Bust a Move 2 - Dance Tengoku Mix FAQ (e)

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                  \\ Bust A Move 2: Dance Tengoku Mix \\
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                  \\          FAQ  Ver. 1.0           \\
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                  \\               By                 \\
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                  \\          Benny Hickman           \\
                  \\                                  \\
                  \\        MessatsuB@AOL.com         \\
                  \\                                  \\
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-----------------------------------
- Disclaimer -

   Please DO NOT use any portion of this faq in your own work without 
permission from me. I'm the one who stayed up the wee hours of the night 
writing this and finding things out and such for YOUR convenience.                                                                                                                                   
                           *PLAGARISM SUCKS*

-----------------------------------
- Intro to Bust A Move -

   Bust A Move was the first dancing game to hit the shores of the US 
mid last year. Actually, the name of it is Bust A Groove here due to a 
conflict with the other, Bust A Move, which is a puzzle game. With close 
relatives such as Parappa the Rapper, Beatmania, Pop n music and Dance 
Dance Dance which are beat related also, this one stands out the most 
with its amazing graphics and incredible music and game play. If you're 
new to games like these, you're in for a real treat. The first thing 
you'll say when you play them is, THEY'RE HARD. Yes, they are difficult 
for beginners but keep trying, you'll get it! One thing you'll notice 
these games do is improves your timing skills, for these and ALL other 
video games. Now with Bust A Move 2 out in Japan, the hard core gamers 
of Bust A Move (Groove) can expand their skills with this more 
challenging sequel.

   *Note* - In certain parts of the FAQ I will refer to Bust A Move as
            Busta 1. 

---------------
- Game Layout -

   Bust A Move 2's is set up just as the original. It looks like this on 
the main selection screen:


                         1 Player Game
                         2 Player Game
                            Practice
                           Dance View
                            Options

   Unlike Bust A Move, this one displays the points you accumulate as 
you dance. Obviously, the one with the most points wins. 

   Now for the bars in the center. What they stand for is: Green = Cool, 
Red = Chillin, and Blue = Freeze. What these do is give you points. This 
is how it works. The bars are set to a certain height at the beginning 
of the stage. What you have to do is line the three bars up so they're 
the same height. In order to do this, you must get Cool's, Chillin's, 
and Freeze's. When you get one of these, it adds one block to the bar, 
three blocks being the highest bar. If you have the Cool and Freeze bar 
at the same height and you're working on a pretty hard combo and you 
know its not going to end until Freeze, stop it when the word Chillin 
comes up on the combo. The combo will stop and the Chillin bar will 
increase one block. All three bars are lined up and flashing. Now 
complete any type of combo that is either Cool, Chillin, or Freeze and 
the border around your score will start to fade in and out of colors. 
When this happens, you'll notice the bars are gone and your points have 
jumped dramatically. I have done this with the computer where we both 
finish a combo (Cool, Chillin, or Freeze) at the same time and both of 
the borders around our scores started doing the fading thing. From my 
experience, don't try for this. If it happens automatically without you 
knowing, cool. Just go for the Freeze combos. They're worth the most 
points.

------------
- 1 Player Game - Single player game against the computer

   After you select 1 Player game, you'll go to a character selection 
screen. You'll see that there are 10 selectable characters and 8 whited 
out boxes underneath them. These will become available later on as you 
beat the game. The layout looks like this:      

                          Character Select

                         Heat       Comet

             Shorty     Strike     Tsutomu    Capoeria
       
              Bi-O       Hiro      Kitty-N      Kelly

           (Columbo)   (Robo-Z)   (Pander)   (Sushi Boy)
                        (Gold)
              
            (McLoad)  (ChiChi &)  (Michael)   (Hustle) 
                       (Sally)      (Doi)      (Kong)  


   (  ) - Secret Characters

   When selecting your character, press O to get their normal outfit and 
Triangle to get their alternate.

