Date: November 5, 2000 Version: 2 E-MAIL: Renmazuo1017@aol.com (Ask me anything about PS2) GameFAQs Name-Billy Lee Black Powerstone 2 Character Strategies This is my first FAQ, so have mercy on me. I feel that the other FAQs don't really focus too much on the characters, they just give the Specials and such but never on How to Actually Play them effectively. This FAQ will do just that. Powerstone 2 is a VERY easy game to learn, and I expect you to know most of the controls, how to do specials, etc. etc. So I'll just get to the good stuff, In Depth Character Strategies! P.S. My Overalls are NOT averages. All of the the Moves are from their transformation, and it is from a rating of 5 stars. **********Falcon (Red Whirlwind)************************************ Stats: Strength: 6 Defense: 7 Speed: 7 Jump: 7 Reach: 7 Specials: 7 OVERALL: 7 Weapons to Use: Any of the weapons are fit for Falcon Best Partner: Pride Worst Enemy: Ayame Best Stage for him: Item Shop and the Dark Castle Falcon is an all around fighter, such; he can fight in almost any situation. Both his Specials are effective, but you need to get at about Mid Range to actually get decent damage. His Regular Attack for the Special has a VERY short range, I definitely DO NOT recommend to use it a lot. Make use of his Double Jump, it'll come in handy with the bosses. I would probably start with his Missile Special, then while they are in the air, double jump and start his other special. This is very strong, it's not enough to kill a character, but it's enough to have them running for their lives. His combos have OK range and power. Falcon has no outstanding abilities, but no real weaknesses either. Falcon is useful for beginners, but I don't recommend him for masters, as his Specials get easy to stop and dodge for veterans. MOVES----------------------------------------------------------------- POWER MISSILE (Any action button) Falcon fires a missile that has some homing ability. OK damage, but not one of the best Power Drives. RATING-** POWER ROCKET (Attack + Jump) Falcon is surrounded by a shield and rams the closest opponent 5 times. Experts have an easy time dodging it. Pretty damaging. RATING- *** POWER EXPLOSION (Action + Jump) Multi hitting enemy. Home in, but again, is very easy to dodge. RATING- *** MOVES------------------------------------------------------- **********Rouge (Scorching Beauty)********************************* Strength: 5 Defense: 5 Speed: 7 Jump: 8 Reach: 7 Specials: 8 OVERALL: 7 Weapons to Use: Long Range Weapons, Morning Star, and Traps (Pitfall, Leg Trap, etc.) Best Partner: Galuda Worst Enemy: Pete Best Stage for her: Boulder Stage Rouge is one of the few females of Powerstone 2. She is though, well equipped to rough it up with the boys. I wouldn't recommend her to get into too much up close fighting, maybe just two or three combos per match. Her Offensive Strength and Defensive are pretty weak, she'll die fast if you don't run. Great weapons for her are Bazookas and Guns. When she transforms, use her Fire Breath a lot, as it's a very powerful regular attack. It homes in, stays long, and very painful. If there is a crowd of people, punish them by jumping and doing your Rain of Fire, then follow up with the Summon Giant. In small areas, do her Fiery Trap, but the Fiery Trap isn't very useful for two story stages and double jumpers. I would mainly do her Flamethrower then when she has a VERY small Power Gauge left, do her Summon Giant. Take advantage of traps, since Rouge can throw far for a girl and she is fast enough to run while the enemy is trying to avoid the trap. Rouge's strength lies in her transformation, as its one of the strongest and most useful in the game. Get in a rumble with a sword or hammer while collecting Powerstones your enemies have already acquired. Then when she transforms, teach them a lesson in respecting a lady. MOVES------------------------------------------------------------- SIGH OF HELLFIRE (Any Action Button) Great Power Drive. Powerful and homing capabilities. Should be used often. RATING- **** RAIN OF FIRE (Any Action Button-Air) Great if you want to be protected from enemies. Just jump, perform it, then land on it. No one will get close to you. It probably won't hit anyone that's smart enough to dodge it, but it's one of the coolest looking Power Drives. RATING- *** FIERY TRAP (Attack + Jump) Great for corners, but pretty weak. Double jumpers can dodge it with ease. Very easy to dodge for pole users like Julia or two