Virtual Pro Wrestling 2 | Retro Review | Nintendo 64

[@orionassante3386]

Ultra Pro Wrestling is in the works now and set to bring back the AKI engine.

[@HalloweenFreak31]

That's awesome. I will diffently have to check it out

[@JonathonFailsAtLife]

Been hearing that from indie wrestling games since the late 2000s and I'm still waiting for it. AEW Fight Forever was the only one to come kinda close, but still didn't get it, even with the multi-million dollar budget. Guess I'll stick to the handful of great ROM hacks that are still being produced today, for free.

[@TheJoek13]

That era in AJPW featured some of the greatest to ever get in the ring featuring the purest style of pro wrestling ever. When I discovered it via tape trading my life as a fan was changed (for the better). When this first came out I paid $100 to import this in the year 2000. Still have it & I still play it to this day, so yeah to me not only the greatest wrestling game ever but the greatest game ever.

[@leopoldvonwinterfeld5801]

Same experience for me. All Japan completely transformed my wrestling fandom and made it kind of...dignified? I'm not sure I would have been a wrestling fan for so long if it weren't for All Japan AND VPW2. I got it a couple years later than you, but it's still christmas tradition for my brother and I to play it every year for some tournament or the like. It is definitely in my Top 5 ever too

[@Yinzermakesvids]

The N64 wrestling games were the best ever made which just goes to show you how innovation died in gaming, stays alive in indies though

[@TheFamicast]

Absolutely agree! Seriously, the best wrestling game I’ve played since the N64 games has been Wrestling Empire. It may seem a bit janky, but god, it’s good! - Danny

[@Kramerica962]

I honestly think the Smackdown Playstation era series is a worthy successor to the N64 games. The N64 era games had a more fun control scheme for sure but the career modes of the Smackdown era games were leagues above what was on offer during the N64 games. It's really hard for me to pick one over the other because I have so many fond memories with both series. Also, as a dark horse candidate, the two Day of Reckoning games on the Gamecube are sleeper hits. Seems like a lot of wrestling fans missed out on those two games and if you can get your hands on them I highly recommend them. They had very tight controls, really unique and out there modes/match types and a worthy roster that any wrestling fan can appreciate.

[@dannynhl9441]

@@Kramerica962 Yeah. I had Smackdown 1 and 2 on PS1 and loved them. A lot of fun. My neighbor had the N64 ones and we had a blast with those as well. I just picked up AEW on switch and it's fun but still can't touch this era. Need to pick some of these up again. I been having fun with NES wrestling games and WWF Rumble on SNES too

[@endlessfiregaming3863]

​@@TheFamicastplease tell me what's actually good about it ? I see alot of people say that . But when I play it it's just a complete mess . What is special about that game exactly ?

[@TheFamicast]

@@endlessfiregaming3863 Well, I spent almost 14 minutes talking about that in this video. I mean, hey, at the end of the day if you don't like it, you don't like it. It's no big deal! - Danny

[@orionassante3386]

Fire Pro Wrestling World is still my go to wrestling game but I did pick up with AEW game. I skipped 2K23 game this year because they took out chain wrestling. I may pick it up when its at budget price and will be interested to see if 2K24 brings back some of the stuff they took out. Aside from that Hyper Focus Studio is currently working on rebuilding the AKI engine from scratch and modernizing it for current gen consoles meaning adding more move situations, more move slots and smoothing out some of the engine mechanics. They are using the entire original AKI set of N64 games as a template and are even hand animating every single move from all of these games to include in the Ultra Pro Wrestling base game as available default moves before they start incorporating their own. It's set for a 2024 Holiday release on all platforms.

[@JasonMabone]

My favorite is WWF No Mercy. Its branching Championship mode, new wrestling moves, newly redone animations for some of the moves, and its cage and ladder matches makes it so fun. Unfortunately, it has some slowdown when four wrestlers are involved in a match, but I believe turning off the music solves this problem. The only other thing I wish it had is working Titantron screens.

[@BlitzkriegBryce]

The worst part of No Mercy has got to be.... DIG DIG DIG DIGGITY DIG DIGGITY DOG

[@justafanofnerdculture7602]

​@@BlitzkriegBryceAgreed! 😄

[@jamesw3546]

@@BlitzkriegBryce Break it.

[@IFEGRIZZLY]

And the Hell in the Cell

[@thejoshernaut6730]

I still remember turning the power off and on like 50 times to unlock the wcw and wwf games locked moves. It was so cool. It first showes a silhouette of Goldberg. Keepb doing it and then you see the Mankind silhouette. I was so stoked.

[@shoot_the_glass5654]

I've been doing playthroughs of the Aki lineage from WCW NWO world tour to (hopefully) No Mercy and Virtual Pro 2 because they use the same engine and controls are mostly similar so beating the later games won't be a struggle. I've even found rom hacks like translated Virtual Pro titles and All Star themed hacks combining WWF wrestlers and WCW in the same roster. There is a classic WCW Saturday Night hack with more old school wrestlers from the post WWF era and there are previews of Wrestlemania X (in development) with the new generation roster of the mid 90s, both these hacks run on the Wrestlemania 2000 engine and they both run on actual N64 hardware.

