********************************************************************************
* SKIES OF ARCADIA MINI-FAQ *
* PINTA'S QUEST-VMU GAME *
* *
* Guide By: SloDeth *
* *
* v1.7 March 8, 2001 *
********************************************************************************
Table of Contents
0. Basics/Intro
What is Pinta's Quest?
Can I use your guide on my website?
Is this the latest version of the guide?
Can I send you E-mail?
I don't have enough memory on my VMU!
How do I play?
What are these options on the menu?
1. The Five Events
Headwind
Strong Wind
Trading Ship
Enemy Ship
Finding Items
2. Other Stuff
Phrases
EXP
Level 100
Death
Explore Your World!
3. Back to Port
EXP and Gold
Items
4. Version History
5. Contributor Recognition
6. Contact Info
E-mail address
ICQ #
Web Page
Copyright Info
===============
0. Basics/Intro
===============
**********************
What is Pinta's Quest?
**********************
Pinta's Quest is a VMU mini-game from Skies of Arcadia, a great RPG for the
Dreamcast. You can play it once you reach Sailor's Isle in the game. A boy
there in one of the shops will activate it for you. The mini-game requires 83
blocks on your VMU.
***********************************
Can I use this guide on my website?
***********************************
It depends. Here's how it is:
YOU MUST E-MAIL ME(slodeth@iname.com) AND ASK FOR PERMISSION!
You may not make any changes to it. You can ask, but the answer will be "no" in
almost every case.
You cannot make it seem like you wrote the guide yourself IN ANY WAY. It must
be clear that it is my original work.
You may not re-write it yourself in your own style. It's called plagiarism.
Even if you change every word, plagiarism is the theft of IDEAS.
If I grant you permission by E-mail, you should give me an E-mail address which
I can inform you about updates to the guide.
If I grant you permission by E-mail, you should give me a hyperlink to the web
site on which you post the guide.
****************************************
Is this the latest version of the guide?
****************************************
It depends. If you got it straight from my website, it is the latest version.
If you got it from GameFAQs, it might be a day or two behind, but this is
probably the best place to turn. If you got it from any other website, you
might not have the latest version.
**********************
Can I send you E-mail?
**********************
Yes, but PLEASE read the Contact Info section at the bottom of the guide FIRST!
*************************************
I don't have enough memory on my VMU!
*************************************
You have two choices: buy a new VMU, or free up some space on your current one.
To delete files on your VMU...
1. Turn on the Dreamcast with no disc in the drive.
2. Go to the Files menu.
3. Select your VMU.
4. Select files that you don't really need. Hit A and follow the directions to
delete them.
(yes, I get this question more often than you think)
**************
How do I play?
**************
Here's the story: you are a pirate, sailing around the world for treasure. As
you sail around, five events will randomly occur, just like random battles in
the game. Hit A at any event to continue, or hit A to access the menu when no
event is occurring.
***********************************
What are these options on the menu?
***********************************
STATUS-Check your status. Includes Attack Power, Defensive Power, EXP, Current
HP, Max HP, and your level.
ITEM-Lists the number of each rank of item(A, B, and C) you currently have.
GOLD-Lists the amount of gold you have.
MAP-Use this to change the area where you search for treasure. Press A when the
cursor is over the area you wish to visit. Note that you can't visit areas
that you haven't visited yet in Skies of Arcadia. There's much more information
on the map in the Explore Your World! section.
SOUND-Turn sound On or Off.
==================
1. The Five Events
==================
********
Headwind
********
It says to "Press Button Quickly!", but this is a bad idea. Here's what's
happening: on the screen, you can see the wind blowing you backwards. Every time
you hit a button(A or B), you move forward a little. For every distance you move
forward, the bar on the right moves up a little. If you move backwards, the bar
goes down. The bar won't go negative, so it basically starts over at zero.
I've tried playing this one every way imaginable, but the secret is THIS IS NOT
A BUTTON-MASHER. You can mash and mash until dawn, but you can't fill the bar
that way! Here's my technique:
-Hold the VMU sideways in your left hand, palm covering the screen.
-Keep your index and middle finger on the A and B button, respectively.
-Put your right thumb directly under the A and B button on the bottom of the VMU.
-Hit A and B one after another like a crazy drummer. Once you get the feel for
it, increase the tempo until you can fill the bar every time.
Find a technique that works for you if this seems uncomfortable. As long as you
hit A and B consecutively, you can do it. Don't try to press the buttons as fast
as you can! When I press A and B rapidly at the same time with my thumb, I can
still only fill the bar only halfway. The alternating technique can fill the bar
without frantically mashing buttons.
