FAQ - Guide for Chao Adventure (VMU)
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Sonic Adventure A-Life FAQ V3.0 |
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/ _ ________________________________/
/ // / _____ ____/ _______ ________
/ //onic \ / _ \ _ _ /___ / __ / / ____ /
/ //_ __ \ \ |_| / / . _/_ /_ / / /__/ / / / / /
/ // //\\ \ \_|_/ /_ / / /_ ____/ / ___ / / / _ / /
/ // //__\\ \____________________/ / / / / / /_| | /
/ // // \\dventure / /_/ /_/ /____ /
/___________________________________/ |_|
/---------------------------------------------
| Complied by: Mike White [email protected]
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~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~ Table of Contents `~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`
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[1] What is an A-Life?
[2] VMS and Dreamcast Mini-FAQ
[2.1] Dreamcast OS
[2.2] Memory reset and icon customization
[2.3] Transferring the main A-Life file to another VMS.
[2.4] Hidden A-Life minigame!
[3] Where do I find them?
[3.1] Station Square
[3.2] Mystic Ruin
[3.3] Egg Carrier
[4] Where do I take them?
[4.1] Station Square
[4.2] Mystic Ruin
[4.3] Egg Carrier
[4.4] Hatching them
[4.5] Getting from Garden to Garden
[4.6] Saving their progress
[5] How do I take care of my A-Lifes outside the VMS?
[5.1] How to pick them up
[5.2] Petting them
[5.3] Combining with animals
[5.31] Characteristics granted by each animal
[5.32] Where to find specific animals, gestures for each
[5.4] Mating A-Lifes
[5.5] Feeding A-Lifes
[5.6] The A-Lifes gestures and actions
[5.61] Facial expressions and thought icons
[5.62] Actions
[5.7] Killing A-Lifes
[6] How do I raise my A-Life in the VMS?
[6.1] Putting it into the VMS
[6.11] Removing it from the VMS
[6.12] Swapping it in the VMS for one in the game
[6.13] Transferring it to another VMS
[6.2] Starting off your quest
[6.3] Menu and Submenu translations
[6.4] Playing the matching game
[6.5] Fighting quest enemies
[6.6] Choosing your path
[6.61] Quest warp cheat
[6.7] When the A-Life asks you a question
[6.8] Other random events
[6.9] Item translations and effects
[7] Advanced A-Life Raising
[7.1] Evolving
[7.2] Gaining Hit Points
[7.3] Unexplained phenomena
[7.4] Playing Sonic Adventure
[7.5] The God-Chao?
[8] How do I race my Chao?
[8.1] Where to go
[8.2] Race selection
[8.3] Chao selection
[8.4] Camera control
[8.5] Urging your Chao on
[8.6] Prizes for winning
[8.7] Stats required for winning
[9] How do I interact my A-Life VMS with another A-Life VMS?
[9.1] Mating
[9.2] Battling
[9.3] Uploading and downloading A-Life's from the net
[10] Author Notes
[10.1] Authour Rantings
[10.2] Credits & Thanks
[10.3] Version History
[10.4] Copyright Notice
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[1]~`~`~`~`~`[1]`~`~`~`~`~ What is an A-Life? `~`~`~`~`~[1]~`~`~`~`~[1]
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
The A-Life concept was first introduced in Sonic Team's other landmark
character game, NiGHTS, for the Sega Saturn. In that game, the main points
of interaction were hatching them, herding them together to mate, and not
accidentally killing them.
The concept has since evolved tremendously, presenting us with what is
essentially a virtual pet in Sonic Adventure for the Sega Dreamcast.
However, with the quest modes and ability to interact with your A-Life in
the colourful Sonic Adventure main game, as well as the portable VMS, the
A-Life is much more enthralling than any other virtual pet available. This
guide will aid you in finding and raising these little guys, to help overcome
the language barrier of the Japanese version.
An A-Life in Sonic Adventure are alternately known as a "Chao", though in
order not to confuse them with the Emeralds, or the character Chaos, A-Life
will be used throughout this guide.
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[2]~`~`~`~`~`[2]`~`~`~` VMS and Dreamcast Mini-FAQ ~`~`~[2]~`~`~`~`~[2]
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[[[2.1]]] Dreamcast OS
First, ensure your Dreamcast BIOS is operating in English. To do this,
turn the power on on your Dreamcast, with no game in the drive. Select the
clock from the screen which appears. Choose the top option, and then select
'English' from the list that follows.
[[[2.2]]] Memory reset and icon customization
Place your new VMS into the controller. Exit to the main menu, and choose
the 'File' option. Select your VMS from the next screen, and it will go to
the menu for your VMS. This should be empty; if a minigame has come
pre-loaded onto your VMS, as with the Godzilla, Mothra, and doubtless future
specialized VMS's, you must use another VMS, or delete this game to use
A-Lifes. If you wish to delete it, or have no game anyway, continue on.
Highlight and select the 'all' button. Then choose 'Delete All - Memory
Reset'. You will now be given an option to customize your VMS's startup
logo and file manager colour!
Be warned! Power Stone, and possibly other Capcom games, WILL reset your
VMS logo to the Capcom logo! If you don't want this, don't save a Power
Stone file on the VMS!
[[[2.3]]] Transferring the main A-Life file to another VMS.
The main A-Life data file (not the individual A-Lifes or eggs) is a read-only
file which cannot be conventionally copied to another VMS. It is possible,
however, through this method, which is especially handy if you wish to
re-initialize your first VMS.
All you have to do is enter one of the Chao Gardens (details on that later).
Remove the VMS from the controller slot, and place the VMS you wish to copy to
into that same slot. Now merely exit the garden. Voila! Your file is now
copied. You can use this method to create clones of your A-Lifes, backups,
whatever.
[[[2.4]]] Hidden A-Life minigame!
