Screencaps of Evermore--On our way to Bug Cit-ay
Previous edition
Before we get started, I figured I'd post a little mini-tutorial on the time-manipulation buttons in ZSNES, since some people apparently don't know about them. They're super-handy, and it only takes like five seconds to set 'em up if you know what you're doing. And now you will! If you're not interested, feel free to scroll on.
'Kay, here's what ZSNES looks like when you boot it up. If it doesn't, you probably need troubleshooting beyond my capacity, sorry.
We wanna go over here, click the Misc tab, and click Game Keys...
...bringing us to this menu, which is full of delectable goodness :D Admittedly, I've only ever screwed with a few of these, but I enjoy the ones I do screw with. Click on any black-and-green window next to a description, and a box telling you to enter the key you want set there will pop up. Press the key you want, and you're set!
The Rewind key is gamer's best friend. One press will rewind whatever you're playing by just a few seconds.
One quick jab turns this...
...into this. It's a heck of a lot easier than save states, and I probably never would've gotten that lovely treasure count you can see there without it. Not that I suck at Kirby Superstar (I am the GOD, thank you), but I never COULD get past that one part where you have to drag the Fire helper halfway across the castle just so he can...oh, never mind. Point is, it works.
One warning: I've never, in my copious use of it, seen Rewind crash a game, but it CAN cause weird things to happen to the sound temporarily. Funny blaring noises and soundlessness generally don't last more than a few seconds or until the next screen, but they can be startling. Be aware.
Fastforward is invaluable when it comes to level-building, cutscenes, dronejam, and basically any place where "tl;dr" can be applied. Just be careful you don't zoom past something important.
I don't use Slowdown a lot because I forget I have it, but it does exactly what it says on the tin and comes in handy in those really tight action sequences.
And here's the Screencap button :D I've been using it a lot, obviously. On that front, one more note...
Tapping F1 brings up this little mini-menu when you have a ROM loaded up. The most important feature here (at least to me) is the option to change between .bmp and .png screencaps. There's little graphical variance, but when I compared size, .bmp compared to .png 25kb to 9. Doesn't look that important, but when you're uploading 300-400 screencaps a pop, an appreciable difference builds up.
SO ANYWAY I took the time to dig through my old SNES junk and find the Map of Evermore! I LOVE IT SO MUCH WHEN GAMES COME WITH MAPS. The SNES era was a lot bigger on "freebies" like this. Ah, I miss it so. Me and My Katamari was cool enough to come with a map, though, so maybe the trend is back on the rise? I hope so.
It's poster-sized, so I had to scan it three different ways and "stitch" it together, so I'm sorry about any irregularities. Came out pretty nice, though, if you ask me.
Also, stylized maps of Prehistoria and Antiqua! Yes, they're maps. You just have to know what you're looking for :D Again, clipping was an issue, sorry.
The manual?
I'd love to show you the manual...
...if this wasn't all I ever had of it :( It never fails to amaze me how a year or two on the rental circuit can UTTERLY DISINTEGRATE a manual.
Finally, music is now an option, hooray! I'll probably be finished tagging the music into the last edition by the time you're done reading this, so go back and check if you're interested. Files will disappear a week after their last download, so if you miss something and really want it, just drop me a line.
Anyway! In the last edition, Boy and Dog were zapped into a mysterious world, fought raptors, and stumbled into a prehistoric village with a leader by the intimidating name of Fire Eyes. We rejoin them as they prepare to meet this enigmatic figure...
Well, that was anticlimactic. Fire Eyes is a kinda silly, bouncy theme with a jungle beat.
Matt: YOU'RE A GIRL D:
Dog: wtfever
Matt: YOU'RE STILL A GIRL D:
Cheerful obliviousness is his game!
Cozy, uh, hovel you have here.
Matt: You invited me :<
Matt: Dogs have names?
Matt: Bill...Door?
Ah, finally. When I was a kid, I blatantly disregarded the dog's gender and named him "Rydia". Don't think he ever did forgive me for that.
God Mother 3 get out of my head
There's nothing wrong about naming video game characters after deceased pets, shut up.
Was that a shot? :<
But I don't look like I shower with pond scum, so yeah, probably
Congratulations, Matt, she now OWNS you.
Matt: What're those, then?
Fire Eyes: Well...muck, mainly.
The decidedly gayer version of Mars Needs Women, you mean? I thought they only showed that on Cinemax late-night.
