Update 10: Tower of love and peace
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMaa27yCgXg
Well, from where we are (the red spot should be a blinking but the screenshot doesn’t show it), to advance the plot we must go to where the tower is shown, that’s where the Garbage Dump is (and thus the place where the Garbage Truck will go). However, unlike certain corridors shooters/dungeon crawling crapfests nothing stops you of exploring all of the possible paths, so we’ll go first to the left path, and then go upward exploring every nook and cranny of the area.
The recharge stations are not for show, if you don’t use one at least once, your Pork Bean will eventually stop (without any way of finding a replacement except by loading a previous save), forcing you to continue the way on foot. Of course, we can still interact with the pigmen for some gossip.
Pigmask: ”Our Pork Bean ran out of power, you see, and… Yes? A garbage truck? Oh, one just headed north from here.”
”Oh, but please don’t worry. I’ll manage somehow.”
Doesn’t matter, there are many recharge stations.
Lucas learned Counter, an useful shield-type power that can be used to reflect most physical attacks against the enemy, it will be used ‘till Lucas learns a better Shield power (and I’m showing that Doggy Biscuit loot for reasons you’ll later see).
”I HAVE FORGOTTEN WHY I AM BROKEN, THOUGH… YOU CERTAINLY HAVE A LOT OF FREE TIME TO BE TALKING TO SOMETHING LIKE ME… SORRY! SORRY! IT WAS RUDE OF ME TO SAY THAT!”
? Okay… Actually, I thought it would be fun to see what happens if Lucas returns to his town dressed as the Commander, perhaps he’ll be able to find an excuse to order Isaac’s execution…
…Guess not. But this deserves special mention for probably one of the most original invisible wall on videogames’ history.
If your party feels very weak due a recent battle and/or you want to rush, it’s recommended to never leave the Pig Bean, absolutely everything here is hostile.
More a nuisance than anything besides being able to call reinforcements, this enemy is a pushover…
Something that cannot be said about the Atomic Power Robot, deadly as ever since Mother 2. It still explodes upon death…
And targets the entire party. What’s worse, now these enemies are more numerous and thus you will frequently fight against several of them. My recommendation is using strong multi-target attacks to kill all of them at once.
That odd sign is found near the entrance to the Death desert, that has some new loot to be found.
But you cannot return to the desert properly, a shame...
But it’s compensated with the looting (one of these boxes contains a Luxury Banana, and the other a Super Bomb, nice stuff).
Walking back to the dangerous highways, the party encounters another enemy, a non-broken version of the Scrappy Robot. It can use some psy, but the particularity is that his name is not for show; they still start with the “feeling strange” ailment and will sometimes lose turns trying to regain their balance, but still nothing threatening so far. Something I forgot to comment is that if you attack an Atomic Power Robot from behind, this may happen:
The robot will be totally defenseless and you’ll be able to exterminate it at your leisure.
Some “interesting” signs can be read too (incidentally, a random enemy really is crossing the highway the moment you read the sign).
Another new weapon for Asuka.
Horrible puns are horrible. Anyways, there’s something more intriguing here:
Mouse: ”My children went off to play and haven’t come home. If you happen to see them, please tell them their mother says to come home. Please. Please. Please! Oh, incidentally, I have seven children in all.)”
A fetch-quest, but this optional sidequest has a great reward and it’s easy to do, so we’ll do it. The mice can be found randomly at certain places.
Unfortunately, before we can do anything we’re attacked by a terrible foe (I had to read a random sing to be able to do a proper screenshot, the moment this thing sees you it will charge very fast against Lucas):
This bio-heresy can perform a special attack where it charges straight ahead against your party and then turns back, a double attack against the entire party. It should be considered a threat of Xenos Majoris type and be neutralized quickly and efficiently.
More fun with signs and our first missing mouse is found:
Child Mouse: ”Whew. Reading stuff is so hard. What? My mom’s calling for me? Okay. I’ll head back right now.)”
