Super Basketball(arcade) FAQ
version 1.0.0
copyright 2003 by Andrew Schultz schultza@earthlink.net
Please do not reproduce this FAQ for profit without my permission. It
required a good deal of effort, and I do not look to profit off my work.
However, if you ask me nicely, mentioning my name and this specific
game, I will hopefully be un-lazy enough to reply to you.
** AD SPACE **
My home page: http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Exhibit/2762
================================
OUTLINE
1. INTRODUCTION
2. THE RULES
2-1. THE GAME
2-2. CONTROLS
2-3. THE PHYSICALLY IMPOSSIBLE--AND IT'S NOT EVEN AN ADVENTURE GAME!
3. THE STAGES
4. POINTS, GAME POINTS AND TIME
5. STRATEGIES
5-1. GENERAL AND GAME SPECIFIC INTUITION
5-2. DRIBBLING
5-3. PASSING
5-4. SHOOTING
5-4-1. REGULAR SHOTS
5-4-2. FREE THROWS
5-4-3. LAST SECOND STUFF!
5-5. BUZZER BEATING IN GENERAL
6. PLAY FORMATIONS
7. VERSIONS
8. CREDITS
================================
1. INTRODUCTION
Super Basketball is a funny little title from Konami that reminds me
most of 10 Yard Fight, which was by Irem, but the reason these two feel
so similar is: it's all about the offense. I used to hate to play
defense as a kid. Not that I was good at offense either. But this video
game did what two player games couldn't. It gave me the ball and let me
do stuff. 10 Yard Fight let you run for first downs, which gained time,
in an effort to get to the end zone. Super Basketball is surprisingly
similar. Run in to get a clean look at a jumper that's not too far away,
an each point you score gets you more time. You have an elimination
bracket here where deficits get bigger and opponents get tougher, and
sadly the ultimate strategy kind of ruins much of the drama you've
accumulated, but Super Basketball will still provide a lot of enjoyment.
2. THE RULES
2-1. THE GAME
You are playing in an elimination contest where you must score enough
baskets to be ahead of your opponent before time expires(a tie won't cut
it.) On the bright side--you'll never have to play defense, and you get
time added when you score. On the other hand, it's tough to thread some
passes, and although there's some basketball intuition involved, there's
some illogic going on, and stuff like missed layups can be much more
painful than you think.
2-2. CONTROLS
For those of you using MAME,
UP/DOWN/LEFT/RIGHT arrows can and should be used in conjunction to move
diagonally. Diagonal movement doesn't impede the speed you were going in
any one direction so in fact your actual speed increases by 1.4.
CTRL[left] = dribble
ALT[left] = shoot
SPACE = pass
Try not to hit ALT and SPACE at once. It's possible to slip. But if
you do the guy receiving the pass will get ahead of himself, and you'll
have a turnover.
Dribbling tips:
--Don't run into any opponents. That's charging even if they're moving.
They frequently also play tag with you on later levels, and so you need
to figure out a way to juke them. It's easy enough. I usually go up and
then head down/right. This makes progress to the right side and also
fools defenders into moving up. In general, run not quite at them if
they're far away, and perpendicular if they're close.
--Also you don't have to hit the dribble key too fast. Just synchronize
it with the dribbling noises.
--Dribble to the right whenever you feel the coast is clear. If you're
near the center then by all means head down/right when defenders are
close.
Passing tips:
--I find it's easier to pass *up* and right to someone that you want to
make the final drive to the basket.
--Defenders follow you. So pass one way, then pass the other, but always
try to push to the right.
--If you must lead with your pass, be sure not to hit the shot button.
That will cause the recipient to try to shoot before he has the ball.
--Also, if you are passing straight right and moving down, release
'down' as soon as possible or the recipient will head down and miss the
ball. This isn't so critical with diagonal passes but it's a heartbreak
when you have the otherwise perfect pass.
--Bad guys get faster, and there's no way to lob them.
--Two passes are usually best, one to a player who goes to the top and
the next where he passes it to the guy in the bottom center.
--You generally pass to the guy you're closest to facing, but they can
flash around and beginners will despair of this, understandably.
