Part 12: The Way It's Supposed to Be

Update 12 - The Way It's Supposed to Be



MUSIC: Chaoscape





Welcome to the Land of Chaos! It's... more aquatic and less chaotic then I thought it'd be. I guess water is a pretty chaotic element... not on the atomic level, but as something humans have to deal with.









We'll need to jump across these platforms, which will somewhat tip over in the direction you're in. It just means you need to time your jumps a bit more, not that you only have a certain amount of time on the platform.







The next area introduces the gimmick of the Land of Chaos.





Those blue... bubble things, expand and retract depending on the direction you sing in. What the specific bubble will do for each direction varies, and so you have to experiment with it to find out how you need to advance.





This first one is easy, and simply grows in the direction of our song. When you sing and expand the bubble, it also gains a somewhat trampoline effect. It's not big enough to just jump across the map or something, but it can give you the height you need to make it through a puzzle or even skip a step or two.











We have to sing downwards to make it grow along its side so that we can hop on. I kinda don't care for this area because of the experimentation involved, compared to the wind tunnels - which were inherently intuitive with what needed to be done. It doesn't make it unfun, just not as enjoyable.











This bubble, as well as some others, will give you momentum as you sing up. You don't even have to jump, you just get flung in the air. It's inconsistent depending on the puzzle, but it can at least be expected to happen when you need it to. Anyway, there seems to be a flying fish there! We usually don't see creatures outside of the fairies in the spirit world.




You may think I'm just a lowly fish. But I am in fact also a key. If you see me floating about... Please bring me along to locked doors. You'll find I'm much more handy than the average fish.


Alright, so we found a key-fish? A key-fish? A kish? Whatever we found, it follows us around





The game also gives a slight peek at where we need to go. It's a small thing, but that's pretty good level design.





If we head back to this bubble, we should be able to make it grow upwards. If down made it grow to the side, then...





...Up makes it go up? I mean, I guess that is chaotic. But I don't like the unintuitiveness of the puzzle. To each their own though.













Once we've used the fikey, it swims/flies ahead of us. So we need to go find it again!









Oh what fresh hell is this. Believe it or not, the best thing you can do is fall down.









Because there's Mr. Keysh, just waiting for us to come pick it up again.


If I can ask... Are you here to meet Queen Chaos?

...Is that the Overseer?

Yes.

She has a really cool name!

I'm her little helper, so to speak. But she's been acting very odd of late.

Every Overseer I've met has been acting weird!

Hmmm...


First of all, Bard, I'm pretty sure Miriam told you that the Overseer's name was Queen Chaos. And second of all, we've only met two Overseers... and while the Queen of Winds was a bit of an odd duck, the King of Dreams, a cat, being an asshole actually fits pretty well. So I wouldn't say he was acting strange!


Regardless of Bard's not paying attention, we have the key-ish for this area and can advance... once we figure out where we need to go.





This is where the Chaoscape starts getting... chaotic.











It's somewhat hard to say anything about these puzzles because it's mostly just trial and error. I mean, now you can see the solution so the trial and error part has been reduced to simply making the jumps necessary (which are a bit tricky with the slight trampoline effect).









There's a platform directly above us. Keep that in mind for like 20 seconds into the future.












Have you wondered... Why the Overseers are acting strangely?

Aren't they supposed to?

No. Something is very wrong... It's a sign of the end times.

Oh! That sounds bad.

...


Hmm, so is something corrupting them and that's whats ending the world? Maybe we can just sing away the corruption and save the world that way. Is the Dream King not supposed to be apathetic as well? The Queen of Winds was clearly off... what's going to be wrong with Queen Chaos? Is she going to have OCD now?

We're at a dead end so we have to head back. Any guesses where we need to go?





Remember that platform from 20 seconds ago? That's where. If you miss it your first time through, it can be a little confusing. But hopefully you'll catch it while backtracking.











Once through the locked door, we head up the waterfall behind it, and find ourselves stopped by more bubbles. After some redesigning of their shapes, we can get through them to the other side.













Once we start to head on the bubble, a little bit more of the platform is revealed and we can see multiple ways to proceed. Since the top level is accessible, let's check that out first.





That seems like the way to proceed in the future, but not right now. So let's change the shape to head downwards instead.















Now we're at the part we saw earlier! This path is a little bit tricky because it can require changing the shapes on the fly as well as having to use the trampoline effect that the bubbles give off. So long as our platform handling skills are fine, we'll be alright.













Definitely the trickiest of the puzzles so far. The jump timing is also a bit weird and can make this take a couple of tries. Still, no punishment for failure! So it's only a matter of perserverance to make it through.







These bubbles are constantly moving even when not singing. Singing will make them still change shape, but there's no steady platform if the jump isn't timed properly.




The Overseers are born as perfect beings. They embody the natural forces that sustain our world. But as the universe grows old... They grow unhappy... lose their way... Their corruption slowly spreads, and so the world begins disintegrating as well.

