Part 2: Update Two: Not To Interrupt...

Welcome back! Last time, on Cthulhu Saves The World, we started our adventure as the squid-faced monstrosity, losing our incredible powers and discovering we need to become a true hero to have them restored. Today, where I interrupt a conversation in the thread about non-Euclidean geometries, we'll be going through the cave that leads to Miskatonia, so let's get crazy.





We're going to get through our first dungeon today. It's not quite as maze-like as the dungeons in BoD, but it is fairly lengthy to begin an adventure with.



It also looks much nicer than pretty much any other dungeon we went through in BoD, too. Already.





Combat time!



Goblins are good to start an adventure with, and Giant Rats are another monster you can't go wrong with.



I didn't mention it last update, but each and every monster has a little blurb about it, in addition to its HP.



These guys are a bit more dangerous than the Goeez we fought outside.



Umi isn't much for physical attacks, but that's okay. We've got Cthulhu around.



That still hurts, though. Yowch.



So much for the Goblin...



Let's take a look at what Umi can do.



She starts off with a decent skill list, including a spell that can hit the entire enemy party at once.



And this skill; it'll turn an enemy Insane, as well as Stun them. It'll never fail, but it only works once per battle. It's pretty great, since Umi is going to typically be going first, so she can make an enemy that much more available for an ass-beating, while locking it down.





Making enemies Insane is really good for killing them faster. It also usually makes them better at killing you, too, so it's a bit of a risk/reward sort of thing.



While we're facing real enemies now, we're still not getting that great of a reward for defeating them.



Still enough to get Umi her first level, though!



Well, I like the sound of that. No reason for our squishy healer to be getting her ass kicked.



Buuuuuut, making her just that much faster for each enemy that is made Insane? I'll take that; it doesn't add up to much right now, but when she's got a few levels on her, this could make an incredible difference, with even just one enemy.



While we're around, let's see another new enemy.



Or two, why not.



Man, that is one hell of an old reference. I'm pretty sure it was an old reference even when this game came out. Either way, Crabs are fairly tough bastards, being covered in that tough outer shell.



He also announces that the kick is good when he's turned Insane.









Umi has a couple of spells to start with; Flood is going to be pretty useful in this dungeon, even if a lot of the enemies resist Water, since a fair few are sea monsters. It still works for softening them up.



I cannot tell you how great it is to have battle animations again. That seems stupid to say, but just some sort of visual representation of what you've just done is satisfying, in a small, almost inconsequential way.



The Sea Horse doesn't look surprised so much as it looks like it just stepped on a LEGO.









I still wonder who is keeping these torches lit.





I should have went across this bridge right now, but I thought it was the way forward, and not the way to treasure.



We'll get to the treasure in a minute, though. It takes me a little bit to realize my mistake.





Gulls, like they are in real life, are annoying. They're very fast and don't do much damage.



And Flood needs just a skosh more power to down them in a single hit.



They do look hilarious when turned batshit, though.









And this was the moment that I realized my error.



But, hey, more EXP for me.



Oh, look at the cute lil' guys and their

Jesus Christ, what horror is beside them!?



Er..Okay.



They're still cute!



Yeah, I'm going to trust you on that one.



Good God, it looks like one of the moronic forms from that SNES EVO game.





Yay!



Uh-huh...



There it is!



Onward to treasure!





If that's a tunic, I'm not sure Cthulhu knows how to wear them.



Then again, he might just like wearing them as a skirt. I'm not here to judge.







What, it's the first dungeon. You should be expecting more than a few levels in here.



Wow, now that's a good bit of attack power.



Oh, yeah, enemies can be separated in groups in this game; if two of the same enemies are standing next to each other, and another one of them is separated by another monster, the first two are considered a group. I take Blind Strike, since that's a good bit of damage, it raises the combo counter, and Blinding things is not a bad thing to do.







I always find it hard to write commentary when we're wandering around a cave.



During battle, it's easier, but just walking through a cave? I never know what to say.







Oh, good, something to talk about. Potions return in this game, and they do the same thing they did in Breath of Death; full HP recovery for whoever it is used on.









Fresh air! It's no longer just water and rocks!



Hey, it's that bridge we crossed under earlier!



Or it would have been, but something else demands our attention.



That Dolphin does not look friendly.



It definitely is not friendly. Or maybe it is. Once again, not here to judge (or kink-shame).



I can now say that it's not friendly.



Bah. When an enemy is Blind, their accuracy goes straight into the shitter. I've never seen an enemy actually hit while Blind, but I suppose it's possible.



Yay!



Fireball, you say?



Never mind that; we're going for a physical based Cthulhu, so we're taking the sword strike. It'll still burn the shit out of whatever we use it on.





Who the hell put this ladder here?





And who the hell are they?





I do not know why your parents named you that, but I'm pretty sure they were hoping you'd get your ass kicked at school.



Calm down, edgelord. You might actually get some sun on your face.



I hate this guy on principle.



There's a sun behind you! Light is already in the world! And we don't have any goddamned powers!







I'm...I'm not sure Cthulhu would have done that.



See, he agrees with me. But, come on, she's right there.



Just go ahead and poke him in the butt, Umi. Uh, with your trident. I know you already think he's the hottest thing since Joan of Arc, and I don't want to give you any ideas.



Please say yes, please say yes, please say yes



Dammit.









He couldn't afford sunscreen, but he did have that ratty old thing in the closet.



