M.U.S.C.L.E. (AKA Kinnikuman: Muscle Tag Match) FAQs Page Final Version written
by John "Dragon Lord" Mercer. This FAQs Page cannot be rewritten or copyrighted
unless given permission by the author. To add questions or comments, e-mail me
at DragonLord1975@adelphia.net.
I. UPDATES
II. INTRODUCTION/GAME INFO
III. CONTROL CONFIGURATION
IV. MEET THE CHOJIN
V. LEARN THE MOVES
VI. STRATEGY
VII. BIG PROPS
I. UPDATES
1. Fixed Big Props
2. Fixed Bios
II. INTRODUCTION/GAME INFO
Let's get ready to rumble! This game is based on the little pink men called
M.U.S.C.L.E., which stood for Most Unusually Small Creatures Lurking
Everywhere. In Japan where it originated, it's called Kinnikuman (loosely
translated as "Muscle Man".
M.U.S.C.L.E. was basically a beat-em-up, knock-em-down wrestling game in which
you play 2 of 8 characters from the entire series squaring off against 2 others
in each level of play. Each level has 3 rounds of 30 seconds. A fall is awarded
to the wrestler who depletes his opponent of all his energy, thus scoring a
victory to his team. The first team to win 2 falls out of 3 wins the level.
This is a 1-player or 2-player game. If your team loses in a 1-player game, the
game is over.
III. CONTROL CONFIGURATION
TITLE SCREEN
Select: Selects 1-player or 2-player game
Start: Begins the game
CHARACTER SELECT
D-Pad/Select: Highlights wrestler
Start/A Button: Chooses highlighted wrestler
DURING THE GAME
D-Pad: Moves wrestler
Select: Not used during game
Start: Pauses the game
B Button: Makes wrestler jump
A Button: Makes wrestler punch
IV. MEET THE CHOJIN
The Chojin (or Supermen) are the characters from the M.U.S.C.L.E. series. You
may have seen them teach in the FoxBox anime series "Ultimate Muscle". Here is
a list of the characters.
M.U.S.C.L.E. MAN: Also known as Kinnikuman, he is the mascot of the entire
series. He had a most peculiar way of flying by farting and is married to
Bibinda, a woman from the Hormone Planet. M.U.S.C.L.E. Man wears red tights,
red boots and red wristbands. He also wears a mask with red lips hiding his
true face, and according to legend, if the mask is removed he must be killed.
It's sort of a twisted take on Lucha Libre. Now he's known as King Muscle.
TERRY MAN: Terry Man was an obvious parody of Terry Funk, a WWE Hardcore
Legend. He was once jealous of M.U.S.C.L.E. Man's fame and wanted to steal the
glory himself. But after seeing M.U.S.C.L.E. Man risk his life to save others,
Terry turned his attitude around and became his closest friend. Terry wears
blue tights, blue boots and blue wristbands. He has short blond hair and a
Japanese symbol "BEI" on his forehead, the first kanji in "BEIKOKU" which means
"America".
RAMEN MAN: Ramen Man is the stereotypical warrior from the Orient and was once
a feared enemy. He is now one of the good guys. And for a short time, he even
had his own series. Ramen Man wears red pants, a black belt and black shoes. He
has black hair in a long Chinese pigtail and a Fu Manchu moustache.
ROBIN MASK: Robin Mask seems to represent England in all of its glory. He was
on the borderline of being good and evil due to his amnesia. After a few bumps
on the head, he's fighting for the greater good. Robin wears blue armor over
himself with black gauntlets, black boots, black metal tights and a blue
knight's helmet on top of his head.
BUFFALO MAN: Big, mean and utterly beastly, Buffalo Man was the head of all the
bad guys in the original Kinnikuman series, but has now become one of the good
guys in Ultimate M.U.S.C.L.E. as a trainer. Buffalo Man wears black tights,
black boots and black wristbands. He has long black hair and two white-grayish
horns sticking out of his forehead like a bull ready to charge.
WARS MAN: Wars Man was the Russian representative of the series mimicking the
Russian greats of the WWE like Nikolai Volkoff. Wars Man was a ticking time
bomb ready to explode after enduring his hardships at a younger age and is now
a well-oiled wrestling machine. Wars Man is a man of secrecy wearing a gray
costume with black tights, black boots and a black hood.
BLOCKEN: Blocken is another example of WWE-style stereotypical
characterization. Blocken takes on the Nazi look without the gruesome details
and gives his opponents a holocaust of his own. Blocken wears green pants, a
black belt and black shoes. He has shades over his eyes and wears a green
version of the Nazi's signature "Death's Head" hat.
ASHURA MAN: Ashura Man has six arms instead of the standard two, which makes
him more dangerous than ever before. If he acts like he has eyes in the back of
his head, it's because he has three faces on one head. Legends say he is the
reincarnation of the Hindu Goddess of Warfare, Ashura. He has pale blue skin
and wears gold tights, gold boots and a special gold crown custom made for
Ashura Man's multi-faced head.
