Bust-a-Move 2: Dance Heaven Mix FAQ v. 3.1 by: Fiefo! (fiefo@hotmail.com) TABLE OF CONTENTS: A. Legal Stuff and Where to Find This FAQ B. Revision History C. The Game Itself D: How to Play E. The Characters F. Stages and Music G. Spoilers/Endings H. Tips and Hints I. Changes from Bust-a-Move 2 (Japanese) to Bust-a-Groove 2 (American) J. Help me! K. Thanks and Credits ----------------------------------------------------------------------- A. Legal Stuff: All the information here is for public viewing and should not be used for profit and the expressed permission of the author. Please do not use the information in here for any personal gain. This FAQ, being published in the Internet is automatically is protected by international copyright laws. In other words, this is mine! Don't remove my name and say, "This is my FAQ and I'm taking all of the credit for it!" Got it? This FAQ can only be found in these places for now... 1) www.gamefaqs.com (Lots of faqs here. Duh! The first update will ALWAYS be here!) 2) www.allanime.com (Impressive page on Japanese anime and Video Games!) 3) www.gamewinners.com (Well, it's in this page! Don't know how it got there, though!) 4) www.cheatcc.com (Hey! They have cheats, too!) 5) www.console-gamer.com (Nice page for FAQs as well!) 6) www.consolecity.com (Last but definitely not least...) ----------------------------------------------------------------------- B. Revision History: 1.0 April 24, 1999 First draft. More to come? 1.1 May 9, 1999 Added the correct names of the songs and the measuments and other data. Released McLoad, finally! Put up most of the game menus of the game. Added the way to release the game's secret characters (or the way I think). Added a Dance Patterns section to explain how the difficulty of the dance moves are determined. Added a stage map on the routes the player can go through in 1 PLAYER MODE. Made Corrections in Heat's costume description. Added the Lottery occurences for each character's stage. Added description of Pander's Ending. Added my e-mail so you can contact me! 1.2 May 17, 1999 Fixed up a few things (How to Play, etc.) Added a more concise way on how to release the hidden characters. Pretty sure of this. Separated the Characters and the Stages. Added a new area, the Stages and Music, and combined the normal and hidden characters. Added Robo-Z Gold's Ending. Added Rest Patterns for each stage. Added the 4 Stage Paths in 1 Player Mode. Added a few more ramblings in the Hints and Tips section. Separated this section into smaller areas. 1.3 May 18, 1999 Fixed an error on how to reverse attacks. Thanks to Donnie Wells! 1.4 May 20, 1999 Correction in how to release Pander. Credits to Mantis Knight and Justin Strauss. 2.0 May 23, 1999 Why 2.0? I'm pretty sure that this is a very complete version of the FAQ now. Changed pre-requisites to get Columbo and ChiChi and Sally. Corrected the age of Shorty. Fixed a few odds and ends in the Stages and Music Section. Added a poll in the Help Me! section of the FAQ. Added a few sites where you can find this FAQ. 2.1 June 5, 1999 General clean-up. Fixed a few errors, typos, etc. Addition of a few stuff... Added combo theory. Look for it just below the Dance Patterns Section. Kinda important if you want incredibly high scores! Changes to the Excites in Molten Metal Room (Heat's) Stage. Correction in Lottery of Jungle Tours Raft Ride (Shorty/Columbo's) Stage. Did not put up the poll results as promised... read about why in the Help Me! Section. NEW! LEVEL SKIP CODE ADDED to intro of Stages and Music and Hints and Tips Sections! 3.0 September 1, 2000 It's been over a year now... and I finally update the sucker! Added Changes from Bust-a-Move 2 (Japanese) to Bust-a-Groove 2 (American) section. This is so that I won't have to make a separate FAQ since the changes aren't really that much... pretty minor (but sometimes annoying!). 3.1 October 11, 2000 Sorry! No Ending Info yet... but there are clues! Check out the Spoilers/Endings Section! Format change! Now, just 80 characters per line! Editing of spelling and stuff. Next update... who knows when? Sooner than you think? Keep sending me those corrections! ----------------------------------------------------------------------- C. The Game Itself: The sequel to Bust-a-Move (called Bust-a-Groove in the USA) continues on the dance games. The player must push the commands listed on the screen and push the final command on the fourth beat of the music. Doing this successfully will cause your character to dance. Eventually, the more completed dance moves done, the commands will become more complicated. You can also initiate attacks to knock the opponent down so the opponent will not be able to dance for a certain amount of time. The opponent can also do this to you. Each character can block, dodge or reverse these attacks. More information later in this FAQ. If you get a high enough score at the end of the music, the winning character will do a solo dance called "Fever Time". Below are the various menus and stuff in the game. The first part (attacking, dodging, paths to take, etc.) are rather important in the game play. The rest, well, not really. Even though this is a Japanese import only, you don't need to know much Japanese to play this game. I just put it up to be thorough. First, the important stuff... ------------ START SCREEN ------------ 1P MODE = Dance competition against the CPU. You battle for either 8 or 9 stages. The 8 stage is always Robo-Z Gold. If you keep on getting "Fever Time" at the end of each dance, you will access a hidden opponent after Robo-Z Gold, Pander. Also, unlock hidden characters with each victory. 2P MODE = Dance compete against another person! Probably the most fun mode there is if the two of you are really good, or really bad! PRACTICE = Practice with any character. A small bar will show you when to press the final command. Good for learning the basics of the game. DANCE = At the start, this option is not accessable. Each character VIEW will enable you to see the character dance by himself. The right part of the screen will change the dance movement. Change this with the directional pad. The right side shows the dance "paths" you can go through in the game. Below that is the camera control. And the last option on the right is the option for manual camera. OPTIONS = Sound will make you toggle from stereo or mono sound. You can also change the volume of the music and sound effects. Also, you can just play the music or the sound effects by themselves! In the memory option, you can save or load the data from the memory card. Save the instant you get a new character or finish someone! You can turn on the Auto Save option if you're too lazy to do this manually. (Risky though. You might accidentally overwrite more useful game data) ------------------------------ CHARACTER SELECT AND GAME MODE ------------------------------ First choose the character you want to play as. At the start, you only have acces to 10 characters. As you play, the squares at the bottom will fill up with some more hidden characters. After you choose the character you want to play as, you'll have to choose which play mode you want. EASY = All you have are directional commands to enter. The Attack Button is the Circle button while the Block/Dodge button is the X button. Great for equalizing the beginers and the Experts! NORMAL = Just like Bust-A-Move 1. Input direction commands first before the fourth beat, then enter either Circle or X as the final button, depending on the last command needed. Attack Button is the R1 shoulder button and the Block/ Dodge Button is the R2 shoulder button. MIX = Combination of all the face buttons and directions. This is hard mode. Square, Circle, Triangle and X buttons can be part of the command before the final button press in the fourth beat. Attack Button is the R1 shoulder button and the Block/ Dodge Button is the R2 shoulder button. