Tennis no Oujisama (Prince of Tennis) - Card Hunter
PS2 Game Basics Guide, version 1.0
by Laura "Lanford" C. Almeida (also known as "KawaiiMariru" on GameFAQs)
This is a list of all the topics in this file. If you want to quickly find a
certain part of it, use the search feature of your browser (usually Ctrl + F)
and look for the search tag included in this table.
The search tag is a group of characters that appear only 2 times on the whole
document, so you can easily find the section you need to look for.
_________ Title of the section _ Search tag
~ Table Of Contents (Index) . : 00.TOC
~ Legal Crap . . . . . . . . : 01.LC
~ Update History . . . . . . : 02.UH
~ About The Author . . . . . : 03.ATA
~ Introduction To This Guide . : 04.ITTG
~ About The Game . . . . . . : 05.ATG
~ Controller Commands . . . . : 06.CC
~ Menu Translations . . . . . : 07.MT
~ Game Tutorial . . . . . . . : 08.GT
~ Doubles Tutorial . . . . . : 09.DT
~ Notes About The Game . . . : 10.NATG
~ Frequently Asked Questions . : 11.FAQ
~ Thanks de-POT . . . . . . . : 12.TD
This guide/FAQ is NOT meant to be published in any place on the Internet or in
material ways besides GameFAQs. This document may be printed for personal use
only and should not be altered or sold in any way.
No, you CAN'T take or modify any part or the complete FAQ to put on your site
before asking me. Please be polite and contact me with site address and good
reasons before doing so.
In other words, this may be not be reproduced under any circumstances except
for personal, private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise
distributed publicly without advance written permission. Use of this guide on
any other web site or as a part of any public display is strictly prohibited,
and a violation of copyright.
All trademarks and copyrights contained in this document are owned by their
respective trademark and copyright holders.
Also, you CAN'T translate and publish this FAQ in any way. It was written and
meant to be in english.
Copyright 2007 ~ 2009 Laura Cristina de Almeida.
+ 24/Mar/2007 : Version 0.1
~ First personal version.
~ Started "Update History" section.
~ Started "Introduction To This Guide" section.
~ Started "Legal Crap" section.
~ Started "Game Tutorial" section.
~ Started "Table Of Contents" section.
~ Created headlines' design and the quick-find tags' system.
~ Wrote a small to-do list that probably won't be on the public guide.
+ 25/Mar/2007 : Version 0.2
~ Started formatting this document to follow the 79 characters rule.
~ As of the start of this update, file is 135 lines long.
~ Started "About The Author" section.
~ Started "About The Game" section.
~ Updated "Notes About The Game" section.
~ Updated "Legal Crap" section.
~ Updated "Introduction To This Guide" section.
~ Updated "Table Of Contents" section accordingly.
~ As of the end of this update, file is 269 lines long.
+ 26/Mar/2007 : Version 0.3
~ Started "Controller Commands" section.
~ Started "Menu Translations" section.
~ Updated "About The Game" section.
~ Updated "Notes About The Game" section.
~ Updated "Table Of Contents" section accordingly.
~ As of the end of this update, file is 350 lines long.
+ 27/Mar/2007 : Version 0.4
~ Started "Frequently Asked Questions" section.
~ Updated "Menu Translations" section.
~ Updated "Controller Commands" section.
~ Updated "Game Tutorial" section.
~ Updated "Table Of Contents" section accordingly.
~ As of the end of this update, file is 445 lines long.
+ 02/Aug/2009 : Version 0.5
~ Got back into playing this game yesterday (after a long PS2 hiatus).
~ Did some minor corrections to some sections.
~ Updated "Menu Translations" section.
~ Updated "Controller Commands" section.
~ Updated "Game Tutorial" section with the full in-game tutorial.
~ As of the end of this update, file is 756 lines long.
+ 03/Aug/2009 : Version 0.6
~ Started "Thanks de-POT" section.
~ Minor update on "About The Game" section.
~ Updated "Menu Translations" section.
~ Updated "Game Tutorial" section.
~ Updated "Notes About The Game" section.
~ Updated "Table Of Contents" section accordingly.
~ As of the end of this update, file is 875 lines long.
+ 04/Aug/2009 : Version 0.7
~ Started "Doubles Tutorial" section.
~ Updated "Controller Commands" section.
~ Updated "Notes About The Game" section.
~ Updated "Table Of Contents" section accordingly.
~ As of the end of this update, file is 923 lines long.
+ 05/Aug/2009 : Version 0.8
~ Updated "Controller Commands" section.
~ Updated "Menu Translations" section.
~ As of the end of this update, file is 938 lines long.
