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Smash Court Tennis Pro Tournament 2
Pro Tour Guide
September 26th 2010
Version 1.00
Copyright 2010 sword692 (Matteo Shostak)
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LEGAL INFORMATION
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This document is only for private use. This CANNOT be sold for any profit. All 
information conatined inside this document is the author's original work. No
one else shall be able to edit this guide except for the author. Publishing
this guide on another website without permission is a violation of copyright.

These are the only current sites that shall be able to post this FAQ without
permission:

http://www.gamefaqs.com/
http://www.gamespot.com/
http://www.neoseeker.com/

If you want to post this guide on another site, ASK FOR PERMISSION FIRST.

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VERSION HISTORY
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Version 1.00 - This is the first release of this FAQ.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Introduction............(A001)
FAQ.....................(A002)
About Pro Tour Mode.....(A003)
Tips & Hints............(A004)
Making Your Character...(A005)
Playing Styles..........(A006)
The Menu................(A007)
Playing Matches.........(A008)
Point Allocation........(A009)
Becoming Number One.....(A010)
Credits & Thanks........(A011)
E-mail..................(A012)

To make things easier, you can skip to a section by pressing Ctrl+F and typing
in the number in the brackets.

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INTRODUCTION (A001)
-------------------

This guide is all about the Pro Tour mode, helping people getting to number 1
in the shortest time possible with the best stats. In this guide I will be
talking about what Pro Tour is, making your character, playing matches, and
finally achieving number 1. If you want to ask a question, get permission, add
a tip, or state a mistake, go to the last section of this FAQ. I will NOT
explain anything that has already been covered in other modes. This is my very
first FAQ by the way.

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FAQ (A002)
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Coming when people ask questions!

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ABOUT PRO TOUR MODE (A003)
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In Pro Tour mode, you create a character and make him/her rise through the
ranks to become number 1 in the world! It might sound easy, but this is going
to be a long and challenging trip.

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TIPS & HINTS (A004)
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Before you start, here are a few tips & hints to being successful in this mode.

1) After the first match, immediately go to the options menu and choose 'Normal
Play'. This will be explained more in the 'Playing Matches' section.

2) If you are playing against an opponent that has a fast serve, here is an
easy way to return it:

1. Walk into the area where your opponent is serving.
2. If they serve to the opposite side this time, go into the middle of the
distance between the two serves. This will help you reach both sides quicker.
3. If you are still having trouble returning it, have a little bit of distance
between the first tram line so the CPU will aim the serve closer to the center
line.
4. Just before he/she hits the ball, quickly run towards the center line. Since
the CPU was trying to aim it there, you will hit it back with ease.
5. Having a higher dash rating will increase the speed that you run, making it
even easier to return the ball. This will be explained more in the 'Point
Allocation' section.

3) Before you enter a tournament, look at your stamina bar. Since you need to
play all the Grand Slams and Smash Pro GP's to get to number 1 as fast as
possible, make sure that you know which days you can do training sessions.
Before you enter the Roland Garros, make sure that the stamina bar is at least
almost full because of Wimbledon right after.

4) Since you have to increase stats that are not Meet, make sure that you
practice your nice shots.

5) If your opponent does a drop shot, hit it back with a nice flat shot. It
will be incredibly powerful! Good timing is required to do this.

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MAKING YOUR CHARACTER (A005)
----------------------------

Now this is the beginning of the 'actual' walkthrough itself. This is probably
the most important part of this mode, because without a character, there would
be nothing to do except watch matches. As soon as you press the 'New Player'
option when you first start this mode, you will have to create a character.
There are three menus, but only the last one affects gameplay. The first menu
requires your character's personal information. The game gives you these
options:

Gender - Allows you to choose your character's gender.
Country - Allows you to choose where your character comes from.
First Name - Allows you to type in the first name of your character.
Last Name - Allows you to type in the last name of your character.

After you have filled in this information, go to the 'NEXT' button.

The second menu requires you to choose how your character looks like. The game
give you these options:

Height - Allows you to choose the height of your character.
Weight - Allows you to choose the weight of your character.
Face/Hair - Allows you to choose the type of face for your character. Allows
you to choose the style and color of your character's hair.
Wear/Shorts (Men Only) - Allows you to choose the type and color of the shirt
and shorts of your character.
Wear (Women Only) - Allows you to choose the type and color of the outfit for
your character.
Racquets - Allows you to choose the type of racquet for your character.
Shoes - Allows you to choose the type of shoes for your character.
Accessories (Wristbands) - Allows you to choose the color of the wristbands of
your character, or if they don't wear them.

After you have filled in this information, go to the 'NEXT' button.