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- D. Game Play: --------------------- BASICS ON HOW TO PLAY --------------------- The command line is separated into two boxes. The long box on the left side should be pressed before the fourth beat of the song. This box can hold up to 6 input commands, which are directions only for EASY _________ _ and NORMAL Mode or a mixture of the symbol [_________] [_] buttons in MIX Mode. The smaller box on the Pre-Input Final right is the Final input. This should be done at the fourth beat. If you manage to press the Final input at the middle of the fourth beat, the Final command will pulsate or expand a bit. When this happens, you will get more points (about 30 or so) for each time you do this. Also, when this is done, the moves become somewhat more difficult than that if you don't get it in the middle of the fourth beat. This is best seen at the start of a stage. If you don't get it to pulsate on the 2nd fourth beat, you will only be able to do a "4-Combo", but if you do get the 2nd fourth beat to expand, the character will be able to do a "6-Combo" or COOL pose. This goes for the Attacks and Blocks/Dodges as well. Another thing about the middle part of the fourth beat. If you do this when the song ends,the character will do a pose, instead of just stopping. As you do successful more dance commands, the border around the player's score will change (it starts at blue and will get more red) and the command inputs get more complicated, but more points will be awarded for more complicated commands. In the middle of the scores are bars of green, red and blue. This will increase for each COOL (the green), CHILLIN' (the red) and FREEZE (the blue) either of the players get. They all go back to one bar if one of them are in a level of three. If all of the bars are aligned, the next player who gets a COOL, CHILLIN', or FREEZE will get more points than usual, the border around the score of the one who gets it flash a rainbow of colors and the bars dissapear. I will call this the Lottery for lack of a better term for this. Also, when the lottery is won by either player, something will happen in the background. ------- ATTACKS ------- Pressing the Attack button (X for EASY, R1 for NORMAL and MIX) at the fourth beat will cause the character to deliver an attack the opponent. If it connects, the opponent will not be able to enter any commands for a time. Also, if it connects just before a dance solo, the opponent will not be able to his or her dance solo and you'll be the one to do it! You can make the final command pulsate while doing this also. (30 points is still 30 points!) Also, the spheres on the side of your character's score show the amount of times you can attack. Oh yeah, if you connect with the attack, you get about 1,000 points while the opponent loses 1,000 points! This is a big thing in close battles! ----------- BLOCK/DODGE ----------- Pressing the Block/Dodge button (Circle for EASY, R2 for NORMAL and MIX) at the fourth beat will cause your character to do a backflip (to dodge) or block an opponent's attack. Once you see the opponent initiate an attack, press this button at the next fourth beat in the music to defend against the attack. You can also do this if you've messed up and avoid a missed command. If you press the Block/Dodge button in the middle of the fourth beat, the character will do the backflip, and you get the 30 points for the perfect rhythm points. If not, the character will just block the attack. --------- REVERSALS --------- Pressing the Attack button (X for EASY, R1 for NORMAL and MIX) at the next fourth beat when you see your opponent attacks and you will send the opponent's attack back! You can keep on doing this until the attack connects or someone dodges. Take note that this MUST be done JUST RIGHT AT THE MIDDLE OF THE FOURTH BEAT, making this more difficult and more risky to do than just blocking/dodging! Reversals do not use up your attacks. You can reverse a reversal as well! And the opponent can reverse the reversed reversal, and you can reverse the reversed reversed reversal, but the opponent can... well, you probably know what comes next... -------------- DANCE PATTERNS -------------- At the start, you do only a few button presses before the final command. As the game progresses and more sucessful commands are entered, the more complicated the commands become. Unlike Bust-A-Move 1 and its American counterpart, Bust-A-Groove, you do not have a choice anymore between two dance commands. This time, the complexity of the dance command (and more points) is now determined by the timing of the final button press. To be more exact, when you get a pulsating final press (when you press the final command at the right time), the commands become more difficult. Remember, the more complicated the command, the more points you'll get if successful! Also, the dance command patterns are quite different for each character. Shorty has very simple patterns while Robo-Z Gold tend to get very complicated much quicker than most of the regular characters. ------------ DANCE THEORY ------------ According to Doc Ian, to get more complicated commands, and, thus, more points upon completion, you have to hit the "perfect middle" during the 2nd, 4th, and 6th fourth beat. Meaning, when you have started a new combo string (after finishing one or during the start of the game), get the perfect middle in the 2nd fourth beat, then the 4th, and the 6th (on higher levels only). ------------- 1 PLAYER MODE ------------- Battle against the computer. If you win the match, you get to the next stage. Also, in between stages is the "path" you take to reach Robo-Z Gold. It looks like this... O By the third stage, if you've been getting "Fever Times" in all | your previous competitions against the CPU, you'll go up. O - O - O This also goes for the 5th Stage. If you reach all the way to the / end at any path, you battle it out against Robo-Z Gold, a giant O - O - O - O - O robot. / / If you pass through the highest path and beat Robo-Z Gold, the O - O - O - O - O - O - O - O character will enter a secret stage against Pander. I've noted the paths that can be taken with the lines in between the circles (the circles are the stages). So, for example, if you keep on getting "Fever Times" until Stage 4, but don't get a "Fever Time" in Stage 5, you'll move through the middle path until the end. Either way, if you beat the game, you see the character you played as in a dance show and dances to the crowds delight as the credits go along. Also, sometimes you will dance against a character that is not in the original character select around the 4th or 5th stage. These are the Secret Characters in the game. If you play against them and finish the game, they will become playable in the Character Select screen. Also, if you complete the game, the character will be available in Dance View. Below, well, you don't need to read until the Character profiles, but read on if you want. I'm not going to stop you! Just saying that the rest is pretty self-explanatory (Duh! What's the 2 Player Mode? Duh!) and can be skipped. ------------- 2 PLAYER MODE ------------- Dance against your friend! The same rules apply and the gameplay is the same. It's more fun to play against a human than the CPU. I mean, you can't gloat over the computer, can you? And, besides, even in MIX mode, the computer isn't much of a challenge. Take note that you can play different styles (Easy, Normal, Mix) making the game more fair. ------------- PRACTICE MODE ------------- This is where you can practice your skills and timing for the game. Choose your character and play mode just like before. This time, you dance by yourself and there is no attacking since there is no opponent to attack. You are dancing against yourself here! This time, there is a small beat meter below the command line. You should enter the final command in the fourth beat, or when the line moves inside the dark green area of the beat meter. This will help you understand when to press an get the timing down. On the opposite side of your character is the Practice Data. The top one is the Level the character is on, the higher the level, the more difficult the button presses become. In the middle is the total score you've gotten. Below it is the Rest Meter. This just shows how many input sequences or fourth beats are left before the music ends. When this runs out, so does the music. After the music ends, you see the results of the Practice game you did. The highest part, Finish Combo, shows the highest amount of dance moves that you've done successfully as a sequence (the highest is 7 = Freeze). The second scoring point, the Dance Rate, shows the percentages of correct button sequences you pulled off. 100% is the highest here (Duh!). Third is the Just Command Rate. This shows how many times you've pressed the final command in right in the middle (the sweet spot). 100% is still the highest here. (Still Duh!) Finally, the bottom shows how many points you've gotten. The highest seems to vary from song to song. Also, while you're looking at all these stats, you can see your character dance the exact same way you played during the practice. Neat, huh? ---------- DANCE VIEW ---------- When you finish a character in 1 PLAYER MODE, you can select the character for Dance View. The character will just dance! First select the character. Afterwards, the dance screen will be put up. On the left side of the screen are the dance names. These are the moves that the character will do. Move the directional pad up and down to choose which line and left or right to select the dance move. Press X or Circle button to start the move. On the right side of the screen are the other options. The first one, from the top, is the Route Number. Use this to select the path that the character's moves will be. Second, is the Speed. This controls the speed of the dancing of the character. 