======================================================= FIRE PROWRESTLING Z CHARACTER GUIDE: YOSHIHIRO TAKAYAMA ======================================================= for Sony PlayStation 2 (Japan) Version 1.2 by Bill Wood (billwood661@comcast.net) Last modified: 8/5/03 Fire ProWrestling Z (c) 2003 Spike NOTE: This guide views and prints best with a monospace typeface. =================== ==VERSION HISTORY== =================== 1.2 - Minor corrections. 1.1 - Minor corrections. 1.0 - Initial release of the guide. ===================== ==TABLE OF CONTENTS== ===================== SECTION 1: HISTORY OF YOSHIHIRO TAKAYAMA SECTION 2: SKILL AND PARAMETER STATS SECTION 3: MOVELIST SECTION 4: STRATEGY SECTION 5: CLOSING ============================================ ==SECTION 1: HISTORY OF YOSHIHIRO TAKAYAMA== ============================================ If one were asked who Japan's "2003 Wrestler of the Moment" is, that answer may very well be Yoshihiro Takayama (well, either him or Bob Sapp). Takayama has paid his dues and is currently sitting high atop the Japanese wrestling scene. The massive Takayama first rose to prominence as one half of the legendary Team No Fear in All Japan Pro Wrestling, and later Pro Wrestling NOAH. He and partner Takao Omori became one of Japan's premier tag teams during the 1990's and early 2000's. But where Takayama really began to stand out on his own was when he ventured into the world of PRIDE, a mixed martial arts organization known for their brutal, and all-too-real battles. In PRIDE, Takayama put up a losing streak like no other, but also managed to put on some entertaining matches with the likes of Kazuyuki Fujita and Don Frye. In fact, his match with Frye is widely considered one of the best MMA bouts in the short history of PRIDE. As Takayama kept losing, he endeared himself to Japanese fans with his strong fighting spirit and "never say quit" attitude, and it wasn't long until that equated into success on the pro wrestling circuit. First he won NOAH's GHC Heavyweight Title (albeit briefly), then went on to win the NWF Heavyweight Title, and finally he defeated New Japan's Yuji Nagata for the coveted New Japan IWGP Heavyweight Title. ======================================== ==SECTION 2: SKILL AND PARAMETER STATS== ======================================== SKILL ----- Real Name.............Yoshihiro Takayama FPZ Name...............Yoshihiro Kouyama Promotion......................Freelance* FPZ Promotion..................Freelance Size...............................Large Class..............................Heavy Height............................195 cm Weight............................125 kg Country............................Japan Birthdate......................9/19/1966 Stance..........................Shooting Offensive Skill.................Orthodox Return Skill.......................Power Critical Type...................Finisher Special Skill...........One-Hit Finisher Recovery..........................Medium Recovery (when bleeding)..........Medium Respiratory.......................Medium Respiratory (when bleeding)........Above Awareness.........................Medium Awareness (when bleeding)..........Below Neck Strength.....................Medium Arm Strength......................Medium Waist Strength....................Medium Foot Strength.....................Medium Movement Speed....................Medium Ascend Speed........................Slow Ascend Skill..................Can Ascend * = Takayama has been rumored to be signing a contract with one of the major Japanese promotions (such as New Japan) in the near future, but nothing has materialized as of this writing. PARAMETER - OFFENSE PARAMETER - DEFENSE ------------------- ------------------- Punch.............5 Punch.............7 Kick..............8 Kick..............6 Suplex............6 Suplex............3 Submission........6 Submission........6 Stretch...........7 Stretch...........7 Power.............8 Flying............5 Instant-P.........4 Crush.............5 Arm Power.........5 Vs Lariat.........5 Technical.........4 Technical.........4 Rough.............5 Rough.............6 Ground............4 Ground............5 TOTAL SKILL POINTS (on a scale from 0-300): 151 SKILL CHANGES FROM FIRE PRO D TO FIRE PRO Z: * Switched from NOAH promotion to Freelance. * Special skill changed from "none" to "One Hit Finisher". * Neck strength changed from "Low" to "Medium". * Waist strength changed from "Low" to "Medium". ======================= ==SECTION 3: MOVELIST== ======================= NOTE: This movelist is my direct translation of the Japanese Fire Pro Z Player's Guide, there may be some minor errors. If I was unable to translate, I looked up the move in Edit Mode. Specialty moves are marked with [S]. Finisher is marked with [F]. KEY: ([]) = Square button (X) = X button (O) = Circle button STRIKES ------- Standing ([]).............................Slap to face Standing (X)...............................Middle Kick Standing (O) + d-pad.........................Elbow Pat Standing (O)...........................Front High Kick Standing ([]) + (X)..........................High Kick Running ([])...........................Front High Kick Running (X)...............................KITCHEN SINK [S] Running Counter ([])...................Front High Kick Running Counter (X).......................Kitchen Sink Running to corner.....................Jumping Knee Pat GRAPPLES -------- Grapple ([])............................Body Knee Lift Grapple ([]) + Up.................High Angle Body Slam Grapple ([]) + Left/Right..................Flying Mare Grapple ([]) + Down.........................Hammerblow Grapple (X)..............MACHINE GUN STOMACH KNEE LIFT [S] Grapple (X) + Up.................Belly-to-Belly Suplex Grapple (X) + Left/Right.............Double Arm Suplex Grapple (X) + Down.........................Middle