In which Dolphin undergoes new employee orientation.
Improbably, Dolphin has won his first match. Since there are no other discernible options, and Dolphin can’t read Japanese, ON TO THE SECOND MATCH.
Labor relations sure work differently in Japan. It appears Dolphin’s second opponent will be his boss, Giant Baba. As this game takes place in 1997, Baba should be about 60. Jeez. While Dolphin is keenly aware that fighting your boss is a time-honored pro wrestling tradition, and he probably wouldn’t be doing this had he not shoved that pine tar down his third base coach’s throat, this is ridiculous. Giant or no, he shouldn’t be fighting a 60-year-old man.
1:06 – Yep, easier than medicare fraud. Dolphin starts off with a strong German suplex. Don’t go anywhere kids. You might not have too much more time with granddad.
1:14 – Well…
1:19 – That’s….
1:31 – Something else. Hmm. Dolphin is really getting flogged. Looks like Baba has no intention of collecting a pension any time soon. This is no good. After dealing with roughly a minute and a half (including intros) of punishment at the hands of his forbears, Dolphin does what any self-respecting member of the younger generation would do – he starts taking any advantage he can get.
1:46 – Yes, Dolphin just rammed a 60-year-old man’s head into the ringpost. Dolphin reminds you that anybody that gets in that ring knows the risk, and he had nothing to do with those recent updates to Baba’s life insurance policy.
2:51 – Let this be a lesson to you folks. You can lose all of your neck in less than three minutes, if you’re not careful. The fans seem to love Dolphin’s strategy. I hear “acromegaly” is Latin for “head filled with candy.” Let’s find out if that’s true!
4:01 – It appears that Dolphin does not fare so well when he employs legitimate tactics. Baba is reversing everything in sight.
7:08 – You know, one of the more popular features of this game is that “every move can be reversed!” Dolphin is beginning to wonder if “every move will be reversed” would be more appropriate.
8:25 – Great googledy moogledy. After Dolphin’s 19th attempt at a Dolphinplex, Baba slaps on an STF and Dolphin’s neck jumps immediately to 74% damage. It appears that Dolphin’s spinal trauma has carried over from his last match with Johnny Ace. Whatever; we’ve still got 26% neck left.
9:49 – Listen, Dolphin doesn’t have much going for him. He’s got an ICS degree in gun repair, two families in two different Canadian provinces, a failed stint as a shortstop, and a mastery of approximately four basic wrestling moves. One of those moves is the Irish whip to the ringpost, and he’s not getting back in the ring until he’s sure he’s squeezed everything he can out of that inanimate metal column.
12:34 – Well, it was a nice run, wasn’t it flipper? You just had your neck completely destroyed by a crippled sexagenarian. No way you’re living this one down.
13:48 – Sweet fancy Moses! It took nearly 15 minutes, but Dolphin finally did it! Did Baba’s heart give out? Did he age himself out of contention? Dolphin doesn’t care though, because he just bought himself his second ‘W,’ all for the low, low price of his neck.
If you’d like to stare into the abyss for about 14 minutes, here’s the full match:
Two matches in, and Dolphin has already secured his future in a cervical halo. Nevertheless, Dolphin understands that the only way out is through: No neck, no skills, no problems. MATCH 3!
This is Jun Akiyama, and his theme is titled “Shadow Explosion.” Dolphin has never seen a shadow explode, but he assumes that it is worse for him than a standard explosion. Youtube research reveals that Jun Akiyama has a proud tradition of dropping people on the back of their heads. This, of course, bodes well for Dolphin.
1:23 – Not off to a bad start. Dolphin is able to string some offense together right out of the gate.
1:33 – Two moves. It only took two moves for Akiyama to snap the stack of dimes Dolphin calls a neck. It’s gonna be a long career (mode). Dolphin is tempted to hit the reset button.
1:49 – Dolphin has quickly abandoned any pretense of winning this match legitimately. TO THE RINGPOST! It only took him three more seconds than last time to come to this conclusion!
2:56 – YES! So long, and thanks for all the fish! Dolphin’s catch phrases admittedly need work. If the last match is any indication, we’ve only got about eleven minutes of sustained neck damage remaining before Dolphin puts this chump away.
4:22 – Blowhole plunge! Dolphin is swimming down the road to victory!
4:48 – Err… the announcer just yelled “exploder” in English. This is probably not good for Dolphin’s neck rating. This suspicion is confirmed by Dolphin’s pained squeals.
6:06 – This time it sounded like “exploiter,” which is appropriate, because Dolphin is starting to feel more than a little used up.
6:38 – Dude, dolphins are a threatened species. You’ll burn for this.
6:54 – As he’s going nowhere fast, Dolphin decides to roll to the only place where he seems to be worth a damn – outside the ring. Well guess what: you can never go home again.
8:55 – Dolphin is beginning to wonder if it actually means anything when your neck gets broken in this game, as he has to give up the ghost to Akiyama at about the 9 minute mark, despite dropping him on his 0% neck several times.
Well, to quote Dolphin’s favorite artist, Meatloaf, 2 out of 3 ain’t bad. At least he didn’t lose to the geriatric.
Grab a handkerchief and cry yourself to sleep as you watch Dolphin’s heartbreaking loss:
NEXT TIME: Montage!
I used to play this all the time. I created my own Sabu to try to win the triple crown. I wish there was an move list for the featuring mode. I made my own but I’m sure I missed some of them. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
Thanks for reading – this is one that’s always fun to revisit every so often! If I’m remembering right, there’s in an in-game move list, but it’s all in Japanese (making it tough to figure out your upgrade path).
You’re right about the in-game list. You have to purchase a move and try it. Then you need to go back and try a different one. I wrote down most of the move and costs of each. Most have a unique cost. I just need to find that list!
The one thing players need to know is that the answers you give when you create your characters changes the move list that you can select from.