Part 19: Update Nineteen: Mid-Afternoon Of The Living Dead
Welcome back. Last time, on Earthbound, we rescued the Runaway Five from terrible debt and they gave us a lift to Threed in their rockin' van. Today, we're going to explore around Threed, see if we can find a cause for their infestation, so let's get started. And sorry if this one seems a little uninspired, guys, my leg is giving me extra trouble today.
As I wandered around Threed, talking to the people and visiting houses, I realized, this town is perhaps my favorite town in Earthbound.
: is in the circus tent at the center of town. We want to crush the zombies, except I think they'll crush us.I'm a big fan of zombie movies and zombie media, but Resident Evil 2 and 3 stick out as some of my favorites. They're old games, sure, but they were also part of my childhood.
Encountering a town that has, essentially, been Raccoon City'd, yet in a goofy, weird kind of way, was kind of my first introduction to zombies and all that kind of shit.
I've seen the zombie infested city played straight far too many times. Earthbound plays it...Well, as the only way Earthbound knows how to play things; slightly to the left.
: I'm a con man, so I know the score. Belch gives life to the zombies, but Belch works for Giygas, who I heard might be female. Well, I'm not really sure whether Giygas is a male or female. I'm a helpful con man, don't you think?Well...Yeah, you are kind of helpful.
Hello, we've encountered our first new enemy!
He's got 161 HP, with good offense and defense.
Kim's bashes deal decent enough damage; I don't want to be burning through her PP too quickly.
He's got access to Defense Down Alpha, as well as Life Up Alpha. Thankfully, Defense Down missed Kim here, as that's the last thing she needs.
Nass' accuracy seems to have tanked after buying his new bat, but it's got the same miss rate as his other bats, so what the fuck, Nass?
Smilin' Sam can lay on the hurt.
Goddammit, Nass. You're the offensive basher here, quit letting Kim trying to do all the heavy work.
Life Up Alpha is effectively used by the enemies, especially when Nass refuses to beat their brains in.
Finally, Nass! You've let the girl stop outclassing you in the area where you shine!
Never mind.
Enemies around here drop pretty nice exp., too.
Moving on, we see another new enemy of the area.
142 HP, with alright offense and defense. He's kind of on the slow side, though, and only has two separate actions.
Kim, apparently, is determined to make Nass look like a punk bitch and she's doing an excellent job.
That's a nice, shiny amount of damage to see from our resident mage-type.
For him, it's either grinning at you or spitting pumpkin seeds.
Nass ensures we don't see him spit out his pumpkin seeds.
Not quite the dump of exp. I wanted, but considering it gets split between the two, it's actually a fairly nice chunk.
Sorry to have bothered you.
Unfortunately, Tourism Bureau, there's no way out of town. Everyone here is trapped.
: Maybe we'll go to that beach on our journey?
: As long as it doesn't stink like this town, I hope so.
: The people are mostly living at the center of town. I wonder how we should get the town back from the zombies?
Right now, I'm not sure, but this man looks shady enough to be useful.
He sells some nice stuff, but neither Kim or Nass can use the Toy air gun or bottle rockets. Those must be Susan's areas of expertise.
I didn't buy anything, for now, but we'll be back. And is it just me, or does that guy kinda look like a Leonard?
: I can't even get home!
This is where the Zombie Defense Corps are hanging out. Let's see if we can offer our assistance.
Four people? That's the Corps? We're increasing their numbers by 50% just by joining? Oh, Lord, this town is doomed.
Well, don't take lessons from the RPD, for starters.
: The zombies are on the move!I think we've found our sorta leader around here. Thankfully, he's one of those who seems to have just taken the role and isn't trying to force his way into it.
This lady recognizes good help, even if the age is a tad lower than she's probably comfortable with.
I like the way this guy thinks.
Even if he does have a bit of pessimism about the situation, but that's just realistic, right?
Another Coil Snake? What the hell?
Let's take a moment to rest up.
