Pro Tip of the Day - arcade
http://protipoftheday.com/taxonomy/term/44/0
enPro tip: Shooting the Duck Hunt dog
http://protipoftheday.com/node/544
<p>So, we've all been playing Duck Hunt, missed the quota of Ducks, and had the Dog laugh at us.</p>
<div align="center"><img src="http://protipoftheday.com/sites/default/files/duckhunt_dog1.png" /></div>
<p>But if you're playing the Arcade version (a.k.a. Vs. Duck Hunt), you get a special Bonus Round every once in a while where the Dog leaps out of the grass.</p>
<div align="center"><img src="http://protipoftheday.com/sites/default/files/duckhunt_dog2.png" /></div>
<p>Which is totally your opportunity, so let fly.</p>
<div align="center"><img src="http://protipoftheday.com/sites/default/files/duckhunt_dog3.png" /></div>
<p>He'll complain a little bit, but, hey, some folks might say that he had it coming.</p>
arcadeduck huntNESpro tipFri, 15 Oct 2010 12:05:44 +0000Will544 at http://protipoftheday.comPro tip: Dealing with meaningless stats
http://protipoftheday.com/node/509
<p>Take a look at this screenshot from the arcade version of Tetris</p>
<div align="center"><img src="http://protipoftheday.com/sites/default/files/stats1.png" /></div>
<p>Over on the right you'll see your 'stats', or a representation of the Tetriminoes you've had to deal with in Bar Chart form. My guess is that it's there if you're playing Single Player so that the right side of the screen won't be blank.</p>
<p>Now take a look at this screenshot from Galaga</p>
<div align="center"><img src="http://protipoftheday.com/sites/default/files/stats2.png" /></div>
<p>Once you end your game, you're presented with your 'Hit/Miss Ratio', which tells you how accurate you were with your shots.</p>
<p>What do these things have in common?</p>
<p>Mostly that they don't really mean anything. It might be kind of interesting to know your accuracy, or if your Tetris puzzle gave you lots of Z pieces, but you can't really do anything useful with the data, and it won't really make you a better player.</p>
<p>So don't sweat it.</p>
arcadegalagageneralmetaNESpro tipstatisticstetrisFri, 27 Aug 2010 12:14:49 +0000Will509 at http://protipoftheday.comPro tip: Cheesing your way through Super Street Fighter II
http://protipoftheday.com/node/507
<p>It might not be immediately obvious, but in the Street Fighter games, you're participating in a tournament. A tournament where you can (more or less) control the outcome.</p>
<p>When your opponent is chosen, press Start on Controller 2 to bring in a New Challenger.</p>
<div align="center"><img src="http://protipoftheday.com/sites/default/files/ssf2_cheese1.png" /></div>
<p>Have Controller 2 pick the character you were fighting against, and pummel them mercilessly. Win the match, and you'll notice that you continue to the next stage.</p>
<div align="center"><img src="http://protipoftheday.com/sites/default/files/ssf2_cheese2.png" /></div>
<p>And since you know you'll be fighting the four Boss Characters, you can also do this to beat them early.</p>
<div align="center"><img src="http://protipoftheday.com/sites/default/files/ssf2_cheese3.png" /></div>
<p>Well, except for M. Bison. You have to beat him the old fashioned way, I'm afraid.</p>
<p>Oh, and this works for all variants of Street Fighter 2.</p>
arcadepro tipSNESstreet fighter 2street fighter 2: champion editionsuper street fighter 2Wed, 25 Aug 2010 12:12:02 +0000Will507 at http://protipoftheday.comPro tip: avoid using the "Death Grip" when using a joystick
http://protipoftheday.com/node/480
<p>Occasionally when I observe people playing games with a joystick (especially in an arcade), I'll see them grab the joystick full-on with their hand and hang onto it like it's the only thing keeping them from falling off a cliff.</p>
<div align="center"><img src="http://protipoftheday.com/sites/default/files/joystick_grip1.jpg" /></div>
<p>Which works, yeah, but it definitely hinders your experience by requiring that you use your entire arm to play which results in:</p>
<ol>
<li>a loss of fine-control, you have to use the gross movements of your arm and</li>
<li>increasing the rate you get fatigued, moving your whole arm over the course of a few games takes more energy than you think
<ol>
<p>The solution?</p>
<p>Grip the joystick lightly between the thumb and the index finger, using the middle finger as well if that's more comfortable for you</p>
<div align="center"><img src="http://protipoftheday.com/sites/default/files/joystick_grip2.jpg" /></div>
<p>You get more accurate control and don't use so much energy, which leads to longer playing sessions. It's totally win-win!</p>
