[No Commentary] Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic! -- #4. Chapter 4 (Lina)
0And here I bet you thought I was sacrificing one technical experimentation thought train for another!
No, I'm just choosing to make it more difficult on myself from a creative and especially writing perspective. CONFLICT BREEDS STRONGER SURVIVAL MECHANISMS!
...or perhaps causes a psychotic break. Shall we find out?!
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Wait, I thought I was going to be merciful and only subject people to the ONE extra-long uncanny valley theater?!
There is another:
https://youtu.be/qbHFlMw8g-U
If you have a problem with being mistreated in this particular fashion, you should probably complain to:
twitch.tv/yuugijoou
twitter.com/yuugijoou
discord.gg/bKT9pRW
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It's around this part of the game that I find myself very actively wishing for the Super Mario Bros. 2 USA feature of letting you switch characters on the fly. I mean, this family's supposed to be in it TOGETHER, right? Why's it got to be a contest?
It's not like they're all going totally different routes to reach the ultimate goal of defeating the evil Wa-- Mamu to save Subc-- um... those kids who probably deserve whatever happens to them, right?! Innocent lands be damned! The monkey sent us!
Don't get me wrong, if pressed to choose a very singular character to sample the entire game's various quirks and intricacies, I'd still strongly advise in favor of the one that can do absolutely unthinkable acts in sheer defiance of gravity.
...but her weaknesses sometimes become a bit more glaring in situations where the enemies become more problematic and need to be dealt a swift reprisal before they start to overwhelm. In a game where everything verges on plucking and tossing stuff, being slow to do so is an unexpected liability in exchange for simply bypassing all the non-combat segments with unparalleled ease.
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Chapter 4 is an ice land! After being subjected to the climes of the desert, I'm just a bit surprised to see one, I suppose. Its frequently slippery environment does indeed favor aerial maneuverability over grounded travel by nature of video game logic and the often lax conservation of motion and oddly ever-present favoritism to air friction instead.
However, the level designers thought of that more often than someone looking for the easy way out might have hoped! Indeed, it's not just slippery terrain you'll have to deal with... slippery enemies abound in this region! Its veritable trademark in certain segments proves to be an onward march into swiftly oncoming enemies, unable to easily change course and you'll simply be stuck bobbing and weaving until the ride is over.
I mean, such areas are mercifully short, but you'd be surprise how much of an impediment that creates, especially since you're back down to two hit points at the start of every stage. It can likewise be something of a marathon to navigate a "boss" area that's actually just an onslaught of enemies you'll need to be picky about engaging and the manner in which you do so if you want to make it through relatively unscathed.
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Our chapter boss this time is the eminently singular Fryguy! ...not to be confused with the similarly rare incidence of a Shy Guy who just happens to be on fire... it's not a healthy lifestyle choice, you know!
Fryguy is a literal ball of flame, roving his arena in the hopes of making contact with unwary adventurers and giving them the hotfoot.
To be honest, I kinda expected worse. I think maybe, like Triclyde, he makes a very strong impression, but his patterns are much simpler than they might first appear.
Unlike when dealing with a proper fire scenario (Fryguy is clearly a demon of smokeless flame?!), the high ground is your ally here, since he seems to prefer patrolling the airways in middle of the area. He even carelessly veers above the platform surfaces on which you stand, but not frequently enough to pose a more oppressive threat! Bop him!
But then comes the second phase, which will indeed be a greater challenge of your micromanagement skills. He splits into several smaller versions of himself, this time gravity-obeying little flickers. They're all just as dangerous as the real thing, except they're independent operators and will quickly overwhelm you if you're not keen to keep your distance.
Unfortunately for them, they begin falling and find themselves with no recourse to regain their former footing, making it a more thoughtful waiting game on the player's part.
Bear in mind that defeating any of them will cause the remainder to speed up, thereby complicating your efforts. Best to try to corral them into a favorable formation for stamping out the lot of them at the same time!