30 is the normal. The higher the number, the slower the character dances. Camera Number selects which camera to be used. Move Camera, when selected, will switch you to the Camera Position Screen. More below. The Triangle button is used to toggle the display on or off. The Camera Position Screen uses the R1 and R2 to Zoom In and Zoom Out, respectively. Directional controls is used to move the camera around. Press Circle button to go back to the Dance View Screen. ------- OPTIONS ------- There are only a few options for the game. The first one is the Sound Option. Second is the Memory Option and the last one is the Vibration Option. The Sound Options have several options in it. One of them is to choose if you want the sounds to be Stereo (two speakers) or Monorular (single speaker). Stereo, obviously, is better. Second is the Music Volume. The more full the meter, the louder the music will be played. Underneath this is the Music Select. Move the directional pad left or right to choose the music and press the Circle button to play the music. Next is the Sound Volume. Like the Music Volume option, the more full the meter, the louder the sound effects will be. The last one is the Sound Select. Use the left or right directions to choose the sound effect then press Circle to play the sound. Pressing the X button will bring you back to the Options Menu. The Memory Option has several options again. You can Save your Data to the Memory Card to save all your hard word (secret characters, etc.). If you have previous game data in your card, the game will ask you if you want to overwrite the data. You can Load Data also using the Load Data Option. Make sure that the Saved Game Data in your Memory Card is better (more secret characters, etc.) or else your game (and your hard work) will be gone. It's a good thing they ask you if you're sure if you want to do it. Finally, the Auto Save Option can be toggled on or off. Use this if you're too lazy to save manually everytime. I still think it's risky to leave this on, though... The Vibration Option can be turned on or off. The Vibration doesn't really enhance the game that much. Sometimes, in my opinion, it distracts the gameplay, somewhat. I leave this one off (Kinda annoying when you get hit by an Attack). By the way, no, there is no difficulty setting. The computer is really that much of a challenge (read as: too easy, even in MIX mode!). ----------------------------------------------------------------------- E. Characters: ----------------- NORMAL CHARACTERS ----------------- Note: You can choose the 2nd costume with the Triangle button or holding the SELECT button while pressing the Circle button to choose your character. HEAT Age: 20 Height (cm): 171 Weight (kg): 60 Measurements (cm): 81-62-84 Symbol: Flames Dance Style: Break Dancing 1st Costume: Mostly white jumpsuit and red stripes with some flames in the middle. He's got a hat hanging on his back(?). He now has some bug-eye sunglasses on his head now! 2nd Costume: Mostly red jumpsuit and white stripes with a white flame in the middle. No hat! The bug-eye sunglasses are still there... Attack: Throws a large fire at the opponent! Others: The hero of the first game is back! Actually, his moves have gotten better and visually stimulating (especially the head spin at Level 5!). COMET Age: 16 Height (cm): 162 Weight (kg): 45 Measurements (cm): 82-58-84 Symbol: Cocktail glass Dance Style: Rollerblade Dance 1st Costume: Waitress costume. Note that the rear of her skirt is transparent! 2nd Costume: Black Bunny outfit! Think Playboy waitress with rollerblades. Attack: Casts a spell and the opponent turns into various stuff (frog, rice bowl, etc.) Others: Replacing Frieda from Bust-A-Move 1, apparently. The dancing isn't too great, though. I like the fact that she's dancing on rollerblades, though. And the see-through skirt... Yum! SHORTY Age: 13 Height (cm): 152 Weight (kg): 39 Measurement (cm): 77-48-79 Symbol: Sillouete of a childish girl Dance Style: Hip-Hop Street Dancing 1st Costume: Extremely long sleeved white shirt and blue pants. Very Hip-hop! Her hair is tied to her sides. Columbo (her pet rat!) sits upon her head wearing a small baseball cap. 2nd Costume: Black Hip-hop costume with a white "S" in the middle of her shirt. Hair is tied in loops(?). Columbo sits inside her backpack. Attack: A large cake falls and flattens her opponent! Others: The cute kid from the first game. Her dance moves have sort of "matured". Still has some of the cutest moves, though! Columbo still jumps out and dances with Shorty, copying her moves and misses along the way! To do this, you'll have to be on Level 5 Dance Moves and keep hitting the pulsating fourth beat very consistently. STRIKE: Age: 22 Height (cm): 183 Weight (kg): 75 Measurements (cm): 94-66-86 Symbol: a hand holding a bag of money Dance Style: Gangster Style Groove 1st Costume: Black tanktop and bellbottom pants. Has an "S" in the middle of the shirt. Wears bug-eyed sunglasses! 2nd Costume: Same as the 1st costume with a very loose yellow shirt over the tanktop. Attack: Takes out his GAT and starts shooting. The screen "shatters" if the attack connects! Others: The bad boy returns! His dancing seems to have gotten a bit more tame. He doesn't do the hand plant move anymore! Still, he's one of the best dancers in the game! TSUTOMU Age: 11 Height (cm): 183 Weight (kg): 36 Measurements (cm): 65-37-68 Symbol: 10 yen coin Dance Style: Don't really know! I think it's dumb dancing (You know, he thinks he knows how to dance, but he really doesn't?). Looks pretty childish... 1st Costume: Blue school uniform with a backpack. 2nd Costume: Red school uniform with a backpack. Attack: A door appears in front of the opponent. It opens and a load of bricks drop from the window sill onto the opponent. Others: The youngest kid to join the dance competition. He has probably the worst dance moves in the game. He looks like they were trying to be adorable, but it just didn't work. I hate this kid! Hamm was better! Personally, I think the kid's a freak of nature! CAPOEIRA Age: ?? Height (cm): 155 Weight (kg): ??? Measurements (cm): ??-??-?? Symbol: Two intertwined lines Dance Style: Capoeira (isn't this supposed to be a fighting style not a dance style?) 1st Costume: Shiny silver skin. 2nd Costume: Shiny green skin. Attack: A sattelite shines a beam on the opponent, shrinking the body, but not the head! Others: One of my favorite character(s) in the first game! They are extremely fun loving for aliens who want to take over the world! Their dancing sure have improved with them not always side by side and they now interact with each other. BI-O Age: 47 Height (cm): 178 Weight (kg): 65 Measurements (cm): 86-67-87 Symbol: Skull Dance Style: Zombie/Robot Dance (has a Micheal Jackson touch) 1st Costume: Blue outfit and green face (actually skull!). Has an axe embedden in his head! 2nd Costume: Same blue outfit but with a red face (skull). Still has that axe there... Attack: Throws his head at the opponent! Others: Gas-O's (from Bust-A-Move 1) dad has decided to join! Groovy dance moves! I have to admit, this guy's pretty cool for an old, decomposing man with an axe in his head. Maybe that's the reason! HIRO(-KUN!) Age: 21 Height (cm): 179 Weight (kg): 68 Measurements (cm): 88-68-86 Symbol: Burning cigarette Dance Style: 70's disco 1st Costume: White leisure suit. Think John Travolta in "Staying Alive" 2nd Costume: Weird sailor costume. (He still combs his hair with that silly captain's cap still on!) Think... uh, don't know... like those cartoons you see... Attack: Tosses a picture at his opponent and the opponent "falls in love" (even guys? Micheal Doi, maybe...) Others: Probably my favorite character in Bust-A-Move 1! He's still the Natural Playboy! His dancing is still fun to watch! Go, Hiro-kun! KITTY-N(AKAJIMA) Age: 17 Height (cm): 176 Weight (kg): 46 Measurements (cm): 84-55-85 Symbol: A can of Tuna or cat food. Dance Style: Broadway/Stage Dance (Professional Dancing) 1st Costume: White cat costume. She's got these pants that are robotic sounds as she moves. 2nd Costume: Black cat costume. The black pants make those sounds still... Attack: A giant claw grabs the opponent, like those grabber games in amusement parks and arcades, lifts him or her up then drops them! Ow! Others: The costumed dancer is back and seems to have gotten her moves to be more fluid! She also make a lot of robotic sounds when she moves. Sorry. I mentioned that already, didn't I? KELLY Age: 24 Height (cm): 168 Weight (kg): 49 Measurements (cm): 89(!)