Part 18: Culture and creepiness.

Update 17: Culture and creepiness.



Hey there, folks! Having successfully reunited the party and freed Howdy from caged confinement, I think we ought to pay Dexter a little visit on our way back to the upper floors of the manor.



Sure enough, Howdy has managed to locate his Ghost Night partner by the time we get there.



Dexter’s in a heap of trouble. He managed to get locked in this casket.



I should probably point out that seeing Dexter get trapped is entirely optional; hence the need to state what happened to him. Granted, not seeing said scene will probably leave you wondering where these two got to, up until you come back to try the piano again.



Meanwhile, Dexter is quietly freaking out in there.



Yep! Thanks to toying with the piano earlier (and it being the most prominent thing in the room besides the casket), we already have an inkling how to solve this. We just lack the means to put it into action…



It is dark… It is cramped… It is creepy…



I ain’t leaving! I won’t leave you alone!



They may bicker, but Howdy and Dexter are still good friends.



I’m countin’ on you, Hamtaro and Bijou!



Won’t we, Hamtaro?

You’re darn right we will.



Now, there’s just one thing left that we can do; it’s time to play the Scrub-E game.

(…Well, one thing left here, at least. But we’ll get to that…)



We’re holding a scrub-E contest. It’s sparkling fun!♥ Scrub-E all four tiles in this room until they’re spick-and-span, and you’ll win a booriffic present!



Ah… For once, a game attendant saying this isn’t just hyperbole.

And the prize is something everyone needs and wants… a gold card!♥

Because, indeed we do both need and want that card, so we can head to the fourth floor!



Are you in? Are you out? Let me know!

That sounds strangely familiar… Anyway, we’re in!



Pushie the crates to keep the ghosts from coming out of the red zone. While you’re doing that, you also have to clean up these four floor tiles.♥



Let’s do this.



The game is just as simple as it sounds; you have enough time to Scrub-E a tile twice (which cleans it completely) before you have to run across and Pushie each of the three crates.



Just don’t get greedy, and you’ll be fine.





We are the champions of sweeping up dirt!







And with that, our keycard collection is finally complete.



Back by the elevator, the muscle couple are still trying to brute force their way into the elevator… However, their dialogue goes on a little longer now.



Sure. Let’s go!



Excellent; now we can get to the keycard reader!

Annoyingly enough, leaving the area and coming back will put those two back at this spot, so you’ll have to chat with them again to reach the next floor.





Moving on up! This is the final floor, folks.



Thankfully, it’s also home to an alternate exit, so we won’t have to run all the way down to the front door to leave.



Moving west along the hallway, the screen after the exit mirror is a little different…



Namely, it’s because this music plays after you take a step or two away from the edge of the screen. It’s… rather haunting, for lack of a better term.



This hamster here seems rather preoccupied by it… But, perhaps we can still get his attention.



This time, without violence.





It’s kind of hard not to, given how dramatic a shift it was from the regular music here.



Ah… This might be useful downstairs, I think. Remember the sad painting?



It’s just how I like it… Spooky and groovy!



…Tricksy!





Speaking of which…!



Well, seems we found where that music was coming from. Except… now it’s gone.



I could hear a piano a few moments ago…
…
Piano music in a room that’s empty…?





…You do realise we’ve met a good handful of ghosts by now, right Bijou?



At any rate, this is a rather nice room in terms of decoration. Boo Manor has been pretty classy throughout, to be honest.





For some reason, this window reminds me of Blaze and Blade… Don’t know why.





…He does tend to have that look, from what little I know of the man.





Ah… I do believe that we have identified our mysterious piano piece!



Let’s give the piano in here a go, then.



Ahh… I wish someone would teach me how…

Sadly, merely having the score is not enough.









…I’ve said it before, but Bijou is really slow on the uptake in this game.









…She may also be prone to mood swings.



But only if you answer all my questions correctly…



Sure thing, bud. I’m sure we can manage.





The quiz itself is simple, and always begins with that haunting melody.



