Sugata (姿, すがた), full name Sanjūrō Sugata (姿三十朗, すがた さんじゅうろう), is a second year student at Nekketsu High School that was first featured in Downtown Nekketsu March Super-Awesome Field Day!. The self-proclaimed disciple of Kunio, Sugata respects him and seriously considers him as a teacher. Although he is described as simple-minded and has poor scouting skills, one of his main strengths is his fiery passion. His family influence leads him to hate villains and drives a dedication to fighting them, no matter how strong they are. He is a childhood friend of Satomi Momozono.
Appearances[]
Downtown Nekketsu March Super-Awesome Field Day![]
Sugata debuts in Downtown Nekketsu March Super-Awesome Field Day as a member of Nekketsu High School's team. In the Battle Royal minigame, he will have access to the Bomb Punch.
Surprise! Nekketsu New Records! The Distant Gold Medal[]
Sugata appears as a member of Nekketsu High School's team.
In the localization Crash 'n' the Boys: Street Challenge, Sugata was renamed to Rico "Cheese" Romano and is now a member of Southside High School.
Downtown Nekketsu Baseball Monogatari: Yakyū de Shōbu da! Kunio-kun[]
Sugata appears as the leader of Nekketsu High School's baseball team and is the main protagonist of the story.
Sugata after listening in on Tatsumi Tachibana and Rika Asano's conversation.
In the game's intro, Sugata is seen hiding at the top of a tree listening in to Tatsumi Tachibana and Rika Asano's conversation. Tachibana had received a shoulder injury that prevented him from being able to play in the Summer Koshien, so as a result he's quit playing baseball and disbanded Nekketsu High School's baseball club to the shock of his ill girlfriend. Sugata becomes the new captain of the baseball club and plans to join the baseball tournament being held by the Tōdō Group as a way to cheer up Rika and attempt to win her heart. To the disappointment of Sugata, Noboru Kawakami becomes the team's coach while not knowing anything about baseball, Kunio leaves to run errands and is not available, and his love rival Tachibana rejoins the baseball team with a renewed spirit.
During the ending of the game, Rika thanks Sugata and the team for keeping her in good spirits and for winning the tournament, though doesn't end up winning her over as she stayed with Tachibana. Later, Sugata is seen walking with Kunio and Haruka Nanase though stops when they hear Momozono running up to him as they were going to walk home together. Momozono notices that he appears upset and suspects that it's because of Rika and Tachibana, to which he attempts to ignore her and gets frustrated with her shortly after she begins to tease him. The group see Taiki Yamada running past being chased by his angry aunt, which Kunio cracks a joke at and has the group laugh together.
Downtown Nekketsu Monogatari EX[]
Sugata will appear outside of Hanazono High School as a recruitable ally after defeating an entire group of enemies when playing as Kunio alone. He will ask to join Kunio as he doesn't wish to see him fight alone. If accepted, he will be surprised that Kunio agreed to take him and will vow to do his best. If he is not met outside of Hanazono High School, he'll be in Hanazono Park 3 facing off against Tadashi Kinoshita and can be recruited there.
Nekketsu Kōkō Online: Yamada no Fukushū[]
River City Super Sports Challenge[]
Sugata appears as a member of Nekketsu High School's team.
River City: Tokyo Rumble[]
Sugata appears alongside Hikaru Saotome in a part-time job challenging Kunio to a fight. Upon completion, they are unlocked in the Rumble and Dodgeball gamemode.
River City: Knights of Justice[]
Sugata plays the role of Sanju.
Inside of his village, Sanju will attempt to attack Cooney Valford under the assumption that he is an intruder from the Imperial Army who is aiming to take him down. Upon being defeated, he realizes Cooney has nothing to do with the Imperial Army and asks for his forgiveness as he explains that he fights the Imperial Army by himself in order to protect the village. After Princess Reika arrives to check on Sanju, he asks her why she's outside and reminds her that she cannot give out her whereabouts. He takes her and Cooney inside of his house and properly introduces himself to the latter before giving him an explanation about Reika's situation. Sanju informs Cooney that the Kingdom of Nazfard lies ahead and that there are rumors spreading around of it's castle being under attack from the Imperial Army which puts their village and Reika in danger. He then asks Cooney to check what's happening in Nazfard in his stead as he asks an acquaintance to take Reika someplace safe.
