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    SR     //        RR$          'R!!!!!!!~~=====RRj~~!!!!!!~~====j~
   RR                  R=         @!!!!!!!~~~=====@=~!!!!!!!~~=====4'                       
  H$   Puyo Puyo DA!    @j       S!!!!!!!!~======@j~!!!!!!!!~=====jH
  *#   Quickie          @=      '*!!!!!!!!~====j@=~!!!!!!!!~=======@
   #S    Dancing       Rj       @!!!!!!!!~=====@=~~!!!!!!!!~======R!
     @       Guide    SR       `$!!!!!!!!~====#j~~!!!!!!!!~~=====jH
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      version 0.8         !4!!!!H$$$$$333%%%%%%%%%%%3$@j~~~~~=$==@
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   Last Update:           `Rjjj==#SjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjRj==jRj=jR=**
       July 20, 2001      _/ `Rj==j@%jjjjjjjjjjjjjjSR=====jj@Sjj@`
                         /     Rj===j%@S4jjjjjj%RH3j=========j3@R!
                                R4=======j==jj==============j#$j@
  by Benjamin Paul Galway         *$j=====================j@@@@~
  benjamin@platformer.com           =$======jj===========j@!
                                      *Sj=*@'`` ` `H@#4R#=


=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-[ Table of Contents ]-=-=-=

    Puyo Puyo DA! Intro
         Version History
              Songs and Dancers
                   The ELLENA System
                        English Translation
                             Puyo References
                                  Credits and Legal Stuff


=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-[ Puyo Puyo DA! Intro ]-=-=-=


  This is a quickie guide for the Japanese only Sega Dreamcast
  dancing game, Puyo Puyo DA! The idea is to highlight the gameplay
  system which makes the game somewhat unique for what otherwise
  could be dismissed at a Parappa the Rapper clone. This guide
  should help people get started playing and understanding
  PuyoPuyo DA! even though it is an admittedly very simple game.
  If you enjoy reflex test games such as Simon and Parappa the
  Rapper and Japanese pop music, then I would encourage you to
  check the game out. Hopefully this document will be of some
  assistance early in the game.


=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-[ Version History ]-=-=-=


  Version 0.8 [ July 20, 2001 ]
     This update fixed errors in The ELLENA System explanation.
     I also changed the formatting and section heading a bit and
     added new information about the history of the game and the
     songs and cast of characters.

  Version 0.3 [ July 3, 2001 ]
     This is the first version of this document. Puyo Puyo DA!
     is a nice sorta dancing game and deserved a guide to help
     people get into the game.


=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-[ Songs and Dancers ]-=-=-=


  Please note that I am unsure if the character rating means that
  choosing him or her makes for a more difficult game, or if the
  CPU plays the character at that difficulty. I want to say it's
  the former, but I'm not completely certain.

  In a single player game, you must dance to your opponent's songs,
  but it is possible to have two people play using another song
  in the versus mode. Unfortunately, there is not sound test so you
  can listen to the songs without playing the game, but do notice
  that you can start a 2-player versus match and let the controllers
  idle to listen. I suggest recording the songs if possible since
  that gets annoying and the songs are quite nice. :^)

  All characters are from the Puyo Puyo series except Ellena Stevens,
  whose origin is explained above. For more information and pictures
  of the Puyo Puyo cast, you should go visit the web sites listed
  at the end of this document.

  The Puyo Puyo DA cast and songs:

     Arle Nadja (easy)
          No. 1 -- Shakunetsu no Fire Dance (Edit)

     Skeleton-T (easy)
          No 2. -- Puyopuyo(DA Original Mix)

     Tara (easy)
          No. 3 -- i miss you

     Ellena Stevens (normal)
          No. 4 -- i sing

     Minotaur (normal)
          No. 5 -- Hip House Compile Classix'95

     Schezo Wegey (hard)
          No. 6 -- toy of puyopuyo

     Rulue (hard)
          No. 7 -- memories of puyopuyo(euro version)

     Satan (hard)
          No. 8 -- i hate you(hanglish version)


=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-[ The ELLENA System ]-=-=-=


  Much as in Parappa the Rapper, Puyo Puyo DA! is a "dancing" game
  with a Simon-like gameplay system. A line  at the top of the
  screen is displayed for each of the two "battling" characters,
  and the simple goal is the press the coresponding button while
  the indicator passes over it.

  TYPES OF INPUT

  There are five available input types: red puyo, blue puyo, yellow
  puyo, green puyo, and the star. You should notice that the 
  directions the puyos are mapped to also are indicated with their
  color -- such that the red puyo is inputted by pressing the red
  button on the standard Dreamcast controller and so forth. The
  star icon is mapped to the shoulder triggers, and I'd greatly
  urge players to remap it to the d-pad in the options screen.
  The delay of the analog triggers can and will be a pain to deal
  with, especially during the more difficult rounds.

  DANCING AND CHAINING

  Unlike Parappa, you are not awarded for improvising. Any button
  press not indicated on the meter will count against you; however,
  you are free to miss notes without being penalized as in Sony's
  game. Thus, if you are greeted with a string of commands after
  chaining the ones previously shown and do nothing whatsoever, you
  will not incur any penalty. This will allow you to skip over
  difficult sections of songs without ruining your chain. Of course,
  depending on the difficulty setting or person you're playing
  against, skipping too many can spell disaster to your chances of
  winning. Still, it is a strategy unique to Puyo Puyo DA! and well
  worth taking advantage of during the game.