Child Mouse: ”Huh? My mom’s calling for me? Yikes!! I better get back before she gets REALLY mad at me!)”
There goes another. 5 to go.
Child Mouse: ”It’s scary! The world’s become so scary! Huh? What? My mom’s calling for me? She’s even scarier than the world is, when she wants to be! So I better get home right away, then!”
4 to go.
”(We do)Nice. Surely everyone gets the urge to write graffiti on something at least once, wouldn’t you say?”
A true valuable experience that was. We continue moving north, and we stop after we spot a suspicious pigmook:
Pigmask: ”No one can say no to buying this stuff. You want anything?”
The prizes are high but you will need at least one New Year’s Eve Bomb for a certain boss, plus you never have enough Pencil Rockets and Super Bombs.
Pigmask: ”…Say, you look kinda familiar somehow.”
“Uuuhh... Look! SOIL EROSION!!! *runs*”
Stray Dog: ”And, as you can see, I happen to be a stray dog! So there’s only one logical thing for you to do now. Please give me that Doggy Biscuit. I can’t stop drooling…”
Sure, why not?
Stray Dog: ”Oh, I know! You can have this! (Received a Pencil Rocket) Take good care of my thank-you gift!)”
I don’t want to know why a stray dog would have a highly powerful explosive.
Pigmask: ”It’s self-service, so please use it as you see fit. My job is to stand here and say that this station is self-service.”
One of the lamest jobs ever.
Sign: ”Step 1: Place your Pork Bean on the Recharge Panel. Step 2: Press the A button on the nearby device to supply the Pork Bean with power. Step 3: Once the device beeps, the recharge is complete. WARNING! When the device beeps, BE SURE to press the A Button to turn it off!”
Otherwise the Pork Bean explodes and you’re forced to continue on foot for being a retard. We recharge it carefully and continue.
Child Mouse: ”I wanna be a sperm whale and eat giant squids and stuff. Huh? My mom’s calling for me? Aw crap! This is no time for me to be dreaming about stuff! Okay, I’m going home now!)”
3 mice to go.
Even more fun with lol-signs.
Another mouse is hiding here.
Child Mouse: ”Whenever I eat a cookie and munch on it, my cheeks get all big and chubby! It’s so funny when they get like that. Huh? My mom? Oh, she’s smiley again today. She’s smiley whenever me and her are together. So I’m gonna go home now.”
We spot the garbage truck nearly arriving to its destination. Fortunately, you don’t have to hurry at all, there are things that demand your attention, like:
A new “weapon” for Ghostdog, plus this:
”ENERGY. COULD YOU PRESS THE SWITCH FOR ME AND HELP ME RECHARGE? I’M SORRY TO ASK. BUT COULD YOU DO THAT FOR ME? O…OHH. THANK YOU THANK YOU. I’LL GIVE YOU MONEY. BUT PLEASE KEEP THE RECHARGE UNDER 15 SECONDS. OR ELSE I MIGHT EXPLODE… AS CLOSE TO 15 SECONDS AS POSSIBLE IS THE BEST. I’LL GIVE YOU LOTS OF MONEY. IF THE RECHARGE IS TOO SHORT, THE MONEY I GIVE WILL BE LESS. TURN THE POWER ON AND OFF USING THE A BUTTON. I’M COUNTING ON YOU, DUDE!”
“’Or else I might explode’ you said?”
"FUUUUU….!!!!"
:twisted:
And KABOOM the robot went… but the screenshooter was not fast enough.
NO YOU.
This guy sells some new gear.
”I got souvenirs! I got food! I got stuff! You want somethin’?”
This new vendor sells some interesting stuff but they’re very expensive, we’ll have to kill some more enemies to get enough money for 2 Taurus Bracelets and 1 Souvenir Dress (the Yo-yo is too weak to be considered, and there’s one much better later and for free). Now the party enters the café…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqHCEzaA ... re=related
Ugh, that’s the seediest bar ever seen on a rpg since Anacronox. Fortunately humans on Nowhere islands evolved enough to be immune to contaminant gases. That or Lucas can hold his breath indefinitely.