Shooting tips:
--Putting English on a shot(running and shooting) seems key. Also if you
want to get a dunk you will probably have to get a running start and
shoot from a bit behind the basket. Your player will jump forward.
Sploosh sploosh.
--It's possible to double dribble. Just be ready to tap the dribble key
constantly and look for an outlet. If you can't see anyone, just keep
moving. A teammate will eventually get open and glow.
--shots from the bottom half are better than shots from the top half. In
fact if you follow through and release when your player is at the top of
his jump, you'll almost never get blocked as long as you were moving all
during your run-jump-and-shoot phase.
--If the enemy's hands can get in the arc of your shot, you'll be
blocked. The best bet may be to shoot under the enemy unless you can get
a layup. But you don't want to go straight down to do it.
--Enemies almost never congregate under the basket, so if you get right
of the basket you can swish at will, although you should also learn the
instances when you can hit a jumper from an angle.
--Most of the time if you hold the button down and are open from 2 point
range you will score.
--Rebounds always go up, but don't put the shot back up after you
rebound. That always seems to miss. Dribble to the bottom and shoot.
--You can commit over and back in the bottom half and not get called. I
think the computer 'sees' a straight line when the graphics for the half
court line are really slanted.
--I think there's a science to getting fouled. Let a guy catch you from
behind and he'll push you over. It's worth it to blow by him first.
2-3. THE PHYSICALLY IMPOSSIBLE--AND IT'S NOT EVEN AN ADVENTURE GAME!
--check out the celebratory jumps.
--some incredible verticals to blocked shots there.
--by the Japan game, opponents will be able to run through you or their
own teammates. This will cause a lot of blocked passes or unwitting
charges.
--on a missed layup the ball shoots back towards the sidelines at an
alarming rate.
3. THE STAGES
Opponents get faster as you go through different stages. Their shorts
change colors too but the important thing to note is when they go fast,
when they stop fouling, and when you can't really dribble by them--or
get away with tricky passes.
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+-+-+ | | | | | | | |
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YOU JHS H S COL UNI JAP USA USR PRO W C ad nauseum
--A bit odd that the USSR is ahead of the USA for a game marketed solely
in the USA, but oh well.
--Also, you get no special recognition for beating the world champs,
just 4 more points to score
Team/Colors/Score
How they improve
Junior High School/black/white/78-70
You can get away with one bad pass here and even charge once before
you get caught. You can also blow by opponents pretty easily. They
aren't terribly alert to passes, either.
High School/white/gray/82-70
No mulligan for a bad pass here.
College/blue/black/86-70
Can't get passes by them in cross formation.
University/90-70
Here you may get a shot that rolls around and in even with time left
on the clock. So you might want to chuck your '3' a bit early.
Japan/light blue/red/94-70
Here you'll want to start shooting a free throw when the yellow box is
over the hoop. Later on you'll need to do it when the yellow box is at
the far left.
USA/purple/purple/98-70
Hey wait! No red white and blue? You rarely get fouled by now. I often
win without a single free throw.
USSR/yellow/green/102-70
Pro/black/white/106-70
(Note the colors loop here, every 7 opponents)
Pro Champion/white/grey/110-70
World champions/blue/black/114-70
World champions/green/red/118-70
4. POINTS
--10 points for each time you dribble the ball. You must hit the dribble
button continually.
--300 points for each successful pass. This includes the inbounds pass
as well.
--1000 points + 5 second bonus for a 2 point shot.
--2000 points + 6 second bonus for a dunk(still 2 points.) You can tell
when you've dunked because the ball won't actually pop up in the air.
--3000 points + 6 second bonus for a 3 point shot.
--5000 points + 5 second bonus for making a free throw at a 45 degree
angle.
--2000 points + 3 second bonus for making a free throw at any other
angle(40-50.)
--1000 * # of baskets scored in bonus session(35-45 for me, max 50, min
< 30.) Bonus session occurs every other level.
