Virtua Athlete (JP) FAQ ver.2.9 - release version. Last updated: April 14th 2001 By Sam Maxted (eltharion@hotmail.com) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- VERSION HISTORY 0.1 - First version, everything’s new - not yet for general release. Instructions / buttons complete. 0.2 - Athlete creation complete. 0.3 - Added fillers for Network ranking and 4 Interests. Capitalised the headings to make them easier to spot. 1.0 - Added Secrets and Contact & submissions and generally tidied up the FAQ. It should be a little easier to read now. It’s the release version! 1.1 - Updated Secrets. Hopefully fixed some of the dodgy formatting - I hate MS Word. 1.2 - Started work on Interests. Fixed the wrong version number at the top of the FAQ. 1.3 - Updated Interests - now as complete a list as exists on my save file. 1.4 - Added 9 new interests. Updated Contact & submissions. 1.5 - Fixed more of the formatting. Added a (very) brief FAQ section. 1.6 - Added Sumo & W. taijiquan (no, I’m not joking) to the Interests section. Updated long jump instructions. 1.7 - Updated FAQ and Instructions (Guest mode). Added Thanks section. 1.8 - Added an Interest. Updated Guest mode details. 1.9 - Added 2 Interests 2.0 - Updated Instructions and the Thanks section. 2.1 - Added 1 Interest. 2.2 - Updated FAQ and added a note to the start of the Interests section - apparently it had been causing some confusion. 2.3 - Added 7 interests and updated Character creation. 2.4 - Added 3 interests. Added author’s name to the title. 2.5 - Added 2 interests. 2.6 - Fixed file corruption (quotation marks and some -s were not showing up). Made a few minor modifications to the FAQ. Added 1 interest. 2.7 - Added 1 interest. Corrected wrong version # in this section. 2.8 - Added 1 interest. 2.9 - Added 2 interests. Added "My records" section. Fixed bad numbering. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- LEGAL STUFF This document copyright 2000 & 2001, Sam Maxted. It is not to appear anywhere other than http://www.gamefaqs.com and is to be distributed freely, for personal use only. It will also never appear on your "new and exciting FAQs site, because we'd really value your contribution" either. So don't ask. Anyone caught using this FAQ for profit will be sued for all revenue made from sales and for legal fees. Have a nice day ;) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- CONTENTS 1) Instructions / buttons 2) Athlete creation 3) Brief FAQ 4) Network ranking 5) Interests 6) Secrets 7) My records 8) Contact & submissions 9) Thanks --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) INSTRUCTIONS / BUTTONS Menu: X/A - Select or confirm B - Cancel Y/L/R - Not used Player selection in Quick Tournament, Exhibition and Practice modes: Start - To be pressed by all participants X/A - Select or confirm B - Cancel Y/L/R - Not used There are a number of pre-created athletes here. Once you have created your own, they can be selected from the "Edit VM" logo in the bottom right corner of the screen. That is, if the player has been saved to a VMS. A temporary pre-created athlete can be selected by using the "Edit DC" logo. See Section 2 for more details. Guest mode: This allows you to compete against other athletes that you have created. To do this, move the cursor over "yes" on the Guest mode option in the Exhibition Tournament screen and press the A button. On the next screen, select "yes" on the right on any pad not being used. Next, select the VMS you wish to load the athlete from and then the athlete itself. Voila - you’re now competing against your own creations. However, this will NOT work unless all the athletes you select to compete against have completed a tournament. e.g. In a 3-event tournament, all athletes must have completed 3 events, 5 in the 5-event tournament and all in a full match. Events: 100 Metre Dash: X/A - Run B - Dive for the finish line Y/L/R - Not used The B button should be pressed a while before the finish line - perhaps 5 metres back or so. Athletes will not dive as quickly as they did in Decathlete. False starts are possible here by pressing X/A before the "Go" command is given. The third time this is done, the athlete will stumble out of the blocks and the race will effectively be lost. Submitted by Martin Mathers: Be careful of your Stamina bar - the faster you run, the quicker it will decrease. The computer controlled athletes seem to increase in speed as they get further down the course, so you can judge when to accelerate your button speed. Don't worry too much about your stamina in the last section of the