-58-84 Symbol: Policeman Dance Style: Bump-and-Grind/Lap Dancing? All I know... I LIKE! 1st Costume: Police uniform with VERY, VERY SHORT SHORTS! Carries a light baton! (I LIKE!) 2nd Costume: Rich Tycoon (like the guy in the Monopoly board game) suit and has a painted on moustache (Gimme the police uniform all the time!) Attack: Takes out a megaphone and screams at her opponent! Others: Doesn't dress like a baby anymore. That police uniform... with the VERY, VERY SHORT SHORTS! I LIKE! Use her then wait for the [DOWN, DOWN, CIRCLE] command... Wow! ----------------- SECRET CHARACTERS ----------------- Note: When I say Stage Pattern in how to realease them, this means just that! Example, 1st stage=Hiro-kun, 2nd stage=Strike, 3rd stage=Kelly, etc. In other words, the stages that you encounter ARE NOT RANDOM! THERE IS A SET STAGE PATTERN ALREADY! Only which Stage Pattern is random. COLUMBO Age: ?? Height (cm): 33 Weight (kg): 1 Measurements (cm): 32-34-34 Symbol: Circle with question mark inside Dance Style: Hip-Hop Street Dancing? (same dance movements of Shorty) 1st Costume: Brown fur and baseball cap 2nd Costume: Light brown fur. That's it! Attack: Drops a giant Jello dessert to squash the opponent. Released by: Finishing Shorty, in any Game Mode. Others: The cute rat has been learning from his master. Hard to see the actual dance movements because... he's soooo small! ROBO-Z GOLD Age: ?? Height (meters): 52 Weight (tons): 220 Measurements (cm): 2500-1700-2600 Symbol: Electrical Plug Dance Style: New Age/Modern Interpretive Dance/Vogue 1st Costume: Gold plated robot with some silver parts on his arms and legs. 2nd Costume: Silver plated robot with some gold parts on his arms and legs. Attack: Blasts a laser beam at his opponent. Released by: Release Columbo and ChiChi and Sally. Finish the game with any character in MIX Mode. Others: I guess he hasn't got his tune up since Bust-A-Move 1, since his face has the tendency to blow up while dancing! Cool dance moves, especially his "Fever Time"! PANDER Age: ?? Height (cm): 183 Weight (kg): 78 Measurements (cm): 96-85-95 Symbol: Looks like a box with some Japanese symbol inside. Dance Style: Traditional Japanese Dance. (In other words... reeeeal slooooooow...) 1st Costume: Think human panda with one shoe! 2nd Costume: Think human panda with bluish fur and a flower on the head! And wearing one shoe! Attack: Sends a hundred hands to slap the opponent silly! Released by: Get the endings of all the normal characters first and release Robo-Z Gold. Finish the game with Robo-Z Gold in NORMAL Mode. Others: Looks like some nightmarish freak! Reminds me of a dream I have when I feel sick! The dancing is as freaky as he is! And not that great, also! SUSHI-BOY Age: ?? Height (cm): 42 Weight (kg): 30 Measurements (cm): 37-38-39 Symbol: Circle with a question mark inside Dance Style: Rollerblade Dance (like Comet) 1st Costume: Silver Metal body. (He looks like a tiny Tin Man from OZ or a tea kettle) 2nd Costume: Pink Metal body. (still looks like a mini Tin Man or tea kettle) Attack: Exactly like Comet; he turns the opponent into stuff. Released by: Getting 4 Fever Times and reaching Level 5 Dance Skill following a certain stage pattern. Follow the fourth Stage Path shown in the Stage Path section. You should dance against Sushi Boy in the 5th stage. Others: What can I say? He's a little Tin Man on Rollerblades! Not as cute as Burger Dog... In fact, he's not cute at all! McLOAD Age: ?? Height (cm): 174 Weight (kg): ??? Measurements (cm): ??-??-?? Symbol: Circle with a question mark inside Dance Style: Bump-and-Grind/Lap Dancing? (same dance movements of Kelly) 1st Costume: He's a green dinosaur. 2nd costume: He becomes Barney! (Purple dinosaur) Attack: He breathes fire towards the opponent! Strange. They don't catch of fire, though... Released by: Getting 4 Fever Times and reaching Level 5 Dance Skill following a certain stage pattern. Follow the first Stage Path shown in the Stage Path section. You should dance against McLoad in the 5th stage. Others: After trying several times and playing the game over and over again, McLoad is a big letdown! I thought he would be one of Strike's crew, but no! Give me Kelly (with the VERY, VERY SHORT SHORTS!) anytime! McLoad, I DON'T LIKE! CHICHI & SALLY Age: ?? Height (cm): 45 Weight (kg): 37 Measurements (cm): 40-41-45 Symbol: Circle with question mark inside Dance Style: Capoeira (same dance movements of Capoeira. I still say this is a fighting style!) 1st Costume: One has a blue body and the other has a pink body. Both have light colored skin one their stomach. Which is which? 2nd Costume: One is green, the other is orange. Still has the light colored skin on the tummy. Attack: Uses the same satellite beam Capoeira uses to shrink the opponent (but not the head!) Released by: Finishing Capoeira in any Game Mode. Others: They stick their tongues out while dancing. They look like mindless drones... One of them is taller than the other... But which is ChiChi and Sally? Also, they have the most boring "Fever Times" I have ever seen! MICHAEL DOI Age: 34 Height (cm): 175 Weight (kg): 3 Hearts? I don't get it... Is it because he's gay? That's just too much already! Measurements (cm): 80-61-82 Symbol: Circle with question mark inside Dance Style: New Age/Stage Dance (same as Kitty-N. Or is it the other way around?) 1st Costume: blue tied up shirt with tight white pants. What a guy, er, gay! 2nd Costume: black jump suit and red tied up shirt with red trim. What a guy, er, gay! Attack: Uses the same Claw Kitty-N uses for her attack. Released by: Getting 4 Fever Times and reaching Level 5 Dance Skill following a certain stage pattern. Follow the second Stage Path shown in the Stage Path section. You should dance against Michael Doi in the 5th stage. Others: Kitty-N's dance instructor. Kitty-N has a crush on him. Problem is, he doesn't like girls! He likes guys! Amazing that his thights can make some of the same robot sounds that Kitty-N's pants produce! HUSTLE KONG Age: ?? Height (cm): 185 Weight (kg): 226 Measurements (cm): 172-148-158 Symbol: Circle with question mark inside Dance Style: 70's Disco (The era of the Hustle!) 1st Costume: Brown fur with boxer shorts 2nd Costume: Blue fur and boxers Attack: Tosses a picture of himself at his opponent Released by: Getting 4 Fever Times and reaching Level 5 Dance Skill following a certain stage pattern. Follow the third Stage Path shown in the Stage Path section. You should dance against Hustle Kong in the 5th stage. Others: Disco dancing gorilla. What else can I say? ----------------------------------------------------------------------- F. Stages and Music: LEVEL SKIP CODE: In order for the Level Skip code to be enabled and active, you must have finished ALL of the characters in the game, including the hidden ones. During any time in the stage, press L2 + START at the same time. This will cause the game to move on to the next stage, all the way up to the ending! Note: The "Excites" are events that happen in the stage after the score of a player becomes high enough. Rest Pattern is the dance path that the players will go through during the stage. MOLTEN METAL ROOM (Heat) Description: The dancers are on top of a moving platform, which is over vats of molten metal! Excite 1a: The platform reaches the ground and stops moving. (Boring!) Excite 1b: The platform moves over a vat of molten metal. (Okay) Excite 1c: All the furnaces in the stage turn off, and the platform enters one of them! It then goes up and reaches Heat's secret room! (looks like Heat's stage in the first game, but without the fire) Lottery: The elevator button shorts, causing the entire platform to burst into flames! Music: "The Heat is On", Hip-hop Rap. Slower than in Bust-A-Move 1 (2 Bad), but just as good! Rest Pattern: 8 (both), 4 (Player 1), 4 (Player 2), 16 (both), 4 (Player 1), 4 (Player 2), 4 (Player 1), 4 (Player 2), 14 (both) [TOTAL: 62] Others: Excite 1a occurs if you don't get too many points just after the 2nd dance solo while the other one happens if a whole mess of points are received just after the 2nd dance solo ends. Great stage design! SUSHI PLANET (Comet/Sushi Boy) Description: A truck stop restaurant that's shaped like a giant frog. (Yes, that's right! You heard me! A giant frog!) Burger Dog is behind the counter. Excite 1: The nostrils of the frog-shaped restaurant emit steam. Excite 2: Burger Dog (from Bust-A-Move 1) comes up from behind the counter, accompanied by various animals (I think the food here is a bit too fresh!) Lottery: A rocket crashes into the Sushi Planet. The sign with the picture of Sushi Boy gets knocked loose in the process. Music: "Magic Tower", alternative rock? Look at the lyrics in the Bust- A-Move-2 Lyrics FAQ by Jin Saotome at www.gamefaqs.com. Naughty, isn't she? Rest Pattern: 24 (both), 4 (Player 1), 4 (Player 2), 4 (Player 1), 4 (Player 2), 12 (both), 4 (Player 2), 4 (Player 1), 12 (both) [TOTAL: 72] Others: I never knew that there are places that sell cheap sushi. I mean, truckers eat sushi? And, what kind of sushi restaurant is that if the food can dance around? Still don't know what Burger Dog is doing here! (Selling raw burgers?) JUNGLE TOURS RAFT RIDE (Shorty/Columbo) Description: The characters dance aboard a raft that gently drifts along the river of the amusement park. Excite 1: A hippo comes from behind the raft and follows it! Kinda cute! Excite 2: The volcano suddenly errupts and spews rocks and stuff! Lottery: Ghosts surround the dancers for a few seconds. (Lame! Lame! Lame!) Music: "Hizashi no Okuno Happy Heart", strong J-Pop! Not sa