Fire Pro Wrestling World brawl-for-all [2020 Roadmap posted]

EDIT 1: Fire Pro Wrestling World has been announced!!
Scroll several posts down for more details

EDIT 2: Title changed!

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So it seems that 12 years after the last real Fire Pro, we are finally (probably) getting a revival for the series.

For those of you who aren't familiar with Fire Pro, it's a series of Japanese wrestling games that ran between 1989 and 2005. The last game in the series, Fire Pro Wrestling Returns, was re-released for the US market in 2007 and another game was released for the XBOX arcade. It carried the name Fire Prowrestling but it had nothing to do with the series and was absolutely awful.

The game itself kept the same 2D sprite look through all its iterations but beneath the simple looking graphics lies a *very* complex engine. The game doesn't only has a complex engine but also insane customization options: 500 create a wrestler slots, hundreds (or even over a thousand?) moves and animations but most of all - the ability to customize a wrestler's logic or behavior in every situation and every move of the match.
The deep customization options is what keeps a very loyal wrestling nerd community still play it to this day.
I don't play this game as much as I used to but I shamefully admit it is my favorite game of all time and I follow the forums now and then.

Here is a nice review of the game:

So why am I posting this now?

Well, about a year ago, Spike Chunsoft (the game publisher) posted a simple question on Twitter, asking people if they would be interested in the series revival. When it exploded with nearly 5 thousand people saying Yes!, a teaser was finally posted last week:

Even from a couple of seconds - longtime fans recognized many signs in the teaser that indeed, a new Fire Pro game is coming:

In addition, a new Twitter account has been created with the date 3/2 (this Thursday!), which is the date of GDC where an announcement is expected.

So yeah, me and a couple of other nerds are really excited about this. Assuming it is indeed a new Fire Pro game, I really hope it won't be a Nintendo Switch exclusive as some people speculate. In any case, if it won't come out on PC, I will probably buy the console it comes out on

Ah, Fire Pro. So many crazy memories.

What I really want is a FPW e-fedding version. Import interviews, set up weekly shows, setup certain spots during the show, ambushes, PPVs, etc. Run it through the engine, then export a m4v file with the whole show you can post on your e-fed website for folks to watch. E-fedding...holy crap. Talk about something with more nostalgia factor than actual good times.

Never mind. I'll just play the hell out of the new Fire Pro solo.

Great news!

I remember those days! Dr Death Steven Williams power bomb!

The memories of Fire Pro Wrestling Returns, had epic matches with RNRClown in our tornado tag team matches, you had to be on the ball, initiating the grapple then inputing your button command in with precision timing!

We got so good, we put the difficulty upto 10, that was a great challenge & made for awesome matches. The 2.9 close counts......tension filled did they make matches! I want this new game so bad if they can capture the spirit of Returns!!

Fire Prowrestling World has been announced for PS4 and PC!

Early access begins in Q2 2017.
Spike wants user input and add more options before official launch.

Main addition will be online functionality (playing and sharing creations), improvements to customization options (4 attires per wrestlier instead of 1, 9 layers per body part instead of 3, etc), new moves, HD graphics (of course, the game will remain in 2D) and more.

Spike really listened to the community and put customization in the center.
The game will only feature 30 pre-made wrestlers (unlike a few hundreds in FPR) but will boost customization & creation options and let the player do the rest.
This is a good thing since no one was playing pre-made wrestlers anyway and Spike almost never had licenses to real wrestlers/promotions.

Great news! Nice find!

Hey guys,

Just to let you know, I've made a request megathread on the Fire Pro forums.
Spike Chunsoft is looking for player feedback and already confirmed that they are actively looking at the above forum.

So if you have any sort of wish or request for the upcoming game, feel free to head over to the forum or write here and I will copy it over. Whatever works for you.

There are many, MANY, requests made already but here are the top 20 so far:

1. Ability to import MP3 for wrestlers' entrance themes.
This is a highly requested feature that would take customization to a new level.

