Chao Basics
To gain access to your Chao, you must venture into Chao World. To go to Chao World, you must find a 'Chao Box' in one of the levels. When you break open the Chao Box, you will find a key inside. When you collect this key, you will be warped to Chao World at the end of the level.
There are three Chao Boxes in each level. The first one will contain the key to Chao World. In the second box will be four random animals from that stage. In the third (final) box will be the "special" animal in that stage. See the animal sections for more information on this.
Once you are in Chao World, you will gain access to the Chao Gardens. Time only passes while you are inside the Chao Garden. So if you are in the Chao Lobby, playing a stage, or in a different Chao Garden to the one your Chao is in, it will not change/age/etc. At first there is only one Chao Garden, and if you look inside, you will see two Chao Eggs. These eggs contain your Chao.
These two Chao will be the regular normal Chao. These Chao are "two tone" Chao, which are light blue with yellow highights.
Hatching Chao
There are three ways of hatching the eggs, each way having different effects on your Chao.
Shaking:
Shaking the egg is the most common way of hatching an egg. Pick up the egg using the 'B' button, and while still holding it, move the analogue stick to shake it. After about 5-10 seconds of shaking the egg, place it back down. The egg will start to bobble, then hatch giving you your Chao.
Throwing:
You can also throw the Chao egg to hatch it. To do this, pick up the egg by pressing the 'B' button, then while moving, press 'B' again. This will not make your Chao very happy at first. But there have been no negative effects that have been noticed by hatching this way. All that seems to happen is that the Chao will have an "angry/upset" tornado swirl expression above it's head (see the expressions page). But the Chao does not actually seem in any way harmed or upset afterwards.
Many people just use this way simply because it is quicker to hatch the egg this way. However, it has been said in a few guides/manuals/magazines that this method produces a more active, lively Chao.
Leaving:
Your Chao egg will hatch naturally after a while. If you leave your Chao egg alone and it will hatch by itself. Hatching this way has also been said to produce a normal, but maybe timid Chao. There has been nothing to confirm this however, so for now it seems to be just idle speculation.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To find out more basic information about Chao, see the Chao Principal in the Chao Kindergarten. This is a great source of learning the very basics of what Chao are, and how to care for them.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chao First Evolution
Ok, so your Chao is evolving? In depth - it doesn't just evolve into Hero, Dark or Neutral - it evolves into different types of each. The type it evolves into depends on what attribute your Chao is best at.
To make a certain type, choose whether you want your Chao to be Hero, Dark or Neutral, and give it a certain colour/class of of drives/animals to make sure it is best at that stat. This way, when it evolves, it will look like the desired Chao.
Yellow = Swimming
Purple = Flying
Green = Running
Red = Power
None = Nothing, or very little animals/drives
Neutral Chao
Neutral/Swim
Yellow and green, with dark green highlights.
Neutral/Fly
Common name: "(Basic) NiGHTS Chao"
Pinkish purple with two jesters. Nice wings. Resembles the Sega character NiGHTS.
Neutral/Run
Common name: "(Basic) Sonic Chao"
A green coloured Chao resembling Sonic. Big feet and three spikes on the back of its head.
Neutral/Power
Red with orange highlights. Has three spikes and a darker belly.
Neutral
Looks like a normal newborn Chao, except has green highlights instead of yellow.
Hero Chao
Hero/Swim
Greenish blue markings with two flat leaf type things on the top of its head.
Hero/Fly
Purple markings with two smaller leaf type things coming up from its head.
Hero/Run
Blueish markings with a small spike on its head.
Hero/Power
Red/orange markings with three small rounded spikes on its head.
Hero
Blue and yellow markings with two very small leaf type things coming from the back of its head.
Dark Chao
Dark/Swim
Common name: "Ninja Chao"
This Chao has aqua markings and has one small spike coming up from the back of its head.
Dark/Fly
Common name: "(Basic) Reala Chao"
Has two jesters and is a dark purple colour. Resembles the Sega character Reala. (From the game NiGHTS into dreams)
Dark/Run
Resembles Shadow in shape but has bright green markings. Has three spikes at the back of its head.
Dark/Power
Has a cone shaped head with a red stripy top, and stripy hands.
