Part nostalgia-bomb, part note-taking and part FAQ, what started in GameTrailers as a video game blog is now on Blogger. This blog is a look back at video games, both popular and obscure, from the video game industry's infancy all the way to the previous console generation.
Stage 5 is where things really get hard. Avoid as many fish as possible, and get that invincibility! As for the boss battle, you'll really want to time it so that you can send the steel drums into the boss.
Stage 6 is easy when you know what to do; it's the boss that's a real pain. Avoid the fruit as you shoot down the hands, then aim at the light in the center as normal while picking up the bottles of Fat-B-Gone to ensure you stay thin.
Once you beat this loop, that's the real end of the game! You just beat Yume Penguin Monogatari!
Grab everything that you can in Stage 3. Also, get the flight power-up and hold on to it for dear life, because you'll want to get to the goal with as little difficulty as possible so you can take on Frosting Man with ease.
In Stage 4, don't run into anything! As crucial as it was in Stage 2, it is even more crucial here. If you can get the missiles early, make sure you save them, as they will help you tear through the enemies. The screen-clearing power-up really helps here, too. As for the boss, watch out for those eggs and don't get hit by him when he is big, as you don't want time to run out during the boss battle.
Compared to the first loop, you have less leeway when it comes to your weight, as you'll gain a lot more weight for eating something you shouldn't. You also get seven seconds off each clock instead of fifteen, so avoiding running into enemies is crucial. Also, you get far less of a weight loss bonus for all the time you have left.
In Stage 1, the birds will drop blue ball enemies that split into four fruits that travel diagonally. You'll also have rolling rocks that you'll need to avoid.
In Stage 2, you want to stay away from everything. Shoot what you can and take any bottles and power-ups you can, but if you run into anything, you'll be back to normal, or worse, brought to a chubby weight.
Don't fall into the water, whatever you do, as it will ruin your chances of beating the stage with an ideal weight. Watch those platforms, and watch out for the fish that dive out of the water!
The gorillas throw coconuts; be ready to avoid them when they drop down. The jellyfish will be flying around, but if you're thin, you can easily get rid of them.
The octopus tentacles act as platforms. Watch out for the rice cakes that the octopus spits out. Hold A while jumping to float.
The M icon gives you invincibility. It will help you on the way to the whale, whose blowhole will be able to take you to the pirate ship where you will face Captain Ginta.
The guys with the helmets are the same as the enemies that throw fruit from the earlier stages.
Captain Ginta will throw steel barrels around, and they will bounce around at angles. You'll need to hit the barrels with your attack and make it so that the barrels hit Captain Ginta in the back, or else he will throw the barrels back at you. If the barrels turn red, they are about to disappear. Hitting Ginta will net you bottles of Fat-B-Gone. Also, you'll want to avoid the fruit that he throws at the same time. This boss battle will take some practice.
After this, Ginji will kidnap Penko for real, and Penta will have to save her.
Hold Right to go down the ramp and jump close to the bottom of the ramp, and hold A to float over the water. Keep attacking all the walruses. You'll need the power-ups.
To beat the boss, take out the hands while avoiding the fruit that they throw. When the gloves are destroyed, attack the visor at the top of the head. When it opens up, get some shots in, then move to the side to avoid the laser. Also, be ready to avoid the rice cakes that Ginji throws while grabbing the bottles. After enough shots, Penka will hook back with Penta only to become overweight herself. It's also going to be time for the second loop, which is much harder...get ready!
If you beat the boss while still fat, Penka thanks you saving her, but tells you that you're still fat and runs off with Ginji afterwards. What was the point?
The bugs hop up and down, so be careful when you approach or fight them. As for the little guys carrying what look like watermelons, take them down from a distance so you don't get hit by their projectiles.
The H icon allows you to wear a propellor hat. Keep tapping A to fly your way upwards through this vertical stage. You'll lose it if you get hit, so stay away from enemies as much as you can while wearing it. It beats using the cloud platforms throughout the stage.
The green guys on the parasols will follow you around and shoot at you, and they'll usually carry the bottles.
You'll soon meet Frosting Man. To beat him, you'll need to attack the flames on the candles. As this goes on, you'll want to dodge the four-way shoot shots that alternate directions...and hands. The right hand shoots left, while the left hand shoots right. As you do damage, bottles will drop down. Get them if you can. Once both flames are out, it's over, and it's on to the desert.