Granted, that was quickly followed by "Except bukkake, wait--OH GOD RIGHT IN THE EYE", but...
OH BOY ALCHEMY Actually, I rarely use this formula, but it's good to have whatever you can get this early in a game.
Woohoo!
Formulas aren't always even, as shown here. It's a tad annoying, because it limits how many spells you can cast--for example, even if I had maxed out (99) both my Wax and Oil, I could only cast a maximum of 49 Flashes because I'd run out of Oil before I ran out of Wax. It's something you learn to work around, but worth consideration when you're buying ingredients and stocking formulas.
Yup, formulas gain skill levels just like weapons. You can't charge them up, but man does it make a difference in their base power.
Fire Eyes: kthxbye
Fire Eyes: I SAID kthxbye |(
You can only equip eight formulas at a time, 'cause they go on a wheel too, but that's usually all you need. I can't recall ever having trouble with it.
Ooh, doggy biscuit! These revive the Dog when he's in involuntary wtfever mode, I.E. no HP. Voluntary wtfever mode is harder to cure.
THIS THING THIS THING DRIVES ME CRAZY >O There's nothing you can do with it, it just pops in an out of its hole. I always tried to figure out something to do with it, but it's just an ambient effect, I guess. Except really I bet it has all kinds of neat secret stuff in its hole REVEAL TO ME YOUR SECRETS SKULLTHING AAAAAH
*cough* Sorry.
Buzz Buzz? :O
I love this kid, seriously. I used to go around the house saying this.
FLOWERS AND MOSQUITOES AND and uh that's pretty much it OH MY
OH BOY NECTAR This is the good stuff! It restores a nice big chunk of HP, and is a staple even after you get your healing formula. It's also pretty expensive, which is why looting exists.
HEY I'M TRYING TO LOOT THAT
I guess. Oh I am so looting you in the morning though. SO LOOTING.
Truth in "You get what you pay for": Pile of animal toenails = five square feet of dirt floor and a skin that smells of death
Good Night is a basic twelve seconds of autoharp goodness. This is nice, isn't it--
GAH HE'S WATCHING ME SLEEP
HOW LONG WERE YOU STANDING OVER ME
OH BOY SAVE POINT :D don't think i forgot your creepy escapades though old man
Awww, it's lonely in here. I miss the age before memory cards, when you could rent or buy a used game and see all the neat stuff the previous rentee/owner left behind. It was a rare glance into a stranger's mind, and a loss, I think. Although it is kinda worth it to not constantly have your savegames overwritten or outright stolen (FIVE TIMES I had to start over FFIV FIVE TIMES I am SO HATEFUL of the first 10+ hours of gameplay now).
But anyway.
The Dog will sniff endlessly at item chests. ENDLESSLY. hey is that guy staring at my ass
OH BOY ITEM SHOP
Essence cures status ailments like poison. We don't need this yet.
Dog biscuits are biscuits for Dog. It's like a Zen thing, really
Pixie Dust, when used on the Boy, will open a window of something like thirty seconds in which he'll automatically revive if killed. I never ever use it. EVER. I mean, just look at that price tag >( I imagine some people play differently, though.
All kinds of enemies drop Petals, but you really can't be too careful at this stage. They're not too expensive, at least.
dsfkljkfgsh I WILL EXPOSE YOU SOMEDAY
Always useful if you need to measure the volume of a lizard, I'm sure.
OH BOY A GRASS VEST You don't get this if you don't defeat the raptors. It's almost worth restarting the game for, if you have the time and patience. Or just cheat
This is going to work great until the Big Bad Wolf huffs and puffs and blows my clothes in. (Note: JOHN LAW will not accept this as an excuse if they find you naked on a streetcorner during rush hour.)
Enh, better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick. Of course, considering where I am, I'll probably get one of those too before long.
Andre: uh huh great
Matt: Hey, where's my dog?
Andre: wtfever
Ooh, lay it on me!
D: Can we maybe, uh, revert to the barter system?
At least I can barely afford a bracelet. BARELY.
Hey, what's over here?
A secret area! :O These were all full of alchemical ingredients, so I skipped capping. Nice find, though.
Up near the top of the village...
Ah crap, we're not supposed to be here yet. I can tell because there's stuff blocking the way, and because the flowers have palette-swapped and are thus (obviously) much tougher.
HERE we go. Our intrepid heroes set off in search of Strong Heart! ...one of them, anyway.
Andre: wtfever
There, THAT'S the right color flower. Sic 'em, boy!
