INDEX
------------------------------------------
1.0 Introduction to this FAQ
1.1 About Starplatinum
1.2 System requirements
1.3 FAQ revisions
1.4 FAQ license
2.0 Menu explanation
2.1 Option menu
2.2 Hotkeys
2.3 In-game menu
3.0 Gameplay
3.1 The game screen
3.2 Card types
3.3 Card distribution
3.4 Card combinations
3.5 Game tactics
4.0 Story mode
4.1 Story from the intro
4.2 Story mode opponents
1.0 Introduction to this FAQ
------------------------------------------
I wrote this FAQ because StarPlatinum is a very fun game to play. I know a
lot of people are addicted to Freecell on the computer and I think there are
enough people who would like this game too.
The only problem with StarPlatinum is the fact that it's completely in
Japanese. Fortunately this is not a problem if you want to play the game, as
long as you're able to navigate your way through the menu's.
I tried to document everything of the game, but since I don't speak/read
Japanese myself I am not able to give you a 100% explanation of all the
options, but more then enough to enjoy the game though.
If anybody reading this _is_ able to email me the translation to the options
I was not able to figure out, I'd be very appreciative. Also any corrections
would be welcome.
To reach me, you can email me at: ivo (at) palli (dot) nl
Sorry for the slightly cryptic email address, but I'm trying to keep it spam
free :)
1.1 About Starplatinum
------------------------------------------
StarPlatinum is a Japanese Hentai card game. This means all the text is
Japanese, and you play a card game to see erotic pictures. But unlike a lot
of these types of games, this one is actually fun to play.
The game can be described best by comparing it to a combination of poker and
'Go fish'. You get a number of cards and you have to try your best matching
pairs from your hand and the cards on the table to put them on your side. If
you get a winning card combination on your side you can either 'attack' and
deduct the number of points from your opponents score, or 'charge' and try
to increase your attack.
When you are able to take the score of the opponent down to zero, you win
and you are rewarded by some soft-erotic drawings. These are pretty mild and
censored.
The game is not too hard, with the game depending on luck for a big part.
The fact that there is no English version of this game is no problem. With
this FAQ you can understand the menu's and gameplay just fine.
1.2 System requirements
------------------------------------------
The game was originally made for Windows 95, but thanks to very clean
coding, this game still runs fine over a whole range of Windows versions.
I'm personally still playing it on Windows XP.
The game doesn't use any kind of high-performance 3D graphics, so anything
from a Pentium 150 or higher should be fine.
1.3 FAQ revisions
------------------------------------------
Version 1.0 - This is the initial release.
Version 1.1 - Typo's and GFX mode added.
(Thanks Santiago)
Added card distribution.
1.4 FAQ license
------------------------------------------
I hereby give you permission to use this FAQ in any way you wish as long as I
(Ivo Palli) am credited for the work I've done making this FAQ and as long as
you leave this license intact. I'll post this FAQ on www.gamefaqs.com but you
are free to put it on your own website, but note that I will only update the
one of gamefaqs.
2.0 Menu explanation
------------------------------------------
When you start the game, you'll be presented with the main menu. I've
clicked all I could find and translated as many options as I could. Take
note that not all options will be available from the start. Some, like
'Start at chapter 4' will logically only appear if you actually reached
chapter 4. If you wish to take the easy road and unlock it all, see the
completed savegame further on in the FAQ.
I suggest printing this part out because switching back and forth between
the game and another program messes up the game.
1) Story mode
* New game
* Start from chapter
* Prologue
* Chapter 1
- Start at beginning of story
- Start at first battle
* Chapter 2
- Start at beginning of story
- Start at first battle
* Chapter 3
- Start at beginning of story
- Start at first battle
* Chapter 4
- Start at beginning of story
- Start at first battle
* Chapter 5
- Start at beginning of story
- Start at first battle
* Chapter 6
- Start at beginning of story
- Start at first battle
* Final chapter
- Start at beginning of story
- Start at first battle
- See bad ending
- See good ending + credits
2) Instant action
3) Options
4) CG mode
* Music
- Previous page
-
- Next page
- Return to menu
* CG shop
- See Pisces
- See Spica
- See Capria
- See Sagittaris
- See Tarosia
- See Jemmy & Emminy
- See Ryucy
* Credits
- Story mode credits
- Instant action credits
* CG shop 2
* See story mode sequences
5) Story Intro
6) Explanation Intro
7) Exit
* Cancel
* Exit
2.1 Option menu
------------------------------------------
I could not find out what all of the options were, but if I get any tips
from people I'll be sure to update this FAQ. Fortunately the game is
perfectly playable even if we don't know exactly what everything is.
