Part 15: Happiness is a Warm Box (1)

This update is all dialogue, which is fine with me because the combat's kind of annoying this chapter.



And I've never seen him talk with anyone, either...

No other diversions allowed, so let's mosey into town.



What do you think of the wonderful bag I gave you? Is it to your liking?
Oh, it's you, Mr. Fassad. Don't scare me like that... Actually, I was just counting to see how much is in here.
Nwahahahaha. Just please be careful that it doesn't get swiped by any thieves.

So Butch is really happy to have this useless stuff, I guess.



Just having lots of it can get you anything you want!

Further on...



Oh, pardon me. I wasn't paying attention. I'm sorry, but we're in a terrible hurry. If you'll excuse us. Come now, little monkey. We should be off.



No new dialogue from Duster in these scenes.





There's the same stuff from Butch, which we've already seen before so I'll skip it. We do learn one new thing from all this, though.



That Fassad was listening in on the conversation.





Salsa's a kind soul, at least, and I guess money's also useless for monkeys.





The inn's pretty sparse, of course, but there's people eager to chat up nonetheless.

This is Tazmily Village. Everyone is nice.
This village was much more carefree, until just recently.

To continue the plot, we speak with Jackie.





Oh, uh... Fee?
There is no "how much" here. Please feel free to stay the night.
Still... It's hardly a cumbersome thing to have...



Oh. I guess it's okay, then.



Your room is the one in the middle. Please make yourself at home, and have pleasant dreams.
Thank you very much.







Eee! How cute!
Well, then. If you'll excuse us... Come, little Salsa. Let's go to our room, shall we?

New dialogue from Bob, plus I forgot to talk to Tessie earlier so here we go.

Hey there, monkey. Do you not have a girlfriend?
Oh! Good evening!



No visiting Lighter tonight, though. Which is not a bad thing, since the room's so cramped and all.







-----





Fassad leaves in the middle of the night, and we're able to follow him. Of course, trying to venture anywhere else will result in Salsa getting zapped.





Everything's progressing smoothly here.



You saw someone else hanging around the castle? That's it? You only saw him? Then leave 'im be. He's probably just some villager who got drunk and got himself lost.



He's got brown hair, a gloomy feel, slightly bad breath, and looks kind of like a bum? Yeah, don't worry about him.





As if there was any question at this point as to who stole the money.



Salsa will get in nasty trouble if he's caught out, so let's go back to our room and pretend to sleep.





Oh. I see you're not trying to run away. I guess the fear of punishment's turned you into a spineless wimp. Nwehehehehe!



-----





Salsa dreams back to the scene where his girlfriend was taken from him.







And then is reawakened back to his living nightmare.

How long are you going to sleep?! You stupid monkey! Listen. Just keep doing your tricks all happy-like. Prance around all nice and funny to help charm the villagers. Do a good job, and I'll set you free. I'll even take you back to that girlie monkey. But if you bore the audience... You'll get an extra heaping of punishment! Got that?!

This next part is basically just paying attention to Fassad and pushing the direction he goes in. No need to memorize which direction does what.

There's a bit more NPC dialogue now in the inn.

Have you eaten?
I wonder what today's weather will be like.

But now let's get to Fassad's big speech, shall we?







Congratulations are in order for the hard work you put in every single day!



I've come here today to give you all wonderful news...about happiness!





...Blue skies. White clouds. Bountiful crops. Stout livestock. Happy families and kindhearted neighbors... This village is filled with so many wondrous things!



A tiny speck of uncertainty that steals into each bright day. Is this really how things should be?! Shouldn't we be living much more comfortable, enjoyable lives?!



Odd animals that have never been seen before now lurk in our forests, and giant balloon-like objects soar our skies! What's going on?! What's happening to the world we live in?!



The word on the wind says that in the very near future, lightning powerful enough to burn down forests and woods will rain down on us almost daily!





You thought to yourself, "Get real! Something like that would never happen!" But I truly believe this will soon be a reality.



To live with a smile on your face? But I have good news for you! Today is your lucky day!



You can obtain happiness very easily.



