Well, I had fun watching this one.
Sunday, January 31, 2021
PrinceWatercress plays The Adventures of Batman & Robin (Super NES) - Part 8 of 8
The last stage is a boss rush...and Konami turns the idea of one on its head with a few new enemies that didn't even show up in the game!
The Gauntlet
When the Batsignal shows up, Commissioner Gordon tells Batman that The Joker has escaped with the others from Arkham Asylum, and wants Batman to meet them at the old warehouse by the Gotham Harbor. He warns Batman that they are trying to lure him into a trap, but Batman still cannot let them get away.
Do not take the Spray Gun or the Smoke Bombs with you; they will be absolutely useless in this stage.
This whole stage is a boss rush. You will want to fight well, and that will take some practice. After all, you will have limited opportunities to refill your health. Unlike other boss battles in other games, however, this one has a few surprises...
The first person you face is The Penguin. The same strategies from the first time around still apply. At least there is no attack helicopter this time around.
Next up is Scarecrow, and thankfully, there is no airplane to fight on. Use the Batarang to stun him, then hit punch him. Follow him when he jumps to the other side and punch him there. It is possible to get him in a pattern where he jumps, you follow and punch, he jumps in the other direction, you follow and punch, lather, rinse, repeat until he dies. If he gets too far away, throw the Batarang at him to stun him, then roll forward and hit him.
Next up is...Clayface?!? Wait, we haven't seen him at any point in the game! Duck to avoid the block of clay he throws at you, then get ready to duck his two-way shot. If you see an upper shot, duck; if you see a lower shot, jump. When Clayface rolls around, jump over him until he stops. If you can stay near him as he stops in the corner, you can keep hitting him with crouching kicks, and you can keep close to him and crouch kick him until he dies.
In the next section, keep wall-jumping off the walls. You'll get a heart at the top. Make your way to the right and use the Grappling Hook to get over the wide bottomless pit. You'll face Catwoman. The battle against her works the same way as it did at the end of Stage 4: keep your distance, use your Boomerang and don't get cornered.
After some more wall jumping, you'll face...Man-Bat?!? We never saw him either! In Mode 7 fashion, he swoops by and threatens to end your adventure on top of the old warehouse. Step back and punch him twice, then be ready to punch him as he shows up from the side. Since you can punch him when he flies towards the background, he can and will go down pretty quickly when you know what to do.
The final boss is The Joker. This time around, The Joker fights on a jetpack. Stand in the middle and punch him. You don't even have to move; Batman will face the direction that Joker flies in from automatically. Just punch once when he gets close enough. That ends the first form.
The second form has Joker throwing bombs. Jump over the bombs and hit him with a Plastic Explosive if you have one. If he gets close due to you not having any, punch him before he hits you with the spray gun. If you can get close enough, he'll jump from one direction to the other.
Just like last time, you can use the Batarang to stun him to get a jump kick on him, and you can also punch the bombs back at him for some damage from a distance. However you do it, if you know what you're doing, you'll finish Stage 8 and finally beat the game. Alfred will congratulate you on a job well done, and the ending you get will depend on what difficulty you beat the game on. Hard has the best ending, obviously, but there are different endings for Easy and Medium. Hard, however, gives you an extended cast of characters list at the end. Enjoy the ending!
Also, if you die at any point in the second section of this stage, you'll have to face Catwoman and Man-Bat again, and if you collected either of the hearts, the hearts don't re-spawn. Thanks, game.
PrinceWatercress plays Sly 2: Band of Thieves - Part 28 of 49
In this entry, Bentley treads through the grounds of The Contessa's estate to build up enough bad mojo for the Bad Mojo Collector to use against The Contessa in what is the longest job in Episode 5.
Treasure of the Episode
Royal Tiara - You'll need to enter the graveyard for this one. If you need to, get rid of any nearby enemies before getting the treasure. From here, you'll need to have a short route to the safe house. Thankfully, the main gate leading to the estate is one way, assuming you can get past all the guards.
Mojo Trap Action
The Health Extractor is a wonderful tool for Bentley! Just assign it to a button, then throw it like you would the special bomb weapon. When an enemy gets nearby, press the assigned button again and you'll turn the enemy unwitting enough to walk towards it into health. This gadget does use special weapon energy, but if you need the health, it is worth it, and you can even get the special energy you used for this gadget back if you can get to the health in time. Even if you can't, you can still get rid of tough enemies from a distance.
Speaking of Bentley, you'll need to choose him at the safe house to do this mission. You'll need to get the Bad Mojo Collector and fight off the numerous enemies with the help of the traps. If you get hit with the Bad Mojo Collector in your possession, the collector will break and you will have to start the part of the job you were on over.
For the first part of this job, you'll have a crusher and three switches. Alternate between the switches - a green light means it's ready, a red light means it's not - to crush all the enemies as you gather bad mojo. You'll eventually have to go to another location outside in order to get more Bad Mojo. Use L3 to find out where these locations are.
For the second part of this job, the left switch is a wall spike traps, the middle is a set of blades on the floor, the right is a swing pendulum blade. Behind these switches is a crusher trap in case you can't use any of them. As you do this, it will become much clearer that there is a pattern as to how to use the switches to get rid of enemies, and if you can keep the rhythm to this pattern going, you'll always be able to use a trap to get rid of an enemy or two no matter what.
For the third part of this job, the left and right switches are ceiling crushers, the center is a flame thrower that surrounds the switch and fries anybody nearby, and the switch in the very center of the room is a gas trap that knocks all enemies out so you can hit them with the Triangle button bomb. For this part, you're better off running around the room and getting more than one enemy near a trap if you can help it.
For the fourth part of this job, Bentley will tell you to head back to the wall across from the main gate to the last part. The left and right switches are flamethrower traps, the center switches drops the bridge, and the switch behind all three of those triggers an electrical trap in case somebody gets too close. This is the easiest one to mess up and get hit on, and to maintain the pattern, you'll need to hold R1 to run at all times. Once you beat all the enemies here, you'll have enough bad mojo in the Bad Mojo Collector to use against The Contessa.
Controls
D-Pad/Left Analog Stick: move
Right Analog Stick: move camera
X: jump and double jump
Square: Horizontal Attack
- horizontal attack (as Sly)
- slam enemies launched into the air from behind (as Sly)
- hook punches (as Murray)
- Thunderflop (as Murray; in mid-air only)
- crossbow swipe (as Bentley)
Triangle: Vertical Attack
- vertical attack (as Sly; used to knock enemies into the air)
- downward dive (as Sly; in mid-air only)
- uppercut (as Murray)
- drop bomb (as Bentley)
Circle: Action button (near blue/green/purple sparkles and character icons)
- pickpocket (as Sly)
- stomp (as Murray; use Square to throw object/enemy)
R1: hold to run
Select: Gadget Grid
- Control Pad: highlight gadget
- X button: confirm gadget
- L1, L2, R2: assign gadget to button pressed
L1, L2, R2: use gadgets assigned to button pressed
Start: pause menu
- Control Pad: select menu choice
- X button: confirm choice
- Start: un-pause game
L3 (press the left analog stick): locate beacons for mission objectives
R3 (press the right analog stick): Enter and exit Binocucom for first-person view
- Left analog stick: look around
- Right analog stick: zoom in and out (with up and down on right stick)
R1:
- take pictures with spy camera (as Sly; when applicable)
- shoot sleep dart (as Bentley)
Hacking mini-game controls:
- Left analog stick: move
- Right analog stick: aim and fire gun
Saturday, January 30, 2021
PrinceWatercress plays The Adventures of Batman & Robin (Super NES) - Part 7 of 8
The seventh level of the game takes us into the cutting edge of cyberspace as we rescue Commissioner Gordon and Barbara from The Riddler's twisted maze.
Riddle Me This...
