Virtual Pro Wrestling 2: Oudou Keishou

"Supreme Wrestling Game, Well Worth the Import Fees"

Hi, my name is weezerfan, you may remember me from such message boards as the PW Board, and occasionally the No Mercy board and I'm here to review this absolutely fabulous import: Virtual Pro Wrestling 2. I've had this game for a few months, and I've loved every minute of it. First, some quick disclaimers about the game:

1. It is nearly entirely all in Japanese, which some of you may not like. To circumvent this there is a translation guide here if you have the desire to fully comprehend what the hell you're doing in the game.

2. As an import game, you can expect to need a converter, about twelve bucks or so. I don't want to hear any complaints from people who buy the game, but not a converter.

3. Although, this is from the same companies as the WWF games, don't expect many superficial similarities between those games and VPW2.

Now, on with the good stuff:

Graphics- 8/10- The arena's blow away most anything ever seen in any other AKI/THQ collaborations, even No Mercy. They just have more of a unique atmosphere as you change from say the Tokyo Dome, to the Stadium, as opposed to the meager set changes you get when changing from RAW to SmackDown in No Mercy. The wrestlers, however, are closer to the more blocky style of WM2K and Revenge, the only true low point. The move animations are crisp, and unlike No Mercy there is no slow down during 4 men match a la No Mercy.

Sound- 9/10- The sound in this game is rather good. The background music isn't obtrusively annoying, and there is minimal (and boy do I mean minimal) voice acting. This is limited to grunts, and ring introductions. There's no commentary, but commentary on any sports-type game tends to get repetitive after a few play throughs, so nothing big is missing. Besides it would've been in Japanese, and unintelligible to most of you reading this review except for the occasional call of EXPLOIDAH~! and whatnot, so no biggie.

Gameplay/Control- 10/10- The gameplay mirrors that of all AKI wrestlers prior to No Mercy in terms of control, as should be expected. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Also, there are plenty of different modes to try your luck at, although the gimmick matches such as Cage Matches or Ladder Matches are no where to be found, but these options rarely add to a wrestling game anyway. You have your choice between Puroresu style matches, or Point based Shoot fight matches, and this a welcome addition. The combo system from the WCW games later absconded from the WWF games is back, and as good as ever.

Replayability- 10/10 You could play this game for years and still not have done it all. Have some friends over and have a tournament, round robin or bracket-style, or a Royal Rumble among other things. Also included is a huge CAW, which truly puts the WWF CAW systems to shame with it's much greater selection of tights and whatnot. The only true drawback of the CAW is if you really want to make your American favorites, you may have trouble finding a good face for him, but it's not too big of a problem. Also, you could spend a good amount of time editing the included wrestlers to look like they really do, as AKI secured the rights to AJPW, but still included guys from other promotions, just slightly altered. If you wish to make them look correct and truly complete your game, ask about the Edit Document on the VPW2 Message Board and you'll be pointed in the right direction.

Rent or buy? Buy, well you really don't have a choice since you can't rent it in America anyway, unless you have a really good Blockbuster or something. Anyway, it's definitely worth the extra cash to import it, especially if you're a fan of Puro.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 11/23/01, Updated 11/23/01