Hello again. I'm starting off today by returning to the Endless Corridor. Full disclosure: what you'll see today is my second run at this update. On my first attempt I got so frustrated that I deleted the video afterwards.
Here are the two clues I'm relying on to solve the puzzle of the second floor of the infinite corridor. Last time I explored it and found a series of lamps with number glyphs over them. I also found a glowing thing under a low platform that I was able to place a weight on, which seems pretty obviously to be the Dragon referred to in the first of these clues. That leaves the correct path that I need to follow. The second clue refers to the End Year of the Aztecs' Fifth Age. I suspected that might be 2012. DeeMer mentioned in the thread that the answer is in the manual. I had a look, and in the developers' note at the end I found:
User's Manual, "A final note":So there we go. It looks like I'm on the right track. The lamps light up when Lemeza walks in front of them, and there are two with the number 2 over them, so it looks like I just need to light the lamps for 2, 0, 1, and the other 2, probably in that order, and the puzzle will be solved.
The end of the fifth age for the Aztecs is the year 2012.
I've learned this sort of strange archaeological trivia.
But first, I go to the empty lamp frame and get Konami Golf, a 1985 golf game. It's golf. As I mentioned, this was my second attempt at recording this update. I found the ROM on my first, which is how I knew to go straight for it this time. Bit of an oversight missing it during the previous update, really. I lit several lamps getting to the ROM, so I return to the ladder, go up a level and come back down, which seems to reset them.
I run through, lighting the numbered lamps and no others. I settled on this route because it doesn't pass through any other lamps, allows Lemeza to cross all the lamps fully without having to turn back in the middle, and doesn't involve looping from the left edge of the Corridor to the right during the lighting process. Nothing happens when the four lamps are lit. Do I need to put a weight on the big dais?
Nothing happens (I've got the Metal Gears in the MSX, so I expect an exclamation mark when I do figure this out). Maybe it's because I had to pass the 2 lamp on this screen again to reach the dais? But there's no way to reach it without passing the lamp, because the door on the left is one-way leftwards. That also means that I can't place the weight before starting to light lamps.
It occurs to me that my new keyblade might function as a key to these doors, allowing me to go through them backwards, but it doesn't seem to work.
I go up again to reset the lamps, and then go through the four lamps again to spell 2012, this time dropping the weight the first time I pass the dais. It doesn't work.
I wander around a bit and light some more lamps, then stop to think about things.
This is an attempt at two things at once. I go from the first screen on the second level above the lowest, the second screen at the lowest level, the third at the first above the lowest, spelling 201, but am stymied on the fourth screen where there is no exit on the second level. Maybe I should try this again, numbering from the top instead of the bottom. I also leave two enemies alive on the first screen, none on the second, one on the third, and two on the fourth. Doesn't work.
I wander some more, getting nowhere, and then warp back to the village to save. Now, you might think I've missed the most obvious route in the corridor: start with the two below the ladder, move right to the zero, back left to the one, go left from there to the two next to the dragon, and then drop a weight. I assure you, that's the first thing I tried in the discarded attempt at this update, and it didn't work for some reason. Out of ideas for the Corridor, I head for Inferno Cavern and the Ankh. Beating whatever boss is here will get me through the door by the waterfall and probably into the Reverse Spring, which I've otherwise only been able to enter a small part of.
I use my last Ankh Jewel, and the room fades away. What looks like the surface of the moon rises from the floor, and its four tentacles start shooting at me.
I equip the Spear and start attacking the tentacles. It doesn't go well for me, but I do get one of them to stop moving before Lemeza is thrown upwards. Meanwhile the room seems to be collapsing. Either the enemy is climbing up, or the platforms are falling down.
I manage to still all the tentacles, and two little demons appear and open what's revealed to be an eye in the middle of the boss. It fires a massive beam, taking with the two small demons and most of Lemeza's VIT. This thing is Viy:
User's Manual:
VIY: A demon that sleeps deep within the earth. It's so gigantic that it can't move well on its own, and it can't even see without its minions there to open or close its eyelids. It protects areas deep within the ruins of La Mulana.
The little demons are replaced immediately, and this time the eye comes out and starts spitting out little projectiles. At the same time, one of the tentacles comes back to life and starts firing at me, too. I try to get into position to hit the eye stalk, but fail.