This stage begins with The Riddler sending a message to Batman, saying he has presented the completed version of his "Maze of the Minotaur" cyberspace game to the Police Department. Somehow, Police Commissioner Gordon's daughter, Barbara Gordon, seems to have become lost in it and that she will be in there forever unless someone is clever enough to solve his labyrinth. He asks Batman if he wants to give it a try.
Batman uses a computer to network with the one at the police station in order to access the maze. Alfred asks Batman to be prepared in case he needs to blast through some walls. Bring the Plastic Explosives and the X-Ray Goggles, or else you will be unable to beat the level.
Unlike other stages in the game, this one gives you a map in the upper-right corner of the screen, which you can consult at any time. You will need this to see where you are as well as which direction you are facing in the maze. Getting around this level is very similar to moving around in the museum in the second stage, but you will also be able to move downwards by pressing Down on the Control Pad. You will notice this when you see a square that you can easily see through. Just press Down at it, and you'll head towards the foreground.
When you enter the maze, you will be met by The Riddler. If you can solve the riddles of the maze, Commissioner Gordon and Barbara Gordon will both be freed (even though the Commish is not even mentioned in the opening cutscene and you don't know he's there until you near the end). From here, you will be fighting enemies.
Move right at the start. When you see a corridor in the background, go into it. Keep going right, and you'll see a square indicating you can move downwards. Press Down, then head right again. If you use the X-Ray Goggles at the dead end, you will learn that this is a fake wall. Use the Plastic Explosives to blow a hole in the wall. The wall will disappear and you can keep moving right.
Press Down at the next square, then go left and press Down at the next square. Head right, and fight the enemies as you go. When you see another square, press Down, then go left and press Down at the next square. You will come across a green circle with a yellow question mark on the floor. Walk up to it, and you will be asked a question by The Riddler. When he asks what the shortest distance between a point in Nome, Alaska and a point in Miami, Florida is, the answer is a curved line. If you pick the wrong answer, you will end up in the Waste Land. You will also end up in the Waste Land if you lose a life at any point in the maze. From here, go left and press Up, then go left for more energy for the Plastic Explosives. From here, go right and you'll be back on the path to the first question.
When you get the question right, you'll end up in a new area. Go left, and The Riddler will tell you that the curved line is correct because the earth is round. You'll then encounter another green circle, but if you walk onto it, you get warped to the southeast corner of the maze.
From here, go left, then go up at the corridor. Go left and fight the enemies as you go. As soon as you see another corridor in the background, press Up. Head to the right and get some energy for the Plastic Explosives, then go to the corridor in the background and press Up again. Head to the left and fight enemies, then press Up at the dead end. Go right, then press Up when you reach the wall. Go to the left and fight more enemies. You will eventually reach another green circle, which teleports you elsewhere.
Head to the left, and keep going until you reach a locked door. There are three keys nearby to choose from, and if you pick the D Key just like in the animated series, you will have to duck under one giant circular blade and duck under a second that both come in from the right. Grab the C key instead, otherwise you'll be dodging three giant circular blades. (Duck under the third one.)
When you open the locked door, go into it. Touch the green circle. The Riddler tells you that in sheet music and on the musical scale, the C has no sharps, while A has three and D has two. (Gee, way to take it literally.) You'll then be warped again.
Head to the right, then go up at the wall. Go left while fight enemies, then press Up at the wall. Walk up to the green circle to get warped again.
Head left while fight enemies, but don't go into the corridor in the background yet. Keep going left to get a health pick-up, then go back to the corridor and press Up. Head right while fight enemies and press Down at the first set of corridors. You'll be back in familiar territory. Head back to the southeast corner of the map and step on the green circle. Follow the path here, then use the X-Ray Goggles. The wall to your right is fake. Jump over the green circle and throw a Plastic Explosive at the wall, then head right. Go to the next green circle you see to warp again.
Head to the left to another green circle. Use the X-Ray Goggles to find out that the wall to your left is fake. Jump over the green circle and throw the Plastic Explosive at the wall, then walk into the next green circle you see to get warped yet again.
Head to the left and press Up at the wall, then head to the right and press Down at the wall. Head to the right and fight even more enemies, then press Down at the wall. Go left and press Down at the wall, and you'll find Barbara Gordon, the Commish...and the Minotaur!
The Riddle poses another riddle: I have billions of eyes, yet I live in the darkness. I have millions of ears yet only four lobes. I have no muscles yet I rule two hemispheres. What am I?
The answer is H.B., which is short for "human brain." Batman explains his answer, and says it is the only thing The Riddler respects. The Riddler is both impressed and angered to the point that he sics the Minotaur on you.
To beat the Minotaur, throw a Plastic Explosive at him if you have any left, and use the wall jump to vault over him if he corners you. When the Minotaur swings his sword at the wall, punch at him until he turns around. Lather, rinse, repeat. If you run out of Plastic Explosives, run back and forth and get hits as you do, and don't use the Batarang...it's completely useless.
After this, The Riddler thanks you for getting this far, but says that everything so far has just been a test. The real game begins now, and you'll eventually be in a different area in the world. You'll end up in a virtual chess board, and The Riddler is in the mood for a relaxing game of chess. It's relaxing for him, but it's anything but for Batman!
Head to the right. Watch out for any pawns that attack you with spears. When they stop striking, roll to the right. Grab the heart if you need health, then punch the rooks four times to get rid of them. Keep running to the right, and The Riddler will show up. He will present you with something he thinks Batman will get a real charge from.
Keep heading right. Jump to the right as the right hand zaps, and jump over the pits the lasers create. Keep jumping as you go to the right, as it allows you to travel to the right a little more quickly than just running alone. Also, don't stay in one place for too long, as the floor will still break under your feet and drop you into a bottomless pit. Be sure to make small hops with the jump button as you keep moving right, so you can give yourself a bit of a lead against the floor; otherwise, you won't be able to make it, especially when you have to punch rooks out of the way.
After the second rook, keep making a few short hops, then keep going right. When the right hand fires a laser, immediately jump to avoid falling. Remember that The Riddler will only zap orange tiles.
When The Riddler sends a rook at you, duck down, then head to the right. Be ready to roll to the right when the pawns stop attacking, and keep running right until the rook explodes. You'll then face The Riddler himself...almost.
The Riddler fights you with two chess kings. White goes first, and he switches between White and Black. Attack the kings whenever you can, and stay on the move so the kings don't crush you. The best strategy is to trap yourself in one side of the room. You'll have less room to move, but you'll be able to hit two jump kicks on a king instead of one. When you destroy one of the kings, be ready to run to the right and jump over to the right whenever the right hand fires a laser. As this goes on, the king you did not destroy will be pushed to the right, and you can wall jump off of it if need be.
You'll eventually have to fight the other king. Fight it just like you did the first king, and remember to wall jump. You'll eventually beat the second knight, and beat Stage 7. On to the toughest challenge yet...!
PrinceWatercress plays The Adventures of Batman & Robin (Super NES) - Part 6 of 8
Now that we have the driving stage out of the way, it's back to side-scrolling action as we take on Scarecrow.
Perchance To Scream
The stage begins with a report from Summer Gleeson in front of the reception hall of Gotham State University where a party is being held in honor of the school's professors. However, there is a great sense of uneasiness here because of a large blimp in the sky. Batman immediately believes that this is the work of Scarecrow, as he has a grudge against the University, has been planning his revenge and has readied a blimp for one of his gruesome experiments: releasing gas in the air that will mess up a person's mind to the point that they become a criminal...or in this case, a whole large crowd's worth of people.
As far as the equipment screen goes, the most important things to bring here are the Stars, the Spray Gun and the Gas Mask.
