Unlike many other pro wrestling games, most games in the
Fire Pro Wrestling series are not licensed by any major
professional wrestling promotion, but feature likenesses of real-life wrestlers under different names. Games in the series generally utilize 2-D
sprite-based graphics, with some later games incorporating 3-D graphical elements. The spin-off series
King of Colosseum features polygonal
3-D graphics. The
Fire Pro Wrestling series of games distinguish themselves from other wrestling games by combining several unique features. One feature is the focus on a timing-based grappling control system. The grappling control system encourages the use of complex strategy, built on working up to using increasingly powerful moves on the player's opponent. The timing-based system also stands in contrast to the button-mashing tactics with which most 2-D wrestling gamers are familiar. Another feature of
Fire Pro Wrestling games is the inclusion of a large roster of playable wrestlers and fighters from different promotions located around the world. The wrestlers and promotions are renamed from their real-life counterparts to avoid issues with
copyright, and represent many different styles of professional wrestling: North American
WWE style sports-entertainment, Mexican
lucha-libre, various styles of Japanese
puroresu: athletic junior-heavyweight style, realistic strong-style, women's joshi wrestling, and violent
hardcore wrestling, as well as different styles of other
combat sports. A variety of match types are available in the
Fire Pro Wrestling series of games, with flexible settings for the rules within each match. This complements the variety of wrestlers available as playable characters. Different match types include conventional singles and
tag-team wrestling matches, extreme hardcore matches such as the "Landmine Death Match" or "Electric Barbed Wire
Cage Match", and various types of combat sports matches. Another distinguishing feature of the
Fire Pro Wrestling games, particularly the later games in the series, is the inclusion of an extensive and highly detailed wrestler creation and edit mode. The edit mode of
Fire Pro Wrestling games allows players to build game characters with a high level of attention to detail. Appearance characteristics, such as clothing and ring attire, and physical build, head and facial features, can be customized for a created wrestler. A detailed set of wrestling and fighting moves, drawn from the large pool of moves contained in each game, can also be assigned to a created wrestler. The edit mode also allows players to make detailed changes to the CPU logic of an edited wrestler, making it possible for a skilled creator to create a wrestler that behaves very much like his real-life counterpart, even when controlled by the computer. Later titles in the series allowed for customization of other aspects of professional wrestling, including changing the design of the ring mat and apron, creating customized championship belts, and creation and editing of referees. The detailed character creation and edit mode of the
Fire Pro Wrestling games became an influential feature that was eventually added to other wrestling and sports games. The combination of features included in
Fire Pro Wrestling games allows players to create "dream matchups" between wrestlers from different promotions, or different eras in the history of professional wrestling, as well as matches between real-life wrestlers and fighters, fictional characters and non-wrestling athletes and celebrities. ==Overview==