Victorious Boxers 2 : Fighting Spirit General Game Tactics with Boxer Rankings, Statistics, and Profiles 6/11/2007 v. 1.0 HonestHans nbdng@yahoo.com ********* Index ************* (Press Ctrl + F and paste the section number and heading that you want for easy navigation through this guide.) 1.0 Controls 2.0 General Tactics 3.0 Fighter Rankings -3.1 Featherweights -3.2 Jr. Lightweights -3.3 Lightweights -3.4 Welterweights, Jr. Middleweights and Middleweights 4.0 Fighter Stats and Profiles -4.1 Bantamweights -4.2 Featherweights -4.3 Jr. Lightweights -4.4 Lightweights -4.5 Welterweights -4.6 Jr. Middleweights -4.7 Middleweights -4.8 Heavyweights 5.0 Ranking Methodology 6.0 Computer AI and tournaments 7.0 Credits ******************* Introduction ********************** The point of this guide is mainly to get a handle on the 70 fighters in the game. While the game has it's share of characters which not many people will likely ever spend a lot of time playing, there are actually many more fighters with unusual sets of skills in the game than most people probably realize as well. I've also written short guides about the game's options as well gameplay tactics, since no one else has done so yet. Section 1 discusses some of the finer points of the control scheme. Section 2 is a short tactics guide. I've divided all of the boxers within a given division or divisions into rankings based on skill in section 3, then in section 4, copied all the stats (height, reach, etc.) for each of the boxers, noted any special moves and included a small description of what I think their respective abilities are. I tried to go into some detail about each special technique that a given fighter has, and if you don't see this under a given fighter, you'll find it listed under another fighter who has the same move. Hopefully you'll find this guide useful and any feedback, corrections, suggestions, etc. that you might have would be completely welcomed. ******************** 1.0 Controls ************************** The analog stick can be set to either normal or expert. The normal setting without a sway or step button assigned is actually more difficult to use but gives the game a much more fluid feel and seems to eleminate the tracking problems (where a character will stay facing in the same direction even as his opponent steps to his side) that some reviewers of the game complained about. It also adds a sway into a step move that which doesn't seem to work under any other settings. The expert setting with a sway button assigned makes footwork, stepping punches and upper body movement easier to do. Normal Setting: -Pushing the analog stick all the way in one direction causes the fighter to take a normal step, pushing twice in the same direction causes the fighter to make a quick step in that direction. Tapping in a given direction will cause the fighter's upper body to sway in that direction. Tapping into a sway and then completing the movement into a normal step gives a sort of sliding sway into a step movememt. Expert (with sway button assigned): -Pushing the analog stick all the way in one direction causes the fighter to take a quick step. Tapping and holding in a given direction will cause the fighter to step normally. Pressing the sway button deactivates foot movement and the analog stick will move only the fighter's upper body for as long as the button is held. If you use the expert stick without a sway button, the movement for steps is replaced with a swaying movement, and the ability to take normal steps is lost, as far as I can tell. Angle and Synching options The following isn't espescially important, and I think that it actually works best if the default setting is left alone. I'm just including it because I've heard it asked about and for the general sake of completeness. -When the synch mode is turned off, the movement controls are fixed and pushing up will always move a fighter forward, pushing down will move him backwards and pushing left or right will always move him left or right respectively, regardless of his position in the ring. -Changing the angle setting will change the orientation of a fixed control scheme. The control scheme described in the previous paragraph is how it would work if the angle was set to 0 degrees. Changing the angle to 90 degrees will cause the fighter move forward when the stick is pushed right, left or right when it is pushed up or down and backward when it's pushed left. Changing it to 270 degrees would give the exact opposite orientation of the setting in the previous sentence. The default setting is 9 degrees because the thumb naturally tends to angle in a little towards the stick. -When auto synch is on, the fighter will move relative to the camera and his position in the ring. If he has his back againt the rope on the left side of the ring, pushing right will move him forward. If he's in the bottom right of the ring with his back to the corner, pushing diagonally up and left will move him forward, diagonally down/right will move him back, diagonally down/left and up/right will move him left or right. ******************** 2.0 General Tactics ********************* All descriptions below assume that both fighers are in an orthodox, righ handed stance unless otherwise noted. Footwork: -Aside from normal movement, a fighter can also dash or sway into a step, as described above in the controls section. -Under most circumstances, try to circle away from your opponent's dominant hand, not into it. ie circle to your fighter's right when fighting a right handed fighter. -When fighting as a boxer, stay in the center of the ring and keep circling away from the opponent's dominant hand, while also staying outside the shorter range of the left hook. Use the sway and step movement, if you're using the normal control scheme, and lots of jabs. -When playing as a puncher, keep moving forward, applying pressure, and maneuvering your opponent against the ropes and into the corner. Cut him off and keep him away from the center of the ring. If you don't have a reach advantage, stay as close as possible to your opponent and attack with hooks and uppercuts. Punches: -Stepping left/right straight punches: They are long range attacks that are