Fire Pro Wrestling Returns: A Game Review

 

Fire Pro Wrestling Returns: A Game Review:

Fire Pro Wrestling Returns was released on November 13th in North America. It's been a bit more than two years since the Japanese release. After spending nearly two weeks with the game, I believe I am qualified to write an unbiased evaluation. I've been a fan of this series for a long time, yet I'm still aware of its flaws. How do Fire Pro Wrestling Returns compare to the more well-known competitors? Where do I begin...

The core Fire Pro gameplay hasn't changed significantly. It's the same reliable grappling technique that long-time fans have come to expect. Newcomers to Fire Pro will need to spend some time adjusting to the timing. Button mashers are punished by the fighting system. I recommend that newcomers start with COM difficulty 1 and work their way up to a more difficult level. This is one of those games where you can only appreciate it once you've figured out the ins and outs.

Tight game play and a large roster are two of the series' defining characteristics. A total of 327 real-life competitors compete in FPR. To avoid any difficulties with copyright, everyone's name has been changed. Vader is known as "Saber," Kenta Kobashi is known as "Keiji Togashi," and so on. Please feel free to rename everyone. You can also change the appearance of the default characters. When your favorite wrestler switches gimmicks, you don't have to give up one of your 500 edit(CAW) spots.

Wrestlers, boxers, and mixed martial artists from all over the world make up FPR's all-star roster. Giant Baba, Satoru Sayama (the original Tiger Mask), and Jushin "Thunder" Lyger are among the purest legends. Puro wrestlers dominate the default roster, as they always do. Bret Hart, Sting, Andre the Giant, Petey Williams, Mirco Cro Cop, and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson are some of the most well-known American wrestling/UFC combatants.

A "corner to center" attack is a new element to the series. You can hunker down in the corner after your opponent is knocked down in the middle of the ring to set up a spear, super kick, or a few other tactics. Matches with characters who set up these attacks in a specific way gain a little more drama and accuracy as a result of this. If you wanted to, you could make an authentic Shawn Michaels or Bill Goldberg with this new function.

Finally, a classic steel cage match has been added. Players can inflict injury on others by using weapons such as barbed wire bats or the cage itself. S-1 (boxing with only punches), Gruesome (a 12-sided UFC-inspired cage), and the Electrified Barbed Wire Exploding Deathmatch are some of the other match options. The Japanese hardcore wrestlers fling each other over electric boards coated in skin-shredding barbed wired while the has Hell in a Cell. It's unique, yet it's still enjoyable.

Ref edit, Belt Edit, and Ring/Logo edit are all buzz-worthy elements. There is a "Match Maker" GM mode, although it is rather limited. All you have to do is arrange up fights between boxers and get assessed based on the percentage of the crowd's reaction. Strange special events that occur during matchmaker do little to expand the game's capabilities. Created wrestlers are not allowed to be used in Match Maker for some inexplicable reason.

The presentation is unremarkable. Menus are functional, however, accessing some features can be difficult at times. I'm reminded of arcade games like Wrestlefest by FPR's 2D graphics. The sprites for the characters are not high-resolution, but they are huge and detailed. Spike could have easily reused Fire Pro Wrestling Z's graphics. Instead, they developed new sprites and reanimated certain previously recorded moves. Some of the animations appear to be robotic, yet they are generally fluid.

Spike has once again mapped the pickup weapons button to the run button, which is unfortunate. While playing in an explosive barbed wire match, you want to acquire a neon tube from the corner. Make sure you're close enough to the tubes in question. If you don't, you'll run into the barbed wire ropes and look like a complete idiot. It doesn't detract from the game in any way, but the R2 button's omission astounds me. That is, in general, one of my major complaints about FPR.

In my critiques, I don't use numerical scores or grades. Fire Pro Wrestling Returns would probably get a 91 if I were the kind to do that. It's the best in the series, although it has drawbacks like every other game. Even so-called classic games that have received perfect reviews from other reviewers include flaws or problems. Anyone who enjoys pro wrestling or the UFC should play this game. You don't have to be a Puro fan to enjoy FPR; the unique gameplay and personalization choices are enough to pique your interest.