Certainly was the best in its time, but nowadays you can't really call such a glitched game the best. Average.
User Rating: 5 | WWF No Mercy N64
This game got 5.0 in this review. It is average by today's standards. Average isn't bad of course, but you can certainly get better out there. This game uses the now well known grappling system: Get into a grapple and then do a move from there. If you press the grapple button you will get into a quick grapple, if you hold the button you will attempt a grapple slower, but it will lead to more powerful moves if successful. This game also has a reversal system, the L button reverses grapples and the R button reverses/blocks strikes (punches, kicks). Already if you own one of the newer Smackdown! games you will see the similarities control and style-wise between the two. Seeing as both the Smackdown! series and No Mercy are THQ products, this isn't surprising. Also used is an 'Attitude meter'. If you've played a WCW game such as WCW Mayhem then you'll know about this. It's all about momentum, you have to take control off the match. The more successful moves you pull off and taunts you make, the more the meter fills up until when it's full (and you taunt) you can do your finisher move, but you have a limited time to do one (or two or three if you're cocky). There are plenty of exhibition matches to choose from, cage, special referee and ladder to name a few. No, before you ask, there isn't a Hell in a Cell match, but that isn't a big miss so don't worry. As well as your matches here you can have 2, 3 or 4 wrestlers duking it out, so your matches can range from a simple 2 on 1 handicap to a triple threat Iron Man match. As well as your exibition and survivor modes (a mode which is basically an infinite Royal Rumble), there is of course a Championship (Season) mode. You choose a title and then compete in a story of several matches to win the belt. Here you can unlock characters or earn money to buy from the shop later on. That's if you finish it. You start Championship mode and you'll be doing fine, sometimes if you lose a match the season mode continues but just affects the 'story' which by the way is childishly written (but not a major factor anyway). But as soon as you reach the last couple of matches, you'll be fighting against a near unbeatable opponent. He'll reverse every move, taunt you all the time to raise his spirit meter, he'll attack quicker than you. And don't even think about winning the Women's title first because it seems easier. If you follow a particular path you'll end up fighting for the Women's title...TRIPLE H?!! Yes, that's right. This game really does want to screw you over. Sure you can live without a story mode, hell I've done it before. But then comes our second problem... GLITCHES This game is so glitched that it has become part of the 'personality' of the game, almost as if you're supposed to love its positives as well as its flaws. There are no flaws in the gameplay itself necessarily, the only time there is is if you use or win a Championship with a created wrestler and then do Championship again, some crazy stuff happens there. But no, the biggest flaw is this game is near unsaveable. IT WILL DELETE YOUR DATA! All of it. Your created wrestlers will be gone, the things you've unlocked will be gone. Another glitch is how the game likes to freeze in survivor mode after 2 hours of play and gaining so much. Like I said, I think this game hates you. So now the only redeeming factor of this game is the variety of matches itself. But wait, there's another flaw. The graphics on this game are good for its time, obviously not as shiny or polished as wrestlers nowadays, but there is slowdown when there is too much going on in the match. I myself didn't get this in the Royal Rumble, but in a tag ladder match it is considerable and slow. Just so I cover everything, the intros are good. You'll get the start of their intro and they'll walk up the ramp and do a little taunt or something. Pretty good. So to conclude, 5 years ago this game was the best, despite the flaws. But nowadays it is in the shadow of games you can get today. Maybe worth getting if you see it pre-owned in a shop and you have a spare few $ or £. But why bother when you can get better games? The Smackdown! games are now an improvement on No Mercy. They have everything No Mercy has but better. You could get a Wrestlemania game for your GameCube or maybe something for your PS1, because this game can't compete anymore. Average game, if only there wasn't so many glitches. 
