Episode 134: Shin Nippon Pro Wrestling: Tohkon Road Brave Spirits is a Sports game, developed by Yuke's and published by Hudson, which was released in Japan in 1998.
Loved the intro. Japanese wrestling games really have incredible soundtracks. It looks really fun. Its mad how a lot of it would be reworked for the PlayStation Smackdown games. It has a really great roster of Japanese wrestling legends. This was the game that helped the Smackdown games become so beloved and iconic to this day.
There are 4 Toukon Retsuden games. The first 3 are on the Playsation and the 4th is on the Dreamcast. The two Tohkon Road games are basically an N64 version of the Toukon Retsuden games.
Every time I finish watching a new Nika vid, I worry about when/how long it’ll be for the next one while praying he doesn’t leave us again. This is why I have notifications on for the channel and why you should too. Nika4life.
Thanks Jon! I won’t be gone for good. Sometimes it takes a while for me to get a video done, my life has become so busy I barely have a moment for myself, but I’ll always be back! Luckily I’ve got a few more vids just about ready to drop and some planned after that.
@@NikateeN you really oughta consider starting a Patreon. Put a little extra cash in your pocket for all your hard work. I bet you’d be surprised how many people are willing to support you. 🥳
This was a stripped down N64 port of the long running Touken Retsuden NJPW games on PS1. By this time there was 1-3 of them, plus Power Move Prowrestling conversion of Touken 1. I imported this and it was much worse than the PS1 versions in all areas including roster size, music, modified controls and the list goes on and on. They did create a sequel to this for N64, check that one out. It’s much better than this and if you followed NJPW at the time, they recreated a lot of highlight TV moments via moves in the game.
They’re obscure in the US market. I mean I’ve been collecting for decades and have never seen one in the wild. Also, there isn’t a lot of information about them online, I’d call that obscure.
@@NikateeN I remember picking up Power Move Pro Wrestling back in the day in that weird early PS2 era when Toys R Us had like every PS1 game in stock for some reason.
@@NikateeN I love your videos! Do you know how to unlock the Hudson ring that is in the video? I know you played the IWGP mode. Did you come across any metallic wrestlers (think Dural from Virtual Fighter or AJ Styles GOLD from WWe2k19)? I heard about them and didn't know if they were just rumors.
I know others mentioned this, but there are 4 main series Toukon Retsuden games (1-3 on PS1, 4 on Dreamcast). I think most fans of Japanese wrestling who have dove into Japanese wrestling games prefer those to the N64 entries. Though I personally really enjoy the ones on the N64 as well for what they are. As far as why the series isn't talked about much as a whole, I think that's simply because games like Virtual Pro Wrestling 2 have a lot more offer to fans who may not be all too familiar with Japanese wrestling. VPW2 has such a large roster with at least a few people even a casual wrestling fan would know. Plus it has that familiar AKI create a wrestler and game engine. It's more easily digestible for the average wrestling fan. The Toukon Retsuden series is strictly 90s NJPW with its own game engine and a limited create a wrestler (some entries not having one at all). So that's my best guess. I just think it's overshadowed by a lot of great wrestling games from the time that are praised by hardcore and casual fans alike. Easy to get lost in the shuffle under those circumstances.
The artist who did the artwork for the game is Nagatoshi Sakai. He still does artwork for different promotions in Japan. His recently been doing a collab for shirts in the US i just got my Hayabusa shirt in the mail yesterday.
Ayee, just re-watched the Virtual Pro Wrestling 2 review like two hours ago n damn idk a new vid just popped out, love it man! anyway, have you already played MDickie's wrestling games like Wrestling Revolution 3D or Wrestling Empire? that two games is worth checking although the game is a bit zany and ridiculous lmao
I forget which one NJPW N64 game I have but I remember playing it a bunch after I got tired of AJPW 2, which can happen. I mean after playing the career mode with Vader and making the Patriot along with another Patriot style CAW just black and at the time I didn't know about the Eagle (aka Jackie Fulton.) But it was a fine game, what I did to play me was opened up the console and took out the piece of plastic that prohibited playing Japanese games. Granted the dust doors wouldn't stay but you could keep a game in and it was fine. Now the Dreamcast games were my favorites at the time Fire Pro D, Giant Gram 2000 and Toukon Retsuden 4.
