Part 11: No Game Plan

Update 11: No Game Plan











Wakey wakey sunshine! Did you have a nice dream?





Seems like mom got the power turned back on for us. There's also another message on the phone for us.


Hey Sunny, it's Mommy. How are you doing? Are you eating well? I was hoping to make it back to see you today, but it's the last day of a big furniture sale and I just can't resist a good bargain! You can take care of yourself for a few days, right? After all, you're a big boy now! Remember to finish your chores before I get back. I left a list on the table next to your door. Okay, that's it for now! Mommy loves you!


Sunny gets talked to by his mom as if he's 8. Though sometimes my mom also talks to me as if I'm 8...





Yeah... these probably aren't getting done if I'm honest. The PC plays blackjack, though nothing happens if you play it besides the enjoyment you'd normally get from playing Blackjack... that is until someone finds the super secret ending that's only behind playing 7 hours of blackjack to perfection. Which I somehow would not doubt the existence of.





Oh jeez... not more knocking. I haven't forgotten what happened the last time we opened the door!!





Here's a better look at Sunny, this time with the lights on. There can't be ghosts in the bathroom if the lights are on, everyone knows that.





A good reminder for all, make sure you brushed your teeth too





And yes, of course you can actually do it. And there's an achievement locked behind it too.











Well... we didn't have any other plans for today. May as well see who's at the door...









I was wondering... if you wanted to hang out one more time before you go... or whatever... for old time's sake, y'know?









Choices in games can pretty easily be lambasted since they may end up being false or otherwise there just to make you feel like you can do something, but will ultimately prove meaningless since the developer can't dedicate the resources to you deciding "I don't want to do this". The most famous example of this being "BUT THOU MUST!" that I even used a few updates back. When I first played this game and chose to open the door, I spent the next few hours wondering... could I have not opened the door? Did that matter? Would that change the game at all? After playing a little bit longer, I reloaded my save to this point to see if anything would change. And the answer to my questions was a very resolute - yes. This choice doesn't just matter, it literally determines the route you take in the game and affects which of the many endings you'll eventually get. While I think very few people are going to not open the door on their first playthrough, it is possible that someone experienced this game for the first time by not opening this door. And in return, they were granted an entirely different experience than the one we are going to get. We will eventually come back to this door at a much later date... but as we experience the rest of the game, always keep in the back of your mind that we could have kept the door closed. Because I carried that thought through while I was playing the game, and that's why I'm now LPing this game.























Err... I mean...

Okay, I'm going to be honest with you, Sunny. I really didn't expect you to come out today, so I don't really have a game plan here.





Hey, I know! Let's go to Hobbeez! It's the hobby shop in the Faraway Plaza. You remember the way, right?

We used to go there all the time when we were kids.

Well, what are we waiting for?





Welcome to the real world everyone. You've probably all been here before. It's clearly been a while for Sunny, considering how shocked Kel was to see Sunny. Hell, considering how different real world Kel is from dream world Kel... how long has Sunny been in there?





Jeez... always sucks to be a kid in the middle of a move. I moved a lot as a kid, but the hardest one for me was moving after Jr. High. I hadn't moved for three years prior so it was the longest time I'd been at the same school before. I can't imagine what Sunny's feeling... especially since he's turned into a shut-in.





I know it's been a while since you've been over at my place, but now might not be a good time, heh heh...


Wait, we haven't see Kel in months and he lives next door? Damn, Sunny's got the cold shoulder routine down pat.

There's two more houses on our block, but we'll be back for those another day.





Here's the end of the street for our neighborhood. There's another street down south with more houses, but we can't go to any of them until we visit Hobbeez.





On our way to Hobbeez, we pass by the park. Let's stop in here first, it's been a bit since we were outside... we should stretch our legs a bit.





Wait... are those our friends in the dream world?





...Oh. That's a very active imagination you have there Sunny.





This line always gives me a chuckle. Also speaking of cats, we'll be back later regarding that yellow cat on the monkey bars.





Oh, whoa! I didn't expect to see you here, Jay!

Sunny. this is Jay. He's the captain of the football team at my school! I didn't know you played basketball too!

JOCK: Ehh... huff... I'm just here to kill time. It's more of a hobby than anything. You're trying out for the basketball team this year, right Kel? Maybe you can teach me some of your tricks!

Yeah, definitely! That sounds like fun...

But maybe another time. My childhood friend Sunny here is leaving town in the next few days so we're hanging out all day today.