more powerful than regular jabs and rights, since they will have more of the fighter's body weight behind them. An effective way of landing the stepping right punch is to flick the jab from just at your fighter's range and then move in with a stepping straight right punch. These punches are executed by dashing and then pressing the punch button. Stepping hooks can also be thrown in the same manner. -Hooks: The left hook in this game is thrown fairly open (with the figher's arm mostly open rather than bent at the elbow), so it has decent range. Try catching your opponent with it when he circles to your left or as you are stepping to your right for the maximum impact -this is espescially effective when used with the sway into a step footwork movement. Also, the computer AI will almost always answer a left hook with a left hook of it's own. The right hook is a slow punch that is best when used at close range. -Jab: It's the Fastest punch. Use it to gauge your distance, start your combinations, work your way inside and interrupt your opponent's attack. -Uppercuts: They are short range power punches. They are more effective than hooks when attacking the body on the inside. -Straight Rights: It's the Medium range power punch. Let if follow the jab or a series of them and use it to counter your opponent's jab. Occasionally you'll catch an opponent with it as he steps in. I also have had luck using it with a leftward sway and stepping movement Defense: -Every defensive maneuver should ideally be executed with an offensive manuever that is either simultaneous with it or follows immediately after it. It's bad practice to just stand there slipping, ducking and blocking punches without punching back. -Blocking: Pressing the R1 button immediately after your opponent's attack will cause your fighter to block an incoming punch. This method only works momentarily -your fighter will not keep his guard up and the the button has to be pressed once to block every punch your opponent throws. Punches can also be blocked by pressing the opposite punch button of the incoming punch. For example, if your opponent throws a right, immediately throwing a jab will cause you to block the punch with your left hand, when both fighters are in the orthodox stance. Vice Versa for the other hand. This can and should be followed with an almost simultaneous punch from the other hand. -Slipping and Ducking: Slipping is rolling the shoulders to one side or the other to avoid straight punches. A duck is used to avoid hooks. Both have offensive components which should be performed simultaneously or follow immediately, which are described in the counterpunching section. These are the easiest, best maneuvers to defend yourself with in this game. -The analog stick allows you to control how far sideways your fighter will go when he slips a punch. The ideal is to go no further than absolutely necessary. Counter Punching: -A counter punch combines your own punching power with your opponent's momentum. It's executed by dodging or blocking his punch while simultaneously catching him with your own punch, as he's still coming forwards. -Countering straight punches: Slip to the left when your opponent throws his jab while throwing the straight right (which is called the right cross in this instance) over his punch, to his head. Counter the straight right by slipping to your right while throwing the left hook to the body. A counter jab to the head (a left cross, I guess) also works fine in this game because the punch comes out more like a really loose left hook than a straight punch. -Countering hooks: Duck and immediately come back with your own hooks or uppercuts to the body or punch on the way back up with uppercuts to the head. -The counter hooks to the head in this game seem like somewhat slow and very awkward punches, and I haven't had a lot of luck using them (the exception being when they are used with the sway and step movement). They do seem to work better than counter straights at very close range. When standing toe to toe, you can try using counter uppercuts. -The game also allows you to block while countering with the other hand as described in the blocking section, which also catches your opponent's forward movement with your own. -Practice your countering by using a fighter who has slow battle as a special move or by dialing down the speed of the opposing fighter in exhibition mode. -To more effectively counter punch, watch your opponent's shoulders instead of his hands, as they'll move before the hands. Combinations: Because your position, punching range and angle, in relation to your opponent, will be changing throughout the course of the fight, there are no recipe list style of combinations that will always work. Here are some general tips, though: -To land combos in this game, all of your punches have to make contact with your opponent to keep the combo going, even if you just hit his glove or shoulder. If you whiff one of your punches entirely (aside from a jab), your fighter will be thrown slightly off balance, and any subsequent controller input will be ignored for a split second while your fighter regains his balance. For this reason, it's better to start your combos off the jab or several jabs. -Pay attention to how your opponent reacts after having been hit and choose your next punch accordingly. Don't just tap out strings of punches without regard for timing, range, angle, etc. The best way to get the hang of this is to play in slow battle. -At close range, uppercuts will always at least make contact with your opponent, even if their blocked, so it's easy to throw impressive looking uppercut flurries if you can stay close to your opponent. -Faster, lighter punchers are better at landing strings of punches than heavy fisted types, who tend to knock their opponents out of range after a punch or two. -Unless an opponent is stunned, you'll rarely land more than a 3 punch combination before he starts dodging, blocking or moving. -Combo Examples: jab 2x jab -> right jab -> L.hook jab -> right -> L.hook bodyL.hook -> L.hook jab -> bodyLstraight -> bodyRight ->bodyLstraight -> bodyRight bodyL.uppercut -> bodyR.uppercut -> L.uppercut jab -> bodyL.hook -> L.hook jab -> bodyL.hook -> L.hook -> right My favorite Ippo combo: jab or or duck inside -> bodyUppercut ->L.hook / right depending on position If your opponent's in the center of the ring when you start the above combo, Ippo's body uppercut will knock the opponent backward and you'll have to throw a stepping punch to hit him with the left hook or right. Special Moves: I'm covering the 2 most prevalent special moves and 1 that is theoretically possible for every fighter to do here. All other special moves are covered in the comments sections under a given figher. -Slow Battle Causes the fight to move in slow motion for as long as a given fighter can maintain it. -Momentary Battle MB allows to you to pinpoint exactly where you want a punch to land. Activate it immediately after throwing a punch (this is much easier to do if slow battle is already running.) If you see a red flash, it means you were too slow. When you've successfully entered momentary battle, the game's action will freeze and you'll be able to place your punch with the crosshairs controlled by the left analog stick and rotate the camera with the right analog stick. -Heartbreak Punch If you land a punch directly on your opponent's heart he will be completely stunned and unable to react for a few seconds. This has happened to me a few times by luck, but I've never really tried to master the move. It seems like your punch placement has to be just perfect for it to work. A good postion to land right on the heart from would be to throw a right to the body with momentary battle while standing slightly to your opponent's right side, immediatlely after your opponent has thrown a left hook or jab to the head. ******************** 3.0 Fighter Rankings *************** 3.1 Featherweights ---------------------------- Tier 1 Boxers: -Richardo Martinez -Ryo Mashiba -Eiji Date -Takeshi Sendo -Alexander Volg Zangief -Arnie Gregory -Iwao Shimabukuro -Ippo Makunouchi -Ryuhei Sawamura -Che Jounbong -Ichiro Miyata -Medngern Dachboy Tier 2 Boxers: -Kyosuke Imai -Hammer Nao -Akira Shigeta -Takuma Saeki -Kazuki Sanada -Manabu Itagaki -Takuzo Karasawa -Ryuichi Hayami -Keichi Take -Fumito Makino -Keigo Okita -Jimmy Sisfa -Tetsuji Kiba Tier 3 Boxers: -Yi Yonsu -Ponchai Chuwatana -Jason Osuma -Payao -Lee Chonpil -Kenta Kobashi -Tadashi Nakayama -Yoshio Fujiwara -Lunsaku Paudy -Yusuke Oda -Yoshio Urayasu -Haseo Baraki -Naoya Ogawa 3.2 Jr. Lightweights --------------------------- -Ryo Mashiba -Tatusya -Takeshi Ryuzaki -Eleki Battery -Armand Alegria -Nefuma Ozca -Hiroshi Nishimura -Shinji Kanzaki -Pone Marcotte -Junichi Hotta 3.3 Lightweights ------------------------------ -Broccoman -Papaya Dachiu -Masaru Aoki -Katsutaka Imae -Paddy Magramo -Jackal Ito -Boy Arade -Bull Ushida -Snake Thomas -Armand Garcia -Hiroshi Yamanaka 3.4 Welterweights, Jr. Middleweights and Middleweights ------------------------------------------------------------ -Brian Hawk -Mamoru Takamura -David Eagle -Takaaki Ito -Atsushi Tamaki -Rally Bernard -Ralph Anderson -Yoshiaki Yajima -Bonchai Chuwatana -Morris West **************** 4.0 Fighter Stats and Profiles ************** -All stats and comments are based on the final version of a given fighter at the end of the story mode, unless otherwise noted. All comments assume that both fighters are in the orthodox stance. 4.1 Bantamweight Fighters (3 unique fighters) The three bantamweights are played during the historical interlude in the story mode. They are pound for pound as good or better than the first tier of fighters in the featherweight division, and only at a size and slight power/chin disadvantage in actual matches with them. The 3 characters also have selectable old men versions of themselves who fight in the same style as their younger selves except with much faded abilities. * Genji Kamogawa * Country:--Japan Style:----Fighter Weight:---Bantamweight Age:------28 Height:---161.0 -5'3" Reach:----157.4 -61" Hand:-----Right Special Moves: Iron Fist Comments: Kamogawa has heavy hands and good hand speed but plodding footwork. His chin is decent and he has excellent heart. His footwork makes him a limited, foward moving brawler type fighter. The iron fist is a sweeping left hook to the body that is best thrown at medium close range while slightly to your opponent's left side. * Ginpachi Nekota * Country:--Japan Style:----Open Weight:---Bantamweight Age:------28 Height:---160.5 -5'3" Reach:----159.6 -62" Hand:-----Right Special Moves: Slow Battle Momentary Battle Comments: Probably the fastest feet in the game. His normal footwork is faster than most of the other fighter's dashes. Nekota also has very quick hands, decent power and very good heart but a somewhat mediocre chin. * Dankichi Hama * Country:--Japan Style:----Fighter Weight:---Bantamweight Age:------28 Height:---160.1 -5'3" Reach:----156.9 -61" Hand:-----Right Special Moves: Flying Swallow Slow Battle Momentary Battle Comments: Hama has lightning quick hand speed and a great left jab. His punch and chin are both good but his footwork is somewhat slow and his heart is mediocre. The flying swallow is a fast string of left handed punches. Try to throw it when the opponent is staggered or stuck in the corner, and when Hama is somewhat to his opponent's left side. 4.2 Featherweight Fighters (38 unique fighters) --------------------------------------------------- The featherweight has almost 4 times as many fighters and much greater depth in terms of talent and styles than any other division. * Ippo Makunouchi * Country:--Japan Style:----Peek A Boo Weight:---Feather Age:------21 Height:---164-5'4" Reach:----165-64" Hand:-----Right Special Moves: Joffre Uppercut, Dempsey Roll, Deadly Smash, Gazelle Punch Comments: Ippo finishes the game as a well rounded fighter who is very good at everything without being especially great at anything, except maybe upper body movement. Slipping a punch and stepping to the right will put you in a good position to throw the gazelle punch and vice-versa for the deadly smash. The joffre uppercut is a right handed uppercut that hits the body on the inside and the chin at medium range. The Dempsey roll uses a lot of stamina and is best saved as a finisher, end of the round closing flurry, or desperation