Sweaty man drama
One of the oldest wrestling video game series (and one in which famed Suda 51 got his start making games) appears to be getting its first installment since 2012, as Spike Chunsoft has launched ateaser siteand video titled “Pro Wrestling.” Not only that but it appears to be just the fifth game in the long-running series’s history to officially be localized in the west, as the “Pro Wrestling”Twitter accountname is “3/2 in San Francisco.”
Whatever they plan to show on March 2 in San Francisco (cough cough GDC), they likely wouldn’t bother doing in the states if they had no plans to release it there. The first games in the series to be localized wereFire Pro Wrestling Alocalized asFire Pro Wrestling, andFire Pro Wrestling 2for the Game Boy Advance, followed byFire Pro Wrestling Returns onPlayStation 2. That really bad avatar-basedXbox Live Arcade titlewas the last we saw of the franchise until now.
Truth be told I’ve never personally played aFire Pro Wrestlinggame, but what I hear of its strategy and timing focus sounds alluring. I hear nothing but harrowing tales of 2K’sWWEtitles, so the only fairly modern wrestling game I played and enjoyed wasWWE All Starseven though I haven’t followed pro wrestling since junior high school.
N64’sWrestleMania 2000and especiallyNo Mercywill always hold the championship belt of wrestling games in my heart, but if this turns out good I’ll be more than willing to get a refresher on the annals of wrestling lore.