At the beginning of the stage, Batman will warn everyone to get out of the building as the Scarecrow is on his way. Unfortunately, his warning comes too late, because Scarecrow's fear toxin fills the building. Scarecrow then shows up, and tells you that everyone will view you as the enemy and you won't be able to hurt them. This is where the Spray Gun comes in handy, as it will knock the civilians out as they try to run up to you and grab you in an attempt to drain your health. Strangely, some of the people look like the enemies from the first level, while others actually look like civilians. Not surprisingly, the ones that do look like past enemies do try to attack you, and at this point in the game they take one more hit than they did in the past. Attack them, but save the Spray Gun for the civilians.
In the second section, equip the gas mask so you don't have to worry about the gas draining your health in case you forget to duck when it lowers every few seconds.
In the third section. the guys on the balconies just stay in one place and punch the whole time. Thankfully, there are no civilians in this room, so beat everybody in here up.
In the fourth section, come in with the Gas Mask equipped. This section is much like the second one.
In the fifth section, you'll be moving to the right and dealing with more people before you finally meet up with Scarecrow on the roof. Scarecrow will get away on his roof, but Robin will show up in the Batplane. Sadly, you won't be able to get close to the blimp with the Batplane, you will have to use the Grappling Hook to get aboard.
On the Batplane, use the Batarangs to attack the balloons, which are filled with dangerous gas. You can avoid them, but if you run into them or hit them too late, they will hurt.
You'll eventually be on top of the blimp. somewhere. Run to the left and beat up enemies as you go, and you'll make it to the front of the blimp. Drop down, face right and use the Grappling Hook to swing your way to the control room.
Beat up the enemies here, and avoid the fire that is in your way. Equip the Stars so you can take out the machine gunners from a distance. You'll get some health at the end, where Scarecrow will escape for a second time on a single-person aircraft. Batman and Scarecrow will fight on this aircraft, and Scarecrow refuses to let you live to interfere his plans again. (Also, this reminds me of Contra: Hard Corps.)
Scarecrow will fire his gun at you twice, then walk up to you and punch you. He also jumps around much like The Joker did. Use the Batarang to stun him and get some hits in with some crouching kicks. Be careful while doing this, as sometimes the Batarang may hit the wings of the aircraft. Use a crouching hit if you're higher than he is, and use the roll to avoid the bullets. Just make sure you don't roll into the lower bullet of Scarecrow's three-way shot. Scarecrow will eventually go down, and you'll head to Stage 7.
PrinceWatercress plays Sly 2: Band of Thieves - Part 27 of 49
Now that we have all of the clue bottles here, it's time to get both sides of this war agitated. But where has Carmelita been all this time, given that we didn't see her in the prison? We're about to find out.
Treasure of the Episode
Jeweled Crown - This is below the largest roof on the map, near the tower. If you can get to it, be ready to paraglide towards one of the bridges and get to the safe house from there. Watch out for the tanks!
Know Your Enemy
You'll need to play as Sly for this one. Once again, you'll be pressing L3 constantly and taking pictures of everything: the boat, Neyla's HQ, the assault tank, and the blimp. From there, then you'll need to head to the re-education tower. For Neyla's HQ, you'll need to leap onto the top of the monument in the town square from up high, then land on it and get the shot that way. There you'll find out where Carmelita has been all this time: in a chamber where The Contessa has been slowly hypnotizing Carmelita to do her bidding. You won't be able to save her now, so for the moment, you'll have to take more pictures, this time of important things in the area - The Clockwerk Eyes, Carmelita, the Shadow Guard, the Mind Shuffler, and the old terminal on your side of the chamber - before plotting against The Contessa.
From here, it's time for the second leg of the episode, where the conflict . Murray will need to sneak into the castle and kidnap the head of security, while Bentley will put together a Bad Mojo Bomb to destroy the Mind Shuffler and Sly will plant some ghosts into Neyla's HQ to nudge Neyla into getting some more firepower.
Ghost Capture
You'll be playing as Sly again to start this off. If you thought you were done taking pictures of stuff, think again.
This time, you'll be entering a tomb in the nearby graveyard and braving some traps until you reach the coffin of the Evil Wolf Priestess. Once you get to it, break it to release all the ghosts. To get past the guillotines, wait for them to be next to each other before leaping to the other side.
From here, you'll have to go outside and re-capture all nine ghosts by taking pictures of them. (What is this? Luigi's Mansion?) From here, you'll need to get on the rooftops and watch the ghosts' movement pattern to get a good shot. You may have to zoom in with the Binocucom to make it happen. Once you get all of the ghosts, you'll need to head to the chimney of Neyla's HQ and press Circle to release the ghosts inside, forcing Neyla to call for some serious back-up to use against The Contessa.
Controls
D-Pad/Left Analog Stick: move
Right Analog Stick: move camera
X: jump and double jump
Square: Horizontal Attack
- horizontal attack (as Sly)
- slam enemies launched into the air from behind (as Sly)
- hook punches (as Murray)
- Thunderflop (as Murray; in mid-air only)
- crossbow swipe (as Bentley)
Triangle: Vertical Attack
- vertical attack (as Sly; used to knock enemies into the air)
- downward dive (as Sly; in mid-air only)
- uppercut (as Murray)
- drop bomb (as Bentley)
Circle: Action button (near blue/green/purple sparkles and character icons)
- pickpocket (as Sly)
- stomp (as Murray; use Square to throw object/enemy)
R1: hold to run
Select: Gadget Grid
- Control Pad: highlight gadget
- X button: confirm gadget
- L1, L2, R2: assign gadget to button pressed
L1, L2, R2: use gadgets assigned to button pressed
Start: pause menu
- Control Pad: select menu choice
- X button: confirm choice
- Start: un-pause game
L3 (press the left analog stick): locate beacons for mission objectives
R3 (press the right analog stick): Enter and exit Binocucom for first-person view
- Left analog stick: look around
- Right analog stick: zoom in and out (with up and down on right stick)
R1:
- take pictures with spy camera (as Sly; when applicable)
- shoot sleep dart (as Bentley)
Hacking mini-game controls:
- Left analog stick: move
- Right analog stick: aim and fire gun
Friday, January 29, 2021
PrinceWatercress plays The Adventures of Batman & Robin (Super NES) - Part 5 of 8
This stage is a driving stage, and this is quite possibly the shortest of the stages. Unless your driving is good, however, you're gonna have a tough time with this one.
Trouble In Transit
The stage begins with Two-Face fleeing and firing a machine gun after committing a heist. You will then see Summer Gleeson reporting on a robber at the Gotham City Bank and how Two-Face and his men have fled by car. Batman and Robin go after them in the Batmobile, which starts a top-down driving stage. What, no behind-the-Batmobile view like in Batman Returns?
Use Left and Right to turn in the respective direction. The B button accelerates, the A button brakes, and Y fires the guns. L and R will allow you to rotate the Batmobile (and the screen, hello, Mode 7) to make intersections and the like easier.
When you see yellow signs with white arrows telling you where to go, be ready to go in those directions. Be careful when turning, as you will crash if you take turns full speed. Instead, take your thumb off the accelerator for a brief moment, then take the turn. Try to avoid other vehicles if you can, since that is easier than shooting them. You will need to be on the right side of the road if you have to turn left, and on the left side if you have to turn right, as it is the only way to make all the turns without hitting walls too many times. This section does not play at all.
Also, there is a time limit. If you crash too many times, you're not going to make it to the next important point in the stage before time runs out.
If you make it to a yellow car that suddenly screeches onto the screen, you made it to Two-Face! Try not to crash as you shoot at all the cars. You can either inch towards the direction that the game tells you to go so you can make the turn more easily, or you can make a wide turn at the last second. However you do it, just don't hit any walls. Thankfully, turning is easier on the freeway.
