Now that I'm back in town, I stop to sell my Meteor Meal and store all these new ingredients I've picked up.
...I knew the inventory was capped, but damn. I've actually hit it. All those ingredients that I've been gathering and not cooking have finally piled up too high for Howzit, and it's time for me to put up or shut up.
This update is going to be a lot of putting up.
And we start with a very cheap and very important recipe, Emergency Ration. You must use a Fire Burst to make one, but the other ingredient is more variable. Shroom Shake is, of course, the best choice, for a total price tag of 18 coins from Yold Town. "Why would I want this 10 HP heal?" Like the Space Food, it heals 50 in the right place.
The Pit of 100 Trials.
Dottie walks on water!
More maps from the map chap now that I'm a bit richer.
Hot Dogs can be made from Power Steaks and Bone-in Cuts, alongside things like Cake Mixes, Big Eggs and Fresh Veggies. I recommend something like Power Steak + Big Egg. You can actually buy these later, too.
You need Inky Sauce for this. My recommendation for its match is the Honey Jar or Keel Mango.
Of course this is Horsetail Tart + Cake Mix. You can use a surprising number of ingredients to substitute for the Cake Mix, but the Horsetail is mandatory.
I think I got told to make this with an actual Hamburger, but you can get away with combining the base Power Steak with fruits like Keel Mango and Peachy Peach.
Because I don't have the inventory to store these and can't see anything to cook these into, I sell them because their HP recovery is just far too low for legitimate use. Even 20 HP is questionable, but 12? I don't think you were ever useful by the time we got Dyllis.
Back to doing these errands now that we have a little bit of free space to work with.
I think I managed to cut a corner I didn't last time.
Also can't forget to grab these whenever we can. These aren't available in Itty Bits.
Can't use Peach's Parasol to get around these, sadly. They really want you using Mario.
More Shroom Shakes + Fire Bursts for some spare Rations.
Enough that I'm getting more stuff I can hardly carry!
Look at how many Shroom Shakes I'm sitting on. Not all of these are destined to be Emergency Rations, but still...
Anyway, we got that girl out of your dreams.
And it's even worse to realise that the helpfulness you tried to demonstrate was met with rejection. See if we help you the next time.
That's not funny, nor is it tragic. I'm not sure if me and the writers are on the same page in that regard.
But he is holding something another old man I don't actually like all that much wants from me. We should've looked for a different Training Machine.
...Ow. I think that's him dropping a grill in his underwear, but I'm not sure on the dialect.
You really should not have asked that. Although...
That may have been the only way we'd get him to relinquish that.
I'd like to see you try.
Because he kept asking you and you wouldn't give it to him. Look at that, that's the consequences of your actions!
...I really think I'd rather not.
This game continues to get weirder and weirder the more I try to vocalise what it's saying for it. It kinda hops around ideas whenever it pleases and may have forgotten what the context was for its various statements.
I wish.
I won't ask if you don't put your non-existent foot in your mouth like Watchitt did.
So far so good.
...Considering 64, it could've been so much worse. You're off the hook for now, Bestovius, but I still expect Peach to get into 3D eventually.
And also that. I'll take your word you remembered, I don't really believe it.
And our Training Machine is another DS, this one an original model while the Dining Specialiser is more of a DS Lite. Having used both, I definitely prefer Lite in function: DS has a lot more loose places to get stuff hooked, and when you're using a hinge design, that becomes much more annoying.
And it sounds like whatever this is used for, there's a DS Lite model of it, too.
...Do you know where we can get those, too?
Greetings from Bestovius!
...Uh, no?
I think this is a Brain Age joke. Brain Age was a pretty popular game for the DS around this time, being the DS's equivalent of Wii Sports for casual gamers- most of whom associate their respective consoles exclusively or near-exclusively with these titles.
...In hindsight, it's kinda weird that the physical exercise game was associated with the stationary device while the mental exercise game was the one you could play on the go.
At least this is just one massive chain and not a more complex web. Although most trading sequences only make you visit each spot you backtrack to once each.