Yea I didn't play too much of the first Smackdown games but when I saw some footage of these Yuke's N64 titles on Mike Regan's Wrestling game TH-cam I instantly saw Smackdown.
I love your wrestling game reviews man, happy that you continue them. Can't wait for the new Yuke's AEW game to be released just so you can review it lol. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I've been checking your back catalogue of reviews and I don't recall either you ever doing a video for the All Star Pro-Wrestling games for the PS2, if you ever get the time I would love for your take on them, the first title I have some fond memories of as I spent quite a bit time playing it back in the early days of the PS2, the entrances for wrestlers were quite good!
That music sounds right out of World Tour. Kinda like some nostalgic sports show bumper music. These chariots may not be on fire, but there's heat there. I can feel it.
Wait, doesn't shin nippon pro wrestling mean new japan pro wrestling? I've always heard those njpw guys saying shin nippon (pronounced nihon) puroresu.
@@NikateeN EVERYONE says it at work. It's used more colloquially now. It just rolls of of the tongue better with the s... Though I will not forgive anyone's use of the word "anywayS." My two pet peeves.
You can just switch the back of the game to a US one or just replace cartridge slot on the n64 to region free one. You can also cut the tabs off the N64 as another option as well.
Ahhh the Spotlight Video Game Review intro tune has become a classic by now! Another great review, Nik! And, yeah, I did not know about this game at all!
Great Review. You should do Evil Zone. It was a beat 'em up by Yukes, done just before they did WWF Smackdown! It even has a similar menu interface as well as an interesting control scheme.
I have to admit, your wrestling game reviews have inspired me to review the UFC Undisputed series. Your reviews are so in-depth, fun, and entertaining to watch, that I would rank them alongside the likes of AVGN. Also, if you have an N64 Gameshark, you can use that to bypass the region locking, as the region lock is two physical tabs inside your N64 cartridge slot.
Thanks a lot for the kind words! Yes you can use GameShark which is what I used to use, but they never seem to last, I’ve gone through so many in the last few years that I gave up on them.
@@NikateeN Yeah, they do tend to crap out, but they do in a pinch. I still use an old game genie to play Super Famicom games on my SNES, and its odd and somewhat interesting that the same method works for three different Nintendo consoles. You'd figure that they would have just stopped region locking by the Gamecube.
I just got FFNY in the mail a few days ago so it will be a few months before I can tackle that one. Unfortunately that’s about how long it takes me to finish a review these days from start to finish.
@@NikateeN I hear that. It's all good, brother. This was great! Never even knew about these games! I can wait a little bit for the FFNY review. Quality takes time! Just glad you're back!
@@NikateeN I'm very surprised they were able to pack in as much presentation in those games for the limited hardware they were working with. Kudos to them
Welcome back Nikateen hey do u buy these Japanese video games off of Amazon or did u find these off of Ebay oh and are u ever going to review Def Jam Fight for NY and Def Jam Icon by any chance or maybe later on in the month possibly
I like the chibi cover for Brave Spirits. Kinda reminds me of the KOC I cover, accept that KOC I is I'm game models. My idea for the AEW Game cover is VPW2 style if they wish to shoehorn a bunch of their talent. Or KOC II style of they just want the Elite in suits like all the Legends on KOC II. I know Omega loves both of those games! They could feature ex-WWE talent and up and comers on the back with "From the director of No Mercy and the creators of Smackdown vs. Raw." Just spitballing/day dreaming 😅
The AKI intros are classic. I hope the AEW game returns to that style with the help of Geta. Growing up with the N64 I found the PS1 full motion video intros lazy. For the last few games Visual Concepts/Yuke's and 2K have been using the, "Then, Now Forever pre show VTR. While this could be one of those nonsensical WWE edictis, regardless of whose idea it is; it's just lame. The Japanese wrestling magazine Yuke's uses in the Brave Spirits intro is cool. They returned to that style, using Japanese wrestling magazines as basis for the menus in one of the Wrestle Kingdom games.
