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|                                                                     |
|                       Simpsons Wrestling FAQ                        |
|                           v 1.4, 8-23-01                            |
|                    By Jjukil (Jjukil@excite.com)                    |
|                                                                     |
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Divisions

  0. VERSION CHANGES
    What's new in this document.

  I. INTRODUCTION
    What is Simpsons Wrestling, and what is this document?

  II. PLAYING THE GAME
    II-A. GETTING STARTED
      The initial options screen and the goal to the game.
    II-B. IN-MATCH SCREEN
      What's on the screen during the match, besides the wrestling.
    II-C. MANEUVERS
      What every button does, and other tricks to do.
    II-D. POWERUPS
      What powerups are, each and every one.

  III. CHARACTERS
    Who's playable, how to unlock 'em, and how to use 'em.

  IV. STRATEGY
    Advice for the one-player game.

  V. CODES
    V-A. GAME CODES
      What codes I know so far.
    V-B. GAMESHARK CODES
      What Gameshark codes I know so far.

  VI. QUOTES
    Many quotes heard in-game, from both wrestlers and bystanders.

  VII. THE USUAL FAQ ENDNOTES
    Copyrights, credits, disclaimers, etc.

----

0. VERSION CHANGES

1.4, 8-23-01:  Major format change, to match my other major FAQs.
-Numbered sections, grouped some as offshoots of others.  Changed table
 of contents to reflect this.
-Merged Introduction with Storyline (and edited a bit).  
-Redid design of Updates, Characters and Strategy sections to improve
 readability.
-Moved Quotes past Codes.
-More quotes, courtesy of Armando Jaimes(JMS).  Another long list--and
 all from the one character I didn't think I'd ever get quotes for!
-Minor miscellaneous edits.

1.3, 6-19-01:  A few smallish changes again.
-More quotes, courtesy of Bazookabro1010, Winston Jen and Vincent Lee.
 We're working up to a full quotes compendium!  (But we've got a
 LOOOOONG way to go!  =)
-Fixed the story synopsis--Jebediah shot BUFFALO, not his bear,
 according to the episode I referenced anyway.  Thanks to
 rickw@metallica.com and Smoke1479@aol.com for helping with this.
-Added the Bonus Match Up instant access code.  I'll add the other
 codes (Bonus Ring, Extra Credits, etc) once I've tried them all out.
 I think you can find most of them at www.gamewinners.com.

1.2, 4-30-01:  A couple small changes.
-Changed around a few move descriptions, but nothing to write home
 about.
-Added a TON of quotes from readers, though, which IS something to
 write home about IMHO.

1.1, 4-18-01:  A few smallish changes.
-Added a story synopsis.
-Added some Gameshark codes, taken with permission from
 www.cheatcc.com.
-Fixed a couple formatting errors, such as missing linebreaks(and the
 lack of an update section!!).
-Finally, added something else I forgot to add, last time:  an
 invitation to send in any quotes you hear while playing.  They'll be
 listed in the next update, and you'll be credited in the Credits and
 right next to your submissions.

1.0, 4-15-01:  Original document.

----

I. INTRODUCTION

Aliens, spying on Springfield from many light years away, saw Jebediah
Springfield wrestle a bear to death with his bare hands.  They got to
Earth as soon as they could, which was hundreds of years AFTER
Jebediah's bout.  Finding him dead, they challenged Springfield's new
best wrestler, whoever it was, to a match.  Springfield's citizens, not
knowing who its best wrestler was, decided to find out...and thus,
Simpsons Wrestling was born.  (This is Kent Brockman's take on the
aliens' motives, actually, but this is probably the official story.)

Simpsons Wrestling, made in April 2001 by Activision, was obviously an
attempt to get in on the two cash cows of the name:  Simpsons and
Wrestling.  Unfortunately, the game has, among other flaws, one very
crucial flaw:  it's HARDLY WRESTLING AT ALL.  The only wrestling
elements are pinning the opponent--and the count is done by the
character pinning, not any referee--and the ropes, which many people
can't figure out how to use correctly because they're explained poorly.
Even I'm not sure how to avoid a cheap knockdown after one of them.

So what is it?  It's a rather simplistic 3d fighter with some of the
best voice acting you'll ever hear, outside of a couple gems like
Conker's Bad Fur Day.  Simpsons diehards will LOVE the quotes, many of
which come from old episodes.  Almost all of them are perfectly in
character...even for Lisa, to an extent, and she'd NEVER wrestle in the
actual show!

Unfortunately the voices are pretty much where the good points end.
The graphics are scary in their crudeness, the music is unnoticable and
the gameplay...*shudders*  Let me put it this way:  this is the only 3d
fighter where there are NO SPECIAL MOVES.  All of your characters'
moves come at the touch of a button, or at most a rope bounce then a
button.  However, the moves are often in character too, and some of
them are pretty cool.  This and the voices put together make me feel
this was designed not by good game programmers, but diehard Simpsons
fans like me!  Just wish they'd studied gaming as much as they did the
shows....

But enough of the review.  What I'm saying here is it's worth a rental
to see the moves and hear the taunts if you like Simpsons--NOT
wrestling--and maybe even a purchase if you're REALLY hardcore.  This
FAQ should help you get through that rental with a minimum of effort.
If it doesn't, email me at Jjukil@excite.com, and I'll see if I can
help.

(And please...if you're going to write me saying this game sucks, keep
in mind that not only do I not appreciate flames, but I ALREADY KNOW
IT.  Reread the above paragraphs.  =P)

----

II. PLAYING THE GAME

While Simpsons Wrestling isn't too hard to pick up and start playing,
the manual's not the best at explaining everything about it.  (Besides,
manuals are rarely included with rentals these days....)  The
information below should help you get the hang of the game if you're
just starting, and might even reveal something you didn't know before
if you're a vet.

Note:  ><, [], /\ and () are the X, Square, Triangle and Circle
buttons, respectively.  (Don't ask me why they're all ascii arts.
...I couldn't tell you.)

----

II-A. GETTING STARTED

Starting a 1-Player game is as simple as selecting New Challenger
Circuit on the main screen, and then your character.  You'll battle
your way through four normal characters, then take on an unlockable
one.  After you beat him (which will unlock him), you'll fight another
normal, another unlockable, another normal, and the two bosses, who
can't be unlocked...without "cheating," that is....