I still the tentacle with Spears and this time manage to avoid the eye laser.
As the other tentacles come back online, more projectiles start appearing, and the little demons continue to fly around, I take a few more hits and lose the last of my VIT. Game over. I mentioned my first attempt at this update - the full version of it was I spent ages getting nowhere in the Corridor, then warped to the Cavern and took on Viy and died without having saved. So everything so far is pretty much a repeat.
I return for another shot, and quickly lose most of my VIT.
Shuriken seem to be able to hit the eye stalk when I can get them past the platforms and the tentacles. It's hard to tell if they're doing damage because all the other noise (mainly me throwing more of them and the sound when the eye's projectiles come out) drowns out any clear damage indication, but at least they aren't bouncing off.
Before long I'm dead again. Obviously I'll have to beat Viy at some point, but maybe there are other things I could be doing at the moment.
I return to trying to get the Key Fairy to the other fairies in the Tower of Ruin. This time, I make it to the ladder leading to the fairy circle before the Key Fairy fades away. So close! While I'm in the Tower I break a few boxes for some extra Spears. If I'm out of ideas, I might as well stock up while I'm running around.
I head for the Graveyard and the wall section I'm striking here. I forgot to check it when I got my latest weapon. It doesn't break when struck with the keyblade.
I spend a little while trying to reach the left side of the shower head here. This is about as close as I get over four or five attempts.
I get the idea to try to take a healing fairy to the fairy circle. If you don't stand still, they can't heal you, so I thought I'd be able to lead it there without having to worry about a time limit. Turns out healing fairies won't follow you over a screen edge.
I notice that I'm pretty high on EXP and get the bright idea that if I go to the Viy fight while my EXP is high, I'll be able to kill the little demons to tip it over the edge and get a VIT refill during the fight. So I head for the Chamber of Extinction to visit the fairy there and get my VIT topped up before the fight, but there's no sparkle. I try the Spring as well, which is also vacant. Apparently summoning a fairy from any sparkle location makes them all disappear. I'm not sure how long the recharge time is, but when I haven't got other goals in mind it seems like a long time. I head back to Xelpud and save, since I've gathered some Spears and Flares I'd like to keep.
I spend a while going up and down the ladder in the Chamber waiting for the fairy spot to reappear, then get bored and instead run around the Corridor fruitlessly looking for some way to get 2012 to work. Doing that tips my EXP over for a VIT refill, so when I return to the Confusion Gate and find the fairy spot has returned I summon the Key Fairy again. Can I make it to the fairy circle this time?
I can! For my troubles, I get... nothing. Whatever the Key Fairy does, it isn't this.
I grind for EXP for a bit, then save, and take on Viy again, ready to get a mid-fight health refill. Sadly, I die first.
Frustrated, I quit. This was fifty minutes of gameplay, with almost nothing achieved. Am I stuck? Will I need to look at a guide? Fear not, gentle reader! While writing this update I noticed that I didn't actually have footage of me taking what I described earlier as the most obvious route.
So I fired up the game and gave it a shot:
I go to 2, then 0, then 1, then the other 2, taking care not to cross any of them more than once or to hit any other lamps. Let's drop the weight:
It works! After all that, it works! I swore aloud at this. I went and found my deleted first run in the recycle bin and had a look, and I definitely tried this at my first attempt and had it fail. I have no idea why - maybe I went slightly past the midpoint of the zero lamp before turning back and so it counted it as me crossing it twice?
I head down the ladder and kill a jiangshi.
Another clue that talks about wisdom. I've seen strength mentioned before, too. Maybe the "left up" bit is a clue about which way to go? There's a dais just below which I guess the "place a weight" bit is talking about - that or the big dais above the dragon at the bottom. I'll probably look around before placing any weights, but for the moment I'm heading back to town and saving. This has been a short update, but a lengthy process for me. Time for a break.
Here's my attempt at this from the deleted first run. I've cut out the screen transitions and some menu fiddling. It looks to me like I did what I was supposed to, but it didn't work, which is what threw me off the correct path and led to this entire update.