Following the defeat of Kino, Sanju warns Cooney of an attack on the castle from the Imperial Army and is asked by Cooney to enlist the Fairy Army's help. Sanju explains that he won't be able to convince the fairies as he reveals that he was originally from Mywad, the home of the fairies, but he once clashed with Rei and was banished afterwards. He claims that because of their stubbornness, he won't be able to convince them himself but believes that Cooney will be able to. After Taira's defeat, Fugu brings out a captured Reika as Taira reveals the Imperial Army's true intentions were to track down the princess. Sanju intercepts and rescues Reika by defeating Fugu which causes Taira to flee. He passes away shortly after due to his wounds.
In the international version of the game, Sugata was renamed to Gareth.
River City Super Sports Challenge ~All Stars Special~[]
This remake of Super-Awesome Field Day re-imagines the events of that game. The story takes place after River City: Rival Showdown.
In the story mode, Sugata is first seen with Nanase, Kunio, and Momozono for the results of Nekketsu High School's screening for the tournament. Sugata is later seen training the new members and informs the team that they have a practice match against Reihō Academy the following week. Reika Gojōin, Masao Kobayashi, and Takashi Onizuka arrive for the practice match shortly after Hiroshi warned the group that they were coming, as Momozono has accidentally scheduled their practice match for that day instead. Although he appears confused at first, he takes the challenge and has the team partake in the practice match anyways with Kunio being absent. Sugata and the team successfully win the practice match, though are worn out and tired. During the ending of the first round in the preliminaries, Momozono comes to congratulate Sugata and Nanase for their victory though Sugata notices a bomb thrown her way. Sugata knocks Momozono out of the way to protect her and is hit by the explosion, which leaves him injured in the hospital.
Sugata later recovers and assists the new freshman and Nanase in their fight against Ryūichi Hattori, Ryūji Hattori and a group of students from Reihō Academy. When the Dragon Twins disperse, Sugata apologizes for his absence and announces to everyone that he'll be rejoining the team. When Nanase reveals that he poisoned Kunio because he was being threatened, Sugata appears angry with whoever was responsible, though doesn't act out on his own as Kunio believes paying them back in the tournament would be the better option.
When Reika, Kobayashi, and Onizuka return for the semi-finals, Nekketu's team is challenged once again with Sugata insisting that they've gotten much stronger since their practice match. Before the final match, Sugata appears shocked when hearing their opponents for the upcoming match being read out by Noboru Takamine. Sugata appears motivated after Kazumi Hasebe stopped by to raise Kunio's spirits. When the tournament comes to an end, Sugata notices Nanase feeling guilty for what he did to Kunio and helps him feel better by reassuring that he had something to protect and that what he did was only because there was no other choice.
Sugata appears as a member of Nekketsu High School's team and as a member of the Nekketsu Magic Story team as Sanju. Sugata is able to be played during parts of the story mode, though both versions are able to be played at anytime outside of the story mode. Sugata is able to use the Bomb Punch and the Burst Shot, while Sanju is unable to use the latter and instead uses the Mach Bash.
Downtown Nekketsu Jidaigeki[]
River City: Rival Showdown[]
River City: Rival Showdown is a remake of Downtown Nekketsu Story. The game takes place before River City Super Sports Challenge ~All Stars Special~.
In the story mode, Sugata is first seen with Hiroshi during the prologue rushing in to check on Kunio after he was jumped by Ryūichi and Ryūji outside of Nekketsu High School. Hiroshi informs Kunio of the rumor that's been spreading of the Dragon Twins, which Sugata appears fascinated that two people were able to best the top delinquents of Reihō Academy shortly after transferring. On the first day, Sugata is able to be seen outside of the arcade thinking of challenging the top delinquents of other schools, though upon seeing Kunio asks him if he'd like to spar sometime.
Sugata during Kunio's fight with Tadashi Kinoshita.
During the second day, Sugata can first be seen in town looking to pick a fight with the top delinquent of Hoshikusa Agricultural High School, though Kunio is able to step in and attempt to apologize for Sugata getting out of control. Sugata is later seen in the evening inside of the abandoned warehouse lying on the floor. Kunio approaches him to ask what happened and check if he's okay, where Sugata reveals that he attempted to fight Tadashi Kinoshita. When Kunio defeats Kintoshita for the first time, Sugata appears shocked when Kinoshita gets back up as this is what ended up happening when he tried to fight him. When Kinoshita gets up for the second time, he puts on his zombie face and Sugata warns Kunio that face means he's getting serious. When Kinoshita's goons arrive, Sugata gets up to assist Kunio, Naritaka Nishimura, and Yasuo Sawaguchi in the fight. Sugata and Kunio get ready to leave the warehouse after defeating Kinoshita for the third time, though stop in their tracks when they hear him start to get back up again. To prevent him from getting back up, Kunio uses the Laser Shot special which leaves Sugata impressed. The two then proceed to leave the warehouse.