+ 06/Aug/2009 : Version 0.9
~ Updated "Controller Commands" section.
~ Updated "Menu Translations" section.
~ Updated "Frequently Asked Questions" section while thinking in advance.
~ Updated "Doubles Tutorial" section.
~ Updated "Notes About The Game" section.
~ Did some minor corrections (mostly spelling issues) to some sections.
~ As of the end of this update, file is 1063 lines long.
+ 09/Aug/2009 : Version 1.0
~ Removed some personal note marks.
~ Proofread.
~ Did some minor corrections to some sections.
~ Meant to be the first public version.
~ As of the end of this update, file is 1076 lines long.
~ Submitted to GameFAQs.
Hi, I'm Lanford, a girl from Brazil, who now attempts to write her first ever
FAQ / guide in a foreign language ^-^;
Even more than that, this is my first submission to GameFAQs, so I hope it
becomes approved and helps plenty of people.
If you ever have a question about the game, find a mistake on this file, want
to supply info not covered on this file, comment on this game or simply give
some feedback, you can contact me either on the game's Message Board on
GameFAQs (KawaiiMariru) or via electronic mail on the address necroomega
[_at_]gmail.com - please change [_at_] to the corresponding character, and put
[Card Hunter FAQ] on the Subject area, right like that, surrounded with [], so
it's easier for me to find and answer it.
If you...
a) Are a fan of Tennis no Oujisama but don't usually plays card games;
b) Like to play card games, but you're not into this anime series; or...
c) Would like to play this game, but has no knowledge of japanese and don't
know how to go through this game;
Then this guide is for you n_n
What this FAQ will cover:
An overview of the game's settings, menus, tutorial of how to play, etc...
What this FAQ will NOT cover:
Card translations, story scenes translation, strategies to win against certain
opponents, other specific things like those.
So this will serve you mostly as a game guide, helping you getting through the
game rules and also find answers to frequently asked questions (FAQ).
I certainly won't make a card translation guide, only because I know nothing
about japanese kanji. I only have a few basis of the kana and I like the
Tennis no Oujisama (Prince of Tennis) series. However, I hope this guide's
going to encourage people to write about (and play) this game.
Read on and have fun playing Tennis no Oujisama - Card Hunter!
Tennis no Oujisama, also known as Prince of Tennis, is a series of manga
created by Takeshi Konomi on 2000. From the moment I'm writing this, the manga
is still being published on Japan.
The series also got an anime with more than 170 episodes, some OVAs and even a
live action movie.
Tennis no Oujisama - Card Hunter is the first installment of digital card
gaming of the Tennis no Oujisama anime and manga series. It is based on the
real Tennis no Oujisama Trading Card Game created by Konami in Japan.
Tennis no Oujisama - Card Hunter is single-player only. It uses Dvd media and
it's memory block size is 319 Kb.
In the game menus not listed here, you'll use only O to confirm, X to cancel,
and the directional to move your cursor.
IN GAME
Digital Directional - Move cursor
Left Analog - Move cursor
O - Confirm
X - Cancel
Square - Hold while moving the cursor to move/scroll faster
Triangle - Hold over a card to view it's description
L1 - View your Hand (Resarves)
L2 - View your Discard Pile
R1 - View your cards discarded for the rest of the match
R2 - Pass current Phase (upon confirmation)
Select - While your turn, shows the 'pause' menu (more about it on section 7)
DECK EDIT
Digital Directional - Move cursor
Left Analog - Move cursor
O - Confirm / Transfer card to your Deck/Trunk
X - Cancel / Cancels changes to your Deck (quit without saving the Deck)
Square - Allows to exchange your cards for Points
Triangle - Hold over a card to view it's description
L1 - Shifts up to the next type of card on the current list
L2 - Changes prioritary card sorting on Deck/Trunk (currently selected)
R1 - Shifts down to the next type of card on the current list
R2 - Changes secondary card sorting on Deck/Trunk (currently selected)
Start - Confirms changes to your Deck (more about it on section 7)
The card sorting is applied by prioritary rule, then secondary rule.
Sorting goes like this:
By type
By card number / serial
By character(s) featured in the card image
By 50 something (sorry, I don't know yet!)
