Fresh. Let's Play Jimmy and the Pulsating Mass!

Feel like we're finally making progress.



How'd the caterpillar squeeze through that tiny staircase?



And we're back at the entrance.



If I never have to see you again it will be too soon.



Oh. Guess this is the way to the Queen now.



Friggin' creepy giant caterpillar.



Music

Hell yes it's revolution time. Let's tear that curtain down.



Does Jimmy get a say in any of this?



Something tells me that none of these will be the right answer here.



Not liking any part of this deal.



Wait, your "husband" was behind the curtain the whole time? Then where--



QUEEN AT FIVE O' CLOCK, JIMMY



Music: A Cocoon Throbbing in a Dead Man's Mouth

Like Jimmy, the Mad Queen can change between forms every three turns, although her forms are based on poker suits rather than imagination. In all forms, she's able to use the Joker's wild card to fully heal or instantly kill a party member, or use a claw attack that inflicts Withering. Also, she's undead and thus weak to light. The abilities for each suit loosely correspond with those of the matching enemy in the castle:

• Spades: She can cut everyone's attack in half, or burn everyone's magic attack in half, which deals magic damage and inflicts Uninspired. She can also use a Counter Stance.
• Clubs: She can bash everyone's defenses in half, tear into the party, or do a three-hit rampage.
• Diamonds: She'll use your own wealth against you, call on the forces of darkness for magic damage, or seek out a Weakpoint.
• Hearts: She'll split either someone's HP or MP in two, or order everyone's HP and MP to swap places.

I always sort of like stance-shifting bosses, but honestly the Mad Queen's different suits just don't do enough to merit huge tactics shifts. There's nothing in this moveset that would demand you handle her differently from any other boss-class enemy. Heal everyone, do a lot of damage, pick people up if she wildcards them. By this point, your build for Jimmy should be up and running to the point where you can just do what comes naturally and make it out all right. Case in point: THAT FINAL BLOW



VIVA LA REVOLUCI�N



Music: The Noble Sea

Right, theming for this nightmare zone. The big fear represented here is torture, or more specifically, abuse (I just said torture twice). All the big signs are present throughout the story here: constant questions with no right answer, countless oppressive rules you're never told of, theoretical rewards for doing well, constant punishment for being "wrong", claiming that they know best without your input, doing anything in their power to keep you close enough to control you... really the entire shebang here. And consider that this coming from a former beloved queen of Legato, who the Legato Knights are still conflicted about having to seal away despite her crimes.



And remember: the Queen used to be someone that everyone in Legato loved, up until her child died. But as soon as that happened, she turned cold and controlling. Probably not hard to figure out the culprit there. It's also not hard to draw a parallel to Helga in some way: the fear that if she loses Jimmy, she'll become just as much of a monster as the Mad Queen was. After all, the people of Legato assumed her to be the Queen at first. I personally think that even if that is the case here, it's a fairly unfounded fear on Jimmy's part. Helga might have emotional highs and lows, but she always eventually recovers from tragedy, if what happened with GAMM-E is any indication. But just because a fear isn't likely doesn't mean it isn't scary.



Anyway, let's loot.



Sunny Day (60 MP) is the obligatory superheal move, and unsurprisingly, it's Helga-exclusive. The cooldown isn't a huge barrier, because ideally with Helga on deck you're keeping your team in good condition for most of the fight, but this one's nice if you have to pick up the party after a near-wipe.



The Dream Stone (+30 MAT) lets you apply Motivated and Inspired to a party member, but only on the same turn it's used. So this one's an ideal weapon for someone with both AGI and MAT. This was my weapon of choice for Jimmy in my first playthrough, but honestly, of the remaining party members, the only real candidates are Helga and Hitomi (who is currently on the moon). Still, it's another form of buff that stacks with Concentrate and/or Called Shot, so that's handy.



Let's wrap this up.



Music: March of the Corgis

With the Mad Queen defeated for good, the people of Legato are no longer plagued by nightmares. Smile may have had a tragic fate to it, but at the very least, we could make Legato safer and happier.



Music: Parabolic Smile

Furniture again. The Drum Kit (+3 DEF, 1/6 of the Musical Set)...

And the Stationary Bike (+2 MDF, 1/5 of the Gym Set).



Music: Let's Color Today

One last thing. Remember this weird rock next to Unbreakable Bridge?



Music: Starless Zone

This brings us to a weird bit of moon terrain. We can get into fights from the planets here if we want to (no real reason to, none of them have stuff worth stealing).



But this is a pretty handy place for people looking for nightmare zones. This Squirm will scan for any remaining nightmare fights and tell you their location each time. I'm not gonna say where the last few are, though. Sometimes they just need to be surprises.

Next Time: REROUTING POWER TO MAINFRAME...

I love that Information Guy isn't just some dude who dies all the time, but an entire race of human-like apes that can quote tutorial materials they've read up on all their lives but can't even comprehend the words that are coming out of their mouths.

Were there any hints to this being the case if you shook up any Information Guys before their li'l village? Or are the ones away from there better at faking a human-ish reaction to being throttled?

Music: Let's Color Today

This place has probably been on everyone's mind ever since they first saw it. Well, now we can reach it!



Music: Fun, Sunny Day

Rainbow Park is a bit of a continuation of the themes present throughout our journey in Sweet Melody.



It also centers around young Helga! We'll see ghostly images of her as we go through.



Music: Rainy Sunday

The weather up here is pretty volatile, and shifts between sunny and rainy every so often. And as it does, so too do the ghostly images change in perspective.



Music: Fun, Sunny Day

Anyway everyone on the hippo blimp.



Music: Rainy Sunday

This area is sort of like the memory caves but not 100%. Obviously, these aren't Jimmy's memories of Helga, he wouldn't even have been born yet.



Most of this place is straightforward enough: walk over rainbow bridges and take in the scenery. The rainy/sunny thing is there but not a big part.



Music: War of Hearts

The enemies here, like in the Ultimate Construction, build off the themes of the enemies in Sweet Melody but take it up a notch. The Season Monkey cycles between a different seasonal form every turn, and has both a standalone attack (in this summer variant case, just a normal attack) and a cackle which telegraphs a unique move. Summer here can slam into someone for heavy damage. I don't know if the telegraphed move is queued up based on the form for the turn the telegraph is used, or the form of the turn when the move would be queued. Oh well!

The Flamingogo can either basic attack or start Flying. Once it's in the air, its moveset changes, as usual: it can yammer to Startle and damage someone, deal magic damage with gusts of wind, or barrel into someone for heavy damage at the cost of losing Flying.



Autumn Season Monkeys lose the basic attack in exchange for Ghost Fire, and their cackle telegraphs a torrent of liquid flame to hit the party.



Music: Fun, Sunny Day

A little ways ahead, we find a small playground!



Music: Rainy Sunday

But ghostly image Helga just isn't feeling like swinging today.



Music: Fun, Sunny Day

Sometimes she is, though.



The Glowing Totem is sort of nice? At the very least it's good for the Jimmy we're running now, and it's nice if you have nothing better to put on someone with well-rounded stats like Helga.



Music: War of Hearts

Peliconcertina is the grabbing enemy of the area. It also deals damage to whoever they have Grasped in their beak.



Music: Rainy Sunday

The scenery is nice here, at least.



