Game: UFC: Throwdown System: Playstation 2 Genre: Fighting --------------- FAQ- UFC: THROWDOWN --------------- AUTHOR OF THIS FAQ: Kevin Love neo_aa@hotmail.com Version 0.4 7/04/02 -------------------------------------- Table of Contents: 1. INTRODUCTION 2. BASIC CONTROLS 3. POSITIONS AND THEIR DIFFERENCES 4. TIPS 5. FAQs 6. LEGAL INFORMATION -------------------------------------- 1. Introduction This is a FAQ about the Playstation 2 video game, UFC: Throwdown. UFC isn't exactly wrestling, and it's not exactly a fighting game. It falls somewhere in the middle. This guide will help you get started with the game, and hopefully help you become an expert with practice. If you e-mail me with questions, they must not be answered by this guide. If they have been answered, and you simply ignore it, I will not reply to your e-mail. Make sure you check EVERY section, including the all important FAQ towards the bottom. -------------------------------------- 2. Basic Controls The buttons are responsible for different things in different positions. STANDING: Left Analog or D-Pad: Move your fighter (Move away from strikes to block them, ala Street Fighter 2.) Square: Left Punch Triangle: Right Punch X: Left Kick Circle: Right Kick (Why have a button for each limb? It's to simplify combos. Check your character's move list, and you'll see the buttons in the order you can hit them for combos. Triangle, Square, Circle would throw a right punch, then a left punch, followed by a right kick. Get it?) Triangle + Square: Counter a Punch (grabs opponent's arm and performs a grapple or takedown.) Circle + X: Counter a Kick (same as above, but grabs their leg.) Triangle + Circle: Perform a Takedown or Grapple. Square + X: Perform a Takedown or Grapple. NOTE: The Takedown/Grapple buttons will also counter those moves. If your opponent goes for a takedown, just press the buttons the same way you would to initiate a takedown. (While standing, try taking a step forward or backward, and following with a combo or grapple. It's a different move set you're using after a step forward or backward.) NOTE ABOUT MOUNTS: Rotating the directional pad while in them will let your opponent up, or struggle out of it if you're on the bottom. GUARD MOUNT (TOP): (This is when your opponent is on their back, and you're on top of them, with their legs keeping you at bay. Be careful not to let them flip you over, as they'll have you in full mount position!) Left Analog Up: Block or Halt Position Change by Opponent Face Buttons (Square, X, etc.): Throw different striking moves Square + X: Move into Full Mount Position, or character-based Grapple Triangle + Circle: Move into Full Mount Position, or character-based Grapple Triangle + Square: Counter a Strike or Upper Submission Circle + X: Counter a Strike or Lower Submission FULL MOUNT (TOP): (This is when your opponent is on their back, and you're on top of them. Their legs are on the ground, and not in the way. This is a very advantageous position. If you're a ground-based fighter, this is the position you should always initially try to force on them.) Left Analog Up: Block or Halt Position Change by Opponent Face Buttons (Square, X, etc.): Throw different striking moves Square + X: Perform a Submission or Grapple Triangle + Circle: Perform a Submission or Grapple Triangle + Square: Counter a Strike or Upper Submission Circle + X: Counter a Strike or Lower Submission MOUNT (BOTTOM): (This is when you're on the bottom, in either the Guard Mount or Full Mount positions.) Left Analog Down: Block Face Buttons: Different Striking Moves Square + X: Move into Mount Position Top, or character-based Grapple Triangle + Circle: Move into Mount Position Top, or character-based Grapple Triangle + Square: Counter a Strike or Upper Submission Circle + X: Counter a Strike or Lower Submission BACK POSITION (TOP): (This is an excellent position to be in, even better than the advantageous Full Mount [top] position. You can strike your opponent without much fear of them damaging you badly. Some fighters can also perform Submissions here. Most fighters cannot force this position. However, if you perform a Full Mount submission on the bottom opponent and it is blocked, you may move into this position!) Left Analog Up: Block Face Buttons: Different Striking Moves Square + X: Move into Mount Position Top, or character-based Grapple Triangle + Circle: Move into Mount Position Top, or character-based Grapple Triangle + Square: Moves into Full Mount Position Circle + X: Moves into Full Mount Position BACK POSITION (BOTTOM): (VERY BAD POSITION. Immediately try to struggle your way out by rotating the left analog again and again.) Left Analog Down: Block Face Buttons: Throws Elbows at your Opponent Square + X: Character-based Grapple Triangle + Circle: Character-based Grapple Triangle + Square: ? Circle + X: ? SO, those are all of the basic controls. I recommend that you go into the control menu, and set the controls as follows: L1: LP+RP (You can then use this instead of Triangle + Square.) R1: LK+RK (You can then use this instead of Circle + X.) L2: LP+LK (You can then use this instead of Square + X.) R2: RP+RK (You can then use this instead of Triangle + Circle.) ------------------------------------------- 3. Positions and their Differences Your character has stronger and weaker positions, depending on their style of fighting. First, let's examine each position and the way they work. STANDING: This is the best position for hand to hand combat fighters, and it plays similiarly to a game like Tekken. Press the buttons in different order, according to your move list, to perform different combos. If you're a ground based fighter, try