*********************
* WARNING *
* BOSS: CURLY BRACE *
*********************
It's a basic fight but has a couple interesting challenges thrown in. You
can't use missiles against Curly at all, if you try a bubble shield will auto-
matically protect her while they harmlessly explode. In addition, all four of
the Colons (the young Mimiga) will bounce around and try to attack you. They
aren't dangerous but it can be hard to dodge them when they're all over they
are a very real hazard as far as de-levelling your weapons. Shooting a Colon
one time will knock it out, but only for a few seconds. While all this is
going on, Curly will run back and forth and occasionally flash, a sign that
she's about to launch a Machine Gun burst. Jump high into the air when you see
her flash and try to angle your jump toward her current position. The stream
of machine gun bullets is quite long and can take some practice to dodge
perfectly.
I highly suggest the Fire Ball in this battle as even if you do take hits and
de-level it it stays powerful enough to do the job well. Curly stays planted
firmly on the ground and the Colons don't jump very high either, so it's a
great weapon here. Basically you'll want to try to clump the Colong into a
small group and knock them all out then focus on Curly until they wake up again
while dodging Curly's Machine Gun whenever she flashes. If you're able to keep
your Fire Ball at Level 3 this fight will be over in no time, but even if it
levels down it shouldn't be too hard.
* YOU WON! *
After the battle Curly will reveal more about yourself and realize that you
aren't the enemy. She'll offer to give you her Machine Gun in exchange for
your Polar Star. This is actually a pretty major decision. If this is your
first time playing, I highly suggest taking the Machine Gun as it's the
strongest and easiest to use weapon you could possibly get for awhile, it's the
least difficult of the Polar Star trades and earliest available, and perhaps
most importantly it gives you nearly-INFINITE mobility as long as you keep it
at Level 3, making all platforming segments for the rest of the game utterly
simple. Whether or not you take it, talk to the Colons to learn about the Sand
Zone and what you'll have to do to progress; remove the curse from the Sun
Stones and talk to a lady named Jenka. Go in the back room to heal and save
and pick up the dog if you want, you don't need it yet but it makes a cool hat.
Now, you have the option of getting another special item that serves no used
other than a full inventory. In the back room, open up your Map System.
You'll see the signs of a hidden path behind the wall. Jump up to the left of
where the wall juts out to go behind it. Now use the Map System to navigate
the short, simple path to the bottom right corner. Go left and press down to
open a hidden chest containing Curly's Panties. I won't even go into detail
about this, just enjoy your completionism or something. When you're ready, go
back outside.
- SAND ZONE -
Now head east and past the destructible blocks. You'll see some big angry-
looking blocks that make a 'reflection' noise if you try to shoot them rather
than the normal sound when you shoot an object; these are the Sun Stones the
Mimiga kid talked about earlier, so you'll have to come back later to explore
the lower half of the Sand Zone.
Keep going right and you'll run into a Polish, a big angry sun-looking enemy
that rolls around walls. Stay in the safety of the destructible block wall and
shoot him to cause him to split into several Babies. Try not to destroy too
much of the wall to the east when dealing with these enemies as you'll need at
least some of it to be intact to climb up and reach the Life Capsule (worth 5
HP). East of here there are several more chambers that are more or less
identical to the first one more Polishes, but now you've got the added danger
of the sand pits in the bottom, which contain Sandcrocs. It's possible to
dodge and even destroy a Sandcroc, but it's risky, so I'd suggest just staying
in the destructible walls to take care of the Polishes then moving on.
When you get to the area with the spikes, shoot the inside of the backwards "C"
platform to earn some hearts and make your way to the top of the room, even if
that means backtracking a bit so you can climb up. You should notice a little
pawpad-marked block at the top of the room on the side of the lower ceiling;
that means you can pass through the wall at that point. Go through here for a
Save Disk and to skip past the next few hazards, and you'll come out on top of
a huge structure of destructible blocks. Just climb over them to avoid all the
Polishes, but you'll eventually come to a Polish that's stuck on top with you.
Slay him and the last Polish if you accidentally break the blocks (you can use
the Fire Ball to avoid doing this if you really want to). At the end of this
section you'll see two small sand pits in the middle of suspended platforms.
The one on the left with the Refill Terminal is safe, but the one on the right
has a Sandcroc in it so avoid it and head east. Jump up and go through the top
section of the destructible block wall so that you can destroy the Presses
before they even drop. Past here, go into the large empty room and walk to the
middle to trigger a scene with Misery, after which you get the pleasure of
fighting Omega, the Sand Zone guardian.
***************
* WARNING *
* BOSS: OMEGA *
***************
Omega will emerge from the sand in the middle of the room and promptly fill the
air full of spheres. The beige-colored rock-looking spheres are indestructible
but less dangerous as they simply float in a lobbing pattern then fall off the
screen. The "opened rock" spheres that look like they have red heating vents
inside are destructible, and they should be blown up whenever possible as they
will bounce around upon hitting the ground and stay a potential threat for much
longer.
Omega will basically just keep doing this, going underground, coming back up,
and repeating. He's only vulnerable while his head is open. You may notice
that, just like Curly, Omega refuses to take any damage from Missiles; if you
try to shoot him with any, he'll just instantly retreat back underground before
any can hit him. The best weapon against him right now is the Machine Gun,
which not only damages him severely but is great for dispatching the red
spheres. However, if you kept your Polar Star, don't fret. Use the Fire Ball
to deal heavy damage to him when he pops up, then switch to the Bubbline or
Polar Star to take care of the spheres.
When Omega falls to half health he'll pop completely out of the ground and
never go back in. At this point he'll hop around the room and each time he
lands he'll spray a volley of spheres. This is when you'll finally, happily be
able to get some use out of your Missile Launcher again. Switch to the Missile
Launcher and just start pumelling him. He's completely vulnerable even when
closed up now, and every time you hit him with missiles while he's opened up
he'll immediately close and jump again before finishing his volley. His second
half is a joke with missiles.
* DEFEATED OMEGA! *
After blasting Omega, the "curse on the Sun Stones" will automatically be
lifted. Basically, this means that those angry blocks to the east of Curly's
house will move out of the way. Run west back to them (which will be a lot
easier this time, since you've already destroyed all the enemies in the way)
and witness the Sun Stones uncurse themselves. Go grab the dog from Curly's
place if you haven't already and drop down where the Sun Stones moved. Break
down through the layers of star blocks (I'll be calling "destructible blocks"
"star blocks" from now on); the Skullhead enemies here take some punishment but
their only strategy is to simply bounce back and forth, so no big deal. You'll
come to a house on the left, enter it.
- JENKA'S HOUSE -
Enter the house and talk to the old lady. Hopefully you have the dog from
Curly's house. She'll take it back and send you on a mission to find the other
four who've hidden themselves all around Sand Zone. I'd highly suggest paying
close attention to Jenka's dialogue as she reveals a huge amount of the story-
line of the game as you bring her back more of her dogs. It's a pretty cute
part of the game, I think, giving a warm old lady back her puppies and getting
a truckload of important story elements told in a very passive manner as a re-
ward. When you're done, save your game and let's go find some dogs!
