The PrinceWatercress Blog

Since the last video, I spent an hour getting to almost 6000 EVO Points. As a result, I'm able to evolve some things and bump my stats way up.

If you're in one of the lands long enough, day turns to night. You can then attack the creatures while they're sleeping for a free hit.

Land of Boss Ikustega

Now you meet one big one. To beat Debustega, keep away from him and bite him when he lands on the ground. You'll definitely want to evolve a little bit before you take him on.

He can also spit green balls at you. Acid, perhaps?

If you have the Power Tail or better, you can reach the dragonflies. They have more than one hit point, so if you don't want to get hit after you knock them down, get some powerful jaws along with that tail or back off as they're coming down before turning around and biting them again. They give you 30 EP, making them worth the effort to take down.

Land of Boss Ikustega

Well, now that we've levelled up, getting some damage on this guy is a lot easier. Your best strategy is to stay on one of the higher platforms and bite Debustega when he's leaping up to your level. Doing that will stun him and bring him back down, which makes timing it right just perfect.

When you defeat him, you'll be able to get up to 400 EP. Head to the right, and you'll meet the Elder of Ikustega. He'll be relieved that you beat Debustega. When he asks you to do him a favor, say yes. He'll tell you that there used to be a lot of plants and that the insects has evolved quickly and have started eating them all up as a result. They have refused to co-exist with the Ikustega and he needs you to take them down.

Just walk to the right and you'll leave the area.

Domain of Profasu

There is now a third fork at the first area. Go there and you'll enter the Domain of Profasu. This is the road that will lead you up north to the end of the chapter.

The Profasu are basically amphibian-sized cockroaches, and they'll scuttle into you in an attempt to beat you up. You'll have to be quick to beat them if your jaws are not strong enough, as they will fly away if you don't kill them in one hit or you're not quick enough to bite them again. These guys leave 40 EP for you, making the Domain of Profasu a really nice place to farm EP.

Domain of Giant Bee

Making it all the way to the right in the Domain of Profasu takes you to an area with giant bees in it. The bees fly around and try to sting you, and they also try to grab the tiny Ikustega and run off with them. This distracts them from you, so take advantage and bit the bees for a free hit. These bees drop 50 EP. They also recover 6 HP, which also make them worth it, assuming you have jaws powerful enough to take them down in one hit.

The Ikustega bones and the tiny red dragonfly heal you slightly.

The only problem with this area (which is bearable after a while) is the slight dip in the frame rate.

Land of Insect

This is an even better farming point than the Profasu and Giant Bee domains. You still have the giant bees, but they won't be able to attack you at all because they're too busy carrying those tiny Ikustega around. Since these things will always keep spawning, you can definitely farm EP here.

Cave of King Bee

Well, if those bones are a tell-tale sign, the King Bee must be strong.

An Ikustega (probably the dad of the kid that followed the elder around) walks out and is about to collapse right in front of you. He asks you to eat the food he's collected in order to prepare for the King Bee. Eat it, as it heals 49 HP and gives you 1000 EP. Thanks, game.

Once you enter the cave, eat the eggs as well as the little blue worms that pop out. At 20 EP apiece, these are a great way to get stronger at the last second if you need just a little bit more.

Remember, it's the eggs that don't wobble that contain the blue worms.

Once you make to the end, it's just you and the King Bee. Don't stand below it and stay out of the way whenever it shoots out the stingers, as those stingers pack a punch and they can end you instantly. Keep on moving - and quickly! - and they should hopefully miss you.

The best thing to do prior to this battle is to get the best tail, and evolve your dorsal fin to one of the 1000 EP varieties in case you run low on health. From there, you can jump as high as the ceiling and hit this guy before he can attack, canceling all that stinger stuff out and causing the King Bee to reposition himself.

If the King Bee flies into the ceiling, run like hell to avoid the stingers.

When you beat him, you'll get 1200 EP.

Walk all the way to the right, and you'll come out of the cave. You'll meet a dragonfly named Megausu who didn't agree with a lot of thing the King Bee did. He'll tell you that the Sand Eater is near, and that he's pretty powerful.

Desert of Sand Eater

From here on out, the path is linear.

Avoid the tentacles and the sand they spit out, and just make your way to the right.

Desert of Edosaurus

The Edosaurus will basically tell you that if you're not a reptile, you're screwed. Guess what? We don't care. And these guys are going to be chewed up.

The Edosauruses dig into the sand and try to tail whip you in retaliation. They give you 80 EP, which is pretty nice.

The brown creatures that look like worms coming out of the sand heal you when eaten.

Desert of Mosuchop

The Mosuchops come out of the sand to try and attack you. If it is night, they will come out of the ground and walk around due to the cooler temperatures. Thankfully, you can see them coming and bite them as soon as they come out. They give a good amount of EVO Points, so I end up getting more points here before the next video.

PrinceWatercress plays EVO: The Search For Eden - Part 3 of 14

In this entry, we bring oxygen to the planet, then we head to the next era to live as a land mammal.

First | Previous | Next | End

Domain of Cepalas

The shell-armored fish move into your path in groups. Since they give 30 EP apiece, beating these guys and letting them re-spawn for EP farming is a really nice idea, especially if you need to raise your maximum HP to fight the upcoming boss.

Once you enter the cave, there's really no going back.

Cave of Origin

If you ever find a flashing piece of meat that glows red and green, eat it! You'll get a bigger EP and HP boost than usual, as you'll earn five times the experience and five times the HP recovery that you normally would from the monster that left it. The flashing meat shows up at random when you defeat an enemy, so be ready for it when it shows up.

When you enter the cave, be on the lookout not only for Trilobites but also for Spiked Squid. When you're above them, they'll rocket upwards and try to stab you for some quick damage.

