Part 58: Update Fifty Seven: We Magicant Stop Now

Welcome back. Last time, on Earthbound, we grabbed the Final Sanctuary spot. Today, we're going to explore the strange new location Nass was sent to, so let's get started.





Let's see here... There's someone to the left, a rabbit, and Jesus.



Let's start by chatting with Jesus.



: In Magicant, there's beauty, kindness, sorrow and hatred. Of course, there's an evil and violent side of you. The Sea of Eden sits at the center of those feelings.



As he finishes his speech, the world around us begins to change.





Despite our new surroundings, if I understood his speech correctly, we're going to the Sea of Eden, to where all those feelings are. Nass is going through something similar to Poo's Mu training, but on a deeper, more personal level.



Just another confirmation this is a creation of Nass' mind.



And again, the colors change after the rabbit finishes speaking.



I really like this new color scheme, but now, I'm wondering why Nass would include Everdred in his mind's creation.



At least he's excited to see us, even if it sounds like he's about to deliver some bad news.



: you.



Expect colors to change a few different times. It helps enhance the ethereal feeling of this place, I think.



Doesn't it sound so pleasant?



There's a few more NPC's to chat with around here.



As much as it looks like, and as much as I wouldn't bat an eye at it, the tree is not talking to the back of Nass' head.



It was that little fella over there. Isn't he cute?



Tracy and Mom are here. They serve the same functions as they do outside of Magicant; somehow, Tracy has access to everything we stored with her outside of Magicant.



Mom's still a full-heal spot. Still free, too!



And, of course, in his mind, Nass eats nothing but Cats.



I'm a big fan of this color change, too. Pink's a pretty bitchin' color.



weak.)

And apparently, Bowser just talks shit to Nass all the time. Or something. For the record, I believe my dog is constantly talking shit to me, when he's not being adorable or napping with me.



Let's visit these buildings.



But you've heard my song in the back of your mind.)

In addition to this little birdy in here, there's also a phone and an ATM.



I don't even want to imagine the long distance charges calling from inside of your own mind are.



We have a nice sum in the bank. I wish my bank account had that much in it. To the left of Nass is an ATM. I grab some cash, which comes out of your actual account, just in case. And since I just saved...



Since we're coming into the final stretch of this game, I've decided I'd like to finish it off with my favorite window flavor.





All three of these flowers say the same thing. Is anyone else being reminded of that movie Pi right now?



I hope so. Back when this game was made, analog clocks were probably a bit more prominent than they were today. I don't remember, as I was three years old when this game came out.



I nearly forgot about this building here. As you can see, it's the shop.



This is everything you need to know about the shop in Nass' mind.



Magic Pudding restores about 40 PP a shot, while Earth Pendants protect against Fire, Flash and Freeze attacks. I gave Nass Kim's Sea Pendant before he left on this journey, so I don't buy one. I could pick some up for the others, but that would take up valuable inventory space.



A zombie? What would this be doing here?



Ah. Perhaps Nass feels some guilt over the creatures he's destroyed and defeated on this journey.



Appropriately, the color scheme changes to reflect this.






'course, this kind of goes against my theory of remorse. I mean, at the very least, he shouldn't be feeling any guilt over destroying a sentient pile of puke.





Let's see...Children, another rabbit and a snowman, at least.



Maybe it's because I'm just a sap, but this is such a massive moment to me.



In the flashback we had to when Nass was a baby, they mentioned the cap was red. Did Nass get a new cap until that one was big enough to fit on his head?



In stark contrast to the snowman, this one is a major moment to me.



At least there's a color shift and we can actually see how to enter this building.



If you wanted an Inception joke here, then in your face! I've never seen that movie!



This shot was purely to show off the word "hotel" back there. For whatever reason, it gives me the heebie-jeebies.



The joke's on this snowman, too. I already told Jessie I liked her!



It, uh, it could have gone better.



Let's just move on down the line.



Now, onto Pigtails and Picky.



If this is a reference to something else, I missed it entirely.



I hate that fat bastard. Now, onto blondie and the monkey.





I like to think these two go together, and they're just offering me "Fresh Kya", whatever that is. But, onto the last two now.



Nass has been busy lately, but I'm sure he'll take the time when he gets back.



He's right. We only get one shot at Magicant.



Heading north from the conga line, we find Pokey and some awesome pillars.



I know we're inside Nass' mind, but Nass is psychic.