Music: War of Hearts

Hey, it's the Sky Guardian! She's a little unique, although I won't say exactly how for now. I will go over her moveset, though: basic attack, lullaby, and she can inhale a big gulp of air to telegraph sleepy-time breath that hits the party.

Meanwhile, the Spring Season Monkey can either scratch with diseased claws that inflict Sick, or cackle to telegraph a cloud of spores that inflict Sick.



Music: Fun, Sunny Day

Oh, no. It's this stupid place.



In order to get through this hedge maze, we have to race through it in 24 seconds or less. If you try just walking, you'll be about a second short, so obviously you have to use Red-Billed Squawker form, right? Well, yes. But...



Since the Red-Billed Squawker's dash is basically a hack to the usual RPG Maker overworld movement thing, the input on it is incredibly bad. You have a lot of startup on it, no way to cancel the dash partway through, and honestly not that much speed gained from dashing. You can only really use it in LONG straightways, where you do not need to turn even a little bit. And even then, you barely gain enough time to make it work. It's just incredibly awkward and not fun, and there's a reason I spend most of the maze just walking. Far more maneuverable and nearly as fast.



I'd really just as soon not have a racing segment in this engine.



The one good part here: if you send Inspector Ludwig to Rainbow Park, he'll run the race for you, so you can get the lightbulb just by visiting. I don't really think it's a great idea to include this segment, but at least there's a way around it.



IM FREE



Over here, we find Helga and Andrew in their younger days! Look at how happy they are!



Music: Rainy Sunday

Unprepared, though.



We could move on to the next area, but I want to explore each sky island in full.



Music: Fun, Sunny Day

Huh, giant bell. What if we give it a glass of punch, Tanaka style?

Secret treasure! Let's go get it!



Music: Rainy Sunday

The Rainbow Gown (+10 MAT, +50 DEF/MDF) is an amazing bit of clothing for Helga, easily enough to keep her through endgame and well into postgame if you want.



Music: Fun, Sunny Day

Let's keep moving. There's more yet to see.



Music: Rainy Sunday

Rainbow Park is basically a giant circle, so when faced with a fork in the road, head outward from the circle for extra hidden goodies.



For example: that's close enough to jump over.



Music: Fun, Sunny Day

Hey, nice. Pretty sure that's the last bit of the Musical Set!



Music: War of Hearts

About dang time. Winter Season Monkeys can either normal attack, or cackle to telegraph a three-hit rampage. They're also undead for some reason.



Music: Rainy Sunday

Just keepin' on here.



Music: Fun, Sunny Day

Hey, look at that! That there's a baby Buck if I ever did see one. They're having fun, looks like.



Music: Rainy Sunday

But even when you're ready for a kid, they're still going to exhaust you far beyond what you're ready for.



We're nearly done with the loop, what else is there?



Ah, that fits. One to mirror the other building.



Boy howdy am I gonna be glad to not have to loop these with every other screenshot.



Right. This, right here, is what we came all the way out here for.



This is one of the energy nexus points the robot back at the Pulsating Mass mentioned. Let's grab on and hold on.



Music

Keep holding.



Music: Morning Lullaby

This is what the energy nexus points are about. Each time, we'll focus on a small part of Jimmy's family, and learn about them, both who they were to Jimmy growing up, and how they're handling the situation he's in now. This is as clear an indication of Helga as a person as we're going to get. And from what we've seen, she's capable of both incredible cheeriness and support, and heavy emotional crashes that make even Lars look cheery by comparison. A lot of her as a character is about her being the emotional core of the family, trying to make sure everyone is happy, and that shows with how well everyone else in the family relates to her (even Buck, considering he didn't actually hurt her when they were both atop Tetsuya Kawaii HQ). But nobody can maintain that 100% energy all the time, and when that energy goes out, Helga just has too much depression to even function.



Music: Rainy Sunday

With that, the orb has faded, and the lockdown on Central Hub has one energy nexus point. Five to go.



Music: Parabolic Smile

Hell yeah Staff Paper (+3 LUK, 1/6 of the Musical Set).



And that's the Musical Set completed! Unfortunately, the bonus here is... well, it's not bad, but it's not one I really feel like I need. I'm pretty diligent about snatching up furniture from monsters (although I'm less diligent about showcasing furniture I've stolen, as evidenced with the Banana Phone).



Music: Simple Arithmetic

Armed with the Autophonograph to lessen the amount of mindgrind brought on by too much Eye of Newt, I take another Dark Dungeon dive. Should really stop going in from floor 1 though, at least until I bank enough points to grab some starting items.



Beginner's Luck is ours now.



Music: Haunted Bicycle

Gimme that thing.



I'm sure someone out there is super excited about collecting furniture in Jimmy and the Pulsating Mass. That someone is not me.



Music: Balancing the Great Rings

Rubik spaces are always super nice down here, and I like to try to shoot for them with Loaded Dice if I have a surplus of them.

Music: Adventuring for Beginners

Ach. Was hoping for a toybox on floor 21. Well, I'm strapped for resourced and patience anyway, so we'll get some points and move on to the next place we want to check out.



Music: Parabolic Smile

In addition to the Voodoo Mask (+3 MAT, 1/6 of the Mystical Set)...

I also spent some Dungeon Points to grab the Sarcophagus (+3 AGI, 1/6 of the Mystical Set) off of Chuff. Next time I'll start my Dark Dungeon runs from floor 20 so I can really accrue the points needed to get starting items.



Music: Carton of Smokes, Half-Smoked

Hm... so let's make some funny faces at the puny biohorrors and see what happens.



Music: Night Stroll

MEMENTO MORI HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE



Mr. Makura also gives you a hint for this one, subtle though it is.



There's three throughout the building. Scare all of them into this vat and begin the convergence...



And they fuse together.



Lightbulb!



Music: Worm Party

At some point I got 15 Marvelous Coins, so what've you got for me now?



Sure, all right. We need 20 coins for his next whatever.



Music: Let's Color Today

Let's stop in here real quick.



Music: Finer Circuitry

Only things here are this track and that robot.



I wish I could help you.



We might have to shake some sense into this thing.



Well... we shook some nonsense out of it. That's a start, right?



Music: Let's Color Today

Okay, next on the docket: we've finally tracked down the Iron Flamingo. Looks like the Mutt really did a number on it.



Prepare to board!



Music: Machines en Vogue

Guess it must've crashed. GAMM-E isn't responding immediately.



Well, let's look around.



The terminals are all staticky. Maybe we can technomancy our way into something here...



That's all the terminal can manage before it winks out. Not especially promising, but we should keep trying.



Music: Toaster with Teeth

Multipliers are the WORST. That indicator on it says exactly how much its multiplying the attack power of everything else here, which is to say: too much. Every Integer we steal from it lowers the display by 1, so if we steal twice, all enemies get a 0x multiplier to their attacks, which is nice.

Looks like some sea creatures have boarded the Iron Flamingo as well. Slithery Dee can either perform a triple attack, slam into the party, or hock up something gross to make the party Sick.



Music: Machines en Vogue

You all remember the layout here, right? Cool. I'm just gonna go tag whatever terminals I can. It looks like it's helping the Iron Flamingo overall.



Getting there. Slowly.



Oh, good, GAMM-E's still in there. Don't worry, we'll get everything up and running.

Music: Toaster with Teeth

We've also got Murk down here. It can do a normal attack, or watch you. Watching telegraphs either a heavy bite, or snaking towards you, which in turn telegraphs the instakill chomp down, spit out the remains move that's so popular these days.



