CONTENTS:
- INTRODUCTION - (octo-01)
- CONTROLS - (octo-02)
- GAMEPLAY - (octo-03)
- CHARACTERS - (octo-04)
- ARCADE MODE - (octo-05)
- TUTORIAL - (octo-06)
- ORIGINAL--> OCTOPUZZLE MODE - (octo-07)
- ORIGINAL --> OCTOBATTLE MODE - (octo-08)
- ORIGINAL --> ENDLESS MODE - (octo-09)
- WI-FI MODE - (octo-10)
- OPTIONS - (octo-11)
- TIPS & STRATEGIES - (octo-12)
- SPECIAL MOVES AND SPECIALTY COLORS (octo-13)
- LIST OF TITLES (octo-14)
- ADDITIONAL INFORMATION - (octo-15)
(You can use your browser’s Search option to jump directly to a section
by typing in “octo-??”.)
INTRODUCTION (octo-01)
Oh noes! The hungry magician apprentice Kari has cast a spell
to summon her favorite food, TAKOYAKI!!! (aka fried octopus).
Unfortunately, her magic backfired, and now, countless octopi are
raining down upon the land of Lonronpia!
Octomania is a puzzle game that blends cheerful graphics and
one-of-a-kind humor with a simple-yet-addictive gameplay. The game
features a multi-player mode, a story mode, time challenges, and a cast
of twelve unique playable characters, each with his or her own
personality, storyline, stage, and special move – Oh yeah, and there’s
a lot of octopi, as well...!!
CONTROLS (octo-02)
The Wii remote can be held at two different orientations: Sideways
or Pointer style. Pressing the “-” button will alternate between these
two styles.
Each mode has its advantages. Pointer-style requires more
practice and a steady hand, but players who fully master it will find
they have more speed and control over the board. Sideways-style requires
very little time to master, but it limits the speed in which the player
can move the cursor around the board.
Most players will opt for the Sideways orientation.
COMMAND SIDEWAYS STYLE POINTER STYLE
Move the cursor D-pad Aim the pointer
Rotate clockwise 2 A <or> D-pad Right
Rotate counter-clockwise 1 D-pad Left
Speed up droprate B B
Cancel Bubbles A B
Pause + +
Swap control types - -
GAMEPLAY (octo-03)
The rules of Octopuzzle are fairly easy to learn. The object of
the game is to make your opponent’s board fill up before yours does.
When your board is full, you have 3 seconds to do something about it,
or you lose.
Each player has a half-screen board (8x10) that slowly fills up
with multi-colored octopi (red, blue, green, yellow, white, purple,
etc.). You move octopi around the board using a 2x2 cursor that cycles
octopi either clockwise or counter-clockwise. It takes a short while
to get used to, but soon, you’ll be moving your octopi around with ease.
Also present on the board are grills. Each grill has a number
(2 – 8) in the middle of it; this number represents how many octopi of
the same color need to be placed on the grill. So if a grill has a “4”
in the middle of it, you must put four octopi of the SAME COLOR onto
it (i.e. four yellow octopi).
When you have moved the correct number of octopi to a grill, the
grill disappears. The octopi you moved onto it begin cooking and turn
into sizzling octopi (noted by colored bubbles). Bubbles cannot be moved
from their current location, but if you move additional octopi of that
color adjacent to them, those new octopi will also begin cooking. You
must hurry, though, because when the octopi stop sizzling, they disappear
(the higher the grill number, the longer the bubbles will stay on screen).
Every octopus you add to the bubbles adds one point to your “chain”.
Chains have a few uses. Firstly, the more octopi you can add to
your chain, the more space you can clear up on your board (after all,
if your board fills up, you lose!). Secondly, your score increases more
and more, the longer your chain is. Thirdly, every tenth octopus you
add to your chain immediately interrupts your opponent’s chains and
destroys any bubbles they have in play. Fourthly, chains raise your
diamond gauge (when it fills up, you get a diamond, which can be used
to activate your character’s special move). And finally, as you increase
your chain, you send Sea Urchins to your opponent’s board!
Urchins are dead weight. They cannot be grilled the way octopi
are; the ONLY way to get rid of them is to move them next to bubbles
(but they do NOT add points to your chain or to your score).
The diamond gauge, located on the side of your board, fills up
as you complete longer and longer chains. When it fills up, a diamond
will be released onto your board. Adding the diamond into a chain of
bubbles will unleash your character’s special move (each character’s
is different). Each character’s diamond gauge is a different height,
depending on how strong his or her special move is!
