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Beyond the Beyond: Update 91: Slippy, Slidey Icebox (Ice Mine)
The last time we saw the team they were freezing their collective tushes off. Sadly that's not going to change for this update because the team needs to go deep into the icy depths of this cave in order to reach the goodies hidden within.
1st Floor
The first thing I must note is that due to a change of hardware I'm playing the game in ePSXe 2.0.5. I've tried to keep the graphics settings as consistent as possible but there might be some subtle differences upon close inspection. With that technical note over we can move on with playing the game.
Two things are immediately obvious upon entering the mine. The first is that it's cold. The second is that there's a big patch of ice right next to the main entrance.
AEEEEIIII!
Everyone okay?
Yeah. I think we're stopped now. I didn't sign up for this!
It's all part of the adventure, kid.
Besides, can't you use your magic to melt the ice?
I don't think it will stay melted very long down here.
This patch of ice causes the entire group to slide forward when walked on and there's nothing they can do about it. What that means in game terms is that every movement on the ice slides the team two spaces. We've found our gimmick already and yes it is going to get annoying.
Also, there are monsters everywhere. The encounter rate is sky-high but thankfully the monsters are things the team's mostly seen before. That doesn't mean they can slack off though. These monsters can and will do huge amounts of damage to them if allowed to attack.
How do the snake ladies not get cold down here?
Thick skin? Magic? I don't friggin' know!
Hmm, you know what? I like the magic answer. Let's go with that.
Physical powerhouse Tont is not. He has a hard time doing more than 1 point of damage with his attacks but I'm loathe to spend MP when it's just two monsters.
Take that! And that!
I don't think it's intimidated, Tont.
I'll say! Well it is made of metal. So are these things golems or evil spirits or what?
When we kill it let's take it apart and find out! Can we just kill it and leave it be? I'm perfectly okay with that option.
Aww, come on, Finn. This is part of the adventure.
Why do I suspect you want to know so you can make your own monsters?
Uh, no, of course not! I'd never make my own monsters! Where would you get that idea from?
Probably from all the bragging about what kind of golems would make the best minions.
Oh yeah! I, uh, forgot about that. *pause* Hey give me a break. It's been a long time since I last saw you guys.
The first floor's just an introduction to what lies in store below so it doesn't take long to find the staircase down.
2nd Floor
Just north of the staircase is the dungeon's first treasure. Gimry's Axe is obviously for Samson.
Wow! It's got a big skull on it! Shouldn't we be worried that it might be cursed?
Cursed or not it's heavy. Heavy? For you? Sooo none of us has any chance of using it in battle.
I bet you could shackle someone to it and leave them stuck!
Well if we need to restrain someone I guess we've got that option.
While the new axe does come with a nice boost in attack power, pushing Samson up to 162, it comes with a hefty penalty. Equipping it drops Samson's Speed by five points. Since he was using the Tempest Axe that means he loses ten Speed with the swap and that's just too much for me. With Attack gains having diminishing returns what gain in damage Samson would get isn't worth it to go last. There are already two slow team members. Samson needs to attack in sync with Finn and Annie. Gimry's Axe is thus going to collect dust.
The mine has many dead ends just long enough that it isn't possible to see whether or not they're dead ends or if they have treasure without venturing partially down them. It's all about that encounter rate!
Is it really a good idea to invoke rain in a place like this?
You and Finn have fire magic so I'm not worried.
It doesn't take many encounters for the team to need their first group heal. Annie's just shy of having ten uses of Healing Rain. By the time this dungeon's over she'll have crossed the 60 MP threshold.
The first real puzzle of the dungeon is straight ahead. A patch of ice bars the way to the stairs down. With the forced movement this can be treated as a math problem but it is difficult to count tiles on the ice. There's no clear visual indication of tile boundaries. From where Finn's standing the team cannot reach the stairs. They'll slide past the one tile wide opening.
Maybe we should have prepared a bit more.
A rope would be handy right now. Yes it would. Finn...?
Sorry! A little busy over here! OW!
The ice is no reprieve from the encounter rate. Sliding itself is safe but an encounter can be triggered upon stopping.
Mere moments later a Snow Wolf, an Ekidona, and a Hippogriff attack the team on the ice. Never mind the fact that the ice isn't visible on the battle screen. If it was the developers probably would have included some weird slipping and sliding that makes combat take twice as long.
Are they stuck on the ice too?
Maybe that's why the hippogriff's here?
Then the Snow Wolf breaths all over the team. That magic resistance is already proving useful.
*coughs* Okay. It would be great if we never did that again.
What did I ever do to you, Mr. Hippogriff? Hiya! Take that!
Well we did kill the dog and naga lady it was trying to rescue from the ice. Maybe it's just bitter about that.
Hippogriffs are just damage sponges who can only scratch at the team. It all adds up though. I suppose they are crowding out more dangerous monsters and that I should be mildly grateful for that.