Once you've gotten through all of these rounds, Defender Circuit will 
become yellowed in, where winning matches gets a little harder and you 
get to unlock better characters.  Beat that and you get the Champion 
Circuit, where unlocked characters appear in the regular rotation and 
the matches are harder than ever, which isn't really saying much.  Beat
that and you get...well...you'll see.  =)  Starting a 2-Player match or
a Practice Game is just as simple, but these just last one match and 
don't unlock anything.

After you beat a Circuit opponent, you'll be prompted to Save.  If you
do, you can continue the game with Continue Tournament by loading it
off the memory card.  You can save up to seven tournaments.  Note that
if you save one after the final boss of any Circuit, you can't
continue that tournament, although it will save the unlocked data.  If
all you've got on your card are finished tournaments, don't use
Continue Tournament; it takes an eon and a half to figure that out and
tell you there aren't any games to continue.  It won't unlock data
anyway.  You go to Options for that.

In the Options, along with being able to Load Unlocked Data from your
card, you can change the volume of the music, the voices and the
effects.  (I suggest putting the voices to full, the effects to half
and the music to 0.  But that's just me.  =)  You can turn on
vibration, but it's worthless--either they forgot to code it in, or
it's so light as to be unnoticable.  You can watch the Credits, if you
so choose.  Finally, you can change how many rounds you play in Vs.
mode.  (Sadly, this is only in Vs. mode; you still have to slog through
two or three rounds in 1 Player.)

Once you're actually in a match, the basic goal of Simpsons Wrestling
is just about the only element of wrestling in the game:  pin the
opponent.  Doing this involves two elements.  First, you have to knock
them down.  There are several moves that will accomplish this all by
themselves, usually involving (), but the best way is to just deplete
all their life.  After they're knocked down, a stun bar, detailed
below, will appear.  Use how fast it's going down to figure out whether
or not you should pin.  (Natch.)  You'll only pull it off if it doesn't
start going down immediately.  Again, the best time to do it is after
depleting all their life.  So I guess really the main goal is to
deplete all their life.  =)

Now, on to the detailed sections, to find out what, exactly, the above
paragraph meant.

----

II-B. IN-MATCH SCREEN

When you first start a match, you'll see four things in each bottom
corner.  If you're on the left, the ones on the bottom left are yours.
If not, it's the ones on the right.  (Natch.)

The first thing is the character's mug; this is static so don't worry
about it.

Above this is TAUNT, which starts each match greyed out.  You can fill 
it in one letter at a time through a method involving [], detailed 
below in Maneuvers, or by getting ! icons when they come up.  Once 
TAUNT is yellowed in, R1 appears next to it, enabling the Taunt.  
Basically it makes your character invincible; more details are under 
R1, also in Maneuvers.

At the bottom is your life meter.  This is simple enough, right?  =P
After your life is depleted, you're knocked down, and you gain a Stun
Bar, detailed below.  It's pretty much over for you at this point, but
it's not quite official yet:  the opponent has to pin you, also
detailed below in Maneuvers.

Finally, above this is your energy meter.  Above it are [], /\ and (), 
in order.  Pressing these buttons do moves and use energy.  How much 
energy they use is pretty well approximated by where the buttons are 
over the meter.  Pressing >< to jump or L1 to hold uses energy too; how
much that uses is low and the same for each character, strangely 
enough.  The energy meter recovers quickly most of the time--while 
standing, while doing [] or some /\ moves, during Taunts and even
during some knockdowns and stuns.  It does not recover during other
knockdowns, stuns and /\ moves, during jumps, or while the CHARACTER is
caught up in a () move.  (Some moves persist long after the character
can move again.  During this time they will usually still regain
energy, with one notable, noted exception.)

The Stun Bar will also sometimes appear.  It shows how long it'll take
for you to get up from a stun.  Stuns happen after huge combos of
moves, certain instant-stun moves, and during any knockdown.  The stun
can always be fought off more quickly if you hit every button and
wiggle the control pad repeatedly.  After your life's depleted, though,
the stun bar usually takes a LONG time to go away, and, worse than
that, the enemy can start it over again with a good smack.  Knockdown
stuns are the only time you can be pinned, after all.

----

II-C. MANEUVERS

Press the listed button to get the listed effect.  (Of course the
descriptions give far more details than that one just did.)

[] Basic martial-arts maneuvers.  They do something like 2% or less
damage a hit, but they're fast and take almost no energy, and thus good
ways to do damage.  Unfortunately, landing these is hard, since the
opponent can usually interrupt you with their own [] slaps, making the
whole affair a biiig button-waving mashfest.  If you land four of these
in a row--which is easy in the New Challenger Circuit, but hard
everywhere else--the fourth hit will knock down the opponent for a
while and give you a TAUNT letter.  Use this opportunity to pin them if
their stun bar lasts long enough.

/\ Usually, a projectile of some kind, although there are exceptions.
Can do anywhere from 2 to 5% damage, and have a wide variety of flight
paths.  Some fly straight forward, some "lob," as in fly upwards and
then back downwards, and some circle around wildly.  If you aim the
shot off target, sometimes the game will reaim it towards them, to a
varying degree.

() The character's ultimate attack.  There's really no point in trying
to generalize these, since they're all so different.  Most do a lot of
damage though, or at least result in it!

>< Jumps.  Generally each character's jump height is the same, with an 
exception or two.  This takes a bit of energy, and you can't recover 
energy in midair, so remember that if you're trying to do a high-
powered move.  Hitting [] or /\ stomps the enemy; only /\ does good 
damage, but you can use [] for a long time if you start with a full 
energy meter.  () results in a full body splash that can be more 
trouble than it's worth--it heavily damages the enemy but knocks down 
both characters, and if it misses you're still knocked down.

L1: Starts a hold.  After you've started the hold, you follow it with
[], /\ or () to perform a toss, smack or slam.  This has poor range,
obviously, and can be pretty slow and hard to pull off, but the () hold
is powerful and instantly knocks the enemy down without knocking you
down.
If the opponent is lying on the ground, hitting L1 starts a pin.  You
can't help it along by jamming buttons, so don't even try, but you can
jump out of it in case you can tell ahead of time you're not going to
score the win.  (Try to smack them around some more to restore the
stun, then pin them again if their life's fully depleted!)

