Part 42: The Zybourne Dungeon.

Integrating that more smoothly into the update? Naaah, why bother. I kind of regret that, but I guess posting at that hour can be seen as about as smart as drunkposting, so...onwards!



Welcome to, in my opinion, the second-worst dungeon in the entire series! Expect a flowchart for the fuckery at work here. This guy attempted to solve things, but it was too hard. Hey, he's a lowly generic NPC, not like anyone expected otherwise.



God, what to say about this. Well, first of all, I promised a "Best/Worst of" video in anticipation of this horrible dungeon. It's basically the MMBN Water Temple. All the difficulty here is based on logistics, and the puzzles will have you looping around and around back and forth for a large amount of time. That said, if you're good at that sort of thing, this is pretty simple.



Yeah, fuck no, even if you're good at this, GargComp cannot be called simple. Oookay, let's explain the infernal dungeon gimmick at work here as we go along rather than all at once.



There are also plenty of Zomon, Ninjoy, and EleOgre viruses around. These Katana1 S chips are excellent, and have use in a very strong P.A. we'll be able to have access to a bit later in the game. They're a double WideSword-LongSword slash identical to the Zomon virus' own attack. Yes, another thing to add to our gigantic arsenal of overpowered weaponry. Some compensation for this dungeon, I guess.

Have a listen to the music here, I rather like it. It adds to the atmosphere of these puzzles.



Alright, so here's the basis of the dungeon: NinjaProgs. They come in three colors, red, white, and blue. Oddly patriotic for a Ninja-themed area. The NinjaProgs will follow MegaMan around and can be used to disarm a specific trap that blocks the progress. So yeah, they're basically keys.

White: Ceiling Traps
Red: Spear Traps
Blue: Water Traps

The thing is, the little guys are everywhere, and passing a new NinjaProg will swap that one out with the one currently following you. This is the foundation for the entire puzzle structure here.



However, if you pass a same-colored NinjaProg, they'll form a line behind you. So if you have a red and pass a white, you'll end up with a white. Pass a red instead, and you'll have two reds. A trick here is that the security system of the area requires precisely matching the number of NinjaProgs to the number of traps. No going over the number, and no disarming the traps one at a time when they appear in groups.



I confess: I did far, far better at this dungeon than I thought I would. So there isn't a best/worst video because I pretty much just solved all the puzzles logically with minimal trouble, there was absolutely nothing worth making a video of.

The way I came to understand the puzzles was to break them down into components. This here is an example of a typical loop you'll find in a puzzle. Just off to the right of the screen is a blue NinjaProg, and I need to get it through. However, red and white NinjaProgs are in the way and can't be avoided, so they get swapped in every time I pass. The trick here is to go around in circles, essentially rotating the trio of NinjaProgs until the blue one comes out behind me instead of the red or white.



You could view this as another, much smaller example of the loops. Passing the white NinjaProg is unavoidable, so I'll swap to it. But if I keep going around the circle, I'll pass into the water trap with the blue NinjaProg once they switch again.

Alternatively, this demonstrates branch-path NinjaProgs. In any T-shaped or +-shaped junction in the paths, you can move in a V shape to pass the same NinjaProg location twice, or just run straight through it to pass it once. Much like the 100 Samurai, this is the isometric viewpoint of the games fucking with us again, because it can be very difficult to tell when you're walking correctly to trigger the same point twice and or just enough for once. These can really tangle things up.



GargComp1 is fairly straightforward though. Area 2 not so much. Now we really have a lot of looping paths and one-way conveyors to keep track of.



Shit, I knew I should have written the update while this place was fresh in my mind. Writing a day and a half after the actual gameplay is making this extremely difficult to remember! Wish I wasn't such a sleepyhead.

Anyway, we need to get this white NinjaProg to that single ceiling trap. The map in this screenshot is directly north in relation to the previous one. The trick here is that there's a large loop involved, but if you proceed through it the wrong way, you'll wind up with two white or two blue NinjaProgs following you. And once you have two NinjaProgs following you, swapping with other NinjaProgs won't actually decrease the number.



For example, say I have two blues, which follow behind MegaMan as blue-blue. I walk over a red, and then I'd have red-blue following me. If I then walk over a white, I'd have white-red. Because the ceiling trap is singular, I'm forced to reset the puzzle by speaking to one of the normal Program NPCs, who return all the NinjaProgs back to their original positions.



Yeah, this screwed me over once, I got it the second try though.



What you're supposed to do is loop around and get that red following you, then pass through here after looping through several times to set that white up on that position. That way, once I pass it, I'll have the single white needed to disarm the ceiling trap.

