++,,,,,,,,,,,,,, ++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++ ++ ++WWWWWWWW::::::::++ ++++++++++++++++++++++ ++ ++ WW::##,,,,,,,,::##:: ++++++::,,,,,,@@@@::++ ++ ++ WW::##,,,,,,,,::##:: ++++++::,,,,,,@@@@::++ ++ ++WW,,##,,,,,,,,,,##::++ ++++::##,,,,,,,,,,##,,++++ ++WW,,##,,,,,,,,,,##,,++ ++ ++,,##,,,,,,,,,,##,,++++ ++WW,,##,,,,,,,,,,##,,++ ++ ++,,##,,,,,,,,,,##,,++++ WW,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,WW ++,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,++ WWWWWWWW::WWWWWW ++++++++::++++++++++ WWWWWWWW::WWWWWW ++++++++::++++++++++ ,,WW:: ++++++::++,,++++++++ ,,WWWWWW ++++++++++++,,++ ++ ,,WWWWWW ++++++++++++,,++ ++ ,,WWWWWW ,,,,::,, ,,,,++++,, ,,####,,,, ,,,,++++,, ,,####,,,, ++++++ ###### ++++++ ###### ++++++ ###### WWWWWWWWWW @@@@@@@@@@ _____ _____ _ / __ \ / ___| | | / \| __ ___ _____ \ `--.| |_ ___ _ __ _ _ | | / _` \ \ / / _ \ `--. \ __/ _ \| '__| | | | | \__/| (_| |\ V / __/ |\__/ / || (_) | | | |_| | _\____/\__,_|_\_/_\___|__\____/_\__\___/|_|___\__, | |_________________________________________________/ | \___/ Walkthrough =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- .==================================================================. / Version History \ |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | 2.30 - 12/13/09 - Almost a year after the last update, and it's | | not even a large one either, sorry about that. | | I clarified the issue with people not finding | | the Tow Rope in the Questions section, fixed a | | few more grammatical mistakes, and added in | | some tips, tricks and strategies that others | | have submitted. Also, a big thank you to | | everyone who emailed me this past year. If you | | contributed anything at all, regardless of | | whether or not I responded to your email, your | | name will probably appear in the Credits | | section. Here's hoping that the WiiWare | | version will come out soon. | | | | 2.20 - 12/17/08 - A lot of people had emailed me about not being | | able to fight Ma Pignon, so I attempted to | | clear that up in both the walkthrough and the | | Q&A section. Also, major kudos to Jp for | | finding scores of spelling and grammatical | | errors. Other than that, some sections have | | been tidied up a bit to demolish some walls of | | text (especially for Last Cave and Sacred | | Ground). | | | | 2.10 - 10/12/08 - Lessened the amount of spoilers in the guide | | so it won't potentially ruin anybody's | | experiences, also reworded some confusing | | sentences. Also submitted this guide to the | | official Cave Story website, and got a bunch | | of helpful people to review it. You can be | | expecting another update as soon as the | | WiiWare version comes out. | | | | 2.00 - 05/07/08 - Whew. Did an overhaul of the ASCII border art, | | moved the Cave Basics section behind the | | walkthrough, added data charts to the Weapons | | section, listed items found in each section of | | the walkthrough, and broke up a lot of long, | | windy paragraphs. | | | | 1.50 - 02/21/08 - Added a bestiary section, fixed a few spelling | | mistakes, corrected some errors, and tidied up | | some sections so there are less tl;dr | | paragraphs. | | | | 1.00 - 01/06/08 - Finished everything and submitted to GFaqs. | | | | 0.10 - 12/04/07 - After a month of me being lazy, finally | | decided to continue with this FAQ, and expand | | it into a full walkthrough. | | | | 0.00 - 10/21/07 - Found out that GFaqs now has a page for Cave | | Story (finally!) and decided to write a boss | | FAQ. | ' ' \__________________________________________________________________/ |======================================================================| | Table of Contents | |----------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | | | Introduction.........................................[sect000] | | | | Getting Started......................................[sect001] | | | | Controls.............................................[sect002] | | | | Walkthrough..........................................[sect100] | | -First Cave.....................................[sect101] | | -Mimiga Village.................................[sect102] | | -Egg Corridor...................................[sect103] | | -Grasstown......................................[sect104] | | -Sand Zone......................................[sect105] | | -Labyrinth......................................[sect106] | | -Waterway.......................................[sect107] | | -Egg Corridor?..................................[sect108] | | -Outer Wall.....................................[sect109] | | -Plantation.....................................[sect110] | | -Last Cave......................................[sect111] | | -Endgame........................................[sect112] | | -Sacred Ground..................................[sect113] | | | | Cave Basics..........................................[sect200] | | -Weapons........................................[sect201] | | -Items..........................................[sect202] | | -Power-up Locations.............................[sect203] | | -Bestiary.......................................[sect204] | | | | Misc. Stuff..........................................[sect300] | | -Frequently Asked Questions.....................[sect301] | | -Credits........................................[sect302] | | -Copyright Info.................................[sect303] | | -Contact Info...................................[sect304] | | | | | |______________________________________________________________________| =============================================================================== | INTRODUCTION [sect000] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cave Story, a freeware platformer made by Studio Pixel, is simply one of the best freeware games of all time. With an almost flawless gameplay, exciting plot, and a great combination of retro graphics and music, Cave Story is a sidescroller that can rival any 2-D Metroid or Castlevania game. Due to my immense love for this game, I decided to write a full walkthrough. Before I go on, note that I do not consider myself an expert Cave Story player, so some of the strategies here may not be the best or most efficient ones. Regardless, I will do my best to provide a complete and detailed guide on how to beat the game. I realize that this guide is a bit on the lengthy side, since I tend to ramble when I'm explaining things. I've also tried my best not to bore you with long paragraphs, but I probably failed there already. Um. Anyways... This guide is designed with the novice player in mind, containing a detailed walkthrough of the game from start to finish. Additionally, there are separate sections devoted to weapon stats, inventory list, bestiary, and other auxiliary information that you may find helpful when playing Cave Story. If there is anything you would like me to add or change in this walkthrough, feel free to contact me (see the Contact Info section for more details). =============================================================================== | GETTING STARTED [sect001] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- So you've just learned about Cave Story, and you're interested in checking it out. But where to start? Fret not, I've got everything you need to begin your own cave adventure. Cave Story is a freeware game, meaning that the entire game and all of its components are free to download. To get the game, first copy and paste the following url into your web browser: http://cavestory.org/downloads_1.php Now, if you just want the game and nothing else, you must first download and install the Japanese version of Cave Story, then download and run the translation patch by Aeon Genesis. However, what I really recommend is to download the Cave Story Deluxe Package. This package not only contains the original game with the translation patch already installed, but also comes with a fan-made level editor, the Cave Story OST, and many other doodads. It even contains the game Ika-chan, another game developed by Studio Pixel and the predecessor to Cave Story. Once you have Cave Story fully installed, just click on Play Cave Story (or Doukutsu if you're accessing it directly from the program files) and you're good to go. Also, since the game is less than 5 MB, it can easily be transferred onto a flash drive for portable convenience. =============================================================================== | CONTROLS [sect002] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Up Arrow - look up Down Arrow - action (talk, enter door, open treasure chest, etc.) Left Arrow - move left Right Arrow - move right Z - jump, scroll through text, confirm X - shoot, scroll through text, cancel A - switch weapons (left) S - switch weapons (right) Q - items menu W - map system Esc - pause, quit (while paused) F1 - resume (while paused) F2 - reset (while paused) To change control settings, go to the file where the Cave Story program is stored. There should be a program labeled "DoConfig". Open this program and you'll reach the settings menu, where you can customize your controls and screen size. If you're using an external controller, you can customize it here as well. =============================================================================== | WALKTHROUGH [sect100] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Well, here we go, the walkthrough itself. There are 13 sections in all, mostly categorized by area. Note that some of my strategies may not be the most efficient strategies, so if you think you have a better way to defeat or get past some part of the game, feel free to email me, and if it works, I won't hesitate to add your strategy to this FAQ (as well as your name to the Credits section). At the head of each section, there is a chart with all the weapons, items, and upgrades found in that particular section. Anything with a * next to it means that it's optional. But enough about that, let's move on to the exciting part. ========================== | First Cave [sect101] |XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX -------------------------- _________ _______ ( Weapons )========( Items )=============. | | | | Polar Star | | '__________ | | ( Upgrades )=======| -none- | | | | | Life Capsule x1 | | | | | '----------------------------------------' _____________ [ Start Point ] You find yourself in a small cavern with no idea who you are or what you're doing here. There are two items to note here: the floppy disk is a save point, so be sure to keep an eye out for these. The monitor with a heart icon is a refill station: it refills all of your health, and once you get the Missile Launcher will also replenish your missile supply. You access both of these by pressing the Down arrow. When you get the hang of the controls, make your way to the top of the room and press Down to enter the door. ____________ [ First Cave ] Take a left and jump over the spikes. If you're still getting familiarized with the game, don't run too fast - you can't afford to get hit with just 3 health. Run underneath the Bats and jump up into the small alcove containing a Life Capsule (press Down to obtain it). Life Capsules increase your max health, so try your best to collect all of them. Continue downwards while avoiding the Bats. The last jump might be a bit difficult - you have to perform a running jump immediately before you touch the water. Ignore the Critter for now and make your way to the tiger-head structure. _________________ [ Hermit Gunsmith ] Sneak past the sleeping geezer and open the treasure chest for your very first weapon, the Polar Star. Makes you feel great, stealing from a senile man, doesn't it? ____________ [ First Cave ] Now that you have a weapon, you can kill all the enemies in this cave. Whenever you defeat an enemy here, it will drop either a heart, which restores your health, or an energy crystal, which gives your weapon experience points, which will level up your weapons. Make your way back to the Start Point but head right this time. Now you can destroy those star blocks obstructing your way earlier, so make a path for yourself while killing the Critters along the way. Don't be too hasty to jump towards the door - it's actually guarded by a door mimic. Just keep shooting it until it dies, then proceed to exit through the real door. I recommend that you upgrade the Polar Star to level 2 before you exit. ============================== | Mimiga Village [sect102] |XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX ------------------------------ _________ _______ ( Weapons )========( Items )=============. | | | | -none- | Map System | '__________ | Silver Locket | ( Upgrades )=======| Arthur's Key | | | | | Life Capsule x1 | | | | | '----------------------------------------' ________________ [ Mimiga Village ] You arrive at this cozy little village inhabited by rabbit-like creatures called Mimigas. As soon as you can move again, head right to find a save point and refill station. Feel free to chat with all the Mimigas in the village if you want. Once you're tired of talking, it's time to get a Map System. Go east of the central save point and drop down the gap onto a hanging platform. From there, hop your way across to the right and open the treasure chest for the Map System. Now, head back to the save point and jump upwards to reach Yamashita Farm. ________________ [ Yamashita Farm ] Head to the other side of the farm to find a Life Capsule in the water. ________________ [ Mimiga Village ] Next, enter the Reservoir on the middle left edge of the village. ___________ [ Reservoir ] Hop your way to the fishing Mimiga and drop into the water. See those sparkles at the bottom? Go towards them and press Down. You'll find the Silver Locket. Now make your way towards the exit, and you'll encounter Toroko, that Mimiga who initially ran away from you. She still seems a bit jumpy, though. Follow her out. ________________ [ Mimiga Village ] After the hilarious (and somewhat pathetic) scene is over, save at the save point, refill any health you may have lost for whatever reason, and enter the shack at the southeast corner of the village. _______ [ Shack ] Walk a bit to the right and Toroko will suddenly pop out of the ground and attack you. Jump over her and shoot her to calm her down. Once she's sedated, talk to her, and eventually two of the main villains will make their entrance - Misery and Balrog, a witch and a lunchbox/toaster/robot respectively. You'll have an option whether or not to fight Balrog. He gives a lot of experience crystals if you beat him, so I suggest you fight him anyway. .---------------. ( Boss: Balrog(1) )============================================================ '===============' Huzzah! Meet Balrog, one of the most memorable characters in Cave Story. For the first boss, he is's extremely easy to beat. At the most, this battle will serve as a warm-up for future boss fights. ( Attacks ) Well, this is as easy as it gets. Balrog, being the simple-minded guy he is, charges at you, and that's about it. After he runs at you twice, he'll do it again but add a jump at the end of his charge, so watch for that. It's nothing you shouldn't be able to predict and dodge correctly. If you do happen to get too close to him, he'll grab you and deal some damage (the animation for this is quite...interesting), then toss you away. It's easy enough to avoid, just play keep-away and you'll be fine. ( Strategy ) Just continuously shoot him with the Polar Star, and if he gets too close then jump over him. Piece of cake. Having the Polar Star at level 2 is recommended, but don't sweat it if it's still at level 1. After you beat him he'll drop some energy crystals for you. What a swell guy! After Balrog retreats, head back to Mimiga Village. =============================================================================== ________________ [ Mimiga Village ] Go up to the save point again and this time head right. Talk to Jack in front of the Graveyard entrance and he'll scuttle away. Enter the Graveyard. ___________ [ Graveyard ] Shoot the Pignons (those mushrooms) in your way, and jump over the Gravekeeper. Loop around to the top-left corner to reach Arthur's gravestone. There's something shiny here, so examine the sparkles to find Arthur's Key. Head back to Mimiga Village. ________________ [ Mimiga Village ] With Arthur's Key, you'll be able to open the door to Arthur's House, in the lower-left hand corner of the village. ________________ [ Arthur's House ] Arthur's House will serve as your home base for the majority of the game. Don't get too comfortable, though, since you'll only stop by here for plots and heals before getting whisked off to your next mission. Once you're in, inspect the computer terminal and select YES to the question. Now you can use the teleporter to access the next area, Egg Corridor. ============================ | Egg Corridor [sect103] |XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX ---------------------------- _________ _______ ( Weapons )========( Items )=============. | | | | Missile Launcher | ID Card | '__________ | | ( Upgrades )=======| | | | | | Life Capsule x2 | | | | | '----------------------------------------' ______________ [ Egg Corridor ] You'll immediately see a Life Capsule underneath you, so jump down into the bottom tunnel as soon as the white spikey thing hits the wall. Be sure not to let it touch you, since it will vaporize you in one hit. Make your way back up and move towards the right. The first slew of enemies shouldn't be too hard, and soon they'll drop enough weapon experience to max out your Polar Star. After a while flying enemies should appear, but they're easily taken down with one shot of the level 3 Polar Star. Keep following the linear path until you reach a cut scene. Once it's over (nice job just standing there, hero), go a bit further to reach a door. _________________ [ Cthulhu's Abode ] Save here, talk to Cthulhu if you feel like it, and exit through the top door. ______________ [ Egg Corridor ] Jump across the gaps to reach the Life Capsule on the ledge. After that, continue heading right. The platforming becomes a bit trickier now, but it shouldn't be anything too challenging. Once you reach Egg No. 06, hop down into the alcove containing the egg and jump into it. ____________ [ Egg No. 06 ] You are now inside the egg. Open the chest to find an ID Card, then go back out through the door. ______________ [ Egg Corridor ] Keep making your way east. Right as you reach another doorway, you will be attacked by a larger variant of the flying bugs that you've seen. As long as you keep moving, you should be able to avoid its green energy balls. These enemies drop a ton of power-ups. Once you've killed it, enter the door. ______________________ [ Egg Observation Room ] Save here and notice the red petals scattered around the bed. Take the elevator to the bottom floor and you'll notice that two monitors glow red while the others glow blue. The red monitors signal bad eggs, specifically Egg No. 06 (which, if you have been following my guide, you should have visited earlier), and Egg No. 01. Now take the elevator to the top floor and open the chest for Ze Missiles(!). You're all done here, so save and exit. ______________ [ Egg Corridor ] From now on you'll notice that enemies can now drop missile refills. This is one of two ways to refill your missile supply, the other being from a refill station. From this point onwards, you should level up your missiles as often as you can. Shoot something using the Polar Star, then switch to Missile Launcher and pick up the crystals. There will now be more flying bugs, so be careful. Make your way to Egg No. 01 and enter it. ____________ [ Egg No. 01 ] activate the terminal using the ID Card. ______________ [ Egg Corridor ] Now that the red barrier's gone, you can reach Igor, the one who you saw kidnapping the Mimiga earlier. .----------. ( Boss: Igor )================================================================= '==========' IGOR SMASH!!! This poor Mimiga has gone rampant, so now it's your job to put him out of his misery. This fight isn't much harder than the Balrog encounter, especially if you have level 2 or 3 missiles with you. ( Attacks ) Igor will immediately charge at you and try to stomp you. As with Balrog, you can easily predict this and time your jump over him. If you get too close he'll perform a lightning-quick jab with his fists, although its range is so short that it's not even a mild threat. Once his health gets low, Igor will open his mouth and fire a bunch of round projectiles at you. This attack has a fairly obvious forewarning, so use this time to distance yourself from him (or jump behind him if you're gutsy). The projectiles are also easily destroyable, so you shouldn't have too much difficulty with this attack. ( Strategy ) This would a convenient time to try out those missiles you just received. Unload rockets at Igor until he jumps, then wait until he lands and jump over him. Switch to the Polar Star to destroy the projectiles he fires. Don't be afraid to exhaust your missile supply; there will be a refill station very soon. Once you defeat Igor, head into the first door (the save room will still be locked). =============================================================================== ____________ [ Egg No. 00 ] Talk to the Mimiga lying on the ground. She'll introduce herself as Sue Sakamoto, a human turned into a Mimiga. After she finishes rambling about her brother and sky dragons, follow her back out to Egg Corridor. ______________ [ Egg Corridor ] The rightmost door will now be open. Enter it. ___________ [ Side Room ] Heal, save, and restock on missiles here to prepare for the trip back. ______________ [ Egg Corridor ] The enemies are still the same as before, so you shouldn't have too much trouble making the return trip. Use the two save points along the way (one in the Egg Observation Room, the other in Cthulu's Abode). Once you reach the end, take the teleporter back to Arthur's House. ========================= | Grasstown [sect104] |XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX ------------------------- _________ _______ ( Weapons )========( Items )=============. | | | | Fireball | Santa's Key | | | Chaco's Lipstick* | '__________ | Jellyfish Juice | ( Upgrades )=======| Rusty Key | | | Charcoal | | Life Capsule x2 | Gum Key | | Missile Expn x2 | Gum Base | | | Explosive | | | | '----------------------------------------' * = optional ________________ [ Arthur's House ] After the cut scene, exit to Mimiga Village. ________________ [ Mimiga Village ] Make your way up to the top of the central save room area, where Sue and King are. Talk to Sue to receive your next mission and destination. Make your way back to Arthur's House. ________________ [ Arthur's House ] The teleporter should now be connected to Grasstown. Jump in the teleporter once again and select Grasstown as the destination. ___________ [ Grasstown ] Jump up and head right to meet Santa, who dropped his key somewhere and now is locked out of his own house (why not just go down the chimney?). Since he's a big wuss, you'll need to find his key for him. Continue right and you'll encounter your first enemies. Be careful here, not only these do these Critters take more shots to kill than their Egg Corridor counterparts, they can also fly short distances. Also, watch out for the Power Critters, those giant blue ones. If they land on you, you'll lose a lot of health, and given the low health you have right now, it basically means instant death. Anyway, kill everything along the way and eventually you'll see Santa's Key on the ground. Be careful around this area, as there are a lot of enemies, and things can get a bit hectic if you just rush straight into them. Nab Santa's Key and head back to where Santa is. He'll tell you to follow him inside. _______________ [ Santa's House ] After you save and heal, talk to Santa to get the Fireball. Looks like you got the better end of the deal, as the Fireball is an extremely effective weapon in Grasstown. Also, take note of the red spikes in the room. These will kill you in one hit, so avoid them at all costs. They may seem laughably harmless right now, but keep in mind that not every spike pit is going to have a huge warning sign in front of it. ___________ [ Grasstown ] Head right once again. Get weapon exp. for the Fireball at every opportunity. Once it's at level 3, the Fireball will make short work of anything that's on the ground. Note that while the fireballs are moving, you can switch to another weapon for added power. Head back to where you picked up Santa's Key. There's a Life Capsule here that you can reach with some well-planned jumps. First off, go to the two platforms where there are destroyable star blocks on each platform. Making your way to the top platform, jump from there to a higher platform to the left, and keep doing so until you reach the Life Capsule. Now continue eastward, and make sure you don't fall into the spike pit. Keep going until you reach another building and go inside. _______________ [ Chaco's House ] Save and press Down in front of the fireplace. Chaco will notice, and she'll tell you about how the Jellyfish Juice can put out the fires (regular water isn't good enough?). Head back outside to get the Jellyfish Juice. = Easter Egg = After Chaco informs you of the Jellyfish Juice, take a nap in the bed and see what happens next (check your inventory). Oh you naughty boy, you. ___________ [ Grasstown ] Once you go outside, you'll see that there are now Metr- er, I mean, jellyfish floating around outside (thankfully you don't need the Ice Beam to kill them). Go back the way you came, where you'll find a ton of these new enemies along the way. As you reach the location where Santa's Key once was, you'll notice a giant jellyfish (called Kulala) attempting to camouflage itself on the ceiling. Shoot it until it dies. It helps if you didn't destroy that star block underneath, since Kulala would get trapped between it and the ceiling long enough for you to finish it off. Once it's destroyed, it will drop an item chest containing one serving of Jellyfish Juice. Instead of heading back to Chaco's House, go left to Santa's House instead. _______________ [ Santa's House ] Put out the fire in the fireplace to get the Charcoal. This item will come in handy later. ___________ [ Grasstown ] Head back east, and kill Kulala again to obtain another Jellyfish Juice. At this point you can head back to Mimiga Village's Assembly Hall to nab a new weapon, but you don't really need it right now. We'll pick it up later, after we're finished with Grasstown. Make your way to Chaco's House. _______________ [ Chaco's House ] Use the Jellyfish Juice to put out the fire and reveal a door. (who the hell puts a door behind a fireplace? Grasstown's inhabitants are pretty weird.) ___________ [ Grasstown ] Continue heading east. Eliminate all the flying bats before you attempt to jump over a gap, as a single misstep can lead to your demise. At the part with a bunch of bats hovering over three shallow spike pits, be careful of the Mannan, the white tombstone-looking thing. If you hit it, it will retaliate by shooting a red shockwave towards the direction it's facing. To take this particular one out, kill him with missiles then hide in the spike-less pit to avoid the shockwaves. Once you dispatch it, drop down the edge. The first thing you'll come across is a house within a small alcove labeled "Power Room". Unfortunately the door is locked shut, so just remember where it is for now. Make your way across the bottom of the ruins, killing the bats and Mannans, then jump up and head back across the middle section to reach another door. ____________ [ Save Point ] Why yes, yes it is. ___________ [ Grasstown ] There are a couple of items that you can nab in this region. First, jump up onto the top corridor of the structure and hop your way to a treasure chest containing a Missile Expansion. This will increase the maximum number of missiles you can hold by 5. Next, drop down and walk to the building where the pink hoverbike(?) is parked. Inspect the door, and you'll see a small text bubble appear from a crack in the wall. Go inspect the crack; it turns out that someone is trapped in here. He'll give you the Rusty Key, but the door to the building doesn't have any keyholes. Leave the poor guy there for now, and head right until you come across a tower with a skull above the door. ___________________ [ Execution Chamber ] See those two well-camouflaged thwomp-like machines above the star blocks? If you shoot the star block underneath it, the machine (called a Press) will drop down and kill you. First off, shoot star block right above the door and quickly move out of the way. Once the Press lands, it's safe to touch it, so use it as a platform to reach the next floor. Now kill the other Press and hop onto the star block it once stood on. From there, destroy the star block above you and grab the Life Capsule. To exit, you'll need to kill the first Press as well. ___________ [ Grasstown ] Now that that's done, it's time to figure out what this Rusty Key is for. Go save at the Save Point if you wish, then head back to the Power Room. The Rusty Key will open the door. ____________ [ Power Room ] Walk past the disabled robot and turn on the power. The robot will then come to life. It sees you, spazzes out a bit, and is about to MOBILIZE AN UNDEFEATABLE ARMY OF KILLER ROBOTS AND- "Huzzah!" ...oh, never mind. .