This is a rather funny line to think about. Back in 64, there was a sidequest where the local Merlee gave her Crystal Ball to the local Merluvlee as part of a Koopa Koot favour. These two shouldn't be the same character, but the series history is acknowledged now that a Merluvlee has given a Crystal Ball back to a Merlee.
Now then, we've solved the very first problem we set out to solve.
What do we get for our troubles, anyway?
...Well, OK, we get a freebie of Merlee's Charm services.
Considering Merlee's charms are incredibly underwhelming in this game, this is a more disappointing prize than it would be in 64 and TTYD. Even in those games, though, I wouldn't go to all that effort for the occasional double Star Points.
Well, it might've been an OK reward if the only thing we did was go get the Crystal Ball. But one thing led to another, and we put your great-great-great-great-great-grandmother to sleep.
...That sounded better in my head. Trust me, she wanted me to do it.
Our real prize is... some random key.
Even she doesn't know what it's for, she wasn't its original owner. She hopes we can find it and feel rewarded for doing so.
So long, human element of this quest. Don't worry, the key is the reward.
Honey Jar and Shroom Shake, of course. Volt Shroom also works, if you have one you need to get rid of. These Syrupy ones give you extra Points instead of FP, for lack of something else to award.
Smelly Herbs and Herb Teas combined with the various Mushrooms. Seems a bit of a weird result of such a combination.
Of course, the random house in question is the only other locked door we've seen lying around, this counterpart to Heronicus's house. Perhaps Heronicus once had this key.
...Big chest...
Glowing textbox...
OPTIONAL PIXL!
He discovered that 400 years ago and he's been coasting on it ever since.
...I say that as a joke, but that does seem to be his personality. Not quite poetic, though: You need a bit of "why" as well.
Bowser: Who are you, Chirpy?
Huh, I think this is the only time that a party member vocally acknowledges a Pixl. Tippi talked to Thoreau, but that was a little bit different, since that was Tippi herself and not on behalf of Mario.
Fittingly, I think this is the only Pixl to introduce himself openly before joining the party. The odd one might mention his name, but only incidentally.
...I think "Clop clop" most accurately describes Peach's footsteps? Mario and Bowser's heavier footfalls are matched by the softer sounds of their respective feet (shoes for Mario, paws for Bowser). I don't see anything in the textdump about Piccolo choosing more appropriate sounds for the Hero that you open the chest with ("whoomp whoomp" for Mario, "thud thud" for Bowser).
...Uh?
Never mind, that's just Piccolo's way of joining the party! So, game, please explain to us why a musical party member would be useful.
...All right, fine, I'll do it. Piccolo's musical melody will remove the effects of any non-Back Cursya (as well as those effects applied by other sources), erase a pair of blocks in the hub town (one each in both Flip and Flop) for optional goodies, and trivialises a mini-boss in Chapter 7. Similar to Barry, they can't make him required for too much without stretching the definition of "optional Pixl". I think he's a reasonable level of useful, unlike Barry.
Oh yeah, and one more bonus effect: While you have him out, your jump sound effects are changed to the sounds that played when Mario jumps in Super Mario Bros.
That's Piccolo. This musical Pixl plays different sounds depending on who's around... Piccolo was hidden away in a house in Flopside... Piccolo changes your sound effects and you can use her to remove curses...
Thanks for the tip about his abilities, because someone was a bit more cagey. Mario, Peach and Bowser's Piccolo chimes.
By the way, it's been a while since we were in Chapter 1: Did you remember this shortcut from the start of 1-2 to a short bit before the town? If you're doing a lot of shopping with Yold's prices, it's good to remember it exists!
And selling these here, too.
Although I valued the points more with these.
I'm trying to empty my inventory!
A lot of Shroom Shakes turned into Fried Shroom Plates, because these are used in recipes. Although I'm sure we'll see it possible to make those recipes with more sensible ingredients.
And of course, this purple Mistake is its own recipe.
The purple Mistake made from a Sleepy Sheep has the same function as a Sleepy Sheep, rather than being a joke healing item. It seems largely to exist to catch you by surprise on your recipe list if you haven't been checking the Cooking Disks.