Even my cute, adorable Salsa is dancing so happily... The reason for this, you see...is that this monkey has gotten a head start on obtaining happiness!





All those who are interested, please raise your hand boisterously. Who wants to be happy?!



Go and ask the nice people who want happiness for their names. Please keep your hands raised, folks.

Now we can talk to the four people who want happiness, as well as the other people here. Let's start with the uninterested.

I don't need happiness. It's standing right next to me.
Happiness, huh... I'll admit, I am a little curious...
Happiness leaves when wanted.

And now let's talk to those who want happiness.

I'm Biff. I'm not really sure what this is about, but if I can get something out of it, I'll give it a shot.
I'm Isaac. I just wanna see if it really is that easy to be happy.
I'm Abbey. I respect my husband Abbot. There's nothing bad about having TOO much happiness, is there?
My name is Abbot. I've been an avid collector of things ever since I was a boy. It's hard to explain, but just collecting stuff... It somehow makes me happy. Plus, I'd like to see what happiness looks like, too.



If even just one more of us can achieve happiness, all will be right in the world! For those of you who didn't raise your hand, please think it over later, and if you decide that you do want happiness after all, feel free to let me know anytime!







Now, then. Come along, little Salsa. Let us return to the Yado Inn.

-----





What?! There are other people inside the castle?! Why can't you just kick them out? What?! You can't, because they're too tough?! Alright. I'll be right over once I'm through here. Until then, make SURE you find it!



Go deliver them to everyone whose names you took earlier. Abbot, Abbey, Biff, Isaac. Those four people. Where do they live? How should I know?! Go find them yourself! And when you're finished delivering them, don't even think about trying to run away. You'll come straight back to this room.



You'll be much more than charred if that happens. ...If you try to run from me or disobey me, I'll make sure to punish that girlie monkey, too!





Then get to it already!



I'm making this offer from the kindness of my heart, because I feel just terrible that you're not allowed to eat or drink anything. So be grateful! Nwehehehehehehe!

Our next job is to deliver those packages, but this is our first opportunity to explore the town punishment-free, so let's do so!

I've added banners to show when the optional town dialogue begins and ends, for those who skip over the town fluff.





Starting with the Yado Inn group...

Go show a trick to Mike in Thomas's house. If he likes it, I'm sure he'll give you a cookie.
My happiness is inside a bottle at Jackie's bar.

We can also go into Lighter's room now.

Oh, a monkey. Eek! Ack! Stay back!
Oh, what a cute little monkey you are. Could you be a good boy and leave the room? It's really crowded in here.
Sometimes you look at people with such sad eyes, monkey.



Eee! How cute! Here, I think even a monkey would like this. This is one of Caroline's prized Nut Breads.

Several villagers will give you things if you do tricks for them, though it's only a cookie and a couple pieces of bread, nothing special.

Once we go outside, we've got new music to run around to.





Sorry, little monkey. Could you come back some other time?
Monkey.
*whimper*... (You have such a sad look, Mr. Monkey...)

Unlike the other animals, which talk directly to you since you're also an animal, Boney communicates like he's speaking to a human. The animal dialogue seems inconsistent at times in terms of this.

Oddly, Lucas is not around right now. In the meantime, let's talk to people around the town square.

Oh, I know! Kangaroo! ...Wait, that's not it. What is that animal called again?
You look so sad.
Hold on there, li'l monkey... There are dangerous tools everywhere. You don't want to get hurt now, do you?
Happiness, huh. For some reason, I'm not quite sure what that word means.
My, aren't you an adorable one! Can you do a trick for me?



Oho! What a neat trick! Here's your reward. A slightly unclean and not very tasty cookie.

And this is how you get a cookie. Talk again...

Happiness... I prefer things just as things are now.



No free stuff for Salsa, unfortunately. Well, besides the free stuff everyone's giving him.

You stink like a monkey...
Oh, you're that monkey that's famous for being happy. Maybe I should've ordered a Happy Box, too.
Oh, you poor thing, having to wear such a tight collar...



This mouse and the stray dog from around Scamp's house are also in the square. The mouse is quite chatty.

