Car Battler Joe FAQ/Walkthrough by Captain K. (shibakev@earthlink.net) Copyright 2003 2-20-03 Version 1.0 First release This FAQ can be found at www.gamefaqs.com and nowhere else. If you would like to post this FAQ on another website or publication, please email the author first for permission. All trademarks and copyrights contained in this document are owned by their respective trademark and copyright holders. I. Intro II. Play Mechanics III. Frequently Asked Questions IV. Walkthrough V. Item lists VI. Garage/Village Building VII. Shop list VIII. Credits I. Intro Car Battler Joe is an entertaining RPG by Natsume for the Gameboy Advance. Like the old PC game Autoduel, it features a person engaging in battle on the roadways of the future. It also has a collectibility thing going on, as you try to get all the different car parts in the game. Sort of like Pokemon if Mad Max was the trainer. :) The cast of characters: Joe Todoroki: The hero of the story, Joe is a 16-year-old who finds out that his family is part of the elite group known as Car Battlers. He drives an A-type Panther. Pal: Joe's G-Com. Pal hooks up to Joe's gun vehicle to enable weapons firing. Pal also does most of the talking for Joe. Jim Todoroki: Joe's father, who has been missing for 12 years. Where's my child support money? He drives a modified A-type Panther. Wanna: Joe's mother, who is strangely supportive of her missing husband and his dangerous lifestyle. She's quite a mechanic also. Takah: Owner of the Padorko weapon shop. He provides much assistance to Joe. Marion: A young girl that Joe transports to a mountain village. What is it with this game and abandoned children? Harry: A former Grand Prix champion that now lives in seclusion. Shirley Dohmo: Leader of the Dohmo Family gang. She drives a modified C-type Eagle. Casey: Another member of the Dohmos, he worships Shirley. Ken Kaido: A young man who is your rival, and claims to have trained with none other than your father! He drives a modified D-type Tiger. Sho Kaido: Leader of the Red Guns gang. A mysterious Robin Hood-like character. Drives a modified A-type Tiger. Ryu Mossoud: Leader of the Empire gang. Reportedly his gang has uncovered some ancient technology which has made them the most feared Car Battlers on the road. II. Play Mechanics The controls are fairly simple in this game. You walk around with the control pad and talk to people with the A button. The B button makes you run. Press start to bring up the menus. When driving your car, the following controls are used. Press the A button to accelerate. Letting go of the A button causes your car to slowly deccelerate. Press left or right while driving to turn your car. You can also turn while stopped, but this turning is slower than if you are moving. Hold down on the control pad and press A to drive backwards. You can turn while driving backwards by pressing *slightly* to the right or left. If you press too much to the side your car will start going forward again. The R shoulder button fires weapons. If there is an enemy in range of one of your weapons (a cross-hairs of some kind will appear), then that weapon will fire. Otherwise, pressing this button causes your default weapon to fire (whichever one is in the first position). It's a very good idea to make a fast-firing weapon your default. The L shoulder button causes your car to eject any material it is carrying. This is used when you want to pick up a new item but don't have space for it. The object in the last position is ejected first. The ejected material can damage enemy vehicles, so use it when they try to sneak behind you. The B button combined with a direction on the control pad activates your Overdrive. You don't start with any Overdrives. You will have to find them in stores or scattered around the countryside. Up to three Overdrives can be assigned at any time. The up position contains Overdrives that let you jump over obstacles or dash quickly. The side position contains Overdrives that let you turn quickly or slide. The back position contains Overdrives that let you turn invisible or put up protective shields. III. Frequently Asked Questions Q: I just beat the tournament in Coneha. What do I do now? A: The game will not progress any further until you get your garage up to