R1: Taunts, if the Taunt "bar" is full.  Pressing it puts a spotlight
on your character, and he emits some sort of taunting line while the
enemy is (usually) stunned.  For the next minute or so, you're
invincible.  You can still be knocked down, and possibly even stunned,
but you won't take any damage from it, and [] combos and move startups
can't be interrupted unless they do knock you down.  Use this time to
land moves with extraordinary startup time--or to get more TAUNT
letters through the [] method if you can!

Rope Bounce: Run into the rope to bounce off it, gaining momentum.
After the rope starts to bounce back, immediately hit [] or /\ to smack
the enemy.  Hitting () results in a clothesline, which works just like
the full body splash from midair.  This is best to use close to the
opponent so they won't see it coming, because if you miss you just fall
over.  There's a way to not do that, since the computer can, but darned
if I know it.  Believe it or not, this is the only non-button maneuver
I've found so far.

----

II-D. POWERUPS

As you play matches, you'll notice little icons pop into existence in
the ring from time to time.  These are powerups, and running into them
does a variety of things for you:

!: Fills in a Taunt letter.  See above for Taunt explanation if you
need it.

Popcorn: Refills a bit of life.  Grab it as soon as you can, unless
you're at full life of course.  (It looks like a box.)

Cereal: Refills a LOT of life.  Like, 25%.  Grab it ASAP, too.  (It
also looks like a box.  Basically, if you see a box, grab it.)

Donut: Refills some energy.  About half, I think.  Most of the time,
you'll forget about this in about ten seconds, although it could help
you out after a costly () move.

Atom: Refills all energy.  See above.

The Assassins: The sneakers straight from ONE Simpsons episode (told ya
these guys did their homework) double your speed.  This can be useful
for grabbing other icons, as well as getting away from rampaging
monsters while you recharge.

?: A strange wireframe ? that selects one of the above powerups
randomly.

----

III. CHARACTERS

Okay, so now that that's done, we get into pretty much the only detail
left in the game:  the characters.  This is a basic summary of each
one.  It describes the general feel of the character and any special
qualities they have, then briefly details their ground movelist.  Note
that the midair, rope bounce and grappling moves aren't detailed,
because they're pretty standard moves for everybody.  If they are
remarkable, of course, they get a mention.

Characters come in four groups of playability.  Normal characters are
selectable from the beginning of the game.  Afterwards there are four
unlockable characters; you get the first two by beating them in the New
Challengers Circuit, and the next two by beating them in the following
Defender Circuit.  Finally, there are four characters (two of which are
bosses) that aren't unlockable at all without accessing Bonus Match Up,
a special mode detailed in the Codes section.

===Normal Characters====

Barney:
 Barney's slow, but powerful, as you might expect out of a huge drunken
 maniac.  You'll find his []s much easier to do if the enemy gets him/
 herself trapped in the Duff Cloud Burp.  He has some funny lines,
 though.
[] Reeeally slow beer mug swipes.  They're a bit stronger than the
 norm, but so slow they almost never hit!  Basically worthless.
/\ Lobs a beer mug in a high, SLOW arc.  This does not home in and will
 not hit the enemy until it crashes to the ground, making it extremely
 difficult to aim.  Takes a while to start, too.  Also worthless, even
 if the damage it does if it DOES connect is high.
() If you must use Barney, rely on this:  the Duff Cloud Burp.  Barney
 belches a HUGE cloud of noxious fumes that hurts to stand in.  It
 lasts about twenty seconds and also tends to slow their punches down,
 meaning you can actually land some of your []s.  Its startup time is
 minimal, but it's there, so start this from at least a short distance
 away.

Krusty:
 Krusty's moveslist packs some power, but not a whole lot of
 versatility.  I use his () to quickly move through the beginning
 circuit.  When Krusty Taunts, his lines take too long, so if you don't
 act fast you'll miss your free shot.  I have to admit I enjoy his new,
 psychotic laugh from this game.  =)
[] Slapstick-looking punches and kicks, ending with a mallet shot.
 Slowish, especially after the second shot.
/\ Tosses a cream pie.  It has a slight lob, but makes it almost
 totally across the ring.  It'll sometimes aim for you a bit, but not
 too much.
() Goes on a psychotic hammer-swinging rampage, a la Mario in Donkey
 Kong (but not nearly as invincible).  It lasts for a long time, but
 it's so easy to dodge it hurts--just jump around, or preferably jump,
 then body splash.  It's good against beginners, the beginning AI, or
 the last boss, all of which don't jump as often.

Apu:
 Apu's the Chun Li of Simpsons Wrestling:  he's weak and takes more
 damage from hits than others, but he's fast.  His () is especially
 fast and hard to get away from.  Still, he takes nearly double damage
 from some moves, so I don't play as him very often.
[] Kung-fu-like punches and chops, ending in several blurred, fast
 kicks (think Liu Kang's Bicycle Kick, but standing still).  Decent all
 around.
/\ Tosses a squishie.  The second worst projectile in the game:  it
 doesn't aim for you at all, it lobs in a strange arc that can sail
 right over their heads, and it does weak damage.  Not very fast,
 either.
() Goes into a kung-fu flurry.  It does weak damage, but keeps going
 for a long time and tends to interrupt the enemy's attacks well.  If
 you start this close to the enemy and keep the pressure up, this is
 VERY hard to get away from, since they usually can't jump out of it
 without getting hit back down.

Willie:
 Willie has no projectiles.  This means you have to get by on your
 melee skills...which SHOULD mean his melee skills are top-notch.  But
 they're not--he's actually pretty weak overall.  What's the deal with
 that?  He uses a freakin' rake!!
[] Rake shots, ending in an overhead smash.  Decent all around.
/\ Willie spins in a full circle using the rake for leverage.  This is
 another melee weapon that lets him spin behind most [] shots, then
 pound them while they try for the next shot, but unfortunately it does
 about as much damage as [].
() Puts a random piece of gardening equipment--rakes, hedge clippers,
 bear traps, etc--into the middle of the ring.  If the enemy walks on
 it, they take medium-heavy damage.  The traps last a good while, long
 enough for you to try using four or five of them at once, and the
 energy requirement's low too.

