Strategy Guide - Guide for Motor Toon Grand Prix 2

MOTOR TOON GRANDPRIX 2                                       The Original FAQ
Edition 1.11                                               by Matthew Sephton
=============================================================================

CONTENTS

  1.0  Introduction
  1.1  The Game
  1.2  Graphics
  1.3  Gameplay

  2.0  Playing Concepts
  2.1  The Joypad
  2.2  Driving
  2.3  Characters
  2.4  Tracks
  2.5  Weapons
  2.6  Ghost Racers
  2.7  Two Player Battle

  3.0  Cheats
  3.1  Goodies
  3.2  Hidden Options
  3.3  Shortcuts
  3.4  Fast Starts

  4.0  What Do You Know?
  4.1  Contacting The Author
  4.2  Release
  4.3  E&OE
  4.4  Thanks

  5.0  Version history

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1.0  INTRODUCTION

This FAQ aims to be the definitive source of information for the PlayStation
game Motor Toon Grand Prix 2, henceforth MTGP2. It serves no other purpose.
At this time no manual in any language has been seen by the author.

1.1  THE GAME

Motor Toon Grand Prix 2 is, in my opinion, and at the time of writing (August
1996), the best game on the Sony PlayStation. It is a cartoon based, cutesy
driving game. It features Championships, Time Attacks, Free Runs, Replays,
Ghost Racers, multitudes of options and overall brilliant gameplay. It is a
collaborative effort between Sony Japan (SCEI E.D.D.#1), Bandit Inc.
(Programming) and Opus Corp. (Music & SFX) and thus features one of the best
combination of programming, graphics and music I have seen to date.

1.2  GRAPHICS

However pretty the scenery may look it is of no functional use. Such items as
the Pirate Ship, Zeppelin, Ferris Wheel, Waterfall, Windmill and so on are
for aesthetic value only - there are no hidden entrances or such. The game
either prevents you from touching the scenery or provides no collision
detection for the scenery. One interesting point is that is possible to jump
onto the top of some buildings, but is that really any use in the game?

1.3  GAMEPLAY

The game is simplicity itself to play. However it can take time to become a
master. To show what I mean here's an example. I set a record with Billy
The Tough on Toon Island II and thought that it would take a lot to beat,
trying again and coming within hundredths of it. Coming back to that record
a week later I shaved at least a second off it!

Experimentation with driving lines is the only way to improve lap times.
Learning how each weapon operates and where is best to use it is the key to
ploughing through the field in a race.

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2.0  PLAYING CONCEPTS

As with any other game playing skills will improve over time. Perseverance is
the key. Select a character and stick with them to learn how they drive. The
same can be said when learning courses.

2.1  DRIVING

It is essential that a good driving line is taken. Try to enter corners wide
and get as close to the apex as you can without hitting it. Take time to
learn the layout of each course. Driving off course will slow you down.

To turn tight corners more easily hold down the brake whilst still
accelerating, causing your machine to skid or slide. It is sometimes more
beneficial to slow down around a corner than to go full speed around it.
However don't slow down too much (one quick press on the brake is more than
often enough) try dabbing the brake if you have to use it a lot. If you do
need to use it a lot, then try to change the angle of approach to that corner
so you don't have to use it as much.

Turning after a jump also helps to get around those tight corners. An example
is when you go under the bridge on Toon Village.  If you turn your vehicle
slightly just as you go into the jump, you will tilt in the air. On landing
you will make a sharper turn than normal.

It is possible to gain extra speed by slipstreaming other vehicles as in real
life racing. Just approach another vehicle from behind and the square in the
middle of your revometer will change colour from blue through red and orange
to yellow according to how well you are slip streaming. Results vary
according to character but are typically similar to that gained by using
three power ups.

2.2  THE JOYPAD

Here is a list of the default joypad buttons and their functions.

