Part 72: Crows and Bugs.

Thanks to Spelling Mitsake and Kaubocks, MMBN3 and MMBN4 are much less patchy in terms of images now. I have to admit though, I'm pretty sure that over the past several days of going over the old updates, I could see the old images disappearing. Like, they'd be there one day, gone the next. Completely terrifying from an LPer's perspective, imagine watching hard work just fade away.



Anyway, as promised, I'd try to get new content up while also updating the old posts, so here we go with the next cross!



Lan is more interested in Kung Fu than learning anything, but hey, he's a kid.



In contrast to Shuko teaching about flowing like water. Honestly, given how they describe their classes, the Cross instructors do sound like they're going to teach Lan Kung Fu.



Unlike AquaCross and HeatCross for Gregar version, the second cross of the game features an entirely new Navi!



TenguMan, as you might expect, has a huge schnoz. This update assumes you know what a Tengu is. If not, there's plenty of non-Wikipedia places to learn about them, like so.



This is going to be a short update due to the nature of the scenario. So let's go over what TenguMan is capable of while being operated by Lan.



TenguMan's Charge Shot results in him stabbing his nose forward in a FighterSword 3 panel range. Very useful. The chip he gets to use once per battle is the...erk, I've forgotten the name. Either way, it creates a tornado on each panel that has something on it, obstacle or enemy. It also blows away certain types of panels, I know the grass at least went away when the tornadoes were created.

And lest we forget the new viruses!

Shrubby: Shrubby viruses move from grass panel to grass panel similar to the old Mushy viruses. Also like them, they'll stand still and freak out if there aren't any grass panels to move onto. To attack, they'll periodically spit out a log that rolls down 2 rows at a time.



Our task is simple, we collect 4 scrolls in GreenArea1. The locations of the scrolls are set, so once you get an idea of where they are, this would be easy.



WOULD be easy. Also included are cybercrows, which will fly around the area and stalk TenguMan. There's a lot of them, and they home in on your current position at all times.



Touching a cybercrow makes you have to start over and collect all the scrolls again. Once you grab all four, though, the crows stop coming. Still, I can't overemphasize how difficult this can be due to the crows if you don't plan out your movements and get crafty.



First of all, we get an anti-crow weapon. The leaf fan!



The leaf fan gets 5 uses. It can be recharged by picking up leaves that are also scattered around the area.



And this is the point of the training, to make Lan, and by extension the player, used to maneuvering around enemies swiftly. Like the wind.



Since this is the first time through, I let the crows advance on me. You get a head start before the crows come swarming, this isn't how the training actually starts.



One of the scrolls is right here by the entrance. Due to the nature of this minigame, you will need more than one try to complete it. You'll need a few just to find the scrolls, than a few more to perfect the route you'll need to take to snag them all, avoid the crows, and snag leaves to recharge the fan as needed.



By the way, I do a terrible job of taking screenshots while dodging crows.



Mrrrghfrgnjrgl! This message gets insanely annoying if you screw up repeatedly like me!



The next cyberscroll is right next to the central teleporter in the area. Due to how the crows will actually follow you around in real time and not just appear on the screen after a set few seconds, you can use a bit of misdirection to trick them. Just take a teleporter, hang around it, and let the crows start showing up. Then warp back to where you actually need to be, and you'll have a huge head start on the crows. Due to the way GreenArea is set up, doing this isn't hard.



The third cyberscroll is at a dead end right here. I strongly advise luring the crows away before going for it.



Otherwise...Well, that'd be a usage of the fan down, but I wasn't very used to it by this point, so I just took the screenshot for the sake of humor and had to start over again.



Right, let's start making that a reflex. A is now the Panic Button. In case of crows, blow fan.



Okay, I think it's time I just admit I'm not very good at this. Gimme a break, I played Gregar version before, this is entirely new to me!



RRRRRH!



The 4th scroll is right next to the exit to GreenArea2. Through some miracle, I stop failing completely at this and snag all 4.



Was that all?



Nope. Here we go again...



At least the number of scrolls doesn't increase.



This one is actually easier than the first round, I think. For one, now the player's gotten used to the way the crows move and can avoid them more easily without having to rely on the leaf fan every time the crows got near. For two, GreenArea2 has more warps that are set further away from each other, so it gets easy to lure the crows away and give yourself a large head start.



Begone, crows, I don't need to fear you as much! By the way, it should go without saying that virus battles are turned off for this whole minigame. It'd be purgatory otherwise.



And the final scroll is right in front of the tree that leads to Undernet Zero.



Like I said, a short section.



If you remember the new element system, sword is strong against wind.

Uh oh, was that a rendering error I saw at the beginning of the match?



AirMan's Nostalgia Tornadoes: That aside for now...This attack was difficult to catch due to how the tornadoes flicker. TenguMan creates tornadoes on all three of your columns, and I believe all 4 if you use an AreaGrab? Maybe. But anyway, the tornadoes then move from one side of the field to the other, and you have to weave between them. Tough to dodge if you move at the wrong time.



Blow Me: TenguMan vanishes for a split second, two entire rows flash yellow, and he speeds down them in a very fast rushing attack. Unlike most attacks in the series, this one isn't telegraphed very much, so it's also tough to dodge simply because of how little warning you get.



Nosing In Your Business: Nose stab. This attack really doesn't need much explanation.



Anyway, back to that rendering error that worries me very much.



Oh, this is so not good. WHY ARE THE TEXT BOXES GONE!?



Even the pause menu!? Oh good lord, it's like some entire layer that gets rendered in the game has just decided to take a holiday!



Okay, maybe saving and resetting the emulator will work...



No, it didn't help anything. By the way, keep in mind that we're meeting Yuuichiro here, it'll be important later.



Might as well go over TenguCross and then end the update. All wind chips that don't dim the screen get an auto attack+10. Considering I use the multi-hit AirSpin1 R chips frequently in my folder, this means that TenguCross will likely be my cross of choice for the time being.



You also get auto AirShoes, so panel types won't be as much of an issue. Additionally, by pressing Left+B on the control pad, you'll create a wind that will drag every enemy into the front row. Handy, but I'm terrible at those inputs so it'll never see use.



With great power comes a similarly great drawback. Sword attacks are not exactly uncommon. Needless to say, TenguCross is not what you'd want to use against ProtoMan.



Game-breaking, in a sense we haven't seen since MMBN4. Oh for the love of god. What even caused this stupid rendering error!? I hope to heck it goes away soon. Is it the emulator? The patch? What about this scenario caused this to happen!?