Fire Pro-Wrestling 2nd Bout secrets

Shadow Master
Super Kaiser

***Legendary Fire Pro Historian***

Posts: 1,628

Fire Pro-Wrestling 2nd Bout secrets Apr 15, 2024 21:04:06 GMT

Quote

Post by Shadow Master on Apr 15, 2024 21:04:06 GMT

Today, I was going through the roster of Fire Pro-Wrestling 2nd Bout, and discovered a strange hidden Wrestler in 2nd Bout's
code 31 years later.

Using the Magic Engine emulator, input the code F820BC20 to play as the weirdest playable character to ever appear in a Fire
Pro game...

....the 2nd Bout Championship belt.

The character portrait of the mystery Wrestler is just a glitched out icon of the belt found in 2nd Bout's Super
Tournament mode.

The name of the Mystery Wrestler is 'Musashi'; the name of standard character Victory Musashi (Antonio Inoki).

Despite being named after Inoki, the mystery character instead uses the sprite and moveset of Thunder Ryu
(Genichiro Tenryu); another standard character that is already part of 2nd Bout's roster.

In most Fire Pro entries, Victory Musashi/Antonio Inoki is the default character. It seems HUMAN were in
the process of creating a new Wrestler, that just so happened to use Genichiro Tenryu's sprite as a template
...yet didn't get around to renaming the Wrestler yet.

It's hard to say which Wrestler HUMAN were going to create next with this character (if any for that matter).
The closest Wrestler that comes to mind with an Enzuigiri and a Lariat at his disposal would be Fighter
Yamato (Tatsumi Fujinami), who would mark his debut in the followup Fire Pro titles: Super Fire Pro-Wrestling
2 on the Super Famicom, and Fire Pro Wrestling 3: Legend Bout on the PC Engine the following year.

Ultimately, I think the belt sprite was used as a placeholder for an unfinished Wrestler portrait. Much the

same way as the mystery character in Combination Tag used the pause symbol.

Humorously, it is possible to win World Championship mode with the belt. The belt even gets it's own ending
...next to another 2nd Bout belt.

Completing Pro-mode (the second playthrough of World Championship mode) offers the second ending
with the mystery character, too.

The final match against Mask De Panther (Tiger Mask) is also possible; meaning this glitch character

is far more stable than extra character found in HUMAN's previous Fire Pro title.

Last Edit: Apr 16, 2024 0:58:21 GMT by Shadow Master

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Shadow Master
Super Kaiser

***Legendary Fire Pro Historian***

Posts: 1,628

Fire Pro-Wrestling 2nd Bout secrets Apr 16, 2024 1:54:49 GMT

Quote

Post by Shadow Master on Apr 16, 2024 1:54:49 GMT

There are four hidden boss characters in 2nd Bout. All of which can be unlocked in specific modes without hacking the game.

To play as the hidden bosses in Excite Series mode:

Carlos Krauzer - Hold Down + Select and press Button 1.

Great Panther - Hold Left + Select and press Button 1.

RJ Phaze - Hold Up + Select and press Button 1.

Rikiouzan - Hold Right + Select and press Button 1.

To play as the hidden bosses in Elimination Match mode:

Carlos Krauzer - Hold Down + Select and press Button II.

Great Panther - Hold Left + Select and press Button II.

RJ Phaze - Hold Up + Select and press Button II.

Rikiouzan - Hold Right + Select and press Button II.

Additionally, you can also select the hidden bosses in Super Tournament mode by inputting
the following code:

At the Super Tournament number of players select screen, hold Button 2 and press Up 5 times,
Right 7 times, Down 3 times and Left 6 times.

