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OK, now this is just
moronic. Who got it into their fool heads that people
would want to see the two beefiest Virtua Fighter characters
mix it up with Japan's finest wrestlers, as well as a few
has-beens from America? Oh yeah, I forgot this was the
same sport that gave us the Gobbledegooker and a grown
man trading insults with a
doll.
 Anyway...
Sega put a lot of work into this game, although I can't even
begin to understand why. The concept is just too
freaking strange for wrestling purists, and anyone who
got a kick (and a flaming turnbuckle drop) out of the
Wrestlemania arcade game isn't going to like All Japan's
surprisingly reserved style of fighting. There's no
trash talk from the grapplers, no two story drops from an iron
cage, and no hard-core matches with trash cans and stop signs
strewn throughout the ring. Pro wrestling has never been
so... polite!
I guess that's to be expected
from the Japanese, and so is the quality of the game... the
wrestlers are nicely animated and light-source shaded, and
there's a lot less button mashing here than in most wrestling
titles thanks to a fighting system where
punches counter throws, throws break holds, and holds
take the sting out of punches. It's like
rock, paper, scissors with steroids!
Nevertheless, All-Japan Pro Wrestling will seem unnervingly
laid back to American wrestling fans weaned on a steady diet
of WCW and WWF outrageousness. The lack of any
Western wrestling
legends (unless you count Steve "Dr. Death" Williams as
top-card talent, and I'm sure you don't) doesn't exactly
sweeten the deal for us gaijin,
either.
Maybe this game would have been a
little more exciting if it had featured more actua fighters...
and I'm not talking about second stringers like Stan Hansen
and Johnny Ace. Heck, even a more robust customization
mode would have put enough pounds on this lightweight to last
more than a few minutes against the grand champion of Saturn
wrestling games, Fire Pro Six Man Scramble. All-Japan
Pro Wrestling is better than that other Fire Pro game
for the Saturn, Blazing Tornado, but if you're going to
set your sights that low, you might as well hang up the gold
belt for good and start doing reality shows with your bratty
kids. |
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All-Japan Pro
Wrestling
Sega
Wrestling
 
All of the movies in All-Japan Pro
Wrestling are viewable on home computers. Just pop the
game in your PC and open the MOV folder to see them all,
including the Making Of video starring the late, Lurch-esque
Giant Baba. What, too soon?
High. The actual game is
pretty easy to play, but it's tough to use some options
(particularly the wrestler customization mode) if you don't
know Japanese.
Pretty lousy. You'll wait
ten seconds to get in the ring after starting a
game.
The Fire Pro Wrestling series
features an organization called Olive Japan, with thinly
disguised versions of All-Japan's most popular
wrestlers.
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