You'll eventually catch up to Two-Face. Thankfully, this part is not timed. When Two-Face is in front of you, he will lay down bombs that will blend in with the road. Stay to the side of him when you shoot at him. When Two-Face is behind you, he will shoot rockets. You can either avoid the cursor and keep firing to lay bombs behind you, or you can use the brake to get back behind him. Just don't let him you; that will do a lot of damage. When you start seeing shards of glass come out of Two-Face's car, you're close to ending the battle. After this, it's on to Stage 6.
YTP: The AVGN Takes a Dump on YouTube's Community Guidelines (by @paperking99)
I'M A FUCKING BOMB *explodes*
PrinceWatercress plays Sly 2: Band of Thieves - Part 26 of 49
It's time to collect all the clue bottles for Episode 5...and thankfully, this takes far less time than last time.
Episode 5: A Tangled Web
The Contessa is now hiding in her well-fortified castle estate. Not only if she a member of the Klaww Gang, but she also has the Clockwerk Eyes, which she plans to use to amplify her hypnotic powers. Meanwhile, Neyla - having been given a cash allowance by Interpol - has hired some local mercenaries, and the Cooper Gang is about to be caught in the middle. It's up to them to move in and beat The Contessa and Neyla at their own games before things get worse.
The Paraglide is 600 coins, but it is very useful and does not need special weapon energy or an assigned button. Press R1 when in mid-air to slowly glide forwards. You're going to need this for the rest of the game, as it will make getting around on the rooftops easier.
The tanks near the safe house will destroy you in only two hits. Do not let their lights see you, as you will be a dead duck (Raccoon? Turtle? Hippo?) if you get blasted.
Most of the clue bottles will be in the estate area, with the others being around the two "islands" that make up the rest of the area.
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30
Controls
D-Pad/Left Analog Stick: move
Right Analog Stick: move camera
X: jump and double jump
Square: Horizontal Attack
- horizontal attack (as Sly)
- slam enemies launched into the air from behind (as Sly)
- hook punches (as Murray)
- Thunderflop (as Murray; in mid-air only)
- crossbow swipe (as Bentley)
Triangle: Vertical Attack
- vertical attack (as Sly; used to knock enemies into the air)
- downward dive (as Sly; in mid-air only)
- uppercut (as Murray)
- drop bomb (as Bentley)
Circle: Action button (near blue/green/purple sparkles and character icons)
- pickpocket (as Sly)
- stomp (as Murray; use Square to throw object/enemy)
R1: hold to run
Select: Gadget Grid
- Control Pad: highlight gadget
- X button: confirm gadget
- L1, L2, R2: assign gadget to button pressed
L1, L2, R2: use gadgets assigned to button pressed
Start: pause menu
- Control Pad: select menu choice
- X button: confirm choice
- Start: un-pause game
L3 (press the left analog stick): locate beacons for mission objectives
R3 (press the right analog stick): Enter and exit Binocucom for first-person view
- Left analog stick: look around
- Right analog stick: zoom in and out (with up and down on right stick)
R1:
- take pictures with spy camera (as Sly; when applicable)
- shoot sleep dart (as Bentley)
Hacking mini-game controls:
- Left analog stick: move
- Right analog stick: aim and fire gun
Thursday, January 28, 2021
PrinceWatercress plays The Adventures of Batman & Robin (Super NES) - Part 4 of 8
In this episode, we face Catwoman. At least she isn't as difficult as she was in Batman Returns.
Tale of the Cat
Batman goes into Gotham City to make sure everything is okay, as he has a feeling that something is going to happen tonight. Alfred asks him to be careful.
At the equipment menu, you'll be able to choose anything you want again. Be sure the bring the Stars, though.
At the start of the level, you will be wall jumping between two walls. The fans will damage you if you touch them, and the platforms will be there to break your fall in case you slip up so you won't have to start all the way back at the bottom.
At the top of the shaft, you'll see Catwoman climbing up a building in the background. Head to the right, and you'll eventually see Catwoman moving around on the rooftops.
The next section is an elevator, and Batman will catch up with Catwoman - and a cat - at the elevator. Catwoman tells Batman to stay out of her way, then they will fight. Throw a Batarang at her, jump forward, hit her with a jump kick, then jump back. You can also walk up to her and punch her until you hit her, then jump back, in case you can't get the timing for the jump kick down. Rinse, lather, repeat. You'll be able to avoid her attacks, and in case she gets close with a dashing swipe, you can just punch her out of it. If you try to throw her, she will just jump up and kick you.
After hitting Catwoman enough times, the elevator will stop. This time, Catwoman will jump off a building, and Batman will jump off in pursuit. In this section, you need not hit her with any attacks, although if you punch Catwoman, she will be stunned and moved upwards a bit as a result. You'll also get points out of every strike, too. The both of you will eventually geat near the bottom, and Catwoman will eventually latch onto a building. When you see the yellow square with the exclamation point on it, have the grappling hook ready and latch on to one of the poles on the right to save yourself from certain death and head on to the next section.
In the next section, keep following Catwoman, and use the roll to get past the falling signs. Watch out with the jumps between buildings, as you will have to jump at the very edge to get past them all. Luckily, Batman can grab onto ledges if you come close enough.
If you fall too far behind, Catwoman will wait for you to catch up.
You'll eventually chase Catwoman down the building. The second door on the way down has a health refill, but the third door contains a cat. This is Catwoman's cat Isis, and she will serve a purpose later on. The door at the bottom takes you to a back alley where you will face Catwoman again.
Just like with the elevator fight, use your Batarang to stun her, jump forward and kick her, then jump back. If you have any Stars in your inventory, throw those at her, too. Eventually, you'll beat Catwoman again, and if you found Isis before this battle, she will thank you for taking care of her. After that, it's on to Stage 5.
PrinceWatercress plays The Adventures of Batman & Robin (Super NES) - Part 3 of 8
The third level of the game takes us to the museum, where The Penguin is stealing art and making havoc.
Fowl Play
The third stage starts with Batman getting an emergency call from Robin concerning a break-in at the Gotham City Museum. He says that it is the work of a large gang. Batman asks Robin to meet him at the museum, as he will need his help. Alfred will call to tell Batman to make sure he has all the tools he needs as there have been power outages.
At the equipment screen, bring your Flashlight. It will be absolutely essential. Also, bring the Plastic Explosives.
After Batman and Robin split up, equip and use the Flashlight. As you go to the right, you will see these dark dots on the floor. These are mines, and if you step on them, they will hurt. Jump over them.
At the right-most end of the room you start in, there will be a staff member. Walk up to him and press Down on the Control Pad to free him. He will tell you that the staff were attacked by some kind of bird-like thing. He also asks you to help the rest of the staff and that tells you that there is an elevator down the middle corridor. From there, go down to the security room in the basement.
Unlike the first two levels, this one is not linear. Here, you're going up and down in addition to left and right. So be careful.
Head left. Jump over the mines again and enter the first corridor in the background that you see. (There is a sign with a pair of red arrows and "B" and "A" on it. Remember it for later.) Go into the elevator and go down, then go left. Go further left, and keep the Flashlight on to jump over some mines. Go up at the half-opened door that you see, then go right and free the security guard. He will tell you that someone suddenly burst into the room, knocked him out and stole the master key. He will also tell you that the Curator and four other workers are still in the museum. After this, the lights will come back on, and if you go left, you will meet Robin and the curator. The Curator will give you the master key, which will open just about any door in the museum. He also says that he and Robin have a rough idea of where everyone else is, and to use the intercom to stay in contact.
Robin will tell you where the two workers you need to rescue are. The locations of the workers are completely random, so pay attention to what Robin says in your playthrough and not in the video, and don't forget to use that intercom!
Now that the lights are back on, watch out for grey dots. Those are the mines. Also, there will be enemies much like the ones in the first level. Take them out as you head right to the open corridor where you came in before. Take the elevator back up to the first floor. From here, you can either go left to Block B or back to the right for Block A.