After leaving the first screen of the cave, you'll notice the seaweed whispering to one another. The Sterolites are trying to create a new world using oxygen. The Kuraselaches, however, are getting in the way.

Domain of Kuraselache

The sharks can bite and tail whip. When they bite, they bite and hold they grip on your for a second to achieve an extra hit. If you have powerful jaws, the 80 EP from their meat is more than worth it.

The starfish heal you when eaten.

As your progress, you'll hear the Strolites talk to each other. If they could move across the ocean without sticking to the bottom, the Kuraselaches wouldn't be a problem. You'll also find out the boss is here.

When you enter the cave at the end, you'll meet the boss.

The trick to fighting bosses in this game is to have a lot of EP. The more you have, the better. That way, you can increase and decrease your body size (or do any evolution) for the sole purpose of refilling all your health. Yes, when you evolve, you refill all your health.

Using the Spiraled Horn and hitting him from behind with it works pretty well. The horn will break if you run into the boss three times, but you can get the horn again and attack the boss with it some more.

Another real trick to use against this boss is stay close to a wall. When he runs into a wall, he'll be stunned for a few seconds. Use this to your advantage and score a few extra hits on this bozo!

When you beat this guy, you'll get four pieces of sushi that give you 250 EP each. Nice.

When you leave the cave, you'll find out that all the enemies are gone and that the Strolites are making oxygen. Go above the cave and go right.

Coast of Pange

The name is obviously supposed to be Pangea.

Normally, if you went here before beating the boss and jumped out of the water by holding Up and Right and jumping up to the land with B, you would lose health until you went back in due to the lack of breathable oxygen. But since you've beaten the boss, you become a land creature with arms and legs! You have lungs instead of gills! Yay, evolution!

When you head to the right, you'll be ushered into the Land Age, and you'll turn into an amphibian. You'll lose all your EP (making the EP you got from the boss a moot point) and all your upgrades. You'll be starting from scratch all over again...

Chapter 2: Early Creatures of Land

300~230 Million Years B.C.

Amphibians and insects are already on land. There should be a lot of plants, but something is wrong...

Coast of Pange

The crabs here will heal you if you eat. Not that you need them right now, but...

The brown crystal tells you that if you increase the size of your tail, your jumping ability will get better and your max HP will increase. This should be a high priority if you want to survive.

When you leave this area, you'll be able to choose from two new ones.

Empty Land

When you enter the eastern fork, you'll be here. You'll then hear whispers above you, talking about the green crystal, which has the power to return you to an earlier form that you've saved under Record of Evolution. (Which means if you wanted to, you could save a powerful creature you created during your last game, eat this crystal, and be able to transform into it and play as it earlier in the game than intended.) The person talking to this "Captain" has his misgivings, but the Captain will take responsibility for anything that happens. This won't be the last you'll see of these unknown entities...

Anyway, unless you've beaten Debustega, you won't be able to go any further.

Ocean of Pange

Take the western fork instead. When you jump in the water, you'll go from being able to walk to being able to swim. You'll stay this way until you jump back out of the water and onto dry land.

You can attack the Coelafish here for EP, but they're not gonna give you much. They stay as they are because it is difficult for them to fight against the land creatures. Poor guys...

Land of Timid Ikustega

Apparently, you're an Ikustega. That's not timid. Gee, thanks, game.

Anyway, when you chase after the Ikustega here, they run away in fear. They're still not fast enough to escape you, though, so chow down and get some easy EP. You can kill them Mario style by jumping on them, though I'm not quite sure why you'd want to.

When you make your way to the right, you'll clear this area.

Land of Bull Ikustega

The Ikustega here, however, don't care. They'll try to jump on you Mario-style, but that's all they can really do.

Land of Amphibians

There are more Bull Ikustega here. The first one you see will tell you to get out of this land, as it is run by the elder who takes care of the plants in this area. Could this "elder" be behind the lack of plants...?

You'll also meet a new enemy here: a mini Triceratops. These guys will try to whack you with their horns. They're not any more powerful than the Bull Ikustega, though.

PrinceWatercress plays The Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle 3 - Part 7 of 18

Stage 28 is the first real difficult stage in the Hall, at least for me. Not surprisingly, it's going to take me a while, and by "a while," I mean all of the next video.

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The bottom of Stage 26 can be a pain. Get what you can, then go up, get what you can there and save any bombs you find for Sylvesters, should you have to tangle with them.

The lightning bolt tile will make Stage 27 a little bit easier the more enemies you have on screen when you grab it.

Stage 28, however, can be a pain in the butt. The upper-left corner of the stage is the hardest to get to because of the Rocky, and the Up tile below the rope you can swing across to that area will be used by enemies a lot. Because of that, it is possible to accidentally jump upwards into an enemy in that area and lose a few lives that way. Also, the warp tile in the lower-right "basement" corner of the stage that takes you there is not always the best way, due to the Rocky patrolling the other corner. Not surprisingly, this stage takes me a while.

Saturday, February 27, 2021

PrinceWatercress plays EVO: The Search For Eden - Part 2 of 14

We do some exploration, then power up some more for the next part of this era.

First | Next | End

I start off with 3,220 EVO Points after going experience farming for 20 minutes. At this point, I get the strongest possible jaws, the Shell Body, a larger body size and the best tail for increased attack, defense and hit points.

Ocean of Terodus

The yellow fish run away from you. If you've evolved and become fast enough to go after one of them, you can attack them and get some more health and EP.

Move around as you wait for the volcano to erupt. When it does, the wall of bubbles blocking your path will disappear and you'll be able to continue. Just watch out for those rocks. They hurt if your defense isn't high enough.

Cave of Zinichtys

You'll see see urchins on the ocean floor. Just like everything else you've seen on the ground so far, these things will heal you when eaten.

