================================================ FIRE PROWRESTLING D CHARACTER GUIDE: ROB VAN DAM ================================================ Version 1.1 by Bill Wood (billwood661@attbi.com) Last modified: 3/31/02 Fire ProWrestling D (c) 2001 Spike/VAiLL NOTE: This guide views and prints best with a monospace typeface. =================== ==VERSION HISTORY== =================== 1.1 - Combos added to Strategy, courtesy of Richard Bownes. Additional RVD re-edit info added, courtesy of ViperMask. 1.0 - Initial release of the guide. ===================== ==TABLE OF CONTENTS== ===================== SECTION 1: HISTORY OF ROB VAN DAM SECTION 2: SKILL AND PARAMETER STATS SECTION 3: MOVELIST SECTION 4: STRATEGY SECTION 5: RE-EDITING RVD SECTION 6: CLOSING ===================================== ==SECTION 1: HISTORY OF ROB VAN DAM== ===================================== Call him Mr. PPV. Call him Mr. Monday Night. Call him the Whole F'n Show. Call him what you will, Rob Van Dam is one of pro wrestling's hottest stars. He's worked his way through the tough U.S. and Japan indy wrestling circuits up to the main events of the World Wrestling Federation, where he's held both the Hardcore and Intercontinental titles. RVD first gained attention from the masses during his ECW days, where his death-defying leaps into the audience made him a human highlight reel. His finisher, the Van Daminator, became notorious for its stiff impact (it also became one of the more requested Fire Pro D add-on moves by U.S. fans). And his bouts with Jerry Lynn are the stuff legends are made of. Perhaps the most amazing thing about RVD is that he never seems out of his environment, be it an All Japan tag match with Misawa, a hardcore ECW match with Sabu, or a WWF Heavyweight bout with Steve Austin. And here's something you may or may not know; RVD is supposedly a real life fan of the Fire Pro series! ======================================== ==SECTION 2: SKILL AND PARAMETER STATS== ======================================== SKILL ----- Real Name...Rob Van Dam (Rob Szatkowski) FPD Name......................Log Random Promotion...........................WWF* FPD Promotion..................Freelance Size...............................Small Class...............................Free Height............................180 cm Weight............................103 kg Country..........................America Birthdate.....................12.18.1966 Stance.............................Lucha Offensive Skill...................Junior Return Skill..................Technician Critical Type...................Finisher Special Skill.......................None Recovery..........................Medium Recovery (when bleeding)..........Medium Respiratory........................Above Respiratory (when bleeding).......Medium Awareness.........................Medium Awareness (when bleeding).........Medium Neck Strength.......................High Arm Strength......................Medium Waist Strength......................High Foot Strength.....................Medium Movement Speed...............Medium Fast Ascend Speed........................Fast Ascend Skill........................Jump * = Rob Van Dam was not employed by the WWF when Fire Pro D was released. PARAMETER - OFFENSE PARAMETER - DEFENSE ------------------- ------------------- Punch.............4 Punch.............5 Kick..............6 Kick..............6 Suplex............3 Suplex............4 Submission........2 Submission........3 Stretch...........3 Stretch...........5 Power.............3 Flying............7 Instant-P.........8 Crush.............3 Arm Power.........3 Vs Lariat.........2 Technical.........6 Technical.........6 Rough.............6 Rough.............7 Ground............3 Ground............2 TOTAL SKILL POINTS (on a scale from 0-300): 142 ======================= ==SECTION 3: MOVELIST== ======================= NOTE: This movelist is my direct translation of the Japanese Fire Pro D 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]. STRIKES ------- Standing (X).....................................Punch Standing (A)...............................Middle Kick Standing (B) + d-pad.....................Rolling Sobat Standing (B).................................Spin Kick Standing (X) + (A)...................Jumping High Kick Running (X)...................................Toe Kick Running (A)..........................Flying Kneel Kick Running Counter (X)........................Knuckle Pat Running Counter (A)..........................SPIN KICK [S] Running to corner..........................Monkey Flip GRAPPLES -------- Grapple (X)..............................Knuckle Arrow Grapple (X) + Up.............................Body Slam Grapple (X) + Left/Right...................Flying Mare Grapple (X) + Down............Axe Kick to back of neck Grapple (A).........................Multiple Mid Kicks Grapple (A) + Up...........................Brainbuster Grapple (A) + Left/Right...................Side Suplex Grapple (A) + Down...........................Spin Kick Grapple (B).........................Rolling Prawn Hold Grapple (B) + Up.................CHOP TO CROWN OF HEAD [S] Grapple (B) + Left/Right............Fisherman's Suplex Grapple (B) + Down.....................Avalanche Press Grapple (X) + (A)............Gotch (Cradle) Piledriver Back Grapple (X).....................Flying Kneel Kick Back Grapple (A)..............................Backdrop Back Grapple (B)....................Rolling Prawn Hold Back Grapple (B) + Up/Down...............Backslide Pin Back Grapple (B) + Left/Right............German Suplex Back Grapple (X) + (A)..............German Suplex Whip Back Grapple Counter (X)....................Elbow Butt Back Grapple Counter (A).................Kangaroo Kick OPPONENT DOWN MOVES ------------------- Opponent Face Up at Head (A).........Flying Body Press Opponent Face Up at Head (B)...............Sunset Flip Opponent Face Up at Feet (A).............Moonsault Pin Opponent Face Up at Feet (B).............Kick to groin Opponent Face Down at Head (A)............Camel Clutch Opponent Face Down at Head (B).........Guillotine Drop Opponent Face Down at Feet (A)...............Half Crab Opponent Face Down at Feet (B)................Stomping Running at Downed Opponent (B).............Sunset Flip MOUNT MOVES ----------- Mount Position (X).................Mount Knuckle Arrow Mount Position (A)....................Mount Elbow Butt Mount Position (B).........................Boston Crab Mount Position Counter.................Front Neck Lock Front Facelock Attack (X)...................Face Punch Front Facelock Attack (A)..............Front Neck Lock Front Facelock Attack (B)...................Piledriver Front Facelock Attack Counter...............Hammerlock Back Mount Position (X).......Back Mount Knuckle Arrow Back Mount Position (A)...............Back Mount Elbow Back Mount Position (B)..................Choke Sleeper Back Mount Position Counter.........Rolling Prawn Hold POST AND APRON MOVES -------------------- Post (X)........................Diving Guillotine Drop Post (A)...................................FROG SPLASH [S] Post (B)..................................Missile Kick Post (X) + (A).........................FIREBIRD SPLASH [S] Run-Up Post vs Standing (X).......................none Run-Up Post vs Downed (A).........................none Corner Grapple (B) + Up...........Aval. Frankensteiner Corner Grapple (B) + Left/Right.......Horizontal Chops Corner Grapple (B) + Down.........HOLLYWOOD STAR PRESS [F] Front Avalanche Counter............Flipping Prawn Hold Back Avalanche Counter......................Body Press Apron Grapple from inside.....Stranglehold Hammer Blow Apron Grapple from outside...............Shoulder Butt Running to out of bounds.................Tope Con Hilo Slingshot to outside.......................La Quebrada Slingshot to inside..............Swan Dive Body Attack DOUBLE AND TRIPLE TEAM MOVES ---------------------------- Two Platon Front Grapple.................W.Brainbuster 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 Beatdown PERFORMANCE* ----------- Analog Stick Left..................."Number 1" gesture Analog Stick Right..........crosses arms, lowers fists Analog Stick Up......................split-legged jump Analog Stick Down.........leans head back, pumps fists * = The patented "RVD thumbs" pose is not in Fire Pro D. ======================= ==SECTION 4: STRATEGY== ======================= GENERAL STRATEGY RVD's style is a unique blend of martial arts, technical wrestling and lucha. This makes him one of Fire Pro's more versatile wrestlers. You can stick to the center of the ring and work your offense from there, or you can throw the opponent through the ropes and perform some of the crazier stunts. Such is the diversity of RVD. My preference with Van Dam is to start with some basic strikes and grapples, then switch to working outside the ring to really wear the opponent down, and finally toss 'em back in the ring for some high-flying moves (Frog Splash) and corner grapples (Hollywood Star Press). STRIKES Seeing that most of his strike attacks are kicks, you'll be using your feet a lot with RVD. You'll want to use the Middle Kick and Rolling Sobat as distance attacks, mix in the others when necessary. GRAPPLES I'll be honest -- I don't really like RVD's grapple set in Fire Pro D. It needs some tweaking (see RE-EDITING RVD). If you don't want to re-edit him, use the grapples primarily to ground your opponent so you can climb the posts. Of his default grapples, I most prefer the Fisherman's Suplex and the Cradle Piledriver, even though he doesn't really use them. COMBOS Note: These are not combos in the "fighting game" sense of the word, as grapples can be countered and opponents can recover in between moves. These combos are more akin to natural wrestling combinations for this particular wrestler. Also, unlike fighting games, Fire Pro D combos are easier to perform when the opponent is worn down as his recovery time is longer. 