Turtley Leaf and a few generic ingredients, like Power Steak or Fresh Veggie.
Big Egg and Fire Burst, Thunder Rage or POW Block, as well as a few cooked items with similar explosive effects.
Like this one. You get the Dyllis Dynamite if you cook the Egg Bomb with any Dyllis recipe. I recommend something easy like the Breakfast.
Wow, that was nice and expensive.
Anyway, while I'm wandering around aimlessly, the B2F pipe for the other side of town.
Even I'm not 100% sure.
I'm too rich, and I'll probably be happy for this in a bit.
One more to add to the collection.
Can't say I disagree with that logic.
That's a goldfish... He's the cute fish that the boy on the third floor loves... He seems happy to have a larger area to swim in... It's much better than the bowl. Oh, and I hear his name is Captain Gills...
Hi, Captain Gills, nice to see you again, and oh my god what did you kill? Good thing we took you away from the kid, because I'm not sure I want him seeing you eating things that leave bones.
Ooh, extra Inky Sauce without Blooper. Also a Catch Card SP and possibly an Ultra Shroom Shake.
I don't think I'll need that, just focus on the recipes. We'll get enough Dyllis Deluxes, and if we need more, that's for when we find that out.
The Itty Bits for Flipside. A lot of the real cooking staples here.
Itty Bits in the "middle of nowhere" as far as context goes, there's an Itty Bits here at the start of 3-3. Thankfully, it's the very start, but still.
Some of these can be pretty essential for recipes, especially the Fresh Veggies. We'll be back here a surprising amount.
Max HP: 10, Attack: 2. Crazee Dayzees are cute, but they'll put you to sleep. But sleeping really isn't all that Crazee...
Picked up a Crazee Dayzee Card while I was here, because I really don't want to deal with these guys, don't oneshot them yet, and also carrying Catch Card SPs around is not a good idea when my inventory is full.
Cake Mix and Shroom Shake, although they have some bonkers recipes. Shoutouts to Fruity Shroom + Slimy Shroom, if you want to do the equivalent of setting your money on fire.
Oh hey, speaking of! Peach or Mango combined with Shroom Shakes.
Shroom Pudding or Mango Pudding + Peachy Peach for this one. For an Ice Storm variant.
Peachy Peach is always required, Cake Mix or Big Egg is your best option.
Surprisingly hard to reach for only 15 HP. Mango or Peach as the easy ingredient, but your other one is stuff like Mushroom Crepe, Mousse, Peach Tart, Horsetail Tart, or Shroom Cake. There is an easier one, but I wouldn't exactly describe it as that easy. Basically, it's a hard ingredient to gather + Cake Mix.
My inventory's really cleaned up! A lot of this is getting sold, because it isn't even that good in situations I need.
Look, I'm not going to empty my inventory if I keep buying things. I do have a point to this, but it's unproductive. At least I'm stopping for those Catch Cards.
Right. So what does this inventory look like cleaned up?
Big Egg + various herbs like Fresh Veggie, Horsetail or Smelly Herb.
Keel Mango + Cake Mix or Big Egg, of course.
...The spreadsheet I'm referencing doesn't have this one? It lists recipes that uses it as an ingredient, what the hell? I used Big Egg + Shroom Shake, that's the obvious and easy one, but still, what's going on here?
Cake Mix, Big Egg, Honey Jar, choose two. No, seriously, all three combining with each other gives you this.
Also picked up this, since I'm not worrying about Gold Bars that much anymore. Or money. Golden Leaves can also be used if combined with Shroom Shakes, although since Gold Leaves are so pricey, that's not exactly the cheaper option.
Fresh Pasta Bunch, of course. I'll need this.
Inky Sauce + most spaghetti dishes.
Fresh Pasta Bunch + a bunch of meat ingredients, or a bunch of pasta dishes + Power Steak or Bone-in Cut. A lot of of options to get in and out of a bunch of recipes, it turns out.
I used Spaghetti Plate + Fried Shroom Plate. If you use Meat Pasta Dish, you can get away with just a Shroom Shake. Don't ask how many options you have. It's ~282.