Music: Machines en Vogue

Progress being made here, slowly.



Can you talk?



Barely. We don't have much power throughout the ship, so we'll need to reroute a lot of what we have.



Music: Toaster with Teeth

Now that we can encounter Super Deathbot 5000 in the wild, let's actually go over its moves. It can either normal attack, fire a buzzsaw at someone, use a flamethrower to deal magical damage to everyone, or use a lethal injection to deal damage and cause Terminal, which just to refresh your memory, will kill the victim in three turns.



Music: Machines en Vogue

The vending machine still works, and still has 50 bucks in change.



Hey, remember this thing? Let's play with it more!





Five toyboxes here, for the record.



Importantly, since Punch Tanaka was formerly high-ranking on the Iron Flamingo, we can use that ID in our favor now!



One more!



If you liked the Bee Stinger weapon, but wish you had that with a more consistent Startle effect, the Taser is for you. As usual, this works best on a speedy person who doesn't need to do lots of damage.



Hang in there. We're getting you back online.



We're here, we're helping.



Hey now, we couldn't get out here before we got Hitomi's spaceship.



Yeah we've already wrestled a bunch of sea monsters. Come on, on your processes.



You are crashed on a desert island! Jimmy is eight! He cannot cross an ocean without a spaceship or something.



Sorry, once more? Was kind of creeped out by the decomposed Information Guy in the containment pod.



Okay, think that's every terminal.



Now then, down this hallway next to Information Guy's containment pod, there's a hallway we previously could not get into.



But with GAMM-E more-or-less restored to full capacity and her security systems overridden, we can enter.



Oh, hey!



Nah, Jimmy would probably be fine with chess. GAMM-E is probably less of a terror at it than Andrew, anyway.



My nose isn't very good even on the best of days, so to be real, I don't.



What do you mean, the pie is falsified? That's just rude.



Hold that thought, machinery.

Sorry, reflex. Something about "grip strength to crush a mid-sized sedan" coupled with the cackle just threw me.



Music

...I think you've got a rounding error or thirty in your math.



Music: Skin Thieves

I don't want to fight, but there's no point to having your grandson visit if you just initiate a lockdown before trying to accommodate.



Music: A Cocoon Throbbing in a Dead Man's Mouth

GAMM-E wasn't kidding when she said she was impervious. The only thing that can reliably break double-digit damage on her is the 138 Gun, and while I used that for this fight (to prove I could), it's kind of pointless, because the actual way to defeat her is to just keep dealing hits. Damage over time doesn't work here like it does vs. Mr. Grouse's personal computer, but the actual damage from each hit is irrelevant. A noodle-armed booksmack from Andrew hits exactly as hard as an Analysis-boosted Karma-Release for all practical intents and purposes. Each hit reduces the counter on the left by 1, and when it drops to 0, GAMM-E takes 5000 damage and escalates to the next security protocol, upgrading her moves and replenishing the counter. You can steal a wide variety of numbers from her to accelerate the counter further.

• No security protocol: She can normal attack or fire a laser. She can also flash a warning light, telegraphing a three-hit rampage or a party-hitting laser.
• Security protocol DXF-001: As above, plus Mind Controlling delta waves, and the area laser instead becomes a super ultra mega beam that deals heavy damage to one target.
• Security protocol DXF-002: She can now rampage without telegraphing, or Grasp someone with her hand and deal heavy damage at the start of each turn they're Grasped. The warning light can still telegraph the super ultra mega beam, or filling the room with noxious gas that inflicts Sick and Sleep on the party.
• Security protocol DXF-003: Her laser becomes party-wide, and she trades the grab for rockets that hit the party for serious damage, but have to be reloaded on a future turn to use again. Instead of the super ultra mega beam, she can now flood the room with Acid.

If you want to build a strategy for this fight, aside from the obviously powerful Shakedown, it's important to get a bunch of ways for your team to support each other, rather than maximizing damage. Make use of Rejuvenate, Adrenaline Shot, First Aid, and whatever other support manuals you have, especially on Andrew since his entire skillset is worthless against GAMM-E. Try to wait until higher security to start stealing numbers, since the early phases are comparatively non-threatening. That about covers it, really.



Music

I don't know if this counts as a full-fledged fear, but this counts as enough of a nightmare fight to register to Squirm. It's not really surprising that Jimmy wouldn't be enthusiastic about visiting GAMM-E. Think about how many people don't want to visit their grandparents, in a lot of ways because there's too much of a generational divide to really connect, in other ways because it's not uncommon for people to hold a lack of visits against their grandkids. Visiting your grandparents feels like an obligation rather than a fun time, for many people. It's really hard to deal with that, especially when even if they don't guilt you, you never really know when the last time you see them will be, or whether your next visit will be overshadowed by hospital machinery and overworked nurses.



Music: Morning Lullaby

This is, of course, one of the more tragic ones.



GAMM-E was already low on power before we rerouted almost everything else out of the ship. Now she's lost a fight, too.



I'm sure Jimmy would like that.



Music

GAMM-E is offline.



Music: Machines en Vogue

Perfect Guard (25 MP) renders the user completely invincible for one turn. Reflects all spells, counters all physical attacks (although for less damage than a Counter Stance would), probably ignores all status effects too. It's really good for Lars, but I don't know if I could recommend giving it to anyone else except MAYBE Helga, to give her an out when a giant move that you can't tank or Startle is gonna hit.



The Giant Megaphone lets you turn anyone into a tank for a single turn, at the expense of their weapon slot. This one is REALLY situational, since there aren't many characters who could really do as good a job of tanking as Jimmy or Lars could, and they both have Undulate anyway. You couldn't even get Punch Tanaka to leverage this since this just takes the same action that Counter Stance would. Maybe if it had DEF/MDF.



Animal Crossing and the Pulsating Mass



Did you do nothing but invest in Red-Billed Squawker for Jimmy? Then the Perpetual Motion Device (+200 AGI) is for you. Sure, you can't capitalize on this outside of regular attacks, but you can stack this, Flighty, and Hyperactivity all in one go to get a total AGI of... what, 600 from this weapon alone? That's some real stuff right there. The Perpetual Motion Device can absolutely be the cornerstone of a build.

Next Time: Finally, that degree in mechanical engineering paid off.

Huh, that Slithery Dee reference came out of nowhere, but I suppose it really does fit a game about a child's nightmares (especially if he got the song out of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark). It makes me wonder what else I should have been catching in terms of mostly-dated pop culture references.

Sky Guardians are all legs and cleavage, but Jimmy's not afraid of them. It's a Helga-themed area. I assume these two tidbits are related.

Also, they sing lullabies and put you to sleep. Wow that design did not come through on mobile.

Music: Air Spirals

Today our journey takes us back, very briefly, to Sacred Lantern. We're still not going to the Temple of the Inward-Seeking Eye, but now that everyone's back, the temple has opened for lessons.



For now, that lets us loot this.



Music: Let's Color Today

More specifically, we're headed to the Great Triangle.



Music: Circle of Snakes

Oh, hi.



It's okay, Guppy. You'll figure it out in time.



Race ya.



Oh he's a quick one.



There they go.



Oh, by all means. We'll catch up.



So the Great Triangle is very much about Captain Fish and his family, and also maybe about graverobbing.