---------------. ( Boss: Balrog(2) )============================================================ '===============' Balrog's back for revenge, and for whatever absurd reason he's got himself a pair of wings (so now he's a FLYING toaster monster? Awesome). ( Attacks ) Basically, he'll fly from one side of the room to the other, and scatter round energy balls when he lands. This is easily avoided by walking underneath him while he's flying, so the first half of the battle is almost a joke. Don't let your guard down, though - once at low health, Balrog will start jumping around instead of flying, so if you're not paying attention when this switch occurs, you'll run right into him and lose a lot of health. In the last part of the fight, just keep shooting at Balrog when he's on the ground, and don't get too close to him (he still scatters energy balls every time he lands). If you get pinned against a wall, run underneath him the next time he jumps. ( Strategy ) Shoot at Balrog whenever he is on the ground. When he either flies or jumps at you, dodge his attack appropriately and just continuously pound him with your weapons. Unload your Missiles at him, and after you run out switch to the Polar Star to finish him off. The Fireball isn't recommended in this fight because that annoying ditch in the middle of the room severely hampers the weapon's overall effectiveness. > Advanced Strategy < When I said that the Fireball was useless in this fight, I lied. As soon as the battle starts, get up close to Balrog, then as he lifts off, hitch a ride on top of him. You won't get contact damage, and you're at a prime position to use the Fireball. Balrog will go down rather quickly this way. =============================================================================== ____________ [ Power Room ] After Balrog takes his leave, help the robot by pulling him out of the ground. He'll be so grateful for your help that he'll make an Explosive for you to bomb down that door (what is with Grasstown's obsession with fire?), but first he tells you to gather three materials: Jellyfish Juice, Charcoal, and Gum Base. Go back outside. ___________ [ Grasstown ] Save at the Save Point if you like, then take the fan up the ledge you once came from (hold down the Jump button to fly higher). Backtrack all the way to where our good ol' pal Kulala is and get another Jellyfish Juice from it. If you've been following my guide, you should already have Charcoal in your inventory. If not, go back to Santa's house and use the Jellyfish Juice on his fireplace. Now go back yet again to inner Grasstown (and pick up another Jellyfish Juice alone the way) and this time, instead of entering Chaco's fireplace, use the fan outside to reach the next section. Once you reach the locked building, inspect the door once again, and the guy will call out to you again. He agrees that Explosives might do the trick, and will give you the Gum Key. Next to the building should be a fan, so use it to access the building on the ledge. _______________ [ Grasstown Hut ] Open the chest to receive another Missile Expansion. As soon as you turn around, an enraged Mimiga will pop out of the fireplace and attack you. It hops twice then lunges at you, so predict its attacks and jump over him. It shouldn't take long for you to defeat it. ___________ [ Grasstown ] Now make your way right, past the Execution Chamber. Keep going until you hit the easternmost end. From there, get onto the middle level, save, and jump into the path of the fans. They will carry you far enough so you land on the opposite platform. Do the same thing for the topmost fans (watch that you don't fall into that hole at the end), and open the door with the Gum Key. _____ [ Gum ] Open the chest to get the Gum Base. At this instant, Misery and Balrog appears. They converse for a bit, and then Misery transforms Balrog into a...er... .------------------. ( Boss: Balrog(frog) )========================================================= '==================' Looks like Balrog's appearance took a great leap forward! *BA-DUM TISH*. The frog Balrog (or Balfrog, as I'm going to refer to him) might seem intimidating at first, but he's actually quite easy to take down with the proper tactics. Also, note the fans on the opposite ends of the room; you'll need them. ( Attacks ) First, Balfrog will slowly hop towards you. After each hop, a small frogling will drop from the ceiling. Since you can't damage Balfrog unless his mouth is open, concentrate on getting rid of the froglings instead. When he gets close enough to you, hop onto one of the fans and sail over him. Once you land, destroy any froglings left. Balfrog will turn around and spew red projectiles from his mouth. The projectiles are destroyable, so most of the time they shouldn't hit you if you shoot continuously. If you have the Bubbler at this point, you can use it as a shield against the projectiles, but with my strategy it's not really necessary. After a while Balfrog will close his mouth, and the cycle repeats. Occasionally at low health, Balfrog will take a great leap and slam down, causing both froglings and large frogs to fall from the ceiling. Just make sure you don't get hit by one of these and destroy them appropriately. ( Strategy ) The Fireball is the weapon of choice for this fight. While Balfrog is jumping around, use it to kill the froglings that drop from the ceiling. Once Balfrog pins you against the wall, jump over him (but don't land too far away from him) and kill any remaining froglings so they won't cause you any trouble. Now stand right next to Balfrog. As he opens his mouth, aim upwards and spam Fireball. If done correctly, the fireballs should destroy all of Balfrog's projectiles and cause massive damage to his larynx. Get away quickly after he closes his mouth. Since the froglings drop weapon exp. and health, don't sweat it if you get hit once or twice. Using this tactic, it won't be long until he croaks. *BA-DUM TISH*. =============================================================================== _____ [ Gum ] You're finished here, so head outside. ___________ [ Grasstown ] Save and head back to the Power Room. You can avoid killing the monsters on the ground again by going through a gap in the wall. ____________ [ Power Room ] Talk to Malco again, and he'll use the three items you collected for him to create an Explosive. I think you know what to do with this. ___________ [ Grasstown ] Go back to the Shelter and blow up that door. Finally. _________ [ Shelter ] Hey, this room looks familiar... After all that dialogue is over, save and head outside. ___________ [ Grasstown ] Kazuma and Prof. Booster will jack the hoverbike and take off by themselves, leaving you to go on foot, those bastards. Anyway, say goodbye to Malco if you wish, then head back west. Along the way, make sure to pick up another vial of Jellyfish Juice. This will be the last one you'll need. Take the teleporter back to Arthur's House. ========================= | Sand Zone [sect105] |XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX ------------------------- _________ _______ ( Weapons )========( Items )=============. | | | | Bubbler | Hajime | | Machine Gun* | Curly's Underwear* | | Blade | Mick | '__________ | Kakeru | ( Upgrades )=======| Shinobu | | | Nene | | Life Capsule x2 | Life Pot | | | | '----------------------------------------' * = optional ________________ [ Arthur's House ] When you get back, you'll encounter some major plot action, and everybody will gather inside Arthur's House for a party. Talk to Sue, and another plot twist will develop. Before you venture into the Sand Zone, however, there's something we need to collect. Exit Arthur's House via the door. ________________ [ Mimiga Village ] Go up top and enter the Assembly Hall, the building next to the Graveyard. _______________ [ Assembly Hall ] There's a fireplace here, so use the Jellyfish Juice on it and you'll find the weapon I mentioned earlier - the Bubbler. ________________ [ Mimiga Village ] Head back to Arthur's House. ________________ [ Arthur's House ] If you feel like wasting time, go to Egg Corridor and level up the Bubbler. Otherwise, save and take the teleporter to the Sand Zone. ___________ [ Sand Zone ] After taking just a few steps, you'll see a strange-looking girl, who will then walk away. Continue walking and jump up the shaft while avoiding/killing the bugs. When you reach the top, head left and enter the building. _____________________ [ Sand Zone Residence ] Hey, it's the girl from earlier. Hi, how are you, beautiful? Do you live here? Let's go out someti- oh ****, a gun? I-I was just joking, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! .-----------------. ( Boss: Curly Brace )========================================================== '=================' Due to an unfortunate misunderstanding, Curly Brace and her band of Mimiga children (Mimigalings?) will attack you. Since you can't speak, the only way to reach an understanding is by sheer brute force. Diplomacy, huzzah! ( Attacks ) Curly's only weapon is her machine gun, but it dishes out hurt like nothing else. Make sure you have the sound turned on for this fight, since you can then hear when Curly's charging her gun and jump and the appropriate time. The most important thing to do in this match is to not jump carelessly. If you're in the air when Curly fires her machine gun, chances are that when you land, you're going to receive a face-full of bullets. Also, Curly can adjust her firing direction in 90 degree angles, so don't try to jump over her. The Mimiga children try to hurt you by tackling you, but they do insignificant damage and a hit can stun them for a good period of time. The trick here is to not let them distract you from Curly, the main threat in this fight. ( Strategy ) First off, missiles are useless in the match since Curly has some sort of force field that blocks them. The Fireball should suffice, since you can hit Curly even if you're jumping to dodge her bullets. They also disable the Mimigas fairly quickly and effectively. Just keep a level head and don't jump too much and you'll pull through. =============================================================================== _____________________ [ Sand Zone Residence ] After you defeat Curly, she'll ask you if you want to trade your Polar Star for her Machine Gun (the trade is permanent, so no take-backs). Keep in mind that the Machine Gun is one of three weapons you can trade your Polar Star for. You can read more about the pros and cons of each weapon in the Weapons section. Personally, I'm not a huge fan of the Machine Gun so I would recommend keeping your Polar Star for now, but it's your choice. Once you either accepted or declined her offer, talk to the Mimiga on the far left, then enter the door marked by a save point. ____________ [ Small Room ] Save and heal here, then pick up the dog by the bed. Aww, doesn't he look cute sitting on your head? = Easter Egg = Checking the Map System will reveal a secret passageway. If you go along it and hop into that small alcove at the end of the tunnel, you can find Curly's Underwear by pressing Down. Like Chaco's Lipstick, it doesn't do anything, nor does Curly ever react to it. _____________________ [ Sand Zone Residence ] Head back out to Sand Zone. ___________ [ Sand Zone ] Make your way to the right by destroying the star blocks. Soon you'll see giant spinning blade enemies. They're not too difficult, but after you destroy them they spawn lots of mini blades that take only 1 hit to kill. Although annoying, these enemies drop a bunch of power-ups, so that's always nice. In the first column of star blocks, carve a path to reach the Life Capsule at the top. The next section is comprised of tall, thick columns of star blocks, with sand pits between them. There are blade enemies between the columns, but like before they shouldn't pose a problem. The most dangerous part of this section are the Sandcrocs that reside beneath the sand pits; when you touch the sand, they snap up at you, dealing heavy damage. They're extremely fast and difficult to avoid, so make sure you stay off the sand pits no matter what. If you somehow fall into the sand, jump IMMEDIATELY after hitting the ground, and the Sandcroc will miss you by a hair. The easiest way to get through this section is to make a single opening into the pit area, preferably near the top, and wait for a blade to near the opening. Once it gets there, kill it quickly and shoot down all his spawns. Then when the pit is clear of all blades, create a jumping space at least two blocks tall on both block columns and jump over the gap into the next block column. After the last block column, you can access a save point in a hidden passage, whose entrance is marked by a block with a paw-shaped symbol on it. There are also hidden hearts in this passage; shoot the air to reveal them. The star blocks are now arranged in a zigzag pattern. It's best to travel along the top of the star blocks and avoid confronting any blades in the middle. After that section you'll come across a refill station. Restore your health and continue on into the large room. Hey, it's Misery again (what, no Balrog?). She'll talk to you for a bit, then fly off as a large monster pops out from the sand. .-----------. ( Boss: Omega )================================================================ '===========' It's a random giant machine antlion thing. Let's kill it. ( Attacks ) Omega will start the battle by opening its mouth and spewing out lots of slow- moving projectiles into the air. There are two different kinds of projectiles: the brown ones are indestructible and disappear once they hit the ground, while the red ones bounce along the ground indefinitely, but are destroyable. After Omega finishes spitting out projectiles, he'll close his mouth and bury into the sand for a while, only to re-emerge somewhere else once again. At half health, Omega will no longer bury into the sand; he will now jump towards you, firing off red projectiles every time he jumps. In addition to avoiding the projectiles, you now have to worry about getting crushed by the body, but it shouldn't prove to be too difficult to avoid. ( Strategy ) Similar to Balfrog, Omega can only be damaged when his mouth is open. For the first part, don't use the Missile Launcher, as Omega will immediately shut its mouth and burrow into the sand, making it difficult to damage him. Instead, opt for the Fireball. Once Omega emerges, get up close to it and spam the Fireball, similar to what you did for Balfrog. Destroy any projectiles coming towards you, then continue to fire at him until he retreats. Once Omega starts hopping, you're free to use missiles if you'd like, but the Fireball can get the job done faster. Still keep close to him, and run underneath him when he jumps. Continue pounding him with fireballs and he'll go down quickly. If you traded with Curly for the Machine Gun, you can try this alternative strategy that Corey Gross submitted. With the Machine Gun at level 3, you can use its recoil to fly directly above Omega. By shooting downwards, you'll destroy most of the projectiles as well as deal damage to the boss. You'll have to stop and land once or twice, but otherwise this is a safe and easy method to take Omega down. You've now lifted the spell of the sunstones. Woot. =============================================================================== ___________ [ Sand Zone ] Head back the way you came, and heal at the refill station if you lost any health or used any missiles. If you haven't quit or reset since Sand Zone Residence, things should still be the way you left them, which is quite convenient. As you near the Sand Zone Residence, a new path should open for you. Hop down and kill the Skullheads, then make your way left to Jenka's House. _______________ [ Jenka's House ] The old woman Jenka will thank you for bringing her one of her darling puppies. She then asks you to find her remaining four puppies, who have all wandered off somewhere. Time to get started, then. By the way, I've seen a lot of people having trouble locating the puppies, so here's a checklist for all of them: .===========================================================================. | Puppy | Location | |---------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Hajime | Inside Sand Zone Residence (must speak to left-most Mimiga | | | first). | |---------|-----------------------------------------------------------------| | Mick | From Jenka's House, head up until you see a paw-shaped block, | | | indicating a secret passage. Take it to the end and open the | | | chest to find Mick. | |---------|-----------------------------------------------------------------| | Kakeru | At the bottom floor of Sand Zone. He's in plain sight. Catch | | | him by pressing Down just as he passes you. | |---------|-----------------------------------------------------------------| | Shinobu | Look for a path upwards as you head right along the bottom of | | | Sand Zone. You'll spot a secret passage. Shinobu is at the end, | | | but runs into a dark house. Use the Map System to find a safe | | | path to Shinobu. | |---------|-----------------------------------------------------------------| | Nene | Near the Sand Zone Storehouse, in plain sight. | '---------------------------------------------------------------------------' ___________ [ Sand Zone ] The first puppy is quite easy to reach. From Jenka's House, head up the way you came, and at the topmost row of star blocks you'll notice a paw print block on the right. Enter the secret tunnel to find a Life Capsule and a puppy in the treasure chest. Head back to Jenka's House. _______________ [ Jenka's House ] Again, Jenka will thank you, and blabber about Mimigas and Red Flowers. We have two puppies now, so let's find the rest. ___________ [ Sand Zone ] Head down this time. You should see a sign pointing you towards the Sand Zone Storehouse, where the Red Flowers are kept. Go past the sign and stick to the platforms, ignoring the enemies walking on the ground. If you're having too much trouble defeating the Crow + Skullhead combination, you can always use the Bubbler for a shield and slowly but surely bombard them to death. Hop along the platforms until you find a path upwards. You'll come across another secret passage, which will lead you to another puppy. As soon as you approach it, however, it will scamper into the building. Follow it in. ________________ [ Deserted House ] The room is entirely pitch black, but you can use the Map System to find a path to the puppy. Don't land in the sand pit; there's a Sandcroc in there. You also can't boost up that shaft using the Machine Gun because of the dripping water. Once you obtain the puppy, save and head back out. ___________ [ Sand Zone ] Make your way back to Jenka's House. _______________ [ Jenka's House ] Three puppies down, two to go. Sigh. ___________ [ Sand Zone ] Again head down and to the right, but this time travel along the ground, using the Fireball to kill the Armadillos and Skullsteps while using the Polar Star or Machine Gun to shoot down the Crows and Skullheads. Eventually, you'll reach the end of the hallway, where another puppy is waiting. He's guarded by a Skeleton, though, so be careful and take it out from afar. When you approach the puppy, he will start running along the ground. When he runs near you, quickly press Down to catch him. Now that you have another puppy, head back to Jenka's House again. _______________ [ Jenka's House ] Booop. ___________ [ Sand Zone ] Go down and to the right, and this time you can just travel on the platforms. Instead of heading up, though, continue going right. You'll have to make a couple of tricky jumps at the end, which will lead you to the next section. Use the Fireball to kill the Skullsteps and Skeleton in the three-tiered structure, then jump down onto the pillars to the right. This area is swarmed with Crows, but they won't attack you unless you shoot them. Use this to your advantage so you only have to deal with a couple of them at a time. Now keep heading right until you reach the edge of the map. The building here is the Sand Zone Storehouse, but it's locked right now. Hop onto the platforms to reach the last puppy, as well as a save point and refill station. It's highly recommended that you make the return trip to Jenka's House before you turn off or reset your game, because it would be a pain to kill all those monsters again. _______________ [ Jenka's House ] Did Balrog just jump an old frail lady? For shame. He also scared away the puppies, which meant we collected them for nothing... what a jerk. Anyway, Jenka will give you a Life Pot and asks you to stop the Doctor from obtaining the Red Flower seeds. So now it's time to head back to the Storehouse once again. ___________ [ Sand Zone ] Head back to Sand Zone Storehouse, the same way you did before. Make sure you save and heal before you enter. ______________________ [ Sand Zone Storehouse ] Enjoy the lengthy cut scene for now. Man, this is one hell of a mess you've gotten yourself into. .---------------------. ( Boss: Frenzied Toroko )====================================================== '=====================' Toroko is a surprisingly challenging boss. Although she basically only has one method of attack, it's very fast and powerful. Also, try not to lose too much health during this battle, because there won't be any refill stations for a long while. ( Attacks ) Toroko's only method of damage is to pick up and hurl stone blocks at you. She has two ways of doing this: one way is to directly throw the block in your direction. You can dodge this by jumping right as she hurls the block (jump too soon and she'll hit you in mid-air). The second method of attack is to jump up and throw a block towards you at the apex of the jump. This one is easier to predict than the first method and can be easily avoided just by moving. In either cases, the blocks travel very fast, do 10 damage per hit, and will most likely level down your current weapon. Wherever the block hits, a yellow flower creature will spawn, and will slowly hop towards you. These flowers aren't very threatening, although if you don't destroy them immediately they might sneak up on you. Still, keep your attention primarily focused on Toroko. ( Strategy ) If you have the Machine Gun, this match should go by relatively fast if you can manage to avoid getting hit. Stand half a screen away from Toroko and spray her with Machine Gun fire. Jump over the blocks she throws while on the ground, and quickly move under her when she jumps. This way, you'll be able to still damage Toroko and kill the flower spawn at the same time. This strategy can also be done with the Polar Star or Missile Launcher, but they're not as effective as the Machine Gun is. The Fireball isn't very effective in this fight because Toroko tends to jump a lot. Also, before you consider using missiles on her, keep in mind that there won't be a refill station for quite a while. =============================================================================== ______________________ [ Sand Zone Storehouse ] Go talk to King and he will leave behind his Blade, so pick it up and head out. ___________ [ Sand Zone ] As soon as you exit, you get knocked unconscious by Balrog, and Misery will send you to a place only known as...the Labyrinth. Dun dun dun. ========================= | Labyrinth [sect106] |XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX ------------------------- _________ _______ ( Weapons )========( Items )=============. | | | | Snake* | Turbocharge* | | Super Missiles | Clinic Key | '__________ | Cure-All | ( Upgrades )=======| Arms Barrier* | | | Booster v0.8* | | Life Capsule x1 | Tow Rope* | | | Curly's Air Tank | | | | '----------------------------------------' * = optional _____________ [ Labyrinth I ] Where the hell are we? Looks like Misery dropped you off in a prison of some sort. I guess we'll have to activate that switch to open the door, like the robot says. Slowly and steadily, make your way up the shaft (or just fly your way up with the Machine Gun if you have it). The Critters here can now shoot projectiles at you, so be careful. This is a great time to try out the Blade; it kills them in one hit. Be sure to nab the Life Capsule halfway up. As you near the top, you'll encounter moving platforms. Time your jumps so you land on the next block right as it passes you, and make your way up to the terminal. Activate it and jump all the way back down. Save and exit. _____________ [ Labyrinth B ] Looks like those robots didn't get very far. Kill the lone Gaudi, that cockroach-like monster, and head left. Once you get to the top portion, you'll hear a sliding block. If you're fast enough, you can run to the point where the ceiling is high and jump over the block. If not, just wait underneath the corridor until the block hits the end. At the last part, the moving block might take you by surprise, so watch out for that. Exit through the door. _____________ [ Labyrinth W ] Head right and kill the Critters. You'll eventually reach a building. Kill the Gaudis outside and enter it. ________________ [ Labyrinth Shop ] Don't worry, these Gaudis won't hurt you. Save and talk to Chaba, the shop clerk. If you traded your Polar Star for the Machine Gun, he will give you the Turbocharge, which increases the recharge speed of the Machine Gun, making it even more deadly. If you still have the Polar Star, he will offer to trade both your Polar Star and Fireball for the Snake weapon. The Snake's unique design gives it the ability to shoot through walls, which is very useful in the later parts of the Labyrinth. Don't worry about the Fireball either - its usefulness rapidly diminishes after Grasstown and Sand Zone. If you refuse to get the Snake, you can obtain the Spur later on in the game. Anyways, once you're done here head back outside. _____________ [ Labyrinth W ] Use the Gaudis outside to level up your Snake and Blade if you like, then head right. Here the Snake really comes in handy, as it can kill those flying Gaudis without having to worry about their projectiles. Shoot your way through the water-filled chambers until you come across a large area with a bunch of Gaudis. You'll see a door on the lower right. Enter it. ______ [ Camp ] The physician here will heal your health "for free", and We all know what that means. He'll then give you the Clinic Key, asking you to go to the haunted Clinic Ruins (WHO YA GONNA CAAAALLLL?) and find some medicine. Next to the nurse you'll meet Curly again, who apparently was also captured and taken by Misery. Note the chest at the top of the room. You can't access it from here, so head back out. _____________ [ Labyrinth W ] In the large area you're in, climb upwards to the topmost level. The door to the left leads to the Clinic Ruins, but there's a nifty little item we can get our hands on first. Opposite of the door you'll see a star block, which is actually the entrance to a hidden tunnel. If you have the Machine Gun, you can easily propel yourself up into the passage. If you don't have it, this may prove a bit more challenging. First off, don't kill the Critter near the tunnel - we need him alive. Next, switch to an unimportant weapon like the Fireball or Bubbler. From the previous platform, jump as high as you can towards the tunnel entrance. The Critter, seeing you, will also jump to attack you. At the apex of your jump, you should touch the Critter, and the recoil from the contact damage should give you just enough height to reach the tunnel entrance. You lose some health and weapon exp. in the process, but those can be easily replenished. Follow the tunnel downward and enter the door. ______ [ Camp ] Now you'll be at the upper floor of Camp, where you can access the chest you saw earlier. In it is the Arms Barrier, which halves the weapon experience you lose whenever you get damaged. Awesome. _____________ [ Labyrinth W ] Head back up the tunnel, restore your health and weapon exp., and save at Camp if you like. Now make your way to the Clinic Ruins. ______________ [ Clinic Ruins ] Open the treasure chest to find a Cure-All. Suddenly, you'll be attacked by... ...Dark Balrog? .