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PUZZLE BOBBLE 4 MENU TRANSLATION
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*revision 3.0*
Type: Puzzle (duh) Format: Dreamcast Origin: Japanese
Chances are if you've picked up an import copy of Puzzle Bobble 4, that
you're
already a fan of the series, and you've got a pretty good idea on how to
play
the game. I might come back and expand this into a full FAQ covering the new
gameplay elements, hidden characters etc later on, but for now I'll just
stick
to menu translations and quick mode explanations, because the amount of
kanji
flying about can get fiddly.
If you have any questions, comments or corrections, please send them to me
here:
[email protected]. Thanks, enjoy the game and remember, to quote a
staffer
at IGN-DC, Bub and Bob own you!
*******
Updates
*******
26/03/00: Added translation and basic usage of the level editor (section 6).
25/03/00: Added details of the continue option in Story Puzzle Mode (section
2),
Re-explained Totokon Mode (section 3).
22/03/00: Wrote basic menu translations and mode details.
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Contents
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1. Main Menu Translation
2. Puzzle Modes Menu
3. 1P Versus Modes Menu
4. 2P Versus Mode
5. Challenge Mode
6. Level Editor
7. Options Menu
8. Internet
9. Credits & Thanks
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1. Main Menu Translation
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Here are the various game choices, as they appear on the main menu screen:
Puzzle Mode(s)
1 Player Versus Mode(s)
2 Player Versus Mode
Challenge Mode
Level Editor
Options
Internet
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2. Puzzle Modes Menu
********************
Once you've selected Puzzle Mode from the main menu, you'll be presented
with
four options, which are:
1P Puzzle:
The traditional Puzzle Bobble puzzle mode, with an alphabetical map
of stages, with two route options to choose from between each set
of
puzzles. Plenty of replay value here :)
Story Puzzle:
A new mode that's less rigid than the traditional puzzle game.
Here you use the cursor to move around a pictoral map and choose
each set of puzzles you want to attempt. Each set of puzzles you
complete will win you a tarot card, and beating several sets will
open up more locations on the map, until you've won the entire
pack of cards. The sheer number of rounds you have to win to
complete this mode means you'll be glad that the game allows you
to quit and come back later and carry on from the last set of
puzzles
you attempted. To do so though you MUST remember to save your game
(or better yet, leave 'auto-save' switched on in the options). The
next time you start this mode and picked a character you'll be
given
two options; the top one will start the map fresh and the bottom
option will allow you to continue where you left off.
User's Puzzles:
That's not a direct translation of the mode name, but it describes
it pretty well. 231 levels contributed by Japanese Puzzle Bobble
fans. After choosing your character, you'll be taken to the game
screen where you can choose the level number you want to start
with.
When you win or lose that puzzle, you'll be shown a menu with four
choices, these are:
Play Same Level Again
Play The Next Level
Quit Back To Main Puzzle Menu
Level Select (back to the puzzle number choice menu)
How To Play:
A short demonstration of how to play the game, showing tactics and
which buttons do what.
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3. One Player Versus Modes Menu
*******************************
Selecting 1 Player Versus Modes from the main menu gives you these three
choices:
Story Versus:
First choose your difficulty - left is easy (5 rounds only), middle
is the default normal setting, and right is hard - and your
character.
Now you'll automatically be moved around the map going head to head
with
a selection of the other characters - features short cutscenes with
the
two contenders chatting to, or taunting, each other between rounds.
A
tough challenge to complete.
Tokoton Mode:
This seems a be a dual purpose mode. On one hand it's a no-nonsense
survival game, and on the other it's designed to allow you to find
the game's hidden characters - or at least most of them.
Essentially,
you pick a character and then play versus rounds against each of
rest
of the cast until one of them beats you. You will go up against not
only the basic characters, but also most of the 'hidden' players.
Once
you've beaten of these guys (or girls), they'll be added to your
roster
in all other game modes (except Story Versus Mode).
If you lose and don't continue, you'll see a screen with a jumbled
picture of your chosen character, which will then unjumble
according
to the number of consecutive wins you managed. You will need to win
16 rounds without a continue to fully unjumble the picture. You can
have played more rounds before losing, which will obviously give
you
a better score, but you only need to hit the magic 16 to finish the
picture. So...what do you get for managing this? Well, I still
don't
know for sure, but I have a new and pretty solid theory. When you
play through this mode, you'll only find and unlock 14 of the 16
possible characters, and I have a hunch that you'll need to
unscramble
each of those 14's pictures to gain the final two puzzle-bobblers.
Obviously I'll update as soon as I know for sure...and if any one
beats me to it, please drop me a line so I can add the info.
How To Play:
Another rolling tutorial for beginners to get the basic idea of
gameplay.
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4. Two Player Versus Mode
*************************
No problems here, just both pick a character and a starting level and off
you go.
Just don't forget to keep an eye on the clock (the one in your house dummy)
so
you won't miss work, school, pizza delivery, that concert you've been
looking forward
to for months etc etc...
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5. Challenge Mode
*****************
Mmm. I like this one. You choose a character to take on 5 sets of 5 puzzles.
As
you complete (or indeed fail - the game progresses even if you lose some
rounds)
each set of 5 you will be graded on speed, scoring and accuracy etc and
given a
rank (and one of various medals, or even trophies if you're really good).