Music: Interstellar Field Trip

It's also home to the Science Guardian, who wields a laser as their normal attack. He can also calculate with his peers, which for his part telegraphs a party-wide laser move. You can probably already see the resemblance to the Sky Guardian, but I'll leave the relevance to you to figure out for now.



Music: Circle of Snakes

Huh, why are you in this ancient mural, Andrew?



Huh, that's pretty advanced for a first grader. But I guess even a six-year-old Jimmy is smart enough to figure that sort of thing out, with ample guidance from his dad, of course. Probably a better father-son bonding experience than just some dang ol' baseball, at least. That always felt like one of those things that was sort of a forced expectation for "this is how [dad] interacts with [son]" to me.



If nothing else, Jimmy has some good rapport with Andrew, even if he's a pretty subdued person.



NO TIME FOR FIGHT, TIME FOR TOYS



I'm upset.



Well, this isn't a very deadly trap. Lots of soft sand to fall onto, and no other threats.



Now I feel sad for the snakes.



Sure, show us what you got.



Captain Fish flips both switches, but nothing happens.



Come on, Captain. This is relationships 101: always listen to your partner.



Ah, the ol' synchronized switches. A classic.



Music

But nothing happens.



Music: Circle of Snakes

You probably missed some obtuse clue in the murals earlier or something.



Hey, go for it.

Mrs. Fish flips the left switch twice, then the right switch once, then the left switch.



And with that, they take off.



Well, mostly.



Let's keep going. Got to keep them out of trouble.



There's a lot of otherwise-unremarkable hallways in this segment.



This area branches down a few different paths.



Not much in this room save for some curious etchings on the wall.



I get the feeling I may need to burrow here.



Well, I didn't NEED to, but I wanted to.



Music: Interstellar Field Trip

There's only two other enemies that are new in the Great Triangle. Redfish, like Onefish before it, automatically Counters and is immune to physical attacks. It can attack, or sharpen its edges to telegraph a three-hit rampage. It also can unlock a powerful chomp attack if another enemy calculates with it.

Likewise, the Bluefish has the same passive Reflect as the Twofish. It either uses ice magic, or sharpens its edges to telegraph a triple-hit ice spell. If another enemy calculates with it, it calls up a blizzard.



Music: Circle of Snakes

Forgot to demonstrate, but Mrs. Fish is waiting in the path up ahead. She got separated from the rest, but found the way forward.



Who's over here?



Well, we'll find out quickly.



Sure, pal. Two seconds.



If you're sure.



Can't really make things worse at this point, can we?



Success!



Well, for a brazen adventuring type, Captain Fish doesn't have smarts, or much in the way of fighting skill, or even much in the way of charm. But he sure is fearless.



omigosh



its so tiny and good and its my new friend



Let's try this side next.



Hey Guppy. Probably not safe to sit in the sand like that.



Ah, no, if you want to escape a granular substance like this, you need slow movements, and try to rotate your body to be flat against the substance in question.



Well, like father, like daughter, I guess. Hang on, I'll flower for ya.



Huh, you might have a point there.

If we burrow into the sand opposite of where Guppy was, we get ourselves some savings! Also furniture I guess.



Okaydoke, let's check in.



Hey guys.



Happy to help!



All right.



Didn't even occur to me to try bothering them all on the switches. Maybe I'm good at following the rules, or just impatient. Probably both!



So how are you related to Mainie and Henry Frog and Jorgen then?



Depends on what kind of weregild LeGrange would ask for.



Hey, all in good fun. We're rich anyway, so treasure isn't what we're here for. Doesn't hurt, mind you.



Back to hallways for a bit.



Oh, time for more ancient history!



Now, as far as Jimmy's relationship with Andrew, this is more of the same as the last mural. Jimmy's got a vivid imagination and an aptitude for learning, and he's apparently a Long Neck main. The more interesting part here is that last sentence. For all that Jimmy and Andrew have in common, there's a ridiculously large gulf between Andrew and Buck. Andrew is 100% about logic and knowledge and research, and Buck is a pissed-off teenager who only ever wants to get stronger. We've even seen as much throughout the story: Buck was reluctant to track down his own father when missing, on the sole basis that he's a nerd, and Andrew didn't even try to go talk to Buck after he went monstrous beyond a half-hearted "I'm disappointed in you". With people who share his interests, like Helga and Jimmy, Andrew gets along perfectly, but as soon as you take a step outside that sphere? Icy wasteland.



But enough about that, let's get the treasure and loot priceless cultural artifacts from the people of Secret Meridian!



Well, first we've a locked door to handle.



Back in five.



Lots of spikes on the floor.



Well, Guppy's unharmed.



Ah, the "first day of Spelunky" method of trap disarming. Not usually an effective one, but entertaining.



Guppy flips the switch behind her, as usual waiting for someone else to see.



Honestly I think Captain Fish would be proud of you. I do not endorse his theoretical opinion.



But hey, we know that we can dash over these quickly to get around the trigger!



Getting there.



Of course they didn't wait up for us. Jerks.



I think we're about done here, right?



One more mural, but this one doesn't look anything like the others.

This one's just kind of cute, but if there is any meaning beyond that which we could attach to it, I'm too tired to think of it right now.



Well, the two of you are certainly interested, but...



How are you not registering that big-ass sarcophagus behind you? Seriously, if you don't want it I'll have it. You can never have enough sarcophagi.



Too big to carry. But I do see something behind where it was...



You know this wall is tough because it takes three Tanaka punches to bring it down.



Vaporize (40 MP) is a generic alternative to Molecular Beam, and can be used by anyone. The cooldown is VERY harsh, but if you want Andrew to be able to fire off heavy magic damage with less crazy-high MP expenditure, it's an option.



On the left is the energy nexus point we were looking for.



Let's learn even more.



Music

You have to keep learning, even if it's scary.



Music: Morning Lullaby

A big part of Andrew's character is his unflagging belief in the power of logic and science. He's one of those sorts of people who would probably look on the outside at someone else suffering a tragedy and analyze what happened and what they could have done to avoid it, rather than understanding that sometimes things just go horribly wrong and there is nothing you could've done or can do. He's smart, but emotionally speaking, he's incredibly ignorant, and it's not out of the question that he'd be somewhere on the autism spectrum, given that how well he relates to someone directly correlates to how much they can follow his interests. So, to me at least, what Andrew's tale ends up feeling like is a major crisis of faith. He's faced with the fact that his son might die due to factors entirely outside of his control, and there might not be a "solvable" state he can reach here, but he's still going to feel like this is his fault, because logically there must be a way to save Jimmy, right? He's almost missing the forest for the trees, trying like mad to find that solution rather than, as Punch of all people had to remind him, just spending time with Jimmy.



Music: Circle of Snakes

Helga's energy nexus point was pretty straightforward, but for all the rest, we're going to get plain reminders that every member of Jimmy's family is A: incredibly, deeply flawed, and B: loves and cares about Jimmy and is doing their best, just like he's doing his.



This rope is a shortcut back to the first floor of the Great Triangle.



Which means we can finally grab the Graduation Robe (+20 MAT, +35 DEF, +50 MDF). Obviously, this one's good for Andrew, but really anyone who could use the help with MDF and MAT can use it.



Music: Parabolic Smile

Anyway, furniture showcase time! From left to right:

Fishbones (+2 DEF, 1/5 of the Scaly Set)...