When you enter this cave, you'll not only be in a short maze, you'll also take on some real competition. The fish here are menacing and look like they're armor plated. If you haven't evolved much yet (especially to increase your attack power and HP), this is your excuse to do so. The grey fish give you 50 EP when defeated.

Watch out for the trilobites. They may seem unassumingly weak, but their attack - launching themselves up and down for a few seconds around the area - can pack a punch!

Anyway, somewhere in the cave is a blue crystal. Eating it will give you 500 EP. This is a nice bonus.

When you're fighting the armored fish, get away so you don't take more than one hit. You don't have a period of invincibility after you get hit, like in some games. This is also true of just about any enemy in the game, so keep that in mind.

The part with the volcanic activity is where you need to go. Once you're there, avoid the rocks that emerge from the eruptions and keep heading right. You're out of there.

I spend the rest of the video going back to one of the previous caves to show off what grinding for experience is like. I don't do this again for the rest of the Let's Play.

PrinceWatercress plays EVO: The Search For Eden - Part 1 of 14

Well, time to play this one myself. I covered this via somebody else's guide a couple of years back; there's a lot more to it now that I've replayed it for the channel.

Anyway, this is a Super Nintendo game released by Enix in 1993. The gameplay and storyline is pretty good, even if it does seem a bit out there. There's not much in the way of music, though. Yeah, I'm covering a completely underrated game again. But it's actually worth beating, since the developers put at least a good amount of effort into the entire game.

Chapter 1: The World Before Land

500 ~ 450 Million B.C.

After you meet Gaia and you basically see the beginning of the storyline, you start the game...as a tiny, unimpressive fish.

...

Don't run away, guys. It gets better. I promise.

Okay? Okay.

Ocean of Origin

After the first jellyfish tells you about evolution and whatnot, you can basically attack the little jerk, then eat the meat he leaves behind. The meat not only heals you, but it also gives you Evo Points, which basically let you evolve your character, adding and changing to your abilities.

The jellyfish here are pretty weak, thankfully. If you still need some HP, though, the plankton can be eaten, though it won't give you any EP. Just don't run into the jellyfish or give them the chance to sting you. To attack, press Y. To move, use the Control Pad. X will allow you to eat things.

When you make it all the way to the right (which doesn't take long at all), you'll be in the next area. Whenever you're in the world map, you can switch to other areas that you've already completed, which are indicated by the red dot. The green dot is an area you haven't cleared yet. From here, you can use the Control Pad to move between areas and press B to select where you want to go.

Cave of Guidance

If you see any flashing meat upon defeating an enemy, eat it. Flashing meat gives more experience along with a bigger health replenishment.

When you enter the cave, you'll take on a few eels. They take a little more damage than the jellyfish and they can be annoying when they walk right into you, but they can't do much besides move around and swing their tails.

You should have at least 200 EP by the time you enter the cave from leveling up. Some of the new evolutionary options, such as a bigger dorsal fin (which allows you to move faster) and bigger jaws (for a more powerful attack) cost this much, but some others cost even more, especially when you're trying to become even more powerful.

When you approach the sea cucumbers near the end (which you can eat), you'll hear them saying that Gaia has a plan for the fish to create a new world, and that you won't be able to go back after you reach the third volcano in the sea.

If you eat the brown crystal at the end, you'll get a message about how the brown crystals work. You'll also get the basics on evolution:

Evolving your teeth increases your attack power.

Evolving your body increases your defensive power.

Evolving your horn will increase your attack power. (Be careful, as your horn can break after a few uses.)

Evolving your hands, feet, and dorsal fin as well as your tail will increase your agility, HP level and strength.

Evolving one part of your body may decrease the ability of another. (Don't be surprised if you find yourself experimenting in order to build the perfect beast.)

To evolve things, press Select, then select "Evolution." From here, you can use the Control Pad to highlight options, B to confirm and Y to back out. The "Capability" option lets you see your current stats, and Record of Evolution lets you save your game.

Since you're done here, head out of the cave and leave the same way you came in. You're done here.

Cave of Temptation

Oh, boy. You might want to level up your attack power in the first two areas before going in here, since the tiny sea creatures in the cave that split into two when you attack them have quite a few HP for this stage in the game. They're not hard, they just require a slightly higher attack power than what you've started the game with.

Thankfully, the two tiny things (I guess they're tiny green manta rays, but I can't really tell what they are) give you 20 EP apiece when you eat the meat they leave behind.

The coral here heal you when eaten. One of them will tell you about the red crystal.

There's a red crystal here that you can eat to transform into something completely different. Eating the one here will turn you into a manta ray with 80 HP. It is possible to become a gray manta ray with 100 HP. This is temporary, though, so enjoy it while you can.

PrinceWatercress plays The Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle 3 - Part 6 of 18

In this entry, we take care of a few more stages in the Hall. We also get introduced to the elevator platforms here, too.

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The lightning bolt icon will destroy all on-screen enemies if you touch. Just be mindful that there is a slowly flashing white light on the screen if you grab it, in case you are affected by certain flashing light patterns.

Starting in Stage 23, there will be elevator platforms in certain stages. The elevators move either up or down at regular intervals, and there will only be two or three per rope at any given moment. Once you know where the elevator platforms are on a rope, you can anticipate where they will be in case you need to get somewhere or avoid an enemy.

At this point, there will be far more carrots to pick up as you make your way through the game. As a result, it's much easier to get lives and also get more lives than you need as long as you're trying your hardest on these stages.

In Stage 24, save a bomb for the Foghorn Leghorn at the elevator platforms in the lower-right corner of the stage.

Friday, February 26, 2021

PrinceWatercress plays The Lost Frog - The Longplay

Enjoy!