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2. Belts.
We love belts and we'd like them to be utilized more in the game.
Wrestlers to wear belts to the ring, including multiple belts.
Referee to raise belt in the middle of the ring and give it to the winner in the end.
We want to customize how the wrestler will carry the belt to the ring (on his waist, shoulder or in his hand).
We'd even like the belt to be a weapon in championship matches.

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3. Logo Importer
Please give us a simple tool to import logos from jpeg, gif, png.
Allow us to have logos on turnbuckles & ring apron.

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4. We really want usable & interactive tables (setting opponent on them & through them) and we really want ladders.
We really want matches where those can be used (ladder matches, table matches, TLC, etc.)
This would probably require a ton of work but it would be incredible to have.

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5. Entrance attire (Ric Flair's robe, Legion of Doom Spikes, Undertaker Coat & Hat, etc.)

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6. Breathing/Recovery (bug from Fire Prowrestling Returns)
Breathing stat was also incorrectly read and used by the sytem to also be the Recovery stat.
Therefore the Recovery stat did nothing. Breathing stat did 2 things!

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7. Titles can be defended in any type of match

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8. More match types: Elimination Chamber, Ironman Match (with ability to customize time), Time Battle Royals (with customizable
amount of participants - up to 40).

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9. Single Player mode (we should be able to use edits in those modes). This is a highly requested feature.
The emphasis is designing this in such way that every playthrough will be different.

A game like Punch Club had huge success because of it's story mode of taking a rookie character and develop him through fights, training mode and missions. It was a very low budget, minimal story, minimal graphics but great RPG & development elements 2D fighting game. Fire Pro is similar in many ways and we believe that while the core customization in Fire Pro will attract (and keep) veteran & hardcore players, such single player mode will attract new player, greatly improve sales and review scores.

*Any* of those will be appreciated:
a. Producer mode - the ability choose the outcome of a match and key parameters (like time, ending, etc) before simming CPU vs CPU
b. Season mode
c. Matchmaker Mode
d. Story Mode
e. Edit Ranking Mode (like Fire Pro G)
f. Management of the ring mode
g. Tool to create our own story & feuds - share it via Steam Workshop. The community will create the best stories for itself!
Let us create our own Story Mode with edits, with branching paths and Mission matches, where wins & losses and how they happen make you change paths and changes the rest of the story. Included would be a script editor where we can have transitions between matches written out on the screen ("X Promoter is very satisfied with Kaiser's performance and has offered him a spot in the upcoming World Juniors Challenge tournament.") Even let us make our edits UNLOCKABLE within our own save. I would TOTALLY have the RaveX Anthology start as a bare bones roster with a dozen low level guys and have you run the gauntlet to unlock them all. Want Jumbo? Win matches. A lot. And beat him at the end.

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10. We'd like as many moves as possible. This is key content.
We've made a long list of moves that were not in the previous game.
They have youtube references - feel free to look! We'd even accept DLC
In general - we are really hoping for your continuous support on this game for the long term.

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11. We are nerds and we love stats.
Please give us options to track win-loss records for wrestlers (and options to reset it), championships held, title defenses, etc.
Stats are great.

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12. Can you make a Rainmaker taunt and have the camera zoom in and out when the taunt is done in the middle of the ring?
How cool that would be?

Better CPU Sequence/Priority customization.
We want to see more moves available as the second part of the sequence. Why can't a wrestler do one taunt, then another taunt, and then a move? It's frustrating that FPR limited us so much with sequences by limiting us as to what we can do for the second part of it. We want more options. I also want more actual sequences. Up the maximum to 10, 6 at the absolute minimum.
For example: We want to hit a finisher, then link to a taunt, then to a pin.
We want to taunt once, pick up my opponent, taunt again, hit a running lariat, then pin.

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13. Rings are important, right? We'd like more of them, more shapes (6 sided ring maybe?), we'd like to place logos on apron and turnbuckles and we'd really like a huge outdoor ring like Wrestlemania.

