The 'Shroom:Issue 230/Strategy Wing

Director's Notes

The winds of fortune are howling!

Welcome, all you readers of The 'Shroom, to a blustery edition of Strategy Wing! No, that draft isn't from the hole in the wall that Waluigi Time marked as "fixable with a large poster" on my last budget request form. I thought the air in the office was getting a bit stale, so I've been practicing wind magic so I could improve the circulation in here! Considering we haven't been beset by that mold problem that seems to be spreading through the building this year, I'd say my gusts are doing some good. Or... perhaps the fans and Ty-Foos I brought in are doing the heavy lifting. In either case, we've improved the air quality for only the cost of a few dozen extra paperweights!

These steady gales have blown in some familiar faces, too! Everyone, give Shoey (talk) and Koops (talk) a warm welcome back! Shoey has been quite busy carrying out a census of the newly-annexed Xiang Ping, but now he returns to us with a fresh edition of So You Want to Romance the Three Kingdoms?. Admittedly, the not-yet-imperial coffers are running a bit low after subduing Yuan Shao, but that just means it's time to shuffle around some officers and to focus on city development. As for Koops, our resident video playthrough-maker has a new job! I hear he's taken up a position in the city, buuuuut I'd better let him tell you all about the work. Additionally, former Shine Sprite-collector Waluigi Time (talk) has flown over with a guest edition of Rising From Obscurity! Wish he hadn't put a crater in the ground with his landing, though... Even if that purple scarf was snazzy...

Of course, our regular writers have prepared some special treats this month, too. Sparks (talk) faces some fiercely cold winds in the last NES game in the series as he moves into Mega Man 6. Roserade (talk) reaches far back into the history of Killing Games to offer some insights into the evolution of role design philosophies. Elsewhere, Four Steps for a 3D World has received a fresh coat of paint, and trust me, with winds like this whipping through the office, paint dries quickly!

There's plenty more to read beyond just the sections I've mentioned, but bear with me through one important message to someone before you go flying off.

As I'm sure you've read by now, we've put this weather-themed issue together to commemorate Lakituthequick's (talk) 100th issue as Website Manager. LTQ, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for all you have done for The 'Shroom and for this community. This paper has run for nearly two decades and has been maintained by well over fifty staff members, and no staff member has had as great an impact on it as you have. I say that not to minimize the massive contributions of many wonderful Team Directors or Graphic Design Managers, but to give proper acknowledgement to the extraordinary effort you have poured into this paper.

It is thanks to your hard work that we have had features ranging from easily-altered main page buttons to moving curtains. You've made the stars shimmer in the night sky and you have lit up our celebrations with beautiful fireworks. You've made it possible to smoothly scroll through specialized galleries and to dispense items from vending machines. You've given Strategy Wing the gift of specialized comic boxes for certain image-heavy sections and have brought joy to our days with numerous scavenger hunts. You turned hours of work into minutes by creating ShroomBot to automate issue uploads, and you made Awards more organized and efficient with all of Uncle Awards' nifty little features. You kept us up-to-date on the ongoings of Awards for years (with fun little quotes, no less!) and have given us a little insight into the backend of Nintendo's webpages. I leaned on you heavily during my time as Director, and I am enormously grateful for your guidance and patience.

Beyond the paper, you've smoothed out some of the drudgery involved in hosting Scribble and helped it to become an enduring community tradition. You have been the pillar of Awards record-keeping and have more recently become an excellent meeting host. Without you, we wouldn't have Bonus Stars or the iconic AC Hubbub. Interactive maps, new pollsorter features, plant gachas... I could go on and on. Our collaborative projects, our games, our traditions - there's nothing in this community that you have not improved. Just as importantly as any of that, though, you've brightened our days and expanded our knowledge simply by being present and talking with all of us. Even early on, you made me feel welcome by allowing me to be a part of some presentations and scavenger hunts, and ever since you have shown me great kindness. You were even the first to show me that Toady hanafuda art!

You are a pillar of this community, LTQ, and a good friend to me. Thank you for being a part of this space with us, and congratulations on hitting this milestone.

Now then, the rest of Strategy Wing awaits you, folks! Catch the breeze and enjoy!