Let's Play

This game was released on the "Best Four Adventures" compilation by ESM in 1986.

This is a very simple text game. If you see the notes on the main menu, you'll see all the verbs you need to complete the game as well as how to move around: simply type U, D, L, and/or R or Up, Down, Left and/or Right, then press Return. Just remember that you can only hold five objects at any time, and you can type "list".to see what you're carrying. "Help" brings up the controls again.

You start in the garden. A note on the door says to look for a bell and go right. Go right to enter a forest and take the bell that you see. Go back to the left and use the bell to open and enter the door to the left. Once you enter the door, there is no turning back.

From here, drop the bell. If you try to go up, the big dog will bark at you. Go left to the kitchen and get the bone. The door to the left will be locked. If you go down into the trap door, the game ends in failure, so don't do it.

Go back to the hall to the right and use the bone to get past the big dog. Go up, and keep the bone. At the landing, get the hammer. The balcony will be to the right; go there and get the torch. If you go down from here, the game will end in failure; don't do that. Go back to the left, then go left again. Get the ladder, then go back to the right, down to the hall and left to the kitchen. Use the ladder here, then go down. Get the key, then use the torch. If you do not have the torch here, the game is unwinnable. Go up. Drop the ladder, go left to find the locked door, then use the key and go left. In the sitting room, take the honey, then go right to go back to the kitchen. Drop the key and the torch.

Go right to the hall, use the bone, then go up to the landing. Go left, then go left to the study. Get the mouse. Go up to discover a lonely cat who wants to play. Use the mouse to get past the cat, then go up. Do not drop the mouse.

In the small bedroom, go right. Get the rope, then go right into the bedroom. Go right to find a door that is nailed shut. Use the hammer, drop it, then go right to enter a cupboard. Get the map, go left, then go up. If you go up, a grizzly bear will block your path. Use the honey here, then go up. You'll find the frog! Drop the honey, then get the frog.

You will not be able to go back down, and if you did not get the map, you just made the game unwinnable. Use the map to find a fire escape to the right, as it is the only to get out of here. Go right to return to the balcony. Use the rope to go down without hurting yourself. The game will tell you to drop the frog. Drop the frog. You've won!

PrinceWatercress plays The Lost Frog

It's time for another BBC Micro game. You're in a house. Explore the house, find the frog and get out without hurting yourself!

Longplay

This game was released on the "Best Four Adventures" compilation by ESM in 1986.

PrinceWatercress plays The Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle 3 - Part 5 of 18

In this entry, we enter a new area: the Hall. There, the enemies get a new coat of paint along with the level, and things start out simple again to give you a chance to figure out which enemy does what.

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In this episode, we enter the Hall for Stages 16-30. When you enter a new area of the game for the first time, the levels go back to being simple, and you'll get different enemy characters compared to the previous one. They will still act the same way they always have, and you'll need to identify who does what. For the Hall, Sylvester will be the relentless chaser, Foghorn Leghorn will stop every so often, and Rocky (that gangster character in select Looney Tunes cartoons starring Bugs Bunny) is the gun enemy.

Also, the appearances of the rooms inside the doors will be represented with a different card pip. In the Garden, it was a Diamond; in the Hall, it is a Club.

Thursday, February 25, 2021

{YTP} The Angry Crash Game Dummy (by TonyYorkieSilky1991)

C'MON, YOU DON'T KILL the baby

PrinceWatercress plays Spot: The Cool Adventure - Part 3 of 3

Well, this was a short game. The last world is pretty tough compared to the first two, however.

Cool Funhouse

Stage 1

This is where your platforming skills will be put to the test.

There are moving platforms that are enemies that then turn into platforms that you can safely stand on for a limited amount of time before turning into a monster.

There are conveyor belts that you will have to keep moving on, as well as ice platforms that will cause you to slide in the direction you are going when you land on them. Be very careful on both of these types of platforms, especially when they move.

The dogs just move back and forth.

Stage 2

In this one, you'll not only be going from the bottom of the level to the top, but you'll be in space, which means low gravity. This is pretty cool and will allow you to jump super-high into the air, but watch out for the ball enemies that bounce around the level.

If you go to the left at the end of the stage, you'll enter a bonus room where you can ride a UFO with the word "Spot" on it and get a bunch of hearts and spots while shooting balls at the Pac-Man like enemies with the B Button.

Stage 3

This stage isn't much different from the first stage, although the falling platforms from the forest do come back here. Once again, be patient, watch what you're doing and where you're going, and don't do dumb thing.

Stage 4

Here, you'll be flying all the way to the boss...and it can get

There are two patterns for the walls. One has a wall in the middle followed by two walls with a gap between them. The other one you'll need to zig-zag up, down, up and then down through. You'll alternate between them as you get to the boss, and the key to surviving to the boss battle is recognizing the patterns quickly while also taking as little damage as possible, as there is no health to replenish here.

You'll see the first pattern repeat itself three times at the start, then the zig-zag pattern. The gaps pattern will go three times, followed by the zig-zag pattern once.

You'll see the first pattern once, then the second pattern twice. You'll see the first pattern twice again, then you'll see the second pattern two more times. With the last set of walls however, you'll have to go down, up, down and then up to avoid them. Go up, and you'll face the boss.

The boss is a short, stout man with a moustache who walks back and forth and occasionally jumps around in a somewhat random pattern. You'll need to grab the boxes that randomly pop out of the machine on the left side of the screen and throw them at this man. If he corners you, jump on his head as you jump over him. It will take quite a few boxes to take this guy down, but you'll have enough time to fight him and he will eventually go down. The game ends with Spot...returning to the label of a can of 7-Up. All that for this? Well, you beat the game, regardless. Go up to the 7-Up can on the world map and you'll get your ending and enemy roll call. Congratulations!