The truth is... For a long time, I've been taking nuts I find in the forest and then hiding them in this house. But, when I went to check on them the other day... they had... ALL BEEN MADE INTO BREAD!! ...Huh...? You don't seem very scared.
I know that you're unhappy. I also know that Isaac's house is at the entrance to the forest...



Oh, what a cute little monkey!



Oh! What a neat dance! In appreciation for that neat dance, I'll give you some bread.

And thus we net more bread.

Was I spacing out and thinking to myself again?
I really enjoyed that dance of yours earlier. But that man's speech was kind of creepy.

Paul just repeats his line from the speech.

Is my Happy Box ready yet? I'm really looking forward to it.
I've been waiting for you, Mr. Monkey! ...Oh, you're not here on a delivery, are you?

Next is Pusher's house, which is rather anti-monkey.

Why exactly is there a monkey in my home? You're an eyesore. Could you please go away? Get! Get!
Oh, my! I do say! What a filthy monkey! Shoo! Shoo! Off with you!
Whew. So busy, so busy. Umm, monkey? ...Can't you see I'm busy?!
I have nothing to give you.

Now to the east side of town. Wess isn't around since he's busy infiltrating the castle with Duster and all.

Keep up the good work, Mr. Monkey.
Hello, Mr. Monkey.
...... I'm sorry, but I don't understand monkey language.
You're troubled, aren't you? You may find yourself in painful situations... But I'm a bit pained myself. ...*mutter* *mumble*



...Moving on.

Huh? So where IS this so-called happiness I ordered?
Can you run fast? I'm slow.
Have you put on weight lately? I'm on a diet.
You a bachelor? I'm a bachelor.
Do you know the secret about MOTHER 3? 'Cause I do. I'm not telling, though.

Squeal it, pig.

What are cows like from a monkey's point of view?
You know how animals talk and all that? I wonder how it sounds to humans.
Never fear. I am not a carnivorous cow.
Do you suppose a cow's cuteness is related to the deliciousness of its meat?
What do you want, you filthy little monkey? Shoo! Get outta here!



You can still grab Thunder Bombs, of course. A few more to go!

Do you come from far away?
Gwah! Hey, you! Get outta here! Don't scare the messenger doves! Shoo! Shoo!

You can't talk to the doves.

Do you know how to say "monkey" in English? ...Ahh! I gave the answer away!
I don't want anything from you.
Where's the thing I ordered? Come on, bring it here already.

And up in the graveyard...

If you need something from the map-loving, map-owning Mapson, it must be a map, yes? Oh, you're a monkey, but you have a map. For some reason, I'm just itching to mark it. Let me see that for a second.



I just marked Abbot's, Biff's, and Isaac's houses for no real reason. Ahh, that feels much better!







You can now enter this room from the right passage of the crossroads area, but honestly this is the best item here, the rest being nuts or Nut Bread or whatever. At least this will eventually turn into Yogurt.





Anyway, we've got to deliver these to four different people. We can't run while carrying them.

I go to Isaac's first. There's still the mantises and mice there from previous chapters, and the mice are actually kind of threatening for pitiful Salsa. I just opt to run away when I encounter them.





Good work. That must've been heavy. Give my thanks to Mr. Fassad for his generous gift.





One down, three to go!



For some reason, I actually do feel happy.

Two done!







Huh? You ordered one too, Abbey? Then I'll cancel my order. Sorry about that.



Fortunately, you only have to deliver one box to Abbot and Abbey, as the other will cancel theirs.

I set it up there to see how it looks.
Dunno why, but the fact you can be happy as long as you have this makes me happy! Hahahahahaha!

Alright, that was pretty quick even with all the chatter, let's go back and get our reward.



I was planning to give you a Special Banana if you had delivered them all in under 3 minutes, but I guess you don't really want one.





Oh yeah, the whole "Deliver them under 23 minutes" was bullcrap. Your time is irrelevant, Fassad will punish you regardless and eat your banana.

Hey, you! How long are you gonna stay unconscious?!



Next time, we get back to combat! Hoo...ray?