Giant Gram: All Japan Pro Wrestling 2 in Nippon Budokan Japanese Pro-Wrestling for the Sega Dreamcast! Pseudo-FAQ v.099 for Non-Japanese speakers Written by Alvin Muolic (orion@nospam.hooked.net) remove 'nospam' to reply, 'cause I hate spam ----------------------------------------------------------------------- First, a FAQ writer's tradition! ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Legal Disclaimer Giant Gram All Japan Pro Wrestling 2 in Nippon Budokan (C)1999 Sega. Sega Dreamcast (C)1999 Sega. All rights reserved. Entire contents of this document (C)1999 Alvin Muolic All text in this document (C)1999 Alvin Muolic All rights reserved. Permission to post this FAQ in its entirety on your web page or web site is granted as long as the contents of this FAQ, including the entire body of text, the legal disclaimer, and the copyright information are not altered or modified in any matter. Non-electronic reproduction in whole or in part without the express written permission of Alvin Muolic is prohibited. This FAQ is not to be used for profitable or promotional purposes, which includes the following: being used by publishers of magazines, guides, books, etc. being incorporated into magazines, guides, books, etc. in any way or form, or being used by retailers as an incentive to sell their product. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Whew! You'd swear that I had to type that out every time I update this! ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Alvin's Disclaimer If you can read/speak Japanese, then this may well not mean much to you at all! A lot of FAQs that exist for import titles are written to help those that can't speak or read Japanese. This is one of those types of documents. The funny thing is, I can't speak or read Japanese at a level of proficiency that I'd like to be at, but I can get by. This FAQ is intended to be a play guide of sorts, and does not aim to be a move list, though that might just happen eventually. This is going to contain a lot of stuff that I've posted to rec.games.video.sega, so if you get that sense of deja-vu, then it's because there's a glitch in the program, Neo. if you get that sense of deja-vu, then it's because there's a glitch in the program, Neo. :) Also, my writing style is a bit loose, so bear with me (and be prepared for a lot of comments written within a set of parenthesis, just like this). FAQ writers don't get paid for what they do, and I'm trying to have some fun with this so that you can have fun with your game. Also, do you know what kind of trouble I end up creating for plagiarists that can only hit CTRL-C and CTRL-V? ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Last updated: 07/14/99 version .099 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- This FAQ is rated TV-14 DLV. "Ladies and gentlemen, business has just picked up..." ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Introduction: ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- (06/30/99) Giant Gram (GG) is the first of hopefully many Sega Dreamcast (DC) pro-wrestling titles. Coming out soon will be the next installment of Yukes' excellent Touken Retsuden series. Supposedly, there is also a version of Acclaim's WWF Attitude rumored to be in development. Variety is good, ne? Giant Gram is the sequel to the ST-V/Saturn "puroresu" title "All Japan Pro Wrestling Featuring Virtua". Both titles feature AJPW superstars, as well as Virtua Fighter characters. Both games are excellent wrestling games in their own right, though I'll probably have problems trying to play the first AJPW game much again--Giant Gram pretty much supercedes it in every possible way. FYI, Japanese "puroresu" is all about fighting spirit and appeal. Gimmicks and soap opera theatrics do not get you "over" the way they do in the US of A. It's all about ability, athleticism, and sportsmanship. Ever notice that most Japanese puroresu games have an "appeal" function? Most of the times, it's misinterpreted as a "taunt", but it's not listed as that. Japanese wrestlers try to appeal and earn their pops from the crowd through ability. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Contents ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Giant Gram Technical Info Featured Wrestlers Main Menu and Options Translations How To Play Technical Guide Listing Reversals and Blocking How To Link Moves Hidden Characters The Secrets of Pro Wrestling VMS Info Contributors/Special Thanks ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- --Giant Gram Technical Info Comes on 1 GD-ROM disc Supports 1-4 Players Supports the Arcade Stick peripheral Supports the VGA Box peripheral Supports the Giant Channel VMS peripheral (Red VMS) Requires 11 Blocks of VMS memory (to save options and 1 edit wrestle; the "Giant Channel" VMS mini-game requires 128 blocks of VMS memory) Giant Gram also includes an Instruction Manual and a Technical Guide (so if they're not in there, then I hope you have that receipt!) Warning: The game does NOT auto-load your saved options. All your saves will be for naught if you don't load up your save after the game boots up. Don't accidentally erase your hidden characters! They were hard to get to begin with! ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- --Featured Wrestlers Giant Gram features the following All Japan Pro Wrestling personalities: 1. Giant Baba 2. Mitsuharu Misawa 3. Toshiaki Kawada 4. Akira Taue 5. Jun Akiyama 6. Kenta Kobashi 7. Hiroshi Hase 8. Vader 9. Johnny Ace 10. Stan Hansen 11. Gary Albright 12. Wolf Hawkfield Giant Gram also features the following characters from Virtua Fighter: 13. Wolf Hawkfield 14. Jeffry McWild 15. Kagemaru Giant Gram also has the following hidden characters: 16. Diablo 17. Grace 18. Tiger 19. Hyper The hidden characters are discussed in their own section. Thus far, it appears that Giant Gram contains 19 playable characters, not including any edit wrestlers that you might create yourself. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- --Main Menu and Options Translations-- After the game boots up, the introduction plays. The fifteen wrestlers in the game all get to strut their stuff in real-time, glorious, high-res, 60 FPS 3D-action! Quick! Buy the game now if you haven't! :) The text on the screens shows the wrestler's name, nickname or "catch-copy", signature moves, and other nifty stuff that you or I can't quite read. After the intro, you'll be taken to the Giant Gram title screen. Well, what are you waiting for? Push Start, and the Main Menu will appear. