We still have 50 or so pages left.
Pages 134 - 135: more questions answered:
- The Encyclopedia recommends starting the match by Irish Whipping opponents into the turnbuckle.
Not only will this cause damage from the outset, but has the probability of causing the opponent to bleed. The guide
also recommends focusing your attacks against one character, and to avoid starting the match with diving attacks
from the top ropes.
- While the Rounding Body Press (Moonsault) allows the player to land on their feet (if they missed their opponent),
but the player will still take damage! The guide reasons this by asking the reader to imagine the shock brought to
one's feet when landing from top ropes.
- The Encyclopedia also mentions that Final Bout was the first game that allowed players to disable matches being
lost by criticals. Simply select 'Falls only' in the match type menu.
- The answers also state that, although rare, it is possible to break free from a submission hold after being Critical'd.
As long as the player has enough stamina, they can tap buttons repeatedly (the same way a player would attempt
to break out of a pinfall or regular submission) before the referee is close enough to stop the match.
Pages 136 - 137: 'The Future of Fire Pro' column ponders over the future of the Fire Pro series, despite Legend Bout being the supposed final installment.
One suggestion the column suggests is split screen mode.
So, even back then, the folks at Keibunsha were skeptical that Final Bout really was the last Fire Pro entry.
The column also mentions Fire Pro's joshi titles and the fact that players need to be extra careful in Elimination Match mode, as a player's remaining
stamina carries over to the next match.
Page 137 is the beginning of the next section: "To be frank, Hikawa. Do your best". A comic inspired by Mitsuhide Hikawa - the Fire Pro rename of
the legendary Mitsuharu Misawa, and his rocky road to becoming a champion.
Pages 138 - 139: The Misawa comic continues.
In these pages, Misawa mentions that his first companion was Jumbo Tsuruta, describing Tsuruta as a carefree man; the complete opposite
of Misawa's stoic in-ring personality.
The next panels depict Giant Baba ordering Misawa to go abroad to train; then to return to Japan.
Misawa returns to Japan from his training excursion, only to debut as a mysterious masked Wrestler (Tiger Mask II). Despite being criticized
for his abilities under his new masked gimmick, Misawa persevered and captured the Junior Heavyweight belt. The following panels depict
Misawa as Tiger Mask II facing Dynamite Kid.
Misawa then had his sights set on the Heavyweight division.
Pages 140 - 141: Misawa's battle against Riki Choshu was a brutal one. "There are no dreams here!" said Choshu after hurting Misawa.
Like a great demon, Misawa removed his mask and vowed to come back stronger.
Pages 142 - 143: Misawa faces off against Abdullah The Butcher, Akira Taue, with his elbow knocking down everyone in his path.
Yet, there was monster standing in front of him....
Now, a carefree monster....Jumbo Tsuruta once again.
Misawa formed the Super Generation Army, but calls his team mates strange people.
Tsuyoshi Kikuchi: "I like Reggae"
Kenta Kobashi: "I'm cool, right?"
Toshiaki Kawada: "Hey, hey ...listen to me!"
Pages 144 - 145: Misawa finally defeats the monster known as Jumbo Tsuruta; but stronger opponents appear. The first is Stan Hansen for the Triple
Crown.
Misawa makes the 'weeee' man ('weeee' is the common misunderstanding Japanese fans thought Stan Hansen would famously shout. In
actuality, Hansen was shouting 'yoooouth' - first coined when a young Hansen planned to dethrone the two reigning gaijins in Japan - The
Funks).
As a Triple Crown Champion, life would continue to get harder for Misawa. For starters, both Toshiaki Kawada and Akira Taue left the Super
Generation and Tsuruta Army to form the Holy Demon Army. Two strong competitors in the form of Terry Gordy and Steve Williams would
also appear.
Pages 146 - 147: the final page of the Misawa comic, and start of the next partition called Special Interview with Goichi Suda (SUDA51).
The interview takes place at HUMAN headquarter's with a photo of the HUMAN showroom. Suda is also joined by HUMAN public relations officer
Kazuyuki Kumagai.