Right, I forgot to mention something about the battle system earlier 'cause I'm so used to it. See the life bar? See the "23%"? Every time you use your weapon, that little bar runs down to 0%, and if you don't wait the few seconds it takes to recharge to 100%, your strike will be a lot weaker. Like, a lot weaker, hence the 1 damage. This prevents mindless button-mashing, and invites even the most aggressive player to learn to dodge a bit.
At this point I remembered I had a new set of windows to show (and also randomly wandered back into the village, wtf).
Here's the first Alchemy window. From left to right:
(number)x(formula) = The number of formulas you can cast, going by what ingredients you have. This also shows up on the formula selection wheel.
(number):(number) = Skill level. Since I haven't cast it even once yet, I don't have any points here. In the beginning, at least, each formula gains :10 points each cast, until it rolls over the tenth time to 1:00.
(number)(icon)(number)(icon) = The formula itself, showing what you need for a single cast. This should be read "One part Wax, two parts Oil".
The second window is a list of ingredients. This will grow to a pretty impressive collection before long :D
Woohoo! Hope the experience he missed in the beginning doesn't set him back. I'd hate to have a remedial dog.
Ooh, ooh, look! A flower died, but its remains are still there! That means BODY-LOOTING! That's the best kind!
Aw, body-looting failed :(
A new enemy! Their high defense is kinda sucky, but they're creepy-lookin' and I love that. They also go HOP.
HOP.
When you hit one, it curls up into its shell and bounces back. I love the nifty little throwback animations in this game :D
Less so when I'm doing them D:
At this point, I realized I could use the Targeting button to cap some names. Skelesnail! I don't think that's how snails work, actually, but okay.
The dinosaurs steal his lunch money every day, it's sad
A new area! With new music!
And new unexpected dangers!
FWOOSH
FWOOSH
Andre: D8
Well, at least it found us a cave.
With a dude! Merchant in the Cave is a mysterious-sounding little ditty that smacks of otherworldliness with just a hint of lime(stone). The straight-up cave ambiance is nice, too, but when you stop listening to it, your ears kinda itch from lack of sound.
I'm gonna just chip into your face now you're cool with that right
Or...THE PUMA! COME LET'S FLY OVER THE QUICKSAND
Because the cheetah hasn't evolved yet, apparently. But hey, that's really nice of you--
HEY
lousy stupid overpriced merchandise. I ended up buying a petal. JUST ONE. I'M NOT EASILY SNOOKERED SIR.
Woohoo!
Running, as he mentions, also sucks up your stamina bar percentage. It can leave you at a disadvantage, and as a rule, I use it sparingly. It's the only way you can get through this area, though, so WHEE RUNNING
FWOOSH
You got your Mole People in my Secret of Evermore!
So I immediately step in another one. Repeat AT LEAST NINE THOOOOOUSAND times
FWOOSH
Not terribly common, although you can buy some extra if you're in a pinch. These are gonna be vital coming up.
Oh thank God solid ground
Yay for looting unsuspecting dead men!
WHAT HAVE WE HERE
It's a...a...
...a totally useless outcropping of rock, is what.
Well, that's better than nothing, I guess.
MUCK HO! Bugmuck Swamp is sinister and gloopy, just like the swamp itself.
"Enjoy pleasant, scenic, and above all aromatic vistas in your Bugmuck adventure" my ASS, travel brochure
These little guys are all over the place. Unsurprising, as they're bugs filled with muck.
These things are a pain in the ass. You can only cause damage if you hit the head, so you have to stand...
...in JUST the right place.
Luckily, once you get the hang of it, they go down pretty fast. They bite hard, though, so watch out. HEY, ANDRE, A LITTLE HELP?
Andre: wtfever
Bug goop!
With money in it! I wonder if they pay more for the guts around here.
Hey, a cave.
Hey, a dude. I bet your rent's real cheap out here, huh?
Man: I don't know why.
Matt: Have you smelled yourself lately?
Man: I'm sorry, but your Strong Heart is in another cave.
PWOOSH
WOOHOO HARD BALL! This is one of my favorite formulas. Nothing like throwing rocks at the enemy to get the spirits up :D
If I hadn't just raised a Nidoqueen and a Nidoking (kiss kiss Kumatora and Duster, kiss kiss), I would totally raise one named Crystal and one named Clay. The Hard Ball team. God what's wrong with me
Crystals are pretty scarce, so if you're gonna use Hard Ball instead of Flash, it's good to stock up. I actually went back and bought another ten later on.