____________________________________________________________________________

By normal means, the hidden boss characters were never intended to be used in World Championship mode.
Though, through the use of hacking, I just received these codes via email by a longtime contributor and

hacking friend that allows players to do just that:

P1 Wrestler Modifier
F820BC:X

0 Victory Musashi
1 Akira Saeba
2 Hurricane Rikimaru
3 Tommy Bomber
4 Thunder Ryu
5 Mr. K.
6 Blade Musha
7 Crusher Hatamoto
8 Knack Masakatsu
9 Black Kajiwara
10 Super Kaizer
11 Masked Unicorn
12 Atomic Blaster
13 Ax Morgan
14 Star Bison
15 Hitman Saber
16 RJ Phaze
17 Carlos Krauzer
18 Rikiouzan
19 Great Panther

To modify tag teams:

1) Input the specific player modifier code for player 1 before selecting any character.
2) Once you have input the code, return to your game and select a character.
3) Now, while still on the character selection screen, input the player modifier code for player 2.

If done correctly, both team members will now be switched to whichever characters you chose.

Using the above player modifier codes, I was able to beat the last regular team in World Championship with the two
hidden bosses Great Panther and Rikiouzan. All in just under a minute, no less!

Once all of the regular opponents are defeated in the second playthrough of World Championship/Pro Mode,
the player(s) come face to face with the hidden bosses.

Since I'm already using two of the bosses, the game glitches and provides a tag team of standard Wrestlers

in their place.

I never thought I'd be able to beat World Championship with any of the hidden bosses; yet, with the correct
player modifier code, it's now possible.

I was expecting the other two bosses RJ Phaze and Carlos Krauzer to appear as the final opponents.
Instead, I was greeted to a clone match with the same hidden bosses.

Final team complete, the game is finished.

Considering how stable these characters are, it's a shame that the hidden bosses weren't usable
in World Championship mode. Great Panther was a blast to play as. Dropping Moonsaults and

Flying Crosschops was just too satisfying.

Last Edit: May 29, 2024 19:19:02 GMT by Shadow Master

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Shadow Master
Super Kaiser

***Legendary Fire Pro Historian***

Posts: 1,628

Fire Pro-Wrestling 2nd Bout secrets Apr 16, 2024 16:16:59 GMT

Quote

Post by Shadow Master on Apr 16, 2024 16:16:59 GMT

Continuing to delve into 2nd Bout's code, I found 7 more characters.

#1) Hopscotch Hogan

By entering the code F820BC21 via the Magic Engine emulator, players can use this peculiar Wrestling oddity.

The character's portrait seems to be made of unused graphics. Most likely intended to keep score in the Elimination
Match or Super Tournament modes. To me however, the graphics look like a game of Hopscotch.

The mystery character's name is 'Saeba', which recycles the name of standard character Akira Saeba (Akira Maeda).
The sprite and moveset used for this character is Ax Morgan (Hulk Hogan).

Defeating opponents turns Hopscotch's portrait hot pink. Maybe the sight of blood excites the

mysterious Hopscotch. I was too afraid to ask...

#2) Shadow Man

A character so dark and mysterious, his portrait has never been taken. Yet, the influence of his

enigmatic presence is so strong that it has seeped beyond his portrait borders and into the

Wrestler's name box.

To use this mysterious competitor, input the code: F820BC22

The character uses the name 'Rikimaru'; short for Hurricane Rikimaru (Riki Choshu). Shadow Man uses the
sprite/moveset of Big Van Vader.

As the pre-match screen fades away, Shadow Man's character portrait morphs into the sprite of the belt seen at
the end of World Championship mode for a brief second.

#3 Pink Tommy

Using the code F820BC23 unlocks Pink Tommy. A character who uses the name of Tommy Bomber
(Jumbo Tsuruta). The sprite and moveset is that of Shinya Hashimoto

Being quite a nuisance, this glitchy character even affects the character portraits of it's respective
opponents; taking Victory Musashi's portrait, turning it red like Satan, and then leaving a morsel
of it over the glitch character's own portrait.

Weird.

#4 Pink Thunder

The further we delve into unused character space, the higher the amount of graphical garbage we
are set to encounter.

