Fire Pro Wrestling

"Heheh! Fire! Fire! Fire! Yeah!"

[This review will not be updated any longer with exception to any change in my reviewing system or style.]

Intro
For the longest time, I heard many wrestling-fan gamers refer to a wrestling series I had not played. One called Fire Pro. Finally, US wrestling fans who decided to buy a GBA can rejoice! We have been blessed with a Fire Pro game! Okay, so not every wrestling fan will like it since it isn't a major button-masher like previous wrestling games. This one (like Natsume Championship Wrestling, which I also reviewed) takes skill and timing. It'll take a bit to get the hang of, but once you finally do get the hang of it, it gets under your skin, into your blood, possibly even into the darkest vortex of your mind, and compels you every 15 minutes to pick up the GBA and play some more. What? Just a second, master. I'm writing a review for you. But I just played you! Oh... okay...

[35 minutes later]

Oh, But We DID Start the Fire!
Fire Pro Wrestling features a ton of wrestlers, plus hidden wrestlers, giving you over 190 men all together! That's a major roster. In this game, you fight and slam your way to the top. You can execute regular attacks by pushing A, B, or A+B simultaneously (B for a weak hit, A for a moderate hit, and A+B for a powerful hit. That principle is exerted throughout the game.)

''Lock horns, I push and I strive. Somehow I feel more alive.''- Metallica
You can grapple in this game like any wrestling game, however the grappling is a bit different. To grapple, you bump into your opponent and the two of you will commence a lock. This is where timing comes in. You must push the right button combination right as the two of you lock up and you can win the grapple. However, you can be countered if you do a move too early, so you should try to wear down your opponent first. A good example of ''button combination'' would be The Mauler. Right as you lock, if you push down+A+B simultaneously, you can execute a whip powerbomb, which has a possibility of a Critical!

Um... Critical!?
A Critical is like a finisher. You can perform them at almost any time. There are several different kinds of Criticals like suplex (which is like Mauler's Critical), submission Criticals (which are submission holds), striking Criticals (which are regular attacks), and a few others.

So, What's So Good About Fire Pro?
Flexible wrestlers, flexible match styles... in other words, a very flexible engine. This allows you to create a match from almost any top fed from WWF, to ECW, to even UFC and other shootfighting feds. In this, you can recreate the great high flying matches as well as good hardcore stuff. The wrestlers all span different wrestling styles. You have more power-based individuals who rely more on powerful moves to take out an opponent. There is also one that relies more on speedy techniques. There are even those who are more based on fighting and striking like shootfighters. You will have more technical wrestlers who like to wear their opponents down first. Of course, you also have those who are a straight combination of all of them.

Breathing
Breathing is quite essential in this game. To stop and take a breather, hold the L trigger. Why? Because if you don't your wrestler will run out of fuel, so to speak, while wrestling and not be able to compete to their fullest. If you run completely out of fuel, your wrestler will sit there for a little while, panting like a heat exhausted dog while your opponent has their chance to do their every little scheme against you. In short, breathing rocks!

Character Creation
Like with many wrestling games these days you can create wrestlers. It's a bit like SD!'s creation with preset features, only much better. You can customize colors on top of the preset stuff. There's also a lot of options to choose from, and unlike Smackdown!2 or Attitude, 90% of them are not fruity looking!

Create a Fed, Too? What'll They Think of Next?
Well, okay so it's not something completely new. It seems to be a bigger extension on the idea of creating a stable, but instead of just a stable, you're creating a whole company. The only real original look you get to add to this is a name. There are logos you can pick that are not used, but it would be kind of cool to make your own. Okay, so that's going a bit too far. I'm not saying that's a complaint against this game, just thinking wishfully/hopefully for the future.

Options
There are literally tons of options. Of course, you have your standard one-on-one, you can also make it Gruesome (wrestle until one person is out cold or gives up), or Deathmatch (ring has explosives that go off after a while). There's also Battle Royals that can be set up like a regular four corners match or you can have the option of rolling your opponent out of the ring to eliminate them. You can also go through the usual tournament. There is also a League, which is a round robin that can have up to 64 combatants! Beat that Titan Sports! Elimination matches are quite cool where you have a team of five wrestle in a series of one-on-one matches until all of one team is eliminated. You can go Survival to see how long you can last against the computer. Finally, there's the Audience Match where you work off the audience by wrestling a certain way.

Game Elements
The graphics are a bit of a casualty. We've honestly seen better with GBA's other launch titles. These have good coloration, sure, but they lack texture to a certain extent. The sounds are a bit marred. This still sounds like it's trapped in the 16-bit era when GBA can process much better sound than this. The controls don't take too long to get the hang of. All it takes is a little practice. The gameplay is absolutely addictive. I highly recommend this game to any hardcore wrestling fan that's had it with the everyday button-mashers.

FINAL JUDGMENT
Graphics: A cry for help 5/10
Sounds: Second that 5/10
Controls: Good response 8/10
Plot/Storyline: N/A
Gameplay: Loads of options and addictive gameplay can carry a game quite a bit 10/10
All Together: 9/10

Perks
*Addictive
*Very fun
*Good control response
*Loads of options and wrestlers
*Great character creation

Downers
*Mediocre graphics and sounds

Recommendations
As I've said earlier, only those who like skillful wrestling games. If you're too use to the usual button-mashers, then you probably won't like this one too much.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 07/23/01, Updated 09/23/01