Thank fucking god I was meticulous about taking screenshots of all this.



This and that last puzzle are when the dungeon gets serious in GargComp2. Jesus, look at all of those things. This is a red herring.



You need to navigate to the single red NinjaProg you need without passing by any others. If you have any other NinjaProg with you that will take the red's place, you can't actually take the red from here and must reset the puzzle. This is an especial dick move, because it isn't readily obvious that you can navigate through this area without passing any of the whites or blues, and you'll only find out you need to make it through without passing any of them before the red when you actually first find the red. I think someone in the thread mentioned being stuck at this part.

By the way, for the archive's sake, ChibiSoma posts occasionally in this thread. He wrote a few guides on GameFAQs for these games, and in a surreal moment of cosmic coincidence for me, I actually used his guides when I first played the game. Especially for this dungeon! The reason I'm mentioning this? I feel your pain. Trying to describe what the hell needs to be done here is insane.



Anyway, once you have that single red, you can only continue on for a little while before you're forced to pass a white and blue in a loop. As you can see from this screenshot though, cycling through the loop a few times will get the red out at the end and you can continue to the spear trap.



And now for when the logistical nightmare gets even worse. Like the loops and NinjaProg junctions, these "sequential traps" are another component of the overall puzzle designs.



In this case, I need to bring a single blue to disarm the water trap. The white NinjaProg required for the ceiling trap is just past that water trap. And yes, every puzzle is at least explained to you by these NPC programs, these are the same guys who will reset the puzzle if needed. And that's probably my best advice for this dungeon: do not be afraid to reset the puzzles!



The blue NinjaProg isn't difficult to get to the water trap. By this point, I won't consider small loops of NinjaProgs you need to cycle through several times to get the right one out of it a significant obstacle. You should understand them by now if you're playing the game.

If you aren't, imagine a row of pool balls on the edge of a cliff. Every time one ball moves forward, the whole line does and one of the balls falls off the edge of the cliff. That same ball is then placed at the back of the line. Arrange this into a circle, and replace the cliff with following MegaMan. GargComp works the same way.

I just used the old Zybourne Clock joke explanation of time to accurately describe this. Consider that for a moment. I had a fairly easy time with this dungeon, but it still makes the most sense put that way. GargComp is convoluted as fuck.



Grabbing the white we need, here's a perfect illustration of the junction puzzle component. If we walk straight through here, we'll have the red following us. And this isn't part of a large loop, so we can't simply cycle through and get the white back by passing this way again.



Ducking into the side corridor and back out passes the same NinjaProg point twice, so we get to keep the white we need through it. Bonus: Mess this one up too badly and you'll have two reds following you, requiring the puzzle to be reset. Thankfully, when you reset the puzzle, any traps you've disarmed stay that way and aren't reactivated.



The next section sees the debut of compound traps. Up until this point, getting two or more NinjaProgs following you at once is a mistake, from here on, it becomes necessary. Mercifully, you'll never need a mix of colors following you to solve, for example, a ceiling trap and a water trap at the same time. You'll just get, as with this instance, two or three of the same trap.



By the way, GargComp has some pretty good swag. I didn't screenshot them, but there are quite a few RegUps and even an HPMemory hidden around the area. It goes without saying to be patient and not get greedy, however. Once you've completed a puzzle fully and disarmed all the traps involved in a segment, the NinjaProgs that accompany it vanish as well, so solve the puzzles before you grab anything!



This sequence which requires the two reds for the double spear trap ahead is of the "Dodge the NinjaProgs" flavor.



Followed by plenty of consecutive loops once you get the red you need. Wow, Rollercoaster Tycoon flashback. Complete with screaming and suffering from other people!



Yeah, I went into much greater detail than usual with this dungeon for obvious reasons. This section adds something of an inventory management component to the puzzles. Remember how I explained the groups of same-color NinjaProgs? Zybourne Clock-style management again comes into play.

You'll have to navigate the loops and junctions multiple times for each NinjaProg following you.

For example, meaning this does not occur in the dungeon but serves to illustrate the point better than the dungeon itself, let's say you need a pair of reds. The path ahead has many loops with red, white, and blue NinjaProgs, but lacks any pathway that allows for two consecutive reds from the start. By walking through in a specific, looping pathway, however, you follow this sequence:

1: Blue
2: Blue-Blue
3: White-Blue
4: Red-White
5: Blue-Red
6: (by looping) Red-Blue
7: Red-Red

In order, you've passed through these NinjaProgs: BBWRBRR. You required the double-up format of NinjaProgs following you to make it work, but had to swap out the NinjaProgs following you after the setup was made to make it past the traps.

