BUST A GROOVE FAQ (Version 1.0)
By M. S. King (mking3472@aol.com)
Written on May 30, 1999
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This FAQ: c 1999 M. S. King
(All other copyrighted material is a copyright of the
respective owners.)
This FAQ can be found at http://www.gamefaqs.com/
THIS FAQ IS PROTECTED BY INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT LAW.
ANY BREACH OF THIS COPYRIGHT, ESPECIALLY PLAGIARISM,
WILL NOT BE TOLERATED.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
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1. GAME MODES
a. One-Player
b. Two-Player
c. Practice
d. Dance View
2. HOW TO GROOVE
a. Button Functions
b. Following the Beat
3. CHARACTER BIOS
a. Heat
b. Frida
c. Strike
d. Hamm
e. Kelly
f. Shorty
g. Hiro (a.k.a. Hiro-kun)
h. Pinky Diamond
i. Gas-O
j. Kitty Nakajima
k. Capoeira
l. Robo-Z
m. Columbo
n. Burger Dog
4. GAME MECHANICS
a. The Enthusiasm Gauge
b. Solo Sections
c. Attacks
5. SECRETS
a. Secret Characters
b. High-Scoring Moves
c. Miscellaneous Secrets
6. CREDITS
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1. GAME MODES
a. One-Player
In this mode, you are to beat 12 computer-controlled
characters in an all-out dance-off. Regardless of what
character you use, the sixth competitor will be
Capoeira and the twelfth and final competitor is Robo-Z.
b. Two-Player
This is the "versus mode", a feature popularized by
fighting games. You and your opponent choose your
character, then the playing field, and then you're
off to dance.
c. Practice
You choose a character to practice with, then you are
taken to that character's stage to practice the dance
movements. Every character has the same movements, so
you need not worry about which character you choose.
d. Dance View
In this mode, you control the dance movements of any
character you have beaten the game with. The fun part
is that you can watch the character dance in all sorts
of ways, so I predict this mode won't be boring anytime
soon. You must beat the game with a certain character
(for example, Heat) to unlock his or her dance view.
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2. HOW TO GROOVE
a. Button Functions
Directional Pad: used to perform dance movements
Square Button: used to dodge an attack
Triangle Button: used to attack
cancels selections in menus
X Button: used to perform dance movements
confirms selections in menus
Circle Button: used to perform dance movements
Start Button: pauses the game
confirms selections in menus
(All the other buttons have no function.)
b. Following the Beat
This is very basic: you press any directions BEFORE
the fourth beat, and you press the given button (X or
Circle) ON the fourth beat.
When you perform a move successfully, you will be
given another (set of) move(s). In a set, the top move
is easier, but worth less; the bottom move is harder,
but worth more. You can tell who is groovin' better
because the camera will be focused on him or her.
Whoever has the camera focused on him or her
at the end wins!
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3. CHARACTER BIOS
a. HEAT
Age: 19
Style: East Coast Hip-Hop
Attack: a giant flame that comes down on the opponent
He is the "poster boy" and the break-dancing fool of
this game. He used to be a racer, but hasn't returned
to the track because he was nearly incinerated when he
was involved in a terrible accident; luckily, he made
a total recovery.
b. FRIDA
Age: 17
Style: California Hip-Hop
Attack: a wolf's head that she paints, then bites the opponent
She is an artist who lives in a shack. Her ambition is
to use the Groovetron to give life to her paintings. In my
opinion, she should sell her paintings so she can buy a
residence that doesn't blow away every time a storm comes.
c. STRIKE
Age: 21
Style: Gangsta
Attack: a rain of bullets from Strike's guns
He is from a notorious street gang, and managed to do
something bad to get in the state penitentiary. He is
gathering his fellow prisoners to form a dance team,
called "The Ball and Chain Revue."
d. HAMM
Age: 30
Style: Detroit Modern
Attack: a giant hamburger that squishes the opponent
He used to be a great dancer, but his love for junk food
has left him sort of chubby. He became a hamburger joint
employee to satisfy his craving for junk food. He wants
to use the Groovetron to help him diet.
e. KELLY
Age: 23
Style: Modern Jazz
Attack: a burst of energy gathered in her rattle
She is a secretary who has a major baby fetish. She
bought her rubber suit to dress in when she is a guest
at secret parties. She seems worried about her new
rubber suit, probably of the cost.
f. SHORTY
Age: 12
Style: Candy Hip-Hop
Attack: giant pieces of candy that fall on her opponent
She is the daughter of a DJ father and a supermodel
mother. Obviously, Shorty lives in a rich family with
nothing better to do than dance with Columbo, her mouse.
