I started the “AKI Did You Know?” series at the end of 2022. It ran pretty solidly for about 3 months before I ran out of steam … after that, I would fire out the occasional tweet.
I decided to collect them all in one place, so here’s Volume 1, covering 30 December 2022 until 18 January 2023.
#AKIdidyouknow In World Tour, Eddy Guerrero's Shoulder Thrusts do 25 Health Damage (and 5 Head Damage) … they also target the opponent's head and have a reasonable chance of causing bloodshed. Almost certainly an example of a placeholder for a flashier move… pic.twitter.com/9JBCkLghDs
— Melonbread (@Melonbread1979) December 30, 2022
#AKIdidyouknow Wrestlemania 2000 is the only game in the series where Taunts/Appeals cause physical damage to your opponent (1 damage to Max Health for every Taunt completed) #sticksandstones pic.twitter.com/o5Y6ePM0O2
— Melonbread (@Melonbread1979) December 31, 2022
#AKIdidyouknow While most people know that you can unmask opponents in World Tour (pushing them into "Special" mode), did you know that Sting, nWo Sting, Wrath and Eddy Guerrero also count as 'masked' wrestlers (even though Wrath and Eddy don't appear with masks in this game)? pic.twitter.com/ygxHZR4FIq
— Melonbread (@Melonbread1979) January 1, 2023
#AKIdidyouknow There's only one way to get an interfering wrestler to leave the ring: reduce their Max Health to less than 249 (in No Mercy) or 248 (in Revenge, Wrestlemania 2K and VPW2). For info, Max Health starts at 255. pic.twitter.com/DzOW21CLOR
— Melonbread (@Melonbread1979) January 2, 2023
#AKIdidyouknow In #NoMercy, chaining two particular moves together can lead to a significant Base Damage boost – here's a full rundown of the moves in question (and the wrestlers they're based on). Despite all of the puroresu references, this feature wasn't in VPW64, VPW2, etc pic.twitter.com/DIrZF5mt3g
— Melonbread (@Melonbread1979) January 3, 2023
#AKIdidyouknow In #VPW2, unlockables Mask 14 and Half-Tights B11 are references to a special Hayabusa costume. It was designed for him by musician / artist Tatsuya "Carl Smokey" Ishii. Hayabusa wore the costume once on 27 July 1997 #Hayabusa #ハヤブサ https://t.co/vpT6ek8TUr pic.twitter.com/IBr2Z8aUA3
— Melonbread (@Melonbread1979) January 4, 2023
#AKIdidyouknow The "Endurance" parameter in No Mercy and Wrestlemania 2000 is an example of poor translation, leading to decades of confusion. "Recovery From KO" makes more sense: this parameter is only used when you're struggling to get up after sustaining a nasty TKO move. pic.twitter.com/TQXi4EUZQZ
— Melonbread (@Melonbread1979) January 5, 2023
#AKIdidyouknow In WCW / nWo Revenge, it's possible to retrieve a weapon when you've been whipped through the entrance curtain. Use a single button press (A,B,L or R) while you're off-screen to trigger this – the chance of success is based on your current Spirit level (see video) pic.twitter.com/Sx4N9y9DSl
— Melonbread (@Melonbread1979) January 6, 2023
#AKIdidyouknow Takada v Mutoh from 1995 was the inspiration behind a key mechanic of the AKI games: the "catch throw", the ability to shift the momentum of a match by perfectly timing the block of a strike Producer Iwashita saw Mutoh's Dragon Screw while working on VPW on PS1… pic.twitter.com/OA3j9a2q4f
— Melonbread (@Melonbread1979) January 7, 2023
#AKIdidyouknow In all AKI games, when your Current Health is low (below 49 out of 255), you receive a bonus 3 point Spirit-boost to every move (including taunts and blocks). This is one of the key comeback mechanisms, simulating the fighting spirit of a wrestler 'near death'. pic.twitter.com/2xlnfKshik
— Melonbread (@Melonbread1979) January 8, 2023
#AKIdidyouknow In WCW/nWo Revenge, Hollywood Hogan's AI / parameters are set so that his finisher is a Running Stomp. AKI must have run out of time to animate a Running Legdrop (that animation wouldn't appear until VPW2). pic.twitter.com/okomgavsCD
— Melonbread (@Melonbread1979) January 9, 2023
#AKIdidyouknow Every successful move affects attacker spirit (usually positively) and defender spirit (usually negatively). However, "Weak A" Front Grapple Moves actually boost the defender's Spirit by 3 points (attacker gets +2). The upside is that these moves can't be reversed pic.twitter.com/UlRuaiVCE6
— Melonbread (@Melonbread1979) January 10, 2023
#AKIdidyouknow If you taunt your opponent while they're prone, there's a 30% chance that they'll stand up dizzy (ふらふら) – an early example of a 'wake up taunt' in wrestling games. If you've just hit a finisher, this may not be the result you're looking for. pic.twitter.com/cfQP1edWEB
— Melonbread (@Melonbread1979) January 11, 2023
#AKIdidyouknow When being pinned, button tapping (A,B,L or R) becomes more effective later in the count. E.g. in No Mercy and VPW2, a single button tap after the count reaches 2.5 is as effective as 6 button presses before the count reaches 1, leading to more dramatic near falls pic.twitter.com/se1tnPVBwD
— Melonbread (@Melonbread1979) January 12, 2023
#AKIdidyouknow You may know that you can perform your opponent's taunts … but did you know that in tag matches, if you move the analogue (analog) stick at the same time as your partner, you'll both perform the same Taunt / Appeal. pic.twitter.com/722A9sKfkp
— Melonbread (@Melonbread1979) January 13, 2023
#AKIdidyouknow Limbs (Head, Body, Arms, Legs and Flying) each start with 50 health. As Limb Health is reduced, the damage of moves using that limb are reduced. Add Limb Health to 50 to get the percentage: so if Arms are at 19 health, a Lariat will only do 69% of the normal damage pic.twitter.com/HQgrKjSMnP
— Melonbread (@Melonbread1979) January 14, 2023
#AKIdidyouknow Even when you're dizzy, you should still try to perfectly time a dodge (L), block (R) or counter-grapple (A). Even at your most dazed, if you time it right, there's still a 10% chance of success (rising to 66.7% just before 'wake up'). pic.twitter.com/jYMITWuqVu
— Melonbread (@Melonbread1979) January 15, 2023
#AKIdidyouknow Most people know that you can hold the analog stick (when defending) to stay prone, stay in a pin or stay in a submission … but did you know that if you hold the analog stick as an attacker, your opponent will never tap out? pic.twitter.com/HTzXX09gu3
— Melonbread (@Melonbread1979) January 16, 2023
#AKIdidyouknow There's a lot that goes into determining how long it will take you to kickout of a pin attempt. One factor is the number of previous kickouts – the more kickouts a wrestler makes, the more tired they become and the harder it is for them to kickout in future. pic.twitter.com/IKhtwS8vBk
— Melonbread (@Melonbread1979) January 17, 2023
#AKIdidyouknow The handicap control in World Tour, VPW64 and WCW/nWo Revenge is just a simple (Main Health) damage modifier. At it's lowest setting (Lvl 1), the wrestler does 50% of the Main Health damage they'd normally do. At it's highest (Lvl 8), they do 150% damage. pic.twitter.com/5WQGnb0WJX
— Melonbread (@Melonbread1979) January 18, 2023