- SAND ZONE -
From here you can go to any of four different areas to collect the dogs in any
order you wish, but I'll list them in order of their proximity to Jenka's house
for ease.
- Mick: This dog's very closeby, but it's easy to miss the secret passage
leading to him. Go back up to where the Sun Stones were and keep an eye on the
wall to your right. Beyond the rightmost block of the top row of star blocks
you'll see a pawpad block. Run through it to the right and at the end of a
corridor you'll find a small cove with a Life Capsule (+5 HP) and a treasure
chest containing a dog.
- Kakeru: Drop down from Jenka's house all the way to the floor. Head east
and after a bunch of monsters you'll finally come to a bone-tossing Skeleton
enemy with the dog waiting closeby. Kil the Skeleton and approach the dog to
cause it to run around at great speed--too fast for you to catch up with. You
pretty much just have to wait for the dog to run by you and time your pressing
of the Down button so that you grab the dog. It can be helpful to clear out
all the enemies in this area if you plan on chasing after the dog a bit to save
time.
- Shinobu: After dropping off Kakeru, drop down to the same area again but
this time opt for the upper platform route. Not too far from the right edge
where you found Kakeru if you stay near the top you'll see a couple pawpad
tiles in the ceiling. Jump up and to the right here then over to the left and
run through the passage to a small house with a dog in the doorway. Approach
the dog and he'll run inside. Follow him and save your game as this completely
dark house contains a dangerous Sandcroc monster where the skeleton is. Use of
the Map System is recommended to get a feel for the 'shape' of the house. Jump
up while standing in front of the left side of the table and hold right to get
a foothold in the darkness. Now move so that you're just above the right half
of the table, jump and hold left. Once you're up here jump high and hold right
so that you're just under the ceiling, and higher than the dog. Now run right
all the way to the dog, grab it and go back the way you came.
- Nene: The last of the dogs is in plain sight, but of course is sleeping at
the furthest corner of the Sand Zone. Drop down the same way you found Kakeru
and Shinobu but keep going past the end of the sand pit. When you get past the
Skullheads and Skeletons you'll come to an area with lots of pillars and a TON
of Crows. There's no easy way past here, though it might be a good place to
use your Missiles. Nene is just past here, sleeping above and to the left of
the entrance to the Warehouse. Grab her and shoot the star blocks to reveal a
Refill Terminal and Save Disk, then head back to Jenka.
Once all the dogs are returned, Jenka wil give you a Life Pot (it completely
restores your HP but can only be used once... there's one more later in the
game, though, so don't beat yourself up if you have to use it) and send you to
stop the Doctor and his henchmen who've gotten the key to the Warehouse. Make
your way back there the same way you went to get Nene and open the door.
- WAREHOUSE -
Watch the scene and become both pissed off at what happens and pissed off that
you have to fight THIS boss of all bosses as soon as it's over.
*********************
* WARNING *
* BOSS: TOROKO PLUS *
*********************
Toroko is way more violent and powerful once enraged than you'd probably have
imagined. She makes Igor look like an absolute pushover--well, every boss up
to this point, kind of. Basically, she doesn't seem that complicated, and
isn't really, but she's still very tough; her chucked bricks will do massive
damage, and they're both a bit tricky to dodge and completely indestructible.
They even absorb shots, acting as a sort of shield for her.
She has three methods of attack, and seems to use any of them at random. All
involve throwing blocks; she'll either jump straight upwards and toss one, toss
from the ground or leap across the room and toss one at the apex. The third
option is the one she does most often; keep moving so the blocks don't hit you,
because they hit HARD. If you're cornered, it's better to just take a hit from
Toroko herself or ideally a Flowercub if there's one around; they "hatch" from
thrown blocks after they hit a surface. The Flowercubs are also a good source
of pickups if you need any, which will be likely.
Stick to your Missile Launcher and blast her until you run out. Switch then to
your Machien Gun or Polar Star and either attempt to finish her off like that
or collect more missile ammo from the Flowercubs and switch back. Her pattern
doesn't seem to really change throughout the battle, but she'll often surprise
you by lulling you into a pattern of leap attacks then suddenly throwing a
block from the ground.
She can be challenging, but I'd hold out on using the Life Pot for good reason.
Just remember that anything's better than getting hit by one of her blocks and
keep pummeling her, no matter how much you probably don't want to :C Eventually
you'll win.
* Defeated Toroko... *
After the battle, talk to King and he'll entrust you with his Blade weapon.
This weapon is quite short-ranged and fires slowly, but is very, VERY powerful.
Level 3 Blade is easily the coolest-looking weapon in the game, and drastically
changes the weapon from Levels 1 and 2 (though these levels can still be used
as a bosskiller as they can be shot more rapidly than Level 3 at close range);
I highly suggest you level it up and see for yourself as soon as you get the
chance.
Anyway, even after all you've just been through, you can count on Misery to
show back up and make things even worse. You are henceforth cursed to the
innermost bowels of the island, never to be seen again... unless you can find a
way out.
-----------------------
- 2-05 The Labyrinth -
-----------------------
- LABYRINTH I -
You wake up on the ground of a vertically huge rom with a bunch of other
robots. Talk to them to learn a bit about their (and your) situation then hit
the star block on the right to access a Save Disk. Now, this room is a breeze
if you have the Machine Gun; just propel yourself upwards from in front of the
door, take rests on the platforms, kill any purple Critters you need to and
just keep scaling the middle of the room until you reach the top. If you still
have the Polar Star, get ready for the most challenging platforming segment of
the game so far. Take out your Blade and get used to using this new weapon.
It will take out the Critters even from Level 1. The Critters here are unique,
when you get near them or shoot at them they'll lift up into the air, shoot two
bullets (that can be destroyed but take several hits) and then fall back down.
Scale the room, killing whatever Critters get in your way, until you reach a
Life Capsule (that gives +5 HP). Now, just above where you dropped down to get
the capsule, notice the large block with an eyeball on it to your left. When
you move in front of this block, it will scoot across the room to the opposite
wall and stay there until you again are in front of it, like a large, deadly
wall Beetle. You need to activate this block without getting yourself squished
against the platform just under it, so jump up and hold right to land on the
platform and be safe. Immediately jump on the mooving block and another block
above will start moving as well. Jump to the left on top of it like a stepping
stone then up again to the safe ledge. Now walk up a bit and wait on the block
coming from the right, jump on it and immediately jump to the block on your
left, then on the final block coming from the right and finally up to the final
ledge. Examine the terminal here to open the door at the bottom; the robots
promptly leave. Drop all the way back down to the bottom and follow suit.
- LABYRINTH II -
Walk inside and meet a new enemy, the cockroach-like Gaudi.. which, for now,
are relatively harmless. Continue left and don't worry about any more eye
blocks until you get to the top of the room. A block will come in from the
left, so run left and jump up into the little cranny above the block as it
passes by then drop down to the left. A block down here will move from the
right; jump up on it and to the door to the next area.