The higher the bar is at the end, the more EXP you get. If you do nothing, you
will get 1 EXP and some gold.
***********
Strong Wind
***********
Avoid the rocks! This should be self-explanatory. Big rocks and small rocks fly
at you either quickly or slowly. If one of them hits you, you lose HP(bar at the
bottom) and you get less EXP at the end. It is possible to die in this scenario.
The best technique in this level is to try to stay in the area with the most open
space and freedom to move around. Most of the time, this is near the middle of
the screen, but bigger rocks can change this. If a big rock flies by you on the
right, keep to the left so you can avoid any little rocks flying at you.
The far left and right are safer when you think about it statistically. Since
the middle of the generated rocks must be on the screen, you aren't in danger of
being hit by the right side of a rock on the far left, or vice versa. Pick the
left or right side of the screen if you don't want much action. However, if you
are good enough to stay in the middle, do it! You are more likely to get stuck
on the far left or right, since there's less room to move around.
At the end of this round(exactly 35 seconds), you get a set amount of gold and
some EXP based on how well you did. If you didn't get hit at all, you get the
maximum. For every big rock that hits you, you lose half of the potential EXP.
Every little rock that hits you costs you a quarter of the EXP. Note that these
are fractions of the maximum, not the amount that you currently have. For
example, if the max EXP is 240 and you get hit by one big and one small rock,
you will get 60 EXP.
************
Trading Ship
************
The trading ship will make you an offer. You can choose OK to go through with
the deal, or decline with NG. I have no idea what NG stands for...but I know
it's not an NC because the C looks slightly different.
* UPDATE * Nicolas Antoine says NG means "No Go", which is used in aviation to
call off a move. I'm pretty sure he knows what he's talking about here...
* UPDATE * Robert Hencke says NG means "no good" because of the direct
translation from Japanese. These both seem like good ideas and both these
people are credible, so I'm not sure who to believe.
* UPDATE * Daniel Lanza says NG means "negative", which fits well as the opposite
of OK. Will this disagreement ever end?!
NOTE: You can't accept an offer if you don't have the correct items. For this
reason, you should try to carry a minimum of 3 of each item so you can accept
most offers.
Here's the list of deals:
3C -> 4C 1B -> 3C 1A -> 9C
3C -> 1B 1B -> 4C 1A -> 16C
4C -> 1B 3B -> 4B 1A -> 3B
9C -> 1A 3B -> 1A 1A -> 4B
16C -> 1A 4B -> 1A 3A -> 4A
The exchange rates vary, as you can see. Any logical trader would only accept
the good deals(like 9C -> 1A) and reject the bad ones(16C -> 1A), but it doesn't
always work this way. Since it's not an open market, you should take just about
every deal that upgrades your items. The C items aren't that good, and some of
the A items are great.
**********
Enemy Ship
**********
You must destroy the enemy ship by shooting cannonballs at it. As the cursor
goes around the screen, hit A whenever you have a good shot. A successful shot
will do damage based on your Attack Power, which you can view under the Status
menu. If you miss, the enemy's bar will fill up and it will take a shot.
The bar on the right(enemy's bar) gradually lowers, as you may have noticed.
When it reaches the bottom, it takes a shot at you. You can't shoot while the
bar is at the minimum. Use this to your advantage-take a risky shot before the
bar reaches the minimum.
There are three kinds of ships-fast, medium, and slow. Each of these ships also
can have different HP levels, offense, and defense.
If you hit the enemy ship in a certain area, it will do twice the damage. This
area is usually where the bottom of the biggest sail meets the ship. Try to hit
this area!
Also, if you hit the A button as soon as you enter the battle, you will always
get a hit. It's a good way to start off, or finish, the battle.
If you win the battle, you will win EXP, gold, and maybe an item. If you lose,
you die.
*************
Finding Items
*************
You can also find items without going through an event at all. You will find all
three items-A, B, and C-in every area.
* NOTE * The area you search will not affect the items you find, nor will the
level of your ship! A lvl90 ship will find no more A-items than a lvl5.
==============
2. Other Stuff
==============
*******
Phrases
*******
As you search, you will see some phrases go across the screen. Here's a list of
the phrases:
LET'S GO!
I'M AIRSICK
HOW'S VYSE?
TIME TO EAT!
DOING GOOD
DOING GREAT!
I'M BORED
THIS IS FUN!
SO TIRED
HEH HEH HEH
LET'S GO!
ADVENTURE!!!
A NICE WIND
ACHOO!
GOOD LUCK!
ITEM SEARCH!
BIG WORLD!