Lady: ”Make yourselves at home…”
Pigmask: ”There must’ve been some sort of misunderstanding here!”
Guy: ”It’s such an incredible deal! In a way it’s infinite!”
EEWW. Let’s ask another fellow.
Skinhead: ”In fact, I love it even more than Club Titiboo!”
Pigmask: ”I know you’re not really the commander. You’re an impostor. Don’t worry though. I won’t tell no one. It’d be too much of a hassle anyways.”
That was… great? Why would a random pigmask on the filthiest bar possible recognize Lucas when several of his superiors couldn’t? Whatever, let’s keep going.
”It’s covered with cigarette stains and old ketchup. Try inserting 1 DP?”
Okay…
Jukebox: “Withered, old anchovies and the like are stuck to the record, but even so, it actually started to spin.”
There are several songs that are switched randomly, I’ll post all of these:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21FRBqqh ... re=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7qCN7ot ... re=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zA0UC3D_ ... re=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8o-cxJ6z ... re=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUtO0RrR ... re=related
My mistake, all of these songs exist ingame, I was wrong about what I said on the previous update (though I insist that some of these songs are scrapped ones from the original Earthbound 64).
”the table.”
Now let’s get out before Lucas passes out. Outside the café, at the right, there is… This:
Man: ”Or at least that’s the rumor, anyway. This line HAS to be the one!”
I’ll not comment about this insanity. In any case shortly after Lucas learned PSI Shield Alfa and Asuka learned PSI Magnet Alfa, and another child mouse is found:
Child Mouse: ”By the way, I’m pretty sure none of my brothers went past this tunnel.)”
He’s right, the last mouse is here nearby, more concretely…
Child Mouse:”And I was so proud of the fact I’d never lost a game of one-player hide-and-go-seek before… Huh? My mom’s calling for me? Well I better go home then! Bye-bye!)”
We completed the quest, but before backtracking to get our prize let’s interview this strange person:
Leo-Leo: ”I brought all these presents here ‘cause girls everywhere are tryin’ to make me fall for ‘em. Each one’s from a different girl of course! So anyways, all these presents here belong to me. You can’t have any. You naturally try to open a gift box the instant you see one, don’t ya? But too bad! These ones belong to me!”
Bah, bullshit, you’re trying too hard and you can not stop me…
Leo-Leo: ”That present’s mine! Get your filthy hands off it!”
Let’s try pestering the guy until he agrees.
Leo-Leo: ”Well too bad! I really doubt you’re popular with the girls. You don’t seem like a very bad dude, either. I dunno, should I let you open one…? “
“*Collargrabs* If you do not reconsider I’ll remove what makes you a man right here and right now with a sharp and rusty knife”
Leo-Leo: “Okay, okay! You can have one and only one. Even a bad dude like Leo-Leo has a nice side… That’s why the chicks dig me.”
Yeah, sure…
Leo-Leo: ”They’re symbols of my hotness, after all.”
Kinda useful to have when you’re low on PP and/or healing items. If we go outside and come back…
Leo-Leo: ”Tons of awesome stuff. That sweater you chose was the suckiest present of all.”
Says a man hiding on a cave that’s obviously exaggerating what he doesn’t have. Sucker. Now, our earned reward:
Mouse-mom: ”Thanks to you, all my children have returned home, with cheerful smiles on their faces. For being so kind to me, I insist on giving you two things as a token of appreciation. The first is a kiss from me. And the other thing is th-th-this!) (Got a Shield Snatcher, and Lucas felt something warm on his heart).”
A VERY USEFUL item, you can only get it here, and it’s pretty much necessary for the tougher bosses that have shields (more if they can replace them).
Finally, the long pursuit comes to an end.
