A Basic Guide to Japan

[TylerDrew]

Basically this comes from the EXCELLENT SWF guide posted recently mixed with the fact I see alot of guys asking about Japan as aparently its a region that intimidates alot of people. I tend to ALWAYS play Japan so I figured Id toss out a few tips for everyone both for Japan as a whole and for the individual promotions. [B]Japan As a Whole[/B] [B]Young Lions[/B]: Simply put job em till they get their respect to a high enough level to start winning matches. While most of you are not familiar with Japan I think most of you are familiar with TEW and its features even thouse present in an area you dont play, so this isnt a big one. [B]Fueds = Rivalries[/B]: Now I think what scares alot of people out of playing Japan is that they cant fun Fueds or Storylines. Well that's not entirely true you just have to change the way you think about a Fued. You want to have Kudo fued with Nasawa? Simply plug em in an Unchained stoyrline and book them in a series of matches, no angles requires.(Although most promotions in Japan WILL lets you run short Hype Angles.) Simply put while a fued may involve all sorts of talking and backstage attacks and shenanagines to promote a far flung storyline(Which is certainly fun.) a rivalry is a series of matches between two workers who are just that rivals and it tells a simple story(Worker A can come within an inch of beating worker B but he just cant get it done, two workers are so evenly matched they simply cant beat each other within the alloted time limit. ect) and if you get a hot series of matches you get a good storyline. [B]Physicality[/B]: Matches in Japan are PHYSICAL so you want to make sure the guys your signing have the ability AND most importantly the gas tank to handle these matches, also youll be running a touring schedual which means several shows a week. [B]Loyalty[/B]: The MOST(Ill covr some of the bigger ones who are not so loyal) challenging thing about playing in Japan is loyalty MOST and I stress most not all of the good workers are loyal to the company they work for so signing them is all but out of the question in the short term in the long term...who knows strange things happen in the CVerse. [B]Gaijin[/B]: Workers from over seas are a GREAT way to bolster your ranks on a tour and as MANY MANY talented American workers are not every over in Japan(Even those who work the region) they are a very good and cheap way to get some amazing enhancment talent who knows you may even find the next Dread or Raymond Diaz and make him a permanent member of the roster. [B]Freelancers and Mercenaries[/B] [B]Hell Monkey "The Lobster of Japan"[/B]: At first one can glance at Hell Monkey and say hey that dude in the monkey mask can really work but what some(Although I think its hardly a secret) dont know is hes not a more talnted version of Silver Shark or some wacky dude like that his a stiff, mean, menacing mfer and should be booked as such. [B]Burning Exile[/B]: Hes a jerk plain a simple hes a talented jerk but a jerk chances are the owner of whatever promotion your playing as hates him...theres a reason for that. [B]Miyazaki[/B]: One may look at Shingen Miyazaki and think, "Wow this is my dude hes young, hes talented, hes easy to work with, AND he isnt loyal to anyone...yet.". All of those things are true and if you can make him loyal to you hes a great asset BUT he does come with a drawback. Miyazaki takes a beating about as well as a 10 year old girl, be prepared for him to be working every other show at best. [B]Bulldozer's Gonna Kill Ya', No Honestly he will hurt someone[/B]: Bulldozer Brandon Smith may seem like a tempting prospect a young guy whos active in Japan, rather talented, and physicall all you could hope for right out of the gate. It should be pointed out however this ain't MAW in Japan matches are much more intense and thus much more dangerous Bulldozer is great to put over expendable low card guys as he builds up his skill but be wary of putting him in against someone you cant afford to lose before you get his Safety up. Also he couldnt sell getting hit by a bus. [B]The Great Hisato[/B]: Former tag team partener of Burning Exile and while not as big a jerk(Hes still a jerk) hes also not quite as talented(Although few are). Basically Burning Exile light. [B][U]WLW[/U][/B]: The land of Misfit Gimmicks [B]ANYONE Can Get Over[/B]: WLW offers a unique product for Japan in the fact that it rewards entertainment skills something alot of other Japanese promotions do not, also the product setting is scewed in such a way that while a bit bias to Flyiers a good brawler or technician can get over as well. For instance if Venegence is released and decides to try his luck in Japan his mix of good charisma and menace and sevicable brawling can make him a huge star in WLW. (It should be pointed out however it is a promotion that is in ring focused enough you cant do the same thing with say Train.) [B]The Roster is STACKED[/B]: WLW may have all things considered the BEST roster in the CVerse. They have entertaining guys and guys who can go in the ring to an amazing degree. [B]The Young Guys[/B]: Angel, Koyama, & KOBE are all VERY young and INSANELY talented...oh and they are loyal so enjoy that goldmine. [B]The Vets[/B]: Dark Eagle, Awesome Thunder, & Kojima are literally three of the best Juniors in the game(Kojima isnt even that old AND hes the owner.) So make sure to use them to train up the young guys who have and amazing moveset but may be lacking just a bit in the performance skills. [B]GIMMICK MATCHES[/B]: Aside from WEXXV WLW is the only Japanese promotion that lets you use gimmick matches(Within reason Id suggest staying away from the "Inferno Steel Cage Made of Barbed Wire that is then wrapped in C4 which is itself wrapped in barbed wire and thumbtacks" type matches. Otherwise though go nuts and enjoy. Alright thats all for now Ill add the rest of the promotions and more guys at a later date if anyone finds this helpful.

