* By Justin Morgan
* Created 3/22/2010
* Last Updated 3/31/2010
**************************************************
Version History:
0.0 (3/22/2010) - Started the guide.
1.0 (3/28/2010) - First complete version of the guide.
1.1 (3/31/2010) - Fixed some errors.
Added the "Easter Eggs" section.
Added a translation note in the Introduction.
Added various tidbits of info.
=====================
= Table of Contents =
=====================
Introduction
I) Basics
1-01 General Information
1-02 Story
1-03 Characters
1-04 Controls
1-05 Main Menu
II) Walkthrough
2-01 The Beginning
2-02 Egg Corridor
2-03 The Bushlands (Grasstown)
2-04 Sand Zone
2-05 The Labyrinth
2-06 Escape
2-07 Plantation
2-08 The Final Battle
2-09 Welcome to Hell!
III) Extended Information
3-01 Weapons and Items
3-02 Upgrade Locations
3-03 Enemy List
3-04 Extra Modes (Wii version only)
3-05 Easter Eggs
3-06 Hints and Tips
V) The End
5-01 Credits
5-02 Copyright
5-03 Contact Information
================
= Introduction =
================
(NOTE: AS OF 3/25/10, there are some known issues with the sound in Cave Story
on the Wii that can be remedied. It's said there will be a patch, but until
then I'm going to leave this note both here and at the beginning of the Walk-
through. Go into Options, lower "Sound" by about 4 notches and change Music
from New to Original. Trust me, you'll be glad you did.)
Cave Story is a classic game that's been legally available as freeware for the
PC since 2004, with an English fan translation floating around for many years
now. I've played it as early as 2006 and have loved the game since, but it
wasn't until it was released for WiiWare that I decided to undertake writing an
FAQ for it; I suppose doing so for Mega Man 9 and Mega Man 10 via the same
service made it seem like a logical thing to do. I feel almost a sense of duty
to add something to the Cave Story community and with a flood of new fans
coming in due to the first official release on a game console, it's not too
late.
The game mostly emulates classic NES-era video games, though aspects of it
probably could only have been done on a Sega Genesis or SNES. The graphics and
sound design, whether you choose new or original, are an homage to games of
that era, and unlike similar games on WiiWare such as Mega Man 9 and 10, Cave
Story has nothing to do directly with any previous game series, and is not
created by a game company you'd recognize from that time period. It's in fact
created in its entireity (aside from new features added exclusively to the Wii-
Ware version) by Studio Pixel, which in fact consists of a single person,
Daisuke Amaya, who singlehandedly crafted and fine-tuned every single aspect of
the original game; the sound, the music, the graphics, the characters, the
story, the artwork, the programming.. all of it. The game primarily plays like
a classic action/platform/adventure, most heavily influenced by 2D Metroid
games, but with a lot of unique quirks all its own.
Keep in mind that though by all means nothing's stopping you from downloading
and completely enjoying this game for free on your PC, there are a number of
reasons why you should consider buying it on the Wii if you're able;
- Pixel, the original creator of the game. He deserves all profit he gets
from this after years (and continuing) of offering it for free via PC.
- Nicalis, the distributor of Cave Story, is also bringing many excellent
indie games to the console table that many gamers very likely would never even
know about otherwise. In addition to Cave Story, they're in the process of
bringing a similar retro-style gem, La-Mulana, to the Wii, as well as NightSky,
a brand new game by the creatof of Knytt and Within a Deep Forest (fantastic
retro freeware games in their own right). Support for Nicalis means better
chances for more games like this getting their moment to shine on a real
console.
- Most importantly to the gamer, there's a ton of new stuff in the WiiWare
version of the game compared to the PC version; options for new enhanced
graphics and sound, Easy and Hard difficulty settings, and lots of new modes
such as Curly Mode, Boss Rush and Time Attack.
This guide is written with the WiiWare version in mind, as I'm writing it while
playing that version; the walkthrough is for Quote on Original difficulty, so
it should be perfect for the PC version of the game as well. However, I'll
include information about all the new modes as well.
(Note: And just so we're clear, here, I'm using the Wii version translation
for MANY things, such as Chako instead of Chaco, Bushlands instead of Grass-
town, Red Ogre instead of Red Demon, Delete instead of Deleet, etc. It's
supposed to be closer to what Pixel intended, anyway)
=============
= I) Basics =
=============
-----------------------------
- 1-01 General Information -
-----------------------------
Title: Cave Story (International)
Doukutsu Monogatari (Japan)
Developer: Pixel Studios
Publisher: Nicalis
Genre: Action/Platformer
ESRB Rating: E 10+
Release Dates:
- PC
- December 20, 2004
- Wii (WiiWare)
- North America: March 22, 2010
- Europe: TBA 2010
- Japan: TBA 2010
Cost:
- WiiWare: 1200 Wii Points
Space Required:
- Wii: 220 blocks
---------------
- 1-02 Story -
---------------
It's honestly quite difficult to summarize the story, even from the very
beginning, without including at least some spoilers, so if you want to find
everything out for yourself, feel free to skip this section. Below is a short
bit--as spoiler-free as I can get it--regardin what the game's about for those
who wish to at least know what's going on when they start playing before
delving deeper into the game itself.
(TO REITERATE, THERE ARE MINOR SPOILERS BELOW)
You control a young boy.. or, precisely, a boy-looking robot named Quote.