level 7. At that point you can go to Georgetown and continue the story. IV. Walkthrough You begin the game as Joe Todoroki, a boy who has just turned 16. First, your friends challenge you to a demolition derby. Drive your car around and try to smash into the enemy vehicles. Oddly enough, this seems to be the only battle in the game where you can damage other vehicles by driving into them. Why Natsume didn't incorporate that into the rest of the game is a mystery. Anyway, regardless of how you do, you'll go back home and be given your birthday present. A new car! Actually, it's your old car. But what you didn't know is that it's really a GUN VEHICLE in disguise! Whoo! You also get a robotic navigator for your vehicle, Pal, who also will be speaking for you for the rest of the game. Next, you head next door to Takah's. Takah will teach you the basics of driving and administer the license test. I tried several different things and was unable to get anything but a "B" rank. Apparently that's the only rank you can possibly get. After the test, you go back to Takah's office. Check the left bookcase for a HPRest20. Takah will give you your first job. You have to drive to Killanov Ruins, pick up a package, and bring it back to Takah. Padorko->Killanov R. Nothing fancy here. Blow up the three rocks along the way. They contain 50 gold, 400 gold, and a Gem. Gems can be traded in much later in the game for special equipment. When you get to the ruins, go to the back to get a package from the old man. Killanov R.->Padorko There are some stronger enemies this time. The first rock now contains 400 gold, the second a piece of Junk. Run over it to carry it behind you on your hook. About 3/4 of the way back, you will run into a more dangerous enemy. Shoot it as it runs in circle around you. Eventually it will die and you will get the CardOD12. Finally, the last rock contains a (now useless) HPRest50. Back in Padorko, collect your money from Takah. Then use your CardOD12. Now you know the Spin 60 Overdrive. Select Overdrive in the menu and assign it to the side slot. By pressing B and left or right, you can spin your car quickly. Next, your mom will turn her house into a Garage for you. At this point you have some freedom on where to go. First, have Takah inspect the junk you picked up. It's a NapTorch! Go back to your Garage and put it on your car using the Convert menu. Now, you can take jobs from Takah, drive to other cities, or bring your mom materials to build her Garage with. Let's go to Samoge first. Padorko->Samoge Stay to the left, and follow the route symbol. About halfway through is a tree with the CardOD4. This is the very useful Jump Overdrive, which will let you access places that you couldn't before. Nothing else is of note here. Try to pick up some cargo that your mom can use to build her Garage. Padorko->Guts After driving a short way, you will find your path blocked off by trees. In order to get past, you will have to use the Jump Overdrive that you picked up on the way to Samoge. Build up a little speed, then press up and B to jump on top of the trees. Once you're on top of an obstacle, you can just drive anywhere on top of it. Hug the right wall and follow the route. Towards the end you will find a CardBPrUp. This improves your car's hit points and defenses when used. Once in Guts, talk to the man. Now you can bring materials to this village to build it up just like your Garage. Padorko->Coneha Hug the left wall all the way around. After a while, you'll see a big gun emplacement. Destroy it to get a CardOD1. This is the SuperDash Overdrive. Continue into the area that the gun emplacement was guarding. Eventually you will find a big tree in front of some woods. Destroy the tree, then jump onto the woods. This leads to a small area where you fight a tough car. The car drops a Panther ChasNML+1. Nothing special, but hey, it's free. There's also a gem laying on the ground. Coneha is a big city, with everything Padorko has and a bit more. The License Center is here. You can take tests to increase your rank, but you probably won't be able to pass until you upgrade your car a bit. At this point the story won't progress until you've done a few jobs. At some point Takah will tell you about a special job where you will transport