We're going to Block A. Equip the Master Key (which is an ID card) and beat up enemies and jump over mines as you press Up with the Master Key equipped at every door you come across. It won't be long before you enter one of them and find the worker who is there. Free him. If you go to the intercom in the open corridor and press Up (it's the telephone mounted on the wall), Robin will repeat where you need to go.
The heart obviously refills your health.
There are three types of enemies: guys who attack with their fists, guys who shoot at you with pistols and guys who shoot at you with machine guns. If you stun the gun-toting enemies with the Batarang, they will drop their weapons and will be forced to fight you with their fists, making them easy pickings.
The door to the left of the intercom in Block A of the first floor leads to a hallway with a reflective floor. You can get some energy for one of your weapons as well as a heart here. This hallway lets you cross over to Block B of the first floor without going to the elevator.
Throwing an enemy into another enemy will kill both of them. Also, guys with guns cannot hit you at close range, for some weird reason.
If you use the intercom after rescuing all the workers, Batman will let Robin know. Robin will tell you to come back, and he and Batman will come to the conclusion that The Penguin is the one responsible for what is going on here, as he is trying to steal the artwork being displayed on the second floor. Unfortunately for him, his master key will not open the door to the room containing the artwork as the door has a four-digit combination lock. Before he can ask the Curator what it is and relay it to Batman, however, he is suddenly attacked by The Penguin, who makes his presence known before turning the lights back off.
If you take too long to get to the intercom and talk to Robin, the lights will go out anyway. (If you do this, it messes with the continuity of the in-game conversations a little bit, as no alternate dialogue exists in case you don't talk to Robin on the intercom.)
Regardless of what happens, go back to Block B of the basement and head to the security room. Robin will be tied up. Free him. Robin will tell you that The Penguin has kidnapped the Curator. After Batman says he will rescue him, Robin will tell him where the Curator is as well as your current location. The lights will then come back on.
Just like with the museum staff, the Curator's location will be random each time you play, and you will have to look through all the doors to find him. When you find and free him, he will tell you the secret combination (which is also random) to the door to the art on the second floor.
There is not much to the second floor at all, and the combination look door is pretty easy to identify. Press Up at the door, enter the combination, and there you go. You'll eventually come face-to-face with The Penguin, who sends Scrap the vulture after you. When Scrap dives at you, punch it so it gets knocked down, back up, then punch Scrap again when Scrap comes after you. After seven punches, the vulture goes down. You can also use the Batarang.
After you beat Scrap, keep going right and go up the stairs. You'll finally fight The Penguin.
To beat The Penguin, avoid the gunfire from the Raven XJ-11 Attack Helicopter in the background by staying underneath the center of the plane, then throw a grenade at The Penguin to get some early damage. From here, block and punch (or throw) until The Penguin goes down. After a while, The Penguin will fly in the air. Don't worry about The Penguin; just dodge the helicopter's machine gun fire by jumping over it. When he lands on the ground, block, then attack. Keep doing this until he goes back into the air.
If you are too far away from The Penguin, he will shoot you with a machine gun. Thankfully, you can throw a grenade at him if you do that, and you can duck the attack to avoid it completely. Eventually, he'll go down, and it's on to Stage 4.
PrinceWatercress plays Sly 2: Band of Thieves - Part 25 of 49
It's time to get the band back together and chase after The Contessa!
Operation: Trojan Tank
You'll need to play as Bentley to start this one.
Get to the tank and hijack it. Once Bentley is in, you'll play as Sly, who is nearby. Crawl underneath the tank and keep moving along with it to ensure you're underneath at all times so that you're there when Bentley shoots down the door to Cell Block D.
Once you're in the prison, you'll need to make it to the guard's control center by making your way up the prison to the tower. Watch out searchlights, spike traps and enemies that are hiding out, and vandalize the prison cells to get as many coins as you can. If you don't know where to go, look for a hook to swing on. Once you're at the top, get to the of the control tower, take out the guard and activate the code decryptor.
From here, make your way down. A door will be open near the start that wasn't before. Unfortunately, Murray is under the influence of spice, and you'll need to turn on the three hypno boxes to get Murray aggressive enough to break out.
Get up above where Murray is being held and get to where the hypno box switches are. You'll get a hacking mini-game, and you'll have to do three in all in order to get rid of the lasers and turn on the hypno boxes. Like before, the hacking mini-games are start out simple, but get slightly more complex as time goes on. Just shoot down all the barriers, deal with the enemies, enter the two green alcoves on the side, then enter the center one to hack the lasers and activate a hypno box.
Once all three boxes are on, Murray will be free, but he will then try to destroy Sly in a drug-induced rage. You'll have to lure Murray into destroying the hypno boxes in order to bring Murray back to his senses. For best results, hold R1 at all times, and hide behind a hypno box to ensure Murray destroys it.
After you get Murray back, The Contessa will try to escape. Murray will reveal that he kept his half of the Clockwerk Heart safe, then The Cooper Gang will chase after The Contessa. Take out the spiders, and if you need to, let Sly and Bentley deal with them while you run away before they explode should the red blinking lights get fast. The Contessa will eventually get away on her blimp, but at least Episode 4 has a happy end where the Cooper Gang carries on with a new, stronger resolve.
Controls
D-Pad/Left Analog Stick: move
Right Analog Stick: move camera
X: jump and double jump
Square: Horizontal Attack
- horizontal attack (as Sly)
- slam enemies launched into the air from behind (as Sly)
- hook punches (as Murray)
- Thunderflop (as Murray; in mid-air only)
- crossbow swipe (as Bentley)
Triangle: Vertical Attack
- vertical attack (as Sly; used to knock enemies into the air)
- downward dive (as Sly; in mid-air only)
- uppercut (as Murray)
- drop bomb (as Bentley)
Circle: Action button (near blue/green/purple sparkles and character icons)
- pickpocket (as Sly)
- stomp (as Murray; use Square to throw object/enemy)
R1: hold to run
Select: Gadget Grid
- Control Pad: highlight gadget
- X button: confirm gadget
- L1, L2, R2: assign gadget to button pressed
L1, L2, R2: use gadgets assigned to button pressed
Start: pause menu
- Control Pad: select menu choice
- X button: confirm choice
- Start: un-pause game
L3 (press the left analog stick): locate beacons for mission objectives
R3 (press the right analog stick): Enter and exit Binocucom for first-person view
- Left analog stick: look around
- Right analog stick: zoom in and out (with up and down on right stick)
R1:
- take pictures with spy camera (as Sly; when applicable)
- shoot sleep dart (as Bentley)
Hacking mini-game controls:
- Left analog stick: move
- Right analog stick: aim and fire gun
Wednesday, January 27, 2021
PrinceWatercress plays The Adventures of Batman & Robin (Super NES) - Part 2 of 8
The next level limits what we can do to enemies, but it is still beatable if you know what to do.
No Green Peace
The second stage of the game starts with Batman heading to the forest in the Gotham City suburban district, as there has been an unusual increase in the number of trees in the area. There have also been reported sightings of bizarre plant life. If it is revealed that Poison Ivy is behind this, there will be a major panic in the city. Batman must take on Poison Ivy before this can happen.
When you make it to the equipment selection screen, you will notice that there is an X next to the Star and the Plastic Explosive options. You will not be able to use anything that has an X to it in the current stage. Be sure to bring the Spray Gun and Smoke Bombs; they will be extremely useful.
The women in the blue and black armor are the generic enemies for this stage. Duck down to avoid their attacks, as they will try to spray you with some sort of gas. You cannot defeat them, sadly; you can only stun them with the Batarang. Holding Down and pressing B to roll will make it easier to get away from them. Also, be ready to avoid red spiky balls that fall from above.