Waking up in a strange watery cave and without any memory to speak of, Quote
looks around until he finds his way out of the small room and into a much
larger system of caves. It's your job to guide Quote through the massive
labyrinth, find and use weapons and items, meet other characters and unravel
the mysteries of this world while Quote learns more about himself and why he's
here.. and beyond that, how he can help the gentle rabbit-like race of Mimigas
as well as the humans who have found themselves trapped in the caves before the
nefarious "Doctor" and his minions brings doom to them all. Good luck!
-------------------
- 1-03 Characters -
-------------------
Again, it's very difficult to say much about the characters without some form
of spoilers, especially given the way in which this game's story unravels
itself. They are listed in the order in which you meet or hear about them.
This is going to be as spoiler, free as possible, but...
(MINOR SPOILERS AGAIN IN THIS SECTION, YOU'VE BEEN WARNED)
- Quote: The main character, who you control through the entireity of the
main game. He's an android who's been so perfectly crafted that most people
have trouble believing he's not a human boy. Though he has no readable text,
he seems to be able to speak normally considering other characters' reactions
to him. You won't actually find out his name for a long time, but I'd hardly
consider it a spoiler.
- Kazuma Sakamoto: Sue's older brother and a whiz when it comes to computers.
He seems to be trapped in a building somewhere and keeps contacting Sue for
help, though it seems Quote has the ability to pick up his messages as well..
- Sue Sakamoto: A female Mimiga with a scar on her face. She just recently
found her way into the Mimiga Village and acts strangely, keeping to herself
and not wanting to have anything to do with the other Mimigas. Strangely, she
seems to have a human as an older brother, even though she's a Mimiga.
- King: The aptly-named leader of the Mimiga Village. His face may look
menacing, but he's actually kind-hearted and only wants what's best for the
Mimigas he watches over. He doesn't trust Sue, but more because she acts
bitter and cares only for herself than the assumption that it's only because
she's an outsider. He blames himself for Arthur's death, and has taken it upon
himself to be Toroko's big brother in his place.
- Toroko: A female Mimiga who's the late Arthur's younger sister. She's very
warm and openly accepts and cares for Sue despite her actions. Though she's
looked after by the other Mimigas, she still somehow manages to get herself
into trouble often.
- Jack: The self-proclaimed "number two" of the Mimiga village, this glasses-
wearing Mimiga tries to assist King however he can. Otherwise, you can find
him guarding the entrance to the Cemetary so that none of the monsters within
can attack the village.
- Arthur: The hero of the Mimigas, Arthur was slain before the beginning of
the story by The Doctor. King aspires to be like him and blames himself for
Arthur's death.
- The Doctor: An evil scientist who has the Mimigas and the humans within the
cave system fearing for their lives. He intends to force the Mimigas and
humans to fight each other while he searches for absolute power, and slays all
who oppose him.
- Balrog: A rectangular being serving The Doctor. He uses his brawn to aid
The Doctor's advent and has no second thought about crashing into whatever or
whoever he pleases. However, he can tend to become aloof and quickly stops
caring about things that don't immediately concern him.
- Misery: A witch with a host of magical abilities that assists The Doctor.
She's rather cold and has no remorse using even her own allies as pawns.
- Igor: A hulking Mimiga that lives in the Egg Corridor. He's not very
smart, but doesn't think twice about punching the lights out of anyone who
resists him, even if it's a girl.
- Santa: A Mimiga living in the Bushlands. He's very forgetful and has
locked himself out of his own house, but he knows about weapons as well as some
secrets of the Bushlands.
- Chako: This Mimiga is unique in that she has a purple coat of fur, rather
than the white one shared by all other Mimigas. She also likes to wear
lipstick for whatever reason. She lives in a house that separates the tamer
western areas of the Bushlands from the more dangerous eastern areas. She
offers weary travellers a place to rest, as well, but... she has a bad habit of
getting a little too friendly with the males, even if they're not Mimigas!
- Malco: A robot who lives in the Power Room in the Bushlands. He's a master
at bomb-making.
- Professor Booster: A scientist who seems to know Kazuma and Sue. He's
supposedly been working on perfecting a type of jetpack.
- Curly Brace: A blonde-haired young girl that lives in the Sand Zone and
protects a group of orphaned young Mimigas. She seems to share some connection
with Quote.
- Jenka: An old witch who lives in the Sand Zone and seems to have been
around for a very long time. Unlike Misery, she's a warm and friendly witch.
She dearly loves her five dogs, despite all the trouble they get into.
You'll find many more characters as you advance through the game, and you're
sure to find out much more about the existing ones as well. Anything further
here would likely contain big spoilers!
------------------
- 1-04 Controls -
------------------
(Wii [Wii Remote held sideways])
Control Pad: Moves Quote around, and moves the cursor in menus. In-game,
press Up to cause Quote to look upward; he can shoot upward and also shift the
camera in this direction. Press Down to cause Quote to examine whatever he's
in front of, talk, interact, etc. You can also hold Down in midair to aim
downward.
A Button: Starts the game at the title screen. During gameplay, press it to
shift your weapon selection forward.
B Button: Shifts your weapon selection backward.
+ Button: Opens the menu screen and pauses the game.
- Button: Opens the map system, if you have it.
Home Button: Opens the Wii Menu.
1 Button: Jumps, 'confirm' button in menus.
2 Button: Shoots, 'cancel' button in menus.
(PC)
Up Arrow: Look/aim upwards.
