_____ ____ _____ _____ _____ _ | ___| _ \| ____| ____|__ / / \ | |_ | |_) | _| | _| / / / _ \ | _| | _ <| |___| |___ / /_ / ___ \ |_| |_| \_\_____|_____/____/_/ \_\ The purple and gray baddy we all love to hate! A FAQ written for the Dragon Ball Z fighting game "Dragon Ball Z: Hyper Dimension" * * * * * Original FAQ written by BobCFed08 BobCFed08@the-pentagon.com *********************************************** *********************************************** Table of Contents I. FAQ Stuff A. Updates B. Use of Freeza C. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ!) D. Freeza's Synopsis II. Game Stuff A. Game Mechanics B. Basic Moves C. Freeza's Special Skillz D. Tactics E. Opponents 1. Son Goku 2. Vegeta 3. Vegetto 4. Son Gohan 5. Gotenks 6. Picollo 7. Majin Boo 8. Mr. Boo 9. Cell F. Fighting Freeza III. Misc. Stuff A. Thanks B. Name Game C. Disclaimer *********************************************** *********************************************** ---------------------------------------------- I. FAQ STUFF ---------------------------------------------- A. UPDATES 11/21/00 - Started FAQ - Completed "Use of Freeza" - Completed "Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ!)" - Completed "Freeza Synopsis" - Completed "Game Mechanics" - Completed "Basic Moves" 11/22/00 - Completed "Freeza's Special Skillz" - Completed "Tactics" - Started "Opponents" - Started "Fighting Freeza" 11/24/00 - Completed "Opponents" - Completed "Fighting Freeza" 11/25/00 - Completed "Thanks" - Completed "Name Game" - Completed "Disclaimer" ---------------------------------------------- B. USE OF FREEZA I really would not be surprised if I were to be the only person who didn't really hate Freeza. Everybody I know just comments on his arrogance and inability to accept the fact that Goku is stronger than he is. And yet, Vegeta is very much the same way, and people still like him! But to figure out which one of the two is better (between Freeza and Vegeta) one must ask themselves this simple question - who killed who? Freeza is not the strongest character. Truth be told, I do not thing there IS a strongest character. The best guy is whoever you think is coolest, and whoever you can play well. Some people are offensive, some are maneuverable, etc. Since Freeza's my favorite character, I simply chose to play him. Now, since I have yet to find a FAQ on Freeza anywhere (no one likes poor Freeza!), I've taken it unto myself to write one. Be warned - this is my first. ----------------------------------------------- C. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ!) Q: What's the best way I can KICK SOMEONE'S ASS!? A: There are two 'best ways', considering who you're playing. If you are playing against another person, then you should use combos, special moves, etc. However, if against a computer, just knock them into a corner and knock them down whenever they try and get back up. But NEVER do this against another person. It's no fun, it doesn't look cool, and it quickly spoils the game. Q: I knocked my girlfriend down repeatedly, and she broke up with me! A: I warned you. Q: I don't like using Freeza. What's the point of this IAQ? A: I've also set aside a small section on how to kick the space tyrant's evil ass. Q: On a scale of 1 to 10, how good is Freeza? A: On a scale of 1 to 10, you're an idiot. Q: Where is the best place to fight with Freeza? On Earth or in the air? A: I'll cover that later on. Q: Whiskey tango foxtrot oscar!? It's all in Japanese! Help! A: Yeah, the ROM is in Japanese. It isn't too difficult to understand, though (DBZ fans should understand what's going on), and who needs a storyline in a fighting game, huh? Q: Hey! I hit this guy and his life didn't go down. What's up with that? A: Look closely, there are two ways to measure life - a set of numbers, and the yellow bar. The numbers will always go down, but you only see a decrease in the bar if you've taken their HP down below 150. Q: I downloaded the ROM, and I don't know how to do ANYTHING. What do those bars mean? A: I'll cover that later, too. Q: Then cover it, damnit! NOW! A: ALRIGHT!! ----------------------------------------------- D. FREEZA SYNOPSIS Freeza is head of an organization called the "Planet Trade". Basically, he hires out a load of goons to completely annihilate the population of a planet so he can sell it to the highest bidder. This little mercenary group is known by wearing the custom Saiyan-jin armor and Scouters (both created by the Tsufu-jin, the original owners of planet Vegeta [or planet Plant, as it was called]). Freeza saw a huge potential for warriors in a group of savage monkey-men who, upon