Part 55: Update Fifty Four: Rock Down To Electric Avenue

Fuck yes, art contest. Am I allowed to participate, too?


Welcome back! Last time, on Earthbound, we helped the Tenda get over their shyness, and began exploring the Seventh Sanctuary dungeon. Today, we're going to finish off the dungeon, so let's get started.



We're off to an auspicious start. I like Fobbies.





They might even be my favorite enemies in the game.



Susan and Poo both gain levels from this encounter.

For Susan's level, he gains +1 defense, +1 vitality, +1 IQ and +10 HP.

As for Poo, he gained +1 offense, oh baby! +3 defense, +2 speed, +1 guts, +1 HP and +2 PP.



He also learns the final level of Thunder PSI. It hits four times, and deals a good bit of damage when it does hit.



Oh, hey there, little guy. What's that? All your friends disappeared?



Sorry 'bout that, pal. You're just too good of an exp. fountain!



Moving north, there's more Fobbies! This place is like Christmas.





This place has a lot of treasure scattered around it, too. Most of it is pretty good stuff.



And then there's stuff like this.



What's that I spy over there?











Nass and Kim both hit another level, which I also like!

For Nass' level, he gains +1 vitality, +1 IQ, +13 HP and +4 PP.

For Kim, she snagged +1 defense, +2 HP and +1 PP.



Down the ladder, there's another rock and an Uncontrollable Asshole.



"Hey, I'm a rock. While I got your attention here, I'd like to put in a good word for nature. Thanks for listening."



Jesus, these things make my blood boil.



But, I hit them hard enough with a baseball bat that they explode, so I guess it evens out.



There are some twisty paths around here, but it's not too bad to navigate. As long as you just pay attention, it's fairly easy to keep track of where you are.



I won't lie, though; it's boring as shit to look at down here.



Ooh, another present box!



I think I have three pieces of this now. I really need to start using those.



It's been awful quiet around here lately.



We can go either left or right here; I choose to go right.





Hey, another present.



Not bad. Poo can make good of it.



In the room to the left, you can see the corners of some robotic enemies.



We'll get to them soon enough. For now, we have hot ladder climbing action.



I cannot fathom a good reason as to why Fobbies come in such high numbers. I haven't done much grinding, barring a little bit in the beginning to get Nass to a level where I was comfortable, but other than that, I've pretty much just been fighting what the game throws at me. I can't imagine why the developers thought you needed this much exp. tossed at you.



Lord knows I'm not really complaining, though.

For this level, oh, baby! Offense +5, oh, baby! Defense +3, speed +1, guts +1, vitality +2, IQ +1, sweet! HP +27 and PP +2.



Look, an ill-timed shot that makes Kim look like she's embarked on this journey solo. It makes her look even more badass than she already is.



For whatever reason, only one Fobby joined in the fight with the Conducting Spirit. I honestly expected both of them to pop in.



But, hey, it still got Susan another level!

For this level, he gained guts +1, +1 luck, and +1 HP.



I'd like to think I could feel guilty for these things, but I don't.



Ah, the Sanctuary boss. We won't be fighting him just yet, though.



There's a pretty sexy bit of equipment right over in that present box.



After a quick fight, I'm free to go snag it.



This goes to Nass. It's a slight defensive upgrade.



Very slight, as you can see.



But look at what it did to his speed. For comparison's sake, let's look at Kim's speed.



The Rabbit's Foot increases speed by 40 fucking points, in addition to granting a ton of paralysis resistance.



So, yeah, Nass is now going first in pretty much any fight. With his high offense, ability to use Life Up and Healing, as well as Flash and PSI Bacon, he's a pretty solid choice for the Rabbit's Foot.



Before we go fight the boss here, though, there's a touch more exploration to do.



But first, Kim gains another level.

For this level, Kim gains +1 offense, +1 guts, +1 IQ, +1 HP and +4 PP.



I realize now that I never went down that path earlier, so I'll be sure to head back down there soon and report on what's there. I don't recall anything wonderful, but I could be mistaken. Really, as long as you get the Diadem of Kings and the Rabbit's Foot, you've gotten the two most important present boxes down here.



Ah, there's a robotic enemy now.



These guys are...Jesus, they're just laughable. 553 HP, but their offense and defense isn't too bad. They've got beams, Shield Beta and the ability to disrupt your senses.



But, really, if you're playing along, this is probably the most you'll see out of them. They're really boring enemies.



At least their exp. is nice.



Case in point.

For this level, Nass picked up +1 offense, +1 guts, +1 luck, +1 HP and +2 PP.



The only interesting thing around these parts is that present box.



Luxury Jerky restores about 300 HP when used. Oddly enough, it goes well with Ketchup Packets. But, hey, I'm not a jerky connoisseur, so maybe jerky is delicious with ketchup. I shudder at the thought, though.