Homer:
 I suppose you could say Homer is the Super Mario of Simpsons
 Wrestling, if you were insane, because he tosses an effective
 "fireball" and can actually power up.  He's not the most effective of
 characters but he's pretty decent.  His opening lines seem kinda
 Strange, though...is it just me, or does he have fewer
 character-specific opening quotes?
[] It's Krusty's exact move set until the last shot, which is a
 slightly faster headbutt.  Looks like the body build isn't the only
 thing they share!
/\ Throws out a bowling ball.  No auto-aim, but decent damage.  The
 best thing about it is it bounces back and forth for a while before
 disappearing, meaning it can hit multiple times.  Unfortunately only
 two of these or so can be out at once.
() Powers Homer up.  He eats donuts (natch) and gets bigger, and, more
 importantly, his moves change.  [] does a series of karate chops
 ending in an overhead smash.  They're very powerful and fast,
 especially the last shot.  /\ is a bit worse, since it makes him do a
 spinning kick with low range, but it has pretty good damage if it
 connects.

Bart:
 Argh.  Bart's my least favorite character.  His move list is pretty
 bad, his power is even worse, and worst of all, his quotes are
 annoying.  They're almost always pompous, childish taunts, which is
 better for Bart than, say, Moe but still not really in character or
 funny.  And just like Homer, he has fewer specific openers.  (Homer
 and Bart fighting should start with a unique, GREAT opening line...but
 I've NEVER seen it happen.)  If you must use him, rely on the standard
 moves, especially since a couple of his are rather powerful.
[] Predictably fast-but-weak punches, leading to a breakdancing sweep.
/\ Slingshot shot.  Hard to aim and a tad on the weak side, but it
 travels straight and goes pretty fast.
() Starts skateboarding around the ring, hurting the enemy whenever he
 runs into them.  This would be far better if it had good controls, but
 instead they're sluggish, making it easy for the enemy to dodge.  (As
 if jumping didn't make it easy to dodge anyway.)  It's not even that
 damaging when it does connect.
/\ Midair: Seems to do more damage than the normal /\ stomp.
/\ Throw: A headbutt that has a tendancy to stun the enemy, sometimes
 multiple times in a row.  Doesn't always do it but it's worth a shot.

Lisa:
 Lisa's much like Bart, in that her power's low and her quotes stink.
 Her moves are better, though, and a departure from the normal kinds of
 ground moves.  Still don't play as her much, though--her moves take
 too much effort.
[] Predictably fast-but-weak kicks and punches, ending in a backflip.
/\ Starts blowing her sax.  This can hit from anywhere, and it can
 combo for up to seven hits.  If you get all seven hits in the enemy
 will be stunned.  There are disadvantages to this, however.  Each hit
 does weak damage (the first does none!), and they take a while to get
 off.  The full combo uses almost the entire energy bar.  Finally, you
 have to press the button in a rythym--you can't just mash /\, or
 you'll blow a wrong note and the combo will end.  At least it
 discourages button-mashing.
() Lisa turns savage:  she leaps up on the opponent's arm and starts
 chomping!  This is a hold, and as such can't be done or even attempted
 outside of range.  Hitting buttons and wiggling the joystick
 repeatedly will get you more hits; the opponent can do the same to get
 out faster.  Very little is more annoying than this move, but the
 damage doesn't tend to be too high.

Marge:
 Marge has an unexpected amount of power, but her [] moves are slow,
 and her special moves are poorly done.  So are her quotes.  There's
 not much else to say about her, really, except that I obviously don't
 recommend her.
[] Frying pan clonks, ending in an overhead smash.  A bit powerful, and
 the first hit's fast, but the rest are slow.
/\ A long-range hair attack.  Aside from being ridiculous to look at,
 this doesn't aim for you at all and has relatively low range.  It's
 fast, however, and pretty powerful.
() Releases Maggie.  This lil' ankle biter does just that--she grabs
 the enemy's ankle, slowing them down.  This prevents several () moves
 from being used, along with jumps, but it does no damage and doesn't
 help Marge much, since her moves can't capitalize on this well.


(The rest of this document, pretty much, has spoilers on the unlocked
characters.  If you don't want to know about them, go play the game and
come back later.  =)

===Unlocked Characters 1===

Bumblebee Man:
 This guy really annoyed me when I first fought him, but then I played
 as him...and he annoyed me again.  All he's got going for him are his
 ultra-high jumps and his () move, which is really not very powerful-
 -just, uh, annoying.  And, of course, all of his lines are in Spanish,
 which means I, in my ignorance, can't understand most of them....(If
 you can't either, by the way, head to the Quotes section for
 translations of many of his sayings, courtesy of Armando Jaimes!)
[] Punches and a yoyo shot, ending with a spin kick.  Just decent.
 (Since when has he had a yoyo?  I must've missed that episode!)
/\ Tosses out the yoyo.  Pretty long range, but pitiful damage, and if
 you miss you'll probably get hit while he pulls back the yoyo.
() Releases...the Chihuahua.  This little thing runs around the ring,
 just like Maggie, but instead of latching on to the opponent it takes
 a bite out of 'em.  It only does a []'s worth of damage, but it's VERY
 distracting...and, most importantly and cheaply, it can reset the
 enemy's stun bar if their life's depleted.  Remember this and you'll
 never miss the final pin.
() Ropes: His clothesline is considerably slower than everybody else's,
 meaning you have less of a chance of hitting with it from afar.

Moe:
 Moe is fun to use.  <g>  He has a very high jump, good speed and
 energy requirements and decent power.  His repetoire is drawn nicely
 from several old episodes, although he (un?)fortunately has no knives
 or shotguns.  His lines remain incredibly psychotic, however.  =)
[] Quick boxing punches, ending in a nifty right cross.  A bit faster
 than others, and a bit weaker.
/\ Tosses a Flaming Moe.  It works like Barney's beer mug, except when
 it hits, it starts a decent-sized fire that burns for 5-10 seconds.
 Pretty weak, but helpful if you can trap them--or the computer "traps"
 itself.
() Swings a board with a nail in it (!) in several full circles.  Each
 hit's fairly weak, but they cover a lot of ground, and this tends to
 combo four hits up close.  A relatively low energy requirement, too.
/\ Midair:  Hits them with the board with a nail in it.  Good range and
 control.