- LABYRINTH W -
Introduce yourself to the faster-paced remix of Jenka's theme as you traverse a
hall full of purple Critters tucked into holes. The Blade works wonders here,
again. To the right you'll each a building with easy Gaudis in front. Enter
this building.
- LABYRINTH SHOP -
Don't worry, all the Gaudi in here are friendly. Talk to them if you wish to
and hear some backstory and explanation of the Labyrinth. Save your game and
talk to the shopkeep, Chaba. Depending on the first-slot weapon you're holding
when you talk to him, he'll give you a different choice of reward. If you have
the Machine Gun, you'll get the Turbocharge, which passively doubles the rate
at which your Machine Gun recovers ammo. If you're still using the Polar Star,
he'll offer to combine your Polar Star and Fire Ball into a new weapon, the
Snake. This weapon is unique in that it can pass through walls, but it's
mainly only useful in dungeon areas and not boss battles, and is the most
outwardly weak of the three first-slot weapon choices, though it does have
strategic value in many areas of the game. The final item he can offer you is
impossible for you to obtain right now as the weapon required for it is found
later in the game--and you'll need to keep your Polar Star even longer, denying
the Snake here, to get that weapon. Whatever your decision, when you're done,
head back out.
- LABYRINTH W -
Go east and you'll quickly come face to face with a slightly more dangerous
type of Gaudi. These fly in a circular pattern and will periodically flash
purple before releasing a goo projectile to your current position. They fall
just as easily to King's Blade as their brothers, though. Go all the way to
the right to find a door, and enter it.
- CAMP -
There's a couple new characters here, a small box-like couple of green medical
personnel. The one on the left, Dr. Gero, will heal you and give you a Clinic
Key needed to progress. The one on the right warns you about the ghost in the
Clinic should you choose to venture there. Curly Brace is here, too, weak and
on the bed. All you can do for now is save your game and tackle that Clinic.
- LABYRINTH W -
You'll have to make a couple weird jumps to get up to the Clinic if you don't
have the Machine Gun. Go to the ledge on the left first then jump up onto the
platform to your right.. then, you have to jump left beyong the 'lip' of the
platform above and immediately turn right again to get on top of it. To the
upper right you'll see a star block. If you have the Machine Gun you can get
in there now, but otherwise you'll have to come back later. It leads to the
top section of the Camp which contains the Arms Barrier, a useful item which
permanently decreases the Weapon Energy you lose from getting hit by half.
Either way, your destination is the Clinic, the door with the cross symbol
above it on the upper-left.
- CLINIC -
Grab the chest with the Cure-All, then brace yourself for a boss attack.
*******************
* WARNING *
* BOSS: PUU BLACK *
*******************
Also known as "Pooh Black" in the Aeon Genesis English translation of the PC
version. This strange creature looks a heck of a lot like a dark twin to
Balrog, but its lack of dialogue or explanation leads anything pertaining to
this to speculation. It does heavily resemble the small box creatures Pixel
seems to love drawing more than anything, and definitely fits the "soap bar"
explanation for his Balrog character design more than Balrog himself. But
enough talk.
Puu Black can be kind of intimidating. He basically stand there, generates a
very rapidly-growing bubble shield (kind of like your Level 3 Bubbline, except
the bubbles are larger and you don't have to worry about electric bolts) then
after a few seconds flies off. He'll be undetectable for a moment, then a vast
wave of bubbles will be flung through the room around your current position, at
an angle that can be different each time. It's easy to tell when Puu's abou to
slam back into the ground with the bubbles giving him away, but the bubbles
themselves can be very hard to avoid given the randomness of their pattern and
angle. The only surefire way to not get hit by them is with the Level 3 Bubb-
line, but all the audio and visual stimuli it generates can make actually
avoiding Puu's descent much more difficult, so be careful.
You want to use the Level 3 Blade as your main means of attack until/unless you
get hit. The spirit of King will go into a frenzy when it hits any kind of
enemy or projectile, then proceed to slash everything in a wide area. This is
perfect for stripping Puu of his bubble shield, and doing massive damage to him
in the process. If you at any point get hit your blade will level down, at
which point it's best to fall back to the Missile Launcher. If you run out of
missiles and STILL haven't beatn him, just use your main weapon to finish him
off.
* DEFEATED PUU BLACK! *
Nothing to do now but go back outside.
- LABYRINTH W -
Just head down back into the Camp. (I know some of these area summaries are
awful short, but I feel like the FAQ's strange or incomplete if include them
all.)
- CAMP -
Get Dr. Gero to heal you and simultaneously complete your quest by handing him
the Cure-All. This shuld help Curly get back on her feet, but it's going to
take some time. Save and head back into the labyrinth when you're ready.
- LABYRINTH W -
Go east until you reach the dead end with spikes. A block will scoot down from
the ceiling here, so walk near the right edge and time a jump into the little
crevice on the right so that you can turn around and land on top of the block.
Ride it to the top, drop down onto the next and turn instantly to the left to
fall off the block into the next crevice before being crushed. Turn right and
you'll come into a long corridor full of both kinds of Gaudi and a strange
machine. Before you go far into this corridor, make absolutely sure that both
your Blade and Bubbline weapons are at MAX. When you're ready, continue on.
*******************
* WARNING *
* BOSS: MONSTER X *
*******************
Without a doubt, this is the most dangerous boss you've faced yet in Cave
Story. When you walk far enough into the long corridor, even before you've had
a chance to get rid of all the Gaudi, the large machine you ran past will
activate and charge you. There are many elements to this battle that I'll
explain before getting down to attack strategy.
First of all, by far the most deadly danger in this battle is the machine's
treads. The machine goes surprisingly fast and will smack you for 10 damage if
it runs over you, simultaneously taking a lot of juice out of your current
weapon. You'll want to jump on top of the treads for a safe ride, but at the
same time you don't want to ride too long or Monster X will drive you right
into a force field. If you jump around to the other side, Monster X will shift
direction and chase after you again. You have to jump past it and force it to
change direction three times before it'll open up and attack, revealing its
weak spot. Before anything else, however, I'd switch to the Polar Star/machine
Gun/Snake (whichever you have) and cleanse the area of any and all Gaudi. That
way, if you get hit it won't matter as these weapons you'll not be using in
this fight unless you must.
Now, when you're ready to attack, do what I said above; jump over Monster X's
treads to get it to turn around, then repeat twice more. It'll finally come to
a screeching halt after the third turn, and open up in the middle. It will
reveal a set of four glowing green orbs that each bombard the area with purple
goo shots (the same as the flying Gaudi). These can be a blessing because they
all have a chance to drop items and there's so many of them that you're likely
to get some good stuff. There are two ways to deal with this; in my opinion,
the best way is to use King's Blade Level 3, which will ruin all his shots and
also deal huge damage to all four targets at once. The next best option is to
spam your Missile Launcher, which should clear all the goo and do decent damage
to the orbs; you should also very easily be able to keep a full set of missile
ammunition from all the drops you'll get. The best place to stand while
attacking is directly under the middle of Monster X, between the bottom two
treads. Of course, once it closes itself up, quickly jump to one side and run
so it doesn't run you over. Repeat the process of getting it to open up then
punishing it until all four orbs are destroyed. Note that this phase of the
boss doesn't have its health meter drained.