I stopped for awhile here and came back later. Look, a load screen! FASCINATING I KNOW
But anyway
This part of the Bugmuck is pretty user-friendly, in a roundabout way. It's basically a huge spiral, with some short, treasure-filled dead ends.
Like this one :D Look, it's like an arrow telling you there's neat junk up there. If you squint. Hard.
I am so sick of you, Tar Skulls >O
Time to pull out the heavy artillery.
Well, relatively heavy, anyway. 18 damage isn't bad for a first cast. Notice Andre still admantly refusing to help, thanks buddy. I swear he's more useful, he just stops dead whenever I reach for the screencap button.
Anyway, moving on...
This is a good sign. We'll be having various appendages ripped off by horrible mandibles any minute now, ho yes :D
THIS IS A STRANGE PLACE TO STORE A PUMPKIN SIR
Well, that's okay, then. Clay isn't technically rare, but if you're working with Hard Ball, you really can't get enough.
Gonna take care of you IN THE FACE, me bucko
Flashy! As you can see by the equal 18 damage, Flash and Hard Ball really don't have much difference in power. Hard Ball just FEELS like you're doing more damage :D Your mileage may vary.
This certainly looks like the right way to go!
Which obviously means my attention is desperately needed over here. Go everywhere, do everything, kids, and you'll come out on top in RPGLand.
I just can't get over this gorgeous locale. Picturesque, like. And if you get bored, you can count the mosquitoes.
HOORAY A DEAD END
Wait wait totally worth it. Never accept dead ends as dead ends until you've had a good sniff around. There's almost always at least a few ingredients lying around.
I went back to buy some more Crystals, and THIS happened. This is a good thing, because...
...we can now charge up...
...and gooooo...
WHACK! Double damage! This gets to be super-useful later on. And oh look, a level, hooray!
Hey boy
What is it boy
Are we there yet boy
Dangit boy. Yeah, the Dog loves going the long way around to point at ingredients. I dunno, one of those weird programming quirks.
Anyway, time to crawl into the CLOACA OF DOOM! man there is just no way of making that sound like an attractive prospect is there
Well, I've seen worse-looking cloacas of doom, at least. Don't ask where, whenever I recall I have to go have a drink and a lie-down.
Maggots filter down pretty much constantly from the top of the screen as you go along in here. Those who have played Pikmin 2 might break out in a cold sweat at this point, but don't worry, nothing's going to roll over your entire team at the end of this maze. PIKMIN MASSACRE '06 NEVAH FORGET
Hmmm, an interesting construct.
Tum te tum te tum--
Bridge: *COLLAPSEY!*
Matt: hey
Andre: wtfever
Well, dang. Who else thinks this is going to be a trend?
Woohoo! Just so you know, you should have your formula of choice, be it Hard Ball or Flash, up to at least Level 1 before you're out of this area. Boss coming up? No, of course not, what gave you that idea
Bridge: *COLLAPSEY!*
Matt: not cool
Andre: - -
asjkdsalht
At least I can--
Crap
CRAP
Well, we're stuck. Only one way outta this...
WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEpwoop.
~On the rooooad again
A crossroad. Arbitrarily, I choose left.
Wait wait this doesn't look WAIT
CRAP
wheeeee etc.
Okay I can do this I can do this
ASLKJXCKLTHL;JDTH
Oh bug goop, I love you so much more than collapsing bridges. SO MUCH.
Matt: :D...when I get friends, I'll let them eat it.
*sob*
THIS IS WHAT I THINK OF YOUR CHUTES AND LADDERS CHUTESY MCLADDERSSON
Gawd, am I glad that's over. Okay.
This is a straightforward little area, although you can get bitten by maggots when you cross under the bridge-thingies if you're not careful. BEWARE.
Hey, I can see my house from up here! ...or I could, if my house was made of muck.
Down one leg and up the other! This is one of very, VERY few times in life when that phrase refers to something pleasant, believe you me.
Down escalator
Up escalator
Doooooooown escalator
Maggot A: Do you have an appointment?
Maggot B: Only we don't see you on the list >(
Matt: C'mon, guys, we totally phoned ahead D:
Okay, dealt with the guard problem. This gate looks pretty portentous, yes?
That means it's time to heal up...
...and march bravely into the cloaca face of DOOM!
Although really, this doesn't look that bad...
...uh-oh.
