared in full force in nearly two decades, the 2000 release WWF No Mercy representing the last true iteration of the schema. Modified versions of the AKI system appear in Def Jam Vendetta (2003), Ultimate Muscle: Legends vs. New Generation (2003), and (to some degree) WrestleMania XIX (2003), but these games were little consolation for diehards, who have been consistently clamoring for a proper AKI sequel throughout the entirety of the twenty-first century. Said diehards have even kept afloat a dedicated modding community, which has produced many a buggy bootleg classic, including WCW Feel the Bang.
The AKI engine would be a perfect fit for AEW, as the company has predicated itself upon pleasing precisely this kind of diehard fan. With that being said, the system is not too involved so as to alienate newcomers, and thereby strikes a crucial balance between the uninspired WWE 2K games and the hardcore, sprite-based Fire Pro. As this sort of happy medium (and high medium at that), the engine can also help AEW court non-wrestling fans who might otherwise dismiss "entertainment" of WWE’s ilk. The AKI engine's minimal learning curve made the games eminently playable, and actually brought people to wrestling. Even wrestling skeptics couldn't deny the appeal of four-player AKI battles royal. As such, an AKI game could be an effective means by which AEW can create positive associations with its product and expand its fan-base, generating enthusiasts wholly unsullied by WWE.
A number of difficulties stand in the way of AEW's AKI game, however. First off, there is the fact that AKI doesn't exist anymore. Rather, it has rebranded itself syn Sophia, and mostly just releases fashion games for portable systems. Secondly, were AEW to convince syn Sophia to resurrect its wrestling engine, it remains to be seen how a schema so closely tied to the N64’s controller and graphical style will translate to the current generation. Graphics were never the main appeal of AKI grappling games (they rarely are for good wrestling titles), and the animations, in their purest form, might not satisfy the ragdoll-obsessed visual sensibilities of current-generation gamers. That said, an AEW game could be done up retro-styled with N64-era visuals, and this would still make for a highly appealing download.
No Mercy, Revenge and Virtual Pro 2 quintessentially encapsulated peak historical junctures for the WWF, WCW, and All-Japan promotions, respectively, saving for posterity little dispatches from an era when wrestling was achieving its full potential. Can an AKI-styled game help hoist AEW to the pinnacle of professional wrestling? The question will remain unanswered for a while, as an AEW game by any company is at minimum two years away. And if AEW cannot compete with the WWE's lackluster but nonetheless entrenched product, the promotion itself might not even be around in two years.
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