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Spike It All The Way!!


by hwijaya

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Mynci Beach Volleyball, set in Mystery Island, is one of my favourite game to play. The object is to simply get the ball to the other side and have it hit the ground. You need at least twelve points to win, but you must have at least two points more than your opponent too.

There are two modes of play: one-player and two-player. In one-player, you compete in six rounds against increasingly tough Red Myncies controlled by the computer, and you receive Neopoints for your effort. In two-player mode, you compete against a friend on the same computer in a race to win twelve points, but you do not receive any Neopoints.

Serving

This is one of the easiest things you must do in the game, but I still see people mess up on such a simple thing. There is a variety of different ways you can serve, and sometimes you can earn easy points from serves.

1) On this serve you take your fingers off of the left and right keys. You don't have to remove them from the keys; you just have to not press them. You press the up key. That causes you to throw the ball high into the air. Now you have two options. You can stand there and do nothing, yes, nothing. The ball will bounce right off of your forehead, and the ball will most likely fly right over the net. You can also jump in the air before the ball lands. That way the ball would bounce right on top of your hands, causing the ball to soar right over the net. The ball will fly much higher if you jump.

2) The second serve is more likely to fail. I sometimes mess up when I have super speed, so be careful if you have it. You are holding the ball. You continue to hold it as you start running toward the net. When you are nearly at the net, you jump still holding the right key. If done correctly, the ball will fly right over the net, and you would most likely bounce off of it.

There are more serves that you might be able to try, but these are the two I use. Find which one you like more, or mix up your serves if you like. You might get a few easy points.

Hitting the ball

There are a few ways to get the ball over the net after the ball bounces back at you. Here they are.

1) Your forehead. Yep, right above your eyes. That's where you want the ball to land if you're not jumping. The ball will most likely go right over the net if the net isn't bigger than usual.

2) This time you jump. The ball lands right on top of your hands, or on the right side of them. The closer to the bottom part of your hand, the faster it will hit the ground (unless the other Mynci gets it, of course). Make sure you are right up to the net if you're going to hit a sharp one. The ball might land on your side if you're not at the net. Well, if the ball lands right on top of your hands, it will be a perfect arch over, and you wouldn't have to worry until the ball comes flying back.

3) This one I normally use on accident. This is when you jump and the ball lands right on top of your head. This normally causes the ball to bounce off of the back of the court, and right over the net. Simple enough, right? Well, that's as simple as I can make it. I guess you can see that the game matters a lot on where the ball lands and if you get there on time. If you didn't know that, well then you do now.

Setting

Setting is when you set the ball up for a spike (hitting the ball while in the air). When you set, the ball normally bounces straight up, making it easy for you to get the ball over in any way you like. Sometimes when the ball comes over the net, you don't need to set the ball. It is easy to get back over without setting. When you have a hard to get ball, it would be better to set first. Here are two ways you can set.

1) This one requires no jumping. You just make sure that you have the ball bounce right on top of your head (where the little clump of hair is). Just run over to where the ball would land. Whatever you do, just make sure the ball lands right there. If the ball bounces straight up, you are successful. Now just tap the back key a few times. You are now in the perfect position to spike.

2) On this one you jump. What you do with this one is you make sure the ball lands right between your hands and your forehead. If you run and jump, you will still be moving. Do whatever you can to get to the ball to make the perfect set. Remember between your hands and your forehead. When the ball is set up, tap the keys a few times to get in the position you like, then get it over.

This may take some practice. Getting into your position is the hardest part, but be sure you do it correctly. Sometimes I think it's best to do this to make the best out of your hit. You want to make points as well as protect your side of the court.

Tips

This is a very important section of the game. It tells you pretty much everything that can go wrong in a game, and it can also tell you some good tips too. This is where we talk about what's in the way of your victory, and how to somehow get around it.

Super speed - As good as it sounds, I have trouble with it. Yes, the queen of all things mystery and island can't deal with a little extra speed. Well, I didn't bring this up to feel sorry for myself. I just might think that you might have the same problem. When you first get super speed, you might not be used to the extra speed. You must get used to the sudden burst of speed every time you press the left and right key. I often run right past the ball and completely miss it. When you first get it, you might want to move with caution. Move around a bit before the ball is sent back at you. By the time you are used to it, you should have no problem with whatever the red Mynci throws at you. Also beware of the annoying dance the Mynci does when he has super speed. It is distracting at times.

The back of the court - You know that little boundary in the back? Well, that's what I'm talking about. If the red Mynci hits the ball way far back, or if you do yourself, the ball would hit the invisible wall back there. Do you know what the ball would most likely do? It would bounce back. I have had plenty of problems with this little boundary. You have to know where the ball would land after it bounces back. It depends on how hard it hits and at what angle. You must know where it's going to be before it gets there, so get there fast. This is a place where I lost points, so you better not make the same mistake. Hear me? Also, if the ball lands in the lower part of the boundary (about your height), you just hold down the left key. The back of your head would most likely pinch the ball, causing it to go over the net.

The evil Turdle - When the Turdle shows up to give you a big hug, you might be in trouble. I normally don't have much of a problem with these little guys. If the Turdle wants a hug, then give it to him. Step on the Turtle when you're serving, or when your opponent's hands are full dealing with the ball. Make sure that the other Mynci won't be giving the ball to you anytime soon. At that moment, just step right on him. By the time the Mynci gives the ball back to you, you would most likely be free.

Power Ups

There are seven different power ups you can get by hitting the Pawkeet with a ball. They are:

  • Bigger Net ~ Makes the net taller.
  • Smaller Net ~ Makes the net shorter.
  • Super Size ~ Makes your Mynci larger.
  • Super Speed ~ Make you faster.
  • Super Jump ~ Makes you jump higher. (I don’t like this power up :p)
  • Giant Ball ~ Make the ball bigger.
  • Turdle ~ Puts a turdle on your opponent's side (If you touch a turdle, you get frozen for a few seconds)

Your opponent can also get all these Power Ups if they hit a Pawkeet.

Cheats

You can type dirigibles anytime during the game to make a Kiko balloon float across your screen.

You can type turdle once per game to put a turdle on your opponent's side. (This works the same as the Turdle powerup.)

I don’t usually use this cheats, though, because I don’t think they are helpful. :D

Avatar

The best thing of this game is there’s a bonus prize when achieving a high enough score. It’s the Spike It! Avatar. You can proudly show your avatar on the boards.

Conclusion

Though people usually get frustrated with the game (like me also at first), actually this is a very great game. And just like every game there is, practice is a must. So, practice a lot and have a lot of fun. Spike it all the way!!

 
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