move. * Naoya Ogawa * Country:--Japan Style:----Boxer Fighter Weight:---Feather Age:------19 Height:---169 -5'6 Reach:----169.8 -66" Hand:-----Right Special Moves: none Comments: Awful all around. Easily the worst fighter in the game. * Yusuke Oda * Country:--Japan Style:----Boxer Fighter Weight:---Feather Age:------21 Height:---168 -5'6" Reach:----168.8 -66" Hand:-----Right Special Moves: none Comments: Decent power, okay heart, bad chin. Has poor stamina and gasses very quickly. * Yoshio Fujiwara * Country:--Japan Style:----Fighter Weight:---Feather Age:------19 Height:---167 -5'5" Reach:----167.8 -66" Hand:-----Right Special Moves: Head butt Comments: Decent heart but otherwise average or worse. Has a special head butt move which stuns the opponent but is hard to pull off. * Jason Osuma * Country:--United States Style:----Fighter Weight:---Feather Age:------19 Height:---171 -5'7" Reach:----171.8 -67" Hand:-----Right Special Moves: None Comments: Good power, good heart, but has somewhat slow hands and a below average chin. * Kenta Kobashi * Country:--Japan Style:----Up Style Weight:---Feather Age:------18 Height:---167.5 -5'5" Reach:----166.5 -65" Hand:-----Right Special Moves: Cross Armed Block Comments: Excellent heart but mediocre to bad in every other respect. Slow, has an awful chin and no apparent power. Kenta Kobashi gets no respect but his upright fighting style is fun to play. Set him to strong and crank his speed all the way up to see what the "up style" can really do. * Ryuichi Hayami * Country:--Japan Style:----Open Weight:---Feather Age:------20 Height:---172 -5'7" Reach:----175.4 -70" Hand: ----Right Special Moves: Shotgun Punch Comments: Great speed and the 2nd longest reach in the featherweight division make him a tough fighter, even besides the fact that he also has a very effective, very cheap special move. Otherwise, has mediocre heart, very light punches and a bad chin. * Ryo Mashiba * Country:--Japan Style:----Hitman Weight:---Feather Age:------20 Height:---177 -5'9" Reach:----187 -73" Hand:-----Right Special Moves: Flicker Jab, Chopping Right Comments: Largest featherweight and longest reach. Very good speed, great power and heart but a lousy chin. Since Ryo is easily hurt, his reach will become a liability if he takes a few good shots to the body and can no longer keep proper distance with his footwork. * Takeshi Sendo * Country:--Japan Style:----Boxer Fighter Weight:---Feather Age:------21 Height:---167.5 -5'5" Reach:----168 -66" Hand:-----Right Special Moves: Smash, Slow Battle, Ultra Low Smash, Deadly Smash Comments: Brawling fighter with great power, good or very good speed, chin and heart. The final version of Sendo is an entirely better fighter than the one you play as. The smash and ultra low smash are left hand punches that should be thrown when Sendo is to the right of the opponent's center and from at the edge of medium range. The deadly smash is a right that should be thrown when standing right in front of or to the opponent's right side. It's range is also from medium range. The range is the most important thing in landing Sendo's smashes. The ultra low smash seems to be specifically for catching Ippo and is effective against opponent's who like to go to the body. * Keigo Okita * Country:--Japan Style:----Boxer Fighter Weight:---Feather Age: -----18 Height:---167 -5'5" Reach:----167.5 -65" Hand:-----Right Special Moves: Corkscrew Punch Comments: Decent power but somewhat slow. Has a mediocre chin but pretty good heart. * Takuma Saeki * Country:--Japan Style:----Open Weight:---Feather Age:------20 Height:---170 -5'6" Reach:----170 -66" Hand: ----Right Special Moves: Momentary Battle, Slow Battle, Cross Armed Block Comments: All around fastest in the division and maybe the game, okay power, somewhat below average chin and heart. Fun to play. * Alexander Volg Zangiev * Country:--Russia Style:----Boxer Fighter Weight:---Feather Age:------20 Height:---168.1 -5'6" Reach:----169.5 -66" Hand:-----Right Special Moves: White Fang Comments: Volg is a fighter from the land where all that one hears at night are "the wolves and the howling of the wind," and his "wolven" fighting style" makes him one of the best in the game. He has a fast, strong jab that lets him fight effectively as a boxer, very good power, excellent speed, a decent chin and great heart. Good at comebacks in a fight and has punching power that keeps the opponent down. His special move is a two punch combination of a right uppercut to the chin and a left hook to the top of the head. It's best thrown when Vorg is positioned to his oppenent's right side and from medium-close range. * Eiji Date * Country:--Japan Style:----Boxer Fighter Weight:---Feather Age:------29 Height:---168.5 -5'6" Reach:----170.2 -67" Hand:-----Right Special Moves: corkscrew punch, momentary battle, slow battle Comments: Great all around fighter. The corkscrew punch can be substitued for regular straight rights. The version of Date with the white trunks is a better fighter than the earlier one with the blue trunks. * Ponchai Chuwatana * Country:--Thailand Style:----Fighter Weight:---Feather Age:------18 Height:---167 -5'5" Reach:----167.5 -65" Hand:-----Right Special Moves: none Comments: Slow with good power and an okay chin. Not a lot of heart. * Kazuki Sanada * Country:--Japan Style:----Boxer Fighter Weight:---Feather Age:------20 Height:---167 -5'5" Reach:----168.4 -66" Hand:-----Right Special Moves: Flying swallow, Swallow Counter Comments: Good all around fighter with no glaring strengths or weaknesses. Strong chin and speed, respectable power but not a massive puncher. Red hair and green trunks makes up to some degree for the glaring lack of Irish fighters in this game. The flying swallow is a series of left hand punchs. The most effective place to use it is from medium range with the opponent in the corner and Sanada somewhat to his left. The Swallow counter is a kind of uppercut punch that seems similar to the Joffre uppercut. * Hammer Nao * Country:--Japan Style:----Fighter Weight:---Feather Age:------19 Height:---173.5 -5'8" Reach:----173.5 -68" Hand:-----Right Special Moves: Rough Fight Arm Comments: Very tough fighter with excellent heart and a good chin. His