Meat Pasta Dish + Fried Shroom Plate for me. Honestly, out of the 100 options, I'm not entirely sure any of them are more convenient like this unless you've got other cooking ingredients burning a hole in your pocket and no idea what to do with them other than sell them. Golden Meal + Fried Shroom Plate might be a good use for that Golden Meal you need to make for recipe completion.
Both of these give 1000 points, too.
So what happens if we keep cooking something that basically requires two ingredients?
You must use one of the three best Dyllis ingredients to get to this, so Dyllis Dinner is the best one to throw away for this.
But it's 30 HP! Why am I saying "throw it away?"
It's so heavy a meal that it actually applies the Slow Curse to you.
Yes, Piccolo can cure it, but you still need to be in a safe space for it. And need to change in and out of Piccolo. Yeah, it's not really as good as the healing items that heal 30 HP and don't curse you. You know, like Dyllis Dinners.
The rest of these can be sold for money.
For more ingredients, of course! What else am I spending my money on, stocks and bonds?
Honey Jar and Fresh Veggie, respectively.
Weirdly, you need Cake Mix for this. The easiest candidate for your other ingredient is Fresh Veggie or Smelly Herb. To make Spuddies. I guess this game doesn't have potatoes.
Have you ever stacked honey on honey?
Super-sticky messes. This is actually available for many "cooked ingredient + base" options, like Herb Tea + Smelly Herb or Inky Sauce + Inky Soup. The easiest option might be Volt Shroom + Thunder Rage, which isn't a cooked pair.
Honey Jar + Super Shroom Shake. There's no Honey Ultra in this game, and trying to make one will give you this.
Healthy Salad as a mandatory ingredient, of course, and your other ingredient can be stuff like Shroom Shake or Fresh Veggie.
Cake Mix + Super Shroom Shake. And that's another 30 HP healing item added to our belt.
There's some more stuff to pick up in 5-1, but it's not just Itty Bits this time.
Flint Cragley is using this platform to proclaim his name. Presumably, this is what he does whenever he's inside the village, whether he has permission to do so or not. I mean, who's going to stop him, Big Rock Who Watches?
Please tell me there's more to cragvision than you screaming your stories from a tall platform.
Some of those secrets are the diplomatic agreements you negotiated with the Floro Sapiens that these people need to comply with to not get enslaved again by disgruntled and presumably literally insane flowers.
What, we don't get it on free cragvision? See if I help you again.
Also me. Actually, it was mostly me. Actually, it was Peach and Bowser. Flipping into 3D doesn't help much with a flower that doesn't move around.
I'd say let's feel reassured that Cragley is a good person with good intentions, but I don't believe either of those. And it's not even like he's good at either if he is.
It's surprisingly fitting that this is a society that has discovered only enough technology to make this man's dreams a reality.
And with that, the river is now clear.
Reduce, reuse, recycle!
...
So where are you throwing all that trash now? What even is their trash, anyway?
Oh.
How depressing is it that your society has invented the frozen dinner before the wheel? I mean, what's the point of a frozen dinner if you don't have the ability to send it somewhere far away in the world?
...Hey, the whole point of home-cooking from a mental health perspective is the satisfaction of a job well done. We can argue about the physical health benefits all we want, but we can hardly convince this guy to eat healthier unless we can hook him up with that healthy stuff.
Are you still upset about not getting kidnapped?
I think he just didn't know where to stick a Floro Sprout on your noggin.
...Is this Jasperoid when Cragley's taken his spot? Damn, he got ruder when he went indoors.
Oh. Well, OK, that's a healthy approach for him, he's got absolutely no agency in whether he lives or dies here. We're the ones who do have that power, though.
Why am I not surprised? OK, it's because I have no idea who is charging Flint Cragley if he's the centre of the Cragnon's universe. There's gotta be a cost to this- there's always a cost to this- but considering we do have to handwave at least some of their technology, I'm not sure at what stage that cost is introduced.
...Er, what? I've been told bouillabaisse is a fish dish. Why is elephant hair being used as a substitute? Hell, why isn't it just instant noodles like the other "poor person meals" joke?