Well I just learned a lot. Great vid! I didn’t know about this game or the sequel. Looking forward to the second game being reviewed in the future. Hope they improved on the sequel game. It’s wild to thing this is like the ground work for the smack down games lol. Very cool.
@@NikateeN you should try to get these 2 obscure Yukes titles for the PS1 called Simple 1500: The Pro Wrestling 1 and The Pro Wrestling 2 which were both based on the 1st 2 SmackDown games
![[ TEASER ] เงาะป่า - วงL.กฮ. | TMG RECORD](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/M4ObdFfcPww/mqdefault.jpg)
The King of Wrestling Games is BACK.
Makes me realise how bad 616 is
@@rubberchix 616 isn't too bad, why do u think so ? Nikateen is just better though.
@@dazitmane8905 covers his content in ads, is getting sooooo much fatter yet still begs for money. He's clearly got money for food
Welcome back NikateeN
2:25 the music is a remix of Shinya Hashimoto's entrance theme, legendary japanese wrestler (rip) present in this game 3:36 .
Loved the intro. Japanese wrestling games really have incredible soundtracks. It looks really fun. Its mad how a lot of it would be reworked for the PlayStation Smackdown games. It has a really great roster of Japanese wrestling legends. This was the game that helped the Smackdown games become so beloved and iconic to this day.
There are 4 Toukon Retsuden games. The first 3 are on the Playsation and the 4th is on the Dreamcast. The two Tohkon Road games are basically an N64 version of the Toukon Retsuden games.
Please review All Japan Pro Wrestling games on Sega Consoles mainly Giant Gram.
Every time I finish watching a new Nika vid, I worry about when/how long it’ll be for the next one while praying he doesn’t leave us again. This is why I have notifications on for the channel and why you should too. Nika4life.
Thanks Jon! I won’t be gone for good. Sometimes it takes a while for me to get a video done, my life has become so busy I barely have a moment for myself, but I’ll always be back! Luckily I’ve got a few more vids just about ready to drop and some planned after that.
@@NikateeN you really oughta consider starting a Patreon. Put a little extra cash in your pocket for all your hard work. I bet you’d be surprised how many people are willing to support you. 🥳
This was a stripped down N64 port of the long running Touken Retsuden NJPW games on PS1. By this time there was 1-3 of them, plus Power Move Prowrestling conversion of Touken 1. I imported this and it was much worse than the PS1 versions in all areas including roster size, music, modified controls and the list goes on and on. They did create a sequel to this for N64, check that one out. It’s much better than this and if you followed NJPW at the time, they recreated a lot of highlight TV moments via moves in the game.
The Toukon Retsuden games weren’t obscure at all, I mean there’s four of them. The original Toukon Retsuden was Power Move Pro Wrestling.
They’re obscure in the US market. I mean I’ve been collecting for decades and have never seen one in the wild. Also, there isn’t a lot of information about them online, I’d call that obscure.
@@NikateeN I remember picking up Power Move Pro Wrestling back in the day in that weird early PS2 era when Toys R Us had like every PS1 game in stock for some reason.
@@spooky_electric: me too.....power move was actually pretty damn good...
The People's Champion is back!!!
That double tap to pick up wrestlers with their back facing you was used on Yuke's WWE games on GameCube like WrestleMania x8. A convenient option.
The legend is back! Glad to see you’re ok, homie.
Thanks Alec! It’s good to be back in the swing of things.
@@NikateeN I love your videos!
Do you know how to unlock the Hudson ring that is in the video? I know you played the IWGP mode. Did you come across any metallic wrestlers (think Dural from Virtual Fighter or AJ Styles GOLD from WWe2k19)? I heard about them and didn't know if they were just rumors.
I know others mentioned this, but there are 4 main series Toukon Retsuden games (1-3 on PS1, 4 on Dreamcast). I think most fans of Japanese wrestling who have dove into Japanese wrestling games prefer those to the N64 entries. Though I personally really enjoy the ones on the N64 as well for what they are.