(See the CHARACTERS section for a list of special moves)
CHARACTERS (octo-04)
KARI – an apprentice magician who doesn’t always look before she
leaps (which can be a problem, given that she has immense magical powers
she knows nothing about...). She’s believed to be the reason for the
octopus infestation.
ANGELIQUE – the slacker angel who would love to shirk her duties
as protector of Lonronpia in exchange for a vacation. She is notorious
for telling lies and taking advantage of people.
GOBU – a goblin (not a pig!) obsessed with cleanliness and
good-manners. He is worried that the octopi might carry the dreaded
Octolococcus virus!
KANIZAEMON – a crab-samurai: complete with topknot, his trusty
katana Harusame, and a (albeit questionable) warrior’s code. He wants
nothing more than to protect the seashores of Lonronpia, but he often
acts hastily.
FUNKEE – a forest spirit (i.e. tree) obsessed with rapping. He
hopes to make it big one day, but he is entirely oblivious to criticism.
KAPPRIO – a narcissistic kappa (hint: a “kappa” is a Japanese
river imp, not usually known for beauty). With his mirror and his rose,
he tries to spread his charm thick among all whom he encounters. He is
also the leader of the OCTO Squad, just under Exaltus.
FEIFEI – the top student in Kari’s class, she hates the apprentice
magician deeply. Feifei is also madly in love with Exaltus.
EXALTUS – the Prince of the Demons (and somewhat of a momma’s
boy). He and his OCTO Squad like to terrorize Angelique by playing
ding-dong-ditch with her doorbell (pure evil!).
DRAMO – a baby dragon that Exaltus keeps as his pet. He is a member
of Exaltus’s OCTO Squad, but he is tired of the childish pranks. Dramo
has one ambition: to overthrow his master and become the heir to the
Demon King’s throne.
OCTOBOT – a very old robot with a somewhat questionable weapons
system. Octobot is loyal to Exaltus and a member of the OCTO Squad.
TAKOBO – not from Lonronpia, he is on a quest to become the world’s
top takoyaki chef. (He is also the mascot for the Japanese takoyaki chain
Tsukiji Gindaco.) Unfortunately for him, Takobo cannot figure out how
to return to his home world.
SHADOW KARI – a doppelganger spawned from Kari’s raw magical power,
she hates being confused with Kari (even though they look nearly
identical). Shadow Kari has one goal in mind: defeat her double and become
the REAL Kari.
(see SPECIAL MOVES AND SPECIALTY COLORS (octo-13) for information on
each character’s special move and specialty color)
ARCADE MODE (octo-05)
In ARCADE MODE you can play single-player as the magician
apprentice, Kari, or play head-to-head against a friend in a two-player
competition (each player can adjust his or her own difficulty level
independently!).
Primarily a training mode, the single-player mode of play
sufficiently explains the game’s mechanics, while exposing the player
to some of the regulars (and irregulars) of Lonronpia. Single player
offers as three difficulty levels: Tako-Rookie, Tako-Fighter, and
Tako-master. You can also play “To the End”, an endless mode which keeps
track of your score, your highest combo, and how long you survived.
It should be noted that the character list in ARCADE MODE is more
limited than in ORIGINAL MODE. In single player, you can only play as
Kari. In two-player your options are limited to 8 players: Kari, Dramo,
Gobu, Angelique, Exaltus, Funkee, Kanizaemon, and Kapprio. It is lacking
4 characters: Feifei, Takobo, Octobot, and Shadow Kari. (The first three
are also absent from single-player mode, but you CAN play against Shadow
Kari in single player if you manage to get through Octo-Fighter or
Octo-Master difficulties without losing a single round!)
TUTORIAL (octo-06)
If ARCADE MODE isn’t sufficient to explain the game, you can access
the TUTORIAL, which gives viewable demonstrations on gameplay,
explanations on more advanced topics (like each character’s Specialty
Color, how to create a Chain Explosion, and how Diamonds work), as well
as an introduction bio for each of the twelve characters.
ORIGINAL--> OCTOPUZZLE MODE (octo-07)
In OCTOPUZZLE MODE the player can initially select one of 6
playable character (the other 6 are unlockable). Each character has a
unique storyline in which they interact with and do battle against the
other 11 characters. If you are skilled enough to complete a character’s
story without losing a match, you will unlock one of the 6 remaining
characters!
