MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM: CHAR'S COUNTERATTACK
System: Sony PlayStation
Developer/Publisher: Bandai (1998)
Genre: 3D Action/Shooting
FAQ by Kelvin Koh
(18th December 1998)
Revised:
(22nd December 1998)
- Added How to Ready your Weapon under GamePlay Tips.
- Corrected the command for the Charge Attack.
- Re-did section on the Lock-On Indicator.
- Alternate ways of using 3 of the hidden MS.
Contents:
1 Introduction
2 Basic Controls & Explanation
3 Mobile Suits Info
4 Story Mode
5 Secrets/Extras
6 Gameplay Tips
Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack is the sequel to Mobile
Suit Z Gundam. It is a 3D Action/Shooting game, which uses a vastly
improved engine over its predecessor, and this time, it is based on the
movie, Char's Counterattack.
Char's Counterattack features many impressive cinemas containing
hand-drawn characters against rendered backgrounds. The real-time
cinemas, with characters that 'cut-in', are equally beautiful and fun
to watch.
The graphics for the main game itself have been touched up with
more spectacular effects and a smoother look. Each MS now has many
different attacks (up to 10), which adds more variety and excitement to
the battles.
For those who could not experience the thrills of Z Gundam's Link
Vs Mode, a split-screen Vs Mode has been included in this sequel for
hours of enjoyment with a friend.
However, the game suffers from several flaws. There are only a few
selectable MS, which is very disappointing considering the fact that
the previous game had plenty to choose from. Furthermore, the game is
extremely short and ends way too quickly.
Nevertheless, Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack is a good
title that every Gundam fan must have.
To commemorate Mobile Suit Gundam's 20th Anniversary, there
is a Special Box Edition of Char's Counterattack. It comes with
the game itself, a T-Shirt, and a greeting card.
This will cause your Mobile Suit to accelerate at high speeds in
the direction you choose. It can be used to avoid attacks, or simply
to move around quickly.
When you use the Boost, your Vernier Gauge (located on the bottom
left of the screen) will start to decrease, but it will regenerate
slowly when it is not in use.
Note that certain attacks require some Vernier power in order to
be performed.
Examples: Charging Saber Attack, Zaku II's Kick/Shoulder Charge
---{Ascend/Descend}--- Press L1 or L2
Move your Mobile Suit upward or downward.
(II) ACTIONS
---{1st WEAPON ATTACK}--- Press the SQUARE Button
In this game, there are 2 types of primary (1st) attacks: Long-range
& Short-range. What you are currently using is displayed on top of the
weapons bar (on the bottom right of the screen).
By pressing R2, you can switch between your Long-& Short-range
weapons.
Long-range weapons consist of the standard Beam Rifle, whereas a
Short-range weapon is usually a Beam Saber.
When equipped with the Beam Saber, wait till the Lock-On Indicator turns
red, then press the SQUARE button to perform a Charging Saber Attack.
(The distance from your opponent must be in the range 3500-7000.) This move
will require some Vernier power.
---{2nd WEAPON ATTACK}--- Press R1 + SQUARE or X or CIRCLE
Each MS has 3 secondary (2nd) attacks, which are displayed on the
bottom row of the weapons bar. These 3 weapons on the bar are arranged
in such a way that each of them corresponds to a button on the
controller (SQUARE, X, and CIRCLE).
Holding R1 then pressing any of these buttons will perform its
corresponding attack.
Your Mobile Suit's secondary weapons will also change depending on
your primary weapon (whether if you are using Short or Long-range), so
use the R2 key to switch between them.
Each MS has up to a maximum of 6 different secondary attacks.
Here is a diagram of the weapons bar on the bottom right of the screen
Notice how each of the secondary weapons corresponds to a button on the
controller?
These are your Mobile Suit's Special Moves, and can cause a great
deal of damage. However, they can only be performed when your Special
Weapon Gauge (located below your Life Gauge) is filled.
Your Special Weapon Gauge will be filled as you do battle against
your opponent.
Each MS has 2 special attacks; 1 for Long Range and 1 for Short
Range. Use the R2 key to switch between them.
Note that the name of the special attack you can currently perform
is displayed below your Special Attack Gauge.
---(GRAB)--- Press SQUARE + X when close
Your MS will grab your opponent and stun him temporarily. This does
not do any damage, but if you are quick enough, you can attack your
opponent immediately right after you grab them.