</ol></li></ol>arcadegeneraljoystickpro tiptechniqueMon, 19 Jul 2010 12:05:39 +0000Will480 at http://protipoftheday.comPro tip: Don't return your feet to the starting position in Dance Dance Revolution
http://protipoftheday.com/node/460
<p>If you watch the Attract Mode of most Dance Dance Revolution machines, they will eventually go into a tutorial on how to play the game, and in it, the demo character will stomp on an arrow, and then return its feet to the center. Check it out (it starts at about 0:58 in this clip):</p>
<div align="center">
<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/gfCyY4tJsvo&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x5d1719&color2=0xcd311b" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/gfCyY4tJsvo&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x5d1719&color2=0xcd311b" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object></div>
<p>And I see a lot of beginners playing the game like this... and stumbling around. Why? Because the arrows in the songs are set up so that you <em>don't</em> return your feet to center after hitting each one, which has the side effect of reducing the number of steps you have to take to hit all the arrows. Check out the kid's feet in this video:</p>
<div align="center">
<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/6JzcqALklRs&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x5d1719&color2=0xcd311b" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/6JzcqALklRs&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x5d1719&color2=0xcd311b" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object></div>
<p>If he returned his feet to the center after every time he hit an arrow, he wouldn't be quick enough to hit all the arrows, and neither would you.</p>
<p>So don't do it!</p>
arcadedance dance revolutiongamecubepro tipps2ps3wiixboxxbox360Mon, 21 Jun 2010 11:50:04 +0000Will460 at http://protipoftheday.comPro tip: Disabling throws in Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3
http://protipoftheday.com/node/453
<p>Since there's been some hubbub lately about this Mortal Kombat <a href="http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2010/06/09/jeri-ryan-says-mortal-kombat-movie-clip-was-a-pitch-for-wb/">movie-pitch thingy</a>, I figured it would be appropriate for a Mortal Kombat themed tip.</p>
<p>So, in Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, after choosing your characters, you come up to the Vs. Screen, which has this row of symbols across the bottom.</p>
<div align="center"><img src="http://protipoftheday.com/sites/default/files/unk3_throws1.png" /></div>
<p>Which you and your opponent can manipulate by pressing the buttons on your respective side of the cabinet. So, say you both press Low Punch exactly one time so that the display looks like this</p>
<div align="center"><img src="http://protipoftheday.com/sites/default/files/unk3_throws2.png" /></div>
<p>Then when the match starts, you'll get confirmation at the bottom of the screen that the code worked</p>
<div align="center"><img src="http://protipoftheday.com/sites/default/files/unk3_throws3.png" /></div>
<p>This one, for instance, disables throwing, so you have to beat up your opponent the old fashioned way... with punches, kicks, and special moves.</p>
arcadebutton codesmortal kombatpro tipumk3Thu, 10 Jun 2010 12:02:45 +0000Will453 at http://protipoftheday.comPro tip: Performing the shoulder tackle in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time
http://protipoftheday.com/node/448
<p>One of the things about playing arcade games is that you don't really have much guidance to tell you the ins and outs of the game. So, when I got the Super NES version of Turtles in Time, I was surprised to learn that there was a move in the game that I didn't know about, a shoulder tackle. The instructions in the manual were kind of vague, but I was eventually able to figure out what to do, and I'm going to share that with you today.</p>
<p>To do it, you first start running (depending on how your game is set up, either by double-tapping a direction or just holding it in for a few seconds)</p>
<div align="center"><img src="http://protipoftheday.com/sites/default/files/tmnt4_shoulder1.jpg" /></div>
<p>Then, while running, press the Jump Button to do a handspring, which doesn't actually do any damage to anyone</p>
<div align="center"><img src="http://protipoftheday.com/sites/default/files/tmnt4_shoulder2.jpg" /></div>
<p>Then, the instant that completes, press the Attack Button to do your shoulder tackle!</p>
<div align="center"><img src="http://protipoftheday.com/sites/default/files/tmnt4_shoulder3.jpg" /></div>
