This product is like new. At NexWave Games, like new means:
Additionally, all discs at NexWave Games are carefully inspected and assessed for quality. When discs arrive, we do not accept any that are so badly damaged that they are unlikely to work. We only accept discs with light scratches at most. Discs with scratches are then treated in our professional disc repair machine. By warming the disc and polishing it with soft brushes, these machines can remove a very thin layer from the disc. This removes the layer containing surface scratches and improves the disc’s readability. This ensures the disc works properly, even on consoles with ageing lasers that have difficulty reading games! Great news for the player.
Fire Pro Wrestling for Game Boy Advance
Fire Pro Wrestling for Game Boy Advance revolves around the timing of a grapple, your distance from an opponent and building up a match. The ring is shown at an angle, with drawn wrestlers who have different attacks. Once two fighters lock up, you choose a move at the right moment. Starting with a powerful throw often invites a counter. First you weaken your opponent with lighter holds and strikes, then look for an opportunity to finish the bout.
You can arrange individual bouts, tournaments and team matches. In Audience, the crowd’s opinion of your performance matters too. Winning alone does not tell the whole story: your chosen wrestling style and how you build up the match also count. The extensive editor lets you create wrestlers, from their appearance and clothing to their moves and computer behaviour. The existing participants have fictional names; this is not an official WWF or WCW game with their licensed roster.
You play alone against the computer or locally with up to four players in total. Each participant needs their own Game Boy Advance, their own Fire Pro Wrestling cartridge and the necessary Game Link cable connection. Those additional systems, games and cables are not included. You can also form a team together, coordinating your actions to perform a joint attack.
Region and language
Our Game Boy Advance games are European editions, unless stated otherwise. This product contains a loose cartridge for the European market. A box is only included if explicitly stated in the product details. We note any different region in the product details. In almost all cases, the game is playable at least in English, and often in the other five common European languages too.
Manual
With Fire Pro Wrestling for Game Boy Advance, you receive a loose cartridge. A box and manual are not included unless we explicitly state otherwise in the product details. This is the standard way we supply this copy.
The history of Fire Pro Wrestling
Fire Pro Wrestling was released for Game Boy Advance in 2001. Vaill developed this instalment in Spike’s Japanese series, while BAM! Entertainment handled the Western release. In Japan it was called Fire Pro Wrestling A. It reached the American market during the launch of Nintendo’s new handheld, officially bringing the Fire Pro name to English-speaking players for the first time. Earlier instalments were mostly known to players who imported Japanese games and found their own way through the menus.
The handheld instalment retained the angled, drawn ring and the emphasis on choosing the right moment. Its limited buttons served different techniques when standing, grappling or on the ground. Taking a rest also mattered during a long bout. This preserved the recognisable progression of a wrestling match: weakening an opponent, managing your strength and only trying a powerful move later. The extensive editor also gave players room to build their own roster.
Wrestling games with official WWF names also appeared on Game Boy Advance around the same time. Fire Pro chose fictional participants and considerable freedom to configure matches and fighters yourself. Audience made performing for the spectators part of the objective. The sequel Fire Pro Wrestling 2 followed in 2002, but this cartridge contains the first GBA instalment. Together, those handheld games show how the series brought its detailed match rules and small, drawn wrestlers to a portable system.
Similar games for Game Boy Advance
Fire Pro Wrestling 2 is the most direct comparison on Game Boy Advance. The angled, drawn ring, timed grapples and extensive editor return, with a revised roster and a different single-player structure. The first Fire Pro Wrestling uses Audience to emphasise putting on a performance that matches a chosen wrestling style. In both, you learn to build up a match before a powerful throw has a chance of succeeding.
WWF Road to WrestleMania uses official WWF wrestlers on Game Boy Advance and lets you work towards major matches and championships. Fire Pro Wrestling gives its participants fictional names and offers more room to configure their moves and behaviour yourself. Both involve holds, throws and finding a decisive moment; the difference lies in choosing between a familiar television roster and matches you put together yourself.
WWE Road to WrestleMania X8 also offers ring matches on Game Boy Advance, with championships and a Pay Per View you can assemble yourself. Its official WWE presentation takes centre stage. Fire Pro Wrestling places more emphasis on precisely executing a move and editing wrestlers. Organising an event can appeal in both games, but their tools and participants come from different wrestling worlds.
Tekken Advance on Game Boy Advance also asks you to manage distance and choose an attack when your opponent leaves an opening. Its fights centre on combinations of punches and kicks between two fighters, including Jin and Nina. Fire Pro Wrestling makes the grapple itself an important decision point. You watch your position in both, but a wrestling hold follows a different rhythm from a Tekken combination.
Street Fighter Alpha 3 brings recognisable fighters together on Game Boy Advance in two-dimensional duels with special attacks and combinations. Fire Pro Wrestling also uses drawn characters, but places them in a ring where you can move into the depth of the scene as well. The focus shifts from projectiles and attack chains to grapples, fatigue and the progression of a bout. Both demand practice, with distinctly different ways to exploit an opening.