In addition OCTOPUZZLE MODE features five difficulty options to
help you test your Octopuzzle skills, hone your abilities, and challenge
you endlessly (such as playing against two opponents simultaneously)!
If that is not enough for you, then grab a friend and play OCTOPUZZLE
MODE in a co-op two-player style!
ORIGINAL --> OCTOBATTLE MODE (octo-08)
Two-to-four players can compete in OCTOBATTLE MODE to see who
is, in fact, the most-skilled Octopuzzle player! You can select the 6
characters from OCTOPUZZLE MODE, as well as any you’ve unlocked by
completing their stories.
A third and fourth player added to the game will not receive their
own board to play on. Instead, they will share a board with another player
(first and third form one team, second and fourth another).
Because you can select any of the 12 characters and 12 stages,
and because you have the option to play with teams, this is the preferred
mode for playing head-to-head with your friends (as opposed to ARCADE
MODE).
ORIGINAL --> ENDLESS MODE (octo-09)
One or two players may enter this mode, which allows the player
to select from any of the twelve characters and backgrounds and play
endlessly to earn as many special Titles and Licenses as possible. Are
you skilled enough to earn all the Titles?
In this mode grill numbers start small but slowly get higher and
higher. Diamonds do not unleash special moves; they return all grills
back to “2”. Therefore, the bigger chains you can create will keep you
alive longer.
(see LIST OF TITLES (octo-14) for a list of what titles you can earn)
WI-FI MODE (octo-10)
Have you ever had the urge to grill up some octopi with a friend
but for some reason found yourself sitting at home, alone?
GEOGRAPHICAL-INCONVENIENCE, BEGONE!!! With the WI-FI MODE, players can
connect wirelessly to other Wii consoles and experience Octomania’s
engaging multi-player excitement!
OPTIONS (octo-11)
In the OPTIONS menu, the player can adjust a variety of settings
(how many points required to win a round, controller orientation, etc.).
Additionally, by clicking on CONFIRM DATA, the player can view the
results of his or her efforts in the various play modes (high scores,
Licenses, Titles, etc.):
Controller: You can change between Pointer or Sideways Mode (same as
pressing “-“ when outside the Options menu).
“A” Button: In Pointer orientation, you can use Left and Right on the
D-pad to rotate octopi. You can also use the “A” button. Here, you can
set whether the “A” button rotates left (counter-clockwise) or right
(clockwise). Default setting is Right.
Octo-Octo Warning: You can set how long (60sec, 90sec, 120sec, or no
time limit) before the octopi droprate increases dramatically and the
variety of colors is raised to include all colors. (This helps ensure
that multiplayer Octobattle matches don’t drag on forever...) Default
is 90 seconds.
Points to Win: You can set how many points (1, 2, 3, or 4) are required
to win an entire match in multiplayer. Default is 2.
TIPS & STRATEGIES (octo-12)
- Learn the ancient art of spinning your octopi both clockwise
AND counter-clockwise. Depending on the layout of your board, you’ll
find it a lot easier to press one button once than pressing another button
three times!
- Diamonds in Endless Mode reset grills to “2”. If you earn a
diamond while your grills are at a “5” or “6”, don’t be in a rush to
use the diamond. Save it for when the grill numbers get too high for
you to satisfy them (or if you are really good, learn not to rely on
diamonds at all!).
- In Octopuzzle Mode only 6 characters are initially available
(the top row). Completing a top row character’s story without losing
a match will unlock the character immediately below him or her –
regardless of what difficulty the game is set on! So, if you are having
difficulty unlocking the 6 remaining characters, try playing on Novice.
- Holding “B” increases the octopi droprate. This is especially
helpful in the first few seconds of a match (the more octopi on your
board at the beginning, the larger your first chains will be!). As the
match goes on, you should also consider using this if you do not have
a lot of octopi on your board.
- When you hit a 10-chain or use a diamond, your board is replaced
by an animation. Don’t let that stop you from moving, though! You can
still move and rotate your cursor as normal (you just can’t see it...!).
- So, when do you start making bubbles? If you hold “B” at the
start of the round and begin stockpiling octopi, at what point should
you start making chains? Wait until your board is at least half-covered
in octopi. Use this time to plan out what colors you will be going for
first. But MORE IMPORTANTLY, if your opponent starts making chains, you
need to start as well, right away. After all, if they are sending urchins
at you, you won’t be gaining octopi, so there is no point in waiting
any longer. Begin sending urchins to their side once they start moving!