Down Arrow: Examine whatever you're in front of. Shift camera downwards. Aim
downwards in the air.
Left Arrow: Move left.
Right Arrow: Move right.
Z: Jumps, 'confirm' button in menus.
X: Shoots, 'cancel' button in menus.
A: Shifts your weapon selection backward.
S: Shifts your weapon selection forward.
Q: Opens the inventory menu.
W: Opens the map system, if you have it.
Esc: Pause. Exits the game while paused.
F1: Resumes the game while paused.
F2: Resets the game while paused.
-------------------
- 1-05 Main Menu -
-------------------
(Wii version)
Press A (the big circular button next to the Control Pad, not the "2" button)
to get past the title screen. Press left and right to cycle through the
different modes, though I very highly suggest you complete Story Mode at least
once before attempting any of the other modes. Press down to access the
options.
Modes:
- Story Mode
Play the main game. You get to choose from three different difficulty
settings; the differences between them and Normal difficulty are outlined later
in the guide.
After choosing Story Mode, you get to choose between one of three save slots
for your game; you also have the option to delete a save, if one exists.
- Curly Story
Play the game as Curly Brace instead of Quote. Contains three separate save
files for use only in this mode.
- Boss Attack
Face off against all the bosses in the game.
- Sanctuary Time Attack
Try to beat the hardest area in the game as fast as you can. Not recommended
until you've at least found and finished this optional area in Story Mode.
Options Menu:
- Music Volume
Press left and right to adjust the music to be louder or softer.
- Sound Volume
Press left and right to adjust the sound effects to be louder or softer.
- Music
You get to choose between New and Original music, the Original option using the
exact same music as the PC version of Cave Story.
- Graphics
You can choose between New and Original graphics. Original uses the exact same
graphics as the PC version of Cave Story, which are simpler and have less
detail but carry some nostalgia value.
===================
= II) Walkthrough =
===================
(NOTE: AS OF 3/25/10, there are some known issues with the sound in Cave Story
on the Wii that can be remedied. It's said there will be a patch, but until
then I'm going to leave this note both here and at the beginning of the Intro-
duction. Go into Options, lower "Sound" by about 4 notches and change Music
from New to Original. Trust me, you'll be glad you did.)
This walkthrough is for Story Mode on Original difficulty, which is identical
(as far as I can figure) to the PC version of the game. For differences of the
various modes and difficulties compared to this mode, refer to the Extended
Information section later in the FAQ.
-----------------------
- 2-01 The Beginning -
-----------------------
When you begin the game, you'll be reading a transmission of an instant message
chat being sent by a frantic young man. After a bit of dialogue, you'll
finally take control of your main character.
- STARTING POINT -
You're in a small room with a pool to the bottom and a door to the top. On
your right are a couple contraptions; move in front of one and press Down to
activate it. The box with the heart heals your completely (and eventually will
restore your ammo as well, for weapons that use it). The floppy disk will
allow you to save your game onto whatever file you started your game on. Both
of these devices will be integral throughout your adventure, so remember them.
Jump up and go through the door at the top (again, by pressing Down).
- FIRST CAVE -
There's a path going in either direction. The one to the right is sealed by
strange blocks, so for now go to the left. Be mindful of the spikes, as they
can destroy you in one hit. Further left you'll see some Bats which you can't
do anything about yet, so just avoid them. You'll find a Life Capsule in an
alcove on the left wall; grab it to increase your maximum life by 3.
Turn right and avoid more Bats until you reach a pool. You won't be able to
jump high enough to pass over the ledge leading to the next section of cave if
you touch the water, so run and jump from the block stuck in the ground just to
the left of the pool. On the other side, jump over the Critter and move right
to a door shaped like a lion's head. Go inside.
- HERMIT GUNSMITH -
A small room with a sleeping man and a treasure chest. Try not to fret the
fact that you're stealing from the poor guy as you open the chest and grab the
Polar Star, your first weapon! After obtaining it you'll intercept another
transmission from the man at the beginning of the game. Read the short dia-
logue and run back out.
- FIRST CAVE -
Now you can shoot the enemies that've been pestering you. You'll notice when
you destroy them that they may drop hearts (which heal 2 HP) or these little
bouncing yellow triangles. Those triangles are energy crystals, which you need
to collect to power up your weapon. Every weapon can reach up to level 3, and
if you get hit you'll lose power for whatever weapon you're using at the time.
Past level 3, you can get any weapon to "MAX" level which is no more powerful
than level 3 but helps ensure you won't level down back to 2 when you get hit,
so keep that in mind. These enemies only drop measly tiny crystals, one at a
time, so it may take entering and leaving a room to respawn them a few times if
you want to level up your Polar Star.. but it's really not needed right now, so
don't worry if you don't manage to level it up by the time you reach the next
area. Go back to the blocks that were covering the path to the right of the
entrance of the Starting Point and blow them up with your Polar Star. Beware
the door at the end of the upper path, it's actually alive and will deal 4
damage to you if you run into it. Defeat it then go through the doorway it
leaves behind. Watch yet another intercepted transmission from Kazuma before
continuing.
- MIMIGA VILLAGE -
Your camera will automatically shift down to focus on a couple of humanoid
rabbit creatures in a conversation regarding a new girl in town named Sue..
sounds like who Kazuma keeps trying to contact. You'll fall down from the
ceiling at the end of this conversation, startling the Mimiga and giving the
small one at the brunt of the argument, Toroko, a means to escape. Talk to
King, the larger Mimiga with the red cape who you've just inadvertently KO'ed.