This character uses the name of Thunder Ryu (Genichiro Tenryu); the second mystery character

to recycle Tenryu in 2nd Bout. The code to use this character is F820BC24

Move and sprite-wise: Pink Thunder uses Akira Maeda.

The next address F820BC26 crashes the game with a black screen.

#5 Static Musha

This glitch-esque monstrosity could be the world's first QR Code. The character takes it's name
from Blade Musha (Great Muta). Though, the in-game character is Antonio Inoki.

F820BC26 lets you play as him.

#6 Chocolate Bar Hashimoto

Looking like an oversized chocolate bar, this glitchy character uses the placeholder name of
Hatamoto (short for player Crusher Hatamoto [Shinya Hashimoto]).

The Wrestler sprite is once again Antonio Inoki. The code to use this character is F820BC27

On the plus size, this glitch character seems to be sharing pieces of the snack with his
opponent. How thoughtful...

The next addresses:

F820BC28,
F820BC29,

and F820BC30 all lead to the game crashing with horrific background music playing in the background.

#7 Pink Unicorn

The last glitchy character. Use F820BC31 to access him.

The character uses the name Unicorn (Masked Unicorn - Pegasus Kid); with the sprite and

moveset of Jumbo Tsuruta.

After 31 in the player address, the roster loops (glitchy characters included) until reaching #255.

With the glitchy nature of these characters, and no extra effort applied to the sprites/movesets themselves,
I can't say if these addresses were intended to be used as unfinished characters; or just the byproduct of
extra space leftover on the cartridge.

All of the glitchy characters seem to be fully-functioning; which says a lot about HUMAN applying more

effort to create a stable sequel to Combination Tag from a programming standpoint. Additionally, I've

also noticed that none of the hidden bosses were used as templates for the glitched characters.

So, character-wise, there's nothing truly special about this release. By default, players had an extra

two characters added to the roster, bumping the grand total up to 20; an impressive number for the

PC Engine back in 1991.

Last Edit: Apr 17, 2024 3:16:43 GMT by Shadow Master

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Shadow Master Super Kaiser *Legendary Fire Pro Historian* Posts: 1,628	Fire Pro-Wrestling 2nd Bout secrets Apr 17, 2024 2:50:53 GMT Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top Post by Shadow Master on Apr 17, 2024 2:50:53 GMT Update: it's possible to beat World Championship series (1st run) with the extra glitched characters. Feeling like a champion, glitch character 'Hopscotch Hogan''s portrait turned from white to yellow.
	Like my work and want to support me? Please check out my Patreon: www.patreon.com/Shadow_Master_Wrestling_Workshop Shadow Master's Steam Workshop: steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198300785269/myworkshopfiles/

Shadow Master
Super Kaiser

***Legendary Fire Pro Historian***

Posts: 1,628

Fire Pro-Wrestling 2nd Bout secrets Apr 17, 2024 18:17:10 GMT

Quote

Post by Shadow Master on Apr 17, 2024 18:17:10 GMT

Design-wise, the graphics for Wrestler sprites in 2nd Bout are identical to the graphics found in the previous Fire Pro
title Combination Tag. Yet, the endings to 2nd Bout simply use each Wrestler's character portrait instead.

As detailed as the portraits are, I always preferred seeing the Wrestlers themselves celebrate in-ring at the end of
the game.

So, here's what the endings in 2nd Bout could have looked like if they used the original Combination Tag ending
layout instead:

Ultimate Warrior and Hulk Hogan.

Great Muta and Jushin Liger.

Stan Hansen and Big Van Vader.

Antonio Inoki & Jumbo Tsuruta.

Akira Maeda & Riki Choshu.

Genichiro Tenryu & Koji Kitao.

Masakatsu Funaki & Yoshiaki Fujiwara.

Boss characters Karl Gotch & Lou Thesz.

Boss characters Rikidozan and Tiger Mask.

