============================================================================== Fight Night Round 3 Boxing Style FAQ (Version 1.0; Mar 7th 06') Written by: Aj_the_one ============================================================================== ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Table of Contents ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ A. Introduction B. Version History C. Base Styles D. Punch Styles E. Block Styles F. Summary of styles and how to get them G. Legal Stuff H. Credits ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ A.Introduction ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Hey People. I'm back again with another guide for this miracle of a game from the good people at EA sports. In this guide I will focus on the many different types of fighting styles you can choose from. I will point out what I feel are the weaknesses and strenghts of each style( you may disagree with me of course). I will explain which punches should be the most heavily used for each style and explain why. There are so many styles in the game that can be put together to make so many different fighting styles. This is what makes the game alot of fun and also adds even more to the strategic element of the game. I hope that this FAQ is useful to you( I didn't see any others up there) in getting the most you can out of this incredible boxing game. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ B. Version History ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Version 1.0 - FAQ Started Version- 1.1- Added some styles which are unlocked Version- 1.2- Added how to get all the styles Version- 1.3- Added new way to get styles ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ C. Base Styles ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ There are 11 Base styles to choose from in total(I started in the middleweight division and unified the Light Heavy and Heavyweight belts) that I have seen and this dictates how fast your punches come out( small differences in speed and power from my experience), how your boxer moves around the ring, and how your boxer stands when he's not throwing a punch. Balanced, Speed and Power are available at the start. BALANCED- Your Boxer moves back and forth a little bit with both his hands at his chest. SPEED- Your Boxer hops back forth with his power hand right below his chin and and his lead hand at his waist. POWER- Much like Balanced style except your Boxer barely moves his feet or hands. SMOOTH- This is Muhammad Ali's Style in which your boxer keeps both his hands at his waist and moves back and forth. This style is fast and your boxer jogs around the ring when he moves. Unlocked by beating Muhammad Ali in career mode BULLY- Your Boxer moves back and forth a little and stands with his power hand at his chest and his lead hand at his stomach. SLICKSTER- Your Boxer leans back and forth a little with his power hand at his chest and his lead hand by his upper thigh. Unlocked by beating ELUSIVE- A variation of the speed style( and Roy Jones Jr.'s style) where your boxer's power hand is beside his cheek and his lead hand is moving a circle at his chest level. Unlocked by beating Roy Jones Jr. UPRIGHT- Your Boxer leans back a little and keeps his hands moving in a small circle at chest level. TEXTBOOK- Boxer leans forward and has both hands at chest level. Power hand is a little bit behind lead hand. About same movement as Balanced style. MUMMY- Looks exactly how it sounds. Boxer leans back a little more than upright style and barely moves his hands, just moves his body a tiny bit. I think I unlocked this after I beat Rey Mo. WILD- Kind of a taunting style in part because your boxers hands are at his sides and he is leaning forward with a above average amount of body movement back and forth. Power Styles designed to more damage with less movement: Mummy, Power, Wild, Slickster Speed styles designed more for movement and combos with less power: Elusive, Speed, Smooth Well-Balanced styles( No tilt to movement or power): Balanced, Textbook, Upright My Summary: These styles do little in relation to how you throw your punches(From what I have seen). If you like to throw less punches and do more damage, use one of the power styles. If you like to look pretty by hitting your opponent with 4 or 5 hit combos, use a speed style and if you just feel like using them use a balanced style. It's all on your personal playing style. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ D. Punch Styles ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Now here is where you see the customization really take effect in your boxer. Whereas the base styles basically dictate how your boxer stands, the punch styles dictate how he throws a punch be it fast or slow. There are 7 Punch styles each with different strengths and weaknesses and I will point out the ones I have noticed for each punch style. I will also give each a style a rating on a scale of 1 to 10 with being the best and what I recommend for the easiest time in career mode( Once again these are my opinions). Basic, Fast and slugger are available at start BASIC- This Punch style basically is the all-around punch style. Your punches aren't blazing fast but they aren't slow either. This Style has average power also. You won't rip you opponents face off but you will do considerable damage more than you would if you used a speed style. Once again the punches in this style have an average recovery speed. Strenghts- Good combination of speed and power. With this style your best punches would be your crosses and hooks. These will deliver a good amount of force and will come back fast enough so you won't be left open for long( If one of these is parried, it won't matter your a sitting duck). Weaknesses- None Rating= 8- This is a good overall style primarily because it has no weaknesses and is kind of fast. A 4-punch combo is pretty much the max with this style. FAST- This Punch style is where the fun is at( at least for me). The name of style pretty much tells you what you can expect. Extremely fast punches and probably the combo style in the game. Of course you know