Section of the Month

Going out of the way to collect all those letters was no easy task, but thanks to them, Sparks (talk) delivered a memorable BEATing to Dr. Wily! A big congratulations on snagging first place with your crawl through Wily's fortress! We're also raising our ping pong paddles up to celebrate Zange (talk), who took the silver with tips on conquering touchy moai and off-beat bird calls. I'm forecasting a torrent of votes this month, so make like a cloud and rain your support down on our wonderful team of writers!

STRATEGY WING SECTION OF THE MONTH
Place	Section	Votes	%	Writer
1st	An Overly Detailed and Funny Walkthrough of Mega Man 5	6	35.29%	Sparks (talk)
2nd	Rhythm Review	3	17.65%	Zange (talk)
3rd	The Tattle Log	2	11.76%	Hooded Pitohui (talk)

Guides and analysis

Brothership Boss Battle Guide

Sparks (talk)

They're nearly champions, folks! One more-! What's this-!? Glohm Pipegunk bursts into the ring for a grudge match!

The Death of the Player

Koops (talk)

She is always right, of course.

Four Steps for a 3D World

Hooded Pitohui (talk)

OBJECTION! Huh? What do you mean Cloudy Court Galaxy isn't that kind of court?

Killing the Killing Game Roles

Roserade (talk)

Quick, hide! Hurry, get behind the 3D printer before anyone notices anything unusual about this years-old role!

Pitohui's Pokémon Academy

Hooded Pitohui (talk)

Past even the clouds, at the top of the Sky Pillar, the dragon awaits.

Rising From Obscurity

Waluigi Time (talk)

Striped tail? Check. Cute ears? Check. Statue form? Check. Nintower to RED 3, you are clear for takeoff once again.

Shoey (talk)

Lord Kong Rong, Liu Bei casts aspersions on you. We must repair and develop your holdings to demonstrate your virtue.

The Tattle Log

Hooded Pitohui (talk)

And at the end of our ten-day forecast, you'll find a cold front bringing in great wealth.

Sparks (talk)

Gardeners, hold off on planting for now, as flames, blizzards, and flying robo-dogs will move through the area.

Brothership Boss Battle Guide

Written by: Sparks (talk)

Warning – This section contains spoilers for Mario & Luigi: Brothership. If you prefer to avoid this content, we recommend that you skip this section.

Do I even need the spoiler warning anymore?

Oh well. Welcome to the penultimate edition of Brothership Boss Battle Guide! I can't believe it's almost over; how has so much time gone by? Anyways, the next boss to check out is Glohm Pipegunk, the last of three optional Glohm bosses! That also means it's yet another shorter section... sorry.

Dewey Fightem sends Mario and Luigi back to the Brrrning Sea, Great Lighthouse Island to take down Glohm Pipegunk! Defeating it will be no easy task, as the boss is the strongest one encountered so far...

Here are the stats of Glohm Pipegunk!

Glohm Pipegunk's stats

Glohm Pipegunk
Image	Level	Location	HP	POW	DEF	SPD	Type	EXP	Coins	Item(s)
	43	Brrrning Sea, Great Lighthouse Island	10,800	288	214	637	Glohm, Spiked (in fire and ice forms)	5000	1700	Rainbow Medallion

Glohm Pipegunk's abilities

Like the other Glohm bosses (minus Glohm Bowser), I'll only list the changes in their attacks. They're the same ones used by their normal counterparts, just more dangerous:

Normal form attacks:

Goo balls: The projectiles look to be the same, but when Glohm Pipegunk jumps up, it lands at a faster speed.
Slimy charge: Much faster than the original's version!

Like the original fight, Glohm Pipegunk can change temperatures during the battle, although instead of Shun it's a weird shadowy version of him.

Before Glohm Pipegunk attacks in its normal form, it gets a 10% increase to POW. This can stack if done multiple times, and does not carry to other forms. Fire form attacks:

Fireballs: Other than the massive power increase, there doesn't seem to be a difference with this attack. Maybe the puddles stick around for longer?
Fireball rain: The fireballs fall down at a faster pace.
Fireball barrage: The fireballs seem to travel at a slightly slower speed, requiring more tight jump timing. Glohm Pipegunk also does more rounds than before.