Plug a controller with a VMS in it into the fourth (D) controller port prior
to powering up Sonic Adventure. You'll be presented with a picture scramble
game! Use the digital pad to select a tile, and press A to move that tile to
the empty space. Unscramble the pictures!
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[3]~`~`~`~`~`[3]`~`~`~`~` Where do I find them? `~`~`~`~[3]~`~`~`~`~[3]
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A-Lifes start out as eggs roughly 2/3rds as tall as Sonic or any other
character, save for Big or E102. Ordinary eggs look like Easter eggs, white
with blue dots and a red bottom. Silver, gold, and black eggs represent
special A-Lifes. Here's how to find all the ones available at the start of
the game.
[[[3.1]]] Station Square
Two eggs are available in the main Chao Garden (explination of Chao Gardens
to come later). You can find this by entering the hotel (large building
with sliding doors) and going up the elevator.
A third, golden egg is available in a shop in the section of town you
emerge in after Speed Highway with Sonic. There is a building with a large
courtyard in this section. In this courtyard, in the grass next to a brick
wall, is an egg-shaped rock. Retrieve the rock and enter the antiques shop
(Not the Burger Shop). Set the rock down. Retrieve the egg on the podium.
Place the rock on the podium to deactivate the security doors, a la Indiana
Jones. Pick the egg up again and leave.
[[[3.2]]] Mystic Ruin
Eggs are available again the Mystic Ruin Chao Garden. Run up on the ground
in the valley next to Tails' house. Head into the cave and jump into the
mine cart.
More eggs, these ones silver, are available through an egg dispenser located
behind the waterfall. Push in a large block on the side of the lake and an
egg with pop out. Wait till it drifts to shore to retrieve it.
[[[3.3]]] Egg Carrier
When playing as Amy, during the sequence where E102 frees you, go out and
win the Whack-A-Mole game to open the door. Then return to the cells and
open the second one. Retrieve the black egg.
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[4]~`~`~`~`~`[4]`~`~`~`~` Where do I take them? `~`~`~`~[4]~`~`~`~`~[4]
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Eggs must be taken to Chao Gardens to hatch. Chao Gardens are safe havens
where nothing can hurt them. Upon entering a Chao Garden, all the animals
you've rescued during the action stages will fly off you, so you can
combine them to A-Lifes, as described later.
Each Chao Garden can hold a maximum of 8 A-Lifes at powerdown. If a
Garden has 8 A-Lifes in it, you cannot pull an A-Life out of a VMS into
it (see [5.1] for details on how to do that). You can bring A-Lifes from
other Gardens through teleporters (see [3.5]) or hatch a new A-Life (see
[3.4]), but the next time you play, the number of random A-Lifes over 8
will have moved to a different Garden.
[[[4.1]]] Station Square
Enter the hotel, and take the elevator up
[[[4.2]]] Mystic Ruin
Run up on the ground in the valley next to Tails' house. Head into the
cave and jump into the mine cart.
This is my least favourite Garden. It's too cluttered. Be careful you don't
fly off the edge!
[[[4.3]]] Egg Carrier
To get to the Carrier after beating the game, head to the train station in
Mystic Ruins. Enter the lower door with the arrow pointing down. Jump on the
raft. Alternately, just outside the hotel in Station Square, on the small dock
extending into the water, there is a small boat. Jump into it.
On the forward section of the Carrier, jump on one of two switches mounted side
by side on the side of the lower deck to call a tram. This will only work if
the switches are lit, which I don't think they are during the actual game.
If you are on the aft section, take the circular platform elevator on the deck
down. You will wind up inside the Carrier, as you will with all characters at
some point during the normal game. At one end are three doors. At the other,
atop a series of staircases, is a closed door with six lettered buttons on the
floor. Jump on the buttons to spell out E-G-G-M-A-N, in order. The door will
open. Jump on the teleporter in the center of the room past it.
Incidentally, this is my favourite Garden. However, animals brought to it tend
to disappear on their own too quickly.
[[[4.4]]] Hatching them
Never ever throw or attack an egg to hatch it! Always pick it up with the Y
button, holding the button down, and then wiggle the analog stick. Your
character will nuzzle the egg.
After a few seconds of this, carefully set the egg down. It will bounce around
and hatch! A-Lifes hatched this way are FAR less cantankerous than other methods,
which I unfortunately reccommended till I discovered this. :)
[[[4.5]]] Getting from Garden to Garden
Once visiting 2 or more gardens, the lens-like teleporters become active.
Holograms saying 'SS', 'MR', or 'EC' will appear over active teleporters,
indicating their destinations as the Station Square Chaos Garden, Mystic Ruin
Chaos Garden, or the Egg Carrier Chaos Garden, respectively. This will save
alot of walking. If you pick up an item or A-Life and carry it into the
teleporter, it will be brought with you to the destination Garden.
A friend of mine and I have noticed that teleporters will sometimes go
inactive after powerdown. For me, the Mystic Ruin one does not remain
active, though the Egg Carrier one does. For him, it is the other way
around. I have no idea why. It does depend on which Gardens you visit first
on powerup, I believe.
[[[4.6]]] Saving their Progress
Make sure your VMS is inserted in your controller. If you don't have a VMS,
get one! There's no point to this FAQ without one. The characteristics of
all your A-Lifes are saved automatically as they progress. You can pull an
A-Life out of a VMS into the game (details on this later) and power down the
system, and he will retain all his statistics when next you visit that Garden.
To save the results of all that occured in the Garden, simply leave it, or
reset the game.
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[5]~`~`~`~ How do I take care of my A-Lifes outside the VMS? ~`~`~`~[5]
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[[[5.1]]] How to pick them up
Always pick up your A-Life with the Y button. Picking up items and A-Lifes is
the only function of this button, so you don't have to worry about hurting
them.
