Bust-A-Move 2 Arcade Edition Instruction Manual


Welcome to Bust-A-Move 2 Arcade Edition, the insanely fun bubble-busting
puzzle game. Before we begin, have you done your homework? Fed the dog?
Talked to your Family? Because once you start playing Bust-A-Move 2 Arcade
Edition, time has a way of vanishing, chores have a way of being neglected,
and your loved ones have a way of fading into the background... So take
care of business, thne let's get down to the fun stuff! And don't forget to
eat!

Aim bubbles with the Directional buttons, and fire them with the O or X
BUTTON.
(You can alter the button settings in the OPTION Screen.)
Pretty simple, eh? So simple that you're free to concentrate on playing
instead of learning a bunch of rules and controls. Heck, you don't even
need to look at the rest of this manual. But I'd appreciate if if you did.
Keep me in good with the boss, y'know?

OBJECT OF THE GAME

* The idea is to burst colored bubbles by linking ant three bubbles of
the same color.
* The game is over once a bubble gets crowded over the bottom line
* To be a top scorer, you've got to bust as many bubble as possible!

But the real trick is learning to to strategically angle your shots. Only a
lot of practise will hone your aim, end your shame and assure your fame!

CONTROLS
START button: Starts/Pauses/Resumes a game.
SELECT button: When the game is paused, you can use the SELECT button to
CANCEL this window or QUIT the game.
Left Directional button: moves the Arrow to the left
Right Directional button: moves the Arrow to the right
Up Directional button: moves the Arrow vertically upwards
Down Directional button: moves the Arrow horizontally to the right or left,
corresponding th the Arrow's currect direction.

DEFAULT CONTROLS
X Button & O Button: Finalize Selections/Launch the Bubble
T Button & S Button: Cancel Selection
L1 will finely tune aim left. When game is pause, L1 + UP or DOWN will
adjust the screen layout slightly upwards of downwards.
R1 will finely tune aim right. When game is pause, L1 + UP or DOWN will
adjust the layout for the Score etc. upwards of downwards.
L2: Toggles score display ON or OFF.
R2: When game is paused, displays L1/R1/L2's commands.

After the logo screens appear, a game demonstration begins. Press the START
button to bypass the demo and get to the Title Screen.
At the Title Screen, press the START button once more.
The Game Select screen will appear, with these hoices: GAME START, TIME
ATTACK and OPTIONS. Selecting GAME START takes you to the Mode Select
Screen, where you choose what kind of game you'd like to play, but first
you'll want to set your options!

In the OPTION MODE you can change the game in lots of ways:

GAME LEVEL
Set the overall skill level: choose between Easy, Normal and Hard skill
levels. (Later on, you can set the difficulty of the game in each game
mode.)

CREDITS: Set the number of times a game can be continued.
MATCH POINT: Set the number of games needed to win a match when two players
are competing
MUSIC VOLUME: Adjust the music volume level heard during play.
SE VOLUME: Adjust the sound effects volume level.
SOUND: Select either stereo of monaural sound output.
MUSIC TEST: Listen to music used in play. Toggle through the sample
numbers, then press X or O BUTTONS to listen to the sample.
SE TEST: Listen to sound effects used in play. Toggle through the sample
numbers, then press X or O BUTTONS to listen to the sample.
SCREEN SAVER IN PAUSE: That's right! Bust-A-Move 2 comes with a screen
saver! When no activity occurs within a certain pre-set amount of tijme (1,
5 or 10 minutes), the screen will revert to the screen saver. Set OFF if
you don't want the screen saver to be activated (makes sense, right? What
else would OFF setting do, remove spots?)
CONTROLLER CONFIGURATION: Each player can choose from three pre-set
controller configuration. Toggle through the settings by pressing LEFT or
RIGHT on the Directional Pad. Press START BUTTON to return to the Options
Screen.
EXIT: Returns you to the Title Screen.

You can save current data altered in OPTION MODE SETTINGS, as well as best
scores and cleared rounds from TIMED ATTACK MODE when a Memory Card with 1
or more free blocks is inserted into Memory Card Port 1 or 2.

Infomation is automatically saved at the following times:

* As the Taito logo appears after "game over"
* When you exit OPTION MODE
* When you switch from 1P to 2P in TIMED-ATTACK MODE.

If you eject or insert a memory card during a mode/game transistion, no
data will be saved.
* When you insert a memory card in both Port 1 and Port 2, the data will be
saved on the card in Port 1.
* You cannot save an on-going game in a Puzzle Game or 1 Player game.