Her love for music drives her to madness at a flea
market, where she frantically searches for 8-track tapes.
g. HIRO (a.k.a. Hiro-Kun)
Age: 20
Style: Classic 70's Disco
Attack: an autographed picture of himself
Hiro is the narcissistic disco-loving guy. He lives in a
tiny apartment where he plays with his computer (probably
typing up a FAQ for disco), until Saturday night, where
his playboy antics really take off. Don't even begin to
try to match his Saturday night standards-he is truly
one of a kind.
h. PINKY DIAMOND
Age: unknown
Style: Classic 70's Motown
Attack: giant tarot cards that curse the opponent
She is a stripper, fortune-teller, and professional
contract killer. It's no wonder she's so weird.
She has the power to see into your lover's heart
(very handy to see if your lover is cheating on you)
and claims to know you better than you know yourself.
Your secrets are nowhere being close to safe near her!
i. GAS-O
Age: 15
Style: Techno
Attack: trapping the opponent in a gas chamber
Gas-O first became interested in becoming a scientist
when he was 8. Now at 15, he has his own laboratory
where he studies the gaseous elements and hopes to use
the Groovetron to develop the ultimate gas.
j. KITTY NAKAJIMA
Age: 16
Style: Vogue Club
Attack: a burst of energy she throws at her opponent
This lovable TV star is on break from the hit TV show
"Litterbox Warriors 5." She wants to use the
Groovetron's power to make her the ultimate TV star.
She has bought out the top floor of some building and
converted it into her private dancing studio, just
for the purposes of attracting more people.
k. CAPOEIRA
Age: Unknown
Style: Updated African Tribal
Attack: a wall of opponent-confusing energy
Capoeira, individually known as Kiki and Rara, have come
to Earth to collect Japanese billboards to construct a
giant fan. (Why would anyone, or anything, need a giant
fan?) They are also here to showcase the power of the
Groovetron, their special "dancing energy" invention.
l. ROBO-Z
Age: Unknown
Style: Techno Beat
Attack: a series of electric waves
Robo-Z was constructed by a tyrannical organization
only known as "Secret X." Robo-Z was constructed for
the sole purpose of harnessing total power of the
Groovetron. It is 50 feet tall on the final level, but
on other stages, it is very short.
m. COLUMBO
Age: Unknown
Style: Candy Hip-Hop
Attack: giant pieces of candy that fall on his opponent
Columbo is Shorty's pet mouse. It's quite obvious that
Columbo takes after Shorty because of the way he dances.
I think it is cool to have a dancing mouse in this game-
something you don't see every day (unless you're a Bust
A Groove addict like me!)
n. BURGER DOG
Age: Unknown
Style: Detroit Modern
Attack: a giant hamburger that squishes the opponent
Burger Dog is the dog that runs the restaurant in Hamm's
stage. Like Columbo, he takes after his respective
owner (in this case, Hamm) because of the way Burger Dog
dances. A strange quirk about him is that he appears to
have no paws. (Why?)
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4. GAME MECHANICS
a. The Enthusiasm Gauge
This is a very important mechanic because it determines
what moves you can perform. It will start out being
little and dark green. As you dance successfully, it
will fill up and turn lighter shades of green. When it
is completely full, it will turn yellow and red.
When the Enthusiasm Gauge is dark green, you can only do
basic moves (such as Up, Down, X, and Up, Right, Circle).
