Welcome to my twenty-seventh Guide without a co-author.
This guide was written for the SMS FAQ Completion Project. I decided to write
for this game as I kept getting drawn to it and found it challenging to beat.
I also found the controls hard to master and little information available on
the Internet. After figuring out how to play the game and being able to win
several matches in a row, I decided to write for the game, and then got sent a
link to the game's manual that helped me further improve my knowledge of this
game.
I have enjoyed writing this guide and playing the game, and wish that anyone
using this guide finds the game just as fun and this guide helpful. Good luck
with the game.
This section is aimed at providing you with the controls and knowledge that you
will need throughout the game. It will not explain any strategies or any game
plays.
In this section are the basic controls. Stringing a combination of the jump
and Receive/Directional Buttons can perform different actions, as well as just
using the Receive/Directional Buttons. The majority of section [GV02] and it's
subsections will discuss in further detail how to use the control combinations
to beat your opponents.
Menu Control
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Directional Buttons = Choose Menu Option
1/Start = Select
Point Allocation
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Up/Down = Choose skills to assign points to
Right/Left = Increase/Decrease points allocated to skills
1/Start/2 = Confirm selection of skills
Player Control
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Directional Buttons = Moves players
Directional Buttons = Alter ball flight
1/Start = Jump
1/Start = Block
1/Start = (After lost point/serve, before whistle) Time-Out
2 = Serve/Receive Ball
2 = Set Ball
2 = (After Set Ball) Spike/Dink Ball
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
01B) Menu Options [GV01B]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Main Menu
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
The main menu allows you to select which type of game (or "Game Mode") you wish
to play. Below is the options you will see for this menu. The section [GV01D]
will explain the different Game Mode types.
Practice
Goodwill Match
Tournament Play
Practice Menu
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
These menu options are only available if you select the "Practice" Game Mode
from the Main Menu. All of these options are explained in greater detail in
section [GV01D].
Service
Spike
Discontinue Practice
Team Selection
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
This menu will appear whenever you select either the "Goodwill Match" or
"Tournament Play". Below are the different teams you can select from. The
information on the team differences are located within section [GV01E].
USA USSR China Korea
Japan Brazil Cuba France
Team Features
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
After selecting your team, you can choose the team's features. For information
as to what each feature does, go to section [GV02A]. Below is the options that
will present themselves.
Service ##
Spike ##
Receive ##
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
01C) Winning a Match [GV01C]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Match Information
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
To win a match, you need to win 2 out of 3 sets.
Set Information
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Winning each sets requires you to have at least 15 points, with a 2-point lead
against the opposition. For example, if each team has 14 points each in a set,
the team that reaches 15 points first would then need to score another point
before the opposition to win the set.
The layout of each set is slightly different to the others, but they keep the
same layout per match. Whichever team is serving first for the set starts on
the left side. The first set always starts with whichever team is considered
the "home" team (generally the human player) serving first. The second set has
the "away" team move to the left side of the court and serve first. If the
match moves to a final set, the home team will serve first, but the teams will
switch sides once one of the teams reaches 8 points.
Point Information
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
To score a point, your team must serve the ball for the point. If you are not
serving the point, anything that would have been a point for your team instead
provides your team with the serve. Below is how you can score a point:
1) Your team hits the ball into the opposition's side of the court and it
hits the playing area.
2) The opposition hits the ball and it lands on their side of the court
3) The opposition hits the ball and it lands outside the playing area
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
01D) Game Modes [GV01D]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Practice
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
SERVICE - This option allows you to practice serving the ball from the left
side of the court. You can move the player like you could in a real
match and control the ball in a similar manner. To return to the
Practice menu, press Button 1/Start before you attempt to serve the
ball. Section [GV02B] has more information on how to serve.
SPIKE - You can practice how to spike the ball with this option. First, you
need to set the ball by having the guy with his back to the net knock
the ball into the air. Then, controlling the player at the top of
the screen, position him underneath the ball and jump. When you come
close to the ball in the air, attempt to spike it into the opponent's
side of the court. Section [GV02D] has more information on how to
spike the ball.
To return to the Main Menu, select the "Discontinue Practice" option.
Goodwill Match
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
For a single-player goodwill match, you can select the country your team is
from and have 5 team feature points to allocate to specific skills. You are
also able to select the country the opposition's team is from. You are not
able to select the feature points for the opposition team.
If you are having a two-player goodwill match, the only difference is that the
second player gets to select his team and features after the first player.
A Goodwill match will only last a single match. Once a winner is found through
a best of 3 set situation, the game ends.
Tournament Play
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
The single-player tournament play lasts until the player is either defeated or
they win the tournament. A tournament is won if you manage to defeat three
different teams. At the start of the tournament, you select your team and get
4 team feature points to use. Each match victory will allow you to obtain an
extra 2 feature points to allocate to your current total.