When did we sign our autograph for this thing? I retroactively refuse on princi-
Oh. You're just an asshole.
I feel less bad about your boss. Yes, he probably did this just so his boss didn't realise how badly he's in debt, but also forgery.
You're welcome, Marbald. I have a moral imperative to help people and I'm already kind of regretting it.
What do you have to say about Cragley, anyway?
Stopping for some Primordial Fruit, of course.
And some other ingredients. There's an Itty Bits here in the Cragnon Village, next to the pedestal- we saw it when talking to Tuff. In addition to being where we get our mangoes, this is the only source of Mild Cocoa Beans- I've never seen these by drop. Prepare for a bunch of chocolate recipes incoming.
Is there something weird about the caveman aesthetic having an ingredient often farmed through slavery? Especially since the Cragnons have been used as slaves in the chapter itself?
Also here, there's a little Dottie hole we can wander our way into.
I wonder if this water is also poisonous if we backtracked here after getting Dottie but before saving the Cragnons from the Floro Sapiens. I doubt anyone's checked.
This pipe will get us up there, passing through a bonus game.
Don't forget to flip into 3D. And presumably not be Dottie so you have a bigger hitbox.
Oh. I guess this made the most sense, a combination of Mt. Rugged and Chapter 5 for Whacka to make his traditional residence.
That's Whacka... It's rare to see one... It's delicate and easily harmed... Don't hit it or stomp on it...
Good advice.
Unlike in 64 and TTYD, it is not possible to complete the recipe log without one Whacka's Bump. There is a way to acquire a Whacka's Bump without harming this Whacka yourself, but I'm fairly certain that method is less ethical. Depends on how many specimens of Whacka there are.
I am not entirely upset this didn't make it into modern Paper Mario, if only because I'm sure they'd get more obnoxious about hitting you over the head with the morality bat over it.
Also, don't forget to flip into 3D here, because that's another Cooking Disk to add to the collection. Really racking those up now we have access to two-ingredient cooking.
That is a very judgemental inventory description, game. Did you not expect me to fill the recipe log?
Oh don't act like this is a good thing.
Cooking a Whacka's Bump alone gets you the one ingredient that requires Whacka cruelty, the very dish that caused their species to be so heavily hunted.
Disgusting.
This one's Mild Cocoa Bean cooked alone, of course. Only slightly less evil.
- Couple's Cake: Snow Bunny + Berry Snow Bunny
- Shroom Delicacy: Shroom Shake + Dayzee Tear
- Volcano Shroom: Hot Sauce + Shroom Shake
- Omelette Plate: Big Egg + Horsetail
- Fruity Hamburger: Power Steak + Keel Mango
- Gorgeous Steak: Power Steak + Hamburger
- Hot Dog: Power Steak + Fresh Veggie
- Spit Roast: Bone-in Cut
- Veggie Set: Healthy Salad + Big Egg
- Dyllis Breakfast: Shroom Shake + Spicy Soup
- Dyllis Lunch: Fried Shroom Plate + Spaghetti Plate
- Dyllis Dinner: Fried Shroom Plate + Meat Pasta Dish
- Egg Bomb: Fire Burst + Big Egg
- Dyllis Dynamite: Egg Bomb + Dyllis Breakfast
- Odd Dinner: Poison Shroom + Fried Shroom Plate
- Golden Leaf: Sometimes Amazy Dayzee drops this.
Sells for a lot... OK, I'm not eating this myself, the system can have this one
Mild Cocoa Bean + Fire Burst. There's also a surprising amount of recipe options involving... HP Plus. You know, the stat-raising item we saw in the arcade?
Primordial Fruit + Shroom Shake/assortment of ingredients. That's a surprisingly good healing for a Cragnon recipe, if woefully outclassed.
I probably used the Lovely Chocolate for this, but a good one for utilitarianism is Slimy Extract + Big Egg.
Lovely Chocolate + Fresh Pasta Bunch. This one's a surprisingly powerful item for being formed of three relatively common ingredients total, giving you the combined effects of a Mighty Tonic, Courage Shell and Volt Shroom. For if you just really want to tell a boss where they can shove it.