[[[5.2]]] Petting them
Hold the button you are picking them up with (ideally Y) and press a
direction on the analog stick. Your character will nuzzle the A-Life, making
it happier. If your A-Life is standing in front of you waving its arms, this
is what it wants.
[[[5.3]]] Combining with animals
You rescue animals by destroying Eggman's (Robotnik's) robots, and touching
the animal that is released. Upon entering the Chao Garden, all rescued animals
will fly off you. These animals will disappear, though, if you leave the Chao
Garden. To combine an animal with an A-Life, pick the animal up (Y button) and
simply hold it in front of the A-Life. The A-Life will then merge with it. The
animal will fly off and eventually vanish, and you cannot pick it up again.
The A-Life will take on some of the physical characteristics of the animal.
[5.31] Characteristics granted by each animal
Combining animals has very specific effects on your A-Life. There takes
place a subtle change in shade, and eventually shape of your A-Life with each
one added. There are 5 different main categories of animal, each affecting a
different stat to a varying degree, based on the animal.
This first chart lists the main animal categories, and its physical effects.
Keep in mind these are the end physical effects after combining the A-Life
with many dozens of this one type.
Your newborn A-Life must be combined with these animals prior to its first
evolution, otherwise there will be a minimal effect.
After its first evolution, you can switch colour systems for a combination
A-Life. I have not done this yet and do not know the end results.
______________________________________________________________________
| Category | Type | Physical changes |
|--------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Yellow | Alien | Turns yellow and green, head expands |
|----------|----------|----------------------------------------------|
| Purple | NiGHTs | Turns purple, two spikes hang down from head |
|----------|----------|----------------------------------------------|
| Green | Sonic | Turns deep blue, with many spikes on back |
|----------|----------|----------------------------------------------|
| Red | Dragon | Turns bright red, with many horns and tail |
|----------|----------|----------------------------------------------|
| Blue | Random? | Seems to turn randomly into one of the above |
|----------|----------|----------------------------------------------|
This second chart lists which specific animals belong to which category, and
their exact effects on stats. In order to increase a stat, you need to combine
more than 1 animal with the A-Life. The amount required is listed under
'effect'.
You'll note the colour of the animal's category is identical to the background
colour of the portrait you get when you get them in the game.
___________________________________________________________
| Animal | Category | Stat Affected | Effect |
|-----------|-----------|---------------|-----------------|
| Sea Otter | Yellow | Swimming | +2 after 4 |
|-----------| | |-----------------|
| Penguin | | | +1 after 3 |
|-----------| | |-----------------|
| Seal | | | +1 after 3 |
|-----------|-----------|---------------|-----------------|
| Swallow | Purple | Flying | +2 after 4 |
|-----------| | |-----------------|
| Parrot | | | +1 after 2 |
|-----------| | |-----------------|
| Peacock | | | +1 after 2 |
|-----------|-----------|---------------|-----------------|
| Deer | Green | Running | +2 after 4 |
|-----------| | |-----------------|
| Rabbit | | | +1 after 2 |
|-----------| | |-----------------|
| Kangaroo | | | +1 after 2 |
|-----------|-----------|---------------|-----------------|
| Gorilla | Red | Power | +2 after 4 |
|-----------| | |-----------------|
| Lion | | | +1 after 3 |
|-----------| | |-----------------|
| Elephant | | | +1 after 3? |
|-----------|-----------|---------------|-----------------|
| Koala | Blue | Random | +10 after Random|
|-----------| | |-----------------|
| Mole | | | +10 after Random|
|-----------| | |-----------------|
| Skunk | | | +10 after Random|
|-----------|-----------|---------------|-----------------|
[5.32] Where to find specific animals, and gestures for each
Listed below are all the animals and which stages they are on. The
'gestures' category represents a certain behavioural quirk an A-Life will
adopt after being combined with this animal.
EC = Emerald Coast
WV = Windy Valley
CP = Casinopolis
IC = IceCap
TP = Twinkle Park
SH = Speed Highway
RM = Red Mountain
SD = Sky Deck
LW = Lost World
FE = Final Egg
HS = Hot Shelter
_____________________________________________________________
| Animal | Category | Stage | Gesture |
|-----------|-----------|-----------------|-----------------|
| Sea Otter | Yellow | EC, IC, HS | Backstroke |
|-----------| |-----------------|-----------------|
| Penguin | | EC, IC, HS, LW | Skating |
|-----------| |-----------------|-----------------|
| Seal | | EC, IC, HS, WV | Dancing |
|-----------|-----------|-----------------|-----------------|
| Swallow | Purple | WV, CP, SD, SH | Pirouetting |
|-----------| |-----------------|-----------------|
| Parrot | | WV, CP, SD, RM | Singing |
|-----------| |-----------------|-----------------|
| Peacock | | WV, CP, SD | Laying on side |
|-----------|-----------|-----------------|-----------------|
| Deer | Green | TP, SH, FE, HS | ? |
|-----------| |-----------------|-----------------|
| Rabbit | | TP,SH,FE,EC,CP | Somersaults |
|-----------| |-----------------|-----------------|
| Kangaroo | | TP, SH, FE | Shadow boxing |
|-----------|-----------|-----------------|-----------------|
| Gorilla | Red | RM, LW, IC, FE | Beats a drum |
|-----------| |-----------------|-----------------|
| Lion | | RM, LW, SD | Washes face |
|-----------| |-----------------|-----------------|
| Elephant | | RM, LW, TP | ? |
|-----------|-----------|-----------------|-----------------|
| Koala | Blue | EC, CP, TP, SH | Plays trumpet |
|-----------| |-----------------|-----------------|
| Mole | | WV,IC,RM,LW,FE |Plays with shovel|
|-----------| |-----------------|-----------------|
| Skunk | | SD, HS | Draws on ground |
|-----------|-----------|-----------------|-----------------|
Note that the skunk will draw whomever has treated it best so far, be it Amy,
Sonic, or whoever. Also note that this is the coolest thing ever.