story stages. RATING- ** SUMMON GIANT (Action + Jump) Probably the best looking Power Fusion. Rouge creates a head and makes it fire 5 meteors at the enemies. Not all will hit, buy at least one will. Not as damaging as some, but pretty decent. RATING- *** MOVES-------------------------------------------------------- **********Wang Tang (Agile Dragon)***************************** Strength: 6 Defense: 6 Speed: 7 Jump: 7 Specials: 7 Reach: 7 OVERALL: 7 Weapons to Use: Skateboards, Rollerblades, Bombs, and Hammers Best Partner: Ayame Worst Enemy: Falcon Best Stage for Him: Item Shop, Desert Area, and Dark Castle Wang Tang may be the favorites of most people, but he's not the best. His offense is average, but his defensive strength is pretty weak. The key to using Wang Tang is getting mid range weapons like the hammer, flamethrower, and small bombs. When the enemy has much less health than you, it's a good idea to get in for the kill using a pole as a trampoline, then do a fancy combo to weaken them. Then look for any weapon to finish them off. If they have full health, have other enemies fight them off, or use a Skateboard to get in and out while doing damage. If it were one on one, I would probably get a 5-way shotgun, flamethrower, or an Electric Rod as weapons to wear them down. Then get in and use the strategy above to finish them off. Wang Tang's transformation is only useful in close range, and when it works, it works well. Get enemies in a corner and quickly do a Big Ball Special high above since a box can easily stop you. Then follow up with regular attacks. Then after that you can either just keep doing regular attacks, do another ball or do Dragon Dance. I don't recommend Dragon Dance too much, since its very hard to hit with and very weak. It looks pretty though. MOVES------------------------------------------------------------ DAGON FANG BOMB (Any Action Button) Want Tang lets loose a fireball that can stun an opponent. Fairly weak, but three can be fired one after another. BIG DRAGON BALL (Attack + Jump) Wang Tang creates a VERY large ball of flame on his hands an after a couple of seconds, lets it loose. Very damaging in small areas, but also very easy to dodge at large areas. Stuns opponents while hitting. RATING- *** DRAGON DANCE (Action + Jump) Wang Tang smashes the ground and creates a large dragon to come up. VERY cool looking Special, but easy to dodge and not very damaging. RATING- ** MOVES--------------------------------------------------------- **********Ryoma (Master Swordsman)********************************* Strength: 7 Defense: 7 Speed: 5 Jump: 6 Reach: 9 Specials: 7 OVERALL: 7 Weapons to Use: Bombs, Magic Stick, and Petrifier Best Partner: Julia Worst Enemy: Pete Best Stage for him: Submarine Level and Desert Area Ryoma is kind of a mixed bag. He has OK speed, strength, and defense, but he has to do some fancy footwork to survive. All of his combos look great, but they leave him wide open for a long time, so you need to have a Petrifier while doing combos, or have a quick partner to stop any incoming attacks that might be headed your way. The only weapons Ryoma really needs are throwing objects such as boxes and bombs. He ALREADY has a sword, so up close fighting is easy. I would probably go for the slow bulky enemies first, since they can counterattack fast enough to make you suffer for your weaknesses. Be careful with combos, don't just start doing them, and make sure you will hit the enemy. If there are a lot of enemies, as long as you hit one of them and get hit back is OK, since Ryoma can exchange blows anytime. Ryoma's specials have VERY short range, but also very powerful. Both his Specials are hard to stop, so if you see him starting it, it's best to run as far away as you can. NEVER jump to him. But if your Ryoma, punish the high and double jumpers. Julia is an easy prey when she's gliding. His Scattered Crescents is a great way to hit your opponents around you, and it protects you from boxes and air born enemies. His Tenchi Ryoudan is a great weapon for jumpers as well; it takes them to the skies and slams them to the ground at high velocity. Ryoma is the worst enemy of Julia, as her greatest asset, the sky, is no longer safe for her. MOVES-------------------------------------------------------------- RAIJIKEN (Any Action Button) Could be very damaging if used right. Let's thunder come out of the ground and throws enemy in the air. Can be done multiple times and can be comboed into any of his