--(level * 1000 * seconds left) points for winning a game
**this is where you will get the lion's share of your points. Beat
anyone Japan or beyond with a minute left, and you'll be set. Note also
there's a minimum of 5 seconds for winning a game(you may hit a free
throw to win but it doesn't happen often) so you'll get at least
5000/10000/etc. for each end of round bonus.
**
--minus up to 5 seconds for giving the ball up, never dropping below 9
seconds. Ways to do this include:
->jumping and not shooting
->letting the ball go out of bounds
->letting opponents rebound
->getting a shot blocked
->charging
->over and back violation
->passing to someone and having him move/shoot too quickly before the
ball gets there
->waiting around with a defender in front as they'll steal the ball
5. STRATEGIES
5-1. GENERAL AND GAME SPECIFIC INTUITION
First off you need to make a quick decision about whether or not your
dribbler will shoot the ball or pass it. Even a dribble down the court
shouldn't take more than seven seconds. Occasionally you'll get turbo
speed even on higher levels in which case you might as well forget about
dribbling. Then you can just take it to the rack.
You also need to find a sweet spot on the floor where you just seem to
hit things. As long as you have been running around and you lean to the
basket, you should fire and get easy points.
Unfortunately one of the biggest general points is that you'll be
cruising through this game and suddenly hit that formation you can't
stand to play. And this is a big crusher that can reduce you from an
easy win to something much riskier. Try to get back to basics(up to the
top, pass to the bottom, shoot) if this is the case--often it's that
you'll just blow a layup and things will get worse from there. Keep your
head on and you can win with 30-40 seconds and get a huge bonus--
although the opponents do seem to get sharper near the end.
I find it's not really an emergency for me unless I need to score
more than 2 baskets per second. Even then there are mulligans and you
only need four seconds to get down the court(a shot can take 1-2
seconds.)
The plays and formations actually follow a set pattern--score a basket
on one, play the next one. Otherwise it recycles.
5-2. DRIBBLING
The main trick once opponents get faster is to move up and down/right
to get by someone(and if he's even a little in front of you, he will
take a charge) or move up/right and fire down/right.
Hitting the button faster doesn't make for better dribbling, but you
should realize that as you go farther along you have to pay closer
attention as running right at a defender is less viable. So run at them
at an angle. Don't worry about going out of bounds on the top/bottom--
it's pretty much impossible.
If you want to get right quickly without going up, try to zag
down/right to shake someone, but when you're not pressured you'll want
to try to go to the center to give yourself that leeway.
Dribbling all the time is exhausting on your finger, and that's
another incentive to pass more often.
5-3. PASSING
When the whistle blows and you start the play, you need to figure out
which sort it is and where you should pass it. In some cases a quick
pass may work, or it may be advantageous to give it a shot. Say you have
nine seconds left and you're in the cross formation. Why not face right
and pass immediately? In fact you can move the ball quickly if you nudge
in the direction you want to pass.
Strictly interior passing is bad although a good tactic is to step
down from the outside and pass in there. Also resist the temptation to
pass to someone wide open if a defender is halfway between the two of
you. The concept of lobs does not exist.
+ X + = bad, turnover
X + = good, can sneak in there if you just moved D/R
+
Be sure to run at the person you want to pass to before you actually
give up the ball, as that makes that much more sure he'll be
highlighted(it can switch alarmingly otherwise.) although before then
you may want to run a bit away to distract the defenders, you'll want to
make a logical pass unless, say, in the case above--where if there's no-
one below you then the computer will think it knows you want to dump the
ball inside.
It's also possible to pass down and pass right in quick succession.
This requires an interior pass so you may have to go D/R a bit before.
5-4. SHOOTING
5-4-1. REGULAR SHOTS
First of all, 3 pointers are pot luck although it's possible to get 3
inside the line(top of the key.)
These are not too difficult at first as you can blow by defenders, but
what to do when the path to the basket is not clear? Then you'll have to
picture a slight arc from you to the basket. The curvature must be
developed with intuition but if an opponent is in the way then that is
bad. Some examples of the right way to do things are below. Defenders
generally won't pack the lane or goaltend, but it's possible to be
blocked by someone who isn't in your way to the basket. Also the farther
out you are, the bigger chance you'll miss but you won't be blocked too
much. The key thing is to dribble by the opponent guarding you closely
before you shoot.