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Main Menu Quick Reference Guide: Arcade Mode You and maybe a friend versus seven random opponents in either singles or tag-team competition. If you want your friend to play, he'll have to push Start, too, just like in the arcade. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Tournament Mode You and you alone versus 15 pre-determined opponents in singles-style competition. This mode is hard enough without friends getting in the way. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- VS Mode You and up to 3 other friends versus the CPU or each other in either singles or tag-team competition. Who's next? You're next! ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Edit/Making Mode You and your imagination get to create a wrestler for use in either singles or tag-team competition. If you smell-la-la-la-la..... ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Training Mode You and your chosen wrestler get to practice all those neat moves you see on Monday Night in either singles or tag-team competition. No crotch-chops, though, UNLESS you know the super-secret Japanese method of obtaining them. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Watch Mode You and your entire household can watch up to four CPU-controlled wrestlers take on each other in (wait for it) singles or tag-team competition. Soap opera drama not included. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Backup You and your VMS get to save or load your options settings and the progress you've made through singles or tag-team competitions here. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Options You and your preferences get to decide a whole host of things not covered in this sentence. And believe it or not, this affects things in singles or tag-team competition. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- What does this all mean? Well let me tell ya, brother: --Arcade Mode-- The first option is Arcade Mode, where you take on seven different opponents or teams in either singles-style or tag-team competition. Just like the arcade version (I presume), you and a friend can take on each other if he decides to insert his tokens and push start. Unfortunately, you CANNOT play this mode cooperatively with a friend. After beating all of your opponents, you get to enter your name into the name entry screen, if you've scored high enough. Quick Fact: Your numerical score is at the end of a match is actually the amount of fans whose love and admiration you've earned. :) Fans love displays of athleticism and long matches, BTW. Certain moves and actions will cause the fans to cheer more for you, and thus, increase your "fighting spirit" gauge. And if you didn't know already, the fighting spirit gauge is represented by a burning flame underneath your wrestler's name. The highest you can score in a single-player match is 16615 (the max attendance at the Budokan, maybe?). Quick Fact: Most wrestlers have four outfits. The default outfit is selected by choosing your wrestler with the "A" button. Buttons "X", "Y", and "Start" choose the alternate outfits/colors. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- --Tournament Mode-- The Tournament Mode is a single-player only, singles-style only tournament where you take on fifteen pre-determined opponents. The line-up seems to be in a pecking order that only avid fans and watchers of AJPW might be familiar with. Your first opponent is the, uh, real Wolf Hawkfield, and your last is Giant Baba. After defeating Giant Baba in tournament mode, you enter your name in the name entry screen (if you've scored high enough), and then, if you're lucky, you'll face off against the hidden characters. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- --Versus Mode-- If you've played any sort of wrestling or fighting game before, then this mode should be obvious. If not, then let me take the time to explain. You and up to three friends can take on each other or the CPU in either singles or tag-team competition. You can set up different types of versus combinations: you versus the CPU, you versus a friend, you and a friend versus the CPU, you and a friend versus another friend and the CPU, etc. If you do a lot of multi-player gaming with your friends, then this will be the mode you play in the most. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- --Edit/Making Mode-- This section is under construction. Here's what I consider the heart of the game (that is, besides the game play itself). Creating your own wrestler is probably the coolest feature in this game! I've gone through many other wrestling games' create/edit wrestler options, but this feels a bit more personal to me. Aside from picking a base wrestling archetype, the fact that you need to train against someone or "mentor" under somebody to learn moves just feels a lot better than going through and assigning a laundry list of moves to them (though I have nothing against that--I also play a lot of Fire Pro). Sounds strange, but now I feel a kinship with all of those Pokemon players. :) Unfortunately, it's also true that you can't learn the most electrifying move in sports-entertainment, and darn it, that's all I really wanted. :) After selecting this option a screen with three menu options appears. The first option is to create a new wrestler. The second is to load an existing wrestler. The last is to go back to the main menu. When you first create a wrestler, you'll be asked to select his body type. The body type also determines the wrestling style. As you scroll through the six or so bodies available, keep in mind that the first type is "technical" ("the excellence of execution"), the second is "power" (look at that gut!), and the third is "submission" (where you too can be "in the zone", baby!). After picking your wrestler's body, you'll be asked to enter his name. If you can't read kana, and you just pushed the A button and then start twice, your wrestler will probably be named "ah" or something like that. ;) (inside joke for those that can read kana). After entering a name, you will proceed to select the "catch copy" for your wrestler. Think of this as a nickname or alias. e.g. , "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, "Nature