The third and last menu is the one that affects gameplay. This menu requires
you to choose how your character plays the matches. The game gives you these
options:

Playing Style - Allows you to choose the playing style of your character. This
will be explained more in the next section.
Plays - Allows you to choose if your character is left or right handed.
Backhand - Allows you to choose if the character uses one or both hands for
their backhand.
Service Motion - Allows you to choose the animation of your character's serve.
Receiving Stance - Allows you to choose the animation of when your character
is getting ready for returning a serve.

After you have filled in this information, go to the 'NEXT' button. It will
then show the stats of your character depending on their playing style.

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PLAYING STYLES (A006)
---------------------

As you may have noticed in the character selection screen in the Arcade, 
Exhibition, Challenges, and Spectator modes, below the character's name is
their playing style. In this section, I will talk about each playing style and
their value to the Pro Tour mode. The format will go as follows:

Style Name
Priority of using the style in Pro Tour
My own description of the style

Are you now ready? Let's go! Make sure to remember each one of them. All about
what each stat increases will be explained more in the 'Point Allocation'
section.

All-Around
Priority: Medium
The name is basically what it is. This style is balanced in all stats. The
priority is medium because since it is balanced, some of the more important
stats are lower in the beginning and will require more time to increase them.

Baseliner
Priority: High
This playing style is based on staying near the baseline for the matches. This
is high because of the good topspin and stamina in the beginning.

Power Serves
Priority: Low
This style is all about the power of the serves. The priority is low because
you can still increase both serve and power to SSS when choosing the other
ones. The other stats apart from power are relatively low, making it even
longer to increase the other stats (except for Power). Plus, you will not
always be serving.
 
Serve & Volley
Priority: Low
This is based on you serving the ball, then running up to the net. This is low
because for me personally, there isn't a good difference between a SSS and a
F volley. Power Serves would be the better choice.

Net Player
Priority: Lowest
This is all focused on playing at the net. This one is USELESS. The volley is
high, but the other stats are really low. As I said before, there isn't any
difference between a SSS volley and a F volley. DO NOT choose this unless you
want to challenge yourself to win all the tournaments on Mission Play only
focusing on net-related things. But that is NOT what this guide is for.

Hard Hitter
Priority: Highest
This is all focused on hitting the ball hard. This one is the most useful
because Power and Flat are high in the beginning, which are necessary stats to
increase.

Now, I'm going to order the priorities in a list from best to worst, so I can
tell you which ones are higher.


1. Hard Hitter
2. Baseliner
3. All-Around
4. Power Serves
5. Serve & Volley
6. Net Player

Since Hard Hitter has the highest priority, this is the one you are going to
choose.

Depending on how you put in your EXP points, your playing style may change.
There are also three other playing styles that I have encountered that are not
selectable at the beginning. I won't put them in any priority list, because
they are ones that you can't choose. Same format follows.

Power Player
This is achieved when you have a high power score. You hit the ball really hard
with tons of power to devastate your opponent. This is one that you are going
to reach if you use my guide.

Strong Forehand
This is achieved when you have a high Meet - Fore score. You are seriously
strong with your forehand, even if your power is D. This is the first one you
will reach if you use my guide.

Powerful Backhand
This is achieved when you have a high Meet - Back score. You are seriously
strong with your backhand, even if your power is D.

Power Player is the better one, because you only need to increase one stat to
make BOTH of them really strong.

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THE MENU (A007)
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After the first match or if your pressed triangle in the beginning, you will be
in the menu. Pressing triangle will take you to a list of selectable menus.
Here I will explain where all of the options take you.

Calendar - This is the first menu you will see. On the bottom left is your
name, stamina, rank and points. You can see which tournaments and events are
going on in the year at what times. Pressing X on a training session, event, or
tournament will allow you to participate in that.

Status - Shows you the stats of your character. Pressing R1 will show your
character's level, EXP points, playing style, super shots and the surfaces that
your character is the best on. Pressing L1 will take you back to the stats.

Shop - Using the points that you gained winning tournaments, you can buy new
clothes and stat increase items.

Data - This consists of three menus:

1. Rankings - Shows the ranks of the top 250 people in Pro Tour.
2. Activity - Shows your character's records, number of tournaments won, prize
money received, and the scores of previous matches.
3. Data Archives - Shows things like fastest serve, points won, nice shot
percentage etc... of your character.

Options - This consists of four menus:

1. Locker Room - Allows you to equip the items you bought in the shop.
2. Save - Allows you to save your progress. Save after every tournament!
3. Settings - Allows you to choose between Mission Play or Normal Play.
4. Main Menu - Allows you to exit Pro Tour mode and return to the main menu. It
also asks you to save if you didn't do so before choosing this option.