---{GUARD}--- Press the CIRCLE Button
By pressing the Circle Button, your Mobile Suit will guard all
attacks using its Shield or arm.
Guarding with a shield will prevent any damage, but guarding with
your arms will only reduce the damage inflicted.
Note that your Shield/arm can be destroyed after taking too many
hits.
(III) MISCELLANEOUS
---(LOCK-ON)---
During a battle, a cross hair will appear over your target.
You can use the TRIANGLE button to change your target MS during a
battle with multiple targets.
This cross-hair will display several information:
[LOCK-ON INDICATOR]
- The circular Lock-On Indicator will change from green to red when you do not
not perform any attacks.
- Wait for the cross-hair to turn red, and once you hear a sound, this is the
best time to fire.
[PARTS LOCK DISPLAY]
- Use R1 + TRIANGLE to target the different parts on your opponent's MS.
- The part which you are targetting is disaplayed on the top-right of the cross
hair.
[Distance]
- The numbers on the right of the cross hair represent the distance between
you and your opponent.
[SECONDARY WEAPON PANEL]
- These are the 3 horizontal colored blocks on the right of the cross hair.
Each of them represents one of your 3 secondary weapons.
- The color of each block represents the hit accuracy of each weapon. A green
block indicates a high hit accuracy, whereas red indicates a low hit accuracy.
- As you get closer to your opponent, these blocks will begin to light up, meaning
that if you fire at this moment, you will stand a better chance at hitting your
target.
---(WEAPON ENERGY)---
When the ammo for a primary or secondary weapon runs out, the green
energy bar representing it will drop to zero. It will then regenerate,
and once it is filled again, your ammo will be restored.
Note that different weapons will have different regeneration speeds.
That is, powerful weapons will take a longer time to regenerate than
less powerful ones.
Also, some attacks which are used for hand-to-hand combat can be used
infinitely.
---(PARTS LOCK SYSTEM)--- Press R1 + TRIANGLE
(when equipped with Long Range Primary Weapon)
You can press R1 + TRIANGLE to target different parts of your
opponent's MS. (For example: their Body, Head, Arm or Leg.)
Basically, each MS has 3 different parts. You will still be able to
cause damage to your opponent's main body while you weaken specific
sections of their body at the same time.
Your Mobile Suit's condition is displayed on the bottom left of the
screen. A diagram of your Mobile Suit's body is shown, and as you
receive damage, certain parts of your body will begin flashing on the
diagram. The color of the damaged section will change from green to
yellow to red. This will indicate that you have lost a specific part on
your MS.
This is what happens when some parts are lost in battle:
[HEAD] - Lock-on time will be increased by 2 times.
[ARM] - Loses the ability to guard, and/or unable to perform certain
attacks.
[WAIST] - Certain weapons will be disabled.
[LEG] - Mobility will decrease by 50%.
*Note that not all MS have the same parts.
In the Vs Mode, your MS condition is shown by 3 alphabets below your
Life Gauge. Each of them represents one of your body part.
(For example, H for Head, S for Shield, and L for Leg.)
Likewise, these alphabets will change in color according to the
damage inflicted on your MS.
======================================================================
3. MOBILE SUITS
======================================================================
The differences between each Mobile Suit lie in its weapons and
performance rating. This section will contain some info for each MS.
===[MS ATTRIBUTES]===
Each MS is rating according to 6 different aspects on a scale of 1
to 5.
[LEGEND]
Spd. (Speed) - how fast your Mobile Suit can move.
Ver. (Vernier) - determines how long your Vernier Gauge can last you.
Arm. (Armor) - determines how well your Mobile Suit can sustain damage.
Wgt. (Weight) - *Unknown (I need help on this one.)*
Loc. (Lock-on) - how quickly you can achieve a lock-on on your target.
Pow. (Power) - determines the amount of damage you can inflict.