Last Edit: Jul 20, 2024 6:55:28 GMT by Shadow Master

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Shadow Master
Super Kaiser

***Legendary Fire Pro Historian***

Posts: 1,628

Fire Pro-Wrestling 2nd Bout secrets May 29, 2024 19:23:38 GMT

Quote

Post by Shadow Master on May 29, 2024 19:23:38 GMT

Since the Internet Archive removed all of my guidebooks (and not wanting to create yet another thread in the Fire Pro Classic
forums so quickly), I thought this thread would be the perfect place for these 2nd Bout moveset scans.

Fire Pro-Wrestling 2nd Bout never had an actual strategy guide of it's own; but that didn't stop the PC Engine magazine in Japan from
releasing a two-page movelist for the 16 standard characters (minus the four hidden bosses).

The top caption reads "All 16 players fighting spirit preparation".

Of course, all of the characters featured on this insert are based on real-life Wrestlers.

I also find it weird that each Wrestler's size and make are listed ...since there was no CAW mode invented in a Fire Pro game ....yet.

Although you can't see it from my scans, this two page insert was printed on thick, cardboard stock. It's sturdy as heck with rounded edges.
At about the size of two mouse pads ...I'm tempted to use this artifact as a coaster of some sort!

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kiano JIM MINY Posts: 95	Fire Pro-Wrestling 2nd Bout secrets May 30, 2024 18:36:52 GMT Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top Post by kiano on May 30, 2024 18:36:52 GMT May 29, 2024 19:23:38 GMT Shadow Master said: Since the Internet Archive removed all of my guidebooks This sucks. Why did they delete your scans?

Shadow Master
Super Kaiser

***Legendary Fire Pro Historian***

Posts: 1,628

Fire Pro-Wrestling 2nd Bout secrets May 30, 2024 21:40:25 GMT

Quote

Post by Shadow Master on May 30, 2024 21:40:25 GMT

May 30, 2024 18:36:52 GMT kiano said:

May 29, 2024 19:23:38 GMT Shadow Master said:

Since the Internet Archive removed all of my guidebooks

This sucks. Why did they delete your scans?

Could be a multitude of reasons; none of which were ever specified.

The Fire Pro soundtracks being uploaded on my behalf could have been the catalyst; or the fact that I was uploading books
in the wrong format (as a collection of photos lumped together).

I'll look online and see what the correct file method is to upload the guides as books before starting over again.

When all is said and done, I still think the Internet Archive is a wonderful resource; I put the blame on myself for not doing
a bit more research before contributing content on my own.

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kiano
JIM MINY

Posts: 95

Fire Pro-Wrestling 2nd Bout secrets Jun 1, 2024 13:51:37 GMT

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Post by kiano on Jun 1, 2024 13:51:37 GMT

The Internet Archive has been subject to an influx of greedy Japanese publishers in recent years who have been deleting old magazines and manuals. For example, the publishing house Kadokawa, which is obsessed with deleting magazines from the 80s and 90s, such as Famitsu. People buy old magazines for a lot of money to scan and save for history and study of the Japanese gaming industry, but these assholes come along and ruin everything. Damn, it's been over 20 years and they're still so concerned about it. Moreover, it was not they who published these old magazines, but another ASCII publishing house, they simply bought them. The Marukatsu PC Engine magazine may also be deleted since it also belongs to Kadokawa.

Shadow Master
Super Kaiser

***Legendary Fire Pro Historian***

Posts: 1,628

Fire Pro-Wrestling 2nd Bout secrets Jul 20, 2024 18:11:21 GMT

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Post by Shadow Master on Jul 20, 2024 18:11:21 GMT

All of the custom endings have now been added (see earlier posts in this thread).

After beating 2nd Bout with the hidden boss characters Rikidozan and Tiger Mask via hacking (players couldn't normally use the
hidden bosses in World Championship mode), I decided to try out the other two bosses (Karl Gotch and Lou Thesz) in the same
fashion.