Help him up and get a bit of dialogue, then head right to heal and save in the
Save Point room.
There are a few different things you can do in the village. First, go back
left and past King to the Reservoir, the first area in the game with a body of
water that's big enough to actually be dangerous if you're not careful. Make a
long jump from the rightmost hilltop to the platform above the water, then left
again to meet Kanpachi, the Mimiga who loves fishing. Talk to him to find out
more about Sue then jump into the water and grab the sparkling object, which
ends up being a Silver Locket. Kill the Chin Fish (It's not Egg Fish! :C) walk
to the right and out of the water before you drown. Looks like Toroko was
watching you, but she'll run off when you approach.
Walk outside to see another dialogue between Toroko and King, then jump up to
the top of the village and go through the door to the Yamashita Farm. Run all
the way to the right and into the pool to grab a Life Capsule, worth 3 HP.
Leave and drop down to the right of the Save Room, holding right as you fall,
so that you're on the platform to the east of Mahin, the fat Mimiga. Jump to
the right a couple more times to reach an alcove with a treasure chest
containing the Map System. You can now press the - Button on the Wii Remote
(W on the keyboard if you're playing the PC version) to open a map of the room
or area you're in.
(NOTE: As of 3/24/2010, the Map System is a bit broken in the Wii version; it
doesn't display your position and it has a glitch issue in large areas)
When you're done collecting everything and meeting all the Mimiga, save again
then head to the Shack on the lower-right edge of the village. If you have the
Silver Locket, walking to the right into the Shack will trigger a scene. After
meeting the two baddies, Misery and Balrog, Misery will leave the "cleaning up"
to Balrog--and she's referring to you. This is an interesting part, as Balrog
will ask you straight up if you want to fight him. Choosing "No" will cause
him to just leave you alone and be on his way, but you might as well get in
some practice with the first boss in the game, don't you think?
****************
* WARNING *
* BOSS: BALROG *
****************
Balrog has earned his place as the easiest boss in the game, and likely among
the easiest bosses in any 2D shooter ever created. He'll basically just run
forward about a fourth of the room then stop. Every third time he dashes,
he'll add a jump to it; so if you need to get past him, it's easier to jump on
the first or second charges after the battle begins or after a jump, and easier
to run under him on the jumps themselves. He's pitifully easy even if you only
have the Level 1 Polar Star. If he does manage to grab you, he'll just hold
you there for a moment and do minimal damage before tossing you away.
After defeating him, he'll drop some small weapon crystals.
* DEFEATED BALROG! *
When you're finished in here, head back out and save. Many Mimiga will have
new dialogue now, but the only one you need to talk to is Jack, who's guarding
the Cemetary due east of the Save Point. Follow him to the Assembly Hall to
talk to him and King for a hint and more story details, then head into the
cemetary he was guarding. This place is full of small mushrooms called Pignons
and one Giant Pignon; they give no item drops, but mow through them anyway to
avoid damage. There is one unique enemy in here, the Gravekeeper, who is quite
deadly and is invincible from the front. You'll have to jump over him and
shoot him in the back if you want to kill him, and he does drop items if you
do. Your destination is the large gravestone on the upper left of the room;
this is Arthur's grave, and if you examine it you'll find that a key to his
house was left here. Take Arthur's Key and access Arthur's House on the bottom
left of the Mimiga Village. There's another Refill Terminal and Save Disk in
here, as well as a lot of curious technology in the background and some Red
Flowers in the basement.. Examine the computer terminal on the left to find
that it was the very computer Kazuma was trying to contact all along, and allow
yourself access to the Egg Corridor. Examine the teleport pod on the left and
get ready to go to a new area!
----------------------
- 2-02 Egg Corridor -
----------------------
- EGG CORRIDOR -
Jump up and talk to the robot to learn about the most important hazard in this
area; that little spark on the ground that looks kind of like a porcupine going
at hyper speed? It's instant-death if you touch it. Luckily, due to the way
this area's made up there'll only be a few times you'll even have to worry
about it. Unluckily, the first time is now. Drop down to the left and wait to
drop to the ground level until JUST as the spark hits the wall and turns
around. Run after it as fast as you can and the screen will move with you,
causing it to shift much further than the right than it would have otherwise.
Follow it until you're able to jump up and get the Life Capsule for +3 life.
Now, head right and destroy the elephant-looking Behemoth; it may look big,
but it's so slow and predictable that it's probably the easiest single enemy in
the game. You'll notice when you destroy it that (unless it drops a heart)
it'll drop a whole bunch of power crystals--and this area is chock full of all
manner of easy enemies that all will potentially shower you with more crystals.
From this point on for the rest of the game, it's in your best interest to try
your best and keep all your weapons as MAX, or at least Level 3. Of course,
while your only weapon is the Polar Star, that's extremely easy to do.
Keep going right and deal with more Behemoths, a new, slightly stronger, green
variant of the Critter enemies from the First Cave, and flying Beetle enemies.
After a bit of enemy-slaying action you'll come to a new Mimiga in a blue shirt
and a huge, monstrous Mimiga wearing a green tie. Approach them for a scene
and stare there doing nothing as the bad guy takes away the cute Mimiga girl,
you jerk! Follow them to the right and drop down to the door, ignoring the
Heart Capsule above for now.