sight of the full moon, would turn into huge monkeys (no joke), effectively multiplying their power times ten. Now, while none of these guys were as strong as Freeza himself, that was pretty damned strong. These were the Saiyan-jins. Freeza didn't just hire out the Saiyan-jin race - he took over. Threatening the King, taking the prince (present day Vegeta) as a little boy, it was Freeza who turned the Saiyan-jins into mercenaries because of their power. However, this power became a threat to Freeza due to the fact that it increased far too quickly. With the exception of Radditz, Son Goku, Vegeta, and Nappa, he killed every single Saiyan-jin by destroying their planet. Several years later, Son Goku and his buddy-buddy's traveled to Namek, and went on a small race with Freeza to get the Dragon Balls (hence the series title name). After his elite private army, the Ginyu Force, was killed, Freeza personally attacked the group. During the battle, Goku turned into a Super Saiyan-jin (the very first), and killed Freeza, leaving him on a planet doomed to explode. But, no, our intrepid hero Freeza (well, not quite) was cut in half, missing half his head, and was blasted by a planet's explosion, and STILL alive! Since he could breathe in space, he just kinda floated around until his father King Cold found him (by sheer coincidence), fixed him up into a cool looking cyborg guy, and the two headed to Earth for vengeance. There, Freeza and his precious daddy were easily slaughtered by the hands of Trunks. Damnit. And here he is now! *********************************************** *********************************************** ---------------------------------------------- II. GAME STUFF ---------------------------------------------- A. GAME MECHANICS This part is primarily for those gamers, much like myself, who downloaded the ROM of the game and, since it's all in Japanese, have no clue what to do. This includes what all those pretty bars mean, how to do certain moves (that EVERYBODY is capable of, not just a certain character), etc. First off, let me explain the bars. At the top of the screen, there are two sets of bars. It should be rather simple to figure out which is yours - whichever side you start on, that is the side that has your bar. It should also be easy to figure out which is the life bar. The long yellow one that decreases every time you get hit? That's your life, smart guy. There is a little circle to the end of it that, at first, seems to do nothing. Hitting the Y and B buttons together will make the circle fill up - every time it fills up, you regain 5 life. Be warned, you can't do anything else while filling up life and are very susceptible to attacks. There is a very different aspect to Hyper Dimension - fighting in the air. I don't just mean jumping around like fairies, I mean your fighting can actually take place while you guys are FLYING. It's not as cool as it sounds. You can't throw, you can't jump (duh), and all of your individual attacks (punches, kicks, etc), have been replaced by lunges that take you halfway across the screen, leaving you very open to attacks. On the plus side, however, any attack that had to be done in mid-jump can be done at any time in the air. Another weird item is this - when two attacks (not projectile) strike each other (but NOT the other person!), the two combatants will suddenly start fighting on their own, using lightning fast punches, kicks, and blocks (you'll know when this happens, trust me). After about five seconds of this, they'll jump apart and land on the ground. Instantly hit an attack button! The first person to hit an attack button will hit the other guy for a few times, and it hits hard. These hits are freebies, and, while controlled by the computer, still pretty damned good. In the air, things are different. Instead of the quick-fight, one person retires to the background, and the other files energy bombs at them. The other must either block or dodge, then he in turn fires. The first to hit, wins. The last really different aspect of the game are counter attacks. Sometimes (I still have yet to learn when), when one attack is blocked, the screen dims a bit and the fighting freezes. This is no bug in the game - because while you still can't move, you can input a command! It's free time to attack with a special skill, in other words. Only the blocking person can do this, however, which leaves the aggressor wide open for a combo. ---------------------------------------------- B. BASIC MOVES These moves should be easy to figure out even for a novice. I'm merely making a list to show you my abbreviations and just in case you missed