Stage 4
Time for more flying.
Do not hit any walls, floors or ceilings; this will make your way balloon like no tomorrow and it'll make things harder.
When you enter an indoor area, watch the rice cake spitters and make your move when you know you can't get hit. This can take some practice, and no matter how much practice you get, it can still be a bit dicey.
You'll want to pick your battles when fighting the enemies, such as the ghosts that fly towards you, the circle-shaped enemies that move around in a circle, or the blobs that turn into stars that fly upwards. There's a lot in this level that can hit you.
The A icon is a screen-clearing bomb that destroys all enemies and causes them to drop any pick-ups they may have. This is good, because the part where you're going to get it is swarming with enemies.
The boss is a green bird named Grah. Avoid the pigs and get the bottles. When Grah splits into three smaller birds, attack those birds. When you're down to one bird, that bird will bounce around at 45-degree angles. Anticipate where it will go and attack accordingly. Now for the beach...
After having seen this one in action, I've wanted to try this one out. Glad I did, because it's full of that classic Konami goodness, even if it never left Japan.
The game begins with Penko, a pink penguin, dumping Penta, a blue penguin, for another blue penguin named Ginji who is also some sort of jerk. Penko tells Penta she will only get back with him if he loses weight and stops being fat. Ginji mockingly tells Penta to get some Fat-B-Gone from his gang if he wants to slim down...and it's obvious Ginji's gang will not be giving it up easily. Penko then tells Penta to come see her and Ginji at the top of the waterfall after slimming down if he really loves her.
When you start the game, you'll enter a brief tutorial. Left and Right moves left and right, A jumps, and B attacks. Picking up clocks increases the time you have left, which is on the lower-left corner of the screen. Picking up the yellow and purple bottles of Fat-B-Gone will decrease your weight meter at the bottom center of the screen. The purple bottles slim you down more than the yellow ones.
Stage 1
First things first: if you do not move the pink bar on the weight meter past where the broken heart is, you cannot clear the stage. It starts out near the left side at the first, but it will move more and more to the right as you progress. If you grab any food that isn't a Fat-B-Gone bottle, you'll get fatter, and if you fall into water, you'll get super-fat. Thankfully, the two enemies that Ginji gives the Fat-B-Gone to before each stage begins will be the ones carrying the Fat-B-Gone.
Your attack is a close range kick at first, but if you can get thin, you'll be able to shout at your enemies and hit them from a much farther range. This is what you want, as it allows you to attack enemies from a better distance.
If you collide into enemies, you'll lose ten seconds of time. This is something you do not want to do, as the hits can add up and make things harder...so avoid enemies, defeat them to get stuff, and collect those clocks!
The bugs move back and forth, and sometimes, they will jump around. The guys in the masks will move around and throw fruit that makes you fat if you eat it. You'll also want to avoid the fruit in the trees, as it makes you fat as well. The fish leap in and out of the water, and the hippos drop down and land on the ground before falling to the bottom of the screen. Enemies can drop clocks as well as Fat-B-Gone Bottles, but they can give other power-ups as well.
The volcano in the background shoot out rice cakes that make you fat if you hang around it long enough.
At the waterfall, use the logs that are drifting downwards to get from platform to platform. Hippos will drop down from the center at regular intervals, and you'll need to watch out for them. When you reach the top of the water, get to the pink phone to clear the level. You'll get a weight loss bonus for all the time you have left, and the more time you have, the more weight you'll lose when you grab the phone.
When Penta picks up the phone, Penko tells him that he will have to fly and fight Pooh's Pig Cruiser. Love how Penko has a top-of-the-line for the time cellphone thanks to Ginji.
Stage 2
The game has now decide to become a horizontal shooter. A and B both shoot, and I alternate between both buttons to shoot more quickly. Whatever you do, don't run into anything in the flying stages, as it just makes you fat if you do.
The H icon allows you to shoot missiles instead of pellets. The missiles move faster and pierce through enemies in addition to being stronger shots. If you get hit, however, you'll switch back to the pellets and you'll have to earn the missiles again. You can also get the missiles if you reach the question mark at the far right of the weight meter.
