Part 52: Update Fifty One: What The Fuck Is A Henge Anyway?

Welcome back! Last time, on Earthbound, we had just received word that Apple Kid had been kidnapped and Susan's friend, Tony, was missing as well. Apple Kid had last been seen at Dr. Andonuts' Lab, so we went to Winters to start the rescue mission. Today, we're going to save their asses and find a very special prize, so let's get started, shall we?



I'm not going to bother showing the trip across Winters; the only two new enemies, the Wooly Shambler and Lesser Mook, have been seen before, when they kicked my ass.



I don't blame the mouse or Cave Boy for not intervening; Cave Boys aren't any sort of a challenge, and that mouse wouldn't be either. You'll see why in a bit when we get to the new enemies.



The mouse gives us the Eraser Eraser, which we'll need to continue on.



We hit the Revitalizer really quick, then head over to Stonehenge.



This has been here the entire time. I tried to keep it secret, but OFS went off the rails and unveiled it a long time ago. I don't even remember why I wanted this to be a surprise.





I guess because it's a secret Stonehenge base. Though, by the way things have been going, I'm sure everyone expected this by now, so I once again prove I am a moron.



Ah, a new enemy and the Eraser we need to pass.



Our keen powers of observation have not faltered at all during this journey, thankfully.





I feel like I haven't been delivering on a lot of .gifs lately, so have one of an iron eraser being erased.



The Stonehenge Base is packed full of enemies; don't let this single enemy fool you into thinking you can just waltz through here.



Mook Seniors, like their Lesser counterparts, have Freeze Alpha, Beta, and the glare that inflicts diamondization; the only difference between the two (aside from HP and the other stats) is that Seniors have access to Life Up Alpha, instead of Hypnosis.



Their defense isn't very good, as you can see. Their offense is inconsequential, as they can only attack with PSI.



And with 501 HP, they don't last long against any sort of assault. I can recommend taking these guys down first if they show up with some cohorts, as Freeze will fuck someone's day up.



From here on out, it's also safe to assume that Susan is never going to regularly attack again. Between the Heavy Bazooka and Multi-Bottle Rockets, there is literally no reason for using to use his generic shoot command again.



Not a bad bit of exp., but far from the most we're going to gain down here. There's going to be a ton of level ups this update and if you ever play this and hit this section, if you don't gain a lot of levels, you're doing it wrong.



Heading south through this room leads us to the little path that takes us into the meat of the base.



There's a lot of open areas like this, with little pathways that connect them. And enemies seem to love to gather on the paths.



And if you look at the size of these paths, it makes it hard to dodge the enemies.



Here we go; I had to move just far enough on that path so that enemies could spawn over here. It's not unusual to see this many enemies ahead of you.



A Starman! We haven't seen one of these guys since...Shit, Buzz Buzz was around.



And it is easy to get the drop on these guys. Instead of moving around the map like other enemies do, Starmen teleport. They also seem to take a few seconds before they could actually be faced correctly; I've had them teleport into me before and I get the surprise attack.



Their defense isn't too bad, really, and they can dish out some damage with their attacks (just a generic beam). They can also Shield Alpha, along with Magnet Alpha. They don't really have any new tricks to show us, unfortunately.



Expect to see Susan landing the killing blow a touch more often from now on, too. I'd say his average damage is about 250 now, so he's now my hardest hitter when PSI isn't involved.



Their exp. drop isn't too shabby, either.



Just two Mook Seniors. They're not even a threat anymore, since I can heal Diamondization now, and nearly everyone can survive a blast from Freeze Alpha; only Nass can survive Freeze Beta.



I could have named this update "Night Of A Thousand Levels" and it would have been just a slight exaggeration; for instance, everyone gained a level here.

Anyways, for his level, Nass gained +1 defense, +1 vitality, +1 IQ, +6 HP and +3 PP.

For her level, Kim gained +1 offense, +1 IQ, +1 HP and +3 PP.

For Susan, there was a gain of +1 offense, +1 speed, +1 IQ, and +3 HP.

Finally, Poo snagged himself +1 defense and +1 HP.





And after that (and maybe before), I can now auto-win against Seniors. Fucking A.





There's a few present boxes scattered about here, too. Only a few contain anything to get excited about, though.



Get used to congested pathways if you come through here.



This seems like it should be dangerous, but it's not even close. I still recommend wiping out the Mook Senior first, as he's the bigger asshole around here. The Starman seems have to have an odd habit of constantly guarding.







It's kind of a boring area to look at, yeah, but at least it has a pretty sweet tune playing, right?

_{Thanks to ExplosionFace for helping me to track that down, by the by.}



I'll be cutting out most of the fights, as the sheer volume of them is just too much.



The Stonehenge Base is also pretty much just a straight shot; there's only a few side paths to take.



For instance. Most of the side paths around here are actually fairly short, but there are goodies around, so it isn't a terrible idea to go down them.



As I was coming back, there was another fight, and another level.

This time, Poo gained +1 offense, +1 defense, +1 speed, +1 HP and +2 PP.



Even better, though, is now I have two sources of full-healing.