When the last orb is destroyed, Monster X will close up and begin to drive
around again. The process to open its weak spot is the same, but what happens
afterward has changed. The boss will now launch several small homing torpedoes
and only stay open for a short time before beginning the chase once more. The
Level 2 Blade (Level 3 works if you still have it, but Level 2's actually
optimum since it can be spammed extremely fast at close range) is what you'll
want to use to deal MAJOR damage to Monster X. As it stops, assume position in
between its bottom treads then start jumping straight up and tossing your Blade
upward. The machine itself won't hurt you, only the torpedoes--which circle
around carelessly until after Monster X closes up and starts to move again.
When it does close up, immediately switch to the Bubbline Level 3 and cover
yourself with a barrier. Even though the bubbles will pop when they hit the
machine's treads, there should always be enough of a barrier to thwart any
missile that attempts to ram into you. Just keep repeating this process, even
if your Blade falls to Level 1 it should be excellent for dealing huge damage
to Monster X given how close you can get to the boss without taking damage.
After a long battle, he'll finally fall and reveal his dastardly, evil,
twisted, disgusting true form as he flies out of the exploding machine. Did I
mention adorable?
* Defeated Monste X! *
Walk to the east and go into the doorway.
- LABYRINTH B -
As soon as you enter this room, the screen will flash and a tone will sound.
Someone will fall from the roof, but you can't move to do anything. When you
regain control, save your game. What you do in this room is actually an
important decision.
So that you experience every part of the game, I'd highly suggest that if this
is your first time playing the game you simply fall down and check on Booster.
If you do this, he'll give you the Booster 0.8 right then and there, which will
allow you to press "Jump" in the air to gain even more height. Of course, this
is next to useless if you have the Machine Gun, though it is nice if it falls
below Level 3 or you decide to use another weapon. It also makes the game in
general a bit easier, especially the next big boss encounter, but if you take
the other option and DON'T check on Booster you'll get the much more powerful
Booster 2.0 later in the game--which is needed to access the secret super-hard
bonus area. Again, if this is your first time playing, I'd say just to go
ahead and take the Booster v0.8, but it's your call. Getting up to the next
room is simple if you take the Booster or have the Machine Gun, but otherwise
there's a bit of a trick to it. The jump is very difficult and must be done
precisely. Starting from the western door (coming in from Monster X) you
should see a little red mark on the floor if you look closely. The goal is to
run forward and jump just as your foot touches that mark. Hold Jump and Right
as you go and you should hopefully land on the ledge on the other side. If you
mess up and still want the Booster 2.0 you're going to have to reset and reload
your save, as once you've fallen there's no way to get back up unless you take
the Booster v0.8. Either way, once you're on the other side, go through the
door.
- BOULDER CHAMBER -
You'll find yourself in a small room with Curly standing in front of a massive
boulder. If you didn't get the medicine for Curly earlier you'll have to do
that so that she appears here, or you won't be able to continue. Talk to her
and then examine the left side of the boulder to try and move it out of the way
with her. When you fail, a familiar face will drop down from the ceiling. Of
course, you'll have to fight him for the billionth time before he'll listen to
you.
****************
* WARNING *
* BOSS: BALROG *
****************
He's really packing heat this time, but he's still not much of a threat. He'll
run toward you, stop, run toward you again, stop, then leap across the room
in your direction while leaving behind a set of four Super Missiles. Repeat.
The easiest way to deal with the missiles is to use the Blade Lv 3 or your own
missiles; weaker weapons like the Bubbline won't deal enough damage to bring
them down quick enough. If you happen to lose Blade Lv 3, Levels 1 and 2 are
still powerful enough to clear out the missiles, you just have to shoot them
rapidly.
* Defeated Balrog! *
Once he's been given the beatdown for the FOURTH TIME, Balrog will finally come
to his senses enough to help you out instead of trying to hinder him. With his
brawn you're finally able to move the boulder, but you have to KEEP IT A SECRET
FROM EVERYBODY. Though he seemed really miffed that he had to help you out, he
makes up for it by leaving behind the Super Missile upgrade which changes your
Missile Launcher into a real death machine. Looks like he's a swell guy after
all. Save at the conveniently-spawned Save Disk and head on through where the
boulder used to be.
- LABYRINTH M -
(Note: In this area, Curly Brace will actually aid you as a non-playable ally
by pretty much just sticking near you and shooting things. Her weapon depends
on if you took the Machine Gun from her or not; if you did, she's using your
old Polar Star. If you didn't, she's using her Machine Gun, fully-powered now.
She also has infinite life, so don't worry about her taking hits.)
You'll come to a room full of eggs. Gaudi Eggs, to be exact. They're
completely harmless and drop lots of goodies, so be sure to blow them all up
and power up your shiny new Super Missile Launcher with the weapon crystals you
find. To the right you'll see your first Fire Whirr, an evil fan that moves up
and down and periodically releases a flaming ring forwards. These are really
easy to deal with. Pass it and you'll run into an Armor, an upgraded version
of the Gaudi enemy which bounces around quickly, high and low, and will throw
a pair of deadly blades every so often which are invincible and absorb shots.
They're not too much trouble, though, especially with Curly to get behind their
shots. Going east more you'll find a group of purple Critters that are best
dispatched by running under them and shooting upwards. You'll next come to a
trio of Fire Whirrs, positioned so that you can't possibly avoid their shots
head-on. Whenever they fire, hide behind the nearby crates then peek out to
hit them with something with a good range. Eventually you'll come to an air
vent blowing upwards; ignore it and drop down the shaft to the right.
Now you're in another egg-filled chamber. Break them open for goodies and head
left. You'll find your first Buyobuyo Bases which cling to floors and ceilings
and launch Buyobuyos three at a time, small erratic homing flyers which are
very annoying but very useful to farm for powerups. Try to kill a lot of the
Buyobuyos until you can get your Super Missile Launcher to level 3 and refill
your missile ammo and life, then blow up the Bases and head left again. After
a couple more Buyobuyo Bases you'll find an area where the water slopes off and
gets deeper. If you have the Machine Gun or Booster v0.8 here, there's nothing
to worry about. However, if you have neither, this place can be a real hazard.
Basiclaly you're going to be jumping across the water with tons of enemies
popping out from the drink that are impossibly annoying. The best way to deal
with this is to go down through the deep water and kill all the Bases and
Critters, but after the far left Base don't worry about whatever they dropped,
just turn back and haul it to shallow water. If you haven't noticed up till
this point, your air supply drains VERY fast in this game, you only have some-
thing like 15 seconds and you're done. Anyway, jump along, using the solitary
top platform if you don't have any boosters to get across (don't worry, you
won't hit the spikes when you leap). Past the pool and a weird dead-end fan
vent below you you'll come to a very dangerous room guarded by a Fire Whirr and
filled with Armors. If you're anywhere near low on life I'd suggest to just
stick back and let Curly go in and take care of things, just give her covering
fire from the other side of the crates. When you've slain them, head to the
left edge of the room and activate the terminal to open the way down. Hug the
right wall as you fall so as to not to hit any spikes. There's a teleporter
here; if you have the Machine Gun or Booster v0.8, activate it to go back to
Chaba's store early in the labyrinth, at which point you can save your game,
run to the Camp for healing, and power up your weapons on the easy enemies
around that area. If you don't have any kind of boost power, you'll have to
run all the way back from Chaba's if you do this, but it can still be useful
for preparing, so it's your call. Also, if you took the Booster v0.8 and
didn't backtrack to it already, now's the perfect time to go ahead and grab the
Arms Barrier from the path behind the star block on the upper right of the room
past the Camp and Clinic. When you're done, teleport back and continue east.
