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********************* by Wazuya *************************
*********************************************************

This FAQ is copyright (c) 2000 William Pham, aka Wazuya.

Important: This document in its entirety, or any portion of it, may not be
reprinted or modified in any way, shape, or form, without the express
permission of its author, William Pham (Wazuya).  Permission for usage of this
document may be requested by sending an e-mail to kazkfang@aol.com.  Certain
terms, names, and objects, including, but not limited to, Tekken Tag
Tournament, Tekken, Tekken 2, and Tekken 3, are registered trademarks and
copyrighted by Namco.  Violation of these terms can and will be punished to the
maximum extent of the law.

If the periods below are lined up with the numbers beneath them, then you are
set to view this FAQ.

.........
123456789

*********************
* Table of Contents *
*********************

1. Introduction
2. Earning Tekken Bowl Mode
3. How To Play Tekken Bowl
   A. Basics
   B. Strategy
4. Character Analysis
   A. Categories
   B. Sweet Spots
   C. Recommended Teams
5. Submissions and Credits

****************
* Introduction *
****************

First, about myself: I consider myself an intermediate/expert Tekken Tag
Tournament player.  I began playing the series with Tekken in the arcades, and
picked up Tekken 2 for the PlayStation, and then Tekken 3 as soon as it came
out for the PlayStation.  I fell in love with Tekken Tag Tournament in the
arcades and brought the affair to my house when the PlayStation 2 arrived in
the United States.  I live in Modesto, CA, and often play Tekken Tag at the
local arcades.

I don't consider myself anywhere near skilled enough to write an in-depth FAQ
for any of the characters that haven't been covered yet, but I do feel like
there should be a FAQ for the great mini-game that Namco decided to put in for
the home version of Tekken Tag: Tekken Bowl.  While Tekken Ball was an
extension of the game engine of Tekken 3, Tekken Bowl is a completely different
game, and, had it more options, could sell as a game on its own.

In writing this FAQ, I assume that the reader has basic knowledge of the
PlayStation 2 controller and of Tekken Tag Tournament in general (as in, has
read the manual.)  I will not answer questions sent to me via e-mail or other
methods directly.  If they seem relevant, I will address them in an update of
the FAQ.

****************************
* Earning Tekken Bowl Mode *
****************************

Tekken Bowl Mode is unlocked at the same time the time release character Ogre
is released.  To release Ogre, the game must be beaten in Arcade Mode ten
times, with any character(s).  If you want to earn Tekken Bowl Mode as soon as
possible, set the difficulty to Easy and amount of rounds to 1, and then choose
a team with quick, easy damage; my personal favorite is Kazuya and Bruce.

***************************
* How To Play Tekken Bowl *
***************************

--+Basics+--

Once Tekken Bowl Mode is activated, you need simply select it from the main
screen.  You will enter the Character Select screen, where you can choose your
team of bowlers from the default characters and the characters you have earned.
 If you wish to compete against others, they need to press Start to join in. 
In Pair and Play Mode, two bowlers can cooperate, or four bowlers can play
against each other, with each person controlling one character.

After teams are chosen, you will begin.  First, you need to position your
character and confirm with X.  Once you have confirmed, you cannot move your
character any more.  After confirming, you will be able to choose amount of
spin and power.

Spin: The half-circle on the lower-left portion of the screen with the moving
pointer represents spin.  The far left part of the circle represents a great
deal of spin to the left, while the far right part of the circle represents a
great deal of spin to the right; the middle of the circle represents no spin. 
To dictate the amount of spin you place on the ball, you must time the pressing
of X to coincide with the pointer at how much spin you want.  In other words,
press X when the pointer is on the left side to have the ball spin left, press
X when the pointer is on the right side to have the ball spin right, and press
X when the pointer is in the middle to have the ball not spin at all.

Power: The meter moving up and down on the right side of the screen represents
how much power your bowler will put into the ball.  As with the spin meter, you
must time the pressing of X to coincide with the meter at how much power you
want; full power equals a full meter, while no power equals an empty meter
(power is not measured equally among characters; this will be discussed in a
later section of the FAQ.)  However, you must be careful, as it is possible to
"Overcharge", and your character will charge down the lane with bowling ball in
hand, losing your chance for points (although it is interesting to watch, and
sometimes humorous.)

Once you've chosen spin and power, your character will begin to release the
ball.  As your character is releasing the ball, you can hold either Left or
Right to further adjust placement of the ball.  However, this adjustment is
small, and cannot compensate for excessive or not enough spin, though it can
help nudge the ball closer to where you want it to go.

--+Strategy+--

Obviously, the objective of the game is to knock down as many of the pins as
possible.  However, there are several ways to go about this, which I will
address.


"Easy" Strike: Most seen with weak characters.  In this case, the ball slides
into the pins, creating a domino effect of sorts, where all the pins are
knocked down.  In this case, a replay will result.  To achieve this, you will
want a small amount of spin to the left or right so that the ball strikes the
front three pins off-center, and a ball speed of approximately 20-25 mph.

              O O O O O
               O O O O
                O O O
                 O O
                /|O|\
               / | | \
              /  | |  \



"Normal" Strike: Most seen with average and strong characters.  In this case,
the ball hits the pins hard enough to knock them all down, or most, whereas the
rest are knocked down in a domino effect.  In this case, an explosion in
addition to a replay will be shown.  To achieve this, you will want a minimum
amount of spin to the left or right so that the ball strikes the front three
pins slightly off-center, and a ball speed of approximately 30-35 mph.

