Part 7: Update Seven: Shark Attack!

Last time, on Earthbound, we did some boring stuff, then bought a bracelet. Today, we're going to go pay a visit to the leader of the Sharks.



I did a bit of grinding off-screen. Now, before you all collectively groan, this is actually a fair level to face Frank at. Level 5 works, yes, as well as level 6 would have, but this way, I don't have to heal every other turn. In this game, it's actually a tad hard to get ahead of the curve in any significant way.



Frank and his mooks hang out in the Arcade, so this is where we're spending the day.



There's Sharks all over the place in here; three down here and four in the upper level. Not all of them want to fight, though, which is good for them. I'd hate to completely ruin their street-cred.



This particular Shark, however, feels it necessary to get up in your grill as soon as you enter and he can get around the arcade machines.



: Which one was your buddy? You'll have to be more specific.



And so, he decides to fight us.



It's just a Pogo Punk, and with our new damage dealing capability, he's barely a threat.



This was from his charge attack; the Cheap Bracelet and a couple more points of defense really show their worth here. Sharks are basically no longer a threat.



He drops another Hamburger for us, and I think that makes five in my inventory. Burgers are a nice source of healing right now, as they restore about 50 HP, which is enough that it'll usually restore Nass to full HP.





Somehow, he missed us beating his buddy into submission, five feet over to his right. Or maybe he did, because he doesn't want to fight us. What about that Shark over by the door?



No, I don't think so. We've creamed enough of you guys, if we joined, it wouldn't be long before every other Shark ganged up on Nass. It's kind of like in cop shows, when a cop goes to prison with a bunch of dudes he put in there.



If we had said yes, he tells us to come back after we've beaten Earthbound.





There was a Yes Man Jr. here, but he's gone now.

That's also the only Shark you are required to fight in here, other than the one that rushes you at the door. Defeating that Shark allows you to go through the door behind him, which leads to Frank.



But first, let's head upstairs.



: I bet you can stand against any enemy.

I highly doubt that. Actually, I have a feeling we're going to encounter that weapon and find that we can stand against it juuuust fine.



Over here, we encounter a disgusting Shark. He's another one that won't fight us (only one of them up here will), but I certainly wish I could kick his ass. Though, I wouldn't mind a piece of gum.

: Get yer own, twit.



: equip it? Heh eh, I gave a hint to my own enemy...I'm such a rockin' dude! I obviously have total confidence in my own abilities. So...Are you ready to get it on, Spanky?







Just the one Shark left to speak to up here.



: but that doesn't fit my super cool image. I guess I just have to accept this about myself.

I like this guy. He's just a regular guy, who happens to be in a gang. Well, that, and he doesn't want to get his ass kicked.



While gaining my two levels, a Yes Man Jr. dropped a Bag of Fries. They restore about half the HP a Hamburger does, which is perfectly fine here, as my HP was high enough they boosted me back to full.



75 HP is a fair amount to have at this point in the game. I'm five shy of having max PP, but since I only have the healing PSI power and Hypnosis, I'll be fine. I have enough Hamburgers so I won't need to use it, and I generally don't care for the debuffs in this game.



There's Frank and his wooden robot thingy. Let's go chat with the leader of the Sharks.



I wouldn't blame Nass if he was too scared to speak here.



As Frank just starts a fight with us. I guess he heard about all those Sharks that got put in the hospital.



This is why I wouldn't blame Nass for being afraid. We have a bat, a bracelet and a nice hat. Frank has two fucking knives. He also looks like a blond Ace Ventura.



I'll be skipping the input of commands for this fight. Since we don't have many options beyond "Bash", it's safe to assume that's exactly what I did, unless otherwise stated.

Anyways, Frank has three attacks. Besides this one, which just lowers your guts, he'll either just brandish a knife or come out swinging.



Having your guts lowered kind of sucks, as they help determine critical rate, as well as your chance to survive with 1 HP after being hit with a "mortal blow". However, for this fight, it didn't matter all that much.



Now, that's a bit less than what we were hitting his mooks for. Frank himself only has a grand total of 63 HP, with 7 speed, so he's also nearly twice as fast as we are.





Frank does not fuck around. He's a pretty good example of your classic "wakeup call" boss; he's faster than you, has good defense and hits really damned hard. He sets the tone fairly well for how most fights are going to be later on in the game, except that he doesn't have any PSI powers to use against you.



As long as you keep your HP high, Frank's not too difficult. I'll admit though, I had forgotten how hard he could hit, though, so that initial 21 damage really kind of shocked me.



If he had come out swinging, he would have done even more damage. He never pulled that attack in this fight, but I'd wager it would have done over 30 damage to me.



Another bash to his 'do takes Frank down.