A two-player match works in a similar manner, but you will only face each other
in the final match. Additionally, if one of the players are knocked-out of the
tournament, the tournament will keep going until the other player either wins
or is also knocked-out of the competition.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
01E) Teams [GV01E]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Excluding the player's colour scheme, there is no difference between the teams
you select. Below is what each player in each team will look like.
,---------,-------------,-------------,--------------,---------------,
| COUNTRY | SKIN COLOUR | HAIR COLOUR | SHIRT COLOUR | SHORTS COLOUR |
|---------+-------------+-------------+--------------+---------------|
| USA | Yellow | Blonde | Light Blue | Dark Blue |
|---------+-------------+-------------+--------------+---------------|
| USSR | Yellow | Blonde | Red | Dark Red |
|---------+-------------+-------------+--------------+---------------|
| China | Yellow | Black | Red | Dark Blue |
|---------+-------------+-------------+--------------+---------------|
| Korea | Yellow | Black | Light Blue | Grey |
|---------+-------------+-------------+--------------+---------------|
| Japan | Yellow | Black | White | Red |
|---------+-------------+-------------+--------------+---------------|
| Brazil | Black | Black | Green | Green |
|---------+-------------+-------------+--------------+---------------|
| Cuba | Black | Black | Purple | Purple |
|---------+-------------+-------------+--------------+---------------|
| France | Yellow | Brown | White | Dark Blue |
'---------'-------------'-------------'--------------'---------------'
This section explains how to play through the game and win a match. Not only
will it explain how to execute different moves, but I will also provide my
opinion on the different types of moves and how effective I found them during
my experiences with this game.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
02A) Team Features [GV02A]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is the menu that you are presented with once you have selected your team
(as a human player, not AI player). You can configure a set of attributes for
your team to help you win the match. Additionally, you can call a Time-Out
during a match to configure your attributes. To call a Time-Out, you must have
lost the last point or the serve and press Button 1 before the referee blows
the whistle for the the serve.
Below will describe each feature and my personal recommendations for adding
points to them.
Service
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
This feature will increase your service speed. I did not find this feature to
be useful enough to use, as you might only use this feature once a point.
I have also found it almost impossible to win a point while serving against the
computer, no matter the speed of the serve. Finally, you will not use this
feature for any point where your team does not serve the ball.
SUMMARY - Do not bother investing in this feature. You may only use it once a
point, while the others can be used several times.
Spike
¯¯¯¯¯
Allocating points into the Spike feature will increase the speed of any balls
you spike. This feature is more useful than the Service feature because most
of your points will probably come from spikes. Although it is possible to win
the match without spiking the ball, learning this move and improving this
feature skill will make it much easier and less reliant on luck.
SUMMARY - Invest your points into this feature, but only to match the current
points total in the Receive feature.
Receive
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
The manual states that this feature "determines speed of player's movements".
I am unsure if this includes hitting the ball, or just the players running
around the court. I have noticed the players are faster when I invest extra
points into this feature. For this reason, I think this is the best feature
to invest your points in. This is due to the defensive requirements of getting
to the ball as quickly as possible.
SUMMARY - If you are matching points with the Spike feature, add another point
into this feature.
This is the first move of every point. A team will serve the ball to the other
side of the court, where the opposition will return the ball until one of the
teams wins the point or serve. As mentioned earlier in this guide, you can
only score a point if your team served the ball.
To serve a point, your player will on the outskirts of the scoring area.
They will either be able to move around the bottom-left half (if on the left),
or the top-right half (if on the right). You can move your player away from
the scoring area of the court to have him perform a running jump, and you can
direct where the ball will land by using the Directional Buttons after throwing
the ball up for a serve with Button 2.
Due to the importance of winning points when you have the serve, coupled with
the AI almost certain to reach the ball, I would recommend keeping your serves
simple. If I am on the left side, I will serve from the bottom-left corner and
direct my shot by pressing Up of the Directional Buttons. Playing from the
right side will mean I am staying in the top-right corner and aiming Down with
my serves. Too often, I have gifted the ball back to the opposition just by
trying something fancy with a serve that ended with it going out. This game
can be hard enough without loosing valuable serves.
SUMMARY - Make sure you get the ball into the opposition's half of the court.
They will reach it, but it is the preferred option to knocking the
ball out for them to gain the serve.
Receive
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
When you are on the receiving end of the ball, you must anticipate when the
ball will land on your side of the court and move a player accordingly. There
are two methods that you can do to control your players to the ball landing
area, both listed below:
1) This is the method described in the manual. Use the Directional buttons to
point the player to where you believe the ball land and press Button 2.
I found the lack of control this option provides to be too limited for m
liking, so generally used the other method.
