*******************************************************************************
NHL Blades of Steel FAQ
Copyright 2007 Ovenman Email:
[email protected]
All Rights Reserved
*******************************************************************************
===============================================================================
Table of Contents [TBL1]
===============================================================================
To navigate, just use the code after the section and copy/paste it into the
search that comes up after pressing CTRL+F.
Table of Contents...................TBL1
Version History.....................VER1
Introduction........................INT1
Controls............................CNT1
- Menu Controls.............CNT2
- Game Controls.............CNT3
Hints/Tips..........................HNT1
- General Tips..............HNT2
- Offensive Tips............HNT3
- Defensive Tips............HNT4
Game Modes..........................MOD1
- Practice..................MOD2
- Exhibition................MOD3
- NHL Season................MOD4
- Random Season.............MOD5
- Playoffs..................MOD6
Credits.............................CRD1
===============================================================================
Version History [VER1]
===============================================================================
2/15/07: Began the guide
2/15/07-2/16/07: Finished Controls Section
2/19/07: Started Roster section
3/08/07-3/09/07: Finally got back to writing the guide, decided not to include
the stats of players (eye doctor's orders), and finished the Hints/Tips section
as well as the Game Modes section.
3/12/07: Finished Version 1 of the guide
Goals for the guides:
A finished Roster section (in progress)
===============================================================================
Introduction [INT1]
===============================================================================
This game, NHL Blades of Steel, is a fast-paced hockey game released by Konami
for the Gameboy Color. It is a fun game, hard to get used to at first, but
once you do, the speed is something that will appeal to you. I'll try to
include as much information as I can while being as concise as possible as well.
Lace up your skates and hit the ice, it's game time!
===============================================================================
Controls [CNT1]
===============================================================================
All controls are taken straight from the instruction manual
===================
Menu Controls
[CNT2]
===================
+------------------+-----------------------------------------------------------+
| D-Pad Up/Down | Highlight menu items |
+------------------+-----------------------------------------------------------+
| D-pad Left/Right | Toggle between columns |
+------------------+-----------------------------------------------------------+
| B Button | Return to previous menu |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| A button | Select highlighted option |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
===================
Game Controls
[CNT3]
===================
With puck:
+------------------+-----------------------------------------------------------+
| D-pad | Skate (in given direction) |
+------------------+-----------------------------------------------------------+
| B Button | Pass, take face-offs |
+------------------+-----------------------------------------------------------+
| A Button | Shoot puck |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Without puck:
+------------------+-----------------------------------------------------------+
| D-pad | Skate (in given direction) |
+------------------+-----------------------------------------------------------+
| B Button | Body Check, Steal puck |
+------------------+-----------------------------------------------------------+
| A Button | Switch Players |
+------------------+-----------------------------------------------------------+
Goaltending controls:
+------------------+-----------------------------------------------------------+
| D-pad | Position goalie/make save |
+------------------+-----------------------------------------------------------+
| B Button | Pass |
+------------------+-----------------------------------------------------------+
| A Button | Clear puck out |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Fighting Controls:
+------------------+-----------------------------------------------------------+
| B Button | Straight Punch (Press D-pad down as well for uppercut) |
+------------------+-----------------------------------------------------------+
Penalty Shot Controls (shooter):
All shots are taken with B Button + D-pad direction
+--------------------+---------------------------------------------------------+
| B + Down | Middle low shot |
+--------------------+---------------------------------------------------------+
| B + Up | Middle high shot |
+--------------------+---------------------------------------------------------+
| B + Right and Down | Right low shot |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| B + Right | Right high shot |
+--------------------+---------------------------------------------------------+
| B + Left and Down | Left low shot |
+--------------------+---------------------------------------------------------+
| B + Left | Left high shot |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Penalty Shot Controls (goalie):
All saves are made with B Button + D-pad direction
+--------------------+---------------------------------------------------------+
| B + Down | Middle low save |
+--------------------+---------------------------------------------------------+
| B + Up | Middle high save |
+--------------------+---------------------------------------------------------+
| B + Right and Down | Right low save |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| B + Right | Right high save |
+--------------------+---------------------------------------------------------+
| B + Left and Down | Left low save |
+--------------------+---------------------------------------------------------+
| B + Left | Left high save |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
================================================================================
Hints/Tips [HNT1]
================================================================================
In this section, I will list some hints, strategies, and other little tid-bits
that I think will help you climb your way to the top in this game. I will also
split the tips section into Offensive Tips and Defensive Tips.
========================
General Tips [HNT2]
========================
One of the most important things to remember is the extremely fast pace of this
game. Early on, you will find yourself not knowing where the puck is,
not knowing who has the puck, and sometimes not even knowing which one of your
players you are controlling.
To help in this problem are the small little diamond-like shapes above the
player which you are controlling as well as your opponent's player who has the
puck. Keeping an eye out for these symbols will help you keep track of where
the puck is on the ice.