----------------. ( Boss: Pooh Black )=========================================================== '================' A.k.a. Balrog's evil(er) twin. Apparently he's the "ghost" that the nurse had talked about. Warding him off is a relatively easy task to do. ( Attacks ) This guy is pretty lame. For one thing, he won't even do anything unless you attack him. Once you attack him, he'll fight back by releasing black bubbles in the air around him. If you stand a far enough distance from him, you'll never get hit by them. Once Pooh Black has taken enough damage, he'll jump into the ceiling. After a while of nothing happening, bubbles will rain down from the ceiling, and Pooh Black will try to stomp you. Be careful of this attack, not because of Pooh Black himself, but because of the raining bubbles. The ones with transparent centers don't do anything, but solid ones will damage you. Fortunately, the bubbles are destroyable, so just run to the other side of the room while shooting upwards to ensure that you won't get hit. Pooh Black should land a fairly good distance from you, so you can prepare for your next attack. ( Strategy ) The Blade works wonders in this fight. Whether you have it at level 2 or 3 (level 2 is actually preferable for faster damage output), hit Pooh Black repeatedly with it. Once he jumps up, just switch to Polar Star/Machine Gun/ Snake and shoot the bubbles. A very easy boss battle, really. obesebear submitted this alternative strategy. As soon as Pooh Black appears, stand next right to the little block he's perched on and fire upward with the level 2 Blade (other weapons work as well, but will take longer). He'll fly up and land right on top of the block again, out of harm's way. You might get hit by a few of his bubbles, though. Just stay in that one spot and keep attacking him and he'll go down in no time. With Pooh Black out of the way, head back outside. =============================================================================== _____________ [ Labyrinth W ] Head back to Camp while refilling any weapon exp. you lost by killing the Gaudis. ______ [ Camp ] The physician will thank you for bringing him the medicine, and promises to treat Curly as quickly as possible. Talk to Curly to learn more about the Labyrinth, then save and head back out. If you come back here again, you'll notice that Curly is gone, and the nurse will tell you that she's gone ahead to Boulder Chamber. _____________ [ Labyrinth W ] Make your way right this time. You'll eventually come across a shaft, and a moving block will descend from the ceiling. The timing is a bit tricky here - if you hesitate, you'll get crushed by the block, but if you jump too soon you won't make it on top of the block and will land in the spikes as a result. Past that is another shaft, also with a moving block, but is easier than the last one. Now make your way right and kill all the Gaudis in your way. You'll spot a large machine contraption of some sort, but it's dormant right now. Continue right and take out all the Gaudis, especially the flying ones. As you reach a certain point, barriers will close around the corridor and you'll be thrust into a boss fight with the machine you saw earlier. .---------------. ( Boss: Monster X )============================================================ '===============' One of the most challenging bosses in Cave Story, Monster X is a pain to take down, and will probably kill you the first few times. There are a lot of ways to get damaged in this fight, so play conservatively and you'll outlast him. It's recommended that you get the Arms Barrier beforehand. ( Attacks ) Monster X starts by speeding towards you. If you get run over by its treads, you'll lose a ton of health and will probably level down. As he nears you, hop onto his tread, then before you hit the red barrier hop again to his other tread. Monster X should reverse directions and speed the other way. Do this three times and he will stop completely. Once Monster X comes to a halt, his main body will then open up. Before you can directly damage him, you have to take out the four green orbs on his body. The orbs will constantly shoot those purple projectiles at you (which you're probably already tired of seeing, from those flying Gaudis and whatnot). The projectiles are destroyable, so avoid them while damaging the green orbs. When an orb is destroyed, it will stop shooting projectiles at you, so at least that's good news. After a while, Monster X's body will close and he'll start moving again, starting the cycle anew. Once you destroy all 4 of the orbs, its entire body will be damageable. In response, it will now fire fish-shaped heat-seeking missiles at you. They're also destroyable projectiles, but they come in swarms so things might get a little hectic. There is a pretty safe way of getting through this part: Once Monster X opens up, damage him as much as you can before the missiles start to round on you, then quickly switch to the level 3 Bubbler and cast bubbles around yourself. This will block every single missile aimed at you, keeping you alive and undamaged. When all the missiles are destroyed and Monster X starts moving again, make sure to let the Bubbler recharge its ammo before you switch it for something else. ( Strategy ) The very first thing you should do is kill all the Gaudis in the hallway - you don't want them to distract you during the fight. Next, hop back and forth between the treads until Monster X opens up. Take your stand on the ground between the treads and aim upwards with either the Missile Launcher or Polar Star (or any variants). Even if you get hit once or twice by projectiles, ignore the damage and continue to shoot until he closes again. By this time there should be a lot of health and energy crystals scattered on the floor from the projectiles, so use the time to restore any lost health or weapon exp. Continue this pattern until you destroy all the green orbs. During the second phase, you should still stand in between the treads when Monster X opens up. This time, fire a level 3 Blade or multiple level 2 Blades into the main body to rack up tons of damage. With the level 3 Blade, you'll also destroy a lot of the homing missiles with that massive area of effect damage. Keep damaging Monster X as much as you can with the Blade until he closes up, then get rid of the remaining missiles. A slower but safer strategy here is to fire off one level 3 Blade, then run the hell away and switch to the Bubbler to block the missiles. Keep on damaging Monster X while avoiding his attacks, and you'll have him beaten in no time. After you defeat him, Monster X will explode. It was a cat all along! =============================================================================== _____________ [ Labyrinth W ] Continue past Monster X's corridor. There are no more enemies, thank goodness, so waltz your way to the door at the end. _____________ [ Labyrinth B ] Looks like Professor Booster dropped by to pay you a visit. First of all, reach that save point and save. Now, you'll need to make a decision: get the Booster v0.8 right now, or wait to get the Booster v2.0 later? The Booster will help a lot in the next area you're going to, but it's not necessary. However, if you get the Booster now, you won't be able to get the better version, v2.0, later, which means you'll miss out on the secret stage after the final boss fight. Either way, it's your choice. If you opted to go for the Booster now, then drop down and talk to Professor Booster. He'll give you the Booster v0.8. Equip the Booster by going to the items menu and selecting the Booster v0.8; you'll then be prompted to equip it. Boost your way up (tap the Jump key twice), save, heal, and exit through the door on the right. If you decided to skip the Booster, you'll have to leap across the chasm to reach the opposite door. See that red marking on that block? That's the line from which you should jump. If at first you don't succeed, you fail, and the game will have to be reset. Once you make it, exit through the door. Also note that the refill station up top can only be reached with the Booster or the Machine Gun. _________________ [ Boulder Chamber ] You now arrive at the Boulder Chamber everybody's been talking about. If you gave the physician the Cure-All, Curly should be waiting for you here. She needs your help to push the boulder aside, so grab on to the opposite end of the boulder and heave. Hmm, looks like it's too heavy for both of you. What do you do now? Suddenly... "Huzzah!" Yes, our favorite talking suitcase is back, and this time he's all business, except...not really. He knocks out Curly so you'll have to fight him alone, not that it's that big of a deal anyway. .---------------. ( Boss: Balrog(3) )============================================================ '===============' After Monster X, this battle seems almost like a joke. Don't let down your guard, though; although you have a solid chance of winning, it's surprisingly easy to get damaged in this battle, and if you don't have the Machine Gun or Booster you can't access the refill station in the previous room. This will be your last skirmish with our favorite toaster monster. :sadface: ( Attacks ) After seeing how effective your Missile Launcher was, Balrog attempts to imitate you with missiles of his own. Fortunately for us, unlike your missiles, his rockets are but cheap imitations, and can be destroyed in a few hits. At the start of the battle, Balrog will rush towards you, then jump while shooting out six or so missiles in your direction. They hover in the air a bit before accelerating, so take that time to destroy them. Be careful as they don't die in just one hit like other projectiles. The missiles are Balrog's only form of attack in this battle. ( Strategy ) The Blade dominates here. A level 3 Blade will not only damage Balrog, but it will also destroy many of his missiles with the AoE damage. The level 2 Blade works as well, but you'll have to stand close to Balrog to use it and you might get hit by the missiles in the process. You can use ranged weapons if you want, but the Blade can take down Balrog much faster than anything else. =============================================================================== _________________ [ Boulder Chamber ] Balrog will agree to help you move the boulder, and with the strength of the three of you combined, you are able to hurl the boulder away, revealing a door leading to the next section. After finally showing his good side, Balrog will depart. Open the chest he drops to get the Super Missiles, which will replace your original missiles with faster and more powerful ones. Save, heal, and enter the door. _____________ [ Labyrinth M ] In this part, you'll have Curly by your side. She's CPU-controlled, and will follow you while automatically shooting at enemies. If you did not trade for her Machine Gun, she will use it during this fight. Otherwise, she'll use your Polar Star. She also can't be damaged by enemies or spikes, and can't drown. Wish you were built like that, huh? Since your Missile Launcher got reset to level 1, shoot the Gaudi eggs to get some weapon exp. to level it up (you can enter/exit repeatedly to max out its weapon bar). There are some new enemies here, including giant fans which shoot rings of fire at you. The rings are slow-moving, so the fans don't pose a huge threat. A more dangerous foe are the Armors, those blue-tinted ninja Gaudis. They will hop twice then jump and throw three blades at you. The blades can't be shot down, so you'll have to dodge them to avoid taking damage. Armors are also stationed at the most annoying places. Fortunately, you have Curly on your side, so most of the time you can just hide somewhere while she goes on a shooting rampage. Head right while dispatching the enemies. If you have the Snake, you can easily kill a bunch of fans and Armors from behind a wall where they can't reach you. Otherwise, wait for Curly to take out a bunch of them, then charge in and finish off the rest. Move slowly through the area, killing all the enemies as you go. Soon you'll reach the eastern end of the room. There's a shaft that leads downwards here, so drop down to the second level. This level has a layer of water, which will hamper your movement. To remedy this, stay out of the water as much as you can. You can get some power-ups from the Gaudi eggs, then when you're done head left. There's a new enemy here, a barnacle-like monster called a BuyoBuyo Base. It spits out floating amoeba-like BuyoBuyos at you. Destroying these is easy, so make your way near a BuyoBuyo Base and shoot it a lot to destroy it. As you make your way right, you'll come across an area where the water is deep. If you fall into the water here and don't have a way to propel yourself out, you'll have to make your way to where the water is shallow and jump out. Although not life-threatening, it's fairly annoying, so keep your feet on the platforms above the water and let Curly (who's got an Air Tank) get rid of the BuyoBuyo Bases. Time your jumps properly to get past the water pool. In the next area, you'll be swarmed by fans and Armors. There's a safe spot directly behind the highest block on the ground, so use it for cover as you pop up and quickly fire on the enemies. Let Curly take out the Armors on the ground. Past this part is a computer terminal, which will open a hatch leading downwards to the lowest level. Watch out for the spikes as you fall. As soon as you land, you'll see a teleporter, which is connected to the one in the Labyrinth Shop. If you have the Booster or the Machine Gun, make your way to the save point and save. If not, don't fall down, because you won't be able to get back up and will have to take the long route back. Anyways, head right from the teleporter and you'll see yet another new enemy, a bunch of Fuzz revolving around a Fuzz Core. It won't attack you directly, but once you destroy the Fuzz Core the smaller Fuzz will then swarm towards you. They don't do a lot of damage, but they can be hard to take down, so make sure you kill the smaller Fuzzes before killing the Fuzz Core. Past all the Fuzz is a door. Enter it. ____________ [ Dark Place ] Save your progress here. If you're still missing health, weapon exp., or missiles, go back to Labyrinth M to refill them. When you're completely maxed out, head through the door to the right. ______ [ Core ] Strange, this area seems entirely different from the Labyrinth. Jump up to the computer terminal to open the shutters. The computer will then inform you of an abnormality in Shutter No. 4. Find the shutter (hint: it has a big red "4" on it) and shoot at it. You'll free the shutter and it will slide up. There seems to be another, larger shutter after that, though. Head back to the terminal, and you'll be able to lower a lift below you. Head down the lift and into the water-filled passageway. Don't worry about drowning, you'll make it to the other side long before you run out of air. At the other side, open the last shutter with the terminal, then head back. Now would be a good time to go back to Dark Place and save, so that if you reset you won't have to go through all that again. If you skipped getting the Booster v0.8, you can now find the Tow Rope. Head past the shutters to a large, open room. Before you talk to Curly, go all the way to the end of the room and fall down into the lowest area. You'll see some sparkles, so head over to it to find the Tow Rope. This item is essential if you want to rescue Curly and unlock Sacred Ground. NOTE: If you received the Booster v0.8 from Prof. Booster earlier in the Labyrinth, the Tow Rope will not show up at all, meaning it's impossible for you to save Curly. Now go and talk to Curly again. A cut scene will ensue, and you'll be thrust into a boss fight with a lovely bunch of coconuts. .--------------. ( Boss: The Core )============================================================= '==============' First off, note the kick-ass boss music. The Core, although not as difficult as Monster X, proves to be a challenging fight. There will be a lot happening on screen at once, so the main thing is to not get distracted by the chaos and lose focus. If you have some form of propulsion, this fight will be a whole lot easier. A while after the battle has started, Curly will awaken and assist you, but don't rely on her - she won't do much. ( Attacks ) The main Core is surrounded by several smaller versions of itself. At the start of the battle, the main core will be inactive, and only the mini cores will attack you. The mini cores can't be destroyed, but can be pushed back with repeated fire. They'll fire moderately slow-moving spinning projectiles at you, aimed at your location. Either jump over them or destroy them with the Polar Star or one of its upgrades (the Snake performs exceptionally well for this task). As long as you are careful here, you won't get hit. After a while, the mini cores will stop shooting, which is a signal that the main core will become active. When this happens, blue eyes will appear on the main core, and in addition to the spinning projectiles of the mini cores, you will now have to deal with horizontal-moving Snake-like shots from the main core. They don't pose as much of a threat as the spinner shots, so just watch out for them and don't let go of the trigger. After taking some damage, the main core will turn dormant again, repeating the cycle. Occasionally, the Core will flood the entire room with water. Don't panic when this happens - the water will recede long before you drown (unless you were already in the water when this happens, in which case you might run out of air before the water level drops). A bigger issue here is the severe decrease in mobility. Be extra cautious of projectiles when you're in water. When the Core's health starts getting low, the next time it activates it will create a strong current that will blow you backwards against the wall. Then it will shoot three giant balls of energy at your position. These things hurt like hell: a whopping -20 damage, so avoid them at all costs. It's also tricky to dodge them since the current will hamper your movement, but if you start at a low point and keep climbing upwards when the shots are being fired you can avoid them without much effort. ( Strategy ) The only time you can damage the main core is when it's active (when its eyes are open). When it's dormant, keep out your Polar Star or upgraded weapon, and shoot/dodge the spinner shots that the mini cores fire at you. When the main core finally activates, first use the Polar Star/variant to push back any mini cores that are directly in front of the main core. After the main core is exposed, switch to the Super Missiles (hopefully at level 3) and unleash the destruction. Stop shooting when the main core becomes dormant again. Once you run out of missiles, switch to the Blade and do the same thing (except you'll need to get closer in order for the Blade to hit). You'll most likely get damaged in this fight, but you should be able to take down the Core with most of your health intact. =============================================================================== ______ [ Core ] This is one of the most dramatic moments in the game, so I won't spoil it too much. After the cut scene, the room will be flooded with water. You can't do anything else, so just sit there and watch as your air supply slowly dwindles down to 0. You'll suddenly wake up, though - Curly has given you her air tank, and is now unconscious. The Tow Rope will be gone by now if you didn't take it, so you have no other options but to leave her to die. If you do have the Tow Rope, you can strap her to your back and take her along with you. Once you pick up (or leave) Curly, exit through the shutter door, which is now open. Since you now have Curly's Air Tank, you can stay underwater for an indefinite period of time. The shutters will close behind you, so make your way left to the door. ____________ [ Dark Place ] Thankfully the save point is now on the floor, so save and enter the tiger head structure that was previously blocked. ======================== | Waterway [sect107] |XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX ------------------------ _________ _______ ( Weapons )========( Items )=============. | | | | Spur* | Alien Medal* | '__________ | Booster v2.0 | ( Upgrades )=======| Whimsical Star* | | | | | -none- | | | | | '----------------------------------------' * = optional __________ [ Waterway ] You are now in the island's waterway system. Head left and take out the Critters (they're similar to the flying kind found in Grasstown) and bats to restore any health, weapon exp., or missiles you lost during the previous boss fight. Keep going right and jump over the spikes. Soon you'll reach a section where the water is flowing at a fast pace. Enter the current and let it carry you away. If you get stuck in a loop, just jump to break out of it. Soon the current will deposit you in a large, turbulent room filled with tons of jellyfish. Take out as many as you can before entering the current again to minimize the chances of hitting one of them. The current will take you in a zigzag pattern to an exit at the top right corner. If you want to save Curly, make sure you jump out of the water into the alcove with the door. If you miss it, you'll have to reset. Kill the lone bat and enter the door. ________________ [ Waterway Cabin ] There's a save point here, but that's not the main reason why this cabin is so important. First, take a rest on the bed. When you wake up, Curly will be lying on it, still unconscious. Next, check the computer and it will tell you of a certain notebook... just where might that be? Check to bookshelf to find the notebook, which conveniently describes how to drain water from a robot. Talk to Curly again and drain the water from her. She'll wake up for a few seconds then fall back asleep. Talk to her twice more, and when you're asked whether or not to leave her here, select "No". You'll pick Curly up again. You're all done here, so save and head out. __________ [ Waterway ] Jump in the current and take it downwards. You'll actually have to jump over the spikes here, and if you get damaged you can just reset. Jump over the first three sets of spikes (for the last one you have to jump immediately before you hit the first spike to make it all the way through). You'll reach calm water, so drop down where you'll find another current. From the platform above the current, jump off the left side to avoid getting damaged by the spikes. From there you'll run another spike gauntlet. At the end, you'll clear the Waterways, however... "Something's approaching!" .--------------. ( Boss: Ironhead )============================================================= '==============' This ironclad fish is actually a character from Pixel's previous game, Ikachan. He's not a really difficult boss, so you should have no troubles with him. Also, notice the unique controls in this battle - you can move easily in any direction, but you are only allowed to face (and fire) forward. ( Attacks ) By himself, Ironhead really only has one attack: first he'll emerge from behind you and swim forward to the opposite screen. Then he'll make the return trip back, but this time he'll fire three red shockwaves at you (similar to the ones that those Mannans from Grasstown fire). However, the danger in this battle is compounded by a multitude of floating blocks that will hurt you if you bump into them. They're also kinda hard to see at some points, which is a pain. As a last form of obstacle, schools of pufferfish (also from Ikachan) will swim in from behind you whenever Ironhead re-enters from either side of the screen. When they're not puffed up, they're harmless, so use this time to destroy as many of them as you can. As the reach the right edge of the screen, they'll inflate and puff out their spikes, an obvious sign that they can now hurt you. They can still be destroyed at this point, though. ( Strategy ) The most effective strategy that I've found for this fight is to keep the level 3 Blade out at all times. Not only is it perfect for destroying the groups of pufferfish, but you can also hit Ironhead 2 to 3 times when he moves backwards (it's difficult to hit him while he's travelling forwards). Just keep using the Blade and Ironhead will go down easily. After the fight, Curly will get separated from you. If you didn't drain the water from her, a text box will notify you that her life functions have ceased. = Easter Egg = If you took no damage during this fight, a swarm of squids (again from Ikachan) will fill the screen. Afterwards, if you check your inventory you'll find the Alien Medal. =============================================================================== ___________ [ Reservoir ] Finally, a place we recognize! Head on out to Mimiga Village. ________________ [ Mimiga Village ] It's quiet... Make your way down to Arthur's House and enter. ________________ [ Arthur's House ] Save and heal here. If you didn't get the Booster v0.8, your patience shall now be rewarded. As you near the teleporter, Professor Booster will pop out and give you the Booster v2.0. With this Booster, you can now freely boost in any direction. When you're in the air, pressing Jump again will allow you to boost upwards; if you're pressing any directional key when you start boosting, you'll boost in that direction. As with the Booster v0.8, you must go to your items menu to equip it. At this point, if you already traded your Polar Star for something else, feel free to skip the rest of this section and continue reading at "Egg Corridor?". If you managed to keep your trusty Polar Star this far, then keep reading. ________________ [ Mimiga Village ] Boost your way to the platform outside the Reservoir. Above you is a string of platforms, so boost your way up to the very top of Mimiga Village to find a door. Enter it. ____________ [ First Cave ] Remember this place? It's still the same as when you left it, so make your way to the left (save at the Start Point if you want). Keep following the path to reach the Hermit Gunsmith, the person whom you "borrowed" the Polar Star from. _________________ [ Hermit Gunsmith ] Looks like he's awake now, and he's pretty pissed that someone stole his gun. Suddenly he notices your Polar Star and grabs it back. He'll then go through a change of heart and give you back the Polar Star... after he finishes it, of course. Congratulations, you just got the Spur, one of the best weapons in the game! The Spur levels up differently from other weapons: it can't gain exp. from normal crystals, but instead charges up by holding down the Fire button. At MAX charge the weapon fires a giant laser that deals a tremendous amount of damage. Now that you've got the Spur, head back out. ____________ [ First Cave ] There are now a lot more enemies here, a perfect time to try out your Spur. Make your way back to the exit. ________________ [ Mimiga Village ] Jump down and head to Arthur's House. ________________ [ Arthur's House ] Now that you have the Spur, you can acquire a peripheral item to complement it. Enter the teleporter and select the Labyrinth as your destination. _____________ [ Labyrinth B ] This is the place where Professor Booster fell. Make your way up and enter the door on the left. _____________ [ Labyrinth W ] Ugh, there are now Armor Gaudis in this corridor. Fortunately these ones should be easier to take down than the ones in Labyrinth M since there aren't any platforms where they can snipe you from. Between the Booster and the Spur, you can dispatch them fairly quickly. Head left, past the Camp area, and arrive at the Labyrinth Shop. ________________ [ Labyrinth Shop ] Talk to Chaba, the Gaudi behind the counter, and he'll give you the Whimsical Star. This item surrounds you with tiny green stars that can damage enemies if they touch them. You can get a maximum of 3 stars to surround you by charging up the Spur to MAX, but you'll lose stars by taking damage. This thing isn't really all that useful, to be honest, since it only does 1 damage per hit and moves haphazardly. Exit the shop. _____________ [ Labyrinth W ] Make your way back to Labyrinth B. _____________ [ Labyrinth B ] Take the teleporter back to Arthur's House. ________________ [ Arthur's House ] Save and heal, then prepare to go to Egg Corridor. =============================== | Egg Corridor(?) [sect108] |XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX ------------------------------- _________ _______ ( Weapons )========( Items )=============. | | | | -none- | | '__________ | | ( Upgrades )=======| -none- | | | | | Missile Expn x2 | | | | | '----------------------------------------' _______________ [ Egg Corridor? ] Is this really Egg Corridor? What the hell happened here? The walls are crumbled, the eggs are smashed, and debris is everywhere. If you talk to the robot near the entrance he'll tell you that there was a "huge explosion". Huh. Make your way right, killing the critters and bugs. The large bugs now shoot two energy balls at you instead of one, although they're still a minor threat. When too many bugs appear, drop down below and hide in the corridor previously inhabited by the white shockwave of death. Soon you'll meet some new enemies, the zombies of dragons that failed to hatch properly. Their flames do a surprising amount of damage, so avoid them at all costs. They can be killed rather easily with a fully-charged Spur. The Snake is also useful here as you can hurt them from places where they can't reach you. You'll use the Booster a lot here. As you reach where Egg No. 12 used to be, kill the zombie dragon guarding the chest and open it to get a Missile Expansion. Head back up top and watch out for falling stalactites (the large ones become embedded on the ground and takes a lot of hits to destroy). Make your way to Cthulhu's Abode. __________________ [ Cthulhu's Abode? ] Looks like the Cthulhu has gone (or died), and the whole place turned into a big spike trap. Make your way up and watch out for the Presses. Exit through the door up top. _______________ [ Egg Corridor? ] Again, keep an eye out for stalactites. A bit to the right are two dragon zombies, so kill them to move forward. A bit past that part, you'll see a yellow-green floating gaseous entity. If you shoot it or approach it, it will activate a countdown timer, where once it hits zero the thing will explode. The explosion has quite a large radius, so stay far away when it happens. It's possible to destroy the gas blob before it hits zero, in which case no explosion will occur. Continue heading right and killing all the monsters. At Egg No. 05, you'll have to follow the narrow winding path downwards. Stalactites will be falling on you all the way through, so don't stop until you reach a safe spot. After that, head up, kill the zombie dragon, and enter the Egg Observation Room through the broken window. _______________________ [ Egg Observation Room? ] Jump onto the central platform and open the chest for a Missile Expansion. You'll be ambushed by a pair of dragons. NOTE: It's actually possible to skip this fight entirely if you don't open the chest and just head out the right window. Of course, you will be missing out on a Missile Expansion, plus the fight itself isn't too hard. You also get a save point if you defeat them. .