===Unlocked Characters 2===

Frink:
 Another fun one to use, Frinky has a lot of unorthodox standard moves.
 The changes are usually for the better, too.  You can use these to
 play a confusing but fair bout, or just use () repeatedly for
 cheapness.  Judging by his lines in this game I'd say he has no
 problem with it!  (Speaking of his lines, where are his trademark
 mutterings??  I love those....)
[] Rather fast slaps that have decent power, ending in a leg sweep.
/\ Pulls out a ray gun and zaps the opponent.  Fairly standard
 projectile that auto-aims a bit, but has a slow startup time.
() Pulls out a package and sets it on the mat.  The contents are
 random, oscillating between a landmine, a rocket, or a robot (this
 also explodes when it hits...).  The latter two home in, and I
 honestly don't see much defense against the rocket since it follows
 jumps, but it doesn't totally dominate because it's not too powerful
 and needs a lot of energy.
[] Midair: This can be repeated about twice as fast as the average
 stomp.  Might be a bit stronger, too.
() Midair: Frink's dive is slow, but he makes an effort to track the
 enemy, meaning he hits a bit more often.
() Ropes: Zips back and forth three times instead of just once.  

Flanders:
 I'd have suspected Homer, Bart, Willie or Moe to be overpowered, but
 nope:  it's "God-boy" Ned Flanders.  Granted, his standard moves and
 [] are merely decent, but his special moves'll get ya...and what'll
 REALLY get ya is his SECOND LIFE METER.  That's right:  divine
 intervention gives Flanders twice the life of everybody else.  This
 makes fights against him rather drawn out, not to mention hard as
 heck!
[] Standard "pugilist" punches, ending in a heavy kick.  Decent all
 around, except the kick seems a bit slow.
/\ Tosses the Good Book at the opponent.  If it doesn't hit the first
 time, it circles around to make a second or even a third pass.  Light
 damage, but what'd you expect from a homing weapon?
() Oh, boy.  Here we go.  Flanders prays to the Lord, who responds by
 sending down a bolt of lightning every few seconds...for almost thirty
 seconds!  They damage the character for as long as they're touching
 them, so they have to keep moving or face God's wrath.  Extremely good
 for pacing the match, but it's also extremely cheap, and its startup
 time is, erhm, god-awful.  You also recover energy strangely during
 the strikes (I think you can only get back what you use), so watch
 out.  Run up to computers and use []s as the lightning strikes to trap
 them.  It's good at the start of every computer match, too, except for
 the last boss, who always starts with a projectile.

===Bonus Match Up Characters===

Smithers:
 Smithers is almost as overpowered as Ned, but only because of his
 partner, Burns.  (He only has ONE life meter.)  His standard moves are
 average, although his ground ones are above it.  Overall Smithers
 comes off pretty well as a corporate tool; he has very few lines, but
 Burns can toss out a few good quotes...not to mention weapons....
[] Basic chops, ending in a string of four punches.  These do good
 damage at a decent rate of speed, but the last shot stinks--only the
 FIRST punch hits.  The other three whiff over their head, wasting
 time.
/\ Releases Blinky, the Three-Eyed Fish.  It hops around the ring for a
 while, and whenever it hits, it does a bit of damage and automatically
 stuns the enemy.  Pretty cheap, as in effective.
() Burns drops the Bomb.  He throws one in from outside the ring.  It
 has a MASSIVE range of effect, as you probably noticed while fighting
 the guy, and good damage too, especially when it hits twice.  Burns'll
 wait until they're close by to throw the bomb--usually; I'm really not
 sure how this works.

Kang:
 Kang suffers from what I've come to dub as Fighting Game Endboss
 Gigantism.  (Other examples of this can be found in Super Smash Bros.,
 Power Stone and Marvel vs. Capcom 2, among other places.)  He's
 powerful, but a HUGE target, and while he's fast on the ground his
 jumps are pathetic.  The computer doesn't even use them, which you can
 definitely use to your advantage.  () moves usually work well against
 him, as well as for him.
[] Strange tentacle extensions, with a clubbing mixed in for good
 measure.  Fast at first, and always powerful.  Try to just hit with
 repeated first strikes for best effect (although you won't win any
 Taunt letters that way).
/\ Fires a ray gun.  It has a bit of startup lag and very poor damage,
 but it does aim for you, so it's not all bad.
() A clubbing, whipping frenzy.  It's basically a glorified copy of
 Krusty's mallet stamping in speed and power, but it's got much better
 range, simply because of Kang's size.  Decent power.
[], /\, () Midair:  DON'T USE THESE!  In most likely the least
 forgivable programming error of the PSX's golden age, Activision
 forgot to give Kang ANY midair moves.  This is especially bad on
 ()--you just fall to the ground, stunned!

Itchy:
 Yep, Itchy and Scratchy ARE in this game, in a realistically limited
 capacity.  Just like in the cartoons, Itchy is the far superior
 character.  His [] are powerful and very fast, and his () is really
 cool.  Sadly, he and Scratchy have no quotes to supplement this fun,
 making them feel like they were slapped on...which could easily be
 true....
[] Swings around a baseball bat.  Very fast, except that one shot
 has a very long windup.  This seems to only happen just after a
 knockdown.
/\ Fires a machine gun burst.  Painfully funny, but pitifully weak, and
 as easy to dodge as most projectiles.
() Scratchy fires up the chainsaw.  <g>  It takes a while to start up,
 and its damage rate is pretty slow, but it goes constantly, and is
 very fun to use.  =)

Scratchy:
 Scratchy is the weaker of the pair, simply because he's slow.  He's
 got one of the best projectiles in the game, however.
[] Swings with a huge cartoon axe, ending in a slice-and-dice rampage.
 Almost as slow as Barney's swipes, and about as useful.
/\ Fires a rocket.  Somewhat high startup lag, but decent damage and
 energy requirements, and it auto-aims fully.  Sadly, this's Scratchy's
 best move....
() Forces Scratchy into an axe rampage similar to Krusty's, but faster.
 Just like Krusty's, it's rather worthless if your opponent knows how
 to jump--er, I mean, dodge it--but if you can catch them up close and
 stay on them, this one's fast enough that it's hard to get away from.