<p>And, since it's kind of tough to follow along with just my description, I've provided an animated .gif for you <a href="http://protipoftheday.com/sites/default/files/tmnt4_shoulder_ani.gif">here</a>.</p>
<p>And, yes, this does work on the arcade version.</p>
arcademechanicspro tipSNEStechniquetmnt4Thu, 03 Jun 2010 11:54:22 +0000Will448 at http://protipoftheday.comPro tip: The highest scoring game I know about
http://protipoftheday.com/node/429
<p>Pretty much since the video games kept score, it's been the <a href="http://www.twingalaxies.com/">obsession of a lot of people</a> to get as many points as possible to show that they were the best player. And an arcade game called 'Giga Wing' takes that to its crazy extreme.</p>
<p>In Giga Wing, you have the ability to reflect enemy shots back at them, which allows you to collect these shield emblems, emblems that when collected increase your score multiplier, and your score multiplier increases the number of points you get every time you shoot down and enemy ship. And very quickly in this game there are lots of shots and lots of enemies that explode into a shower of pickups when hit</p>
<div align="center"><img src="http://protipoftheday.com/sites/default/files/gigawing_score1.png" /></div>
<p>Seriously, it's enough anyone to get a score in the hundreds of millions.</p>
<div align="center"><img src="http://protipoftheday.com/sites/default/files/gigawing_score2.png" /></div>
<p>But that's nothing compared to people who are actually good at the thing. Heck, you have to go through the whole game on one credit to see the 'real ending', and if you manage to do that, your score rockets up to the crazy-high territory: the Trillions.</p>
<div align="center">
<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/2J-_z87vXr4&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x5d1719&color2=0xcd311b" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><embed src="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/2J-_z87vXr4&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x5d1719&color2=0xcd311b" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object></div>
<p>Needless to say that I'm probably not going to achieve that any time soon. But maybe you can, if you can find a Giga Wing arcade machine (or a copy of the Dreamcast port).</p>
arcadedreamcastgiga winghigh scorespro tiptechniqueFri, 07 May 2010 12:02:46 +0000Will429 at http://protipoftheday.comPro tip: Censoring Final Fight: Part 1
http://protipoftheday.com/node/427
<p>It's no big secret that before there was an ESRB that Nintendo had certain hoops game developers had to jump through to publish games on their systems. Take Final Fight, for example, a game about going through the streets of Metro City and punching people to death.</p>
<p>In the arcade, the first boss you run across has a unique name.</p>
<div align="center"><img src="http://protipoftheday.com/sites/default/files/finalfight_boss1.png" /></div>
<p>So he gets a name change for the Super NES version</p>
<div align="center"><img src="http://protipoftheday.com/sites/default/files/finalfight_boss2.png" /></div>
<p>Which I guess shows that the kiddos who were going to play this game would have been more affected by some boss thug's name than bludgeoning people to death with steel pipes.</p>
arcadecensorshipfinal fightpro tipSNESWed, 05 May 2010 12:05:58 +0000Will427 at http://protipoftheday.comPro tip: using the Diamond Blocks in Pengo
http://protipoftheday.com/node/413
<p>If find an arcade cabinet of Pengo (which is going to be kind of tough these days), you might be tempted to play it. And once you do, you're going to notice that in the middle of the playfield are these blocks with diamonds on them</p>
<div align="center"><img src="http://protipoftheday.com/sites/default/files/pengo_diamonds2.png" /></div>
<p>They've got a couple of interesting features: they're indestructible and if you line up all three of them so that they're touching...</p>
<div align="center"><img src="http://protipoftheday.com/sites/default/files/pengo_diamonds2a.png" /></div>
<div align="center"><img src="http://protipoftheday.com/sites/default/files/pengo_diamonds3.png" /></div>
<p>The screen freaks out and you get 10,000 points! As an added bonus, all the Sno-Bees in the level are stunned, for a few seconds </p>
<div align="center"><img src="http://protipoftheday.com/sites/default/files/pengo_diamonds4.png" /></div>
<p>Giving you a pretty sweet advantage (even if it is temporary).</p>
<p>The only problem is that in some levels the blocks are placed in such a way that it's virtually impossible to get them lined up, so if that happens, I wouldn't worry about it too much.</p>
arcadepengopro tiptechniqueThu, 15 Apr 2010 12:20:57 +0000Will413 at http://protipoftheday.com