TO BE CONTINUEDEDEDEDeded. Ed. Ed. ed.
Before we get started, I figured I'd post a little mini-tutorial on the time-manipulation buttons in ZSNES, since some people apparently don't know about them. They're super-handy, and it only takes like five seconds to set 'em up if you know what you're doing. And now you will! If you're not interested, feel free to scroll on.
'Kay, here's what ZSNES looks like when you boot it up. If it doesn't, you probably need troubleshooting beyond my capacity, sorry.
We wanna go over here, click the Misc tab, and click Game Keys...
...bringing us to this menu, which is full of delectable goodness :D Admittedly, I've only ever screwed with a few of these, but I enjoy the ones I do screw with. Click on any black-and-green window next to a description, and a box telling you to enter the key you want set there will pop up. Press the key you want, and you're set!
The Rewind key is gamer's best friend. One press will rewind whatever you're playing by just a few seconds.
One quick jab turns this...
...into this. It's a heck of a lot easier than save states, and I probably never would've gotten that lovely treasure count you can see there without it. Not that I suck at Kirby Superstar (I am the GOD, thank you), but I never COULD get past that one part where you have to drag the Fire helper halfway across the castle just so he can...oh, never mind. Point is, it works.
One warning: I've never, in my copious use of it, seen Rewind crash a game, but it CAN cause weird things to happen to the sound temporarily. Funny blaring noises and soundlessness generally don't last more than a few seconds or until the next screen, but they can be startling. Be aware.
Fastforward is invaluable when it comes to level-building, cutscenes, dronejam, and basically any place where "tl;dr" can be applied. Just be careful you don't zoom past something important.
I don't use Slowdown a lot because I forget I have it, but it does exactly what it says on the tin and comes in handy in those really tight action sequences.
And here's the Screencap button :D I've been using it a lot, obviously. On that front, one more note...
Tapping F1 brings up this little mini-menu when you have a ROM loaded up. The most important feature here (at least to me) is the option to change between .bmp and .png screencaps. There's little graphical variance, but when I compared size, .bmp compared to .png 25kb to 9. Doesn't look that important, but when you're uploading 300-400 screencaps a pop, an appreciable difference builds up.
SO ANYWAY I took the time to dig through my old SNES junk and find the Map of Evermore! I LOVE IT SO MUCH WHEN GAMES COME WITH MAPS. The SNES era was a lot bigger on "freebies" like this. Ah, I miss it so. Me and My Katamari was cool enough to come with a map, though, so maybe the trend is back on the rise? I hope so.
It's poster-sized, so I had to scan it three different ways and "stitch" it together, so I'm sorry about any irregularities. Came out pretty nice, though, if you ask me.
Also, stylized maps of Prehistoria and Antiqua! Yes, they're maps. You just have to know what you're looking for :D Again, clipping was an issue, sorry.
The manual?
I'd love to show you the manual...
...if this wasn't all I ever had of it :( It never fails to amaze me how a year or two on the rental circuit can UTTERLY DISINTEGRATE a manual.
Finally, music is now an option, hooray! I'll probably be finished tagging the music into the last edition by the time you're done reading this, so go back and check if you're interested. Files will disappear a week after their last download, so if you miss something and really want it, just drop me a line.
Anyway! In the last edition, Boy and Dog were zapped into a mysterious world, fought raptors, and stumbled into a prehistoric village with a leader by the intimidating name of Fire Eyes. We rejoin them as they prepare to meet this enigmatic figure...
Well, that was anticlimactic. Fire Eyes is a kinda silly, bouncy theme with a jungle beat.
Matt: YOU'RE A GIRL D:
Dog: wtfever
Matt: YOU'RE STILL A GIRL D:
Cheerful obliviousness is his game!
Cozy, uh, hovel you have here.
Matt: You invited me :<
Matt: Dogs have names?
Matt: Bill...Door?
Ah, finally. When I was a kid, I blatantly disregarded the dog's gender and named him "Rydia". Don't think he ever did forgive me for that.
God Mother 3 get out of my head
There's nothing wrong about naming video game characters after deceased pets, shut up.
Was that a shot? :<
But I don't look like I shower with pond scum, so yeah, probably
Congratulations, Matt, she now OWNS you.
Matt: What're those, then?
Fire Eyes: Well...muck, mainly.
The decidedly gayer version of Mars Needs Women, you mean? I thought they only showed that on Cinemax late-night.
Granted, that was quickly followed by "Except bukkake, wait--OH GOD RIGHT IN THE EYE", but...
