Part 6: Boy Meets Morizora

Update 6 - Boy Meets Morizora

Last time, we cracked parts of the floor in the well lit room. So hopefully, when we go downstairs...



Tiny Planets (Upbeat)





Light makes me grow! Doesn't it make you grow?
No! Of course not...
If not light... then what do you eat?
Dead plants, of course...
AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

I hope you were ready to start your day off with cuteness overload. Let's see what the foot has to say.

Are you the one who punched those holes in the ceiling? Did you bring me this sunlight?
I'm not sure... maybe?
It might have been an accident though...
The best accident ever!!! I'm the happiest Foot in the Forest!
...
Thank-you for the sunlight!!!

We brightened up the foot's day, but he brightened up ours too! Let's talk to Shimeji before we head out.

Whoa, is it just me, or did it get really bright all of a sudden? If it stays like this, I'm gonna go hang out in the dark with the other mushrooms!
Eeek... I'm sorry!
Oh it's no biggie... I have legs and can get up and move no problem. This guy over here though... he kinda needs the sun. So I gueeeesssssss it's okay if this one room is so bright...
I loooooooove the light!!!!!!!
Pfft... Plants...



That's everything for the right side. Let's head back to the beginning of the cave so we can see if that other foot moved.



Hmm, it seems the envoy left the next room. I guess all the light must have made them run off. Sadly, their music still plays here instead of the upbeat tiny planets.



Morizora's Cave



Here's the first glimpse at the map. It's (as expected) really cute, but mostly useless since it only shows rooms we've been in. It seems like something that was added in because play testers were getting lost. But uh, I never found the place that confusing to navigate. Still, it likely helped someone and there are a couple areas on the next side that can be tricky to remember the exact placements.



The sapling hasn't changed since we last saw it.



Sure enough, the root shoot has left, and our progress no longer blocked off.



New looking creatures to talk to!

Western Water Flow Switch: entrance above.
Are you trying to get to the Western Water Flow Switch?
Oh... yes, we are.
Well you're gonna have to find a way to move those rocks first. Do you have a pet pig by chance?
A pet pig?
Haha, goodness no.
That's too bad... Pigs LOVE rocks. A pig would clear those rocks out in 5 seconds flat.
Interesting... thank-you for the information.

Well we have our goal: find a pig to clear the rocks. Obviously.



You don't look like Leebles, and you CERTAINLY don't look like you're from the Envoy... so you MUST be new!



>Do you live here?

Yeah... I actually live right through that door up there. Unfortunately, some Golems were roughhousing right above my front door. Now there's a pile of rocks blocking my entrance.
That's terrible!
Ah it's no biggie. There's a Pig living around here somewhere. He only eats Mushrooms and rocks. I'm sure he'll clear this out once he comes around.

> The Envoy?

The Envoy are between this realm and another. Most of them are harmless; just spirits passing through. But some of them have grown overcome with bad energy... fear, anger, hatred...

Which lead to suffering, and suffering is the Star Wars Prequels.

It's THOSE that you have to watch out for.

>What are you

I'm a Cave Bud. Along with the Mushrooms, Flowers, and Minimoris, we help keep the Forest running.



They caused that rockslide the other day... The only good thing about them is that they smell like grapes. I wish I smelled like grapes.

Hey, tulips smell nice too. Although a grape tulip...

Uhhh, nevermind. Let's head south.









Oh, I'm sorry! You're much bigger than any other onion I've seen...
Your FACE is gonna be an onion if you don't stay outta my way!



See these fists? Are THESE little?
Um, well...
YOU THINK MY FISTS ARE LITTLE? Well, uh... what kind of fists do you have?



Oh look, its the kid who has fists that are really dumb! Hey fists... what's 2 + 2? What did you say? You say the answer is, "durrrrrrrrrrr"
Wow, what is wrong with this guy?

This onion is so rotten, even the young innocent boy thinks he's a dick.