SAFE NOT SAFE SAFE SAFE
(goaltend)
X O X O XO O
X
+ + + +
In general you need full court vision to see if the opponents are
still backpedaling--if they are then they can't really jump and nail
you. But you do have to consider that the ball travels in an arc, and
the 2-d graphics mean that you can get some nasty surprises early on.
Bring the ball back out and down if you miss and manage to get the
rebound, where it's hard to see the ball bouncing. The game seems to be
nasty and smell blood once you miss one shot.
5-4-2. FREE THROWS
Free throws aren't too bad at all. They give you more points and time
than a regular shot once you get good, and you can take your time. I
found I can be a 90% free throw shooter with accuracy. You'll notice the
yellow parallelogram that moves back and forth in line with the rim.
Your object is to push the shoot button and hold it down. Once the angle
is between 40 and 50, you let go, and hopefully the parallelogram will
have moved so the whole rim is under it. The parallelogram moves more
quickly as you get to a higher level, but the angle always seems to
increase by the same amount. So what you can do is calculate the time
from when the target passes the basket and see where it winds up and
adjust where you'll have to start. There's a good margin for error and
once you push the button you'll want to be more concerned that the
target winds up on top of the basket. Don't look at the angle, and don't
try for 45 degrees.
5-4-3. LAST SECOND STUFF!
Super Basketball gives you one mulligan before you are cooked. If you
launch a shot and time expires, it will roll around and in. The best way
to take advantage of this is...drop a long bomb from 3 point range, even
beyond half court. This can be very effective if you don't take 3's,
period. Because let's say you're down 110-102. A '3' that you're given
makes it 110-105 and you need 3 baskets. If you just get a '2' with time
expired then it's 110-104 and you need 3 baskets to win anyway. You
don't want to angle for this, but it will allow you to try the buzzer
beating in general below--try for some quick passes so that you can
force a few seconds' extra time, but if that fails...launch a 3.
5-4-4. BONUS ROUNDS
This isn't really worth the annoyance it gives but there is a rhythm
that allows you to sink a bunch of shots in a row--or miss them all. I
find that if I miss a lot early on I take a split second pause and get
back to work. But these don't really matter.
5-5. BUZZER BEATING IN GENERAL
With under ten seconds left, you'll be able to hear the seconds
counting down in the background, but don't let it shake you. You need to
stick to your old strategy, and often you can try to slip in something
that might not have worked anyway. The first thing to remember is that a
shot must leave your hand before the buzzer, but if you note that it
rolls around the rim a few times and in, you can't use the automatic 3
pointer any more. So you may want to stay back and dribble around and
use that for your first break.
6. PLAY FORMATIONS
The play formations tend to rotate pretty well, and although for some
your early easy opportunities get cut off, there are still a couple of
powerful passes you can make to get to the hoop. The defenders seem to
shift positions a bit, but general strategies still work pretty well.
One detail in figuring all this out is that you would do well to see
where your guys--and your opponents--are as the screen scrolls left.
It's a chance to see how the play's set up, and the whistle gives you a
split second to figure what to do.
1 passes to 2 to get the ball inbounds, and 3-5 are your other guys.
1)
+-------------------+
|1 2 5 |
| |
| |
| 3 |
| |
| |
| 4 |
+-------------------+
This is the first formation you'll see. Move 2 down and he can pass to
4. Then 4 can usually cruise in. You won't see this much later but you
can beat pretty much anyone to the hole although you may have to duck
diagonally away at first.
2)
+-------------------+
| 4 |
| |
| |
|1 2 3 |
| |
| |
| 5 |
+-------------------+
You can pass to 3 with impunity until about college or so. Then you're
probably better off having 2 dribble UR and then coming down and passing
to 5, who can cut UR and then head R/DR until he's totally clear.
3)
+-------------------+
| 4 |
| 5 |
| |
|1 |
| |
| 3 |
| 2 |
+-------------------+
Have 2 do a shake move UR/DR. Then he has a relatively easy pass to 3
or he can even move in further.