The Spinning Top (+3 AGI, 1/6 of the Geometric Set)...

The Marvelous Statue (-10 LUK)...

And a Box Fan (+4 AGI).

Next Time: Well, they used to call me "Short Fuse Shelly" after my old instructor smiled at me wrong and I broke his nose with a flying knee, but those days are long behind me.

I can only imagine how insufferable Andrew would be if he were an oncologist instead of a paleontologist.

The Marvelous Statue decreases luck, huh? I'm glad Mr. Marvelous is doing better, but I'm already getting the impression that this ain't a Dragon Quest style mini medal sidequest.

On the subject at hand, Andrew definitely strikes me as the kind of guy who's high on the INT spectrum but low on WIS and CHA stats.

Music: Parabolic Smile

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa Banana Phone (+2 MDF, 1/5 of the Fruity Set).



Boring. Give me offense instead so I can kill encounters faster.



Music: Skin Thieves (8-Bit)

I wanted to go knock out the Stinkweed Cup first this update, but checking in the church...



They don't even mention the Goddess anymore, whoever that was. It's become a cult.



Music: Beep Beep Boop Village

Well, nuts to them. We got some blood sport to do.



Music: Slaughter Promise

Y'all know the drill: these fights contain spoilers for later areas.





Music

That wraps up the Stinkweed Cup, save for the exhibition. There's one more cup we can do, but it's postgame only.



Music: Beep Beep Boop Village

Got bored, had lots of money, bought all the Everchip tracks.



Anyway let's do us an exhibition!



Music: Slaughter Promise

Time to see what Bashicus Maximus can do!



GRUDGE MAAAATCH



Music

GOT BEASTS TO FEED



Music: Righteous Scrabble (8-Bit)

I bet you were expecting Bashicus to be a real physical powerhouse, and he is, but did you know he's also a CYBORG? Wow! Like the Grumble Bear, Bashicus Maximus gets more pissed off, and thus more powerful, at lower health. He starts off with a simple moveset: normal attack, laser, flexing to telegraph slashing the party like a maniac, or charging his cybertronic core to telegraph a super mega ultra laser to deal heavy single-target magic damage. At 2/3 health, he'll change it up, dropping the normal attack and laser, but gaining the ability to enter a cat-like state of readiness to apply Alert, and his telegraphs also being either for their usual moves or a Counter Stance/Barrier. At 1/3 health, he drops the telegraphs outright, and can slash like a maniac, fire the super mega ultra laser, do a three-hit rampage, or fire a party-wide laser.

Oddly, I'd say that the middle phase is the easiest to work with, and a prime place to get set on lining up your ducks for a lethal blow to cut through the third phase. Yeah, you can't Startle him out of his heavy moves, but he'll rarely actually attack in that phase, and never more often than once every two turns. Once he reaches that low-health phase, though, you're facing a constant barrage of pain, and need to be able to end the fight before he does. It's easy to underestimate this guy, especially if you leave the Arena for later and come back grossly overleveled, but Bashicus Maximus didn't earn his title by being a pushover.



Music

I actually lost once to him! Of all people, I lost to Bashicus Maximus!



In any case, that's the tournament done for now.



Shoot, I skipped the Silver Jimmy, gotta look up where that is.



Music: Parabolic Smile

But hey, we have a Gold Jimmy now. I could use this to showcase set bonuses for rare sets I have exactly five pieces of, but I DON'T WANT TO.



Music: Let's Color Today

We're staying on Everchip for the entirety of today though, and tackling Kung Fu Tower.



Music: Four Black Belts in a Pinto

This area can get kind of tedious, but it's got some charm to it, too.



So, we've got to climb up five floors here.



I mean that's pretty cool I guess.



Yep. Kung Fu Tower is a puzzle, where the punishment for not figuring out the puzzles is a mandatory fight, and also you have some mandatory fights anyway. Well... you don't HAVE to clean up each floor. But each floor has a prize for if you do clean it up. So I will.



Yeah that sounds about right.



Well, we're off to a great start. Anyway yeah we whupped Bashicus Maximus about fifteen minutes ago, heard of him? Only the most famous fighter in the Kingland Arena, y'know.



Nah, you look like you're having a bad day. Go ahead and take five.



And that's it. Lots of fights on each floor are skippable, I'd say even more than half of them usually.

So there's a theme here, in that all of the martial artists training here study one of three key virtues.



That doesn't sound very honorable to me.



Tell you what: we'll steal some knowledge for you later. Nothing saying we can't be dishonorable on the side!



This guy, I'm pretty sure there's no way around.



Music: Battle in the Fire Tornado

Sages aren't too bad. They only ever use telegraph moves. If he sees magic in his future, he applies a Barrier to the enemy team. If he sees a beating in his future, he sets the enemy team to Counter Stance. And if he chants in a strange language, he'll cast Fireburst for three magical hits. You can steal Patience to give your party a Counter Stance, or Resilience to give them a Barrier.

The Martial Artists are a little more interesting, but in a way that's both super cool and also not going to have any bearing whatsoever on your fights with them. Their stats and moves both upgrade as they rank up. The White Belts can only do a straight punch, and even that much leaves them tired next turn.



Music: Four Black Belts in a Pinto

Again, the fights here aren't tricky, just time consuming.



So we've got honor, patience, and courage. Sure.



She is exactly as much of a pushover as the sage.



Hell yes give me new stuff to discuss.



Music: Battle in the Fire Tornado

The Yellow Belt just stops being tired out after the straight punch. Meanwhile, it's time for the next Guardian class enemy! Digital Guardians can either use an Immunodeficiency virus on the party, or chant in a strange language to telegraph either Ice 2 on the party, or Fire 2 on a single person.



Music: Four Black Belts in a Pinto

You guys ARE cool.



I'll fight a sleeping person!



Wonder how that came about.



No, the fewer fights I have to deal with, the better in my book. I guess an XP hound would try to fight everyone all the time, but I'm not that and there's better ways to get XP anyway.



Cool, later. So yeah, if you want to just gun straight for the next floor, you only have to do two entire fights here.



But to get the secret on each floor, you have to "defeat" all challengers. The fights get super samey, since every single one has a Sage, a Martial Artist, or both.



Eight is the magic number here.



Barely needed to fight anybody here. Why should I fight you?



This is how you can go back to fight more Kung Fu Tower battles. No.



With the eighth person "defeated" we can now get behind the Lucky Neko panel!



This is where all of the toyboxes for the area are.



Next floor, let's go.



Music

MEANWHILE, A SHODOWN



Lars and Jimmy are playing one of his games when there's a knock on his door. Pretty heavy one, too.



So, it's probably no coincidence that Hans, i.e. Jimmy's grandpa, hasn't been in the story at all save for rare mentions here or there, huh? Turns out that's because Grandpa Hans is kind of an asshole. Throughout that scene, the door wavers in place whenever he talks as though he was banging on it. Which means that of Lars' (and Helga's) parents, one of them was an angry jerk, and the other was overly kind to compensate. This would be a surefire recipe for someone of Lars' outlook in my eyes.

Music: Four Black Belts in a Pinto

Ah, yes, beyond the first floor we end up facing slight themes that color how we might approach people on the floor.



Music: Battle in the Fire Tornado

The Goblin Hero is the last normal enemy that can be encountered in Kung Fu Tower. They can attack normally, Motivate their team with a battle cry, tense its muscles to telegraph tearing into its foes for three hits, or chant in a strange language to cast Heal 2 on their team.