Changing the graphics mode has an effect on the 'nude' scenes in the game. I
noticed that it's not a simple color reduction, but the images are actually
a little different in both modes. Nothing much, a few 'sweat' drops added
here and there. Also in the 16 color mode, there is a little less censorship
but the game looks far better in Full color mode anyway.
WARNING: Be careful with the game status reset option. This will reset
the savegame and you will have to start the game from the
beginning again!
1) ??? On/Off
2) Music On/Off
3) SFX On/Off
4) Verbose On/Off
5) GFX mode Full color/16 color
6) Video test
7) Reset game status
* Cancel
* Reset
8) Main menu
2.2 Hotkeys
------------------------------------------
There aren't many hotkeys in this game, as most of the game is controlled
with the mouse. As far as I know though, the whole game can also be played
with the keyboard, which is a nice thing for those without a mouse, or
people with a handicap who use special input devices.
There are a few keys to note though:
* In main menu right clicking the mouse will start explanation intro.
* Right clicking the mouse during the game will pop up the in-game menu.
* Right clicking during story mode dialogs will skip through them.
* F5 will show/hide the frames per second rate.
* F12 is an immediate exit of the game.
2.3 In-game menu
------------------------------------------
During the game you can access the in-game menu. Again I was unable to
figure out every option, but there is one thing to note. As far as I know
there is no way to SAVE the game. If you exit you will have to replay that
round again.
There seem to be two option to go back to the main menu, I could not detect
any difference between the two of them. I also have no clue what the Verbose
setting does, as I could not detect any more or less text during the game.
1) Return to game
2) Main menu ???
3) Main menu ???
4) ??? On/Off
5) Music On/Off
6) SFX On/Off
7) Verbose On/Off
3.0 Gameplay
------------------------------------------
I will refer to the game screen below in my explanation. Also note that the
gameplay is also explained in the game intro. See the menu translation to
see what option to choose to see it!
At the beginning of the game you and the opponent are dealt a hand of 8
cards (2) and (7).
The center pile (4) will have 8 up turned cards. Depending on who won the
last round will start this round. Or if this is the first round, you will
start.
The goal is to match cards from your hand with cards on the center pile.
Doing so will put those two cards in the row of collected cards (6) and (8).
If you chose a card that does not match any card on the center pile, the
selected card itself will go on the pile.
After this, a card will be drawn from the stack and be placed up turned at
the center pile. If it happens to match a card already there you will get
both cards.
The turn then goes to the other player.
3.1 The game screen
------------------------------------------
1) The opponents collected symbol cards
2) The opponents hand, cards are hidden
3) The opponents collected dust cards
4) The center pile
5) The scores
6) Your collected dust cards
7) Your hand
8) Your collected symbol cards
The cards in this game can be divided in a few groups.
- Dust cards (24x)
These are cards with just a zodiac sign on them.
- Ring cards (10x)
These are cards with a zodiac sign and a ring on them.
- Symbol cards (9x)
Gray animals or objects are on the face of these cards
- Royal cards (5x)
These are golden images of people
All cards belong to one of the 12 signs of the zodiac.
