_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
VARIABLE GEO MAX
FAQ/Move List
Written by Sunset Kid
Version 2.0 - 06/15/2008
Contact: sunsetkidgmailcom
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
===============================================================================
CONTENTS
===============================================================================
1. Introduction
2. Version History
3. Contact Information
4. Fighting System
5. Combo System
6. Game Modes
7. FAQ Notation
8. Move List
8.1. Yuka Takeuchi
8.2. Chiho Masuda
8.3. Tamao Mitsurugi
8.4. Satomi Yajima
8.5. Manami Kusunoki
8.6. Yumiko Watanuki
8.7. Jun Kubota
8.8. Kaori Yanase
8.9. Reimi Jyahana
8.10. Masako Houjouin
9. Secrets
10. FAQ
11. Credits
===============================================================================
Section 1 -                                                      INTRODUCTION
===============================================================================
Hi, this is my guide to V.G. MAX you're reading now. V.G. stands for Variable
Geo, a fighting game that first came to life in the form of V.G. Fighter.
The V.G. series was always considered to be PC-oriented, but some console
versions where made, like Super V.G. (for Super NES), and Advanced Variable
Geo 1 and 2 (for the Sony Playstation and Sega Saturn).
The story goes like this: waitresses must fight in a sport of their own
(called full-waitressing contact), which consists of fights between female
contestants. The restaurant market hosts a tournament so waitresses can get
sponsors for their restaurants, and also win the big prize of 10 million
dollars. To participate, a woman must have a restaurant that sponsors her (but
she can be her own sponsor if she likes, it's the case of Reimi Jyahana), know
how to fight (oh cliche), and be able to endure the unfortunate case of a loss.
The most known aspect of the V.G. series is the presence of "hentai" content.
To anyone there who doesn't know what's hentai, it's the action of drawing
nude women in the japanese style of drawing (fancy hair, big eyes). But where
this hentai is inserted into? I'll explain. You remember the "unfortunate case
of a loss" I said before? That's it, if a contestant loses, she suffers a
penalty, which consists of forcefully having sex with men (also known as rape).
Note that these "penalty scenes" only appear at the PC versions, in the
console versions, the story has been lightened so the loser contestant just has
to strip in front of the viewing audience, or do some humiliating thing on the
request of the winner.
There's also an OVA series based on this game, but I was not able to get my
hands on it. The story is also softened there, so that there's not the sex
factor involved. But that's another whole deal.
But to take V.G. only as a hentai game is not fair. The game is very good to
play, and while it may look a little outdated even to a game released one year
before (Advanced Variable Geo 2), it still has its own charisma. The Variable
Geo series is known for taking elements from other fighting games and adding
its own dose of gameplay into it, so let's see if it will survive by its own
merits.
And, as a side note, V.G. MAX is considered abandonware (the developers don't
care about the game no more, or they just disappeared and no one owns the game
anymore), so it's up to you to judge if it is illegal or not to download the
game.
===============================================================================
Section 2 -                                                    VERSION HISTORY
===============================================================================
Version 1.0 (11/22/2004) - First released version. The layout and sections are
complete. There aren't any combos, however.
Version 2.0 (06/15/2008) - Some minor corrections, and an important update for
the controller issues (look on the FAQ section) and e-mail change.
===============================================================================
Section 3 -                                                CONTACT INFORMATION
===============================================================================
My contact adress is sunsetkidgmailcom, you know what the
and  stand for.
When sending an email, put something easy to understand and refer in the
subject, nothing like "question", "help plz". You should just send "V.G. MAX
FAQ " in the subject of the message, it's a lot easier that
way.
DO Send me corrections, additions, combos, bits of info I may have missed, or
anything pertaining this guide.
DON'T send me bad porn, viruses, spam, jokes and whatever the hell goes into
the category of "gross".
===============================================================================
Section 4 -                                                    FIGHTING SYSTEM
===============================================================================
Elimination System
--------------------
In V.G.Max, you fight in the classical best-of-three style, meaning that the
character who wins two rounds will be considered the winner of the match. There
is the possibility of draw, either by Double K.O., when both fighters are
knocked out simultaneously, or by Time Over, if the time established for the
match is over and both fighters have the same amount of energy left.
