Table of Contents:
To quickly jump to a section, type in the word that is in
brackets (e.g. to go to "Who is Rachel?", type in "WhoX".)

A) Introduction [IntX]
B) Updates [UpdX]
C) Who is Rachel? [WhoX]
D) Pros and Cons [ProX]
E) Moves and abilities [MovX]
F) Rachel-specific strategies [SatX]
G) Miscellaneous stuff about Rachel [MisX]
H) Legal stuff [LegX]


To unlock Rachel as a playable character, you must beat Les
Acteurs Incroyable one time.


Section A: Introduction ---- [IntX]
This section is the introduction to the FAQ.

Hello and welcome to my third FAQ, one about how to use the
android Rachel in Viewtiful Joe: Red Hot Rumble. This FAQ's only
real goal is to improve your ability to use Rachel.
If you have any suggestions or complaints, please e-mail 
me at [email protected].


Section B: Updates ---- [UpdX]
This section deals with updates, when things were changed, and 
when they were changed.

If you have suggestions for this FAQ, e-mail me at 
[email protected]

Version 1.0: 01/07/08
Created the FAQ.
Version 1.1: 01/08/08
Various updates and corrections.
Version 1.2: 01/09/08
Various updates and corrections.
Version 1.3: 01/21/08
Various updates and corrections.
Version 1.4: 03/20/08
Various updates and corrections.
Version 1.4: 03/21/08
Various updates and corrections. The Version Number is now more
in line with GameFAQ's numbering system.
Version 1.5: 03/27/08
Various updates and corrections.


Section C: Who is Rachel? ---- [WhoX]
This section gives you an in-universe explanation as to who
Rachel actually is.

'Miss Bloody' Rachel is an android designed and built by Dr.
Cranken for the Gedow (an evil organization bent on world 
domination). She was programmed to observe Joe and Silvia (the
series' heroes), and learn the best way to defeat them using the
information she gathered. Her first appearance was when she
impersonated Silvia and convinced Joe to give her the Rainbow
Oscars, cosmicly powerful artifacts.
To this end, she turned herself into various bosses the two had
fought, but Joe and Silvia not only defeated her, but informed
her that she would never win without having heart (something Joe
and Silvia had plenty of).
Over the course of the battle, Rachel learned what it meant to
have a heart, and stopped battling the heroes. Her creator, Dr.
Cranken, was unamused at this turn of events, and attempted to 
kill her. Though damaged, Joe saved her life by repairing her.
To thank them, Rachel gave back the Rainbow Oscars she had 
stolen and showed the two where to go.
Since then, she has apparently gotten a job helping Captain Blue
make movies, as well as desiring a role in them.


Section D: Pros and Cons [ProX]
This section details Rachel's advantages and disadvantages over
other characters in Red Hot Rumble.

Pros:
- Very fast.
Rachel is not the fastest character in the game, but she still 
moves much quicker than most others.
- Special moves.
Rachel has one of the strongest special movesets in the game: 
her special attacks are versatile, strong, fast, and 
unpredictable, on par with anyone's.
- Aerial game.
Although she possesses no "special thing" (Captain Blue's 
floating, Alastor's gliding, ect.), Rachel has one of the 
strongest aerial games there is: with her satellites out she can
be anywhere on a stage in about two seconds, and her basic 
aerial attacks are as powerful as anyone's.
- Recovery.
With her jumping ability and satellites combined, Rachel has 
probably the single best recovery ability in the game, save
maybe Captain Blue on horizontal recovery.
- Platform stages.
Because of how her satellites work, if you plan your strategy out
in advance, she has no problem on platform-heavy stages.
- Satellites move with the stage.
Her satellites move as the stage does, meaning you don't have to
deal with putting them out unnecessarily.
- Satellite attacking ability.
Because her satellites attack in the same direction she does, 
and have no penalty for doing so, she can actually attack from 
across the stage: this is useful in a variety of situations.
- Awesome voice.
Everyone else, when they win a minigame or the round, will taunt
the losers: Rachel doesn't bother with that. Either she informs
you that she's entering hate mode, or she gives a simple "Yay."
Far better than traditional taunting.