power is decent and his speed is also pretty good. The rought fight arm move knocks the opponets arms away and then throws a left hook to the body. * Yi Yonsu * Country:--South Korea Style:----Fighter Weight:---Feather Age:------20 Height:---166.5 -5'6" Reach:----166.5 -66" Hand:-----Right Special Moves: none Comments: Good power and heart, excellent upper body movement, poor chin. Nerdy looks. He's definitely a notch above Lee Chonpil, anyway. * Iwao Shimabukuro * Country:--Japan Style:----Peel A Boo Weight:---Feather Age:------20 Height:---159 -5'2" Reach:----155.4 -61" Hand:-----Right Special Moves: gazelle punch Comments: Great power, excellent chin, average or maybe slightly less heart. Smallest fighter in the game with a reach more than 1 foot shorter than Ryo Mashiba. * Ryuhei Sawamura * Country:--Japan Style:----Boxer Fighter Weight:---Feather Age:------21 Height:---170 -5'6" Reach:----170 -66" Hand:-----Right Special Moves: bullet, head jerk, slow battle, momentary battle Comments: Slick boxer who's very good all around except for his only decent power. The bullet punch is a rapid fire jab and the head jerk is a taunt. * Takuzo Karasawa * Country:--Japan Style:----Boxer Fighter Weight:---Feather Age:------20 Height:---169.3 -5'6" Reach:----172.1 -67" Hand:-----Right Special Moves: none Comments: Very good speed and chin, good power, poor heart. * Keichi Take * Country:--Japan Style:----Fighter Weight:---Feather Age:------31 Height:---167.3 -5'5" Reach:----167.3 -65" Hand:-----Right Special Moves: switch Comments: Good chin, defense, hand speed and decent heart and power. Has lousy footwork. Take has a unique special move that lets him switch to a southpaw stance. Oldest featherweight. * Ricardo Martinez * Country:--Mexico Style:----Boxer Fighter Weight:---Feather Age:------29 Height:---168.3 -5'6" Reach:----171.1 -67" Hand:-----Right Special Moves: slow battle, momentary battle Comments: An all around excellent fighter with the power of a middleweight. His only weakness is a mediocre heart, not that it matters. The computer AI for Martinez counterpunches with impossible accuracy. Completely outclasses all the other fighters at featherweight which makes playing as him somewhat boring and pointless. * Ichiro Miyata * Country:--Japan Style:----Boxer Fighter Weight:---Feather Age:------20 Height:---172 -5'7" Reach:----175.4 -69" Hand:-----Right Special Moves: Jolt, Slow Battle, Momentary Battle Comments: Fast, long reach, good heart and chin, okay power. Speed and reach make him a natural counterpuncher. He has a hard time putting other fighters away. The jolt is basically a more refined version of the game's stepping right straight punch. It works best when Miyata leans backs from punches from a somewhat long/mid range and throws it as his opponent is recovering. * Lunsaku Paudy * Country:--Thailand Style:----Boxer Fighter Weight:---Feather Age:------18 Height:---168.1 -5'6" Reach:----168.1 -66" Hand:-----Right Special Moves: none Comments: Slow and light punching with a below average chin. Pretty good heart. * Payao * Country:--Thailand Style:----Boxer Fighter Weight:---Feather Age:------18 Height:---172 -5'7" Reach:----172 -67" Hand:-----Right Special Moves: none Comments: Slow with an okay chin, good heart and pretty good punch. * Jimmy Sisfa * Country:--Thailand Style:----Boxer Fighter Weight:---Feather Age:------19 Height:---169 -5'6" Reach:----170.9 -67" Hand:-----Right Special Moves: none Comments: Good all around with no particular weaknesses. * Lee Chonpil * Country:--South Korea Style:----Boxer Fighter Weight:---Feather Age: -----20 Height:---166.5 -5'5" Reach:----166.5 -65" Hand:-----Right Special Moves: none Comments: Fast with average power, chin and poor heart * Arnie Gregory * Country:--Australia Style:----Boxer Fighter Weight:---Feather Age:------20 Height:---173 -5'8" Reach:----173.1 -68" Hand:-----Right Special Moves: Slow Battle, Momentary Battle Comments: Slick boxer with a great jab who can also brawl.Excellent power, very good speed and heart but a mediocre chin. Has the kind of punch that puts opponents away instead of just down. Steamrolls the vast majority of the featherweight ranks just by being too big, too strong and too fast Has loads of mulletheaded 1980's, Aussie style. * Medngern Dachboy * Country:--Thailand Style:----Fighter Weight:---Feather Age:------20 Height:---167.1 -5'5" Reach:----168 -66" Hand:-----Right Special Moves: none Comments: Big puncher, good heart and an excellent chin with average speed. The best of the Thai boxers in the game's featherweight division. * Che Jounbong * Country:--South Korea Style:----Peek A Boo Weight:---Feather Age:------21 Height:---167.5 -5'5" Reach:----168.5 -66" Hand:-----Right Special Moves: momentary punch, head butt Comments: Very good power, fast, sharp punches with good defense. Good chin but mediocre heart. * Akira Shigeta * Country:--Japan Style:----Boxer Fighter Weight:---Feather Age:------20 Height:---167.5 -5'5" Reach:----168.9 -66" Hand:-----Left Special Moves: None Comments: Very good power and heart, good speed, okay chin. The only full time southpaw in the game. * Manabu Itagaki * Country:--Japan Style:----Open Weight:---Feather Age:------20 Height:---168 -5'6" Reach:----168 -66" Hand:-----Right Special Moves: Momentary Battle, Slow Battle Comments: Excellent hand speed and footwork - good punch and heart - poor chin. * Haseo Baraki * Country:--Japan Style:----Boxer Fighter Weight:---Feather Age:------18 Height:---166 -5'5" Reach:----166 -65" Hand:-----Right Special Moves: None Comments: Has no business being in a boxing ring. Slowest fighter at featherweight and a truly awful chin with okay heart being the only thing in the plus column. His bowl haircut is as fashion challenged as he is boxing challenged. * Tadashi Nakayama * Country:--Japan Style:----Fighter Weight:---Feather Age:------18 Height:---168.8 -5'6" Reach:----169.7 -66" Hand:-----Right Special Moves: none Comments: Very strong but with below average speed, an awful chin and no heart. * Yoshio Urayasu * Country:--Japan Style:----Boxer Fighter Weight:---Feather Age:------18 Height:---165.8 -5'5" Reach:----165.4 -65" Hand:-----Right Special Moves: Slow Battle Comments: Slow with an awful chin, mediocre or worse power and only an okay heart. 