[FINisher]

Can I do WEXXV? ^^ EDIT: And I can also do GCG!

[Masked Superstar]

Good read so far Tyler. Look forward to whatcha write about the rest of THE BEST REGION in the game IMO. To those who are looking for something new... try Japan. It is great fun!!! - since everyone is trying something new maybe I will play SWF something I have never done! [SIZE="1"][I]nah... no I won't...[/I][/SIZE]

[spikedave]

This is great.I tend to stay away from japan but i feel like giving japan try now! Thank You:D

[ThriceP86]

This somewhat helps what I've been doing lately. A more extensive INSPIRE guide would be great if someone knows the ins and outs of using that company. The 90% intensity in matches is quite a killer too. I'm thinking of dropping it eventually especially since I might bring in a women's division.

[Thomnipotent]

This is sick. I'm really enjoying hearing what people have to say about taking paths I haven't taken before. I've rocked some GCG in my time, but this... this is fantastic. Thanks for your input and advice, TD. Very informative stuff.

[TylerDrew]

[QUOTE=FINisher;526186]Can I do WEXXV? ^^ EDIT: And I can also do GCG![/QUOTE] FIN bro Id actually really appriciate if you could because to be frank despire playing alot of Japan Ive never really played WEXXV for more than like 6 months or to any degree of success. As far as GCG feel free man Im not the boss of CVerse Japan, and my approach to GCG may be a bit borring to some.(They are a bit of a borring promotion from a Western point of view.) Just give Tayama his due if that hard hitting SOB gets some stamina hes money every time.

[FINisher]