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14. We'd really a match rating option (something like King Of Coliseum) or crowd rating

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15. We love Japanese wrestling to death but we also love American wrestling. Therefore, we'd like some option to set interference/run in in the match like it happens in every 2nd match in WWE. Perhaps allow us to select top 3 enemies for a wrestler (or even 1 enemy)? A meter of how bad they hate each other would be great as well.

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16. Options for managers to interfere during matches

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17. That moment when a wrestler is in a submission not far from the ropes and he is slowly crawling and finally grabs the rope (or his opponent dramatically drags him away). We'd like that.

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18. Mod support.

Think of Skyrim's community on PC. Bethesda released a Creation Kit for the game, with that they opened practically the entire Skyrim game open to be modded by the community, making the game's life cycle endless for most. We'd love to see that with Fire Pro World. Spike releasing a "Creation Kit" that allows us the tools they use to make the game in the first place.

The Creation Kit could include the following(not limited to just these, but these are the only things coming to mind right now)

- Arena model builders.(Allows us the same tools Spike has to create arenas, so people can make various real life venues come to life, Hammerstein Ballroom, ECW Arena, etc.)
- Move animator(Allows us the same tools Spike has to create moves for FPW)
- Story Mode Creator(Similar to Phil Parent's suggestion)
- User Interface Creator(Can let us completely customize the UI, from menu design, to critical logos, etc.)
- Match Creator(Allow us to design matches, from two rings for wargames, to cages, to deathmatches, etc.)

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19. Create a card / create a PPV option. Maybe even save results of PPVs forever?

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20. Tribute for Ceese - this is a very special request on behalf of the Fire Pro Wrestling Arena community.
Julius "Ceese" Odomes was a beloved member of our community. A great person with an infectious personality both in real life and in edit form. Lived, breathe Fire Pro. Julian Caesaro personifies a wrestling superstar. Combination of glamour and fighting spirit. The same spirit that Ceese Odomes has in real life.
Ceese died due to health issues at the age of 30. We miss our friend dearly and since Ceese had incredible love for Fire Pro, we'd really like to honor him in the game in any way you choose. It can be a fan sign, an edit name or any sort of Easter egg. If you do this in any shape or form, will be forever grateful.

I will buy this. I cannot wait. I want it now.

Fire Pro Wrestling Returns was so good. I still have fond memories of those tag-team matches with Spikeout. I remember Triple H & Steve Austin against Ron Simmons & Butch Reed. So many near-falls.

The day this hits early access I'm grabbing it.

When I was a kid I imported Fire Pro Wrestling Six Man Scramble from Japan for my Sega Saturn. I couldn't read any of the menus but I figured out how to get around eventually. I can't even begin to imagine how many hours I sunk into that game. I remember printing off people's created wrestler templates so I could replicate the popular American wrestlers that weren't in the game. My friends and I would also set up CPU vs CPU battles and be endlessly entertained just watching them play out.

Gumbie wrote:

When I was a kid I imported Fix Pro Wrestling Six Man Scramble from Japan for my Sega Saturn. I couldn't read any of the menus but I figured out how to get around eventually. I can't even begin to imagine how many hours I sunk into that game. I remember printing off people's created wrestler templates so I could replicate the popular American wrestlers that weren't in the game. My friends and I would also set up CPU vs CPU battles and be endlessly entertained just watching them play out.

Wow so true on all of that! I did the same exact stuff! Printed out tons of translations as well and created tournaments with AI placing bets on who would win the rumble etc.

Some new info here!

On May 31st there will be an event in Japan to promote the game. I *guess* a release date for the early access will be revealed.
Several wrestlers from the DDT promotion will participate. For those who don't know, DDT is a crazy Japanese indy wreslting promotion with absolutely over the top gimmicks and many comedy matches. They had a ladder as a champion, a hilarious silence match (where the wrestler who makes the most noise loses) and a bunch of other funny stuff. When Fire Prowrestling returns launched, they had two wrestlers play it in the ring against one another and it counted as an actual match. So nice tradition there.

I read a July release date somewhere. Looking forward to it!

Just heads up, the Steam early access is going to be released on Monday!

