PlayStation 2 Critic Reviews

Let me just get this out the way: Fire Pro Wrestling Returns is the best wrestling game ever. That's not an exaggerated statement -- you will not find a better mat simulator on the market.

I've always loved the Fire Pro series, and this is the best yet. It's the best wrestling game of the year, and one of the best of all time. Ignore the poor graphics, and appreciate it for what it is.

It's for the wrestling fan who skips the ring entrances in their wrestling games and just wants a solid grappling and fighting experience. It's for the devotee of games with deep editing tools, who would love the chance to make hundreds of complex, satisfying characters. Fire Pro Wrestling Returns may not be the best-looking wrestling game available today, but it is in fact the best.

This is a rare gem of a wrestling game which, at under 20 quid, every grap fan is duty bound to try. [Mar 2008, p.98]

There's no finer grap game out there. [Apr 2008, p.76]

Get it unless you absolutely despise wrestling.

There's an amazing amount of depth in Fire Pro Wrestling Returns but if you can't get by the way the game mechanics work, the way it looks or its archaic menu system then you should just keep walking because there's nothing to see here.

Compared to many other wrestling games, FPWR is a much more old school affair, but it is also extremely details oriented.

Fire Pro Wrestling Returns is archaic, arduous, and arcane, but is it fun? Absolutely.

The fact that you can create your own shows, rings, belts, logos, superstars and more means that if you dig the game's style of grappling, there are literally thousands of things for you to do. However, this game is far from being for everyone.