50 exp. is pretty nice, considering how hard that fight actually was.



I think some of those bashes might have affected his brains. He's forgotten the ass-whooping already.





And so, he sics the robot on us.



Yeah, that is a steam-powered, wooden robot, built by the leader of a gang in a small town, who spends his time out behind the arcade. I told you this game was kind of weird.





Anywho, Frankystein hits pretty hard, too, so I scarf down a burger before the fight gets going.



Every other round, his generates a burst of steam. It doesn't do anything, except for give you a free turn to act. It's a bit of a mercy from the developer's, really, as these two in a row where they both can attack as hard as they do every turn would be a huge pain in the ass to actually get past.



His main attack is simply punching Nass square in the face.



Not quite as powerful as Frank's knives, but that's still a good amount of damage.



Frankystein has 90 HP, at max, and his speed matches ours. His attack and defense are similar to Frank's, give or take a few points.





Another burst of steam, another bat to the robot's face; this fight is pretty similar to the Frank fight. Hell, it's pretty much the same fight, but with a wooden robot.





Dammit, Nass!





I'm willing to bet you're not even reading these captions anymore. I'm barely paying attention to them; Fox Mulder is just too tantalizing.



Oh, Jesus. This is like Frank's "come out swinging" attack, as in, it hurts like hell and doesn't come up very often.



I'm glad I dodged that.



Frankystein is one hit away from death; however, I wanted a shot of the damage that him tearing into you does, so I start to kill time.



I ate a Hamburger here. I think I have four more in my inventory.



I decide to defend this turn; even if he uses it, I'd just have to double the damage, and that's about how much it would have dealt.



However, defend is a nice way to get a break. A nicer way to get a break, though, is to simply kill the enemy using bash or PSI powers.



While dicking around to get him to tear into me, I decide to use Hypnosis Alpha.





Wait a second...What did that say?



...Holy shit. I just put a steam powered robot to sleep.

Well, uh...



I'm just going to put it out of its misery.



I don't even know what to say here.







It's alright, man. You couldn't have predicted your robot would have been put to sleep.



: It...Seems...to be quite a powerful spot. Some kind of special power is stored there that allows certain people to perform wondrous feats. However...a monster sucked up all the energy at that spot. It's difficult to get to Giant Step. That's all I know. I suggest you collect more information on your own. The entrance to the path leading to Giant Step is behind the touring entertainer's shack. Pirkle, the Mayor of Onett, has a key to the shack.



Frank's an alright guy. All things considered, I think he's taking this really well.



And now, if we go back to him...



He functions as a resting area, restoring our HP and PP to full!



And he repeats this line after we rest. Frank, you're cool in my book.



Some of the Sharks have different dialogs, but I think these just come from beating them normally, not Frank's defeat. Maybe after we talk to Mayor Pirkle, and have "officially" beaten the Sharks, it'll change further. I'm honestly not sure, as I usually never come back here after defeating Frank.



Oh, you'd be surprised.



The "up in our grill" guy is back now, too. All he says is this. I like to imagine that Nass just told him that he put a robot to sleep.



And back to Town Hall, to visit Mayor Pirkle.



Oh, Goddammit, I just realized I now have to go hunt down his sprite. Son of a bitch.



: you.



Finding some of the sprites is a pain in the ass; the sprite pack I downloaded has about 1200 in there, and they're all tiny and blargh, it sucks to find one specific one.



It doesn't help that they're all named with a "spriteXXXX" naming scheme, either.



:Hee hee hee.

I have no idea why he giggles after saying that. Or why I bothered to go find his sprite, so I could transcribe three words for him. I could just have not shown those three and most you would never have known the difference.



Anyways, here's the big man himself: B.H. Pirkle.



I'm going to assume all the kids love his Fat Albert impression and that it is, indeed, his campaign slogan.

: You beat up the town bullies, punched them out big time, kicked their butts, bit their heads off, spit in their eyes, and made them wet their pants. Then you forced them to promise not to many any more trouble. Thank you!

: Really, the only reason I did that was to get into the traveling entertainer's shack. Sir.





: However, if you encounter a dangerous situation, please don't ask me to take any responsibility. I'll be able to avoid any responsibility, right?

: Yeah, sure, I'll just pull the "dumb kid" schtick.





Shiny new key in hand, let's go--



Grab a Magic Butterfly first.



Then we're calling Dad. He ain't never gonna believe this shit. Also, Jesus Christ, $522? I'll be able to afford that home by the water sooner than I thought!







Hey, that's not too bad. The dungeon we're about to go to has some nice sources of experience.



That's just about where I'm at, too, Dad.



And since our stats haven't changed, I won't bother posting a status screen for you guys.

But, next time, we'll start our journey toward the Giant Step! Stay tuned!