Music: Four Black Belts in a Pinto

Uh... okay!



I see we've already reached our first obstacle. This person refuses to even engage Jimmy.



FIGHT MEEEEEE



Music: Battle in the Fire Tornado

As a Green Belt, she can tense her muscles to telegraph a ten-brick punch, which hurts exactly as much as it sounds like it does.



Music: Four Black Belts in a Pinto

I'm just helping you train your patience, that's all!



This martial artist will change what she says to match your form. Here, look!





This is the only way to defeat her. Her pessimism is without peer.



I mean I guess. That's technically a fight.



Sure.



Music: Battle in the Fire Tornado

Violet Belts have learned to chain their straight punch into a Startling leg sweep.



Music: Four Black Belts in a Pinto

I appreciate the effort.



Three more fighters up here. So far, we've only had the one required battle. So yeah, a thousand bucks.



Whoa, okay.



Bring it.



This fighter heals us up afterwards!



...Yes?



I'm doubtful, but points for enthusiasm.



You could... just go get some? You don't need to chop things to obtain them.



Y'know what? Sure. Shine on you crazy diamond.



Nah we're cool.



And that about does it for floor 2. Again, only one fight on this floor is required at all!



Nice of them to showcase the furniture we're getting beforehand.



Music

HEAVEN OR HELL? LET'S ROCK

Dead silent here.



Guessing the absence of Grandpa Hans is a factor.



Lars gets up and walks over to the radio.



Ah. I guess this is when Grandpa Hans died. No wonder Helga's floorbound.



Music: The Please God Make It Stop Polka

The man actually listened to polka? Wild.



Lars isn't a great dancer, but he's trying his best to lighten the mood. And hey look, Grandma's clapping along!



After a bit, Helga hauls herself to her feet.



There we go, she's getting there.



Jimmy would dance, but he's shy.



Music

I like the idea of being remembered in celebration when you die, instead of a dour funeral. Maybe not exactly this kind of style, though.



Music: Morning Lullaby

Now, the very little that we've seen of Grandpa Hans just shows him as a cantankerous ass of a father. But at the end of the day, he's still Helga and Lars' dad, and like it or not, he was a big part of their lives.



But really, this scene isn't about Hans. It's about the rest of his family. Lars has already had to deal with heavy depression for most of his life, so this kind of heavy feeling from a tragedy isn't really news to him. What's more, it shows that he's got a surprising amount of emotional insight, given that he went for playing some of Hans' old music to try to cheer Helga up. Helga's had a constant theme of music to her character, so it follows that that would be a good way for her to cope here. Hell, Grandma's been here the whole time, and the only interaction she displayed at all was clapping along to her husband's favorite music.



Music: Four Black Belts in a Pinto

Anyway, back to silly kung fu antics. Like this guy says, you can win a lot of the fights on this floor by sneaking up behind people



Uh... like so.



Armed with this powerful evil knowledge, we head around to flank his first pupil.



If you're wondering "why don't you just use Rotting Jack O' Lantern form" for this, then I have to point out that this is Jimmy's dream and maybe things don't have to make sense OKAY



This person has developed a powerful anti-ghost technique involving spinning in place constantly.



You could probably avoid this fight with timing that I don't care to bother with.



Music: Battle in the Fire Tornado

Orange Belts go from the straight punch to a rabbit punch on the next turn, doling out three hits. They'll continue from there to the leg sweep.



Music: Four Black Belts in a Pinto

Whatever you say.



We can be a boy ghost with the power of imagination. We'd rather be a cool dude though.



So it goes.



Uh... huh. This feels like a trap.



Don't know what happens if you approach from the side. Whoops.



Music: Battle in the Fire Tornado

Blue Belts gain the ability to center their chi, which self-heals.

Music: Four Black Belts in a Pinto

Did you hum the Ghostbusters theme? I hear that helps.



Hm...



Suppose we scoot you over like so.



You could've turned in another direction at any time.



So... of the people on this floor, two out of the seven are required fights.



But wait, aren't there supposed to be eight people to a floor?



A secret passage!



Aside from the number of people, your major clue would be the mechanics that we'd see on the next floor, partiuclarly hidden doors like this.



Anyway, I'd say that you could give people a heart attack, but I think Jimmy accidentally the only guy who was at risk, so uh... go nuts, I guess.



Cheers.



Since this puzzle is trickier than the others, the reward is something you could get a clue from Ludwig for.



Music

PREPARE FOR A CHALLENGE



Got a bad feeling about this one.



The only sounds are the beeping of the monitor and the rhythmic hiss of the oxygen.



Night and day compared to Grandpa Hans' death. Lars at least had the advantage of distance there. Here, though, he's losing someone who doted on him to the point that he never really moved out from under her care. I don't even think he'd have the chops to look after himself at this point. And even beyond self-care, we already know that Lars was super close with his mom. It's not just gonna be as simple as some polka to cheer him up.



Music: Four Black Belts in a Pinto

As I spoiled earlier, the fourth floor is full of regular jokesters.



This guy, for example, turns invisible before Jimmy's eyes!



Invisible, but not intangible.



So. Let's go find some hidden dudes.



Well, you're not very tricky at all.



No, the ghost is on the lower floor, and was also just a trickster from this floor. So really, you're just surrounded by a bunch of very real people who will absolutely prey on your worst terrors. Not even close to the same thing as a ghost.



Is that how it works, then?



No, I'm good. Hang on, I'm gonna try to get around behind you to look for ghosts.



More secret passages!



Nobody else in here.

I'm gonna poke your spine! Hoo hoo hoo!



Like the instructor said, everyone else is hiding.



Some of them are doing a better job than others.



Music: Battle in the Fire Tornado

Brown Belts can chain from centering their chi into a chi blast that deals magic damage to the party.



Music: Four Black Belts in a Pinto

Sure, whatever.



So... this is either really stupid...



Or decently clever. Don't know if you can avoid the fight by checking the other tree first. A lot of these fights' methods of avoidance kind of boil down to knowing the answer beforehand, to be honest.



Okay.



Uh... think you're a bit late there, champ. But sure.



Haha no.



This is what you call tricky, huh?



I guess that's your clue about secret passages, though.



For example.



Hey, nice.



Right. So, if I guess wrong...



Oh, depth-perception-inclusive imagery. Always good for a prank.



Still missing someone...



Aha!



Well that's convenient.



The Champion Gi (+45 DEF/MDF, +20 AGI) is very good for a lot of people, because everyone likes going faster, and lots of people like landing crits. I give this to Jimmy for now.



Music

CHALLENGER APPROACHING!



Getting right into it, huh? On the one hand, it's not hard to see where Andrew is coming from. Bringing in someone else to your home when they will be unable or unwilling to contribute to supporting the household is never easy. On the other hand, Helga's got a point here, in that it shouldn't be about Lars having to "earn" the right to stay with family. And let's not forget, the reason he can't hold a job isn't just because he's a moocher, but because he's got depression so severe that he'll write off any job application as doomed before it even really begins.



Like, this. This, right here. Lars doesn't even think highly enough of himself to go eat dinner with everyone else, possibly because he's worried (and not without cause) that Andrew and Buck won't welcome him.



Music: Four Black Belts in a Pinto

Time for the final floor. I knew Kung Fu Tower would be a long one going in, but oof.