MEAT: Alexandria Meat, the pint-sized look-alike of M.U.S.C.L.E. Man is
actually M.U.S.C.L.E. Man's trainer helping out him and his friends whenever
they need advice. In the game itself, he rolls out a Power Ball, but we'll
discuss more on that in the Strategy Section.
V. LEARN THE MOVES*
The * indicated when your wrestler is facing right. If facing left, substitute
Right for Left.
BASIC MOVES
Punch: Press A Button normally
Jump: Press B Button normally
Dropkick: Press B Button and then A Button
Throw to the Ropes: Press Right + A Button
Near the Ropes: Press B Button to bounce off them
Back Body Drop: Press A Button from behind opponent
Clothesline: Press A Button after sending opponent to the ropes
Flying Lariat: Bounce off the ropes and press A Button
Tag Partner In: Retreat to your corner and press A Button
SPECIAL MOVES FOR THE CHOJIN (when they're blinking)
M.U.S.C.L.E. MAN'S KINNIKU BUSTER: Press A Button when you're behind your
opponent. M.U.S.C.L.E. Man will look like he's giving his opponent a
piledriver.
TERRY MAN'S CALF BRANDING: Press Right + A Button when your opponent is facing
you or looking away. Terry's special armbar slam is something he learned when
living in Texas.
RAMEN MAN'S LEG LARIAT: Press B Button and then A Button when facing the
opponent. Ramen Man's martial arts background will add force to his attacks. To
some it seems like a back brain kick.
ROBIN MASK'S TOWER BRIDGE: Press A Button when you're behind your opponent.
Robin's attack resembles the legendary Death Valley Driver and all similar
moves like it.
BUFFALO MAN'S HURRICANE MIXER: Press B Button and then A Button when facing the
opponent. Buffalo Man's move is a cartwheel-style kick similar to Capoeira
fighters.
WARS MAN'S SCREWDRIVER: Press B Button when your opponent is facing you or
looking away. Anything goes in this tournament and there's no disqualification
for using any weapons in the ring. Wars Man uses this and his blades to his
advantage.
BLOCKEN'S RED RAIN OF BERLIN: Press A Button regardless of position. Blocken
has the only projectile move in the entire game. Pressing A Button repeatedly
has him shooting red fireballs giving the other Chojin an unfair advantage.
ASHURA MAN'S ASHURA BUSTER: Press A Button when you're behind your opponent.
Ashura Man's Ashura Buster is the polar opposite of the Kinniku Buster. It's
made to look like a Super Atomic Drop, but with the same properties of the
Kinniku Buster.
VI. STRATEGY
POWER BALL: Meat's Power Ball gives your wrestler an edge in the match for a
few seconds. While your wrestler is flashing, you can enter his special move
command and flatten your opponent. Each special move reduces the victim's
energy by 2.
NORMAL RING: There are a total of three rings to be played in when playing this
game. The normal ring is a standard canvas ring.
ICE RING: This ring is more like a RINK. The canvas is turned into ice (note
the light blue color) and it makes it difficult to perform any kind of
maneuvers when all the wrestlers are sliding.
ELECTRIC RING: If you're into extreme matches, then this is for you. The canvas
is gray, but the ropes are flashing yellow with electricity. Wrestlers who get
caught in the ropes will reduce their energy by 1 until they break free. Press
B Button to move off the ropes.
ENERGY LEVEL: [()()()()()] Your maximum energy level is 5. During the match,
you must make sure your energy level doesn't drop to 0 or you'll lose the
match. If a wrestler were down to 1, he moves very slowly and in a few seconds
would drop to 0. Tagging in a partner will help regenerate his power, just like
real wrestlers do.
SPECIAL STRATEGIES: Always be aware of what the other wrestler does with his
special attacks. If your wrestler is about to be or is already on the receiving
end of a flashing wrestler and his special move, dodge any way that you can
before your energy runs out.
TIME LIMIT: Each wrestler has 30 seconds to win a fall. 2 out of 3 falls wins a
round. Should time run out, whoever had the most progress during the match will
win by default.
VII. BIG PROPS
I'd like to give a big shoutout to those that helped me on this project.
Brian Sulpher, who made the original M.U.S.C.L.E. FAQs Page in which I helped
out on.
Bandai Entertainment, for releasing the game for Famicom and the NES.
Yudetamago, the creators of the Kinnikuman series and its sequel, Kinnikuman
Nisei (A.K.A. Ultimate M.U.S.C.L.E.: The Kinnikuman Legacy).
Kinnikuman.com, for giving me the information on each of the wrestlers' names,
bios and moves.
And of course, GameFAQs.com for their generous contribution.