The stairs don't lead to anything interesting for now, so let's move west.



Ah, the last foot! Let's see what this dude needs.

Oh woe is me. Hunger consumes me, my stomach so empty it aches! How I long for that nectar of the Forest, that life-giving ambrosia... That which pleaseth my stomach... Delicious, delectable, divine... Dirt!

Simple enough, we gotta find some dirt. Shouldn't be too hard in a cave.



Hmm, this room seems straightforward enough.

Watch your step, friend.

Pfft, we'll be fine.



...Ok, next time, we'll watch our step.



Hmm, there's a locked door in front of that chest. Guess we'll have to find the key to get in. Using the stairs will lead us back up.



And this time, using careful manuevering, we can make our way to the minimora.



Pity it's behind a locked door... I wonder what's inside!

If there are holes up here that lead down there, then going behind the minimora...





Leads us to the chest!



There was a blue stone door that we needed a key for. We haven't seen the red stone door yet, but we will be able to progress through it now.



The door opens from the inside, thankfully. Would have been a terrible ending for us to be trapped there for eternity.

Hmm, we're spoiled for choice here. There's three directions we can go: north, east, or go back up a floor and head north. Let's head east first.





Ah, a blue stone door. We have the key, so we can head inside and see what is hidden within.





It's one of those... cats... and a golem kid.

The bigger Golems are always roughhousing. I'm not ready for that yet, so I just hang out with the Cats.

The cat, of course meows and has nothing else to say. It's just a cat.

Moving east...



Another new creature!



Hey we found the Pig!... Wait... what?

You come to feed me ROCKS or TRUFFULOS?
...?
No?? Then I stay here! Wah wah wah!

The Pig has nothing else to say, so we are going to have to head elsewhere and see if we can get something to convince him to come along with us.



We'll go back towards the west, as the east leads to the stairs and the onion again.





Mysterious





Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!
WAHHHHHHHHH!!!!
Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!
What are you doing, man!? You totally stepped on a RADSHROOM!
A Radshroom? Oh no!!
I'm sorry... I really didn't mean to...
Hmm... come here, little dude.





Naw, we're cool. I can tell you're a good little dude. I'm King Spore, and these are my totally radical Shimeji Guards. Together, we make up the "Radshroom Preservation Society." Or RPS for short. All around Morizora's Cave there's a great battle going on... A war between good and evil... A struggle between RAD and BAD!!



...!!
Yes, yes. You SHOULD be surprised... shocked... Surprised... For ages, the Radshrooms and the Badshrooms have been at war... Radshrooms... Like the poor little dude you just stepped on.
Sorry...
They fill the air with righteous spores that make you peaceful, kind, and full of rad! Radshroom spores in the air mean we all get along better. Badshrooms on the other hand...



Badshrooms are totally uncool. When you breathe in their spores you become rude...
Gnarly...



So little dude... whilst on your totally righteous journey, the RPS asks that you help stomp out the bad. While totally protecting the rad.
I'll try my best!
Awesome!! Hey little dude, is that like, your Mom?
Yes.
Moms are totally cool.
...

The king will just repeat what he said for now. So let's talk to the rest of his crew.

The Truffulos are mushrooms that live right above us. They have the most radical tasting dirt... But these dudes don't share. That dirt makes them taste really good. That's why the Cave Pig wants to eat them! Wait... is that like what karma is? Whoaaaa...

Hmm, they may not share but it sounds like we found out where the dirt we need is.

It feels so rad doing our civic duty.









... It's the most obvious and dumb joke and hell, I laughed at it.

Nice view of the water from here.

It's good looking water.

Since we have the key, we can head into the room next to this one.



There are two badshrooms as well as a chest behind bamboo. We stomp the shrooms and head up the stairs.



Morizora's Cave



This room has a good example of the difference between the badshroom and radshroom. Rad being a light blue and thinner, with the bad being darker and a little fatter. Stepping on radshrooms prevents the RPS from talking to you further, so we aren't going to do that.