Does this mean he knew Pokey's feelings? Did Pokey just want to be friends all along? Or is Nass just hopeful enough that Pokey can still turn his back on Giygas and they'll just be friends?



Remember this, guys. No matter what happens, no matter who dies or what's destroyed, it still exists and lives on within your memories.



Heading north, we spy a grave.



You may have forgotten Buzz Buzz, but Nass didn't. Buzz Buzz saved his life and set him on the path that introduced him to new friends; at this point, it's the least Nass can do for him, in doing his best in what Buzz Buzz thought he was destined to do.



Well, hello, fourth wall! How've you been?






In the building next to Buzz Buzz's grave, we find the Flying Men.



He replies that his name is "Flying Man" and joins Nass.



You can only take one Flying Man with you at a time. They're temporary party members, but there are only five of them. If one falls, you can come back and get another one, but a grave will mark the fallen.



If you lose all the Flying Men but one, when you approach the final one to join you, he does not tell you he is your "Courage". Instead, he is "Desperation".



I'm starting to wonder how this journey has affected Nass' mind.



The colors shift again.



: You can't go there unless you're truly ready. It's a place where you can touch the truth of the universe. Going there may bring sorrow.



Magicant isn't free from enemies.



Electro Swooshes are pretty basic, as far as the enemies here go. It has 593 HP, and its offense and defense isn't too bad. As to be expected, they have Thunder Beta to attack with.



As for Flying Men, they're either going to punch or charge at an enemy. With only 95 offense to work with, though, neither of their attacks are very powerful. However, they have 100 speed, so they're going to go first.



Hey, a companion is a companion. They may be Nass' courage, but courage isn't always physical power.



Though, I'm sure Nass' physical strength is pretty helpful in making him feel courageous.



He can also bash, but whenever I fought these things, they seemed content to send me greetings while I beat them to death.



Fights take a bit longer now, since Nass is alone, but the Flying Man's contributions, no matter how small, helps.



That's a nice chunk of exp. to earn. Though, if you remember, all the experience we've gotten lately has been divvied up four ways, so if everyone was here, this would be a shit amount.



They have a 1/32 chance to drop Sudden Guts Pills, too. I'm glad to see this, as no matter how far Nass has come, Sudden Guts Pill has never abandoned him.





There's a few different present boxes scattered around Nass' mind, too.



He gives us back the Baseball Cap, too.



And there's another color shift after he finishes talking to us.



A sweet gesture, yes, but I'd have preferred this to be an actual useful piece of equipment. Maybe Nass' ultimate armor that can fit in the "Other" slot.



Oh, Nass, your mind is so badass.



Enemies also appear as present boxes around here, as well as question marks later on.



These guys are dicks. They only have 307 HP, but they're fast enough, they're going to go before Nass does.



This is their only action, too. All they can do is call for help, so take these assholes out first, unless you want a fight with them to last forever and a day.





This may seem like a waste of Dragonite to you, and it probably is, but it occurred to me the last time I used one of these was against the Clumsy Robot, who resists Fire damage.





Bags of Dragonite deserve a fair rundown.



And the best rundown I can think to give it is simply showing the massive damage it can deal.



Loaded Dice give out 10,672 exp. a pop, too. For this area, their exp. drop is pitiful.



Two paths here; the upper one leads to treasure, while the other leads further in.



So, of course, we're grabbing the treasure first.





Remember, Nass gets to take whatever he finds here out. It makes me really wonder how powerful of a psychic Nass really is. The Goddess Band protects against hypnosis, too.



Heading back and down the right path, you could see the present box if you had missed it before.



The encounter rate isn't too insane around here, but it's high enough that Nass will, more than likely, gain a level or two.

For this level, oh, baby! Offense +5, guts +1, vitality +1, HP +2 and PP +2.



Nass had tangled with an Electro Swoosh for that level, and it had hit him four times with Thunder Beta. Nass' life wasn't in danger at any time, but I'd rather his HP stays high.



Now, if you miss this present box, I don't know what the hell is wrong with you.



Ah, a new weapon for Nass. Sure, he just got one, but the more offense Nass has, the better.



Excellent. Max offense is 255, so Nass is rapidly approaching the cap. Offense can go over the cap, by use of Offense Up during battle, but that's the only way. Defense also caps at 255, and has the same way to circumvent the cap that offense does.