These 5
ranks are then totted up to become your final grading at the end of all 25
rounds.
The one part of the game I really wish I could read easily; not 'cos you
need to...
just because I'm annoyingly competitive and I'd like to have a better idea
how I
was doing. The main scores are shown as graphical bars though...so it's
pretty easy
to gauge. And obviously the bigger and shinier the awards you receive, the
better.
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6. The Level Editor
*******************
Ok. The section I've been dreading...the level editor. It's actually not
that
fiddly once you know what's what, but I still wasn't looking forward to
writing
it up. Edit Mode allows you to create your very own version of the 25 round
Challenge Mode. If my translations are confusing I apologise, but the editor
doesn't lend itself to easy explanation. Those who've used previous
version's
editors will find this has all the same options, although they're in a
different
order on the menu to previous english-based editions of the game.
When selected from the main menu, you'll be presented with two options,
these are:
Edit Mode
Play Mode
Ignore the play mode for now unless you want the world's shortest round of
Puzzle
Bobble, because empty grids are no fun. Once you've created your rounds with
the
editor, that's the option you'll want to choose to play them. When you enter
the
editor you'll see an empty Puzzle Bobble grid and a lone flashing cursor
with which
you can place your various blocks and objects. Use the L and R triggers to
choose
the object you want to work with. Pressing A places the selected object,
Pressing B
removes the object under the cursor arrow, and Pressing X will bring up the
scary
menu (well, it's scary if you can't read Japanese). Pressing B will close
the menu
again. In the menu itself, A advances and B takes you back a step. The menu
options
are as follows:
Random Color: This is where you choose which colors of random beads will
be active
during the round. Simply move the little kiwi cursor to the
bead you
want to change and select on or off. Simple.
Clear Screen: Ask if you want to clear the whole puzzle currently
selected. The top
option is YES, and the bottom is NO.
Field Size: Chooses the arena size. Top option is the standard tall and
thin
style, while the bottom option gives you the much-wider
version.
Round Select: Choose which of the 25 rounds you want to create or edit,
by
pushing up or down.
Data Change Two handy options, but they can be tricky if you don't pay
attention
& Copy: to what you're doing - actually it strikes me that these
options could
be tricky to keep track of even in their native language.
My advice is
just to edit on the map you want, and ignore using these
unless you
really have to.
The first (top) option is DATA COPY (which allows you to
copy one round's
data to another. Select the option, then choose the number
of the round
you want to copy (you'll hear a beep). Now select the
number of the
round you want to copy it to (another beep), then choose
either YES (top)
or NO (bottom), and you're done.
The second option is DATA SWAP, and this allows you to swap
one round's
position with another i.e. if you wanted round 25 to be
become round 1
and vice versa. For this you need to have the round you
want to swap
selected on-screen BEFORE you pick the swap option, then
you simply
choose the number of the round you want to swap it with,
then choose
YES (top) to go ahead, or NO (bottom) to cancel. Why they
couldn't
just give you the double number choosing method of the copy
option I
don't know...but it's a bit of a pain in the butt as is.
Test Play: Allows you to play the currently selected round to test how
well
it works (or doesn't). Once you've won or lost, you'll see
two
options; the top allows you to play the round again and the
bottom
takes you back to the editor.
Load & Save: The place to go to store all hard work on your VMU. The two
options
here are LOAD (top) and SAVE (bottom), followed by a yes/no
option;
YES (top) and NO (bottom).
Back to Menu: Takes you back to the main Edit Mode menu screen.
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7. Options Menu
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Yay! It's all in english, so you'll be fine. If you're having trouble here
you
shouldn't be playing games, let alone importing them. One piece of advice;
enable the auto-save option, otherwise it's all to easy to play for hours
and
turn the machine off without remembering all your earned goodies and scores.
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8. Internet
***********
As with many Japanese puzzle games, gamers can upload scores etc to impress
their
friends and annoy their enemies. The whole system is obviously entirely
Japanese-
based (and why not, it's a Japanese game after all), so it's doubtful if
many of
us import-heads will ever try to fathom it out. Saying that, if my scores
suddenly
get great, I might look into it and I'll be sure to update this document
with the
details if I do. Equally, if anyone else does, and wants to share it with
the group
then drop me a line and I'll add your info here and give you one of those
lovely
whizzy credits at the bottom of the page.
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9. Credits & Thanks
*******************
Thanks to the following:
Gamefaqs for hosting this FAQ at the following address:
www.gamefaqs.com
And Al for hosting it at:
http://vgstrategies.about.com
Taito for getting the Puzzle Bobble ball rolling way back in '94. Cyber
Front for
making this fourth edition the best yet. Sega for making sure the Dreamcast
was just
as handy at the 2D stuff as the 3D (even if it now means I have one less
reason to
dust my Saturn off every few months now). Acclaim for getting non-importing
gamers
hooked on the series (we'll even forgive the fact that Bust-A-Move is a
truly sucky
name change). Anyone who has ever had to sit through my complaints as they
beat me
at the game 2 player...or my gloating as I whupped their monkey-butts. Oh,
and Sally
at Games Room for accidentally ordering the copy of the game that I ended up
with -
and giving me some work so I could actually afford to buy it from her.
