Earthbound – Day 52

–Day 52–

Yesterday we learned that the Dungeon Man is somewhere to the northwest of this little oasis. However, as is our custom, we need to thoroughly explore the new area we find ourselves in. Thankfully, this is a very small area and there really isn’t anything to explore here. There are however a lot of UFOs flying around making travel rather difficult.

When we finally do head northwest, we’re a bit surprised by what we see. It’s certainly not the same Brickroad we saw before, but I can’t quite identify it as a dungeon either. Really I can’t call it a tower either, although I guess there does seem to be some kind of castle on its head. Either way, we use the key and get to walk inside of it.

As soon as we walk inside it feels like Christmas. There are presents scattered EVERYWHERE! Unlike Christmas however, most of these presents are actually alive and getting ready to kill us. The Scalding Coffee Cup in particular is deceptively dangerous. If it happens to spill just a little of its coffee, the whole party receives rather severe burns.

After fighting our way through all the presents, we make our way to the main chamber where we see Brickroad really went all out turning himself into a Dungeon Man. He has set up benches to rest on, phone booths, even a fully staffed hospital. He may be a Dungeon Man full of monsters, but he clearly wants you to be comfortable.

In all honesty, Dungeon Man’s Dungeon is probably the most fun dungeon I have ever passed through. Thanks to all the comical signs scattered about, the dungeon itself just gathers up so much personality from its creator. And I mean they are ALL OVER the place. Some give tips on what to do next. Some give insight into the creation of a good dungeon.

Then there are others that are there just for laughs like these two at this dead end. One says “Spare not difficult effort. Heed this rule, and great items shall be yours.” It’s actually quite sound advice, which is followed up by its partner sign of “I couldn’t agree more with the opinion on the left bill board.”

The first floor of Dungeon Man is quite enjoyable, but the areas we can’t get to seem even more fun. The top left corner for example seems to be full of fun things Dungeon Man has collected over the years. Hopefully we’ll get to interact with them at some point, but for now it looks like we have our first dungeon puzzle. In front of us are four different ropes that all lead up to the second floor, but which should we take?

Naturally, we’re going to see what’s at the end of all four of them, and the results are about what you would expect. Three of them lead to dead ends with a small sign commenting on your incorrect choice, but at the same time giving you encouragement to keep going and try again. It’s actually really refreshing to have this kind of treatment inside a dungeon.

Anyway, the correct choice is the third rope from the left. This is the only choice that doesn’t have a dead end and lets us explore the second floor properly. The signage doesn’t stop here either. According to the various signs we gather that we are currently around the Dungeon Man’s belly button. We also learn that the background music is Dungeon Man’s greatest accomplishment. I didn’t really stop to listen to it until it was pointed out like that, but it is some epic dungeon music.

Also quite conveniently there is another bench set up for us to take a break on. Brick Road really does want us to be comfortable and enjoy this dungeon. In fact, I don’t really want to leave this dungeon, it’s just so perfect. So for now, we’re going to just relax here on the bench, enjoy the music, and continue on our adventure another time.

So join us next time as we head towards the top floor of Dungeon Man, perhaps the greatest dungeon ever built!