Part 12: Complications and detours.
Update 10: Complications and detours.

Welcome back, everyone! It’s time to scale this bluff in search of Rocket’s parents, and perhaps a casino if we’re lucky.


Callmigh Bluff is absolutely littered with these crystal walls, so the route we’re going to take today is gonna be rather restricted.



There’s a number of nice items lying about for us to take possession of, though.

As you may have already gathered, this is a fairly vertical area. Fortunately, somebody has already set up a pathway to the top, so Rocket won’t have to climb the cliff with his face.

There aren’t too many slimes we can save here without breaking barriers, but at least they’re all clearly visible from the main path.

Sinister, you say? Well, the Goonins did give us a warning about something like that…

And sure enough, Callmigh Bluff has evil spirits in spades. Walking Corpses have only 3 HP, but they respawn as soon as Rocket kills one and only drop a single Gold. They’re also the only enemy with a zero percent chance to drop lucky bags, so there’s no reason at all to try killing these things. Capture or avoid.


Gregg hands over an iron arrow for our collection.

Seriously, this place is full of the living-impaired. Any time you’re inside the cliff, you’ll run into plenty of these things.

Anyone who wants to wade in and start slashing fools is welcome, sir.


For the curious, the Walking Corpse slashes at Rocket in a very Jailcat-esque manner. They’re basically a less threatening, less cute version of the same enemy.

Whatever it’s used for, this path must be an official Slimenian construction if the railway’s running through here. I wonder what the point of it is… I mean, clearly the otherworldly connection’s somewhat public knowledge.


Hmm, I’m going to need more Pompoms to make the Croozes with… But while I remember, I should probably point out that there is no recipe for the third tier of missiles. This is the best we can do with those through alchemy.

The level two platform has another barrier blocking a sidepath (and a girder to be collected), so we’ll have to continue this way.


A wooden bridge over a rectangular stream of rushing water? Maybe this was a tourist trap. Hike to the top, admire the scenic vistas and such.

Mind the mimic as you exit.


Yeah, this looks like a good place for some photo opportunities.


They certainly do get top marks for persistence, as undead are wont to do.



Okay, now I want to see slimes sumo wrestling. The idea sounds pretty ridiculous to me (not that regular sumo wrestling isn’t ridiculous in the first place).

Alright, we can’t have far to go now.



Hey, wait a minute. If this is a dead end, then…


GAAARGH! I’VE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS BOX. I’M BREAKING OUT!


Alright, I’m not sure if that’s better or worse than Spine Les calling Rocket spineless. Also, Big Daddy sets a new record among slimenapping victims for being the only one to break out of the chest on his own.





…




...Whoops. Guess the old slime overdid it a bit.



-------









So, no pressure or anything…


Well, there’s only one way to find out. But first, let’s check the letters from Rocket’s parents.



Despite being a little bit slower than the normal boomerang, this fearsome projectile can take down up to three items (or one iron shield). It’s handy to have one or two of these laying around.






The shop is actually slime-free at present, but I suppose we can go say hello to the other three rescued Boingburgians.

Well, we’re going to be doing some training too. I’m sure that the Goonins could do something with your sumo skills, Duke Swellington.



What is he a collector of, aside from alchemy recipes?


Anyway, we should probably go see the Goonins after this last pun.



Alright, let’s see what sort of trials the Goonins have in store for us.





Oh, hi there Ducktor Cid!





So the trial of the mind involves breaking a bunch of stuff around the dojo, including a few tanuki statues and lanterns.

Ducktor Cid chimes in every now and then, when he isn’t busy blowing bubbles.

The trick here is that even things which don’t appear to be made of wood are in fact firewood placed under an illusion.



Yes, even the… Are those supposed to be guardian lions? I thought those were more of a Chinese thing.

That doesn’t look too good for your health, Cid. Now for the last piece of firewood…


Alright, on to the next one!




So, uh… Not a lot to say about this one. The real Gooshido is always the last one, and each of the slimes standing around won’t run until you get close enough. Charge an Elasto Blast from outside that range, and you should get them no problem.

Like so.






Just one more to go! Now, Tokyo Tom’s trial of the body…



.......

Gee, I wonder where he might be.

Huh. Guess he’s trickier than I thought!

...Well, a win’s a win!






...Riiiiight after I do some alchemy. This is the point where Slimechanic starts asking for stuff that actually stings to lose, and which you might not even have at the time. Aside from this, he also wants:
-50G, 4 Iron Balls
-60G, 3 Thousandweights


I was actually expecting this to happen last update, but this is about the point where things start getting a little bit less familiar for me.