It's not a skin condition if you've spent the last six years in a basement, wondering why nobody publishes your glorified fanfiction.



Have at thee!





Uh, right-o.



Oh, come on. He looks like enough of a douche we should just call him Summer's Eve.



And he's now basically absolutely useless in this fight. Go us!



She doesn't look Insane so much as it looks like she activated stripper mode.





Of course he'd be one of those thieves.



Meh, whatever.



Insane and Blind, Dash is probably trying to find his own fingers to gnaw on at this point.





Flame Strike is a good skill. And it looks cool, too.



I can't even articulate how much I hate this asshole.



To try and show it visually, I light his crotch on fire to kill him. I believe it's effective.



...Assholes...





I hope Dash and Switchblade are both in Hell.



Oh, right, they have that going for them.



I have my doubts.



Or maybe we will.





Oh, Stiernberg was the artist for this. But if he was just drawing stuff, who the hell kicked the writer's ass and made him do a better job...?



But how does it rectify it? We'll find out in Cthulhu's Angels!







And back to our amateur spelunking adventure!







And now I'm back to not knowing what to say.



I mean, there's a stalagmite.



You know it's a stalagmite because it has a "G" in it, and it's growing out of the ground. Stalactites grow from the ceiling and have a "C" in them.



Ah, shit, I pretty much shot that wad.







There's that little pool; we can't do anything with the water, but it's certainly there.



Oh, thank God, a battle I can talk about.



What is that horrid motherfucker!?







THAT DIDN'T MAKE IT ANY BETTER



Thankfully, they're pretty easy to take out. Flame Strike goes a long way toward kicking the shit out of everything we meet here.







Now that's a skill I can appreciate. The higher the combo count, the better chance I have of inflicting status ailments. Considering how I like to boost that thing, this is going to see some good use.



Eh, not doing a warrior Umi, so let's not worry about this.





Ooh, treasure!



Ooh, money!



Ooh, crossing..A bridge.





And a level up! Oop, spoke too soon.



There we go.





While I'd like to make Cthulhu tougher, he needs the speed at the moment, so he gets the +30 Agility.







Man, this is an extensive cave network.





But we're getting there.





I mean, we're going back outside already!





Y'know, I won't lie, I could picture Cthulhu going through this adventure, sporting a Rambo-esque headband the whole time.



But then there'd be a lot more Loverboy references, and you know you don't want that.





Ah, my favorite part of finding treasure; new weapons!



I can never get too many new weapons.







I just ate a bacon double cheeseburger.







It was pretty good. I had it left from lunch, and still have part of my wife's burger in the fridge. I might eat that later.



Her appetite has increased the further she's gotten in her pregnancy, but she still has trouble finishing a double burger. I don't mind, since I get to finish what she doesn't eat.



There's an Earthbound joke in there somewhere, something about recovering about 90 HP, but it's just not coming to me.





To the right, is the way out. To the left is treasure.





Bit of a long path there, though.





But money is good. We'll need to have a lot of that. There's a lot more weapons and armor in this game, as well as more party members.



But, that'll come when it comes. For now, let's worry about getting out of here.





We're actually really close to the boss here.



And more commentary!



: of MP (and perhaps forgetting to save as well since they were used to only saving at restore points), we fixed this and added restore points before pretty much every boss in the game.



Star Terror?



Look at that background. It's not much, but it's nice, in a simple sort of way.



More commentary coming up!



:: the engine and besides, there are a few things more heroic than a squid man standing on top of a cliff with a sword in hand.



I can't really argue with that assessment.





Jesus, that is a long bridge.



It has waves!



A...A tentacled butthole. Fantastic.



From what I can tell, this isn't a reference to something else. Rigel is a star in the sky, part of Orion and the seventh brightest star in the night sky, but the XLIV part just seems to be a random string of Roman numerals.



Hey, it's the Kraken from Pirates of the Caribbean.



Girl, we ain't fought shit up to this point.





Alright, our first real boss fight!



Ooh, a reference to Final Fantasy IV!



Too bad we can't just lob a grenade down its throat.



Unlike the bosses in the last game, we can inflict status effects on the bosses in this game.



But the enemy AI seems to be reactive, assuming they have a reaction to have, beyond trying to smack you.



Turning it Insane will greatly boost our damage, but it has this skill to greatly increase its damage, in addition to the boost from Insanity.



Holy shit, that's nothing to sneeze at.

(Side note: I just sneezed)





All in all, it's a pretty simple fight, being the first boss and all.



Now that's more of a reward I'd like from a boss fight.



Both characters gain levels, too!



The other choice is a boost to HP and MP, but as you know, I prefer the stat boosts.





I'll take the more expensive Escape; it's a sure thing and if I'm going to be escaping, you can damn well bet that I'm going to make damn sure I'm getting out of there.





Ah, too late, Umi, you basically agreed!



We did the right thing in putting it down. It hopped up here, all Billy Badass, and we showed it who's boss.



See? We did the right thing.



Eh, jury's still out on if your IQ hits the double digits or not.



Oh, God, more commentary!?



: were toast. Before release, we upped its ailment resistance a tad while simultaneously lowering its power to make it more manageable.



Stuff like that is really neat to me. It's just a small glimpse into how things came about, and how they could have been different.



And there we go. We are outta there!



Which is where we're going to leave things off. Next time, we'll pop into town and see what's going on.

Stay tuned!