Virtua Athlete (JP) FAQ ver.2.5  release version.

Last updated: August 10th 2000

By Sam Maxted (eltharion@hotmail.com)

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VERSION HISTORY

0.1  First version, everythings new  not yet for general release. 
Instructions / buttons complete.
0.2  Athlete creation complete.
0.3  Added fillers for Network ranking and 4 Interests.  
Capitalised the headings to make them easier to spot.
1.0  Added Secrets and Contact & submissions and generally tidied up the FAQ. 
It should be a little easier to read now. Its the release version!
1.1  Updated Secrets. Hopefully fixed some of the dodgy formatting - I hate MS 
Word.
1.2  Started work on Interests. Fixed the wrong version number at the top of 
the FAQ.
1.3  Updated Interests  now as complete a list as exists on my save file.
1.4  Added 9 new interests. Updated Contact & submissions.
1.5  Fixed more of the formatting. Added a (very) brief FAQ section.
1.6  Added Sumo & W. taijiquan (no, Im not joking) to the Interests section. 
Updated long jump instructions.
1.7  Updated FAQ and Instructions (Guest mode). Added Thanks section.
1.8  Added an Interest. Updated Guest mode details.
1.9  Added 2 Interests
2.0  Updated Instructions and the Thanks section.
2.1  Added 1 Interest.
2.2  Updated FAQ and added a note to the start of the Interests section  
apparently it had been causing some confusion.
2.3  Added 7 interests and updated Character creation.
2.4  Added 3 interests. Added authors name to the title.
2.5  Added 2 interests.

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LEGAL STUFF

This document copyright 2000, Sam Maxted. It is not to appear anywhere other 
than www.gamefaqs.com and is to be distributed freely, for personal use only. 
Anyone caught using this FAQ for profit will be sued for all revenue made from 
sales and for legal fees. Have a nice day ;)

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CONTENTS

1) Instructions / buttons
2) Athlete creation
3) Brief FAQ
4) Network ranking
5) Interests
6) Secrets
7) Contact & submissions
8) Thanks

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1) INSTRUCTIONS / BUTTONS

Menu: 
X/A   - Select or confirm
B     - Cancel
Y/L/R  Not used

Player selection in Quick Tournament, Exhibition and Practice modes:
Start  To be pressed by all participants
X/A   - Select or confirm
B     - Cancel
Y/L/R  Not used

There are a number of pre-created athletes here. Once you have created your own, 
they can be selected from the Edit VM logo in the bottom right corner of the 
screen. That is, if the player has been saved to a VMS.

A temporary pre-created athlete can be selected by using the Edit DC logo. 
See Section 2 for more details.

Guest mode:
This allows you to compete against other athletes that you have created. To do 
this, move the cursor over yes on the Guest mode option in the Exhibition 
Tournament screen and press the A button. On the next screen, select yes on 
the right on any pad not being used. Next, select the VMS you wish to load the 
athlete from and then the athlete itself. Voila  youre now competing against 
your own creations. However, this will NOT work unless all the athletes you 
select to compete against have completed a tournament. e.g. In a 3-event 
tournament, all athletes must have completed 3 events, 5 in the 5-event 
tournament and all in a full match.



Events:

100 Metre Dash:

X/A   - Run
B     - Dive for the finish line
Y/L/R  Not used

The B button should be pressed a while before the finish line  perhaps 5 metres 
back or so. Athletes will not dive as quickly as they did in Decathlete. False 
starts are possible here by pressing X/A before the Go command is given. The 
third time this is done, the athlete will stumble out of the blocks and the race 
will effectively be lost.

Submitted by Martin Mathers: Be careful of your Stamina bar - the faster you 
run, the quicker it will decrease. The computer controlled athletes seem to 
increase in speed as they get further down the course, so you can judge when to 
accelerate your button speed. Don't worry too much about your stamina in the 
last section of the race as your momentum should be enough to carry you over the 
line (especially if you dive at the right time).


Long Jump:

X/A   - Run
B     - Jump / Extend legs
Y/L/R  Not used

The B button should be pressed upon reaching the board and held until the angle 
of jump in the bottom left corner reads 25. This is the ideal angle. The B 
button should then be pressed again whilst in the air to extend the athletes 
legs. Be warned that if your athlete steps on or past the red section of the 
board, it will be a foul jump and no distance will be recorded.

