Previously, Spike
McFangs becomes fighter with legal diploma, banish invader's boss of his family
castle, and travel to Ratville by foot. There he finds Camelia, his friend lays
sick. He must find way to cure her.
Camelia
needs water from Kalala Dessert but one of Von Hesler's man named Croc guards
the water. Some ratman give me info about Croc's level: 7. That's nice and all
but i wish something more useful like free health refill. But as we knew that
Camelia takes all the beds. Let's see what's in next room.
Indoor
tomato plantation! This will do.
Twisters
that are the little ghosts over there, are keen on pushing me to cliff (that
only reduce some of my health instead of instant game over, thankfully). They
can't harm me directly but i can't destroy them either. I can only pushing them
away using my cape spin. Unlike the twister, flying jellyfish beneath my feet
is helpful. It act as moving platform but it will frown everytime i land on
him. Everyone will be pissed if some kid step on their head. I can understand
that.
But this one
turns red and drop me from very high altitude. Soldier_sf12_falling01.wav
I safe from
the fall thanks to my nature as vampire. There's the two shops and a savepoint moaiman.
How convenience!
"You
thought i was that holed shoe-sandal, huh?" Joke on myself, i used to have
it. True story. =p
Croc will
thwacks me with his spear if i approach him carelessly. His shield can
shoot orbs from its eyes but can be easily dodged if you're away from Croc. So
keep distance from him and throw your hat will do the trick.
And Croc has
same trick like Felina in which he powers up and restores his health to full
when nearly defeated. Only for once, though.
He also can
casts lightning from the tip of his spear to keep me away from him. You can
guess that move isn't effective because i always want to be away from
him. In fact, he tend to be more standstill than before which makes him easier
target for my hat throwing. Once he lost all of his HP, he goes
"poof!" but the shield jumps around. Well, that's creepy.
But wait,
it's not over yet. So i have nothing to do but to delve further in this desert
temple/pyramid. But because i'm low on health, i will use "Transport"
card which will summon a balloon that will transport me to...
...back to
the Professor Steam. I see he has cleared the car wreckage. It's quite makes me
wonder why talking to Professor replenish my health. Maybe he sneakily injects
me with tomato serum while he's talking. The sneaky healer.
There's this
happy plant that serves as loot dispenser without bring you any harm. Well not
really because sometime it emit flies instead of tomato or coin, The point is
it doesn't attack you directly. Feel free
to hit it with either your cape or hat. By the way, nice effect of moving
cloud's shadow here.
I'm sure now that this place is pyramid. There's mummies, you see.
The brown ones only loitering around while the white ones is more aggressive
and able to whip some of his bandage for ranged attack. We're in same level. I
can do this.
Okay. I get
over my head back there. Even though we're in same level 7, the mummy's bandage
attack whips 16 hitpoints each which means very devastating! Also my attacks
inflict really cheap damage to him. I will be more careful next time.
Pressing
'Select' button will pause the game and bring you this detailed status screen.
You can switch trick card during this. Also you can see the explanation of your
current trick card so you get the gist of what the card will do before you
recklessly/accidentally activate it.
In some
section, there's monkey in tree that throws prickly fruit at you. I think i
have seen that kind of monkey outside of this game but i can't totally recall
it. If you know about it, feel free to let me know!
Searching
crook and nook in this game usually not rewarding. But in this pyramid and
Ratville mountain, you can find the loot dispenser and this savepoint moaiman.
I take it there's another boss nearby.
Yes, there's.
When i first play this game, i thought defeating Croc will restore the water in
this desert. Turns out, he just bodyguard or to be more precise partner with
less level of this tree, Root. He's the one who hogs all water so defeating him
is the real objective. It's bit plot twist because he's not mentioned before,
not even once. So far i can dodge all of his attacks. Here he try to suck me
and then unleash short laser from its mouth. That seeds on rightside will hatch
blobs that are very easy to defeat. He can also unleash highly-tracking leaves
and he tries to snatch me with his arms. I have to admit i'm defeated here as
i'm underleveled. Maybe you can defeat him with this current level if you're
really patience and willing to burn through your healing magic. I mean at level
7, you can only inflict measly damage to him and you got tremendous damage when
he hits you. Thus i need leveling, first. I grinding experience from those
mummies and get lots of coins from that plant. Then i will come back.
How do you
like my bat minions shred you, bastard. Yes, that's from my trick card. And no,
i don't have it anymore. 3=
I'm
back...as level 9. Yes, i overshoot my
level but it's really worth it. In previous article i mentioned that everytime
i level up, my attacks do more damage and i take less damage. To be more
detailed, they're in factor of 2. Meaning my attack and defense are doubled
from previous level. So i'm more than ready for this boss. Oh, and the monkeys
helping him. The miserable sods, thinking they're cute and such.
I just
remembered that his arms can't reach me if i go to most either left or right.
Also his arm part is harmless. It's hand part that's lethal. By the way, you
can only hurt him when he opens his mouth. So the safest way to harm him: by
throwing your hat from the side. I should mention about my new hat here. This
feather hat will flies in zigzag pattern and add magic
trail to add damage ticks. It cost 400 gold but it's really worthy to add hefty extra damage on your hat throwing. I
guarantee!
Root doesn't
have ability to level/power up like Felina or Croc. So he can't recover his lost
health at all. Once he defeated he say that he will go back to jungle and
return the water. Then water gush from below and i'm launched to the sky.
Meanwhile Von Hesler is annoyed by the news
about Croc's and Root's defeat. But he has high confident with The Freezer that
inhabits Vampra's kingdom.