NAME ENTRY
Upon either New Game or building a New Deck/renaming an existing Deck:
Digital Directional - Move cursor
Left Analog - Move cursor
O - Confirm
X - Cancel / Exits to the previous screen
L1 - Shifts to the previous character table
L2 - Moves a space back
R1 - Shifts to the next character table
R2 - Moves a space forward
Start - Confirms the name
NEXT CHALLENGER
Upon choosing a ranked match or free play match, you'll get to select your
opponent:
Digital Directional - Move cursor
Left Analog - Move cursor
O - Confirm
X - Cancel / Exits to the previous screen
Triangle - Shows bio/status of the selected opponent
L1 - Shifts to the previous page
R1 - Shifts to the next page
The following are the area-specific commands for the Omake Viewers:
STILL VIEWER
Digital Directional - Move cursor
Left Analog - Move cursor
O - Confirm
X - Cancel (returns to Option screen)
While viewing a selected image on the Still Viewer:
Digital Directional - Move the image to the direction pressed
Left Analog - Move the image to the direction pressed
X - Cancel (returns to the Still Viewer selection screen)
Square - Toggle menu on/off (the help commands on-screen)
L1 - Zoom-out the image
R1 - Zoom-in the image
Select - Reset image to the original position on screen
SOUND VIEWER (why it's actually called "Viewer" is beyond my understanding...)
Digital Directional ^ and V - Move cursor
Digital Directional < and > - Change character (while in the Voice list)
Left Analog - Move cursor (like both above)
O - Plays sound
X - Cancel (returns to Option screen)
L1 - Page up
L2 - Changes list to the left
R1 - Page down
R2 - Changes list to the right
CARD VIEWER
Digital Directional - Move cursor/card
Left Analog - Move cursor/card
O - Confirm (expands the selected card)
X - Cancel (returns to Option screen)
Triangle - Hold over a card to view it's description
L1 - Flips a page left
R1 - Flips a page right
While viewing a selected card on the Card Viewer:
Digital Directional - Move the card to the direction pressed
Left Analog - Move the card to the direction pressed
X - Cancel (returns to the Card Viewer album screen)
Square - Toggle menu on/off (the help commands on-screen)
Triangle - Hold to view the card's description
L1 - Zoom-out the card
L2 - Rotate the card left
R1 - Zoom-in the card
R2 - Rotate the card right
Select - Reset card to the original position on screen
At every confirmation prompt there'll be two options, the left one meaning
"Yes" (2 characters) and the right meaning "No" (3 characters).
When you obtain the right to start a match, there'll be a prompt asking how you
wish to commence the match - both options with two characters - the left one
means "Serve" and the right means "Recieve".
When you are going to return with a Stroke Card that is usable, there'll be a
prompt asking if you want to use it properly (left answer) or facing it's back
like an ordinary card (right answer). While choosing you get to see in the
"Stroke Power Gage" how powerful the move will be. You should always use the
left option (to use the move properly) unless you know exactly what you're
doing.
TITLE SCREEN
Once starting the game (either a new one or continuing a previously saved one)
you'll be unable to return to the Title Screen unless you reset your PS2.
New Game - Start a new game.
Load - Load the data you saved previously.
Continue - Continue a saved match.
Option - Some game tweaks.
OPTION
Not all of these options may be available right from the start.
Mode - You can choose the mat design for the Card Game.
Custom - It shows SD characters according to the ones who are
currently in-game. It also shows a background according to
the rank (Block/Tournament) of the match.
TCG Original - Basic mat resembling the one that comes with the
Starter Decks of the original Card Game.
Animation - Toggles On/Off the Stroke Card displays and voice comments by the
current Characters.
Help - Toggles On/Off warnings and automatic card "zoom" display showing
animation on the card's valid points for the current Phase (useful to
speed up the matches a bit if you're already used to the rules).
Sound - Turns up or down the different sounds of the game: BGM (Back Ground
Music), SE (Sound Effects) and Voice (characters' speech).
Tutorial - Allows you to view each of the tutorial sections again.
Omake - A gallery that follows your game progress.
Still Viewer - You can view a total of 15 special illustrations
unlocked through the game.
Sound Viewer - You can listen to the songs, effects and voice
samples of the game. The voice gallery grows each
character you defeat on a ranked match, building up
to 57 characters with approximately 200 voice samples
each. The song you put on BGM will keep on playing
until you quit this Viewer.
Card Viewer - You can view a detailed list of all the cards you
obtained on the game. There are 507 cards in total,
spread in 57 pages of a virtual album. It shows
statistics on each type of card between 178 Character,
141 Stroke, 55 Training, 52 Reaction and 81 Scene
cards in total. You can also view each card in detail.
Reset to Default - Resets all the set-up options to the default.
LOAD
Upon loading, you'll be asked which Memory Card slot to use.
You'll then be brought to a screen showing your data blocks with the following
design:
__________________________________________________________________
| No. Player Name Time played Current Points |
| Memory Current Block Player's Player Deck's |
| number or Tournament Deck Name Character Icon |
------------------------------------------------------------------
O - Confirm (loads the selected data block)
X - Cancel (returns to Memory Card slot selection)
CONTINUE
To load a suspended match, just select the Memory Card slot that has your save.