anything. The abbreviations themselves are merely the buttons used to do the move, in the correct order. Sometimes the buttons have to be held in together instead of executed as a combo. These will be joined together by a "+" sign. A - Simple ki blast B - Kick X - Deflection of simple ki blast OR a grapple (if up close) Y - Punch L - Dash (hold it while moving) R - Dash (hold it while moving) U - Up (causes you to jump) D - Down (causes you to crouch or duck) L - Left (standard for moving away from opponent; switch with R if you're on the other side) R - Right (standard for moving towards from opponent; switch with L if you're on the other side) Y+B - Regain health LL - Hop away from opponent RR - Hope towards opponent TATX - An attack that moves your opponent to another screen horizontally DTX - An attack that moves your opponent to another screen above you (ala Mortal Kombat) DAX - An attack that moves your opponent to another screen below you ---------------------------------------------- C. FREEZA'S SPECIAL SKILLZ For those people out there who, like me, have seen only the dub of DBZ, I have included the dubbed names of Freeza's attacks in parenthesis after each skill name. If it is the same name, I'll list it anyway (so ha!) Also, to make things easier for you, the reader, I didn't use any of the abbreviations in the execution of the attacks. So you don't have to keep referring to the above section over and over! Down, Away, B (while in the air) - Death Ball [Death Ball] Description: Freeza jumps in the air, forms a black Death Ball above his head, and throws it down at around a 45 degree angle. Analysis: Freeza's signature attack! It's a really good attack for several reasons. It does nice damage if it connects, and if it misses, it leaves some sort of electric after-trail for a few seconds that may have a chance of hitting your enemy. Also, since Freeza spends a few seconds in the air forming it, you can make it whenever you're in the air and need to dodge a projectile thrown by your opponent. However, if they see it coming, there's an awful lag up in the air while you form the Death Ball. And you may be hit coming down... Rating: 9/10 Down, Towards, Y - Uppercut [Uppercut] Description: Freeza... does an uppercut. Analysis: It does some pretty nice damage, but since Freeza isn't all that great in close range melee combat, you better have a combo ready after it, or you'll get pummeled. Rating: 5/10 Towards, Down, B (while in the air) - Diving Kick [Diving Kick] Description: Freeza dives, foot first, onto his opponent, then leaps up halfway and does it again automatically! Analysis: This attack rules. It's very fast and hard to block, and unlike most other similar attacks of his, it comes right out of the blue, so it's hard to see coming! It does decent damage, especially if both kicks connect (and if the first one did, the second is sure to follow!) Rating: 9/10 Towards, Down, Down/Towards, Y - Ki Blast [Energy Punch] Description: Freeza punches his fist out, and a load of yellow energy follows after it, extending a short distance past his hand. Analysis: By itself, this attack is very much like the Uppercut. However, it can be used much more defensively since it has a longer range, and you can strike while retreating. It's actually best when used as a counter attack, followed by a nasty combo. Rating: 6/10 Towards, Down, Away, Y - Grapple Explosion [Grapple Explosion] Description: Freeza grabs his opponent with one hand, then fires an explosion point-blank. Ouch! Analysis: It's a pretty good hit, especially to follow up a combo. However, despite it's good damage total, it is not easy to pull off. Especially since you have to be in close range, and you have to move Away right before execution! It's good when properly used, though. Rating: 4/10 Towards, Down, Down/Towards, A - Kienzan [Destructo Disk] Description: Freeza lifts his hand and uses Kuririn's [Krillin's] signature move - the Kienzan. He forms a yellow disk (sort of like the kind he struck himself with, but not purple) and throws it. Analysis: This attack, unfortunately, has nowhere near the strength or use it did in the manga or TV show. Instead of hacking off limbs or something, it just strikes for moderate damage. Fortunately, it is heat seeking, so is very hard to dodge! Rating: 7/10 Away, Down, A - Daichretsuzan [Finger Beam (?)] Description: Freeza lifts his finger in the air, charges up quickly for a small purple beam, and throw it on the ground. It then travels across the entire screen until it hits somebody or reaches the end. Analysis: This attack isn't that good... it doesn't do as much damage as some