- Pressing “A” (in sideways mode) or “B” (in pointer mode) will
immediately end the chain of bubbles on your screen. This can be valuable,
such as when there are no more octopi or urchins on your side to destroy.
Ending the bubbles early will give you more freedom for moving octopi
around the board, and it will continue the octopi drop. You definitely
do not want to get stuck with bubbles on your screen and nothing to do,
while your opponent is busy racking up chains!
- When playing in sideways mode, rapidly alternate between two
directions to enable you to move your cursor around the board quicker
(for instance, instead of just hitting up, up, up, up... try up, right,
up, right, up, right...). You will find you can effortlessly rub your
thumb back and forth between two directions a lot faster than you can
press just one direction.
- You can move two octopi across the board at once if you practice
(for instance, if you want to move two octopi down, put them at the top
position in your cursor, hit rotate twice, move down once, hit rotate
twice, then move down once, etc.).
- Be patient. Just because you have two red octopi and a “2” grill
sitting there in the middle of your board, don’t start grilling them
too early! Wait until there are a few more red octopi on the screen;
that way, you can move two onto the board and use the remaining ones
for a chain!
- But don’t be TOO patient! Be aggressive throughout the entire
match (and especially, don’t let up just because you see your opponent’s
board is beginning the 3-2-1 countdown or just because you used a powerful
special attack and you don’t think they can recover from it – always
assume they will be recovering flawlessly despite your efforts). Never
stop moving around and destroying octopi until the match actually ends!
- In Original Mode you can create CHAIN EXPLOSIONS by stacking
up a row of same-colored octopi and then completing an adjacent board
of that color. This will save you from having to manually move each octopi
into the chain after the bubbles start (and is therefore a time-saver).
This does not work in Arcade Mode, however.
- Tip for increasing your time in Endless mode: Bubbles are only
on-screen for a limited amount of time, so if you have two or three grills
ready to be filled, fill them one-at-a-time (JUST BEFORE the previous
chain of octopi stops sizzling). This will guarantee you the longest
time possible to remove octopi/urchins and to keep your chain growing
as long as possible.
- Save your diamonds for when they will be most helpful. Just
because it’s down there on your board, there’s no immediate rush to move
it into a chain!
- Aim to hit multiples of ten with your chains, since every tenth
octopus stops your opponent’s chains immediately. A chain of nine octopi
may impress your grandma, but a real Octomania master will bat for ten
or more!
- Glance at your opponent’s board from time to time. If you see
that he or she is setting up a chain of 10 or more, WAIT before completing
a grill (since a chain of 10 on their screen will instantly get rid of
your bubbles).
Similarly, if you have a chain of 10 set up, wait to start it
until AFTER your opponent has activated a grill (so you can interrupt
them!).
- Diamonds only get activated when you manually move them into
a bubble chain. Therefore, wait until the most opportune moment before
using them! You can move a diamond to a corner and leave it there for
as long as you like.
- Every character has a SPECIALTY COLOR. Normally, completing
a grill sends 2 urchins to your opponent, plus 2 more urchins for each
point in your combo. If the octopi are of your Specialty Color, though,
you send 3 urchins per combo point! Use this knowledge to your advantage
whenever possible (for instance, use smaller numbered grills for
Specialty Color octopi, so you can have longer chains).
- Super-Secret Attack: OCTOPUS WHIRLWIND MANEUVER 2.0!!!
(Probably not an official name for this strategy, but definitely an
in-house favorite...) This technique is, essentially, a strategic form
of “button-mashing”. As your board becomes more and more cluttered
(especially, if your opponent has sent an inconvenient surplus of urchins
in your direction...), fill up a grill or two to start some octopi sizzling
and then continually click the button to rotate the cursor while moving
it around the screen in a spiral pattern. This will shuffle your octopi
and urchins around famously, and hopefully, you will serendipitously
herd the correct critters into the correct bubbles! (Individual results
may vary.)
- Whenever you play co-operatively (whether 2-player Octopuzzle or a
team game in Octobattle), the height of your diamond gauge is the average
height of the two characters’ usual height. So, if you pair Gobu and
Kari, for instance, you can use Kari’s special attack a lot sooner than
you could playing without a teammate.
***THE FOLLOWING STRATEGIES WERE LEARNED FROM OBSERVING THE COMPUTER
PLAYERS ON VERY HIGH DIFFICULTY SETTINGS***
- Use the urchins to extend chains to the correct colors – don’t
just simply drag an octopi from far away to the bubbles. If there are
stray urchins between your bubbles and those faraway octopi, drag the
urchins into the bubbles first, so the octopi have a shorter distance
to be moved.