As far as why the series isn't talked about much as a whole, I think that's simply because games like Virtual Pro Wrestling 2 have a lot more offer to fans who may not be all too familiar with Japanese wrestling. VPW2 has such a large roster with at least a few people even a casual wrestling fan would know. Plus it has that familiar AKI create a wrestler and game engine. It's more easily digestible for the average wrestling fan.
The Toukon Retsuden series is strictly 90s NJPW with its own game engine and a limited create a wrestler (some entries not having one at all).
So that's my best guess. I just think it's overshadowed by a lot of great wrestling games from the time that are praised by hardcore and casual fans alike. Easy to get lost in the shuffle under those circumstances.
Just reminds me of Fire Pro.
WCW Vs The World (PS1) also had Double Title Matches just like Tokkon Road
That clip of the Sam Goody sent me on a nostalgia trip. Thanks for another video!
Sam Goody was my spot! Especially since I was poor and they had a vast selection of singles.
That Rocky Maivia's... uhm... bag...
The artist who did the artwork for the game is Nagatoshi Sakai. He still does artwork for different promotions in Japan. His recently been doing a collab for shirts in the US i just got my Hayabusa shirt in the mail yesterday.
Surprise surprise The King (of wrestlers) is back
The people's champ has come back!!! ( insert city name here)
Ayee, just re-watched the Virtual Pro Wrestling 2 review like two hours ago n damn idk a new vid just popped out, love it man! anyway, have you already played MDickie's wrestling games like Wrestling Revolution 3D or Wrestling Empire? that two games is worth checking although the game is a bit zany and ridiculous lmao
Haven’t checked them out but I’ve meaning to, just don’t have time to play anything really. 😞
I forget which one NJPW N64 game I have but I remember playing it a bunch after I got tired of AJPW 2, which can happen. I mean after playing the career mode with Vader and making the Patriot along with another Patriot style CAW just black and at the time I didn't know about the Eagle (aka Jackie Fulton.) But it was a fine game, what I did to play me was opened up the console and took out the piece of plastic that prohibited playing Japanese games. Granted the dust doors wouldn't stay but you could keep a game in and it was fine. Now the Dreamcast games were my favorites at the time Fire Pro D, Giant Gram 2000 and Toukon Retsuden 4.
Yea I didn't play too much of the first Smackdown games but when I saw some footage of these Yuke's N64 titles on Mike Regan's Wrestling game TH-cam I instantly saw Smackdown.
Shin = New
Nippon (pronounced like “nee-pohn” = Japan
New Japan (New Japan Pro Wrestling)
looks like powermove pro wrestling, great vid nikateen.
Thanks!
I love your wrestling game reviews man, happy that you continue them. Can't wait for the new Yuke's AEW game to be released just so you can review it lol. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I've been checking your back catalogue of reviews and I don't recall either you ever doing a video for the All Star Pro-Wrestling games for the PS2, if you ever get the time I would love for your take on them, the first title I have some fond memories of as I spent quite a bit time playing it back in the early days of the PS2, the entrances for wrestlers were quite good!
Thanks! I have not covered that series but I will definitely look into it!
If you own a N64 GAME GENIE you also can play Japanese games without the adapter or trashing it. Just pop in on and put in no cheats
i honestly didn’t know you left.... i rewatch the videos over and over because i have a shit memory lol. nice to see a new one tho
Always a pleasure to see an upload from you
i hope you can review the second game as well! it's loads better in terms of graphics and presentation
Working on that review right now!
always a good day when you upload
This game invented Fortnite dances before they were even a thing.
AND.........I miss the Hudson logo. I have such a soft spot for that bee logo.
Yes! Classic stuff!
You gotta do a review on Saturday night slam masters and the FMW game on SNES
awesome game I never play this game before wow just wow I find something new.
Neat! I bought this back in March, haven't played it yet though.