3rd or 4th worst featherweight. * Tetsuji Kiba * Country:--Japan Style:----Open Weight:---Feather Age:------18 Height:---168.1 -5'6" Reach:----168.1 -66" Hand:-----Right Special Moves: Slow Battle, Momentary Battle Comments: Decent handspeed and good power. Mediocre chin, plodding footwork for an open style fighter and not a lot of heart. * Fumito Makino * Country:--Japan Style:----Hitman Weight:---Feather Age:------20 Height:---166.5 -5'5" Reach:----169.6 -66" Hand:-----Right Special Moves: Rough Fight Arm, Flicker Jab, Head butt Comments: Decent power, very good speed, unorthodox looks and pretty good heart. Below average/poor chin is the only real defect. * Kyousuke Imai * Country:--Japan Style:----Fighter Weight:---Feather Age:------19 Height:---167 -5'5" Reach:----167 -65" Hand:-----Right Special Moves: None Comments: Very good fighter. Not great at anything but good or better at almost everything. Good power, decent chin, fast hands and a lot of heart. Footwork is somewhat slow. 4.3 Jr. Lightweight Fighters (10 unique fighters) -------------------------------------------------- Tatsuya isn't quite as good a fighter as the ones the player uses in featherweight division, so most of his opponents in the jr. lightweight division are of a lower caliber as well. This division is comprised mostly of smooth boxer type fighters, most of whom would fall towards the bottom of the second tier of the featherweight division fighters. * Tatsuya Kimura * Country:--Japan Style:----Boxer Fighter Weight:---Jr. Lightweight Age:------22 Height:---171 Reach:----171 Hand:-----Right Special Moves: slow battle Comments: Tatsuya is a boxer with good power and speed but is very fragile due to his mediocre chin and a glaring deficit in heart. Has a very short slow battle as his special move. * Tatsuya * Country:--Japan Style:----Boxer Fighter Weight:---Jr. Lightweight Age:------23 Height:---171 -5'7" Reach:----171 -67" Hand:-----Right Special Moves: slow battle dragon fish blow Comments: The end game version of Kimura. Slightly better than above except with vastly improved heart and a powerfull finishing move. He can brawl now, though it's not recommended. The dragon fish blow is a two punch move that starts with a left hook to the body and then a looping right from above follows immediately after. The best place to throw it from is a bit to the opponent's left and from medium range. To get both shots in, the opponent will probably have to be against the ropes. * Junichi Hotta * Country:--Japan Style:----Fighter Weight:---Jr. Lightweight Age:------17 Height:---168.1 -5'6" Reach:----167.7 -66" Hand:-----Right Special Moves: none Comments: Has okay footspeed and chin but very slow hands, mediocre power and a poor heart. Definitely the low man in the jr. lightweight division. * Shinji Kanzaki * Country:--Japan Style:----Boxer Fighter Weight:---Jr. Lightweight Age:------20 Height:---171 -5'7" Reach:----171 -67" Hand:-----Right Special Moves: none Comments: He's like a slower, stronger version of the first Kimura. His speed is average or below, and he's definately lacking in heart. * Hiroshi Nishimura * Country:--Japan Style:----Boxer Fighter Weight:---Jr. Lightweight Age:------18 Height:---172 -5'7" Reach:----172 -67" Hand:-----Right Special Moves: none Comments: Wears garish neon trunks that look like they came straight out of 1992 and has an ugly bowel haircut. Aside from that, he's basically another variation on Kimura. Good footwork and handspeed that is a notch above average. A little lacking in power but has decent heart. * Takeshi Ryuzaki * Country:--Japan Style:----Boxer Fighter Weight:---Jr. Lightweight Age:------22 Height:---171.0 -5'7" Reach:----172.1 -67" Hand:-----Right Special Moves: none Comments: All around good fighter with very good speed. He's about as good as the midling featherweight fighters in this game, but that's good enough to make him the second or third best fighter in this division. His afro undeniably stands out. * Pone Morocotte * Country:--Thailand Style:----Boxer Fighter Weight:---Jr. Lightweight Age:------23 Height:---171 -5'7" Reach:----171 -67" Hand:-----Right Special Moves: C- grade fighter. Has decent speed but is otherwise completely average or slightly worse. Comments: * Nefuma Ozca * Country:--Philippines Style:----Boxer Fighter Weight:---Jr. Lightweight Age:------21 Height:---171.8 -5'7" Reach:----171.8 -67" Hand:-----Right Special Moves: None Comments: Ozca is another one of the slick boxer type fighters in this division. He has good foot and hand speed and very good heart but only a mediocre chin. He seems a little underpowered. * Armand Alegria * Country:--Philippines Style:----Boxer Fighter Weight:---Jr. Lightweight Age:------21 Height:---171.8 -5'7" Reach:----171.8 -67" Hand:-----Right Special Moves: None Comments: Yet another slick boxer with great hand speed and foot speed being his only outstanding trait. Otherwise has decent power and okay/mediocre chin and heart. * Eleki Battery * Country:--Philippines Style:----Boxer Fighter Weight:---Jr. Lightweight Age:------24 Height:---172.5 -5'8" Reach:----172.5 -68" Hand:-----Right Special Moves: Slow Battle Momentary Battle Comments: Eleki is one of the more interesting fighters in the game. He has decent power, excellent speed and great heart coupled with a dead awful chin. He's the smooth boxer type fighter which is so prevelant in this division taken to its limit. * Ryo Mashiba * Country:--Japan Style:----Hitman Weight:---Jr. Lightweight Age:------22 Height:---177 Reach:----187 Hand:-----Right Special Moves: flicker jab chopping right cross-arme block momentary battle Comments: The same Ryo from the featherweight division but better. Ryo beats any other fighter in this division easily. 