Part 61: Update Sixty: To Infinity And Beyond
Welcome back. Last time, on Earthbound, we used the Phase Distorter 3 to warp to the final dungeon. Today, we're going to make our way through this dungeon, so let's get started.
So, our party has had their brains transferred into robots.
It's a purely cosmetic change, but it's still pretty cool.
Looking at this thing here, we've managed to travel back all the way to the same location we were, just very far back in the past. What is this thing if it's survived all those years, untouched and unchanged?
When I was a kid, I always thought the other robots had eye-patches. I don't know why. I guess I was a pretty
kid.
There's also an assload of encounters around here.
Befitting the final dungeon, the enemies we encounter here are very powerful and pull no punches in trying to murder your ass.
These guys probably win the award for "Biggest Asshole Around" though. Much like the Atomic Power Robots, these guys, too, can replenish a fuel supply, completely healing themselves or another enemy. Their defense is also high enough, it's hard to deplete their 798 HP before they can restore either themselves or another enemy.
Their only attack isn't very powerful, though. The worst part of these guys is that they're often paired with the Ghost of Starman, and they're fairly quick for a fat robot; it doesn't seem very unusual for them to go just before the killing blow on a Ghost of Starman, negate your progress on that, and let you get blasted with Starstorm Alpha.
They still explode upon death, so the bad thing is, it's probably better to wipe them out last. Granted, Nass and Poo can easily survive the main blast, but Kim and Susan will have a bit of trouble doing that; they can survive the splash damage, though, but it's just easier to take these guys out last, instead of risking taking both an explosion, then a powerful PSI attack.
I really hate these guys, to put it simply. I think they're assholes.
It's too bad we're almost at the final boss; 25,000 exp. really just rustles my jimmies in all the right ways.
There's also a few new enemies in this place, too.
The Squatter Demon terrifies me the most out of all of them.
Thankfully, with 774 HP, but good defense, they're not too hard to take down. Since they only appear alone, everyone gets to beat on them before they can use their poison, their diamondization attack or Hypnosis Alpha.
However, all they did when I fought them was use the Shield Killer, so I just beat them to death, and grew more
every time I did, because I had to see this face.
Not a bad bit of exp. for a single enemy, either.
We may be in the final dungeon, but that doesn't mean gaining a level still isn't important.
For this level, he gained +1 offense, +1 IQ, and +3 HP.
There are also just a ton of encounters around here.
Ultimate Octobots should barely register on your radar as a threat.
They have 792 HP, but their defense sucks, so it's easy to reduce them to a pile of scrap. While they can paralyze a party member or fire a beam for some decent damage, the worst thing they can do is steal an item!
Thankfully, the only thing I had stolen from me was a Bottle of DX Water; while a nice item, but nothing absolutely, 100% necessary.
Good Goddamn, look at that exp!
Oh, God, I'm at the point of no return and can't really utilize any of it. 
Even so, like I said, levels are still nice.
For this level, Nass gained +1 offense, +1 guts, +1 luck and +1 HP.
Continuing north, I let out a silent curse as I have to fight more of these assholes.
In my experiences, I fight more Ghosts of Starmen around here than anything else; they're still gigantic assholes, no matter what level you are, so I still hate them and wish their houses would burn down.
Starstorm Alpha can still one-shot Kim and Susan, so if they get to use it, I have to scramble to have Nass use Life Up Omega; that's a turn he could be using to murder the living fuck out of the Ghost of Starman.
I'm starting to tire of these encounters, and I'm not even through the first area. They're just fucking everywhere, draining your HP and PP pools, and your only full heal is back at the beginning of this dungeon.
Military Octobots have a 1/8 chance of dropping a PSI Caramel, which I can definitely dig. They restore around 20 PP, which is nearly a Life Up Omega, so these things are practically free heals.
And Kim levels up, too!
For this level, oh, baby! +3 offense, +1 defense, +1 speed, +2 IQ, +2 HP and that rocks! PP +10!