- CTHULHU'S ABODE -
Save, talk to the strange man in the frog suit named Cthulhu (shouldn't he look
like a giant monster with tentacles for a face?) to learn a bit more about your
history, then shoot the blocks above and climb out onto the roof.
- EGG CORRIDOR -
Run and jump from the edge of the platform (mind your head on the ceiling you
can barely see) and grab the Life Capsule for a slightly larger boost of 4 HP!
Drop back down and head right; this is the first part of the area in which you
really have any danger of hitting the spark (called Basil, by the way) at the
bottom of the screen, but it's easy to avoid if you just stay near the top
platforms. You'll find a new type of Beetle that flies back and forth across
walls, and will only move if you actually get in front of it. Head east and
drop down between Eggs 7 and 6. Defeat the Beetle and Critter and climb back
up on the other side; repeat this all the way to Egg 4 then become greeted by
a Save Point and a new type of enemy, the Basu, which is basically a giant
Beetle that takes many hits to destroy and will periodically rain green orbs
down onto you that are easy to avoid. Enter the building.
- EGG OBSERVATION ROOM -
While it does have a Save Disk, this is more than just a normal Save Point.
There's a computer terminal with a note on it and a bed with Red Flower petals
..a bad omen. Run in front of the various monitors around the room to activate
them then examine them to see the status of the various giant numbered eggs
around the Egg Corridor. Let the elevator rise above you then run under it for
some hearts, then examine the monitors on the bottom level to see a pair of red
ones which contain information on a couple abnormal eggs; Number 6 and Number
1. Ride the elevator to the top of the room and grab the chest containing the
Missile Launcher, a new weapon that's extremely powerful but, unlike the Polar
Star, has limited ammo. From now on, enemies will have the chance to drop
Missile Ammo in addition to hearts and power crystals, and also Refill
Terminals will be able to replenish your ammunition. Save if you haven't
already and head back out.
- EGG CORRIDOR -
Our first destination is to go to Egg 6, which is back to the left, but not
far. Take the upper route from the right across the gap between Eggs 4 and 5,
then get ready to drop down and play your first game of chicken with the Basil
spark. The spark will stay roughly on your field of vision, so the trick is to
drop down and hug the wall just to the right of Egg 6 then drop down to the
ground just as it zooms past you to the right. Run left and jump up into the
opening under the egg and jump behind the '6' to enter a secret room.
- EGG NO. 06 -
Open the treasure chest to obtain the ID Card, which is required for the next
step of the Egg Corridor.
- EGG CORRIDOR -
Wait for the Basil spark to move left past you then run back to the right where
you came from. When you reach the Observation Room save if you feel the need,
and notice that there's now three units of missile ammo at the end of the
bottom section of the room. Use this room to recharge and save while you kill
the enemies outside and power up your Missile Launcher to Level 3. You can use
your Polar Star to kill enemies without wasting ammo, then switch to the
Missile Launcher to pick up the crystals and level it up. When you reach the
red barrier on the far right, drop down and use the same tactic as you used to
get into Egg 6 for Egg 1.
- EGG NO. 01 -
There's a single unit of missile ammo in here which you can keep entering and
leaving the room to completely refill your Missile Launcher if needed. There's
also a terminal which you can only activate if you got the ID Card from Egg 6.
Activate it to remove the red barrier.
- EGG CORRIDOR -
Go back left to the Observation Room if you want to save and power up, and you
probably should because the game's first real boss is just past where that red
barrier was. When you're ready, move east and finally catch up with Igor, the
monstrous Mimiga from earlier.
**************
* WARNING *
* BOSS: IGOR *
**************
From the get-go you'll notice that the damage you do to Igor in relation to his
life bar is miniscule compared to how quickly you were able to hurt Balrog (if
you fought him), even if you're using the Polar Star Level 3. Switch to your
missiles and deplete them into his face to take out a huge chunk of his health,
then switch back to your Polar Star to finish the fight.
Igor will generally attack by rushing forward then short-hopping at the end.
He's easy to jump over while he's rushing but the hop makes it difficult and
it's too low for you to run under, so try to time it so that you only jump over
him when he's in the first phase of the dash if you feel you're going to be
cornered. Every once in awhile, he'll back up and lean forward, opening his
mouth wide and charging up energy. When this happens, switch to the Polar Star
if you don't already have it out, face him and just fill him full of shots.
As long as you don't move or jump and keep shooting, you'll avoid the shower of
energy blasts he releases. The lower ones will be destroyed by your shots and
the rest will fly harmlessly over your head. Keep this going until you finally
deplete all his health and you've finished the first real boss.
* DEFEATED IGOR! *
Though Igor will transform back into a normal Mimiga, talking to him will get
you no reply... it's sad that it had to come to that. Run right and ignore the
Save Point as it's closed tight for the time being. Open the door to the left-
most building.
- EGG NO. 00 -
Enter the room to find the girl Mimiga from earlier on the floor. Help her up
and answer her question however you like, it won't change anything. It looks
like she's accidentally wound up exactly where she wanted to go, but
unfortunately she's unable to continue further due to needing a password.
Listen to her story and you'll regain control of yourself once she leaves the
room. Ends up she's that Sue girl so many people have been talking about.
You can look around the room if you want, but there's no need. You may notice
that examining the far right wall will reveal a cold breeze, but there's
nothing you can do here now, so follow Sue back to the Mimiga Village.