Dark
Black with some red markings.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Once your Chao has reached its first evolution - it will still undergo another evoluti
Chao Actions
Chao do a lot of things which I havn't actually covered before, so i thought i might as well record the ones i know of. If there is an action you do not see here it may be an animal trait.
Positive Actions
If your Chao likes your character and is near it, it may bow and say something that sounds like "hiiiiii".
Your Chao may start bouncing towards you, and when it reaches the character it will start to 'rub' against them (similar to a cat in real life). The Chao will contnue to do this until you pet/pick/feed/hit it. If you do not do anything, after a while it will stop and start to excitedly grin and hop from foot to foot giggling, and waving its arms.
If you whistle, Chao that like the character alot will run towards it with an exclamation mark sign above them. Once they reach the character, they will do as above.
When being held, the Chao will enjoy it and have a ^_^ face.
It may also move its arm out like it is giving a thumbs up.
Negative Actions
If your Chao severly dislikes your character and is near it, it may hiss and stick its tongue out at the player with a "baaahh" sound.
When being held the Chao will struggle and try to break free.
If the Chao has been attacked or thrown it may stand and shiver to show it has been abused (it will make a "brr" shiver sound as if it is cold).
It may also become dizzy and sway with spiral eyes.
If you take food away from a Chao while it is eating it may start to cry.
Group Actions
If a Chao does something it has learned from the kindergarten, such as sing or play an instrument, other Chao can join the activity. To make other Chao join the activity, pick them up and place them near the Chao performing.
If the other Chao can sing or play their own instrument, they will join in and form a band. Chao that do not know how to do anything will simply sit back and watch and enjoy the show. After the band finish playing the sitting Chao will stand up and applaud them.
Chao will join in with these activities if placed next to a Chao already doing it: watching TV, playing with the ball, listening to the radio, playing with the rocking horse (other Chao will watch).
Other Actions
Sometimes the Chao will hug a tree that has been planted and make a sound, sounding something like "ah!". I think the Chao is just showing the tree love so it stays alive for a little longer =)
Chao will also water the trees randomly also extending the tree's life.
If a Chao owns crayons won from the Onyx race they will (usually) draw a picture of their favourite character. However they may also randomly draw some other pictures. (more on this in the race toys section)
A very hungry Chao will walk over to food that is on the ground already and start to eat it (even if it is another Chao's leftovers.
Animals
There are seven groups of animals, and each group has three animals.
You can give animals to your Chao to make it stronger and give it different personalities and looks. When you give a Chao an animal, it will hug it, and attain its looks and skills. The animal will disappear after you give it to a Chao.
Animals are found hidden in the levels, usually in locked cages that you have to destroy or in pipes scattered around the stage (that you have to whistle at). You can also find them in robots created by Dr. Eggman such as the bomb throwing monkeys, or the robots that look like E-102 Gamma.
When you give your Chao an animal, it will not only gain its looks and skills, but also an action. These are the Animals that are in each group and what action it gives your Chao.
Yellow Group: Swimming
Penguin - Slides About on Belly
Seal - Rolls Around
Otter - Does the Backstroke when Swimming
Purple Group: Flying
Parrot - Sings
Peacock - Struts About
Condor - Flaps About
Green Group: Running
Warthog - Dashes
Rabbit - Hops About
Cheetah - Licks its Face
Red Group: Power
Tiger - Sharpens its Nails
Bear - Roars
Gorilla - Beats its Chest
Blue Group: Random
Racoon - Spins Around
Skunk - Farts
Sheep - Does Forward Somersaults
Gold Group: Mythical
Unicorn - Bucks its Feet
Dragon - Breathes Fire
Phoenix - Wags its Tail
Black Group: Ghost
Bat - Makes your Chao's legs dissapear
Skeleton Dog - Removes Animal Features from Chao, Allows Hats to be Worn
Half Fish - Turns the Chao Ball into a Flame
Chao Stats
As you give your Chao more Animals and Chaos Drives, its stats will increase. This is very important if you want your Chao to do well in the races. In the Dreamcast Game the maximum stats can go up to is 999. On the Gamecube, the maximum stats can be is 3266 (Explained more in the SA2:B Section). I will list the stats below and their attributes:
Swimming
Swimming is needed when your Chao must swim. It is important to raise swimming or you will lose your position in the races to the better swimmers. An extremely bad swimming stat will also mean that they won't be able to swim in the Chao Gardens! Raise swimming by giving your Chao yellow class animals and drives.
