Earthbound – Day 07

–Day 07–

At this point, there’s really nothing more I can do other than train, train, and train some more. Stock up on hamburgers if I need them, and just press on. Eventually I manage to push my way up to the top of giant step where I encounter this odd glowing star thing blocking the path.

Frank did mention a monster that sucked up all the energy, and sure enough this is that monster. The Titanic Ant and its cohorts are blocking the path, and we must defeat them before we can claim the Giant Step as one of My Sanctuaries.

This battle is definitely the hardest one so far, and even after all the training I don’t feel I was ready for it. I opened with a PK Gaming α to clear out all the regular enemies and leave only the boss. A good strategy I think. However, I wasn’t prepared for the Titanic Ant’s PSI Magnet α attack. Every time it used this, it would drain away the precious few PP I had until they was completely depleted.

With my PP gone, that put me in a very bad situation. Currently, PK Gaming α is my only offensive ability, so I wouldn’t be using that much more this battle. However, PK Lifeup α is my main healing ability. Without access to that, I need to rely exclusively on my hamburger stash, which disappears fast against the Titanic Ant’s strong attacks.

Eventually, I’m forced to eat even my skip sandwich, which is the last of my healing items. I was hesitant, because I was certain I would lose and it would have been a waste. However, I just barely managed to beat the Titanic Ant, and in doing so gained an amazing 759 exp, as well as instantly leveled up to level 11.

With the Titanic Ant gone, I can now make my way to our goal. With the sound stone in hand, Ness manages to record the sound of the Giant Step. Before that however, the game goes out of its way to point out that Ness sees “A small, cute puppy.” I’m not sure why this is relevant, but I have a feeling it will have some deeper meaning later.

I honestly feel accomplished finally making my way up here. However, I’m a bit scared I may yet have bitten off more than I can chew. While I did manage to beat the monster, I used up all my items in the process. Now I need to make my way back through the caves to get back to town with no items and half health. One again, the game shines in its attention to detail. Not only is my HP and PP restored after the fight, but nearly all of the enemies in the cave are now fleeing from Ness, making the trip back much easier.

As I make my way back through the caves towards town, I have another stroke of fortune as I encounter another magical butterfly. I’m still not sure what these little guys do, but for some reason it makes me happy just to encounter one. What doesn’t make me happy however is the police officer waiting at the cave entrance below for me. No good ever comes from police waiting for you at the only exit.

Sure enough, the officer scolds me for ignoring the “Do Not Enter” sign posted on the fence. Go talk to the mayor, I have special permission to be here right now. Permission of not, the officer tells me to come down to the station later. I found this a little odd. If I’m in trouble, take me to the station yourself. Don’t make me come down there just to turn myself in.

If the officer isn’t going to drag me down to the station himself, I’m going to take a well deserved nap at the hotel before I go see him. In a way, I’m glad I did, because I’m treated to a mysterious cut scene in my sleep. It would seem I am being contacted telepathically by Paula, the girl I got to name before the game began. Other than telling me her name, there wasn’t really much to the message. However, I remember one of the locals mentioning her living in Twoson, the next town over. Too bad the roads are blocked.

Now that I’m well rested, I guess I had better head over to the police station and get chewed out by the police chief. Even when being scolded, you have to love the games humor, substituting in line after line of “Blah blah” in place of an actual scolding. Not to mention the shameless self promotion by the other officer. We’re the hero of this game, we know we didn’t do anything wrong.

After the scolding, the other officer questions if I really want to go to Twoson. I have nowhere else to go at the moment, so yes, I would like to go there please. Little did I know the police would test my strength in battle before they would be willing to open the road back up. I wish I had known this ahead of time, I would have stocked back up on hamburgers first.

So one by one, the police officers fight me, and one by one they are defeated. None of them were very difficult fights, but without any extra healing items, I still had to be careful not to run out of HP or PP.

Four officers down without too much difficulty, only one left. This last one was apparently the smartest of the 5 as he gave up instantly without fighting me. With all of the cops defeated, it was now Captain Strong’s turn to fight me with his “Super Ultra Sambo-Mambo-Tango Marital Arts”!

Captain Strong was no joke of a fight. He hit incredibly hard. Harder in fact than the Titanic Ant we fought earlier. It looked like I would really regret not stocking up on food first. Luckily, Captain Strong didn’t have a whole lot of HP, and he was defeated before the situation went critical.

Having defeated the entire police force myself, Captain strong is satisfied that I can handle myself on the road to Twoson. And so, he radios ahead and tells the other officers to allow me through the barricade. With that obstacle out of the way, it’s time to pack our bags full of food and leave Onett behind.

Join me next time as we head for Twoson and hopefully encounter Paula along the way. It would be really great to finally have another member in the party.