Fire Pro Wrestling 2

"*sigh* Still nothing worth much here..."

I had such high hopes for this one. I'm not going to waste too much time writing a review for what is basically FPA v1.4, but I will spend a little bit on it, at least.

.Prologue.
- Well, looks like it's out. After what seemed like forever(to me, at least), Final Fire Pro(Fire Pro Wrestling 2 in the States) has been released. Is it worth it? Well, if you already have FPA, I wouldn't recommend importing it until BAM! releases it shore side. Why? Well, there's really nothing new at all. 4 months of a delay for a handful of new moves. Several of those moves look screwed up(Turbo Drop/Amaze Impact) and others are just flat out recycled(Tajiri's Kick). We're now down to 42 edits, as well. That's not much of a problem, but it's still terrible compared to before. The only thing that's really noteworthy are a few new animations and Management Mode, basically. Other than that, it's the same as FPA.

.Story.
- Well, any semblance of story would be the aforementioned Management Mode. You can create a new promotion(or use an existing one) and manage the business matters that come with it. You pick a name, a ring logo, how much money you start with, what kind of styles are present in your organization, what wrestlers work for you, etc. It seems extensive, but until it comes out in English, I can't go into a whole lot of detail. Let's just say that this may very well be the only redeeming factor of the entire game.

.Modes.
- There's the standard Versus mode, Management Mode, Training Mode, and the ever present Create a Wrestler Mode. With Versus, you can choose pretty much everything you could in FPA. Normal matches, Exploding Cage matches, and a Gruesome Fighting match. Yes, the Octagon is still in. No, it doesn't look the same and, no, you STILL can't fight on the ground. Sorry, no Mount System here. Training Mode just runs you through Fire Pro(like the training mode in any other game) and I believe gives you a secret character if you complete it. The other two are self-explanatory, really. Nothing too special here.

.Controls.
- Same Fire Pro fare. Nothing has changed. Rather than button mashing, you use timing to pull off moves. You can run around, breathe, strike, grapple, drag the guy along the ground, whatever. Nothing new here, either. If you've played Fire Pro G, D, or A, then you know what to expect.

.Graphics.
- Same old, trusty Fire Pro 2D graphics. This will turn a lot of people off, but those who play things just for how it looks don't really deserve to be bothered with, so we can just let them live their simple-minded lives in peace.

.Sound.
- There's some new music, like a theme based on Mutoh's music, but I still like FPAs overall. It's barely decent and doesn't come to wow you, yet does exactly what it came to do and nothing more.

.Epilogue.
- What a disappointment. I expected a lot more than this, but I guess I shouldn't have, considering Spike has several other projects they're working on. Management Mode is a bright, shiny coin amidst a pile of dirt. You're used to the dirt. It's been there, unchanging since the dawn of time. You pass up the stuff you've seen for something new. Hopefully, when the game is translated into English, I'll be able to truly delve into this ''something new''. I'm really interested in just how Management Mode will turn out. Come for the Management, stay for... well, there's really nothing much else that's new here. So I'd say stay for a little while, then go back to FPA. The trip up to Club FPA2 really isn't worth it.

God, how I miss HUMAN.

(The above review is for the Japanese version of the game. The hacked up American port isn't as bad as the other, but it's still a weak, generic effort. Judging from BAM!'s past efforts, this comes as no surprise, however. MOR is completely taken out; replaced by Wrestlerlist Mode and Ironman Mode. Wrestlerlist lists the wrestlers. Ironman Mode is some bland and uninspired ''gauntlet'' mode where you take a wrestler through a bunch of matches and unlock crap. The removal of MOR allowed for some more things over FPA2's Japanese predecessor, but it's nothing you haven't seen if you've played Fire Pro D. That's proof, however, that BAM! was targeting a larger audience, as most casual fans never bothered with FPD. Giving them updates seen in the Dreamcast version shows they're more concerned with drawing in a new crowd than astonishing old-time fans like myself. That's good, really, but Fire Pro D is still drastically superior to both GBA Fire Pro games, so I'd jump for that if you have a Dreamcast. If not, then go ahead and buy FPA. FPA2 honestly just isn't worth it. Sorry, but one new mode in the Japanese version and a generic revamp in the American version simply does not hold up to the hype. Period. A weak and well-deserved 6 for a weak and un-deserved import. Spike can do better than this. BAM!... well, your ignorance is excused. You can't help but suck.)

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 07/21/02, Updated 10/05/02