4)
+-------------------+
| 3 5 |
| |
| |
|1 2 4 |
| |
| |
| |
+-------------------+
Make 2 face up and start dribbling so you're sure he passes to 3. 3
can dribble around or pass it to 4 and if you move quickly DR and pass
again you can hit 5 for an easy lay-up.
5)
+-------------------+
| 5 |
| |
| |
| 4 |
| |
| |
|1 2 3 |
+-------------------+
Here 2 should be able to pass to 3 unless a defender is close--be
holding right and be ready to hit pass quickly in that case. Otherwise
you can just UR/DR and pass to 3 in the corner for a J.
6)
+-------------------+
| 2 3 |
| |
| |
|1 |
| |
| |
| 4 5 |
+-------------------+
Here the diagonal pass to 5(send 2 DR to start) may afford him an easy
path to the hoop. Again you'll angle to the center and pull away. 4 may
intercept the pass if you wait too long in which case have him face
down and pass to 5.
7)
+-------------------+
|1 2 |
| |
| 3 |
| |
| 4 |
| |
| 5 |
+-------------------+
Here a bit of zen is needed with regards to whom you can pass to. You
may just have to settle for someone in the center who can go DR/R as
needed and you may need to pull the U/DR trick here. Players become
lumped together so this requires a bit of individual skill.
8)
+-------------------+
| 3 |
| |
| 2 |
|1 |
| |
| 4 |
| 5 |
+-------------------+
Have 2 face up and pass to 3. After this 3 can pass DR to 5 who can
make a break for the hoop.
9)
+-------------------+
| 3 4 |
| |
| |
| |
| |
|1 |
| 2 5 |
+-------------------+
Have 2 face up and be sure 3 is highlighted before passing to him.
Guys will usually be guarding 5 but be alert as the screen scrolls left
just in case. But once 3 has the ball they'll lay off 5.
10)
+-------------------+
| 5 |
| 4 |
| 3 |
| 2 |
|1 |
| |
| |
+-------------------+
Ugg, this is an ugly one, maybe 2 should just pass to 3 who can make a
break DR with a possible U to shake off defenders.
11)
+-------------------+
| |
| 2 5 |
|1 3 |
| |
| |
| |
| 4 |
+-------------------+
A good pass combination here is 2-3-4 although you may be able to skip
the middle man. It's also possible 5 may camp in the lane but you can't
pass unless he's moved in quickly.
12)
+-------------------+
| 4 5|
| |
|1 |
| 2 |
| |
| |
| 3 |
+-------------------+
With 4 and 5 useless it's up to 2 to weave UR and DR and pass D. That
should give 3 time and space to move in.
13)
+-------------------+
| 2 |
| |
|1 3 |
| |
| 4 |
| |
| 5 |
+-------------------+
Just pass down into the mess and whoever gets it wants to head towards
the center for standard fake moves. This formation is so passive it
forces you to take a lot of dribbling.
14)
+-------------------+
| 3 4 |
| |
| |
|1 2 |
| |
| |
| 5 |
+-------------------+
5 is your best bet here but 2 is in a good enough central position to
run around for quite a bit. Still it'd be nicer to start by passing to 3
and in fact if he is open then pass up to him and diagonal pass down to
5 if he's open and visible.
15)
+-------------------+
|1 2 |
| |
| |
| 3 |
| |
| |
| 4 5 |
+-------------------+
Here you'll need to recognize the pass and just dribble to start out.
The opponent may go below or right of you and you'll incur an immediate
charge. The best solution to this is to see which way he goes and you'll
probably cut down or DL. It's possible you can pass down, quick turn DR,
and then pass in, but don't try to take the baseline.
End of FAQ proper
================================
7. VERSIONS
1.0.0: sent to GameFAQs 7/31/2003 mostly complete. I probably missed a
formation.
8. CREDITS
Thanks to bloomer, daremo, falsehead, RetroFreak, Snow Dragon, etc. from
GameFAQs on AIM.
Thanks to mame.net for keeping cool games like this alive.