Cons:
- Satellites disappear when you die.
Just what I said: your satellites disappear when you die. It can
get VERY annoying.
- Potential to be without special moves.
Because Rachel requires her satellites to be out to be able to 
use most of her special moves, if they're gone, all you have is
the rock-smashing move, which, while useful, is nothing special.
- More strategic than other characters.
Rachel players have to think out their plans more than other
players do: satellite placement is a problem no one else has to
deal with. The only other character that can really be described
as "strategic" is Jet Black.
- Steep learning curve.
Rachel isn't newbie-friendly like Joe or Captain Blue. She won't
carry her player through a match: there isn't any way around 
this: you just have to get good to be good.
- Misplaced satellites.
If you misplace a satellite, you have to spend a moment using a
move to get rid of it, then put a new satellite elsewhere.
If you forget where you put a satellite, it can completely screw
you up.
- Single hits.
Other than her double kick, Rachel has no multiple-hit moves at
all (basic or special), meaning that while each hit deals some
nice damage, you won't be blitzing your enemies any time soon.
- Multiple Rachels can be confusing.
When multiple players are playing as Rachel, you might get
confused as to which satellites belong to you.


Section E: Moves and abilities ---- [MovX]
In this section, you will detailed descriptions of Rachel's
moves, both basic and special attacks. "Y" is simply your basic
attack button, you might very well use B as your button. X is
your special attack button, but you may have configured your
controller otherwise.

Rachel's basic attacks are nothing special: good, but not great.
It is her special attacks that truly define her: everything 
from Rock Smash (which seems strangely out of character) to
Rachel Recall is a useful and versatile move.

== Basic Attacks ==

Ground Attacks:

Y: Forward Kick
Rachel kicks whatever is in front of her, pretty basic stuff.
What makes this move special is that, unlike most basic attacks,
if you press B twice fast enough while moving forward, Rachel 
will kick her enemy twice before he's out of range of her 
attacks. However, it takes a moment to go off, so timing is 
necessary.
While not particularly strong, the Forward Kick's potential to
hit your enemy twice is (particularly strong).
Unlike other characters, Rachel doesn't "cycle" between attacks
(punch-kick-punch-punch-kick), she only uses the standard kick,
making it a little predictable.

Down + Y: Double Fist Smash
Rachel uses both her fists and swings them downward in front of 
her, smashing her enemy to the ground and dealing a little more
damage than her Forward Kick. It takes a moment to go off, but
less time than the Forward Kick.
While not the best attack ever, it is still a useful move in 
some situations (if you're not certain you can get a double-
Forward Kick, use this instead).

Up-right or Up-left + Y: Diagonal Kick
Rachel kicks diagnolly upward. It's basically as standard a move
as it gets.
It's a little faster than Forward Kick, and deals a little more
damage, but it's a little harder to connect.

Down-right or Down-left: Downward Kick
Rachel spins and lands with a kick directly in front of her. 
It's marginally more powerful than the Forward Kick, but lacks
the potential for a double hit. Honestly, it's not one of her
better moves.

Up + Y: Uppercut
Rachel does an uppercut (and a little spin while she's at it),
launching her enemy into the air. Every character gets a move 
like this, and Rachel is no different. While not particularly
special, it is a useful and indespensable move.

Aerial Attacks:

Y: Aerial Forward Kick
Rachel kicks the air in front of her. Useful for launching 
enemies away from objectives in the air, it's also one of your
best moves for killing weak CPU enemies on platforms. This is 
also a good move for kicking your enemy into a wall. It takes 
less time to come out than a Forward Kick on the ground, but,
predictably, can't be used to double hit your enemy.

Up + Y: 360 Kick
Rachel does a 360 degree kick, dealing damage to everything
directly around her. This move is functionally identical to
the ground-based Uppercut, launching your enemy into the air
regardless of where you actually hit him. Additionally, it deals
more damage than your average basic attack.
Unlike many Up + Y attacks, this does not slow your ascent, so 
don't try to use it for that.

Up-right or Up-left + Y: Aerial Diagonal Kick
Rachel does an air-based version of her Diagonal Kick, launching
anyone she comes in contact with diagonally. It deals the same
damage as her Forward Kick, but comes out instantly.

Down + Y: Aerial Double Fist Smash
Rachel brings both her fists downward in front of her, launching
her enemy directly to the ground. Useful for getting your enemy
out of the way temporarily, but it doesn't do any more damage
than the ground version.
This move is MADE for knocking your enemy into a pit to kill 
him.