Ignore the upper vent and you'll come to meet yet another new enemy, the Fuzz
Core and smaller Fuzz floating around it. You may notice that if you approach
the enemy without shooting Curly won't even try to attack it. This is a hint
toward the fact that you can leave Fuzz Cores alone and pass by them safely if
you're careful. Of course, after the first Fuzz Core you'll face three more in
a row that are quite difficult to pass without getting hit. There are two last
Fuzz Cores at the very end that are virtually impossible to pass by unharmed.
Use a wide area weapon like the Blade Lv 3 or Bubbline to try and pass them
without getting hit by the small Fuzzes, though it's still difficult as they'll
very speedily home in on you when you attack the Core. Luckily, they drop so
many power crystals and hearts that you should be able to make up for what
damage you do take. Finally, at the end of this gauntlet, you'll come to a
door that leads to a rest stop.
- DARK PLACE -
Let Curly talk and then save. As she said, the lion head door in the back is
of no use to you yet. Now, it's time to prepare. Basically, you're about to
fight what many consider one of the most challenging bosses in the entire game,
ESPECIALLY if you don't have the Machine Gun and didn't take the Booster v0.8
(both of which are generally ttue if you're going for the final weapon or the
secret area/best ending). Before you continue onward, go back out either to
try and farm Fuzzes or back a bit further to the teleport to Chaba's so you can
easily farm Gaudis. For those of you unfamiliar for the MMO terminology that's
seeped its way into even classic gaming, "farming" means to kill the same type
of enemy over and over for whatever it drops upon defeat. In this case, it's
all the missiles, hearts and weapon energy you need to fully power yourself and
every single one of your weapons up to maxmimum. The only exemption is the
Fireball, which is all but useless against the upcoming boss. When you feel
you've sufficiently prepared, go back to the Dark Place, save, and continue on.
- CORE -
A nice, cool-looking room with smooth background music--a nice change of pace
from the dank old Labyrinth. Well, this place is dank too, but it has signs of
an advanced civilization--which is good news for a couple of robots who've had
to run through ancient caves so much. Talk to Curly then jump up to the
terminal to open the blast doors. Follow Curly deeper into the Core to find
a jammed blast door that she refuses to walk past. Walk under the door (with
the curious red blotch above it) and shoot up at the bottom of it. You'll know
you're shooting the right spot if it emits red particles like an enemy. After
shooting for awhile it'll finally give way and go into place. Now go back to
the first terminal and activate it again to lower the lift into the water
below. Head right, activate the terminal to open the last blast door and get
some air. When done, go back out of the water and go back to Dark Place to
save one last time before following Curly.
Now, if you DID NOT take the Booster v0.8, head straight for the lower right
corner of this huge room and ignore Curly for now. You should see a sparkling
object on the ground in front of some robot rubble in the background. Examine
it to receive the Tow Rope. It is imperative that you get this item or else
choosing not to get the Booster v0.8 was pretty much for naught (well, you'll
still get the awesome Booster v2.0, but other important things later on won't
happen). If you DID get the Booster v0.8, this item won't exist, so don't
worry about it. Anyway, when you're ready, talk to Curly who's standing on the
top row of platforms.
After a conversation with her and the old robot, the Core of the Island will
wake up and start to attack you.
******************
* WARNING *
* BOSS: THE CORE *
******************
You'll know this is going to be scary by the tone of the music playing during
this fight. The Core will float toward you from the right wall but at the same
time will keep its distance. Basically, if you run to the left edge of the
room it will follow you, but if you advance on it it will move back. Of course
it moves quite slowly so you can advance on it to attack from time to time, but
being too offensive in this battle won't get you very far since the Core is
fully capable of backing up all the way behind the rightmost wall, rendering
itself quite invincible until you pull back. The Core will remain closed for a
period of time, and the smaller "mini-cores" surrounding it will periodically
open up to shoot destructible spinning energy blasts toward your position.
When the mini-cores open up they're susceptible do damage but they're not
actually able to be destroyed; attacking them will only serve to push them back
so you can hit the main Core when it opens up. But let's not get ahead of our-
selves, there are other hazards to go over before we get into attack mode.
First of all and by far the most dangerous thing if you don't have the Machine
Gun or Booster v0.8, is the water. The ENTIRE arena will fill to the roof with
water on a regular basis--even with the Machine Gun keeping you airborne at all
times technically, it can get really scary when you go to the very top of the
screen and still can't get a breath of air. Now, just imagine that without any
way to get back up if you fall to the bottom of the screen other than running
and jumping with severely impaired mobility. Just trying to move around at all
in the water without either 'jetpack' option is extremely dangerous, so even if
you're in an awkward position compared to the Core I'd suggest focussing on
just staying on any of the higher platforms until the water recedes over
anything else. What makes things even worse is that sometimes when the main
core opens up, it'll create a gust blowing to toward the back of the room
that could be compared to a giant Bushlands fan covering the entire right-hand
wall being activated and lasting for several seconds. Not only is this
annoying in its own right, but knocking you down to the bottom of the screen
during or just before a flood can be extremely deadly. If you do find yourself
kissing the floor, your primary goal should be to make your way back up as fast
as possible by climbing the left series of ledges and then jumping back to the
platforms on the right. Luckily for Curly, she can somehow magically stand on
the background platforms that Quote can't, so she'll never fall to the bottom.
Spekaing of Curly, she'll start the battle being KOed but after about 20
seconds or so she'll get up and join the fray. Don't expect her to win the
battle for you, though she can add some much welcome extra damage, especially
if she happens to still have her Machine Gun.
Now, when you're ready to attack, stay on the left part of the room to lure the
Core toward you (it's a bit safer on the left side, anyway). I stand by the
notion that it's best to just use up all your Super Missiles at the very
beginning to leave the Core's health meter heavily dented and not have to worry
about when to use your missiles on top of everything else. Super Missiles, if
you haven't already noticed, are insanely fast and powerful, and easily one of
the very best weapons in the game. Hopefully you got them to Level 3, because
the triplet of missiles sent out per shot is key to damaging the Core heavily
while knocking away whatever mini-cores might be in front of it when it opens
up. When it does open up, the Core will shoot either a large series of
tadpole-like energy blasts forward or, at lower health, a sequence of about
three or four huge blasts. that do big damage. The tadpoles and giant shots
are easy enough to dodge, it's just all the other things you have to think
about during this battle can throw you off a bit. Once you're out of Super
Missiles, your options will be different depending on which weapon you have.
