Part 9: Factory Tour

Update Nine: Factory Tour

Welcome back! Last time, on Mother, we found Champ hiding in a trash can on the school rooftop. Today, we're going to go track down a Bottle Rocket for him, to convince him to join our party and help us save the world, so let's rock.



We left off here, after saving our game and what-not.



We're heading back south, toward the factory.



It's a fairly uneventful trip, which I'm okay with.



Like, I didn't even run into an encounter until about here. It was an Eagle, I think.





This is where we're spending the meat of the update today, so let's get to it.



God, this place looks like a shithole, huh?



This is the Sweet Factory, but it's not very extraordinary. There are a few enemies wandering around, but nothing memorable.





There is a metric ton of treasure, though. Not all of it is wonderful, but most of it is worthwhile. That door is the first we'll be entering today.





Not the best treasure to start off with, but it's not too terrible.



That Cold is taking it's toll on Leo's health, and the red flash is starting to annoy me.



Leo exits the room, munching on the Magic Herb, wondering if he's using it correctly.



Heading left, we can barely see a ladder on the edge of this shot.



But, before we go down the ladder, let's investigate what's through this door.



Okay, before we go through that door, let's crush whatever poor fool crossed our path.



A rat? Seriously? I think we all know how this fight will go.



The rat is one of the very few enemies in this place, and all that I encountered.



I feel like I should actually read up on the locations I'm going to, as I was pleasantly surprised with the amount of treasure I found in this place.



A Knife?



I honestly cannot figure out why this thing is here. There are minor spoilers coming up, so skip ahead if you'd like, but I'm not going to tag it. The Basic Sword is another weapon for Bowser and a better one, to boot, and it's on your way out of Magicant. It's nearly impossible to miss, while I could see this Knife being easier to miss. It baffles my mind as to why they'd do this, especially since we won't be meeting Bowser for a while.



But, enough of my inane rambling.





Heading south from up there, we continue going west, ignoring ladders for now.



You can see another door slightly north of Leo here.





And it's a room that smells like deception and disappointment. It kind of smells like a chemistry classroom.



Maybe that door up there will be more rewarding.



Hell, it's already better than the last room!



Not much better, mind you, but still better than no treasure at all.



So, let's continue on.



I included this shot because I thought it looked cool as shit.



Ultimately, other than a neat shot, there is nothing of value over there.



Let's head back, as there are ladders to explore.





In Earthbound, I like the ladder climbing animation. In this game, characters just run up and down the ladder, which amuses me far more than it should. Maybe I'm taking too many painkillers.



There are doors all over this damned place.





But, we'll ignore that door for now.



...What did this factory make, exactly? Because I think I see HAL down there.



I wonder how Leo would fare against HAL.



I can't imagine well, but at least Leo has his PSI powers to back him up.



Ooh, a Fight Capsule! But my inventory is full...



Get the fuck outta my inventory, Magic Herb!



Fight is a pretty important stat; it's related to dodge rates, as well as your offense stat. But, keep in mind, only natural Fight increases will increase offense. A gain like this, from a Fight Capsule, will not raise your offense, but a Fight increase from a level will increase your offense.





Still ignoring that door, we go east this time.





There's another ladder leading up. It's easy to rush straight toward the Bottle Rocket you need, but most of the treasure is nice, so I can't recommend doing that.



There's a bunch of treasure, though, so you probably won't be able to carry it all, but thankfully, it's easy enough to ditch some of the Magic Herbs or whatever.





Treasures like this make my heart feel sad.



And, finally, let's hit that door I kept skipping.



I should have kept skipping it. I know I said earlier that Magic Herbs aren't bad, but since I have a Big Bag with thirty of 'em in it, finding a single one just doesn't have much of an impact.



I really dig the mosaic effect the games throws out for when you enter an encounter. I fought two Rats here, in case you were wondering.



And this is a different fight. I finally used Check in battle, too.



I've known about using Check in battle for a while, and I heard it just gives you a single line of text about whatever enemy you're fighting. Well, that's absolute bullshit.





Fucking stats and strengths of the enemy, in addition to some sassy text about them? Check is fucking awesome and I'll need to remember to do it more often.



Alright, let's get up this ladder.



I'm sorry to deny you all the hot ladder-climbing action, but I hope you'll forgive me.



There's a lot of these large empty spaces around here. They don't have any sort of purpose, but I always think there's going to be some sort of mini-boss in them.



Hmm, more HAL lights. I'm starting to like this factory less and less.





And that trash can there is what we came here for.



I don't know why this factory is abandoned. Or why this Bottle Rocket is in the trash. But, it's what we came here to get.



Some of you might notice that the trash can doesn't look empty, like I took this shot before I opened it. The neat thing is that this trash can doesn't empty; there will always be Bottle Rockets in there, no matter how many we take.



Anyways, in the room next to the trash can, we have two presents!



And my inventory is too full of crap to hold more crap. I don't know why there's another Cracked Bat, as this is what, the fourth one I've been able to get?



It's too bad there's not a throw mechanic in this game, like in the Final Fantasy games. I'd love to see Leo just fucking whip a bat at some sort of horrible evil.



Medicines are nice healing items, restoring a boatload of HP when used. It's nice, but it's nothing I want to ditch any of my other items for.





We're heading to the east now, as there's another present room up here.





Originally, I was 'ing here, but then I saw the part about holding too many things.



I threw out an Antidote or something for this. This is one of the few treasures I'd say it's worthwhile to get rid of something for, with the other treasure being the Fight Capsule. Giving Leo this Speed Capsule is a good idea, though, as he holds many of the healing PSI powers, much like Nass did.



On the way back, Leo gains himself a level, and you can see just how much of a toll the cold has taken on his HP.



I find this ladder leading down, which leads to even more present rooms.



Nothing exciting in that room.





Or this one.



However, in the room next to this one, there are two worthwhile treasures.





Strength is another important stat. Starmen.net informs me of what strength does, exactly:




The medicine is a touch lackluster after the Strength Capsule, but still nice.



Leaving that door, there's one final door to go through.



Hey, the final present is even near the door.



I should have known it was nothing to be excited about.



So, let's get on outta here.



All we have to do from here is go see Champ again.





And there are no hoops or anything to jump through this time, so we can just rush straight to the rooftop.



Champ is very excited to see Leo again, as Leo comes bringing the gift of explosives.



I'm very impressed that Champ took one look at the Bottle Rocket and figured out how to make more of them.



Champ begins to take Leo to the science lab.



However, as they barely leave the rooftop, Champ pauses and turns to Leo.



I went through that place a couple of days ago. I'm looking forward to writing that update about as much as I look forward to cutting off one of my feet.



After that short exchange, Champ and Leo take off again.



At the bottom of those stairs, Champ has another message for Leo.

And Champ, when we're done here, ain't nobody gonna pick on you again.





I sure hope nobody is in here, otherwise, this could be hard to explain.



Warning: Incoming!



Well, sure, that seems awfully--





Champ, what in the wide wide world of sports did you do?

Find out next time, on another exciting episode of Mother; we have a new party member to kit out, as well as another factory to visit, so stay tuned!

Status Shots





Leo still has that cold, but I'll clear that up soon enough. As for Champ, he may look unimpressive now, but I assure you, he'll soon be a valuable party member.