- Destroy urchins instead of JUST focusing on octopi. If all the
octopi of a chain’s color are destroyed, don’t be in such a rush to move
on to setting up a new color; instead opt to drag urchins into the bubbles,
one by one (seems like it’d be a waste of time, but appears to work!).
- CONSTANTLY keep making bubbles/chains, DON’T waste time setting
up a chain reaction when you can be destroying octopi.
- The computer moves ultra-fast to get from one place to another,
when not rotating (i.e. pointer-mode).
- When multiple colors are bubbling at a time, FOCUS ON JUST ONE
COLOR – with almost NO exception – even if there are octopi of the other
color that are close to the other chain. For instance if you activate
a red grill and then, while moving red octopi to the bubbles, you
accidentally activate a green chain as well, DO NOT worry about moving
green octopi to the green grill. Stay focused on getting all of the
remaining reds off your board, first.
- You do NOT want an equal number of octopi of each color – you
want some colors to have a lot more octopi. Therefore, alternate between
which colors you activate (almost like a turn order... “this color, then
that color, then that color... then repeat!”). This will keep the supply
of octopi high in some colors and lower in others. Evening out the number
of octopi of each color will make it HARDER to activate grills and HARDER
to rack up large chains! It does you no good to have 4 yellow, 4 red,
5 green, and 3 blue. After all, what if you only have grills that are
“6” or “7”? Instead, you want 0 yellow, 8 red, 6 green, and 2 blue. That
way, you can make a red chain, then a green chain, and by then the blue
will multiply enough for you to make a nice long blue chain... etc. etc.
- If you have 6 reds and 3 blues on the board, activate a red
grill. Don’t be tempted to do a small blue one just to “get rid of the
blues”. Doing this will make it hard to ever do a large blue chain. Get
the reds, then cancel the bubbles and let your octopi population increase,
then AFTER the blues have replenished, go for them.
- When two octopi are distant from a chain, grab the FARTHER one
first and/or learn to use chains of urchins to get there.
- Always have another grill that’s close to being activated...
without spending too much time arranging this and NEVER setting up a
giant chain reaction unless it’s convenient and time allows.
SPECIAL MOVES AND SPECIALTY COLORS (octo-13)
Below is a comprehensive list of what makes each character unique. It
is sorted by tallest-to-shortest diamond gauge heights (heights are
measured in octopi):
Specialty Gauge Diamond
Character Color Height Effect
Funkee Green 10 All your grills change to 2.
Exaltus Blue 9.5 All opponent’s grill change to 8.
Kari Yellow 9 Change all urchins/octopi on top of
your grills to octopi of the same
color.
Dramo Green 8 All octopi on opponent’s grills
become urchins.
Takobo Yellow 7.5 An earthquake shakes opponent’s
board and disrupts their chains.
Shadow Kari Blue 7 Opponent’s board turns dark.
Feifei Yellow 6.25 Drops urchins on opponent, relative
to how full their gauge is.
Kapprio Blue 6 Opponent cannot move.
Octobot Red 5 Opponent’s cursor disappears.
Kanizaemon Red 4.5 Opponent’s octopi of a color become
urchins.
Angelique Red 4.25 Gives opponent three times as many
urchins as she has, to be added.
Gobu Green 4 All urchins on your board are
bubbles.
**In Arcade mode the diamond gauge is 7.5 octopi high, and special attacks
turn ALL octopi and urchins on your board into the same color as the
bubbles you move the diamond into (very powerful, but not an option in
Original or Wi-Fi mode).
**When you play as a team, the height of your diamond gauge is an average
of the two characters’ usual gauge. So, if one member of the team plays
as someone with a short gauge (i.e. Gobu), it will be an advantage to
the team.
**Timing is key with special moves. A special move executed at the wrong
time may set your opponent back a couple steps, but most of them can
be hurdled over. If a few seconds have passed and your opponent’s board
looks as if you DIDN’T just use your special move, then chances are,
you used it at the wrong time...
**When it comes to offensive special attacks (like, say, Feifei’s) or
defense special attacks (like, say, Funkee’s or Gobu’s), just try to
remember: you shouldn’t NEED to use a defensive special, in theory. So,
if you select a character whose special attack appears largely for
defense, try to find a way to turn that defense into an offense (for
instance, Gobu’s doesn’t just CLEAR urchins – it turns then into BUBBLES!
