Tigger's Srs Guide to FreeJack

Tigger's Guide: Exploring New Jack City

Hello there, I'm Tigger ingame. With my somewhat limited 10 hours a day to play FreeJack (lol cbt testing limited times), I've come to write a small and short guide that teaches you some basic game mechanics.

Beginners
When you first start this game, you'll be prompted to choose a character, and customize said character. You can choose your nickname, basic clothing colours, facial expressions, and that's pretty much it, for now. Each character specializes in their own traits (for example, Gin has the highest base Agility stat, while each of the other 3 characters excel in a different category) Personally, I chose Gin, because I liked his point allocation slightly better than the rest.

Make sure you do the beginner's tutorial. Not only is it extremely helpful to learning the games mechanics, but it also gives you some nice rewards, like extra jack (the currency). Afterwards, you're ready to experience the entirety of New Jack City!

~Some Basic Controls~

WASD- Use them to check behind, to your side, etc. Only for using keyboard config 1. If using no 2, these are used for moving.
Arrow Keys - Use them to move. Self explanatory.
Shift - Used for drifting. One can perform an "after-dash" after drifting. Try and get the timing down and press UP soon after your drift ends. (If you're lazy, just spam UP. You'll usually get the after-dash.
S- Strikes a player. Can be used with no SP, but this is not very effective. Once you clear many obstacles you will see your SP gauge rise. Once it reaches about 1/4 complete, you will be able to strike other players. For Gin, this appears as getting a red aura around you and quickly kicking a good distance ahead of you. It can also be used to give you a last second boost to the finish line, and to really piss people off who are trying to land a jump.

Ranks
This game has a unique ranking system. You start off as a gold turtle, and the ranks progress like this:

Gold Turtle
Green Turtle
Blue Turtle
Red Turtle
Rainbow Turtle

Here's where it gets a bit tricky. You start off AGAIN as a gold turtle after rainbow, but this time you have a wreath of leaves around it. So here's the ranks after the first 5:

Gold Turtle w/ leaves
Green Turtle w/leaves
Blue turtle w/leaves
Red turtle w/leaves
Rainbow turtle w/leaves.

After the turtle, your rank turns into a rabbit. Woot. Follow suit with the colours and the rabbit stays the same. After rabbit is deer/gazelle, and after that is a cheetah, then an eagle.

Strategies

So, many people have been wondering how some people are so good at this game. It's not rocket science, but anyone can become a great runner if they do some simple tricks.

Tip 1: You don't have to jump over every single obstacle.

There, I said it. The point of the game is NOT to jump over every obstacle, in fact, it is quite the opposite. Yes, some obstacles you HAVE to jump over. But , in my experience, I would say it is far better to avoid all obstacles and just race to the finish. For example, in Port Twilight, there is a car near the beginning. Some people jump over it, but it is much easier and much quicker to just dodge it and climb up the wall. Another example: In airport, one of my favourite maps. People have always complained that I complete it much too quick, but it's just simply using this trick. Instead of jumping over the orange bench, then the green bench, just stick to the greens, or oranges. You DONT HAVE TO JUMP OVER EVERY BENCH.

Tip 2: Ability Cards

This is the Fumbi Shop of FreeJack. When you race and place (1st ,2nd, 3rd) you get a chance of getting emblems. These emblems are from either 8 "gangs" that you can start off with, such as Skull Wing, Metal Heart, etc. When you try and gamble for, say, a Metal Heart emblem, you will use up one emblem and a random stat card will be given to you. You don't get it automatically, instead, you roll for it. So you click TRY IT OUT, and then if you are lucky enough to have the logo on the left match the one on the right, the card is yours. You can place it on your equips in Your Room.

*Tigger Tip: You can buy "lock holds" in the item shop that act as the Stop function of the Fumbi shop. Say, you get a 10 speed card. You do NOT wanna lose it. So you would go to the shop and buy, say, a pack of 30 locks for 750 jack. Now, you can roll 30 times with that 10 speed until you get it. This is great for when you get a great statted card that you just don't wanna lose.

Tip 3: After-Dashing and Start-up dash

After-dashing, as it is known, is performed after vaulting an obstacle. If you get the timing right, right after you land, you should press the up arrow. It will give you a mini boost that can greatly assist you (at no cost to your SP gauge!) Note that this can also be performed after a drift. A start up dash is similar, although you press the UP arrow right after the GO! sign appears at the start of the race.

Tip 4: Look for hidden routes and passages.

You're playing your favourite map, and you see two paths. Which way will take you to the finish line faster? This situation is best explained in Port Twilight reverse. You are given the option to run down the stairs, which may seem tedious. However, observant players will notice you can ride the rail, or grind on it, the entire way down. This is much faster than running and drifting down the flight of stairs. Also note that there are also some super jumps on stages (those little platforms that boost you up really high) and sometimes they can provide a useful shortcut through obstacles, like a busy freeway filled with cars.

Tip 5: Use your strike to your advantage.

You're playing a stage and you're 2nd place. You know you're going to lose, but a glimmer of hope appears. The 1st place person gets hit by a car. USE THIS TO YOUR ADVANTAGE. When they get back up, strike them with the S key and take away the rest of their health. This will waste even more of their time, as they will have to get up, then recover their HP, then recover their speed.
Another devious way of using this is right before a long jump, knock someone to the ground. You can also use this as a boost to the finish, or to steal someone's spot if they are close to the finish line.

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And that's all I have for now, 10 hours of playing the CBT of FreeJack. Comments? Suggestions? Post away....