of Freeza's other attacks, and since it can't be used in the air, it isn't that great (By 'in the air', I mean while jumping. You can use it in air battles!), since it is pretty easy to dodge. Rating: 3/10 Down, Away, Towards, A - Telekinetic Blast [Telekinetic Blast] Description: Freeza holds on his hand (supported by the other by holding onto the wrist), and hits his enemy with a massive telekinetic blast for a LOT of damage, after a very long time of charging it up. Analysis: While it does do a lot of damage, it takes several seconds to charge up, which is not a good thing at all as it leaves you open to attacks. My opinion is to use it on the computer when they are either healing themselves, or on anybody when they're dizzy. Don't use it on healing humans - they know the damage it can do and will instantly stop what they're doing to prevent your attack. Rating: 6/10 Down, Away, Y+B (can only be done when life bar is red) - Flaming Headbutt [Flaming Headbutt] Description: Freeza is engulfed in flames for a second or two, then streaks across the screen in a fiery headbutt! Analysis: This attack rules, I'm sorry. Other than the small drawback that it can be interrupted before the actual headbutting (while Freeza is flaming), it's without a doubt, Freeza's best. It is quick and easy to perform, it can go through simple ki blasts (which is great, because people very often throw those to stop you!), and does a -LOT- of damage. Easily twice the amount his telekinetic blast does. It sucks that you need a low life score to do this, but at that point, it won't matter! Rating: 10/10 ---------------------------------------------- D. TACTICS Freeza's main strength is his lack of weakness. He can play in just about any situation; on the ground, in the air, up close, far away, etc. Perhaps the worst of these is up close, mostly because his defense is lower than normal and when he gets hit, he gets hit really hard. Freeza is fast, and his ki attacks all hit hard. I suggest you keep him back, playing mostly defensive, and taking full advantage of the counter attacks and his Ki Blast. Use the Telekinetic Blast when your opponent is dizzy, or right after you knock him down. You can use the time it takes for him to get up to charge for your attack! Perhaps his ultimate playing position is in the air. I don't mean during air battles themselves (though, other than Majin Boo and perhaps Gohan, he rules), but in ground battles. Keep him up, jumping around and throwing Death Balls. His Diving Kick does excellently when people think you're doing a Death Ball or are just jumping over an attack. Freeza's best combo is not a difficult one. Continuing the above strategy, start with a jump kick. Not the Diving Kick, that'll knock them down too fast. Just a jump kick, and follow through with two kicks, then use either a Grapple Explosion (if you can) or an Uppercut. Then back off, and if you're fast enough, start charging up for a Telekinetic Blast. If Freeza is low on HP, you know what to do. Perhaps a Daichretsuzan or two, or maybe a Kienzan, just to get them off guard so they can't block you, and follow through with a Flaming Headbutt! I guarantee, no matter how hard your ass was being kicked, you'll pretty much get even, if not beat them outright, with this. ---------------------------------------------- E. OPPONENTS The following section is a basic idea of what each other character's fighting style is, and how to counter it. None of them go into nearly as much detail as any of my information on Freeza, and really will not help an advanced (or even an intermediate, if they've played the game a few times) player too much. It's mostly just for beginners, and what to expect! 1. Son Goku You'd think that, as the guy who first defeated Freeza, Son Goku would really kick ass. But truth be told, he doesn't that much. Goku is a very defensive player, especially with his Instantaneous Movement and the like. To beat him with Freeza, stick to the air, as normally. Keep up the combo, use lots of Diving Kicks, etc. Don't get too close, though, because Goku's defensive nature specifically counters that kind of fighting, and he'll soon overwhelm you. And don't use a Kienzan! Or else Goku will dodge and it will come around later in the fight and chop you in half. I'm serious. Don't do it. 2. Vegeta Vegeta can be somewhat of a problem. Like Freeza, he's small and fast, and can hit pretty hard. Since his fighting style is rather aggressive, you may find yourself on the run very often. I suggest many Kienzans and Daichretsuzans to keep him at bay. Use a Telekinetic Blast whenever you can. Be careful not to be taken off guard, though. 