Wednesday 16 May 2012

Super Mario 64 - Progress Report 4

So, after a short break to recharge me batteries it's time for some more Super Mario 64!

Song of the Day

Snow Mountain - Koji Kondo

Progress Report IV

(all the level images taken from www.mariowiki.com)

File:Snowman's Land.png

Snowman's Land
Stars - 5/7
(Missing Stars: Star #6 - Into the Igloo, 100 Coins)

Snowman's Land marks a return to a snowy level, but this time with a gimmick. Usually if you go into water and pop out, all your health is restored (as your health doubles as your "oxygen"). However, the water here is so cold it hurts you even if you're above water. There's even one pond that acts the same as lava. Yet the only star I really seemed to struggle with was the first one. You see that snowman there? Well, try to cross that bridge and the snowman will get pissed at someone climbing all over him, and he'll try to blow you off. In order to pass him you'll have to take cover from a penguin. However, since penguins in this game are bastards, he doesn't just walk in a straight line. About halfway he'll start walking backwards for a bit, and if you're not ready for this you'll get blown off. Lovely.

I was planning to get the 100 coins star along with the last one, but I had no actual clue where the igloo was. However, I'll get these two during my "clean-up" once I finish the main game. I've come this far, I may as well aim for 120!

File:Wet-Dry World 64.png

Wet-Dry World
Stars - 7/7

I definitely do not hate this level. In fact, I really liked it. No star really posed much of a problem for me (with the exception of "#2 Top O' the Town", I didn't realise that the height you jumped into the portrait changed the level of the water in the level). The elevator star also took a couple of attempts to get right, and it was slightly annoying going all the way back up. Plus it introduces an enemy that, while the game calls them "Heave-Ho", I can't help but see them as Max Payne.

File:HeaveHo64.jpg

Maybe I'm just going crazy though.

File:TallTallMountain.png

Tall, Tall Mountain
Stars - 3/7

I'm really not good at this level. I played it this morning, and I had hoped in getting at least five or six before I had to leave for work, but sadly I could only get three of them. It seems this level was designed with all of my gaming weaknesses in mind. I do have a terrible habit of panicking when jumping from platform to platform over a bottomless pit. Not so much in a "OH MY GOD, WHAT AM I GOING TO DO, NOOO!" kind of way, but I mean "Jump! Position myself! Jump! Jum, wait no position oh no I'm dead".

For that reason I made sure to get the red coin star first. And for some reason the log in this level gives me all the problems. There's a log you run across and it will move, however I seem only to be able to run straight off it. I'm probably just being stupid. Then there's the god damn monkey.

The second star requires you to go high up the mountain and catch a monkey. This legitimately took my ten minutes to do. I should really stop playing games at six in the morning when I've just woken up and I'm a bit cranky. You can't even corner the monkey since he'll just jump over you. And then I try to dive to catch him and I end up falling. Thankfully there's a pool at the bottom of the level that broke my fall, but that's little consolation when you've fallen all the way to the bottom of the mountain. When I finally caught him I almost did a little dance, but I did not since I was sitting down and it was too early in the morning.

File:Ukiki 64.png
What you are staring at right now is evil personified.
Then I fell off the log again on star 4 and I decided "screw this". I'll either get the other four stars with the next (last) update, or I'll just keep it for the clean-up.

Power Stars (from left to right) from Super Mario 64 and Super Mario 64 DS.Star Total - 89/120Power Stars (from left to right) from Super Mario 64 and Super Mario 64 DS.

So, the next report, hopefully up by Monday, will be the last regular one of the game. Three last levels; Tiny Huge Island, Tick Tock Clock and Rainbow Ride. Then one final battle with Bowser! See you then!

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