Victory Icons
--------------
The victory icons are displayed below the fighter's energy bar, by one or more
letters, after they win a round. "V" means victory by normal attacks, throws,
command attacks or special moves. "Ex" means victory by EX Attacks. An "S"
means victory by a Super Move, while a "P" means victory by "Perfect", which
overlaps any other type of victory.
Health Bar
-------------
V.G.Max uses a explicit way of showing the damage inflicted (if you play
Practice Mode). Each character has between 230 and 250 health points, but I
couldn't check the exact number. When this bar reaches below 0 health points,
the character is KOed.
Power Bar
-------------
Power Bar is there to aid you in doing them EX, Counter and Super Moves. This
bar can build up to 3 levels, when it reaches its MAX. Various methods can be
used to gain energy, such as attacking, blocking attacks, using special moves,
receiving or inflicting damage, or simply hitting the vaccum with the B button.
EX Moves use 1 power level (there are some exceptions, like Manami's EX Move),
while a Super Move uses 2 power levels.
EX Moves
--------------
EX Moves are stronger versions of a particular special move, with enhanced
number of hits and/or damage. EX Moves need 1 power level to be used, with
exception of some characters, who may use more than one.
===============================================================================
Section 5 -                                                       COMBO SYSTEM
===============================================================================
Chain Combos
-----------------
Chain Combos can be done in two ways: "weak to weak" and "weak to strong".
"Weak to weak" is the way of doing weak attacks repeteadly, so you can combo
to a greater number of hits, but lesser damage.
"Weak to strong" refers to following a weak attack with a strong attack, which
is really intuitive for a game which uses only two buttons. Note that you can't
do vice-versa, i.e. following a strong attack with a weak attack.
Cancelling Order
-----------------
The cancelling order is as follows:
Normal attack - > Special Move - > EX Move/Super Move
or
Normal attack - > EX Move/Super Move
Real simple, eh?
Note that the timing must be considered when canceling.
Damage Buffering
-----------------
Damage buffering happens when you're doing a combo, and on each subsequent hit
after the first one, the damage is decreased by a certain percentage. Damage
buffering exists in V.G.MAX, but it is very subtle, and is not a thing you
really should be concerned with.
Juggling
---------------
Juggling is the ability to hit an enemy while he/she is falling after being hit
by an enemy's strike. In V.G.MAX, juggle can be done up to 1 time per fall
(enemy falls, you strike her, she falls again, you can't strike her again),
with the exception of Tamao, who can do 2 or even 3 juggles. Note that normal
attacks (A and B buttons) aren't considered here, as weak attacks always
juggle up to 3 times and strong attacks juggle 1 or 2 times.
===============================================================================
Section 6 -                                                         GAME MODES
===============================================================================
Arcade Mode
-------------
In Arcade Mode you have to fight against 7 opponents in a best-of-three system.
None of your opponents will ever be your character. If you lose, you will be
prompted to continue, but bear in mind if you select another character, you'll
have to start over from the first opponent. If you win, you'll see the penalty
the loser will recieve, which are in two hentai images (there's also some
speech in japanese during these scenes), then you proceed to the next fight.
After the last stage, you see your character's ending.
Note that after beating the game the first time, you'll fight a total of 8
opponents in Arcade Mode all the subsequent times, not 7 anymore. That is
because Masako becomes playable.
Versus Mode
---------------
Basic 2-Player mode. Each player chooses a fighter and fight in a randomly
choosen background. There's no limit to the number of bouts here.
Config
---------------
- Game Level: the difficulty, 1 being the easiest and 3 the hardest.
- Time Limit: 60 seconds, 99 seconds or no limit.
- Sound Mode: choose if you want to hear the background music (BGM) or not.
You'll still hear SFX, though.
- Graphic Mode: choose if you want to see the character dialogues before and
after a fight, and the penalty scenes after defeating each
opponent in Arcade Mode. Note that you can still see the
endings after finishing Arcade Mode. Turn it off if you want to
speed up gameplay.
- BG Anime Mode: choose if you want to use animated backgrounds or not. Do
yourself a favor and turn this off ASAP. It increases gameplay
speed, and also, the BG animation is pretty bad. Note that the
sprite of Satomi's brother isn't a background element and will
still move even if this option is turned off. Also, the petals
on Reimi's stage also count as sprites.
- 1P Operation: the device Player 1 wishes to use as a control. The default is
"KEYBORAD" (yes, it's a typo). If you connect a gamepad, "PAD"
also becomes available. "PAD" will be selected automatically
whenever you start the game with a gamepad connected.