   Once you've selected a character, another menu will come up asking 
you the difficulty level you want. Looks like this:

                             Command

                               Easy
                            
                              Normal
                            
                               Mix    

   Easy - consists of only directional inputs (up, left, down, and 
right)

   Normal - just like Bust A Move. Directional inputs followed by a 
button (T, S, O, or X) T = Triangle, S = Square, O = Circle, X = X

   Mix - get ready for some hard work. Everything mixed up 
         Ex. (up, T, down, right, O, X)

   *Note* - When I give an example of an input, the last command has to 
be on the 4th beat, which would be X. Its not that easy. Especially when 
the commands are that long and consecutively coming out.

   Next, you'll see the progression path that you will follow as you 
beat the stages:


                                0  0  0 

                          0  0  0  0  0

                 0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  
                 |
            First Stage 

   If you do very well as you progress, you'll follow this pattern 
marked by X's:


                                X  X  X
                               /
                          X  X  0  0  0 
                         /
                 X  X  X  0  0  0  0  0

            (In order to follow this pattern, you 
         must get Fever Times after the song is over
                  on the first five stages)

   When you accomplish this, you will face Robo-Z Gold at the top, last 
X, and then face Pander. The path to Pander is hidden on the normal 
path. (Directly above Robo-Z Gold). As long as you make it to the top 
path, you'll dance against Pander, so don't worry. (Or maybe you 
should...)

   After you beat the game, check out Dance View and see all the moves 
your characters has! Cool! Don't forget to save.

   Also, 1 Player is the only way to get the secret characters. Check 
the Secret Characters section for details.

-------------
- 2 Player Game - You versus a friend or someone you hate 

   When you select 2 Player game, you go to the same character selection 
screen as 1 Player. Select your character and your difficulty level. 
Next, you'll come up to the stage select screen. This screen is very 
important. If you're new to the game, you'd want to select a stage with 
a slower song so you don't get whipped. Slower song = longer input time. 
I recommend Kelly or Comet's stage if you're a beginner. (Kelly's more)

------------
- Practice - Probably your first selection if your new at the game
              Practice the commands with a certain character

   Practice is just like 1 Player. Select your character and difficulty. 
Next, it will display which board you want to select. The improvement 
from Bust A Move is that you can select any board you want, where in 
Busta 1 you had to play the board of the character you selected. In 
practice, there are no solos. Just the song and your dancing skills. 
Depending on the difficulty level you selected, as you practice, you 
will go up levels. This will determine how good you are with that 
character on that board. If you have a high level, you did very well. 
Low level? Need some practice. Like I said before keep trying, you'll 
get it. The layout of Practice:



                                       Level
         ______________  _
        (______________)(_)            Points
               |
           Command Bar                 Rest Times 

   Level - Ranges from 1 to 5  (5 being highest)

   Points - Points you accumulate during song

   Rest Times - Every 4th beat (How many in song)
                Also when you hit final command

   After the song is over, it will show your results on how you did.

                             Finish Combo

                              Dance Rate
  
                           Just Command Rate

                               Points 

   Finish Combo - Number of combos you accomplished during song

   Dance Rate - Percent of Rest Times you got correct

   Just Command Rate - Not quite sure... Percentage of command per beat?

   Points - Total points received during song

   Another thing, if you set at the results screen, you can see an 
instant replay of you practice in the background.

--------------
- Dance View - Your reward for beating the game with a certain  
                character

   Dance View is just an added feature so you can check out every  dance 
move that character has from their attack to freeze combo.
There are a few things you can do in dance view. First off, choose your 
character (remember you have to beat the game with the character first) 
and then it will bring up a screen that looks like this:


           ---
           ---                              Route
           ---                              No. 
           ---
           ---                              
           ---                              Speed
           ---           
           ---                               
           ---                              Camera
           ---
           ---
           ---                              Move  
           ---                              Camera
           ---
           ---

                   Display On/Off


   The column on the left side of the screen is for each individual 
move. You can input these manually by pressing left or right on the D-
pad. 

