So, we’re not exactly left wanting for variety here. When you stop to think about it, that’s a lot of options presented for just one mode, and there’s then so much more to be configured when jumping into the settings menu for any particular match.
For example, when setting up a tournament, you decide between its number of participants (4, 8, 16, or 32), the type of matches that it’ll run, and then if the tournament rules call for singles, tag team, 6-man, 8-man, or mixed competitions. The thing is, if I were to complain about World needing more depth to its modes, I’m not actually sure what I’d suggest. Exhibition match choices remain the same-standard matches, cage matches, barbed wire or landmine deathmatches, SWA rules matches, “gruesome” fights (MMA), or S-1 Rules fights (K-1)-along with options for tournaments, league play, or battle royals. The good-and bad-of Fire Pro Wrestling World is that you’ll be very familiar with it if you were around for Fire Pro Wrestling Returns, as not a lot has changed on a base level. The latter of those titles is important for two reasons: first, because it was the only console Fire Pro game ever released in North America (the abomination that was the Xbox 360 “Fire Pro” game notwithstanding) and second, because it would be the last Fire Pro game anyone around the world would get for 12 years (see previous comment). With some knowledge of and experience with the series under my belt, five years later I moved on to Fire Pro Wrestling D on the Dreamcast, followed by Fire Pro Wrestling Returns on the PlayStation 2 in 2007.
Fire ProWrestling S, for me, was about using the versatile character creator to create my own federation and roster, and then coming up with the stories and situations that played out in that world. The thing was, it didn’t need any of that.
There were no real wrestlers in the game (at least officially), no flashy entrance videos or theme songs, nor any real element that connected it to and brands or promotions I knew of. As I slowly dug my way through the game using a printed-out FAQ and a lot of persistence, Fire ProWrestling S opened my eyes: I never knew wrestling games could be so in-depth, so satisfyingly complex, and so fun. My love for the Fire Pro series begin with Fire ProWrestling S: 6Men Scramble, an import-only title on the Sega Saturn that was incredibly intimidating to me at the time due to its crazy amount of options (not to mention kanji).
Those answers haven’t changed for 20 years, and that’s because-to me, and many others-they remain the best examples we’ve seen of developers truly understanding the sport of wrestling and how to translate it to the world of video games. If you were to ask me what my all-time favorite wrestling games are, I’d give you two answers: Aki’s efforts on the Nintendo 64, and the Fire Pro Wrestling franchise.
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