- 2P Operation: same as 1P Operation, but for Player 2.
CG Mode
------------
After beating Arcade Mode one time, you unlock this mode. All the characters
you did beat in Arcade Mode are available here, so you can see their penalty
scenes. Note that you have to defeat the character AND finish Arcade Mode so
she is available there.
Practice
---------------
In this mode you can practice all your moves around, with an infinite power bar
and a static opponent. You can't change the opponent's behavior, so this mode
is good only for testing some general combos, not to train specific-situation
combos, like crouching or jumping.
Quit
---------------
Exit to Windows.
===============================================================================
Section 7 -                                                       FAQ NOTATION
===============================================================================
Key Notation (Controls)
-----------------------
----------------           ----------------      ----------------
Command                     Player 1              Player 2
----------------           ----------------      ----------------
A                         A Key                 And Punch!              press A
before 2nd hit
-> And Kick!               press B before 2nd hit
- EX Moves -
EX Kikoudan                 down, forward + AB
EX Souryuu Geki             forward, down, forward + AB
EX Kuu Sen Kyaku            down, back + AB
- Super Moves -
Lightning Crash             forward, back, down, forward + B
Three-in-one                down, back, down, back + B
- Butt Attack is an overhead attack.
- Tamao's Kikoudan travels in a descending arc, but it doesn't need to be
blocked low.
- The B version of the Souryuu Geki will hit an additional time if you do it
at the right time window. Likely, it's when your opponent is jumping over
Tamao.
- You must follow the Pokopoko Midare Uchi right on the 2nd hit, or Tamao will
finish the combo automatically.
- When Tamao finishes the EX Kuu Sen Kyaku, she will land face-first on the
floor. This is an overhead attack. The same counts for the final hit of a
Three-in-one.
- It looks like Tamao can juggle opponents better than all other characters.
- Trivia: Tamao mimics Yuka's moves because she is her fan, just like Sakura
is Ryu's (from Street Fighter). She does a pretty bad job, though.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------  [  S A T O M I   Y A J I M A  ] -----------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- Command Attacks -
Sweeping attack                   down-forward + B
Flying Kick                       (while in air) forward + B
- Special Moves -
Ouhou                             forward, down, back + A or B
Kaen Zan                          back, down, back + A or B
Goku En Shou                      down, back + A or B
Shinkuu Karatakewari              forward, back, down, forward + A or B
- EX Moves -
EX Kaen Zan                       back, down, back + AB
EX Goku En Shou                   down, back + AB
EX Shinkuu Karatakewari           forward, back, down, forward + AB
- Super Moves -
Hissatsu Kyokushinken             forward, back, down, forward + B
- The Ouhou can reflect projectiles.
- The Goku En Shou is an overhead attack. Also, if you watch carefully, you
can combo with something else right after it.
- The B version of a Shinkuu Karatakewari has a different finish, when Satomi
touches the floor.
- The Shinkuu Karatakewari is an overhead attack.
- Hissatsu Kyokushinken won't hit jumping opponents. It just travels half of
the screen too.
- Trivia: The boy cheering for Satomi in her stage is her brother.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------  [  M A N A M I   K U S U N O K I  ]  ------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- Command Attacks -
Diagonal Kick                    down-forward + B
Reverse Kick                     forward + B
Flying Body Attack               while in air, down + B
- Special Moves -
Neko Rocket Punch                down, forward + A or B
Gorogoro Attack                  (charge) back, forward + A
Grand Gorogoro Attack            (charge) back, forward + B
Neko Chotto Ranbu                (close to enemy) forward, down, back + B
- EX Moves -
EX Gorogoro Attack               (charge) back, forward + AB
- Super Moves -
Gottsui Neko Rocket Punch        forward, back, down, forward + B
- Differently from other V.G. games, the Neko Rocket Punch attack won't take
any energy from Manami when the glove hits her back in the head.
- The "rolling" part of Manami's Grand Gorogoro Attack doesn't hit, only the
body attack does.
- The "flying" part of Manami's Grand Gorogoro Attack is an overhead attack.