You'll eventually come face-to-face with a few giant tree roots. Hit them with three Batarangs in the red, pustule-laden area to defeat them. Remember to block so the tree roots don't damage you.
In the next section, you will be doing some platforming. Be ready to use the Grappling Hook, and use the Smoke Bombs to take out some of the female enemies from afar. As you make it to the top, be ready to jump from tree to tree as the ones with the diagonal branches start falling down from under you. When you see a vine at the top of the screen, be ready to grab onto it with the Grappling Hook to make it to the end of this section.
In the third section, the vines will collapse if you stand on them for too long, so leap your way across them. Use your grappling hook when necessary after this, watching out for branch that fall when you put your weight on them, and you will eventually make it onto solid ground.
As you make your way to the right, the terrain will transform. The worst it can do is slightly irritate you, since no bottomless pits are made and there are no enemies in this section.
In the fourth section, you'll finally be in a huge greenhouse. Use the spray gun on enemies if you need to if you need to refill items, as the battery icons the enemies sometimes drop from being hit by the spray gun will do just that.
There are also trap doors in the floor, and you can either speed through them or take your time. Thankfully, the enemies here come to a dead stop and never walk where they are, so you can figure out where some of them are. Thankfully, the pits are not instant death traps, and if you feel like it, you can stun an enemy and then throw them into the pits, killing them!
You'll eventually catch up to Poison Ivy, who says the Human World does not understand the feelings of the Plant World. Batman chases after Poison Ivy, and tells her that while damage to the environment is a tragedy, it is still wrong of her to threaten the Human World. Poison Ivy does not care about the Human World, and sics an evil Venus flytrap-like monster on Batman.
Duck to avoid the arm as it whips at the air three times, then throw a Batarang at it when it opens its mouth before moving. After three this, be ready to move to avoid the yellow stars that come out of the arm as well as the arm itself when it strikes the ground. Again, throw Batarangs at the mouth when it is open, and stay on the move. When Poison Ivy comes out from behind the boss, duck to avoid the arrows she shoots from her crossbow. After dealing enough hits, you'll eventually take this thing down.
PrinceWatercress plays The Adventures of Batman & Robin (Super NES) - Part 1 of 8
So, anybody remember The Adventures of Batman & Robin, the animated Batman series from the 1990s? Well, it had a few games. This is one of them. And it's not that bad, either.
Amused To Death
The game begins with Bruce Wayne's butler Alfred alerting Bruce Wayne to having picked up a suspicious sounding broadcast. The broadcast is of Harley Quinn and "The Joker Channel." Harley Quinn introduces The Joker, who hopes Batman is watching as he has some very special attractions at the Gotham City Amusement Park for all the children of Gotham City. He says tomorrow should be "a real scream" before laughing.
Alfred warns Bruce that this is a trap of some time. Bruce, who is Batman at this point, says he still has to go, and asks Alfred to get the equipment ready.
At this point, you will go to the equipment menu. You can chose which weapons you can bring with you, and thankfully, you can toggle between them all in-game. The Batarang and the Grappling Gun will always be equipped and cannot be removed.
The beginning of the stage has you running to the right and punching goons. You can also throw them into other goons, if you wish. There will be some guys jumping out of windows, as well as guys with guns. If you have Batarangs on your person, you can toss them at the armed men to disarm them.
You can attack with your punches and kicks with the Y button, jump with the B button, cycle through all your equipped gadgets with the X button and use the currently equipped gadget with the A button.
Pausing the game allows you to see how many lives you have left and allows you to return to the Batcave. If you do that, you'll start the whole level over, but you'll refill all your health and special items. Despite what I say about using the Batcave, only the "last life of the last continue" part works; if you go back to the Batcave on the last life of your last continue, you'll get all your continues back. Discretion really is the better part of valor!
After the stairs leading to the door that you can't open, you can take either the ground path or the upper path via the platforms on the building. The upper path will let you avoid the enemies altogether, but since this is the first stage, it doesn't really matter much which path you take.
You'll eventually enter the amusement park, where you will meet Harley Quinn. She will welcome you to The Joker's Funhouse, which is somehow built in his image (because Batman) and runs inside, with Batman chasing her inside.
Once inside, you'll see some new traps, such as the Joker robots that will shoot at you. Duck down and roll forward to avoid the gunfire, then keep doing crouch kicks on them until they die. To roll, hold Down on the Control Pad and keep pressing B.
Shortly after the beginning, you'll notice that some of the floors and ceilings will move up and down. Thankfully, you can wall jump in this game. Just jump towards the wall, then keep holding the Control Pad towards the wall and press B again to jump off the wall.
Be sure to have your grappling hook equipped, as it has infinite uses and you can use it to make it pass tall walls that you can't jump up and grab the ledge of. Also, spikes will be exposed as floors and ceilings move up and down, and they can do quite a bit of damage. Use the grappling hook to get past them.
In the next section, keep moving to the right to avoid the crushing ceiling. You will then come face-to-face with a giant nutcracker-like toy soldier! Wait for him to come to you, and when he rears his bayonet back, be ready to jump so you land on top of the toy rifle. Run up to the soldier's body, then jump up and kick the soldier in the face. From there, move back. After several jump kicks, you'll be able to take this giant soldier out without a problem.
You'll then meet The Joker, who refuses to give up without a fight. He runs off, and Batman gives chase. The Joker will then try to escape onto a roller coaster, and Batman chases him on another set of cars. Stay on the cars, and attack or avoid the bombs, making sure they do not touch you. If you duck between the first and second cars on the left, you'll be able to take out just about every bomb. Also, make sure to keep ducking on the loop-de-loop, as the white circles with the stars on them will do a lot of damage if Batman smacks into them.
You'll eventually switch to a Mode 7 view where The Joker will be next to Batman while standing on his own car, throwing bombs at Batman. While you can punch The Joker while both cars are right next to each other, you can punch the bombs back at The Joker and hit him with them.
You'll eventually go back to side-scrolling view. When you see the yellow square with the exclamation point in it, be ready to jump to The Joker's car. After some fighting words, be ready to duck down in the center of the car at the beginning of the battle. Attack The Joker if you can, and take as little damage as possible. You want to make sure those white spheres in the path of the loop do not smack into Batman. After the loop-de-loop, stop ducking, then run up to The Joker and punch him. When he leaps to the other side of the car, be ready to follow him there and punch him. Keep following him from one end of the car to the other as he jumps to and fro after each attack. A crouching kick is best, as The Joker can hit Batman with a spray of some sort, stunning him for a few seconds.
After Batman deals enough damage, The Joker gets away by jumping off the roller coaster, possibly jumping 40 feet to his demise in the process. So ends Stage 1.
PrinceWatercress plays Sly 2: Band of Thieves - Part 24 of 49
For this entry, we'll be getting up close and personal with The Contessa to steal a few things from under her nose before taking out one of the prison's key defenses.
Close To The Contessa
You'll be starting this one with Sly
To get to Murray, you'll need to steal two tank keys and the tank patrol schedule off of The Contessa. To do that, you'll have to follow The Contessa and her guards, use the Alarm Clock to take care of the guards, then get behind The Contessa and pickpocket her to steal the keys and the schedule.
When you steal something from The Contessa, she will run away. Use L3 to look for her, then take care of her guards and steal from her again just like you did the first time. Thankfully, there will not be a lot of enemies around.
It should be mentioned that if you're too close to The Contessa when you take out the guard closest to her, she will hear it. Get away from her or else you're starting the part of the mission you're on all over again.
Lightning Action
Once again, you'll have to play as Sly to do this mission.
To get rid of the water tower attack robot, you'll have to destroy the lightning rods around the prison that are designed to draw lightning strikes away from the giant robot. By turning the wheels on the rods, you should be able to redirect the electrical currents away from their ground wires, rendering them useless. Follow the lightning strikes to find all five rods, then turn the wheels with the Circle button to disable them.