Suda mentions that he hated Wrestling until he watched the first Tiger Mask (Satoru Sayama). Suda goes on to say that his then-current favourite
Wrestler is Akira Maeda.
Pages 148 - 149: Goichi Suda and Kazuyuki Kumagai's interview continues.
Suda mentions his three favourite Wrestlers to play as are #1) Masahiro Chono #2 Akira Maeda #3 Toshiaki Kawada. Suda mentions that, for the most
part, he only uses Masahiro Chono, adding that he feels Chono and Maeda are confident in their ability's and logic. Suda also adds that he has been a
fan of Toshiaki Kawada since his early Footloose days (a tag team Kawada shared with the late Samson Fuyuki).
Interestingly, Suda mentions that HUMAN hard a hard time adjusting the older Wrestlers in Final Bout. Each Wrestler has 27 techniques, with many
adjustments added to Final Bout's engine as such. Suda continues stating that he prefers the traditional Wrestling style, yet added techniques such
as Nobuhiko Takada's rush technique as a response for the more-modern shoot style that exploded during the early 90's.
Suda mentions that many techniques were added to Final Bout; claiming he himself added 50 new techniques in just over a month.
The duo comment that in just under two weeks of Final Bout's release, HUMAN had already received 3,000 questionnaires (pieces of paper attached to
game manuals and strategy guides from the era that players can fill out and mail back to a company) from players voicing their feedback about Final Bout.
Pages 150 - 151: the interview continues.
The duo state that the most common criticism the HUMAN team received is that Genichiro Tenryu was never strong enough; to which the team agree
commenting "up until now, Tenryu had average abilities as a character, but this time he has gotten much more powerful as a response from requests".
According to the translation, it says Kazuyuki Kumagai also humoured the idea of being a playable character in a future Fire Pro title.
Apparently, due to the original plan for Final Bout, famed Lucha legend El Canek was also considered as an original character. However, Canek was
dropped after the team questioned whether teenage fans would understand Canek's significance. In Canek's place, Kenta Kobashi would make his
Fire Pro debut instead.
Just before Final Bout was completed, the shoot style promotion PANCRASE was launched, and the HUMAN team were able to add Ken Shamrock
and Minoru Suzuki to the Final Bout roster; a move that Suda jokingly referred to as a "clinching blow".
The duo also mention that fans have criticized the Fire Pro ring for being too big, and the Wrestlers themselves being too small (a sentiment
Jushin Liger also shared in another interview), in comparison. Both Suda and Kumagai defend Fire Pro's ring size stating that it was perfectly
calculated to fit television screens, and to be able to see the action from all four corners of the ring.
In total, there were 60 characters originally planned to be added to Final Bout. Counting the eight unlockable bosses, the final roster total
in the finished release was 64.
Suda's three least favourite characters to incorporate into Legend Bout were:
1) Dos Caras - when compared to Mil Mascaras, Dos Caras doesn't have many of his own techniques added to Bout's moveset.
2) Billy Gaspar
3) Barry Gaspar - Suda had a hard time tracking down matches that didn't involve match interruptions or hardcore techniques;
stating that neither Wrestler had a proper match for reference.
Logic-wise, the three characters the team used to modify how the CPU reacted were Ken Shamrock, Minoru Suzuki and Akira
Maeda.
Pages 152 - 153: the interview continues.
The team understands that fighting games in general have bigger sprites and consider whether bigger sprites would be possible in a future
Fire Pro title (in actuality, the followup title Super Fire Pro-Wrestling Special' has bigger, more-detailed sprites), yet feels adding sprites for
all of the techniques would make such a concept next to impossible during Final Bout's production.
The duo state that fans have been clamouring for a Joshi Wrestling game, yet feel the fast-paced nature of Women's Wrestling couldn't
be properly implemented at the time (which, we all know wouldn't last with the release of HUMAN's first Women's Wrestling title: Fire
Pro Joshi Allstar Dream Slam a year later).
Despite Final Bout being billed as the very last Fire Pro title at the time, the duo admits they couldn't include Giant Baba and Abdullah
The Butcher; two Wrestlers they wanted to add to the roster (and the only two Wrestlers from the original Fire Pro games that weren't
added to Final Bout's roster).