Map:
Clues:
Village:
"Have you found all the ROMS? Something good will happen if you do." "The traps and tricks in the ruins are said to have been set by the Four Sages. They wait for you to come." |
"Eight souls rest in this land. The souls are those of the Guardians that protect these lands." "The sad tale of the giants. Their history is recorded therein." "In the temple of the Sun, a new trap fills a hole and conceals a trigger." ""Twin Guards" "Silent and alone" "Deliver a stone on high""   |
"Ye who has life. There is still time. Turn back. The confusion continues." "11 children guard Tiamat's chamber. The Grail is powerless therein." "You have done well in making it this far, wise one. Break through the final confusion." "This is the Confusion Gate. The path will open to the wise." "Is the one reading this tablet wise or a fool? I pray it is one that has wisdom."  |
"So these ruins are those from a race of giants... I was just about to decipher their legend too..." "We are the second race born of the Great Mother. We were born to return her to the skies. This is the sad story of our race. Nine brothers led our race: Zeb, Bud, Migera, Led, Fut, Abt, Zi, Riv, and Sakit." "In order to hold up the Earth, Zeb stopped moving, and the remaining brothers split into two factions and fought amongst themselves." "Abt, Zi, Riv, and Sakit wanted the Mother to remain here on Earth."  "The eldest, Zeb, could not move, as he had to hold up the Earth." "We could not grant the Great Mother's wish. I am the only one to remain, and here I go to my long, final rest. Abt" "Zi started praying to the Earth on a moonlight night." "On a day when the sun was bright, Led fell in battle. A large hole torn in his chest, he went into his long, final rest." "Bud went into a long, final rest on a night when the sky was full of stars." "To launch the tower, water was indispensible. Migera carried a lake to this land and expired in the effort." "Grieving for his elder brothers, Riv dug a tunnel from the lake to the tower to bring water to it. He collapsed in the effort and went into a long rest." "The youngest, Sakit, followed his own path. He locked Led's body, left power in his hand, and went into a long rest." "1 Sword, 2 Bodies, 3 Wishes, 4 Disasters. 5 Stars, 6 Moons, 7 Lights, 8 Paths. 9 Cups, and 0 which is Life." |
"Only thy own strength can get thee through this frozen land." "Art thou the chosen one or not? Proceed ahead. We wait for thee beyond." "The rogue that releases many lights. He who does not hold the silver shine is doomed."  |
"Challenge the cavern of the inferno. It will be a long road. He who follows it should be prepared to die." "If there is a man, there is also a woman. "Summon the power of the twins. The twins are two and yet one. The twins are very much alike." "Sahete's understanding/clarity was born from The Mother"  |
"This is the Temple of Moonlight. The lovely, female temple." "Changing water to power, the Tower flies up into the sky." "The sound of the flute is given to the pregnant woman."  |
"The water that operates the tower. It flows here and is converted to energy." "Walk down the infinite corridor. Beyond it lies everything."  |
"Strange, these ruins are strange. This shouldn't be a dead end..." "Discover where the truth of this land lies." "This is the Inferno Cavern. A place that was once a source of power." "If you can't find something important where it should be, check the back." "The imprisoned twins. The man that runs faster than anyone will free them." "What is here is not everything. This is the critical location. Take another path and return to this land again."  |
"The kind, mischievous fairy. The kind, lonely fairy. Her mischief is innocent. Innocent mischief will do thee no harm." "The large earthen doll, It carries the flying golden key." "The flying iron bird. Distressed at its travel, the goddesses depart." "That which moves too fast to see. Even stopping time cannot stop its movement." "The people who created Nu Wa, those who imitate the power of the Great Mother. The power to create life. The power to create us. That wish goes unfulfilled." "The left eye sees Kindness."  |
"If thou cannot go left, go right." "A joyful soul is milky hued, an eloquent soul is black, an honest soul is purple, a happy soul is green, a pure soul is white, a passionate soul is red, and a kind soul is blue. Souls have colors." "The Guardians lurk in the front. Places without them are the rear. This is the law of the ruins. Only the Infinite Corridor is an exception." "Spriggan, the giant statue. Show hostility and he will awaken. Fight him more and he will return to sleep."  |
"Release the twins."  |
"
Ninth Field:
"Proceed from the correct path."
