Wandersong Part #27 - The Solarscape

Part 27: The Solarscape

Update 26 - The Solarscape

Okay... this could be better. We didn't land near Miriam, and we landed on a platform that we can't seem to escape from. This... isn't going well.

Walking around on this platform does cause it to make sounds as if a harp is playing. And when we sing in a direction, there seems to be some kind of flashlight at the end of it. Seems nifty! Too bad that we're stuck here.

Oh no... I'm stuck!

Are you... a human?

Yes?

Hello... Um... I'm the Moon Fairy... I've been hiding here for a long time... You must be the Hero, right?

No...

Oh no... Things have gotten very bad... The Moon's Queen is very angry... and monsters started appearing here... They took away my only friend... Um... that's why I hid... I'm not very brave... My friend is, though... If I were brave like she is, I would go rescue her... but I can't by myself.

I CAN HELP YOU!!!

eep!! But you aren't the Hero...

That's okay! I'm a bard!

I don't know what that is... but if you can help my friend... Um... that would be great!

You can go this way...

The Moon Fairy is adorable by the way. I'm not the biggest rodent fan, but I'm okay with this one! It was also kind enough to open the way for us, so let's head to the right and save their friend!

MUSIC: Moonscape

Welcome, in full, to the moonscape. If it weren't for me really liking the gimmick of the Orderscape, Moonscape would easily be my favorite spirit world. It's got the best music, it's visually pretty, you make a wonderful sound when you walk, and it has the cutest fairy even! So, with all that said... how are the puzzles?

Here's one now. There's this bright light that looks like an exploding star, and we need to reach the upper platform. What do we do?

Simply interact with it, in whatever way we want. Walking into it, singing to it, dancing into it; so long as we interact with it, it forms this range around it that we can use to float around in and head to that platform.

Leaving the... uh, star? Sends you flying in the direction you were headed. Which is good to keep in mind.

These stars are actually really fun to float around in, and to use to get to new platforms. They have two major flaws, sadly. The first one is that when they expand, they can't go past any platforms/walls. The second flaw... is that the music gets rid of all instruments in the song except for the guitar while inside one. This heinous crime is why I'd rank it lower than Orderscape.

Starting here is where we need to use one star to navigate to another one. This really reminds me of Mario Galaxy and thus nostalgia probably aids in my enjoyment of these sections

They really are super fun, despite how simple they look.

Here's that flaw I was talking about. Because the star expansion is stopped by the platform, we're going to have to launch ourselves up from this star to the next one.

This one looks like it will require some tricks to get it working, but our singing flashlight is long enough to reach and let us cross over.

We do have to jump up to reach this one, and we are on a timer to reach over to the next side before the star closes up again.

The good thing is that you have plenty of time, and even if you are slow, you should be able to shine your sing-light on it before you fall past it.

As the star's expansion begins to retract back, it can be harder to make it inside the sphere it creates. But, so long as you do make it in, it fully expands out when you enter it.

These are probably my favorite parts: where we jump from one star to another. It's pretty relaxed, and as always, there's no real penalty for failure. The literal only problem I have with these sections is it muting instruments from the song. The song is so good! Don't just play the guitar!!

And the stars start moving... It's not a problem, thanks to our sing-light!

This last star ended up flinging Bard straight into the exit. Look at how much fun he looks like he's having! Also, I haven't pointed it out yet, the Moon Fairy has been following us for the entire time and still looks adorable

To reach the next platform, we have to launch ourselves from this star, but we need a bit of momentum to get there. Usually, the star itself gives enough momentum when you leave it. However, we're going a upwards and a bit to the right, which kills our forward progress in air. It's nothing complicated, though.

This star field wants us to navigate some tight spaces in between moving stars. Which can sometimes require some leaps of faith at the end.

The star expands pretty quickly, so as long as you're quick on your song-light, you should be fine.

After the Mario Galaxy section, we've come to the big finale of the Moonscape. It's a simple and really really cool way to finish us off.

This isn't the first game to do something like that, and it won't be the last. But man do I super enjoy the long passageways as the camera zooms out. We also seem to have landed... in the Sunscape? They seem to be real close to each other.

This is the place... where the Sun's King lives. My friend is trapped in here.

The Sun's King?

Yes, the Overseer...

But what about the Moon Overseer?

She is back the way we came.

Why are there two Overseers here?

Um... I don't understand your question.

I thought they all lived really far apart!

Umm... Well... we used to be further apart... A long time ago... But now, we are very close.

So... the castles moved?

Yes! Is that strange...?

I guess not?

It seems the discord in the universe is getting worse. We really need to hurry and get the earthsong from these two before things get worse. They already both seem like they could go at any moment.

MUSIC: Sunscape

...Okay, I'll be the first one to say it. This is a pretty dark Sunscape. Who turned out the lights? Did the Sun's King forget to pay the electric bill again!?

The Sunscape is the real reason why we were given a song-light for the spirit world. Though it was handy for the Moonscape, we really need it to see in this area.

Oh... uh maybe I don't want to see anymore.

The stars are back and will still be used during the Sunscape, but not as much as the Moonscape.