After the impressive showing that the Starman Jr. put up, you'd think that the real deal would be a hell of a lot tougher, right?



Nope, bitches ain't shit.

For this level, Kim snagged +1 defense, +1 speed, +2 HP and +1 PP.



Oh, yeah, this happened, too. Um... Yippee!

_{Or something. What do you want from me?}



There's so many enemies here, even I start to get a bit tired of it all. I mean, there's the developer helping the character keep up with the curve, and then there's shooting them across the curve with a cannon.



Remember, I'm a touch overlevelled to begin with, and these levels have just been sailing at me.

Though, Nass did gain +2 offense, +1 HP and +1 PP.



Jesus Christ, game. all the same, though.

Susan picked up +1 defense, +1 guts, and +2 HP.







Were this an action game like God of War or Devil May Cry, I'd just have wagered we found a boss fight arena.



Yeah, the commentary is a little lackluster at this point. I'm sorry, but you're seeing what I have to work with here.



Huh, no enemies around here. It's kind of nice, actually.



So, does anyone remember in the SMRPG thread when I mentioned the car accident I was in?



Because I can walk--Oh, hey, a present box!



Nass immediately gulps it down, too, as Kim, Susan and Poo's guts are all low enough, there's not a whole hell of a lot I can do for them, unless I abuse some Rock Candy.



Which I don't plan on doing.



This is pretty nice to find it here. Honestly, this place has enough battles before you're done, there is no shame in having to leave once or twice to go grab supplies or heal up.



It's not that the fights are supremely difficult or anything. It's just the number of fights that will wear you down.



I just mentioned I'm overlevelled, and you've seen me gain a few levels already in here.



Atomic Power Robots are weak to ice. Their only attack is a beam, which can dish out some good damage, and they have some good defense to back up their 594 HP. However, their most common action is to "replenish a fuel supply" which maxes out their HP. And it's not like the Clumsy Robot's HP recovery; this is the real deal.



Anyways, I just want to show you exactly what being a few levels above where you should be actually means in this game.



Very nice, Kim. Poo had a Freeze Gamma lined up, too.



Yup, just like the trees do.









Yeah, from here on out, if you want to be overlevelled to the point where you'll be effectively invincible you'll...Well, you can't actually do that. Near the end-game, equipment becomes much more important in keeping your ass alive, since offensive PSI powers all have a fixed amount of damage for their formulas; whether Nass is level 1 or level 99, PSI powers will do around the same damage, unless he has some equipment which actively gives him some sort of resistance to it.

This isn't the last enemy that explodes upon death that we're going to encounter, either, and since their damage works just like the Bomb and Super Bomb items, they're still going to fuck someone's day up when they explode.



Essentially, I just wanted to give a good warning about this area and 'til the end of the game. Granted, you may be breezing through these fights, but never forget that these guys can and will fuck you up if given the chance.



Oh, and since that exp. was boosted, it was enough to get Poo another level.

This time, Poo gained +2 offense, +1 defense, +1 speed, +1 IQ, +1 HP and +3 PP.



A Cup of Lifenoodles later and everything is A-OK for Kim.



Here's a Starman in the middle of his teleport.



A do-do-do, movin' through the alien secret base...



We head down and across the west path. Am I the only one a touch confused by the layout here? Granted, I'm terrible with directions to begin with, but when everything looks the same, it just gets even worse.



The Starmen aren't getting a fair representation here, I don't think. The only bad part of that is that I can't really give them their fair shake, unless I spent seven or nine turns guarding against them.



Alright, a staircase! It's different!



IT'S NOT DIFFERENT AT ALL, IS IT STEVE!?



Jesus, I actually like this area when I'm playing it in the game. But writing this update, this place is boring as shit. I am so sorry, everyone.



At least those who have played will understand what this is like, though. Playing it, it's kind of exciting, because you're always fighting and trying to keep everyone healthy. You've got to keep a good eye on your HP and PP, because you make one mistake and boom! You're back in the lab, with half your cash, and you have to re-slog through the area again.



At least you get to see exciting numbers like these. 12,000 exp. from a regular-ass fight is really awesome.



And it's so easy to ambush Starmen, I'm almost certain it's a glitch or a bug, or something.



Jesus Christ.

For this level, Nass gained +1 offense, +1 defense, +1 guts, +1 vitality, +1 IQ, +1 luck, +14 HP and +4 PP.

All in all, not a bad haul for Nass.



Susan gets in on that leveling action, too.

For this level, it's +2 offense, +2 defense, oh, baby! IQ +3, luck +1, and HP +3.



Oh, for the love of fuck.

right, Poo netted himself oh, baby! Offense +4, oh, baby! Defense +6, speed +1, guts +2, vitality +1, IQ +1, luck +1, HP +12 and PP +5.



Is it bad that even I'm getting a touch tired of all these levels?



No prizes for guessing what happens after this fight!





Kim snagged herself +2 offense, +1 speed, +1 IQ, +1 HP, and +4 PP.



Heading north across that square, we come to this path here.



It's another side path, with a nice prize at the end.