Down-right or Down-left + Y: Aerial Downward Kick
Rachel does a aerial version of her Downward Kick that deals 
only average damage. Because of the way she kicks (in a 
roundabout fashion), she'll damage someone behind her as well.
Useful for launching your enemy into a pit, if you can aim it
properly, but not particularly helpful for damaging someone with
any amount of health at all.

Satellite Attacks:

Any direction + Y: Laser
Any time Rachel makes a basic attack, any satellite she has out
will shoot a small laser in the direction you attacked. They do
this automatically, each one will individually shoot its own
laser, and they will never run out from this (this is only thing 
satellites are good for that doesn't cost you the satellite).
The laser travels a little less than half a screen's length, at
a fairly slow speed (about half your running speed). They shoot
as often as you kick.

== Special Attacks ==

Standard Attacks:

Down/Down-right/Down-left + X (GROUND ONLY): Rock Smash
Rachel punchs the ground in front of her, and a huge rock pops
out of the ground in the direction she punched.
Ironically, while the enemy needs to be in front of you, if 
you're TOO close to him, the rock won't hit him (he'll 
technically be OVER the rock).
The enemy needs to be directly in front of you to be damaged, 
making it a little hard to connect, and it takes a second to 
use. However, when it DOES hit, it deals some serious damage
(about a tenth of the health bar).
Even better, if you can catch your target in the center of the 
rock, he'll be hit twice by this powerful move.

Down + X (AIR ONLY): Rock Breaker
Rachel sends herself directly down (don't use this when you're
over a pit) and kicks the ground head-on, sending huge rocks out
of the ground in both directions, essentially acting as a Rock
Pound in both directions. This deals the same amount of damage
as
This is one of the only airborne moves that can't hi an enemy
that is actually IN the air.

Any direction except down + X: Launch Satellite
Rachel launches a satellite in the direction you pressed. You
may have up to three satellites at a time. They don't directly
hurt enemies who touch them, and can't be removed unless they're
used for a special move.

Satellite Attacks:

X: Electric Attack
This move has different effects depending on how many satellites
you have out when you use it. You can't use only some of your 
satellites when you use it: all satellites are used for it.
While the satellites do whatever effect they have, you can place
other satellites out, or use Rachel Recall to go to a satellite,
even if it's doing something (though this will cancel the 
effect). If one satellite is out, using Rachel Recall on it will 
end the effect. If two satellites are out, using Rachel Recall 
will end the effect for one, and the other will act as if there
was only one satellite to begin with. Notably, if you use Rachel
Recall before the two satellite effect ends, the remaining one
will last all four seconds as an electrically charged single
satellite. Very useful.
When I say "Electric Attack 2", I mean the version with two
satellites out. "Electric Attack 3" means three satellites, and
so on.
Additionally (last thing, I swear), when the satellites are 
returning to you, you can use Rachel Recall in their direction
and speed up the process.

1 Satellite: Electric Attack 1
An electrical field surrounds your satellite and damages enemies
directly next to it. It doesn't hurt you, obviously. It deals
very respectable damage, though not game-breaking, of course.
It lasts about four seconds before the satellite returns to 
Rachel.
This is your primary ranged attack: very important to learn.
While lacking the range that, say, Silvia has, it's still 
outside of melee attacks. The problem with it is that while you
can place it anywhere around you (except down), the satellite 
must travel there first, meaning it'll take a second before you
can actually attack.

2 Satellites: Electric Attack 2
Your two satellite activate their electrical fields and a 
line of electricity appears between them. The satellites can 
only create the line at a set distance from one another, so 
before the field is created the satellites will move closer to
each other (if they're on opposite ends of the stage, this can
take a few seconds to actually happen).
This deals VERY impressive damage: it can hit enemy up to three
times before running out: catching your enemy for all three hits
will kill a little more than a third of his health bar. It lasts
for about four seconds before the satellites return to you.
This is an EXCELLENT move on flat stages with no or few 
platforms: just place a satellite to your right and to your 
left, and everything between will be fried.
You can use this to fence off part of a stage if you're willing
to devote the satellites to it.