 BUTTON     RACING                REPLAYS
 Left       Turn left
 Right      Turn right
 Square     Brake                 Change driver view direction
 Triangle   Reverse               Change driver view direction
 Circle     Start/select items    Toggle driver or TV camera style replay
 Cross      Accelerate            Toggle driver or TV camera style replay
 L1         Behind view           Zoom view in
 R1                               Zoom view out
 L2         Zoom view in
 R2         Zoom view out
 Start      Pause menu            Pause menu
 Select     Beeps horn            Beeps horn

2.3  CHARACTERS

SCEI use Captain Rock for all their racing, but this is not to say that he is
the best character. On the contrary, I have beat several of the SCEI records
using, for example, Billy The Tough and Raptor & Raptor. Princess Jean is
best for beginners giving a natural progression to Billy The Tough.

DRIVER      ROCK   JEAN   BOLBOX   PENGUIN   RAPTOR   VANITY   BILLY
CHING
Handling    4      1      3        8         7        6        2       5
Forward     303    282    293      311       271      340      291     337
Forward PU  306    287    309      321       282      341      293     349
Backward    74     63     71       59        299      103      87      103
Brake       10     10.5   10.5     11        4.5      5.5      20.5    5
Brake PU    5.5    7.5    6        7         3.5      4.5      16      3.5
Speed       4      7      5        3         8        1        6       2
100km/h     3.27   3.20   3.19     3.20      1.00     3.17     4.75    3.14
200km/h     6.26   6.31   6.61     6.44      2.20     6.41     7.85    6.41
Max         13.09  12.12  15.18    13.62     5.67     17.53    11.75   14.11
Max PU      4.46   4.72   6.16     5.42      2.48     4.84     4.71    5.83
Accel.      3      2      7        6         1        5        8       4

KEY: Rough timings are in seconds, braking distances are in white lines,
     other ratings are in the range 1=best to 8=worst. PU = with 3 Power Ups.

An interesting point is that Raptor & Raptor travels faster backwards than
forwards. I have used this (holding down L1 does not reverse the controls
for steering left and right) to better a number of normal Raptor records but
it does spoil the game a little. In my experience Billy The Tough can beat
records set with backwards Raptor.

2.4  TRACKS

The tracks are in no real difficulty order, but some have trickier sections
than others. People have their favourite for different reasons.
Note the difference between pinky coloured roadside. Pink, as long as it is
only touched slightly will not affect your speed - unlike other coloured
roadside. (eg. Toon Island II - the chicane just before the home straight)
Driving off the course will also slow down your vehicle's performance.

There are a total of ten tracks plus the MT-R track. The track order in the
game is Toon Village, Toon Island II, Crazy Coaster, Gulliver House II and
Haunted House. On the PAL version of the game, the order of Toon Village and
Toon Island II is swapped.

2.5  WEAPONS

The time denotes how many seconds the effect lasts for. Times may not apply
or may vary, see the symbol key below. The remaining time the item has left
is displayed just under the lap times. Only the first three Power Ups have an
affect on performance.

 ITEM                  TIME  EFFECT
 2nd Boost *             !   Turbo applied to other player.
 32t Weight              F   Slows down victim.
 Big, Bigger, Biggest!  10   Increases your size and decreases top speed.
 Crazy Mushroom          F   Missile which makes victim dizzy.
 Dynamite                D   Drops behind you, rolls then explodes.
 Fireball                F   Missile which throws victim into the air.
 Jump                    !   Jumps your machine into the air. Handy.
 Magic Hand *            !   Steals current item from other player.
 Missile                 F   Homing missile. Cruise control during flight.
 Oil Slick               D   Erratic driving for whoever drives across it.
 Pandora's Box           !   Disorientates other players.
 Power Up               !@   Increases machine performance for race duration.
 Stealth Field          10   Makes your machine invisible to other players.
 Super Shield           10   Makes your machine invincible and faster.
 Tiny, Tiny, Tiny!       7   Decreases your size and increases top speed.
 Turbo                   !   Gives your machine burst of acceleration.
 Wonder Clock            !   Freezes all other characters.

 KEY: * = items only available in link-up mode, D = Dropped on track,
      F = fired at player in front, ! = instantaneous, @ = lasts whole race.