- Even if it is an EX Move, the EX Gorogoro Attack uses two levels.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------  [  Y U M I K O   W A T A N U K I  ]   -----------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- Command Attacks -
None
- Special Moves -
Ki Ball                       down, forward + A
Irregular Ki Ball             down, forward + B
Double Attack                 down, back + A or B
Palm Shield                   (charge) down, up + A or B
Blackout Dash                 back, forward, back, forward + A or B
- EX Moves -
EX Palm Shield                (charge) down, up + AB
EX Double Attack              down, back + A
- Super Moves -
Ougi: Chokidan                (charge) back, front + AB
- I don't know most of Yumiko's moves names', except for the Ougi: Chokidan.
If you can help there, email me.
- Strangely, the Irregular Ki Ball is NOT an overhead attack.
- None of Yumiko's projectiles can be reflected by other characters, only by
herself.
- The Palm Shield and EX Palm Shield can reflect projectiles.
- Yumiko can reflect most projectiles that other characters can't. An example
is Yuka's EX Kikoudan. Yumiko will reflect the first one, and the other two
will pass through her. Other characters can't even reflect the first
Kikoudan.
- Blackout Dash allows Yumiko to pass through the opponent and some attacks.
The A version travels to a small distance, while he B version travels more
than half the screen.
- Ougi: Chokidan renders Yumiko invincible for the remainder of the move,
against any attacks. However, an opponent can throw a projectile to nullify
Yumiko's, or just jump over Yumiko's projectile.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------   [  J U N   K U B O T A  ]   -----------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- Command Attacks -
Flying Body Attack          (while in air) down + B
- Special Moves -
Earth Shaker                down, back + A or B
Kubota Buster               forward, back, down, forward + A or B
Kubota Sway                 back, down, down-back + A or B
Kubota Lariat               (charge) back, forward + B
- EX Moves -
EX Earth Shaker             down, back + AB
- Super Moves -
Kubota Special              forward, down, back, forward, down, back + B
Kubota Super Lariat         forward, down, back, forward + B
- The Kubota Buster is unblockable. The A version is faster, but does less
damage, while the B version is much slower, but compensates that with damage.
Note also that the opponent can't do a Safe Fall after being hit by it,
because damage is done when opponent hits the floor too.
- Kubota Sway makes Jun invulnerable against all attacks, even throws. You can
insert a command during this momentum so Jun executes it right after she ends
the sway.
- The Kubota Special is unblockable.
- Trivia: Talking about references, did you ever play a game named Guilty Gear?
If you did, chances are you'll recognize that some of Potemkin's moves (the
Potemkin Buster and Heavenly Potemkin Buster) are exactly equal to Jun's
Kubota Buster. Jun even telegraphs the move name like Potemkin.
- Another reference you might find is in the Kubota Special. Notice the first
two suplexes in the beggining of the move. Zangief (from Street Fighter) also
does those two same suplexes in the start of his Final Atomic Buster.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------   [  K A O R I   Y A N A S E  ]   ---------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- Command Attacks -
Rasen Geri                   (while in air) down + A
Shuu Geki                    (while in air) down + B
- Special Moves -
Ressen Shuu                  down, forward + A or B
En Ken Fu                    down, back + A or B
Ryu Ren Tai                  (close to enemy) forward, down, down-forward + B
Hiza Geri Age                (charge) down, up + A
- EX Moves -
EX Ressen Shuu               down, forward + AB
EX En Ken Fu                 down, back + AB
- Super Moves -
Retsu Zan Dou                forward, back, down, forward + B
- You can't do the Chun-Li Ki... I mean, the Shuu Geki if you jump straight up,
so you have to jump forward or back, but you can do the Rasen Geri jumping
at any angle.
- The Shuu Geki will make Kaori rebound off a blocking opponent.
- The Hiza Geri Age does have a limited usefulness as an anti-air, but you can
juggle very well if you connect it.
- To connect both hits of an EX Ressen Shuu, it's best to do it near your
opponent.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------   [  R E I M I   J Y A H A N A  ]   ------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- Command Attacks -
Violent Kick                forward + B
Two-leg sweep               down-forward + B
- Special Moves -
Burning Rose                down, forward + A or B
Rose Stinger                (charge) back, forward + A or B
Hurricane Rose              (charge) down, up + A or B
- EX Moves -
EX Burning Rose             down, forward + AB
EX Rose Stinger             (charge) back, forward + AB
EX Hurricane Rose           (charge) down, up + AB
- Super Moves -
Griffon Nail                forward, back, down, forward + B
- Reimi's B attack must be blocked low.
