Well, it's been a long time since I have actually typed up a review for a game (Pretty much since 50 Cent's Bulletproof came out). And still...I only have a PS2 (slim) and a Nintendo Wii collecting dust like an old VCR. So since I am still stuck in the stone age of video gaming, I guess I should talk about one of my favorite wrestling game, Fire Pro Wrestling Returns. Fire Pro Wrestling Returns (or FPR) came out in 2005 in Japan, but came over to America in 2007 by Agetec. Pretty much, it wasn't a big release as the game was only nine dollars and ninety-nine cents, but to a small community, it was a big deal. The Fire Pro Wrestling series in general was huge because it was one of the few wrestling games out there that was more of pro wrestling simulation than most products released during the hay day of the NES, SNES, and PSX. It was pretty popular for the time and now still being recommended by other wrestling fans as well. Which now brings us to FPR. FPR off the bat starts the player off with 300 wrestlers to choose from. From strong-style wrestlers, to deathmatch-hardcore wrestlers, to female wrestlers, to MMA fighters, there is many styles of wrestling to choose from. The description of the styles will also be important later in the review. The choices of matches are, well, not so many. From single, tag team, and 8 man tag team match (4 vs 4), to Cage match, Barbed Wire, and Exploding Landmine matches are the standard choices. It isn't as plentiful as a WWE Smackdown Vs Raw games (or WWE 2K15), but this is based off Japanese influenced matches; so gimmick matches are not that important. So meh. Anyway the controls are totally different than the common WWE wrestling games of today. This is more about timing. It is about getting it at the exact time to perform the move. Also it is about building up the match. So you start with weak grapple moves first (i.e. Snap Mares, chops to the chest, etc.) which is executed by pressing the Square button or a directional button and the Square button. Then you move on to your more powerful moves by pressing X or a directional button and X at the same time. And your most powerful moves by hitting Circle or a directional button and Circle. Your "CRITICAL!" move, or finishing move, is performed by hitting Square and X at the same time. The controls are very tight. So there is no real lag when doing said moves. Though there is more you can do, but that requires more timing and accuracy (i.e Putting someone your shoulders for a Doomsday Device set-up). The AI can play pretty well, even though there are times where it can get weird. But most times it is all good.
Besides Exhibition mode, there is a Tournament mode, which is a basic tournament mode, a League mode, which is a Round Robin Tourney mode, Battle Royal mode where it is a 8 man Battle Royale. There are also a UFC (or a MMA) Cage fight mode called "Gruesome Fighting" that let's you fight with MMA Rules; S-1 (pretty much K-1) Rules, and a SWA Match that is rules similar to Shooto Fighting rules (i.e. Battlarts, or UWF-i). And finally, a mode called "Match Maker Mode". Just like in Smackdown vs RAW 2006, there was a mode called "GM Mode" where you can control either RAW or Smackdown and earn money and buy more talent for your show. Well it is pretty much the same thing. You select a promotion you wanna work with, you put together shows, you run them, you see if they are either successes or failures, and you go on to the next show. Certain legends can come out of retirement and ready to work, or Wrestler "X" is the new hotness so everyone will come see him or her. That's about it. It is fun in it's own way, but it is more of a time waster if you got really nothing else to do. This is the disadvantage about this game, there is not a lot to do other than exhibition and these modes, but what I will mention next made up for it completely.
The Edit mode is where the real fun shows. With the 300 wrestlers that you can choose from, you can create, get this, 500 wrestlers! All different from each other! So if I wanted to, I can create the entire roster of the WWF/E from 1984 and still have room more creations. Or I can create 500 John Cenas and have a Battle Royale to see who is John Cenaiest of all John Cenas. Also the depth of the Edit mode is very, very, very deep. Not only do I get to choose from the thousands of moves, I get to choose what moves he does the most, how he plays, how he works the limbs of the opponent, and how he breathes if let's say he gets all bloody. Is he calm and collected, or does he panic and lose his fighting spirit? You can pretty much give your creation personality. Also with the Edit mode, you can create Rings, Refs, Belts, and even your own Logo for your fed. Heck you can create your own Fed if you want. You can create your own ROH with Andre the Giant (even though they don't use their real names) as ROH champ! There is so much to play around with in this mode. Their is an online forum dedicated to creations as well (*cough cough*FPW Arena*cough cough) that keeps this game alive and kicking. So think of it as DLC without the payment issues. Believe me it was the reason why I had to buy five PS2 Memory Cards.
Pretty much the only complaint I have for the game is the ugly box art cover. But that is about it. It is nothing that will throw out my dislike about the game. Overall, if you wanna try a different wrestling game, I say give this a go. But, be warned, you will be able to get it on the first try (believe me I wanted to quit playing the game the first time I played it, but I stuck with it). But the payoff after you get the timing will be MARVELOUS! Also you may wanna get a few memory cards as well. You should be able to find this at certain Gamestops' (bleh) or EBay/Amazon for the same mentioned price as above, or five dollars. Heck I saw a copy at Ralph's of all places. So again, if want a true wrestling simulator, give this a try!
CRITICAL!