Talking to the Cave Bud...

I know this is hard to believe, but did you know that there's a PIG living inside this cave? It's kind of insane! Lucky for us, the only eat rocks and Truffulos... NOT Cave Buds. Just between you and me... Not that I'd ever wish being eaten by a Pig on ANYONE, but... If the Pig HAD to eat someone in this cave... and I HAD to choose who it was...



Damn dude, thats a bit cold. Sure they don't share, but are they really that bad?

Before heading south, we make sure to stomp on the BAD and not the RAD.





Fancy



... I don't like 'em already.





And that's how it should be! We are the best Mushrooms, so we should get the best Dirt! Hah!

I never thought I could hate a cartoon mushroom, but well, you learn something new everyday!

If you've come here to ask for our Dirt: we're not just gonna give it to you if you don't give us something in return!
That dreadful Pig that lives down here only eats two things: Rocks, and us! Ugh... so barbaric

I'm on comrade Pig's side.



Ugh, let's get out of here. Going south leads us back to the room with holes. So we head east in hopes of finding better creatures.



Hmm, a jumping puzzle?



Oh they light up after we touch them? So what happens if we make them all light up?



The puzzle itself is easy to solve, just snake your way around, making sure to stay on the outside.

We hear the door open, and sure enough, that door on the side can now be entered. First, lets talk to this bud.

Those rocks are weird.
Why are they weird?
Well... One time I saw a mushroom jump from rock to rock to get to the other side, and as he jumped... the rocks turned BLUE! What's up with that... Weird right?

Totally strange dude. Had we come from the other way, we could have heard that first, but you've likely seen a jumping puzzle before.

Don't mind me, I'm just exercising. Gotta tone up these petals!



Let's check out that door.







Hmm, I wonder... Who in this cave would want something like Pig Repellent?

Ugh, I don't want to have to make a deal with the Truffulos.

This side area leads to that chest we saw earlier.



Time to head back to the Truffulos and make a deal



Wait... Is that Pig Repellent you're carrying?? Ugh, we NEED that! We'll give you a bag of our best Dirt if you give us that Pig Repellent! I'll even throw in some Truffulo Perfume... It's so refined! This perfume would make even a lowly Cave Bud smell as good as us, hahaha! But stay away from Pigs while you're wearing it, otherwise they might follow you around.



Barbaric!!
Uncouth!!



I did actually go try and see if there's another way around, but alas! There is no alternate ending where they get eaten.

You traded your Pig Repellent for some Tasty Dirt and Truffulo Perfume.

Delightful! Now that uncouth Pig will finally give us some peace and quiet.

Ugh, I feel dirty. On the positive side, we've got the dirt, and something to make the Pig follow us! The Pig is closer, so let's go pick it up!



Morizora's Cave



You come to feed me ROCKS or TRUFFULOS?
I wonder if he would follow us if we used the Truffulo Perfume.
WHY YOU SMELL LIKE TRUFFULO? I FOLLOW YOU!



True to its word, the Pig is following us. We now have a complete RPG party! The Pig provides some great offensive skills for our team and will boost our otherwise pathetic attack.



On our way to the cave-in, we notice something... unusual in regards to the area surrounding the Bad Attitude Onion.

What would happen if we squish all the Badshrooms?









...
Thanks for clearing the air in here!
No problem!
Wow, this is such a nice cave... the sound of the underground river near here... the cool feel of the rocks beneath my stalks... And wow, I really like your hat!



This onion just went from BAD to RAD!



As soon as we get near the cave-in, the Pig goes to work.









Truffulo Perfume has faded.

Good luck comrade Pig! May your feast be hearty!



Here's that water switch we've been needing. There's a cave bud in here, I assume they live here with the bud outside.

Hah, I guess that Pig finally ate the rocks blocking our door. Someone needs to tell those Golems to go roughhouse somewhere else!
Western Water Flow Switch.



One down, one to go!