Boy" Ric Flair, "Booker Man" Hulk Hogan, etc. A whole range of commonly (in Japan, at least) used wrestling-associated words is represented here. If you don't read Japanese, you could randomly select some words and you could be known as the wrestler "Ah", AKA "100% Killer Bee" :) After picking the first word, you will have to choose between wanting that word to be something of reference/complimentary to the next word, or having that word be a part of the next word. e.g., the first word I pick is "Dragon" (ryu), and the next word I pick is "Fist" (ken). By going the first route, my nickname is Ryu no Ken, or "Fist of the Dragon". If I choose the second option, my nickname is "Dragon Fist". See the difference? No? Well, it's a Japanese thing, then. :) Once this is all done, you are asked if you want to keep this wrestler. Here's where it would be best to learn and recognize some really commonly-used words: "yes" and "no". The choice that looks like it has a set of two curvy "I"s in a row is "iie", which is Japanese for no. The other, which looks like it has only one curvy "I" followed by a character that looks like a cross with a loop at the bottom is "hai", Japanese for yes. Once you've created your wrestler, the following options are available to you. From left to right, they are: Train Wrestler Shop Save Load Delete Exit Mode Train Wrestler is the meat of this mode. Once you select it, you have the choice of choosing who you wish to "mentor" under. As you get schooled by your mentor :), you learn moves from them. When you learn a move, a lightbulb that proclaims "learning!" in Japanese flashes on the screen. Your edit wrestler's stamina, power, speed, etc., are all affected by this mode, so, uh, try to learn wisely. Of all the changes to your wrestler, you'll notice that it's usually your stamina that increases or decreases after a round of training. But everything about you is slowly but surely being affected. Want to increase your stats? It's all about balance. Try and go the distance against your chosen opponent. Winning the "match" isn't important, though getting pinned within the first few seconds isn't going to help much at all. Though you might be able to win before the time limit hits, let the match drag on. But don't just walk around the ring doing nothing! The balance thing I mentioned? Try performing a majority of your repertoire. Hulking up, a big boot to the head and a legdrop aren't going to cut it much in the ring anymore, and your stats after a session like that will reflect it. My edit wrestler went from a 96 stamina to 142 after four rounds with Jeffry! Why? I let him kick my butt (yeah, right, of course I did). I did a lot to him, but then I also sold some of his moves as well! Remember, learning from your opponent also means "losing" to him, as you can only learn a move that's been executed on you several times (this depends on the move, of course). Quick Fact: I use a lot of uh, "smart" wrestling terminology, and that may have confused some people. Just so you know, the term "sell" in pro-wrestling usually means to act as if your opponent's move just did a world of hurt on you. The term "Job" also does not have anything to do with wind of any sort. :) My edit wrestler has been able to learn the following moves: Tiger Driver (can't wait to learn the '91 version!) Ace Crusher (hey kids, it's the Stone Cold Stunner!) Backdrop into Dangerous Backdrop (automatic 10% on the danger meter!) Northern Lights Suplex Hold (drains an entire life bar!) Front Back Breaker (looks gruesome!) German Suplex into Rolling German Suplex (looks painful!) And remember, true believers, that with great power comes great responsibility! Shop is where you get to outfit your wrestler with--well, nothing! :) Actually, there's lots of stuff to be earned via the VMS game, so get cracking and play Giant Channel now!. For now, all you can do is change your wrestler's trunk colors, elbow pads, boots, etc. Eventually though, you too can be Jushin Thunder Liger! (or actually, the green equivalent of him). FYI, your appearance options start out at rank "E". This rank improves as you play the VMS mini-game. Mine's currently at "SS", which I suppose is better than plain' old "A". Quick Fact: Yes, Virginia, there is a crotch chop! Certain outfits can change your wrestler type to a category dubbed "comical". Each of the three archetypes has their own theme song, entrance, and appeals, but thanks to the magic of "Giant Channel", a fourth is available. The appeals for the comical-type wrestler are a Jinsei Shinzaki/Hakushi type of motion, the almost DX-like uh, "cross" chop, and something that looks like what Hogan used to do a lot when we all liked him when we were kiddies. Now you too can tell your friends to "suck it"! :) Save allows you to save your wrestler to memory. Load lets you load in your saved wrestler in the state you last saved him at. This is useful if you "learn" a move you don't want, or your wrestler's stamina gets screwed up, or you just don't feel right about something. Delete will delete your wrestler if you're not careful, or if you don't like him any more. Consider this jobbing him out, permanently. :) These options will usually ask you to confirm, so try and remember what "hai" and "iie" look like and mean. You don't want to lose all your hard work, do you? If you'd like to see the move list for your edit wrestler, push the "R" trigger. As you scroll down your moves list (and wonder why you never took that Japanese language class in college), you might see some icons pop up. These icons represent the following: note: these are my rough interpretations, and may be inexact/incorrect The lightning bolt has to do with the kega ("danger") meter. If your move has this associated with it, then the bone-breaking damage you can do with it is increased. My current edit wrestler doesn't have any of these icons at all, but if I created a submission type wrestler, who knows? The weight icon means (more loose Japanese interpretation here) that the move, when successfully done brings the opponent closer for the (pin)fall. A lot of my "finishing" type holds have this icon attached to them (e.g., Northern Lights Suplex Hold), and I've noticed that they do much more damage than normal. The flame icon has something to do with the normal (non-bone breaking) damage associated with the move. It's usually higher because you've shown that