specials. RATING- **** THUNDER BALLS (Any Action Button-Air) Home in an enemy and does minimal damage. Every slow opponents worst nightmare. Very useful. RATING- ***** MIDARE ZONTOU (Attack + Jump) Creates crescent like fireballs and homes on enemies. Average damage. RATING- *** TENCHI RYOUDAN (Action + Jump) Turns into a ball of electricity and uppercuts himself and an enemy up, and slams them back to the ground. Very damaging, but hard to hit people with. RATING- *** MOVES----------------------------------------------------------------- **********Ayame (Cherry Blossom Dancer)******************************** Strength: 3 Defense: 4 Speed: 10 Jump: 9 Reach: 6 Specials: 7 OVERALL: 8 Weapons to Use: Shields, Long Range Weapons, Morning Star, and Petrifier. Best Partner: Accel Worst Enemy: Gunrock Best Stage for Her: Submarine Level, Airship Level, and Extra Stage 3. Ayame is my favorite character, I don't want to seem biased, but I think she's ONE of the best. You just need to know how to use her. Ayame is NOT a hit and run character. If you try to do hit and run, YOU WILL GET HIT AND HIT AND HIT. Never get close to your enemies, unless they get close to you. ALWAYS stay far from enemies and use ANY long range weapons. When an enemy gets their special, RUN. Run like heck. Don't even attempt to try to get one small hit in, Specials are your death trap. Almost any special will take half of Ayame's health. When their gauge runs out, run to a Powerstone that's closest to you, use your speed to get the weapons YOU want. If you must get into a fight, have a Scooter, Petrifier, or Morning Star to protect you from all sides. But you should mostly carry Shields while running around scavenging Powerstones. When you transform, run away from your enemies and double jump, then do her 100 Shuryuken Special. It ALWAYS hits and does decent damage. It's one of the more useful Specials. Never do her Sword of Rain special, as it will most likely miss, and when it hits, it doesn't do enough damage. While your enemies are in the air with the 100 Shuryuken Special, keep doing her Regular Move, it will do tons of damage. Then do her 100 Shuryuken Special again. Then while the enemies are in the air again, get the other two Powerstones you dropped and find a long range weapon. Run while shooting your weapon and find another Powerstone to weaken your enemies all over again. MOVES--------------------------------------------------------- FLOWER SHURYUKEN (Any Action Button) stuns opponents, but no homing capabilities and minimal damage. Use only with a special. RATING- *** 100 SHURYUKENS (Attack + Jump) Very damaging if used in a row. Impossible to dodge, except with a shield. It's the best Fusion in the game. RATING- ***** HAIL OF SPEARS (Action + Button) One of the worst fusions in the game. Very hard to hit with, but if hit, it does average damage. Keep pressing buttons when it hits. RATING- * MOVES------------------------------------------------------------ *********Gunrock (Heavy Tank)*************************************** Strength: 10 Defense: 9 Speed: 4 Jump: 3 Reach: 8 Special: 6 OVERALL: 6 Weapons to use: Disabling Weapons such as the Ice and Lightning Weapons. Medusa works well too. Best Partner: Galuda Worst Enemy: Wang Tang Best Stage: Desert Area Gunrock is a powerhouse, bus moves like a snail. The best think to do is paralyze your opponent, then do a combo on them. The paralyzing attack will make sure that the whole combo will hit and also won't let them run. If an enemy is running away from you, don't even try to go after them. They will probably outrun you. A wide open area where no one can run is his best place to kick arses. Always stay close to enemies, more likely than not, human players will try to stay away from you, and when they run, they'll wear you down from afar. Always try to stay close and take Powerstones from unsuspecting foes. I personally think that his Specials are just average, they are powerful, but surprisingly hard to make a hit throughout the whole special, meaning, you'll hit the enemy, but you won't hit then with the FULL special. His Earthquake special paralyzes enemies nearby, and keeps the stage anti air in a certain area. But people will see this a mile a way, so they'll probably run. Try to hit them with a regular attack then do it while they're rolling around. The only time the Rock N' Roll is useful, is in the Desert Area Stage, because it's a flat ground. Most other stages will have different ground levels, so