"Sparking!" - Official "I Have It" Topic

SuperFusion · Post by **SuperFusion** » Fri Oct 14, 2005 7:21 pm

Wha cha get for not waitin' for the English game

Orochi_Rockman · Post by **Orochi_Rockman** » Fri Oct 14, 2005 7:31 pm

Everytime that little blue meter fills up on its own you'll get a Blast Ball. It will keep going until you have 3 of them.

When you have a Blast Ball you can over-charge your Ki past its maximum. Fill it up again with this Blue Ki meter and you'll enter Sparking! mode, where you can use your Ultimate attack, which will draing exactly 1/2 of your current blue ki meter that gradually decreases while you are in Sparking! mode.

To do a Blast 1 move you need 1 Blast Ball, to do a Blast 2 you need 2. I don't believe doing these moves takes them away you just have to have one. Going into Sparking! mode however does take one away.

Blast 1 Moves are

L1+O
L1+Up+O

Blast 2 Moves are

L1+Triangle
L1+Triangle+Up

Blast 3 - Ultimate

L1+Triangle+Down

I believe thats how it goes.

Post by **VegettoEX** » Sat Oct 15, 2005 4:59 pm

< snip >

It (read: the ki bar) still makes absolutely no sense to me. I'm convinced I've reached the point in my life where I don't understand technology, anymore. God dammit.

Anyway, I'm up to the Form-2/Form-3 Freeza battles. Ya' know, the "stay alive" ones with Gohan & Piccolo. Problem is, before I can even make a single move, I'm killed. Usually by a "Perfect" CPU attack. I keep getting stuck in these endless cycles of attacks that never cease, and I can't seem to break/parry out of. How the bloody Hell are you supposed to stay alive for 60 seconds? I just don't understand at all. Nevermind that I don't know how to avoid those rush attacks (where the screen turns all black and speed-line-y), which they like to do over and over and over, effectively wiping out my health in the process (yay, 10 seconds and the fight is over... how... quaint).

This game irks me more than any yet.

lost in thought · Post by **lost in thought** » Sat Oct 15, 2005 6:20 pm

VegettoEX wrote:< snip >

It (read: the ki bar) still makes absolutely no sense to me. I'm convinced I've reached the point in my life where I don't understand technology, anymore. God dammit.

This game irks me more than any yet.

Hahaha. Even though I still haven't played, I can sympathize with you Mike. I feel that way a lot too, but mostly when it comes to coding (read: PHP), sometimes it feels like I've forgotten shit that I've known forever.

Sometimes I think life after 19 is just a series of opportunities to forget, and fail to comprehend... Yay for growing older.

Xyex · Post by **Xyex** » Sat Oct 15, 2005 6:57 pm

While I don't have the game yet I do know a bit about it's system so I'll try and help out here.

Someone please explain this ki meter to me. It's making absolutely no logical sense. I'm doing attacks and using up ki... and suddenly my ki meter has ANOTHER blue ball?

I just don't get it. At all.

Why do I get to the point where I only have one blue ball, and I can't charge up anymore? Shouldn't I be able to charge up to the full three? WTF?

I just don't get it. At all.

The bar by the balls (like the balls themselves) are not ki related. That's the Blast Meter and the Blast Balls. They're needed for certain things (Ultiamte Blast moves and entering Sparking mode for example) and that's it. The Blast Meter changes on it's own. You can't power it up, no matter how much you try. It's entirely automatic.

Post by **VegettoEX** » Sat Oct 15, 2005 8:15 pm

Xyex wrote:The bar by the balls (like the balls themselves) are not ki related. That's the Blast Meter and the Blast Balls. They're needed for certain things (Ultiamte Blast moves and entering Sparking mode for example) and that's it. The Blast Meter changes on it's own. You can't power it up, no matter how much you try. It's entirely automatic.

*THAT* makes slightly more sense to me, now. I don't like it, but I somewhat understand it.

Now my problem is figuring out how to get *away* from an enemy. Especially f-in' Oozaru Vegeta. I feel like if an enemy so much as hits me ONCE, I'm just stuck there and can't even move. You seem to not be able to fly at will if you're in close proximity to an opponent (uh, hello... I'd like to be able to fly backwards, please!), which... again... makes no sense to me. Seriously, it's nuts... if I so much as get close to an opponent, I feel like I should just give up and quit, because I can't do jack-shit in return.

Extremely frustrating. And quite honestly, I'm not enjoying it at all.

(This thread has officially become the "VegettoEX Mental Stability Support Thread")

h3ndrix2005 · Post by **h3ndrix2005** » Sat Oct 15, 2005 8:53 pm

LoL, wait until you get to the Majin Buu Saga. You have to survive him for about 120 seconds with Vegeta. To me, that was even harder than the Oozaru fights.

