Part 45: Update Forty Four: And The Thunder Rolls...

Welcome back. Last time, on Earthbound, we went through the Fifth Sanctuary dungeon in a massive fucking update; it was 40,000 out of the 50,000 character limit, and it had 238 images by my count. Today, we're not doing anything nearly that large, but we are going through the Sixth Sanctuary dungeon, so let's get started.



We need the Carrot Key to get past these rabbit statues.





For some reason, even with all the other shit we've seen, this still strikes me as strange.





The cave here isn't too bad, really. It's a nice breather after the Fourside Sewer. All the enemies in here take the form of those floating orbs, even though none of them are orb-like.



Tangoos are fairly easy enemies. They have 371 HP, with half-decent offense and defense. They're weak to Flash, but they're easy enough to take down, Flash shouldn't be needed.



As you can see, their defense is nothing special. Granted, Kim's offense is a lot better than it used to be, but still, seeing her break triple digits is nice.



Now, when Poo starts breaking triple digits, I'll be excited. Remember, he is punching the shit out of everything we're fighting here, so whatever damage he's dealing should be considered impressive.



Tangoos are mainly status effect enemies; this inflicts Sleep, and they can also inflict poison this way.



I don't remember them dodging so much, but it's possible this Tangoo is just lucky.



All in all, not a worrisome enemy. Poison is now more of an annoyance than a true danger, and sleep, with four party members around, isn't too much of a concern, even when other enemies are around.



But, sweet Jesus, their exp. drop is nice. This update doesn't have the amount of level ups the last one did, but there are going to be a few.



Another Tangoo and an exit to somewhere else.



Poo is still gaining the majority of levels, but since he started twenty levels behind, I'm okay with this. Like I've said before, Earthbound is pretty fair and reasonable with it's exp. drops, so anyone who's behind doesn't stay that way for very long.

For Poo's level, though, oh, baby! Offense +3, defense +2, speed +1, guts +1, IQ +2, HP +1 and PP +6.

Oh, yeah, and





This cave is actually fairly linear, with only this side path. It holds quite an important bit of treasure, though.



This is a hell of a long rope ladder.



Seriously, it's really friggin' long.



Enemies are fairly easy to come by in this cave, but they never feel overwhelming.



Conducting Menaces are probably the most dangerous enemies in this cave.



Freeze is fairly effective against them. Their HP is 445, so it's a bit to get through, and their defense and offense isn't too shabby.



The Menace was solidifed, by the by. And Poo's damage isn't too bad, really, considering he's bare-handing this shit.



This is part of what makes the Conducting Menace so dangerous; all of his attacks are PSI based. He also has access to Flash Alpha, and the first two levels of Thunder.



Flash Beta has a 1/8th chance of instantly killing a target and it hits all enemies on the field; Nass got his shit pushed in here based on bad luck.



Kim has the Night Pendant, so Flash attacks aren't shit to her. Poo and Susan got lucky, I think.



When exp. stops being divvied up, it's kind of incredible to see how much it can jump for each member.



And hey, Kim got a level out of it!

For this level, she gained +1 offense, +1 speed, +1 guts, +1 IQ, +3 HP and +2 PP.



This present is special.



Not only because Kim is already using Nass' corpse as a pack mule, but because it holds the Bracer Of Kings.



See, Poo's not just an elitist asshole when it comes to food. This is one of four bits of equipment for him. They're all fairly good pieces of armor, too, as this one increases his defense by +30, along with hypnosis protection and it raises his luck by a bit, too.



Nass gets the Lifenoodles that were in Poo's inventory and repays the favor by healing him up a bit.



That's all that's down here and that's it for extra treasure in this place. All other present boxes are on the paths you need to go down anyway.





Thunder Mites, in addition to being adorable, have 293 HP, and crappy stats. As you might imagine, their only attack is Thunder based; either Alpha or Beta level.



Nass is not feeling up for this bullshit.



And he displays this with extreme prejudice.



Really, even without that SMAAAAAAAAAASH attack, fights against lone Thunder Mites are nothing to get excited about. They're another one of those enemies that are more effective when paired up with another foe.



The exp. isn't too great for them, though.



Hey, it's nice enough to get Poo another level, even.

For this level, he gained +1 offense and +3 HP.



Poo learns PSI powers at a fairly good rate, too, which is helpful for keeping him actually relevant in battle and not immediately throwing him into the role of heal-bitch. He's meant to be the ultimate support and, dammit, he's going to fill that role.



On the right side of this picture, you can see the entrance to the cave.



If you ignore that straight path, this cave is linear as hell. If you manage to get lost in here, then I'd like an ounce of whatever you're doing.



Up top here is a new enemy.



This is yet another "more effective with other enemies" type of foe. It doesn't hit very hard and it's also easy to cut through its 333 HP.



If it uses its Kiss of Death attack, it can poison somebody, but that's the only interesting attack it has.



It has a 1/64 chance of dropping a Jar of Delisauce, and the exp. is fairly meh.