----

IV. STRATEGY

Yes, despite the simplicity of the play, there is some strategy to keep
in mind while fighting the AI in this game.  BESIDES hammering [].  (In
fact, this barely even works; it's the () button you should be
abusing.)  Here's everything I...uh...can think of at the moment.  =P

Fighting the Computer:

-Barney:  Nothing about this fight is hard if you stay out of the
 Clouds.  Barney's disappointingly pathetic.

-Krusty:  The () rampage is easy to jump away from if you see it
 coming, but if not, run from him before trying to jump.

-Willie:  Nothing special to worry about here.  Just watch for traps.

-Apu:  This guy is irritating because of his () move, but not very
 strong.  Try keeping to the air if you get in trouble.

-Homer:  Homer often tries to power up, but it takes him a long time
 to pull it off, so just hit him out of it when he stands still.  Watch
 for bowling balls, although they shouldn't give you much trouble.

-Bart:  Nothing special here, either.  Try to take advantage of Bart's
 skateboarding stupidity with projectiles.

-Lisa:  Lisa's hold and Sax are very hard to get away from, but she
 can't use them without a lot of energy, so keep her up close, where
 she'll usually waste it on weak []s.

-Marge:  Nothing special.  Maggie rarely troubles me, but you might try
 try to get away from her with jumps.

-Bumblebee Man:  Keep moving to get away from the Chihuahua.  When it
 goes away, lay into him with everything you've got to stop him from
 using it again.

-Moe:  Nothing special.  Just keep away from the Flaming Moes.

-Frink:  Occasionally, Frink will whip out a mine.  Keep on the
 lookout for these as you keep him close up to prevent his projectiles.

-Flanders:  This could be your hardest fight, especially if you let him
 him pull off the lightning move.  Don't--keep him up close and use
 several () moves of your own to keep ahead of him.  Try a projectile
 at the start of the fight to stop the first one.  And don't be
 surprised when you pin him and he gets back up for more!

-Smithers:  This is another difficult fight.  One way to keep
 away from the bombs is to keep moving, but since they can be used at
 almost any time, you'll likely never do any damage.  If you've got a
 reliable projectile, start off with those and use them whenever you
 can.  Use []s carefully, as you may have to run from an incoming
 strike at any time.  ()s often work better at this.  You might try
 throws, too.

-Kang:  Kang is usually easy to beat.  Ground ()s often work wonders,
 especially for anyone that uses rampage-type ()s.  If yours doesn't,
 you'll have to rely on standard clotheslines and midair moves.  Kang's
 a lot easier to deal with from afar, but he'll probably catch up to
 you anyway, so just do what you can.

Best Character for:

-New Challenger Circuit:  Krusty
 The enemies here don't have the AI to get out of Krusty's () rampage.

-Defender Circuit:  Moe
 Moe's () move is powerful and more versatile than Krusty's.

-Champion Circuit(and everything else):  Flanders
 Two life bars and a single move that can do up to 70% damage.

----

V. CODES

Simpsons Wrestling has its fair share of codes and unlocked secrets.
I'll list everything I know in the way of these here.

----

V-A. GAME CODES

Unlocking characters is as simple as beating them.  The ones to be
unlocked are Bumblebee Man and Moe in New Challenger Circuit, and
Frink and Flanders in Defender Circuit.

Beating New Challenger Circuit unlocks Defender Circuit, which unlocks
Champion Circuit.  Basically, these are difficulty levels, which is
annoying since it requires you to trudge through Easy to get to
anything resembling a challenge.

Beating Champion Circuit unlocks Bonus Match Up, a cool mode that lets
you choose what character's in each corner, whether a human or one of
three levels of AI controls each corner, and where you fight.  This
lets you watch two computers duke it out, if you'd like.  Even better,
it lets you play in Burns' Mansion and the Spaceship, where the second
player can play as Smithers/Burns or Kang.  Finally, and best of all,
it unlocks a bonus level--Itchy and Scratchy, which is a fight with the
classic cat and mouse inside the Simpsons' TV.  Here, Taunt is replaced
by Anvil, which does a hideous amount of damage, and the powerups are
replaced by bombs, which can be kicked around before they explode.
The worst part is that there are no quotes anywhere; the only one to
speak is Kent Brockman.  The best part is that we FINALLY see some
decent arms come into play....

You can also unlock Bonus Match Up without beating Champion Circuit,
using an actual cheat code:  at the title screen, press (), Up, Up,
Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right.

Reset with your controller during matches by hitting Start, then
holding Start and Select.

----

V-B. GAMESHARK CODES

These codes taken, with permission, from www.cheatcc.com.  (Thanks
Dave!)

===North American Version===

Unlock All Characters:
(You'll need a GS 2.2 or higher.)
50000404 0000
800741E8 0001

Unlock All Circuits:
80072BF0 0001
80072BF2 0001 

===European and Australian Version (PAL)===

Unlock All Characters:
8002852E 2400 

Infinite Health P1:
8002EFC8 0DEC
8002EFCA 2699
8002EFD0 0004
8002EFD2 1724

Infinite Health P2:
8002EFC8 0DEC
8002EFCA 2699
8002EFD0 0004
8002EFD2 1324

Infinite Health P1 & P2:
8002EFE2 2400 

One-Hit Kill For Both Players:
(Using Infinite Health on a player overrides this for that player.)
8002EFE2 AC60

P2's Wins Count For P1:
8001D09A 1000 

P1's Wins Count For P2:
8001D09A 2400 

Power Never Decreases for Both Players:
80037EEA 2400
80034756 2400 

Both Players can Hit Anywhere:
8001F966 2400 

----

VI. QUOTES

Oh, how I wish this game had a sound test.  =P  This game has a lot of
cool quotes from the characters, all done by the original voice actors.
Many of the lines are from prior episodes; some of them are original
and funny anyway.  Some readers of this FAQ and I have compiled a list
of some of the best.  A whole lot of them are rather violent, but that
comes with the territory....

All of these are also completely from the game, and I take no credit
for their creation or anything about them(except for their
transcription here).