Hmm... sounds pretty bad!

...


So... there isn't something corrupting the Overseers besides time itself. I uh... don't think we can fight the element of time. I mean, maybe we can delay things a bit with our singing, but it seems like the Earthsong is truly the only way to stop this.













This part's a little weird compared to the others. It's just a vertical column and we need to get to the top by manipulating these bubbles to do that.









It can be annoying because they give off enough momentum after each thrust that Bard can get thrown off the bubble. So the first worry is staying on the bubble, then making it to the other bubble. Trying to speedrun it can lead to constant failures compared to taking it slowly. Or maybe I'm just bad at this game so easy a child could beat it












So tell me... are you here to complete The Ritual?

?

I don't know what that is...

...

I'm going to learn the Earthsong!

Oh. I see.

...

Well, nevermind. Go ahead and enter.






We did it! We have traversed through the land of chaos! And good riddance, I'm just not a fan of this area, as much as I enjoyed the act itself. I much prefered the wind tunnels and the next Overseer level to this one. I think it doesn't help that the soundtrack for this area is also kinda there. Most of this game's music has been amazing and on point, and this one feels like filler.

Before we head inside, the Chaos fairy has a few words for us.


Queen Chaos may prove hard to deal with. But just follow her rules, and treat her politely... and she will do what you ask.

You've come so far with my help. I hope I was able to prove... that I truly am more handy than the average fish.


You were truly a key part of us making it through.









As before, the Overseers do just enjoy their long hallway entrances.















Have we finally arrived at the throne? This has a lot of tension building for this overseer. It better look cool as heck!



VIDEO: Queen Chaos




Once we reach the top, we've got this thing awaiting us. To call Queen Chaos, we have to align the blue wave with the purple wave. We do this by spinning the radial wheel, like with the mermaid levers. But the speed at which we do so, impacts how fast or slow the blue wave goes.













Wow... that's a uh... big fish. Alright, so le--











UHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH WHAT!?




Did you just kill... the Overseer?? Who are you???







MUSIC: Lightning Strike




The Hero?







Wait, I don't think you understand! I'm on a quest to meet the Overseers... to learn the Earthsong! Eya already picked me!





WHhhhhhhhhhhh.... WHAT is going on??

Um, well... basically...



MUSIC: The Way It's Supposed to Be




It won't??

No. In every cycle of the universe, every single time... It's never worked. The world is too filled with discord... Especially when it gets this old

And that's where I come in! To destroy each Overseer... and free the world of their corruption!

And that... is gonna save the world...?



The Overseers hold your whole world together, but when they get old and messed up like this... there's no way to fix them. The moment the last one dies...



So the next cycle can start...



I know it sounds sad, but that's the way it's supposed to be...



So I was supposed to give up? And just let the world end? Why'd you even tell me about the Earthsong in the first place?

...

Because... I really like you! And... I didn't want to tell you no. I still don't!! But I have to be realistic, I'm an angel of Eya and a guide to the hero. My job is to usher in the end, and pave the way for a new beginning.

SHEESH, quit being such a baby!












































...That... did not go swimingly for our hero regular dude Bard.

All seems lost for us... until...








...

It looked like something went wrong. So I came, um... Are you okay?

No! I'm not the hero, Miriam... I'm not cool or strong or anything. And I thought I could save the world, but I can't.

So I'm just gonna lie here... forever. And everyone will forget about me... and then the world's gonna end.





You're being really dumb. Nobody ever thought you were a hero anyway.

That doesn't make me feel better at all!

I mean that's not what's good about you! You're good because you're always all happy and singy. I wish I was like that. I'm grumpy and useless... You make everything better by being happy at it.

Well, I'm not happy now.



Even if we wanted to learn the Earthsong... we can't now that an Overseer is dead.



Actually no. You can talk to ghosts, right?

Huh?

There's still something here...



Something's... here?

Yeah I dunno, all around here... there's some kind of spirit... Come on, do your bardy thing and sing! Come on. You can do it!


After all of that, we have control over Bard again. Poor Bard took a hell of a blow from Audrey, and can barely move around and his singing is barely above a whisper. He's not complaining about it though, which I think, even in his currently depressed state, says a lot about him.

In order to progress, we simply have to sing which...





Brings those chain wavelength things back. It seems Queen Chaos has not fully left this world after all. As before when we summoned her, the two wavelengths are out of sync and must be resynced by spinning the radial wheel until the two match.







There are four total chains that must be synchronized in this manner. It can take a while to get the exact rhythm the chain wants, but once you realize what you need to do it's simple. I am, of course, a massive idiot and took until the LP run to figure out how to do it precisely. I got through by just spinning the wheel rapidly until it worked.





As we sychronize more chains, a glowing orb next to the crown grows larger.

























With that, I think poor Bard deserves a rest. He's... not had the best of days