Jesus, and I thought some of the inns in Secret of Mana were expensive. Or maybe I'm just misremembering, as it's been a while since I've played through that.
Huh, Kim and Nass have the same amount of PP. Kim's IQ is a bit better than Nass', so she'll gain more PP than he does.
: The guest's newspapers that were delivered to the hotel today...are different than normal. The paper is called the Zombie Herald. I'm scared, but let me tell you what's in it... "Destroy the humans! Hold the town for our glory, and for the glory of our master!"...Holy shit, the zombies have learned how to make literature! FLEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
This man is in the room next to ours. That graveyard sounds like the optimal place to be, if we should avoid it.
Hmmm...That one man mentioned working with the zombies. I guess its not entirely out of the question that others would be, too.
This was just too
not to include.
: I have no guarantee that you're not a zombie out looking for a lunch.Smart move, my friend. Let's move on.
To the south, we've nearly completed a circle around Threed. It's not a very big town.
: Maybe the hidden road in the graveyard is safe...
To the east, we find that Skip Sandwich. To the west, we find the Bakery.
It sells Croissants now, but I don't buy any. I'm sure I'll be back for plenty later, though.
Nass also snags a Lucky Sandwich. I just hope its worth the $128 I spent for it.
Passing by the hospital, we're completed our circuit of the interesting spots in Threed (well, for now, at least.)
There's nothing of note going south from where we started; just a wide open, empty field.
And go far enough west, there's the tunnel out of this place.
And a Handsome Tom enemy, the Smilin' Sam's little brother.
133 HP, with Hypnosis and Brainshock Alpha, and fair stats, Handsome Tom's aren't much to write home about.
But, know this; every one you defeat, for just a moment, those eyes stare into your soul.
And some nice exp. is awarded to us, too. But, more importantly...
Kim gained a level!
For this level, she gained +2 HP and +2 PP. It's eh...It's a level.
On our way to the graveyard, I encounter a Smilin' Sam and a Handsome Tom, which are just enough to boost Nass a level!
For this level, he gained Oh, baby! +4 to offense, +1 to defense, +2 speed, +1 guts, +2 vitality, +1 IQ, +1 luck; Sweet! +25 to HP, and +5 PP.
He also picked up this sweet little number.
Convenient it heals poison, as we're entering the part of the game where enemies can start poisoning you.
Here's the graveyard, though, on the north side of town. That "Do Not Enter" sign should be enough to let us know this is the proper place to go.
There's two areas of graveyard; that bit to the north, past the "Do Not Enter" and that bit to the west, which we'll be tackling first. Also, there are two enemies in this shot.
Trash cans are no longer receptacles for waste, but receptacles that need to be wasted.
Look at that motherfucker in the back. Just look at that Goddamned look on his face.
The No Good Flies have 100 HP, with a weakness to fire. If Kim were a few levels higher, she could easily one-shot these guys. As it stands here, though, she can nearly one shot them. She did 73 and 86, to A and B, which is pretty close.
This was from No-Good Fly A. Their offense and defense stats aren't anything special, but they can say something nasty to affect your guts. They're those small, weak enemies made to pad encounters and annoy you.
These guys are assholes. High offense and very high defense (to the point where Kim can only deal 1 damage to them), with the ability to use Life Up Alpha, vent an odor to lower your offense. They're weak to fire, flash, paralysis, hypnosis and brainshock, but do I do any of those things?
Fuck no, I'm stupid!
Another round of Fire Alpha to drop the No-Good Flies.
And then Nass' Life Up Alpha restores Kim's HP to full.
Nass can't hit this guy as hard as he normally can, which should have been my major clue to pull my head out of my ass and use PSI.
Fire deals about twenty more points of damage. I never once even considered using Flash, Hypnosis or Paralysis on him, though I should have.
After a battle that took longer than I'd like to admit, we get our reward.
Another Smelly Ghost and a new enemy.