That music sounds right out of World Tour. Kinda like some nostalgic sports show bumper music. These chariots may not be on fire, but there's heat there. I can feel it.
finally after two months! glad to see you back! well, I think you should review Wrestle Kingdom 2 for PS2. It such a great game and great roster too..
Just bought this and 14 other Japanese games as a bundle for $70 ☺
The People's Intro featuring the Rock
I’m sticking to the Aki games, thank you very much.
Is it just me? Or does that wrestler on the front cover looks like The Rock?
Welcome back sir. You have been missed. Hope you and your fam have been doing well!
Thanks a lot, much appreciated!
I had a PSX was cheaper in 1997 was $250 X-Mas 1997
Finally The Nikateen has come back to TH-cam
Wait, doesn't shin nippon pro wrestling mean new japan pro wrestling? I've always heard those njpw guys saying shin nippon (pronounced nihon) puroresu.
Yes
Yes sir I believe it does!
Guess who's back.
This looks like the same engine as all star pro wrestling.
You are Back🙂
Welcome back
Japan had better wrestling games
3:24 "regard" NO "S" at the end. I have made this my life's mission.
Dammit… I’m not so concerned that I’ve been saying it wrong on the internet, but I say that at work sometimes!
@@NikateeN EVERYONE says it at work. It's used more colloquially now. It just rolls of of the tongue better with the s... Though I will not forgive anyone's use of the word "anywayS." My two pet peeves.
The sequel definitely has better entrances
They are super impressive in the sequel!
You can just switch the back of the game to a US one or just replace cartridge slot on the n64 to region free one. You can also cut the tabs off the N64 as another option as well.
I keep trying. The screws won’t budge.
@@DirtyDadDingus Do you have the correct tools to open them??
Oh yeah !
Hey man , long time no seen. how are you?
Doing better! Thanks for asking.
This game was the prototype for the Smackdown games.
No
Ahhh the Spotlight Video Game Review intro tune has become a classic by now! Another great review, Nik! And, yeah, I did not know about this game at all!
Glad to see that your back brother 🙂
Dude your review videos are great man. I can’t tell u how many times I’ve binge watched them from time to time bro. Fantastic stuff my friend. 👍
Thanks a lot! I appreciate that!
Great Review. You should do Evil Zone. It was a beat 'em up by Yukes, done just before they did WWF Smackdown! It even has a similar menu interface as well as an interesting control scheme.
Wow, never heard of it! I’ll definitely have to check that one out, thanks!
No problem. All in-depth reviews of obscure PSX games are great! in-depth reviews of obscure PSX games.
I played it's sequel a day before on n64 emulator
Decided to play it for Shinya Hashimoto
Really liked the gameplay
I forgot about this gem!!!
Great work bruh! Great work!
Thanks!
There's a sequel to this game on n64 which is a lot better with a career mode that you select the wrestlers in. Very unique!
I have to admit, your wrestling game reviews have inspired me to review the UFC Undisputed series.
Your reviews are so in-depth, fun, and entertaining to watch, that I would rank them alongside the likes of AVGN.
Also, if you have an N64 Gameshark, you can use that to bypass the region locking, as the region lock is two physical tabs inside your N64 cartridge slot.
Thanks a lot for the kind words! Yes you can use GameShark which is what I used to use, but they never seem to last, I’ve gone through so many in the last few years that I gave up on them.
@@NikateeN Yeah, they do tend to crap out, but they do in a pinch. I still use an old game genie to play Super Famicom games on my SNES, and its odd and somewhat interesting that the same method works for three different Nintendo consoles. You'd figure that they would have just stopped region locking by the Gamecube.
Oh shit!
A very welcome surprise, as I expected a video on Def Jam FFNY first!
Welcome back, Nik!
I just got FFNY in the mail a few days ago so it will be a few months before I can tackle that one. Unfortunately that’s about how long it takes me to finish a review these days from start to finish.
@@NikateeN I hear that. It's all good, brother. This was great! Never even knew about these games!
I can wait a little bit for the FFNY review.
Quality takes time!
Just glad you're back!
