================================================ FIRE PROWRESTLING D CHARACTER GUIDE: AKIRA MAEDA ================================================ by GokuKenshiro (supercrazyninja@aol.com) note: If you e-mail me, please write "FPWD" and the wrestler's name on the subject. I also accept any other strategies. Original Character Guide Format by Bill Wood Version 1.0 Fire ProWrestling D (c) 2001 Spike/VAiLL =================== =TABLE OF CONTENTS= =================== SECTION 1: HISTORY OF AKIRA MAEDA SECTION 2: SKILL AND PARAMETER STATS SECTION 3: MOVELIST SECTION 4: STRATEGY SECTION 5: CLOSING *NOTE* Akira Maeda is unlockable by completing any mode in Victory Road ====================================== ====SECTION 1: HISTORY OF AKIRA MAEDA ====================================== "Shoot" If Nobuhiko Takada carried the future of Mixed Martial Arts on his shoulders, then Akira Maeda was the one who gave him the load. Without Akira Maeda, "shoot" wrestling would not have existed nor helped set the standards for the evolution of shoot fighting. Before Maeda became a wrestler, he was already an accomplished karateka. Once he entered the world of professional wrestling, he was already considered to be the successor of Antonio Inoki. Maeda destested the fact that he would have to lose. Maeda left New Japan and created the UWF, an orgaization with "shoot" matches. (Pre-determined results with real hits and bruises). Maeda became top star but trouble started brewing between him and Satoru "Tiger Mask" Sayama for power in the federation. The conflict would reach its peak during a match between both men as Maeda kept attacking Sayama's groin until the match was stopped as both men were about to seriously fight. Sayama would soon leave the federation and UWF would soon close its doors. Maeda would return to New Japan along with the rest of UWF and invade the promotion. As successful as it was, Maeda still was still hard to work with, as he caused mny problems during his time in New Japan. He almost went into another true fight, this time with Andre the Giant. Later, when he re-opened UWF, he pissed off Riki Chosu and gave a massive stiff kick to Tatsumi Fujinami. After UWF closed once more, Maeda decided to create RINGS, another shoot promotion with many European and Japanese fighters. RINGS would become quite popular and the aging Maeda would be its star once more. He risked his health many times in order for the promotion to rise. With bad knees, Maeda had his final match against the once-invincible Russian Olympic Gold-Medalist Aleksandr Karelin, losing to the gold medalist. With the rise of PRIDE and K-1, RINGS closed their doors in Japan, with only one area in Europe still running. Now retired and still busy, Maeda's legacy will live on as the father of shoot wrestling and another legend in the MMA books. ======================================== ==SECTION 2: SKILL AND PARAMETER STATS== ======================================== SKILL ----- Real Name......................Akira Maeda FPD Name.......................Akira Saeba Promotion............................RINGS FPD Promotion........................GONGS Size.................................Large Class................................Heavy Height..............................192 cm Weight..............................115 kg Country..............................Japan Birthdate.......................01.24.1959 Stance.............................Shooter Offensive Skill....................Shooter Return Skill.......................Shooter Critical Type.....................Striking Special Skill.............One Hit Finisher Recovery............................Medium Recovery (when bleeding)............Medium Respiratory.........................Medium Respiratory (when bleeding).........Medium Awareness...........................Medium Awareness (when bleeding)...........Strong Neck Strength.........................High Arm Strength..........................High Waist Strength......................Medium Foot Strength..........................Low Movement Speed......................Medium Ascend Speed..........................Slow Ascend Skill............................No PARAMETER - OFFENSE PARAMETER - DEFENSE ------------------- ------------------- Punch.............6 Punch.............8 Kick..............8 Kick..............8 Throw.............8 Throw.............4 Submission........8 Submission........8 Stretch...........7 Stretch...........8 Power.............5 Flying............3 Instant-P.........6 Crush.............3 Arm Power.........5 vs Lariat.........2 Technical.........6 Technical.........5 Rough.............8 Rough.............9 Ground............6 Ground............6 TOTAL SKILL POINTS (on a scale from 0-300): 208 ======================= ==SECTION 3: MOVELIST== ======================= Note: Currently, i'm using Fire Pro Z as my guide for this. If anything does not translate well into D, please tell me ASAP. Specialty moves are marked with [S]. Finisher is marked with [F]. Critical! moves are marked with [C]. STRIKES ------- Standing (X)...............................................Low Kick Standing (A)...............................................Mid Kick Standing (B) + d-pad......................................High Kick [C] Standing (B).........................................Two Leg Tackle Standing (X) + (A)...................................BIG KNEEL KICK [S] Running (X)..........................................Two Leg Tackle Running (A).......................................Flying Kneel Kick Running Counter (X).......................................Go Behind Running Counter (A).................................Fujiwara Armbar Running to corner..............................................none GRAPPLES -------- Grapple (X)..............................................Body Punch Grapple (X) + Up.....................................Body Knee Lift Grapple (X) + Left/Right..................................Hard Knee Grapple (X) + Down.........................................Low Kick Grapple (A).................................Machine Gun Knee (Body) Grapple (A) + Up...........................................Kubinage Grapple (A) + Left/Right.................................Haraikoshi Grapple (A) + Down..................................Body Punch Rush Grapple (B).........................................Front Neck Lock Grapple (B) + Up....................................HIgh Kick Combo [C] Grapple (B) + Left/Right...............................Shouda Combo [C] Grapple (B) + Down.........................................CAPTURED [F] Grapple (X) + (A)........................................Foot Sweep Back Grapple (X)...........................................Leg Trip Back Grapple (A)....................................Enzui High Kick Back Grapple (B).................................Choke Sleeper Hold Back Grapple (B) + Up/Down........................Twisting Backdrop Back Grapple (B) + Left/Right.........................German Suplex Back Grapple (X) + (A)..................................Back Tackle Back Grapple Counter (X).................................Elbow Drop Back Grapple Counter (A)............................Fujiwara Armbar OPPONENT DOWN MOVES ------------------- Opponent Face Up at Head (A)...................Chickenwing Facelock Opponent Face Up at Feet (A)...................Achilles Tendon Hold Opponent Face Down at Head (A)..........................Kata-Hajime Opponent Face Down at Feet (A)...........................ANKLE HOLD [S] Opponent Face Up at Head (B)....................Chickenwing Armlock Opponent Face Down at Feet (B).......................Guard Position Opponent Face Up at Feet (B)....................Back Mount Position Opponent Face Down at Head (B)...........................Ankle Lock Running at Downed Opponent (B).................................none MOUNT MOVES ----------- Mount Position (X).....................................Mount Shouda [C] Mount Position (A)....................................Shoulder Hold Mount Position (B)........................................Heel Hold Mount Position Counter..............................Front Neck Lock Front Facelock Attack (X)........................Standing Knee Lift Front Facelock Attack (A)...........................FRONT NECK LOCK [S] Front Facelock Attack (B)................................Back Mount Front Facelock Attack Counter............................Leg Tackle Back Mount Position (X)...........................Back Mount Shouda [C] Back Mount Position (A)....................TORSO WRAP CHOKE SLEEPER [S] Back Mount Position (B)...........................Crucifix Arm Hold Back Mount Position Counter............................Under Escape POST AND APRON MOVES -------------------- Post (X).......................................................none Post (A).......................................................none Post (B).......................................................none Post (X) + (A).................................................none Run-Up Post vs Standing (X)....................................none Run-Up Post vs Downed (A)......................................none Corner Grapple (B) + Up.......................Kushi-zashi Knee Lift Corner Grapple (B) + Left/Right...............Kushi-zashi Body Blow Corner Grapple (B) + Down.....................Kushi-zashi Knee Lift Apron Grapple from inside......................................Hook Apron Grapple from outside.....................................Hook Front Avalanche Counter......................................Shouda Back Avalanche Counter...............................Backhand Elbow Running to out of bounds.......................................none Slingshot to outside...........................................none Slingshot to inside............................................none DOUBLE AND TRIPLE TEAM MOVES ---------------------------- Two Platon Front Grapple.............................W. Brainbuster Two Platon Back Grapple.................................W. Backdrop Two Platon Corner.............................High Angle Piledriver Three Platon Front Grapple.......................Triple Hammer Blow Three Platon Back Grapple........................Triple Hammer Blow Three Platon Corner..............................Triple Hammer Blow PERFORMANCE ----------- Analog Stick Left.................Wrist Check with Single Arm Raise Analog Stick Right...................................Two Hand Raise Analog Stick Up..............................One Finger Pointing Up Analog Stick Down.........................................Nods Head ======================= ==SECTION 4: STRATEGY== ======================= GENERAL STRATEGY Maeda is a great MMA figher in FPD. Not only does he have great striking, but he also can cripple an opponent with his submissions. If you are using Maeda for wrestling matches, stay way from Lariat crazy opponents, high flyers, and technicians. Use Maeda's low kick and mid kick as pokers, and set up a high kick for much damage. STRIKES Maeda's strikes can Critical!, either by mount, grapple, or his high kick. His strikes can lead to a quick and easy finish in hard matches. Don't blindly kick, or else Maeda will be an easy pray for mount tackles. If you want to use Maeda's kicks to set up submission damage, then follow this: Low Kick (X) : Legs Mid Kick (A) : Body, Arms High Kick (B) : Head GRAPPLES Maeda's grapples also have the power to cripple opponents. Focus on bodyt part only, as the process will take longer if you jump around from part to part. Most of his submissions target the head or legs. Combine this with kicks, and the match should end easily. Besides submissions, Maeda has throws which are handy when opponents have a low Throw rating. Stick to his (A) button throws for a while until it is possible to backdrop or suplex the opponent. Captured is an awesome move which does a lot of damage. If it's a wrestling match, use the German Suplex to pin, as it's Maeda's only pin move. ====================== ==SECTION 5: CLOSING== ====================== In closing, I'd like to give thanks to: * GameFAQS.com for hosting this FAQ and for everything they have done over the years. * Neoseeker.com for hosting as well. * www.gswf.org for Skill and Parameter stats. * Bill Wood for creating the official format for the FPW FAQs. * Cactusjack1999's movelist which helped me when I had trouble translating. * The many people whose sites helped me write Maeda's history. And I promise that there are few to no errors on this FAQ. ========================= This may be not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal, private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed publicly without advance written permission. Use of this guide on any other web site or as a part of any public display is strictly prohibited, and a violation of copyright. Copyright 2004 Carlos Osegueda