The AKI Corporation, based in Japan, have developed some utterly awesome wrestling videogames. Known mainly for the Virtual Pro Wrestling series in their homeland, the company - now known as Syn Sophia Inc - are also well-renowned for producing games on North American companies, such as the timeless WWF No Mercy. A lot of gamers were first introduced to the great gameplay AKI provides with WCW vs. The World, which was only released on Playstation consoles in 1997 (1996 in the Orient). The premise of the game is in the title, as some of the WCW's top stars mingle with stars from around the globe - unfortunately, probably due to not being able to secure licenses in time, most of the foreign characters are made-up, but represent real life wrestlers. For example, the wrestler 'Sherlock' is actually supposed to be Ken Shamrock. Much like the Pro Evolution Soccer series in the football gaming world, WCW vs. The World is all about gameplay, more so than official licenses. There's something about playing the game which is just so satisfying, matches feel smooth and winning gives a real sense of achievement and skill. One revolutionary concept is the 'Spirit Bar', which replaces a life/energy meter for each wrestler, and mirrors the momentum system which is even prevalent in titles like WWE 2K15 today.