I'll definitely catch up with you later, though!

JOCK: Sure, we can set something up next week. Same time, same place?

Yup! Sounds good! See you then!


Get a hold of Mr. Popular over here. Also, err... Childhood friend? Kel, it's been a couple months right?

Speaking of Mr. Popular... or lack thereof, let's talk to those dudes wearing buckets on their heads.





RECYCULTIST: As all have littered, all must accept that they are Trash! REDUCE, REUSE, and RECYCLE!!


A cult dedicated to recycling... and yet there's still so much trash around they are literally staring at a bag of trash on the roadside. They really are letting anyone into cults these days.

Speaking of trash, we're going to be collecting a lot of trash while we're wondering around. There's an old lady in the park we can turn our trash in to, and we're going to want to do that for a variety of reasons. If you see any piles of garbage with flies around it, I picked it up. For... the environment of course.





Whoa! That's a cool drawing of the park you have there!

???: Ahh! O-Oh! Hi, there. Thank you... I'm just practicing...

That's what you call practicing!? But it looks so real... I bet you could even sell that for money! Don't you think so Sunny?


Uh sure, I can't see it but surely Kel wouldn't lead me astray here.


See? Even Sunny agrees with me!

Heck, I'd buy that from you right now. Hey, Sunny, can you lend me $20.00?


Your true motivations have been revealed, Kel! I won't forget this...!!


???: Haha... Thanks... That's so nice of you, but it's not for sale. It-It's for my portfolio. I'm trying to get into art school next year.

Aww, darn. That's too bad... That would've looked great on my bedroom wall.

MINCY: You really think so? My name is Mincy. What's yours?

I'm Kel and this is Sunny!

MINCY: Hi, Kel and Sunny. It's nice to meet both of you.

It's nice to meet you too, Mincy.

MINCY: Sigh...

Huh? What's wrong?

MINCY: Oh, it's nothing... You're the first person to say something positive about my drawings. Sometimes when I'm feeling down, it makes me question myself, and it gets hard to move my pencil.

No way! I don't believe that at all! I really think your drawing is great. I wouldn't be able to do that in a million years!

Don't be so hard on yourself, Mincy! Me and Sunny believe in you!

MINCY: Sigh... Y-Yeah! You're right! I just gotta shake off those bad feelings! I'll try and buckle down and finish this now.

That's the spirit! See you around Mincy. You got this!


Aww, Kel. Seems he has changed since... however long its been, considering how Sunny thinks of him in the dream world. Or maybe just not having Aubrey around is enough for him to calm down.





APPLE GUY: Have you ever heard the phrase... "An apple a day keeps the doctor away?" The same concept applies to apple juice! Apple juice supports hydration! It contains beneficial plant compounds and may support heart health... It may also protect your brain as you age! There are no downsides as far am I'm concerned!


... I don't know if it's just a me thing or everyone thing, but I always associate apple juice as a kids drink. Even when I got older and had some, I still felt like I was drinking a 5 year olds beverage. Granted, it is so sugary...





OLD HOBO: Ahh... Today is such a beautiful day, don't you think? I may not have any money, but at least sunlight is free!


And that's it for the park. Not too much going on, even if we did start some important things for later on. Let's head to the plaza.







Hmm... that cardboard cut out looks familiar. Also, I notice the fountain has an interaction icon!





Woohoo! We go toss the coin into the fountain for a wish... what does it do? Good question! We will find out together. The woman next to the fountain tells us she wished to meet her true love... sadly, since she told us her wish it won't come true but she won't know that the next time she goes on a date.




Bargain Bin Boys





Man... remember variety shops like these? Another brick and mortar casualty of amazon.





It's probably been a while since you were here... but it hasn't really changed all that much! It's all the same old stuff... Capt. Spaceboy games, Sweetheart movies, a few pet rocks... except now they're vintage!

Actually... Since we're here, I should probably buy a gift for Hero. He's in college right now, but he should be coming back sometime tomorrow.

He's studying to be a doctor, so maybe I should buy him... some medicine?





No, that's a horrible idea.

You should help pick out the gift, Sunny. Let's look around and see what there is!





Rated M for mature, huh? That's too violent for Hero! He definitely won't appreciate something like this.


Isn't Hero like an adult? How are M rated games not his thing??





These CDs look pretty cool, but I think Hero would appreciate something more sentimental. Let's look for something else...


We will be back for these CDs later...