That ATM machine looks familiar…
Pigmask: ”I’m afraid I can’t even let you go through here, Commander. But I’m sure you’ll be able to go through here eventually.”
Metagaming much? Regardless of this, we still have an Egg to get, video here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tphiWMqGsdE
Dammit! You can no longer abandon the tower until you finish the chapter. Fortunately I completed the sidequest before it. Let’s go…
”You’re here to destroy Thunder Tower, aren’t you?!”
“Oh noes! We had been discovered!! How I could guess that speaking with the enemy could blow up my cover??”
“That’s what I’d say if any suspicious people snuck inside. So, as you can see, security here is airtight.”
A porksoldier being competent? Nope, that was a false alarm.
Pigmask: ”I wish the guys in the generator room would get their act together.”
Humm, that’s good to hear, although if you’re a bit intelligent by now you’ll guess that this tower is the responsible of the constant lightning strikes, so we should demolish it if we have the opportunity.
That’s the map of the area. If you look closely you’ll notice there are two possible paths. But because I like to powergame I’ll investigate each one to get the maximum profit possible.
The vendor machine has some cool items, especially Lucas’ new weapon. I’ll buy it using the earned money after killing the boss thanks to a nearby save frog.
This tower, being built by the porkarmy’s jew-here-tech, has several dangers within it, not in the form of traps, but of the strange vermin that lurks inside (kinda makes wonder about how the incompetent pigmen do to survive). This is one of the least dangerous, but crazier ones:
Its name is adequate, this will be your reaction when you see one for the 1st time. They act randomly attacking, staring at the party or leaving for no reason. The other new enemy is:
The Minor Robot. It can throw Bombs damaging the entire party. An interesting feature of these type of mooks is that sometimes when they have low hp they will not be immediately destroyed, instead they’ll lose all of his energy and become a sitting duck. This makes more sense when you meet another mook that’s related with the Minor Robot.
Pigmask: ”Huh? You don’t know about the Chimera Lab? Surely you’re joking again!”
”Is that like ‘going back to basics’ or something? I don’t really get… Ahh! C-Commander! The ‘rice with egg on top’ I just mentioned… It’s actually a technical term meaning that the generator’s danger… is in danger! ‘Rice with egg on top’ equals the generator is in danger. Have you memorized that?”
Pigmask: ”And if that happens, our mean, scary boss will get mad. And if that happens, I’ll get lumps on my head. So please work hard, catfish!”
They use catfish as a power source? Why not use a proper generator instead? Oh, I forgot…
Crap, if he spots Lucas there will be trouble, with a bit of luck we’ll slip past him before he notices.
More loot.
That’s the enemy I was talking about, the Battery Man. If the Minor Robot is not killed when its energy is depleted, the Battery Man will sacrifice his life to fully health the Minor Robot. More annoying than anything, but it’s still a nice and original touch.
Ops, our cover is starting to crack… Let’s hurry.
Pigcolonel: ”And that dog-like fellow in the very back… He certainly is dog-like. Like the way he walks, for instance. That’s so cute.”
Pigmask: ”Tazmily region: Sunny, with occasional lightning in places. Mt. Oriander region, Cerulean Beach region: Lightning once preparations are complete.”
Well, that confirms my suspicions.
Pigmask: ”And then, well… I’m not quite sure how to put it, but… charred? People who disobeyed all had their houses charred. We’re doing terrible things here, aren’t we?”
A bit late to have any regrets, don’t think?
Pigmask: ”It’s really dangerous so please don’t go up there.”
Pigmask:”It’s tough work, especially when dry-eye starts to set in.”
”but the generator defense system partway up the tower is really buggy. We’d be in such huge trouble if any bad guys snuck in! Yeah, that generator defense system further up the tower… Things could get real ugly quick. If the generator is destroyed Thunder Tower will collapse! So a special type of trap’s been installed in the generator. I suppose in RPG terms it would be your so-called ‘mid-boss’!”
More metagaming references.