[@orionassante3386]

Fun fact: The AKI wrestling games come from former Fire Pro Wrestling developers who worked on the 3d Fire Pro game Iron Slam.

[@Luigitime2015]

Loved both

[@LittleBigKid707b]

I would have never guessed that. I've played both AKI and the Fire Pro games and they couldn't play more differently. I know that a few guys who worked on NES Pro Wrestling went on to make the Fire Pro games....

[@shyguy85]

​@@LittleBigKid707b??? The AKI and FPW games play extremely similar. At least in the sense that you need to do small moves and work your way up to big ones

[@LittleBigKid707b]

@shyguy85 you do need to work up your moves in both games, but they feel very different. The Aki games have a more arcade pickup and play feel. Firepro has a much higher learning curve and feels more like a simulation wrestling game. I've played both for over two decades and this is just my opinion. Also I think it's more fun to play the Aki games but it's more fun and accurate to watch matches in Firepro. Fire Pro allows for unbelievable customization. You can make each wrestler behave almost exactly as they would if it was a actual wrestling match I love both games but they are again to me very different

[@JeremyPeeples]

The Kamala here isn't the original - but Kamala II

[@mightysnoro]

Yup. Technically Giant Kimala II

[@TheWayloski]

They put all the WCW and WWE AKi character taunts and moves in this game. It was insane making all the WCW/WWe guys and making them fight.

[@Metalmyke]

Great review, Danny. They just don’t make wrestling games like they used too on the 64. My favorite to this day is still WWF Attitude🤘

[@cfhcowboy9292]

Mines no mercy .

[@terryfunku]

Attitude was a button masher though. Absolute garbage controls.

[@danzena4059]

This is my favorite wrestling game of all time TIED however with Smackdown: HCTP. I spent so many hours on Virtual Pro Wrestling 2 and also pretending I was having Pancrase/UWFI matches on the "Shoot Wrestling" type of mode. I played this game as recently as 2016 and now I just may make a little return to it thanks to this video!

[@kaijudirector5336]

If this had No Mercy's story mode mixed with the season mode I think I'd never pick up another wrestling game.

[@ThrashAD720]

AJPW and NJPW are more tradtional pro-wrestling promotions so they didn't crazy stuff besides bloody brawls like in the 80's with the Funks, Hansen, Brody, Abby etc etc Michinoku Pro and Toryumon are Lucha Influnce promotions and FMW was the Deathmatch and Hardcore wrestling promotion.

[@TheFamicast]

Ahhhh, interesting. I did not know that! - Danny

[@SkateSoup]

There were a couple different lines of wrestling game at the time that really each did well at what they were doing. For the AKI games which were a ton of fun to pick up and play with friends, vpw2 may have been the best but I need to play no mercy to compare. I was familiar with the japanese wrestling scene at the time, so it's been a winner for me over the US releases since those days. The Fire Pro series was if you wanted insane levels of customization, a timing focus, and as the series went on a few more out there match types. 6 man scramble will always have a special place for me as thats when I discovered the series and played a ton with friends including a few memorable weekends with a group of friends and the 6 player adapter, but the most recent PC release takes everything that the whole series did well and puts it in a great package. The series I probably played the most though was the New Japan Pro Wrestling series, released once as Power Moves Pro Wrestling in the states. The rock-paper-scissor controls made it more about outthinking the person you were playing against while not having a huge learning curve. Someone playing a bunch by themselves didn't make it unfair because it was a chess match rather than being completely skill based. The 3 way mode got a lot of play when it was me and 2 other people which was a lot of weekends in high school as we'd have one person act as a referee/karma police. If one person was being cheesy, that 3rd player stepped in to introduce consequence, or just to troll, it was a blast. Of those i think njpw3 was the better game though its a coin flip which we played more, and we played a ton of that series. Not as technically advanced, no edit mode, but absolutely worth checking out with a freind as something different.

[@Cyko..]

You typed all that for 1 like. 😆

[@williamdickson3409]

Virtual Pro Wrestling 2 gameplay is genuinely the best out of the entire series AKI has done across the bored in their Japanese and North American titles

[@Mr12thStreet]

Bro this was my life at one point everyday creating my guy to perfection.

[@IFEGRIZZLY]

I just read a Reddit that said these games are not good, so this video reassured me and made me happy again, coz AKI wrestlings games are the best!

[@TheFamicast]

You should have went with your gut feeling because these games are still awesome! Thanks for checking out the video! - Danny

[@Cyko..]