3. Vegetto Very similar to Goku's style of fighting, though a little more aggressive. Go ahead and feed him plenty of Diving Kicks and Death Balls, and stay in the air. He's too much of a ground fighter to really hurt you much up there. Be careful with the Daichretsuzans, though. He's really great at dodging those and hitting you in the small lag time with a hurtful combo. 4. Son Gohan This... is a very difficult opponent. Son Gohan strikes hard and fast, with the exact type of fighting style that counters my "in the air" techniques. Stay away from him and let loose with the Death Balls and Kienzans. If he's really a problem (REALLY a problem), then just block. After enough blocked hits (it'll take patience), your health will be red, allowing a Flaming Headbutt. Watch out, though, your health WILL still be low, and even if his is lower, this doesn't mean he can't dodge your next attack and open up a can of whoop-ass with one of his combos. Also keep an eye out for his Kamehameha. It can easily be dodged, but he really likes to fire it when you're coming down from a Death Ball attack. 5. Gotenks I'd say Gotenks makes an even opponent. Like Freeza, he's small and fast. But actually, most of Gotenks' attacks are best at catching you off guard. Look out for a Kamikaze Ghost or a Headbutt at any time. The charging all looks the same, and you don't know if the attack will be long or short distance until he strikes. But if you stick to the skies, he really shouldn't be that hard. 6. Piccolo Remember, in the DBZ series, when Piccolo fought Freeza to gain Goku some time to power up a Genki Dama [Spirit Bomb]? How he got the pure cheese beat out of him? It's the same thing here. Piccolo is a good fighter, but his style is exactly what mine looks out for. Just drop death from above with those Diving Kicks! Do watch out for his Masenko, though. It fires upwards at a 45 degree angle and really easily interrupts jumping attacks. His Makankosappo [Special Beam Cannon] can hurt, too, with its drilling motion, as it can hit multiple times. 7. Majin Boo Other than Son Gohan, this will be the toughest guy you face. Mostly because he is MASTER of the air (he has an ability to actually float for a helluva long time in the air on ground battles), and that's the exact same area you fight him with Freeza. Also, he has an attack that is charged up above him, and still hurts you as it's charging. It's a quick and easy way for him to interrupt Diving Kicks. Your best bet are distance attacks, like Daichretsuzan and Death Ball. When he comes in close, try and pull off a Grapple Explosion if you can. If you can't, try and get away and continue barraging him from a distance. 8. Mr. Boo After the difficulty that is Majin Boo, you'd think Mr. Boo would be difficult. Not at all. This guy is big and heavy and very easy to hit with a Death Ball. He's a prime suspect for Diving Kicks, as well, so just lay those on him. Be careful not to use too many Kienzans or Daichretsuzans, because he often counters these with his Pirouette Spin attack. And, very importantly, STAY AWAY from him in close quarters! While his melee sucks, he has a powerful attack that actually turns you into candy, in which he munches on you and spits you out (I'm not even joking). This does mucho damage and you should take great pains to avoid. 9. Cell Cell is difficult, but not really too much of a threat. Keep out of the melee with him, too, unless you really know what you're doing. He has a few really painful combos that, if you're hit by the first punch, you can't block the rest. That chips off quite a bit of HP. Also, he has an attack in which he raises his arms and surrounds himself with energy - this really sucks for Diving Kicks. It does actually some decent damage for such an attack, and interrupts all jumping strikes. Focus on using lots of Death Balls and Daichretsuzans. Finally, look out for his Cell Jr. attack. They really shouldn't catch you off guard too much, if you're in the air like you should, but can easily surprise you when you think he's doing his anti-air attack. ---------------------------------------------- F. FIGHTING FREEZA If you need help fighting Freeza (the very FIRST guy!) in story mode, you are seriously hurting. I mean "Glass Joe kicked my ass!" hurting. I can't help you out in that case. However, if you want to learn how to beat your buddy who's playing as Freeza using this FAQ, you're screwed. Once you read this, you are invincible. Sorry, buddy. I can teach you how to beat the computer Freeza during training, though. Keep Freeza close. His best attacks are from a distance, usually in the air. If