Victorious Boxers 2 : Fighting Spirit
General Game Tactics with Boxer Rankings, Statistics, and Profiles
6/11/2007
v. 1.0
HonestHans
[email protected]
********* 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.