First though, let's turn a sad foot into a happy foot!





Tiny Planets (Upbeat)



Fare thee well my friends!

That's all three sad feet turned happy feet! Time to go see the Sila Tree Sapling and let them know the good news.



Whoa! The sapling's fully grown!

Oh wow!!! I am so beautiful!! My Feet tell me that you helped all of them! Because you gave them sun, water, and dirt, I was able to grow up into a full Tree! Thank-you for your help... We all feel MUCH better now. Here, to say thank-you, I want you to have one of my fruit.

You received a Sila Apple.

We can now give this to the Hungry Golem, and finally fulfill our original goal of Feed. That. Golem.



OH BOY!!!

*munching sounds*

I feel so different now... It's like I have so much more... ENERGY!



The final roadblock is taken care of! Let's go hit that switch.



Oh, there was a Glowshroom stuck in here.



We're talkin' 1000 Watts, 90 second intervals, and I can bench like 5 times my own weight. I also make my own dead plant shakes... they help me put on the pounds.

... Right.

Eastern Water Flow Switch. That Glowshroom is so annoying. It's like, no one cares how many reps you can do, or how many dead plant shakes you drink a day.

That poor sign has been stuck in here for who knows how long. Probably wanted to vent to the first person who read it.

After we hit the switch, our mom tells us

Good job!

It's real cute that our mom is encouraging us.

Back in the main room...



Please bring me my tools, and I'll clear that bamboo for you.



As there are two chests, we grab the non-story one first for 10G.



Oh my wonderful tools! Thank-you so much! Now as promised, I'll clear you a path to Morizora's Grove!







There ya go! Well, I'd better get back to my shop. Thanks for everything! Oh, one more thing! If you visit my shop, I can build you some tools of your own! It's gonna take me a little time to get everything up and running again though... So why don't you come by once you're done talking to Morizora. Hopefully I'll be ready by then! Good luck!

With that, Jacky heads back to the village. While we head deeper into the cave.







As we are through with the cave, here's the completed map. The icons are, of course, cute.



It's helpful, but only once if you've been in a room to get it marked off. If you haven't- theres nothing there. Again, this is the only time a map comes up in the whole game, so it's a bit weird.



I'd recommend against going down this path for the time being... There are far too many Envoy beyond this point.



Morizora awaits...









I do not recognize their kind at all... I don't think they're from Morizora's Forest...
Hmm... Definitely not from around here...
Definitely not.





The Keepers



I want to ask Morizora if he would grant me a wish. I'm willing to do whatever it takes.
I'm sorry, but Morizora has been sleeping for a while now.
Oh...
Do you know when he's going to wake up?
My boy, this is not an ordinary slumber. A darkness has fallen over Morizora's Lands, and over him as well.
...a darkness?
You see... We have long shared this world with the Envoy... They are spirits between this world and the next. Typically peaceful; merely passing through. However...



Anger, fear, hatred... The whole forest can feel it. If Morizora sleeps, and darkness subsumes his lands, we all are in danger.



.....
Let me try to wake him up for you!
Ha ha, my Boy... Morizora cannot be awoken by just any means. When darkness has caused him to fall into slumber, the only thing that can awaken him is a very special song...



Can you teach it to me?
No, my child. I cannot. But that's not to say that you can't learn it.



The fear and longing... The hopes and dreams of those around you...
Then you can wake him.
I'm sorry, but I don't understand.
Look around us. Do you see the stones with different markings?



Yes.
Each one represents a voice that is calling out for your help, right now.
A man whose connection with his wife has been severed...
A woman who prepares to lose that which is the most dear to her.
Seek them out, along with the rest who call out to you. If you help them, they will teach you what you seek to learn.



See that one over there?
Yes.
Shhh... listen...



My wife's been asleep for months now.
Something tells me that's a good place to start. Good luck young one. Return to us if you need any help.

The boy has finally been given his quest. Let's save the Forest, ya?