Part 23: Waco & Mad vs. Crazy.

Now that Mad Dog has decided to back down for a while, we find ourselves in need of a plan.



Naturally, the first thing to do is to chat up the locals.

I know you can beat ‘em!

We really ain’t much fer gunslingers…

If there’s anything I can do…

We’ll help out! Just tell us what you need us to do!

Some of these folks aren’t too helpful.

You know, Success Town used t’be real lively durin’ the Gold Rush times… I’m sure the Crazy Bunch is fixin’ t’get our hard-won riches!

The Crazy Bunch’s big bug is the sole survivor of the lost Seventh Cavalry Division… Fellow by the name of O. Dio. They’re a lawless bunch of varmints. Dio’s probably got wind of today’s fuss. He’ll be right along, I’ve no doubt…

If you do manage to rustle ‘em up and run ‘em out, we’ll give you this town’s money as thanks.

I know you’re strong an’ all, but there’s two o’ you an’ fifteen o’ them…

Others have some interesting tidbits and background information.

We be traveling entertainers!

We beeeen involved♪ In something we did not not foresee♪

Let us run away♪ This is Danger Town♪…

And the band… Well, they just play the tunes. (These are Pancho, Pincho and Tomas Jefferson Sancho, Delos and Pancho respectively.)



How about we set traps t’thin ‘em out a bit? Certainly couldn’t hurt… But ya know…

(Music stops.)

...He may have a point.



Me too!



That’s the spirit!





This is the last person in town, in case you were wondering.



But…

Yeah!

No more rollin’ over dead! You in, Gibson?













Heh… Alright! What about yerself, Sheriff?

...





My pa…



... You know, I din’t want to put the town in any kind o’ real danger, here, but… Sometimes, you just can’t win without toeing the line.



No, never mind. Yer just a stranger whose name I don’t know. You hold onto that badge for me… ‘Til this is all over with. ‘Til I can be a real Sheriff again!



It’s decided, then. Me an’ the Kid’ll poke around for any kinda knicknacks that can be used for traps.



You’ve temporarily joined up with Mad Dog!

Reckon it might be a good idea to save now, don’t you think?

Way to preserve that fourth wall, Mad Dog.

But yes, this is the first part of the chapter’s gimmick. We need to explore Success Town in order to find things that we can use against the Crazy Bunch.



Got Slingshot…!

The townsfolk have a few tips to give, but Billy has an item we need.

I may not be able to fire a gun, but I can fire a slingshot!

If you spend too much time looking for materials, we’ll run out of time to set ‘em up.

The town may be small, but the sun’ll be up before you know it. You probably won’t have the time to look everywhere.

They’ll be here at sunrise, as usual. The bell will sound exactly eight times before dawn. We have to find the materials for traps and set ‘em up before then.

Annie and the Sheriff have the most valuable hints. We not only need to find all the items, but we’re also going to have to deal with the second phase: deployment. And all within a certain time limit.

Yes, this chapter involves a scavenger hunt and a time management puzzle. And more!

The Crazy Bunch ain’t stupid. The same trap won’t trick ‘em twice.

I guess it’d be better to set a bunch of different types of traps, si?

If we want to get all of the Crazy Bunch, we’re going to need to find every kind of trap available.

I run an inn across the way from here.

Wonder if we’ve got anything you can use?

My brewery’s on the western end o‘ town.

I am a trap-setting person♪

I do nothing♪ Nothing at all♪

You are of the searching types♪

Thanks, guys.



Alright, time to get raiding. In addition to the Bourbon we snagged earlier, we have…



More bourbon in that crate, and a door hidden behind this cupboard. (As a sidenote, the band’s music actually gets softer when you aren’t in the main room. It’s another nice little touch.)



There’s some equipment in here, plus Oil in the urn and an Empty Bottle in the crate in the lower-right corner.



Takes a bit o’ time, though. Should we make one?

A Molotov counts as one of our traps, so we need to take Mad Dog up on his offer at least once. Making extras to use during battle is up to the player’s discretion.





There’s oil, bourbon and tequila in the storeroom. All forms of booze are our healing items for the chapter.



The first room upstairs only has this cigar, which is also a healing item. Because smoking is definitely good for you, right?



The first bell rings while we’re in here; making the molotov eats up a considerable amount of time, so don’t worry. We’ll have plenty to spare.



