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Dirge of Cerberus Data/Save Management
Written by Angelo Heartilly
Version: 1.00 (8-25-06)
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Dirge of Cerberus
- Data/Save Management -
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|===Introduction===|
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ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ
Why did I make this guide? Sure it's small and covers a really narrow aspect,
but the save system is fairly complex in DoC and isn't explained in any good
detail by the game itself. Honestly I nearly as many save related questions as
gameplay details, I really think this guide could be helpfu for new players to
get on their feet. Knowledge is power so my guide is, like, freakin' Excalibur!
What you'll find in this guide is answers and explanations for any questions
you might have that involve your saved data. The New Game+ feature, travelling
to previous chapters, starting a fresh new game, Memory Capsules, I'm trying to
cover most all of it. But that is ALL the guide covers, just data management.
Item locations, boss strategies, customization tips, none of that is covered
here, and if you actually came to this guide looking for that information...
you're retarded. If you see any mistakes, have any contributions or just want
to praise me my e-mail is homicidal_bunny@hotmail.com.
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{=== Table of Contents ===}
ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ
1 - Most FAQs
2 - Overview
3 - Restarting
4 - Temp Save
5 - Extra Hard / New Game +
6 - Memory Capsules
7 - Extra Missions
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{=1= Most Frequently Asked Questions =1=}
ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ
Q: Is there a New Game+ feature?
A: Yes, New Game+ is bundled together with the Extra Hard mode, which is
unlocked by beating either Normal or Hard. As long as you select Extra Hard
after completing a previous game, starting another Extra Hard should put you
in a New Game Plus.
Q: What does "Data Corrupt" mean?
A: You probably did what I did once and turned the game off while that (barely
visible, constantly appearing) disc popped up in the corner of the screen,
which means it was saving. The one occasion I've done it I had lost one
chapter's worth of progress when I booted the game back up, but I'd imagine
it can get worse.
Q: Can I go back to previous chapters mid-game to level up more or get
something I missed?
A: Yes, technically. But you cannot move back and forth between chapters with
the same status and inventory, it doesn't work that way. The only exception
is if you go back to shoot a memory capsule. Check the overview for more
information.
Q: Isn't Shelke hawt?
A: Keep dreaming pedophiles.
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{=2= Overview =2=}
ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ
< Your memory card must be in Slot 1 in order for the data to save/load! >
ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ
First of all, you can only have one saved game to a memory card, once you
select "Game Start" you will be thrown into the Chapter Select screen. As you
play through the game you will hit what I term "save points", where your game
is saved and you will be returned to that location with that status if you
restart, or you can jump to that location at any time from the Chapter Select
screen. Only one game can occupy each of these save points though, so if you
play through Normal all the way all of these save points will be open to be
jumped to under Normal difficulty. Then if you started a new Hard game you
would slowly cover up those Normal save points with your Hard game - but as
long as you don't complete your Hard game you'll be able to return to the
Normal game from any of the later save points. The same goes even if you don't
complete your current game, just select the Prologue save point and you can
start up a new game - at the expense of whatever save points you play through
from your previous game.
Of course the catch with these "save points" is that when you return to them
you still have the status you had when you first played through that area. So
say you were Level 22, had nothing in your inventory and had 12000 gil when you
started Chapter 6. If you continue on through Chapter 8 and then return to the
beginning of Chapter 6 you'll still be Level 22, have nothing in your inventory
and have 12000 gil. If you decide to go back to Chapter 6 you can effectively
"retry" those areas you had already passed and play through that part of the
game again, it just won't contribute anything to your most current save point
and you'll cover up your save points past that point just like if you were
starting a new game. So while this kills most attempts to power-level, it is
still a nice way to ensure the player can never get totally stuck in the game.
And of course if you are looking to gain some "crazay" levels or get some
"pimpin'" cash in the middle of the game there are other methods...
As for the difficulty settings, besides their obvious gameplay differences both
Normal and Hard are exactly the same. That is to say you won't be missing out
on any features by not playing Hard. Once you beat either difficulty level you
will unlock the Extra Hard and Extra Missions modes and whatever clips you
have found, which is covered in detail below.