Use those bubbles to rack up a chain).
-Kapprio’s time-stop is very useful for ending the round, but you need
to use it (1) when your opponent has NO chains going (especially if you
just sent a lot of urchins their direction) and/or (2) when the countdown
3-2-1 is starting. It is most effective when used AFTER the Octo-Octo
Warning has occurred, and it should NEVER be used while your opponent
has a chain active! Also, his special can be useful (defensively) for
filling your board with more octopi and/or destroying urchins. Either
way, once you activate his special, the LAST thing you want to do is
sit there and do nothing – after all, your opponent is the one frozen:
not you! There is, however, much debate over whether or not you want
to destroy octopi while your opponent is frozen... You see, the slow
trickle of urchins is no match for the downpour of octopi that comes
after the Octo-Octo Warning. In fact you will actually be SLOWING down
how fast your frozen opponent’s board fills up if you destroy occasional
octopi here and there, during this time. However, if you have a large
chain reaction already set up and you can instantly send over a lot of
urchins, then that might be worth your while to do. Some things that
you can do which will be sure-fire good ideas and won’t impede your
opponent’s octopi droprate: (1) start setting up chain reactions to be
activated once the freeze time ends, and (2) destroy urchins. The best
part about setting up large chain reactions and SAVING them for after
the frozen time period is that if you opponent survives and is able to
activate a quick grill before losing the round, you can counter that
by activating your planned-for 10-chain and immediately interrupting
his bubbles. Then, they will have NO last hope to survive!
-Angelique’s special move requires planning. You need to activate a
decently-numbered grill so that the bubbles stay onscreen long enough
for you to rack up urchins, but don’t get carried away because if your
opponent hits a 10-chain, it will get rid of your bubbles, and your plan
will backfire. Also, be ready to make a 10-chain of your own, shortly
after activating the diamond, to make it tough for your opponent to clear
the urchins. If you opponent easily clears all the new urchins you sent
over, then her special attack was wasted. Angelique’s very-short diamond
gauge is a huge advantage, and her special is a great example of one
that balances offensive and defensive strategy.
-Gobu’s special move can be used as an attack, as well as defense, if
you have a surplus of one color spread out around the board and a lot
of urchins. Additionally, if you can use his attack to cleaning power
to get rid of a lot of your octopi, the chain you create will go a long
way to refilling his diamond gauge (not to mention doling out urchins)!
If you are up against a tough opponent (or a character who can instantly
send a lot of octopi your direction), try to save diamonds for emergencies
– after all, it isn’t hard to get more, with him. Advanced technique:
let’s say you have yellow bubbles active and all yellow octopi cleared
from the board, but you have a lot of urchins. So, you decide to drag
a diamond into the yellow bubbles (to clear the urchins). Right after
you activate the diamond, while Gobu’s splash screen is being shown,
CANCEL THE BUBBLES! The urchins will all still turn to bubbles, but it
will be a random color (i.e. red, blue, maybe even green). This will
open up the off-chance of you racking up a nice chain! After all, if
you HADN’T cancelled the bubbles, the urchins would merely turn into
yellow bubbles... You still would’ve gotten rid of all the urchins, but
you definitely would not have racked up any extra points to your chain,
since you already destroyed the yellow octopi.
-Takobo’s special move can be devastating. If all his special did was
just shake the screen, his special would join Shadow Kari’s and Octobot’s
as a special that you can train yourself to overcome, with practice.
The shakiness does disrupt their visibility, but the most important
feature is how his special ends your opponent’s chains! As takoyaki fall
onto their board, their chains will end early. This stops them from
clearing very much, and can end a round quickly. It is therefore best
used when your opponent’s board is full or near-full. It is very similar
in timing to Kapprio’s, except you can execute it while they are chaining
and not have to worry – however, if you do this, make sure they have
a stock of urchins that will drop onto their board and/or start making
large chains on your side. Doing this will help fill up their board
extra-fast, lowering the chances that they can satisfy a grill and save
themselves in time.
-Feifei’s special move needs to be timed right to be most effective.
Watch your opponent’s gauge. And whatever you do, beware Angelique’s
special – it’s a very potent counter-attack to Feifei’s special!