There are four questions he can ask, of which the game will choose three. They all have a selection of three answers, and most of the right ones can be found in this very room.



The other simply requires you to pay attention.

For the curious:






You shouldn't have any trouble with this, provided you bother to look around the room before touching the piano. If you don't... Well, hope you recognised the music!



As a reward, we get our newest Ham-Jam! Also, note that Bijou's the one to hold it up this time.

I've said it already, but I'm quite fond of Moonlight. The default dance has some nice touches to it too.





You may call me "teacher."♥

The piano player fades away after handing over the Ham-Jam, but we can summon him back with another Jamout.









First it was Broski, and now you? For shame.



Leaving the piano player's room and heading further down the hallway, the next two screens just have sunflower seeds...



...but there's something suspicious going on at the end of the hallway.



Sadly, we can't Pushie our way through here... So, what do we do?





Fall back on good ol' brute force, that's what.



A second Tack-Q brings down the wall, and we can now enter the final room of Boo Manor. Will it be as welcoming as the rest of this place?





That would be a definite no. A room full of glassy-eyed dolls... Now that's creepy.

Still, mustn't turn back now! Let's finish this!



The couple that passes this, the final test, wins a most spooktacular prize! I bet you want to get your paws on it, huh?



Are you kidding?



Give us your best shot, buddy!







Oooh, are we going to have a shapeshifter boss fight? I can't even recall the last time I saw one of those that wasn't multi-stage...





If you get them all right, you pass!!

...Oh. That's good too!



Multiple choice is always, always welcome. Especially for final exams...

Here's a quick run-down of the questions I managed to get this guy to ask:




I trust that you're all smart enough to figure the answers out yourself.





I'm very impressed.

...This is the first ever Ghost Night, then? Either that, or it speaks poorly of the average hamster NPC's intelligence.



Still, Hamtaro and Bijou seem pleased with themselves.



How was it? Did you have fun? I just wanted everyone to know that these ghosts are all about entertainment. They truly love guests.



Hmmm... I'd say you did a pretty good job. You had minigames and puzzles, a few spooky moments... All round, a solid performance.





...Oh.

We may have forgotten something.



Yep. Definitely forgot something.



Now, where is he...?



Ah-ha! (Did you spot him before this, dear reader?)





It may be cliché, but I love it.





...Really? You were following us, and actually managed to go completely unnoticed?







Ah, villain logic.





But... The spooktacular prize is simply the satisfaction of working together to get this far...



What I mean to say is if a couple gets this far, they already have the most important prize...

Yep, that's about right. When it had to be a couples night, I'm pretty sure everyone would have seen this coming.



Well, everyone except Spat.



for NOTHING?! How truly undeserved! This is so...so... UN-spooktacular!

Oh, dear... I think he's mad.







...Oh, Spat. You truly are the best villain.



But still, Hamtaro and Bijou are the heroes of this story. And as such, Spat must be stopped!



Hmmm... That does pose a problem.



Let's gather a little more intel on the situation.



...Okay, then! There's only one thing to do: If we can't reach Spat, the ghost will have to stop him!



Use your special move, ghostie!





...Ah. It's not very effective...

But wait, if Spat's not scared of ghosts... What is he scared of?





Hopefully our ghost buddy has an idea!



Ah, of course. Mimicking a cat is much more effective.





...Perhaps too effective.





Still, it's just as the ghost says. We've sent Spat running once more!



Eh... You did all the real work, buddy.



Seeing you work together through this makes it all worthwhile! I'm sure of it! In fact, I think I'll do this again to help even more couples! Ha! Ha! Ha!



Later, ghostie. Hope the next Ghost Night goes a little more smoothly than this one.





Ooooh, nice. There are a few instances in this game where a given rock will always contain a certain gem, and this is one of them.



Still, we'll talk about that when we get to it.



We can head onto the next area now, but... Well, there's a lot of things left undone in Boo Manor and Fun Land, so we'll be sorting some of those out before we move on.

Bonus video:

Hey, listen!