The Wheel o' Items is position dependant, in that the items it contains are
dependant on your race position, or more accurately the time difference
between you and the race leader. Pandora's Box and Wonder Clock will appear
more often if you are nearer the back of the pack. You can quite accurately
select the weapon of your choice through knowing that the wheel if stopped
during the first few rotations (ie. before it starts to slow down) will take
one rotation to stop.
If you get thrown up in the air by another driver try to use it to your
advantage. Try and take a shortcut or land on other drivers.

2.6  GHOST RACERS

When you complete a time attack and return to the option screen you will see
that the 'Save Video...' option is now enabled. You can save that replay to
your memory card for future replays or to race against! Later you can 'Load
Ghost from Video...' and you can then race against it in the time attack.

Be aware that the game records every move you make on the joypad so the more
buttons you press or the longer your race is - the more space the replay
takes up. A safe approximation is that you can fit about 10 in one memory
card slot.
With an analogue controller such as the NegCon from Namco, you can fit only 2
per slot! This is due to the fact that digital controllers send data in the
form 'Left for X seconds, right for Y seconds' whilst analogue send it in the
form 'A degrees left for X seconds, B degrees right for Y seconds'. A simple
change in degrees will mean new information being sent.

2.7  TWO PLAYER BATTLE

If you are lucky enough to have a circle of friends with two copies of the
game (or the Japanese dual CD version), two PlayStations and two TVs then you
can play a two player battle. This is just a race with two machines. A number
of options are available in this game mode (defaults in CAPITALS):

   ITEMS                 ON/off
   2nd CAR BOOST         none/low/HIGH
   GAME STYLE            NORMAL/scratch
   LAPS/points           2+

ITEMS switches the wheel o' items on or off. 2nd CAR BOOST alters how much of
a hand in terms of catch up speed the player losing gets. GAME STYLE changes
a normal set number of laps race to a 'one point per lap' race, the winner
being the first to the set number of points.

TWO PLAYER BATTLE WITH ONE GAME CD (TWO PLAYSTATIONS & TWO TELEVISIONS)

It has been found possible that you can play two player link-up of the game
with only one game CD. Just use the following trick, which will not work on
import/foreign versions of the game without a suitable PlayStation, be it
foreign or modified with a chip.

 Place disc in PS1,
 Load game,
 Choose your track and car on PS1,
 Enter the options menu (so that the demo won't start).

 Place disc in PS2,
 Load game,
 Choose your track and car on PS2,
 Start "2 Player battle",
 Wait until the little disc in the bottom right corner stops spinning,
 Swap the disc to PS1 (within a few seconds!).

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3.0  CHEATS

There a few real cheats for MTGP2, but many hidden options or secrets. Those
that I know of are outlined below.

3.1  GOODIES

Each time you complete the game you are rewarded with a goody. These are
listed below.

EASY   Extra Characters,
       Vanity (Motorbike), Billy The Tough (Train) and Ching Tong Shang (F1).

NORMAL Extra Tracks,
       These are the first five tracks in reverse mode with different scenery
       and colour palettes.

HARD   Tank Combat,
       Similar to Spectre VR on PC and Mac. A first person tank game in
       keeping with the MTGP2 character themes. Linkable.

PROF.  Submarine X,
       A 3D implementation of the Battleships board game. Linkable.

EXPERT Motor Toon R and README,
       Race a modified version of Toon Island II in a real F1 or Stock car.
       Supposed to handles realistically.
       A history of MTGP2, its making and cheats? Not in PAL version?

DEBUG MODE
It is possible to get the Goodies without completing the game over and over
using the Debug Mode method outlined in the next section.

3.2  HIDDEN OPTIONS

A number of SCEI options used silently by the game can be activated by a few
button presses.

ADVANCED OPTIONS
Hold L1, L2, R1 and R2 whilst choosing Options to obtain more options.

SCEI REPLAYS
Hold down R1 when selecting any memory card accessing option to divert the
game to the built-in SCEI replays on the game CD. You can now watch or race
against ghosts of the SCEI team's best times. Not in PAL version.

DEBUG MODE
Choose Goodies from the main menu. Hold anyone of the L or R buttons and push
select. You should see four numbers in the lower right corner of the screen.
Now R1=1, R2=2, L1=4 and L2=8. By combining the button presses (eg. L1+R1=5)
it is possible to compose any base 16 (hex) number. So, hold the appropriate
L and R buttons and press select to enter the digit.