-----------------. ( Boss: The Sisters )========================================================== '=================' This fight really isn't all that difficult, since both dragons share the same health bar. You shouldn't have any problems with it as long as you avoid getting hit. ( Attacks ) The Sisters will circle around the central platform. When one of them opens its mouth, it's a sign that it's about to spew fire at you. The fire is actually destroyable, so use a quick weapon to take care of any fires. This attack can be avoided completely if you shoot them as they open their mouths, and they'll be stunned for a short while and cancel the attack. At low health, the Sisters will open their mouths simultaneously, and this time they won't flinch if you shoot at them. They'll then spew lots of fire at you. Again, shoot the fire to destroy them. The fire is just about their only attack, so it shouldn't be hard to predict their moves. ( Strategy ) Stand on the central platform. The Sisters are impervious to damage at first, so wait for them to start attacking you. Once you see one of them with an open mouth, shoot it if it's within range. The shot will stun it for a few seconds, giving you time to continue dealing damage (they still take damage when they're stunned). This fight is so trivial that only the Polar Star upgrade is needed. After you're done, save and head out through the broken window on the right. It's a bit hard to see, but it's there, so look carefully and you'll find it. =============================================================================== _______________ [ Egg Corridor? ] A stalactite will drop on you immediately after you enter, so watch out for it. Continue right, avoiding the spikes and killing the enemies. Soon you'll reach the end of Egg Corridor. Enter the Side Room first (the door on the right, if you can't remember). ___________ [ Side Room ] No question mark after the name? Madness! Save and heal, then exit. _______________ [ Egg Corridor? ] Now enter the other door, the one which contained Egg No. 00. ____________ [ Egg No. 00 ] Go examine the computer. Words light up on the screen: "HATCH SUCCESSFUL" Now, an important cut scene will occur. This is the point in the game where you can choose either to get the bad ending or the good/great endings; I'm sure you can figure out which is which by yourselves. I recommend seeing the bad ending at least once. Once the cut scene ends, exit through the newly-opened door. ========================== | Outer Wall [sect109] |XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX -------------------------- _________ _______ ( Weapons )========( Items )=============. | | | | -none- | Nikumaru Counter* | '__________ | | ( Upgrades )=======| | | | | | -none- | | | | | '----------------------------------------' * = optional ____________ [ Outer Wall ] I always get chills whenever I enter this area. Note that even if you chose to escape, you will still be able to continue onward if you don't talk to Kazuma. You might have noticed that seemingly inaccessible door underneath the platform you're standing on. We're going to go there first before we do anything else. It's recommended that you save right now since you might screw up and fall the first time. From the very edge of the platform, jump down and quickly boost to the left into the narrow space. If you fall, you'll die and will have to start over again. As you walk along the corridor, watch out for that single gap in the floor. You'll reach the door, so enter it. ______________ [ Little House ] The room seems to be...empty? At second glance, you'll see two tiny figures pacing the room. It's Mrs. Little and her son. Talk to Mrs. Little to learn that her husband has been away from home for a long time. There's nothing else you can do here, so go back out. ____________ [ Outer Wall ] Boost back onto the main platform. If you're wondering where to go now, why not check the map? It's a long way to climb, but with the Booster it's a piece of cake. Start climbing the platforms upwards. If you're still not familiar with the Booster, it's alright to just climb one platform at a time. Soon you'll meet two types of monsters here - one is called Hoppy, those tiny yellow creatures who jump at you. Hoppies are pretty easy to take down, and they're quite predictable. The other monster, the Night Spirit, poses more of a challenge. Night Spirits are white ghost-like creatures who shoot out a bunch of white, tadpole-shaped projectiles...er, balloons! Yeah, that's right, balloons...>__> Anyway, the balloons only deal moderate damage, but they become more dangerous when you realize that they aren't destroyable. A Night Spirit also takes a lot of hits to kill. When you go up a bit, you'll notice one of the protruding blocks has an image of a clock carved onto it. Follow the thin rope it's attached to, all the way to the left end of the crevasse. You'll see a small opening at the end, where there's a short bit of railing. It's actually a door, so enter it. ____________ [ Clock Room ] If you didn't acquire the Booster v2.0 and rescue and drain the water from Curly in the Waterway, the chest here won't open. Otherwise, you'll receive the Nikumaru Counter. This item isn't actually necessary for you to enter Sacred Ground, but it will record your best runthrough time so you can brag to your friends (or get different title screens). Anyway, there's nothing more of interest here, so head back out. ____________ [ Outer Wall ] Continue heading up and killing the Hoppies and Night Spirits. As you boost past that long horizontal barrier, you'll see some sand pits. Avoid them at all costs, since Sandcrocs reside here. Tread carefully. After you get past the sand section, there will be another jumble of platforms you'll need to navigate, but that shouldn't prove to be too difficult at this point. Near the top of Outer Wall you'll be assaulted by multiple Hoppies as well as two Night Spirits. After you have successfully killed or avoided them, boost up to the tunnel and enter the door. ========================== | Plantation [sect110] |XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX -------------------------- _________ _______ ( Weapons )========( Items )=============. | | | | Nemesis* | Teleporter Room Key | | | Sue's Letter | | | Mimiga Mask | '__________ | Broken Sprinkler | ( Upgrades )=======| Sprinkler | | | Controller | | Life Capsule x2 | Little Man* | | | Ma Pignon* | | | Iron Bond* | | | | '----------------------------------------' * = optional ____________ [ Storehouse ] After you talk to the Mimiga and save, head out the other door to Plantation. ____________ [ Plantation ] Although this area is big, the enemies here are pathetic, and everything that happens here are primarily plot elements. As soon as you enter, boost upwards to reach a door. __________ [ Passage? ] Seems like the door on the bottom is blocked off... head to the opposite door for now. ________________ [ Statue Chamber ] This room contains statues of all the former possessors of the Demon Crown. A carver by the name of Numahachi is creating a fourth statue, which by the looks of it is the Doctor. There's nothing you can do here (at least for now), so head back out. __________ [ Passage? ] Back to Plantation we go. ____________ [ Plantation ] Now drop down to the bridge and head right. You'll see a group of bats surrounding a mother bat, called Orange Bell for some reason. The mother bat doesn't do anything, and the bats still have the same old tricks. Destroy them or run past them, and watch out for gaps in the bridge. As you walk past the tall barrier, you'll see a door. It's inaccessible right now, so ignore it. Above you is an orange creature who appears to be kin to Numahachi. These are called Drolls, and they won't attack you unless you attack them, so you can just jump over them if you wish. When provoked, they'll throw a spinning projectile at you, but it's pretty easy to dodge. Head past the Droll to find a field of fertile soil where Mimigas are growing something. You can't get any information off of the Mimigas for now, so continue left. Those happy little peas that you see running around don't pose much danger, and can be destroyed rather quickly and easily. Keep going left until you see a door in an alcove. Kill the pea guarding it and enter. ___________ [ Rest Area ] Hey, isn't that the fishing Mimiga from Mimiga Village? Talk to him and he'll head out the door. None of the other Mimigas in here are willing to talk to you, so head back outside. ____________ [ Plantation ] Jump onto the upper ledge and continue going left. Once you reach the very left edge of Plantation, continue climbing upwards. You'll see a door which will lead to Jail No. 2, but all it has is a teleporter that leads to the one in the Shelter, in Grasstown. It's worth a visit, though, to check out the best quote in the game, spoken by one of the inmates. Continue upwards and soon green mosquito-like creatures will swarm you. They're fast but fragile, so you can kill a bunch of them with the level 3 Blade. When you reach the top left corner of Plantation, you'll find another Life Capsule. Now drop down and head all the way back to eastern Plantation. Near the entrance to the Storehouse, drop down below the bridge and you'll see a narrow shaft. Follow it downwards, and if you've rescued Curly from the Waterway, she will be here, along with a Cthulhu native. Don't rejoice too soon, however, as Curly's developed amnesia and doesn't remember who you are. Talk to the Cthulhu again and will mention something about a special mushroom that can restore memories... hm. Anyways, boost out of the shaft and continue left. You'll soon encounter a large lake. There are Gunfish in the waters here, who spit bubbles at you. They're easily destroyed. There are also more of those annoying mosquitoes here, so take care of them quickly. Continue left, staying out of the water. Soon you'll find the fishing Mimiga attempting to catch something (there are Gunfish all over the place, why doesn't he cast his line there?). Talk to him and he'll mention something about a weird item he fished up. Check in the bucket next to him to find the Teleporter Room Key. With the key in hand, continue left past the Mimiga to reach a door. Open it with the key you just found. ____________ [ Teleporter ] A Droll stands between you and the teleporter, but he can't be damaged, and he doesn't say anything if you talk to him... walk past him and hop into the teleporter. You'll be telepor- "KILLER ROBOT!" ... ... Well, ****. ____________ [ Jail No. 1 ] You awaken inside a jail cell, whose only other inhabitant seems awfully familiar... indeed, it's that fat Mimiga who was constantly eating back in Mimiga Village. He'll tell you that Sue was here, and she crammed something into your pocket. Talk to him some more until he starts repeating lines. Right now is a good time to open your inventory and check Sue's Letter. Read it to the very end, then save and exit through the secret passageway. Head out the door at the end. ____________ [ Plantation ] Jump down all the way to the main level where the Red Flowers are being cultivated. Now that you have the password, you can access that previously inaccessible door. Find it (keep heading right, it's near the center of the Plantation map) and drop into that little alcove right above it. There's actually a secret passageway hidden among the gray-colored blocks. It's not that difficult to find, and once you find it follow it to the door. It'll ask you for a password, which Sue conveniently gave you in her letter. _________ [ Hideout ] Talk to the woman here, and she'll introduce her as Momorin Sakamoto, Sue's mother. She's currently building a rocket that will go up to the Throne Room, but she's lacking a few parts to complete it. When she spies your Booster, she'll take it away from you (:sadface:). In return, though, she'll let you borrow her Mimiga Mask. She'll then ask you to bring back a Sprinkler. Save here, then head back out. ____________ [ Plantation ] Now that you have the Mimiga Mask, the Mimiga workers will talk to you. Head all the way to the left end of the Plantation and talk to the leftmost Mimiga. He'll ask you (well, not exactly) to take the broken sprinkler and exchange it for a new one. Head over to the broken sprinkler (it's the one that's not spewing water) and grab it. Now that you have a Broken Sprinkler, you need to exchange it for a new one, so head to the Rest Area. ___________ [ Rest Area ] Talk to the Mimiga with the shades and he'll exchange the Broken Sprinkler for a (working) Sprinkler. Hoorah. Now head back out to Plantation. ____________ [ Plantation ] Head right to the Hideout. _________ [ Hideout ] Give the Sprinkler to Mrs. Sakamoto, and now she'll ask you to find Itoh. If you don't remember, he's the engineer-turned-Mimiga hiding in the Storehouse. Save and exit. ____________ [ Plantation ] Go right this time, away from the Mimiga workers. Head across the bridge and enter the Storehouse. ____________ [ Storehouse ] Talk to Itoh, and he'll give you the Controller. This is the last rocket part that Mrs. Sakamoto will need. Head back to Plantation. ____________ [ Plantation ] Go back to the Hideout. _________ [ Hideout ] Give Mrs. Sakamoto the Controller, and she suggests you take a nap on the bed. Do so, and you'll awaken from a long sleep to find both Mrs. Sakamoto and the rocket gone. Save and head back up. ____________ [ Plantation ] Mrs. Sakamoto is up on top, along with Itoh and the rocket. Talk to her to get your Booster back (you need to re-equip it), while she takes back the Mimiga Mask. Now hop on top of the rocket and press Down. Flip the switch and the rocket will lift off. Be prepare to jump off, however, as soon as you see a dog standing on a platform. Go talk to it, and it'll give you a Life Capsule. At this point, if you're only aiming for the normal ending, take the rocket up again to the very top of Plantation and skip ahead to the section titled Last Cave. If you want to gain access to Sacred Ground, or acquire a powerful weapon, there are a few things we need to do first. If you haven't done so yet (or can't remember), go back to where Curly is resting and talk to her, then to the Cthulhu native next to her. Make sure he mentions a mushroom that can cure amnesia. Travel all the way to the Teleporter room where you got smashed by that Droll. It's at the end of the bottom lake section, if you forgot. ____________ [ Teleporter ] The Droll is gone now, so take the teleporter to Arthur's House. ________________ [ Arthur's House ] Save and head out to Mimiga Village. ________________ [ Mimiga Village ] Make your way to the upper level of the village and travel to the Graveyard. ___________ [ Graveyard ] There are two things you need to do here. First off, check the ground carefully for a tiny man, similar in appearance to the little people living in Outer Wall. He should be around where the knife-wielding creature is. He's wearing a green shirt as well, so he's difficult to spot. Once you locate him, talk to him and he'll be put in your inventory. You'll need to get him home later. Now go to the top-right corner of the Graveyard, where you'll see the door that was previously inaccessible to you. Now that you have the booster, you can easily reach that door. _________ [ Storage ] A single blue mushroom resides here. If he does nothing after you talk to him, you either didn't rescue Curly from the Waterway, or you forgot to talk to the Cthulhu next to where Curly is resting in Plantation (make sure he mentions a type of mushroom that can restore memories). Anyways, after a bit of dialogue, he'll offer you the Mushroom Badge, but he seems reluctant to give it to you. Keep answering his questions appropriately (yes no yes yes no) until you finally receive it. Now check the badge in your inventory, where you'll find that it's actually completely useless. Talk to the mushroom again, and he'll attack you. .---------------. ( Boss: Ma Pignon )============================================================ '===============' Is this some sort of a joke? Actually, despite its appearance, Ma Pignon can deal a lot of damage before going down, although he's still only considered a miniboss of sorts. ( Attacks ) The purple mushroom will start by jumping around a lot. Contact damage is very light, so don't even worry about bumping into it. After a few hops, it will grin and turn white, then drive into the opposite wall. When he's white he's invincible, but his dash is easily avoided just by jumping. After Ma Pignon slams into the wall, tons of boulders will drop from the ceiling. Quickly find a safe spot - the boulders deal heavy damage, and they're surprisingly difficult to predict and avoid. After a few rounds of this, Ma Pignon will run into the center of the room and jump into the ceiling. Afterwards, a bunch of Ma Pignon clones will fall out of the roof. The fake ones are killed in one hit, so finding the real boss isn't all that difficult. The main thing to watch out for in this battle is the falling boulders, so if you're careful with them the rest of the match is a breeze. ( Strategy ) Just shoot at it with any weapon you have. If you can, try to synchronize your shots with the mushroom's jumps so you can deal more damage. Avoid it when it's invincible and watch out for its attacks, and pretty soon you'll have it won. Not too difficult at all. After the fight, Ma Pignon will appear as an item in your inventory. =============================================================================== _________ [ Storage ] Head out to the Graveyard. ___________ [ Graveyard ] Make your way back to Mimiga Village. ________________ [ Mimiga Village ] You're done here, so now go to Arthur's House. ________________ [ Arthur's House ] Save, heal, and take the teleporter to Plantation. ____________ [ Teleporter ] Tired of these useless one-liner instructions yet? Head out to Plantation. ____________ [ Plantation ] From the outset, jump into the water (watch out for those spikes). As you walk across the bottom of the lake, you'll see an opening of a pipe system. Jump into the pipe and it will transport you all the way to the other side of the lake. From here, it's only a few paces to where Curly is. Once you reach her, talk to her and feed her the Ma Pignon. She'll remember everything (including your actual name, apparently). Talk to her again to receive the Iron Bond, a necessary item to gain access to Sacred Ground. There is one last side quest left, and it's entirely optional. If you're not interested in trading away your Blade for a new weapon, the Nemesis, then head over to where the rocket is, take it up to the top of Plantation, and skip ahead to the section "Last Cave". If you do plan on getting the Nemesis, then read on. Head over to the Storehouse, where Itoh used to be. ____________ [ Storehouse ] Save if you wish, then take the door to Outer Wall. ____________ [ Outer Wall ] Traveling down Outer Wall is a breeze. Just find a spot away from the Hoppies and jump down. Don't worry about falling to your death - if you keep holding Left as you descend, you'll make it onto the bottom platform. From there, jump down and boost into the gap below the platform to reach the Little House again. ______________ [ Little House ] Now that the Little Man is home, talk to him and he'll offer you his "fabulous gun" for your Blade. Personally, I would do the trade, as the Nemesis proves to be a lot more useful than the Blade in Sacred Ground (plus if you don't trade then you'll have completed the side quest for nothing). Once you've decided, go back to Outer Wall. ____________ [ Outer Wall ] Time to make your ascent again. It shouldn't be any different from the last time you climbed the wall. At the top, return to the Storehouse. ____________ [ Storehouse ] Exit through the other door to Plantation. ____________ [ Plantation ] Time for an inventory check. You should have a max of 50 health, and a maximum stockpile of 30 missiles. If not, I suggest you consult the Power-ups section to locate the ones you missed. Once you've taken care of that, ride the rocket up, past the column of killer robots, to the very top of Plantation. Save and enter the Last Cave. ========================= | Last Cave [sect111] |XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX ------------------------- Note: Before we start, let me explain how Last Cave works. If you got the Booster v0.8 (meaning you didn't get the better v2.0 Booster) or kept the Mimiga Mask, you'll enter the standard Last Cave, which, although more challenging than any area you've been to thus far, is a walk in the park compared to the hidden version, which you will enter if you have the Booster v2.0. The first part of this section will cover the regular Last Cave, while the second part will go in-depth with the hidden version. _________ _______ ( Weapons )========( Items )=============. | | | | -none- | Clay Figure Medal* | '__________ | | ( Upgrades )=======| | | | | | -none- | | | | | '----------------------------------------' * = optional ___________ [ Last Cave ] As soon as you enter, you'll see three red-colored Critters and a red-colored liquid (blood?) dripping from the ceiling. The red Critters behave similar to the Critters in First Cave and Egg Corridor, except they're faster, stronger, and have better eyesight. Approach carefully and kill them quickly. The liquid also hurts you slightly if you touch it, but it's relatively easy to avoid. Past the beginning section are some spikes and more Critters. Take them out at long range whenever possible, and then make your way carefully across the spike pits. You'll soon enter an area where tons of blood drips down. This part is infested with Critters, so the best strategy here is to stand at a safe spot between two blood drips and take the Critters out before they start hopping. The Snake is very useful here. When you finally make it to the other side, climb upwards to the second level. Jump or boost up the shaft while avoiding the spikes. You'll now be in a room with lava-filled floors. As you may have predicted, touching the lava will hurt you. Red bats will also be flying around. They're annoying but do have predictable patterns, so just ignore them unless they're in your way. Navigate between the maze of hanging platforms while avoiding the spikes, bats, and lava. After you clear the platforms, jump across the lava pools. You'll find another spike-filled maze, but fortunately it isn't as hard to traverse as the previous one, given the absence of lava. After that part, you're home free, at least for now. Make your way to the end of the floor and jump up while avoiding the bats. This section will have you moving upwards diagonally, requiring you to perform well-timed jumps and boosts. First climb up the first few "steps", avoiding the blood drips. Critters are hiding among the spikes in the next area. You'll also see a couple of deep spike traps, which you should avoid if you have the Booster. After a series of these pits, you'll round a corner again and come upon the home stretch. NOTE: If you have the Mimiga Mask, the pits have hidden fans at the bottom that will propel you upwards. Use the momentum from the first fan to clear the spike wall. Whenever a wall is too high to jump up on, just fall into a pit nearby and let the current push you up (hold down the Jump button to fly higher). The main danger in the last corridor are the Presses. If you get crushed, you'll die automatically and will have to go through Last Cave all over again. Now, there are two ways to go through this corridor. The first way is to macho it through by running ahead of the Presses Indana Jones-style, killing any Critters in your way. Whatever you do, never stop running, since bumping into a Critter for some damage will also gain you invinciblity for a short time to recover. If you're not enough of a man, however, you can opt for the much safer method by just killing all the Presses before they drop. There are a myriad of ways to do this: you can bait the first press into falling, kill it, then easily take care of the rest in that row. You can use the Snake to kill the first one and then the others You can even use the Whimsical Star if you want. There are tons of methods to get rid of the Presses, and since half the emails I get are strategies for this particular section, I'm just going to tell you to find what works for you and stick with it. Either way, you should clear the gauntlet with little problem. Watch out for the last Critter hiding inside the pool of lava near the door. You have survived Last Cave! Exit through the door and skip to the next section titled "Endgame". ____________________ [ Last Cave (Hidden) ] If you've gone through the regular Last Cave before, you're more than ready for this challenge. I mean, come on, how much harder can this be, seriousl- "All weapons dropped to level 1!" ... Aw shit. This is bad. If you don't have either the Spur or the Nemesis, I feel sorry for you. Really. Without either, the Blade is the preferred weapon for this area, since it can one-shot the Critters at level 1. The Spur is definitely the weapon of choice here, since it's unaffected by the level drop and also boasts excellent range and power. The Nemesis is also a good choice, given it's the strongest at level 1, but you'll have to constantly watch out for crystals that the Critters drop, which makes it harder to handle than the Spur. As you enter, you'll see the same dangers as before: Red Critters, which are stronger and faster than regular Critters, and blood drips, which will hurt you if a droplet falls on you. The beginning seems quite easy; don't let it fool you, though. Kill the Critters and avoid the single blood drip, and make your way past the water. Kill the Critters here (make sure you don't engage them while underwater, since your movement will then be hampered), then continue right. Here you will see just one example why only those with the Booster v2.0 can access this place - there will be a corridor with lava at the bottom and spikes at the top. You'll need to boost your way to the right, through the narrow space. Do not let go of the boost until you safely reach the platform on the other side. As soon as you land, a group of Critters will ambush you at all sides, so take them out quickly to avoid any serious damage. Now boost over the second lava pit and take out the Critter in the lava as well as the four stationed on the far platform if you can (both the Nemesis and Spur can reach all four). Boost past the next lava pit and between the spikes. What's this, a weapons energy capsule? Break it open with your main weapon (Machine Gun or Snake, if you have the Spur then it's not important). As you head right, watch out for Critters hiding in the lava. There's another energy capsule in an alcove here, but I wouldn't recommend getting it unless you are exceptionally skilled with the Booster. Anyways, cross the lava and boost up the shaft, collecting the health refills as you go. You're now on the second level, and things only get harder from here. As with the regular Last Cave, red bats will be flying towards you, and you'll have to navigate a maze of spike-filled platforms while avoiding the lava pit at the bottom. The good news is that there are a few energy capsules here. Start by boosting upwards over the first wall, then drop straight down. Kill the Critter and head right to the capsule if you wish. Next, head left along the bottom and collect the hearts to refill your health. There are two capsules at the top of the room if you want to get them; they're both relatively easy to reach. Continue left and boost over the lava pits. You'll reach another spikey area. Boost upwards, then boost left in mid-air, and finally drop down onto a safe spot. Make sure you wait for the bats to pass before you make your attempt. Next, you'll have to cross a lava pit then immediately boost upwards. There are some health refills here, as well as an energy capsule, although it's likely you'll run into spikes if you're not skilled enough. Head down and into the water. You've cleared the second level, good job. I hope by now you've mastered, or at least gotten the hang of changing the direction of your boost in mid-air, because you're gonna perform that a lot in the next section. Boost upwards and you'll see the first obstacle. Seems impossible, no? Jump (not boost) over the spikes and into the shaft with lava in it. Immediately boost upwards, and when you reach the opening to the right, change directions and boost through the spikes. The next boost area is easier; just boost straight into the opposite wall, then upwards to reach the ledge. Now you'll have to boost down into a narrow shaft. Jump up and boost to get the heart, then boost straight down when you're directly over the opening. Be sure to save some boost to enter the opening on the side of the shaft, or else you're gonna fall on some spikes. Boost up the next shaft, climb over the wall and drop down. Boost between the spike rows, then boost up. There is no safety platform in the next gulch, so drop down and boost right before you hit the lava. Change directions and boost upwards once you reach the opening. You'll find another energy capsule here. Now fly right between the spikes and land on the central safe platform in the spike-covered shaft. Kill the two Critters in the spikes, then boost up. There's another Critter waiting for you up top, so shoot upwards while boosting to kill it. There is a final energy capsule here. Head right and enter the room where a red Droll-like creature awaits. .