to take the fight to the ground with a takedown or grapple. GUARD MOUNT (TOP): This is a decent position for ground fighters, but you run a high risk of submissions by the opponent. It's best to move this into the Full Mount position. Careful, if you get rolled over by the opponent in this position, they'll have a Full Mount! FULL MOUNT (TOP): Great position for ground fighters, my favorite one. It allows you to hit with submissions, grapples, and strikes almost at your leisure, as long as you don't get rolled over. Even if you do get rolled over, your opponent is only controlling a Guard Mount position. You can easily roll them back over into the Full Mount. MOUNT (BOTTOM): You need to escape this position, which isn't difficult. Just perform a grapple to roll everything back into your favor. BACK MOUNT (TOP): I don't like this position very much, because opponents have a tendency to block themselves very well. However, it gives you excellent protection from their blows. You can perform a submission from here. BACK MOUNT (BOTTOM): Cover your head by holding down on the left analog. Roll out of it as soon as possible by rotating the left analog stick. Here's some ratings for each position, depending on your style. You rarely want to be on the bottom, so these are all top mount positions. 1 is the best, 4 is the statistically weakest. MARTIAL ARTS: Standing: 1 Guard Mount: 4 Full Mount: 2 Back Mount: 3 WRESTLER: Standing: 4 Guard Mount: 3 Full Mount: 1 Back Mount: 2 So, overall, the full mount and back mount are reliable positions. Standing is good if you're a martial artist. ------------------------------- 4. Tips *If you're playing against friends, try a lot of submissions. If they don't quickly hit the upper or lower combination to defend themselves, they're toast. *When playing against the computer, you must weaken them before using submissions. *Against characters with low stamina (the blue meter on top of the red,) go for a knockout. It should happen fairly quickly. *Take advantage of your character's special abilities. For example, my pro-wrestler character actually has an advantage when he's on the bottom of a Full Mount Position. That's because he has a Boston Crab, which can force his opponent to submit even though he starts on the bottom. *Check your character's move list to learn everything they can do. The more variety you have, the more resourcefully you can defeat your opponent. ----------------------------------- 5. FAQ's Q: I need to get into the Back Mount (top) position! How do I do it? A: There's no universal method. Some people have said square + O does it when you catch a strike, but I have found that to not be true. All I can recommend is trying an upper submission from the full mount position. Q: My character has such low stamina! How do I win? A: Take the fight to the ground. It's easier to defend yourself on top of a mount position, plus you have a good chance of making your opponent tap out. Q: The names of my moves aren't visible! How do I know which one is which? A: Yeah, the move names aren't in the move lists, Crave didn't put that in for some reason. You'll have to practice and learn from experience which is which. Q: Which kind of fighter is best? A: That depends on whether you can learn the grapple system or not. If you can, I'd suggest wrestlers or submission experts. If you're more comfortable with standard fighting games, try a martial artist or anybody with strong strikes. Of course, you should experiment and find out for yourself. Q: How do the step forward and step backward move sets work? (Submitted by Blitz291) A. For step forward moves, tap the left analog towards your opponent. After the first step your fighter takes, press the attack button that you want to use. Step backward works the same way, except you step away from your opponent. Q: What is a stun, and how do I stun my opponent? (Submitted by Jeramiah) A: You'll recognize a stun because your opponent will slump near the ground for a moment. You'll need to cause a number of these in Skill Up Challenges, plus it's good to know so that you can hit powerful moves during a match. To stun your opponent, hit them with a strong blow right after they miss with an attack. That's not 100% guaranteed, but that's really the easiest way. You can only stun somebody in standing mode. Try using the default right kick, circle, to cause some good stuns. Q: There are some Skill Up Challenges that require me to be standing, yet the Challenge starts out on the ground. How do I stand up? (Submitted by Steffan) A. Anytime you want to stand up from a ground position, rotate the left analog stick several times, until you stand up. This works whether you're on the bottom or top. Q: Will there be a FAQ released containing the moves of all the fighters? (Submitted by Len) A: Not by me. It'd take a long time to write down each character's moves, and probably isn't worth it. You can see any fighter's moves by pausing the game, and selecting "Move List." I could definitely use some more questions here, so send questions to neo_aa@hotmail.com . I'll probably re-phrase your question, but I will give credit to you for submitting it. ------------------------------------ 6. Legal Information UFC: Throwdown is the property of Crave. Neither the FAQ or its author has a professional affiliation with Crave. All trademarks are property of their respective owners. This FAQ is not to be sold. It's 100% free. It was written specifically for gamefaqs.com, though I reserve the right to post it where I wish. I've got no problem with you downloading this, but under no circumstances upload it without my written permission. Thanks for reading this FAQ!