I had this idea for a game that works like a combination of Eat! Fat! FIGHT! and Monster Rancher (both by the same company) with the sumo aspects of the former and the character-raising and combat aspects of the latter. When you start the game, you begin with 30,000 Yen and are aided by a middle-aged man who acts like Holly and Colt from the latter game series. There are multiple ways to get sumo wrestlers: One is to purchase one of three (with one of them depending on the season) for free from a shop run by an elderly woman, while the other is to enter any keyword that’s up to 12 letters long in an airport-looking place run by a young woman. The sumos you get can have varying clothing colors, hair colors, skin colors, base stats, and can be either male with a mawashi or female with a mawashi and leotard. The stats are as follows:
Vitality: The sumo’s overall HP total in battles.
Strength: The sumo’s attack power, which also contributes to their muscles.
Smarts: The power of the sumo’s non-contact moves.
Perception: The sumo’s accuracy rate in battles.
Agility: The likelihood of a sumo avoiding any attacks.
Size: The sumo’s defense power, which also contributes to their obesity.
Style: How a sumo is disciplined. The different styles, from lightest to heaviest (no pun intended) order, being Foolish, Clumsy, Uneasy, Even, Strict, Harsh, and Overboard.
Stress: A hidden factor that determines how quickly a sumo will resign (the game’s answer to a monster’s death in the MR series).
Metabolism: Determines a multiplyer of either Agility or Size (similar to the Size stat in the MR games). The types of metabolism, from fastest to slowest order, being Hyper, Fast, Normal, Slow, and Sluggish.
Mood: Determines how easy or hard a sumo is to raise. The moods, from lowest to highest order, being Stern, Dour, Normal, Happy, and Cheerful.
Likes and Dislikes: These are randomly selected for each sumo you meet. For example, one sumo will like Takoyaki but dislike Relaxing, while another will like Fights but dislike Cherries.
Additionally, like the MR games, there are plenty of locked extra sumos due to them coming from countries that have yet to be unlocked. The countries that are available from the start are as follows:
Japan: Sumos there are akin to the Dino/Zuum monsters.
USA: Sumos there are akin to the Mocchi monsters.
Germany: Sumos there are akin to the Ape monsters.
France: Sumos there are akin to the Pixie monsters.
UK: Sumos there are akin to the Suezo monsters.
China: Sumos there are akin to the Tiger monsters.
Austrailia: Sumos there are akin to the Plant monsters.
Canada: Sumos there are akin to the Golem monsters.
South Korea: Sumos there are akin to the Naga monsters.
Africa: Sumos there are akin to the Henger monsters.
Brazil: Sumos there are akin to the Worm monsters.
Sweden: Sumos there are akin to the Jell monsters.
Scotland: Sumos there are akin to the Mew monsters.
And the unlockable countries are as follows:
India: Sumos there are akin to the Gali monsters.
Puerto Rico: Sumos there are akin to the Undine monsters.
Russia: Sumos there are akin to the Dragon monsters.
New Zealand: Sumos there are akin to the Hare monsters.
Jamaica: Sumos there are akin to the Kato monsters.
Isle of Samoa: Sumos there are akin to the Zilla monsters.
Switzerland: Sumos there are akin to the Monol monsters, except with neutral personalities.
Ireland: Sumos there are akin to the Hopper monsters.
North Korea: Sumos there are akin to the Garu monsters.
Antarctica: Sumos there are akin to the Antlan monsters.
North Pole: The only two sumos there are akin to the Disk monsters.
Atlantis(?): Sumos there are akin to the Joker monsters.
As a dojo owner, you begin with an F Class sumo while you’re at Beginner Rank. However, as you keep raising sumos, you’ll go up to 5th Rank, 4th Rank, 3rd Rank, 2nd Rank, 1st Rank, and eventually hit four higher ranks (three of which correspond with real world sumo wrestler ranks all the way up to yokozuna) until you hit the fourth of these ranks, Master Rank. Tournaments that increase your rank and your sumo’s class (from lowest to highest: F, E, D, C, B, A, S, SS, SSS, M, Yokozuna) are always held on the fourth week of every season, which are always a Round Robin-style of tournament where whichever sumo scores the most victories becomes the champion. Other tournaments, some of which unlock specific countries through the items given as prizes, also happen in every other week, though all tournaments never go higher than S Rank. Upon a sumo reaching S Rank, there are four special tournaments that, no matter which order you beat them in, will allow said sumo to reach the SS, SSS, M, and eventually Yokozuna Class. There are ten types of training regimens for sumos, too:
Pole: Increases Strength, Decreases Stamina
Bales: Increases Perception, Decreases Stamina
Manga: Increases Smarts, Decreases Stamina
Stomping: Increases Agility, Decreases Stamina
Meditation: Increases Vitality, Decreases Stamina
Chankonabe: Increases Size, Decreases Stamina
Exhibition: Greatly Increases Strength, Increases Vitality, Decreases Size, Greatly Decreases Stamina
Anime: Greatly Increases Perception, Increases Size, Decreases Smarts, Greatly Decreases Stamina
Buffet: Greatly Increases Size, Increases Vitality, Decreases Agility, Greatly Decreases Stamina
Stroll: Greatly Increases Agility, Increases Smarts, Decreases Strength, Greatly Decreases Stamina
There are also six forms of training that last four weeks and usually cost 2,000 Yen, which are as follows:
Kyoto: Smarts (available from the beginning)
Yokohama: Agility (available from the beginning)
Fukuoka: Perception (available from the beginning)
Osaka: Strength (unlocked after the current sumo reaches C Rank)
Tokyo: Size (unlocked after the current sumo reaches C Rank)