ZZZ ZZZ ZZZ
I'M LONELY
I'll add to this list if I find any more.
*****
EXP
*****
EXP allows you to gain levels whenever you return the ship to port(access it
within Skies of Arcadia). With each level gain, you will gain Attack, Defense,
or HP. The higher your level, the less you will die, and the faster you will
destroy enemy ships.
Each level gain requires about ten times the level number. For example, lvl98
to lvl99 takes about 990 EXP. However, lvl99 to lvl100 takes 15,000 EXP, since
it's the last level. They decided to make it a little harder...
*********
Level 100
*********
When you reach lvl100, you get a BIG boost. Your ATK, DEF, and Max HP all jump
to 255. All items you find will be A-items, and all trade ships will only have
3A->4A trades! You'll have a handful of Idols in no time!
*****
Death
*****
When your HP reaches zero, your ship waves its flags and flashes "REPAIRING!"
across your screen. Either jam on the A and B buttons to speed it up, or wait
patiently. When the repairs are finished, your HP is filled and you lose a small
quantity of gold(usually less than 300).
* UPDATE * Clyde <CHende1@bart.gov> says that you must pay 2 times your max HP,
or all your gold if you don't have enough, to repair your ship.
*******************
Explore Your World!
*******************
Just like in Skies of Arcadia, every area of the map has a different level of
difficulty. It took quite awhile to put this together, so enjoy it!
Enemy Ship Difficulty
---------------------
A-gives 100EXP, 250 gold, ship has ~40 HP
B-gives 80EXP, 200 gold, ship has ~30 HP
C-gives 60EXP, 150 gold, ship has ~25 HP
D-gives 50EXP, 100 gold
E-gives 40EXP, 80 gold
F-gives 30EXP, 60 gold
G-gives 20EXP, 30 gold
H-gives 10EXP, 10 gold
C E D D D F B
B E H G G E A
B D H G G F C
C F H G G D B
B E G G G D A
A E E E D D A
Note that ships in each area may have either the amount listed or exactly 3/4 of
the amount listed.
Strong Wind Difficulty
----------------------
A-gives 240 EXP, 250 gold for flawless voyage
B-gives 200 EXP, 200 gold for flawless voyage
C-gives 160 EXP, 150 gold for flawless voyage
D-gives 120 EXP, 100 gold for flawless voyage
E-gives 80 EXP, 50 gold for flawless voyage
F-gives 60 EXP, 40 gold for flawless voyage
G-gives 40 EXP, 20 gold for flawless voyage
C E E E E E C
C E G G G E C
C E G G G E C
C E G G F D D
C E F G G B B
A E E E D D B
Again, an explanation on the EXP...if you didn't get hit at all, you get the
maximum. For every big rock that hits you, you lose half of the potential EXP.
Every little rock that hits you costs you a quarter of the EXP. Note that these
are fractions of the maximum, not the amount that you currently have. For
example, if the max EXP is 240 and you get hit by one big and one small rock,
you will get 60 EXP.
Headwind Difficulty
-------------------
A-gives 100 gold and 1-80 EXP
B-gives 50 gold and 1-40 EXP
C-gives 20 gold and 1-20 EXP
A B B B B B A
A B C C C B A
A B C C C B A
A B C C C B A
A B C C C A A
A B B B B B A
Summary
-------
So, to sum it up...the easiest and least rewarding areas are in the center of
the third column. The hardest and most rewarding area is in the lower left
corner, although the areas around Yafumota are quite good. Throughout your
adventures, you should choose your area based on your skill in the Strong Wind
areas and the power of your ship during ship battles. Feel free to experiment
with the areas, though...it will be quite awhile before you can hold your own in
the lower left area. Find areas where you can gain levels quickly with little
risk.
===============
3. Back to Port
===============
Inside Skies of Arcadia, access the menu by pressing Y any time except during a
battle. Choose the last option on the page to switch pages. Select Pinta's
Quest and select the VMU with your mini-game on it.
************
EXP and Gold
************
EXP gained in the game will now be totaled and your ship will gain levels. I
don't have a full table or a solid equation, but the amount of EXP you need to
reach the next level is about 10x the level you're on currently.
Gold goes straight into your wallet, no questions asked.
*****
Items
*****
Items from the ship will now turn into real items to use in the game.
C-items include Crystals and fish...nothing special.
B-items include item Boxes and various auras.
A-items are the special items. I've assembled a list of some of these items...
Moonberry-used to learn new special attacks
All the seeds, including Dex Seeds. These increase various stats.