Sugata and Haruka Nanase assisting Kunio and Riki at Reihō Academy.
On the final day, Sugata is given a message by Hiroshi coming from Kunio warning him that Reihō Academy may attack Nekketsu High School and that he'll need to be on alert. Despite this, Sugata and Nanase will appear at Reihō Academy on the true ending to assist Kunio and Riki in their fight against Kiyofumi Taira, as they feel like Kunio should've told them he was heading down to the school. Upon defeating Taira, Kunio suspects that Kinoshita will be their next opponent and Sugata hopes to be able to get payback, though is requested by Nanase to keep guard on the current floor. Sugata agrees and decides that he'll get his payback on Kinoshita another day. When Kunio is seen leaving the school, Sugata and Nanase tell him that they've successfully defended the area from any Reihō students.
In Riki's story, Sugata is seen walking on the street with Nanase after they've gotten themselves some yakisoba rolls. Riki runs in and asks the two to hand him a yakisoba roll which shocks the two and prompts Nanase to ask if he's hungry. Riki claims that he needs the roll for something else and once again demands the two that they hand him one. Nanase informs Riki that they've already ate them all which enrages him and prompts him to start a fight claiming Mami's life depended on that roll. With the two being defeated, Sugata asks if Riki even thought of checking the other convenience store.
River City Melee: Battle Royal Special[]
Sugata returns as a vice captain of Nekketsu High School's team and as a member of the Nekketsu Magic Story team as Sanju. Both are involved in their respective stories. Sugata is able to use the Bomb Punch and the Quick Step, while Sanju is able to use the Explosive Punch and the Magic of Explosion.
In Nekketsu High School's story, Sugata is ordered by Kunio to assemble a team to enter the newly announced tournament as he suspected something malicious was happening. After Sugata arrives with the team he put together, Kunio is angry that he brought their teammates from the previous tournament as the opponents are expected to be much stronger. Sugata apologizes and explains that he wasn't able to find anyone outside of their usual group. Kunio then assumes that they'll be able to take on the stronger teams and states that they'll be unable to back out later on. Sugata then asks Kunio about who is all participating in the tournament and suggests that it may be related to the recent attacks from a mysterious figure. Following the defeat of Monji Sumi, Sugata asks Kunio about Sumi's claim on how he already knew Kunio, to which Sumi gets up and confusingly explains to the group that he was getting revenge on Kunio for defeating Yūji Munakata during the events of Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun: Bangai Rantō Hen. Upon defeating Yūji and the rest of Wu Wonfu, Tamae Nishino arrives to hand the team a prize for winning the tournament. The team become enraged after receiving the nineteenth volume of the Battle Manual of Mysteries and head out looking for a rematch as they believed they were tricked.
River City Melee Mach!![]
River City Saga: Three Kingdoms[]
Sugata plays the role of Zhao Yun, a general with great integrity serving under Gongsun Zan (Heilman).
Zhao Yun being properly introduced to The Brothers of the Peach Garden.
In the story mode, Zhao Yun is first able to be seen in Chen Liu during the second chapter where he'll show excitement towards being able to work with Guan Yu (Kunio), Liu Bei (Gōda), and Zhang Fei (Godai) as apart of the coalition. In the third chapter, Zhao Yun is later properly introduced to the Brothers of the Peach Garden when Gongsun Zan sends him to join the brothers in Xuzhou, where he is honored to be joining them. When the group spots Cao Cao's troops in Pengcheng, Zhou Yun offers to lead the charge in the fight, which Guan Yu happily accepts. When the group arrives to the castle in Xiapi, Zhao Yun is questioning whether they'll be able to take on Cao Cao (Yamada)'s army being the only ones in the area who can fight back, though Liu Bei instead suggests they try to negotiate with Cao Cao. Zhao Yun first appears angry with the suggestion, though the group agrees on the idea when Liu Bei explains why it would be a smarter strategy. When the letter for negations is passed off to Cao Cao, the group head back to Xiapi and learn the news of Tao Qian's death, where they each share their condolences and are read the letter that was left for Liu Bei. Liu Bei reads the letter, where he learns that Cao Cao has accepted the terms and requests Liu Bei to govern Xuzhou in his place. Liu Bei things this would be too sudden of a change, which Zhao Yun agrees and thinks it could give off the wrong idea for the Cao Cao army. While the brothers go to help people in Xuzhou, Zhao Yun takes his leave and returns to Youzhou expressing his gratitude towards the brothers for letting him travel with them.