Nagoya: Vitality (unlocked after the current sumo reaches C Rank)
Also, if the current sumo reaches C Rank and has at least 300 points of Smarts, a well-endowed woman with the personality of a certain treasure-hunting bat girl will allow the sumo to go on one of three adventures that last for four weeks and are as follows:
Mt. Fuji: 1st week of July
Osaka Castle: 1st week of October
Fushimi Inari Taisha: 1st week of January
The three starting sumos you get from the shop are as follows:
Japanese, male, fair skin, black hair, white mawashi (Vitality: 100, Strength: 120, Smarts: 100, Perception: 140, Agility: 100, Size: 100)
(Spring) British, male, tan skin, brown hair, blue mawashi (Vitality: 80, Strength: 120, Smarts: 170, Perception: 130, Agility: 90, Size: 50)
(Summer) French, female, pale skin, black hair, blue mawashi, white leotard (Vitality: 50, Strength: 80, Smarts: 170, Perception: 150, Agility: 140, Size: 60)
(Fall) German, female, fair skin, red hair, yellow mawashi, black leotard (Vitality: 140, Strength: 160, Smarts: 100, Perception: 120, Agility: 20, Size: 150)
(Winter) Canadian, male, fair skin, blonde hair, blue mawashi (Vitality: 100, Strength: 160, Smarts: 110, Perception: 70, Agility: 60, Size: 220)
American, female, fair skin, blonde hair, white mawashi, pink leotard (Vitality: 110, Strength: 100, Smarts: 120, Perception: 140, Agility: 150, Size: 130)
Additionally, when a sumo resigns from their career, you can pay to have a going-away party similar to the MR series’ funerals for when a monster dies. You can also make Yen by selling excess items to the shop, run by a middle-aged man wearing a bandana of the Japanese flag, or by entering tournaments. And like the MR series’ recent crossover with the Ultraman franchise, sometimes a schoolgirl will drop by to bring a random item, while your sumo can also randomly find items during their ten regimens. In addition, items can also be found on adventures, which includes items not normal sold in the shop such as specific items used to unlock new countries where more sumos are. Additionally, since all sumos you receive are at least 21 years old when you first get them, you can have a male and female give birth to a baby that speedily grows up to inherit his/her parents’ traits, though this causes the couple who had the baby to leave another location, the stable, where up to 20 sumos can stay (similar to the MR series’ Labs where you can freeze monsters and fuse them together). Breeding a male and female usually costs 500 Yen. You can also set sumos you no longer need free, but you can also sell any sumos to the shop, where the shopkeeper’s asking price depends on how well-trained they are. Additionally, you can celebrate a sumo’s birthday by giving them a free birthday cake that slightly boosts their Vitality and Size and slightly decreases the Metabolism speed. And similar to the Japan-exclusive LINE: Monster Farm, when a sumo reaches their prime, they’re surrounded by a yellow aura that amplifies the stat buffs when selecting the six regular regimens, through it only lasts for four weeks. There’s also another way to make some Yen in the form of a minigame that has Game Boy-styled sprites that works like the Japanese Monster Farm 2’s PocketStation game (which was localized for the DX remake), except with a graphical style and animation (using four shades of gray) reminiscent of the first three Game & Watch Gallery games’ Modern titles (as well as using music reminiscent of the classic Game & Watch Gallery series’ tunes). One last thing: The various techniques are color-coded. For example, non-contact techniques such as slob-related ones like burping in the opponent’s face or “dirty tactics” like throwing rice and spices in the opponent’s eyes are colored green while contact moves like arm thrusts and belly bucks are colored yellow. That and either of the two sumos in a battle can perform a stomp to dispel the opponent if they get too close. There’s also a Determination meter for both sumos in battle that not only determines whether or not they can use moves, but also the accuracy rate for said moves.
Before I go, I mentioned stamina, right? Well, stamina starts out full and slowly empties with each regimen, etc., and it can be refilled by using the Relax command or by using Sushi (the equivalent of the MR series’ Nuts Oil item). There are also six different items to feed a sumo at the start of each month which consist of Potatoes, Milk (depicted in a glass rather than a baby bottle), Tenderloins (which work more like Fish than Meat), Gelatin Cups (which have a rare chance to have a mark on the lid that, when six are collected, eventually wins you one half of a ticket to Puerto Rico, with you having to shell out enough Yen to by the other half and put them back together), Sushi Plate, and Vitamins. Also, your sumos can either ask you to spend time with them or ask you for a specific item that you have to buy with a set amount of Yen. If a sumo becomes too stressed out, their career becomes more short-lived. If a sumo is foolish, they won’t finish their training properly. If you go overboard with scolding a sumo, their career also becomes more short-lived. Remeber, find the right balance of scolding, praise, stress relief, training regimens, and more to help a sumo each their career.
P.S.: Did you know that this game’s inspiration, the Monster Rancher series, was actually itself inspired by a game series one year older than it called Gallop Racer which was also created by Koei-Tecmo back in 1996 years before Tecmo and Koei entered a merger?
TL;DR: This is my basic idea of a sumo wrestling sim akin to two Temco game series released on PS1 in 1996 (horse-racing) and 1997 (creature-breeding).