Looking through these comics brings back so many memories. It's just like old times, huh Sunny? Hero was never too interested in comics though...





I already have this console, Sunny! And I don't think I can afford two...





This thing is way too expensive, Sunny! I love Hero and all but not that much!


Those consoles look quite familiar! Especially the one that's brand new! Just in case you were wondering the time period for this game to take place.





If we get these, I don't think they'll ever make it to Hero...





A lot of these DVDs are catching dust... I'm sure we have most of these somewhere at home already... probably also catching dust...





I've always been fond of these little guys... Hero would get mad at me for spending my lunch money on them, though. Let's not remind him of that...





Wow! The monster in the poster looks so realistic! I'll bet fighting that would be a tough battle!


Oh yeah? Well guess what, maybe we'll take him on!







Woof





Alright, so this guy is actually pretty tough but we can't let Kel know that.






...Or Jackson here goes down after three hits without even a single swing of his chainsaw arms. What a loser!





Woah! A CD fell from behind the poster... Weird... I wonder who hid it there? I guess... we can just take it?





Didn't even have to pay for it! Man, we should fight more posters more often!

And of course, the present for Hero will be in the last place you look.





Wow, that's a mouthful.

Hero had a copy of this when we were kids, but our dog, Hector, destroyed it.

He's going to be so happy when he sees this...

But before that... We need to ask the most important question! How much... does it cost?





$20.00!? This is extortion!





Shoot! I left my wallet at home... Err... Can you spot me, Sunny? I'll pay you back, I promise.


The first time we've seen you Kel in how long? And you're already borrowing money? For Shame!... No seriously, how long's it been?


Thanks, friend! I knew I could count on you!





SHOPKEEP: Kel! How've you been, buddy? It's been a while since you've come around, hasn't it? Ah, that's Papa Chip's Chip-Off-The-Old-Block cookbook! I see you have good taste!

Yeah, my brother used to follow his recipes all the time! His cookies were my favorite.

SHOPKEEP: It's rare that I see another fan of Papa Chip's work. That'll be $20.00, please!





Thanks a lot, Sunny! I bet Hero will love this!


Yeah yeah... you're lucky Sunny had $30.00 on him somehow. I guess its leftover birthday/christmas money, based on my experience as a young teen prior to that first job. Well... let's spend the other $10 right now!





SHOPKEEP: They usually go for $25.00... but you seem like just the right guy for this one... so I'll let it go for $10.00!


Ah, the pet rock... of course we're buying it. In fact, there may even be an entire update dedicated to this thing coming in the future...





Wow! I don't believe it... This is really strange since we haven't played since we were kids... but it just so happens that I have mine, too! Such a weird coincidence, huh?

Hey, I have an idea! Why don't we battle with our pet rocks?

Awww, yeahhhhhh... I'm pumped!







Clash of Jash




Jash Bash







The name of the game is... Rock, Paper, Scissors. I... don't think I need to explain how to play. There's a shitton of time dedicated to this mechanic, the entire update thing I mentioned above isn't a joke, there's an entire hour of footage dedicated just to pet rocks. Just in case you needed a reminder that this game had 7 years of work put in.







So Pluto looks really intimidating, especially with 6 hearts to our 3, but is simple as hell. Kel's thought process consists entirely of "Good ol rock, nothing can beat rock!" so choose paper 3 times to win. Stacking round wins gets you a combo point, so after 3 correct choices in a row - you do 6 points of damage. We'll talk a lot more about them later...


Oh shoot, I lost... I guess I'm pretty rusty... Well, that's okay.

You were always the one who was good at video games anyway! I guess you're the same old Sunny after all!


Kel proceeds to go over Pet Rocks and all that jazz, which we will do another day! We already have a busy schedule ahead of us.




Finding Shapes in the Cloud





So... Where do you wanna go now, Sunny?

Guess there's really not much to do around the suburbs, huh?





Oh, how about the Faraway Park? Yeah the park!

We passed it by on the way here.

That sounds fun, doesn't it?


Well... we visited the park on the way here Kel, there didn't seem to be anything that fun there unless you think picking up litter is fun. Still, let's head over there and see what's going on.




Where We Used to Play





Well hey! We've got music playing this time! That makes it seem more fun already. Seems the local scooter gang has taken up position at the park, so we'll probably need to keep things quiet lest we get bullied by some dorks on scooters and get embarrassed in front of our friend.







YELLOW HAIRED BOY: Wait, don't go! Please!