[[[5.4]]] Mating A-Lifes
Once you have taken care of your A-Life long enough, it will evolve into a
higher form. It will transform into an egg and then reappear with its animal
characteristics more pronounced. If you are afraid your A-Life is dying,
remove your VMS until the sequence is complete. It seems immediately
thereafter, your A-Life will sit down, and a field of flowers will sprout up
around it! Pick up the A-Life you want to mate with it, and put it down in the
flowers. A new egg will appear!
This new egg will have different stats depends on its parents. I've had one
start out with nearly a hundred in all areas. They will also possess some
combination of their parents' animal characteristic.
[[[5.5]]] Feeding A-Lifes
There are trees in all 3 Chao Gardens. If you look at them, they all have nuts
growing on them. Wait long enough (10-20 seconds), and these will grow into
brown coconuts. Walk to the tree and press Y. Your character should brace
against the tree. If not, reposition yourself and keep trying. Hold down Y and
move the analog stick around. The tree will shake, and soon the ripe coconuts
will fall. Press Jump to get off the tree and pick up the coconuts. Walk into
an A-Life while holding the coconut for it to eat it. This is the first thing
you should do upon hatching it.
Be careful! Coconuts falling on an A-Life will damage it! It will also make
it very unhappy. The ideal solution in this situation is to feed the damaged
A-Life the coconut that whacked it. Come on. It's the least you can do.
Food will also come out of your VMS if you remove an A-Life from it and it has
a stock of uneaten fruit (details of this later). Consult the chart or VMS
items [5.9] for what the effects of feeding these to your A-Life will be. The
random event item, though, will make it very unhappy. I reccomend throwing it
somewhere they can't get to, like deep water. Everything else will have its
normal effect.
All food vanishes upon leaving the Chao Garden. Coconuts regrow indefinately.
An A-Life will eat any food if it wanders into it.
[[[5.6]]] The A-Lifes gestures and actions
Your A-Life won't just sit around inertly when you're not attending it. Part
of their magic is the wild and varied things they will do, prancing about,
having the time of their lives. Here's how to understand them
[5.61] Facial expressions and thought icons
An A-Life with its eyes wide open is not especially happy or sad. It's just
content.
If an A-Life has X's in its eyes, it is very upset. Comfort this poor creature
by feeding it coconuts.
An A-Life with a thin horizontal line across its eyes is very happy, actually.
Good job!
When an A-Life has its eyes half-closed, it is tired. Feed it coconuts to try
and get it to sleep and regain energy. Tired A-Lifes tend to fall asleep more
often during races. (Note some breeds of A-Life seem to be this way permanently)
An A-Life with a dot over its head isn't thinking anything in particular.
An A-Life with a question mark over its head is trying to decide how to act or
react next. Just watch and wait till it decides.
If an A-Life has an exclaimation mark over its head, it's been surprised by
something. It may react very positively, or very negatively to this, or
sometimes not at all.
If you see a heart over your A-Life's head, then it's quite happy with your
most recent action. If you see it with a heart over its head for no apparent
reason, it's very happy with you.
An A-Life with a funnel-like swirl over its head is very disgruntled about
something. Perhaps you just walloped it over the head with Amy's mallet. I'd
suggest a heaping helping of coconuts.
[5.62] Actions
An A-Life thrashing on the ground crying is throwing a tantrum. Feed it
coconuts to calm it.
If an A-Life is just sitting quietly, it may be tired, or just uninterested
in doing anything. Maybe feed it or pick it up, or better yet, play with it
in your VMS.
If an A-Life does a leaping backflip, it is very happy with you.
An A-Life thrashing around in deep water can't swim properly yet! Get it
out of there!
An A-Life waving its arms directly in front of you wants to be petted. See
[5.2].
Young A-Lifes with low run skill will crawl around. They may try to walk, but
they will trip, emitting a small 'pchick' sound. Train them in the VMS so they
can walk.
Trained A-Lifes will walk around freely, swim in deep water effortlessly, and
even fly around in the sky! Scores of trained A-Lifes are a veritable flurry
of activity, scurrying about happily.
[[[5.7]]] Killing A-Lifes
This is why you use Y to pick up an A-Life. If you attack an A-Life by jumping
on it with a spin attack or something similar, it takes damage, which you can
see on the Status Screen if you load the injured A-Life into your VMS (again,
details later). You can heal your A-Life with coconuts if this happens. Damage
the A-Life enough, and it will reach 0 hit points, form into an egg, and fade
away.
If this starts to happen, remove your VMS and restart your system. You will
preserve all your A-Lifes stats, though nothing of what happened in all the
time you were in the Garden.
You cannot drown an A-Life by holding it underwater till you die.
Incidentally, have you ever noticed Amy drowns *exactly* like Lara Croft?
If you dig up an invincibility with Knuckles, don't touch any A-Lifes! It
will hurt them.
I use Amy when fiddling with my A-Life's, since her jump doesn't constitute
an attack.
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[6]~`~`~`~`~`~`~` How do I raise my A-Life in the VMS? ~`~`~`~`~`~`~[6]
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
The VMS is an integral part of raising your A-Life. It's also fun! Note
that in order to do this, you WILL need working batteries in your VMS. You
cannot raise a healthy A-Life exclusively in Sonic, or exclusively in the
VMS. You must use both.
[[[6.1]]] Putting it into the VMS
Pick up the A-Life you wish to deposit into the VMS. Walk to the controller
platform with the red button and VMS. Jump on the red button. Press Y. Select
an empty VMS and press A. Your VMS will suck the A-Life into itself,
assuming there is enough memory. This will take much longer if it is the
first time you are putting one in.
If you are using a Godzilla VMS, you must delete the Godzilla game first
via the file manager screen in your Dreamcast. You cannot recover this game
unless you own Godzilla Generations, but since both games are fairly
monotonous in my opinion, it's no major loss.