enemies can run from it easily. MOVES---------------------------------------------------------- GUN GUN ROCK (Any Action Button) Covers a large area but no homing capabilities. Average damage. RATING- ** ROCK 'N' ROLL (Attack + Jump) Gunrock curls into a rock and rolls around. You can control him, but moves slowly, can be hit out of the special easily. RATING- ** EARTHQUAKE (Action + Jump) Gunrock stomps on the ground and causes everyone around him to be dizzy. Then he creates a rain of rocks. Average damage. RATING- ** MOVES----------------------------------------------------------- ********** Jack (Mad Clown)***************************************** Strength: 4 Defense: 5 Speed: 4 Jump: 5 Reach: 7 Special: 4 OVERALL: 4 Weapons to Use: Magic Stick, Flame Rod, Bubble Gun, and Fireworks Best Partner: Ryoma Worst Enemy: Pride Best Stage: Item Shop, Extra Stage 2, and Darkcastle Area Jack is probably the worst character in the WHOLE game. He is such an underdog in many ways. He just has so many weaknesses, and his only strength is his combos. He is very slow, he's hard to control that sometimes you don't know where you looking, his jump is at best average, his Specials are just versions of other Specials but worse, and his defense is also average. Added to the fact that he is just so ugly looking. Stay at midrange when fighting. He's too slow to do hit and runs or long range attacks, and he is too weak to go head on. In the booklet, his supposed strength is his "trickiness", but how are you tricky in Powerstone? He has pretty good reach though. His Regular Move during his transformation has the poorest reach, and probably the most worthless in all. If you like his Killer Dance, you're crazy, it is one of the sorriest Special Moves in the game. Just use Pete's Propeller Dream if you like it. Propeller Dream does more damage and you can move around! His Misery Rain is actually a decent special, but there are still better. What's so bad about Misery Rain is that it sometime goes after 2 different people, so the damage overall to both those people is greatly decreased. Stick to Galuda's Light of Vengeance or even Ayame's Sword of Rain (Since you can control it). Jack is only decent when it's a one on one match. Jack is definitely not a choice for someone in the right mind. MOVES----------------------------------------------------------- ROUND (Any Action Button) One word: horrible. No range, weak, and little homing ability. RATING- * KILLER DANCE (Attack + Jump) Imitates a helicopter and carries enemies up with him. Average Damage. RATING- * MISERY RAIN (Action + Jump) OK homing capability, average power, but one of the worst specials. RATING- ** MOVES----------------------------------------------------------- **********Galuda (Proud Eagle)*************************************** Strength: 8 Defense: 8 Speed: 5 Jump: 4 Reach: 7 Special: 7 OVERALL: 6 Weapons to Use: Paralyzing Weapons, Bubble Gun, Medusa, Lance of Lava, and Rollerblades Best Partner: Gourmand Worst Enemy: Wang Tang Best Stage: Extra Stage 2 and Airship Stage Galuda is a pretty good fighter overall. He's not as powerful as Gunrock, but he's not as slow. Although, his speed is pretty low. His reach is pretty good and jumping height is average. You should mix up everyone's strategy to play him. He should paralyze the faster characters and combo them to oblivion. The stronger characters, you should wear down with long range weapons then do combos. Hit and run tactics with a Skateboard, Scooter, and Rollerblades isn't a bad strategy either. When he gets his transformation, his Specials are very hard to hit with, but when they hit, it's painful. His regular move is pretty sorry, don't use it unless your desperate. Light of Vengeance can be dodges easily, but his Power Explosion is where he shines. It's hard to hit with, but then it does, around half their health will be depleted!!! Use it on jumpers (Ayame and Falcon), or on gliders (Julia and Mel). MOVES------------------------------------------------------------ HEAVEN'S CRY (Any Action Button) Grows a pair of wings and rams an enemy. Not too great. RATING- ** LIGHT OF VENGEANCE (Attack + Jump) Created arrows and shoots them up, then comes down on the nearest enemy. Easy to dodge, and crappy damage. RATING- ** POWER EXPLOSION (Action + Jump) Grows a pair of wings and slams an enemy to the ground. VERY STRONG. Has the ability to kill an enemy with one hit on damage setting 4 and 