3 Satellites: Electric Attack 3
Your satellites move into a triangle formation and an electrical
barrier forms between them. The triangle then spins around the 
screen uncontrollably, damaging any enemy in its way. This lasts
a little than five seconds.
This can hit an enemy up to four times (half of a full health
bar), but I said, is uncontrollable and random.
If you press X while the triangle is spinning around, it is
summoned to Rachel and becomes a damage shield (it's very 
difficult to hurt her while this is happening). If you run into
an enemy with the shield on, it'll deal about as much damage as
a single satellite's electrical effect would, but can hit as 
many as three times (a little more than a third of a health 
bar). This effect lasts about two seconds, and even if the 
satellites spent four and a half seconds bouncing around, this
resets the timer to two seconds for your shield.

Once the move finishes, or hits an enemy, the satellites come
back to Rachel and you must place them again.
While difficult to control, once you get the strategy of 
placement down, this is one of the game's best offensive moves
(also, a single satellite can be used as an emergency 
area-denial ability).

Any direction + X: Rachel Recall
Rachel magnetizes herself, and pulls herself towards the
satellite you put out with the direction you pressed (thus, 
if your left satellite is on the screen's right side, and you
press left, you'll be pulled right, even if you have a satellite
on the left). Rachel moves faster with Rachel Recall than she
can run.
Any enemy in the way will be damaged for a bit. It can be used 
up to three times (the most of any recovery move), and is 
probably the best move in the game for getting onto platforms.
If there's a stage obstacle in your way, the satellite will be
recalled to Rachel, and she'll be trapped behind the obstacle.
The damage it deals is good, it can get you anywhere on a stage
quickly, and is probably the best recovery move in the game. 
Take note that you are NOT invincible while performing this 
move, you just look like it: anything that normally damages you
will still do so.
Overall, this is among the best moves there is. It's offense and
defense rolled into one offensively defensive package. Learn it,
love it, and use it. A lot.

If you're falling, you can put out up to three satellites and
use Rachel Recall three times to recover: this is the most
distance anyone can go in the air except for Captain Blue, Young
Captain Blue, Alastor, Dark Hero Jet Black, and Charles the III
and Rachel STILL beats four of those in vertical ascention.
Once you learn how to use this move to its full potential, 
Rachel has the easiest time on stages where you have to avoid
pits of any character except Charles the III.


Section F: Rachel-specific strategies [SatX]
In this section are strategies about specific objectives (kill
as many enemies as you can, grab the flag, ect.) that apply only
to Rachel.

- Killing bosses
'Boss' refers to any enemy with a health bar that isn't a 
player. Remember: because bosses don't have temporary 
invulnerability after being hit like players do, you CAN blitz
a boss with basic attacks.
-For bosses with limited mobility or specific patterns:
Rock Smash and Electric Attack 1 are your primary moves for 
killing things with a lot of health: Rock Smash deals some 
impressive damage (you can three Rock Smashes off if you grab a 
Slow), and Electric Attack lets you deal damage from afar (if 
the boss follows a pattern, like Fire Leo and Frost Tiger do, 
you can place the satellite in advance and hurt him from across
the stage, but if you place two satellites, you'll end up doing
no damage while the satellites get close enough to each other).
Electric Attack 3 is also an excellent move if you can pull it
off: because of the randomness, you can't rely on it, but if 
you place the satellites AROUND the boss in advance, you'll be 
assured of at least one or two hits. Still, it might just be 
easier to hit him with a single Electric Attack and a Rock 
Smash.
Finally, Rock Breaker is also a good move if the boss has few
aerial attacks: just get up in the air and use it when you're
above the enemy. It will usually make even bosses flinch, unless
they're in the middle of an attack.
- For bosses with lots of mobility or who are aerial-based:
Rock Smash and Rock Breaker will be of very limited use (unless
the boss goes to the ground sometimes and stops, like Charles 
the Third does), and you won't be able to reliably get 
Electric Attack 1 off due to the delay of waiting for the 
satellite, so you'll be using other moves.
Electric Attack 3 is one such useful move in this case: use its
shield form and simply run into the boss to deal some damage,
though you'll only have two seconds to do so. Otherwise, if you
know where the boss will be heading, placing two satellites
above and below his path and activating them at the right time
is a good move.
Finally, Rachel Recall can be a useful boss-killing move: hit 
the boss with basic attacks, place a satellite behind him while 
doing so, and use Rachel Recall to hurt him that way. Do not try
this if the boss is in the middle of an attack, you will get 
your ass kicked.