your wrestler does this move a lot. On the edit wrestler screen, you can usually see two of your most popular or used moves listed at the bottom of the screen. If you go to the move listing screen, you should see that those two moves have the flame icon associated with them, if not any others. Currently, my wrestler has hammer throw and body slam listed. Your moves have a skill/damage level (LV) associated with them. The more you do the move while in "learning" mode, the more damage your move inflicts as you "level" it up. The "Hit" listing indicates the amount of times you've successfully executed the move on your opponent in learning mode, and "Next" indicates the amount of times you have to successfully "hit" again to increase the move's level (LV). Got all that? :) ----------------------------------------------------------------------- --Training Mode-- This section is under construction. Just like other games' practice modes, you get to train against a non-aggressive opponent. Useful for figuring out your moves, of course. Unfortunately, unlike AJPWFV, your moves aren't listed for you to try out! Time to fish out that technical guide and that Japanese dictionary! Check below for a technical guide reference. Training Mode Pause Screen Menu (thanks to Ismael Sarmiento) Continue Game Ring Position Opponent Position Wrestler Select Style Select Title Menu -Continue Game Un-pauses the game and lets you get back to training. -Ring Position Chooses your wrestler's standing position in the ring. After selecting this, the first of the two darkened settings will light up. Press Left or Right to change the position, and then press 'A' when you're on the position you want. This will restart the match instantly from the new position. Starting from the default selection, these positions are: (starting from the right) Current (Default) Center Ropes Corner Opponent on floor/you in ring Opponent climbing apron/you in ring. Choosing "Current" will just return you back to training. -Opponent Position Chooses your opponent's position in the ring. The second of the two darkened settings will light up. Press Left or Right to change the position, and then press 'A' when you're on the position you want. This will restart the match instantly from the new position. Starting from the default selection, these positions are: (starting from the right) Standing Lying on mat, face up Lying on mat, face down -Wrestler Select Takes you back to the wrestler select screen. -Style Select Takes you back to the style select screen (Singles/Tag). -Title Menu Takes you back to the main menu. Quick Fact: If you highlight "Ring Position" and press "L", your opponent's life meter will increase. If you press "R", both your fighting spirit meters will increase. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- --Watch Mode-- Simply put, this mode is here so that you can watch the CPU battle against itself. Want to see four Misawas duke it out for the Triple Crown? Uh, maybe not, but you can do it here! I've found this mode most useful to learn moves and see how their done. Also, seeing as there are at least four hidden wrestlers, this will be the mode to see just to check out how their moves work at all! ----------------------------------------------------------------------- --Backup-- When you select this mode, the options you see are the following: to the left is "Save", and the option to the right is "Load". It might help to remember that the kana symbol for "Load" has a square-shaped character at the beginning of it. Saving is necessary to save your scores and option preferences. If you've unlocked anybody, this information is saved as well. Reminder: The game does NOT auto-load your save status upon boot-up, so be sure to load up your save game first before doing anything else. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- --Options-- From top to bottom, they are: Level: Set the CPU to Easy, Normal, or Hard. The default is Normal. Stamina (1P-4P): Set the particular player's stamina from very low (50%), to very high (150%). The default is 100% Stamina Gauge: On/Off. The default is ON. Reversal Point: On/Off. The default is ON. This determines where or not "Reversal" flashes onscreen or not. Time Limit: 30/60/No Limit. Default is 30. Screen: Normal/Wide. Default is Normal. Wide is intended for widescreen televisions. Sound: Takes you to a sub-menu: Audio: Stereo or Monaural. Default is Stereo. Sound Test: SE (sound effects) Crowd Announcer BGM (background music) Volume: SE (sound effects) Crowd Announcer BGM (background music) **OFF turns off effect, while scale ranges from 1 (lowest) to 5 (highest)** Key Assign: Takes you to a sub-menu involving key assignments. This lets you change the settings for your controller. Giant Channel Download: Downloads the Giant Channel VMS mini-game into your VMS. Requires 128 blocks of memory. Reset Options: Sets Options back to default settings. Finish: Exits Options menu with all options set. Quick Fact: If you haven't realized it by now, "A" is the main selection button for any option or mode, and "B" is the cancel button. Recommended options settings: "He's hardcore! He's hardcore! He's hardcore!" or, if you don't "get it", :) "ECW! ECW! ECW!" This what I recommend for playing the game. This makes the matches longer, keeps your opponents well-being a mystery, and sort of brings a "sim" feel to a normally arcade-like game. Knowing that your opponent is almost dead leaves no surprises, and winning by a time limit draw doesn't seem right to me (unless you're playing for that). If anything, use these settings for multi-player. Level: Normal or Hard for CPU opponents (depends on your skill level). Stamina: All gauges set to 150%. (damage done by moves is decreased) Stamina Gauge: OFF. Use your VMS (for your own gauge) instead! Reversal Point: ON. (you might be good, but what about your friends?) Time Limit: OFF. (so that matches go on until they have to) ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- --How To Play-- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- This section is under construction. Disclaimer: Everything is relative to your wrestler's facing. The manual assumes that you are facing your opponent while standing to the left, and that he is facing you from the right. It's kind of confusing at times, hence the disclaimer. :) Basic Controls: D-Pad/Cross-key: controls wrestler X: attack