To-Do:
Anywhere:
-Find Shorn Kosugi
-Find the Four Sages and talk to them
--Get the flute
-Clear each screen of enemies at least once
-Complete the software use and software combinations lists in the manual
-Figure out what the key fairy does
--Take it to one of the missing Field change ladders
--
-Get all the ROMs
--Have something good happen
Village:
-Go through invisible door at 4/1
--Defeat Inferno Cavern Guardian
-Return to hidden door at 4/2 with all the ROMs
Guidance Gate:
-Get the Jewel in the star at 0/-4 -Do something with the angels at 1/-3 |
-Open chest -4/1 (x3)
-Enter door -4/1 (upside down)
-Get past barrier at -5/3
-Push block to obstruct light at -5/3
-Summon Key Fairy at -6/3 and look for something to unlock
--
-Reach the left side of Shu's blood shower head at -3/2
Mausoleum of Giants:
-Decipher the legend of the giants -Do something at the upper left of 2/-2 --Try again with the Grapple Claw to reach it -Do something with holy wall at 1/-1 |
-Get something from chest at 1/-3 -Break the wall at 2/-1 -Scan stele: 2/-1 (x2) -Weight dais: 2/-1 -Open barrier: 2/-1 -Do something with holy block at -1/1 --Try to reflect enemies' attacks with Silver Shield --Get into shaft at right of -1/1 from -1/2 somehow ---Break floor in -1/2 -Do something with fake spikes at -1/-2 |
-Scan steles: 1/-2 (several) --Do something at gap in top row of steles at 1/-2 -Solve all the puzzles -Do something with the wall that goes "ping" at the upper left of 3/-3 -Do something with the statue at 4/-2 -Do something with squiggles at 3/-3 --Bring the Woman Statue |
-Weight daises: -1/0 -Break all the bricks in -1/0 -Head through door at -1/0 to other Field -Unlock and take the path to another Field at 1/3 -Open chest at 0/-1 --Try the dais again -Open chest at 1/2 -Do something with the reproductive system image at 1/2 -Get the statue in the room at 2/2 to say or do something --Go to it after getting the flute |
-Get the statue in the room at 0/1 to say or do something --Go to it after getting the flute -Reach the two circular objects in 2/0 -Break wall at 1/-2 |
-Reach the stage outside the small corridor at 0/0 -Kill all enemies at 0/0 -Scan space where brick block was at 0/0 -Attempt to enter potential hidden door where brick block was at 0/0 -Read stele: 0/0 |
-Unlock and take the path to another Field at -2/1
-Reach the two rooms at the top left of the map
-Defeat
Tower of Ruin:
-Find hidden doorway in -4/2 --Break upper middle wall -Defeat the invisible enemy (probably at -4/1) --Get the medicine of life -Stop time in -4/1 -Do something with the blue cross at -3/2 -Reach the fairies at -3/3 |
-Reach the rooms at the upper right of the map |
-Release the twins -Figure out the layout -Go through the Twins' Gates --Acquire the Twins' Souls |
-Explore the Endless Corridor
--
--Find a way into the rooms below the third to top floor
-
-
-Reveal and climb the missing ladder at 1/-1
-
-Activate the dragon at 0/-2
-Weight dais: 0/-2
-Scan broken stele: 0/-2
Ninth Field:
-Get past 0/1 |
Death Locks:
-Temple of the Sun 0/-4
Fairy Locations:
-Confusion Gate -6/3
-Temple of Moonlight 0/-1
-Spring of the Sky 3/1
-Chamber of Extinction 8/-3
-Endless Corridor 0/-2
ROMs:
-Athletic Land -Contra -Diviner Sensation -F1 Spirit -F1 Spirit 3D Special -Firebird -Game Collection 1 -Game Collection 2 -Game Collection 3 -Game Master -Game Master 2 -Glyph Reader -Hyper Olympic 2 -Hyper Olympic 3 -Hyper Rally -Hyper Sports 1 -Konami Golf -Konami Pinball -Konami Tennis -Magical Tree -Mahjong Dojo -Mahjong Wizard -Metal Gear -Metal Gear 2 -Pennant Race -Pennant Race 2 -PR3 -Q-bert -Quarth -Road Fighter -Ruins RAM 8K -Salamander -Seal of El Giza -Shin Synthesizer -Sky Jaguar -Super Cobra -Video Hustler -Yie Ar Kung Fu  |
 |
Next Time:
Part 27: Puzzling
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