Kenka Banchou 2 Full Throttle [PS2/JPN]

» The title screen is accompanied by the sound of a punch and someone falling to the ground like a cord of wood.

» Press START and the following selections appear:

NEW Game
LOAD Game
Options

» START a new game and you're able to enter the name for your new hero in hiragana, English, or Greek. That's right, Greek. To take advantage of it, we named him MR α OWNZ. Note the all caps to signify his bad-assed-ness.

» The game begins with two bruisers standing cross-armed and facing each other. It sort of looks like a Yankii staring contest but that comes later when the Menchi beams are in force. After the text dialogue (no voice acting at this juncture), control is handed over to the player. The protagonist Tomoya (aka MR α OWNZ) wears brown spiky hair and is dressed in the regulation issue uniform of the Yankii. To move, push the L-analog and he immediately shoves both hands into his pockets and walks leisurely around while the sound of wood upon wood is heard emanating from the ground. The R-analog swivels the camera around and the button controls are as follows:

Cross............ Hold down and move to run
Circle............. Jump
Square.......... Medium Attack
Triangle......... Strong Attack
L1-Trigger...... Center Camera
L2-Trigger...... Grab
R1-Trigger...... Guard
R2-Trigger...... Menchi Beam
R3-Analog...... Push down to regenerate HP

For a concentrated attack, press and hold either attack button until orange-colored power wells up in hero's fist.

The L2-Trigger grab command is used to grab someone from behind. Press O to perform a backwards body slam.

To run and then shoulder someone down, run towards him and then press the SQUARE button to attack

If you exert yourself too much such as running for extended jaunts, a big heart will beat on the upper left side of the screen to indicate fatigue.

» The first task in the game is to establish a Menchi Beam encounter with the guy standing in front of you. This part requires Japanese language comprehension because four language selections will pop up and you'll have to press the joypad face button that corresponds to the answer. The correct sequence to press is TRIANGLE, TRIANGLE, SQUARE. Do that and you'll beat on the opponent and he'll give you a little respect. The next exercises are explained in Japanese but follow the button cues shown on the bottom of the screen and you'll be fine. There's one where you're supposed to push CIRCLE + TRIANGLE together to throw out a power punch but they're outlined below:

1st exercise Push down on R3 to regenerate power
2nd exercise Hit your friend 10 times
3rd exercise Press and hold SQUARE or TRIANGLE to attack with a charged-up punch
4th exercise Push CIRCLE and TRIANGLE to blow out a massive attack

» Once you're done, a dialogue box pops up. Select the option on the right to exit the training sequence. Next, press L2 and your motorcycle magically appears. To wear a helmet while riding press the TRIANGLE button and press the "O" button to beep the horn. To motor along, press the X button and to kick while on the bike, press the L1 or R1 triggers. To scoot off the bike quickly while aboard, press the L2 trigger and the motorcycle will slouch forward while the hero drops off.

» After the training foray is over, the scene opens up on town with a voice over and an animation of a train speeds through. The town seems normal enough with houses, a playground for children, and clean streets. Yasuo from the first game appears with his gang followed by their opponents - Tiger vs Dragon. The scene changes to one near a bridge - your character is panting along with another Yankii and the carcasses of enemy Yankii may be seen lying around. Your friend beats down the last enemy and the two later fall to the floor on their backs and look up while talking and taking a breather. This portion of the dialogue is voiced entirely by voice actors.

» In the next scene, Tomoya is sleeping in class when teacher stands in front of his desk and reprimands him. He gets up and stretches and yawns while the other kids giggle at his folly. Later, he's outside of the classroom when a blonde haired Yankii walks towards him. A voice-over by a male explains his relationship and stature. He laughs, pumps his fist once and walks away while protagonist says "Hei"

» Later outside of school, the blonde Yankii and Yasuo are walking while Tomoya stands outside the school. They stop when greeted by the protagonist. He calls them "Senpai (先輩)" which is a term of respect for an older and more mature player. When Tomoya doesn't get any love back, he foolishly challenges Yasuo and is immediately cowed by the power of The Man. This part of the game is not controlled by the player and is non-interactive. You just watch. We would never assault Yasuo on our own volition.

» In the first scene after that, you're standing in front of your house. You can proceed out into the street on foot but look behind you and check out the bike that's sitting there. A bike as in bicycle. Get on it, make a left, and motor down towards the thugs down the street. As you approach, one of them will begin a menchi beam challenge. Tap the R2-Trigger to meet his gaze and Japanese dialogue bubbles pop up. To win against the guy with the red pompadour, press the following buttons in sequence: R1-Trigger, R1-Trigger, and TRIANGLE. If you win, you will get first strike but you'll still have to fight the gang since one of their members just lost face. If you lose the menchi contest, you'll get beat up a little by the winner and a battle will start immediately where the others bruisers gang up on you. If you fall down, they'll circle and stomp on your hero's body like their lives depended on it.

Main Menu Options (from the upper left and rolling counterclockwise

01) Time/Date
02) Continue Adventure
03) Edit Character
04) Property (Possessions)
05) Status
06) Garage
07) Option
08) Quit Game
09) Episode (Unlock)
10) Skill
11) Save Data
12) Handy Phone

» The Edit Character feature allows Tomoya to be customized entirely for a unique character model that fits your vision of an up 'n coming yankii thug. When Tomoya gets his motorcycle, he can customize the hog with some sweet street flavor, racing flames, and even a wing.

» When innocents and gangs are beaten, the blood spurts out red and thick. You can even draw blood from elderly people walking around.

» At the outset of the game, the attacks that are available to Tomoya are fairly limited but bear in mind that new moves are made available as he levels up ever higher. Tomoya eventually has a total of 320 moves at his disposal including one where he throws both hands forward and unleashes a fireball like Ken or Ryu. In another homage to Street Fighter, Tomoya can perform lightning fast kicks ala Chun-Li to knock foes off their feet. Three-way menchi beam contests are also possible in the new game.

» When thugs are down, Tomoya can stomp on them to damage them some more. Swinging an enemy around by his feet is a useful maneuver when surrounded by attackers.