From Me:
"My name is Krusty, and I'm going to kill you!" -Krusty, opener
"How can I harm the man whose love for filthy magazines kept me in
 business for so many years?  Oh well, I'll manage." -Apu, opener to
 Krusty
"Urge to kill rising...." -Homer, taunt
"Ok, now I'm gonna have to kill ya." -Moe, taunt
"Apu, you silly man, don't you know that Hinduism is just Satanism with
 six extra arms?  Fraid I'll have ta kill ya." -Flanders, opener to Apu
"I'm gonna start kicking the air like this.  If any part of you should
 fill that air, it's your own fault." -Lisa, opener
"There's nary an animal alive that can outrun a greased Scotsman!"
 -Willie, opener

From Winston Jen (Winston_Jen@gmx.net):
"Veni Veni Vici - I came, I saw, I clobbered." -Lisa, victory
"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone I kicked your ass.  But with all
 these people here, I won't need to!" -Lisa, opener
"Why do I even bother" -Lisa, taunt
"Why do I feel invulnerable?" -Lisa, taunt
"Better luck next time...in your dreams!" -Lisa, taunt 

From Wayne (KrtCbn204x@aol.com) (Whew!  This is a long one.  Thanks!):
"Come here, I wanna introduce your head to my two fists." -Moe, opener
 to Willie
"All right, clown.  I'm gonna slap that smile right off of your face."
 -Moe, opener to Krusty
"I'm gonna nail your tongue to my boat and use your head as an anchor!"
 -Moe, opener to Lisa 
"Teach ya to mess with Moe.....ya puke." -Moe, victory to Lisa
"When I get my hands on you...I'm gunna pull out your eyes with a
 corkscrew!" -Moe, opener to Barney
"Marge, this is no place for a lady, so I'm gonna have to toss your
 (butt?) outta here." -Moe, opener to Marge
"Prepare to be blinded by science." -Frink, opener
"Yes!  Yes!  Yes!  Survival of the nerdliest!" -Frink, victory
"Your animalistic behavior nicely complements your minimal
 cranial behavior." -Frink, opener
"Ahhh, Frinky, you have done it again." -Frink, vcitory
"Oh my god, what is that tingly sensation?  By Einstein's goofy grin,
 it must be joy!" -Frink, victory
"Hmmm.  Even the aftertaste of victory is sweet." -Frink, victory
"If you're so smart, why are you here?  Everyone knows wrestling is for
 stupid people." -Bart, opener to Frink
"Run along little girl, mwaheh.  You can't possibly know as much as I
 do." -Frink, opener to Lisa 
"According to the Frinonator 3000, you are going to lose badly very
 badly, mwaheh." -Frink, opener
"As your intellectual superior, I just have to say...YES!" -Frink,
 victory
"Good lord this should be easy.  According to my calculations you
 should be alive right now." - Frink, opener
"Tip Top Notch, like butterscotch." -Flanders, victory
"Well I hate to be a Boastful Boris, but I'm the bees knees, if you
 please." -Flanders, victory
"Thank ya lord, for giving me a teencie weencie taste of bloodlust."
 -Flanders, victory
"For the beating you are about to recieve, thank ya." -Flanders, opener
 (Not too sure about this one)
"Where are the tights?  I demand to see tights." -The Comic Book Guy
 (No, he's not a wrestler.  Just part of the crowd.)
"Oh, you better run before I go all Old Testament on ya." -Flanders,
 opener
"Oh, this will make the clan back at Flandarosa crowd glad as punch."
 -Flanders, victory
"I'm appsatively postitootly gunna kick yer keester." -Flanders,
 opener

From Bazookabro1010@aol.com (Another long one!  Many thanks!):
"I will have to ask you to leave the ring. Thank you and come again!"
 -Apu, opener 
"In your face, loser. Woohoo!" -Homer, victory 
"Woohoo! I win! I whipped you and made you scream!   mmmm....whipped
 scream." -Homer, victory 
"There isn't enough room in the ring for the two of us, loser" -Homer,
 opener 
"I'm so angry, I could shoot flames out of my butt!  Arrgh!" -Homer,
 opener 
"Here comes the Beer Train!" -Barney 
"When the going gets tough, drink Duff!" -Barney, victory 
"Who wants a piece of Willie now?" -Willie, taunt 
"Now Willie's getting jiggy with it!" -Willie, taunt 
"A hoy hoy, lowly mortal!" -Mr. Burns, taunt 
"I am so great! G-R-A-T-E! I am so great! -Homer (This is not really in
 the game, but I heard it on the Simpsons Wrestling page at
 www.activision.com)
"If you quit now, you will be called a quitter. But if I beat you, you
 will be called a loser." -Lisa, opener 
"Well, that was entertaining." -Lisa, taunt 
"Hey, two eyes. Come and get some" -Kang, taunt 
"In your face, humans!" -Kang, victory 
"Well, at least your not one of those robots who run amok with the
 hitting and the running and the screaming and the shoving." -Frink, to
 Kang (actual quote may be longer, but this is similar)
"All right, Moe. Now I'm going to be doing some hitting on you!"
 -Marge, to Moe
"Now it's time to take out the trash!" -Marge, taunt
"My oh my!  I don't think he saw that coming!" -Kent Brockman
"Oh my!  I felt that all the way out here!" -Kent Brockman 
"Now, as a stunning break from tradition, the winner of this bout will
 become our new State Senator!" -Kent Brockman
"You guys are real athletes, you know." -Lenny (Just part of the
 crowd.)
"Now, you all know wrestling is fake.  Just like my diploma!" -Dr. Nick
 (Just part of the crowd.)

From Vincent Lee (vncntlee77@hotmail.com):

"I feel the right man for this job is a woman" -Marge, victory
"Mr. Szylack, I hit UNDER the belt!" -Lisa, opener to Moe
"Ughhh! You know they created breathmints!" -Frink, opener to Barney
"There must be some mistake, I was supposed to be playing bingo right
 now" -Marge, opener
"How would a babe like you dump your husband and go with a clown like
 me?" -Krusty, opener to Marge
"Perhaps you might to rethink your strategy" -Lisa, taunt
"I didn't know the human body was capable of that." -Kent Brockman
"Hey! Wouldn't it be cool if somebody died?" -Lenny
"Is this the line for a driver's license?" -old guy (don't know his
 name) [Probably Hans Moleman.  -ed]
"Ohhhh Nooo!! Blood!" -Dr. Nick
"Hey be careful, I'm operating here!" -Dr Nick

From Armando Jaimes (jaimes_23@yahoo.com):
(Note:  All of these quotes are from Bumblebee Man.)