   Display On/Off - At the bottom of the screen is Display. This turns 
the information on the screen on and off.

   Route No. - Displays combos without having to input them in manually. 
All of them are listed here. Press left or right to change.

   Speed - Changes the dancing speed. The default is 30. Its funny to 
crank it up to 4 and watch them fly! Also very useful if you want to 
learn their dance moves for yourself so you can go bust a move at the 
clubs. He-He-He

   Camera - Changes the angle of view. The camera just loops around your 
character while he or she dances.

   Move Camera - You manually operate the camera. Zoom in and out at any 
angle.

-----------
- Options - Basic options menu
 
   The options menu is very self-explanatory. Looks like this:


                        Option Mode 

                       Sound Option

                        Memory Card

                         Vibration


   Sound Option - This is where you can adjust the volume and sample the 
sound effects and game music.

   Memory Card - This menu contains load, save and auto save. Self-
explanatory!!

   Vibration - Use to select vibration or no on your dual shock 
controller.

------------
- Controls -

   Controls cannot be changed in the game. Each character in the game 
has their own set of commands. Where someone might start out with up, 
up, left, O another might start with X. They're all different. The best 
thing to do is play as everyone and find out which character is best for 
you. (I don't recommend Robo-Z, when you get him, if you're new...) 

   *Note* - The following two paragraphs are only for the normal and mix 
difficulty levels. The third is for easy. 

   All of the controls are pretty self-explanatory. When the command 
comes up, press the buttons. Now for the ones that are a little tricky. 
In Bust A Move you only used the X and O commands to finish a string or 
combo, but in Bust A Move 2, you use Triangle, Square, O, and X. This 
can be confusing to Busta 1 veterans since you attack and dodge with 
Triangle and Square. In Bust A Move 2, you attack with R1 and dodge or 
block with R2. Both the attack and dodge/block must be done on the 4th 
beat. Even though the attack looks like it already hit you, press the 
button on the beat. 

   In Busta 1, you could only dodge attacks, but now in Bust A Move 2, 
you can return them. On the 4th beat, instead of dodging them, press the 
attack button (R1) and your character will return the attack without 
wasting one of your stored attacks. You can volley the attack back and 
forth until either one of you dodges it or gets hit. 

   When playing in the easy difficulty level, you only use the 
directional buttons for dancing. (like I stated above) To attack, press 
the O button. Pressing the X button does Dodging/Blocking. Both have to 
be done (I sure you all already know) on the 4th beat. 

   L1 and L2 are not used in the game!

--------------
- Characters -

   This section contains information on the selectable characters when 
you first start the game. Secret characters are listed in the section 
below this.

   Heat 
     Age: 20
     Height: 171 cm
     Weight: 60 kg
     Icon: Burner with 3 flames
     1st Outfit: White jump suit with flames on sides of arms and legs,
                 goggles and a hat on his back.
     2nd Outfit: (Much Cooler) Red jump suit with white flames and 
                 goggles on his head.
Music: A lot different from the original. Sounds like Us3. Mix of 
            jazz and hip hop.
     Style: Break-dancin 

   Comet
     Age: 16
     Height: 162 cm
     Weight: 45 kg
     Icon: Martini glass with lime
     1st Outfit: Waitress outfit from the 50's with in-line
                 skates on.
     2nd Outfit: Bartender suit on with bunny ears and skates. 
                 (Interesting...)
     Music: Mix of J-pop and house.
     Style: Rollerblade dance
     
   Shorty
     Age: 13
     Height: 152 cm
     Weight: 39 kg
     Icon: Women's bathroom sign
     1st Outfit: White shirt with blue pants and pigtails. Columbo is 
                 on her head.
     2nd Outfit: Dressed in blue, backpack, and 4 braids in her hair 
                 with a big "S" on the front of her shirt.
     Music: J-pop kiddy sounding. Not too bad. Prolly one of my
            favorites in the game. 
     Style: Straight house