Ivy Band-increases Defense and Magic Defense, especially against Green magic,
and protects against Poison
Behemoth Ring-increases Defense and Magic Defense, especially against Yellow
magic, and protects against Weak
Silvite Ring-increases Defense and Magic Defense, especially against Silver
magic, and protects against Death
Revered Voice-increases Defense and Magic Defense, especially against Purple
magic, and protects against Poison
(UPDATE: these items aren't exclusive to Pinta's Quest, but they're more common
in Pinta's Quest than in the game)
Magillex Idol
Euconyx Idol
Pharax Idol(reported by Jason Collins)
(idols can be sold for 25k, and are unique to Pinta's Quest)
* NOTE * You CANNOT get any Chams in Pinta's Quest! The only way to get Chams
is in Skies of Arcadia. There are 30 Chams, one from a download from the
website that you access through the game. Read another guide for more info, but
THERE ARE NO CHAMS IN PINTA'S QUEST.
* NOTE * The items you will receive are determined WITHIN PINTA'S QUEST. When
you return it to port, you can pull out the VMU after viewing the items you will
receive and nothing will change, but it will NOT re-randomize the items you get.
Also, since the item randomization occurs within Pinta's Quest, the items you
have in Skies of Arcadia will not affect the items you receive. Therefore, if
you have 99 Sky Sardis and you win 10 more in Pinta's Quest, you don't get any
more Sky Sardis. Thanks to Kevin Quindlen <wewentouttoeat@yahoo.com> for
confirming/making me say this.
==================
4. Version History
==================
March 8, 2001 - 1.7 - Fixed a little typo in the Trading Ship section.
January 10, 2001 - 1.6 - Brief update with another idea concerning NG and one
more phrase from the quest.
December 15, 2000 - 1.5 - Brief update to Return To Port/Items section.
December 14, 2000 - 1.4 - I reached lvl100! Added all information about that,
and fixed the repairing formula.
December 12, 2000 - 1.3 - Added the last Idol name, and fixed up a thing or two.
December 9, 2000 - 1.2 - Fixed a ton of typos. I think I got everything right
This time!
December 9, 2000 - 1.1 - Fixed the thing about A-items and NG in trading. I
didn't want to publish such a small update, but I already received a handful of
letters about the A-items in only two days!
December 7, 2000 - 1.0 - First version of the guide. Next version will have more
items listed.
==========================
5. Contributor Recognition
==========================
Thanks to Daniel Lanza <lanzaquilts@prodigy.net> for another NG suggestion.
Thanks to Robert Hencke <zapfie@mindspring.com> for another idea about NG.
Thanks to Nicolas Antoine <nantoine@stanford.edu> for the clarification on NG.
Thanks to Neil Johnson <njohnson@rohan.sdsu.edu> for the clarification on the
A-item rings. He was the first, so he gets the credit...
Thanks to Valirion <valirion@home.com> for the name of the last idol.
Thanks to Clyde <CHende1@bart.gov> for the ship repair formula.
Thanks to Kevin Quindlen <wewentouttoeat@yahoo.com> for confirming the thing
about having 99 of one item and receiving more from Pinta's Quest.
===============
6. Contact Info
===============
E-mail: slodeth@iname.com
ICQ UIN: 15025844
Web Page: http://go.to/SloDethFAQs
E-mail Rules:
Include the name of the game or guide in the subject. Pinta's Quest is enough.
E-mail me almost ANYTHING: questions(not answered in the guide), comments,
praise, criticism, requests...even ADDITIONS TO THE GUIDE.
Ask me if you can use this guide. I will almost certainly let you, as long as
you ask politely.
Don't E-mail me crap. Don't ask me to join a website, like AllAdvantage.
I've received way too many of those.
Don't spend any less than one minute writing your E-mail. Check it over and
make sure you used correct spelling, decent grammar, and capitalization.
AOL slang is not up to my standards. Don't use "r u" instead of "are you" or
anything like that. It gets on my nerves. If you do that thing where you
capitalize every other letter, don't expect a response.
ICQ Rules:
Do whatever you wish. I don't care about ICQ very much. Put my number on spam
lists, tell it to your friends, and flood it with whatever you want.
What you can find at my web page:
-More info on me(in case you care)!
-Links to all of my guides!
-The most recent versions of my guides!
-HTML versions of my guides!
-Feedback forms, surveys, and some other crap!
-News on what I've done and what I plan on doing!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Please do not distribute this guide in any way without my explicit permission.
I'm sure you could use it and mutilate it to your pleasing, but I'd appreciate
it if you write to me first. I'm very willing to give out this guide, given
that it is not changed in any way.
Or, as they say, This document Copyright 2000 by Martin Silbiger.
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