   GOODY               JAP.      US       UK
   Extra Characters    4e43     ????     ????
   Extra Tracks        4154     ????     ????
   Tank Combat         5443     ????     ????
   Submarine X         5358     ????     ????
   Motor Toon R        4631     ????     ????
   README              ????     ????     ????

3.3  SHORTCUTS

Here are a few legal shortcuts which can speed up your lap times. Be aware
that Raptor hovers so he can do things that would take a Jump with any other
cars. Jump height also relies somewhat on speed. The last five tracks are
the first five reversed, so some shortcuts apply to both directions.

TOON VILLAGE
 1 ALL CHARACTERS
   Use a Jump to hop onto the bridge just before the home straight. You may
   find it a little easier if you approach from the left side of the road
   aiming for the wall on the right of the bridge. Be careful that you don't
   jump too late resulting in totally clearing the bridge. Not all cars can
   get enough height to do this one.
 2 ALL CHARACTERS
   Drive onto the grass on the right hand side of the road through the fair
   ground and jump over the fence, between the buildings. Not all cars can
   get onto the grass to do this. Same goal as (1).
 3 ALL CHARACTERS
   Use a Jump to hop over the fence between the castle and the fountain.
   This will skip the difficult hairpin bend, and you can still get the
   speed up on the exit from the hairpin.
 4 RAPTOR & RAPTOR / SUPER SHIELD
   Drive between the windmill and the bridge instead of under the bridge.
   Not all cars can get onto the grass to do this, but it may be easier if
   they have a turbo or increased speed.
 5 RAPTOR & RAPTOR / SUPER SHIELD
   Keep going straight on at the top of the hill after the castle and you can
   drive straight to the road by the fairground by going behind the buildings.
   Not all cars can get onto the grass to do this, but it may be easier if
   they have a turbo or increased speed.

TOON ISLAND II
 1 ALL CHARACTERS
   Approaching the first bend after the checkpoint, drive off the road to the
   right and drive over the hill onto the bridge. All the cars can do this
   with a Super Shield or Jump, Bolbox, Billy and Raptor can do it without.
 2 RAPTOR & RAPTOR / SUPER SHIELD
   Every corner that doesn't have a wall can be cut across.

CRAZY COASTER
 1 ALL CHARACTERS
   Where the track goes over head (where they cross on the map) use a jump
   to jump from the top of the hill onto the track above. Cuts loads off. Not
   all cars can jump high enough to do this.

GULLIVERS HOUSE II
 1 ALL CHARACTERS
   Just before the table lamp, it is possible to jump the track divider lined
   by little chicks in egg shells. It may be easier to approach from the left
   side of the road and do a handbrake turn just before you jump to make sure
   you've changed direction by almost 180 degrees when you land and then
   still get the speed up arrow. Raptor doesn't need a Jump.
 2 ALL CHARACTERS
   One such area is the platform with the glass on the right hand side of
   the road before the home straight. Use a Jump and drive between the glass
   and the wall. Because of Raptor's hovering ability it can coast over any
   low obstructions such as this.
 3 ALL CHARACTERS
   Cut across the roulette wheel. This will only be quicker if you take a
   good racing line and hardly slow down at all.

HAUNTED CASTLE
 1 RAPTOR & RAPTOR
   Hover over the hairpin just before the entrance to the cave.

SNOW VILLAGE
 1 ALL CHARACTERS
   The pond is frozen over, so it can be driven over just like a corner,
   making the hairpin less so and missing out a little bit of road.
 2 ALL CHARACTERS
   use a Jump hop off the bridge by the Christmas tree. Alternatively, you
   can Jump between the buildings on the left-hand side just before the
   Christmas tree to achieve the same goal.
 3 ALL CHARACTERS
   Use a Jump to hop over the fence between the castle and the fountain.
   This will skip the difficult hairpin bend, and you can still get the
   speed up on the exit from the hairpin.
 4 RAPTOR & RAPTOR / SUPER SHIELD
   Drive between the windmill and the bridge instead of under the bridge.
   Not all cars can get onto the grass to do this, but it may be easier if
   they have a turbo or increased speed.
 5 RAPTOR & RAPTOR / SUPER SHIELD
   Keep going straight on at the top of the hill after the castle and you can
   drive straight to the road by the fairground by going behind the buildings.
   Not all cars can get onto the grass to do this, but it may be easier if
   they have a turbo or increased speed.
 + Also see TOON VILLAGE above.