   Strike
     Age: 22
     Height: 183 cm
     Weight: 75 kg
     Icon: Hand with bag of money
     1st Outfit: Jersey with "S" on front, athletic pants, sunglasses,
                 and the infamous ponytail.
     2nd Outfit: Yellow shirt, black pants, silver sunglasses, and NO
                 Ponytail. (looks weird without it)
     Music: Coolas gangsta rap!! Different from Busta 1.         
     Style: Hip-Hop Gangster Groove

   Tsutomu
     Age: 11
     Height: 141 cm
     Weight: 36 kg
     Icon: Circle with 10 in the center
     1st Outfit: School uniform. Blue suit with bow-tie, shorts, 
                 backpack and dress sandals.
     2nd Outfit: Same only dressed in red.
     Music: House techno-ish. Has good beat and lyrics.
     Style: House

   Capoeira
     Age: ???
     Height: 155 cm
     Weight: ???
     Icon: 2 arms hooked at the elbows 
     1st Outfit: Silver with yellow eyes
     2nd Outfit: Green with yellow eyes
                 (they're coming to take me away)
     Music: Jungle and capoeira
     Style: Capoeira

   Bi-O
     Age: 47
     Height: 178 cm (without axe)
     Weight: 65 kg
     Icon: Skull
     1st Outfit: Naval officer jacket with white turtle neck, axe in 
                 head, and missing pant leg (prolly related to 
                 LLCoolJ)
     2nd Outfit: Same only Bi-O's red instead of green.
     Music: Hard rock/metal. Hard to dance to. Real cool song.
     Style: Zombie dance (also prolly related to Rob Zombie)

   Hiro
     Age: 21
     Height: 179 cm
     Weight: 68 kg
     Icon: Cigarette
     1st Outfit: Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha, Stayin Alive, Stayin Alive!!! 
                 Need I say more.
     2nd Outfit: Straight from The Love Boat. Captains outfit. 
                 Hat and all. Blue and white striped shirt and white 
                 bell-bottoms. Nice shades.
     Music: Disco, Disco, and some more Disco.
     Style: Answered in the last line.
  
   Kitty-N
     Age: 17
     Height: 170 cm
     Weight: 46 kg
     Icon: Can of fish (tuna)
     1st Outfit: Just like the original Kitty-N. White jump suit with 
                 pink trim, and yellow-green hair.
     2nd Outfit: Same only black suit with blue trim and red hair.
     Music: J-pop no doubt. (I'm really disappointed with her music)
            (thought it would be more techno-ish like Busta 1)
     Style: Jazz Dance with a touch of ballet.

   Kelly
     Age: 24
     Height: 168 cm
     Weight: 49 kg
     Icon: Cross guard
     1st Outfit: Look out!! Kelly's a cop. (Very good looking one too)
                 Short button-down shirt with short, short, shorts and 
                 a light saber.... no, wait, that's a glowing traffic 
                 baton. 
     2nd Outfit: Dressed up like a business tycoon. Mustache, 
                 pinstripes, cane and beautiful long, blond hair.
     Music: Hip-Hop groove
     Style: Sexy hip-hop (real sexy)

---------------------
- Hidden Characters -

   This is a list of the secret characters you receive when you beat the 
game with a specific character. Some of these could be different for 
you. The characters listed in the release row are the characters I used 
to beat the game to get that secret character. Some are random, some are 
fixed. Getting Columbo by beating the game with Shorty is fixed. I'll 
indicate which ones are fixed and which are not.