OH BOY ALCHEMY Actually, I rarely use this formula, but it's good to have whatever you can get this early in a game.
Woohoo!
Formulas aren't always even, as shown here. It's a tad annoying, because it limits how many spells you can cast--for example, even if I had maxed out (99) both my Wax and Oil, I could only cast a maximum of 49 Flashes because I'd run out of Oil before I ran out of Wax. It's something you learn to work around, but worth consideration when you're buying ingredients and stocking formulas.
Yup, formulas gain skill levels just like weapons. You can't charge them up, but man does it make a difference in their base power.
Fire Eyes: kthxbye
Fire Eyes: I SAID kthxbye |(
You can only equip eight formulas at a time, 'cause they go on a wheel too, but that's usually all you need. I can't recall ever having trouble with it.
Ooh, doggy biscuit! These revive the Dog when he's in involuntary wtfever mode, I.E. no HP. Voluntary wtfever mode is harder to cure.
THIS THING THIS THING DRIVES ME CRAZY >O There's nothing you can do with it, it just pops in an out of its hole. I always tried to figure out something to do with it, but it's just an ambient effect, I guess. Except really I bet it has all kinds of neat secret stuff in its hole REVEAL TO ME YOUR SECRETS SKULLTHING AAAAAH
*cough* Sorry.
Buzz Buzz? :O
I love this kid, seriously. I used to go around the house saying this.
FLOWERS AND MOSQUITOES AND and uh that's pretty much it OH MY
OH BOY NECTAR This is the good stuff! It restores a nice big chunk of HP, and is a staple even after you get your healing formula. It's also pretty expensive, which is why looting exists.
HEY I'M TRYING TO LOOT THAT
I guess. Oh I am so looting you in the morning though. SO LOOTING.
Truth in "You get what you pay for": Pile of animal toenails = five square feet of dirt floor and a skin that smells of death
Good Night is a basic twelve seconds of autoharp goodness. This is nice, isn't it--
GAH HE'S WATCHING ME SLEEP
HOW LONG WERE YOU STANDING OVER ME
OH BOY SAVE POINT :D don't think i forgot your creepy escapades though old man
Awww, it's lonely in here. I miss the age before memory cards, when you could rent or buy a used game and see all the neat stuff the previous rentee/owner left behind. It was a rare glance into a stranger's mind, and a loss, I think. Although it is kinda worth it to not constantly have your savegames overwritten or outright stolen (FIVE TIMES I had to start over FFIV FIVE TIMES I am SO HATEFUL of the first 10+ hours of gameplay now).
But anyway.
The Dog will sniff endlessly at item chests. ENDLESSLY. hey is that guy staring at my ass
OH BOY ITEM SHOP
Essence cures status ailments like poison. We don't need this yet.
Dog biscuits are biscuits for Dog. It's like a Zen thing, really
Pixie Dust, when used on the Boy, will open a window of something like thirty seconds in which he'll automatically revive if killed. I never ever use it. EVER. I mean, just look at that price tag >( I imagine some people play differently, though.
All kinds of enemies drop Petals, but you really can't be too careful at this stage. They're not too expensive, at least.
dsfkljkfgsh I WILL EXPOSE YOU SOMEDAY
Always useful if you need to measure the volume of a lizard, I'm sure.
OH BOY A GRASS VEST You don't get this if you don't defeat the raptors. It's almost worth restarting the game for, if you have the time and patience. Or just cheat
This is going to work great until the Big Bad Wolf huffs and puffs and blows my clothes in. (Note: JOHN LAW will not accept this as an excuse if they find you naked on a streetcorner during rush hour.)
Enh, better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick. Of course, considering where I am, I'll probably get one of those too before long.
Andre: uh huh great
Matt: Hey, where's my dog?
Andre: wtfever
Ooh, lay it on me!
D: Can we maybe, uh, revert to the barter system?
At least I can barely afford a bracelet. BARELY.
Hey, what's over here?
A secret area! :O These were all full of alchemical ingredients, so I skipped capping. Nice find, though.
Up near the top of the village...
Ah crap, we're not supposed to be here yet. I can tell because there's stuff blocking the way, and because the flowers have palette-swapped and are thus (obviously) much tougher.
HERE we go. Our intrepid heroes set off in search of Strong Heart! ...one of them, anyway.
Andre: wtfever
There, THAT'S the right color flower. Sic 'em, boy!