a young girl. Padorko->Samoge Nothing special here. Be sure to unload your cargo when you get to Samoge. Samoge->Fino Hug the right wall. A Gun emplacement drops a CardBPrUp. After that is a rock with $400 and a PEngNT3 laying on the ground. Later on, there's a rock with a gem. Defeat Bandit Abul! Follow the route and destroy the cars as you go. The fight against Abul is really easy because he's so slow. Enjoy the cutscenes with Marion, then continue on. Tyroka->Jimbah Hug the left wall. Jump over the forest to find a TEngNT1. Jimbah->Hoden Shortly after you enter , you'll encounter a very large vehicle. Destroy it to get a NapBomb. Hoden->Runaha Hug the wall to the right. Jump over the forest and continue to the right to find a LongLasr. Runaha->Holly View Hug the right wall. There's a CardCPwrUp lying on the ground. Later on there's a rock with $1000. In Holly View, unpack your cargo and talk to Harry. He gives you his CardNav40. Holly View->Nameless Village Hug the left wall. Destroy a rock to get a MChasSPR. Right before the end, turn right and there's a large vehicle that drops a SuprBSaw. There's also a rock near the beginning that has $1000 under it. Nameless Village->Oasis Hug left wall. Destroy a rock to get a MBodA01. Oasis->Sashim Plaza Hug left wall. Destroy large vehicle to get CardOD15-Longslide. Find the Black Box Just follow the car tracks until you find the box lying on the ground. Now Casey will challenge you to a fight. Rather easy - just shoot him as he circles around you. ===================== At this point there are several new roads open to you that you can explore. These are all optional, but you can get some good car parts here. Guts->Sashim Plaza Jump over forest to left to find an EEngNT2. Guts->Hoden Hug left wall. Destroy gun emplacement to get a gem. Continue into area behind gun to fight a large vehicle. When killed, it drops a CardOD02. Use this to get the Hyper-Dash Overdrive. Much further on is another gun emplacement that drops a gem. Jump over the forest to the left to find an EBodDOM and an EChasNML. Sweet! Hoden->Holly View Hug the right wall. Jump on top of the forest to the right to get a MEngDT2. Later on there will be a tree with a CardCPrUp. Towards the end will be another forest that you can jump on to get the PBodMLN. Padorko->Tyroka Hug the right wall. Eventually you will see a gun emplacement. Behind it is an area with a MEngNT2. In the second area, continue hugging the right wall. Destroy several gun emplacements to get a CardBPrUp and other minor items. There is a large vehicle there that carries CardOD11. This enables the Spin30 Overdrive. Jimbah->Runaha Hug the right wall. Jump over the forest to the right to get the MBodB01. Towards the end jump over another forest to get a NapMine. ========================== To proceed with the story, visit the Nameless Village. There is some gossip there about your father. Ken appears and challenges you to a duel. Take him out easily. Visit Padorko, talk to Takah, and enter the tourney. Drive to Coneha. Go to the hotel. where the owner gives you a HPRes100. There are 4 rounds of combat at the tourney. You can rest and buy equipment after each one. Unfortunately, you are not able to reach the finals due to an unexpected problem. You'll need to go to Tasmatan to check it out. Coneha->Hawk Pode Hug left wall. Destroy rocks for some money and a shortcut. Hawk Pode->Tasmatan Start by heading to the left. Jump onto the rocky area and destroy the gun to get a NapMiss. Now cross over to the other side of the route and jump over the rocky area to get a PBodKKC. Continue on the right side to encounter a large vehicle that drops CardOD22. This gives you the Invisible Overdrive. In Tasmatan, you'll encounter a familiar face. Casey is back, and he's piloting a large mecha. But he's still as easy as before. After defeating him, the tournament will resume and you'll face Ken Kaido in the Championship bout. Ken quite a bit harder than Casey, but still nothing you can't handle. After winning, you get some money and a complete Tiger gun vehicle. Check your garage to find a car with TChasSPR, TEngST1, TBodBo2, CrssVulc, LsrMine, APCannSP, and RearShll. ======================== A couple of new routes are available at this point. Coneha ->Miller