Zombie Possessors have 176 HP, with good stats. They can just attack, curse you with a little ghost, solidify you, or call for help. Freeze 'em or flash 'em for maximum results.
He failed here, but I'm not sure what enemies he calls in.
I divvy up battle duties here, letting Kim take out the Smelly Ghost, while Nass focused on the Possessor. I should have just focused on the Smelly Ghost.
He didn't appreciate being lit on fire, and I hate it when he hits Kim, considering he can knock off about half her health in one shot.
The Possessor can hit hard, too, but thankfully, he's more than willing to beat Nass up.
He's cookin' good now, but he doesn't have the pleasant smell smoked sausage does.
For Nass, this isn't too much of a detriment, since he has a good chunk of offense.
He demonstrates this to the Smelly Ghost by bashing his brains out.
Nass gets solidified again, but I'm glad it wasn't the possession. I hate that little ghost. I may not have gotten it in this update, but I'm certain it'll happen later, and I'll be sure to show it off when it does.
Kim cracks him across the face with her frying pan, finishing this fight.
Not an enemy, thankfully, just a regular trash can.
This will deal some very good damage to No-Good Flies, right around the amount Kim's Fire Alpha would deal to them.
Up around here...
...there are two zombies standing guard. Let's see if we can get past them.
As he does this, an eerie sound plays.
(Thanks to Aishlinn for getting me the sound effect and Explosionface for converting that to an mp3 I could use!)
His partner looks you over, but makes no move to attack.
I flee as fast as I can and find a Teddy Bear in a trash can. It's a welcome sight, as I think Kim needs all the assistance she can get surviving here.
As for why the Hint Guy is throwing out a Teddy Bear...Maybe it's a hint that it's a good idea to have one?
There's another new trashcan enemy around here, but you can't differentiate between the two. At least, I can't.
The Putrid Moldyman.
They have 203 HP, but Kim can one shot them with Freeze Alpha, and she's fast enough that he usually can't act before she annihilates him. It's good, too, as he can hit harder than the Smelly Ghost, but his defense isn't quite as good.
Smelly Ghosts aren't too bad when their the sole focus of the encounter.
Kim snagged herself her second level this update!
For this level, she gained +1 offense, +1 defense, +1 luck, +1 HP, and +2 PP.
We've visited the graveyards, but couldn't go far enough to really do anything.
: Maybe those Zombie Corps guys have an idea?: Doubtful, but--Wait, who's that?
: Didn't someone mention they saw a lady around here that works with the zombies? Maybe she knows something we can use!: Yeah, I'm sure that's exactly why you want to follow her.
As we enter the hotel, we sense immediately that something is off.
She leads us on a chase through the hotel. Where is the staff?
This has got to be a trap, of some sort. Why is there no option to not play into it?
Well, I guess there is the option not to, but I'd like to continue the game, thank you.
...Son of a bitch. The thing is, the enemies here in this quantity would actually be a pretty good fight. Sure, it's a small detail, but at least they didn't do it with a bunch of weak-ass enemies.
What could be the fate of Nass and his friend?)
Uh-oh. This isn't good.
: Hey, are you okay?: Yeah, I'm alright.
No, really, they're actually perfectly fine.
: This door's locked. I don't know how we're getting out of here.: Don't worry, I've got an idea...
: I'm calling our friend who we've never met... Susan! Susan!
: We are trying to contact you...
Somewhere, in another time and place...
We're going a bit outside of the time zone for this one. I hope that telepathy doesn't have any long-distance charges.
To...A school?
Ah, a boarding house. I guess Susan is an orphan.
I hope he doesn't decide to wait until morning to do something about this.
: We are trying to contact you... If you hear me, please wake up and... head south! Only you, though far away, can save us, Susan... Please hear my call and begin heading south... Susan! You are a friend who we've never met... But you are our one and only hope!...
Next time, we'll see what Susan can do to help Nass and Kim. Stay tuned!
(So, do you guys like the way I'm doing levels now? Or is there a different way you guys would prefer?)