Like Combination Tag, 2nd Bout's hard mode (second playthrough of World Championship mode) definitely lives up to it's name. Not only are opponents more
difficult to defeat, they seem to have larger lifebars, and are more resilient to attacks.

The toughest customer had to be Big Van Vader in the 7th match. I pulled off a Piledriver with Karl Gotch, only for Vader to get back to his feet before I did.
Talk about no-selling!

The real struggle however is defeating each stronger team in under ten minutes. Otherwise, it's an instant loss. With ten minutes in a tag team match,
there really isn't much room for error when you're going up against the clock.

Again, the game glitches out while using the hidden bosses. Instead of facing Gotch and Thesz, 2nd Bout offers two standard characters

(Tenryu and Choshu) in their place as the first 'secret' opponents.

Both hidden bosses were also programmed with the generic ending.

As expected, the real final bosses appear after the credits as surprise opponents.

While Wrestlers like Ultimate Warrior or Hulk Hogan with running finishers will find this fight a cakewalk, facing Rikidozan and Tiger Mask with Wrestlers who do not contain
special techniques that are triggered from a dash command will find themselves in a special kind of hell.

For starters, both hidden bosses contain max stats (Rikidozan - max striking power & Tiger Mask - max speed). Add Lumberjack settings (not being able to leave the ring),
and you're in for a bruising.

Luckily, the 10 minute time limit from previous matches in Hard Mode has been dismissed. Unfortunately, the CPU is at it's most difficult here, wasting no time in getting
preferential treatment when it comes to lockups (my ratio of getting in a grapple as a Fire Pro veteran was 1 in every 30 attempts against the CPU). Additionally, a problem
with earlier Fire Pro games, the CPU can also read your inputs; dodging most kicks and punches instantaneously.

After spending fifty-five (55) minutes shoulder blocking, dropkicking, piledriving and Backdropping, Tiger Mask was still reversing everything.

In my many years of Fire Pro, I've championed quite a number of challenges:

- I've translated over 1300 pages of text in Super Fire Pro-Wrestling Special.
- Got all 64 belts in Final Bout.
- Was the first person to provide a save file and unlock the hidden bosses in Fire Pro's WonderSwan port.
- Beat SFPWX with all 116 characters.
- Created over 1000 edits in X Premium's edit mode.
- Released over 1800 items in Fire Pro World.
- Unlocked the hidden Legend Road ending portraits with all 32 characters in Legend Bout.
- Wrote FAQ guides for just about every Fire Pro ever made...

But this match was my toughest challenge yet.

When you can beat the hidden bosses in under 2 minutes with a regular character's special, yet struggle with supposedly-superior hidden bosses
as a tag team --- that's unbalanced, unfinished, and almost unplayable.

After reaching the 60 minute time limit (even I didn't know this special tag match had an actual time limit), I did something I hadn't done in decades: I rage quit a Fire Pro game.
Something I haven't done since learning the ropes of Fire Pro's grapple system many years ago.

The hard modes in the early Fire Pro games were known for being notoriously difficult, but 2nd Bout takes the cake for toughness, in my opinion.

It's no wonder Fire Pro would eventually release Easy Type after enough fans complained over the absurd difficulty.

Last Edit: Jul 20, 2024 21:55:23 GMT by Shadow Master

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Shadow Master
Super Kaiser

***Legendary Fire Pro Historian***

Posts: 1,628

Fire Pro-Wrestling 2nd Bout secrets Jul 21, 2024 4:40:58 GMT

Quote

Post by Shadow Master on Jul 21, 2024 4:40:58 GMT

In the Fire Pro series, many characters portraits from the original games were based on actual photos of the real-life Wrestlers they were
based on.