1) Spinning Heel Kick -> Frog Splash ============================= ==SECTION 5: RE-EDITING RVD== ============================= Although Fire Pro D's version of Rob Van Dam is decent and definitely fun to play as, most RVD fans will agree he needs to be re-edited to reflect his current WWF mid-card and main event status. Fire Pro D's RVD is based upon his years in ECW and as an indy worker in Japan. This special section is devoted to creating a more accurate and up- to-date version of RVD. If you need help making edits, refer to Frank James Chan's FPD guide or my FPD Beginner's Guide. Let me first say one thing; when it comes to wrestlers, RVD is as diverse as they come. Everyone has seen him perform different moves at one time or another. That means there is no 'right' or 'wrong' way to re-edit him, as long as you keep it realistic. If you've seen him do the Superkick and want to make it his Grapple (X) + (A) move, go right ahead. Just don't inflate his Punch stats to 10 or give him the Giant Chokeslam! =) One minor problem is that RVD has several unique moves (Rolling Thunder, Van Daminator) that aren't in Fire Pro D. If possible, try to find a suitable substitute for them. Thanks to the following for their contributions to this section: * Ant 718 * Pink Spider * tokerblue * ViperMask * AxxB * gbomber * the crazyest Ant718 has a premade RVD edit at the following link, just in case you don't feel like doing all the work yourself! =) http://www.booyaka.com/games/vmu/saves.fcgi/00009852.VMI STATS Here is what should change stat-wise (based on his WWF experience): Size..............................Medium Special Skill..................Superstar PARAMETER - OFFENSE PARAMETER - DEFENSE ------------------- ------------------- Punch.............4 Punch.............5 Kick..............8 Kick..............6 Suplex............4 Suplex............4 Submission........3 Submission........3 Stretch...........3 Stretch...........5 Power.............4 Flying............7 Instant-P.........9 Crush.............4 Arm Power.........3 Vs Lariat.........3 Technical.........6 Technical.........6 Rough.............4 Rough.............7 Ground............2 Ground............2 MOVES Make the Frog Splash (which he already has) his finisher. The split- legged moonsault (Hollywood Star Press) is his default finisher. Other move suggestions include giving RVD add-on moves such as the Londart Kangaroo Kick and the Superkick (Sweet Chin Music). In addition, ViperMask has submitted a list of how RVD's regular moveset could be edited: "I left the X+A move (Kawada Style Enzuigiri) at default even though he doesn't use it. Well just once against Lance Storm on Heat when Storm was climbing the ropes. Changing to Spinning Once Dropkick is optional. Running Counter X, Spin Kick and specialty on the Spin Kick was eliminated. Running Counter A, Spinning Once Dropkick because he has been using that on WWF TV. X+A from the Top Rope, Tope Con Hilo since he used that move a few times. Grapple X, elbow strike - He used the elbow strikes more on WWF TV. Grapple A + Left/Right, Leg Catch Enzuigiri - Same reason above. Grapple A + Down, Manhattan Drop - Same reason again. Grapple B, Sweet Chin Music - He uses the Superkick a lot on WWF TV. Grapple B+Up, Huracanrana - Same reason. Grapple B+Left/Right, Northern Lights Suplex - He used this move mostly in ECW, a few times against Jerry Lynn. Grapple B+Down, Reverse Tiger Driver - He used a modified version of it in ECW on one of the members of the Insane Clown Posse at Hardcore Heaven '97. Grapple X+A, Fisherman Buster - Used this move in ECW, A LOT in his match vs. Sabu in the Stretcher Match. Opponent Face Down at Head (A), Dou Jimi Sleeper - He used this move ONLY ONCE on Smackdown vs. Kurt Angle during the Alliance angle. Besides it looks better than the Camel Clutch. Opponent Face Up at Head (B), Guillotine Drop - 360 Leg Drop replacement. Double Team and Triple Team moves remain the same. Taunts remain the same. Except I switched the Analog Stick Left and Analog Stick Up. After all of the move changes, you probably need to redo his CPU logic. But I haven't done one yet. ====================== ==SECTION 6: CLOSING== ====================== In closing, I would like to thank: * ViperMask, who borrowed my formatting for his great Tiger Mask FAQ. In return I borrowed some of his! =) Also, props to ViperMask for contributing a ton of helpful RVD re-edit info. * Everyone on the GameFAQs FPD message board who contributed RVD edit stats and suggestions. * Richard Bownes for combo contributions. * www.puroresu.com and www.wwf.com for historical reference. * www.gswf.org for Skill and Parameter stats. * CJayC and GameFAQs for hosting this guide. Fire ProWrestling D Character Guide: Rob Van Dam (c)2002 Bill Wood