HUMAN Club 1993 Extra Issue review

HUMAN Club 1993 Extra Issue
known in Japan as: ヒューマンくらぶ1993号外
July 1993.

One of my newest acquisitions is a very rare promotional piece that was issued to members
of HUMAN Entertainment's fanclub back in1993. This particular issue features information
regarding two of HUMAN's upcoming titles that were set to be released on the Super Famicom:
Super Fire Pro-Wrestling III Final Bout, and Human Grandprix 2.

For Blog #261, let's take  a look at the HUMAN Club 1993 Extra issue pamphlet.

In Japanese culture, these items are known as パンフレット (pamphlet), which is a commonly
-used umbrella term for print materials such as event programs and arcade flyers.

 

The pamphlet comes in a sturdy presentation folder. The Japanese text reads "HUMAN AMUSEMENT".

The same text and logo is identical on the back of the folder.

 

Like the Human Super F2 CD compilation, the cover of this particular item features the game
artwork for both Final Bout and Grandprix 2.

The Japanese text reads at the top reads "HUMAN Club 1993". The yellow text in the middle
roughly translates to "urgent alert".

Page 2 covers Human Grandprix 2.

Never being a fan of the genre, I have yet to play any of HUMAN's racing games.

The back of the pamphlet includes illustrations submitted by readers, along with thoughts from
the editor Itaru Shiraishi.Shiraishi reported that HUMAN's involvement with the Nintendo Space
World '93 was a huge success, and that Final Bout's Edit mode was a welcomed addition to the franchise.

The bottom of the pamphlet includes a contest, where readers can submit mascot illustrations for
a chance to win a phone card featuring graphics of HUMAN Baseball.

Included with the pamphlet is a detached "Human Club Member Recruitment" form.

The form states that by signing up to the Human Club, members received:

1. The Human Club Newsletter delivered to their mailbox.

2. Contests where players could win "HIP tickets" and "HIP goods", which when collected, can
be used to receive original Human Entertainment goods. I'm guessing HIP must be some sort of acronym HUMAN were using at the time in the style of the Nintendo Club or Capcom's Fighter's
Edge.

3. Members would be presented with a Human Club Member membership card containing their
name.

4. Members would receive a birthday card from the club on their birthday.

When compared to a regular Super Famicom guidebook, the Human Club issue is gargantuan scale-wise!


Closing thoughts:

well, folks, that wraps up another very rare piece of Fire Pro memorabilia. This was my first issue of the HUMAN Fan Club (which, up until now, I only read about while scanning the Fire Pro guides here). To have an original item from the club itself is pretty cool, and the size of these pamphlets make for great display pieces.

Over the last few months, I spotted another pamphlet for Combination Tag (but wasn't able to snag it). If more of these pamphlets become available, I'll certainly grab them.

While Final Bout was listed as the last entry in the Fire Pro series, we as fans have come to know otherwise. Like Wrestling retirements in general, you can't keep a legend down long, and even now, fans eagerly await the return of the world's greatest Wrestling simulator.

Audio download - Fire Pro-Wrestling 2nd Bout Game Music (1991)

Over the last few months, I have been working closely with the Critical Club forums to
archive as many game guides as possible. In the process, I have begun acquiring original
gaming soundtracks along with my regular imports.

For Blog #237, we're going to take a look at one of the earliest soundtracks released for
Japan's popular Fire Pro-Wrestling series.


Fire Pro-Wrestling 2nd Bout - Game Music

The year was 1991, and Human Entertainment had just released the sequel to their
popular grappling simulator Fire Pro-Wrestling Combination Tag. In a nutshell, Fire
Pro-Wrestling 2nd Bout introduced ten new players, additional game modes, and
a refined Wrestling engine, bringing fans closer to the antics of the squared circle.

To celebrate 2nd Bout's release, Japanese music label Try Trendy Technology 
was tasked with issuing the official soundtrack of the game. The album simply
titled: Fire Pro-Wrestling 2nd Bout - Game Music, was also released in 1991.

At first glance, one might confuse the soundtrack's cover art with a stock image of 2nd
Bout's title screen.

The back of the album. The album uses the same cover model for 2nd Bout's game
release.

In case you were wondering, the cover model was a young Riki Fuji. At the time,
FMW had a working relationship with HUMAN Entertainment, and allowed Fuji
to be photographed for all of 2nd Bout's merchandising and promotional material.

       

Other than the front cover, there are no pages inside the booklet, other than this credit
page.



Most of the Fire Pro soundtracks included extra items that were bundled with the CD's.
The first title (Combination Tag) included stickers of certain Wrestlers. For 2nd Bout's
release, the bonus item was a two-sided foldout poster.

The design is simply the mode select screen.



Poster back: which contains the 2nd Bout roster (minus the four hidden boss characters),
a gameplay secret and liner notes.

The trick simply states that pressing Button 1 and II with the direction buttons will perform
an "unknown trick".

What the above text is referring to are the codes to unlock the hidden boss characters using
Button I, II and the directional buttons on the Wrestler select screen in exhibition matches.

Along with the liner notes is a special message from Fire Pro staff member Chachamaru
Sasazawa, who writes:

"Fire Pro Wrestling Second Bout Now the clever gong rings again. Two years and two months
after "Fire Pro Wrestling Combination Tag", the second release is finally here in response to
everyone's hot requests. 10 new wrestlers have been replaced and, of course, their techniques
have been upgraded. What's more, in "Fire Pro 2" you can freely form a tag team, so the
variety of battles has expanded dramatically. If you've never played it before, please give it a
try."

Chachamaru started out as a cover art illustration for the First Fire Pro title (Combination Tag),
as well as a pixel artist, before going on to head Fire Pro's fan clubs, public events (such as Fire
Pro tournaments) and hotlines.

CD design.


Arranged Versions
1. Fire Pro-Wrestling 2nd Bout (opening theme)
2. Troubled Times (Wrestler select theme)
3. Genocider (Excite mode theme)
4. Metal Spark (World Championship mode theme)
5. Splendid Fighter (Elimination Match theme)
6. Congratulations (Ending theme)

Original Game Music
7. Fire Pro-Wrestling 2nd Bout (opening theme)
8. Troubled Times (Wrestler Select theme)
9. Genocider  (Excite mode theme)
10. Metal Spark (World Championship mode theme)
11. Power Cyclone (Super Tournament theme)
12. Splendid Fighter (Elimination Match theme)
13. Counter Attack (2nd World Championship mode playthrough theme)
14. Fighter Entrance (Fighter's entrance theme)
15. Toast (Result - winner theme)
16. Dirge of Fight (Result - loser theme)
17. Congratulations (Ending theme)

The below link contains all 17 tracks in WAV format, along with entire booklet scans.

DOWNLOAD LINK:

www.mediafire.com/file/j1927hw80slpjzw/Fire+Pro-Wrestling+2nd+Bout+Official+Soundtrack.zip/file

Guidebook #1: Super Fire Pro-Wrestling III Final Bout Scans

First of all, I'd like to wish everyone a happy and productive New Year.

Working with the fine folks over at Critical Club, I've been archiving (and translating)
game guides from Japan.The likenesses, the golden age of Puroresu and the nostalgia all
rolled into one.



Collage created by yours truly.

127 pages, 64 Wrestler illustrations, codes, finishers; plus an interview with The
Great Sasuke himself! Blog #234 takes a complete, page-to-page look at the
Super Fire Pro-Wrestling III Final Bout Techniques guidebook:

You can check out the full guide:

HERE<----------------------