Go up to each lightning rod and alternate between the wheels on each one, spinning them once each. When you see a red glow around the rod, back off and jump away so you don't get shocked. Sadly, you have to look for the lightning bolts, as press L3 will not help you in this mission.
As you go through this mission, the lightning strikes will be more and more frequent at the remaining rods. Be ready to back off and jump, as you will be shocked even if you are on the ground near the rods.
Once you take out all the rods, you'll disable the giant water tower attack robot.
We've completed the last leg of the episode, and now Operation: Trojan Tank can be attempted. The tank keys will be used to steal a tank. Bentley will drive to the prison with Sly crawling underneath it, and if everything goes right, the guards will not be able to suspect a thing as they let Sly and Bentley through the main gates. From there, the doors to Cell Block D will be blown off, and Sly will need to get to the guard control center to open the doors to solitary confinement and free Murray.
Atlas Strength is a skill for Murray that allows him to jump while carrying an enemy. This skill is automatically equipped upon purchase. (The only reason why this is being purchased now is because there are no missions for Murray, as Bentley does all the stuff at the beginning and Sly takes care of everything after the initial break-out from The Hole.)
Controls
D-Pad/Left Analog Stick: move
Right Analog Stick: move camera
X: jump and double jump
Square: Horizontal Attack
- horizontal attack (as Sly)
- slam enemies launched into the air from behind (as Sly)
- hook punches (as Murray)
- Thunderflop (as Murray; in mid-air only)
- crossbow swipe (as Bentley)
Triangle: Vertical Attack
- vertical attack (as Sly; used to knock enemies into the air)
- downward dive (as Sly; in mid-air only)
- uppercut (as Murray)
- drop bomb (as Bentley)
Circle: Action button (near blue/green/purple sparkles and character icons)
- pickpocket (as Sly)
- stomp (as Murray; use Square to throw object/enemy)
R1: hold to run
Select: Gadget Grid
- Control Pad: highlight gadget
- X button: confirm gadget
- L1, L2, R2: assign gadget to button pressed
L1, L2, R2: use gadgets assigned to button pressed
Start: pause menu
- Control Pad: select menu choice
- X button: confirm choice
- Start: un-pause game
L3 (press the left analog stick): locate beacons for mission objectives
R3 (press the right analog stick): Enter and exit Binocucom for first-person view
- Left analog stick: look around
- Right analog stick: zoom in and out (with up and down on right stick)
R1:
- take pictures with spy camera (as Sly; when applicable)
- shoot sleep dart (as Bentley)
Hacking mini-game controls:
- Left analog stick: move
- Right analog stick: aim and fire gun
Tuesday, January 26, 2021
PrinceWatercress plays Dungeon Explorer (Fighter Class) - Part 8 of 8
In this entry, we face Natas himself, then bring this grand adventure to a close.
At Axis Castle, enter the doorway to the west of the one leading to the throne room. Go south, then go down the stairs. From here, you'll be in a very alien-looking dungeon. Be ready to tear through enemies and the enemy generators that spawn them, including brown bugs that just charge at you in non-diagonal directions.
You'll then face Judas. Use your Black magic, stay on the movie, run around the room in a circle, and keep as much distance as possible while attacking Judas and avoiding the multiple boomerangs he throws. After the stat boost, you'll be in Ciria Village, where the villagers will be cheering you on while telling you to head east to Balamous Tower. East of Balamous Tower is a path leading to Melba Village, so if you need to heal up at the tavern, you can do that.
You'll have some very narrow areas to move and shoot through in the tower, so getting the reflect mirror that will let your attacks bounce off walls is a must. Also, be ready to blaze a path to a staircase and then get right to it, as you will be overwhelmed if you try to fight all the enemies at this point.
You'll then face Natas himself. Move from one lower corner of the room to the other while aiming diagonally north, and stay away from the hands. You'll take out the hands and even a few projectiles coming out then be able to aim at the ORA Stone, and while the hands will re-spawn, taking out both hands will make things easier. Once you beat Natas, you'll be able to take the ORA Stone and beat the game! You've just beaten Dungeon Explorer!
PrinceWatercress plays Sly 2: Band of Thieves - Part 23 of 49
In this episode, we get the last of the big treasures in the prison, then take pictures of some digital displays to crack a security algorithm. We're rolling in the money now!
Treasures of the Episode
Golden Orb - Once again, you'll have to enter the prison area, and this time, you'll need to get to the water tower to find this one. Once you get it, you'll have a minute and forty seconds to get the orb to the safe house. Just like last time, you'll want to take the quickest way out that you can find, then get to the train tracks and follow them to the safe house.
Ceremonial Lantern - This is at the tallest prison tower in the middle of the prison area. Unlike the other podium treasures, this one does not a timer. If you know what you're doing, you won't have to use the train tracks unless you absolutely have to. If you don't use the train tracks and instead use the direct path to the safe house, however, be ready to run!
Code Capture
Here is yet another job you'll have to play as Sly in order to take on.
For this one, there are four screens scattered throughout the episode where you will need to go to, find the nearby guards, steal their keys, use the keys to trip the nearby alarm on and then go into hiding before the guard spots you. As you get away, you'll need to get to a place where you can get a clear snapshot of the screen when it displays a three-digit number on the digital display as the guard shuts off the alarm. You'll need to take that snapshot with the camera on the Binocucom before it disappears, and for that perfect shot, you'll need to be at just the right distance to make that target indicator turn green. This is the hardest part, honestly. If you can get the four snapshots you'll need, Bentley will have a large enough sample of the algorithm to crack the rest of it.
Use the L3 button to find out where all the guards are, then steal their keys...but don't beat them up.. You'll want to pay attention to where the guards are, and you'll want to trip the alarms at the right time so that the guard is as far as possible before they can catch up to you or the alarm. From there, you'll have to get someplace at just the right distance from the screen - usually on a rooftop - so you can get a picture of the part of the code that pops up before that three digit number disappears. This one will take a while to do, but once you figure stuff out, this is doable.
The hardest screen is behind The Contessa's house. You'll need the most distance between you and the guard before you trip the alarm, climb up a great deal and take a picture of the code from a platform above the train tracks and near the prison. You'll need to be fast, but this can be done.
Controls
D-Pad/Left Analog Stick: move
Right Analog Stick: move camera
X: jump and double jump
Square: Horizontal Attack
- horizontal attack (as Sly)
- slam enemies launched into the air from behind (as Sly)
- hook punches (as Murray)
- Thunderflop (as Murray; in mid-air only)
- crossbow swipe (as Bentley)
Triangle: Vertical Attack
- vertical attack (as Sly; used to knock enemies into the air)
- downward dive (as Sly; in mid-air only)
- uppercut (as Murray)
- drop bomb (as Bentley)
Circle: Action button (near blue/green/purple sparkles and character icons)
- pickpocket (as Sly)
- stomp (as Murray; use Square to throw object/enemy)
R1: hold to run
Select: Gadget Grid
- Control Pad: highlight gadget
- X button: confirm gadget
- L1, L2, R2: assign gadget to button pressed
L1, L2, R2: use gadgets assigned to button pressed
Start: pause menu
- Control Pad: select menu choice
- X button: confirm choice
- Start: un-pause game
L3 (press the left analog stick): locate beacons for mission objectives
R3 (press the right analog stick): Enter and exit Binocucom for first-person view
- Left analog stick: look around
- Right analog stick: zoom in and out (with up and down on right stick)
R1:
- take pictures with spy camera (as Sly; when applicable)
- shoot sleep dart (as Bentley)
Hacking mini-game controls:
- Left analog stick: move
- Right analog stick: aim and fire gun
Monday, January 25, 2021
PrinceWatercress plays Dungeon Explorer (Fighter Class) - Part 7 of 8
In this episode, we finally get the ORA Stone! But it's not over yet...