PrinceWatercress plays The Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle 3 - Part 4 of 18

In this entry, we're almost out of the Garden, but our skills at getting through the stages still need some work.

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I can't believe what the circles with the A did because it was long enough since I last saw them. Once again, they control where the nearby staircases go. Just make sure Bugs is looking at the switch before you press the button.

As for the stages that are here, they're pretty large and expansive. As you'll soon find out, the four quarters of this game start out simple, then get more complex the deeper you get into them.

Wednesday, February 24, 2021

PrinceWatercress plays Spot: The Cool Adventure - Part 2 of 3

The next leg of our adventure takes us to Uncola Mountain, where we'll be doing a lot of platforming and flying if we want to make it to the end.

First | End

Uncola Mountain

Stage 1

There is quite a bit of platforming here. Watch the cloud platforms to see where they go so you don't drop into the bottomless pit, and be ready

Don't use the first spring that you see; walk to the edge and jump to the right instead.

The platform with the triangle near the track changes the direction that the black part of the track if you jump onto it.

The little circle with the two helicopter blades on the sides does hurt you.

Stage 2

Another vertical stage. There will be a lot of platforms on tracks, as well a couple of springs

The spring enemies slowly go up and down and hurt you if you touch them.

Stage 3

You can pick up any platforms you find on the floor with B like you can a block. Just jump on it and press B. From here, just jump into a track and you'll place the platform on it.

The frayed, worn-out track piece will fall down if you jump onto a platform while the platform is on top of it.

Stage 4

The platform you'll find at the beginning can be grabbed and placed anywhere you want with the B button. If you place the platform in mid-air, it will

The umbrella lets you glide down slowly when you grab it. You'll drop it when you hit solid ground.

PrinceWatercress plays Spot: The Cool Adventure - Part 1 of 3

Didn't think I'd be playing another Cool Spot game...

This game is known as McDonaldLand in Europe, with some of the worlds having different names. The license was swapped from McDonalds to 7-Up when the game made its way to the States.

You get the credits when you start the game.

You'll be able to choose between Easy and Hard when you start the game.

Use the Control Pad to move left and right across the world map, and press A to start a stage when you are on a 7-Up square.

Carbonated Forest

Stage 1

Left and Right let you move around, and A lets you jump. B lets you pick up squares and throw them, much like M.C. Kids, which the original European McDonaldLand game was based on.

Jumping forward in this game feels a tad weird, as you have to move left or right for about a second in order to get any forward momentum; otherwise, you'll only get some very narrow distance. Also, landing on platforms is a bit slippery, as Spot doesn't always stop on a dime.

Spots act like coins. Grab 100, and you'll get an extra life. If you grab enough hearts without taking any damage, you'll get an extra life while getting a little trade-off in the form of having five hearts again, but you can collect health until you get nine hearts and then get another life on the tenth.

The HUD has your current score, your current amount of time left, the current amount of spots you have, your current amount of health and your current amount of lives.

Just like in M.C. Kids, there are also springs you can leap off of to get to higher areas.

Enemies include snails and bees that just move back and forth.

Stage 2

Enemies include bats that fly back and forth, balls that bounce up and down, and a pinwheel enemy that bounces you back if you run into it. There are also platforms that fall once you place your weight on them.

There are platforms that float in place and can automatically be controlled by holding Left or Right while standing on them. If you need to re-position yourself on them, just jump and use the Control Pad in mid-air until you fine tune your position, then move after you've landed on the platform again.

Select lets you perform a super-high jump that can be used only one per stage. Some stages let you use it, while others do not. Sometimes, you'll get another one when an enemy hits you. This jump can be useful in some stages, including the ones that only scroll vertically, and can even save your bacon if you use it at the right time and place in certain situations.

You cannot swim, so don't jump into the water.

The "1UP" icon gives you an extra life. Thankfully, it re-spawns when you die.

The platform with the triangle pointing down will drop as soon as you land on it. Plan your jump onto it carefully to get to where you need to go.

If you get 10,000 points in a stage, you'll enter a bonus game upon clearing the stage. Here, you'll need to stand on the panels to get as many hearts behind the barrier on the ceiling before time runs out. The more hearts you have squared away, the more health you will get when time runs out. You can even luck out on an extra life here if you know what you're doing. If you get all the hearts behind the barrier, you'll get bonus points for every second on the clock you have left.

Stage 3

This stage scrolls vertically. Here, you have to go all the way to the top, then make your way to the right and drop down to the exit. You may have to use your super-high jump here.

There is also a Super Mario Bros. 2-style jump. If you hold Down for a second, then jump, you get a slightly higher jump than normal, but nowhere near as high as the Select button jump. Of course, there's no indicator that your jump is powered-up; you'll just have to jump after crouching for a second to figure it out.

The leaf platforms fall when you land on them. The cloud platforms are more solid and move back and forth in simple patterns. As a matter of fact, there are platforms like in Stage 2, except there's more of them.

Go right when you reach the exit sign; you don't want to do this all over again.

PrinceWatercress plays The Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle 3 - Part 3 of 18

We got a few more stages done for this entry. Not much new stuff here, but at least the stages are getting more interesting.

First | Previous | Next | End

When in doubt, change the route that you take to get through a level in case enemies seem to be giving you trouble. Also, keep grabbing those carrots so you can keep your lives count constant!

The cylinder with the carrot on it is the carrot juice. This gives you temporary invincibility, and as long as the music is playing, you can run through enemies and mow them down. This is really useful if you have a good idea of where enemies are and you know how to get to them. Taking down even two or three enemies with the carrot juice can turn the tide with a level, especially when you have limited weapons available.