4.4 Lightweight Fighters (10 unique fighters) ----------------------------------------------- The lightweight division is similar to the Jr. Lightweight division in the quality of it's fighters, but does have a little more diversity in terms of their fighting styles. * Masaru Aoki * Country:--Japan Style:----Boxer Fighter Weight:---Lightweight Age:------23 Height:---171 -5'7" Reach:----171 -67" Hand:-----Right Special Moves: double punch corkscrew look away frog punch Comments: Aoki is a brawling type fighter with a good chin, good power, above average speed and decent heart. He has more unique, unorthodox special moves than any other fighter. The frog punch is a jumping right uppercut to the head. The best place to throw it from is a bit to your opponent's right and from medium range. It has a duck and slight forward step built in so just throw it when you'd normally duck. The double is a telegraphed punch that sends both arms straight out. It's best thrown from straight ahead and medium range. The most effective way I've found to use it is to lean back from an opponent's attack then throw it as he' recovering. The lookaway is maybe the cheapest move in the game. The corkscrew is a more powerful right straight which can more or less substituted for the regular straight right. * Hiroshi Yamanaka * Country:--Japan Style:----Boxer Fighter Weight:---Lightweight Age:------18 Height:---170.5 -5'7" Reach:----170.1 -66" Hand:-----Right Special Moves: none Comments: Very poor fighter. Moves in slow motion and has no heart. Chin and power are at least mediocre. * Armand Garcia * Country:--Philippines Style:----Boxer Fighter Weight:---Lightweight Age:------21 Height:---171 -5'7" Reach:----170 -66" Hand:-----Right Special Moves: none Comments: Like most of the Philippino fighters in this game, Armand has excellent heart. His power is decent and his foot and hand speed are okay. His chin is very poor. * Bull Ushida * Country:--Japan Style:----Fighter Weight:---Lightweight Age:------21 Height:---168.0 -5'6" Reach:----165.5 -65" Hand:-----Right Special Moves: none Comments: Ushida is somewhat slow, particularly with his feet and doesn't have a lot of power. He has a good chin and below average heart. * Jackal Ito * Country:--Japan Style:----Boxer Fighter Weight:---Lightweight Age:------19 Height:---171 -5'7" Reach:----171 -67" Hand:-----Right Special Moves: none Comments: Ito has good speed and power. His chin and heart are decent. * Snake Thomas * Country:--Thailand Style:----Boxer Fighter Weight:---Lightweight Age:------21 Height:---171 -5'7" Reach:----171 -67" Hand:-----Right Special Moves: None Comments: Smooth boxer type with good speed, particularly in his feet. Has a decent chin and okay heart but is lacking power. * Boy Arade * Country:--Philippines Style:----Boxer Fighter Weight:---Lightweight Age:------23 Height:---174.5 -5'8" Reach:----174.5 -68" Hand:-----Right Special Moves: None Comments: Another boxer type with very good hand and foot speed. He has okay power and heart and a decent chin. * Paddy Magramo * Country:--Philippines Style:----Boxer Fighter Weight:---Lightweight Age:------21 Height:---173 -5'8" Reach:----173 -68" Hand:-----Right Special Moves: None Comments: Magramo is on the slow side of average but has a very good chin and decent heart. His power is also about average. * Katsutaka Imae * Country:--Japan Style:----Boxer Fighter Weight:---Lightweight Age:------22 Height:---171.0 -5'7 Reach:----172.1 -67" Hand:-----Right Special Moves: About Face Comments: Tough fighter with a very good chin and heart. His speed is good and and his power is above average. I don't know what the about face move is supposed to do. * Papaya Dachiu * Country:--Indonesia Style:----Fighter Weight:---Lightweight Age:------24 Height:---168.5 -5'6" Reach:----158.2 -62" Hand:-----Right Special Moves: Play Dead Look Away Cocunut Punch Comments: Short arms and lightning quick upper body movement make Papaya one of the best infighters in the game. He's sort of the inverse opposite of Ryo Mashiba in dimensions and fighting style. His power, chin, heart and speed are all very good to excellent. His punches are the type that knock opponents out instead of just down. The cocunut punch is a very powerfull stepping right straight punch. The look away move is the same as Aoki's, and the Play Dead move will cause Papaya to do a staggering motion as though he had been hurt. * Broccoman * Country:--Japan Style:----Boxer Fighter Weight:---Lightweight Age:------24 Height:---171 -5'7" Reach:----171 -67" Hand:-----Right Special Moves: double punch corkscrew look away frog punch Comments: Broccoman is the supercharged version of Aoki. My impression is that he has about the same heart and chin as regular Aoki but with much improved speed and power. 4.5 Welterweight Fighters (1 unique fighter) ------------------------------------------------ * Ralph Anderson * Country:--United States Style:----Boxer Fighter Weight:---Welterweight Age:------26 Height:---178.5 -5'10" Reach:----180.2 -70" Hand:-----Right Special Moves: Cross Arm Block Comments: Ralph is the antagonist in the somewhat jingoistic 4th act. He's a good boxer type fighter in most respects but with only slightly better than average heart. If there 100 welterweights in this game, Ralph would probably fall in somewhere between the top 70 and 80 fighters. 4.6 Jr. Middleweight Fighters (4 unique fighters) --------------------------------------------------- The Jr. Middleweight and Middleweight division revolve around Takamura, who starts the game at a high ranking, so most of his opponent's are either champions or highly ranked contenders. Because of this high level of competition, alomost anyone(or at least the top 5 or 6 fighters) in these divisions can beat anyone else. * Mamoru Takamura * Country:--Japan Style:----Boxer Fighter Weight:---Jr. Middleweight Age:------25 Height:---185.0 -6' Reach:----185.8 -73" Hand:-----Right Special Moves: Comments: This is (according to the game) the diarrhetic version of Takamura. Has excellent heart but is worse than the regular version of Takamura in every other respect. * Morris West * Country:--Philippines Style:----Boxer Fighter Weight:---Jr. Middleweight Age:------26 Height:---185.0 -6' Reach:----185.8 -73" Hand:-----Right Special Moves: None Comments: West has decent heart and very good speed but is a light puncher with a below average chin. * Brian Hawk * Country:--United States Style:----Open Weight:---Jr. Middleweight Age: -----26 Height:---182 -5'11" Reach:----182 -71" Hand:-----Right Special Moves: drooping arms head jerk momentary battle slow battle Comments: Hawk is the best fighter in the game. He has blinding hand speed, excellent or very good upper body movement, footwork, chin, heart and power. Has 2 taunts in his repertoire of special moves. * Rally Bernard * Country:--United States Style:----Boxer Fighter Weight:---Jr. Middleweight Age:------26 Height:---183.5 -6' Reach:----184.5 -72" Hand:-----Right Special Moves: none Comments: All around good fighter with a very good punch -no glaring weaknesses. 