---------------. ( Boss: Red Demon )============================================================ '===============' This strange creature is only present in the Hidden version of Last Cave. By itself it isn't very difficult, but since you just traversed a major portion of Last Cave, you might be low on health, making this fight all the more intense. ( Attacks ) The Red Demon's attack pattern is quite simple, and once you understand it, you should have no problem dodging it. The creature's main attack is to throw projectiles at you, which are similar to the ones the Drolls in Plantation throw. First, he'll stand on the ground and throw three projectiles at you, then jump in the air and throw three more, and that's it. He'll continue the same pattern no matter how much damage he takes. ( Strategy ) Since the Red Demon basically only has one attack, it is quite easy to develop a foolproof strategy. First off, note the little bump on the ground in the middle of the room. The three projectiles he fires while on the ground can't even hit you if you're on the other side of that bump, so just stand there to avoid that attack (also due to the bump, you can only shoot him with the Snake from where you're standing). Next, when he jumps up, boost sideways underneath him to avoid his projectiles. When you're not dodging, continue to shoot him with whatever you have. The Nemesis is a good choice for this fight, since there are no energy crystals present until after the match. =============================================================================== When you defeat it, the Red Demon will drop a bunch of weapon exp. as well as a chest. Open it to find the Clay Figure Medal. Like the Alien Medal, it does nothing and is only there for decoration. Continue left past the boss room. You'll encounter two Critters in a room with a bunch of blood drips. Kill the Critters and avoid the droplets, and you'll enter a large room full of Critters. Thankfully, the space is big enough so you won't get swarmed as long as you approach slowly. Dispatch all the Critters and head to the final gauntlet of Presses. As with the regular Last Cave, there are two ways through this section. You can just run left while shooting continuously, and you'll take care of both the Presses and the Critters. The twist here is that now there will be lava pits in your path, so you need to act fast and boost over them. If you make a mistake here, remember that falling into the lava only does 10 damage while getting crushed by a Press is an instant KO. Again, you can always avoid the risk of getting flattened by killing the Presses before they get the chance to drop down. This can be done a variety of creative ways, so please don't send me any more emails about new strategies for this section; just stick with the method you found most useful. At the end of the corridor, watch out for the two Critters hiding in the lava pool. Head to the door and exit to the Balcony. Congratulations, you survived Last Cave (Hidden)! Take some deep breaths, we're about to reach the climax of this story. ======================= | Endgame [sect112] |XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX ----------------------- _________ _______ ( Weapons )========( Items )=============. | | | | -none- | | '__________ | | ( Upgrades )=======| -none- | | | | | -none- | | | | | '----------------------------------------' _________ [ Balcony ] Finally, fresh air! Take a moment and enjoy the beautiful scenery, then head to the right. It won't be long before you encounter two frenzied Mimigas. They're of the same type as the one who attacked you in Grasstown Hut, so just keep your distance while you shoot at them. Past the Mimigas is the helicopter that Sue and co. rode in on (you can't pilot it, too bad). A bit further ahead is a small building. Enter it. ______________ [ Prefab House ] At last, the long-awaited save point. Save and heal at the bed, then exit to Balcony again. If you want, you can inspect the bookshelf to find a note by Professor Booster, detailing the specifics of his Booster invention. _________ [ Balcony ] Head right once more, and you'll find another pair of frenzied Mimigas. This time, however, one of them is Igor-sized. They're not too difficult to take out, but you can always just boost over their heads and outrun them. As you continue right, you'll find an opening that will lead to the Throne Room, where three back-to-back boss fights await. Ignore this door for now; instead, boost upwards along the wall. Keep heading up and you'll reach a life-saving supply depot enclosed by star blocks. There are hearts, missile refills and, most importantly, weapon energy capsules, which must be a sight for sore eyes after the trek through Hidden Last Cave. You need not max out all your weapons' exp. bar, only your Polar Star upgrade and your Missile Launcher (and the Blade to level 2 or 3 if you still have it). After you're done, continue climbing up the wall and you'll reach the very top of Balcony, where you'll find a sign. Now if you boost up from the sign directly upwards into the clouds, you'll be teleported to the entrance to the Throne Room. If you boost left for a bit then boost up, you'll arrive at the entrance to the Prefab House instead. Do the latter, save one last time, and enter the door to the Throne Room. _____________ [ Throne Room ] Now, before you fight, let me give you a word of caution. If you intend to enter Sacred Ground, do not use your Life Pot during the final boss fights. Furthermore, it's recommended that you avoid using any missiles, because you will need them in the bonus stage. Anyway, head right. Misery will be waiting for you. She'll jabber for a bit, expressing her disdain for this island, and then attack you. Prepare yourself! .------------. ( Boss: Misery )=============================================================== '============' After taunting you throughout the entire game, Misery finally confronts you head-on. This fight is only the first of three consecutive boss battles, so you need to play conservatively here and save your strength for the remaining matches. ( Attacks ) Being the witch that she is, Misery carries a wide variety of projectile attacks. First off, she will remain floating in mid-air throughout the entire match. For her first attack, she flashes white and fires five black balls at you. The balls travel relatively fast, but they only travel in a straight line, so if you continue moving the balls will miss you. After the attack, she will teleport to a different location, probably at the opposite end of the room. If you're far enough from her position, she will summon three slow-moving black balls which will float slowly towards you. As you run underneath them, they will transform into bolts of lightning and shoot straight downwards in an attempt to hit you. Like before, this attack can be avoided simply by moving. A bit after this attack, Misery will fire her five black balls at you again, and teleport away. After using the 5-ball attack two times, however, on the third time instead of firing the balls Misery will summon a giant block above your head and send it crashing down on you. Same as before, the attack can be avoided simply by boosting away. The cycle then repeats. When Misery's health gets low, she will summon two black rings that will rotate around her. These rings deal a tiny bit of contact damage, but they block any attacks (including Snake) which makes it more difficult to deal damage. When Misery teleports, the rings will transform into orange bats that will fly towards you for a while before disappearing. If you shoot them, they'll drop power-ups for you to nab. As Misery's health reaches another critical point, she will start summoning four rings instead of two. They still behave the same way, though. ( Strategy ) As I mentioned before, you still have two boss fights ahead of you, so try to conserve your health during this match. The best weapons to use here are the Polar Star upgrades, the Nemesis, and the Level 2 Blade. During the first half of the match, stay on the ground and shoot at her from below whenever possible, and avoid her attacks when necessary. Also, try to predict where Misery will appear after she teleports - you'll cut down the number of lightning ball attacks. Once Misery starts surrounding herself with rings, you can take one of two approaches. You can continue attacking her from the ground like before, shooting between the gaps in the rings. This is the safest route, although it's a bit slow since the opportunity to shoot through four rings is rather limited. Another approach is to boost into the region inside the rings and maintain a general position, where you'll have a clear shot at Misery at point blank range. However, this method makes dodging Misery's attack a slightly harder task, and you risk contact damage with both Misery and the rings. If you get low on health, you can kill Misery's bats for some useful power-ups. Misery will go down with some patience, as all her attacks can be avoided with a cool head and steady hand. =============================================================================== _____________ [ Throne Room ] Misery will beat a hasty retreat after you defeat her. A hole in the ceiling appears, along with some stone steps. Climb upwards and jump into the hole. __________________ [ The King's Table ] Now that Misery is gone, there's nobody to protect the doctor anymore, so just waltz up to him and shoot him a couple of times and... wait wait wait, what's this about red crystals and superpowers? .----------------. ( Boss: The Doctor )=========================================================== '================' Unlike many of the previous bosses, the Doctor has two completely different forms, although they're both relatively easy as long as you're prepared. Again, try not to lose too much life here; the toughest fight is yet to come. ( Attacks ) Like Misery, the Doctor is capable of teleporting around the room, although he is usually standing on the ground instead of hovering in the air. His Red Crystal, however, doesn't teleport along with him, and so will travel in a zigzag pattern to his new location. The crystal actually does a bit of contact damage, so don't let it hit you. After the Doctor teleports, he fires two red energy waves that travel in a double-helix pattern (like a strand of DNA). The height to which they can reach increases over time. You can avoid them by standing in safe spots in their firing trajectory, but they're very hard to predict correctly, so you'd be better off just jumping over the entire thing. The waves also block all shots, so it's rather difficult to keep damaging the Doctor consistently. After firing the waves, the Doctor will teleport again. Occasionally, the Doctor will teleport into the air and fire multiple energy waves which bounce off the walls. These waves, although numerous, travel slower than his normal waves and are easy to predict, so just move into a safe spot if one is coming towards you. After you kill the Doctor, he loses control of the Crystal's power and mutates into a hideous monster. More importantly, his entire attack pattern changes, and his personality becomes extremely aggressive. His standard attack is to jump towards you, hoping to crush you underneath him. After a while, he'll teleport, but instead of emerging at the other side of the room, he teleports directly on top of you, so keep moving. Occasionally he will flash red and perform a short dash towards you; watch out for this attack and jump or boost away. When his health gets low, he'll unleash his final attack: he raises his hands and releases a swarm of bats. These bats must be on steroids or something, because they fly extremely fast. If you let the Doctor fill up the screen with bats, you're going to have a hell of a time beating him while maintaining a decent health level. The best way to avoid the attack is to go on the offensive; when you see the Doctor stick out his hands, turn towards him and fire continuously. You'll destroy almost all the bats, and in the process deal some damage to the Doctor, killing two birds with one stone. ( Strategy ) For the first stage, just shoot at the Doctor while you're not avoiding his attacks. He's pretty evasive, so the first stage might take longer than you expect. Make avoiding his attacks your priority. Things actually get easier during second stage, for two main reasons: one, the Doctor has basically no form of protection besides his Crystal, meaning he's wide open to your attacks, and two, he actually comes toward you, so no more of chasing him halfway across the room just to have him teleport away again. The main weakness that the transformed Doctor has is that he has to pause after each move. Once you get the timing down, you can shoot him as much as possible, quickly boost away from him to avoid his next attack, then turn around and attack again. Using this method, you should be at close enough range so you can get into position to shoot down his bats. You should also be able to kill him during or a while after he uses his bat attack if you follow this strategy. If not, just keep shooting away. The bats also drop power-ups for you, so pick those up if you're getting low on health. =============================================================================== __________________ [ The King's Table ] After you defeat him, the Doctor will explode in a burst of pixilated blood (apparently his blood cells are the size of tennis balls). The Red Crystal goes flying off into the ceiling, and a hole opens up in the ceiling yet again. Before you enter, find Chaco, the purple-colored Mimiga, and talk to her two times. Her attractive giggle will make hearts appear above all the worker Mimigas, which you can collect to restore your health. Tee-hee! Now climb the newly formed blocks to the (final) final boss. _____________ [ Black Space ] Hey, isn't that the Core you almost recklessly destroyed back in the Labyrinth? Suddenly, Misery shows up and bargains with you: in exchange of you leaving the island, she'll let Sue free. Before you can respond, however, a familiar voice rings throughout the room... Turns out that the Doctor survived thanks to the Red Crystal (jeez, what's in that thing anyways?). He transforms Misery into a bird-like creature and Sue into a ninja bunny, then personally takes control of the Core. Get ready for your final battle. .-----------------. ( Boss: Undead Core )========================================================== '=================' You actually have to fight three things at once, but both Sue and Misery are just minor distractions. The Undead Core is the one you should be focused on, since killing it also automatically defeats the other two. ( Attacks ) Before talking about the main Core, let's discuss Sue and Misery first. Sue is capable of floating in the air. First she'll gain invincibility (indicated by a flashing sequence) and advance towards you. Then, she'll do a somersault towards your position, which does some damage. It's not very hard to avoid, since she travels in a straight trajectory and can actually be stunned out of the attack. If you keep moving, Sue won't pose a major threat, so you can ignore her if you wish. If you find that you cannot manage to concentrate on other stuff while dodging her attack, though, consider killing her first. Misery attacks by summoning orange-colored Critters, bats, and fish missiles. As per usual, the Critters only hop along the ground, so just stay in the air and you'll be fine. The bats might be a bit more annoying, but they're easy to take down. Other than summoning creatures, Misery doesn't do anything, and floats a good distance from you. As with Sue, you can ignore her, since she actually helps you a bit by providing you with an ample source of power-ups. Now onto the Undead Core itself. Like the previous Core fight, you must damage the main core directly. Unlike the last time, however, the minicores no longer surround the main one; instead, they slowly travel from right to left in a wavy pattern. The minicores do not shoot projectiles; in fact, they are harmless by themselves and can even be used as platforms. Now for the main core. like last time, you can only damage it when it is "active". It will hover back and forth rather slowly in the middle of the stage. It has three attacks it can use, all of which you can predict from the form that the core takes when it becomes active. If you see a skull-like face within the active core, it means that it will fire energy waves that travel along the floor and ceiling. This attack is quite easy to avoid - just stay afloat on a minicore and you'll never be harmed by this attack. If the core displays teeth, it will fire spinning dumbbell-shaped projectiles at you. They're a bit harder to dodge than the energy waves, but they shouldn't be a major problem since there are only a few on screen at a time. It gets a bit trickier if Sue or Misery is still alive, though. When the core's health reaches a critical level, it will display a third and final attack - the core will show an open mouth, and in addition to firing both of his other attacks at once, will fire three gigantic blasts of energy. You're likely to get hit during this fight, but just make sure you absolutely do not jump into the giant Hadokens. It'll probably mean death for you. ( Strategy ) If you want to take the safe approach, then at the beginning of the match only concentrate on taking out Sue. It should be relatively simple, since her attack patterns are extremely predictable. Once Sue is gone, take care of Misery. She should be easy to deal damage on since she moves very slowly. Just take out the creatures that she summons to clear a path to her (watch out for the Core's energy waves when you're on the ground killing Critters). Your main Polar Star upgrade or Nemesis should work wonderfully. You can also use the level 2 Blade if you feel gutsy. Again, if you are just focused on speed, ignore Sue and Misery and just focus on the Undead Core. With both Misery and Sue gone, you can now solely concentrate on the Undead Core. Wait for it to become active. If it's the face, then just hop across the minicores and continue to strike him. The projectiles that the toothy version emits are a nuisance, so if you're low on health, just boost behind the Core; he'll never be able to reach you from there. For its mouth attack, just be sure to get out of the way of his energy blasts, then continue damaging him like normal. A Polar Star upgrade, Nemesis, or level 2 or 3 Blade works well here. Again, if you plan to enter Sacred Ground, try not to use any missiles during this fight. Don't get overwhelmed and you'll see victory in no time. Congratulations, you just beat the final boss! Well, not really, but you should still be proud of yourself for coming this far. =============================================================================== _____________ [ Black Space ] You wake up in Black Space, stunned, with Sue by your side. She rushes ahead. Follow her and jump down. Note that your health has been completely restored. __________________ [ The King's Table ] Fortunately, all the Mimigas have been freed from their cages. Continue straight down to the exit to the Throne Room. _____________ [ Throne Room ] Head left out the door to Balcony. _________ [ Balcony ] Sue will call out to you, then run on ahead. Blocks will then start falling from the sky. They do -10 damage each, so don't get hit, ESPECIALLY if you're aiming for the bonus stage. In fact, if you get damaged here, you should just reset and fight the last three bosses over again. Starting with full health in Sacred Ground is extremely important. Run or boost to the left, and you'll eventually reach the Prefab House. If you have fulfilled all the requirements for the bonus stage, that is, rescuing Curly and restoring her memory as well as obtaining the Booster v2.0, then the door to the building will be open. Enter and skip to the next section, titled "Sacred Ground". NOTE: You can still see the normal ending even if you enter the Prefab House; you don't have to go through the triple boss fight again. If you had not fulfilled the requirements, then the door won't open for you. Keep moving left, dodging the blocks as you go, until you reach the western edge of Balcony. The door to Last Cave is blocked, so where are we supposed to go? Hey, looks like Sue is waving to you. She tells you to- what, jump? Are you insane? But it looks like there's no other way off this collapsing island, so follow sue and jump out into the sky. The rest is all cinematics, so you'll have to see how the ending turns out by yourself. You've just beaten Cave Story. Huzzah! But there is still a last area for you to explore. If you only managed to get the normal ending, then you should start a new game, but this time fulfill the criteria to gain access to Sacred Ground, the final stage of Cave Story. ============================= | Sacred Ground [sect113] |XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX ----------------------------- NOTE: In order to gain access to this secret level, there are a few things you must do: 1) Skip the Booster v0.8; you'll receive the Booster v2.0 later on in the game. 2) Make sure to get the Tow Rope in the Core, so you can take Curly along with you. 3) In the Waterway, enter the Waterway Cabin and drain the water from Curly, then pick her up again and go through the remaining portion of Waterway. 4) The next time you see Curly, she should be in lower-right part of Plantation, with her memories gone. Go back to the Graveyard in Mimiga Village and acquire the Ma Pignon in a boss fight. Go back to Curly and feed her the mushroom, and she will regain her memories. Make sure you get the Iron Bond from her. With these requirements fulfilled, the door to the Prefab House will be open during your final escape, which will lead to Sacred Grounds. _________ _______ ( Weapons )========( Items )=============. | | | | -none- | | '__________ | | ( Upgrades )=======| -none- | | | | | Life Capsule x1 | | | Missile Expn x1 | | | | | '----------------------------------------' ______________ [ Prefab House ] Whew, so you've made it all the way here. What follows will be the culmination of your endeavors in this game. Think the Hidden Last Cave was tough? Oh, you've seen nothing yet. There's a save point here, so if you're at full health then save. If not, reset and beat the three bosses again, and this time try not to get hit by any falling blocks. The bed is bent out of shape, so no resting for you. The door also appears to be locked. If you inspect the bookshelf, though, a mysterious voice will ask you if you want to "turn back time". Make sure you have saved before selecting yes. The voice will then transport you back to Balcony, outside the entrance to the Throne Room, where Sue is hollering at you to hurry up. This way you can see the normal ending while keeping your save in the Prefab House. Now, if you haven't noticed already, a hole has opened up in the floor. This is the entrance to the secret stage. You ready for this? Let's hope so. Jump down the hole to your final challenge. __________________ [ Sacred Ground B1 ] While you are still falling in darkness, the Nikumaru Counter activates. It will keep track of your record time for beating the bonus stage (there are several speedrun tips here for those who are interested). More importantly, a black wind blows through you and all your weapons are dropped to level 1. Oh god, it's Last Cave all over again. Once you land, you'll find yourself in a strange, haphazard room (weird, haven't we seen this tileset somewhere before?). If you're not rushed for time, head right of the entrance and drop down the secret passageway to a sign that reads, "Welcome to hell!". Welcome to hell indeed. Make your way back up, and this time head left. What, scared already? Below you is a staircase covered with death spikes. Jump down into the passageway and keep holding Left. You'll only need two short boosts to stay clear of the spikes this way. When you reach the end of the staircase, however, you'll see another layer of spikes at the bottom. Insane. When you can, immediately boost right between the spikes, then boost up and finally reach safety. It's understandable that a first-timer wouldn't be able to accomplish this feat easily; in that case, you can always regain your boost by landing on one of the smaller spikes that only do -10 damage. As soon as you land on the platform, a mysterious voice (the same as before? Perhaps) will emanate from somewhere... "Did you know that the witch-woman Jenka once had a brother? His name was Ballos. Like his sister, he wielded powers far beyond those of mortals..." Sounds familiar? It's the same lines you heard when you almost drowned in the Core's boss room. Wonder what it means... Anyway, from the platform head right and avoid the spikes, then drop down. There are two weapon energy capsules here; use them to level up your Missile Launcher. Below is a long floor of death spikes, but there's a trick here - make sure you don't run out of boost at the end of the spikes, where there's another shaft you can fall down into. You have to save a little for what's coming up later. Inside the shaft are four more energy capsules suspended in the air; you can get them by shooting the capsules right before you're about to pass them. At the very bottom of the shaft is another row of death spikes, where the only safe platform is in an alcove with a Life Capsule. The only way you can reach this alcove is with a boost, hence why I told you to conserve a bit of boost earlier. Once you make it onto the alcove, grab the last Life Capsule in the game (which should bring you to 55 max health), jump down from the alcove and boost right to the door. Hey, wha- it's Curly! She appears to be unconscious for some reason, so take her along with the Tow Rope. Once you've picked up Curly, head to the door. The mysterious voice will speak again: "He used his magical powers to help and guide people, and the people loved and trusted him in return. Even more than they did their own king..." Interesting. With Curly in tow, enter the door. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Speedrun Tip: Use the Booster as much as possible, not only in this section but in the other sections that follow. Boosting is much faster than walking, so you'll cover a longer distance in a shorter amount of time. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- __________________ [ Sacred Ground B2 ] The good news here is that the spike traps are gone, at least for now. The bad news is this room is perhaps the most challenging (read: luck-based) in the entirety of Sacred Ground. B2 is a long corridor with hardly any barriers or obstacles, but there are two threats here that when combined will make this area a living hell. First off, blocks will be constantly falling from the ceiling. They do -10 damage, regardless of size. They also fall randomly, so sometimes your luck will screw you over. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Speedrun Tip: Regarding the larger-sized falling blocks, you only get damaged if you touch the bottom half of it. This means that you can actually boost through the top half of the block with no penalty. Use this to your advantage when speeding through this section. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Aside from the blocks, there's a new type of enemy here - small flying cherubs called Butes. They're weak by themselves, and only do 5 damage, but they're very fast and will attack you in swarms. Usually they won't pose a problem if you keep shooting at them, since they go down in one hit, but coupled with the falling blocks, they become a serious threat. If this is your first time through the room, proceed slowly, keeping a sharp eye on falling blocks and eliminating the Butes that swarm you. There's a lot of luck involved in this room, so don't feel bad if you die or suffer severe damage here - as long as you make it alive into the next area, you're fine. At the halfway point in the corridor, the voice will talk again: "The jealous king had Ballos apprehended and thrown into prison, where his punishment was brutal and cruel. Humans can be terrible creatures indeed..." The path is pretty linear so just watch out for Butes and falling blocks as you press on towards the exit. At the exit, you'll get another part of the narrative: "Under the extreme cruelty of the torture, Ballos' magical abilities finally ran wild. The king was engulfed in the swirl of magic and destroyed in an instant. In a single night, the kingdom that Ballos so loved was reduced to ashen ruins." --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Speedrun Tip: You should be using the Booster as much as humanly possible through this entire section. Keep boosting right and don't stop for anything except to avoid boulders. Also, keep as low to the ground as you can, since you'll be able to predict incoming boulders better and recharge the Booster faster. If you get hit while boosting, immediately let go of the boost and drop to the ground, because the recoil will propel you to the ceiling, causing you to lose time. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- __________________ [ Sacred Ground B3 ] This is it, the final floor. This area is like B1 and B2 combined, with spikes as well as many Butes (the falling blocks are gone, thank god). Before you go any further though, there's a nice trick you can take advantage of. See those two hearts in the pit to the right of you? You can jump down and nab them for health. Now boost up into the previous room, and then drop back down again. The hearts have respawned! You can do this as many times as you like, so fill your HP back to full before proceeding any further. Now boost a bit to the left of the platform underneath the entrance, then boost back onto it. If you went far enough out, you should trigger a stream of Butes who will drop down from the entrance. Stand directly underneath their spawn point and shoot upward continuously, which should kill them before they can react. You can also do the same trick outlined above with the respawning Butes to gain additional hearts, missiles, and energy crystals. Hey, looks like Curly has woken up, and she's got herself...another Nemesis?! Awesome! She'll shoot her gun opposite of the direction you are facing whenever you press the Fire button (unless you're standing on the ground and shooting up, in which case she will shoot up with you). Anyway, after a while the Butes will stop spawning, so now boost to your left. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Speedrun Tip: Skip the previous steps entirely; speed is more important than safety. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- You'll come across a section with some pillars you can stand on. Don't pause for too long, though, since there are Presses above each one. Below you is a region of safe ground, although there are Butes with swords guarding it, so don't drop down and they won't bother you much. At the end, there's a stationary archer Bute who will shoot arrows at you for -8 damage; destroy him and boost up onto the higher ledge. You'll meet a new enemy here - a larger version of the Bute, called Mesa. He stands in one place and hurls blocks at you, dealing -10 damage. Although Mesas take a lot of damage to kill, they're relatively easy to dispatch since their throwing range is always fixed, so once you find a safe spot you can stay there and finish them off. There are two Mesas on this platform, as well as two sword Butes, who you can take care of easily. After killing all four enemies, collect the power-ups that they drop (focus on leveling up your Missile Launcher) and head to the left end of the floor. Here a black and red barrier is blocking your path. These barriers, called Deleets, will start a timer countdown after you deal enough damage to them, after which it will self-destruct and damage you if you're caught in the blast radius. Shoot the Deleet until it activates, then stand a safe distance away and wait for it to explode before proceeding. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Speedrun Tip: While you're boosting onto the platform with the four enemies, switch to your Missile Launcher and fire a level 2 or 3 missile at where the Deleet is positioned, then immediately boost onto the ledge. If done properly, the missile will fly above the enemies and activate the Deleet, saving you a bunch of time. Also, if you have the Snake, find the Deleet in the corridor below you and shoot down at it to activate it prematurely. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The next area contains two archers, so find a gap between their arrows and dispatch them quickly. As you drop down to the second floor, Butes will start flying out of a hole above you. Like last time, stand beneath the spawn point and shoot upwards to kill them all with no trouble. Collect the power-ups and head right. Make a path through the star blocks (there are some health refills hidden in some of the upper blocks) and activate the Deleet here. After it explodes, head downward to the bottom level. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Speedrun Tip: As with last time, ignore the flying Butes and just head right. If you have the Spur, you can charge it up to level 3 and fire the laser straight through the star blocks and hit the Deleet, activating it. Note that if you already activated this Deleet using the Snake from the previous floor, it should explode before you reach it, saving you the countdown time. Finally, there's another Deleet in the corridor below, so activate it with the Snake. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- At this level, you'll see two small black and red balls circling the corridor. These are called Rollings, and they're indestructible, so just avoid them and make your way to the Deleet at the end. Activate it and enter the next room. The mysterious voice will continue the story: "Jenka, seeing her brother's madness, confined him to this floating island. That was the most she could do. Even as he was, she could not bring herself to kill her own brother..." You'll find yourself in a large, open space. Archers are stationed on the walls of the room, and Mesas populate the bottom. From where you are, first take care of the archers directly in front of you, then wait for an opportunity to boost up and take down the Archers on the wall above you when they're not shooting. Next, make your way left. Ignore the Mesas on the bottom and head towards the opposite wall, which has a staircase shape, with an archer stationed on each "step". First take out the one on the bottom step, then shoot upwards. You'll kill the archer on the step above you. Make your way up the steps this way. At the top of the steps is a Deleet, so shoot it to activate it. As soon as you reach the Deleet, Butes will start spawning from a hole near you, so drop down and spawn-kill them like you did previously. After dispatching all the Butes, head through the Deleet barrier into the next section. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Speedrun Tip: There's an extremely effective shortcut you can take here. First, ignore all the archers along the walls, and make your way to the bottom of the opposite wall. There's a tiny opening underneath the wall that leads to the next section, but it's blocked by Mesas and, more importantly, death spikes. First, kill the Mesa that's blocking access to the passage. Then, run into another Mesa or get hit by one of his blocks to gain a few frames of invincibility, then quickly boost through the spike-filled section to the next room. You can save about 20-30 seconds by using this shortcut. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The next section is similar to the previous one in terms of layout; archers line the walls as Mesas wait at the bottom. First, from the high ledge you're standing on, use a long-range weapon to kill the archer and Mesa stationed directly opposite of you. Now you can kill all the archers if you wish, but it's not necessary. When you find an opening between their waves of arrows, drop straight down onto the platform underneath the right wall. From this safe spot, you can activate the Deleet to your left (you'll need to jump a bit) as well as avoid all the projectiles hurled at you. Once the Deleet is gone, proceed to the next area. As soon as you enter the next room and land on the first platform, Butes will spawn from the floor. Just like always, stay in one place and shoot them all down. Now, you'll notice that there are three Deleets on the opposite wall, each leading to the next room although at a different altitude. The Deleet in the middle is the safest one, so activate it and proceed. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Speedrun Tip: The Deleet at the bottom provides the quickest path. You'll have to intentionally get hit by a Bute, though, since only with the recoil will you have enough height to make it onto the next platform. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ This room is simply insane. When the Deleet explodes, you'll be assaulted by a huge swarm of Butes. You'll also notice a high ledge where two archers are shooting at you. From the platform you're standing on, take care of as many Butes as you can while dodging the arrows, then boost underneath the archers' platform to reach a small plateau at the other end. When you land, take care not to stray beyond the middle of the ledge. You now should have activated Bute spawn points at three different locations. Stand where you are and alternate between shooting up and shooting horizontally to take them all out. After most of the Butes have fallen, walk to the left edge of the platform, which will trigger yet another narration: "It was Jenka's daughter, Misery who made Ballos create the *Demon Crown*. She was subsequently cursed by the crown, forced to do the bidding of all who wear it. If the crown is destroyed, the curse is lifted. However..." After the voice disappears again, another stream of Butes will spawn from a point underneath the spikes to the left. Take care of them as per the usual method. Next to the platform you're standing on are two Deleets in a row, both of which you should've already activated in the previous firefight. Do not go beyond them just yet; there's a cool upgrade we can nab first. Boost onto the platform with the two archers and take them out. If you look above you, you'll see a single star block on top of a tiny ledge. Boost up and shoot it to reveal a chest, which contains a Missile Expansion for 24(!) extra missiles. You should now be able to carry a whopping total of 54 missiles, enough to bomb the upcoming bosses to hell and back. Now drop back down and enter the room guarded by the two Deleets. If you have the Spur, start charging it as you enter. =Easter Egg= If you went through the entire game without obtaining a Missile Launcher, then opening the chest here will give you the Missile Launcher with a stockpile of 100 missiles! Unfortunately, it's only the regular Missile Launcher, not the Super Missiles. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Speedrun Tip: From the entrance near the bottom, quickly boost your way to the plateau. If you have the Snake, drop down right next to the two Deleets, then use the Booster to maintain a stationary position while shooting both Deleets. After they activate, move back to the plateau, then brave the storm of Butes and reach the Missile Expansion. By now the Deleets should have exploded, so head back down and enter the next room. If you've been speedrunning up until now, your health is probably getting low, so use the Life Pot here. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- As you enter the final room, the door behind you will close. Boss time! .-----------------. ( Boss: Heavy Press )========================================================== '=================' Heavy Press is a giant press suspended in the ceiling by blocks, and he can only be damaged by shooting the exposed spot in the center of the stage. It's not hard to take him down, but you may take a lot of damage while doing so. The plan here is to kill Heavy Press as fast as possible without getting hit a lot. ( Attacks ) Heavy Press only has one attack: he occasionally shoots lightning down from his central damage point. However, he is protected by two Rollings which continuously circle the room. Also, Butes constantly emerge from two spawn points on either side of the stage. These enemies give you plenty of distractions in this fight. Whatever you do, don't lose sight of your enemies in the chaos. ( Strategy ) There is a simple strategy here. Wait for Heavy Press to shoot lightning down, then get under his weak spot and pound him with the Spur or Nemesis. If you've charged the Spur while flying in from the previous room, you can get a free shot off of him (just make sure not to miss). Stand on the ground and keep shooting upwards, and you'll both damage Heavy Press and kill all the spawning Butes. When a Rolling comes along, don't move sideways and just hop over it. However, this exposes you to any Butes attacking from the side, so let go of the Up key and shoot at both sides (with the help of Curly) to eliminate any attacking Butes. When you see and/or hear Heavy Press charging his lightning again, boost a bit to the side to avoid it, then jump back to the same spot and continue attacking him. With both your firepower, you should take him down in no time. =============================================================================== __________________ [ Sacred Ground B3 ] After defeating Heavy Press, immediately move to the side of the room. Heavy Press will awaken and, similar to a Press, crash down onto the floor. If you do so much as touch him, you'll explode and die instantly. Heavy Press will also create a new path by crashing through the floor, forming a large fissure on the ground. Collect any remaining power-ups and jump down the hole. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Speedrun Tip: If there are any Butes still flying around when you defeat Heavy Press, jump into one of them to gain invincibility. As Heavy Press falls, you'll be immune from his crush, and you'll actually enter the newly-formed hole before Heavy Press itself. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- __________ [ Passage? ] Okay, we've definitely been here before. As you follow Heavy Press down, you'll hear the final part of the narrative: "Even if the crown is destroyed, it will only rise every time, so long as Ballos yet lives. Such is the strength of his soul that permeates the Crown." There are three doors in this area, two of which we already know where they lead to. Unfortunately, the door out to the Plantation is locked. Go into the Statue Chamber instead, the opposite door. ________________ [ Statue Chamber ] Hmm, that carver dude is gone, but he appears to have finished the final statue of the Doctor. You can now actually destroy the statues, which will drop some nice power-ups. Also, by destroying the statues you'll actually create new ones, specifically those of Quote, Toroko, King, and Curly. Head back out the door when you're done, since the clock is still ticking. Obviously if you're speedrunning you shouldn't even be here. __________ [ Passage? ] Now jump down and take the door on the bottom. __________ [ Corridor ] Don't worry, it's just a regular corridor. Halfway through it, you'll see a puppy. As you approach it will talk to you before it disappears: "Please kill my master. That is the only way Misery can be freed... ...The only way to avoid repetition of this tragedy. My master's name is Ballos. His magic powers have gone wild, and now he cannot even die..." Oh come on, don't tell me you weren't expecting to fight this Ballos dude after all that background narrative from before. Continue along the corridor and enter the door at the very end. ______________ [ Seal Chamber ] Creepy place, eh? Jump over the spikes and head over to the center of the room, where an orange man in a priest garb stands waiting for you. He introduces himself as Ballos, and vows to kill you if you don't kill him. The final boss fight is about to commence. .------------. ( Boss: Ballos )=============================================================== '============' Because Ballos has multiple forms, I broke down this section into stages to make things more organized. .----------. ( First Form )----------------------------------------------------------------- '==========' Ballos' first form is relatively easy if you get his attack pattern down quickly. Although fast, Ballos is easy to damage, so this fight shouldn't drag on for too long. ( Attacks ) Ballos will start by charging at you, and when you jump over him to avoid him, he'll change directions and charge upwards. He then charges horizontally again, then finally either charges into the ceiling or on the ground (most of the time it's the latter). When he does this, he scatters bones like a shockwave along the ground (or drops them on you if he charges the ceiling). They do quite a lot of damage, so make sure to jump over them. After resting for a while, he starts again. It's relatively easy to avoid this attack; just be sure to get out of the way fast enough, and jump over the bones when they reach you. When Ballos' health gets low, he flies up in the air and hovers for a bit. He then shoots lightning bolts down at you. They're extremely fast, but can be predicted since a crosshair will appear at the place it will hit. You can avoid this attack by moving back and forth, paying attention to the crosshairs. After a few bolts, he unleashes several bolts all at once, but they're still marked by crosshairs so just get into a safe spot. ( Strategy ) At the very beginning of the match, Ballos can't be hurt until he raises his hand, so don't waste your charged Spur shot. You should be continuously trying to damage Ballos, even while you're dodging, since Curly can hit him when he's chasing you. The Nemesis is performs exceptionally well in this fight since there are no energy crystals here. If you're aggressive, you can kill Ballos before he ever performs his lightning attack, but if he does then just run back and forth underneath him, shooting upwards and dodging the lightning. He'll go down extremely fast. > Advanced Strategy < If you're using turbo options (or have a button-pressing speed of over mach 2), switch to Nemesis and get up close to Ballos at the start of the match, then aim upwards and shoot. You should only be damaged once before you kill Ballos. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After you defeat Ballos' first form, he screams for a bit then flies into the ceiling. Small green flying monsters will then swarm the upper portion of the room. These Green Devils are actually pretty harmless, and you can actually shoot them down for power-ups. If your Missile Launcher is still not at level 3, use this brief ceasefire to get some energy crystals from the Green Devils. Soon you'll hear a charging sound, and a crosshair will appear, similar to the one for the lightning bolts. Get out of range of this crosshair, because Ballos will come crashing down, now in the form of a giant, hideous ball. They don't call him Ballos for nothing. .-----------. ( Second Form )---------------------------------------------------------------- '===========' Ballos' second form is actually easier than his first form. It shouldn't be too difficult to take him out as long as you're careful. ( Attacks ) Ballos has only one attack in this form - he will jump in the air in your direction and attempt to crush you. Each time he lands, he'll scatter bones across the ground. To avoid the attack, just boost underneath him whenever he jumps, avoiding the bones as you land. It's that simple. He also pauses for a while after three jumps (two jumps at the very beginning of the match), giving you a chance to attack him. ( Strategy ) The only way to damage Ballos is by shooting his eyes. The safe approach would be to focus on dodging his jump until he rests. When he does so, boost up to where his eye is. There's actually a spot beside his eye socket where you can land. If you have the Spur, you should be charging it up when you were dodging the jumps; now release the laser and it will penetrate both eyes, dealing massive damage. If it doesn't penetrate, then you're shooting in the wrong spot. Use missiles if you don't have the Spur, just be sure not to waste too many. Just damage him like this and he'll go down in no time. > Advanced Strategy < As soon as Ball Ballos appears, jump onto his eye socket and wait for his eyes to open. When they do, unleash your level 3 missiles on him. If you have a turbo controller, you can kill Ballos before he finishes his first jump. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After you reduce Ballos' health to zero yet again, he closes his two eyes and surrounds himself with eight rotating eyeballs. You'll have to take out the eyeballs before damaging Ballos any further. If you're still holding onto your Life Pot, this is the time to use it. .----------. ( Third Form )----------------------------------------------------------------- '==========' This form is quite possibly the hardest form to beat. There are many dangers during this fight, so keep sharp and stay focused. ( Attacks ) Ballos himself will travel in a clockwise rectangular path, with the eyeballs circling counterclockwise. While he is moving at the top, his eyes will drop skull projectiles on you, but they're easy to spot and even easier to avoid. Things get tricky when Ballos starts moving along the bottom of the room - he will travel low enough so that his eyeballs barely touch the floor. in order to avoid touching the eyes for contact damage, you must stand in a gap in between two eyes when Ballos passes you. As he is coming towards you, predict where a safe spot would be located, then stand still in that safe spot until Ballos passes you by. The eyes do 14 damage if you bump into them, so be very careful here. ( Strategy ) You must shoot out all 8 of Ballos' eyes in order to move onto his final form. As Ballos moves across the top, follow him along the ground, shooting up as you go. You should also damage his eyes as much as possible when you're dodging them. Other than that, just avoid getting hit; you're almost done with Ballos. > Advanced Strategy < Use a few missiles here, as they quickly take out all the eyes. Then switch to Nemesis and kill the rest. Don't be afraid to get damaged. Also, for speedrunning purposes, Ballos must reach the top-center of his rectangular path before changing to his next form, so on any given "rotation", try to kill all the eyes before Ballos reaches that point to save some time. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- When you immobilize all of Ballos' eyes, he will move to the center of the room, continuing to drop skulls. After a while, Ballos will reveal his final form: a grotesque being with corpses hanging out of his eyes and mouth. You've already come so close; it's time to finish this once and for all. .----------. ( Final Form )----------------------------------------------------------------- '==========' Believe it or not, this battle can either be the hardest in the game or the easiest in the game. Why? Read on. ( Attacks ) During the transition phase between third and final form, Ballos' eyeballs will rotate closer to his main body. A series of rotating platforms appears around him. After a while, the grounds are covered with small spikes (that only do -2 damage, thank god), and you're forced to stand on the rotating platforms to avoid damage. Ballos will then explode and reveal his final form. Now he can be damaged by shooting anywhere at his main body, but the eyeballs prevent you from reaching him. If you look closely, four eyes are open and four are closed; you can shoot the open eyes, and they will fall from the main body. They don't just disappear, however; once an eye has fallen, it bounces along the ground, trying to damage you. At the same time, red-colored Butes spawn from the side of the room as well as from Ballos' forehead. Some rush at you, while some hover in one place and shoot arrows at you. Amidst the chaos, you find yourself getting overwhelmed by the enemies. However, this final battle is deceptively simple and quick. ( Strategy ) While Ballos still has his eyes closed, wait on the ground while dodging the skulls. When the spikes appear, let them damage you, then quickly use the few seconds of invincibility to boost up past the rotating eyeballs to land on Ballos' eye socket. Once Ballos transforms, empty your entire missile supply into him - just 12 missiles in rapid succession should be enough to kill him. This should take about three seconds at most. Victory comes so fast it's almost like cheating. > Advanced Strategy < This is just for people who want to defeat Ballos the hard way, or for people who ran out of missiles (sucks to be you). Once the rotating platforms appear, hop onto them. The platforms should be rotating counterclockwise right now, so get on the left side and try to always stay to the left of Ballos' center. Once Ballos unleashes his final form, take out the four damageable eyeballs first, then shoot at Ballos between the gaps of his other 4 eyes. If you platforms start rotating in the other direction, let them carry you to the other side of Ballos and continue your assault there. If you have level 3 Blade, this battle should be over fairly quickly; if not, this may take some time. The hardest part of this battle is avoiding the Archer Butes. Although each one only fires occasionally, they come in massive swarms, so if you're not paying attention you will get hit. Thanks to Curly, you can shoot behind you, so use her to kill as many archers as possible. The regular Butes should pose no significant problem, as they don't appear very often. The bouncing eyeballs should not give you trouble if you stay far enough from the ground. =============================================================================== In a burst of light, Ballos is finally destroyed. Congratulations, you just beat Cave Story Hell! Wipe the sweat off your forehead and give yourself a pat on the back for a job well done. Now just sit back and enjoy the ending credits. It's been a pleasure guiding you through Cave Story. ~End of walkthrough =============================================================================== | CAVE BASICS [sect200] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Here you'll find all the technical stuff for the game, such as weapons, items, and enemies. Enjoy! ======================== | Weapons [sect201] |XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX ------------------------ Weapons in Cave Story feature a unique leveling system. When you defeat an enemy, often times it will drop bouncy golden triangles, called energy crystals. By collecting these, your current weapon will gain experience, which is indicated by the weapons experience bar underneath your health count. Once the bar fills up, your weapon will level up and (usually) become stronger. If you get damaged, however, in addition to health loss you will lose some experience on your current weapon, and can potentially level down. All new weapons you acquire start off at level 1. When you fill up the exp. bar, the weapon will reach level 2, and the same goes for level 3. Level 3 is usually the highest level that a weapon can achieve; however, you can still gain experience until the bar hits MAX, at which point the weapon will stop gaining experience. This essentially gives you a "damage buffer" so that your weapon doesn't level down with just one hit. The Blade is the only weapon that does not have this buffer (theoretically the Spur and Nemesis apply here as well, but those two operate differently from other weapons in general). There are a variety of weapons in Cave Story - ten in all. However, due to the game's trading system, you can only carry a maximum of 5. This means that there will be choices in the game that will influence your performance against some mid- to late-game stages depending on the weapons you choose. This section will examine each weapon in detail and evaluate its pros and cons. Before we go on, here's the explanation of the charts for each weapon: damage - amount of damage a weapon deals to an enemy range - how far the weapon shoots speed - speed of the shot rate - maximum number of shots that can be on-screen at one time exp - amount of experience needed to reach next level (for level 3, the amount needed to reach MAX) .----------. { Polar Star }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: The most basic gun. It bears the mark of Polaris. Location: Hermit Gunsmith, First Cave Ammo: Infinite .---------------------------------------. | damage | range | speed | rate | exp | .