- EGG CORRIDOR -
Now the Save Point to the right is opened up; go in and heal after your battle
with Igor and save the game. When you're done, head left all the way back
through the Egg Corridor and teleport back to Arthur's House.
- MIMIGA VILLAGE -
Watch a scene in which Sue finally is able to contact Kazuma back.. odd that a
Mimiga has a human for an older brother, no? Jack and King will bust in now
that the door's unlocked and more dialogue will ensue before you teleport back
in and gain control again. Talk to Jack and leave Arthur's House to view
another scene between King and Sue and proceed to scale the middle of the
village and talk to Sue. Go back to Arthur's House and take the new teleport
destination to the Bushlands.
-----------------------------------
- 2-03 The Bushlands (Grasstown) -
-----------------------------------
The Bushlands is known as Grasstown in the Aeon Genesis PC translation, so I'll
keep that name in the title for this section... however, since the Nicalis
translation found on the Wii version is supposedly closer to Pixel's original
Japanese text, I'll be using it to refer to the area everywhere else in the
guide.
- BUSHLANDS -
Climb up and talk to the Mimiga here (strangely named Santa) to find that he's
locked himself out of his own house. You can talk to the cthulhu above for a
tip about the monsters in the area, then proceed east.
You'll quickly find two new types of enemies, both based on the Critter types
you've seen before. First you have Flying Critters, which look a lot like the
green Critters in the Egg Corridor but are slightly stronger and able to float
around. After they jump, they'll always float for a second and drop back down.
Pretty easy. The other type is the more dangerous Power Critter. These fat
blue Critters act much like Flying Critters but are much more powerful and
cause a tremor whenever they land. Fight through them and you'll eventually
find a key sitting on an owl-faced panel on the ground. Grab Santa's Key and
backtrack to the beginning of the Bushlands, handing it over to Santa. Follow
him inside for "something nice".
- SANTA'S HOUSE -
Santa has a nice setup with a Refill Terminal and Save Disk, but for whatever
strange reason, he's also got a bed of instant-death spikes in a small room on
the left with a sign that explains their danger. Possibly to warn travellers
who stay with him since these types of spikes are found later on in the Bush-
lands? Either way, jump up and talk to Santa to get his reward--a new weapon
called the Fireball. It has infinite ammo like the Polar Star and is more
powerful, but is less rapid-firing and bounces along the ground as more of an
anti-ground weapon. Santa will also inform you that you must head east to a
Mimiga named Chako's house in order to explore the rest of the Bushlands, so
head on that way.
- BUSHLANDS -
Go east and past where you found Santa's Key. Ignore the platforms above you
until you reach a set of two horizontal rows of platforms each with two
destructible blocks in the middle. Jump to the top one here and then to the
hanging platforms to the left. At the top of the left end of these is a Life
Capsule worth 5 HP! Head east again, jump over the spikes and slay the bats
until you reach another house. Go inside.
- CHAKO'S HOUSE -
This is the small home of the only non-white Mimiga there is, Chako. Save your
game and speak to her, then go examine her fireplace like Santa told you to.
She'll walk over and explain that you need Jellyfish Juice in order to put out
the flames and continue on, which will cause Jelly enemies (as well as the
single huge jellyfish, Kulala, capalbe of actually dropping the juice) to spawn
all over the western side of Bushlands.
Now, before you leave, while Chako's standing in front of her bed after she
walks over to the fireplace, it's your only chance in the entire game to get
the Chako's Lipstick item. It has no use but is nice to have if you're a
completionist. Go to sleep in her bed while she's standing there and when you
wake up, she'll be asleep on the bed! You naughty little robot. You'll
automatically receive Chako's Rouge as a constant reminder of what you did in
the Bushlands that day... Whenever you're done, head out to get that Jellyfish
Juice.
- BUSHLANDS -
You'll notice that Jelly enemies have come to Bushlands conveniently since you
talked to Chako about them. No ordinary Jelly will drop the juice you need,
though. Head West toward Santa's house and just over where you found his key,
there'll be a huge swarm of Jellies. Clear them and all the other small
enemies out then climb up to the platform with the single destructible block
in the air above it. Hanging from the ceiling is a giant jellyfish, Kulala.
Take out your Missile Launcher and giver her what-for. When she succumbs,
she'll drop a treasure chest containing the Jellyfish Juice. This item is
unique in that it's the only key item you can obtain more than once, but you
can only hold one at a time; if you try to kill Kulala when you already have a
Juice, she'll just drop one measly small power crystal. Anyway, now that you
have the Jellyfish Juice, you could continue on further in the Bushlands, but
there's a couple things you'll want to do first. To begin with, run back to
the teleporter and take it to Arthur's House.
- MIMIGA VILLAGE -
Now, run up to the top of the village and east to the Assembly Hall. You may
recall there's a fireplace here. Put out the flames with the Jellyfish Juice
and you'll find a hidden weapon, the Bubbline! This weapon is very weak at
Level 1, but it becomes the first automatic wepaon at Level 2 and a shielding
weapon with a unique projectile at Level 3. Note that in Aeon Genesis' English
translation of the PC version, this weapon's called the Bubbler. Also note
that though its ammunition repleneshis on its own (much faster at Levels 2 and
3), you can instantly recharge it to 100 at Refill Terminals. Go back to Bush-
lands when you've got it.