If you took the Machine Gun, that's definitely the easiest and most powerful
weapon next to Super Missiles you can use against this boss. If you have the
Snake or Polar Star, things are slightly more complicated. Of course, you can
just shoot the Core when it opens up as fast as possible and hope you get
enough hits in without the mini-cores blocking, but there's a couple things you
can do to improve your odds. King's Blade Lv 3 can be used to thrash all the
mini-cores and get them out of the way; then you can quickly switch to another
weapon to deal as much damage as you can before it closes again. Of course,
the Snake is much easier to use and more powerful here than the Polar Star, but
you'll have to eventually fall back on either the Star or Bubbline if that's
still the weapon you have. I'd suggest the Bubbline as it can shoot rapidly,
shield you from the various Core attacks and unleashing all the bubbles at once
when the Core opens up virtually guarantees at least SOME damage, so playing
defensively it's likely you'll eventually come out on top.
One last tip; this is easily the most difficult boss you'll fight before you
can get your hands on the game's second Life Pot, so don't hesitate to use it
if needed. That's pretty much all I can say about the boss, the rest is up to
you.
* Defeated the Core! *
Watch the scene with the Doctor who's delightfully frantic at your attempt to
destroy the heart of the island and welcome the inevitibility of your death as
water fills the entire Core room with no way for you to exit. It doesn't
matter what you do here, just let yourself run out of air. (You can, at least,
grab the Tow Rope at this point if you didn't earlier like you should have)
Of course, it isn't the end yet. Depending on if you have the Booster v0.8 or
not (picking up the Tow Rope may also be a factor) you'll either be simply
given Curly's air supply (if you have the Booster) or given a bit of story
involving the secret final area (if you don't). Afterward, again, if you don't
have the Tow Rope (i.e. took the Booster) there's nothing you can do here,
don't worry and continue on. If you DO have it, examine Curly to take her with
you so that she's not left to rust in this room. Go west and out of this
chamber once and for all.
- DARK PLACE -
The place's covered in water now, but luckily, for the rest of the game now,
you have infinite air. The Save Disk has moved but is still functional. Your
only option is to enter the lion head gate that was barred off earlier.
----------------
- 2-06 Escape -
----------------
- WATERWAY -
It's a good thing you can "breathe" underwater now, since this next area's
filled with it. Drop down and go left to face some flying Critters, and roof
Bats, the same you faced in Bushlands awhile back. It's a nice, safe place to
regain weapon energy, missiles and health you lost during your battle with the
Core. Keep going west past some easy spike traps and you'll reach a deep pool
of water. Hop in, and turn right and shoot the empty-looking corridors for
some bonus health. Go left again and below you you'll see a fast current rush-
ing eastward. This is the Waterway's primary hazard (well, using currents in
conjunction with enemies and spikes, anyway) so you'd best get used to it.
Jump in and let it carry you eastward, but be prepared to jump over a small
spike bed. It'll keep carrying you automatically for a bit until you come to
an area in which you'll just be looped around forever until you jump up along
the bottom of the large backwards "L"-shaped platform. Next, you'll come to an
area swarming with Jellies, though you'll have a small safe platform from which
to dispatch them without worrying about the current. Use the Blade Lv 3 then
any long-ranged weapon you have such as the Bubbline to take out the
stragglers. When you're done, drop off the left side of the platform to be
pulled to a small house.
- WATERWAY CABIN -
You HAVE to get in this house if you have Curly. If you fall down, reset the
game and try again. Just hold left as you're coming out of the jellyfish whirl
pool area and you should stay on the one safe tile that you have to jump from
(of course, difficult without a Booster which you can't have if you have Curly
anyway, but possible). Go in the house, look at the computer, rest, and look
at the computer again. Now, examine the right half of the bookcase next to the
door. It will explain why you need air in this game despite being a robot, but
beyond that it's needed to resussicate Curly. Once you've done this, examine
her a couple more times to get the option to leave her here or not. Select
"No" to pick her back up, save, and leave.
If you don't have Curly, none of this is needed, of course, but you can still
use the cabin to rest and save.
- WATERWAY -
Fall down and get ready to jump over a series of three spike beds. The camera
may be very annoying here; the best way I've found to get it to behave is to
simply fall into the current and then FACE the way that the current is flowing.
Alright, so basically, there's going to be a spike bed just under left side of
the jellyfish whirlpool area, and a long one. Leap over it then keep your head
down for the spike above, then IMMEDIATELY jump so that you go between it and
the spikes on the floor just past it. Next, at the end of the long flat
section of floor, there'll be one more long spike bed before a rest stop.
when you're ready, fall down to the *left* of the platform so that you'll be
able to leap over the spike bed that you can plainly see from the platform.
After this, keep your head down and then be ready to make a short hop followed
by a long leap just after it. Now, here, you're going to wanna try to hop
twice so that you're on the second-highest platform. You'll avoid all the
spikes and jump safely over the huge spike bed at the end. After this, just
one more jump over a small bed and you're taken to a new area.. at which you're
greeted with some dialogue.
"Something's coming!!"
******************
* WARNING *
* BOSS: IRONHEAD *
******************
It may be interesting to note that this boss is actually a cameo of sorts from
Ikachan, a previous game by Pixel. Now, the first thing you should know in
this battle is that you have a control scheme totally unique from the rest of
the game. You can move freely in any direction, but you'll only be able to
face right the whole time. It's actually quite comfortable and fun, though, if
I say so myself.
Immediately you'll be swarmed by a large mob of fish, but they're harmless, at
least at first. When they reach the eastern edge of the screen they'll inflate
into spiky pufferfish which DO cause damage, then float effortlessly back into
you. As soon as they leave the screen, a fresh school will emerge from the
left, and this repeats for the entire battle. The fish can be destroyed at any
time and drop powerups whcih flow with the current. The other major hazard is
random 1-tile or 2x2-tile blocks of debris which will wash from right to left
all during the battle and absorb attacks. Ironhead himself will appear after a
moment and start to swim around, rather slowly. He's easy to avoid, but does
big damage if you do run into him. Sometimes he'll release three small
Mannan-style energy rings while he falls back, which are simple to avoid.
Just exhaust all your Super Missiles and then switch to Blade or whichever
weapon you have out of the Machine Gun, Snake or Polar Star. It's actually a
refreshingly easy boss battle. If you manage to defeat Ironhead without taking
any damage, you'll earn a cameo from Ikachan, the main character of the game
Ironhead appeared in, and earn the "Alien Medal" which depicts the likeness of
Ikachan.
* DEFEATED IRONHEAD! *
- MIMIGA VILLAGE -
You wake up in the Reservoir of Mimiga Village, without Curly if you had her.
The music's different and no one seems to be here. Explore as much as you
want, but your destination if Arthur's House. Now, if you took the Booster
v0.8 earlier in the game, just examine the computer then teleport to the Egg
Corridor. Otherwise, you'll receive the Booster 2.0 here. The Booster 2.0 has
more juice and goes faster than the v0.8, and can go in any direction, but
can't change direction mid-flight. You'll have to release the jump button,
hold a new direction and then press the jump button again to change direction.