To reach the staircase it is necessary to enter the ice from this point. That moves the team two tiles east. Then they move north, then they turn west and head up twice. It's a series of movements that look like a partial loop. The objective is to get the team on a tile they would slide over when first entering the ice patch.
If done correctly the team is put in position to slide east two tiles and turn north. It is critical to take steps slowly while on the ice. Tap in the direction you want to go, let the team slide, then stop and consider your direction before pressing anything on the d-pad again. Otherwise you might slide a tile past the exit and have to start over.
I still say we should break off some of those spike thingees and use them to stop ourselves.
I'm having enough trouble keeping my balance as it is. But that's what I'm trying to fix! All things considered it's probably better if we don't hold big pointy things to accidentally impale each other with.
3rd Floor
Downstairs is a tougher puzzle. There doesn't seem to be any way to get around the two holes in the shot above from this side. The game forces the team to fall. I guess that's one way to teach the player what happens if they screw up.
Oh and just because the team stops sliding on a hole doesn't mean they can't be attacked before the game realizes they should be falling. Ahh, Game Logic!
What just happened?
We're three inches from a big hole in the floor and there's a puppy and a dead guy about to attack us. Okay then. Good to know.
Begone foul dead guy!
What if he was a nice dead guy?
Well maybe he should find a better place to hang out.
Aren't we the invaders here?
He's already dead. How much deader can he get?
Well he did vanish so I guess the answer is 'more than we think.'
Upon completing the battle Tont reaches level 2 and learns a brand new spell. Tolle is actually a bad transliteration of Thor but I actually like the name on its own. Tolle and Thor could totally be drinking buddies in Valhalla.
Should we be worried about the laughter coming out of Tont?
Yes. Yes we should.
Don't worry, Finn. I just realized how I was screwing up a spell I've been trying to learn.
That just makes me more worried.
After the fight the team proceeds to fall to this point on the fourth floor.
In a chest to the south is a Dagger for Domino. It brings his attack power up to 134.
Upstairs on the 3rd floor is the real entrance to the floor's puzzle. It is possible to get around those two entrance holes to reach the staircase up but it isn't easy. That's not what they're looking for though. They need to find the staircase down that takes them further into the earth.
The floor has been carefully mapped out to keep the player in a specific sync with the holes. The trick is to find the one spot that breaks that sync. Easier said then done, of course. There are even small gaps like the one shown above.
Where are we going?
You're the one leading. Don't you know? ...no?
We're going to be stuck down here for days, aren't we?
Maybe we can ask those monsters for directions?
The Snow Bear is big and has more health then other enemies in the mine but this one dies before it gets a turn.
On the other side of the ice is a chest containing a Helium Ring. This item has no obvious use so I looked it up and found out two things. Apparently I missed one hidden in Marion Castle (clearly we've lost nothing in missing it) and that equipping it causes the character to speak with a higher pitched voice. There's no shortage of equipment or events in Camelot games that exist purely for a laugh.
Then Finn got smacked in the face by a Snow Bear.
What did I do to deserve this? We are trying to kill it.
I'm glad I know healing magic right now.
So I did have some trouble with this particular puzzle. As I've already mentioned it's carefully tuned to keep the player in sync with the pits.
I'm not so sure this is going to work.
Finn's already moving so we've clearly made our decision.
I regret nothing!
Well now that we've climbed back up and I'm poisoned from that naga lady we just killed do you still regret nothing?
We're fine. Everything's fine.
Yeah. I fell a few times in what was a bought of not-great puzzle solving on my part. There are only so many possible routes so eventually trial and error will win. The biggest problem isn't the ice or the pits though. It's the fact that the team is constantly being attacked by random enemies. It's hard to concentrate on the puzzle when your attention is repeatedly yanked away by more immediate problems.
Here's another example of a bad move. North or west go straight to pits. The question is thus should you drop down so you can get back to the stairs and start over or do you move south and try to back out of this dead end.
After more trial and error I finally land on that one spot that breaks sync. From here Finn can turn south, move west once, then north, then west again. That puts the team face to face with a pit but as long as every move is careful they won't fall again.
That allows them to slide past the pits and reach the next patch of dry land. Victory! And it only took about 25 minutes most of which was spent fighting random battles!
We made it!
We've almost made it. Haven't we, Finn?
Sorry, a little busy right now making sure we don't get hit with lightning again!
Oh hey that manticore coughed up something shiny while it was dying.
EWWWW!
Counter Jewels aren't all that useful but the team's got another one anyway.
There's the staircase down. The staircase down that actually leads deeper into the dungeon I should say. Everyone on the team is already well acquainted with that other staircase down that's composed entirely of the frozen tears of unfortunate adventurers.
Next time on Beyond the Beyond - the lower floors of this dungeon!