Right, I forgot to mention something about the battle system earlier 'cause I'm so used to it. See the life bar? See the "23%"? Every time you use your weapon, that little bar runs down to 0%, and if you don't wait the few seconds it takes to recharge to 100%, your strike will be a lot weaker. Like, a lot weaker, hence the 1 damage. This prevents mindless button-mashing, and invites even the most aggressive player to learn to dodge a bit.
At this point I remembered I had a new set of windows to show (and also randomly wandered back into the village, wtf).
Here's the first Alchemy window. From left to right:
(number)x(formula) = The number of formulas you can cast, going by what ingredients you have. This also shows up on the formula selection wheel.
(number):(number) = Skill level. Since I haven't cast it even once yet, I don't have any points here. In the beginning, at least, each formula gains :10 points each cast, until it rolls over the tenth time to 1:00.
(number)(icon)(number)(icon) = The formula itself, showing what you need for a single cast. This should be read "One part Wax, two parts Oil".
The second window is a list of ingredients. This will grow to a pretty impressive collection before long :D
Woohoo! Hope the experience he missed in the beginning doesn't set him back. I'd hate to have a remedial dog.
Ooh, ooh, look! A flower died, but its remains are still there! That means BODY-LOOTING! That's the best kind!
Aw, body-looting failed :(
A new enemy! Their high defense is kinda sucky, but they're creepy-lookin' and I love that. They also go HOP.
HOP.
When you hit one, it curls up into its shell and bounces back. I love the nifty little throwback animations in this game :D
Less so when I'm doing them D:
At this point, I realized I could use the Targeting button to cap some names. Skelesnail! I don't think that's how snails work, actually, but okay.
The dinosaurs steal his lunch money every day, it's sad
A new area! With new music!
And new unexpected dangers!
FWOOSH
FWOOSH
Andre: D8
Well, at least it found us a cave.
With a dude! Merchant in the Cave is a mysterious-sounding little ditty that smacks of otherworldliness with just a hint of lime(stone). The straight-up cave ambiance is nice, too, but when you stop listening to it, your ears kinda itch from lack of sound.
I'm gonna just chip into your face now you're cool with that right
Or...THE PUMA! COME LET'S FLY OVER THE QUICKSAND
Because the cheetah hasn't evolved yet, apparently. But hey, that's really nice of you--
HEY
lousy stupid overpriced merchandise. I ended up buying a petal. JUST ONE. I'M NOT EASILY SNOOKERED SIR.
Woohoo!
Running, as he mentions, also sucks up your stamina bar percentage. It can leave you at a disadvantage, and as a rule, I use it sparingly. It's the only way you can get through this area, though, so WHEE RUNNING
FWOOSH
You got your Mole People in my Secret of Evermore!
So I immediately step in another one. Repeat AT LEAST NINE THOOOOOUSAND times
FWOOSH
Not terribly common, although you can buy some extra if you're in a pinch. These are gonna be vital coming up.
Oh thank God solid ground
Yay for looting unsuspecting dead men!
WHAT HAVE WE HERE
It's a...a...
...a totally useless outcropping of rock, is what.
Well, that's better than nothing, I guess.
MUCK HO! Bugmuck Swamp is sinister and gloopy, just like the swamp itself.
"Enjoy pleasant, scenic, and above all aromatic vistas in your Bugmuck adventure" my ASS, travel brochure
These little guys are all over the place. Unsurprising, as they're bugs filled with muck.
These things are a pain in the ass. You can only cause damage if you hit the head, so you have to stand...
...in JUST the right place.
Luckily, once you get the hang of it, they go down pretty fast. They bite hard, though, so watch out. HEY, ANDRE, A LITTLE HELP?
Andre: wtfever
Bug goop!
With money in it! I wonder if they pay more for the guts around here.
Hey, a cave.
Hey, a dude. I bet your rent's real cheap out here, huh?
Man: I don't know why.
Matt: Have you smelled yourself lately?
Man: I'm sorry, but your Strong Heart is in another cave.
PWOOSH
WOOHOO HARD BALL! This is one of my favorite formulas. Nothing like throwing rocks at the enemy to get the spirits up :D
If I hadn't just raised a Nidoqueen and a Nidoking (kiss kiss Kumatora and Duster, kiss kiss), I would totally raise one named Crystal and one named Clay. The Hard Ball team. God what's wrong with me
Crystals are pretty scarce, so if you're gonna use Hard Ball instead of Flash, it's good to stock up. I actually went back and bought another ten later on.