Remember that flaw I mentioned before? Here's where it becomes a major benefit. Since the star won't expand past walls/platforms, we can tell where holes in the floor or platforms are in the room. We can still find this out just by using our song-light, but the star makes this super easy.

Of course, we can always find a wall just by bumping into it

Our song-light will act like the star around walls and have the light only shine around cracks. This is a very useful thing and something we need to keep in mind going forward.

The actual pitfalls are something to watch out for, but these free floating platforms are going to be crucial soon for solving puzzles.

There's not much to say for this part as of yet. It's the same thing as the Moonscape, except in the dark. So we are required to use the song-light a lot more to progress, but otherwise it's no different from the Moonscape...

The monsters that kidnapped my friend... Oh, goodness... I'm so frightened! But my friend is deeper in the castle... so I will have to be brave!!!

...Until now. These monsters are infesting the Sunscape and operate on Metal Gear Solid 1 rules - they can only see through their cones of vision. They also create a static effect around the screen that gets worse as they get closer to Bard. They're also genuinely creepy in an area that is already unsettling.

A benefit of their vision cones is that they do light up the areas they are looking at. Which can show us the way to go, like here.

We can easily walk on past them, as they only respond if you touch their eye directly, or get in their line of vision. You can sing around them, and they don't notice. Though Bard helps with that by singing at a whisper.

This guy is sweeping back and forward at a steady pace. It looks like getting past him will be impossible, to say the least.

To get past it, we have to just run past his beam. However, we get to learn that the monsters seem to be scared/hurt by these stars. Our song-light does nothing to it, despite what the image may look like. Only the expanded stars will stop them in their track.

This star illuminates the way for us, but also provides the boost we will need to get to that higher platform.

Another monster, but this one seems to reveal something with its light...

It's floating just above a platform that we can use to hide from it while it sweeps the area in front of and behind us.

A lock? The locked door gimmick from the Chaoscape seems to have made its way here.

This is the only other way to go, so hopefully it's got a key at the end of it.

Let me carry this for you... I've decided, to try being brave... but I'm very new to it. So I'm taking small baby steps, such as, carrying keys for my friends, and things like that... Please be patient with me...

Aww. Moon Fairy, you are definitely earning your place as the best fairy right now.

It's the same animation as with the Chaos Fairy, except that there's an actual key instead of some fish monster.

This lock makes things look tricky, since you'd think it's blocking off the rest of the area. But it's sitting in between two platforms that we can get to thanks to this star in the floor.

We can tell there's a monster coming up, not just by the purple static on the screen, but also Bard gets scared. It's a face he hasn't carried around since the Prologue I believe.

We found the key, and this monster's watching over it. Just like the last monster, there's a platform underneath him. So we just wait underneath until we get our chance to grab the key and make off like a bandit.

So far so good. Nothing too complicated or difficult to figure out.

But of course... it can't stay like that forever. It seems like we'll need two keys to make it through this area, so let's get to work finding them.

...Found one. Let's... find the other one first. This one seems like it's going to be complicated.

About every three seconds, this monster flips back and forth between our hallway, and the key. Though as we could see when he was shining on the hallway, there are blockers in place to prevent it from seeing us.

We've got the key, time to head back and use it on one of the locks.

Well... one lock down. So how are we going to get the other one without disturbing the monster? We aren't, it's impossible...

There's a star down here that we use to shield ourselves from the monster and keep the key! We've got both keys and can now advance through this part.

That's my friend!!! Sunny!!!

'Ey.

Are you okay??

Ayup.

Sunny, it looks like... you are locked in a very big cage!

Ayup.

I'm very sorry about that! I was not brave enough to find you by myself, my new friend helped me get here.

That's ok.

But!!! You will be very proud of me! I have been practicing being brave, by helping my friend carry keys and things like that!

Ayup. That's cool.

We are going to... "Bust you out!" I promise! We will find the key, and I will carry it all the way here!

Ok. Thanks, buddy.

The Moon Fairy continues to run away with the title for best Fairy. The next fairy is going to have to try super hard to outdo this mouse. We gotta help the Sun Fairy outta there, so let's find our way over to her and then search for the key.

Oh! Uh, that was simple. OK, now to search for the key.

Despite our hat being seen, the game has not turned into that kind of stealth game. You know that kind, the shit kind.

More monsters in our path, with similar ways to get past them. Wait on the platform then move past when they aren't looking.

A monster with a different pattern stops us here. It stares at us for most of its time, but then will take about two seconds to glance at the other side before quickly jumping back to this part. We've gotta use those two seconds effectively to get underneath it then past it.

Made it with ease! These things are getting easier to deal with. May as well just give us the next key.

MUSIC: Sunkiller

WHAT IN THE HELL IS THAT. Why is that here!? Why's it so big, and what's with that fire... throne around it? Did it kill the Sun's King...?

...Is that the Sun's King? There's no time to figure it out, we gotta grab that key, and the monster is watching over it carefully... so just... gotta...

VIDEO: The Sun's King

RUNNNNNNN

We've now gotta run back through the way we came to the Sun Fairy to free it. The path is still in the dark and contains a lot of jumps and pits we have to watch out for.