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PLAYING MATCHES (A008)
----------------------

As soon as you enter this mode, you will get two messages. I am going to tell
you a shortened version of these. In a match, there will be certain objectives
that you have to complete. Each time you complete an objective, you will gain
an advantage and EXP points. The EXP points will be explained more in the next
section. If you fail the objective, then you will get a disadvantage. After
this, you will be given two options. If you press X, you will go to the 'first'
match. Since this is the very first tournament, the objectives will be easy to
complete. If you press triangle, you will be able to explore the menu. The
bigger the difference between the opponent's and your rank, the harder the
objectives will become. However, after the first match we will not follow this
until Wimbledon or US Open! After the first match, go to the options screen and
select 'Normal Play'. Though this only gives experience from winning matches,
(which is less) you will be able to win the Austrailian Open and Roland Garros
way more easily. If you win both the Austrailian Open and Roland Garros, and 
you are confident enough you can switch back to Mission Play. If you also win
Wimbledon with Normal Play, then you should definitely change. But wait a
minute, how does Normal Play actually work? Simple. You play up to one set
manually. The minumum is 2 Games 1 Set, while the maximum is 6 Games 1 Set. The
number of games depends on what round you are in out of how many total number
of rounds are in the tournament. After winning matches, your rank will increase
depending on which players you beat, the round you reached in the tournament,
and which tournament it was. You will also gain experience from just winning
matches, in both Mission and Normal play.

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POINT ALLOCATION (A009)
-----------------------

This section will explain all about using your EXP points to your stats in the
most convenient and successful way possible. Considering that you already read
the 'Playing Styles' section, you would have chosen Hard Hitter. First of all,
let me give you a description of each of the stats.

Stamina - I won't explain this because it is already covered in the Tutorial
mode. The higher this stat is, the more stamina you will have.

Power - This is how much power is put into your shots. The higher this stat is,
the more power you will have.

Dash - This has two sub-stats:

1. Net - This is how fast you will run towards the net. The higher this stat
is, the faster you will be.
2. Side - This is how fast you will run towards the side of the court. The
higher this stat is, the faster you will be.

Meet - This has two sub-stats:

1. Fore - This is how powerful your forehand will be. Also increasing the
chance of getting a nice shot. The higher this stat, your forehand will become
more powerful and will have a higher chance of getting a nice shot.

2. Back - This is how powerful your backhand will be. Also increasing the
chance of getting a nice shot. The higher this stat, your backhand will become
more powerful and will have a higher chance of getting a nice shot.

Skill - This contains the following stats:

Serve - This is how fast your serve will be. The higher this stat, the faster
it will become.

Topspin - This is how much spin is put into your topspin. The higher this stat,
more spin will be added.

Flat - This is how fast your flat will be. The higher this stat, the faster it
will become.

Volley - This is how fast your volley will become. The higher this stat, the
faster it will become.

Slice - This is how much spin is put into your slice. The higher this stat,
more spin will be added.

Lob & Drop: This is how much distance is put into your lob, and how much
distance is taken away from your drop. The higher this stat, the further the
lob will land and the closer the drop shot is to the net.

For volley that is what I think it is meant to increase, since I don't see a
good difference when increasing it.

So I know what the stats do, but which stats should I increase? This is where
I am going to tell how to put your experience points in. Make sure you chose
Hard Hitter in the beginning. This won't tell you EXACTLY which points to put
into which stats, because you only need to follow one rule at level 2. For your
first level up, put 25 points into both stamina and power. Since the
Austrailian Open is right after, you are going to need more stamina and power
to your shots. You should win the Austrailian Open to get to number one faster.
Now, you should be level 18. The stats that you are going to increase are
stamina, power, serve, topspin and flat. This is the one rule I was talking
about. Balance your points into each of the five stats. For example, when I
play on my other characters with Mission Play I usually get 700 EXP points in
the Austrailian Open. You could put 350 points into stamina and power and the
other 350 points into serve, topspin and flat. Now, divide 350 by 2, which is
175. This means put 175 points into stamina and power. Do the same thing to the
other three. After the stats fill the whole bar of SSS, you may increase Dash
or Slice. Let the other stats decrease when you increase the stats. However, do
NOT make them fall if they are at maximum.

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BECOMING NUMBER ONE (A010)
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If you followed the entire guide so far, then you should now have an easy time
becoming number one. You HAVE to win all tournaments in order to become number
one. If you lose a tournament, just try again. Just believe that
you can do it (like in real life!) and follow my tips.

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CREDITS & THANKS (A011)
-----------------------

All I really have to say is thank you to Namco for creating this great game and
supporting the tennis sport. Also thanks to GameFAQs to persuade me to make my
very own FAQ and its contents.

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E-MAIL (A012)
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If you want to send any feedback, ask a question, add a tip, state a mistake,
or get permission to post this guide on another site, then here is my e-mail.

[email protected]
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