Part 5: Boy Meets Jacky

Update 5 - Boy Meets Jacky



So mom, what are your thoughts?

So you want to go through this cave, eh?
Yes, of course!
Okay, I guess since you want to go so badly I'll cave in and go with you...
...?
Get it?? Because we're in a cave... And people "cave in" when they're giving in? Oh ho ho!!
Oh mom!

I was looking out the window the other day and you know what I saw?
What did you see, Mom?
A skunk! It was looking right at me! Good thing there was glass between us!

When I ride the train, I like to do logic puzzles... it reall helps to pass the time.

The mom is such a good character. This game would be incredibly different if she wasn't following you around.

Anyway! Our first thing to do here is simple, talk to the walking plant.



That place is weird!

Helpful advice!



The map is incredibly worthless right now as nothing is filled in. I'll show it off later when it's filled in. It's also the only time the game uses a map, which has... dire implications.











The Spirit Envoy

What are you two doing in here?!
I'm sorry is this area off-limits?
We were just looking for Morizora.
Did we get the wrong cave?
No, this is Morizora's Cave... But you know it isn't safe right now, don't you? The Envoy are here...
The Envoy?



Most of them are harmless; they're just hanging around or passing through. But lately, many of them have become corrupted with bad energy... They're so blinded by things like fear and hatred that they aren't themselves anymore.



I haven't been able to work AT ALL since then!!
I'm so sorry to hear that...
Eh, at least I made it out alive!
What if were just really careful?
Are you crazy?! Didn't you hear what I just said?
Yeah, but I really need to talk to Morizora.

This is a very kid like line.

"Kid if you go in there you will get seriously hurt!"
"Yeah, but I wanna do it anyway!"

Plus, we're a lot bigger than you are.
Oh my gosh...







OH MY GOSH!!! I was so caught up in thought, I didn't even realize you were like 10 FEET TALL!
We're not 10 feet tall...
Close enough! What the heck ARE you anyway?
We're humans.

Oh God, now he knows! He's totally gonna send us on a fetch quest.

Interesting... Okay, well best of luck to you! One problem though. I know you're trying to reach Morizora, but as you can see...



I can cut that down if you get my tools back!

See kid? Do not let people know we're humans, it makes things complicated.



Oh... well that seems easy.

Everything I need to do my job is IN THAT BOX.

... I'm starting to think you did this yourself Mr. "I now have an excuse to do no work".

Including my axe!
We'll do whatever it takes to help you out!
You can start by draining this lake! There are TWO switches in this cave that control the flow of water. Find them both, and we are good to go! Pretty straightforward, right?

Can't we just swim? It doesn't look that deep. Oh fine

That's the spirit! Er... no pun intended...



Good luck!

Talking to him further just has him repeat what to do.



Morizora's Cave





Let's start by talking to this road block and see what it has to say.

Excuse me... do you mind moving so that we could get through here?

Oh, I'm sorry... I'm too tired to move.





Aww... why are you so tired?
Well, usually I LOVE swimming through the dirt. I go on random errands for the Tree I belong to. But my tree is malnourished... which means I'm malnourished too. So unfortunately, I can't move right now. Maybe if my Tree gets what it needs, I'll be able to move again. But until then... I'm tooooooooo tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiired...

Basically, go do things on the other side first. Which we can do!





Uh, well that's certainly a creature.



What's the matter?
I'm soooooo hunnnnnngry. Soooo hungry that I can't mooooove...
Poor thing...
I'm sure we have some extra food that we could give you!
Nooooo, I can't eat Horse food...

Horse food? What did you bring with you mom!?

Horse food?
I need Sila Apples only... From Sila Cave Tree!! Unnnngghhhh....

New goal: Feed that Golem.



I'm not gonna be like that when I grow up. I'm going to be a Golem on the move.

Let's quickly check the sign to see if it points to progress being behind that Golem.

Eastern Water Flow Switch: entrance above.

The sign confirms that we need to Feed. That. Golem.

Hmm... if only the purple creature weren't blocking the entrance...



The next room over has an adorable little tree sprout.



I heard that if you have happy feet, you become more beautiful... is this true?
Hmm... I don't think I've heard that saying before...
Oh, it must be a tree thing then...
I think you have very beautiful green leaves.



Thank-you!!
You see, I have 3 feet... they're probably popping up around here somewhere... But they are SO SAD right now! How can I be beautiful if my feet are SO SAD?? One is hungry for dirt, one is thirsty for water, and one really needs some sunlight! Can you please help them?

We absolutely will! This thing is adorable and I will hear no dissenting opinions on this matter.

Making a quick stop up north...





Reveals a dead end for us, but something... interesting... for us to do in the future.

Doubling back and heading to the east to see what's that way.





Ah, this sad looking thing must be the foot the sap was talking about.



Hmm... let me check real quick. Why yes, we do have an extra bottle of water here... would you like it?
Oh that's kind of you, but when I say water, I mean like, a LOT of water. Like, a pond's worth! I drink a lot.
Hm, I don't think we could carry that much water.
I understand. If you happen to come across any though...
We'll let you know.

The door to the north is locked, so we'll have to go back again and try the southern door this time.





The chest is locked, and the buttons don't seem to do anything as of yet. We'll have to come back later.



The eastern door reveals a... very similar pattern to the one in the previous room.



When will Morizora wake up?
Hello!
How do you do?
I had a long day.
I am so tired.
It's someone's birthday today.



Happy b-day dude.