power is sacrificed for the speed so your punches won't really be hurting your opponent as much as they would be in a basic or power style. Strenghts- SPEED, SPEED, and more SPEED!! When I say your pucnhes come out fast I mean they come out fast!! If you parry a hook,a 5-punch combo is almost routine. To put the speed in perspective for you, a hook or cross from the fast is the same speed as a straight from the basic style. The recovery speed on these punches is also excellent assuming they aren't parried( speed doesn't matter in this case). Best punches are hooks and crosses. Also put jabs and straights in front of these and watch the hits pile up. Weaknesses- The only weakness I have come to notice in this style if the lack of power behind your punches. Of course this can be improved upon by raising your power rating and wearing equipment to bolster you power. Rating= 10- In my eyes the second best style in the game behind the elusive style. The loss of power is regrettable but when you see how fast your punches are coming and connecting you will quickly forget about the power. Also if you hit an opponent 300 times in about 4 ot 5 rounds( if your aggresive) his face will either be cut or swollen beyond belief or both which means this could lead to a drawn out fight stoppage. Excellent choice for making the game easier. SLUGGER- This style will put your opponent in a world of hurt really quick. The devastating Hooks, crosses, and uppercuts that come from this style are disgusting because they are so strong. Parry a punch and land 3 hook/crosses or 2 hooks and uppercut and watch a 1/4 of that life bar go. Of course all of this power means nothing against a fast opponent because you won't be able to hit them. The powerful blows take a little time to come out and can be countered with a good placement of jabs which can add up little by little. Strengths- Damn are those punches strong!! If your opponent is unlucky enough to have one of his punches parried he will be on the mat real quick, guaranted. The speed of the punches can be countered by not swinging away and waiting for the right shot to rip his head off his shoulders. Weaknesses- Speed. The only weakness this style has. And if your punches are just blocked the recovery is slow because they are just devastating shots. Also the punches take up a little bit more energy than the styles above but when you think about the force behind them, do you really care? Rating= 9- You would think that the style wouldn't be balanced but it is. Not fast by any measurement but enough to catch your opponent sleeping. Also Haymakers in this style are also devastating. It you like to see your opponent cringe at your blows than the Slugger style is for you. The speed really isn't that big of issue but it can become one(Try Fighting Ali with Joe Frazier and you'll see what I am talking about). Smart speed boxer will annihilate a slugger because they waste alot of energy throwing punches that are missing. HARD STRAIGHTS- As the name of the style says, this sytle will have you rely on those hard straights which are kind of hard. Unfortunately the rest of punches in this style are slow especially the hook and cross. Average recovery time means that you will be countered quite a little bit because your arm won't come up fast enough to stop the blow. Strengths- If you have advantage in reach over your opponent, this style would be good because the straight has good reach and you can tag your opponent from afar. Weaknesses- Maybe it's just me but I don't like slow combos or slow styles and this style is slow and you should wait for your shot because your not going to be able to get inside and start pounding away not fast enough. Also for the slowdown in the crosses and hooks the power is about the same in the basic mode so use this if you want slower punches and a small raise in power. Rating= 6- This style really doesn't work. You sacrifice some speed for a small boost in power. If possible stay away from this one it will give you a couple of losses in the futute. SINISTER CROSS- From what I have seen when I used this style,Your punches come out just as fast as the Fast punch style. The difference is When you throw your cross it does a little bit more damage( pay attention and you'll see the difference). Between this style and the fast style, they are essentially the same except for difference in power so I guess that would make this style better, but once again this is my opinion. Strengths- Same as the fast style except stronger crosses. Weaknesses- Also same as fast style though not so much because of the power increase in the cross. Rating= 10- Another fast style that makes the game easier if can counter effectively, protect yourself and keep your opponent off balance and at a distance. LEATHAL UPPERCUTS- Just as the name implies the uppercuts in this style are lethal. The are big and sweeping uppercuts but when they hit they HIT!! Talk about damage. You won't be throwing a lot of jab/straight combos(because they are slow), your crosses are moderately fast but they do damage. If you love to throw uppercuts(this is one of my brothers favorite styles) then you will like this style simply for the damage it will do when you land a devastating uppercut. Strengths- Lethal Uppercuts!! This is the best part of this style. You can also throw the crosses and be happy with the powerful hits you will deliver. Weaknesses- Your jab and your straight are kind of slow but that is about the worst you are going to find in this style. Watch out when you throw your uppercuts though because they can be countered really easy with a quick jab or straight or any fast punch that lands before you connect with the punch. Rating= 9- Like I said before if you like to throw uppercuts you will get them off with a good amount of damage and will also enjoy throwing crosses and hooks. As long as you watch yourself when you throw your uppercuts you eliminate your opponent brutally and easily. HOOK MASTER- As soon as you throw your hook you will see why the style has it's name. Your hook comes out slower than it normally would but the damage done is equivalent to a hook