Very rarely, as its so difficult to do, if you get a perfect take-off position 
on the board, you wont need to press the B button in the air to extend your 
legs. Youll know when this happens because your athlete will display a new 
animation whilst in the air. My athlete who had previously only hit around 8.50m 
on the long jump managed a jump of 8.80m when this happened. Youll still need 
to hold B for the angle as normal though.

Shot Putt:

B          Throw
D-Button   Spin (optional)
X/A/Y/L/R  Not used

There are 2 methods of doing the shot putt  one simple and risk-free, the 
other harder but more likely to give you a better result.

Method 1: When the gauge is at max, press and hold B until the angle in the 
bottom left corner reads 45. And thats it  simple.

Method 2: When the gauge is at max, spin the D-button in an anti-clockwise 
direction to help increase your power further. At the right moment, hold B 
until the angle reaches 45 degrees. Be warned though, doing this at the wrong 
time can result in a foul throw and no distance being recorded.

High Jump:

X/A       Run
B         Jump
D-Button  Move legs
Y/L/R     Not used

The B button should be pressed and held when close to the bar until the angle 
reads 45 degrees. During the jump, the D-button should be pressed into the 
down position to bend the athletes legs and complete the jump.

Personally, I use a jumping angle of greater than 45 degrees and that seems 
to work better for me  be aware that positioning for the take off of the jump 
is all-important.

Submitted by Adam Seahorn: You can jump from three different positions. If you 
press left on the control pad before you start running you can do a straight on 
jump (looks strange) or press it again and you can do a sideways jump from the 
opposite side. It's strange looking as well. 


110 Metre Hurdles:

X/A    Run
B      Jump / Dive for the finish line
Y/L/R  Not used

Just a reminder that when diving for the line, the B button should be pressed 
perhaps 5 metres before the finish. False starts are possible here by pressing 
X/A before the Go command is given. The third time this is done, the athlete 
will stumble out of the blocks and the race will effectively be lost.

Submitted by Martin Mathers: The more hurdles you knock over, the quicker your 
Stamina will decrease. As for the Stamina Meter itself, you can use the method 
listed in the 100 Meter Sprint above to judge your running speed. However, your 
Stamina appears to decrease quicker during the hurdles so you may want to 
conserve a little more for the end. 

Javelin Throw:

X/A    Run
B      Throw
Y/L/R  Not used

Press and hold B until the throwing angle reaches 45 degrees. Do this some way 
behind the throwing line or you may step over resulting in a foul throw and no 
distance being recorded.

Submitted by Martin Mathers: As you sprint down the approach by hammering the 
buttons to get your speed up, the camera angle will change when you get about 
halfway along. At this point, you can stop pounding the X and A buttons and 
concentrate instead on the timing of pressing the B button - once the angle 
changes, your power level is set and won't go up any further, nor decrease if 
you stop pressing the buttons. 

1500 Metre Race

X/A       Run
B         Dive for the finish line
D-Button  Move your athlete
Y/L/R     Not used

False starts are not possible here. Remember to keep an eye on your stamina 
bar  running quickly will drain it. Build it up again by running slower. It 
takes some time for your athlete to pick up speed  acceleration is fairly 
sluggish. Move in front of faster athletes and make them bump into you to 
increase your speed without draining your stamina.

Submitted by Adam Seahorn: if you are playing with more than one player and one 
of the players ends up at the back of the screen (so far back that it forces the 
game to bounce your player along) you get time deducted. So if you do that a few 
times and still come in first overall you will not have the fastest time so you 
wont show up in first at the results screen. - I was talking about this with 
some other people. they were trying to call it a glitch that you end up in last 
even though you cross the finish line first in multiplayer. That helps explain 
it. 

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2) ATHLETE CREATION

Enter the Player edit screen with the A button. After this, there are two ways 
to create an athlete:

Method 1: Create a temporary athlete.
After entering Player edit, when the VMS selection screen appears press the B 
button.

Method 2: Create a permanent athlete.
After entering Player edit, select the VMS you want to save your athlete to 
with the A button. Each player you create will take up 19 memory card units.

After this first step, athlete creation is the same for both temporary and 
permanent characters.

