Fire Pro Wrestling

Fire Pro Wrestling (ファイヤープロレスリング, Faiyā Puro Resuringu) is a professional wrestling video game series originating from Japan, starting in 1989 by Human Entertainment, and developed and owned by Spike Chunsoft. The series is distinguished by its grappling system, which is primarily based on timed button presses and strategy. Another signature feature of the series is its Edit mode, a character creation feature with many options to customize appearances, wrestling moves and character A.I. behavior.

Fire Pro Wrestling
Logo utilized in Fire Pro Wrestling World.
Genre(s)Fighting
Developer(s)Human Entertainment, Spike, Spike Chunsoft
Publisher(s)Human Entertainment, Spike, BAM! Entertainment, Agetec, 505 Games, Microsoft Studios, Spike Chunsoft
Creator(s)Masato Masuda[1]
Platform(s)Various (see table)
First releaseFire Pro Wrestling Combination Tag
June 22, 1989[2]
Latest releaseFire Pro Wrestling World
December 18, 2017

Unlike many other pro wrestling games, most Fire Pro games are not licensed by any major professional wrestling promotion, but feature likenesses of real-life wrestlers under different names. Games in the series generally utilize 2-D sprite-based graphics, with some later games incorporating 3D graphical elements. The spin-off King of Colosseum series features polygonal 3D graphics. Most of the titles in the Fire Pro Wrestling series have been released in Japan, although some of the games have seen releases in North America.

Series features

Unlike many other pro wrestling games, most games in the Fire Pro Wrestling series are not licensed by any major professional wrestling promotion, but feature likenesses of real-life wrestlers under different names. Games in the series generally utilize 2-D sprite-based graphics, with some later games incorporating 3-D graphical elements. The spin-off series King of Colosseum features polygonal 3-D graphics.

The Fire Pro Wrestling series of games distinguish themselves from other wrestling games by combining several unique features. One feature is the focus on a timing-based grappling control system. The grappling control system encourages the use of complex strategy, built on working up to using increasingly powerful moves on your opponent. The timing-based system also stands in contrast to the button-mashing tactics with which most 2-D wrestling gamers are familiar.

Another feature of Fire Pro Wrestling games is the inclusion of a large roster of playable wrestlers and fighters from different promotions located around the world. The wrestlers and promotions are renamed from their real-life counterparts to avoid copyright, and represent many different styles of professional wrestling: North American WWE style sports-entertainment, Mexican lucha-libre, various styles of Japanese puroresu: athletic junior-heavyweight style, realistic strong-style, women's joshi wrestling, and violent hardcore wrestling, as well as different styles of mixed martial arts.

A variety of match types are available in the Fire Pro Wrestling series of games, with flexible settings for the rules within each match. This complements the variety of wrestlers available as playable characters. Different match types include conventional singles and tag-team wrestling matches, extreme hardcore matches such as the "Landmine Death Match" or "Electric Barbed Wire Cage Match", and various types of mixed-martial-arts matches.

Another distinguishing feature of the Fire Pro Wrestling series of games, particularly the later games in the series, is the inclusion of an extensive and highly detailed wrestler creation and edit mode. The edit mode of Fire Pro Wrestling games allows players to build game characters with a high level of attention to detail. Appearance characteristics, such as clothing and ring attire, and physical build, head and facial features, can be customized for a created wrestler. A detailed set of wrestling and fighting moves, drawn from the large pool of moves built into each game, can also be assigned to a created wrestler. The edit mode of Fire Pro Wrestling games also allows players to make detailed changes to the CPU logic of an edited wrestler, making it possible for a skilled creator to create a wrestler that behaves very much like his real-life counterpart, even when controlled by the computer.

Later titles in the series allowed for customization of other aspects of professional wrestling, including changing the design of the ring mat, creating customized championship belts, and creation and editing of referees. The detailed character creation and edit mode of the Fire Pro Wrestling games became an influential feature that was eventually added to other wrestling and sports games.

The combination of features included in Fire Pro Wrestling games allows players to create "dream matchups" between wrestlers from different promotions, or different eras in the history of professional wrestling, as well as matches between real-life wrestlers and fighters, fictional characters and non-wrestling celebrities.

Overview

Beginning with the first title in the series from Human Entertainment, Fire Pro Wrestling Combination Tag for PC Engine in 1989, the Fire Pro Wrestling series eventually produced editions of games for many systems, notably the Super Famicom, Sega Saturn, Game Boy Advance, Dreamcast and the PlayStation 2. Human also released a wrestling game outside the Fire Pro Wrestling series in 1989 for Game Boy. Titled Pro Wrestling in its native Japan, it was released internationally as HAL Wrestling. Most of the titles in the Fire Pro Wrestling series have been released exclusively in Japan, although some of the games have seen releases in North America.