Urgh… Too bad, Kid…

Trying to raid Annie’s wardrobe in the second room will get us yelled at, but we do have to do this once.



Because the last room is the barman’s, and there are two scenes in here.



It’s this month’s profits.



The big obvious sack o’ cash is a time-waster. But if you’ve examined Annie’s cupboard, you’re able to also examine the barman’s.





I guess I can hand it over, if you really think it’ll help…

I’m afraid so, barman. We need to use your softcore pornography to fight bandits.

...That sure is a sentence I just wrote.



Holding out through the creaky saloon door onto the street gives us the last new tune of the chapter, and a whole bunch of buildings to explore. I’m going to be moving clock-wise through town.



Sure is. Hard to get ‘em with purple manes.



The house to the right has bourbon in the southern upstairs room, a cigar in the half-hidden backroom and an empty bottle in the crate behind the desk. Go through the backroom to reach that last one.



The sheriff’s office has a cigar in the desk, a Peacemaker in the gun rack and Dynamite in the righthand crate.



There’s more handguns in the back. We’ll take a look at our character’s stats and equipment after we’re done gathering items.





The first house on the south side has nothing but an empty bottle inside.



We have a stable next up, which has a Shovel hiding under the middle of the cart. Nothing else in this one.



The next building over has some oil behind the counter.



There’s also a Carrot in the pot and a Frying Pan on the wall. That last one will cause some deliberation later on.



I’m guessing this must be Wayne and his wife’s inn.





At first glance, you might think that there’s nothing in here. Those three rooms have no items at all… But the game’s trying to pull a fast one on you.



There’s a fourth room under the stairs.



The Rope is another unique trap, so it’s a bit rude. But let’s continue on undeterred!



The last building on the south side has an empty bottle upstairs, a carrot in the corner and…



Oh, lovely.



The northwest-most building has two more carrots in the crates, and an item hiding in the lone barrel by the cart.



If I forget anything while doing this chapter, it’s usually this.



The next building has nothing but some oil in the room behind the stairs. The rest of it is empty.



And then this tequila is the final item we can find. We’re back in the Crystal Bar barely after the third bell rings.





Now to get our gunslingers properly suited up. By which I mean stealing Mad Dog’s hat to give to the Waco Kid. He gets a second Buntline and a new Jacket to make up for it though.



The sheriff’s badge does nothing but raise the wearer’s evasion against firearms, but that’s good enough for this chapter.



The real problem is this. You see, the Frying Pan can either be used as equipment for that +10 Vitality and more firearms evasion… or it can be used as a trap. Not both.

So that means that this chapter tends to play out in one of three ways, leaving the boss with no minions, one minion… or all of them, if you’re brave enough to not set any traps at all.



Speaking of which…

Okay then, let’s start delegatin’ the work. Keep in mind that some of us’ll probably work faster than the others!

How do you feel about logic puzzles? Because that’s what we’re going to do to figure out who is faster at setting traps than whom.

Or rather, I’m just going to show you what everyone says, displaying them in order from fastest to slowest. As well as what they say for being given something to set up.

Should I set one up too? / I’ll be back!

I ain’t just gonna roll over dead! Can I help? / Okay, I’ll be back!

Should I set one up? / I can’t stand this!

I work faster than Wayne. / Gotcha!

I work harder than my husband! / Okay!

I’m more useful than Clint. / Right!

I may not be very strong, but I’m certainly better than Gibson. / Sure!

Of we three♪ I am more useful than Pancho♪ / I’ve set it up♪ The sweet trap of love♪

Of we three♪ I am more useful than Delos♪ / I am going♪ Without worrying of the dangers♪

Let me help you with something too! / Okay!

Can I do something too? / I’m going now…

Of we three♪ Sometimes I am helpful♪ / I do not like it♪ But I cannot help it♪ That is the life, you see♪

There are a couple of things worth noting, however. One is that the Frying Pan can only be set up by Annie, and the Slingshot only used by Billy. Also, Delos actually works at a random speed. He can be extremely slow, or he can actually finish immediately.

You don’t have to worry too much about the logic puzzle though. If you gather items quickly enough, even the slowest characters will make it back before the eighth bell.



We can also go out and talk to everyone while they’re working, but that isn’t too interesting for the most part.



Though we can get one more bit of slang. Oh, and while Annie is out setting traps…





We can be very rude indeed and steal her nightie. It serves no real purpose whatsoever, but you can do it!