- Grab Diamonds
Grabbing diamonds can be hard or easy for Rachel, depending on
your skill with satellite placement and the number of obstancles
that aren't platforms or enemies in the way.
Most "grab the diamonds" stages will have the diamonds appear in
specific areas: often, the bottom-most floor. Place a satellite
on one end of the floor, be on the other side when the diamonds
appear, and use Rachel Recall to get all the diamonds between.
For diamonds appearing on platforms, you can do the same thing 
if you place a satellite on the opposite side of the stage you
plan to be on, but you'll get less diamonds, of course.

- Destroy Bombs
THIS is something that Rachel excels at. Place your satellites
anywhere you think bombs will be, and because the satellites
fire lasers whenever you do a basic attack, just attack in the
direction of the bombs as if you were a satellite. Since other
players can't affect your satellites, you can do this from 
across the stage and no one can do anything about it.
Of course, bombs will place themselves in places you won't be
able to reach with satellites, and for that, you'll simply have
to go punch them manually. Still, Rachel has a real, serious
advantage over other characters in destroying bombs.

- Capture the Flag
This is not one of Rachel's stronger stage types. Capture the
Flag stages generally have lots of platforms (sometimes moving),
lots of little NPC enemies, and a lot of space. Because Rachel
lacks a way to vertically ascend after double jumping unless you
placed a satellite in just the right spot (and human players 
can put themselves in just the wrong spot), Rachel has a 
slightly harder time on these kinds of stages. Additionally, she
lacks an instant ranged attack, so there's another disadvantage
there.
There's no Rachel-specific strategy for flag stages, you'll just
have to deal with it, sorry.

- Kill the Most Enemies
Because of Rachel's relatively impressive mobility, if you place
your satellites where enemies will appear, you'll be able to get
anywhere on the stage in a second, which is a significant 
advantage over other characters.
Enemies will always appear in specific areas: on platforms, next
to barrels, those sorts of things. Learn where the enemies will 
appear, place your satellites correctly, and you'll have nothing
to worry about from this sort of stage.
The exception is when the enemies are bats or squid-thingys. If
they're bats, they'll still appear in specific areas, but will
move across the stage: place your satellites in the way and 
shock them, Electric Attack 2, if you can place it vertically,
will kill as many as six at a time.
For squid guys, who will randomly fly around the screen, you've
really got to handle that on your own: just keep moving and 
kicking is all I can tell you.

- Stay Alive
This really depends a lot on the particular stage (do you have 
avoid pits in the ground, powerful enemies, or spikes on the 
ceiling?), but there are a couple of useful tips to remember.
 For stages where you need avoid pits that lead into fire or
whatever, just put a satellite over whatever platform you need
to stay on; you can even put all three satellites over it for
extra protection.
 For stages where there are powerful enemies that you need to 
avoid, place your satellites high over the stage and, when you
need to be out of the way, you can stay in the air almost as
long as Alastor or Dark Hero Jet Black (though Captain Blue has
you beat on this part).


Section G: Miscellaneous stuff about Rachel [MisX]
Here, you shall miscellaneous game information about Rachel that
doesn't belong anywhere else.

To unlock Rachel as a playable character, you must beat Les
Acteurs Incroyable one time.
To unlock Rachel's Ex Costume, you must complete all twelve
V-puzzles.
Alternatively, you can fight and complete 500 multiplayer 
matches for the costume, but this takes a while.

Rachel's costumes are as follows:
Costume 1: Rachel looks like she did in Viewtiful Joe 2:
golden skin, golden hair, and blue eyes.
Costume 2: Rachel has silver skin and hair, and green eyes.
Costume 3: Rachel has red skin and hair, and yellow eyes.
Costume 4: Rachel has gray skin, blue hair, and yellow eyes.
Ex Costume: Rachel's Ex Costume is basically herself wearing a 
Playboy bunny costume with cat ears.


Section H: Legal Stuff ---- [LegX]
This section is about boring legal stuff.

Layman's Version:
Thou shalt not steal this FAQ. If you want to use this FAQ on 
your site, you need to ask permission by e-mailing me at 
[email protected]. If you do, and I agree, do not edit the FAQ
in any way, and give me credit.

Lawyer's Version:
Copyright 2008 Adam Sokol
This FAQ is for personal use only, do not sell, distrubite, or do
anything else with the FAQ.