200% damage. RATING- **** MOVES----------------------------------------------------------- **********Pete (Invention Boy)************************************* Strength: 3 Defense: 2 Speed: 9 Jump: 6 Reach: 3 Special: 10 OVERALL: 7 Weapons for Him: Bubble Gun, Deluxe Shield, and Bazooka. Best Partner: Galuda Worst Enemy: Accel Best Stage: All stages except the Item Shop The only reason I said that he wouldn't survive in the Item Shop, is just that its just too small for him to actually survive long enough. His Specials there are effective, but so is everyone else's. Pete is a good Hit and Run character. He's very small and hard to hit, and his rapid attacks will confuse enemies, and leave them wondering what happened to them. His Strong Move, "The Break Dancer", has great reach and reasonable power for Pete. Pete IS the weakest character overall, so staying away from enemies until you have Powerstones is a good idea, or just annoy your enemies by running in with a good weapon or combo them to make them lose their Powerstone then run away again. The key to Pete, is that he's the easiest character do dodge long range attacks, if he just had a Double Jump, he would be the perfect Long Range Attacker, but since he doesn't, Hit and Run is the best way for him. Pete's Transformation is one of the most effective in the game. The main reason for this is that he has 4 different specials that allow him to confuse opponents and have a little variety. And unlike Jack, all of his specials are effective at different situations. Pete's regular move may not be the best, but when he has transformed, he's ready for anything. Use the Electric Pillar for jumpers, or if your on top of people. His Toy Parade is perfect for cornered opponents or for small stages, especially since you can change directions for it. The Electric Sphere is the special most people fear. He is practically invulnerable in his sphere. Boxes will not penetrate him; it will just rip it to shreds. If you just stand there and think that you can stop the little Pete, you're in for a painful surprise. His Propeller Dream is one of the less Useful Specials, its hard to hit with and is pretty weak. Only use it if you really want to hit everyone for little damage. MOVES----------------------------------------------------------- ENERGY SHOT (Any Action Button) Average Power Drive. Pretty good range. RATING- *** TOY PARADE (Attack + Jump-Ground) Creates soldiers and fires. Bad range, but power is pretty good. Annoying special to be hit by. RATING- **** PROPELLER DREAM (Attack + Jump-Air)- releases toys around him. Not too damaging, but can hit multiple enemies. RATING- ** ELECTRIC SPHERE (Action + Jump-Ground)- Pete creates a huge shield that will protect him from anything and everything. Boxes won't even get close to you with this baby on. Did I say you can hit people with it too, even enemies on the floor won't be safe. RATING- **** ELECTRIC PILLAR (Action + Jump-Air)- Pete basically creates a large pillar made of electricity. One of the best specials in the game. It can hit multiple enemies, and is quite powerful. RATING- **** MOVES---------------------------------------------------------- **********Julia (Secret Grace)*********************************** Strength: 6 Defense: 7 Speed: 4 Jump: 8 Reach: 6 Special: 6 OVERALL: 5 Weapons for Her: Traps, Flame Rod, Gun, Bamboo Stick and 5-way Shotgun Best Partner: Falcon Worst Enemy: Ryoma Best Stage: Extra Stage 3, Darkcastle Area, and Item Shop Julia is one of those characters who need a lot of patience before she can be close to deadly. Don's expect do even get half of human player's health without a little practice. The reason for this is that Julia is almost unorthodox in every way. Her speed might put you off, her hard to hit Specials, and her "Gliding Ability". But once you are able to master her greatest asset, and where she is truly the Queen at, she can be a decent opponent. This asset is the sky. Julia must put poles to use and second stories, from here, you may attack from the air. Use her Gliding Ability to get on top of the enemy you want to punish, then do an attack. Most people will think of her as helpless while she is flying around like Mary Poppins, but once they get their guard down, they won't even know what hit them. Bamboo Sticks are Julia's best friends. It lets her create strategy, and lets her make her own pole wherever you feel she needs it. Julia is pure strategy. She's not quite a long range attacker, but not quite a close combat attacker, but also not as bad as