Part 5: Thrashing Thraxx

Hey, everyone! We're back with another Secret of Evermore update; last time, we started our trip into the Bugmuck, where we found an alchemist, learned Hard Ball, and then saved our game. Today, we're going to finish off the Bugmuck and find Strong Heart, so let's boogie.



I'm glad our new alchemist friend was so cool with us.



Hey, look, a mosquito!



May as well try out our new spell.



It seemed to take that fella a moment to realize he was being murderized.



Moving along, let's see our other spell in action.



Neither spell is particularly powerful, right now, but as we get them some levels, they'll get stronger.



If I remember to use them like I should. There's a good chance I'll forget.







In other news, I tried Nutella for the first time last night.



And, dear God, is it tasty.



My wife had me try it with pretzel sticks, and I had to actively fight not to finish the bag and open the second one she had.



I imagine Nutella is tasty and delicious on many other things. I'm thinking of trying it on donuts.





Over to the left, we find some more Clay.



For now, we're going to skip past the entrance to that structure and keep exploring.



Over here, I use and grab another Petal.



And our dog hits level 5.



Looking at it, does that structure remind anyone else of a giant bug?



This entrance could be the mouth or something.



Maybe I'm reaching.



These slides are on either side. If you're running this place for the first time (or if it's been a while and you're not using a guide), you will probably be quite familiar with them by the end of it.





There are maggots and Tar Skulls littered around here, but they're basically just annoyances at this point.



Another annoyance here, and the main gimmick, is that when you cross over certain paths, they will crumble and disappear.

I've also gotten my ass kicked a bit here.



So here's a Petal in action. 40 HP recovered, and you don't take damage until you've been healed.



That path just above us crumbled before we even stepped on it.



As did this one.



At this point, frustrated at these stupid paths, I also realized I had a good bunch of money, so I hoof it back to the village.



On the way back, our Bone Crusher hits level two.



What does that mean, exactly? If you look at our stamina, you'll notice it's now replaced with a bar. At 100% stamina, we can hold down the attack button to start charging our attack.



Which leads to a big ol' pimpsmack with our Femur of Fury, which will deal a bunch of damage.





Let's buy some armor!





We walk away with a Grass Vest, Grass Hat, and Vine Bracelet. I would have bought Zach the Leather Collar, but I didn't have the money for it. The Vest and Hat have a defense bonus of 2, while the Bracelet has a bonus of 1.



And Zach has a ton of defense anyways. The Leather Collar has a bonus of 5. And if we're patient, we can get a free one later.



And back to the Bugmuck!



Where we hit level 7!



Alright, let's get back to this shit.



Just gotta navigate our way through and--



...We're left with one option. Let's accept our fate with dignity!



THAT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE DIGNITY



Alright, so, I would like to guide you through this place and show you the path to take, but that'd be boring as fuck in screenshots.



And somehow, seeing me hit a maggot with a bone is more interesting.



Let's probe deeper into the lair of the giant bug.







This looks like a maze, but it really isn't. The upper paths crossing over the lower makes it look confusing, but there's no criss-crossing or anything like that with them.



There are these paths leading outside, though.



This one leads to nowhere.



On the other side, we can get somewhere.





And not just to this Petal. Though, you probably will want all the Petals you can get.





Dashing on through (nothing interesting was missed), we come out the other side.



Leading to another Petal. But we're full up on Petals.



So I use a Petal on York, head south, and go back into the lair.





Being able to dash is so very nice. It helps with speeding past enemies that aren't worth fighting.



And for reaching Biscuits.



From there, we head north, to the boss fight.



This fight goes on waaaay too long and I could have done better, but don't judge me!





Sweet Christ, look at that fuckin' guy.



And, yes, that is the same boss from the box art. I'm not sure why Thraxx is on the cover, but I suppose he is a good eye-catching monster.



So, there's a lot going on in this fight. Thraxx has alchemy to use, two arms that hit like bastards, and he can drop maggots into the arena, so you have to fight them, too, in addition to staying out of range of his strikes and wondering if he's going to blast you.



And you can see his heart behind his ribcage; that's his weakpoint. If we want to do any appreciable damage, we've gotta get in there.





Just wanted to show off smashing a maggot with our charged attack. Any damage above 50 pops into those big numbers.





If you get hit by one of his claws, it'll do a bit of damage and fling you backward. If you're not careful, you can get caught in a loop where you try to attack the claws and keep getting smacked around.





Thraxx has 600 HP to his name. Until we get at that heart, we'll not be doing much more damage than this.



In case you didn't get the point just yet, alchemy is magic by another name. Bosses and some enemies can use it, and I'm not sure how Thraxx here is throwing ingredients together.







If you lose track of your HP, Acid Rain can easily end your shit. It's nothing to scoff at.





It's hard to see it, but I'm smacking the Heart with a regular attack.



The Heart takes damage quite poorly.



After striking the heart, Thraxx lets out a shriek that sends York and Zach flying back, across the arena.



It's not unusual to see Zach fall at least once during this fight, so that Biscuit will come in handy.



We get some big, green, fancy sparkles to bring our canine companion back.



And then I throw a Flash at the heart.





Alchemy passes through the ribcage, but I prefer using physical attacks to take care of it. Alchemy is kind of expensive at this time, since ingredients are kind of costly, and when you get a charged hit off on the Heart, it does a shitload of damage.



Throwing fireballs at a giant bug's heart is pretty kickass, though, so I keep it up.



And Flash hits level 1!



After taking out the 250 HP that each arm has, Zach gains a level!



And then we blow off the other arm, getting York to level 8!



Now that we're in there, let's hit it with a charged attack.







And then our dog rips Thraxx's heart to shreds.



Now that's a nice amount of cash. Be able to afford a lot of ingredients with that.



I'm not sure why the giant bug (spider? Is Thraxx a spider?) explodes, but it's pretty , so I'm not going to complain.



And, even better, we get a new, stronger, weapon after the fight! Our first axe is the Spider's Claw (I guess Thraxx is a spider), and it has five points of attack over our bone, and it can cut down certain foliage. Plus, it's an axe, and that's just metal.



So let's free whatever poor bastard is locked in here.





You're welcome and alla that, but who the hell are you?



Oh. Hey, we've been looking for you!



Nobilian? I wonder if we'll ever meet someone from that place or go there ourselves.



: I'm very happy to meet you both. I was searching for alchemy ingredients when I stumbled upon that monster. If you didn't come along and save me, I would have been eaten alive! Please take this gift with my thanks.



I'll never turn down free ingredients. Sure, they're common and scattered hither and yon, but free stuff is free stuff.





And that was Strong Heart. He'll be heading back to the village now.



So let's hoof it after him. No place else to go, y'know.



The Spider's Claw is a nice boost over the Femur, like I said.





Oh, neat, a couple of Crystals!



I forgot this was here, so I could have skipped buying the Vine Bracelet.



But, on that same ticket, I never found it harmful to have a little extra defense.



We're taking the cliffs back to Fire Eyes' Village.



And finding some goodies along the way.



See those plants there? We couldn't pass them before.



But, with our axe, we can now cut through them and walk past.





And we can get into another area, that doesn't have much of interest.



Zach can level his attack up, too, for a charged attack.



It's just a longer range, harder hitting, version of his regular attack, but still cool at the same.



And it hits like a son of a bitch. Much like Zach does.



Alright, back to the village. There's a side area to visit, but there's only some alchemy ingredients hidden around there, and I don't think that's interesting enough to show off.





That'll wait until next time, York. For now, let's take a break. Next time, we'll go chat with Fire Eyes and Strong Heart.

Stay tuned!