  The basis premise is to see which player can "chain" the most
  commands together, which is done by pressing the displayed button
  at the exact moment the meter indicates it must be pressed. Each
  button press is assigned a rating based on how close it was
  inputted while the marker passed over the indicator: excellent,
  great, good, fair, and bad. Pressing the button at the exact moment
  indicated will grant you an "excellent" rating, while the others
  appear as you delay your input. "Bad" appears when you completely
  miss the mark.

  Only "excellent" and "great" rated inputs are added to your chain
  total and keep the chain alive. The moment you input a "good" or
  worse command, your dance chain will end. Thus, if you enter a new
  line of commands with an existing 12 puyo chain and input the
  following rated presses:

     Excellent Excellent Great Good Great Good Poor Good Great

  You will continue to the next line with no chain, although you did
  build upon the previous chain by three until having the "good"
  rating ruin it. "Good" and "fair" ratings only serve as a point
  measure and determine whether or not your dancer does a good or bad
  pose at the end of the meter, so the final three "good" rated
  inputs contributed nothing, and the "great" rating must be
  followed by another "great" or "excellent" rated command to begin a
  chain. If your first input on the next line is rated "excellent" or
  "great," then you'll have a chain of two puyos.

  The strength of your attack depends entirely on both your and your
  opponent's dancing ability. If hit more notes than the other
  player, then your opponent will suffer damage and puyos will
  appear on that side of the screen in the bar at the top. After five
  puyo types appear, the five will be removed and replaced with a
  more valuable puyo which represents the previous five puyos with a
  single unit (I believe). The order looks like this: 

  Small gray puyo -> Gray puyo -> Red puyo -> Moon -> Comet -> Saturn

  You can repair damage and remove puyos from your side by performing
  better than your opponent. Note that puyos don't really affect the
  gameplay at all, though if you dance well enough you can "kill"
  your opponent before the song ends.

  HITTING YOUR NOTES

  Finally, on the more difficult command strings, you'll notice many
  notes overlap each other. These require split second timing and
  pose the greatest challenge in the game, especially when they are
  encountered in rapid succession. Remember that you can skip them if
  you do not think you can input the overlapping notes without
  ruining your chain; however, you will have to learn how to
  successfully read and enter the commands if you hope to make it
  through the more difficult songs. I find it helps to slide my
  finger quickly across the notes required so that I can hit them
  quick enough to at least maintain my chain. If you're still having
  difficulty, then you should at least make the attempt to land the
  first note -- you can skip the overlapped note and shouldn't fall
  behind as much as you would attempting both.

  DANCE RATING AND SCORING

  At the end of a match you're rated in three areas:

       Max. Chains       1 -> ?
       Your Dance Mark   50 <-> 100 %
       Dance Level       A <-> F

  Max. Chains is obviously your maximum number of chains you were
  able to complete during the song. Your Dance Mark I believe is
  a rating of how well your performed based on your input ratings.
  Your Dance Level may or may not take in the Max. Chains into
  account. 

  You gain one point per second of the song. I'll have to play
  again and see if I can get a VCR to understand the other scoring
  methods. 


=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-[ English Translation ]-=-=-=


  INTRODUCTION

  While I can't translate the introduction, I can clarify some of
  the information presented during it. The introduction basically
  describes the original of Ellena and the connection between it
  and Puyo Puyo DA! You'll notice some English text being shuffled
  around the screen at the beginning:

       Disc Station Vol. 4 - 1994
  The legend of the girl who wanna get a chance with her DANCE be cool.
                                       - featuring ELLENA System -

  Compile offers a Japanese PC magazine called Disc Station which is
  still available today and can be seen on the company's website.
  Compile includes a disc with this magazine, and volume four had an
  all new game featuring the dancing of Ellena. Again, you see this
  game during the introduction during play. You may be able to order
  back issues of Disc Station if you want it -- I really don't know.
  Remember that you will need a PC running Japanese Windows to play
  the game if you can get your hands on a copy.

  Five years later Compile decides to release Puyo Puyo DA! The game
  uses the Ellena system found in the Disc Station game and also
  brought her on board the cast.

  GAME MENUS

  I can't comprehend Japanese on any level, so all I can offer at
  the moment which may be of help is a vague understanding of the
  difficulty selection in the story mode. When you're presented with
  a choice of three bubbles each with two Japanese characters in it,
  remember that the default difficulty is "normal." Pressing left
  will put you on "easy," and the right selection is the "hard"
  difficulty. On the easy setting you'll face three dancers, five
  on normal, and all eight on hard.


  MANUAL

  I'm completely useless here. Sorry.


=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-[ Puyo References ]-=-=-=


  The American Puyo Federation
  http://members.home.net/majinerik/puyo/puyofed.html

     The American Puyo Federation doesn't have much information
     about Puyo Puyo DA! but it is the best English source for
     Puyo Puyo information and images available.


  Compile Home Page
  http://www.compile.co.jp/

     Compile's site is one of the better game company sites around,
     and it has several fan pages on it as well. Be warned that the
     site is in Japanese. If you can't read Japanese (I can't), I'd
     suggest browsing with Babelfish.


=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-[ Credits and Legal Stuff ]-=-=-=


  The Puyo Puyo DA! Quickie Dancing Guide is brought to you by:

     Benjamin Paul Galway -- The author and Puyo fan.

  I'll add people to this section as necessary.

  This document may be freely distributed as long as no alterations
  are made to this text file and the author is given credit for the
  work. No website must profit, either directly or indirectly, from
  the use of this guide. Bad things will happen if someone does not
  comply to the above without my written permission. 

  Please do not ask me to add your site to this list. Your site is
  welcomed to republished this guide without my permission as long
  as you follow the above guidelines.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-[ End of Document ]-=-=-=