Hassah Hug the left wall and jump over the forest to get CardOD05. This gives you the Long-jump Overdrive. Miller Hassah->Oasis Hug the left wall. Jump over the forest to get a RearMine. Later on there will be another forest to jump over, leading to an enclosed area. There is an enemy to fight here that drops the TBodSKL ======================== At this point the game will not continue until you build your garage up to level 7 (the mobile garage). Once you've done that, go to Miller Hassah to see the Red Guns in action. Go back to Padorko to talk to Takah, then go to your house to meet Sho Kaido, leader of the Red Guns. Padorko->Georgetown In the first route, there isn't anything special. In the second route, head left onto the water to find a PBodC01. Then go right and destroy a gun to get CardOD03. This gives you the Nitro Overdrive. In the third route, head left to find a CrssBeam. Then go back to the right. Destroy a tree to get a CardCPrUp, then destroy a large vehicle to get an EChasSPR. Georgetown->Remaveh In the first route, hug the right wall. There's a small path guarded by guns. Inside is a large vehicle that drops an EBodB02. In the second route, head left. There's an invisible enemy that drops CardOD16. This gives you the Hyper-slide Overdrive. Remaveh->Mirage City Hug left wall. After a long time, you will find a gun that drops CardOD24. This gives you the Invisible X Overdrive. When you get to the exit, don't go in, but continue on. Eventually you will run into another gun that drops a GorgBombX. Now you fight someone familiar - your father! You can't hurt him thanks to his permanent barrier. After your life drops down to ¬, Sho will arrive to help out. He drops a HPResAll and takes out Jim's barrier. After you win, you end up back in Georgetown. Jim has a heart-to-heart with you and you both decide to go get the Empire! Georgetown->Rusty In the first route, hug the left wall. There are some guns which drop a CardCPrUp, a gem, and a BeamVlcX. In the second route, hug the right wall. Jump over the rocks to reach a PBodD03. Eventually you will come to a gun that guards a small enclosed area to the left There is a vehicle there that drops a PChasHYP. In Rusty, unload your car and get ready to continue. Rusty->Enemy's Hideout Area Hug the right wall to find an EBodEZM. Yet another easy battle with Ken. Enemy's Hideout Area->Empire HQ Hug the right wall. Jump over the wall and destroy the pillbox to get CardOD23. This gives you the Barrier Z Overdrive. Battle Ryu Mossoud After you damage him, he'll put up an unstoppable barrier. Just let him damage you and the cavalry will arrive. Be careful after his barrier drops! Your life is rather low and he can still take you out quickly. ====================== After the game is over, several new routes open up. You can also build up two more cities (Fry and Ramoha). Also, when you start a new game, you can keep your old cars and equipment. Georgetown->Coneha In the first area, hug the left wall. Jump over the forest to an area where you fight a flying enemy. It drops an EBodC02. Then go back to the beginning and hug the right wall instead. You will encounter two special enemies. One drops a TBodC03, and the second drops a PBodC02. In the second area, hug the left wall. You will eventually fight a large enemy that drops a MBodD03. Georgetown->Fry As you start, you will see an EEngST1 on top of some trees to the right. Continue hugging the right wall and you will come to a FstBeam lying on top of some trees. Killanov Ruins->Ramoha Hug the left wall. A small area contains a PEngXT. Later on, jump over the rocks to find a MBodLEG. Remaveh->Ramoha Hug the right wall. Jump over the forest to fight a vehicle that drops the EBodWKN. As you come out, begin hugging the left wall instead. Eventually you will find the TEngZT on the ground. V. Item lists Coming in next FAQ release VI. Garage/Village Building Garage Level 1->2: IronFrms 1, Cement 1 (Cargo carrier) Level 2->3: IronFrms 2, Cement 1, MinWater 1 (8 parking spaces) Level 3->4: IronFrms 2, Cement 1, MinWater 2, Food 1 (Super cargo carrier) At this point, your mom will start giving you money when you visit her. The more enemy vehicles you destroy, the more money you get. Level 4->5: Cement 3, Gasoline 1, MinWater 2, Food 2 (16 parking spaces) Level 5->6: Gasoline 3, MinWater 4, Food 3, Junk 1 (Hyper cargo carrier) Level 6->7: IronFrms 3, Cement 3, Gasoline 3, MinWater 2, Junk 1 (Mobile garage) Level 7->8: IronFrms 2, Cement 2, Gasoline 3, MinWater 3, Food 3, Junk 2 (32 parking spaces) Guts Level 1->2: MinWater 1, Food 1 (CardOD21-Barrier) Level 2->3: IronFrms 1, Cement 1, MinWater 1 (PengNT2+1) Level 3->4: IronFrms 1, Cement 2, Food 1 (LongLasr) Level 4->5: IronFrms 1, Cement 2, MinWater 1, Junk 1 (PBodB01+1) Level 5->6: IronFrms 2, Cement 2, Gasoline 1, Food 1 (CrssLasr) Level 6->7: IronFrms 1, Cement 2, Gasoline 2, Food 2 (PChasSup+1) Level 7->8: IronFrms 2, Cement 3, Gasoline 2, MinWater 1 (MicrBomb) Level 8->9: IronFrms 3, Cement 2, Gasoline 1, Food 1, Junk 2 (CrdEPrUp) Level 9->10: IronFrms 3, Cement 2, Gasoline 1, Food 1, Junk 2 (CrdEPrUp) Level 10->11: IronFrms 3, Cement 2, Gasoline 1, Food 1, Junk 2 (CrdEPrUp) Level 11->12: IronFrms 3, Cement 2, Gasoline 1, Food 1, Junk 2 (CrdEPrUp) Level 12->13: IronFrms 3, Cement 2, Gasoline 1, Food 1, Junk 2 (CrdEPrUp) Go back to the village after getting it to level 13 and you get an UltBSaw. Fry Level 1->2: IronFrms 1, Junk 1 (CardOD06-Superjump) Level 2->3: IronFrms 1, Cement 1, Junk 1 (MEngVT+1) Level 3->4: IronFrms 1, Cement 2, Junk 1 (MicrMiss) Level 4->5: IronFrms 2, Cement 1, Gasoline 1, Junk 1 (APCannZZ) Level 5->6: IronFrms 2, Cement 2, Junk 2 (MBodC03+2) Level 6->7: IronFrms 2, Cement 2, Gasoline 2, Junk 1 (HypWave) Level 7->8: IronFrms 2, Cement 2, MinWater 2, Junk 2 (PChasZRO+1) Level 8->9: IronFrms 3, Cement 3, Junk 3 (CrdBPrUp) Level 9->10: IronFrms 3, Cement 3, Junk 3 (CrdBPrUp) Level 10->11: IronFrms 3, Cement 3, Junk 3 (CrdBPrUp) Level 11->12: IronFrms 3, Cement 3, Junk 3 (CrdBPrUp) Level 12->13: IronFrms 3, Cement 3, Junk 3 (CrdBPrUp) Go back to the village after getting it to level 13 and you get a PBodJim+1. Ramoha Level 1->2: Gasoline 1, MinWater 1, Food 1 (CardOD14-Spin 180) Level 2->3: MinWater 2, Junk 2 (FastLasr) Level 3->4: IronFrms 1, Cement 2, Gasoline 1, MinWater 1 (EengVT+1) Level 4->5: IronFrms 2, Cement 1, MinWater 1, Junk 2 (LsrMiss) Level 5->6: IronFrms 1, Cement 2, Gasoline 1, MinWater 1, Food 1, Junk 1 (TBodKEN+1) Level 6->7: IronFrms 4, Cement 4 (HECannZZ) Level 7->8: IronFrms 1, Cement 1, Gasoline 1, MinWater 2, Food 2, Junk 2 (TChasZRO+1) Level 8->9: IronFrms 2, Cement 2, Gasoline 2, MinWater 2, Food 2, Junk 2 (CrdCPrUp) Level 9->10: IronFrms 2, Cement 2, Gasoline 2, MinWater 2, Food 2, Junk 2 (CrdCPrUp) Level 10->11: IronFrms 2, Cement 2, Gasoline 2, MinWater 2, Food 2, Junk 2 (CrdCPrUp) Level 11->12: IronFrms 2, Cement 2, Gasoline 2, MinWater 2, Food 2, Junk 2 (CrdCPrUp) Level 12->13: IronFrms 2, Cement 2, Gasoline 2, MinWater 2, Food 2, Junk 2 (CrdCPrUp) Go back to Ramoha after getting it to level 13 and you get a TBodSho+3. There is also a computer in the town where you can view artwork from the game and listen to all the music. Very nice! VII. Shops Padorko Tools HPRest50 300 SPDrinkA 80 SPDrinkC 200 Food 600 Cement 1400 Takah's Arms HPRest20 100 BuzzSaw 800 MicrTrch 1200 RearTrch 1500 APCannon 2500 Coneha Tools SPDrinkA 80 SPDrinkC 200 HPRest20 100 HPRest50 300 IronFrms 1000 Coneha Arms LaserGun 600 FireGun 1000 NapTorch 1400 Vulcan 1500 MicrPod 2000 During the Coneha tournament only, these two shops are open: FireGun 1000 LaserGun 600 Vulcan 1500 MicrPod 2000 BeamGun 2800 HPRest50 300 HPRest100 700 SPDrinkC 200 SPDrinkD 500 CardOD01 500 (Super Dash) Nameless Village Tools HPRes100 700 SPDrinkD 500 CrdNav20 800 MinWater 600 Gasoline 1800 Nameless Village Arms LasSaber 900 LsrBomb 3200 RearPods 2500 BeamVulc 1800 HECannon 3000 Georgetown Tools HPRest100 700 HPResAll 1500 SPDrinkD 500 SPDrinkZ 1000 CrdNav40 1500 Georgetown Arms RearLsr 2000 NapShell 5200 LsrShell 6000 WaveLsr 17000 GorgBomb 15000 Wandering Merchant-Sashim Plaza HPResAll 1500 RearBeam 4500 LngVulc 5500 MChasNML 5000 EChasNML 5000 Wandering Merchant-Tasmatan CRMachGn 1800 LsrTorch 1500 RearBomb 3200 BeamVlcS 4500 MicrShll 3500 Wandering Merchant-Remaveh RearMiss 4500 SupVulc 8000 BeamVlcZ 9400 MChasZRO 64000 EChasZRO 64000 Wandering Merchant-Empire HQ ThundrSbr 5000 GorgBmbZ 32000 AltoWave 35000 PChasZRO 64000 TChasZRO 64000 VIII. 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