Kick Grapple (O)............................Front Neck Lock Grapple (O) + Up...................Front Neck Chancery Grapple (O) + Left/Right.............Russian Leg Sweep Grapple (O) + Down..............Double Arm Suplex Hold Grapple ([]) + (X)..................DYNAMITE KNEE LIFT [S] Back Grapple ([]).........................Sledgehammer Back Grapple (X).....................Leg Lift Backdrop Back Grapple (O)..................Doujimi Sleeper Hold Back Grapple (O) + Up/Down..........German Suplex Whip Back Grapple (O) + Left/Right..HI BRIDGE GERMAN SUPLEX [F] Back Grapple ([]) + (X)...................Tiger Suplex Back Grapple Counter ([])....................Elbow Pat Back Grapple Counter (X).......Rev. Crucifix Knee Hold OPPONENT DOWN MOVES ------------------- Opponent Face Up at Head (X)..............Arrogant Pin Opponent Face Up at Head (O)..........Soccer Ball Kick Opponent Face Up at Feet (X)...............Regular Pin Opponent Face Up at Feet (O)......Achilles Tendon Lock Opponent Face Down at Head (X).......Crucifix Arm Lock Opponent Face Down at Head (O)............Knee to head Opponent Face Down at Feet (X).......Roll over and pin Opponent Face Down at Feet (O).........Single Leg Crab Running at Downed Opponent (O).........GUILLOTINE DROP [S] MOUNT MOVES ----------- Mount Position ([])...........Guard Pos. Knuckle Arrow Mount Position (X)................Guard Position Punch Mount Position (O)...................Crucifix Arm Lock Mount Position Counter...............Crucifix Arm Lock Front Facelock Attack ([]).........Side Body Knee Lift Front Facelock Attack (X)..............Front Neck Lock Front Facelock Attack (O)............Double Arm Suplex Front Facelock Attack Counter..........Waterwheel Drop Back Mount Position ([])..............Back Mount Punch Back Mount Position (X)..........Doujimi Choke Sleeper Back Mount Position (O)..............Crucifix Arm Lock Back Mount Position Counter....Rev. Crucifix Knee Hold POST AND APRON MOVES -------------------- Post ([])............................Diving Foot Stomp Post (X).............................Diving Foot Stomp Post (O)..................................Sledgehammer Post ([]) + (X)...........................Missile Kick Run-Up Post vs Standing ([])......................none Run-Up Post vs Downed (X).........................none Corner Grapple (O) + Up...........2nd Rope Brainbuster Corner Grapple (O) + Left/Right.......Corner Knee Lift Corner Grapple (O) + Down...........Stomp w/Foot Choke Front Avalanche Counter...................Slap to face Back Avalanche Counter..................Backhand Elbow Apron Grapple from inside..........In-Ring Brainbuster Apron Grapple from outside.....Out-of-Ring Brainbuster Running to out of bounds..........................none Slingshot to outside......................Sledgehammer Slingshot to inside...............................none DOUBLE AND TRIPLE TEAM MOVES ---------------------------- Two Platon Front Grapple...............Sandwich Lariat Two Platon Back Grapple.......B.Backdrop + Neckbreaker Two Platon Corner..................Highjack Piledriver Three Platon Front Grapple.............Triple Beatdown Three Platon Back Grapple..............Triple Beatdown Three Platon Corner....................Triple Beatdown PERFORMANCE ----------- Analog Stick Left............both arms extended upward Analog Stick Right...crosses arms, swings arms outward Analog Stick Up..........taunts opponent ("Bring It!") Analog Stick Down.................stares down opponent MOVELIST CHANGES FROM FIRE PRO D TO FIRE PRO Z: Way too many to list! This is likely due to his increased involvement in shoot matches. One interesting note is that his finisher has been switched from the Dynamite Knee Lift to the High Bridge German Suplex. ======================= ==SECTION 4: STRATEGY== ======================= GENERAL STRATEGY Despite his hulking frame and many career accomplishments, Takayama is merely an average fighter in the world of Fire Pro. This is probably due to the fact that a few of his accomplishments (such as winning the IWGP title) came after FPZ was in development. But since Takayama's something of an underdog in most of his matches (especially when it comes to MMA), maybe this is for the best. Takayama's moveset is also very average. Nothing particularly flashy, but it's effective. He's more like your solid, no-nonsense type of grappler, plain yet powerful. Stay grounded and chop away with his big striking kicks, then go in for the kill with the big grapples. If his overall stats and moveset don't impress you, at least you can be comforted with the fact that Takayama is one of the very few pure pro wrestlers who can handle himself in a shoot in FPZ. He has decent Rough and Ground stats, which could prevent him from getting owned in the Octagon (but not entirely!). STRIKES Takayama's kicks are where it's at. If you want to play the distance game with him, go right ahead. He has several striking kicks to choose from, and all of them are effective. With an 8 offensive rating when it comes to kicking, it won't take him long to have your opponent dropping to the mat from the impact. GRAPPLES Several of Takayama's grapples lead to his patented knee strikes, which should make up the majority of his offense. When the opponent is near death, it's all about the Dynamite Knee Lift. This was his finisher in FPD, but you should still use it just as often in FPZ. As the opponent wears down, pick him up every now and then and go for a back grapple. Here Takayama has a variety of suplexes, and his one potential for a "CRITICAL!" (High Bridge German Suplex). ====================== ==SECTION 5: CLOSING== ====================== In closing, I would like to thank: * www.puroresufan.com for historical reference. * CJayC and GameFAQs for hosting this guide. Fire ProWrestling Z Character Guide: Yoshihiro Takayama (c)2003 Bill Wood