Fire Pro's resident Ultimate Warrior knockoff Atomic Blaster's first appearance was in 2nd Bout. I believe Blaster's 2nd Bout portrait is based on
the following photo:

Last Edit: Jul 22, 2024 16:55:48 GMT by Shadow Master

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Shadow Master
Super Kaiser

***Legendary Fire Pro Historian***

Posts: 1,628

Fire Pro-Wrestling 2nd Bout secrets Aug 17, 2024 2:35:58 GMT

Quote

Post by Shadow Master on Aug 17, 2024 2:35:58 GMT

Not one to take defeats lightly, I decided to re-enter the 2nd Bout ring with hidden boss team Carlos Krauzer and R.J. Phaze.

The first handful of matches in Pro-mode (the second playthrough) played smoothly. This time, I aimed to focus on grapples
over running and strike attacks. After all, grapples are the Legend Heroes' specialty.

Another new battle strategy of mine was to eliminate submission holds. In the race against 10 minute time limits, Gotch and
Thesz take too long to submit an opponent with leg locks. I opted instead to use pinfalls only to subdue my opponents.

By round 5 of pro-mode, the difficulty of the second playthrough started to become apparent. Akira Maeda was
busting out his Captured Suplex finisher right out of the gate.

Yet, Gotch and Thesz could fight fire with fire by unleashing their finishers from the first bell, too; evening the
playing field.

While not always working in my favour, taking the match ringside is a great way to weaken opponents with
tag team assistance.

By match 6, I began to somewhat go against my battle strategy; opting to catch the CPU with running shoulder blocks,
followed by dropkicks to send opponents out of the ring.

Thesz not only gets the last blow against a bloody Hansen during my pin attempt, but was instrumental in weakening a rather-tough

Choshu with his patented Backdrop onto the concrete floor from outside the ring!

I tip my hat to the 'Undefeated Iron Man' Lou Thesz in match 6.

Hogan and Jumbo Tsuruta were the first hidden tag team in this playthrough, and boy did they excel in team work.

Knocking Hogan to the outside was a big mistake, as Tsuruta quickly came to Hogan's defense. The duo continued to
apply double brainbusters to my tag partner Lou Thesz from outside the ring.

Yet, Hogan was put away with a German Suplex to seal the deal.

Last but not least were the final opponents. The hidden tag team of boss characters Tiger Mask and Rikidozan.

The last time I faced this duo, I spent the duration of the match taking on Tiger Mask with running techniques.
Little did I realize at the time, but as a speedy high flyer, Tiger was almost impervious to any form of dropkick
or running technique.

This time however, I opted to focus on Tiger Mask's tag partner Rikidozan instead. Strong as Rikidozan was,
he had less defense against running attacks.

Switching back and forth between tag partners constantly, Lou Thesz and Karl Gotch wasted no time in applying
German Suplexes and Backdrops to Rikidozan. Cancelling out of Gotch's pin from the German Suplex worked
wonders in breaking free before Tiger had a chance to intervene from the outside.

16 minutes later, the father of Puroresu was finally put away with a German Suplex for the pin.

At long last, I can finally say that I completed 2nd Bout with every standard and secret character.

Last Edit: Aug 17, 2024 6:48:54 GMT by Shadow Master

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Post by Shadow Master on Apr 15, 2024 21:04:06 GMT

Post by Shadow Master on Apr 16, 2024 1:54:49 GMT

Post by Shadow Master on Apr 16, 2024 16:16:59 GMT

Post by Shadow Master on Apr 17, 2024 2:50:53 GMT

Post by Shadow Master on Apr 17, 2024 18:17:10 GMT

Post by Shadow Master on May 29, 2024 19:23:38 GMT

Post by kiano on May 30, 2024 18:36:52 GMT

Post by Shadow Master on May 30, 2024 21:40:25 GMT

Post by kiano on Jun 1, 2024 13:51:37 GMT

Post by Shadow Master on Jul 20, 2024 18:11:21 GMT

Post by Shadow Master on Jul 21, 2024 4:40:58 GMT

Post by Shadow Master on Aug 17, 2024 2:35:58 GMT