Ice form attacks:

Icy charge: Glohm Pipegunk seems to "charge" at a slightly faster speed, and the screen freezes up slightly faster too.
Icicle rain: While slower than the fireballs, the icicles fall at a faster pace than they did before. Mushrooms shot out heal 200 HP.
Ice barrage: Both forms of projectiles (puffy and icicle) are still present, and the boss can switch between the two. The boss may also do more rounds than usual.

While Glohm Pipegunk is fiery or icy, there will be winds that heal the boss by 540 HP, and it will immediately counterattack if attacked. Additionally, all attacks from the boss, regardless of form, can inflict Glohm!

If Shadow Shun shows up while Glohm Pipegunk is hot or cold, it'll allow for a Luigi Logic opportunity! Make sure Mario and Luigi are able to act when he shows up!

Luigi Logic

This Luigi Logic is the same as Pipegunk's, although Shadow Shun fights back with force right from the very beginning. Strangely, the same tutorial message from before appears, simply calling Shadow Shun "Shun". If you're successful, be sure to choose the opposite temperature to make Glohm Pipegunk vulnerable for a short time! The boss will also take 600 damage.

Tips and tricks

Recommended gear

From here on out, the best purchasable gear is found on Conductor Island! It's the same stuff from the previous few bosses.

Boots: Great Conductor Boots (also increases SPEED by 8 points and STACHE by 5 points)
Hammer: Great Conductor Hammer (also increases DEF by 7 points and STACHE by 5 points)
Wear: Great Conductor Wear (also increases STACHE by 12)

Astonishing gear pieces are still good, but for the "gear that isn't found at shops" list, I'm only mentioning gear stronger than the Great Conductor stuff:

Forge Boots DX: Awarded for clearing the Jellyfish Pizza minigame on hard mode. It is 7 points stronger than Great Conductor Boots, and also has the passive ability of increasing damage dealt by 30% when the wearer's HP is low.
Accel Boots DX: Rarely dropped by Glohm Snaptors in the endgame. 3 points stronger than Great Conductor Boots (with a 4 point increase to SPEED) and increases SPEED by 30 whenever an enemy is defeated. Not very helpful here though...
En Garde Boots DX: Rarely dropped by Glohm Curlups in the endgame. Same stats as Accel Boots DX, but their ability allows you to deal 30% more damage to an undamaged enemy, making them useful in this fight. Start out with a strong attack!
Adaphnikki Boots and Adaphne Boots: They have the same POW as Great Conductor Boots, but both have unique properties. Adaphnikki Boots increases damage dealt with Jump-attack combos by 30%, while Adaphne Boots increases the strength of single Jump attacks by 30%. You can only get one of these Boots, and they're both from the Dueling Geniuses side quest. If you let both Adaphne and Technikki work together, you'll get the Adaphnikki Boots. If Adaphne worked on her own, then you'll receive Adaphne Boots instead.
Knockout Hammer DX: Rarely dropped by Glohm Drillbies. It is three points stronger than Great Conductor Hammer (with four points in DEF too) and increases POW by 20% whenever an enemy is defeated. That ability doesn't help here...
Gamble Hammer DX: Rarely dropped by Glohm Milltons. It's 7 points stronger than Great Conductor Hammer (with 5 points to STACHE). Whenever an enemy is defeated, a random stat increases. Once again that ability doesn't help here.
Master Hammer: Earned by clearing the Max-Mix Vortex Expert Challenge. It's the strongest hammer in the game (15 points stronger than Great Conductor Hammer) and increases the damage and speed of hammer attacks by 20%. Normal attacks will be tougher to perform, but the strength makes it worth it!
Dodgy Jump Wear DX: Found inside a ? Block in the back door of Bowser's Castle on Wayaway Island. It's 3 points stronger than Great Conductor Wear and also reduces damage taken by 20% if you fail to dodge an attack.
Whittledown Wear DX: Earned by completing the Last Groove Dance. It's 12 points stronger than Great Conductor Wear and has the nice bonus of reducing additional damage if there are fewer enemies. Yeah!
Repel Wear DX: Found after clearing a puzzle on Morsel Islet. It's 12 points stronger than Great Conductor Wear. Its bonus of reducing additional damage if lots of enemies are present has no use here sadly...
Blocky Hammer Wear DX: Found inside a ? Block on Dropplet Islet, but you'll have to take down three Glohm Shower Fish to get it. It's the same strength as Great Conductor Wear (with a bonus of 4 points to SPEED), but it also decreases damage taken by 20% if you miss countering an attack.
Zokket Wear: Found inside a Hidden ? Block at Fortress Zokket. It is the same strength as Great Conductor Wear and also increases SPEED by 4. Furthermore, it reduces damage taken by 30% when the other brother is absent or KO'd, allowing for a less stressful revival when fighting as a duo.
Liberation Wear DX: Rarely dropped by Glohm Palookas in the endgame. It has four more points in DEF and POW than Great Conductor Wear, and it increases SPEED by 30% whenever you take damage.