The VMS can only hold 1 game at a time. To access the file manager screen,
start the Dreamcast without a CD (GD) in the drive. First select the Clock,
the the Lips, and choose 'English'. Highlight 'Back' and return to the main
screen. Select the VMS and delete the Godzilla game.
Note that the A-Life game cannot be deleted. The A-Life must be removed
into Sonic Adventure. See [5.11].
[6.11] Removing it from the VMS
Jump on the red button again. Select the A-Life you wish to remove. Press A.
It will come flying out, along with any uneaten items.
[6.12] Swapping it in the VMS for one in the game
You must remove the A-Life in the VMS before inserting a new one. There is
no method to swap that I know of.
[6.13] Transferring it to another VMS
Remove the A-Life from the VMS, then put it into the VMS you wish it to reside in.
[[[6.2]]] Starting off your quest
Remove the VMS from the controller, replacing the plastic top. If the screen is
blank, press 'sleep'. If nothing happens then, check your batteries. Look at the
icon on the bottom of the screen. If it is a notepad or clock, press 'mode' until
it is a deck of cards with a spade on it. Press A.
After the Sega logos you come to a title screen. At the bottom right it says A+B.
Press A and B together at the same time, and you're off on your adventure! The
first thing that will happen is a question will scroll by the bottom. Choose the
first option, "OK!", and you're on your way. Now just leave the A-Life to walk
on his own, and he'll beep when something occurs.
Each quest encompasses 5 stages out of a possible 15.
[[[6.3]]] Menu and Submenu translations
Pressing A while your A-Life is just walking along uneventfully will bring
up the menu screen. Don't be intimidated! Here is a translation of all the
choices, in order, from top to bottom. Elaboration will follow below.
Japanese romanji is in [brackets].
- Status [Sute-tasu]
- Item [Aitemu]
- Game [Gamu]
- Mate [Omiai]
- Battle [Taisen]
- Owner [Mochinushi]
- Friends [Otomodachi]
- Map [Mapu]
- Settings [Setsuteto]
- Chao Name [Chao no Namae]
- Status: The first screen shows your A-Life's name, his attitude (which I
may translate at a future date), and current / max hit points. The second
screen (press A) shows your stats. The maximum for each stat is 999. They
break down in this order:
Swimming [Oyogi]
Flying [Hikou]
Running [Hashiri]
Strength / Power [Chikara]
- Item: This gives you a list of all the items you've gathered from chests,
or the match game. See [5.9] for a translation. Press A to eat the selected
item. The list can scroll off the screen, but no down arrow is present to
indicate this.
You can hold a maximum of 8 items. Any items earned when your item list is
full will be lost.
- Game: It's Concentration! Or close enough. You're given a quick peek of the
fruits, then they are hidden on you. You have to match them all up to win. You
can make 3 mistakes before you lose the game. Winning gives you items to eat
and improve stats. Perfects give you better items, usually.
- Mate: Connect 2 VMS's to mate. See [8.1].
- Battle: Connect 2 VMS's to battle. See [8.2]
- Owner: Displays information about you, the A-Life's owner.
Name
Birthdate
Telephone Number
Favourite Thing
A Secret of yours
Number 1 Time, presumably at a race
- Friends: This is where you see another owner's information during a
link-up
- Map: This shows your current location, how far you are on your quest, and
how many meters your A-Life has walked. Each quest seems to be roughly 18000M
in length. The bar on the first screen shows how far you are towards completing
the level you're on. The second screen shows the path you are taking, a la
Outrun. See [5.6] for a full map of the course.
- Settings: You can alter your current settings here. Note that in text
entry fields, if you scroll down far enough through the Japanese characters,
you will reach numbers and the alphabet.
Sound: On / Off
User Data: Do exchange / don't exchange (Blocks the display of your
Owner data during a linkup)
Data Entry: (Change your Owner data)
Name
Sex: Male / Female
Blood Type (A, B, O, AB}
Birthdate (YY/MM/DD)
Telephone Number
Favourite Thing
A Secret of yours
- Chao Name: Rename your A-Life. Again, scroll down past the Japanese
characters for the western alphabet.
[[[6.4]]] Playing the matching game
A recap of the matching game: You're given a quick peek of the fruits,
then they are hidden on you. You have to match them all up to win. You
can make 3 mistakes before you lose the game. Winning gives you items to
eat and improve stats. Perfects give you better items, usually.
After extended play, I have noticed vague patterns in the puzzles, but
they are too subtle to accurately write out. Basically I try and remember
at least 3 or 4 pairs, so as to essentially guarantee a win.
Sometimes I will intentionally miss a guess, so as not to be stuck with
the prizes of a perfect, of which only one, the Chao Fruit, is of any
real stats-building use.
[[[6.5]]] Fighting quest enemies
Sometimes on a quest, your VMS will beep, and a big '!?' will appear on
the screen. It's fight time! Press a button. On the bottom are six dots.
Press the button so the highlighter stops on an empty one, and you attack!
Damage inflicted depends on your power rating. Also, you gain an extra
attack per 200 Stength. If you have a 200 strength, for instance, two dots
will be white during the first attack. Succeed in hitting one, and the
highlighter will keep going for you to get the second. If you miss the
first time, you forfiet all remaining attacks.
Winning gets you an item! Choose one of the three dots next to the
treasure chest to open it. AFter that, your A-Life will give you a
message about the battle; scroll past to continue your quest. It's a
good idea to eat something to heal up if you're damaged, especially in
the first quest or two. Play the match game to get fruit to eat.
Losing does not seem to kill you immediately, but can have fatal
long-term effects, it seems. See [6.3] for an example.