Pigmask: ”BLAAH!... They seem to have grown used to our scare tactics lately. They never get surprised anymore. BOO!!”
Pigmask: ”Yeah. Power output’s really fallen.”
Pigmask: ”But he’s a hardcore DCMC fan, so giving him DCMC merchandise will put him in a good mood just like that.”
Pigmask: ”It’s zap-kaboom perfect!”
”The DCMC logo is boldly printed on it (3 more are being kept in storage.)”
”(Another set is being kept in storage.)”
”(Another one is being kept in storage.)”
Perception: Yep, the nerdy Pork-tropper is back.
Pork Tropper: ”So you came all the way here to visit me, kiddos? You got the best of me last time only ‘cause I was in my ordinary clothes… But now I’m in my combat suit, it’s ‘Handle with Care’ time!”
It’s the same battle as the first time but with a bit more health, so it went like this:
*takes off shirt and waves it* Look! An unique, extended collector edition of a DCMC shirt! ”
Porktropper: ”FUUUUCKKK!!! ME WANTS!!! OH FUCK!!! ME WANTS!!! OH FUCK!!! ME WANTS!!! OH FUCK!!! ME WANTS!!! OH FUCK!!! ME WANTS!!! OH FUCK!!! ME WANTS!!!... Wait a minute, YOU’RE WEARING THAT SHIRT, WHICH MEANS THAT’S SECOND-HANDED. YOU TRICKED ME, ASSHOLE!!”
“Too late, you lost, lol”
Porktropper:”Son of… *collapses*”
So the boss was defeated. However…
” You may think you’re a good impersonator, but you can’t fool my eyes!”
”the pain and woe I went through after that Drago sent me flying… I really must repay that favor in full. Nwehehehehe!!”
Lucas decides it’s a good time to perform a tactical retreat and ran away. Fassad’s reaction? Pull out a banana and calmly eat it.
We really need more villains like this in videogames instead of generic lords of evil/robotic grunts.
We cannot go back, only way to continue here is going upwards.
Mother 3 really redefines the line “Everything is trying to kill you”. Obviously these foes are a piece of cake. At the top of this area we walk inside a new room.
Here there are LOTS AND LOTS of Mother 2 references, like:
There’s a vendor machine here that sells Rubber Capes, strong against lightning and a must-have for the incoming boss.
Not everything here is for laughs though, if you try to open the gift that’s at the north of the room…
SURPRISE BUTTSEX!!! … Not. This monster is not dangerous, and because you have a hot spring right behind you it’s easy to spam your strongest powers until it dies.
For the rest of the stuff I’ll post it on video format:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f08l9CeC0_g
That special item we got is a pretty cool weapon, and closely related to Ness and King P.’s past. I’ll save it ‘till the endgame just incase.
This is the final zone of the chapter.
When the pigmen mentioned the generator was malfunctioning, I never expected that they meant electricity gained sentience and attacked people for the lulz, like these monsters do. Logically they’re electricity-based and will use psy Thunder and such. The Rubber Capes will prove to be unvaluable here.
Hurr durr. That sign is warning you for a reason. When you reach the other side of the room…
LUCAS IS ZAPPED BY RANDOM LIGHTNING!!!
Eeh… My only guess is that this near-death experienced allowed Lucas to have an “enlightening experience” and learn a new power. PK Flash is sadly not as good as it was on Earthbound, so it will be rarely used.
We’re supposed to walk in front of the generator to trigger a cutscene, but you can walk around it for a hidden dialogue.
”Just the fact you were able to come this far is awesome… Which make YOU awesome! I think I might be in love! My name is Sheep. Don’t ask any more than that. Trying to seem mysterious is my hobby.”
Final video here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3VlsjwmfP8
Shit hit the fan. Who was that Masked man? Will this be Lucas and co’s end, after a certainly terribad pun? Maaaaybe, or maybe not. That’s why it's a cliffhanger. See you on the next update!