For Dreamcast, your Chao learns to swim when its Swim stat reaches 100.
Flying
Flying can be very useful when you have to jump into a pool or fly over a ledge, because you can get ahead easily if your flying stat is high. You can raise the flying stat by giving your Chao purple class animals and drives.
Running
Running is probably the skill needed most when racing. Nearly all races have a huge emphasis on running and if your Chao has a good running stat, it will be at a big advantage. Running can be improved by giving your Chao green class animals and drives.
For Dreamcast, your Chao learns to walk when its Run stat reaches 20, and speed of walk increases at 100.
Power
Power is needed mostly when climbing cliffs. Some races with cliffs also have trees at the top that also require power from your Chao to shake a nut down. You can increase your Chao's power stat by giving it red class animals and drives.
Luck
On the Dreamcast, Luck is raised by choosing the correct treasure chest in the Chao Adventure 2 mini game. On the Gamecube version, it can be raised by giving your Chao gold class animals (this is NOT true for the Dreamcast game). Luck is needed on some of the courses where at the end; your Chao must choose a lane to run down. If your Chao picks the wrong one, it will fall down a hole and probably lose its position.
Intelligence
Again, on the Dreamcast version, Intelligence can be raised in the Chao Adventure 2 mini game, this time by eating Smart Fruits collected there. The Gamecube version lets you raise intelligence by giving your Chao blue class animals (but NOT in the Dreamcast version). You should raise intelligence as it will help your Chao solve the different puzzles in the course such as the shape game, and how quickly it solves the jack in the box puzzle.
Stamina
Stamina is one of the most essential parts or racing. If your Chao has a low amount of stamina, it will run out easily and your Chao's running speed will drop greatly. Stamina can be raised by eating nuts from the trees.
You can also cheer for your Chao by using the trigger buttons. This will shortly give your Chao an extra boost of speed. However, be careful, as doing this takes away more stamina than usual so you should try to pace yourself.
To gain access to your Chao, you must venture into Chao World. To go to Chao World, you must find a 'Chao Box' in one of the levels. When you break open the Chao Box, you will find a key inside. When you collect this key, you will be warped to Chao World at the end of the level.
There are three Chao Boxes in each level. The first one will contain the key to Chao World. In the second box will be four random animals from that stage. In the third (final) box will be the "special" animal in that stage. See the animal sections for more information on this.
Once you are in Chao World, you will gain access to the Chao Gardens. Time only passes while you are inside the Chao Garden. So if you are in the Chao Lobby, playing a stage, or in a different Chao Garden to the one your Chao is in, it will not change/age/etc. At first there is only one Chao Garden, and if you look inside, you will see two Chao Eggs. These eggs contain your Chao.
These two Chao will be the regular normal Chao. These Chao are "two tone" Chao, which are light blue with yellow highights.
Hatching Chao
There are three ways of hatching the eggs, each way having different effects on your Chao.
Shaking:
Shaking the egg is the most common way of hatching an egg. Pick up the egg using the 'B' button, and while still holding it, move the analogue stick to shake it. After about 5-10 seconds of shaking the egg, place it back down. The egg will start to bobble, then hatch giving you your Chao.
Throwing:
You can also throw the Chao egg to hatch it. To do this, pick up the egg by pressing the 'B' button, then while moving, press 'B' again. This will not make your Chao very happy at first. But there have been no negative effects that have been noticed by hatching this way. All that seems to happen is that the Chao will have an "angry/upset" tornado swirl expression above it's head (see the expressions page). But the Chao does not actually seem in any way harmed or upset afterwards.
Many people just use this way simply because it is quicker to hatch the egg this way. However, it has been said in a few guides/manuals/magazines that this method produces a more active, lively Chao.
Leaving:
Your Chao egg will hatch naturally after a while. If you leave your Chao egg alone and it will hatch by itself. Hatching this way has also been said to produce a normal, but maybe timid Chao. There has been nothing to confirm this however, so for now it seems to be just idle speculation.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To find out more basic information about Chao, see the Chao Principal in the Chao Kindergarten. This is a great source of learning the very basics of what Chao are, and how to care for them.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chao First Evolution
Ok, so your Chao is evolving? In depth - it doesn't just evolve into Hero, Dark or Neutral - it evolves into different types of each. The type it evolves into depends on what attribute your Chao is best at.