[[[6.6]]] Choosing your path
At the end of a level, your A-Life will come across a signpost. Hold
down A to speed the text. He'll ask you a question. The third option
is to let the A-Life decide for itself which path to take. The first
two choices are destinations. Consult the map below to understand this
choice. You start out at the far right, and move left. When asked which
direction to take next, choosing the top option moves you left and up,
while the second option moves you left and down.
___________
|Skyscraper|
|(Climb) |\
|----------| \ __________
\E102/ \|City |
___________ /|(Fly) |\
|Ocean | / |--------| \ __________
|(Swim) |< \|Ocean |
|----------| \ __________ /|(Swim) |\ <---
\|Desert | / |--------| \ _________
___________ /|(Walk) |< \Big/ \|Beach |
|Crystal R.| / |--------| \ __________ /|(Walk) |\ START
|(Walk) |< \|Cliff | / |-------| \ ________
|----------| \ __________ /|(Climb) |< \|Plain |
\Knuckles/ \|Tree | / |--------| \ _________ /|(Walk) |
___________ /|(Climb) |< \Tails/ \|Forest | / |-------|
|Swamp | / |--------| \ __________ /|(Walk) |/
|(Swim) |< \|Desert | / |-------| START
|----------| \ __________ /|(Fly) |/
\|Jungle | / |--------| <---
___________ /|(Walk) |/ \Sonic/
|Cave | / |--------|
|(Fly) |/
|----------|
\Amy/
In brackets below the location name is the type of action your A-Life
performs in that location. The tab below some areas lists the characters
you encounter in that area (this last information provided by Gogeta).
[6.61] Quest warp cheat
I have no idea what use this trick is, since it bypasses whole sections
of the quest, which does nothing for you since stats come from animals
or fruits. Oh well, here it is anyway.
At a signpost on the journey, switch the VMS to clock mode with the MODE
button. Then go back to game mode, and the selected course will be
displayed a moment. Shortly thereafter, you'll be transported to the end.
[[[6.7]]] When the A-Life asks you a question
A little envelope will appear in the lower left when your A-Life has
something to say. Hold A down to speed the text. It's usually asking you
your personal information if it requires a response. Enter anything, since
you can edit it later. Messages not requiring a response are safe to ignore.
[[[6.8]]] Other random events
Sometimes you'll come across a treasure chest. Choose one of the three
buttons to get an item (or not). This is the only situation in which you
may get the lousy random event fruit (aside from a postbattle chest).
Your Chao may also get into trouble through tripping, slipping, drowning, or
falling asleep; press A to get it on its way.
It can also encounter dolphins, birds, or bounce on a (seemingly) big ball
depending on the environment. Again, press A to get it on its way (I think
these make it happier, though).
You may also run into Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Big, or E102. Press A
and he flashes a peace sign, and off you go.
[[[6.9]]] Item translations and effects
Below is a listing of items, where they are found, what thet do, and a
vague guide to recognizing them. Basically, though, it's OK to eat anything,
except you may wish to conserve the last two (the latter to throw in the
ocean and dispose of in a Chao Garden).
These will heal a little HP too. Outside the VMS, they look like generic round
fruits of the colour indicated, with a stem sticking out the top. Found in
chests, or from nonperfects in the match game:
_____________________________________________________________________
/Yellow Fruit: Swiming +4 [Kiiroi Mi] \
| The only word with a box it it, in the middle, 5 chars. |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------|
|Purple Fruit: Flying +4 [Murasaki No Mi] |
| Starts with what looks vaguely like a G, 6 chars. |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------|
|Blue Fruit: Running +4 [Aoi Mi] |
| First char. it like a T, second char. it a t with a stroke at |
| 7 o'clock, 4 chars. |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------|
|Red Fruit: Strength/Power +4 [Akai Mi] |
| First char. is like a T, second char. resembles an upside-down|
| 4, 4 chars. |
\_____________________________________________________________________/
Found in chests, or from perfects in the match game:
_____________________________________________________________________
/Chao Fruit: All Stats +4 [Chao No Mi] - Will also heal some HP \
| First char. is like an extended F, second char, is a very small |
| one, 5 chars. (Looks like a blue A-Life head outside VMS) |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------|
|Star Fruit: Punch Power x2 [Hoshi No Mi] - I don't notice any |
| difference. It may only |
| last a single level. |
| First char. it like a t with a nub at the bottom and a tiny |
| stroke beside it, 4 chars. (Looks like a carrot outside VMS)|
|---------------------------------------------------------------------|
|Haste Fruit: Speed x2 [Sekkachi No Mi] - Seems to alter walking |
| speed on the quest. |
| Seems to last only one |
| stage. |
| First char. it like a stretched t, scond char. is a small arc |
| with " above it, 6 chars. (Looks like a jalapeneo) |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------|
|Heart Fruit: Recover All HP [Haato No Mi] - Don't eat them |
| immediately, save them |
| First char. resembles / \ , second char. is a dash, 5 chars. |
| (Looks like a heart-shaped apple outside the VMS) |
\---------------------------------------------------------------------/
You get this sometimes from a chest, and your A-Life isn't happy about it:
Random Event Fruit: [Yarukinashi No Mi] - Causes your A-Life to suffer a
good or bad random event in the VMS; makes it very unhappy if eaten outside
the VMS. It's the only 7 char. word. (Also looks like a carrot)
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
[7]~`~`~`~`~`[7]`~`~`~`~ Advanced A-Life Raising ~`~`~`~[7]~`~`~`~`~[7]
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
[[[7.1]]] Evolving
Evolution is when your A-Life sits down, forms into an egg larger than the
one it hatched in with a pointed tip (disturbingly identical to the one it
forms into when it dies!) and rehatches with its animal features more
pronounced.
Evolution is primarily triggered by combining 10 to 20 animals of one
category with an A-Life. There are rumours A-lifes can evolve twice,
though I've yet to see this personally.
Evolution may take place through other means, but the exact triggers of
those are unknown, and seemingly far slower.