You can enter a pipe even if you are launched into the air; just hold Up and Bugs will go up when he reaches the bottom of the pipe.

Tuesday, February 23, 2021

YTP: The Sempsins (by @EmperorLemon)

but it really generates POWAHHHHHHHHH

PrinceWatercress plays The Simpsons: Bart and the Beanstalk - Part 4 of 4

In this episode, we get the treasures, then finally get out of the house and back onto the ground...and it's not gonna be easy.

The third section takes place in the dark...somewhat. You can see where you're going, but the greenish-black backgrounds are where you don't exactly want to be. If you stand in those areas, your health will slowly go down, and if you stand in those areas long enough, you'll eventually run out of health and the Giant will grab you.

Some of the small platforms will crumble against your weight when you land on them, so you'll want to be nimble with those platforms.

Shortly after the start, you'll need to go left to get the bag of money. You'll need it and the rest of the treasures to get out of this level.

At one point, you'll drop down to a fork in the road. Go left to get the harp and recover a good amount of your health.

You'll find the goose that lays the golden eggs at the end. The goose will also give you some of your health back.

Level 4

Bart runs away with the treasures, but Giant Homer has caught wind of his exploits and has decided to chase after him.

Believe it or not, this is a mirror image of Level 2 down to the traps. The only difference is that you're going to the left and the screen auto-scrolls. If you're too far to the right, the giant will grab you resulting in instant death.

The second section is very similar to Level 1. You'll be parachuting down the beanstalk, and if you're too close to the top of the screen, the giant will still be able to grab you, resulting in instant death. The coins won't be able to refill your health, so you have to take as few hits as possible from the birds that are flying around as you control where you are with the Control Pad.. When you reach the bottom, go left and grab the axe! You've won!

PrinceWatercress plays The Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle 3 - Part 2 of 18

Well, this game got a little more difficult rather quickly, didn't it?

First | Next | End

The circles with the A on them on the wall are switches. If you stand in front of one, Bugs will turn around and look at it, and if you press A, you can change the direction that the nearby stairway goes.

The white square with the orange diamond with the "S" on top of it is a shield. You'll have a shield that protects you from enemy damage if you touch it as long as the music for it plays, but the shield will not destroy enemies outright.

If Elmer Fudd shoots a projectile and you enter a door while the projectile is on-screen, the projectile will be gone when you come back out.

If you enter a door but don't take the item inside, the game closes the door again instead of leaving it open.

The sledgehammer will break the "bumpy" looking blocks when you walk into them after collecting it.

In later levels, there will be a lot of doors, with some of them containing carrots. Always pick up the carrots, it makes it easier to maintain a constant amount of lives if you keep dying.

Know your blocks. The bumpy ones are the hammer blocks; the scratched up ones are the pickaxe blocks. Much like in the second game, the pickaxe will let you vault onto the smooth, scratched up blocks, which can save you from an enemy, as enemy can't move past or over them.

Monday, February 22, 2021

PrinceWatercress plays The Simpsons: Bart and the Beanstalk - Part 3 of 4

This is probably the hardest second half of a game I've seen since Karate Kid.

First | Previous | End

Level 3

After beating the Mr. Burns cloud, Bart comes across the door to the giant castle. Bart will come foot-to-face with a giant Marge, who invites him in for a snack but tells him not to touch the bag of gold, the magic harp and the goose that lays the golden eggs. Obviously, he's going to nab them.

Move out of the way immediately when the level starts so you don't get impaled by a sewing needle.

The beetles are replaced by mice, and the mice will jump forward.

Watch out for the tacks, as well as the right sides of the rat traps. Thankfully, the left side of the traps act as springboards.

Wait for the candles to un-light themselves before jumping from one candle to another.

The gold egg makes you invincible for a few seconds...but those few seconds don't feel long enough.

When you make it to the end, you'll head to the second section, where you're in a vat-sized bowl of soup. Apparently this is the soup do jour that Giant Marge warned us about. You'll want to jump from meatball to meatball, taking care not to be around the big air bubbles when they pop and also making sure you don't fall too far down; otherwise you will fall into the drink and die You also want to keep from taking too much time on the meatball platforms, as some of them can sink when you stand on them. You'll also see the salt shaker. Avoid that as well as the salt cubes that drop down from it when it shakes.

YTP AVGN is Swapping A$$ and Playin' C0cks (by @BiodeEditable)

Yeah?!? Well, EHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEH

PrinceWatercress plays The Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle 3 - Part 1 of 18

It's been a while since I played the Crazy Castle series...so let's play another game!

Strangely, I found this one a bit easier compared to past games in the series. Maybe it's because I'm used to playing them at this point. Maybe it's because games had become easier and more accessible in general between the release of the second and third games. Maybe it's because of a combination of both of these things. Nevertheless, this one is easier, and I consider this one the best "jumping off" point for anybody interested in the series.

If you've played the Crazy Castle series before, this game is nothing new. If you haven't played it before, this is a good starting point, as this game is - at least to me - noticeably easier compared to past games in the series. I'm not sure if this is because I've played and beaten the past games, or if it's just because the game was made beyond 1995, when games were getting easier and more accessible, but I didn't find this one as frustrating as past games.

Anyway, for those who haven't played any of the games in this series: think of this as a Lode Runner clone with licensed cartoon characters slapped on where you're doing more than just collecting everything and finding the exit while running away from enemies. The enemies have different behaviors, there are stairways that you can use to get from one place to another, there are doors that contain items and power-ups, and you can even fight back against enemies with things like bombs, guns and bows.

One day, Bugs Bunny finds an ancient book in an ancient shop. The book is titled "The Treasure of the Old Castle." Bugs begins to read and soon completely loses track of the time. The book reads "Somewhere in the Old Castle there's a treasure that will bring great happiness to its finder." However, the exact location of the treasure is a mystery...