The series became popular in Japan, but did not see an international release until after Spike took over the franchise in 2000. Early games in the Fire Pro Wrestling series were popular outside Japan with import gamers, and at least one game, Super Fire Pro Wrestling X Premium for Super Famicom, received an unofficial fan translation through video game console emulators. Fire Pro Wrestling A for the Game Boy Advance was released internationally as Fire Pro Wrestling in 2001, and was one of the titles initially available when the Game Boy Advance was launched in Japan and North America. Four editions of the game have received official English translations: Fire Pro Wrestling (2001) and Fire Pro Wrestling 2 (2002) for the GBA, Fire Pro Wrestling Returns for PS2 (2007), and Fire Pro Wrestling World for the Steam PC platform and PS4 (2017/2018) .

At the 2010 Tokyo Game Show, it was announced that a 3-D avatar-based version of Fire Pro Wrestling would be released for the Xbox 360 in 2011. It was not released until September 21, 2012. In hopes of appealing to a more casual audience, the developers decided on debuting a new gameplay engine that would use a button-mashing minigame system to perform moves, and not using the well-reviewed timing elements from previous versions of the game.

On February 24, 2017, Spike Chunsoft debuted a website featuring a teaser video of the series making a possible return.[3] Less than a week later, on March 3, Fire Pro Wrestling World would be officially announced, returning the series to its roots, in terms of graphical presentation and gameplay mechanics. Also, the new game would be the first in the series to incorporate online multiplayer gameplay on the PC via Steam and the PlayStation 4 console.[4] Fire Pro Wrestling World was released to Early Access on Steam for the PC platform on July 10, 2017,[5] and left Early Access, to a full release, on December 18, 2017.[6]

On June 30, 2018, Spike Chunsoft would debut a commercial featuring wrestlers Kenny Omega and Kota Ibushi, announcing that the game would be released in North America for PS4 on August 28, 2018. Spike Chunsoft also announced that they had come to terms on official licensing with New Japan Pro-Wrestling, making Fire Pro Wrestling World the first title in the series to be licensed by the "King of Sports",[7] and the first game to be licensed by the wrestling organization in over eleven years.

Titles

Human Entertainment

Title Details

Original release date(s):
  • JP: June 22, 1989 (PCE)
    March 13, 2007 (VC)
Release years by system:
PC Engine
Virtual Console
Notes:

Known in Japan as ファイヤープロレスリング コンビネーションタッグ


Original release date(s):
  • JP: August 30, 1991 (PCE)
    May 27, 2008 (VC)
Release years by system:
PC Engine
Virtual Console
Notes:
  • Known in Japan as ファイヤープロレスリング 2nd BOUT

Original release date(s):
  • JP: December 20, 1991
Release years by system:
Super Famicom
Notes:
  • Known in Japan as スーパーファイヤープロレスリング

Original release date(s):
  • JP: March 27, 1992
Release years by system:
Sega Mega Drive
Notes:
  • Known in Japan as サンダープロレスリング列伝
Fire Pro Wrestling 3: Legend Bout

Original release date(s):
  • JP: November 13, 1992 (PCE)
    December 24, 2008 (VC)
Release years by system:
PC Engine
Virtual Console
Notes:
  • Known in Japan as ファイヤープロレスリング3 レジェンドバウト
Super Fire Pro Wrestling 2

Original release date(s):
  • JP: December 25, 1992
Release years by system:
Super Famicom
Notes:
  • Known in Japan as スーパーファイヤープロレスリング2

Original release date(s):
  • JP: December 29, 1993
Release years by system:
Super Famicom
Notes:
  • Known in Japan as スーパーファイヤープロレスリング3 ファイナルバウト
  • A simplified version of the game known as Super Fire Pro Wrestling 3 Easy Type (スーパーファイヤープロレスリング3 EASY TYPE) was released for the Super Famicom on February 4, 1994.
Fire Pro Women: All Star Dream Slam

Original release date(s):
  • JP: July 22, 1994
Release years by system:
Super Famicom
Notes:

Original release date(s):
  • JP: December 22, 1994
Release years by system:
Super Famicom
Notes:
  • Known in Japan as スーパーファイヤープロレスリング スペシャル

Original release date(s):
Release years by system:
Arcade
Notes:
  • Known in Japan as ブレイジングトルネード
  • A version of the game was released for the Sega Saturn on August 25, 1995 as Fire Pro Another Story: Blazing Tornado ( ファイプロ外伝 ブレイジングトルネード, "Fai-Puro Gaiden Blazing Tornado" in Japan)
Wrestling Universe: Fire Pro Women: Dome Super Female Big Battle: All Japan Women VS J.W.P.

