********************************** PUZZLE BOBBLE 4 MENU TRANSLATION ********************************** *revision 3.0* Type: Puzzle (duh) Format: Dreamcast Origin: Japanese Chances are if you've picked up an import copy of Puzzle Bobble 4, that you're already a fan of the series, and you've got a pretty good idea on how to play the game. I might come back and expand this into a full FAQ covering the new gameplay elements, hidden characters etc later on, but for now I'll just stick to menu translations and quick mode explanations, because the amount of kanji flying about can get fiddly. If you have any questions, comments or corrections, please send them to me here: ranma_27@hotmail.com. Thanks, enjoy the game and remember, to quote a staffer at IGN-DC, Bub and Bob own you! ******* Updates ******* 26/03/00: Added translation and basic usage of the level editor (section 6). 25/03/00: Added details of the continue option in Story Puzzle Mode (section 2), Re-explained Totokon Mode (section 3). 22/03/00: Wrote basic menu translations and mode details. ******** Contents ******** 1. Main Menu Translation 2. Puzzle Modes Menu 3. 1P Versus Modes Menu 4. 2P Versus Mode 5. Challenge Mode 6. Level Editor 7. Options Menu 8. Internet 9. Credits & Thanks ************************ 1. Main Menu Translation ************************ Here are the various game choices, as they appear on the main menu screen: Puzzle Mode(s) 1 Player Versus Mode(s) 2 Player Versus Mode Challenge Mode Level Editor Options Internet ******************** 2. Puzzle Modes Menu ******************** Once you've selected Puzzle Mode from the main menu, you'll be presented with four options, which are: 1P Puzzle: The traditional Puzzle Bobble puzzle mode, with an alphabetical map of stages, with two route options to choose from between each set of puzzles. Plenty of replay value here :) Story Puzzle: A new mode that's less rigid than the traditional puzzle game. Here you use the cursor to move around a pictoral map and choose each set of puzzles you want to attempt. Each set of puzzles you complete will win you a tarot card, and beating several sets will open up more locations on the map, until you've won the entire pack of cards. The sheer number of rounds you have to win to complete this mode means you'll be glad that the game allows you to quit and come back later and carry on from the last set of puzzles you attempted. To do so though you MUST remember to save your game (or better yet, leave 'auto-save' switched on in the options). The next time you start this mode and picked a character you'll be given two options; the top one will start the map fresh and the bottom option will allow you to continue where you left off. User's Puzzles: That's not a direct translation of the mode name, but it describes it pretty well. 231 levels contributed by Japanese Puzzle Bobble fans. After choosing your character, you'll be taken to the game screen where you can choose the level number you want to start with. When you win or lose that puzzle, you'll be shown a menu with four choices, these are: Play Same Level Again Play The Next Level Quit Back To Main Puzzle Menu Level Select (back to the puzzle number choice menu) How To Play: A short demonstration of how to play the game, showing tactics and which buttons do what. ******************************* 3. One Player Versus Modes Menu ******************************* Selecting 1 Player Versus Modes from the main menu gives you these three choices: Story Versus: First choose your difficulty - left is easy (5 rounds only), middle is the default normal setting, and right is hard - and your character. Now you'll automatically be moved around the map going head to head with a selection of the other characters - features short cutscenes with the two contenders chatting to, or taunting, each other between rounds. A tough challenge to complete. Tokoton Mode: This seems a be a dual purpose mode. On one hand it's a no-nonsense survival game, and on the other it's designed to allow you to find the game's hidden characters - or at least most of them. Essentially, you pick a character and then play versus rounds against each of rest of the cast until one of them beats you. You will go up against not only the basic characters, but also most of the 'hidden' players. Once you've beaten of these guys (or girls), they'll be added to your roster in all other game modes (except Story Versus Mode). If you lose and don't continue, you'll see a screen with a jumbled picture of your chosen character, which will then unjumble according to the number of consecutive wins you managed. You will need to win 16 rounds without a continue to fully unjumble the picture. You can have played more rounds before losing, which will obviously give you a better score, but you only need to hit the magic 16 to finish the picture. So...what do you get for managing this? Well, I still don't know for sure, but I have a new and pretty solid theory. When you play through this mode, you'll only find and unlock 14 of the 16 possible characters, and I have a hunch that you'll need to unscramble each of those 14's pictures to gain the final two puzzle-bobblers. Obviously I'll update as soon as I know for sure...and if any one beats me to it, please drop me a line so I can add the info. How To Play: Another rolling tutorial for beginners to get the basic idea of gameplay. ************************* 4. Two Player Versus Mode ************************* No problems here, just both pick a character and a starting level and off you go. Just don't forget to keep an eye on the clock (the one in your house dummy) so you won't miss work, school, pizza delivery, that concert you've been looking forward to for months etc etc... ***************** 5. Challenge Mode ***************** Mmm. I like this one. You choose a character to take on 5 sets of 5 puzzles. As you complete (or indeed fail - the game progresses even if you lose some rounds) each set of 5 you will be graded on speed, scoring