[[[7.2]]] Gaining Hit Points
Hit points too are a rather cloudy issue, and seem to be gained simply
by tending to your A-Life in the Chao Garden. I've also seen them gain
hit points from racing.
After playing with a single A-Life in an otherwise empty Garden for a
time, pulling it out and inserting it into the VMS regularly to check
its progress, I believe I can safely say that the criteria for gaining
hit points are rather random. In other words, you can't perform specific
actions to make them gain hit points, just take care of them.
[[[7.3]]] Unexplained phenomena
My friend Jim's first A-Life, Wolfie, lost a battle in his VMS. He
healed it with fruit, went on for a while, fought some more, then
pulled Wolfie out of the VMS. Wolfie soon died outside the VMS, but
in the VMS there was an egg. This may be the result of losing a fight.
If you come across something cool, try and replicate it before
sending it in. All help will be credited!
[[[7.4]]] Playing Sonic Adventure
While playing Sonic Adventure, if you have an A-Life in your VMS,
it will be mimicing your actions on the VMS screen! If you jump,
it will fly, if you climb a wall with Knuckles, it will climb, if
you attack, it will start punching. I think this has something to
do with their development, but I'm not sure what.
[[[7.5]]] The God-Chao?
I recently got my A-Life, LAUCHAO, up to level 999 in all his
stats. I had raced him once when they were all hovering around
900, and he seemed pretty speedy.
However, when I maxed him out, he suddenly grew insanely fast
in all areas. I'd say he's about as fast as Sonic at top speed.
He climbs like a maniac, flys like a demon, and swims like a
dolphin on an overdose of adreniline. This was, to say the
least, startling, and quite fun to watch.
Mind you, it takes a rather obsessive person to GET an A-Life to 999. :)
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
[8]~`~`~`~`~`[8]`~`~`~`~ How do I race my Chao? `~`~`~`~[8]~`~`~`~`~[8]
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
One of the fun (and required) aspects of raising an A-Life is to pit
them in a cute race to the dea... er... well, the finish, anyway. Here's
how to go about it.
[[[8.1]]] Where to go
Head to the Station Square Chao Garden (see [3.1]), and enter the large
double doors near the VMS. Jump on the big red ENTRY button to open the
menu screen.
[[[8.2]]] Race selection
There are three possible selections, in this order, from top to bottom:
Chao Race
Practice Race
Multiple Entry
The first is the race that counts, the second is race against A-Lifes
equivalent to your own, and the third is to enter more than one user
A-Life into a single race. Press A on your selection to move to the
A-Life selection. Press B to cancel.
There are now 4 gems that appear, each corresponding to a different
course. From left to right, here are the races, and the skills tested
in each.
Pearl: Ball Pushing Race. Strength, then Running.
Amethyst: Basic Foot Race: Running. Swimming and brief Flying if your
A-Life opts for the alternate path.
Sapphire: Super Foot Race: Running, Swimming, brief Flying,
Strength (climbing)
Ruby: Swimming Race: Swimming, brief Running
Win all 4 of these in the Chao Race mode, and a fifth gem will appear.
Emerald: All-Inclusive Race: Very long, testing all abilities.
Mostly Running.
[[[8.3]]] A-Life selection
You don't have to have an A-Life loaded into the VMS to race it.
Simply select the VMS, or the Chao Garden the A-Life is in to open up
the selection screen for that area. Choose the A-Life you want to race
out of the ones available. If you wish to cycle to a different area, just
press the L or R top triggers. Press A to enter an A-Life, then down to
select the red button, and press A to start the race. Press B, or select
the blue button to cancel.
If you've chosen a Multiple Entry race, you can enter up to 8 A-Lifes from
any combination of VMS's and area.
[[[8.4]]] Camera control
During the race, use the digital D-Pad to manipulate the camera. Press
left or right to cycle through the A-Lifes. Press Up for the higher
course view, press Down for the behind-the-A-Life view.
[[[8.5]]] Urging your A-Life on
Occasionally through the race, a white sparkle will appear around a
random (usually trailing) A-Life, and the camera will switch to follow
that one. Press any button to give that A-Life a boost of speed. Make
sure you don't press the button unless the sparkle is on an A-Life you
want to do good! Don't do it for computer A-Lifes!
[[[8.6]]] Prizes for winning
Winning each of the Chao Races gives you a Sonic Emblem, for a total of
5, including the secret race. Your A-Life will also gain a gem on its
chest identical to the one representing the highest-level race it has won.
[[[8.7]]] Stats required for winning
In order to safely win all 5 races, your stats in all areas must be
over 300. Any victories slightly below this level seem to be based more
on luck.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
[9]~`~ How do I interact my A-Life VMS with another A-Life VMS? `~`~[9]
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
When connecting to another VMS to perform either mating or battling, it
seems necessary that both A-Lifes must have evolved at least once.
Otherwise you get an error message of some sort.
[[[9.1]]] Mating
Excerpted from an E-Mail I recieved from Drew Ressler
"Anyway, I have bred 2 different Chaos creatures at once..a silver and a black
one, made them evolve once, then put them on 2 VMS's. I selected the 3rd option,
morph. I put them together, then it just has some Japanese characters, and some
hearts just appear on the left and right side of both screens. They just randomly
appear on each side, then after a few minutes, the hearts make a line, and
it says
to disconnect them.
Both VMS's recieve the same plain-white eggs, with a baby chao inside with a
mix of both creatures (The one in the egg I made was black, but had the eyes
and feet of the silver one)
You can select them the same way you load a chaos creature from a VMS, right
below the chaos creature is a white egg that you can select. It will pop out
for you to break open (That's why each VMS has 2 "spots" to select when you
go to load a VMS, the one below the Chaos creature is an egg if it has one.)