2) Unlike the first method, this only uses the Directional buttons to control
your player to the required location. Unlike the first option, this method
requires the player to direct the player to the location instead of it being
done automatically. Additionally, you will also control the movements of
the other players. However, I found that the control I had of my player's
location made up for these issues.
SUMMARY - Choosing how you control your players when they try to reach the ball
is up to your personal choice. Either way, you will not get far in
this game without being able to move your players around the court to
prevent the opposition scoring points or winning serves.
Block
¯¯¯¯¯
The menu explains that you should determine the players that you wish to be
part of the blocking move. Once that is determined, you should press Button 2
once to have two forwards move together, or press Button 2 twice to have three
forward players together. You should then move the players to the position you
wish them to be with the Directional buttons before using Button 1 to execute
the attempted block. I also found that you can attempt to block with a single
player. No matter how many players you use in your blocking move, a block will
only be attempted if the opposing team attempts either a Spike or Dink move.
I found that a well-timed block and counter Spike will be a great combination
to use against anyone. However, a poorly-timed block may cause you to loose
the point or serve. I also found the blocks to be more effective if you are
nearer to the net and the opponent than further away. My blocks are generally
timed with a jump just after the opponent Spikes the ball, but working on your
own timing will allow you to fully utilize this ability.
SUMMARY - Blocks should be a part of your game, but use the sparingly. If you
overuse them without thinking, you might end up gifting more points
to the opposition. This game's AI is hard enough without giving them
free points.
During this subsection, I will make the directional comments "Forwards" and
"Backwards". The "Forward" directions relate to either right if your team is
playing on the left side of the court or the left if you team is situated on
the right side. "Backwards" directions are obviously reversed (left on the
left side and right on the right side).
Set the Ball
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
To control, or set, the ball for a player on your team, you must move another
player the destined an incoming ball. When the ball is above the player, use
the Directional buttons to point towards another player that you want the ball
to be set for while also pressing Button 2. The ball should then travel to the
intended target. It is better for the intended target to be as close to the
setter as possible.
SUMMARY - It will allow you to get through a match a lot quicker, but you can
beat the AI without it. This technique should be mastered to if you
want to beat opponents quicker than relying on luck.
Spike or Dink the Ball
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
To perform either a Spike or a Dink, you need to position at least one player
underneath a ball that has been launched into the air and press Button 1 for
the player or players to jump. While jumping, press and hold the Directional
button to indicate the direction (and move) you want to make and press Button 2
when you reach the ball in the air to perform the intended move.
In the manual, it displays a directional chart to show what sort of move you
will execute based on how you are holding the Directional Buttons. While I
have been playing the game, I found these directions to be innaccurate. I have
always been able to perform a Spike when pressing only the Up or the Down
direction, while these should be causing me to do Dink moves instead. With my
experience, I found that you will perform a Dink by either not pressing any
Directional button or pressing the "Backwards" (left if on the left side of the
court, right if on the right side of the court) direction with or without the
Up or Down direction. If you press the Up direction, the ball will land closer
to the top of the court. If you press the Down direction, the ball will be
directed to nearer to the bottom of the court. Just pressing "Forward" will
cause a Spiked ball to travel straight ahead, and the same is true if you press
"Backward" for a Dink. If you are pressing either "Forward" or "Backward" with
either the Up or Down direction, the ball will be aimed in the same direction
based on the Up or Down direction.
SUMMARY - I found the Dink technique to be pretty useless, but the Spike is
vital to beating the AI. The Spike will get you a large percentage
of points
Perform the Delayed Attack
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
First, set the ball. You then want to gather two players together by pressing
Button 2 (like if you were doing a block. Position the players below the ball
that has been launched in the air and press Button 1 to jump. Select which of
the players will Spike the ball with the Directional buttons and then Spike it.
This may confuse the opponent as they will not have an idea who will Spike the
ball and you could grab a couple of points with this method.
SUMMARY - Although you can grab a couple of points, I have not really seen much
of a difference in comparison to using a normal Spike against the AI.
Facing a human competitor, I found this to be more useful and would
recommend using it on occasion. Against the AI, it should be used
rarely and mainly to practise for when you face a human opponent.
Perform the Dummy Attack
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Like the last attack, you need to set the ball. Then, get a forward to jump
(Button 1), but don't Spike the ball. Choose another player to run to the ball
drop location and quickly jump (Button 1) and Spike (explained above) the ball
into the opposition's end of the court.
SUMMARY - I have not been able to implement this move successfully, but each
time someone has used it against me, they have won a point. If you
can learn this technique, I believe you will get lots of points when
executed properly.
Everyone on the FAQ Contribution General Board for help with improving my
guides and starting up the SMS and NES Completion Projects. Please check out
board 2000094 to see the latest Completion Projects and see how you could help
them out.
The Manual for this game - Helped me with sections [GV02A] and [GV02D]
tim_roast/TheMightyRoast - Providing me a link to the game's manual
