Fire Pro Wrestling 2 (GBA)

Review by: Bucksavage

Reviewers Score: 8 / 10

Posted: October 13, 2007

Yay my first review ever!!! If you have any comments/suggestions/complaints, let me know how I can inprove my review. Thanks.

I know this is an older game, and I may be biased so forgive me if I seem too enthused about the game but I am a fan of the series.

This is depending on your liking a simple, or complicated game to play, but not overly so. You take control of professional wrestlers and try to defeat opponents, Also on a interesting note, this game and its predacessor for the GBA, Fire Pro Wrestlign are the only official English language games in the series. Odd huh? I hope they make a Fire Pro Wrestling 3 for GBA....really I do....I can't wait!!!

Gameplay: 10/10
You can have several match types (Normal, American, hardcore, Tag, handicap, # types of Fatal Four Way matches (Normal, Royal Rumble style or unending (goes until final person is pinned withut anyoneleaving the ring) Grusome (UFC style) or Deathmatch (Cage match with explosives around the cage) Once you get the handle of the combat system, the game is easier. Instead of the button mashing games of the past that many North American gamers may know, this series of gaes and this one is no different, uses timing to execute moves. Push the right button at the right time and you do the move and not the opponent. Seems simple right? Not really... fact is your opponents has counters to moves as well, but so do you so no worries. The gameplay is fun, intense at time. Yu can choose from a great number of Wrestlers form Major Japanese, American, Mexican, inernational federations as well as the major MMA factions and companies and several free agent wrestlers and legendary wrestlers as well. One thing you will notice is that the wrestlers seem familiarbut the names are off or changed, this is due to Copyright law and the use of the WWE's and other companies names and trademarks. You can also have up to 70 some odd wrestlers of your own design saved. This is what makeas the game great in my mind.

Graphics: 5/10
the only real downfall of the game. It is a GBA game afterall so no wonder it isn't a masterpiece. It is basically SNES-ish in it's graphical style, similar to the Super Fire pro games for the SNES. The Wrestlers themselves are detailed, very much so. You can control every aspect down to what color hair, skin and clothes but the graphis do leave something to be desired.

Music: 6.5/10
Not great, but not crap either. Good selection of wrestler entrance tunes though with approximations of several recognizable ones such as Stone Cold's theme.

Editing Mode: Can I give a 15 out of 10? lol but I mean it 15/10.....No? ok ok........10/10
This makes the game so I think it deserves a special section. You can edit your character in many ways: Clothing appearance (You can choose from other wrestlers likenesses then edit them to something new) Hair colour, skin colour, face, head, Male Female, the works. What makes editing special though is the way you get to edit what moves your wrestlers use, from the simplest punch, to a Stone Cold Stunner to finish or a Piledriver. Every situation, every move can be edited. You can choose what company he/she is part of, start your own company, change how he/she fights (MMA style, Pro wrestler) or style of fighting (Lucha Libre, Amatur, technical, Junior (Japanese lucha libre), Heel (bad guy), all round, Mysterious, Giant (Think Andre The Giant or The Big Show), etc. The editing possibilities are endless.

Overall 8/10
For me at least, the many options for gameplay and the huge editing mode make the game what it is. The only thing I miss is the tournament mode from it's predacessor for the GBA, Fire Pro Wrestling. But it rocks as is, you'll get no complaints from me.