If you decide not to take the egg out, you can just leave it in. Then, on
the VMS game, go to the status screen, and below his HP's is a picture of
an egg, signafying that there is one on the VMS.
As it stands, I have:
On my white VMS: My black morphed creature, 1 egg
On my green VMS: My silver morphed one"
[[[9.2]]] Battling
I've no first hand accounts of this, but it seems this mode is no different
from a Quest mode battle, though I have no idea if it could be fatal to the
loser or not. Any help would be appreciated!
[[[9.3]]] Uploading and downloading A-Life's from the net
Again, excerpted from an email from the ever helpful Drew Ressler
. :) My thanks!
"Coincidentally, the same time I started exploring, and found out where
to trade Chaos Creatures online, www.seganet.com did too, although they
think its "new" when its been around for a bit.
Anyway, this is what you do. You can fix this up and reword it any way
you want." [ed. note: I'm too darn lazy :) ]
"Connect to the main Sonic Adventure Dricas Homepage. Pick the
peach-colored button on the left (the one right above the purple BBS
button)
Click on the middle Chaos Creature face in the top row (the one with the
surpised look on its face). At the bottom are two buttons. The left is to
upload a Chaos Creaure, the right one is to download one (At this time I do
not know how to upload a Chaos Creature, for me, the menu's in the upload
section just put me in a loop).
On the download page, scroll down. The first text box is for what you want
to search for. Since most of the uploaded chaos creatures have Japanese
descriptions, text wont help. Try some key numbers like 99, to search for
Chaos Creatures with the max 99 hit points, or 999 to search for ones with
max in abilities. The grey button below that is what you press to do the
search. I am unclear what the next text box is, but trying letters and
numbers, then searching, comes up with a blank form. Below that is a
drop-down menu consisting of the numbers 1, 5, 10, 50, 100, 500. Thats
how many results you want per page.
After you are done searching, just click on the grey button with the
corresponding Chaos Creature to download it. If you see a white text box
below the description box, it means the download is password protected,
obviously there so the person who uploaded it can only let his freinds
download it."
"One more note. The Chaos Creature download is only around 15 bytes, which means
you can ONLY race or take care of it in one of the Chao Gardens. You CANNOT play
the portable game with it. If you try it, you will get the word DOWNLOAD in big
letters, instead of the usual picture of a little chaos creature and the A+B
sign."
I myself don't have a modem with my Dreamcast, so major thanks to Rukes for
these informative and none too easily obtained pieces of information. Cheers!
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
[10]~`~`~`~`~`[10]`~`~`~`~`~` Author Notes ~`~`~`~`~`~[10]~`~`~`~`~[10]
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
[[[10.1]]] Authour Rantings
My first A-Life is an evolution of a gold egg I got from the Station Square
shop. His name is LAU CHAO, a play on one of my favourite VF3 fighters,
Lau Chan. His current status is: 37/37 HP, Swimming 999, Flying 999,
Running 999, Strength/Power 999.
Another A-Life is an offspring of LAU CHAO and another A-Life. I combined
it with two skunks and a deer to produce an artist who draws everywhere!
Thus, I have named him SKETCHY. Currently, he is: 22/22 HP, Swimming 104,
Flying 088, Running 093, Power 120.
Most revently, with new information I've been testing, I've raised a
bunch of wildly coloured A-Lifes. The once bland gardens and hordes of
identical blue A-Lifes are alive with colour and song now. :)
Be sure to watch "Chao in Space"!
[[[10.2]]] Credits & Thanks
Major thanks to Rukes (Drew Ressler ) for
essentially writing the areas of VMS mating and A-Life downloading, and
helping to clarify alot of issues concerning evolution and hit point
gaining.
Uber-thanks to Chris Kohler for massive help in
providing information from Japanese pages with regard to getting different
colour A-Lifes, the effects of animals, and alot more. Check out his Sonic
Adventure FAQ on GameFAQs!
Also thanks to Jim Kreutz for our frequent exchanges of theories and some
quite useful information (not to mention letting me mooch around using his
big TV and sound system, loaning me pretty much 2/3rds of his giant anime
collection, and for letting me play his extensive collection of Japanese
imports for the Saturn).
Thanks also to Gogeta, Joe Ottoson, Elliot Newman, Scott Smith, and
Joe Knife for pointing out various things to me, and offering helpful
suggestions. Thanks guys!
I'll never utter a word of thanks or credit, though, to Steve Quinlan. He
hates Sonic Adventure, despises A-Lifes, and is a really cheesy Akira
player. Boo!
The rest of the credit goes to me! (ego ego ego)
[[[10.3]]] Version History
Compiled by Mike White ([email protected])
Version 1.0, Jan. 16, 1999 - Release version
Version 2.0, Jan. 21, 1999 - Expanded on pretty much every category, added
Advanced A-Life Raising, added a route map, actually put some content into
the category devoted to interacting 2 VMS's, and added information about
downloading A-Lifes. Plus changed the "1.0" to "2.0".
Version 3.0, Apr. 23, 1999 - (So I got lazy? :p) Added all the info with
regard to getting different coloured A-Lifes, the exact effect of animals
and where to find them, the idden minigame and warp trick, general tidying
up, and changed "2.0" to "3.0".
[[[10.4]]] Copyright Notice
Sonic Adventure, A-Life, and pretty much everything else mentioned in here
belongs to Sega Enterprises, Ltd. I don't own Sega (yet), so here's my little
disclaimer to make this all nice and legal. Though I doubt they'd sue. Well
anyway, all the information in here I obtained myself through some pretty basic
translation work. Honest. Well, except for that which I credited, naturally.
Copy and distribute this all you like, print it off, tell your friends, just
don't try and make a profit off it. Oh, mention I compiled it too, and don't
edit it if you're gonna repost it, or I'll be angry.
Oh, fine. This FAQ is Copyright Mike White ([email protected]), Apr. 23,
1999. Happy?