These things are adorable, and they are also number coded. The order being the correct button presses in the next room.



That order being this.





We can use that to open the door next to that sad foot.

Heading back there...





All we gotta do is hit the switch...



And bingo, water has returned.



Tiny Planets (Upbeat)





WATER!!! I can finally be me again! Thank-you so much!!!

Damn do I love that song. It's not on the soundtrack since it's just Tiny Planets shifted higher and faster but it's amazing how it still just puts a smile on my face. Just like this happy foot.

Sadly, we must leave this happy foot now and his amazing music.



Morizora's Cave



Oh hey, the sapling grew a bit.



Nice to see progress, and he's even smiling now!





Well, there's only one place to go.





Tiny Planets (Slow)





I have to find her before it's too late... I have to.



That... was a rollercoaster. Its the same song, but this time shifted down quite a bit. Three different versions of the exact same tune, all giving completely different emotions. This past few sequences are also setting up something I think the game does really well, and I'll talk about it later.

For now, we'll chat with these people and see what they have to say.



He's a Sky Bud. So he looks like me, but he lives in the sky.



> What's the song about?

Oh it's so deep! It's about having to work everyday serving tea to rich Buds... Having a high-strung boss who wears powdered white wigs... Wanting to make it as a hip hop artist... It really speaks to me!

A very common experience we all go through. Learning how to deal with bad bosses. Though I've not had one wear a powedered wig yet...

> What are you?

Oh I'm a Cave Bud. Not quite fully grown yet, but I'm getting there!

Let's talk to Sue some more, maybe she can give us some info on her friend.



My best friend and I would go everywhere together!
We had the best adventures.
Both of us were kinda poor... it was sad because sometimes she didn't even have any food.
But I always shared my lunch with her, because that's what best friends do.
I've been searching for my friend for so long, I can't even remember where we used to meet... I have to find her.

Poor Sue.

We don't have any info to go on, so we can't help her right now. Picking ourselves up from the interminable depression gained, let's talk to that glowing creature.



Makes sense.

I'm supposed to glow. Big and Bright! But lately, I've been having trouble holding my charges. It's probably all that stress from work. I just gotta take it easy, make sure to exercise... you know how it is.

If creatures living in a literal paradise world are suffering from stress, is there any hope for the rest of us!?



The bamboo is blocking the way to the other path, so heading east gets us...



Dark Heart





What are those...
Hmm... I'm not sure, dear. I wonder if they're the Envoy that Jacky talked about...



Uhhh







It's alright, dear... I think they're gone now.

That's our first encounter with the Envoy. Honestly, they kinda creep me out and they end up working as antagonists. There's no real grand motivation behind them, they're just dickish spirits- and that works.



They are indeed gone, though the music continues. Let's head up.





Oh... there's even more of them. Let's get mom to glare at them more.

Mom...
There's so many of them...
I'm kinda scared...



Hold my hand and stay close to me. I'll lead us through here.











I knew you could do it.

Beating the bad guys by holding mom's hand

Let's head north.



Well that's an introduction. This must be the foot who wants light.

It's so dark in here. I don't like the dark one bit!
Neither do I... Mom says there's nothing to be afraid of, but I still don't like it.
Finally! Someone who understands me! These Mushrooms don't get it at all. They're like, "Sunlight? Who needs that? Only crazy Feet like the sun." Well call me crazy but I DO like the sun! Unfortunately... I took a wrong turn and wound up in the very DARKEST part of this cave. Can you help me get some sun.

We sure can buddy.

I wish I had some sunlight. Stupid Mushrooms.

Speaking of Mushrooms.



Grabbing that chest in the back gives us 10G for our troubles.

Let's head up those stairs.



Where no one can find us



We found our way around that dead end earlier. We also found where literally all of the sunlight is... just one floor above the sad foot. Hmm, if walking over that floor tile once caused it to crack further, then...



Nice! Just need to do for the other two, and the next floor should have light.



Sure enough, we get a chime to let us know we were right. Before heading back downstairs, let's talk to these guys.



>Guild practice?

Oh you haven't heard of us? We meet here every week to jam. We call ourselves...







With exactly 3 exclamation points at the end!!!



Whoa, is that the up and coming new hip hop artist Lil' Budz!?

Get it? Because we don't hold back. We don't follow the rules! We spell it b-a-r-d, not b-a-r-r-e-d.
Because we're literally bards ... It's a play on words...
Ahhhh!
That's clever!
Lady, I like your style.
...
So like, down here, we can be ourselves... Take Kreyg for example...



Out in the real world, he's gotta wear a suit and tie and work for THE MAN! But down here... He shreds on the ELECTRIC LUTE.



And then there's Lil' Budz.
Sup homies.
He spends his days serving tea to a bunch of snobby Buds in the sky.
I'm all like... "More sugar, sir?" ... "Can I offer you a scone?" Only SUCKAS eat scones!!
Oooooooooohhhh!
Whoa there, Budz...
Sorry, sometimes I just gotta let it out.
We all do, Lil' Budz. We all do. Channel it into the music.
I hear ya, flower.



So if you need a space to just chill out... feel free to kick it with us! NO HOLDS BARD!!!

The rest have nothing else to say, but the Sunflower offers some advice, if talked to again.

Hey guys, good to see you again! Remember: Stay strong and don't ever let anyone tell you that you aren't good enough.

That is, sadly, it for this crew. Though maybe we will run into them again later on.

For now, let's head back down the stairs.