Fire Pro Wrestling Returns, Good but not Great

Right off the bat, the name of the game confused me. Fire Pro Wrestling Returns was released in 2005, and I started wondering if I missed a game. It was released in North America in 2007. It turns out that there was a Fire Pro Wrestling game on the GBA. Since I haven’t played any of the wrestling games on the GBA, I’m going to assume that I didn’t miss one.

I’m well aware that there are plenty of Fire Pro games that were released in Japan, and I own a few of them. Since I’m not including imports when I look at retro wrestling games, I was worried I missed a game in the PS1, Dreamcast, N64, GameCube, or the PS2. I have played Hal Wrestling and Pro Wrestling, which are loosely connected to the Fire Pro series.

With all of that out of the way, I’m going to give this game a try. This is one of the many games that I didn’t know about when it was released. In 2005, I was in the Navy, and wasn’t really paying attention to what was going on as far as video game news. I’ve also never been interested in fan sites or fan communities, so I didn’t know about it from there.

I’m looking forward to this because I’ve heard great things about the series. The few Fire Pro games that I’ve played have been great, so hopefully this one will be as well. Let’s get into it and see what it has to offer.

TLDR: This game has a steep learning curve. It’s a fun game, but very challenging for new players.

Narrative

There isn’t a career or story mode in this game. This is a little disappointing for a game released in 2007. It is a feature that was expected from a wrestling game at this point. You can create one on your own, but that isn’t much of a substitute for having one at this point in time.

Gameplay

The gameplay is pretty good, but takes some time to get used to, especially if you haven’t played a Fire Pro game before. They use a timing system, and the game wants you to work your way up to the big moves. It feels more like a pro wrestling match than what you get from the other wrestling games. This has to do with how deep the control scheme is.

This game uses a timing system for its moves, which can take some time to adjust to, especially if you’re used to the SmackDown games. The controls are pretty complicated when compared to other wrestling games. You have weak and strong strikes, as well as weak and strong moves.

Fire Pro Wrestling Returns has a lot of game modes. This can keep you busy for a while, but there isn’t anything like a career or story mode. This was a little disappointing.

The roster is huge! Some are parodies of historical wrestlers from the WWF, WCW, and other wrestling promotions. You also have a lot of Japanese, Mexican, and women wrestlers. If you happen to have been following international pro wrestling, then you’ll recognize some of them.

If you don’t have the manual, then you’re in for a rough time. The manual is available online. I did get a chuckle when I saw that they listed the controls for the menu system. You know the user interface is rough when a game does this.

It can take a while to get used to this game. Fire Pro Wrestling Returns isn’t as accessible as some of the other wrestling games on the PS2. There is a lot to do, but nothing unifies it. This feels like a collection of game modes and a ton of wrestlers and nothing more.

Visuals

Fire Pro Wrestling Returns has good graphics that have aged better than many of the PS1 and PS2 wrestling games. It uses 2D sprites and an isometric angle. The animations on the moves look great, as well as the ring entrances.

I like the look of this game. I prefer 2D sprites to 3D polygons because I feel like they look better in the long run. The only thing that I don’t like is the camera angle that is used in this game. That is the only thing that should’ve been left in the 1990s.

The sprites are excellent. They’re well detailed, wrestlers look unique and different from each other, and there is an excellent create-a-wrestler mode. Everything in this game looks great, from the characters to the animations on the moves. The camera angle is a little wonky and creates some issues, but not many.

There aren’t any significant issues with the graphics. A few of the choices are a little annoying at times, but nothing breaks the game or messes with the gameplay. Fire Pro Wrestling Returns is a great looking wrestling game.

Reviews at the Time

Fire Pro Wrestling Returns received good reviews. The scores I can see were between 7 and 9/10. The lowest score was from PlayStation: The Official Magazine. I’ll be looking at four publications for this.

GameSpot gave the game a 7/10. The reviewer didn’t like the graphics and called them “archaic.” They also criticized the learning curve and the lack of a tutorial. They liked it, but also pointed out that this was for a niche audience.

GameSpy gave the game 4.5/5. You can tell that the reviewer follows more than just WWE. They liked most of the things in this game, but didn’t like the “retro” presentation.

IGN gave the game a 7/10. The reviewer echoed a lot of what was said in the GameSpot review. This person didn’t have a problem with the graphics. They more specifically pointed out the difficulty and how this isn’t for a mainstream wrestling audience.

These reviews are from 2007 and 2008. The game was released in late 2007 in North America. I had wanted to go over the review from PlayStarion: The Official Magazine, but the file is corrupted on the Video Game History Foundation’s website. Sadly, I couldn’t find another copy of it.

8/10. I like the graphics, but the gameplay left me a little disappointed. Once you get used to the controls, you’ll find a great wrestling game. The difficulty and controls can be a little much for a new player, especially if you’re not very patient.

Pros

• Good Graphics
• Awesome Create-a-Wrestler mode
• Lots of Gameplay Options

Cons

• No Tutorial
• Steep Learning Curve
• Lousy Menu System
• No Story or Career Mode

Conclusion

Just about every review I looked at for this game mentioned the budget price. The game was a budget title on the PS2, which is something I haven’t come across before. I’ve seen them on the PS1, NES, and SNES, but not for the PS2. These usually came at the end of a console’s life cycle, which wasn’t too far off from this game’s North American release date of 2007.

It took me some time to get used to this game. The controls are good, but I was more used to the simplicity of the controls of the PS1 wrestling games. Once I played the game for a while, I found this to be a very fun wrestling game. I do wish I had played more Fire Pro games.

If I paid attention to indie and Japanese wrestling, then this would’ve connected more with me. I only recognized a handful of the wrestlers in this game, specifically the parodies of American wrestlers. I had a similar reaction to WCW vs The World, or the other games that didn’t have a promotional license.

If you liked this post, please check out my other retro wrestling game posts. Such as Pro Wrestling on the NES or Hal Wrestling.