Head hurt yet?



This concludes area 2 of 4. We're halfway done! I can't stress this enough, even though I had a fairly easy time with this dungeon, it's complicated as fuck. It's probably the most complicated dungeon in the entire series, though which one is most evil is up for debate.



GargComp3 is where things get even more sadistically mind-bending. Seriously, looking at these screenshots, I have no idea what the hell I was doing in them.



Okay, sorting through the exponentially large number of screenshots I took that could probably be used as keyframes in a video walkthrough, (slight exaggeration) things are more comprehensible. Even post-production, navigating this place is crazy. I already have this here red, and I need another to disarm another double spear trap ahead.



While it may look like swapping with that white is unavoidable, a one-way conveyor here leads to the second red.



Honest to fucking god, I need a guide to understand the dungeon I've already fucking beaten.



Right, so here we need a single white followed by two blues for this compound trap.



The white is fairly straightforward by the standards of this dungeon, just a few loops and junctions to get it to the ceiling trap it needs to disarm.



Getting the two blues, however, is a similar headache to the example I posted earlier about establishing a pair of following NinjaProgs and then fucking with the contents of that pair. For those versed in programming, it's like establishing an array. You can't change the length, only the contents. For now, anyway, we've yet to encounter any triple traps.



Right, so you'll wind up with a red and a blue. If I haven't made it clear, the order of the NinjaProgs following you counts because the one in the back is always the one pushed out while the new NinjaProg gets directly behind MegaMan. The previous NinjaProg behind MegaMan then moves to the back. So in this situation, I'll have the two blues I need.



Following that, we hit our first triple trap as GargComp4 beckons. Three reds!



Similar to before, you need to play Dodge The NinjaProg until you find the first red, or you won't be able to take him with you because he'll keep swapping out, requiring a reset.



If I've done any passable job of explaining this labyrinth of puzzle components, what to do here should be obvious. Getting to the second red NinjaProg is just a question of loop management.



The second red is much like the first in terms of position. Because of how same-color NinjaProgs will join you and fall into line behind MegaMan rather than swapping, we can collect the red with no trouble so long as we already have the first red.



The last of them is followed by a walk straight back to the trap, you don't need to juggle the trio of reds through any loops if you're doing this right.

You know, considering that this is a handheld game, I wonder how many people have had to stop in the middle of a puzzle here and gotten completely fucked when they started again and had no idea what they were in the middle of. This is definitely a dungeon you want to take care of in one sitting!



Sadly, no. Thankfully, GargComp4 has only two puzzles, though they both cover a very large range. As you can see by that giant conveyor belt, there'll be some large loops involved with the final puzzle.



The last of GargComp's puzzles is a doozy. 2 ceiling traps followed by 3 water traps, as the ceiling traps block one of the three blue NinjaProgs you need.



The reds are out in legion here as obstacles. Talk about sprite density.



As established, if you get to the first of the puzzle's NinjaProgs and already have one in tow, you're going to have to reset the puzzle. Loops are everywhere now, often incorporating junctions into them, so you'll have to focus on getting the white through the gauntlet and use the strategies of looping and using junctions.

I really can't do much more to walk through these puzzles step-by-step, and the key to understanding them is to break them down into immediate goals and mini-puzzles rather than try to understand the whole thing. Just concentrate on getting your NinjaProg from point A to point B in segments. And remember not to be afraid to reset the puzzles. The viruses here in the GargComp are easy, if a bit annoying and concentration-breaking. I've made it very clear that you should have a shitload of firepower at your disposal at this point, so they aren't much of an issue.



The second white we need is, mercifully, right next to the double ceiling trap that leads to the first of the blues we'll need.



As with pretty much any of the multi-NinjaProg puzzles, the start of the blue NinjaProg roundup begins with navigating the first blue to the second without touching any of the reds when possible, using loops and junctions when it isn't, and avoiding passing multiple reds if you're forced to pass them.



Because there are only 3 total blues and many more reds, if you wind up with a red in your cluster of blues, I recommend just starting the puzzle over. Juggling the reds out of your lineup is very difficult or perhaps impossible depending on the circumstance.

MegaMan is behind the blue NinjaProg in this screenshot. I forget which, but this is either a red you can walk around on that circular pathway, or you can just loop around with the red to pass by the blue again and swap to it before you get the second blue.

I apologize for repetitive commentary, but really, let me hammer out the big things to keep in mind for the GargComp.

1: Some situations are impossible to work out of if you get into them. Do not hesitate to reset the puzzle.