  Columbo
     Age: ???
     Height: 33 cm
     Weight: 1 kg
     Icon: Circle with question mark in center
     1st Outfit: Brown with backwards red hat
     2nd Outfit: Pink with backwards red hat
     Music: Same as Shorty
     Style: Same as Shorty
     Release: Beat game with Shorty (fixed)

   Robo-Z Gold
     Age: ???
     Height: 52 m 
     Weight: 220 t
     Icon: Plug with socket
     1st Outfit: Gold with blue trim (eyes, knees, and elbows) and red
                 wings.
     2nd Outfit: Silver with blue trim and blue wings.
     Music: Techno to the max. (not as good as Busta 1)
     Style: Techno and vogue
     Release: Beat game with Kelly (may be different for you)

   Pander
     Age: 31
     Height: 183 cm
     Weight: 78 kg
     Icon: Umm.... Not sure. Some sort of drawing in a box with a pen 
           on the side of it
     1st Outfit: Bald guy that looks like a panda and has 1 brown shoe
                 on and a watch.
     2nd Outfit: Same only instead of being bald, it has a flower on 
                 its head. (Weird)
     Music: Super techno. Super fast. Hope your fingers don't get 
            tired too easily. 
     Style: Chinese opera
     Release: Beat game with Robo-Z (fixed)

   Sushi Boy   
     Age: ???
     Height: 42 cm
     Weight: 30 kg
     Icon: Circle with question mark in center 
     1st Outfit: The tin man shrunk to a foot tall with inline skates.
                 Silver cylinder with funnel top.
     2nd Outfit: Same only light purple instead of silver
     Music: Same as Comet
     Style: Same as Comet
     Release: Beat game with Bi-O (may be different for you)

   McLoad
     Age: ???
     Height: 164 cm
     Weight: ???
     Icon: Circle with question mark in center
     1st Outfit: Green dragon with yellow spikes
     2nd Outfit: Same only pink instead of green
     Music: Same as Kelly
     Style: Same as Kelly
     Release: Beat game with Comet (may be different for you)

   ChiChi & Sally
     Age: ???
     Height: 45 cm
     Weight: 3.7 kg
     Icon: Circle with question mark in center
     1st Outfit: ChiChi is Blue and Sally is Pink. Both are aliens
                 from Capoeira.
     2nd Outfit: ChiChi is green and Sally is orange.
     Music: Same as Capoeira
     Style: Same as Capoeira
     Release: Beat game with Capoeira (fixed)

   Michael Doi  
     Age: 34
     Height: 175 cm
     Weight: ???
     Icon: Circle with question mark in center
     1st Outfit: Short ruffle top with chest hair and blue tights
                 with chest hair. He looks very feminine...with chest 
                 hair
     2nd Outfit: Red top with black tights and, yup, chest hair
     Music: Same as Kitty-N
     Style: Same as Kitty-N
     Release: Beat game with Hiro (may be different for you)

   Hustle Kong     
     Age: ???
     Height: 185 cm
     Weight: 226 kg
     Icon: Circle with question mark in center
     1st Outfit: Big ol' gorilla in boxer shorts. Red with yellow and
                 blue trim (and in this corner......)
     2nd Outfit: Same only H.K. is blue instead of brown
     Music: Same as Hiro
     Style: Same as Hiro
     Release: Beat game with Columbo (may be different for you)


-----------------------
- Stage Beat Patterns -

   This section will provide the beat pattern for each stage. It will be 
based on the number of 4th beats. Use these to plan attacks against 
friends or the computer for major points.



   Heat - 8 norm, 4 solo P1, 4 solo P2, 16 norm, 4 solo P1, 4 solo P2,
          4 solo P1, 4 solo P2, 14 norm

   Comet/Sushi Boy - 24 norm, 4 solo P1, 4 solo P2, 4 solo P1, 
                     4 solo P2, 12 norm, 4 solo P2, 4 solo P1, 12 norm
  
   Shorty/Columbo - 12 norm, 4 solo P1, 4 solo P2, 12 norm, 4 solo P2
                    4 solo P1, 8 norm, 4 solo P1, 4 solo P2, 16 norm
  
   Strike - 8 norm, 2 solo P1, 2 solo P2, 2 solo P1, 2 solo P2, 
            16 norm, 4 solo P1, 4 solo P2, 16 norm
  
