So, part two of Round 12. When we left off, I'd lost my REVIVAL POTION and was pretty much stuffed. But at least I'd gotten past the climb. Let's see what happens next:
MADMAN. I hate these guys.
!
!
! Ahem. Excuse me. I was just a bit surprised there. The MADMAN dropped a REVIVAL POTION. You know I just said I was stuffed? I take it back. Anyway, if I continue to stand here gawping at it, it’ll disappear.
I take a step forward, and the POTION is mine! I have to check my status screen to confirm, because I can’t believe my luck. You gotta wonder, if the MADMAN was carrying a revival potion, why didn’t he use it when I killed him? Anyway, let’s carry on!
Yet another choice. I happen to know that the upper path is the correct one, so that’s what I take. I think if you take the lower path it only puts you back a couple of screen though, which is nice.
Goin’ left this time.
This RAT is kind enough to drop a LIFE HEART.
As is this one. I’m taking damage from the MADMAN in getting to it, but since I only lose a quarter heart while gaining a whole one, I come out ahead.
I carry on and find my two favourite enemies sharing a room. There’s only one thing to do!
I keep moving and find another juncture. This time the correct path is downwards, but I’m gonna go left so I can show you guys something.
No, not that! I think we’ve all seen me get hit before.
I hide behind a pillar and lay into this ROHPAH, and eventually it drops a LIFE HEART.
As does the next one.
I’m pretty close to full health now. Moving on I find some SNAPPER CRABs.
CRABs tend to drop items. This LARGE HEART would be a tiny miracle if I weren’t already close to full health. I of course lose some life immediately afterwards to that RAT, but at least I got him back.
And, although I don't have a shot of it, it dropped a SMALL HEART so I got my health back! Things are lookin’ good.
The other good drop from CRABs is magic. BOMBs aren’t all that useful to me right now, though. What I really want is LIGHTNING FLASH! and FIREBALL MAGIC. I get hit again by the RAT, but he drops some life and I’m back to full.
I move on to the next area. This looks familiar: it’s actually the same place I was a few minutes ago, a few screens past the chimney climb.
Nothing for it but to carry on.
Here I am back at the ROHPAH intersection. You remember that last time we were here I wanted to show you something? That was just that these few areas loop around in an easy pattern, and are filled with enemies that drop life and items. Basically, it’s the best grinding spot in the game. In fact it’s pretty much the only grinding spot: unlike in the other stages, you can reenter these areas as often as you like, and the enemies will still have their first drops on them. Unlike the rest of the castle, pretty much all of the enemies in this loop have a good chance of dropping life. If you can make it this far, even if you’re almost dead when you do, you can just run through over and over until you’ve got full health again. Most often you’re waiting for a crab to drop a LARGE HEART, but if that doesn’t happen it’s still possible to get to full health with SMALL HEARTs from the PYTHONs and ROHPAHs. Anyway, I’m close enough to full health to move on.
I go right on this screen.
Then down.
Then down again.
I take a left...
And I’m back here again. Darn. I’ll be honest: I don’t know my way around past this area very well. Still, at least I haven’t been put back too far.
I make my way back to the intersection. Let’s try this again:
This time, from the ROHPAHs, I go down, then right, then right. This must be the way!
Argh! You might remember this as the start of the level.
Lucky me! A SMALL HEART from an ANACONDA.
Almost immediately it’s lost to the hourglass. Let’s review the path I took to get to where I was before I got lost:
I go low, then down, then right, then left...
Then down, then right, then down, then right...
Then up, then up, then up (I don’t have shots of the second two ups because I didn’t want to screw up and fall during the climbing bit), then left, then high, then left...
And we’re back! Really, it’s quite simple.
I’ve lost a bit of health getting back, so I decide to do some killing to get it back. Sadly, enemies don’t always drop what you want. I’m not interested in GOLDEN SCALEs at this point.
These inconsiderate CRABs are wasting my time, and with it my HP.
I pick up a couple of SMALL HEARTs at least from these RATs.
This goes on for a while. The thing is, while I am getting some life back, I’m also losing it due to the ticking clock and my clumsy playstyle. At least I’m picking up some magic.
After another loop around, things are starting to look bad.
Come on! I’m getting way less health back than usual here.
A small reprieve.
After a while, the small hearts build up. Notice the jump in my score between the third and fourth shots: This took quite a few loops.
Right, back to business. I’ve been through here twice already, so there aren’t all that many ways I haven’t tried yet.
So we go down from the ROHPAHs, then right, then I think last time I went down here? I’ll go right, I guess.
Aww crumbs. Turns out this was the same way I went last time, but it took me so long to get back I got muddled.
Right, I’m back. Once again I’ve lost quite a bit of health getting this far, but screw it, I’m carrying on. I’ve still got my REVIVAL POTION, after all.
