Future Publishing


Super Fire Pro-Wrestling

Publisher: Human
Machine: Super Famicom

 
Published in Ace #055: April 1992

Super Fire Pro-Wrestling

Conveniently hitting these shores on import at more or less the same time as the WWF craze, this latest Famicom product must surely rank as one of the smelliest to date. On paper and on screen it looks and sounds great - 3D isometric ring, big muscle-bound characters slugging it out, single-player and tag-team options, loads of different moves... mouth-watering yet? Well, it needn't be, because Super Fire Pro-Wrestling is about as playable as a stale watermelon wrapped in a wet towel.

So what's so bad about it then? Well, it's difficult to know where to start, really. The wrestlers themselves shuffle about the ring in such an unconvincing manner that they don't even look like they're walking on the canvas. They seem to float about a foot off the ground, with their legs kicking back and forth in a vaguely walk-like manner. When the two fighters meet, they grapple in an equally unrealistic fashion while the players hammer away on their buttons to try and get a hold and execute a move.

Theoretically there's lots to do, but the graphics are so poorly defined and the controls so unresponsive that, bar flashes of luck, it's virtually impossible to do anything but the most basic moves. Maybe it would have been a bit easier to get to grips with if the on-screen messages had been in English, but they're not so it isn't.

No doubt some hardened wrestling fans will throw caution to the wind and snap this up, but a much better plan is surely to wait a while and see what emerges over the next few months - there's already an official WWF game on the way which promises to be a lot better. Whatever you do, don't waste your hard-earned money on this claptrap.