To make a certain type, choose whether you want your Chao to be Hero, Dark or Neutral, and give it a certain colour/class of of drives/animals to make sure it is best at that stat. This way, when it evolves, it will look like the desired Chao.
Yellow = Swimming
Purple = Flying
Green = Running
Red = Power
None = Nothing, or very little animals/drives
Neutral Chao
Neutral/Swim
Yellow and green, with dark green highlights.
Neutral/Fly
Common name: "(Basic) NiGHTS Chao"
Pinkish purple with two jesters. Nice wings. Resembles the Sega character NiGHTS.
Neutral/Run
Common name: "(Basic) Sonic Chao"
A green coloured Chao resembling Sonic. Big feet and three spikes on the back of its head.
Neutral/Power
Red with orange highlights. Has three spikes and a darker belly.
Neutral
Looks like a normal newborn Chao, except has green highlights instead of yellow.
Hero Chao
Hero/Swim
Greenish blue markings with two flat leaf type things on the top of its head.
Hero/Fly
Purple markings with two smaller leaf type things coming up from its head.
Hero/Run
Blueish markings with a small spike on its head.
Hero/Power
Red/orange markings with three small rounded spikes on its head.
Hero
Blue and yellow markings with two very small leaf type things coming from the back of its head.
Dark Chao
Dark/Swim
Common name: "Ninja Chao"
This Chao has aqua markings and has one small spike coming up from the back of its head.
Dark/Fly
Common name: "(Basic) Reala Chao"
Has two jesters and is a dark purple colour. Resembles the Sega character Reala. (From the game NiGHTS into dreams)
Dark/Run
Resembles Shadow in shape but has bright green markings. Has three spikes at the back of its head.
Dark/Power
Has a cone shaped head with a red stripy top, and stripy hands.
Dark
Black with some red markings.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Once your Chao has reached its first evolution - it will still undergo another evoluti
Chao Actions
Chao do a lot of things which I havn't actually covered before, so i thought i might as well record the ones i know of. If there is an action you do not see here it may be an animal trait.
Positive Actions
If your Chao likes your character and is near it, it may bow and say something that sounds like "hiiiiii".
Your Chao may start bouncing towards you, and when it reaches the character it will start to 'rub' against them (similar to a cat in real life). The Chao will contnue to do this until you pet/pick/feed/hit it. If you do not do anything, after a while it will stop and start to excitedly grin and hop from foot to foot giggling, and waving its arms.
If you whistle, Chao that like the character alot will run towards it with an exclamation mark sign above them. Once they reach the character, they will do as above.
When being held, the Chao will enjoy it and have a ^_^ face.
It may also move its arm out like it is giving a thumbs up.
Negative Actions
If your Chao severly dislikes your character and is near it, it may hiss and stick its tongue out at the player with a "baaahh" sound.
When being held the Chao will struggle and try to break free.
If the Chao has been attacked or thrown it may stand and shiver to show it has been abused (it will make a "brr" shiver sound as if it is cold).
It may also become dizzy and sway with spiral eyes.
If you take food away from a Chao while it is eating it may start to cry.
Group Actions
If a Chao does something it has learned from the kindergarten, such as sing or play an instrument, other Chao can join the activity. To make other Chao join the activity, pick them up and place them near the Chao performing.
If the other Chao can sing or play their own instrument, they will join in and form a band. Chao that do not know how to do anything will simply sit back and watch and enjoy the show. After the band finish playing the sitting Chao will stand up and applaud them.
Chao will join in with these activities if placed next to a Chao already doing it: watching TV, playing with the ball, listening to the radio, playing with the rocking horse (other Chao will watch).
Other Actions
Sometimes the Chao will hug a tree that has been planted and make a sound, sounding something like "ah!". I think the Chao is just showing the tree love so it stays alive for a little longer =)
Chao will also water the trees randomly also extending the tree's life.
