VERY hard wrestling game, but still great nonetheless.
Wrestling games on the other hand for the past 5 years after the PS1/N64 war was over were either great, to just okay or just plain sucked......while people thrived over how awesome the graphics was. So who would've thunk that a wrestling franchise so popular in Japan would be such a worldwide phenomenon like the Fire Pro series?
Yes, for the first time, Fire Pro Wrestling was imported to the U.S. for many fans of the games to flourish in for the PS2. Upon arrival, it had a lot of great reviews while they also had some bad reviews.
Me? I like Fire Pro Wrestling Returns. One of the reasons for me was the fact that it was something NEW to me and a bit challenging, unlike the last SmackDown Vs Raw titles which sucked IMO (2007 and 2008). Unlike those games where you can easily mash buttons all the way to a win without any skill whatsoever, Fire Pro Wrestling is all about timing. Walk to your opponent and you'll immediately go into a grappling animation. Successfully input the first command over the A.I. and you win the grapple. Pretty much, attempt to mash buttons and you'll get owned BADLY.
Also, unlike the SmackDown series, you have to actually WEAR down your opponents first before going for the more stronger moves in your wrestler's arsenal. Attempt them too early and the A.I. will reverse them all the time. So yeah, you can't randomly press buttons or go for strong moves from the get-go. Yes, Fire Pro Wrestling Returns is a very hard game and challenging, yet the rewards from winning a match is very satisfying once you do. Even on the easiest difficulty this game will still be challenging for newcomers to play.
One of the things that make this game stand out is the huge roster that it provides with ions of wrestlers from Japan, Mexico and the United States (due to copyright issues their names are altered). And one of the best selling points for the game would be the vast majority of Create Modes it has. You can create ring logos (which is very difficult to do), rings, book PPVs and obviously make.....get this....FIVE HUNDRED wrestlers. Even organise the roster in the game itself and edit the name and attires for several others. Pretty much there is a lot of customisation in this game which is what a lot of wrestling fans love about it, including me.
Finally, anyone who either hates this game or would not want to try this game out because the graphics are OUTDATED should never play a video game ever again. Seriously. If we have come to this point where graphics matter more than great gameplay, then you all fail as gamers. Fire Pro Wrestling Returns provides some solid gameplay unlike the other 3D wrestling games out in the market. Even though I like SmackDown: Here Comes The Pain and SmackDown Vs Raw 2006, I can easily state that Fire Pro Wrestling Returns is far superior. Goes to show that beautiful graphics never make a game awesome.