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FIRE PROWRESTLING Z CHARACTER GUIDE: AKITOSHI SAITO
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for Sony PlayStation 2 (Japan)
Version 1.1
by Bill Wood (
[email protected])
Last modified: 8/5/03
Fire ProWrestling Z (c) 2003 Spike
NOTE: This guide views and prints best with a monospace typeface.
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==VERSION HISTORY==
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1.0 - Minor corrections.
1.0 - Initial release of the guide.
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==TABLE OF CONTENTS==
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SECTION 1: HISTORY OF AKITOSHI SAITO
SECTION 2: SKILL AND PARAMETER STATS
SECTION 3: MOVELIST
SECTION 4: STRATEGY
SECTION 5: CLOSING
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==SECTION 1: HISTORY OF AKITOSHI SAITO==
========================================
[NOTE: Due to my lack of knowledge concerning the history of
Akitoshi Saito, I have provided his bio from puroresufan.com
here. If you want more info on today's Japanese wrestling scene
and the history behind it, I strongly suggest you visit that
site. You won't be dissapointed.]
After spending much of his early career in W*ING, Akitoshi Saito
joined New Japan, where he was part of Shiro Koshinaka's "Heisei
Ishingun" group. He left New Japan in 1998, and in late 2000, after
a couple of years of inactivity, appeared in NOAH, along with
former HI member Masashi Aoyagi.
In 2001, he obtained unparalled success, becoming Jun Akiyama's
second-in-command in STERNNESS, and winning his first major
championship when he and Akiyama captured the NOAH GHC Tag Team
Titles in September 2002.
Now a high ranking wrestler in NOAH, Saito utilizes martial arts
techniques, throwing deadly kicks and using an enzuigiri variation
known as the Sickle of Death as his finisher.
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==SECTION 2: SKILL AND PARAMETER STATS==
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SKILL
-----
Real Name.................Akitoshi Saito
FPZ Name.......................(?) Naito*
Promotion.............Pro Wrestling NOAH
FPZ Promotion.................Super Nova
Size...............................Small
Class..............................Heavy
Height............................178 cm
Weight............................108 kg
Country............................Japan
Birthdate.......................8/8/1965
Stance..........................Shooting
Offensive Skill.................Orthodox
Return Skill.......................Power
Critical Type...................Finisher
Special Skill.......................none
Recovery..........................Medium
Recovery (when bleeding)............Slow
Respiratory.......................Medium
Respiratory (when bleeding).......Medium
Awareness.........................Medium
Awareness (when bleeding)..........Below
Neck Strength........................Low
Arm Strength......................Medium
Waist Strength....................Medium
Foot Strength.....................Medium
Movement Speed....................Medium
Ascend Speed.................Medium Slow
Ascend Skill..................Can Ascend
* = His fake name is in kanji, which I can't read for the most part.
If you'd like to contribute Saito's FPZ name to this guide, e-mail me
at
[email protected] and you will be credited.
PARAMETER - OFFENSE PARAMETER - DEFENSE
------------------- -------------------
Punch.............5 Punch.............6
Kick..............8 Kick..............8
Suplex............3 Suplex............3
Submission........3 Submission........3
Stretch...........4 Stretch...........4
Power.............7 Flying............4
Instant-P.........6 Crush.............5
Arm Power.........6 Vs Lariat.........5
Technical.........2 Technical.........3
Rough.............7 Rough.............8
Ground............3 Ground............4
TOTAL SKILL POINTS (on a scale from 0-300): 127
SKILL CHANGES FROM FIRE PRO D TO FIRE PRO Z: N/A
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==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 ([])...........................Low Roundhouse
Standing (X).........................Middle Roundhouse
Standing (O) + d-pad...................High Roundhouse
Standing (O)...........................Horizontal Chop
Standing ([]) + (X)..........SICKLE OF DEATH/ENZUIGIRI [F]*
Running ([])....................................Lariat
Running (X).................................KNEEL KICK [S]
Running Counter ([])....................Low Roundhouse
Running Counter (X).......................Kitchen Sink
Running to corner...........................Back Elbow
GRAPPLES
--------
Grapple ([]).................................Elbow Pat
Grapple ([]) + Up............................Body Slam
Grapple ([]) + Left/Right..................Flying Mare
Grapple ([]) + Down.....................Body Knee Lift
Grapple (X)...................................Headlock
Grapple (X) + Up...........................Brainbuster
Grapple (X) + Left/Right.......Machine Gun Middle Kick
Grapple (X) + Down.........Mach. Gun Stomach Knee Lift
Grapple (O)............................Impact Straight
Grapple (O) + Up......................ARM SLAM/BOOKEND [S]
Grapple (O) + Left/Right..............Jumping Axe Kick
Grapple (O) + Down...........................POWERBOMB [S]
Grapple ([]) + (X)........DEATH BRAND/STEINER SCRWDRVR [S]
Back Grapple ([])..........................Middle Kick
Back Grapple (X).....................Back Brain Lariat
Back Grapple (O)..................Doujimi Sleeper Hold
Back Grapple (O) + Up/Down..................School Boy
Back Grapple (O) + Left/Right........Twisting Backdrop
Back Grapple ([]) + (X).............German Suplex Whip
Back Grapple Counter ([])....................Elbow Pat
Back Grapple Counter (X)......................Ipponzei