Camelia is
healthy again. She jumps around to test her condition. Without my explanation
there, you can imagine that Camelia is under Kung-Fu/Jedi training by that
elder ratman. That's more interesting/appropriate, right?
Professor
Steam returns with newly-repaired car. It seems he's Batman fans and i suspect
he lets that falling rock on purpose. I'm fine with that. As long as repair
cost come from his own wallet and he doesn't ask for reimburse to my father.
That big ratman has dug shortcut tunnel to Vampra's Kingdom.
Demoman_thanksfortheteleporter02.wav
[Insert
Yakety Sax music here]. Yes, we forgot about Rudy there.
He manages to
catch us up way here. But he's really exhausted. So my companion this time: Camelia. This is her homeland, afterall.
The moment i
saw "Kagome" signboard there, i recall an eerie song with that word.
Luckily, the inside of that premise is friendly NPC lady. Not creepy or
anything.
If you think that these snow rabbits are
harmless because of their cute appearance. You're wrong, their
mouth hide hideous sharp fangs. One of them want to bite my backside, see? By
the way, Camilia has same function with Rudy. She bumps enemy occasionally and
follow me around.
Funny,
there's switch that moves this mountain's part. Camelia so happy with this so
she spins around with her kali stick like magical girl/mahou shoujo. Whatever
to make her warm. Don't blame her for wearing that short! This land used to be warm but since The Freezer rules here, it
become snowy land like this.
Inside a
cavern there's planted maces and electric eels. Both of them will stun you if
you swipe them with your cape. In addition the electric eels will shoot lightning ball at
you. We learn that Spike has common skeleton anatomy as other anime young boy:
skull that have bigger size than other bone. The more you know.
Some
stranger gives me intel about The Freezer: he's level 11 and weak to Chicken
Noodle Soup. Scout_thanks02.wav
Once i
leave, the stranger uncloak herself to reveal the she's Colonel Hydra. Then i
come back to ask her name. Then she shakes it off by saying that it's not
important. Thanks anyway.
Look, Camelia! Your castle looks perfect for
Tetris game's background. Oh, right!. You and Rudy can't jump like me. :3
Behind
cave's mouth there's crystal palace. In early section we encounter The
Freezer...already? But we don't have chicken noodle soup yet. Quick, Camelia!
Cook it! Don't stare his buttock for too long!
We don't
have time and ingredient to cook it. Furthermore, Camelia can't cook *BOO!*.
So fighting we are. Whatever we did to him, his hitpoint remain intact. After i
survive his assault for quite short time he stop and mock me to fight me later
in his chamber. That's relief.
Then i got
freezed by Letty Whiterock's friends i mean Yuki Onna/Snow lady. I know that
i'm beautiful when i become temporary ice cube but please do something instead
of staring at me like that. At least avenge me, Camelia!
There's
giant sparrow that flies above me and sweeps me in left-bottom direction. Making
my movement harder than before. Did i ever mention that this whole ice palace
has slippery floor? Because it is.
Then i end
up in this dead end with 4 holes. I will jump to left-top ones...
...then we
find The Freezer's lackeys (that looks like sentient spoons) eat chicken noodle
soup! They're willing to give some of it (in form of trick card) but i mustn't
tell The Freezer about them having this forbidden hot meal. Okay, sure! I won't
tell him about this insubordination act of yours. I just want to beat him down,
that's all.
Yeah, that's right! Consider yourself lucky that i can't summon more than 3
bowls. Otherwise you will be fainted immediately.
Even with
his invincibility is denied, The Freezer is quite tricky foe. As you can only
harm him by throwing hat at his yellow core on his chest. Whipping your cape on
ice giant, is stupid idea anyway. Thankfully i have the most expensive hat:
Thunder Hat which add short-time homing movement after the zigzag pattern over.
As for The Freezer. He mostly attack you with ranged mean like dropping ice
rock from above, shooting yellow lasers, or shooting 3 tracking icicles. Also
some of his attack will freeze you if you get hit. Again, he doesn't have
ability to level/power up. Probably because he has "Chicken Noodle Soup
weakness" gimmick already.
With The Freezer gone, his ice palace is destroyed. At his dying moment, he
admires Spike a little and orders the giant sparrow to take Spike and Camelia to
safety here. Later he said that The Freezer isn't bad guy. What's with him
being sportive and fair fighter, yet very strong. We got deep moral lesson
here, folks. Treachery (from your fellow rank and subordinate) can and will
bring fall to even the mightiest warrior. Godspeed you, magnificent bastard.
As for why
colonel Hydra help Spike. That's because she hates The Freezer and want to rule
Vampra's land for herself. But now she and General Von Hesler are cornered
without anyone else to back them up (Felina, Croc, and The Freezer are
defeated, you know). Think before act, you subnormal half-wit!
Now that The
Freezer is gone, Vampra's land become warm like usual. We can use the airship
over there to Von Hesler's castle for final battle. It's common in every game
especially RPG that you have to stock up before go to final battle as you can
do shopping anymore in that point. That also apply here. But with the snow and
ice dissappear, you can fight hostile no longer. Should you need intense grinding, you must do it before finishing The
Freezer. As i have the most expensive hat which worth 800 gold, i don't
need to worry about money much. By the way maximum gold you can have is 999. So
i spend the rest for tomato card tricks and other ones. Don't hesitate to use
save/load to obtain good card trick from the one-armed bandit. It's about
gambling, afterall.
What kind of danger on Von Hesler's kingdom that
we will encounter? How well Colonel Hydra fights
us? Does Rudy have to kill his own father? Find out in the next article on 2
weeks from now. Because i have to write on special Independence-Day article
next week. Cheers!
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