good as her original song, "Shorty and the Eezy Mouse" in Bust-A-Groove, or "Watarre Pon!" in Bust-A-Move 1. Rest Pattern: 12 (both), 4 (Player 1), 4 (Player 2), 12 (both), 4 (Player 2), 4 (Player 1), 8 (both), 4 (Player 1), 4 (Player 2), 16 (both) [TOTAL: 72] Others: I sorta miss the Wonderland from Shorty's stage in Bust-A- Move 1... and the music. Her song from the original was just so darn CUTE! Even the English version was CUTE! BANK VAULT ROBBERY (Strike) Description: In front of a bank vault, the character's dance while totally ignoring the poor bank teller tied up in the background! hehe! Excite 1: Security systems become active and seal the room with bars! Excite 2: The electronic combination of the safe shorts out. The safe opens and a lot of jewels, gold and money is poured out on the dance floor. Lottery: A hole is blasted in the floor. A couple of crooks (or escaped convicts?) climb out of the newly made hole. Music: "Hear Comes Trouble", Gangster Rap! Just a bit better than his music in Bust-A-Move 1. By the way, that's the spelling of his song that's in the game, okay? Hey, I'm just copying it as is! Rest Pattern: 8 (both), 2 (Player 1), 2 (Player 2), 2 (Player 1), 2 (Player 2), 16 (both), 4 (Player 1), 4 (Player 2), 16 (both) [TOTAL: 56] Others: Look at the guy in the background. Up to now, I'm not sure if he's trying to get untied or just dancing to the music. HAPPY HOUSE (Tsutomu) Description: The dancers dance in front of a rich looking Japanese style house. Excite 1: A giant statue of Buddah is launched and lands on top of the house. Excite 2: Cannons pop out from the roof of the house and fire cannonball frequently. (Huh?) Lottery: A dragon comes flying in and encircles the dance floor. Cool! Music: "Got to be Happy", strongly pop. Cute, though! (Thank God it's not Spice Girls or something on that line of pop music.) You kind of get sick of it after a while because the lyrics sort of sucks. Rest Pattern: 24 (both), 4 (Player 1), 4 (Player 2), 2 (Player 1), 2 (Player 2), 2 (Player 1), 2 (Player 2), 8 (both), 4 (Player 2), 4 (Player 1), 16 (both) [TOTAL: 72] Others: Is it just me or is the stage sort of revolving around the house? I'm amazed that the dancers don't get accidentally hit by the cannonballs! SPACE TRIP TO EARTH (Capoeira/ChiChi and Sally) Description: Dance inside a UFO headed to Earth! ChiChi and Sally happily bounce around in the background. Excite 1: The covers on the windows open up and a fleet of spaceships can be seen following! Excite 2: The UFO reaches Earth! (I didn't know there's a giant "Welcome" sign located at the North Pole? You learn something everyday...) Lottery: Meteor Shower! The ship crashes into an asteroid! (Okay, it's not a meteor shower...) Music: "Allegretto Break", Techno-pop? Much better than "Uwasa no Kapoera" and the song from Bust-A-Groove, but then, anything would be better than that piece of crap (the English one)! Maybe because there's no lyrics this time... Rest Pattern: 8 (both), 4 (Player 1), 4 (Player 2), 8 (both), 4 (Player 2), 4 (Player 1), 16 (both), 4 (Player 2), 4 (Player 1), 4 (both) [TOTAL: 60] Others: One of the best stage designs in the game, in my opinion! It's kind of distracting when the asteroid hits the ship... for some odd reason, it makes me lose my rhythm. PIRATES OF THE SEA (Bi-O) Description: You're on a Pirate Boat! Need I say more? Excite 1: It starts to rain lightly... Excite 2: A trapdoor is triggered! The dancers fall into the cargo hold. Amazingly, no one even stops dancing after a fall like that! Lottery: Pirate swords dance around the characters... Couldn't think of anything, I guess. Oh, yeah. The treasure chest opens up and the cauldron in the background spews out some green gas (Gas-O's in there?). Music: "Zombie Hopper", Rock music! Almost Heavy Metal... Great drums here! Rest Pattern: 16 (both), 4 (Player 1), 4 (Player 2), 8 (both), 4 (Player 1), 4 (Player 2), 2 (Player 1), 2 (Player 2), 2 (Player 1), 2 (Player 2), 16 (both) [TOTAL: 64] Others: Attack during the temporary darkness after falling into the trapdoor! I'm pretty sure the opponent can't see you attack. But maybe he's thinking the same thing? Song's pretty cool... too bad the stage sucks. HUSTLE DANCE FLOOR (Hiro-kun/Hustle Kong) Description: In a 70's disco, complete with floor lights, fireworks, laser lights, disco ball and giant screen in the background. Excite 1: Small display of fireworks. Excite 2: Lights turn on and off and laser lights show! Also, the dance floor is raised a bit. Lottery: A giant Hustle Kong busts out of the giant TV screen in the background! Music: "Let the Music take Control (Hiro's Groove)", Disco! (what else?) This is definitely not as good as his theme song in Bust- A-Move 1. But, how could they top "The Natural Playboy" after all? Rest Pattern: 16 (both), 4 (Player 1), 4 (Player 2), 4 (none), 8 (both), 4 (Player 2), 4 (Player 1), 18 (both) [TOTAL: 62] Others: Attack when Excite 2 occurs! Maybe you're opponent won't notice... I was hoping that his stage was filled with people this time, cheering on Hiro-kun! Shucks! No luck. THE KITTY-N SHOW! (Kitty-N/Michael Doi) Description: A television studio! (Gee, the cameramen sure look stiff!) Excite 1: The background poster is rolled up and a futuristic city poster remains. Various spaceships start flying out (hung on wires). Excite 2: Some lights fall from the ceiling. They crash onto the cameras, exploding and causing them to spin out of control! Excite 3: The Studio signs off due to technical difficulties! Lottery: All the lights (well, there's still some light) fall from the ceiling. Music: "Hello, Kitty-N", J-pop! Very cool sounding! It's not as good as "Aozora No Knife" or "Bust-A-Groove" from her previous game. After a while, her music will get on your nerves! (In 1-Player Mode, her stage is one you'll encounter frequently!) Rest Pattern: 16 (both), 4 (Player 1), 4 (Player 2), 14 (both), 4 (Player 1), 4 (Player 2), 5 (both), 4 (none), 4 (Player 2), 4 (Player 1), 20 (both) [TOTAL: 83] Others: Excite 3 happens only the neutral dance before the 3rd dance solo. This will only occur if you manage to get Excite 2 before that time. TRAFFIC ACCIDENT (Kelly/McLoad) Description: A scene of a traffic accident. (for God's sake, Kelly's probably causing the traffic with that delicious police costume with the VERY, VERY SHORT SHORTS! Excite 1: The helicopter flies off and manholes start popping out from the ground. Excite 2: For some strange reason, a chalk outline on a body (like after a murder scene) comes to life and dances in the background! (Must be the VERY, VERY SHORT SHORTS of Kelly! Even inanimate objects come to life at the sight!) Lottery: A police squad car comes careening down the street at a high speed, loses control, and jumps OVER the dancers, crashing into a heap! Pretty cool effect. Music: "Moonlight Party ~Clap your Hands", Cool song... (better than her original song, "Transform") Rhythm-and-Blues? Very soothing! But her dance... I LIKE! Rest Pattern: 8 (both), 2 (Player 1), 2 (Player 2), 2 (Player 1), 2 (Player 2), 8 (both) 4 (Player 1), 4 (Player 2), 16 (both), 4 (Player 1), 4 (Player 2) [TOTAL: 56] Others: How can I concentrate on the stage with Kelly dancing in those VERY, VERY SHORT SHORTS? I just wish I knew what the message of the song here is... REVENGE OF ROBO-Z (Robo-Z Gold) Description: Bridge leading to Tokyo. A giant Robo-Z is standing in the river while his opponent is in a helicopter. Excite 1: The police arrive at the scene! Bombs are dropped on the giant Robo-Z Gold. Excite 2: A missle tank appears and fires at Robo-Z! Lottery: The missle tank fires but hit the bridge by mistake! Ooops! Music: "Acid Line", Techno-pop. Look! My foot is tapping... As good, if not better, than "Flyin' To Your Soul" from Bust-A-Move 1, his song before. Rest Pattern: 12 (both), 4 (Player 1), 4 (Player 2), 12 (both), 4 (Player 2), 4 (Player 1), 24 (both), 4 (Player 1), 4 (Player 2), 4 (both) [TOTAL: 76] Others: This stage is only selectable in 2-Player mode if you've released Robo-Z and if one of you selects Robo-Z Gold. I really love the music here! MAD, MAD WORLD (Pander) Description: A place that defies description! Excite 1: Dancers are transported to the Phantom Zone! Well, not really. Just a dark place with weird lights! Excite 2: The room is filled with lights, as if they are dancing inside a giant prism! Lottery: The background gets filled up with circles with symbols in them... Getting dizzy... I think I'm gonna throw up... Music: "Enka 1", Alternative/New Age/Techno. Think Bjork! Very, very fast tempo! Amazing that his(?) dance moves are extremely slow! Rest Pattern: 16 (both), 4 (Player 1), 4 (Player 2), 4 (Player 1), 4 (Player 2), 16 (both), 4 (Player 2), 4 (Player 1), 4 (Player 2), 4 (Player 1), 32 (both) [TOTAL: 96] Others: The most freaky, insane stage I've ever seen! And I mean that 
        for all games I've played! This stage becomes selectable after 
        releasing Pander. Wow! The music has a maddingly fast beat!