Never played this game but I do own the sequel which steps up the presentation quality immensely.
It actually looks pretty good and you've got me interested in getting it lol . The only downfall is that awful moving camera
The 2nd installment improves on so much, it’s definitely the better of the 2 games. This one is definitely worth checking out though!
@@NikateeN I'm very surprised they were able to pack in as much presentation in those games for the limited hardware they were working with. Kudos to them
It's funny how people miss pronounce yukes. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
How is it pronounced?
@@NikateeN it's pronounced yukes like. That Taste yucky. Stop pronouncing it yooks.
DatNik
owo what's this
Welcome back brother
Welcome back. I gotta try this game out, it looks like it could be fun.
Welcome back Nikateen hey do u buy these Japanese video games off of Amazon or did u find these off of Ebay oh and are u ever going to review Def Jam Fight for NY and Def Jam Icon by any chance or maybe later on in the month possibly
Not this month, but Def Jam FFNY is on the agenda. I buy locally, and eBay.
Really great to see you back buddy, I hope you're doing well! 👏👏👍
Thanks a lot man!
I like the chibi cover for Brave Spirits. Kinda reminds me of the KOC I cover, accept that KOC I is I'm game models.
My idea for the AEW Game cover is VPW2 style if they wish to shoehorn a bunch of their talent. Or KOC II style of they just want the Elite in suits like all the Legends on KOC II. I know Omega loves both of those games! They could feature ex-WWE talent and up and comers on the back with "From the director of No Mercy and the creators of Smackdown vs. Raw." Just spitballing/day dreaming 😅
More wrestling game videos. More. Please.
The AKI intros are classic. I hope the AEW game returns to that style with the help of Geta. Growing up with the N64 I found the PS1 full motion video intros lazy.
For the last few games Visual Concepts/Yuke's and 2K have been using the, "Then, Now Forever pre show VTR. While this could be one of those nonsensical WWE edictis, regardless of whose idea it is; it's just lame.
The Japanese wrestling magazine Yuke's uses in the Brave Spirits intro is cool. They returned to that style, using Japanese wrestling magazines as basis for the menus in one of the Wrestle Kingdom games.
Maybe you can finally review WWE 2K18 and 19.
Thank you for covering these :)
Can please provide a link to the adapter to play these on US consoles? Thanks.
You can use a universal tray. You just have to take apart your N64 to install it.
Well I just learned a lot. Great vid! I didn’t know about this game or the sequel. Looking forward to the second game being reviewed in the future. Hope they improved on the sequel game. It’s wild to thing this is like the ground work for the smack down games lol. Very cool.
Glad to see you back.
By the way, Welcome Back 🙏
Thanks man!
Yo fr bro, thanks for bringing these games into the spotlight. Wouldn't know about these obscure wrestling games if it wasn't for you.
What's the discount code for the converter 🌝
Lol it’s not an ad, I just get so many questions about how I play import games that I wanted to explain the process.
@@NikateeN haha it should be :p
We need a “let’s watch” vid now bro bro lol
we all miss you dude welcome back man
Thanks so much man! I’ve missed being here, glad to be back at it!
@@NikateeN you should try to get these 2 obscure Yukes titles for the PS1 called Simple 1500: The Pro Wrestling 1 and The Pro Wrestling 2 which were both based on the 1st 2 SmackDown games
Welcome back
Thanks!
@@NikateeN your welcome
Welcome back man always great to see another awesome wrestling game review by you
Could you add a link to that n64 plug in piece to the description please?
Also, great video. Never actually heard of this game before and I’m not sure how or why.
Welcome back bruv, also good review.
Thanks!
@@NikateeN np dude
yo man i think it would be really dope if you record Giant Gram 2000 for Dreamcast it’s the last AJPW game i think
I’ll have to check that one out!
Welcome back brotha!
Thanks a lot dude!
9:04
😂🤣
When the next arena showcase and welcome back
There is no next Arena Showcase at the moment. Thanks to Peacock I can’t gather my images anymore for that show.
Looks like No Mercy and Wrestlemania 2000
He’s back!