GIRL ON SCOOTER: Sorry, dude. I can't help you. You're on your own!

Uh-oh... There's some commotion going on over there. Let's check it out.


This seems like a good way to get our asses kicked Kel...





YELLOW HAIRED BOY: I'm begging you. Just ask her to give it back. She won't listen to me...





Wait... is that...?

That's Basil! Leave him alone, you bully!





GIRL ON SCOOTER: Who's there? Oh, it's just Kel... Grumble grumble... Why don't you mind your own business?

Well, why don't you go bother someone else, Kim?

KIM: Psh. Well, aren't you acting all high-and-mighty? You don't make the rules around here!















KIM: Oh, hey Aubrey... This nerd Kel just showed up and thinks he can boss me around! Let's show him what's what!

Kel... what do you want?

Stop messing with Basil! How could you!? We all used to be friends, don't you remember? Tell her Sunny!

...Sunny's here?





Wow, it really is you. It's been a while, but you haven't changed a bit.

How long has it been since you left your house? Three years...? Maybe four? Must have been nice to live in your own little bubble.


...Three to four years!?


Watch it, Aubrey! You don't know what he's been through.

Hmph... Whatever.

Aubrey! Please... listen to me...





Oh... SOOO not cool. You've brought it on now Aubrey.


Hey, stop that!

Leave it alone, Kel. This isn't your problem.

What the heck is wrong with you, Aubrey?!

Ugh... Sunny! C'mon! We've got to do something!

Haha... Are you guys really picking a fight?





Sure, why not? The two of you against me! How's that sound? Come at me! I'll take on the both of you!







Aubrey




Just Leave Me Alone





Sigh... are we REALLY doing this Aubrey? What the hell has happened to you!?





We're going to have Sunny attack and have Kel encourage him to get him some higher attack. That's Kel's only ability and Sunny can use calm down to get a free heal in.





That isn't going to be necessary though.













I'm fine...

KIM: No youre not! You're bleeding! C'mon, we gotta get you out of here!

Ugh... I'll get you back for this...









W-wait a sec! Give me that!

You shouldn't be carrying things around like this, Sunny... That's dangerous!


Look, we just forgot that we still had it on us after fighting the staircase monster, I mean the rug monster, err I mean the steak the well done steak that we ate and OH GOD THAT'S WORSE, WE CAN'T TELL HIM THAT.





Sigh... Aubrey's really changed since you last saw her. Her and her new friends have been nothing but trouble. Poor Basil... let's check if he's okay.





Ah... I'm fine... Thank you... Kel.

I don't know if you noticed, but Sunny is here too! Say hi, Sunny!

Oh... Hey, Sunny. It's been a while, hasn't it? Haha...





I love Kel so much. He always just brings so much energy and positivity to a group clearly in need of it. Aubrey sure seems to need a lot of it.


So, did you wanna hang out with us today?

O-Oh... I'm sorry... I'd love to, but.... I... I should probably head home.

Huh? Really? Are you sure?

My, um... my grandma hasn't been feeling too well lately.

OH, I'm sorry to hear that.

Let us at least walk you home. It's been so long since we've all hung out!

O-Oh... Alright then... Thank you.


Similar to when we walked Basil home in our dreamworld, Basil won't let us head anywhere but his house... which is a block down and to the right from our home.





Err... are you guys... seeing that? Just me? Ok.





Hallucinations of wormholes aside, here's the street with Basil's home.





Hmmm... now where could Basil's house be.


There's Basil's house! It's that one with the green roof!





No problem-o! If you ever need anything from me, just ask, okay? We'll catch you later, Basil!

Okay...















Anything Basil, what do you need?

Well... You see... Something important was taken from me. When... we... used to be friends... Do you remember how I used to take pictures of everyone?

Of course I remember! Those photos meant everything to you!

Ah... Right... Well... Aubrey... She took my photo album and...

AUBREY STOLE YOUR PHOTO ALBUM!?

W-Well... She... She won't give it back...

WHAT A SCUMBAG!!

Don't you worry about a thing, Basil! Me and Sunny got you covered.

Ah... Okay... Thank you...

By the way... about what you said before...











Well... I'll see you later.







C'mon, Sunny! There's no time to lose! We got a photo album to find! Let's check the park for clues!


Yup! No time to waste! We're definitely going to do this immediately...! We've got to find our friends photo album after all!! We just... need to take a slight detour first...