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{=3= Restarting =3=}
ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ
When you choose to restart Vincent will be returned to the last save point he
crossed - but the thing is there are two different types of restarts. There is
the automatic restart (being KOed by an enemy) and there is the manual restart
(choosing restart from the pause menu). An automatic restart is advantageous
in that when you choose to restart you get to use whatever Exp you have earned
up to that point and have it when you restart from the last save point, making
it possible to level up mid-chapter - or you can turn it into gil you can
spend. That is the limit of your status change however, any items or gil you
found since your last save point will be returned, and any customizations /
purchases you made will be reversed and your gil returned. It is also worth
note that any Exp you have earned from automatic restarts IS NOT SAVED unless
you use a temp save or cross the next save point. If you turn off the console
or quit the game you'll lose that experience. You can also automatic restart as
much as you want to earn more Exp/Gil, the only consequences is a lower grade
at the end of the chapter.
Manual restarts are different, you do NOT keep your Exp this way. In fact, if
you automatic restart and then manual restart you will erase the experience
you gained from the automatic restart and go back to your original status when
you first reached the last save point. While neither restart method resets the
game clock - it'll still constantly click away - the manual restart will be
better for your overall grade at the end of the chapter. It doesn't count as a
KO and I'm fairly certain the extra time with a manual restart ISN'T counted.
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{=4= Temp Save =4=}
ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ
Also in the pause menu, Temp Save is a useful feature for those longer
missions with large spaces between save points. Essentially you create your
own one time use save point that saves your location and status at that moment
and puts it as a save point on the Chapter Select screen. This will remain
there until you enter it or another save point - even if you turn the console
off. Once you enter it though the data is deleted, you can't exit the game and
then re-enter through that temp-save. It also doesn't count as a save point if
you restart, you'll be returned to the last "standard" save point if that
happens.
Essentially it is just a nifty feature if you have to stop the game suddenly,
you won't have to lose any progress.
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{=5= Extra Hard / New Game + =5=}
ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ
Beat the game on Normal or Hard to unlock this mode. On the surface it just
seems like a harder game, more enemies that deal more damage. Once you open up
the Gun Customization menu you'll see you carried over all of your equipment
however - the Extra Hard mode is also a semi-New Game Plus! Only gil and gun
parts are carried over unfortunately, you lose all of your consumable items
and experience.
A New Game Plus can only be done off of a completed game data, which is created
after the end credits of the game roll. You can't do a New Game Plus off of a
half-completed game. So say you beat the game on Hard, then started, say, 50
separate Normal games but didn't complete any of them. You can still start an
Extra Hard game using your final Hard data - it uses whatever your last
completed game data was. You can also start an New Game Plus, then midway
through it start another New Game Plus with the same last completed game data.
The only way to get consecutive New Game Plus's is to complete your current
Extra Hard game, at which point you can then use that data to start another
Extra Hard game with your uber weapon collection. So the only way to keep all
of your cool gun parts is to play the game at it's hardest, which is a pretty
fair way of handling things.
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{=6= Memory Capsules =6=}
ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ
Memory Capsules are a bit special but the concept is very simple. The moment
you shoot them that piece of data is saved and you won't find (or have to
find) the memory capsule again. For this reason you are allowed to go back to
previous chapters and shoot memory capsules you missed, then return to your
most recent save point - it still counts! Shooting a memory capsule and then
restarting before you hit another save point doesn't matter either, once
you've shot the memory capsule and the save icon disappears you have it with
no way to lose it.
Another great thing about memory capsules is that it is one shared database.
So you can play Normal and get half the memory capsules, then start Extra
Hard and get the other half - since it is all just one game save no matter
what the circumstances when you shoot a memory capsule it is added to your
collection. The only thing to note is that your memory capsules from the main
game aren't activated until you have a completed save game.
Extra Mission memory capsules work essentially the same way, the only
difference is the way you have to destroy them.
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{=7= Extra Missions =7=}
ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ
Your first Extra Mission is unlocked by completing the game once - at that
point you unlock the next one by completing your current mission and can also
unlock a few bonus missions by shooting some of the memory capsules. Extra
Missions are like Extra Hard mode - you get to bring in your current gun
set-ups as well as all of your gun parts to battle from whatever your last
completed game save had. Otherwise your status is pre-set for each mission and
gil and experience aren't present because they have no use.
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{=== Closing ===}
ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ
| Credits |
ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ
SE - Thanks for making a solid shooter with some great RPG elements in it
Gackt - He sucks as a model for a character but "Redemption" sure kicks ass
Members of the DoC Message Board - Well, just not the bashers. Besides those
poopers the board is filled with some fairly
swell people
| Version History |
ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ
8-25-06
1.00 - Most likely the final and only version, pending any mistakes, typos or
new discoveries.
| Copyright Info |
ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ
This guide is copyright 2006 Tommy Chambers. Do not use this guide for
anything but your own personal use. Do not use this guide on your website,
the only site this FAQ should be found on is GameFAQs.