- Violent Kick is an overhead attack. It will kick the opponent very far away
from Reimi, so it's good to regain some breath.
- Two-leg sweep is the same normal sweep, only the range is increased.
- You can only have one Burning Rose on the screen at a time.
- Rose Stinger allows Reimi to pass through blocking opponents.
- To get the best damage from an EX Hurricane Rose, do it near your opponent
and while they're NOT jumping.
- Griffon Nail can get airborne opponents. The move will be activated as soon
as Reimi grabs her opponent.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------  [  M A S A K O   H O U J O U I N  ]   -----------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To play as Masako Houjouin, beat Arcade Mode once with any character.
- Command Attacks -
Skull Crusher               forward + B
- Special Moves -
Senpuuken                   forward, down, forward + A or B
Chain Attack                down, back + A or B
Coin Toss                   down, forward + A or B
- EX Moves -
EX Senpuuken                forward, down, forward + AB
EX Chain Attack             down, back + AB
EX Coin Toss                down, forward + AB
- Super Moves -
Missile Surprise            forward, back, down, forward + B
- I don't know the names of Masako's special moves, except the Senpuuken. If
anyone can help there, drop me a line. I know the thing Masako throws is a
grenade (or a bean, whatever), but it looks so much like a coin toss I
decided to call it that.
- Masako's standing B attack can reflect projectiles.
- Masako's flying A hits 3 times.
- Skull Crusher is an overhead attack.
- The B version of the Senpuuken can pass below projectiles.
- If you pay attention during the Coin Toss move, the grenade explodes before
it reaches the floor. Also, if Masako throws a grenade offscreen, the grenade
won't explode.
- Every time you do the EX Coin Toss, Masako will throw five grenades to
completely random positions. Sometimes, she will even throw all five at the
same place.
- Is Masako supposed to be inspired in the Darkstalkers' character Baby Bonnie
Hood (Bulleta in Japanese version)?
===============================================================================
Section 9 -                                                            SECRETS
===============================================================================
- Play as Masako Houjouin
Beat Arcade Mode once with any character.
- CG Mode (Hentai Content)
Beat Arcade Mode once with any character. All characters you have defeated
throughout it will be available at the CG Mode. To unlock the two additional
pictures, beat Arcade Mode one more time with a character that isn't the
character whom you used to beat it the first time, neither Masako.
- Choose alternate color
In the character selection screen, put the cursor over the character, press AB
1 time, then select the character. To nullify this, press AB another time.
Pressing AB an even number of times is the normal color, and an odd number of
times is the alternate color.
- Cameos
In Yumiko's stage, you can see Ayako Yuuki in the background. In Tamao's stage,
you can see Elena (Elenora/Elerin) Goldsmith in the background. They are
characters from other V.G. games.
===============================================================================
Section 10 -                                                               FAQ
===============================================================================
Q. Where can I download the game?
A. Sites with abandonware may have it. Don't send me emails asking for the
links.
Q. What are the system requirements?
A. They are pretty low, so almost all 1998-present PCs can play this game.
Q. Even when BG Anime is turned off, which elements will still move?
A. Satomi's brother in her stage, because he's a sprite, not a background
element. Also, the cherry petals in Reimi's stage will still move too.
Q. How do I turn off the images after each character has been defeated in
Arcade Mode?
A. Go to Config and turn "Graphic Mode" off.
Q. How do I change the controls, and why doesn't my gamepad work as it should?
A. If you connect a usb gamepad/joystick, sometimes you won't be able to use
the RIGHT and DOWN buttons. What you can do is emulate your pad using a program
called JoyToKey. Look on Google for it, the instructions are rather easy.
Create a profile for the game (name it anything you want) and configure it like
this:
LEFT - F
RIGHT - H
UP - T
DOWN - B
BUTTONS 1,2,3... - A is weak attack, S is strong attack and Z is weak+strong.
You may also want to set START as F12.
NOW! This is important. Everytime you start the game, go to CONFIG and change
1P/2P operation to "KEYBORAD" (yes, typo and everything).
Q. But now everytime I restart the game it screws everything up!
A. You have to go to CONFIG and change 1P/2P operation to "KEYBORAD" EVERYTIME
YOU START THE GAME.
===============================================================================
Section 11 -                                                           CREDITS
===============================================================================
- To TGL and Giga, for creating the Variable Geo Series.
- To GameFAQs, for hosting my guide.