Players will constantly be getting knocked down. Any collision, hit, or slight
bump has a good chance to knock at least one, if not both players down. This
can lead to half the players on the ice all lying face down at once, which can
be either a very good thing, or a bad thing. If your opponent's are the ones
lying down, you have a clear path to their net, if it's your players, then they
have a clear path to the net. So this is what makes the slow, big hitting types
somewhat useful.
========================
Offensive Tips [HNT3]
========================
When it comes to scoring, you'll need to get your opponent's goalie moving.
This is because the computer AI will stop just about every shot you take head-
on, at least in my experience. Here are some of the ways that I found to get
the goalie moving and put one in.
1) Skate down with a fast player, and around the middle of your opponent's zone,
cut to the left or right, and immediately take a shot. With some luck, the
opposing goalie will not react in time and your shot will go right by him.
2) Another way works best when you get two players skating into the offensive
zone alone, on a 2-on-0. Have the player with the puck pass to his teammate,
who should fire a shot as soon as possible. This will get the goalie moving
and if you got the shot off quick enough, it should sneak past him.
3) This is another effective way of getting the goalie moving: To get in very
close. Whether you take the puck behind the net, come out on the other side,
and shoot, or just take the puck in (preferably with a fast skater) and
do a quick move right in front of the goal, shooting as soon as you're done
doing whatever move you try. This move should be something as simple as
stopping and moving side to side right in front of the goal before you shoot.
Almost any time you get in close before shooting, you should have a good chance
of the puck going in.
=========================
Defensive Tips [HNT4]
=========================
1) Goaltending
One of the most important aspects of defense in this game is goaltending.
Moving your goalie is done with the D-pad, you don't have to select your goalie
as your controlled player, he'll move any time you touch the D-pad. When the
opponent is in your zone with control of the puck, just focus your attention on
lining your goalie up between the opponent and the net. If you make the save,
your goalie will grab the puck and control it, you can pass the puck using B,
but wait until there is a clear path in front of your goal, because if they
intercept the pass, you will be in a bad position as they shoot the puck right
past you.
2) "Conventional" Defense
With the rest of your defensive players, just quickly try to assess which one
of your opponent's players has the puck, as well as which one of your players
you are currently controlling, and then just skate towards the opponent's puck
carrier, mashing B the whole way. Hopefully, you will knock your opponent down.
If not, take control of another player and repeat the hitting process. The fast
speed of this game makes conventional defense very difficult, but practice it
and you should get the hang of it.
================================================================================
Game Modes [MOD1]
================================================================================
In this section I will list and explain all of the game modes/menu options you
have available to you in NHL Blades of Steel.
========================
Practice [MOD2]
========================
This mode is pretty much just a mini-game rather than real practice, as these
two situations rarely come up in games. The two options are Fight and Penalty
shot.
Fight:
This is just what you would expect, a one-on-one fight! Winning fights is just
a matter of mashing the punch button (B) with a few uppercuts (B + D-pad down)
mixed in. Whoever can punch the fastest comes out the victor in this mini-game.
Penalty shot:
When playing goalie, you must guess or try to react to your opponents shot in
time to make the save. Unless you have very fast reflexes, or are the luckiest
man/woman in the world, this will be a challenging mini-game. When shooting,
you have to pick a corner, and try to get it past the goalie. What really
matters here is hoping your opponent guesses wrong, meaning you better bring
that lucky rabbit's foot along for this challenge.
========================
Exhibition [MOD3]
========================
In this mode, you simply pick two teams, the first one being yours and the
second one being your opponent. Then you play a game against the opponent you
picked. Simple enough.
========================
NHL Season [MOD4]
========================
In this mode, you pick one team, the team you will be playing as for the season.
You get some viewing and editing options, such as the ability to edit your
squad, viewing your players (and their stats), as well as viewing your team's
stats. You can also view the stats from other teams around the league, split
by division. Finally, you can trade players, and save your game.
========================
Random Season [MOD5]
========================
This mode is the same as NHL Season from what I can tell, except that instead
of putting you through each team's regular season schedule, you play a randomly
generated schedule.
========================
Playoffs [MOD6]
========================
In this section, you pick your team like always, and then are sent to the pre-
game menu, like always. From here you have the option of choosing your squad,
viewing your players, showing the standings, saving your game, or playing the
next game ("Continue"). From what I can tell, the teams you play in the
playoffs are generated randomly.
================================================================================
Disclaimer/Credits [CRD1]
================================================================================
This entire document is (C) 2007 Jay Boehmer (Ovenman). All trademarks are
property of their respective owners. No section of this guide can be used
without my permission. This includes, but is not limited to posting on your
website, making links to my guide, including parts of my guide in your own, or
making reference to any material contained within.
All the sites mentioned below have permission to do the above:
www.gamefaqs.com
www.supercheats.com
Please email me at
[email protected] to inquire about gaining permission to
use this document.
- Thanks to Michael Sarich for this Copyright -
Thanks to everyone at Konami for this fun and refreshing on-the-go hockey game!
Thanks to everyone at Gamefaqs for supplying me with the motivation to write
guides, as well as countless terrific guides to learn from.