3.3 Card distribution
------------------------------------------
| D | R | P | J | S | T | R |
| u | i | l | e | y | r | o |
| s | n | a | w | m | i | y |
| t | g | t | e | b | h | a |
| c | | i | l | o | o | l |
| a | | n | r | l | r | |
| r | | u | y | | n | |
| d | | m | | | | |
-------------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---|
Aries | 2 | 1 | | | | 1 | |
-------------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---|
Taurus | 2 | | 1 | | | 1 | |
-------------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---|
Gemini | 2 | | | 1 | | | 1 |
-------------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---|
Cancer | 2 | 1 | | | 1 | | |
-------------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---|
Leo | 2 | 1 | | | 1 | | |
-------------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---|
Virgo | 2 | | | 1 | | | 1 |
-------------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---|
Libra | 2 | | 1 | | 1 | | |
-------------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---|
Scorpio | 2 | | | 1 | 1 | | |
-------------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---|
Sagitarius | 1 | 1 | | | 1 | | 1 |
-------------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---|
Capricorn | 2 | | 1 | | | 1 | |
-------------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---|
Aquarius | 2 | | | | | | 1 |
-------------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---|
Pisces | 2 | | | | 1 | | 1 |
------------------------------------------
Platinum and Jewelry are ring cards, same as Trihorn is a symbol card, but I
split them up in the table so you can see more easily which type of card you
need to complete a combination.
3.4 Card combinations
------------------------------------------
As you gather your matching cards, you will be able to collect winning
sequences. Every time you get such a sequence or extend a sequence the game
will give you the option to 'attack' or 'charge'. Attacking will deduct the
value of the sequence from the opponents score. Charging will let the game
continue so you can try and extend the existing sequence or try to get an
additional sequence. Be careful though, if you decide to charge and you run
out of cards before getting another sequence, then you will not do any
damage at all. Also make sure the opponent doesn't get a sequence before you
do if you decide to charge, or your opponent will win that round.
The combinations are:
- Stardust: 100 points
You need 10 dust cards for this one. For each additional dustcard you
get another 100 points. Also take note that the Libra (Scales) symbol
card also counts as a dustcard.
- Ring: 100 points
You need 5 ring cards for this. It doesn't matter what ring cards.
- Jewelry: 600 points
Some of the rings on the ring cards have a gem on them. Collect all
three.
- Platinum: 600 points
Get the three silver looking rings together.
- Chart: 100 points
You need 5 symbol cards for this one. Every additional symbol card
increases the value with another 100 points.
- Trihorn: 600 points
The the 3 symbols cards with a ram on them.
- Trine: 600 points
Get three royal cards together. Note that the Sagittarius card (Archer)
card does not count in this sequence.
- SemiSquare: 800 points
Get a Trine and add the Sagittarius card.
- Square: 1000 points
Get all 4 royal cards, except Sagittarius.
- Quintile: 1500 points
Get all 5 royal cards together.
Most sequences can be combined with one another. For example if you get the
three jewelry cards together and the three platinum cards. You get 600 for
both sequences but since you have 6 ring cards, you will also get 500+100
for making a ring sequence. This would add up to a total of 1800 points. The
only exception to this are the royal cards. If you get all royal cards
together, you do not get additional points for making a Trine for example.
3.5 Game tactics
------------------------------------------
The objective is ofcourse to reduce the opponents score to zero. However
it's not always wise to do this by getting the highest possible sequence.
Just as important is trying to foil your opponent in getting sequences
himself. If your opponent almost has a Trine complete, and the last one he
needs in on the central pile, you better try and take that one away from
him!
Also the better sequences are harder to get together, so if you start out
with a mediocre hand of cards or when your opponent doesn't have much points
left in his score, then a better tactic would be to try and get a 100 point
stardust together.
In story mode, you start off with a lot of the cards dimmed. This means they
cannot be used in any sequence. So if the sequence you are trying to gather
has a dimmed card in it, don't bother with it, instead try for another
combination.
Another situation that occurs is when you can't make any matches with the
central pile. What should you do? First look if you have any dimmed cards,
play those first. If your opponent picks up that card, then it's in your
advantage. Then check if you have any doubles in your hand. If you, play
that one, because the chance is high that card will still be there next
turn, and then you can match it up with the card still in your hand.
Otherwise, just take a look at your opponents collected cards, and play
something that will not help him complete any sequences.
If you have a good sequence in your hand, like Trihorn, be sure to play it
as soon as you can. If you wait then the central pile might run out of
matching cards, leaving you with no way to collect that sequence.