PUZZLE GAME
Choose the Puzzle Game mode and you've got a ton of excitement on your
hands. Work your way throught the aplhabet, as the puzzles get tougher and
tougher to solve! The right move at the right time is the difference
between earning a quick time bonus and being buried alive in bubbles! An
unexpected strategy may work wonders!
After you select Puzzle Game in the mode selection screen, you will be
taken to the Course Selection Screen.

* Each lettered course consists of five puzzles. Master all five and you
can go on to the next set of five.
* Choose your course with the Directional buttons, then press the X
button.
* When you have finished the last found, you have completed the game.

CONTINUE: When a bubble sinks below the dead-line, the game is over. If you
have any credits remaining, you can resume playing the game from where the
game ended by simply pressing the START BUTTON during the CONTINUE
count-down. (You set the number of credits in the Option Screen).

SPECIAL BUBBLES
There are Special Bubbles that can show up at any time, either in the
bubble frame or in your shooter cue. Use your head when aiming them - they
can really help! Different bubbles show up depending on what game mode you
choose.

* STAR BUBBLE: The Star Bubble bursts all the bubbles of the color it
first touches. For example, it it strikes a red buble first, all the
red bubbles will be eliminated. It has no efect on other special
bubbles.
* METAL BUBBLE: This heavy Metal Bubble destroys all bubbles it touches
on the way to the top.
* JAMA BUBBLE: You can't bust this one! You must drop it by busting its
neighbors
* JAMA BLOCK: This block will never disappear! You can't drop it,
because bubbles stick to it!

NAME ENTRY
When your score in a Puzzle or Player Vs. Computer Game is among the five
best scores, you can choose and enter up to three characters. Press LEFT or
RIGHT on the Directional buttons to toggle to the letter you want, then
enter it by pressing the X BUTTON.

PLAYER VS. COMPUTER
When you choose Player V.s Computer in the Mode Select Screen, you will be
taken to the Level Select Screen. (When the timeer reads 0, the level will
be set to wherever the cursor is stationed at that time.)

* PRACTICE: A practise game is just three rounds, with the aiminf pulsor
guides ON.
* NORMAL AND HARD: Normal and Hard levels feature 12 screens in total.

RULES FOR ONE PLAYER VS. COMPUTER
This is a Do-Or-Die scenario. When you defaet one computer opponent, the
next challanger will appear. If you are defaeted, the game is over.
Drop bubbles that are attached to the ones you bust and you can dump them
on your opponent's side - the ultimate move!

BUSTIN IN
A second player can bust in to join a 1 player game that's underway by
pressing the START Button on the Controller that is not in play. The player
who wins the game can resume playing the previous game.

* SPECIAL BUBBLE: Star Bubble.

PLAYER VS. PLAYER
When you select Player Vs. Player, you will be taken to the Level Select
Screen. After choosing the game level, the game will start. The player who
wins the number of games set at the OPTION Screen will be the champion. As
in Player Vs. Computer, you can jettison bubbles into your opponent's
field.

* PRACTICE: Practise against a live opponent, using the aiming pulsor.
* NORMAL: This level is the default - it's tough, but not too tough.
* VARIETY: Try this level for an awesome strategic challenge!

The rules are the same as for the Puzzle Game. You will be playing for the
best time in your goal of busting all the bubbles from the field. (In
total, there are 50 fields.) Timed Attacks are for one or two players. In
Timed Attack, you can Continue as many times as you like.
In a 1 Player Timed Attack Game, you can choose which round you want with
the Round Select. Once a round is cleared, the best three records are
displayed. You do not jettison bubbles to an opponent in a Timed Attack
game.
If you press the SELECT button when a 1 Player Timed Attack game is paused,
a window will be displayed.

* CANCEL: closes the window.
* QUIT GAME: quits the game.
* ROUND SELECT: allows you to reselect a round.
* 2P BATTLE: If you start out playing a 1 PLAYER game, the game can be
switched to a 2 PLAYER game. When you select a 2 PLAYER Timed Attack
Game, both players can enter names, followed by the preferred MATCH
POINT and CHALLENG POINT settings.
* MATCH POINT: Whoever wins the number defined in MATCH POINT wins the
match.
* CHALLENGE POINT: You can set the number of attempts allowed per round
(in case you can't clear a round.) Once the attempt figure has been
reached, the game will automatically start from the next round.
* SPECIAL BUBBLE: Invader. This is the same as a Jama Bubble.