Keeping a suspended match saved won't increase the game's memory block size on
your Memory Card.
NEW GAME
Upon starting a New Game, you'll be asked to input a Player Name (commands for
name entry already covered on section 6), and then you'll get to choose one of
these three main schools for your tutoring:
Seishun Gakuen - Introduced by Tezuka, explained by Inui and others, played
against Momoshiro.
Hyotei Gakuen - Introduced by Atobe, explained by Oshitari and others, played
against Gakuto.
Rikkai Daigaku Fuzoku - Introduced by Sanada, explained by Yanagi and others,
played against Kirihara.
If you press the Triangle Button on the school selection screen, the entire
tutorial will be skipped.
After the tutorial, you'll get to choose one of the following Decks:
Echizen & Momoshiro Deck
Tezuka & Fuji Deck
Kikumaru & Oishi Deck
It does NOT matter which school you choose to be tutored by - the initial Decks
will always be the same featuring Seigaku characters.
If you press the Triangle Button on the Deck selection screen, you'll be able
to preview which cards are into each Deck before choosing it.
After naming your selected Deck, you'll be taken to the Main Menu.
MAIN MENU
Your loaded file/matches will end right into here.
From left to right, up to down, these six options are available.
Ranked Match - Plays a ranked match in one of four blocks.
Free Play - Plays with the opponents you already defeated in a ranked match.
Deck Management - You can modify your current Decks, create new ones or
change to a previously mounted Deck.
Password - Enter a password to obtain a Deck preset.
I am unsure if you need to already have the cards used in the
preset to be able to recieve the Deck, but it's likely.
Card Trade - You can trade your cards into points and buy more of the cards
you already own.
Booster Store - Allows you to buy Booster packs of 10 cards each.
Boosters have an average cost of 20 points each.
Save - You can save your progress.
Option - Goes to the same Option screen of the Title screen.
SAVE
Upon saving, you'll be asked which Memory Card slot to use.
You'll then be brought to a screen showing your data blocks with the following
design:
__________________________________________________________________
| No. Player Name Time played Current Points |
| Memory Current Block Player's Player Deck's |
| number or Tournament Deck Name Character Icon |
------------------------------------------------------------------
O - Confirm (saves/overwrites the selected data block)
X - Cancel (returns to Memory Card slot selection)
If you're saving over an existing file, you'll be asked if it's OK to
overwrite the selected file - answer the left option to overwrite.
DECK MANAGEMENT
Deck View - You can view the cards of your currently selected Deck.
Holding the Triangle button in this screen shows you a password,
this allows you to trade your Deck with a friend.
Deck Edit - You can select a Deck to edit the cards into it.
The left list is your Deck and the right list is your Trunk.
Upon pressing Start you'll be asked a character icon to label the
Deck (between the Character cards you have into it) and a name
for the Deck.
Deck Delete - You can delete one Deck from your list.
Deck Select - Select one Deck between your list to use in-game.
Deck Copy - You can copy one Deck into an empty space.
This is useful when you need to modify only a few cards of the
Deck without having to mount it up all from scratch.
PAUSE MENU
Be aware that you can't pause while on the opponent's turn or while picking
cards to backup a selected Stroke's Power.
Upon pressing Select while a match you'll be presented with this menu:
Forfeit - Give up the match. You'll be prompted to confirm it, by cancelling
you'll be back to the Pause Menu.
If you give up a match you'll still be awarded with one Point (the
ones used to buy cards).
Quick Save - Halt your current match and save it to your Memory Card (refer
to the Save menu). You can then turn the PS2 off and continue
the match the next time you start the game on your PS2 by
choosing Continue from the Title Screen (refer to the Continue
menu).
Keeping a suspended match won't increase the game's saved block
size on your Memory Card.
Option - Goes to the Option Menu.
After deciding on the first few selections of the New Game (already covered on
section 7), you're going to pass through a large tutorial part. It is presented
with Tennis no Oujisama characters, and their explanation is fully voiced, so
it's actually good-looking compared to other games' boring tutorials n_n
If you already know some of the game's rules, you can skip it fast by holding
the R1 Button, so you can quickly get to a certain part of the tutorial.
The tutorial can be pretty straightforward, but for first-timers who know
nothing about this card game, I'm going to try and write brief descriptions of
what they say, so you can learn the rules to the game in no time!
Also, for the ones who don't know japanese, at the end of every part of the
tutorial, they are going to ask you if you understand it, so you get to choose
'Yes' (2 characters option) or 'No' (3 characters option). Be sure to answer
'Yes' every time, so you can proceed with the tutorial.