-Funkee’s (like Gobu’s) diamonds should be saved for emergencies (such
as to counter to Exaltus’s). On the whole it is one of the least-effective
special moves, especially for the length of his gauge! Although his
grills will turn to “2”, you’ll find yourself wasting grills and more
octopi, if you aren’t careful. The reason being: any movement you do
around the board will be very likely to set off a grill (thus, wasting
that life-saving low-pointer). This will also consume octopi, but the
bubbles will not be on the screen long enough to use these bubbles for
a longer chain (thus, wasting those initial octopi). My best
recommendation is to use his to get yourself out of a pinch; then quickly
rack up whatever chains you can – but all the while focusing on the
one-color-at-a-time rule outlined in the Strategies section. You can
paint yourself into a corner very quickly with Funkee’s special if you
have octopi-ADD (i.e. if you drag whatever colors you can into the chains
and not worry about the overall ecosystem of your board). Remember: you
always want to have a high supply of a couple colors and a minimal supply
of other colors. A balanced amount of octopi of each color is NOT what
you want on your board.
-Dramo’s can be powerful if you time it correctly and can catch your
opponent off guard. Don’t do it at a time when it’s convenient for your
opponent (such as, if they have bubbles already started and can easily
destroy the new urchins). Use it before they can start up a chain or
(most deviously) if you happen to glance over and see they have a
high-point grill, like a 6 or 7, mostly-filled up. Your aim should be
twofold: destroy AS MANY of your opponent’s octopi as possible, but also,
make it harder for him or her to activate another grill right away. If
executed correctly, that temporary setback you deliver could very well
be enough to win you the match, right then and there.
-Shadow Kari’s and Octobot’s specials have the potential to be largely
ineffective because they do not actually change anything ABOUT the game
boards, themselves. (1) You can still move, you can still destroy octopi,
and (2) neither you nor your opponent’s amount of octopi or urchins has
changed. A veteran player should be able to function semi-adequately
while under the effects of either of these specials. If you are having
trouble maneuvering while your screen is darkened by Shadow Kari, just
remember: the squids and urchins are a different shape than the octopi,
and the yellow octopi, in particular, are pretty easy to distinguish
from the rest (due to lighter color). If you are having trouble moving
your cursor while under Octobot’s special, just twirl a few times to
figure out where on the board you are. You will definitely be moving
octopi around a bit slower and methodically while your cursor is
invisible, but you should still be able to make the necessary movements
to survive.
-Exaltus’s special can end a game very early, just make sure to use it
when your opponent will be unable to recover... But most importantly,
like Kapprio’s, NEVER use it while your opponent has bubbles on-screen.
The reason being: when someone activates a grill or two, a new grill
(or two) will appear after the bubbles end. So, if your opponent has
bubbles active, then after those bubbles disappear, at least one new
grill will appear, and it WON’T be an “8” like the others (because it
wasn’t on-screen at the time the diamond was activated). Wait until there
are NO bubbles on their side so that you turn the maximum number of grills
into “8”s as possible!
-Kanizaemon’s special is unpredictable; luckily, his diamond gauge is
quite short! Kanizaemon’s special can bring about your opponent’s sudden
demise, or it could work out to be entirely inconsequential... The color
of the opponent’s octopi that becomes urchins is random (however,
fortunately, the game will not allow the target color to be one that
isn’t on their board – so you are at least guaranteed to affect SOME
of their octopi, every time... even if it isn’t the color you were hoping
for...). Also, it should be noted that if you move TWO diamonds into
a bubble chain simultaneously, one of them goes to waste! The game does
not instantly turn TWO colors into urchins. So, if you are fortunate
enough to have two diamonds at once, activate them individually. (This
issue actually arises with just about anyone’s diamonds, but
Kanizaemon’s is probably the only special move where you would actually
be tempted to try using two at once, so it’s worth mentioning, here.)
-Kari’s is extremely powerful because it not only clears her board
(defense) but ALSO sends a lot of urchins to her opponent (offense)! ...Oh,
and don’t forget, the large chains you rack up from executing her special
will greatly help refill her gauge for the NEXT diamond! In essence that
is everything you WANT from a special move: defense, offense, and
recovery. Helpful advice: try to move the diamond into yellow bubbles
(her Specialty Color). This will have a greater effect on your opponent’s
side. Also, try to set it up so you can hit a chain divisible by ten
sometime right AFTER you hit the diamond in. The reason being: if you
turn all your grills yellow, destroy a lot of free space, and send a
lot of urchins to your opponent... but then THEY activate one small “2”
grill... they can quickly destroy those urchins! Yes, they wasted a lot
of time doing that, and you can rack up some more chains in the mean
time, but her special is not about making your opponent simply waste
time. Her special is about winning the game! You need to give your opponent
a pause after the giant chain to get a bubble chain started, and THEN
hit a number divisible by ten (for instance 30 or 40) and interrupt their
last hope at clearing their board. Victory will be yours in short order!