Sooo… Bo’s second tactic just has her follow Rocket around wherever he goes, and she can’t attack. So while she wants to be helpful, our hero’s little sister isn’t really a crew member I’d recommend. Sorry, Bo!

Goosashi’s regular commands are just ‘fire like crazy’ and ‘follow the leader’ with different names, but as he says, he has a third ability you can make use of if you bother to throw him into the cannons yourself. Oh, and all the Goonins have 4 HP.

Gooshido is another ammo thief, but since we have the Goodybag available now… Yeah, he’s not the best choice for a crew member either.

Tokyo Tom’s first command is just a fancier name for ‘bring ammo’, though the second is slightly more interesting. I’m not sure if he’s stationary like a Mimic or not while pretending to be ammo, so his worth as an infiltrator is questionable.




Alright, this should cover Slimechanic’s needs. The edged boomerang is just because I wanted one for the Schleiman.

Two 50s and a 60 HP boost later, the Schleiman has reached a total of 570. Not bad when you consider that it started with 100!


Alright, let’s round things out by finishing off Mt. Krakatroda. Those upgrades used up a bunch of my items, so it’ll also be a good chance to restock.

Haha, no more crystal barriers are gonna get in our way!


Oh-hoh! Looks like Rocky’s advice is finally gonna come in handy!
Alright, let’s see… How to do this…

Oh Goddess, not like this!


Ack, this is the wrong direction!

Jane, stop this crazy thing!

...I totally meant to do that. Yeah.


I’m not sure how the lucky bags in these piggy banks work, so I’m definitely sending this one back to town in the hopes of lucking into something good.


Hey, good to know that I’ve got permission to do that thing I actually did anyway!


Oh, that reminds me… Did anyone notice the link hidden in the last clap trap picture?


Alright, I think I’m getting the hang of this!

And at the top of that ramp, we find another health booster! There’s really no way you should get killed in this game unless you’re like, eight years old or something.

Since we had only encountered three tank battles on Mt. Krakatroda and there tends to be four per area (though not always), the odds that the last slime would be inside an enemy tank were pretty good.



Oh, I’m sure it will be. No worries there.



Heh, that’s a pretty good name for a Hacksaurus-themed tank. Alright, time for one last showing before the crew gets shuffled!


Our usual tactics should suffice, though this enemy does have one small trick up their sleeve.


You see, that axe will slowly rise up before coming swinging swiftly downward, destroying any ammo in its path. That’s any ammo, even stuff that came from the T-Rax! I think it destroys five of my shots and four of theirs over the course of this battle.

There’s a whole lot of Irritaballs in this tank; these upgraded iron balls deal a hefty 55 damage each, if you can land a hit with them.

And then there’s this beauty, the Destructiball. This beastly item deals 110 damage, the second largest amount in the whole game. It’s still slow as hell though, so throw out a lot of stuff in front of it for protection.

Sadly, the T-Rax’s axe manages to take this one out before I could nail them with it. The battle’s long since been decided, of course.

I might have possibly been able to grab a S(ub)lime rating here, but it turns out the T-Rax has that forked engine room… except this time the southern path’s the correct one.





...Chooch?





Booze plus apples equals peppers, got it.

Load this hot veggie into a cannon and it’ll set the Schleiman’s mouth on fire!
Much like the T-Rax’s axe, the chilli pepper will destroy any ammo in front of the Schleiman, regardless of who fired it. It’s a defensive tool, but there’s good odds your crew members will keep throwing ammo out to be destroyed unless you set all of them to other tactics.


There’s another room up on the opposite side from the T-Rax fight, but it only has some gold and a path to the other crystal barrier. You know, the one just before the first Living Statue.
However, you may remember that there’s a second piggy bank over where Rocky was being held captive. And that it’s half the zone away from any ramps.
Which is why this video exists.

A real survivor’s sword. You want to be careful with this one!

A miraculous aid that can reflect the enemy’s fire right back at them. But be warned, it’ll only work once!







How do you kill a monster that’s already dead? It just keeps coming back. And boy, does it stink!
The Walking Corpse will instantly be revived if defeated during a tank battle, but he’s probably not going to be getting in many brawls. Add in the fact that he’s pretty slow, and this is another crew member you really shouldn’t be using.
We now have twenty-four options for our tank crew, and all four tank battles in Callmigh Bluff to do. Go ahead and vote on a new crew.