Bugs sets off immediately to search for the treasure. As he leaves, Taz is looking through the window, watching him. Can you help Bugs find the hidden treasure in the Old Castle?

Unlike the previous games, which just takes place in the castle, the game is split into four areas. The first one is the Garden.

The game eases you into the action. The Control Pad is used to move left and right, climb up and down ladders like the vines in Stage 1 and also enter doors. As a matter of fact, the game tells you that you can use Up on the Control Pad to enter these doors early on in the game. Sometimes the doors will contain keys; other times, they will contain power-ups. The A and B buttons allow to use weapons

There are eight keys in each stage, and you can keep track of how many ou have by looking in the lower-right corner of the screen. This is where you'll also see how many of the stage's weapons you have, and whether or not you have the pickaxe or the sledgehammer, neither of which will show up until later.

Daffy Duck will chase you relentlessly, and if he touches you, you'll lose a life. Thankfully, you can fight back with weapons such as bombs, and you can push the 100t weight into him to defeat him. The weight will move a few tiles forward when you walk into it, which is nice if you have an enemy trapped near a wall.

The weapon here is the bomb, but other stages will have a different main weapon, such as the gun or the bow and arrow. By pressing A or B, you can lay a bomb if you have one, and if an enemy touches it, they will be defeated. Thankfully, you can pick a bomb up again after you've laid it down by walking into it.

The Up tile will launch you upwards. If you hit a ceiling, you will fall down. If you need to get to a platform, hold Left or Right when you are near it, and you'll suddenly descend in that direction. Once you get used to the timing on this, you'll be able to ascend and land on platforms like a pro.

The door with the lock on it is the exit. You'll need all eight keys to unlock it. Once you open it, you'll exit to the next stage, get an extra life, and get a password. The password keeps track of how many lives you have when you've cleared a stage, so it helps to get through the levels as well as you can without dying a lot.

Unlike the second game, entering a door no longer freezes the enemies for a few seconds. Also, you won't have as much slowdown here, and the game moves more smoothly than the second one did.

On the password screen, you'll notice that the game has a carrot counter. The game's passwords keep track of that, too, and if you collect eight of them, you'll get an extra life. You won't be seeing those until later, however.

Tweety debuts in Stage 2. He will move slowly and stop briefly every so often. Thankfully, he is easier to deal with than Daffy, assuming you don't go too fast.

The stairways will get you from one floor to another. If a staircase goes up, you'll need to press Up to use it; if it goes down, you'll have to press Down. While using them, enemies cannot hurt you even if they are using the stairways, but you will be vulnerable the moment you come out of them.

To use the pipes, press Up or Down depending on where the pipe opening is in relation to Bugs. Much like the stairways, you are invincible while in them, but you will be vulnerable again as soon as you come completely out of them.

If you stop while facing a slope that is going down, you will automatically move down the slope until you stop on flat ground.

The "W" tile is a warp tile. If you stop on it, you'll be taken to another "W" tile.

Unlike the previous games, you can pause with the Start Button, then move around on the map with the Control Pad to see where things, doors and enemies are. When you un-pause, you'll be back where Bugs was.

The vine is actually a staircase. Use Up on the Control Pad to go up it.

The moving green floor is a conveyor belt that will push you either left or right. Get ready to see these throughout the four sections of the game.

The carrots will start showing up in Stage 5. As mentioned earlier, collecting eight of them will net you an extra life.

Elmer Fudd will slowly move and stop to shoot forward. If the cork bullet he shoots at you hits you, you will lose a life. As you'll soon notice, there are three types of enemies in the game: the chasers (Daffy), the slow movers (Tweety) and the gunners (Elmer).

There are some floor tiles that look differently than normal, and if you keep walking on them, they will break down and eventually disappear. Sometimes getting rid of them will make it easier to get to certain areas, so pay attention to where things are in the level.

Stage 6 introduces the guns. When you use the gun, Bugs will shoot it. If the cork bullet hits a wall, it will turn back into a gun so you can use it again until you hit an enemy with it.

Sunday, February 21, 2021

PrinceWatercress plays The Simpsons: Bart and the Beanstalk - Part 2 of 4

This game is from the mid-1990s...so why are the platforms here like the ones in the BBC Micro games from the 1980s? The platforms are moving. I should be moving with them. This was doable at this point, programmers.

First | Next | End

Level 2

After reaching the top of the beanstalk, Bart will see a giant castle through the clouds.

Sadly, you'll have to move along with the platforms, as the platforms will not move you. This is a 1994 Game Boy game, not a 1984 BBC Micro game, come on.

Watch out for the lightning that strikes form the top of the level. Also, watch out for the missiles that move back and forth. You can't duck, so the only way to avoid them is to move out of the way.

The boss is a cloud that looks like Mr. Burns. He'll drop down, move to one side of the screen, move to the other and then come straight up and strike downwards with a lightning bolt. Sometimes he'll switch it up and move in a complete square after he moves back to the other side. There is a pattern to this, thankfully.

Every so often, the Mr. Burns cloud will stay at the top of the screen and strike you with lightning bolts four times as he moves from one upper corner to the other. He stands still when it strikes, and the only place he won't do it is dead center. After that second thunder bolt, be ready to run under him.

Once you get his movement and attack patterns down, it won't be long before you can slingshot your way to victory against the Mr. Burns cloud.

PrinceWatercress plays The Simpsons: Bart and the Beanstalk - Part 1 of 4

Another Simpsons game from the '90s...and now I'm the one playing it.

In case you need an explanation about the story, it's Jack and the Beanstalk...except it also involves The Simpsons.

Guess what? It's not that good.