It’s also worth noting that the music inside the bar will change if not all of Sancho, Delos and Pancho are performing. Sancho and Pancho will perform their parts of the tune, but Delos just lazily shakes his maracas when no one’s there to guide him.



Alright, now we just need to kill time. If you talk to the barman and don’t make him set up a trap, he’ll let you skip forward until either the next bell or someone returns to the bar.



He has a handful of different trail-off lines for this, but let’s get to the main event.



This is where our timelines split… Let’s see how things go.

-------

(No sound.)

After walking three days and three nights, we’ve finally found a town, Watt!

*Bang!*



yet another of the Watanabe clan.

























When you manage to set up all the traps, O. Dio is the only one who makes it through.

-------



Or else… I’ll turn the bar into a beehive!!



It’s time.

Yeah…





...Tired of being called a coward?

You stay here. In the unlikely event that, well… If we’re killed, you’re the only one who can protect the townsfolk.

Mad Dog does have a point, though.



…



Thanks, Mad Dog.



-------

(No music, wind howls.)

This next scene plays out very different depending on whether you wipe out the whole Crazy Bunch or not.


Most people will just see this tiny scene on account of wanting to keep the Frying Pan equipped. But here’s how it should really go…





Haha! Seems your friend’s run off! How sweet!

...So he has.





I’ll help…!



...So he does still care.



What can the spineless Sheriff do?

No need to worry, Kid. I won’t get in the way…





I thought if I killed the Kid right here I’d have all the gold to meself, but…



They’d be the ones who’d get yer head, an’ yer bounty…





Please take care of it!

You look after those folks, Sheriff. Just in case.



Doesn’t matter how many rats you rustle up…!



-------



Fighting O. Dio on his lonesome is laughably easy. There are two things you need to know.



The first is that you really cannot stand up to his Gatling Gun.



The second is that while he can use Warning Shot to do okay damage and drain levels, O. Dio cannot do anything but throw pitifully weak molotovs if you get up close. And indeed, with the Waco Kid and Mad Dog, we can just pin him in the corner and gun him down at our leisure.


-------

(No music.)

Regardless of how many men they must overcome, this ends the same way.



We did. Everyone, working together.



A horse…? Dio turned into a horse?

I’ve heard about this… When the 7th was annihilated by the allied Sioux and Cheyenne forces, they only spared a single horse…

They’re talking about what is more commonly known as Custer’s Last Stand. And indeed, there were tales of a lone survivor…



I wonder if all of the soldiers’ anger and despair had gathered into that horse?

That could very well be…

...Does being full of anger and despair turn you purple?



I-I mean, stranger…








Just won’t let this go, will ya?

Stop it, you two!

Didn’t you just beat Dio together?



You, sir, have no idea just who’s running this show.

This is between him an’ me…



...Yeah.



-------



So despite working together to take down the Crazy Bunch, Mad Dog wants another shot at us.


And while we could oblige his death wish… That just doesn’t seem like what the Waco Kid would do.



Which is why this is the one fight in the chapter we can run from.

-------

(No music.)



-------



How can we ever thank you?

Mister! … Thank you! Also… I have a request.



It don’t mean anything… I feel like… I’ve redeemed meself, badge or no!

You done good, Sheriff.



There’s… There’s something we need to apologize to you about. Truth is… We don’t have any gold left…




...It’s no trouble, really.

Huh?

(Music fades.)



You folks reminded me… How to protect the weak…

Kid…







Now I remember! Known throughout the West for his arm, fast as lightning… Someone was always out to challenge him to a duel. Eventually, it got so bad that his town was attacked by an entire band of outlaws… He couldn’t do anything, so he put a price on his own head, and wandered the desert, in search of a place to die…

I must admit… When I saw that scene, I was truly impressed with how well the name worked. Bravo, goons.



Kid! Waco Kid!!

-------



And so the Waco Kid rides off across the prairie, still wandering.



Billy is getting on a little better with his father, Success Town’s Sheriff.







But still, he hopes to see the Kid return…



So, perhaps, do they all.

-------





Inseperable to the end, huh…



Truly, these two were made for each other.



This horse? Heheh… It’s Dio… He an’ I get along mighty fine…



…



(No music.)

Why don’t you ever kill me?



...You know what comes next, right?





You! You shot the reins again!



…



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And then there was one. But are we still going with renaming Akira Simon, or have you folks changed your minds?



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