===[MS INFO]===
Note:
Secondary Weapons are shown in the following order:
[R1 + SQUARE] [R1 + X] [R1 + CIRCLE]
---[RX-93 NU GUNDAM]---------------------------------------------------
Pilot : Amuro Ray
Shield: Yes
---Primary Weapons---
Long : Wire-Guided 5-Way Beam Cannon
Short: Punch
---Secondary Weapons---
Long :
[Wire B. Cannon (Left Arm)] [W-Guided B. Cannon (Long-Rnge)]
[Waist Mega Particle Cannon]
Short:
[Wire B. Cannon (Right Arm)] [W-Guided B. Cannon (Long-Rnge)]
[Head Mega Particle Cannon]
---Special Attacks---
Long : Repeated 5-Way Beam Cannon Attack
Short: Concentrated Mega Particle Cannon
*******************
HIDDEN MOBILE SUITS
*******************
(To find out how to obtain these MS, please refer to the Secrets
section below.)
---[MSN-100 HYAKU-SHIKI]-----------------------------------------------------
Pilot : Quattro Bajina
Shield: No
=======================================================================
4. STORY MODE GUIDE
=======================================================================
This is a simple guide to the game's 2 story modes. When you first
begin the game, you can only select Amuro's Story Mode. After completing
Amuro's Story Mode, Char's Story Mode will then become available.
The following section will show the MS you will use, the various
enemies which you will encounter, and some additional remarks, if any.
******************
AMURO'S STORY MODE
******************
[STAGE 1]
MS: Gundam
Enemies:
- Char's Zaku II (Char Aznable) + Zaku II Mobile Suits
[STAGE 5]
MS: Sazabi
Enemies:
- Nuclear Missiles
(Use the crosshair to aim at the incoming missiles and destroy them.
Keep this up for 2 minutes to clear this section.)
- Jegan Mobile Suits
(Keep fighting for 2 minutes to clear this section.)
[STAGE 6]
MS: Sazabi
Enemies:
- Nu Gundam (Amuro Ray)
[Char's Story Mode]
- Finish Amuro's Story Mode and this will be available on the main menu.
[Stage Select]
- Finish Amuro's or Char's Story Mode and you will be able to select the
stage you wish to begin on for the mode which you have cleared.
[Movie Viewer]
- Simply finish both story modes to obtain all the movie clips in the
game's Gallery Mode.
[Hidden MS]
1. Char's Rick Dom (Char Aznable)
- Finish the Battle Mode using any MS.
- Char's Rick Dom will now be selectable on the MS Select Screen.
2. Hyaku-shiki (Quattro Bajina)
- Finish Char's Story Mode.
- The Hyaku-shiki will now be selectable on the MS Select Screen.
3. Jagd Doga Quess Custom (Quess Paraya)
- On the MS Select Screen, highlight Gyunei's Jagd Doga.
- Hold L2 + R1, then press the CIRCLE BUTTON to confirm.
* Quess' Jagd Doga is also the variation of
Gyunei's Jagd Doga when both players select this MS.
4. ReGZ (Amuro Ray)
- On the MS Select Screen, highlight the ReGZ.
- Hold R2 + SQUARE, then press CIRCLE BUTTON to confirm.
* Amuro's ReGZ is also the variation of the normal ReGZ
when both players select this MS.
5. G3-Gundam (Sayla Mass)
- On the MS Select Screen, highlight the RX-78 Gundam.
- Hold L1 + L2, then press CIRCLE BUTTON to confirm.
* The G3-Gundam is also the variation of the Gundam
when both players select this MS.
[SPECIAL CUT-IN SEQUENCES]
- When playing against the CPU Char, you will notice that he has some
special cut-in sequences whenever he performs his Special
Attacks. (His potrait would appear, followed by a short speech.)
- Such sequences are known to occur when he is piloting the following MS:
+ Zaku II (Continuous Shoulder Charge)
+ Gelgoog (Continuous Bit Assist)
In Char's Counterattack, you can actually perform 'combo attacks',
just like in a fighting game. The game calls it "Critical Attacks".
This involves attacking your opponent with a combination of weapons
such that they will get hit by all your attacks, and are unable to
recover from it immediately.
To perform a combo, you usually start with a move that stuns your
opponent, followed by other attacks.
Moves that stun your opponent include heavy weapons (which are slow
but powerful), such as bazookas or cannons. Smaller weapons, such as
the vulcan or machine gun, can be used to stun an opponent, but only if
you hit your opponent continuously with it for a period of time. Even a
simple grab can be used to start a combo. Some specific attacks, such
as the Dom's Blind or Gundam's Javelin, are primarily used to stun your
opponents.