Alright, a Magic Butterfly and another talking rock.



They're an enlightening as ever.



Okay, let's go fight the boss here.



But first!



Poo snags himself a level before the boss fight.

For this level, he gained +3 HP and +2 PP.



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



Welcome back to this stage of history...



The Electro Specter is my second favorite Sanctuary Guardian. He also has a lot of potential to be a huge pain in the ass to fight.



He starts with an auto-PSI reflective shield, which means you've got to get rid of that first thing.



The Neutralizer is a hell of a useful tool, isn't it?



His defense is pretty high, too, at 203. He's got 3092 HP to burn through, too, so a Multi-Bottle Rocket won't outright kill him, but it will definitely soften him up enough so that he's easy pickin's from there.



Just having everyone bash him every turn, with Susan manning his Heavy Bazooka, is also a solid plan to shoot for, if you don't want to take down his PSI shield.



Oddly enough, he doesn't have any way to restore his shield. Or, at the very least, no way that I can see here in PK Hack.



The Sword of Kings might suck for what you have to do to get it, but I'll be damned if it doesn't actually make Poo's attacks worthwhile. My only complaint with it is that the command is still "Bash". You'd think they'd change it to "Slash" or something.



You're not misreading that; the Electro Specter can use the Neutralizer. He's also got access to the Shield Killer and the Hungry HP-sucker, which is just the HP-sucker, but it targets all enemies.



The Electro Specter isn't weak to anything, but he resists Freeze and Fire the least, so I'm going to blast him with that.



I'm not going to cheese him with the Multi-Bottle Rocket, either. I'm saving that one for a very special asshole.



And I have an absolute dumbass attack here. I'll explain in a second.



Nass delivers another solid hit.





While Kim fucks his shit up with a Freeze Omega.



This is just icing on that ass-kicking cake.



So far, this seems like a good move, right?



Hurr-durf, this is for physicals and the Electro Specter doesn't have any!



The game is so ashamed of me, it even fucks up a Heavy Bazooka shot.



At least this happened, though.





For whatever reason, even though I know there's a full HP/PP heal after this, I'm hesitant to use Freeze Omega, as it costs 28 PP. I don't know what the hell is wrong with me.



I wonder what Susan uses for ammunition in the Heavy Bazooka.



Whatever it is, it's effective stuff.



Poo could contribute more through PSI powers, yeah, but I'm so confident about this fight that I don't even worry about it.



This is his main form of attack. Thankfully, it's just like the Crashing Boom Bang Attack, which means it is just Thunder Beta with the numbers filed off.



The damage here isn't too much to worry about, either.



At least if it hits Nass or Poo. Both their HPs are high enough to take a few hits. Susan can take about two, but Kim pretty much needs healing if she takes a hit from any of the blasts.



Since it occurred to me I haven't shown this off yet, I decided to do so during this fight. I already did Poo's shield, may as well do this one, too.



Nass continues to bash, as I prefer his PP to go for healing. That, and Bacon Gamma, his best offensive power, costs 40 PP a shot to use.



Yep, Shield Omega. Very exciting stuff, isn't it?





I know the Heavy Bazooka's damage can vary, but Jesus Pleezus, this is just a bad showing of it. Still better than Susan's regular physical, though, so I'll take it.





Yeergh, that's a lot closer than to zero than I like Kim's HP to be.



I'm glad this one hit Poo. I hate that scramble to ensure someone survives.



Oh, dammit, Nass.





Kim snacks on the Luxury Jerky, as I'll probably never use it otherwise.



And the Heavy Bazooka starts performing back up to the standard.





And another electric shock attack from the Electro Specter.



As you can see, it stopped Kim's HP meter at 90 on the dot. One thing I find neat about the rolling HP system is that if it's rolling up and an attack reduces damage to something higher than that, it'll just stop at that number.



Kim exacts her revenge for being electrocuted.



And it drops the Electro Specter like a stone.



Oh, look at all that sweet boss exp.



Everyone gains a level here, as you should have expected.

For Nass' level, he gains +2 offense, +1 defense, +1 IQ, +3 HP and +3 PP.

For Kim's level, she gained +1 offense, +1 guts, +3 HP and +2 PP.

Susan hit level 60 and oh, baby! +4 offense, +2 defense, +2 speed, oh, baby! +4 IQ, and +14 HP.

For Poo's level, he snagged +2 offense, +2 defense, +1 speed, and +1 HP.



Nass also learned the final level of Flash; the most important thing to remember about this is that it has a 3/8ths chance of instantly killing the foes.



The Seventh Sanctuary spot is probably my favorite one. As per tradition, here's the video of it. I'd really hate to ruin this one.







Oh, God, we've become tiny! Rick Moranis, I'm coming for you!



But first, let's take a break. Next time, we'll start exploring the Lost Underworld. Stay tuned!