Part 24: Overclocking

Right, heading to the West Wing. This game has a whole building to show off and it's going to make damn sure you see all of it. And, since we've seen that the Hackers are snooping around as well, they show up as enemies in the next room. Not much further beyond that, though, too many ghosts.



Ghosts like these guys, who can drain your health up close in a surprisingly direct method. Dangerous with low-Guard robots, but Pinky is not one of those. He's still only taking one or two points of damage.



Checking the first left-hand passageway in the West Wing proper leads to our man, who is being interrogated by a Hacker. We beat him up and we get a choice to pump him for a little information before letting him go. Doing so just gets you a little fluff that doesn't come up again until much later in the game.



Then we listen to Flavon pine about being able to talk to his dog. This is enough to give us the idea to create an invention that lets us talk to dogs. After coming to him for help because we can't talk to dogs. Don't think on that for too long.







Anyway, we head north from Flavon's resting spot to nab ourselves a slew of new schematics. We're already using a higher tier of Axe, but knowing how to make one saves a bit on combining time. The other two we're going to want to make to improve our Boss-Stomping set. Bombs aren't all that handy for bosses, mainly due to the recharge time, so we're better off having a pack that makes Pinky hit those big bads harder.







So we hit up the Invention Machine north of where we initially found the dog to make all that.



Just as a reminder, though, having a Power Pack prevents the use of those all-enemy Run commands like Troz. So make sure to take it off if you want to be able to use them against groups of generic enemies. It's a bit of equipment juggling, but it definitely makes things a lot easier.



With that Relay made, we can talk to the dog to find out where he buried the key. Now we're stuck having to go back through the West Wing to make it back to the entrance, since we got this far in by falling down a hole. Going all the way around brings us back to where our hero was originally repelled by mysterious force.





Understandably, following a "kill every enemy in your way" tactic with this much backtracking results in another level.



It's not much of a consolation, but one of the side rooms in the West Wing also has a hidden Sword 2. It's not going to do much more than sit in Pinky's inventory as potential combine fodder, though.





After successfully navigating our way out of the Old House, it's a simple matter of walking along the perimeter of the place to find the second part of this area - the Clock Tower.



With a new area comes new enemies, and the first one we come across is the ghost version of the Mole. It has a chance to turn invisible after attacking and becoming immune to being damaged until it reappears again. Plus it can Confuse, causing you to lose control of your robot for a couple turns as he wanders around aimlessly buzzing at you, so take them out quickly and avoid the hassle.



After clearing the Mummies, we'll head up towards a staircase. On the next floor, going up again brings our hero to a capsule containing a Cure.



Now, the layout of the Clock Tower is basically a small maze. There's a few switch-opened locked doors and the path to the boss itself is blocked by raised tiles. So the general goal is to run around pushing those switches until you find the button.



So imagine a lot of battles and something like this interspersed here and there and you have the general feeling of the area. Knowing your way around really cuts down on the wandering, though.





Still, much like traversing the West Wing, all this back and forth tends to result in a lot of Megs. And we've passed another Guard marker, so Pinky's sporting a new chassis as well.



Anyway, north of the button you'll find Mint being harassed by a mouse. She wants us to get rid of it despite having no problems dealing with us earlier. Maybe it's because we're blue.



Fun fact - the item that turns you into a mouse is supposed to let you talk to mice. However, since this is before when you're supposed to have it, the mice you talk to respond as if you didn't have it on. Using the Relay is required to speak to them.





After dealing with Mint's sudden mouse problem, we duck out and back in to find out about a secret passage with a Scrap 6. Scrap 6 is mainly used for Hammers and Hammer-like weapons like the Celtis. However, by the time we have what we need for a really good Celtis, we're going to have something better.



Pressing the switch in the mouse room, however, gives us access to a nicer prize back near the entrance. Head left and up the previously locked door for another Scrap 1. We're going to retreat back to an Invention Machine now, since we're right by the entrance. Remember how Axe 1 + Scrap 1 made an Axe 2?



Well, Axe 2 + Scrap 1 = Axe 3, which maxes out at +120 power at Lv9, we now have the second strongest weapon in the game before the second boss. A full level Axe 3 is even more powerful than the highest tier of Bomb! So, needless to say, having this plus our wheelie shoes means Pinky's sitting pretty equipment-wise.



The main problem, however, is that we have to use our Axe 2 Lv 9 in its creation. As mentioned in the previous update, doing this will result in an Axe 3 Lv 1, rather than an Axe 3 Lv 5 if we were able to make another Axe 2 to upgrade instead. However, it was also stated that even a weapon two tiers lower will never give less than one level increase when combining. So, it's just a matter of making eight Axe 1s and crafting them one at a time with our new murder weapon. Just don't combine them together first, that will result in the reduced returns and waste precious money in the process.



Nothing better than straight 9s. Means I don't even have to bother with capsules except to try for some bonus Megs if I'm in the mood for it.





And, in what seems like the start of a pattern, we gain another level heading up to the top floor now that all the switches are thrown and the button is pressed. It should probably be noted that the max for all the non-Energy stats is 99. We're over halfway to max Power and Guard at 14, with Speed not too far behind. It's a beautiful thing, really.



We enter the top floor and get forced out due to powerful doll magics. This is where we'd go back and save Mint if we hadn't. Since we did that already, we go right back in and she gets chased off because we've brought a rodent bro this time. A brodent. We were a mouse to begin with though... This reminds me of someone.



Well, regardless of plotholes generated by our pre-mature mousiness, we're one switch away from the boss. Press that, go in and see some plot involving paralysis and power and...



It's boss time.



... Or it would be, except while checking to see if she had Run Resistance (she does), I found out that Run Resistance doesn't mean much at all if you crit. She only has 400 HP, to keep things in perspective.



So... uh... Second Boss, everybody!







After that... battle... we gain two levels as well as the second plot MacGuffin. After which Mint overhears the previously paralyzed prisoner present the purpose behind the prize, and then she runs off to write an potential Pulitzer-winner about it. Reporters. Since we've wrapped up everything around here, though, we don't have much to do but head on out as well.





Hey, I'm just as shocked as you are, Igor.



Outside the boss room, we find Flavon and he warps us out of the Clock Tower and back to Roccoco to drop some more plot on us.





Apparently the two of them got attacked by Hackers during their journey and Father decided to bust out the science. Then Flavon ellipsed a lot. It has been skipped for your convenience.



And we find out where the third and final MacGuffin might be. There's nothing to be found in his house, so we're off to get that final Stone. But however will we get to an island?



... Nah. Gonna need something else.

Next Time: Tribal Customizations