Level 1

Left and Right let you move, A lets you jump and B lets you shoot pebbles with the slingshot.

Bart's main weapon is the slingshot that he got along with the magic beans from Monty the Miser, but the pebbles don't go very far.

You'll have to collect all 40 gold coins in order to get the boss battle at the end of the stage. If you can collect three coins in very quick succession, you can get some of your health back, and if you grab six in very quick succession, you can get temporary invincibility. There are not many opportunities for you to do anything like this.

You have a life meter at the bottom center. If it runs out, you lose a life. You'll want to try hard not to die, because there isn't much in the way of checkpoints. As a matter of fact, there are none at all.

Dynamite can be used by pressing the Select button. The dynamite will clear the screen of enemies. Sadly, you can only carry one stick of dynamite at a time.

The paper airplanes are a little stronger than your slingshot, but use them wisely. You can only hold either the paper airplanes or the dynamite at any given time, as the game will not let you carry around both.

Use the springy leaves on the beanstalks to jump to higher heights.

You can climb up and down vines with and jump off of them to reach certain areas.

Be careful when falling. The camera is slow to catch up with you, and if you drop from too great a height, Bart will drop beyond the bottom of the gameplay screen and die.

The beetles take three hits before dying. Watch out for the circles of bees that block your path at times, as the only way to get ride of them is with the dynamite.

It should be mentioned that if any enemies move off-screen, you will have to get them back on-screen yourself.

The flies fly around in circles and take two hits to kill.

The music you hear in the first level is in all the other levels, so get used to hearing it.

Some floors fall apart when you step on them; just jump over them to avoid that.

The boss is a giant beetle. Jump over it as it moves from one side of the screen to the other and shoot it down as it jumps straight up. Its pattern will then repeat. This is a really easy boss.

PrinceWatercress plays Sly 2: Band of Thieves - Part 49 of 49

At last...the final confrontation with Clockwerk/Clock-La! How will this all end?

Mega-Jump Job

Mission Start

A radio pulse will need to be sent out to Carmelita so she can find the blimp. You'll need to jump up four radio towers and power them up via a Mega-Jump pack. By pressing R2 (or whichever button you assign it to), you can perform a super high jump.

Use L3 to find the four radio towers, and use the Mega-Jump Pack button to jump up to the radio towers. You can also Mega-Jump off spire jump points, too. Once you make it to the platforms of the towers, you'll need to make wrap-around jumps to the top of the tower you're on, then press Circle at the very top to activate the tower. Be sure to use the Paraglide to float towards the towers while you are high in the air.

The Mega-Pack will only work for this job; once you're done with this part, the Mega-Pack will be gone.

Carmelita's Gunner

Mission Start

Close to the safe house is where you will meet Carmelita. From here, it's (almost) down to business where Sly mans the turret to take on Clock-La. Like with all the other turrets, you'll need to watch the temperature gauge at the bottom while aiming with the left control stick or D-Pad and firing with R1.

Try to get whatever damage you can on Clock-La as you keep all of her attacks from hitting you. If any missiles are fired at you, destroy them. The missiles with the red trails take multiple shots to destroy. As for the electric rings, they are handled a little differently; unlike the first game, where you had to shoot the rings multiple times to shut off the electricity flowing into the center so you could safely pass through them, you only have to shoot them once here and keep from accidentally hitting them a second time and powering them back on, leading you to shoot them a third time to turn them on again.

If red waves emanate from Clock-La, shoot her multiple times quickly, or else you'll get hit with a powerful psychic shockwave.

Once you beat Clock-La, Clock-La will crash into the blimp, sending the safe house scattering into the air with Bentley and Murray still inside. It's now time to make your getaway, but you'll need to save Bentley and Murray first.

Showdown With Clock-La

Mission Start

You'll have to jump - and Paraglide - from one platform to the next in order to catch up with Clock-La. Hold R1 at all times. When you reach the last platform, jump towards Clock-La and keep Paragliding towards her. You'll eventually land on one of her wings to take her on.

Spire jump your way to the right wing behind Neyla's wing without getting hit. When she looks at you, get a few shots in, and when her eyes glow red, get on the spire jump point at the back of her neck to avoid getting blasted.

After this, Clock-La will crash land in Paris. It's time to finish the job and remove the hate chip inside of Clock-La to power her down for good. As Murray, jump over the lasers, then go up to Clock-La's face and lift up Clock-La's face. From here, you'll play as Bentley. Lay down bombs on the two hinges at the side of Clock-La's mouth and place bombs to blow them up. From there, you can grab the hate chip with Bentley, but when that happens, Clockwerk/Clock-La's beak will crush Bentley, effectively paralyzing him. The Cooper Gang gets away, with Murray carrying Bentley out as Clockwerk/Clock-La explodes.

With Clockwerk's parts destroyed and in heaps, Carmelita destroys the hate chip, which in turn destroys Clockwerk's body and renders all the parts inoperable. Afterwards, Carmelita puts the Cooper Gang under arrest, and Sly proposes he goes quietly while Bentley and Murray are allowed to walk. Carmelita agrees, and Bentley and Murray leave their gear behind as they leave. After Carmelita gets promoted for capturing Sly, Sly and Carmelita get to know each other on the plane ride to prison, but when Carmelita finds out that the plane ride has taken two hours - and Sly notices he has seen the Eiffel Tower seventeen times - Carmelita finds out what is going on and Sly manages to escape, leading to the least cliffhanger-y ending and the easiest 100% completion in the series, due to the game having nothing like the Master Thief Sprints from the first game or the Master Thief Challenges from the third game. Congratulations!

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, February 20, 2021

PrinceWatercress plays Contra - The Longplay

Now for the whole game in one sitting minus commentary. This is one of the hardest longplays I've ever done.