Use whatever gloves and accessories you wish! Bring ones that fit your playstyle.

Recommended Battle Plugs

You'll need the best Battle Plugs you can get for Glohm Pipegunk! Here are the ones I recommend:

Anti-Glohm Specialist: Glohm Pipegunk is a Glohm enemy, so of course this is a good choice! Only affects normal attacks and counters however.
Temperature Guard: Defend yourself from the Burn and Freeze status effects with this!
Glohm Guard: Prevents the Glohm status entirely! No need to use up Ampberries with this around.
- Auto Ampberry: A great substitute if Glohm Guard isn't available.
Bros. Boost and Performance Bonus: Will absolutely destroy Glohm Pipegunk if the right Bros. Attacks are used. Get EXCELLENTS to get some BP back!
- Waitaminnit: Combine this with the Bros. Attack Battle Plugs for massive destruction! Two turns to act with such powerful attacks? Of course that's amazing for a hard boss like this!
Easy-Peasy Counters: Very helpful with the boss's fire/ice barrages, allowing Mario and Luigi to float in the air while they dodge them!
Notdroppin: While Glohm Pipegunk has very strong multi-hit attacks, this Battle Plug may save a character if they lose all of their HP. Remember that it only activates once per attack, so if they're hit afterwards they'll get KO'd.
Protectus: Has only 3 uses before it has to recharge, but completely nullifies all damage taken, no matter how many hits there are in a single attack! Only one charge goes down per enemy turn (if you get hit). Note that this won't save you from status effects like Glohm.
Boomerang Items: Nothin' like using a Max Nut or Max Candy and getting it back for free. Recover with your best items without losing them!
- Auto Mushroom, Auto Syrup Jar, and Deluxe Auto: Any of the first two combined with Deluxe Auto ensures top notch recovery while not using up turns!
Auto 1-Up: If a brother was to get KO'd in the battle, this Battle Plug will get them back in the fight without delay! This may even save you when a Luigi Logic chance presents itself!

Other things

An example of how devastating this boss is.

Glohm Pipegunk is not easy. It's capable of causing lots of destruction with powerful, usually multi-hit attacks that cause various status effects, including (but not limited to) Burn, Freeze, and Glohm. To win, you must bring your A game!

Oh yes... I can finally talk about the final Bros. Attack in the game - Conductor Connector! This is by far Mario's strongest attack and also the best to use against Glohm Pipegunk. The only downsides are its expensive BP cost and the attack being difficult to perform. Even if you get all the meteors, you can still fumble the targeting part of the attack, resulting in a small amount of damage being dealt. If you're worried you'll fail the attack, equip the Auto EXCELLENT Battle Plug for a guaranteed EXCELLENT!

For the most damage potential possible, equip Waitaminnit and Bros. Boost and perform two Conductor Connectors while Glohm Pipegunk is stunned! Performance Boost will make sure you don't use up too much BP, as long as you get EXCELLENTS.

Make sure your damage is higher than the boss's healing!

Sometimes it's better to not attack Glohm Pipegunk while it's fiery or icy, because of its counterattacks.

DON'T switch the arena to the normal one when you steal the remote from Shadow Shun! That's basically a waste of a Luigi Logic.

The earliest you can fight Glohm Pipegunk is right before storming Fortress Zokket at the Stormstar Sea. I recommend waiting until you acquire both Max-Mix Vortex and Conductor Connector as their incredible power will make this fight easier.

If you do want to battle Glohm Pipegunk without delay, then I won't stop you. You'll still have access to the Great Conductor stuff and Waitaminnit (if you got it), but you'll likely be underleveled. Don't let that stop you! Clockout Blow and Jump Helmet are still satisfactory.