A: hold B: throw Y: move in/tag partner Think of X as your punch/kick button. A is used to grapple with your opponent. B is used to do all those high-impact throws. Y is used mostly in tag-team competition, but is also used to get back into the ring or out of it (to chase down your opponent). Grappling is done by pushing A. If you're winning the grappling contest, pushing Down and A will move you from a front grapple to a back grapple behind the opponent. Conversely, pushing Up and A will take you to your opponent's side for a side grapple. Also, when you have the upper hand in a grapple, pushing Towards (your opponent) and A will push your opponent in that direction, and pushing Away (from your opponent) and A will pull them in that direction. When the opponent is down on the mat, moves done involving the X button will result in a stomping attack, submission hold, or top rope maneuver. Pushing the A button will pick up the opponent, while charging A down will pick up and drag the opponent. Pushing B will go for the pinfall. Certain moves and actions will increase your fighting spirit gauge. When the gauge is at its highest, "MAX" will appear over it. Aside from being able to do certain special moves, a gauge at MAX gives you the ability to do a "One Step Reversal". A "One Step Reversal" allows you to escape ANY pinfall attempt by pushing the L+R triggers at the same time, or by pushing A+B+X+Y simultaneously. Unfortunately, once you do this, your fighting spirit gauge drops back to nothing. The burning spirit gauge serves another purpose, but I'll let Ishy explain it to ya in his inimitable manner: "If you're spirit gauge is at max, and you get pinned, wait until the count gets very close to 3, At least to 2.8, then press L+R. This will send you into a "Burning Spirit" mode where you can kick out of any pin, get up faster, etc. Your spirit gauge will be engulfed in flames, and your life bar will have a percentage over it. Consider the percentage a timer- it tells you how long you have left in Burning Spirit mode. The longer you wait to press L+R, the higher the percentage. This feature allows for some really dramatic comebacks. After the percentage reaches zero, the match continues normally. Be very careful not to wait too long to press L+R or you may lose. I've gotten my Burning Spirit up to 190%." Refer to section below for more help with the technical guide that came with the game. Giant Gram is based on the rock-paper-scissors system: The moves/buttons in the system are: Attack (X) Hold (A) Throw (B) Attack is greater than Throw. Throw is greater than Hold. Hold is greater than Attack. Since your CPU opponent is always trying to combo you to death with attacks, always going for the hold is a good thing. I can't say the same about human opponents. :) There are different ways of winning a match, these are: Pinning your opponent down for the 3-count. Having your opponent submit and give up. Having the referee stop the match (due to wrestler injury). ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- --Technical Guide Listing The technical guide is your friend. It tells you how to do all the cool moves for the available (not hidden) wrestlers, and best of all it's got symbols and English-words that you can relate to! :) Here's a quick reference to Giant Gram's Technical Guide. The guide lists how to do the moves for a particular wrestler. The move commands are printed in bold, but there might be some confusion as to when exactly to do them. Here's some help. There are fifteen categories that the technical manual describes. Not every wrestler has a move in a particular category. The listing below describes the move section, and some of the situations that you have to be in in order to do the moves. I'm a bit flaky on some sections, but this should help out for now, in your struggles to lay the smack down on your friends or the CPU. BTW, if you haven't visited Professor Revolution's Joint yet, then do so now at: http://members.aol.com/profrev777/ Why? Well, The Prof is doing a stupendous job of translating the move lists in the tech guide. You want to learn how to do Misawa's Emerald Erosion properly? Then go to the site. Can't do Hase's Dangerous Urange at all? Then go to the site. Need to know how to do a Death Valley Driver (or whatever the Japanese equivalent is called)? Then go to the site. Got that? :) 1. Attacks situation: both wrestlers are standing 2. Throws situation: both wrestlers are standing situation: opponent is near a corner situation: opponent is near the ropes 3. When Attacking Opponent From The Side situation: you are at your opponent's side situation: after a grapple, you are at your opponent's side 4. When Attacking Opponent From The Back situation: you are facing your opponent from his back situation: after a grapple, you are facing your opponent from his back 5. During/After A Front Grapple situation: you are grappling your opponent from the front 6. During A Hammer Throw situation: you have just done a hammer throw 7. When The Opponent Is Down situation: your opponent is on the mat, face up situation: your opponent is on the mat, face down situation: your opponent is on the mat, you are near the top rope 8. When The Opponent Is On The Apron Side situation: your opponent is on the apron side, you are in the ring situation: your opponent is in the ring, you are on the apron side 9. Dive Towards The Outside situation: your opponent is on the floor, you are near the ropes Tope Suicida! 10. Reversals (situational) situation: you are reversing a type of move (the guide lists a bunch) 11. Test Of Strength situation: when you and your opponent are locked up in a, uh, "test of stregth". 