"Tu mal aliento es suficiente raz?n para destruirte."
 "Your bad breath is enough reason to destroy you." -Opener to Barney
"Bart, conozco tus trucos."
 "Bart, I know your tricks." -Opener to Bart
"Bart, eres mi flor y te voy a picar."
 "Bart, you're my flower and I'm going to prick you." -Opener to Bart
"La(El) fama del Chupacabra(s) no se compara con la(el) fama del
 Bumblebee Man."
 "The fame of the Chupacabra(s) doesn't compare with the fame of the
  Bumblebee Man." -Opener to Homer
"Mira Homer. todav?a tienes tiempo para salvarte de esto."
 "Look, Homer:  you still have time to get out of this." -Opener to
  Homer
"Ojal? que te vaya bien, chaparrita."
 "I hope that it goes well for you, shorty." -Opener to Lisa
"Tu cuerpo va a parecer el color de tu pelo cuando termine de
 golperarte."
 "Your body is going to be the color of your hair when I finish beating
  you." -Opener to Marge
"Este piso va a brillar cuando termine de trapearlo con tu pelo."
 "This floor is going to shine when I finish mopping it with your
  hair." -Opener to Marge
"Te voy a deportar a otro planeta, ?barbudo!."
 "I'm going to exile you to another planet, bearded man!"  -Opener to
  Willie
"Mira pelirrojo; broto como una mariposa, pero pico como una abeja."
 "Look, red-hair:  I float like a butterfly, but I sting like a bee."
  -Opener to Willie
"To voy a aplastar como a un bicho."
 "I'm going to crush you like a bug." -Opener to Willie
"No tengo miedo porque tengo mi Yo-Yo."
 "I'm not afraid because I have my Yo-Yo." -Opener to Burns
"Con mis poderes incre?bles, mi Chihuahua, y mi Yo-Yo; no puedo
 perder."
 "With my incredible powers, my Chihuahua, and my Yo-Yo, I can't lose."
  -Opener to Burns
"Quien se atreve a meter con el Bumblebee Man."
 "Who dares to intervene with the Bumblebee Man?" -Opener to Moe
"Aunque este payaso sea chistoso, yo soy mas chistoso."
 "Although this clown is funny, I'm funnier." -Opener to Krusty
"Para celebrar mi victoria, me vas a regalar un Squishie."
 "To celebrate my victory, you're going to give me a Squishie."
  -Opener to Apu
"?Andale cobarde!, ?quieres pleito?."
 "Come on coward!  Do you want to quarrel?" -Opener to Kang
"Dime qui?n eres, y te dir? que vas a perder."
 "Tell me who you are, and I'll say that you're going to lose."
  -Opener to Kang
"Me duele tener que lastimar a otro moreno."
 "It hurts me have to injure another brown." -Opener to Apu
"Voy a hacer tacos con tus sesos."
 "I'm going to make tacos with your brains." -Opener to Frink
"Somos calladitos que tenemos que vigilar."
 "We are little silent people that need watching." -Opener to Flanders
"Soy lo(el) maximo!."
 "I'm the maximum!" -Victory
"Soy el rey del mundo!"
 "I'm the king of the world!" -Victory
"Bumblebee Man es el super macho!"
 "Bumblebee Man is the super macho!" -Victory


Feel free to send in any quotes you hear while playing.  They'll be
listed in the next update, and your credit will appear right next to
your submissions and in the, uh, Credits.

----

VII. THE USUAL FAQ ENDNOTES

Credits

My biggest thanks go to CJayC, for running www.gamefaqs.com, running
its message boards (which let me know I wasn't alone in my opinions
about this one) and hosting my various FAQs!

Thanks also to Dave A., dave@cheatcc.com, for hosting this FAQ and
allowing me the use of his Gameshark codes.  I wasn't even going to
post Gameshark codes for this since I don't have a GS, but any full
walkthrough can use them, so this really came in handy!

Thanks to the following for submitting quotes:
Winston Jen (Winston_Jen@gmx.net)
Wayne (KrtCbn204x@aol.com)
Bazookabro1010@aol.com
Vincent Lee (vncntlee77@hotmail.com)

Thanks also go to Armando Jaimes for quotes, but also for pulling
double duty.  As mentioned above, he not only transcribed, but
translated the majority of Bumblebee Man's quotes.  It may not be
perfect, but it's a lot more than I had before--and a contribution I
never expected to get!

rickw@metallica.com and Smoke1479@aol.com helped alert me to a
correction for the story synopsis.  Thanks guys!

And, of course, I've got to give Activision credit where it's due.
...I suppose.  While this doesn't compare to some of their earlier
classics(River Raid?), they still deserve credit for the game, at least
for doing their Simpsons homework so well.


Copyright

This FAQ is Copyright 2001, JJ Ukil(Jjukil@excite.com).  I do not want
bad things happening to it without my knowledge.  You may not publish
it, reprint it for commercial use, modify and redistribute or reprint
it, or use information from it in another document without my written
consent.  I welcome and highly encourage its distribution, but only
unmodified and in its original form of an ascii text (.txt) document,
unless written permission to distribute a different form has been
granted.  I would also greatly prefer you mention to me that you are
distributing it.  I have found my work in odd places before, and it has
made me unhappy.  I've found my modified work in odd places before,
too, and that has made me very unhappy.  (Especially because the
modification was horrible.)

Disclaimer

This FAQ is not meant to be the final authority on Simpsons Wrestling.
This is meant to help the casual renter who's just checking this game
out to get through the 1-Player mode more easily, as well as learn
something about each character in case they want to use them all.  If
you have a bit of information you'd like to contribute to this FAQ, by
all means submit it, to Jjukil@excite.com.  Same goes to questions and
comments.  If you'd like to see this become a more complex, in-depth
information source than it is right now, though, you won't have much
luck.  I'd highly suggest you write one yourself.  It'll probably be
better anyway.  =)

----

Well, that's about it!  Hope you enjoyed it!
...now please don't kill me.

Thanks, Jjukil