---------|--------|--------|--------|------|-----| | level 1 | 1 | short | fast | ~ | 10 | |---------|--------|--------|--------|------|-----| | level 2 | 2 | medium | fast | ~ | 20 | |---------|--------|--------|--------|------|-----| | level 3 | 4 | medium | fast | 2 | 10 | '-------------------------------------------------' The Polar Star is the basic weapon that you start out with. It deals average damage and has medium range at level 3, but it's easy to use and not very difficult to level up. It will remain your staple weapon throughout the first half of the game. At various points, you will be able to upgrade the Polar Star into one of 3 more powerful weapons: Machine Gun, Snake, or Spur. .----------------. { Missile Launcher }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: Wide range and powerful damage. However, its ammunition is limited. Location: Egg Observation Room, Egg Corridor Ammo: Limited, does not self-recharge .---------------------------------------. | damage | range | speed | rate | exp | .---------|--------|--------|--------|------|-----| | level 1 | 8 | long | slow | 2 | 10 | |---------|--------|--------|--------|------|-----| | level 2 | 15 | long | slow | 2 | 20 | |---------|--------|--------|--------|------|-----| | level 3 | 8(x3) | long | slow | 2 | 10 | '-------------------------------------------------' One of the best weapons in the game. The missiles you fire are long-range and deal a ton of damage, both direct and splash. Of course, there's a catch: you have a limited missile supply. You start with 10 max missiles, but throughout the game you'll find Missile Expansions which will increase the number of Missiles you can hold. These things absolutely rape bosses, so always make sure you have a full payload before every boss battle. .--------. { Fireball }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: Bounces along the floor. Rather powerful on gentle slopes. Location: Santa's House, Grasstown Ammo: Infinite .---------------------------------------. | damage | range | speed | rate | exp | .---------|--------|--------|--------|------|-----| | level 1 | 2 | long | slow | 2 | 10 | |---------|--------|--------|--------|------|-----| | level 2 | 6 | long | slow | 3 | 20 | |---------|--------|--------|--------|------|-----| | level 3 | 6 | long | slow | 4 | 20 | '-------------------------------------------------' The Fireball shoots out a string of flaming, bouncing projectiles that do a good deal of damage. The projectiles are unique in that they bounce along the ground, capable of traversing flat or sloped terrain. This makes the Fireball extremely effective against enemies on the ground. Conversely, this weapon is absolutely pitiful against airborne enemies. The Fireball is a lifesaver in Grasstown and Sand Zone, but its usefulness rapidly diminishes after that. .-------. { Bubbler }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: From the Assembly Hall's fireplace. How you use it is up to you. Location: Assembly Hall, Mimiga Village Ammo: Limited (100), self-recharge .---------------------------------------. | damage | range | speed | rate | exp | .---------|--------|--------|--------|------|-----| | level 1 | 1 | short | slow | 4 | 10 | |---------|--------|--------|--------|------|-----| | level 2 | 2 | medium | slow | ~ | 20 | |---------|--------|--------|--------|------|-----| | level 3 | 3 | long | fast | 15 | 5 | '-------------------------------------------------' No doubt the most fun and unique weapon in the game, the Bubbler is hard to use at first, but once it reaches level 3, you can discover all sorts of different uses for it. For best results, use the Bubbler as a pseudo-shield; when you hold down the fire button, you'll shoot out bubbles that will float around you, destroying any weak projectiles before they can hit you. You can also rapidly tap the fire button for some long-range sniping. Do not be fooled by the Bubbler's low damage and unorthodox controls - it can save your life when used properly. .-----------. { Machine Gun }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: An automatic rapid-fire gun. Automatically recharges over time. Location: Sand Zone Residence, Sand Zone Ammo: Limited (100), self-recharge .---------------------------------------. | damage | range | speed | rate | exp | .---------|--------|--------|--------|------|-----| | level 1 | 2 | medium | fast | ~ | 30 | |---------|--------|--------|--------|------|-----| | level 2 | 4 | medium | fast | ~ | 40 | |---------|--------|--------|--------|------|-----| | level 3 | 6 | medium | fast | ~ | 10 | '-------------------------------------------------' The Machine Gun is the first of the three branches of the Polar Star, the other two being the Snake and the Spur. The main advantage that the Machine Gun has over its counterparts is its ability to auto-fire. The bullets only deal average damage, but their speed and range makes room-clearing a whole lot easier. Also, by shooting the gun downwards you can use its recoil to fly upwards, which makes this gun vital to vertical movement (at least, until you get the Booster). However, the Machine Gun has a set ammo of 100, so once in a while you'll have to wait for the bullets to recharge. Thankfully, once you get the Turbocharge the recharge rate becomes extremely fast. The Machine Gun proves to be an excellent weapon throughout much of the game, but if you're going for the best ending and Sacred Ground, its counterparts are much better suited for the task. .-----. { Blade }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: A single-shot, high-damage weapon. King's soul dwells within. Location: Sand Zone Storehouse, Sand Zone Ammo: Infinite .---------------------------------------. | damage | range | speed | rate | exp | .---------|--------|--------|--------|------|-----| | level 1 | 15 | medium | medium | 1 | 30 | |---------|--------|--------|--------|------|-----| | level 2 | 18 | short | medium | 1 | 60 | |---------|--------|--------|--------|------|-----| | level 3 | 18~96 | medium | medium | 1 | 0 | '-------------------------------------------------' King might have been wimpy as a Mimiga, but his possessed sword sure kicks ass. The level 3 Blade not only deals a crapload of damage, it also has a wide AoE if aimed properly. Once you hit an enemy with the initial strike, King's spirit will slash the surrounding air, and if any slashes connect with another enemy or projectile, the AoE effect activates again. This can lead to a massive chain reaction that can deal up to 80+ damage given the right circumstances. This thing eats bosses alive, especially ones with large hitboxes. Unfortunately, due to the destructive nature of this weapon, only a single shot can be fired at a time, meaning you have to wait for the previous chain reaction to finish before you can launch a new one. Furthermore, The Blade's exp. bar reaches MAX as soon as it hits level 3, meaning that it will level down as soon as you take some sort of damage. Late in the game, you will be able to trade the Blade for the Nemesis after completing a side quest. Note: the level 2 Blade can actually deal significantly more damage per second than the level 3 Blade (or rather, any other weapon in the game), causing some players to even label it as broken. If you can risk getting close to an enemy, spamming the level 2 Blade is sure to be one of the fastest ways of taking down any enemy or boss. .-----. { Snake }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: Penetrates through walls. Made by Chaba in the Labyrinth. Location: Labyrinth Shop, Labyrinth W Ammo: Infinite .---------------------------------------. | damage | range | speed | rate | exp | .---------|--------|--------|--------|------|-----| | level 1 | 4 | medium | fast | ~ | 30 | |---------|--------|--------|--------|------|-----| | level 2 | 6 | medium | fast | ~ | 40 | |---------|--------|--------|--------|------|-----| | level 3 | 8 | medium | fast | 4 | 16 | '-------------------------------------------------' It doesn't have the rapid-fire capabilities of the Machine Gun, nor does it have the charge function of the Spur. What it does have, however, is the ability to shoot through walls. This function alone warrants its use over either of the two, as you can now hit enemies while taking cover yourself. However, during boss fights this function isn't as helpful because there aren't a lot of obstacles in boss rooms. The shots are rather powerful, and the range is nice. The Snake is an outstanding defensive weapon, and in my opinion is on par with the Spur in terms of overall usefulness. Note: The Snake plays an important role in Sacred Ground speedruns, since it can shoot through walls and activate the Deleets prematurely, saving a whole lot of time. .-------------. { Super Missile }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: An exhilarating sort of missile. Its acceleration is unmatched. Location: Boulder Chamber Ammo: Limited, does not self-recharge .---------------------------------------. | damage | range | speed | rate | exp | .---------|--------|--------|--------|------|-----| | level 1 | 20 | long | medium | 2 | 30 | |---------|--------|--------|--------|------|-----| | level 2 | 28 | long | medium | 2 | 60 | |---------|--------|--------|--------|------|-----| | level 3 | 14(x3) | long | medium | 2 | 10 | '-------------------------------------------------' The Super Missile is basically an upgrade to the regular Missile Launcher. Now the missiles are a golden color, and deal even more damage than before. The best improvement, however, is that the missiles accelerate MUCH faster, reaching top speed in less than half a second. The only disadvantage is that it takes much more weapon exp. to level up, but that minor detail is offset by gigantic boosts in every other aspect. .----. { Spur }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: Hold down the button to fire a laser. Location: Hermit Gunsmith, First Cave Ammo: Infinite .---------------------------------------. | damage | range | speed | rate | exp | .---------|--------|--------|--------|------|-----| | level 1 | 4 | medium | fast | 3 | ~ | |---------|--------|--------|--------|------|-----| | level 2 | 15 | long | fast | 1 | ~ | |---------|--------|--------|--------|------|-----| | level 3 | 50 | long | fast | 1 | ~ | |---------|--------|--------|--------|------|-----| | MAX | 50~100 | long | fast | 1 | ~ | '-------------------------------------------------' THe Spur is the last of the three Polar Star upgrades, and is my personal favorite. Since this is basically a modification of the Polar Star, its level 1 fire is pretty much the same as the level 3 Polar Star shot (just a tad faster). However, the Spur is unique in that it doesn't gain weapon exp. from energy crystals. Instead, you must hold down the Fire button to charge its exp. bar, which will rise to level 2, 3, and finally MAX. At level 2, it fires a single, long-range laser; at level 3, twin lasers; and at MAX capacity, a monstrous beam that can deal up to 100 damage! So, although the weapon takes a long time to charge, its tremendous damage output will simply tear through anything you encounter in late-game. In the Hidden Last Cave and Sacred Ground, the Spur also has an additional benefit. At the start of both these areas, all your weapons are reset to level 1. Normally this means that you have to find energy crystals to slowly refill them back to level 3, but not so with Spur. Its charging mechanic is completely unaffected by the reset, ensuring that it retains its power through these levels. Note: Once you obtain the Spur, you can go back to Chaba in the Labyrinth Shop and obtain a Whimsical Star. The Whimsical Star surrounds you with little green stars that can damage enemies. You gains stars when you charge the Spur, and lose stars when you take damage. It's a nifty little trinket, but its damage output is so pathetic that it might as well be for looks. .-------. { Nemesis }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: Lightning of the Goddess. For advanced players. Location: Little House, Outer Wall Ammo: Infinite .---------------------------------------. | damage | range | speed | rate | exp | .---------|--------|--------|--------|------|-----| | level 1 | 12 | long | fast | 2 | 1 | |---------|--------|--------|--------|------|-----| | level 2 | 6 | medium | fast | 3 | 1 | |---------|--------|--------|--------|------|-----| | level 3 | 1 | short | medium | ~ | 0 | '-------------------------------------------------' This is the last weapon that you are able to obtain. Like its in-game description says, the Nemesis should only be used by advanced players, mainly because of its unique characteristic: it actually gets weaker as it levels up. At level 1, the Nemesis can plow through enemies like nothing. It has great range, great damage output, and commendable rate of fire. At level 2, however, the shots actually get weaker, and the range is reduced as well. At level 3, it shoots out yellow rubber ducks, which deal 1 damage per shot with less range than the level 1 Bubbler. The Nemesis also levels up with just 1 experience point, meaning any crystals you collect will automatically boost you to the next level. The trick to the Nemesis is to purposely damage yourself to level the weapon down once it inevitably levels up, which is why it is only recommended for skilled players with a firm grasp of the game physics and mechanics. Also, as with the Spur, the Nemesis is unaffected by the weapon level reset in Hidden Last Cave and Sacred Ground, making it a fine choice for these two challenges. ====================== | Items [sect202] |XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX ---------------------- This is a comprehensive list of all the inventory items available in the game. They are listed in alphabetical order. _____________ { Alien Medal }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: Engraved with the silhouette of an alien. It has no use. Location: Waterway (Ironhead boss fight) Notes: This item will automatically appear in your inventory if you defeat Ironhead without taking any damage in the process. ______________ { Arms Barrier }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: When you take damage, the amount of weapon energy lost will be halved. Location: Camp, Labyrinth W Notes: This can be acquired before you get the Booster. Jump into the nearby purple Critter while it is hovering. The knockback will propel you into the tunnel. ______________ { Arthur's Key }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: The key to Arthur's house. It was hidden near Arthur's gravestone. Location: Graveyard Notes: Arthur's House is in the lower left corner of Mimiga Village. Use this key to unlock the door. ____________ { Beast Fang }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: none Location: Yamashita Farm Notes: This item is hidden in the block underneath the Life Capsule. You need to use the level editor in order to obtain this item. It doesn't seem to do anything. ______________ { Booster v0.8 }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: Push the jump button again in midair to fly even higher. Location: Labyrinth B Notes: This version of the Booster only allows for limited upward propulsion. You can skip the getting the Booster v0.8 by jumping over the gap where Professor Booster fell. ______________ { Booster v2.0 }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: Push the jump button in midair and you can move in any direction. Location: Arthur's House, Mimiga Village Notes: Professor Booster gives this to you if you skipped getting the Booster v0.8. This version of the Booster is capable of long, sustained mid-air propulsion in any direction. This item is necessary to unlock the secret stage Sacred Ground. __________________ { Broken Sprinkler }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: A busted water sprinkler. Location: Plantation Notes: Trade this in for a (working) Sprinkler in the Rest Area. __________________ { Chaco's Lipstick }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: Red lipstick. It has no use. Location: Chaco's House, Grasstown Notes: Get Chaco to explain to you about Jellyfish Juice, then rest on the bed. When you wake up, this item will automatically appear in your inventory. __________ { Charcoal }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: Taken from a fireplace. Location: Santa's House, Grasstown Notes: One of the three ingredients necessary to make an Explosive. ___________________ { Clay Figure Medal }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: Small and profoundly heavy. It has no use. Location: Last Cave (Red Demon boss fight) Notes: This item will appear inside a chest after you defeat Red Demon. ____________ { Clinic Key }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: It says "Labyrinth Clinic". Location: Camp, Labyrinth W Notes: The physician gives this to you. ____________ { Controller }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: Necessary to make a rocket. Pride of Itoh, the cowardly man. Location: Storehouse, Outer Wall Notes: You must get this from Itoh and bring it to Mrs. Sakamoto. __________ { Cure-All }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: Apparently this cures anything and everything... Location: Clinic Ruins, Labyrinth W Notes: This is needed to heal Curly in Camp. __________________ { Curly's Air Tank }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: You can breathe underwater with this. Curly used to use it. Location: Core Notes: This item enables you to travel underwater indefinitely. Curly gives this to you after you beat the Core. ___________________ { Curly's Underwear }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: Retrieved from behind the wall. Yellow-green panties with a cute little insignia. They have no use. Location: Small Room, Sand Zone Residence, Sand Zone Notes: If you use the map system, you can see a hidden path. Follow it to the end and press Down to obtain Curly's Underwear. Curly doesn't seem to react to it. ___________ { Explosive }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: An explosive for blowing up doors and such. Location: Power Room, Grasstown Notes: Obtaining this item requires Jellyfish Juice, Charcoal, and Gum Base. It is needed to free Kazuma. __________ { Gum Base }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: A clump of gum. Location: Gum, Grasstown Notes: One of the three ingredients necessary to make an Explosive. _________ { Gum Key }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: A tag says "Gum". Location: Grasstown Notes: Kazuma gives this to you after you defeat Balrog and talk to Malco the robot in the Power Room. ________ { Hajime }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: Jenka's pet and leader of the dogs. While searching for his brothers, he got lost and was taken in by Curly. Location: Small Room, Sand Zone Residence, Sand Zone Notes: One of five puppies you need to find for Jenka. You can only carry one puppy at a time. _________ { ID Card }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: An ID card found in Egg No. 06. Location: Egg No. 06, Egg Corridor Notes: This item is necessary to deactivate the barrier at the end of Egg Corridor. ___________ { Iron Bond }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: Your tie to Curly Brace, the only warrior you would trust your back to. Surely you will meet again one day... Location: Plantation Notes: You get this item by talking to Curly again after restoring her memories. This item is necessary to unlock the secret stage Sacred Ground. _________________ { Jellyfish Juice }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: A fluid that can quench fireplaces. Location: Grasstown Notes: This item can be obtained after defeating Kulala, the giant Jelly. You can only carry one Jellyfish Juice at a time, but you can obtain as many of them as you want. In addition to putting out fires in fireplaces, it is also one of the three ingredients necessary to make an Explosive. Some sort of wonder juice, I tell ya. ________ { Kakeru }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: Jenka's pet. Adores bones and has buried them in countless places, most of which are by now forgotten. Location: Sand Zone Notes: One of five puppies you need to find for Jenka. You can only carry one puppy at a time. This one is sitting at the middle section of the bottom of the Sand Zone. As you approach it, it will run away; quickly press Down as it nears you to catch it. __________ { Life Pot }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: This will restore your life, but only once. Location: Jenka's House, Sand Zone Notes: Jenka gives you this after Balrog takes the Storehouse Key. It is possible to obtain more Life Pots from Jenka if you use up your previous one. It is recommended that you save a Life Pot for the secret stage Sacred Ground. ____________ { Little Man }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: Hey! We there yet? Location: Graveyard Notes: You can barely see him walking along the bottom of the Graveyard, near where the Gravekeeper is. He will only travel with you after you speak to his wife, who is in the Little House in Outer Wall. ___________ { Ma Pignon }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: Allegedly, it has the power to restore memories... Location: Storage, Graveyard Notes: This item is obtained after you beat it in a boss fight. ____________ { Map System }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: none Location: Mimiga Village Notes: Press W to activate the Map System without having to go to the items menu. ______ { Mick }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: Jenka's pet. Loves treasure-hunting. Or treasure *chests*, rather, and recently has taken up sleeping in them. Location: Sand Zone Notes: One of five puppies you need to find for Jenka. You can only carry one puppy at a time. This one is inside a treasure chest next to a Life Capsule, in a hidden tunnel a bit above Jenka's House. _____________ { Mimiga Mask }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: A Mimiga mask that Sue's mother made. It's a bit big... Location: Hideout, Plantation Notes: You must trade your Booster for this item. You need this item to talk to the Mimiga workers in Plantation. It is possible to go through Last Cave and the final boss fights while still wearing the mask, which will result in slightly different dialogue and end credits. ________________ { Mushroom Badge }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: The mushroom badge you got from the mushroom. It has no real use. To be honest, you don't really need it... Location: Storage, Graveyard Notes: After answering Ma Pignon's questions and obtaining this item, you must inspect this item in your inventory and talk to Ma Pignon again to fight him. ______ { Nene }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: Jenka's pet. Spends most of her time asleep, but her dreams have been known to portend the future. Location: Sand Zone Notes: One of five puppies you need to find for Jenka. You can only carry one puppy at a time. This one is found sleeping near the Sand Zone Warehouse. __________________ { Nikumaru Counter }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: A fully automatic stopwatch. You can't see any buttons. Location: Clock Room, Outer Wall Notes: The chest containing this item will only open if you got the Booster v2.0 and rescued Curly after the Core boss fight. During your run through Sacred Ground, it will keep track of your time. Your lowest run speed will be recorded on the title screen, and if you get below a certain time you may be rewarded with a different title screen. ___________ { Rusty Key }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: A rusty key. Location: Grasstown Notes: This item opens the door to the Power Room. _____________ { Santa's Key }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: The key to Santa's house. Location: Grasstown Notes: Give this key to Santa and he will reward you with the Fireball. _________ { Shinobu }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: Jenka's pet. Loves dark places. Due to poor eyesight, he roams the darkness using his wild instincts alone. Location: Deserted House, Sand Zone Notes: One of five puppies you need to find for Jenka. You can only carry one puppy at a time. This one is inside the Deserted House; use the Map System to find a route to reach him. _______________ { Silver Locket }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: A silver locket in the shape of a fish. From the condition it's in, it looks like it’s been treasured for years. Location: Reservoir Notes: You must obtain this item to make Toroko appear in the Shack. ___________ { Sprinkler }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: It's brand new. ...Perhaps. Location: Rest Area, Plantation Notes: Trade in the Broken Sprinkler for this item. You must give this to Sue's mother in the Hideout. ______________ { Sue's Letter }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: Will you read it? "I don't believe I ever told you much about all of us. We came to this island from the surface on a research trip. Prof. Booster was on our helicopter, and so was my mother, my brother, and various assistants... The Doctor as well. He was there to serve our medical needs, and did so... At least, until he found the Demon Crown... That crown, once the property of the master of this island, grants monstrous magical powers upon its wearer... The Doctor knew this even before coming to the island, which is why he wormed his way into our group in the first place. Once he had the Crown in his possession, no one could stand up to him. We had no choice except to continue our research of the island under his orders. The doctor seeks to rule the Earth's surface using this island as a base. I think he plans to first attack the surface using the Mimigas as weapons. Anyway, I was able to get away somehow, but I fear the other researchers are already... Now, he's using the unsuspecting Mimigas to cultivate more and more red flowers. Once he is ready to attack, he will drive the Mimigas into a murderous frenzy using the flowers. Using his terrible powers, he will be able to control the raging Mimigas to do his bidding. And that means I, too, will... If you can escape from this prison cell, look for the hideout hidden in the plantation. If my mother is yet safe, she'll be there coming up with a counterplan. Please help my mother. The password is "Litgano Motscoud"." The letter ends here... Location: Jail No. 1, Plantation Notes: This item will automatically appear in your inventory after you get captured and thrown in jail. You must read it to learn the password to the Hideout. _____________________ { Teleporter Room Key }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: A key fished out by a certain Mimiga. Location: Plantation Notes: After talking to Kenpachi, the fishing Mimiga, in the Rest Area, follow him to the lower part of Plantation. Talk to him again, and inspect the bucket besides him to find this item. It opens the door to the Teleporter. __________ { Tow Rope }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: A tow rope for robots. Location: Core Notes: This item is found in the bottom-right area of the boss room. It is needed to rescue Curly. You must obtain this item before you black out after the Core boss fight. _____________ { Turbocharge }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: Increases the rate at which the Machine Gun replenishes ammo. Location: Labyrinth Shop, Labyrinth W Notes: This item is obtainable only if you traded the Polar Star for Curly's Machine Gun. ________________ { Whimsical Star }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: A little trinket you got from Chaba in the labyrinth. A whimsical star. Location: Labyrinth Shop, Labyrinth W Notes: This item is obtainable only if you managed to acquire the Spur. =================================== | Power-up Locations [sect203] |XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX ----------------------------------- This section gives the locations of all Life Capsules and Missile Expansions. You do not necessarily have to pick them up in the given order. .-------------. { Life Capsules }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Start Health: 3 Life Capsule 01: First Cave, leftmost end Health +3 Life Capsule 02: Mimiga Village, Yamashita Farm Health +3 Life Capsule 03: Egg Corridor, leftmost end Health +3 Life Capsule 04: Egg Corridor, above Cthulhu's Abode Health +4 Life Capsule 05: Grasstown, near where the Giant Jelly (Kulala) lurks Health +5 Life Capsule 06: Grasstown, Execution Chamber Health +5 Life Capsule 07: Sand Zone, top corridor, on top of the leftmost block column Health +5 Life Capsule 08: Sand Zone, secret path near Jenka's House (next to a puppy) Health +5 Life Capsule 09: Labyrinth I, mid-way up, guarded by 3 critters Health +5 Life Capsule 10: Plantation, top left corner Health +4 Life Capsule 11: Plantation, talk to puppy below the killer robot shaft Health +5 Life Capsule 12: Sacred Ground B1, on a ledge below the lower shaft Health +5 .----------------. | Max Health: 55 | '----------------' .