12. Special Outside Moves situation: when you and your opponent are outside the ring 13. Tag Moves (Tag Team competition only) situation: after team mate tags you in 14. Double Team Moves (Tag Team competition only) situation: many are listed Most of these moves involve having both players pushing double-button combinations (e.g., Y+B, X+A, X+Y, A+B, etc.) at the same time. Since I have not been able to test out tag-mode with a live person, I do not know if both players have to push the same button combination, or different ones. If you leave the game on attract mode long enough, it will show a "how to" demo of playing tag-team. 15. Appeal situation: whenever you want to! there are three ways to do an appeal: L trigger R trigger L + R trigger Some other important terminology for the non-English impaired: (i.e., the English words in the tech guide, what do they mean?) Words in *blue type* are more difficult to block/can't be blocked. (I need to confirm this) *Combo* is when a move transitions into another (e.g., German Suplex into German Rolling Suplex). *Charge* means hold the last button (that you pressed during a move command) down. *MAX* means that you can only execute this move when your fighting spirit gauge is at MAX level. Quick Fact: "Blue Thunder" Jun Akiyama has a really interesting move called "Personal Action". When facing an opponent, push BACK, FORWARD, then B to do your opponent's signature move! AJPW fans--what's the significance of this? (thanks to rbernal for pointing this one out) BTW, don't forget that Professor Revolution's Joint http://members.aol.com/profrev777/ is _the_ resource for Giant Gram moves. I'd go there right now if I were you--hey, where'd you go? :) ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- --Reversals and Blocking-- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Reversals are done by pushing "A" at the right moment. No other joystick motions or button presses are necessary. The manual stresses timing, and it's right! The "reversal" indicator is a good help, but it usually tells you that you should have done the reversal as the word had flashed, not after! :) After playing for awhile, you'll know when to execute a reversal for each of the moves. You've probably been in this situation before: someone climbs up the turnbuckle to execute a Missile Drop Kick, Flying Lariat, or whatever and manages to damage you. You've probably noticed that "reversal" is flashing rapidly on-screen at this time. I've never managed to reverse during this period, but I instinctively push the A button rapidly anyway. Anyhow, after your opponent gets on top of the turnbuckle, he begins to leap off the turnbuckle towards you, his intended target. Notice the reversal indicator flash once around this time? If you had pushed the reversal button at the exact moment the indicator flashed, you most likely would have gotten out of the way. Chances are, you pushed it after it flashed and got hit. Since there is an option to turn off the reversal gauge, I gather that the developers figured that you would learn the proper timing/moments for reversing moves. Blocking is done by pushing towards your opponent and "A". You should see a Tekken-style hit spark. You take no damage from this type of block. There's another form of blocking done by pushing away from your opponent and "A". You take damage here, but I think that the recovery time for your wrestler is quicker, and allows you to counter quicker. A mistake I used to make when attempting to grapple was to push towards my opponent and push "A". Bad idea. :) The game wants and recognizes simple button commands/inputs. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- --How to Break Bones-- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- You'll know you did some damage to a bone when you hear a loud boom and see the screen turn into a negative image of itself! The "Danger" graphic with the appropriate bone attached is a big clue, too. :) Here are some basic moves that I've done that usually do bone breaking damage when I execute them. I can't say that these will work for you, as I've built up my edit wrestler pretty well--but these are stock moves for most wrestlers. Front Grapple to Side Grapple to Arm Breaker A ---> Up, A --> Towards opponent (e.g., Right), B Front Grapple to Side Grapple to Knee Crusher A ---> Up, A --> Down, B Dragon Screw Reverse an opponent's kick Of course, most wrestler's power moves will usually do some sort of bone breaking damage e.g., Johnny Ace's Mexican Ace Crusher (done after a Hammer Throw). It pretty much depends on who you're using, and who you're fighting against. "I give up!" I've had wrestlers give up after only having ONE bone broken. After the arm/leg had been rendered useless (love the reaction on the guy's face), and MORE pressure had been applied to that part, the wrestler gave up. The referee will stop the match after 3 bones have been broken (could actually be 2), but the manual mentions something about the number 3. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- --How To Link Moves-- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: How do I do Misawa's Tiger Driver '91? or Q: How do I do multi-part moves? The move is done in parts. First, you have to set your opponent up for the, uh, "normal" Tiger Driver (while facing opponent, push toward (opponent), down, then B. Then, as the move is being done, to turn the Tiger Driver into the Tiger Driver '91, push down, then B. Your "Fighting Spirit" gauge has to be at MAX to do the '91 version. Timing is critical! I've only been able to do the '91 version once so far, and I can't say when the exact time to push down, then B is. All I can tell you is that the moment in-between when Misawa hoists his opponent up then brings him down is the period you're aiming for to do the action in. <--see below for correct method! A lot of the multi-part moves are done in this manner (e.g., German Suplex into Rolling German Suplex). Watch the wrestlers carefully; eventually you'll get a feel for when the proper transition period is. e.g., my edit wrestler can transition a Backdrop into the more brutal Dangerous Backdrop. A Backdrop for my character is done by pushing B while grappling my opponent from the back. As my wrestler starts to do the backdrop, he momentarily "pauses" before performing the move (like he's putting all of his energy into the move). This is the time for me to hit down, B for a Dangerous Backdrop. It took me awhile to learn the timing, but now it's almost second-nature. Of course, transitioning/linking moves gives the opponent more opportunities to reverse the move! --or-- The Ishy Way (written by Ismael Sarmiento) "I was playing with Misawa in training mode, and I have the Tiger Driver '91 down cold. I pulled it off well over 10 times in succession with no trouble. Do the motion for the regular Tiger Driver (front, down, b) and as soon as Misawa hooks the second arm, press down, b. It has to be between the short interval that he hooks the second arm and reversal flashes on the screen. Once you get it once, you should have no trouble doing it again." ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- --Hidden Characters-- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- This section is under construction. Hidden Characters After defeating Giant Baba in tournament mode, you enter your name in the name entry screen, and then, if you're lucky... ....you face off against the hidden characters. These wrestlers are represented by the question-marks in the wrestler select screen. There are four hidden wrestlers in total, and I've only managed to unlock three so far. I've identified the fourth, but he's going to be a pain to unlock. :) The more you play and finish tournament mode, the better the likelihood you'll obtain a hidden character. The Japanese urawaza sites simply state that "clearing tournament mode" will unlock Diablo, Grace, and Tiger. They don't state (AFAIK) whether or not you have to use a created wrestler--only that clearing the mode will unlock the characters. I've gotten tons of e-mails and talked to several people about this, and after reading the Japanese uruwaza for it, it makes sense: just continue to beat tournament mode and you'll eventually unlock one of hidden characters. Quite an incentive to practice and play, eh? When you fight the hidden wrestlers, you fight in a non-time-limit, no-audience, "Underground" wrestling ring, complete with steel cage! You can't pull a Mick Foley-esque fall from the top, though I'm sure he appreciates the thought. :) The intros for these "underground" matches take place are pretty cool, and have a proper, sinister feel to them (you'll see when you get there)... The three characters I've unlocked thus far are "Diablo", "Grace", and "Tiger". The fourth character, "Hyper", I have not seen yet, but the Japanese confirms his existence. How do you get him? Easy. That is, easy for me to tell you how, but not to do. Beat the game with ALL of the characters. Got that? BTW, if you play BGM 84 on the sound test screen, you can hear the announcer call his name out. Hyper was also the name of a character in AJPWFV. I've only beaten the game with four of the characters (edit characters aren't counted), so I've only got 14 more to go! Woo-hoo! :) Diablo is a wrestler that seems to be the closest thing to Goldberg in this game (I got jack-hammered, what can I say?), but he's NOT! Thanks to some astute players, I've been informed that Diablo is actually more an homage to wrestling legend, Bruiser Brody. The outfit, the chains, the fighting style, and the moves resemble Brody more than anyone else. Grace looks like one of those UFC guys, apparently Royce Gracie, I've been told, and every one of his move combos WILL break a lot of your bones. Ever see a UFC/shoot fight? He captures the spirit of that really well. When you see Grace take you down to the mat, bash your head with rapid fire punches, and then put you in a painful looking submission hold, you'll know. :) Tiger at first seemed to me to be an homage/offshoot to Misawa's Tiger-Mask character, but in actuality I didn't know that he wasn't the first Tiger-Mask! Sayama-san's Tiger-Mask was the legend, and I'm sorry I didn't do the proper research. :( Anyhow, Tiger is deadly in the right hands. One of his power-bombish moves (that I saw the CPU do, of course) takes you literally 50 feet into the air, then drops you back onto the mat, rapidly sending four of your bones into the danger zone! On the other hand, he might be Sega's veiled attempt to do a character based off of Tekken's King... Uh, maybe not, but who knows? :) Quick Fact: Giant Gram is actually the name of one of the killer moves that Tiger does! ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- --The Secrets of Pro Wrestling-- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Even though they're Virtua Fighter characters, Wolf, Jeffry, and Kage have been known to wear their VF3tb 2P costumes to the ring. You wonder to yourself: how do they do it? When highlighting the VF characters, hold R (or C if you're using the arcade stick) then select them with A. **Now you know the secret** -- You're in Watch Mode and getting annoyed at the camera angle. You know that AJPW has more than one camera man working for them, so how do you view the match through their lenses? In Watch Mode, push L or R to cycle through the different camera perspectives. **Now you know the secret** -- You've played through Tournament Mode, yet haven't received any of the rumored "hidden characters". You want to write an angry letter to the FAQ writer, calling him a liar. What do you do? You keep on playing through tournament mode. You realize that every time you clear it, you will chance upon unlocking a hidden character. Eventually, you face the likes of Diablo, Grace, and Tiger. Once you beat them, and the mode, the character is yours (you have been saving, right?). You also remember to load up your saved options when you first boot up the game, as the game does not automatically do it for you. **Now you know the secret** -- You've gotten Diablo, Grace, and Tiger, but want to unlock this hidden fourth character. It drives you insane. How do you do it? Beat Tournament Mode with every character. That's 18 after you've unlocked the first three hidden ones. Do so and you'll unlock the mysterious "Hyper". **Now you know the secret** -- How do I book a proper WCW-style wrestling match? Use the Magic 8-Ball, like the experts do. **Now you know the secret** :) -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- --VMS Info-- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- This section is under construction. VMS Side Story (VMS Gaiden): A lot of people are now discovering that their VMS batteries don't last long. I got my DC in January, and Giant Gram in June. When I first uploaded Giant Channel into the VMS and tried playing it, I got the dreaded Japanese sentence that no one can read. The VMS was locked up at this screen. I'm now guessing that it said "low batteries, will stay locked up until you replace them". I don't know what I did at first, but I ended up corrupting my Blue Stinger and House of The Dead 2 saves. And if you've ever been able to shoot at a dancing zombie, than you know how hard it is to have to replace your HOTD2 save. :( Anyway, if your VMS locks up, you know to replace your batteries. You can also remove the batteries from the VMS (gets rid of the lock up, obviously), and replace the unit into your controller. The