- BUSHLANDS -
Now go east and defeat Kulala again, nabbing another Jellyfish Juice. This
time, go back to Santa's House and put out the fire in his fireplace. You'll
get a Charcoal item which you'll need very soon. Leave and head east again,
getting the Jellyfish Juice once more on your way back to Chako's house. Put
out her fireplace and go through to pop out across the wall outside her house.
She'll renew her fireplace as soon as you leave, so it's impossible to carry
more Juice beyond this point.. right now, anyway. Go east and jump over the
first death pit and kill the bats hovering in front of the second. Now, ignore
the pillar of owl blocks in the middle of the second death pit, trying to land
on it is dangerous and pointless. Just run to the edge of the ledge to the
left and jump across. You'll have to repeat this for the third and final pit
without any pillar at all anyway. Once you're across, start blowing up the
Bats and more will fall down from the ceiling to your left. Destroy them all
and head left, stopping in between the two smaller spike pits. Now, this new
enemy, known as Mannan, will just stand there looking like a greaveston and not
attack you until you attack him, but you'll have to in order to get past. As
you hit him, he'll send a rather low-velocity red donut of energy your way that
is easy to jump over. He'll only launch one at a time so unless you're using a
very weak weapon there should only be one donut before he explodes. He'll turn
into a cartoony burnt image of his former self when he's done for, and you can
safely pass. Ignore the Power Supply Room and Save Point for now and continue
east. There will be more Mannans but many of them are stuck far into the
ground or facing east so they're no trouble. There's also a new type of enemy,
a Frog, but it's simple and predictable. You'll eventually come to a large
building with a pink motorbike in front, but don't worry about it yet. Turn
around and jump onto the platform above you. Now, you can either leap across
the long gap with the Bats on the ceiling to use the save point and take the
'normal' way to the treasure chest but there's a much quicker way. Just stand
on the left edge of the platform to the right of the long gap on the right of
the Save Point, then jump left and turn right so that you land on the platform
directly above you. Now hop across a hanging platform to reach a treasure
chest on the other side of a wall to the left of a small house directly above
the large building you ignored earlier. It'll have your first Missile
Expansion, which permanently increases the maximum number of Missiles you can
carry for your Missile Launcher by 5.
Now drop down and try to go into the large building with the bike in front to
find out that it's locked. Someone will start yelling out of a small crack in
the wall between the door and the bike. Go examine the crack to find someone's
trapped in there--must be Kazuma! He'll give you a Rusty Key in hopes that
it'll unlock the door to his prison. Try to open it only to find there's no
keyhole, then examine the crack again to talk to Kazuma. Now go back to the
left, heal and save at the Save Point and use the Rusty Key to enter the Power
Supply Room.
- POWER SUPPLY ROOM -
There's a robot here but it's deactivated. Go to the terminal on the left and
turn on the power supplies for the fans and "Malco". Ends up Malco's the name
of the powered-down robot you saw. He'll freak out as soon as he comes back to
life, thinking you're an intruder.. luckily (or unluckily), he's immediately
decommissioned by Balrog, who suddenly barges into the room. However you
answer his question this time, you're going to have to fight him.
****************
* WARNING *
* BOSS: BALROG *
****************
Not only is Balrog inevitable to fight this time, but he's a lot more dangerous
than he was in Mimiga Village. He's still not that much trouble, though.
Basically, he'll jump up and flap his.. "wings" to fly across the room, before
slamming hard into the ground. As he lands, he'll launch several white energy
spheres, which are destructible just like Igor's. Just use your Polar Star and
shoot fast as he lands so you destroy enough spheres to be able to safely run
across the room back under him. Keep repeating this to whittle away his life
bar. When he's at critical health, he'll stop flying and start just hopping
around with heavy force. Each hop targets the position you were at when he
began the hop, and each time he lands he'll send out energy spheres again, now
at a much more rapid rate. This is when you switch to your Missile Launcher.
Punish him and eradicate the spheres simultaneously with every missile you can
fire, and he'll quickly surrencer.
* DEFEATED BALROG! *
After Balrog flees, go examine the crushed Malco and help him up. He'll
acknowledge that you're a good person after all and wish that he could do some-
thing to help you, but "all he's good at is making bombs". Now, if you haven't
examined the door to the house Kazuma's stuck in after getting the Rusty Key
and then talked to Kazuma again afterward, do so now, or else Malco will never
actually offer to make a bomb for you. Once you convince him that you need a
bomb to blow up the rusty door, he'll send you on a mission to collect three
different components needed to create the bomb; Charcoal, Jellyfish Juice and
Gum Base. Leave the Power Supply Room and begin your quest.
- BUSHLANDS -
The fans are now activated all over the Buslands. They propel you in the
direction they're blowing; hold Jump to increase the effect (which you'll need
to do to use them at all, really). Now, as for the components...
The Charcoal can be found in Santa's house behind the fireplace, so
go get that first if you haven't already. The Jellyfish Juice is obvious, and
now that you've activated the Bushlands fan system you can grab a jar then just
use the fan to fly over Chako's house so you don't have to use it to get past
her fireplace. As for the Gum Base, that's at the far upper-right corner of
the Bushlands and should be the last component you go after. When you're
ready, go talk to Kazuma through the crack again. It just so happens he has
another key, one to the room containing the Gum Base--the Gum Key.
Now directly east of here you can obtain two more power-ups. Right the fan
just to the right of Kazuma's room to the hanging owl block pillar on the right
and jump to the left to enter that house you saw when you got the missile
expansion earlier.