Original release date(s):
  • JP: February 3, 1995
Release years by system:
PC Engine (ARCADE CD-ROM²)
Notes:

Original release date(s):
  • JP: June 30, 1995
Release years by system:
Super Famicom
Notes:
Super Fire Pro Wrestling X

Original release date(s):
  • JP: December 2, 1995
Release years by system:
Super Famicom
Notes:
  • Known in Japan as スーパーファイヤープロレスリングX

Original release date(s):
  • JP: March 15, 1996
Release years by system:
PlayStation
Notes:
  • Known in Japan as ファイヤープロレスリング アイアンスラム’96

Original release date(s):
  • JP: March 29, 1996
Release years by system:
Super Famicom
Notes:
  • Known in Japan as スーパーファイヤープロレスリングX プレミアム

Original release date(s):
  • JP: December 27, 1996
Release years by system:
Sega Saturn
Notes:
  • Known in Japan as ファイヤープロレスリングS 6メン・スクランブル
Fire Pro Wrestling G

Original release date(s):
  • JP: June 24, 1999 (PS1)
    February 25, 2009 (PSN)
Release years by system:
PlayStation
PlayStation Network
Notes:
  • Known in Japan as ファイヤープロレスリングG
  • The final Human Entertainment released Fire Pro Wrestling game

Spike / Spike Chunsoft

Title Details
Fire Pro Wrestling for WonderSwan

Original release date(s):
  • JP: August 31, 2000
Release years by system:
WonderSwan
Notes:
  • Known in Japan as ファイヤープロレスリング for WonderSwan
Fire Pro Wrestling i

Original release date(s):
  • JP: January 22, 2001
Release years by system:
i-mode
Notes:
  • Known in Japan as ファイヤープロレスリングi
Fire Pro Wrestling D

Original release date(s):
  • JP: March 1, 2001
Release years by system:
Dreamcast
Notes:
  • Known in Japan as ファイヤープロレスリングD

Original release date(s):
  • JP: March 21, 2001
  • NA: June 10, 2001
Release years by system:
Game Boy Advance
Notes:
  • Known in Japan as ファイヤープロレスリングA
Fire Pro Wrestling J

Original release date(s):
  • JP: February 4, 2002
Release years by system:
J-PHONE
Notes:
  • Known in Japan as ファイヤープロレスリングJ

Original release date(s):
  • JP: July 19, 2002
  • NA: October 23, 2002
Release years by system:
Game Boy Advance
Notes:
  • Known in Japan as ファイナルファイヤープロレスリング~夢の団体運営!~
Fire Pro Wrestling Z

Original release date(s):
  • JP: June 5, 2003
Release years by system:
PlayStation 2
Notes:
  • Known in Japan as ファイヤープロレスリングZ

Original release date(s):
  • JP: September 15, 2005
  • NA: November 13, 2007
    April 23, 2013 (PSN)
Release years by system:
PlayStation 2
PlayStation Network (Direct port of PS2 version to PlayStation 3)
Notes:
  • Known in Japan as ファイプロ・リターンズ
Fire Pro Wrestling in Mobage

Original release date(s):
  • JP: November 12, 2011
Release years by system:
Mobage
Notes:
Fire Pro Wrestling

Original release date(s):
  • WW: September 21, 2012
Release years by system:
Xbox 360
Notes:

Original release date(s):
Steam:
  • WW: December 18, 2017
PS4:
  • JPN: August 8, 2018
  • NA: August 28, 2018
  • EU: September 28, 2018
Release years by system:
Steam
PlayStation 4
Notes:

Spin-offs

Title Details
HAL Wrestling

Original release date(s):
  • JP: September 14, 1990
  • NA: December 1990
Release years by system:
Game Boy
Notes:
  • Known in Japan as プロレス
All Japan Pro-Wrestling: Soul of Champion

Original release date(s):
  • JP: April 8, 1999
Release years by system:
PlayStation
Notes:
  • Known in Japan as 全日本プロレス~王者の魂~
King of Colosseum (Red) New Japan x All Japan x Pancrase Disc

Original release date(s):
  • JP: December 19, 2002
Release years by system:
PlayStation 2
Notes:
  • Known in Japan as キング オブ コロシアム(赤) ~新日本×全日本×パンクラス ディスク~
King of Colosseum (Green) ~NOAH x Zero-One Disc~

Original release date(s):
  • JP: March 6, 2003
Release years by system:
PlayStation 2
Notes:
  • Known in Japan as キング オブ コロシアム(緑) ~ノア×ZERO-ONE ディスク~

Original release date(s):
  • JP: September 9, 2004
Release years by system:
PlayStation 2
Notes:
  • Known in Japan as キング オブ コロシアムII

See also

References

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