|
Post by Ex on Nov 7, 2021 21:20:56 GMT -5
Anybody interested in Firepro Wrestling? This was a legendary import-only series for a long time, but now there are actually legit releases. I've not played the games, but I'm familiar with the series. It has a lot of entries, and some spin-offs. There's even one for PS4:
|
|
|
Post by Xeogred on Nov 7, 2021 21:30:56 GMT -5
Must have been pre-AEW era with Kenny Omega (far left) on that haha. Think that's Okada next to him. Incredible matches with those two in NJPW.
I've been back into wrestling thanks to AEW. Fun times.
Wonder how many games feature Jushin Liger.
|
|
|
Post by Ex on Nov 7, 2021 21:41:10 GMT -5
The PS4 game is from 2018 if that means anything.
|
|
|
Post by Ex on Nov 8, 2021 2:03:29 GMT -5
Title: Hajime no Ippo: The FightingPlatform: Game Boy Advance Region release played: Japan Year of release: 2002 Developer: Treasure Publisher: ESP Software Graphics: 3/5 Audio: 3/5 Challenge: 4/5 Fun factor: 3/5 Quick Thoughts: Hajime no Ippo: The Fighting is a Japan-only boxing sim based upon the manga/anime of the same name. A full English fan translation for this game released in 2008, that's how I played it. There are multiple modes, but I played through story mode, which simply showcases matches against opponents following the sequence from the original manga. Imagine a first person view Punch-Out!!, this game's design is similar, though it uses a much more complex boxing system. Hajime no Ippo: The Fighting is recommended for Punch-Out!! fans looking for something familiar, but with increased combat depth and greater difficulty. +This game's boxing mechanics are well realized and require mastery. +Some opponents are seriously, incredibly challenging. +It feels very rewarding to finally beat a particularly difficult boxer. +Lots of other modes to check out (I didn't though). +There are no set patterns or puzzle fighters here, RNG drives the AI. -Some opponents move faster than you can hope to dodge. -Some opponents hit harder than you can dream of hitting. -Alexander Volg Zangief is a right bastard and I hate his guts. -The OST is kinda weak and repetitive. -If you fail to beat the real final boss, you end up on a delineated two fight run to the weak ending. Ex's time to beat: ~2 hours (straight story mode legit win, no customizing, no walkthrough, restarted once to get best ending) Ex's rating: 7/10
|
|
|
Post by Xeogred on Nov 8, 2021 10:11:49 GMT -5
That looks awesome. Big fan of the anime myself.
|
|
|
Post by Ex on Nov 8, 2021 10:33:02 GMT -5
That looks awesome. Big fan of the anime myself. It's pretty decent, insofar as being challenging is concerned. I think beating the story mode in the game above, legitimately without cheating, was harder than Punch-Out!! or Super Punch-Out!!. Though this GBA game is kinda bare bones in every other regard, lacks the charm and presentation of the P-O!! series. There are quite a few Hajime no Ippo video games. In the USA, these fall under the " Victorious Boxers" series name. Of the 9 game entries released so far, only 3 were officially localized for the USA. 2 more received full English fan translations. Here's all the games if you are interested: 1997 - Japan-only 2001 2002 - Japan-only, but has a full English fan translation 2004 - Japan-only 2006 2007 2007 - Japan-only 2008 - Japan-only, but has a full English fan translation 2014 - Japan-only
|
|
|
Post by toei on Nov 8, 2021 22:33:27 GMT -5
I spent some time on K-1 Grand Prix (PSX, 1998). For those unfamiliar, K-1 was Japan-based stand-up mixed martial arts league (meaning no ground and no wrestling) which was somewhat popular before the UFC took over that market. A number of K-1 games were released from the late '90s to the early '00s, mostly on the PS1, PS2, and Saturn. Those games were mostly developed by Daft, which you may know from, uh... Violinist of Hameln? Or maybe Super Back to the Future 2. Initially, they were published by Xing in Japan, with two or three of them making it out West thanks to Jaleco. Konami took over publishing duties later on, and the last few entries on the PS2 may have been made by Konami in-house (it's not totally clear).
Anyway, right off the bat, this game suffers from unresponsive controls. I enjoy the realism and complex simplicity of a combat sim VS a typical VS fighter (ie fewer moves and simpler combinations, but you have to really focus on creating openings, mind fatigue gauges and knock outs on top of your overall health, etc.), but this really holds these games back. I'd say it needs a better training mode as well. If I can find the later Konami entries, I'd like to see how they've improved from the earlier ones.
|
|
|
Post by Xeogred on Nov 10, 2021 10:32:30 GMT -5
This is quite the deep dive on the Aki wrestling games: thegoldandsteelsaga.com/2021/03/16/aki-wrestling/I remember playing some of Wrestlemania 2000 at a friend's one night, all night long. It had SO much customization and stuff that was cool. I think maybe I will try to check out No Mercy this month, since that was the last of the THQ/Aki N64 wrestling games. The Def Jam games were actually seriously legit too, I remember having fun with one of those and some friends. So I'm not all that surprised to see those games used the same Aki engine.
|
|
|
Post by Xeogred on Nov 12, 2021 15:23:35 GMT -5
How far can you guys get in Punch-Out without utilizing Select and Start? That's how I've been playing until I finally looked at a manual just now...
|
|
|
Post by Sarge on Nov 12, 2021 15:27:00 GMT -5
Hey, I told you about the "select" trick a while back! But in general, the later fights get rough enough that landing a Star Punch is very challenging. Heck, just getting a star and keeping it is tough. I could probably beat it without either, although it does make it a bit tougher. (And of course, I've been playing it for years, so I'm not exactly a good gauge of how difficult it would be. I did discover a new technique against Tyson watching some blindfolded speedruns that would make it much easier to survive the first 1:30 without relying on pure reaction time.)
|
|