I got the English translated and modded version of this game. It's got Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, Hulk Hogan, Macho Man Randy Savage, Sabu, Cactus Jack, Terry Funk, Booker T, Ric Flair, and a ton of others. 98 characters total with 16 free slots to make your own. A great translation of a fantastic game.

[@TheFamicast]

Oh, that sounds awesome! Thanks for sharing! - Danny

[@Giller9]

Great review! Thanks!

[@UncomfortableShoes]

Great review, man. Found your video after watching a video about the N64 AKI games that didn’t mention this game or the previous game. I have a rom with the game’s menus translated into English if you want. Let me know. Love seeing the actual box. I love this game and played the shit out of it in Japanese so it was a breath of fresh air getting my hands on the English rom 😂. Cheers!

[@TheFamicast]

Thanks for the comment! As of right now, I have reviews for every AKI N64 wrestling game up here on the channel outside of No Mercy (and World Tour…but do have one for the original Virtual Pro Wrestling 64). I appreciate the offer on the ROM. I kinda wanna track one down so I can run some of the mods that are out but it’s not a big deal at the moment. Anyway, thanks for the comment, man! Appreciate it! - Danny

[@Luigitime2015]

Awesome find and deal , I got both then from home import store online nYi think

[@TheFamicast]

Thanks for the comment! This game is definitely a good one to have in a collection! - Danny

[@ElmoKnowsWhereYouLive5150]

Would you mind posting a video about the promo system/mode?

[@mikehawk1270]

THIS IS KING

[@angelotero7729]

VPW 2 is probably the best out of all of them No Mercy is great but it has limitations on creating wrestlers I love making masked wrestlers in VPW2 wish No Mercy had full entrances it would be cool to combine all the AKI games into one masterpiece

[@JSlis80]

These N64 wrestling games are by far the best wrestling games ever made with fire pro wrestling being second. Everything else is so clunky in comparison. The animations here are far more satisfying to watch than any other wrestling game. I don't know why other companies fail when it comes to animations.

[@IFEGRIZZLY]

Did this come out before or after No Mercy?

[@TheFamicast]

Yep! This came out in January 2000 while No Mercy came out in November of the same year. - Danny

[@justincantrell09]

Virtual pro wrestling wasn't the last Aki game I thought No Mercy was?

[@TheFamicast]

In Japan, VPW2 was the last one on the N64. Technically, Wreslemania 2000 released after it did in Japan (a delayed release) and No Mercy never came out. - Danny

[@RussGreeno]

Have you tried any of the latest ones on Xbox?

[@Retro_Gamer_89]

I have them all emulated on my Xbox Series X i even have mods 😎

[@HootSr3611]

I have them all and play them daily, vpw64 is my favorite prefer it over vpw2 and no mercy is over rated grew up with all world tour being the first✌️

[@vasdmfer13]

WWF No Mercy, hands down. No need to play any other N64 wrestling game

[@Cyko..]

Have you played this? I'm guessing no.

[@handythesock2505]

wrestlmaina 2000 was based on this game

[@CerealKiller88]

Are the Funk brothers in this game?

[@TheFamicast]

Yep!

[@kaytentheomega]

FPW is the best wrestling game of all time

[@WarlockX4]

When developers actually cared about the video games they were making and weren't in it just to make a quick cash grab.

[@DickHandy-nm3ik]

Home oh.

[@vehtty_]

Here comes the pain is 20 years old, & was 10x better than No Mercy & Virtual Pro Wrestling. No Mercy doesn't feel too good today, that N64 controller was always a nightmare & pulling off finishing moves with the analog stick always felt uncanny (Those entrances do not look good in 4K either). Reversing moves in No Mercy & VPW 2 also felt busted & at times awkward, The Smackdown Games were top notch, Revolutionary, & made more wrestling fans than No Mercy believe it or not. You could actually reverse moves in HCTP! What a beautiful idea. The Fire Pro series was a pro players dream come true, that series lacks a Ladder match & other various gimmick match types, but that game play will never get old with another person. That's the issue with N64 wrestling games today, No Mercy & VPW2 get old pretty quickly, It was revolutionary as hell when it was released, but we have seen better wrestling games over the years.

[@EGommer1994]

I respect your opinion, but definitely have to disagree as a whole. It sounds like you just weren't a fan of the N64 console itself because I've never heard anyone mention these complaints and never experienced them myself. In fact this was one of the few series the controller actually worked perfectly for. I play the AKI games today with an 8bit Pro on PC and it's almost a bit bizarre to get used to. While one of the greats as well, I think declaring Here Comes The Pain as 10x better is an absurd exaggeration. I would also only put that and Shut Your Mouth from the Smackdown series anywhere near the AKI games or King of Colosseum as top tier wrestling games. Even SvR 06 and 07, as great as they are, have a lot of shortcomings. But I suppose it's nice to have enough phenomenal wrestling games to even have the debate. To each their own at the end of the day.

[@demetriusb.7885]

​@@EGommer1994 Exactly preach!

[@orionassante3386]

Completely disagree.