Of course, you can do this very quickly and potentially can change directions
many times in a single jump before you have to land for the jetpack to re-
charge. This is very important stuff to get used to if you plan on tackling
the secret final dungeon later on, which you probably will if you've got the
2.0.
Now, if you still have the Polar Star after all this time and didn't take the
Machine Gun or Snake, there's another very powerful goody you've got access to
finally. Use the Booster 2.0 to fly back into the First Cave, from the top
left of the Mimiga Village. Make your way back to the Hermit Gunsmith where
you found your Polar Star at the very beginning of your adventure. Now, the
hermit is finally awake and lamenting the fact that someone pilfered his incom-
plete Polar Star while he was napping. If you still have it with you, he'll
take it back... and then, after a heartfelt speech, complete it and give it
back to you as the Spur. The Spur is unlike any other weapon; it doesn't gain
experience from power crystals, but it doesn't need to! You simply hold the
fire button down to charge it up; its charge power is represented by the weapon
level, up to MAX (it's the only weapon with four different phases, with MAX
being different than Level 3). Level 1 is a version of the Polar Star Lv 3
which can be fired as rapidly as you like, but Levels 2, 3 and MAX are increas-
ingly larger and more powerful laser shots that travel across the screen and
pierce through enemies they're able to destroy. Needless to say, this is one
damn fine weapon, and widely considered to be the best in the game. What's
even better is that due to the fact it doesn't use energy crystals, you it
can't be 'levelled down'. Be aware that after you get the Spur the First Cave
will be absolutely smothered in enemies, but they're just the normal Critters
and Bats from here, so it's not like it's dangerous.
Anyway, if you took the Snake or just got the Spur and went the route of the
Booster 2.0, that means you still haven't been able to go back and grab the
Arms Barrier from above the Camp in the Labyrinth. Luckily, if you skipped the
Booster 0.8, Professor Booster will have activated the teleporter at the bottom
of Labyrinth B and you can select it from the Arthur's House teleport pad.
Backtrack to the Camp and boost to the star block on the upper right to claim
your prize. And to top it all off, if you have the Spur, you can drop by
Chaba's Labyrinth Shop to grab the Whimsical Star, a special item that will
surround you with small shielding stars that refresh each time you charge the
Spur to MAX.
When you're all done, go back to Arthur's House and teleport to the Egg
Corridor.
- EGG CORRIDOR? -
Uh oh.. this place is in bad shape these days. The good news is that little
Basil spark no longer exists, so you don't have to worry about instant death.
The bad news is that the place is now filled with the remains of what could
have been wondrous Sky Dragons, and some of them seem to have gotten into Red
Flowers which have caused them to become Dragon Zombies. Go to the right and
say hello to your old friends, Beetles, Bakus and Critters. Eventually you'll
come to Egg 12 which contains your first Zombie. Go to the floor and crawl to
Egg 12, noting that debris will fall from the ceiling throughout these ruins.
The zombie stays in one spot, and periodically releases a blast of several
powerful fireballs. Hide just under it until it releases a blast then
immediately jump up and blast it to pieces. Grab the chest behind it to get
a Missile Expansion then head back out and go east again until you come to a
building.
- CTHULHU'S ABODE? -
It's like it used to be, only without Cthulhu...and with a lot of traps.
Avoiding the spikes, position yourself just under the Press and past up as fast
as you can to destroy it. You should have weapons good enough for this now,
but if you feel unsafe jump out of the way just after you hit the block and
before it falls. Repeat for the higher Press and boost your way to the door.
- EGG CORRIDOR -
For a laugh, run under Egg 08 without hurting the upper Dragon Zombie and watch
it be KO'ed by a stalactite. Go east and make sure you kill the next Zombie as
you'll want to run back to where it lay shortly. Just to the right is the one
and only Counter Bomb in the game, a huge flaming puffball that simply hovers
in place and counts down from 5. This guy can be destroyed, but he has really
massive HP and he still drops items if you let him suicide. Simply activate it
then run back to Egg 08 to avoid its massive kamikaze. Keep going east to and
past Egg No. 5 then run under the stalactites to trigger them before running
back. When the tall stalactite falls shoot it to clear it out and continue.
Pass the Dragon Zombie and go into the open vent hold to the left of the rubble
covering up what used to be the Egg Observation Room.
- EGG OBSERVATION ROOM? -
Grab the chest containing the Missle Expansion and get ready for another boss.
*********************
* WARNING *
* BOSS: THE SISTERS *
*********************
There'll be an explosion and you'll feel a cold breeze... before being
assaulted by a pair of especially rabid Sky Dragons. You'll be more or less
confined to the central platform as they circle aroudn you, always in a
formation in which each sister is parallel to the other along their circular
flight path. They'll take turns opening their mouth to expel several shots of
flame toward you, which are large and destructible, so not much of a problem.
They can only be damaged when their mouth is open, but if you do enough damage
to them fast enough they'll become shocked and bear a unique expression during
which time they can be freely damaged without fear of retaliation.
They'll sometimes slow down then switch directions, and when they've taken
enough damage they'll begin to simply keep their mouths open indefinitely and
continually spout fireballs without stopping. The Super Missiles are by far
the best tool for the job here unless you have the Spur, and with all the extra
missiles you should've picked up in this area the 30 missile max you've
attained should be enough to completely deal with them. If neither of these
weapons ends up being an option for you and they're still alive, finish them
with the Blade. Note that the life bar is shared by the two Sisters, and when
either of them dies, they both die.
* DEFEATED THE SISTERS! *
A Save Disk will appear below. Use it, and head through the open vent on the
right side of the room.
- EGG CORRIDOR? -
You'll have to deal with more falling rubble and Dragon Zombies as you trek
east, but you should be familiar with how to deal with them by now. There's a
strange activateable fan where Egg 01 used to be, I suppose its only use is if
you're challenging yourself by turning off your Booster. Head right past where
you fought Igor long ago and into the Side Room to heal and save, then go into
the main building.
- EGG NO. 00 -
Examine the computer screen. You'll be greeted by Kazuma and have a nice bit
of dialogue.
At the end of this conversation, Kazuma will ask you if you want to escape the
island with him on a Sky Dragon. If you answer Yes here, you'll actually get
one of the three endings in Cave Story-- the "worst" ending. It's pretty
depressing and all, but go ahead and view it if you want, you can simply reload
your game and continue on when you're finished. Say "No" to progress forward
in the game. Kazuma will fill you in on a possible way to defeat the Doctor
then reveal an exit where the breeze could be felt if you examined the right
edge of the room earlier in the game. Follow him out.
- THE OUTER WALL -
Now, you may be interested to know that there's a hidden optional house under
your starting position out here. You can reach it by flying left just under
the right ledge, and be mindful of the small pitfall along the route to the
house. If you enter it, you'll have to squint to see the tiny people living
inside, made up of just a small mass of pixels. This house is key to getting
the Nemesis, one of the best weapons in the game, later on. For now, climb up
past Kazuma and his dragon on your ascent toward the top of the island. There
isn't much interesting for a bit until you come to a long corridor to your
left, with a block with a clock symbol and some kanji to your right. If you go
all the way to the end of this left path and examine the small fence-looking
thing you'll find a hidden room.