batteries are only necessary for the mini-games, but for DC use, the DC will power them up (kind of like those N64 Rumble Paks, though they want you to keep on buying batteries for them until you learn the fine art of electronics). I don't know how I specifically lost my saves, but I might have pulled the VMS from the DC while the VMS was locked up and the DC was on. Anyway, always remember to practice safe VMS insertion and removal. New VMS Side Story (Shin VMS Gaiden) Those VMS batteries don't last too long, do they? Less than two weeks after buying a brand new VMS and downloading Giant Channel into it, the batteries in it have died! Egads! Is this another reason why Sony's Pocketstation won't make it out here (besides supply, that is)? The only advice I have here is that the Sleep button is probably called Sleep instead of "Off", ne? For future reference, I will probably exit Giant Channel/Game mode and go into File or Clock mode after finishing a play session. Less battery consumption. :) -- (cribbed from my Usenet postings; I may expand upon this much later) BTW, If you haven't downloaded the "Giant Channel" mini-game into your VMS, wipe out those Sengoku Turb and July saves now, baby! Giant Channel is well worth the loss. -- So you've downloaded "Giant Channel" into your VMS. After starting it, you are presented with two options. Pushing "A" will take you to the TV portion of Giant Channel, and Pushing "B" will take you to the "Puroresu" portion. The TV portion of Giant Channel is pretty cool. Synched to your clock, a scheduled series of pseudo-TV shows will play throughout the day and evening. Everything from news to drama to variety is represented here. This is a pretty funny recreation of your typical Japanese TV channel (haven't caught any anime yet, though). The TV shows are simple-frame animations that loop for a set amount of time. Some shows involve Giant Baba, hence the name, "Giant Channel". Two particularly amusing shows are "Puroresu Shogun", and my current favorite "King of Plancha". I won't spoil the gags, but they're worth a laugh or two. Every now and then, during a "show", you'll hear a tone, and something will be seen travelling across the screen. What you need to do when this occurs is push the "A" button rapidly, until you "collect" the object. There are four different types of objects that float across the screen. I can't really explain what they all are, but they are the key to unlocking things in the main game. Also, after some period of time, messages will scroll across the top of the screen. Sometimes, it's the VMS asking you a question (it's alive!), or it's the VMS telling you that something cool has occurred (can't read Japanese). The other mini-game, "Puroresu", is a version of rock-paper-scissors with wrestling involved. The game works as follows: you have a set amount of scissors, rock, and paper. Your enemy has a set amount as well. You need to out-guess your opponent in a series of five matches. For example: I have 4 scissors, 3 rocks, and 3 paper. My enemy has 1 scissors, 1 rock, and 3 paper. I choose to put into play this particular order of items: rock, paper, scissors, scissors, scissors. After the bell "rings", I get to see the results of my choices. Rock > Paper Paper < Scissors Scissors > Paper Scissors > Paper Scissors < Rock I won three of the five matches, so I win the contest! A draw also counts as a victory for you (at least against the CPU). All this is played out with two wrestlers (Baba and a masked wrestler) going at it in the foreground. According to the manual, you can set up combos/moves based on the order you play your items... ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Contributors ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- The following individuals have in many ways, helped make this FAQ grow into the monster that it is. :) But first, thanks goes to everyone who's corresponded with me for all your comments, questions, corrections, and information. Special thanks goes out to the following, for their contributions or help in regards to the FAQ: *Ismael Sarmiento Ishy has done a lot for this FAQ, in pointing out the tidbits that I've overlooked or haven't figured out yet. Thanks to Ishy for writing up the Training Mode Pause Screen Translations, his Burning Spirit Gauge discovery, and for his determination (way back when) in discovering EXACTLY how to do the Tiger Driver '91, cause plain ol' Tiger Driver wouldn't cut it (that, and I think that he likes the pained expression his opponent gives him when he does the TD'91). :) *Substance J for earning the hidden characters WITHOUT playing the VMS mini-game (and thus, making me check myself! I really just wanted you all to experience the magic of "Giant Channel", really!) :) Free Plug: Visit Substance J's Neo Geo Pocket site at: http://www.digiweb.com/~dimension-sega/sngp/" *Professor Revolution For sending me the corrections to the tech guide, and for spending the time and helping out a lot of people with AJPW2 on rec.games.video.sega., and his own site, Professor Revolution's Joint. I've always believed that information should be shared, and he's done a lot of that. But you would know that because you've all visited his site, right? Free Plug: The Professor's got Giant Gram movelists and info at: http://members.aol.com/profrev777/ *Stinger for hosting this FAQ so that others who wouldn't dare venture into the world of Usenet might be able to read it. Free Plug: You can find this FAQ, and other DC news at: http://www.dreamcast-hq.net/ *rbernal for being the first to scream, "Hey, that's not Goldberg! It's Bruiser Brody!", and for pointing out the cool Jun Akiyama move. *Dangerous 'A' for pointing out who the hidden wrestlers actually "were", and giving me the reasons why they were in fact, them. :) *Kishin for some pretty good GG feedback. He's the guy that made me realize I hadn't updated my FAQ in a while, which is why you have version .099 in your hands. Also, for pointing out that Sega was _really_ paying homage to Tekken's King. :) *Rebecca for a lot, really, and also for her attempts at guiding my comedic writing into the literature it is today. :) ----------------------------------------------------------------------- (C)1999 Alvin Muolic ----------------------------------------------------------------------- And that's the bottom line, cause Stone Cold said so! This is the bottom line.