Finally, though, it should also be noted that after you’ve destroyed
all the octopi of a color, DON’T WASTE ANY TIME! Hit the “B” button to
stop the bubbles and start filling your board with fresh octopi, and
then begin making more chains! If you leave bubbles on the screen for
too long after the special is over, you aren’t using it to its full
potential.
**TO SUM UP (my opinion of the best-worst):
Most Useful: In-Between: Least Useful:
Angelique Kanizaemon Funkee
Gobu Octobot Shadow Kari
Kapprio
Takobo
Dramo Best Team Combinations:
Kari [Angelique or Gobu] &
Feifei [Kari, Exaltus, Dramo, or Kapprio]
Exaltus A combination like that one suggested above
ensures that you and your teammate have good
offensive AND defensive abilities, as well as
a greatly-reduced diamond gauge.
LIST OF TITLES (Endless Mode) (octo-14)
Red Ginger - 30-hit combo with Red Octopi
High Tide - 30-hit combo with Blue Octopi
Teriyaki Egg - 30-hit combo with Yellow Octopi
Green Onion - 30-hit combo with Green Octopi
Cool Guy - 30-hit combo with Squids (white)
Aqua - 30-hit combo with Light Blue Octopi
Octopi King - 30-hit combo with Purple Octopi
All Clear - Clear everything from the screen
Grill Master - Clear an “8” grill
Five Alive - Combo using 5 different colors at once
Quick Six - Combo using 6 different colors at once
Lucky Seven - Combo using 7 different colors at once
Rich Man - Have 2 diamonds on the screen at once
Filthy Rich - Have 3 diamonds on the screen at once
Iced Out - Have 4 diamonds on the screen at once
Othello - Form bubbles in all four corners
Survivor - Play for 20 minutes
Marathon - Play for 30 minutes
Eternal - Play for 40 minutes
Infinity - Play for 60 minutes
Endless - Play for 90 minutes
Rose - Leave only Red Octopi on the screen after a combo
Iris - Leave only Blue Octopi on the screen after a combo
Tulip - Leave only Yellow Octopi on the screen after a combo
Grass - Leave only Green Octopi on the screen after a combo
Squid Farmer - Leave only Squids (white) on the screen after a combo
Snow - Leave only Light Blue Octopi on the screen after a combo
Lavender - Leave only Purple Octopi on the screen after a combo
Congrats - 10-hit combo using Red Octopi and Squids
Fireworks - 10-hit combo using Red, Blue, and Yellow Octopi
Hydrangea - 10-hit combo using Purple and Green Octopi
Pink - 10-hit combo using Purple and Light Blue Octopi and Squids
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION - (octo-15)
- Sometimes, when rotating octopi around, another octopus from above
will land directly on the open square that you are shifting an octopus
into. The new octopus will replace the old octopus, and the old octopus
(which you were probably about to use to fill up a grill) will just
disappear!
The Good: You won’t see this happen in Tako Rookie mode, so much,
due to the slower droprate.
The Bad: Occasionally, you WILL lose a match because of this.
You WILL try to drag the fifth and final red octopus over to a grill,
only to have a blue octopus land on top of it, and then the 3-2-1 counter
will start.
The Ugly: On the rarest (and most heart-wrenching) of occasions,
you can even lose a diamond because of this!
- If your opponent sends urchins your direction, but your board is full,
then the new urchins will still land randomly on your board and can start
covering up your colored octopi and diamonds!
- Whenever you play co-operatively (whether 2-player Octopuzzle or a
team game in Octobattle), the height of your diamond gauge is the average
height of the two characters’ usual height (see SPECIAL MOVES AND
SPECIALTY COLORS (octo-13) for a list of each character’s diamond gauge
height).
- When your diamond gauge fills up, your chains still continue to be
recorded, and after the diamond drops to your board, the gauge will not
start back at zero. It will be higher, reflecting any combos you had
while the gauge was full.
- Any diamonds left on the board when the round ends are lost. They do
not carry over to the next round. As such, if you think the round is
about to end, and your diamond gauge is full, then try to continue the
bubbles for as long as possible to save that diamond for the next round!
(Hint: you will know your diamond gauge is ACTUALLY full instead of just
merely “close to being full” because the diamond itself will begin
pulsating.)
