All Star Pro Wrestling

I still remember when I heard Square was going to develop a puroresu title on the Ps2. I was unsure what to expect, after all, Square isn't exactly known for puroresu games. Then the reviews started pouring out. This game was getting trashed left and right. Most importers dropped it down to $19 and even then no one was buying it. Some even gave it free if you purchased other items. They literally couldn't give it away! However, my curiosity got to me and I snagged it for about $10 even though I didn't have a Japanese Ps2. Fast forward about a year, I now have a Japanese Ps2 to try it out on. I'd love to say everyone was wrong and this is a great game. I'd love to question everyone and scream praises from the rooftops. I'd love to have a fun puroresu title for the Ps2, but sadly the reviews are true. The game just isn't good.

In typical Square fashion, the style and presentation is spot on. In fact, in some ways, this game is unmatched in the presentation department. The entrances are amazing with awesome lighting effects. There are a lot of little touches in this game that really add to the experience. Take blood for instance, if you smash someone in the head enough they will start to bleed like in many games of this genre. Unlike almost every other wrestling title, however, the blood contained here is realistic. The wrestler actually bleeds! Blood drips from his head onto the mat leaving blood stains abound. It looks really great and is not overdone. Wrestlers never gush blood, they bleed realistically with drops dripping here and there. Thumbs up to Square on the blood! Sick of your wrestlers featuring hair that appears as though they covered it in hair spray? Well, in ASPW hair moves about like hair should, rather than staying rigid and stiff. The wrestlers faces look phenomenal to boot. It should be seen as a bad sign when I am sitting here commending Square on such unimportant aspects of a game as blood and hair.

Even still, it sounds like it has potential to be good, right? Yeah, well, it completely drops the ball when you actually play it. The game reminds me of a mix between Touken Retsuden 4(DC) and one of those lame Acclaim wrestling titles. Characters lug around the screen at a snails pace and they suffer from the same "stick up the butt" walking animations that plagued TR4. The game is slow, no doubt about it. I'm not one for blazing fast arcade style gameplay, but this game appears to move slower than your standard puroresu match. In my opinion Square should have had an option to kick the speed up a notch. Not that that would save it from being nothing more than a glorified coaster.

Now, I could sit here and complain about the lack of tag team and battle royal matches, or the lack of a create a wrestler mode. If I were feeling especially bitter, I could moan about the two control schemes (mainly the "innovative" analog scheme), but I won't. Why? Well, none of it matters. This game is bad, plain and simple. It isn't worth my time writing in depth when I can sum it all up in one word. That word cannot be printed here as this is a family site. In case you couldn't gather, this game isn't worth the $10 I paid. Stay away for your own sake. Oh and ignore this next part unless you work for Square. "Hey Square, style over substance does not equal a good game. Maybe once you get that through your thick skull you will start making good games again. Thank you!"

©2002 Ed Finnegan

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