-----------
STAGE PATHS
-----------

Note: There appear to be only four Stage Paths in 1 Player Mode. I 
      haven't found any more. Also, this is assuming that you reach 
      Pander at the last stage. In other words, every stage played gets 
      a Fever Time.

1) Comet -> Strike -> Hiro-kun -> Shorty -> Kelly -> Capoeira -> 
   Kitty-N -> Robo-Z -> Pander

This path can unlock McLoad (Kelly's stage) if the proper prerequisites 
are met. See McLoad's profile for more details.

2) Hiro-kun -> Comet -> Kelly -> Bi-O -> Kitty-N -> Tsutomu -> 
   Strike -> Robo-Z -> Pander

This path can unlock Michael Doi (Kitty-N's stage) if the propoer 
prerequisites are met. See Michael Doi's profile for more details.

3) Strike -> Kitty-N -> Comet -> Heat -> Hiro-kun -> Bi-O -> Kelly -> 
   Robo-Z -> Pander

This path can unlock Hustle Kong (Hiro-kun's stage) if the proper 
prerequisites are met. See Hustle Kong's profile for more details.

4) Kitty-N -> Kelly -> Strike -> Capoeira -> Comet -> Heat -> 
   Hiro-kun -> Robo-Z -> Pander
   
This path can unlock Sushi Boy (Comet's stage) if the proper 
prerequisites are met. See Sushi Boy's profile for more details.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
G. Spoilers/Endings

NOTE: There appears to be no endings in the American version (Bust-A-
      Groove 2)! But, there is still hope! Look at the bottom of this
      section to find out why there may be a chance that the endings
      may still be in the game!

WARNING: IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW THE ENDINGS OF THE CHARACTER'S, SKIP 
         THIS SECTION!

     All the endings, except for all the Secret Characters, have the 
character as a guest in "Dancing Heroes", a show much like "Soul 
Train". The hose, James Suneoka, comes out and makes a lousy joke at 
the start and gets bonked on the head by some object. He then 
introduces the character, then the ending slide show is shown. 

     Afterwards, the host seems to grieve about the hrrd life of the 
character. Something funny happens to the host (most of the time) then 
the character gets into a dance solo as the credits roll by. James 
Suneoka then says goodbye to the viewers.

Heat: He used to be a champion race car driver until he had an 
      accident. His car crashed and exploded. He had 3-degree burns all 
      over his body and was not expected to survive, but, miraculously,
      he did! 
      
      Because of the fire, he now has the ability to throw fire and
      the average body temperature is 43 degrees! (At least this 
      explains his orgin... Kinda reminds me of Shishio Makoto in 
      Ruroni Kenshin... but that's another story...)

Comet: Kidnapped when she was a child, the kidnappers were going to 
       kill her because the ransom wasn't paid. But, before that 
       happened, the kidnapper changed to a vegetable!
 
       Comet found out that she has the ability to change anything into 
       anything she wants! (This doesn't explain why she's a waitress, 
       though!)

Shorty: The daughter of very busy parents, Shorty was alone in a big 
        house all the time. One night, she found a present from her 
        mother and father. Opening it, a giant jack-in-the-box popped 
        out. But there was another box inside! 

        Inside the smaller box was a creature she had never seen 
        before! She named this animal Columbo and they became very 
        attached to each other. (One of my favorite endings!)

Strike: Arrested when he was young, Strike managed to finish his 
        sentence and leave the big house and "change his ways". He 
        formed the group "Notorious" and became a big gangster rap 
        superstar. 

        But, just for the heck of it, Strike's gang would rob banks to 
        the beat of Strike's rhythm on the fly. (Okaaaaaay...)

Tsutomu: Being very studious, other kids would make fun of of Tsutomu. 
         But, this kid has a short temper. Too bad he would wet his 
         pants when he blows his top! 

         His teacher (Wow! What a bod!) would keep on encouraging him. 
         Tsutomu plans to marry his teacher when he reaches 18. (Cute 
         ending, sort of. Still think the kid's some freak of some 
         sort.)

Capoeira: Planning to take over the world, they got sidetracked because
          they became avid fans in collecting a certain poster series. 
          They would save as much money as they could to buy them. 

          One day, they ordered a rare poster, but when they got it, it 
          turned out to be a fake! (Kinda crappy ending! Doesn't make 
          much sense!)