Alright! With Glohm Pipegunk dealt with, there's only one more boss in Mario & Luigi: Brothership: Reclusa, AKA the final boss! Sadly, that means June's issue will bring the final section of Brothership Boss Battle Guide... but it'll go out with a BANG! It'll be the biggest and best one of them all! You won't wanna miss it!

The Death of the Player

Written by: Koops (talk)

Warning – This section contains strong language in its video segment and cartoonish graphic images. If you prefer to avoid this content, we recommend that you skip this section.

225... 226? 229... no... 228! Yeah, 24 issues exactly, sounds good to... oh, whoops, nevermind, 230 it is. Hi! Hi! Hello! Yes, you're not going senile and hallucinating yet, that's me, I'm Koops. Uhh... There have been some complications in getting back into the swing of things, and we're gonna take a small detour from where we left off, and this is probably getting longer than it needs to be, isn't it? Let's just get this show on the road.

(Fair warning, though it is mostly cartoony in nature, the game we're playing today still does feature some graphic imagery.)

You heard it here first, everyone! This idiot is putting himself through the eternal torture chamber! For funsies!

Anyone here in the audience who knows me would not know that I have a special history with Project Moon. And well. That's because I don't. I've only gotten into that side of the collective media blob last year. While your boy was vehemently swearing over his own dead body that he'd never play any gacha games, he got baited and now I'm tragically a Limbus Company player forever, and the worst part is I'm pretty comfortable with that fact. Nonetheless, through that little journey through the mental asylum that is the Project Moon fandom, I got increasingly curious about Lobotomy Corporation as time went on, and eventually, I was in there. My morbid curiosity was bad enough, but to add on to that, I ended up enjoying it, as messed up as that sounds. There is simply something undeniably fascinating about having a whole collection of weird creatures that can kill you for the slightest wrong thing and having to pile more and more of them as the game goes.

As said in the video, I actually never really got to finish the game because my last playthrough was gone into the void after some unfortunate series of events (which included having to upgrade to a new laptop). Now that we're here though, I intend to make good use of this opportunity! And much like I was doing with my other playthroughs on this section, I will be sort of writing a guide alongside each video, as knowing about how each abnormality works is pretty vital to not spontaneously exploding. And to kick off our roster, we have everyone's favorite Messiah.

One Sin and Hundreds of Good Deeds

"It feeds on the "evil" that seeps out during conversations between people."

Classification Code: O-03-03
Risk Level: Zayin
E.G.O: Penitence

Work Result range: 0-3 / 4-7 / 8-10

If it's your first day in the facility, first of all, congratulations! Second of all, don't let its intimidating presence fool you, this clattering cranium is completely harmless! Employees will face minimal risk facing this one, as the work damage is limited at a measly 1-2 white damage. If you're good at your job and get a good result, you'll heal 4SP, and if you're ESPECIALLY good at your job (all 10 boxes obtained in a single work), a special surprise might be waiting... (your entire department heals 4SP) so always be sure to give it your all! Now being real with you, the SP healing does not actually really matter, One Sin mostly just exists to ease you into the process of working with abnormalities and is also fairly flexible, so you can train whatever stat you want on it, which is never a bad thing. All in all, the least dangerous thing in this facility by far, with passable EGO gear for the time being.

1.76MHz

"This is a recording of the day we must never forget."

Classification Code: T-06-27
Risk Level: Teth
E.G.O: Noise
Preferred work type: Repression

Work Result range: 0-5 / 6-9 / 10-12

1.76MHz is as hard to contain as it is corporeal... which is to say it's actually quite easy, despite its lack of a physical form. Work damage is 2-4 white, which, while double One Sin's amount, is still hardly an issue provided you don't get a bad result. It is worth noting, however, that employees with Level 1 Fortitude will have their success rate multiplied by 1.2. It is also worth noting that early in the game, Justice is a tough stat to come by as it's expensive to raise via LOB points, so doing repression work on easier abnormalities such as One Sin will generally help you there.