Anyways, I was redoing all of the hardest survival/fights in the Battle Gate yesterday, and I found the easiest way out of it. I started off by going to the sky, using L2+R1. When Freezer/any opponent began chasing me up to the sky, i would go back down to the ground using L2+R2. I did this for a while, and eventually my ki would run out. I would remain still, press block, wait for Freezer/whoever to attack, use my combo until my ki meter fills up, and start all over again.

I feel like if an enemy so much as hits me ONCE

One word; sidestep. They pause in between combos, so keep an eye out for that split second you need to sidestep and counter.

You seem to not be able to fly at will if you're in close proximity to an opponent

Yeah, just keep blocking. And as soon as you land your combo and Freezer is sent flying back, press L2+X+DOWN. Or, LoL, just press L2+R1 and fly high in the sky. That way, it won't matter HOW close he is, as long as he doesn't hit you.

I think you should really check out the Training Mode of Practice Mode. Even though it's in Japanese, you'll be able to get the gist of it. It helped me out a lot when I was having trouble. Good Luck!

Post by **VegettoEX** » Sat Oct 15, 2005 9:04 pm

Yeah, I went through the training mode almost first-thing when I got the game. It helped out a great deal in terms of offensive-attacks, but I still have trouble with the whole defensive side of things (despite my enjoying defensive-type fighting games a lot!).

I have done a bit of flying in the sky (and back down again) to try and get away from Oozaru Vegeta. Problem is, he's just so huge. He gets too close, too fast. And once he hits you, man, you're boned.

I am starting to figure out that timing in-between combos. I just can't seem to totally get out of them, though (definitely can't side-step, and Kami knows I'm trying). Occasionally if they keep repeating the same thing over and over, I seem to be able to press CIRCLE to break it and throw them off-guard. Then I go into that PPPP, X, PPPP, X, PPPP, X, etc. I'll sometimes get it up to something like 40 hits, which wastes a good amount of time (and does absolutely no damage), but then they miraculously go right back to kicking my ass.

I find my starting a fight and dying in 10 seconds not a whole lot of fun. And it's on the easy difficulty... >.>

h3ndrix2005 · Post by **h3ndrix2005** » Sat Oct 15, 2005 9:53 pm

I only have one thing to say; practice makes perfect, no matter what strategy, technique, or trick you're using.

The first time I tried, I went through the exact same thing you did, and only by dumb luck did I manage to clear the stages. I'm on the hardest difficulty now, and everything seems so much easier the 2nd/3rd time around(though I still get my ass kicked occasionally).

My point is; practice is perfect. Just keep trying and you'll get it sooner or later. The next time around, you'll laugh at how much trouble you were having.

Here's a tip; teleport. It takes near-perfect timing, but it works a hell of a lot better than side stepping.

omae no kaasan · Post by **omae no kaasan** » Sat Oct 15, 2005 11:41 pm

This game....and its god-forsaken load time....is the reason why PS2 was meant to exist.

Post by **VegettoEX** » Sun Oct 16, 2005 10:48 am

Someone please explain to me how to break out of these combos. I just stand there and get killed before I even have a chance to do *anything*.

Specifically, it's the combo where they land a series of 4 or 5 hits, and then do that thing where it looks like they power-up and a semi-transparent sphere surrounds them. In the off-chance that I get to side-step, I still get caught in that sphere, and I'm off-guard and they continue to land attacks.

I'm lasting literally 9 seconds against #19. This isn't a fun game.

h3ndrix2005 · Post by **h3ndrix2005** » Sun Oct 16, 2005 11:58 am

You should try the charging combo. By that I mean PPPP, and then holding P along with a directional button. This backs them up, giving you the chance to run away.

*sigh* Sorry I can't be more helpful. I just don't get how you could be having THIS much trouble. You should've gotten it by now...and judging by your posts, it sounds like you're on hard difficulty or something.

Well, like I said before; practice makes perfect.

omae no kaasan · Post by **omae no kaasan** » Sun Oct 16, 2005 12:45 pm

Now my problem is figuring out how to get *away* from an enemy. Especially f-in' Oozaru Vegeta.

Have you tried running away via the ki dash (hold charge + press a direction and hold X I believe?)? It works every time for me. I actually beat Oozaru Vegeta in one try by doing that.

Sometimes the game freaks too. In my survival against Nappa as Gohan when I did that he caught himself in a punch combo in the center of the screen ^O^

LaRésistance · Post by **LaRésistance** » Sun Oct 16, 2005 1:13 pm

To beat Oozaru Vegeta, I got high in the air, then every time he tried to get close to me, I'd send him a Kamehameha. By the time he'd try to come at you, you had enough time to raise your ki.