If you talk to the king at Axis Castle, he will tell you to go north of the castle and enter Ratonix, and to watch out for Octopolus. You'll also get the magic charges, as usual.
Here, you'll have a dungeon with some of the darkest color schemes I've ever seen in a video game...and you'll also have a staircase maze.
Start by going west and going downstairs. From there, take the stairs that are further to the east. Go down the next flight of stairs, then go up the stairs to the north. Take the next set of stairs that you see, then take the stairs to the north. Take the stairs to the north, then grab the seed if you need to replenish your health and take the stairs to the north again. Take the stairs to your immediate east, then do it again. Go south to the next set of stairs, then go up another flight of stairs to the east. Go east down some stairs, then take the stairs going down to the south. Get the stuff to the north, then take the stairs to the south. Take the stairs to the west from here. Go down the lower set of stairs to the east, then go up the stairs to the immediate east afterwards. Take the next set of stairs that you see, do it again, then take the stairs to the east. Take the stairs to the south, then follow the path and take the stairs at the end. You'll face Octopolus.
To beat Octopolus, use your Black magic, stay to one side and keep aiming at the eye in the center. You'll take out all the other eyes surrounding Octopolus' weak point before decimating the weak point itself before anything re-spawns. After the stat boost, you'll find out that you're on the way to Mistos and that you'll have to go underground and face Halatos. Follow the path to another dungeon.
Here, the ground is red and the enemy generators blend in with the floors rather easily, so watch for any part of the floor that is flashing. Despite the massive amounts of staircases here, it is easy to get to where you need to go. Just watch out for the massive amounts of blue eyeballs flying around, the flamethrowers and the orange demons that are very fast.
Near the end of this dungeon, you'll be dealing with enemy generators that spawn blue flames. If you see the blue flames, off-screen them immediately as you make your way to the south. You'll eventually face Halatos.
To beat Halatos, stay in one of the lower corners and fire diagonally to the north. You'll take out any flames that are shot at you while also slowly dealing damage to Halatos. Once you beat Halatos, head all the way east and you'll find the ORA Stone! Grab it, then take the nearby stairs. You'll meet Judas, who tells you to head to Axis Castle. Just go east when you leave the house and you'll be there.
Of course, once you go to Axis Castle, you'll notice that the music in the castle is slower. When you talk to the king, you'll find out that he is Natas himself! The soldiers will tell you to go under the castle thru Roterroad to head to Balamous Tower, and to be careful of the plant pods.
PrinceWatercress plays Dungeon Explorer (Fighter Class) - Part 6 of 8
Two more bosses here. We face the Splatter Slime, then we take on the Gorgon.
The King will tell you to go to Cursoka Village east of Karma Castle - and beware of the Splatter Slime - if you talk to him at this point. Yes, you still get the magic charges.
Once you go back to where you got back into Axis Castle from, go east. You'll eventually come across a wall of fire that cannot be passed through; turn back and go north as soon as you are able. Go east, then go north. You'll eventually find stairs leading up; take them. After another room, you'll be in Cursoka Village.
Watch out for the dwarves, spiders and worms and take them out on sight before they get you. Head to the northwest corner and enter the house you find there, then go down the stairs for another dungeon area. The skeletons with the purple shoulder pads are fast, and the fly enemies will bounce off the walls.
You'll eventually encounter the Splatter Slime. Use a black magic charge, move around the room in a circle to avoid the Splatter Slime and the slime enemies that it spawns (in three new colors!) and hit the Splatter Slime when you get enough distance. The Splatter Slime will go down in no time, and once you increase one of your stats, you'll be able to go back to Axis Castle by going west, but if you go south, you'll head towards Raraport and face yellow pill bugs, gray soldiers, orange soldiers and red dwarves, the last of whom will overwhelm you if your strength isn't high enough and you're not using Black magic.
To beat the Gargon, stay around the southeast corner and keep firing at the Gargon. You'll be hitting fireballs while trying to attack the Gargon, but at the same time, you'll be able to clear a path. If you need to, use your Black magic. The Gargon may move back and forth every so often, so be ready to change your aim if you need to. If you have the reflect ability for your attack, this is even easier. It may take a while, but the Gargon will go down long before you do.
You'll then go through yet another dungeon. Push the rock, go up the stairs, and you'll be east of Axis Castle.
PrinceWatercress plays Sly 2: Band of Thieves - Part 22 of 49
Now that Sly is back in action, it's time to get Murray out...and to do that, we need to cause some headaches for the prison.
Treasure of the Episode
Crystal Ball - All three of the podium treasures are in the prison area, and this one in particular is behind the fenced-off area. Once you get this thing, you'll have 90 seconds to get to an opening out of the prison and towards the railroad tracks which you can use as a short path to the safe house. Keep using L3 for the three big ticket items here, because you're gonna need it!
Big House Brawl
You'll need to be Sly to start this. Get to the pipe in the area underneath one of the bridges. From here, you'll find a shortcut into an air vent in the prison, where you can contact Murray. Sly will get Murray - who has noticed that the food has been laced with spice - to start a fight in the prison and hopefully beat up enough enemies - 50, to be exact - to get locked in solitary confinement, which has a big security flaw that Bentley will take advantage of.
Besides your own two fists, you ahve spike walls that you can throw enemies into. There are also LED boards through out the room that show how many enemies you've beaten up. Triangle followed by Square is the wonder combo, but don't be afraid to press Square once between enemies to give equal punishment to a whole slew of enemies in case you're surrounded.
When you complete this mission you'll be back at the safe house.
Disguise Bridge
Once again, you'll need to be Sly to start this one.
The giant pipes underneath the most prominent bridge in the area feed power to the prison security system, and that Bentley will need to blow up the pipes in order to sever the connection. As Bentley does that, Sly will have to provide protection, as Murray is still locked up.
To fool the guards, you'll need to destroy the statues, take their place, and then take out enemies when they least suspect it. Use the web as a trampoline to get up to the bridge, destroy the statues and take out the enemies before they get to Bentley. For best results, you need to be on the opposite end of the bridge at Bentley, then hide as astatue and take out the enemy at the back of the the pack. The Voltage Attack will also work wonders here, especially if you're dealing with a flashlight guard, though you probably won't need it unless you're stealing from them.
After enough passes, you'll blow up the pipes and you'll disable the security system.
Controls
D-Pad/Left Analog Stick: move
Right Analog Stick: move camera
X: jump and double jump
Square: Horizontal Attack
- horizontal attack (as Sly)
- slam enemies launched into the air from behind (as Sly)
- hook punches (as Murray)
- Thunderflop (as Murray; in mid-air only)
- crossbow swipe (as Bentley)
Triangle: Vertical Attack
- vertical attack (as Sly; used to knock enemies into the air)
- downward dive (as Sly; in mid-air only)
- uppercut (as Murray)
- drop bomb (as Bentley)
Circle: Action button (near blue/green/purple sparkles and character icons)
- pickpocket (as Sly)
- stomp (as Murray; use Square to throw object/enemy)
R1: hold to run
Select: Gadget Grid
- Control Pad: highlight gadget
- X button: confirm gadget
- L1, L2, R2: assign gadget to button pressed
L1, L2, R2: use gadgets assigned to button pressed
Start: pause menu
- Control Pad: select menu choice
- X button: confirm choice
- Start: un-pause game
L3 (press the left analog stick): locate beacons for mission objectives
R3 (press the right analog stick): Enter and exit Binocucom for first-person view
- Left analog stick: look around
- Right analog stick: zoom in and out (with up and down on right stick)
R1:
- take pictures with spy camera (as Sly; when applicable)
- shoot sleep dart (as Bentley)
Hacking mini-game controls:
- Left analog stick: move
- Right analog stick: aim and fire gun
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