race as your momentum should be enough to carry you over the line (especially if you dive at the right time). Long Jump: X/A - Run B - Jump / Extend legs Y/L/R - Not used The B button should be pressed upon reaching the board and held until the angle of jump in the bottom left corner reads "25". This is the ideal angle. The B button should then be pressed again whilst in the air to extend the athlete’s legs. Be warned that if your athlete steps on or past the red section of the board, it will be a foul jump and no distance will be recorded. Very rarely, as it’s so difficult to do, if you get a perfect take-off position on the board, you won’t need to press the B button in the air to extend your legs. You’ll know when this happens because your athlete will display a new animation whilst in the air. My athlete who had previously only hit around 8.50m on the long jump managed a jump of 8.80m when this happened. You’ll still need to hold B for the angle as normal though. Shot Putt: B - Throw D-Button - Spin (optional) X/A/Y/L/R - Not used There are 2 methods of doing the shot putt - one simple and risk-free, the other harder but more likely to give you a better result. Method 1: When the gauge is at max, press and hold B until the angle in the bottom left corner reads "45". And that’s it - simple. Method 2: When the gauge is at max, spin the D-button in an anti-clockwise direction to help increase your power further. At the right moment, hold "B" until the angle reaches 45 degrees. Be warned though, doing this at the wrong time can result in a foul throw and no distance being recorded. High Jump: X/A - Run B - Jump D-Button - Move legs Y/L/R - Not used The B button should be pressed and held when close to the bar until the angle reads 45 degrees. During the jump, the D-button should be pressed into the "down" position to bend the athlete’s legs and complete the jump. Personally, I use a jumping angle of greater than 45 degrees and that seems to work better for me - be aware that positioning for the take off of the jump is all-important. Submitted by Adam Seahorn: You can jump from three different positions. If you press left on the control pad before you start running you can do a straight on jump (looks strange) or press it again and you can do a sideways jump from the opposite side. It's strange looking as well. 110 Metre Hurdles: X/A - Run B - Jump / Dive for the finish line Y/L/R - Not used Just a reminder that when diving for the line, the B button should be pressed perhaps 5 metres before the finish. False starts are possible here by pressing X/A before the "Go" command is given. The third time this is done, the athlete will stumble out of the blocks and the race will effectively be lost. Submitted by Martin Mathers: The more hurdles you knock over, the quicker your Stamina will decrease. As for the Stamina Meter itself, you can use the method listed in the 100 Meter Sprint above to judge your running speed. However, your Stamina appears to decrease quicker during the hurdles so you may want to conserve a little more for the end. Javelin Throw: X/A - Run B - Throw Y/L/R - Not used Press and hold B until the throwing angle reaches 45 degrees. Do this some way behind the throwing line or you may step over resulting in a foul throw and no distance being recorded. Submitted by Martin Mathers: As you sprint down the approach by hammering the buttons to get your speed up, the camera angle will change when you get about halfway along. At this point, you can stop pounding the X and A buttons and concentrate instead on the timing of pressing the B button - once the angle changes, your power level is set and won't go up any further, nor decrease if you stop pressing the buttons. 1500 Metre Race X/A - Run B - Dive for the finish line D-Button - Move your athlete Y/L/R - Not used False starts are not possible here. Remember to keep an eye on your stamina bar - running quickly will drain it. Build it up again by running slower. It takes some time for your athlete to pick up speed - acceleration is fairly sluggish. Move in front of faster athletes and make them bump into you to increase your speed without draining your stamina. Submitted by Adam Seahorn: if you are playing with more than one player and one of the players ends up at the back of the screen (so far back that it forces the game to bounce your player along) you get time deducted. So if you do that a few times and still come in first overall you will not have the fastest time so you wont show up in first at the results screen. - I was talking about this with some other people. they were trying to call it a glitch that you end up in last even though you cross the finish line first in multiplayer. That helps explain it. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) ATHLETE CREATION Enter the "Player edit" screen with the A button. After this, there are two ways to create an athlete: Method 1: Create a temporary athlete. After entering "Player edit", when the VMS selection screen appears press the B button. Method 2: Create a permanent athlete. After entering "Player edit", select the VMS you want to save your athlete to with the A button. Each player you create will take up 19 memory card units. After this first step, athlete creation is the same for both temporary and permanent characters. The athlete’s full name will appear on the scoreboard before and after the event has taken place. His national flag will appear alongside it. Nicknames appear during the event itself, along the "power" or "run" bars. The "face" option determines not only your character’s face, but also his skin tone. The player number is displayed on your athlete’s chest and back during all events. The final option on this screen is to select your athlete’s interests. This may seem trivial at first but is actually the most important aspect of character creation. This is because it determines your player’s characteristics - what events he’s good at and which he’ll struggle in. Whilst some interests such as sprinting are fairly obvious as to their effects, there are others such as types of music and other sports such as wakeboarding whose effects will only be revealed when you test your athlete. For example, a player whose interests are Reggae, Soul & Dance and Hip-Hop will be good at javelin and high jump, but bad at sprinting. The only way to tell what specific interests will do is to experiment. The final screen determines what your athlete looks like. You can select everything from wristbands to glasses and his uniform. After this screen your athlete is saved and ready to go. To use a temporary athlete, select the "DC Edit" option from the character select screen. To use a permanent created athlete, use the "VM Edit" option. ~~~~~*WARNING*~~~~~ If you go back and edit an already existing character later on, his personal bests displayed before events will be deleted. So if you don’t want to lose them, it would be best to create a whole new character. Also, save all your athletes to the same VMS. Otherwise, your best times / distances and unlocked interests may be split in two. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) BRIEF FAQ Q. How many events are there? A. Only seven - not as many as Decathlete. Q. Which events are missing? A. The pole vault, the 400m race and the discus. Q. Are Decathlete’s characters in VA2K? A. No. Q. Who developed VA2K? A. Hitmaker - the division of Sega that used to be known as AM#3. Q. Are there female athletes in VA2K? A. No. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) NETWORK RANKING Sorry, but since my DC isn’t yet connected to the internet (I’m still looking for someone who knows how to do it properly from outside Japan), I can’t comment on this section. If anyone would like to write a guide for this section for me, you’ll be given full credit for it - I can be reached at eltharion@hotmail.com :) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5) INTERESTS These are selected on the Athlete creation screen. They determine what events your character will be good at and which he will perform poorly in. They gradually become unlocked as you play the Exhibition mode. Playing in higher difficulty levels and performing particularly well seem to unlock them quicker. For details on the effects, check out Evan Oxfield’s Icon FAQ, also located on GameFAQs. That said though, it is extremely incomplete. Category Interest Effect Athletic Sprint ????? Athletic Jump ????? Athletic Track throw ????? Athletic ????? ????? Athletic Keirin ????? Athletic Kyudo ????? Athletic M. pentathlon ????? Athletic Marathon ????? Athletic Middle race ????? Athletic Walking ????? Athletic ????? ????? Athletic The triathlon ????? Athletic ????? ????? Athletic Shooting ????? Athletic Archery ????? Winter Speed skating ????? Winter Jump ????? Winter Freestyle ????? Winter Bobsledding ????? Winter Figure skating ????? Winter Alpine ????? Winter Crosscountry ????? Winter ????? ????? Water 50m freestyle ????? Water 1500m free ????? Water Diving ????? Water ????? ????? Water Yachting ????? Water 400m medley ????? Water The high diving ????? Water S. swimming ????? Water Rowing ????? Water Canoeing ????? Score 1 Soccer ????? Score 1 ????? ????? Score 1 Tennis ????? Score 1 Rugby ????? Score 1 Basketball ????? Score 1 Golf ????? Score 1 Baseball ????? Score 1 Ice hockey ????? Score 2 Volleyball ????? Score 2 Handball ????? Score 2 Table tennis ????? Score 2 Squash ????? Score 2 ????? ????? Score 2 Badminton ????? Score 2 Bowling ????? Score 2 Hockey ????? Score 2 Futsal ????? Score 2 Racquetball ????? Score 3 Softball ????? Score 3 Sepak takraw ????? Score 3 Gate ball ????? Score 3 Cricket ????? Score 3 Kabaddi ????? Score 3 Lacrosse ????? Vs Wrestling ????? Vs Judo ????? Vs Karatedo ????? Vs Kendo ????? Vs Taekwondo ????? Vs Arm wrestling ????? Vs ????? ????? Vs ????? ????? Vs Matador ????? Vs Boxing ????? Vs Fencing ????? Vs Sumo ????? Vs W. taijiquan ????? Vs ????? ????? Vs Sambo ????? Vs Dodge ball ????? Vs Bushido ????? Extreme Surfing ????? Extreme ????? ????? Extreme Skate board ????? Extreme Sky surfing ????? Extreme Formula 1 ????? Extreme Skydiving ????? Extreme Snowboarding ????? Extreme B. motocross ????? Extreme Wake board ????? Extreme ????? ????? Extreme ????? ????? Outdoor Rock climbing ????? Outdoor Wander vogel ????? Outdoor Fishing ????? Outdoor Hunting ????? Outdoor Scuba diving ????? Outdoor ????? ????? Outdoor Climbing ????? Indoor Weight lifting ????? Indoor R. gymnastics ????? Indoor Tug of war ????? Indoor Billiards ????? Indoor ????? ????? Indoor ????? ????? Indoor Yoyo ????? Indoor ????? ????? Indoor Gymnastics ????? Indoor Trampoline ????? Indoor ????? ????? Indoor Sports darts ????? Indoor Fitness ????? Indoor Monocycle ????? Indoor Hula hoop ????? Music Hip-hop ????? Music Country ????? Music Reggae ????? Music Alternative ????? Music Hawaiian ????? Music Techno ????? Music Soul & dance ????? Music Latin ????? Music Heavy metal ????? Music Rock & pops ????? Music Classic ????? Music Jazz & blues ????? Job Engineer ????? Job Hunter ????? Job Fisherman ????? Job Teacher ????? Job Businessman ????? Job Woodcutter ????? Job Farmer ????? Job Artist ????? Total unlocked: 108 To be unlocked: 19 Total: 127 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6) SECRETS More interests for character creation will be unlocked by playing and doing well in the Exhibition mode. As a general rule of thumb, the higher the difficulty level, the more likely something is to be unlocked if you finish on the podium. Hold the B button to skip through the end credits faster. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7) MY RECORDS Please do not send me your own records for inclusion in my FAQ, or messages along the lines of "H4 h4! U 5ux0r 50 b4d!", as they won't be taken well... Oh, and no "how did you manage that?" questions either. 100 metres: 9.72 seconds Long jump: 9.44 metres Shot putt: 24.94 metres High jump: 2.52 metres 110 metre hurdles: 12.39 seconds Javalin: 98.14 metres 1500 metres: 3:26.87 TOTAL: 7917 points --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8) CONTACT & SUBMISSIONS All submissions will be credited - if you think you submitted some info and have *not* received credit, it’s more than likely that someone else got there first, or that I found out on my own. All submissions are to be sent to: eltharion@hotmail.com However, please do NOT e-mail me asking questions about or for help with this or any other game. If it’s not in the FAQ, I don’t know the answer. And if I DO know, it’ll be in the next version and you can find out at the same time as everybody else ;) At the moment, I’m looking for help filling the Network ranking, Interests and Secrets sections. I’m also looking for a nice piece of ASCII artwork for the top of the FAQ, as long as it looks nice & is recognisable. If I don’t use yours, please don’t take it personally :) If anyone finds this FAQ on any site other than GameFAQs, please let me know. And please do not send e-mail asking to post this FAQ on your site - the answer will only be "no". Anyone who *does* ask will be posted inside the FAQ in a new section entitled "I can't read". When submitting interests, please indicate where in the list they belong. Otherwise I can’t use them. Oh, and this FAQ uses English - not American - spellings. So there :P --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9) THANKS In order of submission..... Roger Fung - for telling me that Hitmaker is the old AM#3 and for telling me what the "Guest" option in Exhibition mode is. Martin Mathers - for extra info on the 100 metres, 110 metre hurdles and the Javelin. Adam Seahorn - for info on the 1500 metres and the high jump. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------