Holes like this take you to other areas. There aren't any major surprises with them, either. There's also only one hole that will void any progress you've made, but that only drops you back at the start, which is, what? Twenty-five feet away?



Fighting the enemy near the hole nets Poo another level.

For this level, he gained +2 offense, +2 defense, +1 speed, +1 vitality, +1 luck, +11 HP and +2 PP.



It's a very interesting trip to take. Kind of.



Ooh, another present box!



...We meet again, Sudden Guts Pill.



The fight with the enemy there isn't too interesting.



Unless you count Susan leveling up interesting. Which, I do, so

For this level, he gained +3 HP.



Of the two holes here, this one takes you further. The other dumps you back near the entrance.



This present holds something very special.



Rock Candy is a consumable item; when eaten, it permanently increases guts, speed, vitality, IQ or luck by one point. Combine it with a Sugar Packet or a Jar of Delisauce, and the effect is doubled. There's a glitch concerning this that I may show off later.





Dropping down that hole leads us to the last room here. I told you, it was short and linear.



This was my last encounter before the Sanctuary Guardian. I include this just because I hate Conducting Menaces that much.



Nass hits level 49, as well, which is an important level.

For this level, he gained +3 HP and +1 PP. So, why is this level so important?



Aww, yeah, son. Bacon Gamma up in this bitch.



Kim gained herself a level as well, gaining +2 offense, +1 defense, +2 IQ, +1 luck, +1 HP and that rocks! +10 PP.



Alright, here we go.



: But it's mine now. Take it from me, if you dare...



And it's on like Donkey Kong.



Thunder and Storm are definite breather bosses after the Plague Rat of Doom.



They're weak to Flash, for starters, so do that as soon as possible. Their offense is high, so blinding or confusing them is a definite advantage to you. Optimally, though, Flash Beta will instantly kill them, but I wouldn't count on that.



They have 2065 HP to tear through, and their defense is quite high, so PSI is the best route. They resist Fire and Freeze, but only a smidge, so Freeze it up.



I haven't shown off the Neutralizer yet, so let's do that.



And, fuck it, Poo, use Shield Sigma.



Freeze Gamma starts us off nicely.





Yep, no animation for the Neutralizer. That's a little disappointing, but it still dispels all PSI effects on everything in the fight.



Poo throws up Shield Sigma, which will halve all damage from physicals taken. Thunder and Storm have fairly good offensive power, so if they get a lucky shot off, this will help.



C'mon, instant death!



Aww, fiddlesticks. Though, this isn't too bad, since this just about neuters their physical prowess.



It's just like Carpainter had, and it is still just a dressed up Thunder Beta.



And, just like against Carpainter, the Franklin Badge will reflect this lightning back at them. It only works for whoever is holding it, though, so I gave it to my lowest HP member, Kim.



Not a ton of damage, but it's a nice enough bit to make grabbing the Franklin Badge worth it.



Poo takes this about as well as anyone else would.



PSI Bacon Gamma is expensive as hell at 40 PP a shot, but it deals an assload of damage to all enemies.



Kim keeps gettin' her Freeze on.



I've got one of these left, so let's blow this asshole to kingdom come.



Poo can eat rice gruel and it works just fine for him. He's got that Delisauce, too, so that should make it even better.



Another nice bit of damage from Kim...



...Followed by an explosive barrage from Susan doles out over 700 HP of damage, which is about 1/3rd of their health.



Nass demos his new skill, to great success.



Remember, that will deal that much to every enemy in battle. Nass now has one of our best multi-target offensive options, with the only downside being that it's expensive as hell.



This mixes quite well with the rice gruel.



W-what!? Poo can't handle rice gruel!? What the fuck, game, this comes from his homeland!



And I'm taking deep breaths because the fact that Poo can't handle rice gruel pisses me off to no end. It makes no fucking sense!



Nass is going to bash the spirits here.



This is a pretty solid action for Kim to take during most boss fights. Freeze Gamma deals lots of damage and Kim's large PP pool ensures plenty of castings.



Susan's just going to shoot them in the face, while Poo takes a page out of Kim's book.





Freeze Gamma is also a solid option for Poo to throw out during boss fights, if he's not on healing duty or throwing other attacks around.



Thunder and Storm are definitely breather bosses, which is nice after the Plague Rat of Doom.



And they drop a fucking ton of exp., too.

Poo gains two levels out of this, while everyone else gains none. For Poo's levels, oh, baby! Offense +5, oh baby! Defense +8, oh, baby! Speed +3, guts +1, vitality +1, HP +15, and PP +3.



This is also excellent. Healing Gamma has a 75% chance to revive a dead person, along with healing every other status effect. Healing Gamma is a very nice power to learn.

But, now, we have another Sanctuary, so here's another video.





We'll also be stopping here for today. Next time, on Earthbound, we'll be heading to Scaraba and maybe we'll encounter that Kraken along the way. Stay tuned!

End Of Update Status Shots











Bonus Video:

We've been carrying the Sound Stone around for the entire game. But, what happens if you use the Sound Stone?

Personally, I think it's something pretty awesome.