I take a right, then I go down. I’ve learned from last time!
OK, the first time through I went down on this screen. This time I’m taking a right!
!
Not happy!
OK, I’m nearly back, but unfortunately I’m nearly dead, too.
A RAT! One of my many weaknesses. OK, Yim, you can do this! He’ll probably drop a SMALL HEART, and you’ll be on your way to recovery!
Nope.
Well, at least my LIFE bar is full again. Almost immediately after this:
An enemy drops a LARGE HEART, refilling my already pretty much full LIFE meter. Where was that twenty seconds ago?
The game is quite clearly taking the piss now.
On the bright side, I kill this MADMAN with some TORNADO magic and he drops a REVIVAL POTION. I’m back in top form!
OK, one more time!
So: Right on the first screen, down on the second, down on the third, and then right again leads to:
A new area! Thank goodness.
Right! So business as usual from here. The CRAB dropped some TORNADO magic, which at this point I want to get rid of. You don’t get any control over which magic you use out of what you have, so if you want access to a particular thing, you need to get rid of whatever’s ahead of it in the (FILO) queue.
It’s also an easy way to get rid of ground based enemies. You can only have two tornadoes out at at time, so you have to wait for them to disappear before you can get rid of any more.
Another choice! I’m going down.
All the way down.
I can’t help myself, I just have to get hit again.
I take out one last SNAKE before moving on. You might remember that one of these was the first enemy in the game. Well, final boss aside, this one is the last. I continue to the left and find:
Suddenly it’s a sci-fi game! That bartender back in Round 8 mentioned the Dragon arriving on an airship. This must be it.
It’s a pretty straightforward area. Before we knock on the boss door, let’s check our status:
So: I’ve got all the best gear, a HELMET and GAUNTLET (meaning I’ll do double damage and the Dragon half, at least until they wear off), a REVIVAL POTION, the RUBY, lots for FIRE BALLs, and quite a bit of other magic (I wouldn’t normally have this much magic at this point, since I don't usually spend quite so long as I have this time going through the labyrinth over and over picking it up). I’d say I’m all set! Let’s do this thing!
...sometime soon.
Extras:
Here's a map, to spare you the horror I endured getting this far. I've taken a slightly different approach to it than the other ones, but I think it's clear enough. I might have some of the wrong turns mixed up, but if you follow the correct path from it you should make it to the end.
TL,DR:
Next time: We do this thing!
MADMAN. I hate these guys.
!
!
! Ahem. Excuse me. I was just a bit surprised there. The MADMAN dropped a REVIVAL POTION. You know I just said I was stuffed? I take it back. Anyway, if I continue to stand here gawping at it, it’ll disappear.
I take a step forward, and the POTION is mine! I have to check my status screen to confirm, because I can’t believe my luck. You gotta wonder, if the MADMAN was carrying a revival potion, why didn’t he use it when I killed him? Anyway, let’s carry on!
Yet another choice. I happen to know that the upper path is the correct one, so that’s what I take. I think if you take the lower path it only puts you back a couple of screen though, which is nice.
Goin’ left this time.
This RAT is kind enough to drop a LIFE HEART.
As is this one. I’m taking damage from the MADMAN in getting to it, but since I only lose a quarter heart while gaining a whole one, I come out ahead.
I carry on and find my two favourite enemies sharing a room. There’s only one thing to do!
I keep moving and find another juncture. This time the correct path is downwards, but I’m gonna go left so I can show you guys something.
No, not that! I think we’ve all seen me get hit before.
I hide behind a pillar and lay into this ROHPAH, and eventually it drops a LIFE HEART.
As does the next one.
I’m pretty close to full health now. Moving on I find some SNAPPER CRABs.
CRABs tend to drop items. This LARGE HEART would be a tiny miracle if I weren’t already close to full health. I of course lose some life immediately afterwards to that RAT, but at least I got him back.
And, although I don't have a shot of it, it dropped a SMALL HEART so I got my health back! Things are lookin’ good.
The other good drop from CRABs is magic. BOMBs aren’t all that useful to me right now, though. What I really want is LIGHTNING FLASH! and FIREBALL MAGIC. I get hit again by the RAT, but he drops some life and I’m back to full.
I move on to the next area. This looks familiar: it’s actually the same place I was a few minutes ago, a few screens past the chimney climb.
Nothing for it but to carry on.