- BUSHLANDS HUT -
Grab the chest containing a Missile Expansion and get ready to face Rabil.
Rabil's another insane Mimiga like Igor but is so far gone there's not even
dialogue, just a fight. It's really more of a miniboss than anything.
Basically Rabil will just bounce around twice and then lunge at you. Very easy
to jump over, and this is all it does over and over. Finish it and head back
outside.
- BUSHLANDS -
Drop down and head immediately to the right into the tall building with the
skull emblem above the door.
- EXECUTION CHAMER -
There's a trick to this. First, destroy the block directly above the door to
drop the left Press and immediately run to either wall. When the Press falls,
jump on top of it and onto the left ledge. Now destroy the right Press, jump
to where he was, destroy the block above you and grab the Life Capsule for +5
HP. Destroy the other Press and go back through the door.
- BUSHLANDS -
Now, head all the way to the easternmost edge of the Bushlands. You'll see a
cthulhu but he only tells you what you probably already know about the game
mechanics of fans. Fly up and save your game then make a running leap to the
left with the help of the fan to reach the other side. Once you're up on the
platform you'll have to act quickly since there's a lower fan here as well that
will push you off if you don't jump fast. Jump to the right and you're finally
at the Gum room.
- GUM ROOM -
A whole building built just to store a stick of gum? Either way, just run and
open the chest to obtain your Gum Base.. and get a surprise visit by Misery and
Balrog. Since Balrog just failed at beating you as his normal self, Misery
takes the liberty to give him a more monstrous form, lovingly referred to as
"Balfrog".
*****************
* WARNING *
* BOSS: BALFROG *
*****************
As you'll notice by the faster-tempo boss theme and the sheer size of your
enemy, this is a boss unlike any you've fought up to this point. He's
completely invincible from all angles until you find his weak spot, and his
stature makes him impossible to dodge without the aid of the fans located on
either end of the room. He'll begin the fight by simply hopping slowly toward
you, causing a tremor each time he lands which will cause a small frog (they're
called Puchis for reference) to drop down from the ceiling. The Puchis are
incredibly and drop powerups but they can be annoying if you let them amass in
numbers. Wait for Balfrog to get close to the right edge of the room and then
float in the fan wind until he's close enough that you can hold the jump button
and fling yourself over him. Every time you get behind him like this, he'll
open his mouth which is his only weak spot and let loose a bunch of slow-moving
red goo projectiles toward you. Switch to your Missile Launcher and let him
have it; Level 3 missiles will shred through all his projectiles and do lots of
damage to him simultaneously.
Repeat this until you run out of missiles then start to use your Fire Ball
which can bounce up into his mouth even if you shoot them from ground level.
When he loses enough health, he'll start to make high leaps straight up into
the air after his red goo attack when he lands from one of these, it'll cause
several Puchis and even a couple big Frogs to drop down all at once. Shoot
into the air to avoid taking a hit if you can, then quickly destroy all the
frogs for a host of supplies. Keep this up and the battle will be won soon
enough. Balrog will go back to his normal self and escape one more.
* DEFEATED BALFROG! *
Now that you have your gum, there's nothing to do but take all the ingredients
back to Malco.
- BUSHLANDS -
Make a long leap west from the Gum Room to land safely beyond the spikes. Make
a stop at the Save Point and then head to the Power Supply Room.
- POWER SUPPLY ROOM -
And finally, you've got all the components Malco needs to make his patented
explosive device. Hand them over and wait a bit for him to work, then he'll
toss you the Bomb. Time to finally get Kazuma out of his key-infested prison.
- BUSHLANDS -
Take the bomb back to Kazuma's building and examine the door. You'll auto-
matically set the bomb as the scene changes to the inside (haven't seen this
room since First Cave..) as you blow your way in and automatically enter.
- SHELTER -
After a conversation with Kazuma, another human will come in through the
teleporter that presumably led to Kazuma's being trapped.. but luckily for
Professor Booster, the entrance is now clear! After the scene's over with, a
Refill Terminal and Save Disk will appear out of nowhere on the left side of
the room. Save your game and heal then exit the building.
- BUSHLANDS -
Kazuma and Booster automatically board the motorbike and haphazardly speed
their way back to Arthur's House. Follow them.
- MIMIGA VILLAGE -
Sit back and view the long scene involving just about every main character up
to this point in which a big chunk of the story is explained. It would seem
that the only person capable of helping both the Mimiga and humans out of this
predicament is you (not enough on your shoulders already with the whole memory
loss and all). It would seem that The Doctor is planning a raid on the Sand
Zone in order to collect a bunch of those mysterious Red Flowers we've seen and
heard so much about in order to turn all the Mimiga into bunny war machines.
Your goal is to get there before he does and destroy those Red Flowers for good
before they can cause any more trouble for anyone.. now get to it!
-------------------
- 2-04 Sand Zone -
-------------------
- SAND ZONE -
Teleport to Sand Zone and go left. You'll find a robot girl who looks a lot
like yourself. Follow her west and up past the wall-clinging Beetles. You'll
have to purposely get the Beetles to fly off their walls then blast them mid-
flight if you want to make it up. When you get to the top, go to the left to
see a building with a wine glass symbol above it. Enter here.
- SAND ZONE RESIDENCE -
You'll see the robot from earlier with a bunch of young Mimiga. Approach her
to get some dialogue and get forced into a fight.