in the power style. Your jabs, straights, and crosses are all slower and the recovery time for your punches is fairly slow. Strengths- The Hook... Plain and simple. That is the only benefit in using this style. The Hooks are strong and if you love to cock it back and throw this punch, the damage done by one would make you smile. Weaknesses- Whereas the hook is the strong point of this style, all your other punches suffer in speed and recovery time as a result. As I said before all your other punches( except the Uppercut and haymakers) are slow and do a little more damage than they normally would. Rating= 6- While the hook is one of my favorite punches, I just can't recommend using this style because all your other punches are slow. As usual this is my opinion and if you like to throw slow, moderately damaging punches then you would like this style. JUDGE JAB- Another Fast style( You get from Ali). This is the same as the fast style except your jabs are stronger. All your other punches are just as fast as they were in the fast style and the recovery speed is also the same as the fast style. Unlocked after be beating Muhammad Ali. Strengths- If You love to throw your jab repeatedly the you'll love this style because the jab is a bit slower but it's stronger. Your other punches are still lightning fast and the recovery speed hasn't changed. Weaknesses- As usual with the fast punch styles the power your punches will do is the only disadvantage. With this style also the speed loss in the jab is a minor problem and will slow down you jab/straight combo a little bit. Rating= 9.5- You will rattle your opponent's head with the speed at which these punches will come out and the added power to the jab doesn't hurt either. Of course with the right equipment and training you can increase the amount of damage you do thus getting rid of the style's only weakness. My Summary: Choose wisely because these styles will determine how easy or hard your fights are. Of course the easiest way to win is to use the style that you are most comfortable with. Experiment to find out which style you like because chances are you won't agree with everything I have written in this FAQ. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ E. Block Styles ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Best offense is a good defense. It may be a cliche but man is it true. The good folks at EA decided to add 2 different block styles to the classic block style and these are the Cross and the Philly Shell defensive styles. Each is different in how much damage you take when you block a punch and also how fast you counter. Below I will explain the strengths and weaknesses of each style and also how each looks. Classic is available from the start. CLASSIC- The basic blocking style in which your boxers gloves are covering his face. His left arm is in front of his left breast and his right arm is in front of his right breast. The middle of his stomach is unguarded. Strenghts- Well Balanced Blocking style. Will take little or no damage from blocking punches. Weaknesses- Has a slower counter speed but more often than not won't matter unless you parry alot of jabs. CROSS- One of the new blocking styles in Fight Night Round 3. This has your boxer covering the upper part of his chest and his face but his entire stomach is unguarded. Strengths- With this style you will take less damage from blocking your face. Weaknesses- You will take more damage from blows to your body an also your countering speed is a little faster than the classic style. PHILLY SHELL- The other new Blocking style and also the best looking. Your boxer's power hand is just above his left shoulder and his lead hand is covering the bottom of his stomach. Strengths- With this style you will be able to counter easily and strike off that counter just as fast. Weaknesses- You will take more damage from blocking punches in this style than you would if you were using the other two. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ F. Summary of styles and how to get them ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ BASE STYLES: BALANCED- Available when you start SPEED- Available when you start POWER- Available when you start SMOOTH- Beat Muhammad Ali in career mode or in ESPN classics BULLY- Beat Joe Frazier in career mode or in ESPN Classics SLICKSTER- Beat James Toney in career mode or in ESPN classics ELUSIVE- Beat Roy Jones Jr in career mode or in ESPN Classics UPRIGHT- Beat Winky Wright in career mode or in ESPN Classics TEXTBOOK-Beat Oscar De La Hoya in career mode or in ESPN Classics MUMMY- Available when you start WILD- Available when you start PUNCH STYLES: BASIC- Available when you start FAST- Available when you start SLUGGER- Available when you start JUDGE JAB- Beat Muhammad Ali in career mode or ESPN Classics HOOK MASTER- Beat Joe Frazier in career mode or ESPN Classics HARD STRAIGHTS- Beat Winky Wright in career mode or ESPN Classics SINISTER CROSS- Beat Roy Jones Jr in career mode or ESPN Classics LETHAL UPPERCUTS- Available when you start BLOCK STYLES: CLASSIC- Available when you start CROSS- Available when you start PHILLY SHELL- Beat Jermaine Taylor in career mode or ESPN Classics ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ G. Legal Stuff ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This FAQ may not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal or private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed publicly without advance written permission. Use of this guide on any other web site except for www.gamefaqs.com and www.ign.com or as part of any public display is strictly prohibited, and a violation of copyright. Copyright 2006 Armand Sellers ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ H. Credits ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - My girlfriend who encouraged me to write a follow-up FAQ on this game - As always the readers for reading this and using it( hopefully) - The good people at GameFaqs who accepted this and my first FAQ - EA Sports for making the best boxing game ever. If you find any errors in this FAQ please e-mail me at: Koolkid11434@yahoo.com