Don't touch the rice cakes or the spiked balls; they will make you fat. The rice cakes shooters shoot rice cakes left and right and switch directions at regular intervals.
You'll eventually face Captain Pooh and his Pooh Cruiser. Shoot at the pig nose in the center, and avoid the fruits will picking up the Fat-B-Gone bottles. Pooh will move forward and then back, and you'll need to anticipate when he does this so you don't get hit by anything.
After this, Penko tells Penta that she will be waiting at the top of a cake.
The next door you need to get to is in the lower-right corner. To get there, get back on the mine cart, then go right until you can't anymore and turn upwards. Once again, be ready to avoid breaks in the track. Turn right as soon as you are able, then hold up and take the path north and take the turn left. Hold Down to turn at the third intersection, then turn right as soon as you're able. Hold Down before the broken tracks to turn, then hold Left to left immediately afterwards. From here, you no longer have to turn at any more intersections; you just need to worry about avoiding the broken parts of the track with the D-Pad on the way to the door. I've labeled this path with red lines on the map.
At the door, use the snowflake in front of the door to open it. You'll still have the torch to burn all on-screen enemies, so keep that in mind. Equip the magic mirror and the star. Use the mirror to distract the smaller pigs, and use the powder and the star to defeat the giant pig like you did at the beginning of the game. You'll save the fairy, who somehow got kidnapped, and your health will be refilled.
From here, you'll need to head to the door in the upper-left corner. You'll need to take the turns that led you here, and after you're able to go up and right from the path leading to the second door, wait until you're going east and hold Up at the fifth intersection to turn. Hold Left to turn at the second intersection you see going north, and you'll head straight there. This path is outlined with the pink line on the map above. Congratulations. The worst is over. Put the bubble blower in the door. You're riding free and easy now and you're only going to have to worry about the boss battles from now one.
Remember the ooze monster from the Dwarven Palace. Well, guess what, you'll need to fight him again. Thankfully, fighting him is the same as ever: wait for him to split into multiple parts and freeze them with the powder before hitting them with the stars. This time around, however, since you have less room, you'll have to use the magic mirror to keep the boss from following you around and keep the slime pieces in one place so you can defeat them all more easily. The more you can destroy at once, the better. Just be aggressive with the powder, throw a few stars, and throw the powder again. Beating this boss again will free Casolari, who refills your health.
Now for the door in the upper-right. Just ride the mine cart all the way to the right, just as the green line signifies. That's it. Use the lantern on the door to open it. Head south, then take the left fork to the south and follow the path to find Melody...and the Shadow King!
To defeat the Shadow King, you'll need to equip the magic mirror and the torch. Use the magic mirror to the eyes and use torch to destroy the eyes more easily regardless of where they fly. Keep an eye on the torch so you can use it when the flame is lit again.
The Shadow King will then transform into some sort of winged minotaur-like beast. Use the balloon to get the bomb to explode on you yet fail to damage you. When the room gets dark, use the torch, then equip the mirror and use it in front of the Shadow King to get his shadow orbs to explode on your clone. He will then fly to the right. Head to the left and throw a star at the ball which contains Melody to free her. Melody will give you an amulet, which you'll need to equip.
Equip the hourglass and use it to get away from the Shadow King when he dives as you head back to the right. From here, you'll need to move to him, then get back to the left when he dives at you and use the amulet. The amulet throws lightning bolts around at random angles, and sometimes the lightning will hit the Shadow King. The amulet has a cool down period, much like snowflake, torch and lightning bolt before it, and you'll need to wait for it to flash yellow again before you can use it again. The closer you are to the Shadow King before you use it, the better.
Once you hit the Shadow King enough times, you'll beat the game. Merlin will reunite with Melody and Sherm, then the fairy tries to warn Merlin about the two Meanies at the balcony above ready to drop a big brick on Merlin only to fail. When the brick hits, everything turns black. Merlin eventually wakes up back outside of his home, with the amulet falling out of his grasp as he heads towards his house, signifying that it was not a dream. A Meanie then shows up and takes the amulet, and Merlin chases after the Meanie as the game ends.
If you collect all the health extensions, you'll get special text after the ending telling you that you are in the running for a contest mentioned in the manual, which ended long ago. You just beat Young Merlin!
