Fire Pro Wrestling Returns coming to the US

[Herr Matzat]

Does the Fire Pro in Japan use the real names of wrestlers, or is it the watered down versions that we get when they were brought over here for SNES\GBA? Does KOC keep the real names? Blah either way, it'd be nice to have the real guys instead of someone with a thesarus sitting there finding new names.

Edited July 30, 2007 by Michael Matzat on a Plane

[thatblindgeye]

Ive heard about how good the Fire Pro series is, but I watched some clips on youtube and it seems more or less okay. Doesnt seem like it's too great gameplay wise, but I guess it's different when you actually play it?

[Skummy]

I've only played one FPW on a SNES emulator, and it's SO much fun to play. It's a lot more technical than Smackdown or anything like that, but there's just so much you can do, so many possibilities, and it's always hilarious to Piledrive someone only to fall out of the ring in the process. COLLISION DETECTION! I can only imagine the series has got better, in which case it's eminently playable, but probably not too exciting to sit and watch.

[Timmoru Suzuki]

After reading this the other day, I've watched some videos of this game, and I'm not that impressed, it looks way too arcade like, and some of the animations are poor. But I will give it a try, I got bored with Smackdown long ago.

I also watched a fair few KOC matches, and THERE is a game I wish was being released in the UK, it's looked great.

[zero]

To the last couple people, looking at Fire Pro doesn't equal playing Fire Pro. There has NEVER been a wrestling game developed in the United States that even comes close to Fire Pro D (which was the last one I played... and it was released seven years ago). Not Smackdown, not No Mercy, not Def Jam, none of them comes close to a Fire Pro game. The gameplay system, the amount of customization, the sheer amount of shit to do... it's the perfect wrestling game.

This is fantastic news.

[Vilge Duin]

Too arcade like?

What videos did you exactly watch?

I'm happy it's coming out here. Between it and King of Colosseum 2, I was heavily thinking about modding my PS2 a few years ago to import them. Especially FPWR. The game is just sexy.

I'll look forward to this and likely pick it up. It's nice some obscure games (at least as far as the Western market is concerned) are coming out that aren't crappy RPGs.

Edited July 31, 2007 by Vilge Duin

[Herr Matzat]

WTF, i just found out that i am on page two of a google image search for "King of colosseum" o.O

Anyway, what i wanted to say, it had the best cover in wrestling game history.

And neither, not FPW nor KoC are anything like arcade. If you buttonmash you WILL lose. It´s all about the corect timing.

Edited July 31, 2007 by Michael Matzat on a Plane

[MalaCloudy Black]

Matzat's got that right, the first time I played Fire Pro I went in with a button mashing strategy and lost horribly until I figured out that it's all about timing. I found it pretty difficult to get my timing just right, but once you do it's a proud moment.

[Herr Matzat]

wow, gamespot even had it at 8.6

http://www.gamespot.com/ps2/action/kingofc...mii/review.html

[Timmoru Suzuki]

By arcade, I was referring to the speed of the game, the animations and the visuals (which is all I can comment on from just watching a video) rather than gameplay (which I can't comment on since I haven't played it). From what I've watched, KOC looks like something I'd prefer, with a seemingly slower gameplay, and good character models, but again I can't comment on the gameplay of either. I'm sure FP is excellent, and I am looking forward to playing it. I hate button bashing too.

[Media 2.0]

Matzat's got that right, the first time I played Fire Pro I went in with a button mashing strategy and lost horribly until I figured out that it's all about timing. I found it pretty difficult to get my timing just right, but once you do it's a proud moment.

[Herr Matzat]

You need to learn it, takes a couple of hours. I don’t remember it exactly, but I believe the moment you have to press the button is the moment the garbling wrestlers tutch their shoulders.

It´s a bit like PES, once you figued out how it workes, but before you got the basics down you even get fucked on the easyest level. (you can see a pattern here, FPW, KOC, PES - games that need some time to get timing and system figured out = great in the long run; Smackdown, FiFa - games you can just pic up and master in aminute = bad in the long run)

Edited July 31, 2007 by Michael Matzat on a Plane

[Liam]

Yeah, as Matzat says, when the two wrestlers lock up is when you have to hit the direction and the button to do the move. Also, the game/your opponent won't let you do harder grappling moves until they have been sufficiently weakened down, which is another cool aspect.

[Riceman 4K]

I know as wrestling fans, we can appreciate the gameplay but I wonder how the "general public" will respond to the game. Especially peeps who like the SDvR gameplay.

[Gabriel]

I don't think it will be the gameplay that sends anyone packing from the game. Honestly, I think it's going to be the graphics. The thing I'm most looking forward to is the ability to have upwards of 100 real life wrestlers created at any time to use. I'm not sure if there's a career or story mode because I've never played FPR, but the level of customization is brilliant.

Now, if they have that kind of customization in King of the Colloseum, I could see that game, with it's much better graphics, being a larger hit among non-hardcore fans.

As it is though, any import wrestling game is going to be moved towards a niche market anyways. Regular Joe's pick up the WWE games occasionally because even if they don't watch every week, they still recognize half the roster, and the game just looks really good.

[Herr Matzat]

Nah, I doubt anything without a license will be an instant bestseller in this genre. It happens from time to time that a game just hits big but you can’t count on that one happening with FPW or KoC. But you´ed have to guess that the publisher knows this. Maybe you can catch a few extra buyers that wait for the new Smackdown Title and need something new since it is a cheap edition and will likely get great reviews from Gamespot and such.

As for KoC, it’s a lot deeper, esp when it comes to the move set. (While the game play builds around the same timing system, just adjusted a little bit – that’s why I earlier claimed that KoC is FPW on the next level and how it is sad that they took FPW instead of KoC - but i doubt that this would bring to many customers, and besides the average smackdown gamer will not be able to proces the system and speed off this gameanyway)

Just look at TEW, great reviews on some major gaming sides, i bet they do good for what they expected, but it’s not an international bestseller because it’s not what people are looking for (great GFX and Big Names).... if PWX ever gets released it will byte them in the ass big-time... a hundred years dev and just a bunch of dorks buying it.

Edited August 2, 2007 by Michael Matzat on a Plane

[TheRyno]

This news has gotten me back to playing FPW2 on GBA and reminded me how absurd you could get with the matches. Last night, I played a four-man battle royale as Chuck Norris against Ken Shamrock, The Ultimate Warrior and The Great Sasuke and won by last eliminating Sasuke by rolling him under the bottom rope on accident. Also, I played a Dusty Rhodes vs Sting matchup but I turned Managers On so apparently, that means a random guy comes out and helps you for about a minute without being disqualified. For some reason, my manager was Atsushi Onita while Sting's manager was Sabu.

[Adam Ryland]

Just look at TEW, great reviews on some major gaming sides, they do good for what they expected, but it’s not an international bestseller because it’s not what people are looking for (great GFX and Big Names)....

Uh....WTF? You can't possibly have even the faintest idea what TEW's sales are like, because we've never released any figures. All you're doing is making an enormous assumption and trying to pass it off as informed comment.

if PWX ever gets released it will byte them in the ass big-time... a hundred years dev and just a bunch of dorks buying it.

What's PWX?

[Cactus Drags]

I think it's safe to say you're not exactly outselling Smackdown now, are you?

[Adam Ryland]

I think it's safe to say you're not exactly outselling Smackdown now, are you?

I don't see what that has to do with it - of course I'm not, but I haven't said anything like that. I just don't like the fact that Matzat's thinks he can just start making stuff up about how TEW is selling with absolutely no basis whatsoever.