The dungeon is a straight shot all the way through; there are no side-paths to take or anything.
But there are levels!
For this level, oh, baby! +4 offense, oh, baby! +5 defense, +2 speed, +1 vitality, +2 IQ, +2 luck, +13 HP and +7 PP.
I really like how they designed this dungeon. It's just so...Barren.
Oh, hey, another new guy.
722 HP, with crappy stats. They have access to Shield and Flash Beta, but their shield is of the PSI resistant variety, so beating them to death is recommended. They can fire a beam at someone for piddly damage.
The only noteworthy about these guys is that they have a 1/16 chance to drop a Multi-Bottle Rocket.
Oh, my jimmies; they're being sooo rustled with all this exp.
A present box? Here? What did they make the ribbon out of?
Never mind, don't give a fuck about that! This is Nass' most powerful weapon.
Oh, sweet cinnamon titty Jesus, his attack is maxed. MAXED. Nass now officially hits as hard as Dungeon Man did.
Hello enemies.
And goodbye enemies. When Nass gets a SMAAAAAAAAASH attack, he deals over 800 damage, usually.
The hell is this thing?
Hmm. Touching it yielded me this.
Oh, it's a teleporter. Awesome.
A Magic Butterfly? How long have these creatures been around?
Hey, I ain't complaining, though. That's practically a free Life Up Omega. Oh, and Poo and Kim can make use of it, too, I guess.
The Final Starman is a fucking asshole, too. In this situation, I still recommend taking down the Ghost of Starman first, hopefully before he can drop a Starstorm Alpha on your asses.
Thankfully, Nass can put the hurt on them, and the others can usually finish it off before we're blown away.
Oh, Kim, you're doing all the right things here.
With 840 HP, Kim pretty much just halved his health on her own.
In addition to this, he also has Brainshock Omega, Starstorm Alpha, and Healing Omega.
But, this is why it's a good idea to wipe out the Ghost of Starman first; it sucks having a Starstorm Omega dropped on your ass immediately after his attack.
Nass has enough HP to survive it, but nobody else has even a prayer of making it through.
Life Up Omega is a very nice skill to have; it's still enough to max our Kim and Susan, and Poo needs barely any more beyond it.
They have a 1/32 chance to drop a PSI Caramel, which is a little lackluster, considering the enemy it drops from.
Anyways, for Susan's level, he gains +2 defense, +1 guts, +1 IQ and +2 HP.
We continue on north.
Nass gets himself a level, as there is just so much exp. for the taking around here.
For this level, oh, baby! +5 offense, +2 defense, +1 speed, +1 guts, +2 vitality, sweet! +26 HP and +1 PP.
Another teleporter, and I'm lamenting that 255 offense is the cap. That +5 offense isn't going to do anything useful.
On the other side of the teleporter, I have a small heart-attack by the company I'm greeted with.
There are two things you need to know here; Poo also gained a level here and I also met the most taunting enemy in this dungeon.
For Kim's level, she gained +1 speed, +1 luck, +2 HP and +1 PP.
For Poo's level, he gained +2 HP.
This guy here is the biggest tease. It's not just because he's the Kraken, but all robotic like.
Hell, it's not his 900 HP, or his good defenses, either. He also has the same attacks as the regular Kraken.
It's not the decent exp., either. It's that he drops a weapon for Nass; it's another of those 1/128 items. It's called the Gutsy Bat and it is fucking awesome.
It's ten points weaker than the Legendary Bat, which doesn't seem so awesome. However, the Gutsy Bat lives up to its name, as it adds +127 to Nass' guts stat. The official strategy guide actually lists that as a drop from the Kraken in the Sea of Eden, which is total bullshit and something I grinded hours for when I was younger, before I discovered that was false.
This is where we're stopping today. Next time, on Earthbound, we confront Giygas. Stay tuned.
Status Shots Before The Final Boss