If a Chao owns crayons won from the Onyx race they will (usually) draw a picture of their favourite character. However they may also randomly draw some other pictures. (more on this in the race toys section)
A very hungry Chao will walk over to food that is on the ground already and start to eat it (even if it is another Chao's leftovers.
Animals
There are seven groups of animals, and each group has three animals.
You can give animals to your Chao to make it stronger and give it different personalities and looks. When you give a Chao an animal, it will hug it, and attain its looks and skills. The animal will disappear after you give it to a Chao.
Animals are found hidden in the levels, usually in locked cages that you have to destroy or in pipes scattered around the stage (that you have to whistle at). You can also find them in robots created by Dr. Eggman such as the bomb throwing monkeys, or the robots that look like E-102 Gamma.
When you give your Chao an animal, it will not only gain its looks and skills, but also an action. These are the Animals that are in each group and what action it gives your Chao.
Yellow Group: Swimming
Penguin - Slides About on Belly
Seal - Rolls Around
Otter - Does the Backstroke when Swimming
Purple Group: Flying
Parrot - Sings
Peacock - Struts About
Condor - Flaps About
Green Group: Running
Warthog - Dashes
Rabbit - Hops About
Cheetah - Licks its Face
Red Group: Power
Tiger - Sharpens its Nails
Bear - Roars
Gorilla - Beats its Chest
Blue Group: Random
Racoon - Spins Around
Skunk - Farts
Sheep - Does Forward Somersaults
Gold Group: Mythical
Unicorn - Bucks its Feet
Dragon - Breathes Fire
Phoenix - Wags its Tail
Black Group: Ghost
Bat - Makes your Chao's legs dissapear
Skeleton Dog - Removes Animal Features from Chao, Allows Hats to be Worn
Half Fish - Turns the Chao Ball into a Flame
Chao Stats
As you give your Chao more Animals and Chaos Drives, its stats will increase. This is very important if you want your Chao to do well in the races. In the Dreamcast Game the maximum stats can go up to is 999. On the Gamecube, the maximum stats can be is 3266 (Explained more in the SA2:B Section). I will list the stats below and their attributes:
Swimming
Swimming is needed when your Chao must swim. It is important to raise swimming or you will lose your position in the races to the better swimmers. An extremely bad swimming stat will also mean that they won't be able to swim in the Chao Gardens! Raise swimming by giving your Chao yellow class animals and drives.
For Dreamcast, your Chao learns to swim when its Swim stat reaches 100.
Flying
Flying can be very useful when you have to jump into a pool or fly over a ledge, because you can get ahead easily if your flying stat is high. You can raise the flying stat by giving your Chao purple class animals and drives.
Running
Running is probably the skill needed most when racing. Nearly all races have a huge emphasis on running and if your Chao has a good running stat, it will be at a big advantage. Running can be improved by giving your Chao green class animals and drives.
For Dreamcast, your Chao learns to walk when its Run stat reaches 20, and speed of walk increases at 100.
Power
Power is needed mostly when climbing cliffs. Some races with cliffs also have trees at the top that also require power from your Chao to shake a nut down. You can increase your Chao's power stat by giving it red class animals and drives.
Luck
On the Dreamcast, Luck is raised by choosing the correct treasure chest in the Chao Adventure 2 mini game. On the Gamecube version, it can be raised by giving your Chao gold class animals (this is NOT true for the Dreamcast game). Luck is needed on some of the courses where at the end; your Chao must choose a lane to run down. If your Chao picks the wrong one, it will fall down a hole and probably lose its position.
Intelligence
Again, on the Dreamcast version, Intelligence can be raised in the Chao Adventure 2 mini game, this time by eating Smart Fruits collected there. The Gamecube version lets you raise intelligence by giving your Chao blue class animals (but NOT in the Dreamcast version). You should raise intelligence as it will help your Chao solve the different puzzles in the course such as the shape game, and how quickly it solves the jack in the box puzzle.
Stamina
Stamina is one of the most essential parts or racing. If your Chao has a low amount of stamina, it will run out easily and your Chao's running speed will drop greatly. Stamina can be raised by eating nuts from the trees.
You can also cheer for your Chao by using the trigger buttons. This will shortly give your Chao an extra boost of speed. However, be careful, as doing this takes away more stamina than usual so you should try to pace yourself.