Oh, I think I've laughed at your dad before.

Nope, I refuse your money and want to knock you the hell out.



YOUR ANGER ONLY STRENGTHENS ME.



Music: Battle in the Fire Tornado

Black Belts have a significant boost in stats compared to lesser Martial Artists, and are also the ones with stealable furniture. They can also chain off of two existing moves: they'll follow up the leg sweep with a shockwave that hits the party, and they'll follow up the chi blast with a chi release that deals heavy damage to the party but has some recoil to it.

Oh, and unrelated: Jimmy's LUK is now high enough that he can beat Helga's steal rate with Master Criminal with Shakedown! Wild.



Music: Four Black Belts in a Pinto

I've defeated Mr. Grouse in hand-to-hand combat. You cannot hope to match my ability to save money.



If you fight her master in front of the statue, The Avenging Fist will fight you no matter what you do.



Let's skip all the other stuff they have to say and get to the flanking.



Hey, I totally get that. It sounds like you've had a lot of stress in your life and I think a hug would do you a lot of good.



I MISCALCULATED SEVERELY



Lots of these fights.



Boogidy boo et cetera.



Hm... got some pattern recognition alarm bells here.



Nailed it.



These are easy.



These are too, but it's less fun.



Don't really know that we needed a fifth floor of this.



Well, there's the guy earlier back by the statue. Gotta fight him too.



Gimme five minutes and we'll get right on that.



Let's get that last toybox.



Kung Fu Punch (30 MP) is the physical answer to Vaporize. Of our current party, either Helga or Lars could use this well, but it also would be nice for either Buck, Punch or Hitomi. I'm not really a fan of this one though. The move is solid and the animation is flashy, but it's also got some Rising Sun symbology, so it's always gonna be a little awkward to me.



Finally.



I've had enough fighting for now.



Music

Let's just stay out of the way.



Music: Morning Lullaby

This is really just the culmination of all the things we've been learning about Lars all game. He's 90% a tragic, sympathetic, relatable, and honestly good person, who thinks nothing of sacrificing his own happiness and time to ensure the people he cares about are doing okay. That last 10% about him fetishizing Asian women and having an entire chapter of the game dedicated to a creepy high school romance is PRETTY DANG BAD, and I will not defend any of that. But that's what these energy nexus points are about, remember. Lars has serious flaws that can't be dreamed away, because those flaws are part of who he is. He is still, for better and worse, Jimmy's uncle, and as close and dear a friend as he could ever hope for.



Music: Four Black Belts in a Pinto

Halfway done.

Next Time: Once upon a time, there was a bear.

Mild hint for the Silver Jimmy if you don't want to go FAQ diving: Didn't someone you know recently mention that they wonder how their family is doing?

Yeah I looked it up on the wiki, we'll get that next update. I've been keeping a VERY close eye on boss stats as we go through so I can get a proper handle on when we fight each of them.

The Sky Guardian as a beautiful angelic creature parses. The Science Guardian as a Poindexter with a laser gun makes sense. The Digital Guardian as a woman flying on a broom, uh...

Music: Parabolic Smile

We've finished up the Pixel Set with the new Weapon Rack (+3 ATK). By the time you get this, you probably won't need it outside of grinding to max level for postgame. BUT IT'S THERE.



Music: My Animal Friends

Let's go check in with the Mouse family one more time.



Oh. We're going to just get more and more cheerful over here, huh.



Music: Worm Party

Absolutely, little buddy. Hop in.



Music: My Animal Friends

Nobody's at the front desk when we arrive. Let's head upstairs.



Music

Hey, there's all the postcards Timothy sent! Can you name all the locations?



Music: Morning Lullaby

If you are curious: Mr. Mouse doesn't change what he has to say if you go back after the death of Cordelia, or this scene. As far as he's concerned, his time in Smile is a closed chapter of his life. And here you have the wife he abandoned still making excuses for him, when Timothy is absolutely in the right about him being a horrible person, and he just gets insulted for it and compared to his dad. Mr. Mouse has every right to grieve over his lost daughter, but the damage he did to the rest of the family in abandoning them is deplorable.



But now the Mouse family has no father, and is about to lose their mother, by the sound of it.



The three kids that are left behind... they're strong. They'll get through this. It'll be hard, but they'll manage.



I just wish the other two would've had that chance.



Music

Mrs. Mouse did her best.



Music: My Animal Friends

And if you think about it: these three children are all that remains of Smile. Mr. Beaver, Ms. Robin, and Mr. Grouse left to go pursue projects of their own. Ms. Mole left to stalk Mr. Beaver. And Mr. Marvelous, well, he's kind of a drifter anyway.



Smile's somehow ended up even more quiet and empty than Calm Valley.



Don't feel bad about heading out, Timothy. You needed to get out and see the world, and you learned more about yourself in the process. It was a brave and good move on your part.



In any case, that's the Silver Jimmy.



And, for now, that's the story of Smile and the Mouse family concluded.



Music: Beep Beep Boop Village

Forgot to check in on Bashicus Maximus after our victory. Times is hard for a former champ down on his luck.



Soon, of course, meaning postgame.



Music: Parabolic Smile

And we've got a wildcard for each of the set types. Since we have a total of 14 furniture slots, we could have up to 4 Common Sets, 3 Monster Sets, or 2 Rare Sets at once here.



Music: Adventuring for Beginners

Say, remember this dark and spooky cavern full of spiderwebs? Well, we're FINALLY now at a good point to tackle it. Technically, Bashicus Maximus is a harder opponent than the boss in here, but eh. Least this way we can scoot past most of the encounters.



Music: Sarcastic Applause from the Darkness

Again, we can get here as early as Rotting Jack O' Lantern. We are only just now, after half the energy nexus points, just BARELY over par for this area.



But hey, what's one more nightmare zone?



Honestly, this area isn't super large, but the extremely low light makes it take a lot longer to get through. Technically, the upper area we've already explored is just as large as this part here.



As with the upper floor, our path ahead is beyond the raised minecart tracks. We have to find a switch to lower them.



Also like the upper floor, the encounters here start off shrouded in darkness. They'll emerge one turn into the fight, which can make people Afraid.

Hope you like spiders, forever. The Injector has two basic attacks: one venomous bite that imparts Immunodeficiency, and one that Leeches. It can also click to telegraph an airborne Immunodeficiency virus.



Anyway, let's find that switch.



You thought it was dark before? Man, these are gonna be some fun screenshots to try to read, huh.



Hey what the hell, isn't Helga supposed to be immune to Afraid? I want my money back. Anyway, Graspers! They can normal attack or Grasp someone. If it attacks and doesn't have anyone currently grabbed, it'll make a second attack.

Biters can either attack, or click to telegraph a heavy bite. They are supremely boring.



I'll be real with you: it's going to be impossible to convey this dungeon with the lighting this bad. Rotting Jack O' Lantern can improve visibility with the fireball effect, but even then only briefly, and doing so only extends the radius a small amount.



Just imagine Punch Tanaka: Jimmy Edition stumbling around in the dark and occasionally roaring at spiders until he finds the switch. With the power of imagination, this can be a user-participation LP!



There we go. Thankfully, the minecart tracks make it easy to get your bearings and backtrack, and they'll never really steer you wrong.



Just gotta find the damn thing again, that's all.



Got it. Hey, what if spiders?