Also when your opponent has something like Trine almost complete and you
suspect the last card for that sequence to be in the pile, you might want to
hold on to that dust card that matches the card in the pile, so you can
steal it away from him before he can take it.
4.0 Story mode
------------------------------------------
There are two modes of play in StarPlatinum, namely a story mode and an
instant action mode. In the story mode you play your way through several girls
becoming increasingly more difficult.
The main differences between the two modes are:
- Story mode has several cards 'disabled'.
- Story mode just deducts points from your score, while the instant action
mode adds winnings to your own score.
- Story mode has three rounds before you win against an opponent.
You play the round against a girl and need to win three times before you win.
If you lose a round you get the chance to restart that round. If you win the
savefile is automatically updated so that you don't have to replay that one
again.
Several symbol cards will be darkened in story mode. You cannot use them in a
combo and are thus completely worthless. Try to avoid getting these. The
further on you get in the game, more cards will be enabled.
After completing a chapter you get this menu:
1) Continue with next chapter
2) Exit to main menu
The girls you win from will show up in the CG shop where you can look at all
the pictures again. Completing the entire mode will give you a cool enddemo.
Also note that losing against the last opponent (meaning you don't choose to
retry that round) will give you another game ending.
4.1 Story from the intro
------------------------------------------
Here is the story from the intro. It explains a little what the story mode
is all about:
High above the
sky, in the world of
gods and goddesses,
there was a shrine
called Aero-Police.
There lived a
beautiful goddess
and a girl who was
training herself to
become the heiress
of her.
One day, the goddess
had to leave
the shrine for several
days, for she
was asked to attend
the meeting of gods
and goddesses.
As she left, she
told the girl never
to touch the box of
star-souls which was
laid on the depth of
the shrine.
However, just
after the goddess
left the shrine, the
curious girl broke
her word.
She opened the
box, and therefore
released the star-
souls who where lock-
ed up in the box.
They cast a spell
and turned her into
a small fairy.
The fairied girl
decided to go down
onto the Earth,
where the star-souls
had fled to, to
catch all of the
star-souls and
dispell the magic
before the goddess
returns.
4.2 Story mode opponents
------------------------------------------
The story mode has seven opponents. All have three rounds but the last. If
you quit during a round you will have to start from the first round again
against that opponent. The further along you get, less cards will be dimmed
allowing you to make bigger sequences.
Opponents and points per stage:
Pisces 100 (Swimming pool)
200
300
Spica 200 (Hospital)
400
600
Capria 300 (Alley)
600
900
Sagittaris 400 (Temple)
800
1200
Tarosia 500 (Mansion)
1000
1500
Jemmy & Emminy 600 (Twins)
1200
1800
Ryucy 3500 (Fairy)
5.0 Instant action mode
------------------------------------------
This is a pretty straight forward mode of play. You both get 2500 points and
winnings will add to your own score. This means it can take a LONG time to
win. If anyone reaches zero the game is over.
If you win you will get an enddemo sequence with all the astrological signs
coming by. This is different from the enddemo you will see after completing
the story mode.
Unlike story mode, all cards will be enabled so you can make all the
combinations. Completing this mode will enabled the second CG shop.
6.0 Completed savegame
------------------------------------------
There is a tiny file called STARPLAT.SAV in the game directory which is where
all you wins will be saved. There is an option in the main menu to clear this
file again so that you can start from the beginning. Note that the CG shops
will be gone again too then.
Since it's very small I'll include a completed savegame in my FAQ. It's
Base64 encoded and there are numerous tools out there to convert it back to
the binary file it was.
In case you have WinZip installed, copy the data lines between the dotted
lines into notepad and save it as 'save.b64'. You should then be able to use
WinZip to convert it back to 'STARPLAT.SAV'.
7.0 CG shop
------------------------------------------
In the CG shop you can move the mouse up/down or left/right to view the
larger pictures.
When you finish both Story mode and Instant action, you get CG shop 2 and the
'See story mode sequences' In CG shop 2 _every_ image in the game can be
viewed.
