Part 36: Mister Who? (1)
And we're back in Tazmily. It certainly beats going back through the Mole Cricket tunnels, at least.
There's not really any new dialogue here for now, so might as well check out that weird bottle moving about.
As you might have guessed from the title for this section and from that font, we're finally going to meet face-to-...something with Earthbound favorite Mr. Saturn.
We're back in the tunnels where we spent a good deal of Chapter 5. There's another note next to this...uh, let's just worry about the note first.
We've got our next objective, and we've got a new method of transportation.
The coffee table, other than making horse noises, works identically to the Pork Bean, but without that pesky charging stuff. It's still restricted to road ways and will crush any enemy in its path. Plus it's just so stylish.
There's a few changes to the highway area since Chapter 5. Let's do a quick look, shall we?
Whew... I tried to fix this recharge device myself... But it was just too formidable a foe...
This guy who saw us off hasn't moved an inch since.
This warehouse is pretty much abandoned save for these guys.
Security Robots also show up in the post-Needle Chimera Lab, but they're abundant here. They're not that threatening, especially since this area has a free healing area.
The only threatening thing they do is put you to sleep over how boring they are.
No backtracking from here, not that there's any reason to.
It seems beating the tar out of The Squeekz made him go home and be a family man.
Squeak! (Hey! Dude! It's me, The Squeekz! That hip chick magnet you met by the pond earlier. But now I'm a stay-at-home daddy-o.)
Squeak. (I'm not really sure what happened, but my hubby finally came back home. But just between you and me, I think his old self might've had more charm... Ohohohoho!)At least that story had a happy ending (except all the children are gone again and half are probably dead by this point but whatever it's happy enough).
I even stood in line all that time without going to the bathroom... That's what I mutter to myself as I now stare blankly at this door.
The cafe's emptied out a bit since earlier.
This guy still loves his gum, though.
Let's see... This restaurant is unpopular. And I'm cute. ...I'm definitely not working here for long.
And sneaking in is all the more unallowed. As are peeking, leaking, and reeking!Damn, and I was all set to reek up the ruined tower.
The path east of Thunder Tower is now open, and going that way will lead us to construction equipment that forces us to go on foot.
Filthy Attack Roaches are filthy, and they attack, though they don't do it well enough to be impressive or anything.
Meh.
The Naughty Mushroom, on the other hand, can be quite a pain.
So, I initially thought Strangeness is simply confusion, i.e. your allies may attack other party members occasionally.
That is not always the case, as sometimes it'll cause boys and dogs to feed rare PP-restoring sweets to beautiful ladies simply to spite me. I lost three PP-restoring items in one battle because of two damn mushrooms.
Alright.
So this place?
I'm not even really sure what the deal with this place is.Welcome to Saturn Valley, home of the Mr. Saturns. The Pigmasks have taken over.
We've taken control of this nonsensical village. The place is still nonsensical, but that doesn't change the fact that we're great and almighty. Boing! Oops, I think this village has started to get to me... Whoa, whoa, whoa! Get outta here! Get! Get lost, kid! Scram!
Some gifts are pretty nice here, like a nice armor upgrade for Boney.
Others are not so nice, as for some absurd reason Mr. Saturns will often wrap farts in present boxes. I am not one to argue with the insane logic of cultures different than mine, as I'm simply one who prefers to silently judge them.
Our goal is to go inside each home and deal with the Pigmasks within. It won't be easy, however, as each home holds a most fearsome foe...
Don't force us to use this Frightbot to make you cry! Enough of your stupid nonsense! Tell us where the Needle is, or we'll make it tell you even scarier stories!
OKAY, LET'S GET STARTED! THIS IS GOING TO BE SCARY! SO LISTEN GOOD...!
WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?! WE'LL BEAT YOU GOOD!
Each house has a Frightbot which we must defeat before we can rescue the Mr. Saturns within. This one comes with a couple of Pigmask Captains to take care of.
Though the Pigmasks are easy to take down, Frightbot is much bulkier, due to its frightening nature in general.
The Frightbot's attacks are much more terrifying than mere punches and stabbings and shootings and clobberings. No, Frightbot attacks your very soul with its terrifying words.
In fact, it does nothing but tell you scary stories, forcing you to beat it down before you wet your pants in fear. Or until you get bored of its numerous variations of stories.
pre:
* The Frightbot started telling a spine-tingling story. * The Frightbot told a story so scary you want to cover your ears. * The Frightbot told a story so incredibly scary that your teeth won't stop chattering. * The Frightbot told a bone-chillingly scary story. * The Frightbot told a scary story with some deeply touching moments mixed in. * The Frightbot told a pants-wettingly scary story. * The Frightbot told a bloodcurdling story. * The Frightbot accidentally told a cute, funny story. * The Frightbot told a story so scary you couldn't help but laugh. * The Frightbot told a story so scary you'll never go to the bathroom at night again.
Once the Frightbot is defeated, the Mr. Saturns will thank you to the bottoms of their whatevers.
The Mr. Saturn in this game are a bit different. In Earthbound, though they have their odd dialect and manner of speaking, they still speak clearly enough to be easily understood. Here, their speech is more cryptic and confusing. Which version you prefer is simply a matter of taste.
A lone Frightbot is no threat unless you have a weak heart. These Mr. Saturns will also show gratitude to you.
This abode hold a nice armor upgrade for Lucas that also boosts his IQ. It also doesn't look like the kind of shirt a good kid would wear.
This home is especially scary, as it has two Frightbots.
SCARINESS SEEMS TO BE WEARING OFF... AM SENSING MY LIMIT NOW. OH, THAT WAS ME TALKING TO MYSELF. DID THAT SCARE YOU ALREADY?
EEK! YOU'RE SCARY! WE'LL STOMP YOU HARD!They don't.
This Mr. Saturn will give you one of two gifts, depending on how you answer this question. I think I went with Yes for this one.
Don't ask me what this does, ask Mr. Saturn.
You're welcome!
Three down, one to go! And this is the most important one. As it holds...
KEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!
Where is the Needle? Where in Saturn Valley is it?!
Don't lie! You lied yesterday, too! You'd better tell us, or we'll start tickling your underarms again!
Don't tell me these are the ones...? Just get 'em!
This one has some Pigmask Majors at its side. The Majors are tougher and more dangerous than the Captains, but they go down quickly to Fire and Love Beta.
You'll pay for this! I'll make sure you pay!
With that empty threat, the Pigmasks run off, leaving us to reunite with a familiar face.
Lucas!! Kumatora!! Boney!! Thank goodness you're alright!
But don't worry. The Egg of Light is safe.
Geez... Is this lucky or unlucky? I can't tell. You're all lucky. That's the only way I can see it...
Let's let these guys down for now.-----
Needles that seal away the Dark Dragon... Hmm. Sounds like I should go with you. Lucas. I'm coming too. Actually, we would've dragged you along with us anyways.
And so we reunite with Duster, and our party is together once again!
Next time, we'll explore Saturn Valley proper and start the hunt for the next needle.