First look: Fire Pro Wrestling 2 Game Boy Advance

Spike's Fire Pro series made its debut in the United States last year with Fire Pro Wrestling for the Game Boy Advance, and the first screenshots from and details on the sequel have been released. Fans will immediately recognize Fire Pro's distinctive visual style, with an isometric perspective showing a ring and up to four competitors fighting it out at once. The sprites used to bring the athletes to life show them performing a wide variety of moves, including high kicks to the face, flying knees, body slams, and ground punches. The fictitious wrestling organizations and their accompanying venues return in this sequel, including Blade and VJP.

Apparently due to overwhelming fan requests, Fire Pro Wrestling 2 will feature an ownership mode in which players will have the chance to manage their own wrestling organization from behind a desk instead of from within the ring. Owners will be able to perform a wide variety of tasks, including personnel management and training supervision. Owners should also be able to dictate storylines for their wrestling leagues and choose between dialogue options when wrestlers step in the ring with the microphone in hand, including those with elements of betrayal and conspiracy.

Fire Pro Wrestling 2 will also feature a practice mode that will teach new players how to make use of the game's challenging timing-based control system. This is coupled with the series' sizable create-a-wrestler edit mode, which is well known for its robust set of features for control over moves, appearances, and AI routines.

Spike will be releasing Fire Pro Wrestling 2 for the Game Boy Advance on July 19 in Japan, while Bam will be publishing the game in the United States later this year.