All-Star Slammin' D-Ball Player Guide This is a very short list of the special throws and other brief miscellaneous information about the fun, little known PlayStation dodge ball game, All-Star Slammin' D-Ball. by Benjamin Paul Galway March 15, 2006 e-mail = bpgalway@netscape.net ver. 1.1 PayPal = bpgalway@netscape.net Created April 12, 2002 (1.1). Latest update: Minor editing. ___________________________________________________________________ TABLE OF CONTENTS = SPECIAL THROWS -> GENERAL ADVICE -> SECRETS ___________________________________________________________________ ------< Special Throws >------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------< Special Throws >------------- ---------------------< Special Throws >---------------------------- The manual does an okay job of listing all of the basic special throws, but it doesn't detail the level 3 team captain secret moves nor explains how to pull them off. Think back to the first Street Fighter II when trying to perform the rolling motions since the movements must be entered slowly and precisely. Quick taps will not register and make the special throws impossible to perform. Despite the slower input speed, all moves can be entered during a jump -- don't exagerate the sluggish commands. D-pad key: D = down U = up L = left R = right Note that any two directions not separated by a space indicate a diagonal move, such as the "UR" being "up-right" in the grenade's input. All directions given are for the left team. Reverse the left and right positions if playing on the right court. The factors which allow a special throw to be performed are explained well enough in the instruction manual, so consult it for information about acquiring points, how the players' level affects earning points, and so forth. ---------------======= LEVEL ONE =======--------------- Canon Input: D DR R + (square) The canon is a really good move. The ball moves very fast along a straight path to the selected target and can quickly get by an opponent's reaction time of he or she is close to the release. Slow Input: L L R + (square) The slow ball is a straight, slow release that simply isn't useful. Every players' catch animation resets quickly enough so that the person can make a second grab to catch a slow ball. Random Input: R R U + (square) This will release the ball with a randomly selected level one special throw, which is pointless. Unless you're having trouble with the rolling controller inputs required for the canon or grenade, there's no point in using the random throw. Double Input: R L R + (square) The double special throw is one of the better moves in the whole game. The ball is thrown fast along a straight path and soon followed by a second ball. Both balls can knock the opponent and each must be avoided. However, if a player can catch the first ball released before the second is thrown, then the special will end prematurely. Grenade Input: R UR U + (square) The grenade special throws the ball along a slight elevated arch toward the target. It is useless. ---------------======= LEVEL TWO =======--------------- Screw Driver Input: D R R + (square) This puts a brief twisting motion into the ball's path after it is thrown. It's not too good and can only be of some use at close range since the ball's speed isn't fast enough to hope to catch a player off guard with its initial jerk release. Snake Input: D U D + (square) The snake very much resembles the canon for speed except this special throw travels along a high arch toward the player. It's one of the better level two moves which isn't saying much since it's more or less does the same as a level one throw. Hyper Magnum Input: D U U + (square) The ball size doubles when thrown. Unless it freaks out an opponent, this special throw serves no real purpose since the size has no affect on the difficulty of catching the ball. Boomerang Input: R DR D + (square) The boomerang toss releases a slow ball which travels along a side arch. It may very well return to the player, but the ball is simply too slow to not have your opponent catch it by the time it could start returning. As with most all slow moving throws, this is useless. Flasher Input: D DL L + (square) As the name implies, this ball will flash (disappear and reappear) over and over until it stops. Despite being a slow ball, the flashing can disorient a player and could prove useful. ---------------======= LEVEL THREE =======--------------- Wild Cats' Captain Special Input: L DL D DR R + (square) A myriad of light circles surrounds the captain and forms a sort of vortex then trail behind the ball like a comet. The ball is thrown very fast (this is the fastest throw unless one counts the trip around the Earth for the Ninja team) and is very difficult to catch. Still, with really quick reflexes and being familiar with the Wild Cats' special team captain throw, it's not impossible to stop. Pranksters' Captain Special Input: L DL D DR R + (square) A black cylinder of light surrounds the captain and he launches the ball up into the air. After a few seconds the ball flies back down fast into the target opponent. This is