2: When getting a NinjaProg or group of NinjaProgs from point A to point B, always break up the path into the smallest, most manageable pieces you can. Save often, especially if you aren't sure if you can easily undo an action that turns out to be a mistake.

3: If you do make a mistake, keep in mind that most of them can be undone just by going in a loop, junction, or simply reversing what you just did. If they can't be undone, again, either reset the puzzle or reload your save.

4: All the routes you need to take can be put into three different types: Loops, Junctions, and Dodge-The-NinjaProgs. A good idea would be to make a save and then run around without caring about the NinjaProgs so you can get an idea of the layout and then reloading the save. Understanding what the game is asking of you in the simplest terms will make this vastly easier.



As it turns out, neither of the usual solutions will work for this puzzle, due to the second red. I apologize for forgetting and neglecting to screenshot the exact route I took next, but you'll either have to take a different route that doesn't involve that conveyor that sticks you into the middle of them, or use a larger loop or a junction to switch back to the first blue before grabbing the second.

Really, I can't emphasize it enough, understanding the basic problem-solving building blocks for this dungeon will serve you far better than step-by-step descriptions of the puzzles. And even then, this is a Let's Play, not a GameFAQs guide, go read ChibiSoma's walkthrough if you're really, completely, utterly stuck. Or, look up videos on YouTube, I've confirmed that there are, as of this writing, at least one or two video walkthroughs.



That's the last of them, and you'll have to take that large conveyor belt nearby. Thankfully, that means that getting your assembled trio of blue NinjaProgs to the final triple water trap is effortless, as that conveyor belt is unobstructed on either end. Once you get the last blue, you're home free!



For real this time!



We've arrived at the server, but as MegaMan investigates it, NumberMan arrives! The fiend! That traitor! That Benedict Arnold! That monarch butterfly-wannabe!



In a logical world, you'd expect confused discussion and realization to ensue. Since when has the MMBN series ever had anything like that? It runs on Capcom Science, after all.



Kind of weird how this dungeon requires so much logic, but the series itself probably has less than a hundredth the player would require here.



Rather than any "Wait, what the hell are you talking about?" reaction, Lan dismisses that as gibberish and accuses right back.



"NO, I'M NOT GOING TO LISTEN OR THINK ABOUT ANY OF THIS I'M JUST GOING TO BE AS AGGRESSIVE AS POSSIBLE"



I apologize for this fight. When I use the LeaderRaid chip in all of its overpowered glory, I try to make it so that it's clear I could have won the fight anyway and it's just a fancy finisher. Due to going into the fight with so little HP and just wanting to get the damned GargComp over with, however, I forgot to even use a FullEnergy subchip before the fight to recover.

NumberMan is pretty much unchanged from MMBN4, but his annoying ?-trajectory projectile attack has been replaced with the much more amusing NumberTrap. As said, however, my very low HP makes it a close one.



Only after the fight do any questions get asked. And boy, I sure love how when I fight teammate Navis they always seem just a bit winded by the fight while Darkloids are always blown to smithereens. Consistency! In some cases you could rationalize it as MegaMan holding back, but what about ShadowMan for example?



NumberMan and Higsby are intelligent, after all. Nebula is the antithesis of a competent organization. Seriously, Gospel and every other iteration of the WWW was leaps and bounds ahead of Nebula in terms of competence. Remember how stupid Dave was back in MMBN2? Or Anetta in MMBN3? Still better than Regal and his drooling horde of Darkloids. Wily'd be so ashamed, I bet.



Likewise, MegaMan has no recollection of ever doing such a thing. What's weird is how this never gets brought up ever again. I mean, it's the equivalent of beating up one's schoolteacher. Ms. Mari never mentions or asks about this. Shit, even I don't understand this situation!



Surprise. Who didn't see this one coming?



Nebula duplicates! Oh for fuck's sake, Gargamel/Sean tried this at the end of MMBN2, you really stooped to this? At least the fake NumberMan's mugshot is tolerably different.



GYEEEARGH!



Suddenly, I envy Duo. Being able to project one's sheer rage and anger in the form of a screaming face to destroy things with would be so...



FUCKING CATHARTIC! You little fuckers, you, YOU! You caused us to run through that whole dungeon so you could set up a completely pathetic fucking AMBUSH!?



DIE! WITHER! SUFFER!



FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! SMASH! HATE! FUCK! DESTROY!



Hear fucking hear!



Higsby alone isn't capable of mustering wrath and rage. But with the combined efforts of MissEchelon and Shaezerus...



For forcing this atrocity of a dungeon upon us by the actions of stupid imitator Nebula goons...It's MAN TIME.