Guidebook #29: NJPW Toukon Road Brave Spirits - Manual scans
Mar 25, 2024 16:47:59 GMT
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Post by Shadow Master on Mar 25, 2024 16:47:59 GMT
New Japan Pro-Wrestling - Toukon Road Brave Spirits - Game manual
Platform: N64
Year: 1998
Developed by: Hudson Soft
Pages: 43
The guides keep coming. Today's entry revisits Toukon Road Brave Spirits; New Japan Pro-Wrestling's first crossover into N64 territory.
While TOMY handled past Toukon adaptations on the PS1, it was Hudson Soft who developed Brave Spirits for Nintendo's 64 bit hardware.
Roster-wise, Brave Spirits features the biggest stars of New Japan Pro-Wrestling from the late 90's, along with colourful Wrestler illustrations
designed by acclaimed artist Nagatoshi Sakai.
designed by acclaimed artist Nagatoshi Sakai.
Front and back cover.
The back cover mention's Hudson's various publications. The Humor Network in particular was Hudson's monthly magazine subscription.
Apparently, Honey from the Honey Fan Club was one of Hudson's mascots in Japan, next to the more-renown Hudson bee.
Pages 2 - 3: safety instructions.
Pages 4 - 5: controller information & table of contents.
Pages 6 - 7: button configuration and match rules.
Pages 8 - 9: game modes.
Page 8: Exhibition, IWGP Tournament, Title Match, Option mode.
Page 9: Exhibition mode expanded upon:
1) Single match.
2) Tag match
3) Battle Royale
4) Sparring
Pages 10 - 11: modes continued.
IWGP Championship
1) Heavyweight
2) Tag
Page 11: Title Match mode explained with 1) and 2) player options elaborated on.
Pages 12 - 13: Options mode and it's various settings explained.
Pages 14 - 15: match techniques.
Pages 16 - 17: techniques continued.
Pages 18 - 19: defensive techniques.
Pages 20 - 21: controller pak instructions & acquiring Championship belts explained.
Pages 22 - 23: winpoint advice & the title page for the Wrestler data section.
From past uploads, it seems our community has always enjoyed whenever a guide or manual included Wrestler illustrations. Well, Brave Spirit's manual certainly
doesn't disappoint, as it includes illustrations of all 15 playable characters.
Anyone who's followed 90's NJPW has certainly seen this art style before. The illustrations were created by famous artist Nagatoshi Sakai, who has worked for
Anyone who's followed 90's NJPW has certainly seen this art style before. The illustrations were created by famous artist Nagatoshi Sakai, who has worked for
a number of Wrestling promotions and sports teams for decades.
Pages 24 - 25: Shinya Hashimoto & Keiji Mutoh.
Pages 26 - 27: Masahiro Chono & Kensuke Sasaki.
Pages 28 - 29: Riki Choshu & Tatsumi Fujinami.
Pages 30 - 31: Shiro Koshinaka & Jushin Thunder Liger.
Pages 32 - 33: Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Manabu Nakanishi
Pages 34 - 35: Satoshi Kojima & Tiger Mask.
Pages 36 - 37: Naoya Ogawa & The Great Muta.
Pages 38 - 39: Power Warrior and a page dedicated to mentioning two secret Wrestlers.
One of which is Super Strong Machine. I believe the second mystery Wrestler is supposed to be Jushin Liger's Fighting Liger alt. attire.
Pages 40 - 41 lists various Hudson accessories, such as the Bomberman Selector, and the N64 Joycard controller.
Page 42 mentions the Official Guidebook for Brave Spirits, with a stoic-looking photo of Shinya Hashimoto.
Page 43 includes more precautions to close out the manual.
Closing thoughts:
While not the most technical of Wrestling games, New Japan Pro-Wrestling had a steady presence across several platforms; continuing to
Pages 24 - 25: Shinya Hashimoto & Keiji Mutoh.
Pages 26 - 27: Masahiro Chono & Kensuke Sasaki.
Pages 28 - 29: Riki Choshu & Tatsumi Fujinami.
Pages 30 - 31: Shiro Koshinaka & Jushin Thunder Liger.
Pages 32 - 33: Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Manabu Nakanishi
Pages 34 - 35: Satoshi Kojima & Tiger Mask.
Pages 36 - 37: Naoya Ogawa & The Great Muta.
Pages 38 - 39: Power Warrior and a page dedicated to mentioning two secret Wrestlers.
One of which is Super Strong Machine. I believe the second mystery Wrestler is supposed to be Jushin Liger's Fighting Liger alt. attire.
Pages 40 - 41 lists various Hudson accessories, such as the Bomberman Selector, and the N64 Joycard controller.
Page 42 mentions the Official Guidebook for Brave Spirits, with a stoic-looking photo of Shinya Hashimoto.
Page 43 includes more precautions to close out the manual.
Closing thoughts:
While not the most technical of Wrestling games, New Japan Pro-Wrestling had a steady presence across several platforms; continuing to
license titles into the new millennium. The 15 Wrestler roster was underwhelming when compared to THQ's and HUMAN's offerings that
same year, yet allowed players to play as official likenesses of Tiger Mask, Jushin Liger and members of NWO Japan.
The success of Brave Spirits would warrant the release of a sequel titled Toukon Road 2 - The Next Generation for the N64.
Thanks for reading!
same year, yet allowed players to play as official likenesses of Tiger Mask, Jushin Liger and members of NWO Japan.
The success of Brave Spirits would warrant the release of a sequel titled Toukon Road 2 - The Next Generation for the N64.
Thanks for reading!