4.7 Middleweight Fighters (6 unique fighters) ------------------------------------------------------ * Mamoru Takamura * Country:--Japan Style:----Boxer Fighter Weight:---Middleweight Age:------26 Height:---185.0 -6' Reach:----185.8 -73" Hand:-----Right Special Moves: Takamura's Look Away Slow Battle Momentary Battle Comments: Very good speed and a great punch. Chin heart and stamina are all at least in the 9's. Very well rounded fighter with no weaknesses. * Bonchai Chuwatana * Country:--Thailand Style:----Boxer Fighter Weight:---Middleweight Age:------26 Height:---180.0 -5'10" Reach:----180.8 -71" Hand:-----Right Special Moves: none Comments: Has slow hands but a decent punch. Chin is decent but seems a little lacking in heart. * Atsushi Tamaki * Country:--Japan Style:----Boxer Fighter Weight:---Middleweight Age:------25 Height:---185.0 -6' Reach:----185.8 -73" Hand:-----Right Special Moves: none Comments: Tamaki has heavy fists, a great chin and decent heart. His footwork is good and his handspeed is decent. * Yoshiaki Yajima * Country:--Japan Style:----Boxer Fighter Weight:---Middleweight Age:------24 Height:---181.3 -5'11" Reach:----181.8 -71" Hand:-----Right Special Moves: corkscrew Comments: Yajima has good speed and heart but is easily hurt and seems to punch a little light. Looks a lot smaller to me than the other Middleweights/Jr. Middleweights for some reason. * Takaaki Ito * Country:--Japan Style:----Boxer Fighter Weight:---Middleweight Age:------25 Height:---185.0 -6' Reach:----185.8 -73" Hand:-----Right Special Moves: None Comments: Ito has excellent speed and heavy hands. His chin and heart are very good or better. * David Eagle * Country:--United States Style:----Boxer Fighter Weight:---Middleweight Age:------25 Height:---184.5 -6" Reach:----185.5 -74" Hand:-----Right Special Moves: Slow Battle Momentary Battle Comments: Eagle has the best punch in the game (well, except for the bear) and very good footwork and handspeed. Has excellent heart and is hard to knock down but seems to get hurt too easily. 4.8 Heavyweight Fighters (1 unique fighter) --------------------------------------------------- * Bear * Country:--Japan Style:----Bear Weight:---Heavyweight Age:------9 Height:---203 -6'7" Reach:----180.2 -80" Hand:-----Right Special Moves: slow battle Comments: The bear has the strongest punch in the game. Aside from that, he's slow, has a poor chin and no heart. ******************* 5.0 Ranking Methodology ***************** Basically, I started by taking a solid, middle tier fighter, Sanada for the featherweights, as a measuring standard to gauge the other fighter's skills. I fought against him with every other fighter in the division and wrote my opinions on the given boxer that I'd used in the comments section after the fight. Power and speed are pretty easy to gauge. However, chin, heart and stamina seem to be interrelated to a large degree, so it'd be better to take my comments on these with a grain of salt. After that, I then ran a division wide computer tournament and used it, along with my fighter notes and some computer exhibition matches, to place the fighters into skill brackets. The computer AI works better with some fighting styles than other, so I had to factor that in, also. ******* 6.0 Computer AI and Tournaments ********** -The computer AI is excellent. It's what makes the VB series so great. It does have its quirks and flaws, though. It is improabably efficient at countering and not as good at using footwork. This is why Martinez is so difficult to beat, whereas the computer controlled Ryo isn't nearly as tough as he could be. I also think that the AI doesn't jab nearly enough, particularly when controlling boxer type fighters or go to the body enough when controlling fighters. In computer controlled matches, this will put some fighters at a real disadvantage. -Fighters from lower weight classes are at a big disadvantage when fighting the higher weight classes. Jr. lightweight Ryo will almost always cream featherweight Ryo, in usually in less than 1 round, for example. Because of the talent in the bantamweight division and the relative lack of it in the light/jr.lightweight divisions, it's usually not much of a problem for the bantamweight through the lightweight classes, but only the better fighters in these divisions will do well against the lower ranked fighters in the divisions above lightweight. -Use a seeding system that accounts for skill when placing your boxers in tournaments, otherwise the best fighters can end up knocking each other out of contention in the early rounds. I've been using ALJ Tournament Maker program while writing this guide, which is a free download. -Putting Martinez or Hayami into a featherweight tournament will spoil the results. ******** 7.0 Credits ***************** The section on blocking is taken from posts on the gamefaqs board by mpw1234 and Mr. Bo Jangles. Mr. Bo Jangles explained how to block punches with the punch buttons. Until I read that post, I'd been confused as to why my fighter would seemingly randomly block and parry punches. mpw1234 explained the exact way that the block button was used. ******** 8.0 Random Facts ********** -If Nekota fought Anderson in 1947, the story mode would end around 1995 (based on the difference in age between young and old Nekota.) -Sometimes an opponent will stick his fist out as he's going down. If this connects, it counts as a punch and can knock a fighter down. ********* 9.0 Stuff To Do ************ -Charts for the fighters stats and special moves. -Expanded combo section. (I'd espescially appreciate any suggestions or possible improvements on this section.) -Find out what Imae's "about face" move does. -More information on the "heartbreak punch." --Thanks for reading and more to come. -N.B.