Bi-o : His son, Gas-o went home one day. Bi-o ordered to take off the 
       mask that Gas-o always wears. Gas-o didn't want to. They had a 
       fight. Bi-o got an axe and treatened to kill his own son! Gas-o 
       had no choice but to spray his father with his gas, causing the
       skin of Bi-o to dissolve. To add injury to injury, Gas-o 
       embedded the axe in his father's skull. The neighbors saw the 
       new Bi-o and named him that.
       Now, Bi-o wants to reunite with his son and play catch! (What a 
       family!)

Hiro-kun: Moving into Tokyo, the computer programmer named Hiro loves 
          to go into clubs and all the guys want to be like him and all 
          the girls are just dazzled by Hiro-kun's charm and dance 
          moves! 

          But, deep inside, Hiro-kun is just shy in front of girls!
          (Fine! Go ahead! Destroy my illusion of the greatest Natural 
          Playboy ever!)

Kitty-N: Formerly a member of the Magnificent 5, Kitty-N broke away 
         from the group to dance solo. After some time and hard work, 
         she became even more successful now! 
         
         It also mentioned that she has feelings for Michael Doi, but 
         that he(?) likes other guys only. (Well, fair ending... 
         Nothing great here.)

Kelly: Dressing up in a baby costume, Kelly would love going into 
       clubs. One night, she saw her office friend who she had a crush 
       on. The office worker recognised Kelly and was disgusted at what 
       he saw. 

       Now, Kelly changed and now dresses in a police uniform. Because 
       of this, she feels more confident and more guys make passes at 
       her! (I love this ending. It gives the orgin of the VERY, VERY 
       SHORT SHORTS she wears.) 

Robo-Z Gold: James Suneoka tells a lame joke. Instead of some object 
             knocking him down, Robo-Z's big-@$$ foot comes crashing 
             down on him, flattening James Suneoka!

             Robo-Z shrinks down and dances. James Suneoka waves 
             goodbye (notice that he's still flat as paper!) and the 
             show closes. 

Pander: The "Dancin' Heroes" studio is totally deserted. The camera 
        pans around a bit, then finally, Pander is seen behind the 
        curtain, hopping on one foot. 

        Pander dances and then the show closes.

The other secret characters don't seem to have endings... they just 
dance in the "Dancin' Heroes" studio and the show closes when 
he/she/they are finished.

Bust-A-Groove 2 Endings:

     Sadly, it seems that Enix cut out the endings for the American
release of the game... But wait! What's this?

     If you look at the credits of the game, you can see that they have
changed the credits for the voices of Heat, Tsutomu, etc. but...

     James Suneoka's name is still there! Now, this is what I'm
thinking: "If I weren't using the voice for James Suneoka since they
cut out the endings, WHY WOULD THEIR BE CREDITS FOR THE ONE WHO DID
HIS VOICE?"

     So, maybe, JUST MAYBE, there still may be endings for Bust-A-
Groove 2. Maybe it's in code. Maybe you have to finish it in some way.
If any of you guys find out how, please e-mail it to me!

     I'll be truly greatful! Even Enix! E-mail me if you read this!
The people want to know!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
H. Hints and Tips:

LEVEL SKIP CODE:

   In order for the Level Skip code to be enabled and active, you must 
have finished ALL of the characters in the game, including the hidden 
ones. 

   During any time in the stage, press L2 + START at the same time. 
This will cause the game to move on to the next stage, all the way up 
to the ending! Cool!
   

Stuff about the Hidden characters:

   The 9th stage (Pander) is reached by getting a "Fever Time" in all 
   of the stages.

   Release Columbo by finishing Shorty in NORMAL Mode.

   Release ChiChi and Sally by finishing Capoeira in NORMAL Mode.

   Release Robo-Z Gold by finishing the game in MIX Mode and reaching 
   Pander.

   Release Pander by finishing Robo-Z Gold and reaching Pander in 
   NORMAL Mode.

   If you fight a hidden character in the middle of the game, you'll 
   release that character if you finish the game.

   The secret characters can be released by any other character, normal 
   or hidden. Keep on getting Fever Times before the fifth stage. If 
   you are in the right stage path, you will be able to release them. 


Stuff about the game:

   Dual Fever Times are possible! Make sure that the score doesn't have 
   a difference of more than 1000 points and high enough for a "Fever 
   Time". At the end of the "Fever Time", the character that lost will 
   point at the winner with both hands, or does the loser want to
   strangle the winner? I'm not sure...

   Close matches are almost always determined by the extra "pulsating" 
   points. Practice first to get the rhythm of the music and get the 
   "perfect middle" consistantly for that song.

   If you think you're not going to complete the command line (this 
   happens frequently when you reach Pander for the first few times), 
   attack or dodge if the command line hasn't gone black yet! This way, 
   you avoid the miss and still have to do the same command line, 
   keeping you in the running to string the combo still!

   Final pose! At the last fourth beat of the song, get the perfect 
   middle! Instead of the character just stopping, he, she or it will 
   do a pose in the end!


Stuff about Attacking/Blocking/Dodging/Reversals:

   A good time to attack is when an Excite occurs. This is true because 
   the camera will pan away from the characters for a brief period of 
   time. Not much... in fact, it will quickly pan back once you 
   initiate an attack, but this may make it confusing for the opponent.

   Make sure that you don't attack just before the opponent ends in a 
   Cool or Freeze pose. The attack will surely miss, And the opponent 
   won't even have to dodge!

   Time your attacks before the dance solo so's you'll get his or her 
   dance solo and really rack up the points.

   You can't attack the instant the dance solo starts. If you try, 
   you'll just get tired and miss (but won't waste the attack). So, 
   attack two rhythm counts (ready the attack first, attack will 
   connect in the next beat) just before the solo. This goes for 
   reversals also.

   If you can't get the fourth beat to pulsate constantly, forget about 
   trying to reverse an attack. You might get plastered! Just dodge!

   If you can get the "perfect middle" of the beat consistantly, try to 
   goad your opponent into attacking then reverse it. Opponents usually 
   don't check if the attack is reversed!


Stuff about the Characters and Stages:

   Heat, Hiro-kun and Bi-o, in MIX Mode, has mostly direction commands 
   still! So, use them in MIX Mode competitions if you're still not 
   used to the other characters!

   Shorty, in NORMAL Mode, has very short and simple command inputs!

   Capoeira and the ChiChi and Sally duos have mostly symbol presses in 
   MIX Mode.

   McLoad is really for beginners! Even in MIX Mode, his command inputs 
   are mostly directional commands and very repetitive. (like [LEFT, 
   LEFT, LEFT, LEFT, LEFT, LEFT, X]. Simple, huh?)

   Robo-Z Gold and Pander's command lines, especially in MIX Mode are 
   very complicated, with not much structured patterns.

   In Bi-o's stage, when you drop down into the trapdoor, use an 
   attack! Your opponent won't be able to see it in the darkness until 
   the last moment. Cheap but effective! Just remember, your opponent 
   might be thinking the same thing...

   In Hiro-kun's stage, when the lights turn on and off, use an attack. 
   Still kind of visible, but maybe the opponent won't notice...

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
I. Changes from Bust-a-Move 2 (Japanese) to Bust-a-Groove 2 (American)

     After more than a year, Bust-a-Move 2 is finally in the U.S.! Of 
course, there are bound to be some changes here and there... not much, 
but, well, significant.

     I just played the English version today, so I haven't released all 
the hidden characters or finished all the characters yet. So, I'll 
probably update this section as I get more info on the changes. I might 
even make a separate FAQ for this if it gets too big!

1) Name Change

     Since Bust-a-Move 1 was called Bust-a-Groove 1 in America, it 
seems only fitting to call Bust-a-Move 2 to be called Bust-a-Groove 2. 
(Gee, did I have to explain?)

2) Button Uses

     As with standard changes in video games comes this... changes of 
the button usage. Now, the X button is mainly used to select/accept and 
the Triangle button is used for canceling actions.