Sure, I have a 75% of doing what this thing does with PSI Healing Gamma, but I like 100% chances to do things even better.



I hate to imagine what this place looks like if you have one of those pirated carts that has like, triple the encounter rate.



I'm not even trying for these levels!

Anyways, it's just +2 HP and +1 PP.



Back on the correct path, we head to the east.



Looking at these large areas, I'm starting to wonder if these were actually meant for something. Mini-bosses all throughout the base, maybe?



Well, this is a hell of a change of scenery, huh? We've now officially entered what I think of as the second part of the base.



And look at that golden shitlord there.



Starman Supers are assholes, but not because they actually do anything dangerous. Their HP is only 568, with defense and offense comparable to the regular Starman. They give out more exp., but that's about it as far as differences go, except for one major one.



When defeated, they have a chance to drop an item after battle. Not unusual, really, no, right?

What if I told you this item had a 1/128 chance to drop? That makes it kind of interesting, right? At the very least, it'd be cool to see it drop, right? So, now, what if I told you this was a limited window of opportunity to get a special weapon?

A bit more interested, right? Well, you should be. What they drop is called the Sword of Kings. It's Poo's only weapon in the entire game, and there's a very small window of opportunity to fight these guys and get it. It's a huge pain in the ass to get it, too.



Their exp. drop really adds a nice bit to exp. rewards after battle. It's over 7,000 exp. by themselves.



Goddamn, Nass.

For this level, oh, baby! Offense +5, speed +2, guts +2, luck +2, HP +3, and PP +2.



Kim and Susan get in on the act, too.

For her level, Kim oh, baby! Offense +3, speed +2, vitality +1, IQ +2, HP +11 and that rocks! PP +10!

For Susan's level, offense +1, guts +1, and HP +1.



Anyways, we head down the ladder here. I stopped and did a bit of save-state grinding looking for the Sword of Kings. I fought over 250 STARMAN SUPERS WITHOUT IT DROPPING



So, I decided to continue on and record most of the rest of this place before I gave up in disgust.



Just so you know, had I not kept reloading state and just sucked up all that exp. (and if I've done my math right), everyone would have gained 1,884,062 EXPERIENCE POINTS.



I gave all of that up because I told you guys I wouldn't grind. Though, now, I'm waiting for someone to swing by and point out that I have done my math wrong and the number is actually about five times what I said up there.



We're very close to the end of Stonehenge Base, by the way. At first, I was going to stop back when we reached part two, but I didn't think I'd thrown in enough content for an update, so I'm going to keep going.



God, this is a long-ass ladder.



This can be considered the "Part Three" of the Stonehenge Base.





There's an Exit Mouse room here, and like I said, there's no shame in having to pop out of here to heal up and gather supplies. This place can be pretty brutal on your PP reserves.





The lights blink on and off here. I captured a .gif of it in action, too, since that's gotta look a bit nicer than two screenshots of it.





That enemy that was flopping around in that .gif was this guy.



At 604 HP, he's got some staying power, especially since his defense is pretty good, too.



Nass just hits like a fucking truck, though. Remember, he's outdamaging Susan in regular weapon attacks, and Susan has a fucking Death Ray, while Nass is whacking away at things with a baseball bat.



I don't like fighting these guys. They can either attack, solidify someone, or steal an item, like those asshole crows could.



Their beam attacks hurt, too. That's a pretty big chunk of Susan's HP.



But, Susan's Heavy Bazooka hurts even more. I seriously love this thing.



Their exp. drop is nice, too, and that's the only one of these items I encountered.



After a fight with the Starman Super in the area, Poo snagged himself another level.

For this level, it's just +2 offense, +1 HP and +2 PP.





You can make out the paths here by the lighting on the side. There's no danger of falling off, either, so this is just a minor nuisance, at best.



I took another break to grind for this, and found one. What I eventually decided to do was just load up PK Hack, and change the drop rate on this thing from 1/128 to 128/128. Anyone who has played this game before and gotten this thing will completely understand that decision. If you haven't played this game before, just go do the math on the percentage of getting that thing to drop.

Anyways, since it is so rare and hard to get, this thing has to be just simply amazing, right? Just phenomenal, right?



Yep. That's just a +30 offense boost. I don't think it will ever miss, but I can't recall on that. So, is the Sword of Kings worth it?

No. It is not fucking worth it. The Sword of Kings is a piece of shit weapon that I wouldn't have even bothered to get if I hadn't been doing this LP. If it pierced defense or something, that'd be great. But, no, just a fucking +30 offense boost. Just so you know, with the Sword of Kings equipped, Poo only has ten more offense than Kim; both Susan and Nass will hit harder than he does.



But this thing is nice. It's also pretty much directly on the path, so it's easy to get and entirely worthwhile.



The Pixie Bracelet also increases Hypnosis/Brainshock resistance. Granted, those two haven't really been a concern since...Well...Ever, really? Even so, it's a nice thing.



Slightly off the path, we find this. Susan gets it, as he is the slowest member of the party at this point.



Just beyond this door, we're entering the final part here.



Oh, what the fuck is this?