The athletes full name will appear on the scoreboard before and after the event 
has taken place. His national flag will appear alongside it. Nicknames appear 
during the event itself, along the power or run bars. The face option 
determines not only your characters face, but also his skin tone. The player 
number is displayed on your athletes chest and back during all events.

The final option on this screen is to select your athletes interests. This may 
seem trivial at first but is actually the most important aspect of character 
creation. This is because it determines your players characteristics  what 
events hes good at and which hell struggle in.

Whilst some interests such as sprinting are fairly obvious as to their effects, 
there are others such as types of music and other sports such as wakeboarding 
whose effects will only be revealed when you test your athlete. For example, a 
player whose interests are Reggae, Soul & Dance and Hip-Hop will be good at 
javelin and high jump, but bad at sprinting. The only way to tell what specific 
interests will do is to experiment.

The final screen determines what your athlete looks like. You can select  
everything from wristbands to glasses and his uniform. After this screen your 
athlete is saved and ready to go.

To use a temporary athlete, select the DC Edit option from the character  
select screen. To use a permanent created athlete, use the VM Edit option.

~~~~~*WARNING*~~~~~ If you go back and edit an already existing character later 
on, his personal bests displayed before events will be deleted. So if you dont 
want to lose them, it would be best to create a whole new character.

Also, save all your athletes to the same VMS. Otherwise, your best times / 
distances and unlocked interests may be split in two.

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3) BRIEF FAQ

Q. How many events are there?
A. Only seven  not as many as Decathlete.

Q. Which events are missing?
A. The pole vault, the 400m race and the discus.

Q. Are Decathletes characters in VA2K?
A. No  unless theres some secret yet to be unlocked that Im not aware of.

Q. Who developed VA2K?
A. Hitmaker  the division of Sega that used to be known as AM#3.

Q. Are there female athletes in VA2K?
A. No.

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3) NETWORK RANKING

Sorry, but since my DC isnt yet connected to the internet (Im still looking 
for someone who knows how to do it properly from outside Japan), I cant comment 
on this section. 

If anyone would like to write a guide for this section for me, youll be given 
full credit for it  I can be reached at eltharion@hotmail.com :)

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4) INTERESTS

These are selected on the Athlete creation screen. They determine what events 
your character will be good at and which he will perform poorly in. They 
gradually become unlocked as you play the Exhibition mode. Playing in higher 
difficulty levels and performing particularly well seem to unlock them quicker.

For details on the effects, check out Evan Oxfields Icon FAQ, also located on 
GameFAQs.

Category       Interest         Effect

Athletic       Sprint           ?????
Athletic       Jump             ?????
Athletic       Track throw      ?????
Athletic       ?????            ?????
Athletic       Keirin           ?????
Athletic       Kyudo            ?????
Athletic       ?????            ?????
Athletic       Marathon         ?????
Athletic       Middle race      ?????
Athletic       Walking          ?????
Athletic       ?????            ?????
Athletic       The triathlon    ?????
Athletic       ?????            ?????
Athletic       Shooting         ?????
Athletic       Archery          ?????
Winter         Speed skating    ?????
Winter         Jump             ?????
Winter         Freestyle        ?????
Winter         Bobsledding      ?????
Winter         Figure skating   ?????
Winter         Alpine           ?????
Winter         Crosscountry     ?????
Winter         ?????            ?????
Water          50m freestyle    ?????
Water          1500m free       ?????
Water          Diving           ?????
Water          ?????            ?????
Water          Yachting         ?????
Water          400m medley      ?????
Water          The high diving  ?????
Water          S. swimming      ?????
Water          Rowing           ?????
Water          Canoeing         ?????
Score 1        Soccer           ?????
Score 1        ?????            ?????
Score 1        Tennis           ?????
Score 1        Rugby            ?????
Score 1        Basketball       ?????
Score 1        Golf             ?????
Score 1        Baseball         ?????
Score 1        Ice hockey       ?????
Score 2        Volleyball       ?????
Score 2        Handball         ?????
Score 2        Table tennis     ?????
Score 2        Squash           ?????
Score 2        ?????            ?????
Score 2        Badminton        ?????
Score 2        Bowling          ?????
Score 2        Hockey           ?????