he jumps in the air, even if it's just to dodge one of your own attacks, block. He might be trying a Diving Kick. If you do manage to block a Diving Kick, counter with a huge combo that'll leave him reeling. If he tries to make a Death Ball, don't give him the opportunity! Hit him while he's in the air, and try to juggle him a little bit. Or, just put as much distance between you and him as possible (the Death Ball only hits at 45 degrees below), and time a strong projectile to hit him as he's coming down. The biggest problem will be getting over the Flaming Headbutt. That attack is very fast and VERY painful. My suggestion is to hit him with your fastest projectile (even if it's a weak one) and to quickly follow through with a combo, depleting his already low life. Or, you could merely jump over it. It will take great reflexes and speed, but if you manage to jump over his Flaming Headbutt, you'll be right next to him when he cools off, ready to kick his ass and not give him a chance for another. A quick note, though - if your health is low, don't just sit there and gain HP. You know he'll smash you with a Telekinetic Blast. and if HIS health is low, do NOT put distance between the two. Or you may end of having to face a Flaming Headbutt. *********************************************** *********************************************** ---------------------------------------------- III. MISC. STUFF ---------------------------------------------- A. THANKS * Serpent231 (serpent231@yahoo.com) for writing a similar FAQ (but about Wolverine in a completely different game) and making a sort of layout that I, too, used! * Vegita, Guardian of Destiny (VegitaBOD@aol.com) for writing another FAQ about Hyper Dimension, and listing all of the attacks for everybody (including a few I missed on Freeza!) * Freeza, for being the most ass-kickiest baddy ever. Other than Sephiroth. * Akira Toriyama, creator of Dragon Ball. If it weren't for him, Freeza, the game, and this FAQ would never exist, and my time writing this could have been spent doing something useful. God forbid! * FUNimation for.. NOTHING! You butcherers of anime! You completely destroyed the emotional backdrop of... bleh. I'm just kidding. Though they messed up quite a bit, FUNi's done a decent job, and it was through them that I was first introduced to DBZ =) ---------------------------------------------- B. NAME GAME There's always been controversy to the different names of Dragonball Z. I, being a speaker of Engrish, prefer the spellings given to us by the dub. Others love the odd way Japanese is spelled out with English letters, and some just use katakana. Here is a list of the ten guys listed in my FAQ and alternative spellings (if I know of any), and some explanations on the differences between their American and Japanese versions. Freeza - Furiza, Freezer, Frieza (this was an attempted English spelling and is INCORRECT) Son Goku - Son Gokuu, Son Gokou, Son Gokuh, Goku (In Japan, surnames come first, not last. Therefore, both Son Gohan and Son Goku have the same word "Son" in front of their names. Clearly, FUNimation didn't want to have to deal with this, and instead of just saying "Goku Son" and "Gohan Son" [which sounds a lot like something from the Karate Kid], they just called them by their first names) Vegeta - Begita, Vegiita, Begiita, Vejeta, Bejeta (There is no "V" in the Japanese alphabet, the closest thing is a "B". And while many people argue over 'Vegita' and 'Vegeta', I choose Vegeta, since all the Saiyan-jin's names are based off of VEGETAbles. Get it?) Vegetto - Vegitto, Begitto Son Gohan - Gohan (look at Goku for this explanation) Gotenks - None that I've seen Picollo - Ma Junior (I don't understand the "Ma", but he's the identical incarnation of his father, Piccolo Sr. [or apparently, Ma Senior]) Majin Boo - None that I've seen Mr. Boo - Same as above Cell - Seru (just a really bad translation to it!) ---------------------------------------------- C. DISCLAIMER I made this FAQ. Me. So if you want to look at it and print it out to play a game for easy reference, that's cool, go ahead. However, if you want to post this up on your homepage, you'll need my permission. Don't worry, I'll give it to you 99.9% of the time, I just like knowing where my stuff is. You can't cut and paste anything in this FAQ, you can't use this info for making another FAQ (I don't mind looking at the abilities or anything, but don't take my tactics and the like without asking me!), stuff like that. I didn't make Dragon Ball Z or any of these characters. They're all copyright Akira Toriyama. And FUNimation is... uh, copyright of FUNimation.