Keeping on good terms with your partner:
Give your partner their favorite gift in color, type,
hobby, or their nationality (one or two gifts). When you wake
up in the morning, check the music notes around their head. If
only one music note floats up, you are not doing well with your
partner. If it is two music notes, then their enthusiasm is pretty
good. Three music notes indicates that both of you are getting
along very well.
Selecting a partner:
Choose your partners wisely. Try to partner up with
girls that have a lot of power; for example, Tina or Hitomi. Then,
when you are receiving the ball during game play, try to have
them make the first hit upon return, in which case you set them
up for a spike using B. Very often, the other players,
even if they are blocking, will be knocked down by their enormous
spikes.
Moving your partner:
If you do not like the position in which your partner
is standing during a match, you can move them by using the Right
Analog-stick.
Soundtrack change:
You can change the music playing at anytime by pressing
Black (advance to next track) or White (repeat current
track).
Force replay:
Hold L immediately after someone scores.
Lock view:
When viewing a "Gravure" movie or another
camera-controlled angle, click the Right Analog-stick to
lock and unlock the desired angle.
Click the Left Analog-stick to lock the view controlled by it in its current position. Zoom to a desired magnification then press X to lock it at that setting.
Good serve:
In order to receive 1000 points for each serve, make
sure that your calibration is adjusted so that it is about 30%
(one third of the way from the left of the bar), then press A
firmly to throw the ball in the air. Press A firmly again
just before the player is about to make contact with the ball.
This is very helpful during game play, as you can still get some
points even if you lose your match.
Scoring:
When your partner sets you up for a spike, there is
an easier way to score. Hold Left Analog-stick Left to
make the ball fly closer to the net, so it is harder for the other
team to recover. If they try to block your spike, use the same
method only use Tap and they will almost never get it.
Toss wisely:
While playing the a volleyball game, it is often useful
to toss the ball to your partner who may spike it and score a
point. However, if you toss the ball to your partner while she
is back half way or more from the net, she may try and spike the
ball hard and hit the net, causing the other team to get a point.
Control ball during spike:
Press Left during the spike to spike it short;
Right to spike it deep; Up to spike it high (to
the top of the screen) or Down to spike it low (to the
bottom of the screen). You can do this in a combo (for example,
press Down/Right to spike it low and deep.
Preventing cheap shots:
When you are playing a match, and the opposing team
spikes the ball so hard that your player receives the ball but
hits the ground and the ball flies back over the net, about 90%
of the time the opposing team is going to spike that ball at where
you are laying. Use the Right Analog-stick to move your
partner to the spot where you were standing, so they can bounce
it to you while you are getting up, or hit the ball back over
the net.
Finding an easy match:
When looking at the selectable courses, look at the
profiles of the two characters you are playing against. They seem
to follow the same ones from Exhibition mode, where if her head
is turned slightly, it indicates that she is less willing to play
with the person she is paired with. This often leads to a lot
of missed volleys and spikes on their part, making for an easier
match and a chance to win more money.
Detecting bad emotions on the court:
During the first few matches with a new teammate, she
will compliment you on a good serve or spike. The moment your
partner stops giving you kudos, it is time to cheer her up as
best as possible. If it is someone you can do without, this is
not that important, but otherwise you will need to buy your friend
something she will really like to stay in good terms with her.
If none of the shops have exactly what you want, go to the Sports
Shop and buy a moderately expensive swimsuit. That usually does
the trick and usually there is something that she really likes
in the shops the next day. Remember, when the two of you break
up she will not accept any more gifts from you until the vacation's
over.