Score 2        Futsal           ?????
Score 2        Racquetball      ?????
Score 3        Softball         ?????
Score 3        Sepak takraw     ?????
Score 3        ?????            ?????
Score 3        Cricket          ?????
Score 3        Kabaddi          ?????
Score 3        Lacrosse         ?????
Vs             Wrestling        ?????
Vs             Judo             ?????
Vs             Karatedo         ?????
Vs             Kendo            ?????
Vs             Taekwondo        ?????
Vs             Arm wrestling    ?????
Vs             ?????            ?????
Vs             ?????            ?????
Vs             Matador          ?????
Vs             Boxing           ?????
Vs             Fencing          ?????
Vs             Sumo             ?????
Vs             W. taijiquan     ?????
Vs             ?????            ?????
Vs             ?????            ?????
Vs             Dodge ball       ?????
Vs             Bushido          ?????
Extreme        Surfing          ?????
Extreme        ?????            ?????
Extreme        Skate board      ?????
Extreme        ?????            ?????
Extreme        ?????            ?????
Extreme        Skydiving        ?????
Extreme        Snowboarding     ?????
Extreme        B. motocross     ?????
Extreme        Wake board       ?????
Extreme        ?????            ?????
Extreme        ?????            ?????
Outdoor        Rock climbing    ?????
Outdoor        Wander vogel     ?????
Outdoor        Fishing          ?????
Outdoor        Hunting          ?????
Outdoor        Scuba diving     ?????
Outdoor        ?????            ?????
Outdoor        Climbing         ?????
Indoor         Weight lifting   ?????
Indoor         R. gymnastics    ?????
Indoor         Tug of war       ?????
Indoor         Billiards        ?????
Indoor         ?????            ?????
Indoor         ?????            ?????
Indoor         Yoyo             ?????
Indoor         ?????            ?????
Indoor         Gymnastics       ?????
Indoor         Trampoline       ?????
Indoor         ?????            ?????
Indoor         Sports darts     ?????
Indoor         Fitness          ?????
Indoor         Monocycle        ?????
Indoor         Hula hoop        ?????
Music          Hip-hop          ?????
Music          Country          ?????
Music          Reggae           ?????
Music          Alternative      ?????
Music          Hawaiian         ?????
Music          Techno           ?????
Music          Soul & dance     ?????
Music          Latin            ?????
Music          Heavy metal      ?????
Music          Rock & pops      ?????
Music          Classic          ?????
Music          Jazz & blues     ?????
Job            Engineer         ?????
Job            Hunter           ?????
Job            Fisherman        ?????
Job            Teacher          ?????
Job            Businessman      ?????
Job            Woodcutter       ?????
Job            Farmer           ?????
Job            Artist           ?????

Total unlocked: 104
To be unlocked: 23
Total: 127

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5) SECRETS

More interests for character creation will be unlocked by playing and doing 
well in the Exhibition mode. As a general rule of thumb, the higher the 
difficulty level, the more likely something is to be unlocked if you finish 
on the podium.

Hold the B button to skip through the end credits faster.

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6) CONTACT & SUBMISSIONS

All submissions will be credited  if you think you submitted some info and have 
*not* received credit, its more than likely that someone else got there first, 
or that I found out on my own. All submissions are to be sent to:

eltharion@hotmail.com

However, please do NOT e-mail me asking questions about or for help with this or 
any other game. If its not in the FAQ, I dont know the answer. And if I DO 
know, itll be in the next version and you can find out at the same time as 
everybody else ;)

At the moment, Im looking for help filling the Network ranking, Interests and 
Secrets sections. Im also looking for a nice piece of ASCII artwork for the top 
of the FAQ, as long as it looks nice & is recognisable. If I dont use yours, 
please dont take it personally :)

If anyone finds this FAQ on any site other than GameFAQs, please let me know. 
And please do not send e-mail asking to post this FAQ on your site  the answer 
will only be no.

When submitting interests, please indicate where in the list they belong. 
Otherwise I cant use them.

Oh, and this FAQ uses English  not American  spellings. So there :P

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7) THANKS

In order of submission.....

Roger Fung  for telling me that Hitmaker is the old AM#3 and for telling me 
what the Guest option in Exhibition mode is.

Martin Mathers  for extra info on the 100 metres, 110 metre hurdles and the 
Javelin.

Adam Seahorn  for info on the 1500 metres and the high jump.

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