I stopped for awhile here and came back later. Look, a load screen! FASCINATING I KNOW
But anyway
This part of the Bugmuck is pretty user-friendly, in a roundabout way. It's basically a huge spiral, with some short, treasure-filled dead ends.
Like this one :D Look, it's like an arrow telling you there's neat junk up there. If you squint. Hard.
I am so sick of you, Tar Skulls >O
Time to pull out the heavy artillery.
Well, relatively heavy, anyway. 18 damage isn't bad for a first cast. Notice Andre still admantly refusing to help, thanks buddy. I swear he's more useful, he just stops dead whenever I reach for the screencap button.
Anyway, moving on...
This is a good sign. We'll be having various appendages ripped off by horrible mandibles any minute now, ho yes :D
THIS IS A STRANGE PLACE TO STORE A PUMPKIN SIR
Well, that's okay, then. Clay isn't technically rare, but if you're working with Hard Ball, you really can't get enough.
Gonna take care of you IN THE FACE, me bucko
Flashy! As you can see by the equal 18 damage, Flash and Hard Ball really don't have much difference in power. Hard Ball just FEELS like you're doing more damage :D Your mileage may vary.
This certainly looks like the right way to go!
Which obviously means my attention is desperately needed over here. Go everywhere, do everything, kids, and you'll come out on top in RPGLand.
I just can't get over this gorgeous locale. Picturesque, like. And if you get bored, you can count the mosquitoes.
HOORAY A DEAD END
Wait wait totally worth it. Never accept dead ends as dead ends until you've had a good sniff around. There's almost always at least a few ingredients lying around.
I went back to buy some more Crystals, and THIS happened. This is a good thing, because...
...we can now charge up...
...and gooooo...
WHACK! Double damage! This gets to be super-useful later on. And oh look, a level, hooray!
Hey boy
What is it boy
Are we there yet boy
Dangit boy. Yeah, the Dog loves going the long way around to point at ingredients. I dunno, one of those weird programming quirks.
Anyway, time to crawl into the CLOACA OF DOOM! man there is just no way of making that sound like an attractive prospect is there
Well, I've seen worse-looking cloacas of doom, at least. Don't ask where, whenever I recall I have to go have a drink and a lie-down.
Maggots filter down pretty much constantly from the top of the screen as you go along in here. Those who have played Pikmin 2 might break out in a cold sweat at this point, but don't worry, nothing's going to roll over your entire team at the end of this maze. PIKMIN MASSACRE '06 NEVAH FORGET
Hmmm, an interesting construct.
Tum te tum te tum--
Bridge: *COLLAPSEY!*
Matt: hey
Andre: wtfever
Well, dang. Who else thinks this is going to be a trend?
Woohoo! Just so you know, you should have your formula of choice, be it Hard Ball or Flash, up to at least Level 1 before you're out of this area. Boss coming up? No, of course not, what gave you that idea
Bridge: *COLLAPSEY!*
Matt: not cool
Andre: - -
asjkdsalht
At least I can--
Crap
CRAP
Well, we're stuck. Only one way outta this...
WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEpwoop.
~On the rooooad again
A crossroad. Arbitrarily, I choose left.
Wait wait this doesn't look WAIT
CRAP
wheeeee etc.
Okay I can do this I can do this
ASLKJXCKLTHL;JDTH
Oh bug goop, I love you so much more than collapsing bridges. SO MUCH.
Matt: :D...when I get friends, I'll let them eat it.
*sob*
THIS IS WHAT I THINK OF YOUR CHUTES AND LADDERS CHUTESY MCLADDERSSON
Gawd, am I glad that's over. Okay.
This is a straightforward little area, although you can get bitten by maggots when you cross under the bridge-thingies if you're not careful. BEWARE.
Hey, I can see my house from up here! ...or I could, if my house was made of muck.
Down one leg and up the other! This is one of very, VERY few times in life when that phrase refers to something pleasant, believe you me.
Down escalator
Up escalator
Doooooooown escalator
Maggot A: Do you have an appointment?
Maggot B: Only we don't see you on the list >(
Matt: C'mon, guys, we totally phoned ahead D:
Okay, dealt with the guard problem. This gate looks pretty portentous, yes?
That means it's time to heal up...
...and march bravely into the cloaca face of DOOM!
Although really, this doesn't look that bad...
...uh-oh.
TO BE CONTINUEDEDEDEDeded. Ed. Ed. ed.