Last two spiders. Gassers can either attack, spew out Sleep gas, or click to telegraph the ol' sleepy-time breath.

And then there's Spitters, which hock up something gross to Sicken you, hock up Acid that burns your skin, or click to telegraph an area-wide gross Sick move thing.



I dunno what those crystals that were formerly being mined here are. My gut says Red Sugar, but that's because I'm the kind of guy who will bellow ROCK AND STONE at the slightest provocation.



Oh, back to this level of lighting, huh.



The minecarts are still here, but they look like they were abandoned mid-use.



Some of the old lamps still work, but not really well.



The track's got another raised portion ahead, so let's go down this corridor to the right.



Nothing to it.



But as we enter the old lamp-lit room, the lamps go out and a horrific screech can be heard throughout the area.



Hope you remember the path!



Literally just go left, not hard.



The track gets super windy here, but you can still easily follow it.



Huh. Guess the spiders dragged the miners down here. Nobody even mentioned mining operations in Smile, so this has probably been here for ages.



At this point, the minecart's come to a point where we can't follow the track.



These detours would be more unnerving if we weren't trouncing every spider we see.



Aha! A passageway further in.



Lots of mineral deposits here too. Guess the miners dug too deep and too memetically.

Wonder if we're close to anything we can take?



Music

Hang on... You ever get that feeling that you're being watched?



Eyes flash and blink irregularly in the darkness.



Think we found the big one.



Music: A Cocoon Throbbing in a Dead Man's Mouth

Unlike the other encounters here, the Whisper Weaver can stay hidden in the darkness for extended amounts of time, or retreat back to it. It still causes party members to become Afraid when emerging. While hiding in the dark, it can either hock up something gross to inflict Sick on the party, hock up Acid on someone, or click to telegraph covering the party in thick webs that deal damage and leave them Sticky. Once it's in the open, it switches to more direct offense. It can attack normally, or Grasp someone. If they're Grasped for long enough, the Whisper Weaver will inject them with Terminal poison. It can also click in the open, which telegraphs either scratching the party with diseased claws that inflict Immunodeficiency, or biting down really hard.

The Whisper Weaver has a lot of nasty status effects, although Sleep is notably absent. The combo of damage over time, Sticky, and Immunodeficiency makes it really hard to ensure that everyone's health totals can keep up. For this reason, I'd advocate focusing more on regen effects over raw healing power, since those can avoid most of the worst effects here. Likewise, Helga may want to focus more on curing status effects than on healing. Or, of course, you can have her just go nuts on damage, that's cool too. In the event you tackle this earlier with a different party, you can have a few more possible strategies open to you (a team of Lars/Punch/Hitomi could be fun to try here), but getting around the extreme difficulty in straight healing is the number one element here.



Music

AIN'T NO HIDING FROM ME, BUG



Music: The Noble Sea

The fears represented here are extremely blunt and straightforward: fear of the dark, fear of spiders, both super common for kids, and the latter even pretty common among non-kids. In fact, I think that's represented in gameplay a bit too. You can enter the Whisper Weaver's cave super early, but don't really get in there far enough for the true fear to manifest. You're aware of it, but you don't have the tools necessary to actually confront it until much later. I think that's extremely fitting of a fear like these two, where they're equal parts simple and terrifying to a level beyond the other, more esoteric fears.



Anyway, stuff! Oh, and by the way: we got level 40 Punch Tanaka from this fight, unlocking Magnificent Combo. We're really close to that Confidence thing!



So, don't get me wrong. The regen from the Charging Station is kind of insanely good. It's good enough that I'd even consider using it on the weapon slot for damage dealers (like Molecular Beam Andrew). Now, for most instances, the Moon Badge is far and away better: higher stats overall AND you get Rejuvenate out of it too. But hey, no reason you can't stack both, right? At the end of the day, though, I really don't like giving up those tasty, tasty stat boosts outright. Maybe I'll reconsider in this case, I might have sold myself on getting a Molecular Beam build going.



Psyche (10 MP) is really, really, really good. Startling someone without caring about Alert status? Hell yes I'll take that. Only issue is that the cooldown is mega harsh, so I wouldn't really bust it out unless you really need that Startle done. As always, make sure whoever's got this move is going fast.



Music: Parabolic Smile

Furniture from the Whisper Weaver's cave: the Lilypad (+3 MDF, 1/6 of the Floral Set)...

And the Spider Table (+2 MAT, 1/5 of the Gross Set).



Music: Let's Color Today

Hey, remember the estimate I had for this place being haunted? I think I may have underestimated.



Music: Overlook Amusement Park

Jonathonland was probably super popular, once. Now, though, it looks long abandoned. At least the directory is in one piece.



Music: The Toys Move on Their Own

Hey, about time we found the upgraded Skeleton Fop. The King of Fops is even more of a pain in the ass, though: every time you fail to steal the correct Weird Bone, rather than fleeing, he'll just signal for a volley of cannon fire, dealing serious damage to the party. You still only get one free turn to try, as he'll attempt to flee on the second. Also, there's six Weird Bones rather than four now. Do it right, and you get 10k for your trouble. That would be nice if we didn't generate twice that much off a single ruby toybox. Oh well.

Worth noting: you can also encounter the King of Fops in Kung Fu Tower, using the statue. He gains the same lower resolution as everything else in Everchip if you do.



Music: Overlook Amusement Park

Anyway, as much as we don't want to be here, it's important.



Music: The Toys Move on Their Own

Night Guardians can either attack normally, or chuckle to themselves. This telegraphs them tearing into you for three hits, but also means they do that every turn for the rest of the fight.

By the way, since we've seen four Guardians now: those weird paper bag masks each have an expression that matches one of Jimmy's party members. Do you remember what all the personalities looked like? The Guardians tend to stick around areas that are linked to whoever they share a personality expression with, which isn't a huge surprise in the case of the Night Guardian.

Oh also there's Bog Worms here. They either do a normal attack, or inhale a huge gulp of air to telegraph hocking up something REALLY gross, which inflicts Sick, Sleep and Immunodeficiency on someone.



Music: Overlook Amusement Park

Anyway, let's get this place over with.



Was probably a lot more festive in the past.



Music: The Toys Move on Their Own

Hey, remember the Jack-in-a-Crate? Here's the Jeff-in-a-Bag. As is the trend, it's a vastly upgraded version. This one features new and exciting forms, such as...



The hands! They'll grab you with the grabbing hand, then cut you with the cutting hand. This all happens in one action, with the end result of leaving the victim damaged and Startled. They're pretty quick, too.



Music: Overlook Amusement Park

I guess the Jennifer Skunk area is the food court or whatever the amusement park equivalent is. Probably, uh... not the best marketing idea in the world.



This is the first fruit tree we've seen in all of Grim Echoes. Doesn't look good for eating.



Music: The Toys Move on Their Own

New kind of Jeff-in-a-Bag. Eyeballs here will normally just fire a laser, but if they spend their turn watching you, they're queueing up a super ultra mega laser that hits the entire party. Protip: don't get hit by that!



Music: Overlook Amusement Park

Anyway, even if we don't eat this bomb, it can be useful.



It's like a key, but better.



Now we can be true road kings, armed with the Apocalypse Jacket (+20 ATK, +50 DEF, +35 MDF). Goes well with anyone's look, even Andrew if you give him the Encyclopedia Set.