[ Part 1 ]
First you're going to arrive into either of the three main teams. The team
captain's gonna introduce you to some members of the tennis club, and then tell
you about the card game's Block system (indicates opponent's rank and
difficulty) A through D, each with 10 opponents, and then the final Tournament
Block. Once you defeat three of the Block's opponents, a new Block will be
available.
Now starting on the game rules.
There's a large number of cards involved in the game. Between them, there are
five kinds of cards: Character Cards, Training Cards, Stroke Cards, Reaction
Cards and Scene Cards.
Decks are made of a total of 40 cards.
The objective of the game is to score four points. It follows a common Tennis
rule, that is a full "Set" made of four scorings: 15, 30, 40 and the last score
adds up a Game Set to the Player. On most Tennis plays, the whole match can
last several Sets, but in this Card Game the winner is the one who scores a
full Game Set first.
You're then handed a tutorial Deck by the instructor. Your opponent for the
tutorial are also given a Deck.
Now going into a detailed card explanation...
Each card has, obviously, a face and a back.
Character Cards have Blue backgrounds. Their title is usually the portrayed
Character's name on the uppermost part. On the bottom of the card there's the
description of it's effect - each charcter has their own abilities and
side-effects (if any).
Always remember that you can hold the Triangle Button while hovering a card to
read it's description - you'll be asked to do so in this part of the tutorial.
Beside the Character's name, on the left, there's his/her's icon, corresponding
to the school/team they're in.
They also have four numbers into each corner, each of them circled by a
different color.
The number circled in Yellow is the Character's Training points. They tell how
much Training Cards the Character can support.
The number circled in Red is the Character's Power points. They tell how strong
your Character's default Stroke (before adding any Stroke Cards) is.
The number circled in Blue is the Character's Speed points. They tell how many
cards you may draw on the start of your turns.
At last, the number circled in Orange is the Character's Stamina points. The
total of cards you may hold in your hand by the end of your turn is the double
of that number - a Character with 4 Stamina points can hold up to 8 cards. If
you have more cards than the Stamina allows, you must discard until you have
only the exact sum of cards.
You can only have one Character Card on the field. You may change characters on
the start of your turns or by any side-effect caused by other cards.
You're now asked if you've understand everything up to now.
[ Part 2 ]
Following with the card kind explanation...
Training Cards have Yellow backgrounds. They can add features to your current
Character on the field, like adding more Power or Speed. They can also set
side-effects to some actions by you or your opponent. To know what these cards
can do, always check their description.
They have also a name on the uppermost part, and a number circled in Yellow -
that number is the Training Card's cost. It may not exceed your current
Character's Training points, or else you won't be able to attach the Training
Card into the Character. These numbers add up, so if you got a Character with 2
Training points, and two Training Cards whose cost is 1 point each, you may
attach both cards.
You can also discard already attached cards, so you can put different ones on
your curent Character.
You're now asked if you've understand everything up to now.
[ Part 3 ]
Following with the card kind explanation...
Stroke Cards have Red backgrounds.
These cards are the very essence of any Deck, because you use them to launch
different kinds of balls (the "attacks" on this Card Game) into your opponent.
The uppermost part has the card's title, which has the move name on it. If the
name has a trophy on it's right side, it means it's a special kind of move
(labeled as "SP" on effect descriptions), that only the character portrayed in
the card can launch - special moves have no defense by common Stroke Cards and
only another special (SP) Stroke Card can return it: Be careful about that!
The bottom part lists between [ ] the type of the move, it can be either one
of the six types: [Serve], [Ground Stroke], [Volley], [Drop], [Smash], [Lob].
Following is the description, which lists any effects and/or requirements to
launch that Stroke Card's move (besides any special's default requirement,
already mentioned on the previous paragraph).
You can use only one Stroke Card to return the ball - adding backup cards to
cover the return power, if needed.
You're now asked if you've understand everything up to now.
[ Part 4 ]
Following with the card kind explanation...
Reaction Cards have Purple backgrounds. They add up a large kind of effects.
They can be set after you've successfully returned a ball (or lose a point by
not returning it).
These cards are set on the field facing it's back. Upon your opponent's next
turn onwards, you can face it up/activate it according to it's effect.
The Reaction Cards act like traps, reacting to your opponent's moves.
You can't set more than one Reaction Card. You may set another after you've
used your currently set one.
You're now asked if you've understand everything up to now.
[ Part 5 ]
Following with the card kind explanation...
Scene Cards have Green backgrounds. They are used as soon as you've set them,
being discarded after applying it's effects.