I used the same technique against Kid Buu with Vegeta and I actually killed Buu. But since you have to survive and not kill him, I didn't "clear" the stage.

h3ndrix2005 · Post by **h3ndrix2005** » Sun Oct 16, 2005 1:43 pm

LoL, that must've sucked. Though I can't even see how killing him within 120 seconds is possible...I've tried but it's just too hard; for me, I guess.

MajinVejitaXV · Post by **MajinVejitaXV** » Sun Oct 16, 2005 5:53 pm

100% on all the battle gates save for the last, which I don't know how to open. Decent game, lots of flaws though. I'll writeup something later.

-Corey

Orochi_Rockman · Post by **Orochi_Rockman** » Sun Oct 16, 2005 6:49 pm

VegettoEX wrote:Someone please explain to me how to break out of these combos. I just stand there and get killed before I even have a chance to do *anything*.

Specifically, it's the combo where they land a series of 4 or 5 hits, and then do that thing where it looks like they power-up and a semi-transparent sphere surrounds them. In the off-chance that I get to side-step, I still get caught in that sphere, and I'm off-guard and they continue to land attacks.

I'm lasting literally 9 seconds against #19. This isn't a fun game.

I posted an extensive combat guide in the instruction request topic for you. It was written by tragic, a GF Forum user and is quite detailed.

Leotaku · Post by **Leotaku** » Sun Oct 16, 2005 8:04 pm

Gee, when I was worrying about all the things that might hurt this game, I never thought of difficulty as an issue. VegettoEX's comments are starting to scare me, and I've heard others mentioning the ramped up difficulty too(like IGN, in their review).

Is this on the easiest mode, or a harder one?

I'm not THAT great at some types of games, and having a game too difficult for me would really ruin it for me. I'm still getting this game, but there's now a hint of fear in my enthusiasm over it coming out.

Post by **VegettoEX** » Sun Oct 16, 2005 9:14 pm

MajinVejitaXV wrote:100% on all the battle gates save for the last, which I don't know how to open. Decent game, lots of flaws though. I'll writeup something later.

d00d, you're f-in' nuts

.

I'm starting to get the hang of things a little better, myself. I'm still having problems breaking out of certain combos, but the controls feel a little better than they did the last couple of days. I'm actually cruising through the Jinzoningen arc pretty quickly (think I'm at 96% on it, or something).

The stages I hate the most are the "stay alive" ones... because the CPU seems to be even more overpowered and cheap than they usually are. To a lesser extent I hate the "Beat them with your Ultimate" stages, because in the time it takes to get into "Sparking!" mode, you're already dead from massive attacks.

It's definitely not a game you can just pick up and expect to know how to play. It's going to take a lot of experimentation, practice, and in my case, cursing at the top of your lungs

. Whether that's a good or a bad thing is up to you.

It's *not* a bad game, but it's also not an *amazing* game. Maybe I'll change my mind as time goes on... ^_~

I've read through that guide from GameFAQs... it's... all right. Not written all that well, but helped a few times.

MajinVejitaXV · Post by **MajinVejitaXV** » Sun Oct 16, 2005 11:23 pm

VegettoEX wrote:
MajinVejitaXV wrote:100% on all the battle gates save for the last, which I don't know how to open. Decent game, lots of flaws though. I'll writeup something later.
d00d, you're f-in' nuts .

Oh yeah, no arguements here ;p

Funny thing is, my girlfriend watched me play and was mocking the noises Freeza made while I fought him, all while referring to him as 'the giant rat', good times

Anyway, review time:

Gameplay: 6.5/10

Not a bad effort, but the controls seem a bit unresponsive at times. Also, the levels wherein you have to either run away for 60-120 seconds or kill with a certain move can be grating, as VegEX mentioned. Also, call me crazy, but I miss the IGT's, especially since so many characters are just different transformed versions of the same character.

Music: 10/10

(For the Japanese only) It's music from the series, what more could you want?

Graphics: 7/10

Not too terrible, but a bit unimpressive. The models are well done, but their use in story scenes is rushed, as it's just the in-game models with moving lips not really synced to anything. Also, the intro is a bit lacking, but I'm nit-picking here.

Overall: 7/10

A good effort, but one with a lot of room for improvement. I still think this game suffered from being rushed, and it shows. For a fan, it'll be fun. For an outsider, not so much so. I'd say rent it and buy if you're into it, or wait for the inevitable Greatest Hits mark-down.

-Corey
Still wants to open that last gate...