During the ending of the fourth chapter, Zhao Yun will run into the Brothers of the Peach Garden again on the Runan Highroad, where he was following Guan Yu hoping to be able to fight alongside him again, which he was given permission to do so by Gongsun Zan. In the comedy route, Zhao Yun appears lost and coincidentally runs into Guan Yu and Zhang Fei. Zhang Fei is angry with Guan Yu for temporarily joining Cao Cao's army and starts a fight with him, where Zhao Yun will assist Guan Yu in the battle.
In the fifth chapter, Zhao Yun will be able to be sparred with at the Fan Castle. When a few months pass, Zhao Yun is able to join Guan Yu in fighting against Zhang Wu, the leader of a group of bandits and who is believed to be Hua Xiong (Abobo). Later on when the Brothers of the Peach Garden recruit Zhuge Liang (Misako) as their tactician, Zhao Yun warns the group of Cao Cao's army approaching from Bowang. Zhao Yun later appears with the group when Cao Cao's army is attacking Xinye and helps the citizens evacuate. In the chapter's finale, Zhao Yun is attacked by Cao Cao's troops while evacuating the people and got separated from Mi Zhu (Saori) while she was under his watch. Zhao Yun assists Guan Yu in the fight against Xu Huang (Kobayashi) and Cao Cao's troops. Upon defeating the troops, Zhao Yun believes Mi Zhu may be inside of a well, where Guan Yu decides to go inside to look while Zhao Yun goes to meet up with Zhang Fei at the Dangyang Bridge. Zhao Yun will later be seen waiting for Guan Yu with Zhang Fei, where he'll then apologize to Mi Zhu for losing sight of her and informs Guan Yu that the citizens of Xinye have been successfully evacuated. Zhao Yun will then assist Guan Yu and Zhang Fei in the fight against Yu Jin (Taira) and Zhang He (Kinoshita).
Zhao Yun apologizing to Guan Yu for letting Cao Cao slip by.
During the final chapter, Zhao Yun will be seen making preparations for the final battle, though looks to take out bandits in the area that have reportedly been causing problems for Sun Quan (Riki)'s army with transporting weapons and provisions. Guan Yu can offer to help, where Zhao Yun will ask him to take out the bandits on Xishui Highroad and Xunyang Highroad and Guan Yu will then challenge him to a race to see who gets back first. Zhao Yun returns right before Guan Yu and beats him in the race, where Zhou Yu (Kyōko) will then come by to thank the two for clearing out the bandits, as she confirms the rumor that they were impeding transportation was true. Guan Yu gives the credit for the idea to Zhao Yun, where Zhou Yu will then offer Zhao Yun a position in Sun Quan's army, though Zhao Yun states to Guan Yu that he doesn't have any intention on joining Sun Quan. During the Battle of Red Cliffs, Zhao Yun and Zhuge Liang will assist Guan Yu in the fight against Zhang He. In the ending, Zhao Yun joins the others in rebuilding the country.
In the China Heroes gamemode, Sugata is one of the four default characters that can be selected. Sugata is able to use the Bomb Punch, Explosive Punch, a lunging knee, Explosive Shot, and the Gusty Charge as his super special.
River City Saga: Three Kingdoms Next[]
Sugata retains his role as Zhao Yun.
Other media appearances[]
Kunio-kun! Nekketsu Battle![]
Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun: Rantō Enbu-hen[]
Localized versions[]
- In Crash 'N' the Boys: Street Challenge, Sugata was renamed to Rico "Cheese" Romano. Alterations were made to his hair.
- In River City Ransom EX, Sugata was renamed to Gary.
- In the international version of River City: Knights of Justice, Sugata was renamed to Gareth.
Trivia[]
- In River City Ransom: Underground, Sugata's face is used for some of the enemies on The Squids, The Cowboys and The Plague gangs that appear in the game's prologue.
- In River City Girls, Sugata was planned to make an appearance though was not allowed to be used, so he was instead replaced by Naritaka.
- Naritaka will always face away from the player similarly to what Sugata would to to Momozono during the ending of Downtown Nekketsu Baseball Monogatari: Yakyū de Shōbu da! Kunio-kun.
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