Like their name, they're special events/scenes that happens on the court or
it's surroundings, like characters cheering you up or your coach's advice.
They act pretty much like the Reaction cards - adding up effects. The only
difference is that, while Reaction Cards are activated only on certain
circumstances, Scene Cards are activated immediately.
You can only use one Scene Card per turn.
This ends the card types.
You're now asked if you've understand everything up to now.
[ Part 6 ]
Now into your Deck composing.
Like already mentioned previously, your Deck is made up of a total of 40 cards.
It needs to be that exact number, not even 41 or 39 cards, but only 40.
Inside a Deck, you may have up to three cards of the same name.
You must also have two kinds/names of Character Cards in your Deck. One, three
or more different Characters are not permitted.
Special attention must be given to the Stroke Cards with the special (SP) mark
(the trophy besides it's name) - you're allowed only one special Stroke Card
per Character, that means only two special Stroke Cards per Deck.
You're now asked if you've understand everything up to now.
[ Part 7 ]
Now they going to explain all about the game rules while battling your assigned
opponent for the tutorial.
Upon starting a match, you'll be prompted to select one of the Character Cards
from your Deck to start the game/battle. For the tutorial, please select the
highlighted card.
The choosen Character's Stamina points also determines how many cards are drawn
by the players to form their starting hands.
The game will next shuffle the remaining cards on your Deck.
Next, an explanation of the "Stroke Power Gage".
It's always positioned on the center of the mat, dividing your side (bottom)
and the opponent's side (upper). The bar is divided into four parts of five
blocks for easier counting. It's meant to measure the ball's current speed
- hence, the corresponding power needed to send the ball back to the opponent.
On each serve, it's reset to 0 (there's also some effects that may increase,
reduce or reset the value on this bar).
Following the preparations to start the game, three cards from the top of your
Deck are assigned as Point Cards.
Point Cards are the cards that measures your opponent's points in the match.
Each time you surrender returning a ball and lose a point, you need to take one
Point Card to your hand. If you've already got all of your Point Cards and lose
one more ball, it's "game over" for you!
To win a match, you need to corner your opponent into taking all of his/hers
Point Cards by not being able to return your moves.
Finally, to decide who starts the match, you play Janken with your opponent:
Square Button - Rock
Triangle Button - Scissors
O Button - Paper
Upon winning the Janken, you get to choose if you'll start either by
attacking/serving (first option, on the left) or recieving/returning (second
option, on the right).
Now to explain about the Turn Phases...
But before, you're now asked if you've understand everything up to now.
[ Part 8 ]
Yet before starting the game, each of the starting Characters set are shown in
detail to the Player, so you can see their status points and their
description/effects.
Between the explanations of the Turn Phases, you'll be asked if you've
understand it. Just confirm to procceed through them.
Each player's turn is divided by 7 Phases:
1) Preparation Phase - All of the previously cards played together with your
Stroke Card are being discarded. Then, your Character's Speed points
determine how many cards you'll draw from the Deck to your hand.
Upon serving, this Phase also sets the Stroke Power Gage to 0.
2) Change Phase - If you got any Character Card(s) in your hand, on this
Phase you're allowed to change your current Character on the field.
Upon changing Characters, all the previously set Training and Reaction
Cards are discarded. You then draw from your Deck a number of cards equal
to the new Character's Stamina, discarding any exceeding cards
afterwards, so the number of cards on your hand matches the Stamina of
the new Character.
If you don't want to change characters, you can skip this Phase by
pressing R2 and accepting the prompt.
To procceed the tutorial, open your hand (Resarves) and select the highlighted
Character Card. Shortly after, open your hand again and discard all of the
highlighted cards.
3) Training Phase - If you got any Training Card(s) in your hand, on this
Phase you're allowed to attach one of them to your current Character, not
exceeding the total Training points of the Character.
If you don't want to attach any more Training Cards, you can skip this
Phase by pressing R2 and accepting the prompt.
To procceed the tutorial, open your hand (Resarves) and select the highlighted
Training Card.
4) Stroke Phase - On this Phase you'll be attacking/serving/returning to your
opponent. You may either use a Stroke Card in your hand OR any other kind
of card in your hand. If you use a Stroke Card, it's Power will be added
to your Character's Power, the sum being shown into the Stroke Power
Gage. If you use any other card, it's Power will equal to 0 and the
move's going to be just an ordinary return without any side-effect. If
you choose a special Stroke Card which is NOT for your current Character,
it'll just be the same as an ordinary card/move!
Additionally, if you're returning, you must use a move that equals or
surpasses the Power of the coming ball - you'll be asked to add backups
(each backup card adds 1 Power point to your return) until you've reached
the same amount of Power.