   Tsutomu - 24 norm, 4 solo P1, 4 solo P2, 2 solo P1, 2 solo P2, 
             2 solo P1, 2 solo P2, 8 norm, 4 solo P2, 4 solo P1, 
             16 norm
  
   Capoeira/ChiChi & Sally - 8 norm, 4 solo P1, 4 solo P2, 8 norm,
                             4 solo P2, 4 solo P1, 16 norm, 4 solo P1,
                             4 solo P2, 4 norm
 
   Bi-O - 16 norm, 4 solo P1, 4 solo P2, 8 norm, 4 solo P1, 4 solo P2,
          2 solo P1, 2 solo P2, 2 solo P1, 2 solo P2, 16 norm
  
   Hiro/Hustle Kong - 16 norm, 4 solo P1, 4 solo P2, Break, 8 norm,
                      4 solo P2, 4 solo P1, 16 norm
  
   Kitty-N/Michael Doi - 16 norm, 4 solo P1, 4 solo P2, 14 norm, 
                         4 solo P1, 4 solo P2, 5 norm, Break, 
                         4 solo P2, 4 solo P1, 18 norm
 
   Kelly/McLoad - 8 norm, 2 solo P1, 2 solo P2, 2 solo P1, 2 solo P2,
                  8 norm, 4 solo P1, 4 solo P2, 16 norm, 4 solo P1,
                  4 solo P2
 
   Robo-Z Gold - 12 norm, 4 solo P1, 4 solo P2, 12 norm, 4 solo P2,
                 4 solo P1, 24 norm, 4 solo P1, 4 solo P2, 4 norm
 
   Pander - 16 norm, 4 solo P1, 4 solo P2, 4 solo P1, 4 solo P2, 
            16 norm, 4 solo P2, 4 solo P1, 4 solo P2, 4 solo P1, 
            32 norm

   
   2, 4, 5, 8, 12, etc.... - number of 4th beats in a row 

   norm - both players can input commands 

   solo - only one player is dancing 

   P1 - first player or character on left side

   P2 - second player or character on right side 


-----------
- Endings -

   Guess What! Those you'll just have to find out for yourself or from 
someone else. Sorry, but I don't like people to spoil games for me so 
beat the game yourselves! 

-----------
- Thanks -

   There is a few of my real good friends I'd like to thank. 

     Eric (Gouken8) Williams - for finding the game and all of those 
late nights playing Teeeeekken (he-he) and Alpha 2.(best SF ever)

     Erica (Lei Lei) Langworthy - for bustin out Beatmania, Busta 1, 
Xenogears, and this.(Magikarp-karp-karp-karp) 

     Sands - My best competition at Busta 1.(my Kitty-N whips your 
Strike anyday)

     Jay (Warbringer) Lash - because he is terrible at all fighting and 
dancing games except Killer Instinct.(so he says)

     Lil Chris (DINGD0NGY0) and Cutter - for always hangin out and doing 
whatever.(stuff you)

   And the rest of Team Ohio including:
     Shoe - fuzzy 
     Wilson - Teeeeeekken God
     Chad - never around
     Steve - cheeze masta (oink-oink)
     Howard - Mista Sumner
     Bandit - No comment.... (Not part of Team Ohio)
     Campbell - nice rims (but you still drive a mustang)
     Chris and Chad from IAG
     And all of my friends on IRC
    
If you're ever bored, go check out Fighters.net for an amazing display 
of fighting game combos and hints. Help them out by telling them what 
you think. Also, if you have IRC, get onto an Efnet server and come chat 
with us in room's tkn and capcom. If you have any questions I'm sure we 
can answer them. My screen name is Messatsu.

   Game FAQ's for posting this!
 
   Last of all, THANKS ENIX! You made one hell of a game here!
  
   One request for the person responsible for the music they select for 
the Bust a Groove 2. MAKE KITTY-N'S SONG DIFFERENT PLEASE!!! It's just 
not the same without a good song for her. Make it like Busta 1!!!