------------------. { Missile Expansions }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Start Missiles: 10 Missile Expansion 01: Grasstown, above Shelter and next to Grasstown Hut Missiles +5 Missile Expansion 02: Grasstown Hut, inner Grasstown Missiles +5 Missile Expansion 03: Egg Corridor?, where Egg No. 12 originally was Missiles +5 Missile Expansion 04: Egg Observation Room?, Egg Corridor? Missiles +5 Missile Expansion 05: Sacred Ground B3, chamber right before Heavy Press Missiles +24 .------------------. | Max Missiles: 54 | '------------------' ========================= | Bestiary [sect204] |XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX ------------------------- This is a comprehensive list of all the monsters you can find in Cave Story, excluding bosses. Each entry contains the name, a physical description, location, and strategies on how to kill it. Note: The descriptions are not found in the game; they are my own. _________ { Critter }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: A small, cutesy-looking blob with eyes and a nose. Location: Everywhere Strategy: The generic enemy in Cave Story. Critters come in a variety of colors, and can have different abilities. The weakest Critters just hop at you, trying to damage you. Critters from Grasstown have the ability to fly short distances, and those from Labyrinth hover in the air while shooting projectiles at you. They're all extremely weak, so a couple of shots from the Polar Star are able to take them down. _____ { Bat }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: A bat-like bat. Location: Everywhere (it's called *Cave* Story, no surprises there) Strategy: Like Critters, they're very weak. Some bats hover in the air and dive down at you, while those suspended on the ceiling dive down and follow you. Again, other variations exist. __________ { The Door }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: A seemingly harmless door, until you notice it's got an eye. Location: First Cave Strategy: As awesome as The Door is, you'll only get to defeat one in the entire game. He is stationary and doesn't directly attack you, but if you don't realize it's a monster at first you'll run into it too much and die. Incidentally, my first death in Cave Story was from The Door. He is a tricky bastard. __________ { Behemoth }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: A blue elephant. Location: Egg Corridor Strategy: Mostly harmless. It just walks around waiting for you to shoot it. It will occasionally get angry and charge at you, but you should be able to kill it way before it reaches you. ________ { Pignon }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: A walking mushroom. Location: Graveyard Strategy: Shoot it. ______________ { Giant Pignon }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: A giant walking mushroom. Location: Graveyard Strategy: Shoot it more. __________ { Chinfish }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: An orange fish with an abnormally large...chin. Location: Reservoir Strategy: His main method of attack is to take advantage of your curiosity and wait for you to jump into him to test if he's an actual enemy or not. Sadly, it fails after the first time. _____________ { Gravekeeper }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: A creepy dude with a knife. Location: Graveyard Strategy: His knife will block your attacks, so wait for him to raise his knife (or jump behind him) to damage him. Or you can just jump over him, since he's quite slow. _______ { Basil }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: A white, spiked shockwave with eyes. Location: Egg Corridor Strategy: Basil races along the bottom of Egg Corridor, waiting for you to make a fatal mistake. One touch is instant death. Did I mention he's also invincible? Just time your jumps properly and you won't become roasted. ________ { Beetle }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: An airborne insect who wears a smile 24/7. Location: Egg Corridor, Sand Zone, Egg Corridor? Strategy: They're pretty fast, but also very weak. Some follow predetermined flight paths, while others follow you. A single shot should take them down. ______ { Basu }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: A larger, more scary-looking Beetle. Location: Egg Corridor, Egg Corridor? Strategy: Basu will occasionally flash and shoot a green projectile at you. It's tricky to avoid sometimes, so make sure to take him out before he has a chance to strike. In Egg Corridor?, Basu can shoot two projectiles at once. _______________ { Power Critter }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: An oversized Critter. Location: Grasstown Strategy: These dudes are pretty annoying. When they see you, they take to the air and attempt to land on you. Don't let that happen, because they do a considerable amount of damage. They're also tough to take out, but a good strategy is to stay underneath them and shoot upwards. They should die before they land on you. ________ { Mannan }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: A white tombstone-shaped ghost with red eyes. Location: Grasstown Strategy: Mannans are stationary and won't do anything unless provoked. If you shoot them, they fire a red shockwave in the direction they're facing. When facing these things, make sure you have some way to avoid their shockwaves. Then again, you can always jump behind them, where you can kill them without risk. _______ { Puchi }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: A tiny frog. Location: Grasstown (Balfrog fight) Strategy: Annoyances at best. Just shoot them once and they'll die. ______ { Frog }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: A large Puchi. Location: Grasstown Strategy: Just a tougher version of Puchis. The Fireball works great on both of them. _______ { Jelly }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: A floating jellyfish. Location: Grasstown, Waterway Strategy: Although they pose little threat in general, sometimes they appear in swarms. They're extremely weak, and very easy to kill. ________ { Kulala }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: A giant, Metroid-esque jellyfish. Location: Grasstown Strategy: First of all, eliminate all the enemies in the vicinity, then shoot it to provoke it into chasing after you. It's quite slow, so just stand a good distance from it and shoot at it. Note: Once you kill it, it drops a chest containing Jellyfish Juice. _______ { Rabil }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: An enraged Mimiga villager who ate Red Flowers. Location: Grasstown, Balcony Strategy: Rabils may be a bit hard to take down, especially in a cramped area like the Grasstown Hut. They always hop twice before lunging at you, so predict the attack and dodge it. They're pretty durable as well, but they can be taken down with continuous fire. Missiles also work quite well. _______ { Press }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: A gray rectangular block with an eye in the middle. While its eye is closed, it's a bit difficult to distinguish it from star blocks, so watch out. Location: Grasstown, Sand Zone, Last Cave, Sacred Ground Strategy: Presses are extremely dangerous. If you happen to walk underneath them, they'll activate and attempt to crush you. If they succeed, you'll die instantly, so get the hell out of the way. Once they've landed, they're harmless, and can be destroyed. __________ { Sandcroc }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: A crocodile who conceals itself in sand pits. Location: Sand Zone, Outer Wall Strategy: Sandcrocs bury themselves in the sand, and when you walk over their domain, they rise out of the sand to take a snap at you. These things attack extremely fast, and do quite a bit of damage, so the best strategy would be to just avoid them altogether. In the Sand Zone, you can tell whether or not a Sandcroc is hiding from human remains scattered on the sand. If you do fall into a pit, immediately jump as soon as you land. If you're fast enough, you can avoid being bitten. Another viable way to avoid them is to just keep running once you touch the ground, and the Sandcroc will just miss you. Once the Sandcroc emerges, it stays stationary above the sand until you shoot it, which will make it hide again. ___________ { Skullhead }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: The skull of a dinosaur-like creature. Location: Sand Zone Strategy: Skullheads hop along the ground in a predictable manner, so they shouldn't be very hard to deal with. They also drop a lot of power-ups, so that's a plus. Note: Sometimes you'll find Skullheads suspended in the air by Crows, where they'll spit bones at you. This combination is much more dangerous than either alone, so quickly take out one of the pair. ___________ { Skullstep }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: A Skullhead with short feet. Location: Sand Zone Strategy: Their pattern is the same as Skullheads', but they're much faster than their counterparts. Deal with them the same way. __________ { Skeleton }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: A skeleton of some lizard-like alien thing. Location: Sand Zone Strategy: Skeletons slowly shamble back and forth while firing bones at you. They retreat if you hit them continuously, so just watch out for the projectiles and force them into a corner. ______ { Crow }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: A parrot on steroids. Seriously. Location: Sand Zone Strategy: They won't attack you unless you provoke them. They're extremely fast, but they get stunned every time you hit them. One or two are easy enough to handle, but make sure you don't provoke a full swarm attack. Bad things happen that way. Note: Sometimes you'll find Crows suspending Skullheads in the air. The Crow itself remains relatively stationary, but watch out for the Skullheads' projectiles. When you destroy either one of the pair, the other will become a regular enemy. ___________ { Armadillo }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: A green lizard-tortoise thing with a spikey shell. Location: Sand Zone Strategy: They're slow and travel in a linear path along the ground, so they're very easy to defeat. They are immune from missiles, but it's not like you actually need them anyways. ________ { Polish }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: A disk-shaped frowning face with blades protruding around it. Location: Sand Zone Strategy: They're pretty slow, and travel along the perimeter of the room. They take a few hits to destroy, and drop a lot of power-ups. However, once they die they release a bunch of Babies, so don't let your guard down. ______ { Baby }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: A mini-Polish. Location: Sand Zone Strategy: Babies spawn whenever you kill a Polish. They're weak and travel in straight paths, so they're not so tough. ___________ { Flowercub }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: A yellow flower. Location: Sand Zone (Toroko fight) Strategy: Wherever one of Toroko's projectile blocks land, a Flowercub appears. They are extremely slow and deal a minimal amount of damage, and are destroyed in one hit. Trivial. _______ { Gaudi }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: A bipedal cockroach. Location: Labyrinth Strategy: Gaudis make their home inside the tunnels of the Labyrinth. The regular Gaudis walk along the ground and bump into you, and are easily taken down. Be careful of the flying ones, though, as they fire projectiles at you. Note: The Gaudis inside the Labyrinth Shop won't hurt you. You can even converse with them. _______ { Armor }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: A Gaudi with a blue color scheme. Location: Labyrinth Strategy: These metallic Gaudis are a tough bunch. Once they see you, they hop three times, and at the end of the third jump they throw 3 spinning blades at you. Not only are the blades fast, they bounce off of walls, so be very careful. To make matters worse, some of them are stationed in hard-to-reach places. Fortunately, Curly will be by your side when you encounter them, so it's safest to just let Curly defeat them for you. ___________ { Gaudi Egg }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: An egg. Location: Labyrinth Strategy: Not really an enemy, but the game mentions it in the credits, so whatever. You can break them open for some power-ups...wait a minute, power-ups come from Gaudi fetuses? Urghhh... _____________ { Fire Whirrr }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: A propeller creature with an eye in the middle. Location: Labyrinth Strategy: Ridiculously easy this far into the game. They hover up and down, and occasionally spew slow-moving circular projectiles. The projectiles don't even follow you. _______________ { BuyoBuyo Base }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: Take those Barnacles from Half-Life and run them over with a steamroller. Yeah, that's what this is looks like. Sort of. Location: Labyrinth Strategy: BuyoBuyo Bases don't attack you on their own. Instead, they spit out BuyoBuyos to attack you with. Destroy the Bases to stop the stream of BuyoBuyos. __________ { BuyoBuyo }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: A cell-like blob. Location: Labyrinth Strategy: These little blobs spawn from BuyoBuyo Bases. They float towards you and try to knock into you. One hit will destroy them, so just keep shooting them down while Curly takes care of the Bases. ______ { Fuzz }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: A small round pink cotton ball. Location: Labyrinth Strategy: Fuzzes are found rotating around a Fuzz Core. Like BuyoBuyos, they're extremely easy to destroy. Make sure to take out all the Fuzz before killing the Fuzz Core, since it will prompt the Core-less Fuzzes to attack you. They're extremely fast, so don't get caught off-guard. ___________ { Fuzz Core }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: A large round pink cotton ball. Location: Labyrinth Strategy: It poses no harm, but as mentioned above, be sure to destroy the Fuzzes surrounding it first. ________________ { Porcupine Fish }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: A pufferfish. Location: Waterway (Ironhead fight) Strategy: When you're battling Ironhead, schools of these fish will swim by you. At first, they're harmless, but then they puff up and become round shaped, and will damage you. It's easy to kill one fish, but a whole group of them may give you trouble. The level 3 Blade is best for this, because of its large AoE. _______________ { Dragon Zombie }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: Apparently Sky Dragon babies turn into zombies if not properly hatched. Location: Egg Corridor? Strategy: Make sure to avoid the flames that they spew, because they do a lot of damage. Fortunately, the flames can be destroyed. Since they're stationary, it's easy to bombard them and then flee to a safe spot to avoid the flame attacks. A fully-charged Spur can kill them in one hit. ______________ { Counter Bomb }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: A yellow-green cloud with eyes. Location: Egg Corridor? Strategy: When provoked, the Counter Bomb will "activate" and will start a countdown. Once the count reaches 0, it detonates, damaging the surrounding area. The blast radius is huge, so make sure it's off-screen when it explodes. If you manage to kill it before the timer ends, it will die without exploding. ______________ { Night Spirit }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: A bedcloth ghost with a cat's head. Location: Outer Wall Strategy: Night Spirits float up and down the Outer Wall, and when they reach you they will spew a bunch of white, balloon-shaped projectiles at you. The missiles can't be destroyed, so if you happen to get caught in the hail of fire, find some cover and hide. It's best to kill them before they unleash this attack, but they have a lot of health. A fully-charged Spur OHKOs them. _______ { Hoppy }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: A small yellow...thing. That hops. Location: Outer Wall Strategy: Hoppies stick to the side of Outer Wall, and jump sideways towards you. They come in swarms and are hard to hit, so keep your distance. Despite their size, they don't die in one hit. _________ { Midorin }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: A pea with legs. Location: Plantation Strategy: Oh man, these things are hilarious. Basically they run in an erratic pattern over a fixed area. You can actually hitch a ride on top of these things, but it's not recommended. They also take a surprising amount of hits to die, but they shouldn't be a problem. _______ { Droll }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: A tan humanoid creature wearing a green robe. Location: Plantation Strategy: You don't bother me, I don't bother you. That's the way to deal with Drolls. You can easily just jump over them and ignore them completely. If you do feel the need to shoot them, they'll react by jumping in the air and throwing a spinning projectile at you. It's a fast attack, so be prepared to dodge it. _________ { Gunfish }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: A blue and white fish. Location: Plantation Strategy: When Gunfish see you, they shoot a stream of bubbles at you. The trajectory is fixed, so you can find a safe spot and wait until the attack finishes. When they are not shooting bubbles, they can be used as platforms to cross the water. They're helpless if you attack them from below. _____________ { Orange Bell }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: A large obese black(?!) bat. Location: Plantation Strategy: A mother bat of sorts, it is always surrounded by a group of regular bats. It poses no threat at all, so just watch out for its children. ________ { Stumpy }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: A flying green mosquito-like bug. Location: Plantation Strategy: Stumpies fly towards you in short distances. They're fast, but easy to kill. Watch out for swarm attacks. ______ { Bute }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: A small Cupid-like angel. Location: Sacred Ground Strategy: Along with Mesa, these are the guardians of Sacred Grounds. They come in a variety of types: The most common ones have wings and fly towards you. They're fast and come in droves, so they're extremely annoying to deal with. Fortunately, they die from one hit from just about any weapon. Another type of Bute is the swordsman, who stands on the ground and attack you with a sword. They're invincible when standing still, so go next to them to get them to rush towards you. The third Bute is the archer, who sits in one place and shoots arrows at you in regular intervals. As long as you avoid the arrows, you can kill these ones easily. ______ { Mesa }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: A large angel, with a body structure similar to a Droll's. Location: Sacred Ground Strategy: Mesas stand in one place and hurl blocks at you. The trajectory of the blocks is fixed, so you can just find a safe spot and kill the Mesa from there. They take a load of damage to kill, and some of your shots will be blocked by the hurled blocks. Make sure you don't get hit by the blocks, because they do quite a lot of damage. _____________ { Green Devil }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: Tiny, smiling, green bat-like creatures. Location: Seal Chamber (Ballos fight) Strategy: These creatures swarm the upper portion of the room after you defeat Ballos's first form, and disappear after the third form. They are harmless, and can be killed for lots of power-ups. Use them to your advantage. _________ { Rolling }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: A small, red and gray orb. Location: Sacred Ground Strategy: Rollings circle around the perimeter of a particular room. They are indestructible, so the only thing you can do is to jump over them when they pass. Not too difficult to avoid on their own, but with multiple enemies onscreen you might accidentally forget about them. ________ { Deleet }~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Description: An octagonal disk with a red eye in the middle. Location: Sacred Ground Strategy: Deleets' primary purpose is to obstruct your path and slow you down. They block your path until you damage them enough as to activate a timer, similar to the Counter Bomb. When the timer reaches 0, they self-destruct, damaging those in the surrounding area. The explosion radius is pretty small, so just make sure not to stand next to them when they blow. A level 3 Spur activates them with one shot. Note: Using the Snake, you can shoot through the floors to activate Deleets prematurely. Check the Sacred Ground section of the main walkthrough for details. =============================================================================== | MISCELLANEOUS STUFF [sect300] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- And finally, here are things that no one cares about (which is why they are at the very end), but are necessary to every FAQ or guide... have fun. ========================================== | Frequently Asked Questions [sect301] |XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX ------------------------------------------ This is where I will be answering some common questions that I receive or hear about. I shouldn't have to tell you this, but if you have a question that's not in here, it's probably already answered in the walkthrough. If not, contact me. O------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Q: How do I get Cave Story? A: Cave Story is a PC game that's free to download. Check the "Getting Started" section for more information. O------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Q: How do I get to Sacred Ground and the best ending? A: In order to gain access to this secret level, there are a few things you must do: 1) Skip the Booster v0.8; you'll receive the Booster v2.0 later on in the game. 2) Make sure you get the Tow Rope in the Core, so you can take Curly along with you. 3) In the Waterway, enter the Waterway Cabin and drain the water from Curly, then pick her up again and go through the remaining portion of Waterway. 4) The next time you see Curly, she should be in lower-right part of Plantation, with her memories gone. Go to the Graveyard in Mimiga Village and acquire the Ma Pignon in a boss fight. Go back to Curly and feed her the mushroom, and she will regain her memories. Make sure you get the Iron Bond from her. With these requirements fulfilled, the door to the Prefab House will be open during your final escape, which will lead to Sacred Grounds. O------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Q: I'm trying to find the Tow Rope in the Core room, but nothing's showing up for me. What's going on? A: The Tow Rope only shows up if you did NOT acquire the Booster v0.8 from Prof. Booster. This of course means that you cannot rescue Curly. O------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Q: I talked to Ma Pignon, but when I said "Yes" to his first question, he responded with "Ha ha, I doubt it." What am I doing wrong? A: First of all, in order to fight Ma Pignon you must save Curly in the Waterway. If you did, then the next time you see her she should be busy having amnesia at the bottom right corner of Plantation. Talk to her, then talk to the Cthulhu native standing right next to her bed, who will mention "a mushroom that can cure amnesia". Only then will you be able to fight Ma Pignon. O------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Q: I found the Little Man in the Graveyard but can't get him to come with me? A: You must enter the Little House at the bottom of Outer Wall and speak to his wife first. O------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Q: Which Polar Star upgrade should I get? A: It really depends on your preference. You can find the pros and cons of each weapon in the Weapons section. If you want to try out all the weapons, I suggest you save a copy of your profile just after you beat Curly to test out the Machine Gun, and make another copy at the Labyrinth Shop to test out the Snake. If you want my personal opinion though, I say go with the Spur. O------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Q: Is it possible to have multiple save files? A: The game itself only limits you to one save file, but there are a couple of ways to store multiple saves. The easiest method is to just copy the entire Cave Story program folder and create distinct shortcuts for each. Cave Story is only around 5MB, so you won't be wasting a whole lot of space. Another, more complicated method (but requiring only one copy of the game) is to go to the Cave Story program folder and find the file named "profile.dat". This is basically your save file, so you can create a new folder and back up the file into that folder. Make sure you rename it so you can tell what file it is (e.g. "Last Battle with Spur"). You're then free to start up a new game without compromising your previous data. When you want to load a data file, get rid of the current save file and paste the desired file instead, making sure to rename it "profile.dat". O------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Q: What's your hell speedrun time? A: 3'36"8. Don't bother me about it. O------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Q: I think this method is a lot more effective than the one you listed. A: Great, send it to me. If it works, I'll add it to my guide and give you proper credit for it. ======================= | Credits [sect302] |XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX ----------------------- Pixel Creator of Cave Story. Enough said. Cave Story Tribute Site (now at http://cavestory.org/) This wonderful site is probably the largest English Cave Story community on the web. In addition to download links for the actual game, they have a multitude of guides, saves, and fanwork of Cave Story. Much of the info in my Weapons, Items, and Bestiary sections were obtained here. CjayC For making Gamefaqs an awesome site for both new and veteran gamers alike. jc_rcw The guy who first got me into Cave Story. So in a sense, the person responsible for the existence of this walkthrough. Niek Dijkstra Pointed out an error I made with the statues in Sacred Ground. Lyger Provided me with the proper exp. values for the weapons. jcys810 Corrected some spelling mistakes I had made, plus an inaccuracy with the attack pattern of the 1st Balrog fight. Keith Brunkala Reminded me that Misery shot those fish missiles as well during the final battle. Jp Found a massive amount of spelling and grammatical mistakes I made in my guide. Thanks a lot! Corbele Informed me about the respawning hearts trick in Sacred Ground B3. Danneh Verified the rumor about the 100-ammo Missile Launcher you can get in Sacred Ground B3. Rory O'Kane Deuxhero Haim, aka Wizzy All of you submitted your own unique ways to clear the Press gauntlet of Presses in Last Cave. However, there's really no need for this many strategies for such a short section. Thanks for your contribution, anyways! Marianne Informed me that it's actually possible to drown in the Core fight, if you're really unlucky. Moddex Everest Found an additional way to avoid getting bit by Sandcrocs. NeatNit Clarified some details about the Red Demon fight, and noted that the respawning hearts trick in Sacred Ground B3 can also be applied to the Butes. Corey Gross Submitted an alternative way to defeat Omega using the Machine Gun. Charlie Emphasized that the bats that Misery and the Doctor spawn can be exploited to stock up on power-ups. obesebear Submitted an alternative way to defeat Pooh Black. And lastly, the readers (you) While Cave Story is a masterpiece in its own right, it's overshadowed by advanced, realistic 3-D games that now dominate the industry. After finishing Cave Story, I hope that you've had a unique and refreshing experience, and in the future will support this game by recommending it to your friends and colleagues. Thanks for reading! ============================== | Copyright Info [sect303] |XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX ------------------------------ Copyright 2009 Tim Zhu (neon screen) This FAQ may be not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal or private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed publicly without advance written permission. Use of this guide on any other web site or as a part of any public display is strictly prohibited, and a violation of copyright. Sites that have permission to display this FAQ: http://cavestory.org/ http://www.gamefaqs.com/ ============================ | Contact Info [sect304] |XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX ---------------------------- All emails related to Cave Story are welcome. However, I am looking for these types in particular: -Any corrections or errors -Suggestions about alternative strategies -Anything that I had missed and should be added I make no guarantee that I'll reply to your email, but if I do, it will usually be within 1-2 days. With that said, please contact me at: neon.barnacle@gmail.com You can also find me at the Gamefaqs Cave Story message boards. Happy spelunking! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- ~Fin