and accuracy etc and given a rank (and one of various medals, or even trophies if you're really good). These 5 ranks are then totted up to become your final grading at the end of all 25 rounds. The one part of the game I really wish I could read easily; not 'cos you need to... just because I'm annoyingly competitive and I'd like to have a better idea how I was doing. The main scores are shown as graphical bars though...so it's pretty easy to gauge. And obviously the bigger and shinier the awards you receive, the better. ******************* 6. The Level Editor ******************* Ok. The section I've been dreading...the level editor. It's actually not that fiddly once you know what's what, but I still wasn't looking forward to writing it up. Edit Mode allows you to create your very own version of the 25 round Challenge Mode. If my translations are confusing I apologise, but the editor doesn't lend itself to easy explanation. Those who've used previous version's editors will find this has all the same options, although they're in a different order on the menu to previous english-based editions of the game. When selected from the main menu, you'll be presented with two options, these are: Edit Mode Play Mode Ignore the play mode for now unless you want the world's shortest round of Puzzle Bobble, because empty grids are no fun. Once you've created your rounds with the editor, that's the option you'll want to choose to play them. When you enter the editor you'll see an empty Puzzle Bobble grid and a lone flashing cursor with which you can place your various blocks and objects. Use the L and R triggers to choose the object you want to work with. Pressing A places the selected object, Pressing B removes the object under the cursor arrow, and Pressing X will bring up the scary menu (well, it's scary if you can't read Japanese). Pressing B will close the menu again. In the menu itself, A advances and B takes you back a step. The menu options are as follows: Random Color: This is where you choose which colors of random beads will be active during the round. Simply move the little kiwi cursor to the bead you want to change and select on or off. Simple. Clear Screen: Ask if you want to clear the whole puzzle currently selected. The top option is YES, and the bottom is NO. Field Size: Chooses the arena size. Top option is the standard tall and thin style, while the bottom option gives you the much-wider version. Round Select: Choose which of the 25 rounds you want to create or edit, by pushing up or down. Data Change Two handy options, but they can be tricky if you don't pay attention & Copy: to what you're doing - actually it strikes me that these options could be tricky to keep track of even in their native language. My advice is just to edit on the map you want, and ignore using these unless you really have to. The first (top) option is DATA COPY (which allows you to copy one round's data to another. Select the option, then choose the number of the round you want to copy (you'll hear a beep). Now select the number of the round you want to copy it to (another beep), then choose either YES (top) or NO (bottom), and you're done. The second option is DATA SWAP, and this allows you to swap one round's position with another i.e. if you wanted round 25 to be become round 1 and vice versa. For this you need to have the round you want to swap selected on-screen BEFORE you pick the swap option, then you simply choose the number of the round you want to swap it with, then choose YES (top) to go ahead, or NO (bottom) to cancel. Why they couldn't just give you the double number choosing method of the copy option I don't know...but it's a bit of a pain in the butt as is. Test Play: Allows you to play the currently selected round to test how well it works (or doesn't). Once you've won or lost, you'll see two options; the top allows you to play the round again and the bottom takes you back to the editor. Load & Save: The place to go to store all hard work on your VMU. The two options here are LOAD (top) and SAVE (bottom), followed by a yes/no option; YES (top) and NO (bottom). Back to Menu: Takes you back to the main Edit Mode menu screen. *************** 7. Options Menu *************** Yay! It's all in english, so you'll be fine. If you're having trouble here you shouldn't be playing games, let alone importing them. One piece of advice; enable the auto-save option, otherwise it's all to easy to play for hours and turn the machine off without remembering all your earned goodies and scores. *********** 8. Internet *********** As with many Japanese puzzle games, gamers can upload scores etc to impress their friends and annoy their enemies. The whole system is obviously entirely Japanese- based (and why not, it's a Japanese game after all), so it's doubtful if many of us import-heads will ever try to fathom it out. Saying that, if my scores suddenly get great, I might look into it and I'll be sure to update this document with the details if I do. Equally, if anyone else does, and wants to share it with the group then drop me a line and I'll add your info here and give you one of those lovely whizzy credits at the bottom of the page. ******************* 9. Credits & Thanks ******************* Thanks to the following: Taito for getting the Puzzle Bobble ball rolling way back in '94. Cyber Front for making this fourth edition the best yet. Sega for making sure the Dreamcast was just as handy at the 2D stuff as the 3D (even if it now means I have one less reason to dust my Saturn off every few months now). Acclaim for getting non-importing gamers hooked on the series (we'll even forgive the fact that Bust-A-Move is a truly sucky name change). Anyone who has ever had to sit through my complaints as they beat me at the game 2 player...or my gloating as I whupped their monkey-butts. Oh, and Sally at Games Room for accidentally ordering the copy of the game that I ended up with - and giving me some work so I could actually afford to buy it from her.