GUNDAM : THE BATTLEMASTER 2 FAQ (Part 1) By Kelvin Koh (14/5/98) Contains: 1) Basic Controls 2) Fighting System ---[ INTRODUCTION ]----------------------------------------------------- Being a very big Gundam fan has encouraged me to write my very first FAQ. Gundam:The BattleMaster 2 is a truly awesome game, with impressive graphics & animation that rival Capcom's recent 2D fighting games, many Mobile Suits to choose from, and a very good & up-to-date fighting game engine. Gundam fans , who were appalled by the first game, will definitely not be disappointed by this sequel. New-comers may not get used to the slow speed at first (they are huge Mobile Suits, after all!), but give it more time, and you will find that this is one of the best Gundam games out there, and also, a very enjoyable fighting game! Besides the speed, the only other flaw I can think of is that the Mobile Suits are very unbalanced. Nevertheless, a great effort by Bandai! ---[ BASIC CONTROLS ]--------------------------------------------------- LEGEND: F - Forward D - Down B - Back U - Up Square Button - Light Punch (LP) Triangle Button - Hard Punch (HP) X Button - Light Kick (LK) Circle Button - Hard Kick (HK) R1 / R2 - Thruster Button P - any Punch button K - any Kick button [Jump] - Press U A very short & low jump ; lower than most fighting games. [Duck] - Press D [Quick Dash Forward / Backward]- Tap F 2 times, or B 2 times. A short dash forward or backwards. [Guard] - Hold B or DB (Can be done in the air) ---[ Game System ]------------------------------------------------------ [Armor Gauge] Unlike your conventional fighting game, the fights in BM2 do not consist of rounds. Instead, each Mobile Suit begins with 3 Armor Gauges, which are essentially the Life Bars for each character. When a player receives damage, the Armor Gauge will be filled, until it "overheats". The first armor is used up, and the player falls down, and gets up, starting on the next Armor Gauge. The Winner is the one who totally defeats his opponent 3 times (or 3 Armor Gauges). [Thrusters] - Hold R1 + any Direction Button (Can be done in the air) Used to give your Mobile Suit a boost in the direction you choose. Can be used to perform faster & longer front / rear dashes (F/B + R1) or to propel yourself into the air. Can be used multiple times to hover around the screen, as long as you have enough energy left on your Thruster Gauge (located below the Armor Gauge). (Example: U + R1, UF + R1, F + R1, UB + R1) [Thruster Mode] - D,F + R1 (Can be done in the air) Your Mobile Suit will flash, and after that, he can fly in the air for a limited period of time using the Direction Pad. The time is represented by the left portion of the Thruster Gauge, which will fill up when you perform the motion, then starts to deplete. (Works something like those flight moves in Capcom's X-Men fighting games.) This is good for air battles. Note that when you are Thruster Mode, you cannot guard, nor there is a way to deactivate it. This means that you are totally vulnerable to your opponent's attacks. The thrusters automatically deactivate themselves once the gauge-timer runs out. [ Sway / Barrier ] Press any 2 Attack buttons together (Can be done in the air) The Sway & Barrier are both defensive moves. Depending on the Mobile Suit that you chose, it might either have the Sway or the Barrier when you push 2 attack buttons together. The Sway is a quick-escape move whereby your Mobile Suit sways into the background for a split second. During this time, you are temporarily invincible until you return to the fighting plane. This is very useful, as you cannot be hurt by anything at all! The Barrier will protect you against all kinds of projectile weapons, which range from the normal Beam Rifles, Missiles, to even the devastating Beam-type Mega-Special Moves. Very useful, too, because the Barrier will last for about 5 seconds, and you still have freedom of movement. However, the Barrier does not protect you against any normal close attacks, which means you still have to guard normally against them. Note that performing the Sway or Barrier will use up a bit of life, but it is worth it in some very tight situations. Here is a list showing which character has which: {SWAY}- Z Gundam, Zaku II, Sazabi, Hygog, GP-02A, AcGuy, Qubeley, Hydra Gundam, Ball, Gundam, New Gundam, Zaku S {Barrier}- Ziong, Q.Mantha, ZZ Gundam, The O, Hamma-Hamma {None} - (These characters do not have the Sway or Barrier move.) Bygzam, Neue Ziel, Psycho Gundam Mk III [ Defence Break ] - Press F + HP when close to opponent This acts as the `Throw' in the game. Your Mobile Suit will electrocute your opponent, and they will be stunned temporarily. This does no damage, but it leaves them wide open, and you can attack your opponent with virtually anything when they are stunned. [ Down Attacks ] You can attack your opponent even when they are down, using any attack. Good for getting in a few extra hits. [Chain Combos] Similar to many fighting games out now, your Mobile Suits have the ability to chain their normal Punches & Kicks into deadly combos. The key is to start with a light attack (or several), and work your way to the hard attacks. You may even end some combos with Special Moves or Mega-Special Attacks. (Example: Standing LP, LK, HK with Z Gundam) [Long Range Weapon] - D,F + P (Can be done in the Air) Each Mobile Suit has a long-range projectile attack. Your Mobile Suit will even automatically aim its weapon at its opponent. However, this is limited, as shown by the amount of Energy (denoted by the set of numbers) below the Armor Gauge. It starts at 500, and once you use it all up, there's no way to replenish it, so use sparingly. The weapon used varies according to each character, and so does the number of Energy used per shot. [Beam Saber] - F,D,B + P Your Mobile Suit will take out its Beam Saber, and use it to slash your opponent. This is a very powerful move, and it is unblockable! Its only drawback is that it takes quite a while to pull off. Range & damage depends on individual Mobile Suits. [Mega-Special Attacks] - D,F,D,F + HP These are the games' Super Moves. Each Mobile Suit can perform up to 3 Mega-Specials per fight, as shown by the number of Yellow Blocks left below its Armor Gauge. These are extremely damaging (up to 80% damage), and may even kill an opponent with a full life bar if positioned right. You can also use the brief moment of invincibility when you first perform the move to your advantage. ------------------------------------------------------------------- For the Moves List & Boss Codes, please see Part 2 of my Gundam:BM2 FAQ. (Coming Soon! ^_^) This FAQ was created by Kelvin Koh.(kelkwl@mbox4.singnet.com.sg) (13/5/98)- Finished FAQ. (14/5/98)- Corrected some mistakes. If anyone has any questions, comments, additional information or criticisms, or if you have found a mistake, please feel free to e-mail me.