What's "tingly"? Reversed controls. This dish is also good for 1500 points, so might as well.
Piccolo, help.
More Catch Cards from Flimm!
...And sure, cheaper Super Shroom Shake. Of all ingredients. I guess when we've got Itty Bits to go do now...
This is what a Super Shroom Shake will get you cooked. Yeah, we had 30 HP heals since getting Super Shroom Shakes, although admittedly that was only consistent when we got Notso's shop in Flopside. We needed more shops before Flopside. Only one was Yold Town.
Ooh boy, if that isn't an ingredient list to write home about.
Mild Cocoa Bean + Fresh Pasta Bunch, or basically any chocolate + pasta dish.
It's worth 500 points eaten, I guess?
Mild Cocoa Bean + Cake Mix or Big Egg.
...This sounds like it could actually combine decently. I dunno, I don't even eat either of these things.
You can make this by combining a bunch of choices in cake. This beautiful dish, in addition to being one of the prettier choices of 30 HP heal, it gives you 3000 points a bite. I wouldn't say it's worth stuffing your inventory with them, but also gingerbread houses!
Bunch of Lovely Chocolate options. Or you can do Slimy Extract + Cake Mix. Why is Slimy Extract making so many cakes.
Roast Shroom Dish + Fruity Hamburger gets me another one of Dyllis's favourites...
60 HP, 1500 points. You can make these in some decent quantities without Ultra Shroom Shakes or Shroom Steaks- that's a Super Shroom Shake, Power Steak and Keel Mango. 60 HP might be a bit overkill for now, but it's roughly 135 coins for a full heal, and that won't be made redundant until Chapter 7, maybe even later. Not bad, considering something I haven't shown yet. I think I haven't figured it out yet.
Our current recipe list. A lot of the recipes I'm missing require Turtley Leaves or other ingredients I'll have to grind to acquire, or ingredients we'll only get in measurable quantities from Chapter 7. There's a few weird ones that have slipped through the cracks, like the chocolate bars (my past self is waiting to do the math on whether they should get them from 4-3) and the Megaton Dinner (cook a POW Block. What do you mean I don't have one?).
Also I have yet to add the regular Mistake to my collection. We have the Sleepy variant, but not the original.
On Flipside 3F, we can find this block with Piccolo's face, hiding a treasure chest. This and its friend in Flopside are the only times Piccolo is used to influence the environment.
This charmer uses the sun to work her magic. She is a descendant of the Tribe of Ancients.
Both treasures are Catch Cards. Huh, Merlee is a Sun wizard? What's she doing in Flopside, then?
Since I didn't blow up all the blocks, here's Mario coming out the side of a Brick Block instead of the pipe on the way down.
This is Merlon's dimensional counterpart in Flopside. He is also a descendant of the Ancients.
And the Flopside version. See, this one highlights that Nolrem is a descendant of the Ancients and not the Tribe of Darkness. Although nothing in this description is about the man himself.
Now we can finally make progress, smashing this block and entering familiar parts of Flopside.
Down to the jokes.
We need to flip and go that way to get the Heart Pillar, but what happens if we try and get the Heart Pillar to Chapter 7 instead?
There's a Cudge block here, even. I think this was a big red block in Flipside.
Progress is blocked by a gigantic wall Mario cannot jump across. There's a hole up there, though...
There's definitely something on the other side. But we can't get there right now. No Chapter 7 for us.
We can, however, continue down to the level where we find the Pit, and hey, another Cudge block!
Don't mind if I do!
Freebie! We can try out this whole "consumable item Power Plus" for free!
I will be using these ones. Hey, what's with all the Rations in the inventory...
The visual effect. There's one version where you get a red arrow and one where you get a blue, and despite those colours denoting offensive and defensive buffs respectively in TTYD, here the red arrow is for the defensive buff and the blue one the offensive one. Other enemies will not be using buffs with these arrows (even if enemies did buff themselves, the way the camera works in this game means they'll want to use more distinct cues), thankfully, so the colour-coding is meaningless, but it's just annoying enough to comment on.