OPPONENT DOWN MOVES
-------------------
Opponent Face Up at Head (X)........Two Hand Press Pin
Opponent Face Up at Head (O)..........Soccer Ball Kick
Opponent Face Up at Feet (X)...........Single Leg Crab
Opponent Face Up at Feet (O)................Thigh Kick
Opponent Face Down at Head (X).......Crucifix Arm Lock
Opponent Face Down at Head (O)..............Elbow Drop
Opponent Face Down at Feet (X).......Roll over and pin
Opponent Face Down at Feet (O).............Kneebreaker
Running at Downed Opponent (O)................Stomping
MOUNT MOVES
-----------
Mount Position ([])...............Guard Position Punch
Mount Position (X)............Guard Pos. Knuckle Arrow
Mount Position (O).......................Lift Up Press
Mount Position Counter...........................Eject
Front Facelock Attack ([])..................Body Punch
Front Facelock Attack (X).........Knee Strikes to Head
Front Facelock Attack (O)...............Powerbomb Whip
Front Facelock Attack Counter..........Waterwheel Drop
Back Mount Position ([])..............Back Mount Punch
Back Mount Position (X).......Back Mount Knuckle Arrow
Back Mount Position (O)..........Doujimi Choke Sleeper
Back Mount Position Counter........Escape through legs
POST AND APRON MOVES
--------------------
Post ([])............................Diving Foot Stomp
Post (X).............................Diving Elbow Drop
Post (O)..................................Sledgehammer
Post ([]) + (X)...........................Sledgehammer
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..............Corner Stomping
Front Avalanche Counter......................Elbow Pat
Back Avalanche Counter..................Backhand Elbow
Apron Grapple from inside..........In-Ring Brainbuster
Apron Grapple from outside........................Hook
Running to out of bounds..........................none
Slingshot to outside......................Sledgehammer
Slingshot to inside...............................none
DOUBLE AND TRIPLE TEAM MOVES
----------------------------
Two Platon Front Grapple..............Double Powerbomb
Two Platon Back Grapple.....................W.Backdrop
Two Platon Corner..................Highjack Piledriver
Three Platon Front Grapple.............Triple Beatdown
Three Platon Back Grapple..............Triple Beatdown
Three Platon Corner...................Triple Powerbomb
PERFORMANCE
-----------
Analog Stick Left...............raise hands above head
Analog Stick Right...........quick throat slit gesture
Analog Stick Up............raises arms with mouth open
Analog Stick Down.............points upward (Ipponzei)
* = The Sickle of Death finisher is simply a standard enzuigiri in
FPZ. There is no new animation for it.
MOVELIST CHANGES FROM FIRE PRO D TO FIRE PRO Z: N/A
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==SECTION 4: STRATEGY==
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GENERAL STRATEGY
Akitoshi Saito is a very strange amalgam in FPZ. He's a small guy
with a great set of kicks at his disposal, not unlike the "martial
artist" description in his bio. But he also has a decent offensive
Power rating (7), the "Power" return skill, and a Powerbomb special.
This is uncharacteristic for this type of wrestler.
Still Saito isn't particularly exceptional in FPZ, save for his
awesome kick arsenal. To win frequently, you should distance yourself
and time your kicks accurately. You can usually catch the CPU as
he's walking in for the grapple, but if you're against a human
opponent that knows your gameplan, this could be tough.
His low ratings in Suplex, Submission and Technical mean that a lot
of Saito's basic wrestling moves won't be very effective, which
could spell trouble, especially in a long match. He's also poorly
equipped defensively in those areas, so you'll want to make extra
sure you're not losing a lot of grapples, otherwise Saito may end up
with his shoulders pinned to the mat.
Saito has good offensive/defensive Rough stats, but since it's tough
to determine exactly what moves in his moveset qualify as "rough"
(aren't _all_ pro wrestling moves supposed to be rough?), you may
may want to ignore this factor.
So to recap; (a) use distance and striking as opposed to grappling;
(b) if you get caught up in an unavoidable grapple war, make sure
you dominate.
STRIKES
Remember this: Saito's kicks are by far his best offense. The good
news is that four of his five standing strikes are kicks, plus a few
of his grapples lead to kicks as well. Some of his "opponent down"
are also kicks. There's no shortage of kicks for you to use.
Also note Saito's 8 defensive Kick rating. This is a plus as it means
he can take some punishment here, even if he's going back and forth
trading blows with his opponent.
Saito's enzuigiri finisher is a standing strike, but don't just throw
it out there randomly, hoping for a "CRITICAL!". This will only serve
to wear Saito down prematurely, as you'll probably miss more often
than not. Instead, wear your opponent down to the point where you
can pick him so he's in a standing dazed position, then execute.
GRAPPLES
Akitoshi Saito's grapple moves are nothing to write home about, it's
pretty much a basic FPZ type of moveset, with the default Body Slam,
Flying Mare (Snapmare), Brainbuster, etc. So if you feel the need to
work a more grapple-oriented match, don't expect a lot of flash.
Having three specials in the strong grapple set would lead you to
believe this is the way to go, but not necessarily so. If you're
dominating your opponent, go right ahead and do as you please, but
in a close contest, don't focus on the specials as it's not worth
losing the occasional grapple or having a move reversed.
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==SECTION 5: CLOSING==
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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: Akitoshi Saito
(c)2003 Bill Wood