After you've served/returned, all the side-effects of the selected Stroke
Card are applied.
If you're not able to return the ball (AKA: the cards in your hand are
not powerful enough to return), you must take a Point Card. In this case,
the opponent will follow with a Serve.
To procceed the tutorial, confirm the first overview explanation, then open
your hand (Resarves) and select the highlighted Stroke Card.
5) Reaction Phase - If you got any Reaction Card(s) in your hand, on this
Phase you're allowed to set one of them on the field.
Reaction Cards are set on it's back, and only activated when the
circumstances said on the previously set card are met.
You may have only one set Reaction Card. If you've already set one, you
can't set another until you've used it.
If you don't want to set any Reaction Card, you can skip this Phase by
pressing the R2 Button and accepting the prompt.
To procceed the tutorial, open your hand (Resarves) and select the highlighted
Reaction Card.
6) Scene Phase - If you got any Scene Card(s) in your hand, on this Phase you
are allowed to use one of them.
You can only use one Scene Card per turn.
If you don't want to use any Scene Card, you can skip this Phase by
pressing the R2 Button and accepting the prompt.
To procceed the tutorial, open your hand (Resarves) and select the highlighted
Scene Card.
7) End Phase - On this final Phase, the Stamina of your current Character
must be compared to the number of cards you got in your hand - if you
have more cards than the Stamina of your current Character allows (double
the Stamina to find how many cards you're allowed to have on hand), you
must discard from your hand until the sum equals.
Immediately after this, the opponent's turn starts it's Phases, just like
yours.
After that, your opponent will have a turn, and then one more turn of yours
will follow.
At any moment, if the opponent is unable to return, they'll give up returning
and take a point card, thus ending the tutorial!
Because Doubles play is not covered on the extensive beginner's tutorial, I
think it deserve a section of it's own.
Also because it's kind of an "extra" tutorial, it's not voiced in-game. That
means I can understand even fewer about it because of all the kanji, so I'm
sorry in advance because this is all made up of personal experience by
composing and playing with a Doubles Character Deck.
That also means this chapter does NOT follow the on-screen instructions given
by the in-game tutorial about Doubles Charcter Cards - like the previous
chapter did.
The in-game tutorial for Doubles becomes available after you buy your first
Booster with Doubles Character Card(s).
To make a Deck with Doubles Character Cards is like making a whole new Deck
from scratch. There's some things that you should be aware of before attempting
to build such a Deck.
First thing you should notice is that an unique Doubles Character Card DOES
equal to the two Character Cards rule of Deck-making. So if you're building a
Doubles-focused Deck, you should get one Doubles Character Card of an unique
pair and at least one card of those single Characters.
Because of the two charcters per Deck rule, please be aware that you are
allowed to have only one kind of Doubles Character Card per Deck.
Example: To have one "Tezuka & Fuji" (11040R) Character Card, you must also
have one "Fuji Shuusuke" (any serial) Character Card and one "Tezuka Kunimitsu"
(any serial) Character Card within the Deck.
The rule of up to three cards with the same name also applies. This means you
can have a total of 9 Character Cards within a Doubles-focused Deck - how many
repeats of the Character Cards you're keeping on the Deck is up to you.
Second: All of the character-dependant cards, like Stroke Cards that demand the
move to be made by certain character, or special (SP) Stroke Cards, CANNOT be
used by a Doubles Character Card.
That means even if you have a "Tezuka & Fuji" (11040R) Character Card, you
won't be allowed to use either the "Zero Shiki Drop Shot" (VS1007R) special
(SP) Stroke Card OR the non-special version of it (16049R) because that's not a
Tezuka Character Card alone, but a Doubles Character Card instead.
To make up for that, there's a lot of other cards meant to be used exclusively
by Doubles Character Cards.
Also, a Doubles Character Card is like having the special powers of two
characters combined into one card, so they have an extensive side-effect list
written under the card illustration.
Third: The Character you select to label the Deck as an icon is also the one
Charcter that'll show through the match when you put the Doubles Character Card
in action (having both characters animated and interacting would be pretty
nice, it's a shame they didn't made it like that...).
This section could also be known as 'Game Tips'. Here you'll find some sorta
useful information that I felt like everyone should know ^_~
I've already mentioned it on the Stroke Card tutorial, but I'll mention again
just in case: Please remember special (SP) Stroke Cards CANNOT be returned
unless you use another special Stroke! Only use your special if you're
absolutely sure the opponent has no means to return it by another special
Stroke Card!
