Part 17: Happiness is a Warm Box (3)

Going to the door will similarly shock you, so the only place left is the window.



That cheap bastard's asleep. Hurry here!

After all the horrible things Salsa's had to endure the past couple days, it seems his fortunes are finally going to turn around.



Dunno how you got involved with that lie-spewin' fraud, but you must've had your reasons, I guess. Poor li'l thing.
Princess. This is a great deed you've done. Now let's go find that lazy moron - I mean, Duster - and that egg he has with him. I know he's all right; morons like him never get sick or hurt, no matter where they go or what they do.
Yeah. We just gotta find Duster and the egg. But first, let's free this monkey.



Geezer. Go steal that zapper gizmo while that lyin' freak's still asleep.
Oh, right. I should've swiped it earlier.







I accidentally bumped it on the way back. Did it zap you? Sorry 'bout that.



Here, monkey. You destroy it.

And so the horrible device that's brought so much misery to Salsa is now his to destroy.



And destroy it he does.

Alright, monkey. You can go wherever you want now. You're free.



What is it?



Oh, your girlfriend's been kidnapped...? Or "monkeynapped", I should say? Damn that cheap bastard! He's screwed up!



I happen to be that screwed-up, cheap bastard you speak of!





Nwehehehehe.



He can! And we're gonna let him!







(...Damn, they're fast.)







...I see. Then remain there on standby. I'll be there shortly.



Heh heh heh... There's no escape from me. Nwehe-nwehehehehe!











Now we've got Kumatora and Wess. Kumatora's pretty much where we left her stat-wise from Chapter 2, though I never did check to see if she has the same items as then.



Oh! He smiled!



We're railroaded into going into the forest.





Pigmasks and Recon Mechs patrol the area, though they aren't so bad with Kumatora and Wess helping out.



I believe there's only one option available to us.



And a fine option it is! But probably not a very wise one, so let's get going.



Monkey! Let's look for another way to go!







So much for things looking up...



It's attacking!









This is the final boss of Chapter 3. It has a staggering 1782 HP and sky-high attack. It's a good thing Kumatora and Wess are here, though Salsa's also valuable here, even if only to throw items.



The strategy is similar to the Chapter 2 final boss. Kumatora spams PK Thunder repeatedly, with Salsa taking over Duster's role as healbot, throwing bombs when he has a free chance.







Which he doesn't get often, as the Pork Tank hurts. This is one of its more benign attacks.







The Ancient Banana in action. Meh.





The tank can also inflict crying on people. No clue whether it affects the accuracy of PSI attacks, especially since Thunder's a bit inaccurate to begin with.





It can also deal 40ish damage to both characters, which can be devastating if you're not staying on top of your healing duties.





I decide to heal crying on the off-chance it actually affects Thunder's accuracy. Probably not, but can't hurt.





Do enough damage, and the tank gets busted. The battle's not over, but it nets you some much-needed breathing room.



Especially since its main attack is now a wasted turn.



And it was around this time that Wess decided to spam his most damaging technique a couple times as well.

And despite all that?





In the end, the massive tank is stopped by a banana peel. Gotta love it when things work out that way.

And another case of gameplay telling story, as Salsa goes from being completely dependent on Fassad to being a valuable teammate in combat.





So with the power of teamwork we just blew up a freaking tank.



Who's next?









...Nevermind.









OH MY PORK!! What is a baby Drago doing here?! You! Baby Drago! Get outta here!













And suddenly things have made a turn for the awesome.

















Hahaha! Feeling better now, monkey?









And so the happy Drago family, having successfully mauled an entire army into fleeing terror, hop off into the night.





I heard that you've done nothing but cry since the day your mother passed away, but what you did just now was wonderful.



The game laying on the "Lucas is such a crybaby" shtick as much as it did actually makes this moment more awesome. Hell, I completely forgot Lucas saves the day here. Lucas, who was only a few days ago afraid of Dragos until Claus helped him overcome that fear by ramming into them repeatedly, ends up relying on the same type of beasts that killed his mother to help out. It makes you kind of wonder why he was hanging out with the Dragos, and it's actually a nice unsaid detail to think about offhand, but he seemed to have made peace with what has happened.



You didn't even know what was goin' on, but you saved our lives.





Sure, I can fill you in on everything. Will you listen, Lucas?



Sure, why not?





-----



I'm certain Claus will come back sooner or later. I'd like you and Flint and the others to work together to protect our village. Oh, I intend to help, too, of course. What little I can, at least.





Dunno why, but I somehow get the feeling I'll be seein' you again. Take care of yourself!












Ladies and gentlemen, the game is about to truly begin.





END CHAPTER 3