From what I see online and hear from the few people who already have an "early early access", the game is good. The edit mode is much better and easy to access. There is more of everything (heads, body parts, etc.), more layers (9 vs 4 in previous game), head and hair are two different things now and more.

Of course, tons of new moves have been confirmed ranging from the Japanese scene (your Rainmakers, One Winged Angels and Destinos) to the western stuff (your Dirty Deeds, Sister Abigails and Figure Eights).
I hope (and this is a very likely assumption) that more moves will be added down the line.

The game modes will be somewhat limited in EA. 3 arenas, 1 referee and a limited online mode.
Things like customizable entrance music via MP3 were confirmed but will not be available in EA.

The thing that pleases me the most is how open minded and aware are the developers. Constant interaction and communication with the community. Carefully listening to feedback and responding to us.
Really looking forward to this one.

Out tonight at 9PM Est!

Happy to say that the game made it to Steam front page and to the top sellers list.
I don't know how much they actually sold (my guess is around 2,000 units in the 1st day) but it is important to have a successful launch in niche game terms.

The game is great, everything that I expected. There are a TON of edits already available in the Steam workshop. I am super positive!

Got it, played it, love it!

I am addicted to downloading wrestlers too

Suggested new thread title: Fire Pro Wrestling World brawl-for-all

Looking forward to getting this game in a couple of weeks, have a big Evernote doc going with links to Workshop downloads of all the CAW guys I want to add.

Does anybody know if if it's possible to put a CAW I download in more than one federation at a time? Like if I have one fed set up to represent 80's/90's WWF, and another set up to represent WCW, can I put a Macho Man CAW I download in both? Or do I need to make a copy or something?

Bumping this to report that adding custom mp3 music (for entrance themes and in-match background) is coming in a patch next month, and a "managing the ring" (running your own promotion) mode has been confirmed for a future update.

Middcore wrote:

Suggested new thread title: Fire Pro Wrestling World brawl-for-all

Looking forward to getting this game in a couple of weeks, have a big Evernote doc going with links to Workshop downloads of all the CAW guys I want to add.

Does anybody know if if it's possible to put a CAW I download in more than one federation at a time? Like if I have one fed set up to represent 80's/90's WWF, and another set up to represent WCW, can I put a Macho Man CAW I download in both? Or do I need to make a copy or something?

Title changed (thanks!) and as far as I know you need to make a copy.

Game actually made it to the GWJ podcast. So freaking cool.

It's the best wrestling game out there, bar none.

Spike continues with its series of fantastic patches. The latest one adds ring customization (mat, apron, etc.). Everything can be shared through Steam Workshop so if you want a real life ring, somebody probably already made it (even though the patch has been out for about a day).

Fictional rings are pretty easy to make too. Here is my first attempt at a simplistic ring design:
IMAGE(http://i66.tinypic.com/m8pxna.jpg)
IMAGE(http://i67.tinypic.com/wj6iqw.jpg)

You can get it here:
Apron 1
Apron 2

Slick! Nice job!

So someone made a free camera mod for Fire Pro.
For a game that is supposed to be 2D, that is damn impressive.

Check this out!

It's really a great wrestling and I am looking forward to trying this new mod out. The dev's are very engaged in the community as well.

Game is 33% off to celebrate end of Early Access.
55% off, to be accurate, since the price will go up from $19.99 to $29.99 in a few days.

The launch patch added some nice features - new moves, new edit parts, match improvements and quality of life changes (finally, an overwrite option for edits!).

I take it the PS4 version is a long way off if the game is still in early access?

Spikeout wrote:

I take it the PS4 version is a long way off if the game is still in early access?

There's no release date on the PS4 version, but the game itself just left early access and that's why there is the sale, as Sonny explained.

Also just as an FYI, they released some DLC to raise money for Yoshihiro Takayama. Yoshihiro was paralyzed from a accident during a match back in May, and the charity is to help support the medical bills.

One of the main reasons they left early access was for the team to start focusing on the PS4 release. My guess is spring 2018.

BTW, I highly recommend getting it on Steam. The workshop is all kinds of amazing.