It's nice to be able to walk around here without an encounter every five steps. Having them spaced out like this is nice.



Mr. Molecule is practically a joke enemy. 280 HP, shitty stats, and it starts the fight unable to concentrate. Since all of his attacks are PSI based, these guys are like the Foppies of Magicant.





Annihilation for them is the order of the day.



Not a bad exp. drop, either.



We're almost done with this section of Magicant. I spy a present box down there, too.



These recover about 20 PP, so they're not too bad.



Up ahead, we spy the biggest jackass this place has to offer.



That's the Care Free Bomb. It has two attacks; throw a Bomb or throw a Super Bomb. Beat these guys down first, as they only have 504 HP. But, they have 215 defense to back up that HP, so it's going to take a little while, but make sure they fall first.



Care Free Bombs drop 14,941 exp. a piece. They're fairly dangerous, too.



As they killed the Flying Man I had with me.



I didn't go back for another one, as we're nearly finished here. Besides, isn't it courageous to be able to go on, even when you've lost your allies and are all alone?



After that fight, Nass hits another level.

For this level, he gained vitality +1, IQ +1, HP +6 and PP +3.



We're looking to touch that silver spiral.



After one more encounter, I reach it.



And the screen fades to white.





And we arrive in the Sea of Eden.



It's nearly completely devoid of life; there is no treasure here, and only one encounter.



The ferocious Kraken monitors the Sea of Eden.



Nass is much more powerful than the last time he encountered the foul beast, so it falls within a few attacks.





We've nearly finished with Magicant. We're coming closer to the area that are the center of Nass' feelings. Fear must run rampant here and Nass must have greatly feared the Kraken.



Many of the beasts scour this area. It's hard to get through without fighting at least one.



And it's hard to get through without gaining any levels.

For this level, Nass gained offense +1, defense +1, guts +1, and HP +2.



Another of the beasts approaches and I have no choice but to fight it.



And no choice but to gain a level!

For this level, Nass gained offense +2, defense +1, speed +1, IQ +1, HP +2 and PP +5.



Nass also learns the final level of PSI Bacon.



This attack is badass, but look at that PP cost. Jesus fuck, 98 PP is a ton. Nass barely has enough to cast Bacon Omega twice.



Here, at the center of the Sea of Eden, at the very center of Nass' feelings, lies the Mani Mani Statue.



It represents what evil lies within Nass' mind. I wonder, what would appear within Kim's mind, or Susan's? Has Poo dispelled the evil from his mind due to his Mu training? Is Nass going through a type of mind training right now that surpasses what Poo has already finished?





We'll see who defeats who, statue.



Alright, here we go. This is the final fight in Magicant.



Nass' Nightmare has access to most of the PSI spells that he does, as could be expected from something living within his mind.



That Shield Beta could prove problematic, as Nass has no way to dispel it, beyond beating it down. He doesn't have the PP needed to win without it, either, as Nass' Nightmare has 1,654 HP and resists all PSI powers.



He can also use Bacon against us, which could also prove problematic.



Thankfully, the first blast of it misses us entirely.



Nass raises his own shield to help mitigate some of the damage he'll be taking.



While Nass' Nightmare uselessly restores his HP.





Not only will this help Nass' HP meter roll down slower, but it'll also increase the frequency of SMAAAAAAAAAASH attacks, which will shatter the Nightmare's shield in one shot.



Oh, shit. We just saw the amount of damage this can dish out. It's also entirely possible to reach this point without having learned PSI Bacon Omega yourself, so the damage here could be an even bigger surprise.



I wish this Bacon had missed, instead of Bacon Alpha.



Nass was going to start working on breaking that shield.



He very well may have sealed his own fate here, if not for his ability to heal himself.



Remember, this power costs just 13 PP to use, and it's a guaranteed full heal.



Nass' Nightmare repairs all damage done to the shield immediately, putting us back at square one.



Wait, never mind. Sudden Guts Pill has come through, yet again, to help us in this fight.



That damage is halved, too. Nass' Nightmare has 253 defense, as well, so here is another testament to Nass' incredible strength.



Thankfully, that's not actually a whole lot of damage to Nass.







251 damage is a bit more damage to Nass, and at that point, it's not a bad idea to heal up. You never know when another Bacon Omega is coming, and as you've already seen, it can easily wipe Nass out.



Thankfully, though, we have the rolling HP meter as a bit of a buffer for Nass' HP, so we can afford to take a few risks here and there.



