Fire Pro Wrestling World

”Man is the highest being in creation, because he attains to freedom.” -Swami Vivekananda

***I would like to give a very special thanks to my good friend, X Phantom, for enduring the girth of my lengthiest review yet! You are a real trooper, chief, but an even greater friend.

As an avid fanatic of the choreographed sport, wrestling’s storylines, characters, booking, and overall grandeur has fascinated me for a majority of my life. Even the products have had an enormous Impact (pun intended) on my Entertainment (refer to the previous parentheses), as my brother and I would play every Smackdown! vs. RAW title to hit shelves, sinking countless hours into each year’s rendition of grappling showdown; our favorites had always been those that were more simplistic, focusing primarily on gameplay such as that in WWF No Mercy. Fire Pro Wrestling World holds many similarities to the latter game in that, though it does not incorporate alluring graphical quality, it concentrates its efforts on gameplay and customization options to enhance the player experience.

Here are a few reasons to get grappling in FPWW:

Customization - As with many wrestling titles, FPWW allows you to create your own custom fighters, with a substantial amount of options for clothing, body features, and other accessories; with my first creation, I was blown away by the shear abundance of visage presentations, and this was merely to begin my character’s conception; the maneuver listing also boasts a massive selection of grapples and strikes to assign. Audio files can be placed in the game’s files to further complement preference, utilizing said files as entrance and victory music. Finally, FPWW possesses one of the most intricate features that punctuates modification: the editing of your wrestler’s individual artificial intelligence. For example, you can edit the character’s inclination to utilize underhanded tactics, his effectiveness within a team structure, and even what set of maneuvers he or she may string together in a particular sequence, making this feature one of the most in-depth I have seen among this game's peers. What I have found most fascinating of all is that there is no limit to the number of fighters you can create: it is as infinite as your computer’s storage space. These choices are not simply limited to the performers, however, as even referee appearance and mannerisms can be manipulated and finely tuned.
/// Also included in the vast array of edification options is the ability to create championship belts; though these titles do not retain the bulk of customization that the wrestler creations do. The tracking of their statistics with such instances as the listing of former champions increases the prestige of said belts. Championships may also be contested for under particular rule sets, as well as in Leagues-described in the following section of this review. Various factions can also be created to associate wrestlers with particular brands, ideals, or categories of your choice. The ring’s coloration and presentation can be edited with various colors and textures for a further sense of immersion.

Gameplay - Apart from the prevailing gripe about striking connection, FPWW is a solid wrestling simulation that contains both orthodox maneuvers and more advanced instances such as the ability to throw opponents out of the ring with various lifting attacks. A variety of match types constitute the essence of this game, including Normal, Cage Deathmatch, Barbed Wire Deathmatch, Landmine Deathmatch, Tag Team encounters, and Battle Royals-with a myriad of win conditions-, which can be played with up to eight individuals. This title is not limited to grappling, however, as rule sets have been implemented to allow boxing and Gruesome Fighting (mixed martial arts-style) bouts, contesting fighters in a multitude of combat scenarios.
/// A standardized Mission Mode is included to assist novice players in culturing the controller or keyboard mappings, as well as to provide partially scripted scenarios in which to challenge said players. The scenarios scale in difficulty from the tutorials to more arduous feats.
/// League Mode pits up to thirty-two wrestlers or teams against each other, having each party score points for each win to become the top competitors. Championship belts can be crowned as the preeminent inducement for obtaining the most points out of all of the other challengers, as each group must vie in opposition against each adversary placed in their bracket.

Workshop Content - The community of FPWW is one of the hardest working groups I have personally seen in video games. Within the first hour of this title’s release, I believe I recall witnessing at least three thousand quality custom wrestlers on the Steam Workshop page. To this exact moment of writing, there are one thousand one hundred and seven referees on the Workshop; this does not include the intricate ring post and apron textures, wrestlers, and templates that have been uploaded over the currently eight months that Fire Pro Wrestling World was released on Early Access-three months ago for its official release. A grand compilation of themes exist within these machinations, including characters and textures from video games, anime, television series and movies, journalistic media, original fighters, and finely-tuned wrestling creations that exist within current and past promotions.

TL:DR - Though this is my first Fire Pro Wrestling title, I can personally say that it far exceeds the expectations that I held for the series as a whole with its colossal formulation opportunities, easy-to-learn and hard-to-master gameplay, and general enjoyment that I received not only from playing in matches; also observing each encounter delivers substantial enjoyment for me. Workshop content drastically increases this title’s establishment as a premier wrestling-as well as base fighting-simulation. I highly recommend this game to those that enjoy management, fighting, and wrestling games, as well as those with a bountiful imaginative scope. On a side note, I would like to promote the developer for its downloadable character, Yoshihiro Takayma, who is a wrestler that was paralyzed from the neck-down in 2017 during a match. All proceeds for the prior purchase go toward said performer and his family for support, a commendable act from an irrefutable humanitarian. Thanks for reading.

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Originally posted March 25, 2018. Last edited May 1, 2018.