NIGHT ISLAND
 + See TOON ISLAND II above.

GALAXY COASTER
 + See CRAZY COASTER above.

GULLIVER NIGHT
 + See GULLIVERS HOUSE II above.

HEAVENLY CASTLE
 1 ALL CHARACTERS
   Where the track doubles back on itself the wall has gaps in it - like the
   battlements on top of a castle. If you are travelling fast enough you can
   jump through the second gap from the right onto the road ahead. You may
   find it a little easier to steer right during the jump so the wall isn't
   a problem on landing. Works even better with Raptor & Raptor.
 + Also see HAUNTED CASTLE above.

3.4  FAST STARTS

It is possible to do fast starts!  The position on the revometer where the
colours change from blue to green will give a fast start if the needle in
it's vacinity when the character starts to move. There is a slight margin for
error, in that I have got a near enough version of the above by being just
too high on the revometer and got a little bit of a skid before the start.
If this happens just make a instantaneous dab on the accelerator.

However, the needle rises at different speeds for each character. This makes
trying to land the needle in the correct position a game in itself! What I
try to do is pre-empt the commentator saying go. Just keep trying - it is
possible! Try using Princess Jean she was easiest for me, other characters
like Billy The Tough rise so fast I would say it's virtually impossible to
get the very fastest start with him.

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4.0  WHAT DO YOU KNOW?

If you have any additions which you think should be included in this FAQ then
please send them to me as below. Already there are a number of questions
that need answering.

 1 Can anybody access the Yellow Taxi Cabs which you see racing on the demo
   of some tracks?  They seem to replace the three bonus machines.

 2 Does anybody know how to do a better fast start than outlined above?

4.1  CONTACTING THE AUTHOR

The author of this FAQ, Matthew Sephton, can be contacted by e-mail or
through his web page (which contains information about Björk, other music,
Monkey (Magic), the Sony PlayStation and is the place to download some of my
Windows 95 shareware).

  e-mail: [email protected]
     www: http://www.csc.liv.ac.uk/~u5ms/

4.2  RELEASE

This FAQ is obtainable from various places on the Internet, but the latest
version can always be downloaded from this URL:

    http://www.csc.liv.ac.uk/~u5ms/PS/

I have written FAQs for Choro Q Racing/Penny Racers, Hermie Hopperhead, Micro
Machines V3 and WipeOut 2097/XL which are also available.

4.3  E&OE

All errors and omissions excluded. As far as I know the information in this
document is accurate. Correct me if I'm wrong. Use at your own risk.

4.4  THANKS

Original FAQ by Matthew Sephton. Thanks to my brother Chris Sephton for all
his help. Debug tip from , with extra information
from .  for slipstream information, my
friend Jason Jones for the Crazy Coaster shortcut, Christian Seier Wittus
 for the two player game with one CD trick, Jonathan Weeks
 for lots of shortcuts and information.

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5.0  VERSION HISTORY

1.00, 06 Aug 1996  Original release.

1.01, 08 Aug 1996  Fast start added, slight reorganisation and modification.

1.02, 12 Aug 1996  Fast start: section improved.

1.03, 13 Aug 1996  Debug mode section improved.

1.04, 15 Aug 1996  Weapons section improved, fast start finalised.

1.05, 19 Aug 1996  Ghost racer section added.

1.06, 30 Aug 1996  Slipstream added, debug section fixed.

1.07, 24 Sep 1996  Turning around a jump added.

1.08, 20 Nov 1996  Crazy Coaster shortcut added.

1.09, 17 Dec 1996  Two player battle section added.

1.10, 15 Feb 1997  Two player mode with one copy of the game added.

1.11, 26 Feb 1997  Lots more shortcuts added, some PAL specific information.

FUTURE: More detailed coverage of US and UK versions.