Part 15: Creeps and creaks.

Update 14: Creeps and creaks.



Hey there, everyone! Terribly sorry for the delay, but it's finally time to get into exploring our new locale. We could actually climb up the drainpipe here if Hamtaro were to digdig at its base, but let's head north toward the manor proper first.



Ah, and it seems that Spat is getting in on this chunk of storyline nice and early. He's also looking a little shifty... Well, more so than usual. It's like he's worried we might pop out and foil his plans again, or something.





A couples night in 'Boo Manor'? Not only does that sound like a terrible idea, but I think you just inspired Spat to come in and ruin the mood.



...I can almost hear the goons groaning now.





Yep, now you've done it. Even if he didn't have an evil plan in mind yet, you've now successfully gotten Spat's attention. Well done, Mr. Greeter.



...Ghost Night is designed for couples only. No flying solo tonight, buddy.





Spat's loathing of love truly is strong, if the prospect of offered friendship and couplehood are really so repellent to him.

...Eh, who cares. I still love his cartoonish evilness and great theme music.







That's not...



The fact that Spat actually edges in closer here is a nice touch, I think.

Awawa! OK. OK! I'm moving. I'm moving!



Don't worry, buddy. Hamtaro and Bijou should hopefully sort that naughty hamster out before he causes too much trouble.



So... Let's get on with it, shall we?



If you reach the end, you'll receive a spooktacular prize!



...can't enter. That's the rule...



Well, I guess that makes sense if this is a competition... But shouldn't it be up to the people running it to provide badges or something? It's not like there are official ID cards for being a couple... Or is there for hamsters in this setting? Like, some kind of step-down from a marriage certificate?

...Best go looking for one, I guess.



Oooh, a new item! This flyer flutters down from above when you return to the entrance screen.


Ham-Swap, you say? That means...



The merchant hamster's back, and he has a stylish new bundle!



Always looking for bargains, buddy. Got anything good this time?



How about this?





...Ah, so you're in cahoots with the Ghost Night operators, is that it? So, you decided to rob us blind.





And that deal is still a complete rip-off. For shame, Ham-Swap dude.





Ah, here we go. Those of you that have being reading Quillpaw's bonus trivia will know that Ham-Hams Unite! also featured the Ham-Swap hamster, and we're about to repeat something from that game.





I'll sell the ID card for 25 sunflower seeds... And the Mysterious Rock for 15 sunflower seeds... C'mon now! Buy somethin', will ya?

Yep-P, we now have a way to make the merchant really slash his prices, so he's no longer ripping us off quite so badly.



Still, I think we can do better.

Oh... So you want to bargain, eh? I'll sell the ID card for 5 sunflower seeds... And the Mysterious Rock for 5 sunflower seeds... C'mon now! Buy somethin', will ya?

Yeah, that's the ticket. 90% off through masterful negotiation.



Just don't go pushing your luck any further, okay?



I'll just take the nice deal on an ID card for now, and see if it'll actually work on the greeter down there.



...That laugh makes me worry.



Still, at least this ID card is stamped and everything. That makes it authentic, right?  I also suspect that this is what Quillpaw will cover for this update's trivia. 





No, really. Seriously. Trust me.



I'm sure we will... Everyone loves a little fright now and then, right?





It's not that bad, Bijou. There's even fresh flowers...



...and g-g-g-ghosts!

Mind you, with a name like Boo Manor, that was to be expected.





Well, looks like some hamsters aren't scared to be in the house full of ghosts. We do kind of need this old fogey to wake up, though.







...At least we tried to be gentle.



Time to wake up, old ham!











...We may have just risked giving the old hamster a heart attack.



Still, at least he's awake now!



Oh, I understand. You two are here to take part in our Ghost Night activities. Sorry about that... Well, then. Here.





And with that, we get our paws on a shiny bronze keycard. We're now all set to explore Boo Manor...



Well, almost. I hate to break away when we're so close to poking around inside the Manor, but there's something that all players should do when they get Thump-P.



Back at Sandy Bay, we're finally able to solve the two girls' dilemma... If you recall, we were supposed to give a love note to the blue-tailed soccer player, but our out-of-body perspective made that rather impossible until now.



Look behind you! It's a chicken with an eyepatch!



Ah-ha! Now the game can't shuffle the players about, and we can hand the love note to the right one at last.





He seems happy, at least.



And so does the coach.





His friends... Not so much.





Alright, time for another round of listening in on romantic conversations.









This all seems to be going rather well, doesn't it?



Mind you, I'd like to think the twist was fairly obvious.



Uh...

Seems we've got a bit of a creeper here, judging by that laugh. How awkward that it ended up causing our next Love Boost!



Love is love though, I guess.



...I'm not so sure that this was a good idea, goons.



But, I guess he seems kinda happy with the attention... Near enough!



Yeah, this'll be fine. Probably. Maybe.







Sure... If you say so, lady. You know your friend better than we do, after all.





Anyway, back to that whole 'exploring Boo Manor' thing... Oh, and don't forget to listen to the spooktacular music.



Let's start by going east of the front desk.









Sadly, the first door in this direction is only the area's Ham Boutique. This one's lacking the usual shirt on a pole, strangely enough.



Moving another screen east, we encounter another one of those spoooooky ghosts.





Hamtaro and Bijou seem shocked, but... What's the worst that could happen if we follow it into the room?



...Huh. A room full of mirrors is kind of creepy, I guess.






The odds of that are pretty good, I'd say.



...Yes, I'd say that qualifies as strange. Not only does the mirror not copy Hamtaro properly, but Bijou isn't even displayed in it.



We can't do anything about this weird mirror yet, though.



Heading back to the reception desk, it seems that we're going to need a better card key if we want to explore above the first floor. Better get on with finding one, then!



...That's hardly helpful to our exploratory efforts.





Heading west past a door that can't be opened from outside, it's time to go poke around in the basement... because that's always a good idea in spooky places.





At least there's a secret passage to uncover, and Hamtaro doesn't even need bombs to open it!



Ah, it's just the area's rock/mysterious-door cave. Although, come to think of it... We couldn't find one when we visited Fun Land during the last few updates. Curious.

Oh well... If there is one, we'll find it eventually.



Out in the basement proper, we discover the first of the couples that we're competing against for the Ghost Night prize.





Oh...you're not listening at all... You know, you never really listen to me at all.

I AM listening... Gee! Relax a bit, will ya?





Well, uh... I'm not sure these two are getting along terribly well at the moment.



My boyfriend isn't very nice... I don't think he loves me... *Sigh...



We're always like this. Let me tell ya... Ha ha...

Hit one of those really rough spots in the relationship, huh? With any luck, Hamtaro and Bijou will help you get past it, one way or another.



...Hello, what's this?



Wha...what? Don't... scare me like that. I've gotta go-P, and I almost had an accident!

Ah... Sorry, bud.



We certainly weren't trying to do that.

You two!





But...

Please, give it a rest.

How cruel... How can you say that? That's so mean...



...I do believe it's time we got on with exploring again. We'll just check the basement, then call it a day.



Hmm, bit of an odd set-up in here. We can't really do anything here either, what with that clearly insurmountable gap in front of us.





...smart! Myoo hoo hoo... NO! Myaaaa! But, you can't have it!



Heh heh heh...



...Gee, who's this jerk? He's even got the silver card we need to get to the upper floors.

Next time, we're going to have to find a way to deal with this rather unpleasant ghost, and continue on toward the spooktacular prize! (...And stopping Spat, I guess.)

Bonus video:

Now extra cartoonish!



Oh, and here's our new love meter animation.