     Also, the O button is now used to choose the alternate color for 
the characters.

3) No Intro Skip

     Well, you can skip the intro movie, but you can skip the "Enix 
presents...", etc. So, it just takes you longer to play the game than 
it does the Japanese version.

4) No Smoking Zone for Hiro-Kun!
 
     For some odd reason, they removed Hiro-kun's cigarette again! He 
doesn't smoke while dancing anymore and his symbol has changed for a 
burning cigarette to an "I Love Me" symbol from the intro movie!

     Not that I'm annoyed or anything, I just find it weird that the 
American version would have Strike shoot at people, people getting 
burned by Heat, humans flattened by giant falling desert treats, picked 
up and dropped by giant cranes, turned into food by unstudied magic 
powers, and the like, yet, YOU STILL CAN'T SMOKE!

5) Pretty Colors for Arrows

     In the American version, all the direction arrows that appear in 
the command bar are colored like the buttons. UP and Triangle are 
GREEN, RIGHT and O are RED, DOWN and X are BLUE and LEFT and Square are 
PINK. Much like the colors on your controller for the symbol buttons! 
What a coincidence!

     Does it help? Well, yeah. Rather than the constant YELLOW in the 
Japanese version, having different colors for the arrow lets you know 
how frequent you have to push a direction because the color changes for 
different directions.

6) Translated Songs and Titles

     Like the prequel and the changes, the songs had to be translated. 
Actually, I can't say which versions are better, but I'd have to go 
with the Japanese versions for the majority. EXCEPT for the English 
"Hello Kitty-N". The lyrics just seem to really mix well and the voice 
is also good!

     Slight title changes for the songs, too. They corrected "Hear 
Comes Trouble" to the correct grammacital version (did I say that 
right?) of "HERE Come Trouble". Shorty's "Hizashi no Okuno Happy 
Heart" is now "Happy Heart in the Sunshine" or something like
that, and, for some strange reason, the changed "Hello Kitty-N" to 
"Hello Kitty", which, well, I just don't see why!

     Well, at least as far as I know, they haven't edited any of the 
songs like they did for Bust-a-Groove 1. "Salt casters, PUBIC AREAS 
EVEN SMELL GRABBERS..." is still there, anyway. I was afraid they'd 
mess this up big time!

7) Endings? What Endings? 

     Maybe because Gas-O belted his father with deadly poison gas and 
split his head with an axe, maybe because of bad parenting by Shorty's 
parents and that they gave her a rat to make up for it. 
     
     Maybe because Strike can rob banks and still make hit records and 
roam the streets a free man, or maybe 'cause learning that it's bad to 
fall in love with a gay man. 
     
     Or maybe because Kelly can impersonate a police officer (wearing 
VERY, VERY SHORT SHORTS I might add. I mean is that a crime... wait, 
where was I? Oh yeah!) and not get into any trouble...

     THE BOTTOM LINE IS... ALL THE ENDINGS ARE GONE!

     Try as I might, finish a character with all the modes available, 
get insanly high scores, have Shorty dance with Columbo all the time 
(well, haven't gone that far), all you'll get is the character dance on 
a platform while the credits roll. It's kinda weird that they didn't 
edit out James Suneoka out.

     Lame, Lame, Lame! I mean, geez, all the endings were in English in 
the Japanese version... they were subtitled in Japanese. You would 
think it'd be a cinch to port this over to the American version... but 
NOOOOOO!

     But, it does make you think... what did they do with all that 
extra space? Is there a code to release the original Japanese songs? Or 
is there a code to release the endings but you have to finish all 
characters and such? Hmmm...


     You might ask me, "Hey, I have the Japanese version and all, so is 
it worth shelling out a few more bucks for these changes?" Or something 
along those lines, and, well, yes and no.

     If you really LOVED Bust-a-Move 1, Bust-a-Groove 1, and Bust-a-
Move 2, you wouldn't ask that, right? You'd already have bought the 
game as I'm writing this! But for the casual player...

     If you want your games to really, REALLY, have an ending to the 
story, even how small and ungratifying it may be (*cough* King of 
Fighters '98 *cough*), this isn't the version you want... trust me!

     If you don't care about the endings but you can't stand how UNCUTE 
Shorty's song sounds in the American version or something like that 
(there are bound to be a bunch of you out there!), don't get it yet. 
Borrow it from a friend or rent it. See if you can bear it. If not, don't buy it.

     If you can stand all the little nuances (it took me a whole minute 
to spell "nuances" correctly) mentioned above (no endings, no smoking 
for Hiro-Kun, etc.), go ahead!


     BOTTOM LINE: It's Bust-a-Move 2! In English!


-----------------------------------------------------------------------
J. Help Me!

Send me some comments or suggestions to make this FAQ a better one. 
They are always welcome! Contact me at fiefo@hotmail.com. 

PS. Especially if you have the code to release the endings!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
K. Thanks!

www.gamefaqs.com - a great site for your faqs! Thanks for putting this 
                   one up! You get credit now for being the first one 
                   to do so!

www.allanime.com - go here for all your Japanese anime and video game 
                   needs! Pretty cool page as well! 

www.cheatcc.com - for being kind enough to put up my humble FAQ here! 
                  Nice collection of FAQs and cheats (Duh!) here, as 
                  well!
www.console-gamer.com - The name says it all, doesn't it? Thanks for 
                        putting my FAQ up here as well!

www.consolecity.com - Another good site, with lots of games! Trust me 
                      on this! Thanks for putting it up!

Enix - for making the game! Good job, guys!

Pricilla Meridith - for asking my permission to put up this FAQ at 
                    www.allanime.com! Thank you! I'm really grateful! 

Dave - for asking permission to put this up in his homepage 
       (www.cheatcc.com)! Thanks a bunch! I love the design, by the 
       way.

Richard Lissimore - for e-mailing me and asking me permission to put up 
                    my humble FAQ in his neat page! I really appreciate 
                    it!

Liandro Tabora - For e-mailing me about Robo-Z Gold's ending! Thanks a
                 bunch! Also, he (aka Doc Ian) gets lots of thanks for 
                 sending me a lot of support via e-mail! Thanks!
                 Also gets credit for the appropriate times for getting 
                 the perfect middle to improve the score. Oh, and for a 
                 lot of corrections. Whew! Thanks a bunch!
                 By the way, he's a BIG Heat fan!

Mike - Doc Ian's friend. Really, really helpful! He keeps on playing, 
       that's why! Also, he was the one, thru Doc Ian about the Level 
       Skip code. Big thanks!

KajiRyouji - Since he/she left no name for me to put up, I was forced 
             to use the e-mail address name. Anyways, he's the one who 
             sent me the cleaned up version of the Level Skip Code.

Carlton Hwa - for e-mailing me some questions about the game.

Mantis Knight -  for e-mail supporting me and for the correction on how 
                 to release Pander.

Naska Chijoue - for e-mail questions about the game (and for calling me 
                Fiefo-san!)

Donnie Wells - for spotting the mistake I made in the Reversals 
               section. Thanks! I deeply appreciate it!

Justin Strauss - for confirming how to release Pander.

M2T30 - He didn't give me his name, and I don't like to put up e-mail 
        addresses of people who I didn't receive permission from. 
        Anyways, he gets credit for telling me that he/she released 
        Columbo in EASY Mode.

Ng Sun Tong - e-mailing me some of the poll results! You really like 
              Shorty, don't ya?

Everyone trying to   - The MAIN REASON FOR version 3.1! As of this
find out how to get    version, there are no endings yet! Just so it's
the endings for        clear, I made a section on the Spoilers/Endings
Bust-A-Groove 2        Section. While at it, I did a few changes!

Mary Rose Yatco - for playing the game with me! And for correcting the 
                  age of Shorty! (How clumsy of me!)

Butchoy Yatco - for playing the game with me! 

END!