Jack. Her air attacks cover a wide area, and her Umbrella Spin has great reach and hits all around. She can also throw a mean box, which makes most jumpers fear her, but when you're fighting Ryoma, be afraid- be very afraid. Ryoma is best at making the stage anti air, watch out for his Specials. Another good thing with Julia is that she hardly ever misses with her combos!!! But attacks hardly miss her either… Her Specials can be quite annoying to people who don't know how to use it. Use her Regular Move during her transformation to trap them for long period of time. Try to trap two of them together, then unleash her Queen's Mischief on the other person not trapped. You can do her Queen's Mischief up to three times. I don't recommend her Merry Go Round a lot, since it's very hard to hit with and does weaker damage than Queen's Mischief. ONLY use the Merry Go Round when there are enemies all around you, this will hit all of them and let you think of a plan you might have until this VERY long Special ends. But unless this is not an issue, just try to crucify someone, then do your special on the another two people. The reason for NOT hitting the crucified one is so that that one person won't bother you, as Julia's specials are very easy to dodge, and she is left vulnerable. Boxes are her worst enemy when transformed; one box can take her out of ANY of her Specials. MOVES---------------------------------------------------------- SLAVE OF LOVE (Any Action Button) Absolutely the BEST Power Drive in the game. While not too powerful, its range and usefulness makes up for it. It basically traps an opponent on a cross for about 5 seconds, if it is a direct hit. This sets up for Julia's strong specials. RATING- ***** QUEEN'S MISCHIEF (Attack + Jump) Powerful, hits multiple enemies, and can be done 3 times in a row. Great special, but hard to hit without Slave of Love. RATING- **** MERRY-GO-ROUND (Action + Jump) Weak, but pretty flashy. Not the best special she has. She creates a merry go round and traps enemies in it while damaging them. Again, it is hard to hit with it without the help of Slave of Love. MOVES---------------------------------------------------------- **********Gourmand (Evil Chef)********************************* Strength: 8 Defense: 7 Speed: 4 Jump: 5 Reach: 9 Special: 3 OVERALL: 5 Weapons for Him: Paralyzing Weapons, Bazooka's, Whirlwind, ball and chain, and Meteor Best Partner: Mel Worst Enemy: Julia Best Stage: Airship Level, Extra Stage 3, and Tomb Stage Gourmand is one of the worst characters in the game. I do admit that I used to like playing him, until I realized how much of a sorry character he is. He does have the longest reach in the whole game. For running opponents, just do your combo; it'll probably reach them. I like having Mel for a partner since her specials can hit anyone anywhere. Julia is the one you should fear, she's a little better than Gourmand in terms of Speed and Jump ability, and Gourmand is too slow to avoid her air attacks. Paralyze an opponent, then do your most devastating combo. The whirlwind and the meteor will slow down opponents for you so you can combo them. The ball and chain is also a good weapon to even the odds for him. His transformation is one of the worst. His regular move is pretty good, but his Specials are horrible. His Fire Twirl will only be useful in close quarters and his Evil Pot will be good for long range. The reason his specials are so bad is that once it hits them, it knocks them downs, so most of the hits don't hit. His Evil Pot is really good for bosses though since they can't be knocked down. MOVES---------------------------------------------------------- FALL ETANSEL (Any Action Button) Throws a large meatball (?) to the air and splits and falls on the enemies. Pretty good. RATING- *** FIRE TWIRL (Attack + Jump) Gourmand turns into a flaming dinosaur and twirls. You can control him, but he moves VERY slowly. Just use the Evil Pot. RATING- ** EVIL POT (Action + Jump) Gourmand starts floating and makes a large pop. Then all of the food he is cooking inside the Pot flies out and attacks everyone. Not too damaging, but its pretty easy to hit people with. RATING- *** MOVES------------------------------------------------------------ **********Accel (Vagabond Gunman)********************************** Strength: 6 Defense: 6 Speed: 9 Jump: 8 Reach: 10 Special: 4 OVERALL: 6 Weapons for Him: Flamethrower, Flame Rod, Dragon Slayer, and Meteors Best Partner: Gunrock Worst Enemy: Pete Best Stage: Item Shop and Submarine Level Accel is one of the most fun to play as. If you want to get close to a fight, always bring a weapon of some kind. He's the best when it comes to long range attacks; you don't even need guns! Just easily bounce of a wall and he will home in to the nearest opponent and shoot them. Therefore, Accel has not much use for Bazooka'a, etc. etc. The only time you should get a long range weapon is if you want to do more damage. But overall, Guns and Homing Missiles are useless to him. Mid Range is a good place to fight in, use Flamethrowers and Fire Rods to whittle enemies down, then get close and do your combo, then run to a wall and start shooting. Overall, this will probably give you a couple of Powerstones. His transformations though are pretty bad. His Specials are really nice to look at, but he is left wide open for so long that he'll probably get stopped. But, if you run away then do your Special, his specials probably won't reach. If you want a sure hit with him, do his Crazy Revolver two time straight in Mid Range. But if your opponent is fast enough or has a good jump, it still won't do a lot of damage. Small areas, is pretty good for him, but he's also easy to hit. Watch out for the Wild Buzzsaw, you're a REALLY big target. One box will probably stop you. Do his Wild Buzzsaw in small areas so enemies will panic and won't be able to grab a box to throw at you in time. If I were playing him though, I would just keep doing me Regular Move, then jump and do a Wild Buzzsaw, and try to stay away from speedy characters like Pete and Ayame. MOVES-------------------------------------------------------------- BEAT ASSUALT (Any Action Button) Can be done MANY times, but is pretty weak. No homing capability so it can be hard to hit with. RATING- ** CRAZY REVOLVER (Attack + Jump) Accel lets out 4 sets of large bullets that juggle the enemy. But he is very vulnerable, and if he's hit the bullets stop. RATING- ** WILD BUZZSAW (Action + Jump) Accel turns into a large buzzsaw that moves VER fast. He is controllable, but he is a large target for attacks. RATING- ** MOVES--------------------------------------------------------- **********Pride (Infamous Father of Falcon)************************ Strength: 8 Defense: 8 Speed: 6 Jump: 6 Reach: 8 Special: 8 OVERALL: 8 Weapons for Him: Any of the weapons are fit for Pride Best Partner: Falcon Worst Enemy: Ayame Best Stage: Desert Area, Darkcastle Area, and Extra Stage 3 Pride is one of the best characters in the game. Although he is in the slow side, his power, specials, defense and reach are all above average. He can be a close range fighter or a long range, as he's good enough for both. Pride is a Great character for beginners AND masters. His human form is great for newbies, and his Transformation requires a Master's touch. His Scatter Missile fires two sets instead of one (Falcon's), but they don't home in. Get close to a battle, then do it for MAJOR damage on everyone. His Whirlwind Uppercut is VERY damaging if you know how to use it. First off, you need to get someone on it. Then you should notice a "Press Buttons" sign on top. Keep mashing buttons and he will do more hits, and IT WILL be very damaging. Combine his Scatter Missile with Falcon's Power Explosion to make the stage filled with missiles. This is a GREAT way to whittle down opponents in team battle. Then if your good enough, combine his Whirlwind Uppercut with Falcon's Power Rocket for a sweet looking special and a damaging one as well. His regular move has poor reach but it "catches" opponents. Don't use it too much unless it's close combat. MOVES----------------------------------------------------------- WHIRLWIND (Any Action Button) Pride creates a small whirlwind that "traps" an enemy. Range is almost as horrible as Jack's. RATING- ** WHIRLWIND UPPERCUT (Attack + Jump) VERY strong special. Once it hits, start mashing buttons and cause great damage among your enemies. Works great on the Pharaoh Walker. RATING- ***** POWER ROCKET (Action + Jump) Pride lets out 2 sets of missile that does NOT home in. Very strong at close range. RATING- *** MOVES----------------------------------------------------------- **********Mel (Item Shop Lady)************************************** Strength: 4 Defense: 4 Speed: 5 Jump: 8 Reach: 7 Special: 2 Overall: 4 Weapons for Her: Bamboo Stick, traps, and Bazookas. Best Partner: Julia Worst Enemy: Pride Best Stage: Submarine Level, Airship Level, and Extra