- CLOCK ROOM -
There's nothing here but a chest and a bunch of spikes. You can only open the
chest if you rescued Curly earlier and are going for the hidden final area.
The chest contained the 290 Counter (known as the Nikamaru Counter in the PC
version), which serves no purpose until you reach said bonus area. Head back
out.
- OUTER WALL -
Keep scaling and you'll quickly find a simple yellow bouncing enemy, called a
Hoppy appropriately enough, that bounces along the western wall as if it were
the floor. Another type of enemy you'll see around here is the Night Spirit,
a large floating cat made up of a white bedsheet (by how it looks) that likes
to launch barrages of indestructible white... pillowy tadpole things, that I'd
say are a bit suggestive given their color and shape. They're actually pretty
annoying projectiles, but just stay parallel to the Night Spirit whilst
attacking and they should be easy to dodge. You may notice that the powerups
here float in place then slowly shift to the left, much like during the Iron-
head boss battle.
Keep climbing the wall and you'll reach a section made up of grey blocks. You
will notice upon closer inspection that nestled within each set of these blocks
is a narrow pit of white sand. Stepping over one of these pits will cause a
blue variant of the Sandcrocs you fought in Sand Zone to try and snap you, so
be extra careful around here. Just keep on climbing, there are no new hazards
for the rest of this area. Eventually you'll reach a place with an actual
solid background at which point you're close to the door back inside the
island. Enter it when you come to it to reach the next chapter of the game.
--------------------
- 2-07 Plantation -
--------------------
- STOREHOUSE -
You'll be greeted by a Mimiga freaking out. Go talk to him and he'll
eventually warm up to you and reveal his name, Itoh, and his story. Keep
talking to him several times until he starts to repeat himself. Apparently,
he's a master engineer but is a bit of a coward who's become scarred by all the
crazy bad series of events that've happened since coming to the island
originally as a human that he's lost his touch and sense of worth. Remember
him, as surely he'll come in handy eventually. Save and leave through the left
exit.
- PLANTATION -
Awwright, the title theme! Now, there are several places you can go from here
as this is a wide open area but most of them are rather useless at this point
unless you just feel like exploring. One place of interest that never has a
real use but is worth checking out is directly above you as soon as you enter;
scale the blocks on the wall until you come to a door.
- PASSAGE? -
This room may look rather ordinary, but it's actually... Well, no matter yet,
go on to the right.
- STATUE CHAMBER -
A completely optional room that contains statues of each being who's ever owned
the Demon Crown, on order from left to right. The first two look rather alien,
the third looks like a human from long ago, and on the far right, we have the
latest owner...a familiar face, but his statue's unfinished. The statue carver
is completely silent and as far as I know you can never get him to say anything
other than an ellipsis. Head back out when you're done.
- PASSAGE? -
And out..
- PLANTATION -
Now, first things first. Head left and across the platforms. You'll run into
an Orange Bell, a very fat, happy bat surrounded by legions of smaller bats.
The Orange Bell itself is relatively harmless, flying in a predictable up and
down swerving motion, but the bats orbitting it will persue and dive-attack
anyone who gets near. The Blade Lv 3 and Spur are your best options against
these. Keep going left and ignore the door hidden in the ground for now. Just
past it you'll see a large orange monster called a Droll which watches over the
Mimiga that farm this area. He'll leave you alone unless you attack him, at
which point he leaps backward and tosses a huge swirling appendage toward
wherever you were when he began his leap. Another new enemy here is the
Midorin, a little hyperactive plant bulb that dashes haphazardly left and right
but is quite weak and can evern be safely stepped on. The Mimiga here will
refuse to talk to you for now, so there's no use in trying. Keep going left
past a sprinkler, a door, and another sprinkler, then start climbing upwards.
This area's filled with Stumpies, little dragonfly enemies that aren't really
challenging so much as annoying--like aerial Midorins, they fly around while
attempting to home in on your position, and can be quite bothersome in a group
like this. Shred them up with the Blade Lv 3 and climb up one last bit to
reach a Life Capsule for +4 Max HP.
From the Life Capsule, drop down and to your left and enter the doorway.
- JAIL NO. 2 -
Talk to the Mimiga behind the bars, the only Mimiga in the Plantation who'll
talk to you at this time. Go through the Teleport to...
- SHELTER -
...activate a link between the Bushlands and Plantation... and look where you
are! Seems like that's the jail where Kazuma and Booster were held. Heal and
save, then head back.
- JAIL NO. 2 -
Head back out to the Plantation.
- PLANTATION -
Now, drop down and go through the door between the two sprinklers you skipped
earlier.
- -
There are a bunch of unique-looking Mimiga here but none of them will talk to
you.. except the one you've already met before, the Mimiga with the fishing
pole, Kanpachi from the Mimiga Village. Talk to him until he decides to go
fishing, then follow him.
- PLANTATION -
Make your way down to the bottom level of the Plantation. There's a new type
of enemy in the water here, called Gunfish. They will annoyingly shoot rows of
bubbles in a low arc, but can be safely stepped on to be used as platforms over
the deep water. Go all the way to the west end of this section to find
Kanpachi fishing off the edge of a platform. If you came here earlier you'd
have seen a flashing object in the bottom of the lake that was unobtainable
since it was in the middle of an instant-death spike bed, but luckily Kanpachi
is able to fish it out. Talk to him, then examine the bucket behind him.
You'll receive the Teleporter Room Key, which opens the door directly to your
left, on the bottom-left corner of the Plantation. If you can't reach it past
the water, exit and re-enter the area to respawn the Gunfish to the left of
Kanpachi and don't kill them this time so you can use them as platforms. Go on
in when you get there.
- TELEPORTER ROOM -
There's a seemingly friendly Droll standing here when you come in, but he won't
talk to you. Try to use the teleporter to somehow fall into the most obvious
trap in history and view a scene.
- JAIL NO. 1 -
You wake up behind bars... Talk to Mahin, the fat Mimiga, to find out Sue was
here and left a note in your pocket, that he suspects is a love letter. Open
your inventory and examine the note to read it. You'll find out a big chunk of
story, and on top of that get a password required to enter that door nestled in
the ground in the middle of the Plantation. When you're done, save the game
then go through the water below the Save Disk and behind the wall. Loop around
up then left to reach a door leading back outside.
- PLANTATION -
Okay, this may be a good time to mention that the long shaft near the top right
of the Plantation is very dangerous, and when you see the red skull signs you
should drop back down. If you go too far up past this, an unavoidable set of
Presses will kill you without fail. There's actually a way to get up here now
using a Stumpy as a platform, but it's very difficult and not worth it, as you
won't even be able to enter the next area if you make it.
Anyway, your next real destination is the house in the middle-right side of the
Plantation, hidden underground. Fall down to the little empty alcove above the
section with the door and press against the left wall to go through a false
block. Feel your way down to the door and go inside using the (automatic) pass
word written in Sue's Letter.