The single-tile blocks we must cross to get up this side are moving this time.
A job for Peach and her ability to make minute adjustments to where she lands!
...Pardon? That seems odd. Oh well, we'll be back.
To the Heart Pillar!
...After we Dottie up.
Cudge to reveal this big red button, and then press it. As if the block wasn't already pressing it while it existed. I refuse to believe Mario weighs more than that Cudge Block.
Bowser, you got us the Pure Heart, let's let you place it into the Pillar.
The fact there's two shades of blue in the traditional rainbow scheme always bothers me. Especially how close these two look next to each other.
...Uh, who, and what?
...That's a heavy thing to drop on a gal unannounced. Admittedly not unusual (it's basically saying "lose and the consequences will be dire"), but still sounding a lot more direct than usual. When this game is already rather direct.
...Uh, it's Merlon who deciphers the Light Prognosticus? Your day job seems to be nothing, as far as anyone has been able to consistently tell me. At this point, I would not be surprised to learn you're Merlon in a different outfit.
...Uh... OK, yes, I can see that interpretation of the text, although that's helped by my knowledge of how this foreshadowing is related to the events we are going to see next Chapter. Yes, this is foreshadowing, but quite frankly, the game is overplaying its hand on the foreshadowing again.
Nolrem, you are the worst aspects of Merlon. I'm not entirely sure I'm happy with the fact this conversation happened at all.
Get back here so I can...
Anyway, if we backtrack all the way to Flipside Outskirts B1F, we can see that the red block has disappeared and we can access the back area on this side of town.
This owner of the arcade is a video-game savant. The arcade doesn't earn a lot of money... He invented The InterNed.
They're games of skill it's relatively easy to make a profit on. No kidding. I think "He invented the InterNed" is supposed to be a play off "he invented the internet", although back in 2007, I'm not sure that's quite as impressive as it would be even a few years later.
There's an HP Plus in Flipside, matching the Power Plus we found in Flopside on Outskirts B2F
Like I said, red arrow.
Time to make some final preparations, and that means picking up a Charm. These Charms seem designed for this particular part of the game.
Fortunately, Merlee is happy to honour our discount even though we refused earlier, so we can get this for 0 coins. Special Package, of course.
That's definitely a reference to the console name. There's no reason for her not to use the conventional spelling here.
And we acquire our charm in...
...Yeah, the animations are a step down from TTYD, as ever. They don't want big animations in a platformer.
It'll cost money the next time.
Gotta make sure I'm at full charge before I go.
And hey, might as well. Before I go, let's go turn this doodad in.
So what is this elite game hidden away by shiny card?
This is a game that is played with Cudge, and presumably the major reason it was kept from us is so we had to get Cudge before we played it.
In addition to being unique, this is by far the easiest game to play on both console and emulator, and the best way to make Flipside Tokens. This is the other reason we need a special card to play it.
This game is played by having a Koopa Striker kick shells at us. He starts one at a time, but later increases to more shells. I've seen as high as five, but I also haven't gone all the way to Round 100 or wherever this goes.
The closer the shell gets to you, the more of a point bonus you get for sending it back. You swing by shaking the Wiimote down, something I can do with a key press on my setup.
- NICE is worth 7000.
- GOOD is worth 8000.
- GREAT is worth 10000.
- WONDERFUL is worth 12000.
- EXCELLENT is worth 15000.
This is me sending multiple shells back in Round 4.
And this is me remembering there's a "get the shell closer before returning it" mechanic.
If you get hit by any shells, you lose one life (no matter how many shells are left to come) and are awarded no points before being tasked with attempting the round again.
Unlike Tilt Island, losing has us slump to the ground rather than doing the death throw.
...Only 42? This thing better go up exponentially, or at least quadratically, or I'm going to feel ripped off.
Although the fact I'm on the scoreboard alongside the scores listed on the wiki is not encouraging in this regard. Look at that Hero privilege, being allowed to use my five-letter name when these characters were forced to fit in 4.
Next time: "The Duel of Hundred", you said, right?
No comments:
Post a Comment