As it turns lighter shades of green, you will be given
sets of moves that are harder to execute. Only when the
Enthusiasm Gauge is yellow and red is when you can execute
the hardest moves and get the most points. (For an
explanation on moves, see Section B under "How to Groove.")
b. Solo Sections
These sections are your chance to shine without interruption
from the opponent. You will always be given a set of moves
at the first part of your solo. You will be given only one
move for each part of your solo based on which part of the
set you executed. You cannot attack your opponent; by the
same token, your opponent cannot attack you. During these
sections, you can use secret moves called High-Scoring Moves.
(See Section B under "Secrets" for an explanation of High-
Scoring Moves.)
c. Attacks
These are special Groovetron-generated powers that are
designed to totally screw up your opponent's groove and
enhance yours. I have listed each dancer's attack with
their Character Bio. To attack, you press the Triangle
Button on the fourth beat. However, if you are about to
be attacked, you can dodge the attack by pressing the
Square Button on the fourth beat. If you dodge an attack
successfully, you will be awarded with a higher Enthusiasm
Gauge status.
A good time to attack is two measures before an opponent's
solo. (Why two measures? You need to start there because
it takes one measure, or four beats, to launch an attack.)
If the attack is successful, your opponent will not be able
to perform the first two measures of his or her solo, which
means he or she will not get full credit for the solo.
Then you can use your High-Scoring Move to totally blow them
out of the water! ^_^
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5. SECRETS
a. Secret Characters
In this section, I will explain how to get the four secret
characters: Capoeira, Robo-Z, Columbo, and Burger Dog.
CAPOEIRA: Beat the game on Normal with any character.
ROBO-Z: Unlock Capoeira, then beat the game on Normal
with him.
COLUMBO: Unlock Robo-Z, then beat the game on Normal with
Shorty.
BURGER DOG: Unlock Robo-Z, then beat the game on Normal
with Hamm.
b. High-Scoring Moves
In this section, I will give you the starter move to the
chain of High-Scoring Moves. (The reason for me giving you
only the starter move is that I couldn't tell you the others
from memory.) These starters will unlock the rest of the
chain. Remember you can only perform these moves during your
solo section. And a little reminder: if you and your
opponent are tied when going into a solo, whoever performs
more of their High-Scoring Move chain successfully will win
the tie. So without further ado, here are the High-Scoring
Move chain starters!
HEAT: Up, Down, Up, Circle
FRIDA: Up, Down, Up, Circle
STRIKE: Up, Up, Left, Circle
HAMM: Down, Right, Up, Circle
KELLY: Right, Left, Right, Circle
SHORTY: Down, Down, Down, Circle
HIRO: Right, Up, Down, Circle
PINKY DIAMOND: Up, Left, Up, Circle
GAS-O: Left, Down, Right, Up, Circle
KITTY NAKAJIMA: Down, Down, Right, Circle
CAPOEIRA: Right, Up, Right, X
ROBO-Z: Up, Down, Left, Right, Circle
COLUMBO: Down, Down, Down, Circle
BURGER DOG: Down, Right, Up, Circle
c. Miscellaneous Secrets
These are the rest of the secrets that don't fit in the first
two sections.
ACTIVATE DANCE VIEW: Beat the game on Easy with the
character you want the Dance
View for.
ALTERNATE COSTUME: When selecting a character, hold
the Select Button and press X.
WINNING POSE CLOSE-UP: When you win a stage, hold
the Circle Button.
LEVEL SKIP: Anytime during a song, hold the L2 Button
and press Select.
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6. CREDITS
These are the people I want to credit for my information:
Henry LaPierre: for the High-Scoring Move chain
Starters
Kao Megura: for his format on his fighting FAQs (I
based the format on this FAQ on his
FAQ format.)
Jennifer Reitz: for the Character Bio and the Dance
Style information for each character
GameWinners Web Site: for information in the Secrets
Section except for the High-
Scoring Moves (that honor goes to
Henry LaPierre)
989 Studios Bust A Groove Web Site: for additional
information on
the characters
IF THERE IS ANYONE ELSE I HAVE NEGLECTED TO CREDIT
BECAUSE I DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT IT, PLEASE E-MAIL ME
AT mking3472@aol.com AND I WILL MAKE SURE YOU GET
THE CREDIT YOU DESERVE.
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Hey, party people, that's the end of my FAQ! Now it's time
to get your groove on and BUST A GROOVE!!!