perhaps the best special throw in the game. More often than not the opponent will have little warning as to when the ball is coming down, particularly for a character near the top of the screen. Heart Breakers' Captain Special Input: L DL D DR R + (square) Hearts rain from the ball around the captain a moment before she throws the ball to the opponent. The ball zigzags a bit toward the target along a pair of heart wings. This special throw is just pathetic. It will not fool anyone and lacks speed. Ninjas' Captain Special Input: L DL D DR R + (square) The captain throws the ball off the screen to the left, the game switches to a shot of the ball actually traveling around the Earth, and then it finally returns to the court from the right side of the screen. As with the Pranksters' special throw, this one can be especially good if the targeted player is close to the edge of the screen so that as little "warning room" as possible is available. Unfortunately, the short Earth clip is a good give-away to the timing of the catch, reducing the special throw's effectiveness somewhat. Snipers' Captain Special Input: L DL D DR R + (square) The captain jumps and throws the ball at the selected opponent amid a shower of transparent balls. Besides not being fast, this special throw is also weakened thanks to the fact that the "ghost" balls which are supposed to trick the opponent are obviously different from the real one. None of the transparent balls affect the player in any way as well. Fireballs' Captain Special Input: L DL D DR R + (square) This is a basic fast ball but with flames streaking behind it. Flames will stream around the captain before release to warn of the approaching fast ball. Since there are "cheaper" special moves which achieve the same effect, there really is no point in using this move. Thunder Bolts' Captain Special Input: L DL D DR R + (square) A couple of lightning bolts strike the ball in the captain's hands. The captain then throws the ball along a quick zigzag route toward the opponent while lightning bolts tag behind. This special throw is both visually impressive and fairly decent if only because the bolts of lightning tend to help confuse players trying to catch the ball (as opposed to the Heart Breakers' special). Elementals' Captain Special Input: L DL D DR R + (square) The screen turns completely black, white spheres eminate from the ball, and then it's thrown to the targeted player with the spheres trailing behind. This is a very weak special throw for the "boss" team to have. It looks nice, but there's really nothing special about it. -----------------------------------------< General Advice >-------- --< General Advice >----------------------------------------------- ----------------------------< General Advice >--------------------- Random tips for random people! -- The best attack is a dashing leaping throw. The Pranksters and Ninjas are the best at this since their players can leap far across the half court line and throw the ball well into the opponent's territory. -- Remember to mix up the special moves when used. An over-reliance on one move will rob it of any usefulness. It helps to throw out even a pathetic move once or so before unleashing something worth doing. -- Special throws aren't nearly as effective as they could have been thanks to the fact that all players must shout out some word bubble before performing the throw. Unless you're playing against the computer, most all hits are going to come from regular throws. -- The basic throw can be thrown at different speeds depending on the length of time the button is pressed, so use this to your advantage to catch opponents off guard. This can be used advantageously when playing against or with the clock. -- It is possible to leap and catch the ball when the opponent tries to pass to the far outside teammate. Although difficult to do, it's a good technique to know and to watch out for. While this can be avoided by passing the ball around the court along the sides, this also does eat up the number of passes allowed on a given possession. -- Finally, using the shoulder buttons to switch the targeted opponent just before release can really confuse your opponent and catch him or her off guard. This coupled with the fast leaping attacks explained above can really cut down on an opponent's reaction time. ------< Secrets >-------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------< Secrets >------------------------ -----------------------------------------------------< Secrets >--- There's only one secret -- the code to unlock the Elementals as a playable team. The code is given upon winning the tournament. To unlock the Elements, enter the following at the title screen: D L U R X (square) (triangle) (circle) The Elementals are a good team, but surprisingly aren't the best available. They're still fun to play with, though. ___________________________________________________________________ As always, this document may be used if and only if it is not altered in any way or profitted from either directly or indirectly. The latest updates can be found at GameFAQs [ gamefaqs.com ].