Life Up Beta is the only source of healing Nass' Nightmare has. If he had Life Up Gamma, then this fight would be absolute horseshit.





I could fire back with a single shot of Bacon Omega, but that would also completely neuter Life Up PSI, and it wouldn't be enough to kill Nass' Nightmare.



Nass is best just using his physicals here. He needs to save his PP for Life Ups.



This is equivalent to PSI Flash Omega, which has a 3/8ths chance of instantly killing the target.



Thankfully, the Sea Pendant prevents that from happening.



Nass heals up, as his HP was lower than I like it to be in this fight.



Nass' Nightmare proceeds to go full retard and uses this for the rest of the fight.



It's as ineffective as it was the first time.



Nass, tired of this bullshit, goes on the full offensive.





This is Nass' Nightmare's final move.



As taking that Sudden Guts Pill proves to be a wonderful idea, Nass SMAAAAAAAAAASHES twice in a row.



And with that, he defeats his Nightmare.



He does not gain a level from this, but sweet Christ, that's a lot of exp.

This next part is available in both screenshots and video, for whichever you'd rather go through.



Ah, who could this voice be?



His father's voice? His mother's?



Perhaps even Frank's voice, or maybe Buzz Buzz's voice.



Or does the identity of the voice even matter? As this is Nass' mind, the voice could be anybody's.



The important thing here is the words that are being said, not who's saying them.



However, the voice belongs to Nass. In the center of the Sea of Eden, the center of his feelings, Nass has found the strength to defeat the evil within him and is now telling himself what his destiny is. He's accepting the role that was dumped in his lap, for better or for worse.



I believe Nass already knows what he must do, but there seems to be something within his mind holding him back. Is it fear? Doubt? Guilt?



However, it doesn't matter what it is. Nass' destiny is coming to a head, whether or not he's ready for it.



Nass is not entirely a silent protagonist, as I take this line to be him speaking.



It's not obvious where we should go, but any of us could guess it.





We have to return to Saturn Valley. But why? What could they have for us that we didn't receive from them earlier?





We'll find out when we arrive. For now, all we have to know is that we just have to go there.



(Nass really heard his own voice. Go to Saturn Valley! Go to Saturn Valley now!)



Everything fades to black.



Nass begins to glow.



It is a glow of power.



All eight of the Sanctuary Spots are going to fill Nass with their power.



There are actual changes to Nass' stats, as well, so there is an actual power increase for Nass.

















After gaining all the power from the Eight Sanctuaries, Nass is filled with even more power.



psychic powers radically expanded!



This is a major reason that helped me not grind Nass to max level on Fobbies.



Nass gains two levels here.









Nass' power has certainly been radically expanded. For his second level, he gained +2 offense, +1 defense, +1 IQ, +3 HP and that rocks! +10 PP!



And now, Nass also learns Teleport Beta.



Nass is now frighteningly powerful.



But, with this power boost, Magicant fades away.



I wonder how everyone reacted to this. Were they aware of what happened? Or is Nass simply unconscious, and they have no idea what's happening to him? Have they exhaused their PP trying to revive him, but to no avail?







The background begins to rapidly shift, going from Sanctuary Spot to Sanctuary Spot.









We visit them in reverse order. It's incredible to think back to Giant Step and remember some of the trouble we had getting to that spot.







As the backgrounds begin to shift, Nass starts to spin around.



Until, finally, he reaches the Fire Spring again.



And it all fades to black.



Nass awakens, lying on the ground, near the Fire Spring.



His friends notice that Nass is finally awake.



Kim speaks to him first, expressing worry.



Susan chimes in second; apparently, Nass was speaking while unconscious.



And Poo asks what awaits them in Saturn Valley.



As far as we know, Nass doesn't reply to them.



He just teleports them away.



We arrive in Saturn Valley, and head immediately into their hotel.



It's been a hell of a journey, and I'm sure everyone would want some rest.



It also appears that we gained money for enemies defeated in Magicant. Just how power of a psychic is Nass, again?



It's good to see that our bank account is still nicely padded. And that's not counting the $30,000 I have in cash on me.

So, next time, on Earthbound, we'll figure out why we so desperately needed to come to Saturn Valley. Stay tuned!

End Of Update Status Shots









Bonus Video

For those of you interested in this kind of stuff, you can find the Nass' Nightmare boss fight here.