Combos are a good way to inflict lots of damage on your opponents if
used right. Try to familiarize yourself with your favorite Mobile
Suit's weapons, and experiment to see which one works best in combos.
It is even possible to use your Special Attacks in combos to inflict
lots of damage.
To get you started, here are some combos that can be performed with
the Nu Gundam:
Example Combo 1
-> [New Hyper Bazooka] x 1
-> [Missile Launcher] x 3
Example Combo 2
-> [Combination Saber Attack]
-> [Vulcan] x 60
-> [Beam Saber] x 2
2. [PARTS LOCK]
Once a battle begins, press R1 + TRIANGLE to target your opponent's
body part. If you know your opponent's fighting style well, then target
the part on his MS that he relies on the most, and keep attacking it
until it is destroyed.
It is usually advisable to target your opponent's Arm first because
it removes his ability to guard, and also disables some of his weapons.
However, for an opponent who dodges most of the time, you may want
to destroy his Legs first to lower his mobility.
Likewise, for an opponent who seems to be real good at scoring a
direct hit on you, you may want to attack his Head first to lengthen
the time he needs to lock on your MS.
*Note that some MS, such the Ziong, have different body parts, other
then the basic Head-Arm-Leg.
3. [THE USE OF DUMMIES]
Some MS (such as the Nu Gundam, Re-GZ, Sazabi and Jagd Doga) are
able to fire dummy balloons as one of their secondary attacks.
Although they seem pretty useless at first, they are actually great
for confusing your opponent. This is because whenever you launch a
Dummy, your opponent will automatically lock on the dummy instead of
you. Despite their 'flat' look, it is actually difficult to tell
between a dummy and a real MS.
Unless he realizes what is going on and press the TRIANGLE button to
switch his target back to you, he will be chasing after the Dummy. To
really confuse your opponent, launch all 3 of your dummies at once.
This makes it even harder for your opponent to spot you, as he has to
cycle through all of them before he is able to target you again.
This is a good time to ambush your opponent while the dummies are
distracting him.
If your opponent fires at a dummy and destroys it, it will cause a
huge explosion. Besides causing damage to your opponent, the explosion will
flood the screen temporarily, making it hard for him to see. You can then
rush through the explosion and launch a surprise attack on him.
4. [EVADING FUNNELS]
A number of the MS in the game have Funnels/Bits which chase your
opponents and fire at them repeatedly. They come in the form of a
secondary attack, or a more powerful Special Attack.
Although this may seem cheap at first, it is actually possible to
avoid most of the beams and take as little damage as possible.
One way is to Guard (hold CIRCLE) and use the Vernier to fly
continuously in one direction (LEFT + X or RIGHT + X), while ascending
and descending at regular periods (Press R1/R2).
If timed right, you will be able to avoid most of the Funnel
attacks. It is sometimes possible to get away with only a few hits.
5. [PLACE WEAPONS ON STANDBY]
When you press an attack button and continue to hold it down, you
will notice that your MS will take out his weapon and assume a 'ready'
stance. Once you release the attack button, your MS will immediately
fire his weapon.
This works for most Primary and Secondary weapons, and is pretty
useful in battles. This is because there is usually a delay before
your MS fire his weapon since he has to take it out first. If you hold
down the attack button, you can wait for the right time before releasing
it so that you can have a better chance of hitting your opponent.
However, the only drawback is that you can't move around when you are
holding the button down.
======================================================================
THE END
======================================================================
------------------
REVISION HISTORY
------------------
[21th December 1998]
- Corrected the section on the Secondary Weapon Panel.
- Added Special Cut-In Sequences under Secrets/Extras.
- Added Mobile Suit's Model Numbers for reference.
Game Players Magazine HK (Issue 86; October 23rd 1998)
- For how to use the G3 Gundam, Re-GZ (Amuro) & Jagd Doga (Quess).
This FAQ was created by Kelvin Koh.
(e-mail: kelkwl@mbox4.singnet.com.sg)
The latest version of this FAQ can always be found at:
http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Battlefield/2517/
Thanks for reading! ^_^
If anyone has any comments, information, or if you have found a
mistake, please feel free to e-mail me. Also, if you intend to
post my FAQ, feel free to do so, but please inform me first.
FAQ Copyright 1998 by Kelvin Koh. All rights reserved.