Here I am back at the ROHPAH intersection. You remember that last time we were here I wanted to show you something? That was just that these few areas loop around in an easy pattern, and are filled with enemies that drop life and items. Basically, it’s the best grinding spot in the game. In fact it’s pretty much the only grinding spot: unlike in the other stages, you can reenter these areas as often as you like, and the enemies will still have their first drops on them. Unlike the rest of the castle, pretty much all of the enemies in this loop have a good chance of dropping life. If you can make it this far, even if you’re almost dead when you do, you can just run through over and over until you’ve got full health again. Most often you’re waiting for a crab to drop a LARGE HEART, but if that doesn’t happen it’s still possible to get to full health with SMALL HEARTs from the PYTHONs and ROHPAHs. Anyway, I’m close enough to full health to move on.
I go right on this screen.
Then down.
Then down again.
I take a left...
And I’m back here again. Darn. I’ll be honest: I don’t know my way around past this area very well. Still, at least I haven’t been put back too far.
I make my way back to the intersection. Let’s try this again:
This time, from the ROHPAHs, I go down, then right, then right. This must be the way!
Argh! You might remember this as the start of the level.
Lucky me! A SMALL HEART from an ANACONDA.
Almost immediately it’s lost to the hourglass. Let’s review the path I took to get to where I was before I got lost:
I go low, then down, then right, then left...
Then down, then right, then down, then right...
Then up, then up, then up (I don’t have shots of the second two ups because I didn’t want to screw up and fall during the climbing bit), then left, then high, then left...
And we’re back! Really, it’s quite simple.
I’ve lost a bit of health getting back, so I decide to do some killing to get it back. Sadly, enemies don’t always drop what you want. I’m not interested in GOLDEN SCALEs at this point.
These inconsiderate CRABs are wasting my time, and with it my HP.
I pick up a couple of SMALL HEARTs at least from these RATs.
This goes on for a while. The thing is, while I am getting some life back, I’m also losing it due to the ticking clock and my clumsy playstyle. At least I’m picking up some magic.
After another loop around, things are starting to look bad.
Come on! I’m getting way less health back than usual here.
A small reprieve.
After a while, the small hearts build up. Notice the jump in my score between the third and fourth shots: This took quite a few loops.
Right, back to business. I’ve been through here twice already, so there aren’t all that many ways I haven’t tried yet.
So we go down from the ROHPAHs, then right, then I think last time I went down here? I’ll go right, I guess.
Aww crumbs. Turns out this was the same way I went last time, but it took me so long to get back I got muddled.
Right, I’m back. Once again I’ve lost quite a bit of health getting this far, but screw it, I’m carrying on. I’ve still got my REVIVAL POTION, after all.
I take a right, then I go down. I’ve learned from last time!
OK, the first time through I went down on this screen. This time I’m taking a right!
!
Not happy!
OK, I’m nearly back, but unfortunately I’m nearly dead, too.
A RAT! One of my many weaknesses. OK, Yim, you can do this! He’ll probably drop a SMALL HEART, and you’ll be on your way to recovery!
Nope.
Well, at least my LIFE bar is full again. Almost immediately after this:
An enemy drops a LARGE HEART, refilling my already pretty much full LIFE meter. Where was that twenty seconds ago?
The game is quite clearly taking the piss now.
On the bright side, I kill this MADMAN with some TORNADO magic and he drops a REVIVAL POTION. I’m back in top form!
OK, one more time!
So: Right on the first screen, down on the second, down on the third, and then right again leads to:
A new area! Thank goodness.
Right! So business as usual from here. The CRAB dropped some TORNADO magic, which at this point I want to get rid of. You don’t get any control over which magic you use out of what you have, so if you want access to a particular thing, you need to get rid of whatever’s ahead of it in the (FILO) queue.
It’s also an easy way to get rid of ground based enemies. You can only have two tornadoes out at at time, so you have to wait for them to disappear before you can get rid of any more.
Another choice! I’m going down.
All the way down.
I can’t help myself, I just have to get hit again.
I take out one last SNAKE before moving on. You might remember that one of these was the first enemy in the game. Well, final boss aside, this one is the last. I continue to the left and find:
Suddenly it’s a sci-fi game! That bartender back in Round 8 mentioned the Dragon arriving on an airship. This must be it.
It’s a pretty straightforward area. Before we knock on the boss door, let’s check our status:
So: I’ve got all the best gear, a HELMET and GAUNTLET (meaning I’ll do double damage and the Dragon half, at least until they wear off), a REVIVAL POTION, the RUBY, lots for FIRE BALLs, and quite a bit of other magic (I wouldn’t normally have this much magic at this point, since I don't usually spend quite so long as I have this time going through the labyrinth over and over picking it up). I’d say I’m all set! Let’s do this thing!
...sometime soon.
Extras:
Here's a map, to spare you the horror I endured getting this far. I've taken a slightly different approach to it than the other ones, but I think it's clear enough. I might have some of the wrong turns mixed up, but if you follow the correct path from it you should make it to the end.
TL,DR:
Next time: We do this thing!
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