[SIZE=4][B]WEXXV: The Hardcore Heaven.[/B][/SIZE] [B]1. Kajahara, Kajahara, Kajahara [/B] As the owner of WEXXV he's your constant source of popularity. With his amazing entertainment skills he's the cornerstone of the promotion, and even though he's 50 years old, he has nice performance skills and good hardcore skill next to the entertainment skills. Use him with other workers in long, 6 minutes or longer angles. Especially guys with high menace will skyrocket to the main event beating Kajahara in the shows, using angle that are rated on menace and overness. [B]2. Kajahara, Kajahara, Kajahara...[/B] As amazing Kajahara is, there's one big problem with him, booking wise. As he's the owner, he has the creative control. And since the only two he agrees to job are Saionji Omura (60) and Kimitada Ohishi (51), you're in big trouble if they retire before you have drained every inch of overness from these guys. Make Ryu lose to Saionji/Kimitada, and then job them for others. [B]3. 50, 51, 60 years old.[/B] There's a huge gap in the age of the wrestlers. There aren't really that many worth of pushing to the main event at the start, but there's few that can replace the top three veterans when they eventually retire. And while destiny stat plays a big role in this, when they eventually retire, they aren't so useless after all: Kajahara will still rack up the best angles around even if he's colour commentating, Omura performs well in the Personality status if he learns entertainment skills enough and Ohishi.. Well, he's Ohishi. Maybe a Road Agent. Altough there's the possibility that Ohishi leaves the business completely. [B]4. Business: Change ticket prices +4 & Change the match/angle ratio to 70%..[/B] .. And use every minute of it, making it almost 60%. You need every minute of angles that you can take. I've found 70% but in truth you can use 60%, as there's the +/- 10% leeway on either side. So with the simple calculation: 1½h event = 90 minutes. Ten percent from that is 9 minutes, 9 x 4 = 40% = 36 minutes worth of angles. Don't go to 37 as you would get a penalty. With a two hour event, 120 minutes, you can use 48 minutes worth of angles with the 70% ratio. You can change the "strict storylines" option off if you like, if you don't then you really have to have storylines. If you don't want to mess with the option but still like your ratio to be as perfect for you, change the ratio to 80% (you can use 70% in reality) and you don't have to worry about angles. [B]5. Replacing the main event.[/B] There's four guys in the roster that can rise in the rankings fairly quickly. Munemitsu Senmatsu, Larry Wood, Hiroshi Morisue and Battle Sakata. These guys are your future stars if someone doesn't take them away from you. Senmatsu should be Loyal to you as he's below 25 and haven't worked for anyone else. I talked about the menace skill earlier in this guide. Senmatsu has A, Larry Wood has A*, Hiroshi Morisue has B+. Battle Sakata has C in menace but this isn't the the thing that makes him good, it's his performance skills which make him a very stable performer. Larry Wood will be your main star, as he's on of the best workers you can have. Even though he's 39, he still has many years in active (depending on the destiny stat) but he's everything you need at the start. [B]6. Don't go touring around Japan right away, for months to be exact.[/B] Concentrate on Kanto and Kanto only. It's the biggest and most important region in Japan. Even if WEXXV has more popularity in Tohoku, don't go in there yet. [B]Kanto, Kanto, Kanto[/B]. You're in a serious trouble if you start touring around Japan, as it doesn't benefit you at all. WEXXV is in serious financial problems right from the start, but the high overness in Kanto saves WEXXV from almost certain bankrupty. [B]7. High risk matches.[/B] Do NOT use normal matches(, at all). WEXXV's Garbage product is all about high risk matches, whether they are Ladder (rated normally, which is good for anyone else who doesn't have good hardcore or brawl skills), Cage / Cell matches (for high brawling skill) and different hardcore matches, mostly Barbed Wire Japan/USA. Download the British Steel mod that SWIFT made, it has numerous new matches in it that make every match seem different. [B]8. Dont use everyone at the start.[/B] While it may seem tempting, do not use your whole roster in your shows at the start. Until you have balanced your performance and feel confident enough, you can start using other talent other than your midcard to main event. The undercard has a lot of potential, but many of the wrestlers have poor performance skills which then leads the fans to boo them, which affects the match grade. [SIZE=4][B]9. BEWARE[/B][/SIZE] [B]Do not go to Cult if you're not ready for it.[/B] I repeat, do not go to cCult until you have hundreds of thousands of cash. You're going to need a lot, a lot of money to survive. I for one didn't even think that Cult could cost you so much, but it does. Even if you get a PPV deal finally, it's no use if you can't book a big arena for it. ;) [B] 10. New wrestlers.[/B] Sign the new guys below 25, as they will become Loyal to you as were in Japan. Seiji Jimbo was one of the best signings I did as he surprised me with the match ratings, even if he's not that much of a hardcore guy. There's really good talent up for grabs, but don't sign anyone you don't feel like it, even if they will be loyal to you, such as Gauge Brothers. There's also fine talent you can use, such as Savage Fury, especially Java. Not forgetting about Toyokuni Hardcore and else, check the diary. :rolleyes: [SIZE=4][B]---[/B][/SIZE] Hope these tips help. All in all: Remember: [B]Kajahara, Kanto, [/B][B]Menace, [/B][B]Retirement, Finances, 4 guys named Senmatsu, Wood, Morisue and Sakata.[/B] If you want to have some preview of what WEXXV is going to look in a year or so, check the [URL="http://67.19.230.90/%7Earles/forum/showthread.php?t=34940"]WEXXV: The Devil's Rejects diary[/URL] where the cards are full of A to A* angles, and C+ to B matches after three tours.