              O O O O O
               O O O O
                O O O
                 O O
                 /O\
                /| |\
               / | | \



"Variable" Strike: Seen with all types of characters.  In this case, strange
events occurring causes all the pins to be knocked down.  In most cases, this
will be due to excessive power used with a strong character, where one or more
pins are knocked straight up into the air and knock down other pins as they
fall to the ground.  This can also result from an "Overcharge", where the
character slides down the lane with ball in hands, knocking all pins down.  In
the case of an "Overcharge", no points will be counted.

              O O O O O
               O O O O
                O O O
                 O O
                  O
                 /|\
                / | \
               /  |  \



A Normal Strike is easiest to achieve with average and strong characters, while
an Easy Strike will be the norm for weak characters.  These character
archetypes will be discussed later on in the FAQ.

The key to achieving a strike is timing, as well as knowing the abilities of
the characters you have chosen.

In addition to strikes, there are other types of scoring recognized by the
game.

Spare: When at least one pin is knocked down by the first character and the
remaining pins are knocked down by the second character.

Nice Cover: When there is a split, or two or more pins separated by a gap, and
all are knocked down.  This is one of the most difficult shots to achieve, and
will be shown instead of a spare.

Double!!: When two strikes are achieved in a row.

Turkey!: When three strikes are achieved in a row.

!!Great!!: When four strikes are achieved in a row.  When more than four
strikes are achieved, exclamation points are added onto the left and right
sides of the word "Great."

Punch Out!!: When four strikes are achieved in the 9th and 10th frames of a
game.

**********************
* Character Analysis *
**********************

--+Categories+--

Asterisks denote characters who are slightly more powerful than others in the
same category.  An (L) or an (R) denote whether a character is left-handed or
right-handed.

Weak characters:
These characters have a maximum ball speed of anywhere from 20-30 mph.  Careful
calculations must be used in order to get a strike, but with these characters,
it is easy to pick up a spare.  The dial and meter for spin and ball power move
very slowly for these characters.
-Nina, Anna, Jun, Julia, Michelle, Roger, Alex, Wang, Kunimitsu, Mokujin,
Tetsujin, Angel, Lee

Average characters:
These characters have a maximum ball speed of anywhere from 30-50 mph. 
Although less accuracy is needed to achieve a strike, the same amount of
precision when choosing spin and power is necessary.  The dial and meter for
spin and ball power move at a moderate speed for these characters.
-Bruce, Lei, Law, King*, A. King*, Yoshimitsu, Bryan, Jin, Heihachi*, Kazuya,
Devil, Unknown, Eddy, Tiger, Baek, Hwoarang, Paul*

Strong characters:
These characters have a maximum ball speed of anywhere from 50-75 mph.  It is
easy to assume that maximum power and a straight-on ball will get a strike, but
because of the realistic physics of Tekken Bowl, moderation is necessary.  An
advantage of these characters is that excessive power can almost entirely
eliminate mistakes when choosing amount of spin.  The dial and meter for spin
and ball power move at a very fast speed for these characters.
-Kuma, Panda, Gunjack, Jack-2, P. Jack, Ogre, True Ogre, Ganryu

--+Sweet Spots+--

A sweet spot is the term I've given to the position, amount of spin, and amount
of power that one can use to get a strike a majority of the time.  I say
majority because there is always a certain factor of randomness in the game. 
This is due to a combination of chance, inability to time the exact button
presses consistently, etc.

Weak left-handed characters:
 -Position: One or two steps to the right.
 -Spin: Slightly to the left of the center of the dial, or between 10-30
degrees to the right.
 -Power: Full.

Weak right-handed characters:
 -Position: One or two steps to the left.
 -Spin: Slightly to the right of the center of the dial, or between 10-30
degrees to the left.
 -Power: Full.

Average left-handed characters:
 -Position: Center.
 -Spin: Between the center and far right of the dial, or 45 degrees to the
right.
 -Power: 50-75%.

Average right-handed characters:
 -Position: Center.
 -Spin: Between the center and far left of the dial, or 45 degrees to the left.
 -Power: 50-75%.

Strong left-handed characters:
 -Position: Center.
 -Spin: Approximately 22.5 degrees to the right.
 -Power: 40-95%.

 -Position: One or two steps to the left.
 -Spin: All the way to the right.
 -Power: 40-60%.

Strong right-handed characters:
 -Position: Center.
 -Spin: Approximately 22.5 degrees to the left.
 -Power: 40-95%.

 -Position: One or two steps to the right.
 -Spin: All the way to the left.
 -Power: 40-60%.


***************
* Submissions *
***************

If you want to submit anything to this FAQ, please e-mail me at
kazkfang@aol.com with the subject heading "Tekken Bowl FAQ Submission."

I especially need the following:
 -Which characters are left-handed and which are right-handed
 -Additional sweet spots under the categories I've put in the "Sweet Spots"
section
 -Any corrections

***********
* Credits *
***********

Dutchollow Crew: Korpela, Hellier, Heffernan, Steven, Ethan, Mo.  The rest of
you too, though you're all scrubs :P.

Tekken Zaibatsu: The Tekken resource site.  Great FAQs and movies.

Tekken Central: Contender for the crown; I love the unorthodox stylings
featured in the movies.

Other Individuals: ---