Stage 2 I find Mel to be the most boring character to play. She has absolutely NO variety. Her Special just adds wings, and her Special are money. For her Human form, just use the strategy for Julia above. She is however weaker than Julia, her defense is surprisingly low. When I play Original Mode with her, she's ALWAYS the first one to die. Mel's regular move during her Transformation hits all around, but has VERY poor reach. Her Coin Blast is SO boring to look at and hardly hits. It doesn't even look like a Special! Money Bag Rain will almost always hits, but the damage from it is poor. The one good thing I find in her is that she can do 4 specials, and she has a Double Jump during her transformation. When you get her transformation, just keep doing the Money Bag Rain, this will do decent damage and will probably hit. Sorry if I'm being biased, but I find Julia A LOT better. MOVES------------------------------------------------------------ HOUSE OF CARDS (Any Action Button) Range sucks, power sucks, but it can be done many times. RATING- * COIN BLAST (Attack + Jump) Good range, but very weak. Can be done four times. RATING- * MONEY BAG RAIN (Action + Jump) Great range, and very annoying. Can be done 4 times. RATING- *** MOVES------------------------------------------------------------------ BOSS STRATEGIES **********Pharaoh Walker (Moving Fortress)***************************** Strength: 9 Defense: 8 Speed: 2 Jump: 10 Reach: 10 Special: N/A OVERALL: 8 Best Character to Use against Him: Ayame, Accel, Rouge, and Wang Tang This boss isn't too hard if you have two people. But the Pharaoh Walker is weak to Specials, try to get all of the Powerstones, then aim your special at its head. Always try to stay under him, when he does his Spin Move, jump on his back. After that, kill the monkey on the laser and get on it fast. Watch out for the Purple Balls, as it can still hit you, the laser can hit you from up there too. Trust me, the laser is something you DON'T want to get hit by. You can do a maximum of 3 lasers to hit him for major damage. Fast and high jumping ability like Ayame, Accel, and Rouge really shine against this boss. If your partner is a computer, always try to bring them back, as PW's weapons will usually aim for it. Never get in front of his face, his Tongue Lasher is very damaging, and he usually combos it with a Purple Ball or even the Laser! **********Dr. Erode (Corrupt Emperor)****************************** Strength: 10 Defense: 10 Speed: 4 Jump: N/A Reach: 10 Special: N/A OVERALL: 10 Best Character to Use Against Him: Pete, Gourmand, Ayame, Accel, and Wang Tang I am NOT an expert against this guy. I ONLY beat him on Level 6, and that was pure luck. My friend and me beat him on Level 8 once though! He used Wang Tang and I used Ayame. It is practically impossible to beat him in Level 8 alone, and I have yet to do so, so I will only do strategy for Team Mode. Always try to stay away from your partner so You can bring them back to life when they need it, and it'll be harder for the boss to kill you both at the same time. His Arm Swipe CAN still hit both of you so this is one of the moves that will make you suffer. His Airplanes homes in and does good damage. Fast characters though should have no problem with this. Jumping is a necessity for this boss. His Acid attack is easy to dodge, just stay as close to the sides as you can. If you're just collecting money, A LOT Of money drops from his Left Armpit. Try to use Guns, but if you see him getting ready to attack, drop it so you can move faster. NEVER pick up a weapon unless your absolutely sure he won't attack. He could easily take half your health with a simple swipe, and one fourth with the Airplanes. The acid poisons you, but that should be the least of your worries. When your partner dies, try to wait for him to do a Powerful Attack then bring your partner back to life. This will make both of you invulnerable to his attacks. Try to only have ONE person get the Powerstones so they can transform faster. Coming in with a full gauge special is a REALLY good idea. If he does two attacks twice, it will be very hard to dodge. Try to jump of walls when he does these attacks. His lightning attack is VERY powerful; never have a weapon while he's about to do this. Just jump EXACTLY when he fires it, double jumpers will have a lot of an easier time with this. Special Thanks To: Perfect Chaos and Sapphire Dragon for the help on making a FAQ. This Document Copyright 2000 Edmundo Yulo