There's also certain effect (Reaction/Scene) cards that can add up a SP effect
to a common Stroke Card - use those to your advantage and beware of opponents
that use such cards!
Since I've told you about the special (SP) Stroke Cards, I think it's good to
mention there's some character-dependant cards that are not Stroke Cards - and
even among the own Stroke Cards, there's some that even not being labeled as a
special (SP), they're still character-dependant.
To check on the names of the ones allowed to use these kind of cards, while
viewing the card's description, check for a line/paragraph surrounded by < >
(should be the first) where there's the Character(s) name(s) written in Red and
surrounded by [ ].
Remember to use the command shortcuts of the trigger buttons. It saves a lot
of time opening yout hand with L1 than having to scroll the cursor aaaaall the
way to click over it, just to scroll it again to pick a card that may be on
the other end of the screen.
In the end of each ranked game (the block ones) you can get up to 2 cards off
your opponent. This is pretty important and can net you useful cards that would
take forever to get via Boosters.
Here's a small list for comparsion:
Without drawing a Point Card - 2 cards and 20 Points
With 1 Point Card - 1 card and 15 Points
With 2 Point Cards - 1 card and 10 Points
With 3 Point Cards - 5 Points (and no card)
Please be aware that your prize gets smaller the more Point Cards you got on
the match, for that reason, if a ranked match makes you draw all of your three
Point Cards, I strongly advise you to reset the game and try again. I think
the prize you'll get otherwise just won't compensate your effort on beating
the opponent.
For the free-play matches, the score is the following:
Without drawing a Point Card - 20 Points
With 1 Point Card - 15 Points
With 2 Point Cards - 10 Points
With 3 Point Cards - 5 Points
Sometimes you'll be awarded extra cards too, like when you complete all of the
10 characters from any Block.
If you're not fluent in japanese, like me, it's wise to watch closely every
turn your opponent takes, which cards they play, and what effects they cause,
so when you get these cards, you'll already know what they do and use them to
your advantage accordingly.
If necessary, take note on everything important you find about the cards.
Use your cards. ALWAYS use them the first opportunity you have, unless
you're planning on a combo of any sort. The opponent could always use some
nasty moves that will make you discard off your hand, so you can end up
discarding important things that you could have used to win the match.
There's some opponents that have cards against certain kind of Strokes,
like Smashes, so there's some times you can't use cards that you'd otherwise
rely on. Because of that, it's important to mantain different Decks already
saved, so it's easier to change accordingly if you're having problems against
some Characters.
Q: I can't beat ____ Character!
A: Although this isn't a "Strategy FAQ" and it shouldn't cover how to beat
certain Characters, please be aware that sometimes your favourite Characters
used on your Deck aren't suited for certain opponents/effects/occasions -
because of that, I strongly advise that you often change the cards on your
main Deck and build new ones with other Characters than the ones you'd
always use, so you can take advantage to win certain difficult matches.
Q: Why can't I use ____ Card?
A: Certain cards have some requirements to be used.
The most common mistake is that the card you're trying to use is suited for
only one (or a selected few) Character. To check on the names of the ones
allowed to use it, while viewing the card's description, check for a
line/paragraph surrounded by < > (should be the first) where there's the
Character(s) name(s) written in Red and surrounded by [ ].
Some Stroke Cards also require you to discard a number of cards from your
hand before using them, so if your only card requires to discard, then
you're not allowed to use it (and you're out of luck!).
Q: I've cleared the game and it's asking me to save, can I overwrite my data?
A: Of course! If you save after clearing the game you'll get a "Clear Data"
written on it and a gold trophy the next time you save using that same saved
data. It's going to be like a "New Game +" feature: You'll still have all
the Decks/Cards/Points you had gotten on the previous game play(s).
Q: I've cleared the game, but the Stills aren't open yet!
A: Unlike other Tennis no Oujisama games, on this one the Stills are not
ending-dependant and I don't know the trigger to open every one of them
(because even myself haven't got every single thing on the game opened yet).
Keep on playing, defeating characters, buying boosters (so you can complete
the Card Album) and finishing more tournaments.
Q: I've cleared the game, but I got back to Block A!
A: It's made that way so you can defeat them again and earn more cards that are
given through ranked matches and tournaments. Even so, all the characters
you've defeated previously are still available for Free Play.
Q: How do I get ____ Card/Still ##?
A: Look for a card list/Keep on playing and clearing the game.
If you want to ask details about the game, praise or if you want to add info
about something not quite covered on the FAQ, I'd be very glad to recieve and
answer your message!
But before: Have you read the whole FAQ already? Please read carefully before
asking because you could ask something that's already covered here!
To contact me, please refer to the contact information on section 3.