1.76MHz has a Qliphoth counter of 4, with a 40% chance to decrease by 1 after a "Normal" work result and a 80% chance to do the same after a "Bad" result. The counter is fairly lenient, but do be careful, as this abnormality can be annoying when it breaches. Once the counter hits 0, it will starts slowly but surely spreading around the facility, dealing 4 white damage every 3 seconds to anyone inside any room it occupies. Since 1.76MHz is incorporeal, it cannot be suppressed through conventional means. Instead, you need to fill up its counter back to its maximum value, which is achieved by working with it while it is breaching (A good result will increase the counter by 1, getting all 12 boxes by 2). This means your chosen nugget must be resistant to white damage (or have a million SP). It's a pretty tedious process, and all the unimportant background clerks will probably be dead by then, but this scenario is easy enough to avoid in the first place that you're unlikely to have too many issues.

Forsaken Murderer

"What's really pitiful is people like you dying to the likes of me."

Classification Code: T-01-54
Risk Level: Teth
E.G.O: Regret
Preferred work type: Instinct

Resistances:
Red - 1.0 White - 1.0 Black - 1.5 Pale - 2.0

Work Result range: 0-6 / 7-10 / 11-14

We got a grumpy one over here! Forsaken Murderer is our first "proper" breacher, since 1.76MHz is a bit quirky in that department. Work damage is 2-3 red damage, which is fairly inconsequential. He offers a decent amount of boxes for the early game, which counts for something, and his EGO weapon is a hammer that deals a whopping 12-18 red melee damage, which is not bad at all.

Forsaken Murderer's Qliphoth counter is a scary 1, and decreases by 1 with a bad result. That is all it takes for him to breach, as was expertly demonstrated in the above video by yours truly. He boasts a low, but initially respectable 270 HP, and attacks in a small area for 2-4 red damage. Overall not all that threatening when you have anything above basic equipment (which was why I got bodied :3).

The Heart of Aspiration

"Excessive aspiration would bring about unwarranted frenzy."

Classification Code: T-09-77
Risk Level: Teth

Our first tool abnormality, and a pretty good one at that! Equipping this will grant the corresponding nugget 10 HP and Attack Speed, which is a pretty nice boon when fighting hostiles. Try to return the Heart to its containment room before 30 seconds have passed, or before fighting anything, however, and your poor lil' nugget immediately descends into panic and will start attempting to murder people. Don't go throw yourself into your own panic just yet, though, because you can still bring that employee back from the brink by hitting them with white damage until their SP is back to full. After that, said employee can safely return the Heart back to its room or keep holding it as long as they want to. They've earned it.

Well, that was fun. See y'all next month, hopefully! I probably won't disappear again haha.

Four Steps for a 3D World

Written by: Hooded Pitohui (talk)

Hello all you readers of The 'Shroom, and welcome back to Four Steps for a 3D World! Here, we look at levels from a selection of 3D Super Mario titles through the lens of a design philosophy Koichi Hayashida discussed in an interview, either mapping out how they use it or contrasting them against it.

In brief, 3D Mario game levels in certain titles are designed around an introduction () that lets a player learn a mechanic in a safe environment, further development () that builds on what the player is learning and introduces more complicated aspects of a mechanic, a twist () that adds some kind of significant wrinkle or challenge to force players to consider the mechanic from a new angle, and a conclusion () which gives players one final satisfying chance to show they've mastered the mechanic. We look at 3D Mario levels and see if they conform to this model while trying to get some insight on how a good level is constructed.

As you almost certainly know by now, we're celebrating Lakituthequick (talk) this month. Lakitus being famous for riding around on clouds and Strategy Wing's offices being rather blustery this month, it only felt right to dissect a mission built around using clouds to ride the wind. We'll be going back to Super Mario Galaxy 2, a game which released before our familiar four steps were publicly discussed but which did feature Hayashida as director. Outside of the 3D Land and 3D World pair, it's the title to which our four steps most cleanly apply. Its missions have followed our four steps very closely in the past, but it has also thrown us a curveball before.

Which way will the winds blow in the "Head in the Clouds" mission of the Cloudy Court Galaxy? There's only one way to find out, so make like a Lakitu and hop on a cloud! We've got a breeze to catch!

Cloudy Court Galaxy - "Head in the Clouds"
Step	Image	Notes
Refresher		The stage starts off by putting Mario down on a large, grassy planetoid with a couple clouds (each hosting a coin), a couple hedges, and a Flaptack. There is a Cloud Flower dead ahead of Mario, but one of the clouds is placed nearer to the starting point than the Cloud Flower. A player who has forgotten the mechanics of cloud platforms might jump towards the coin and fall through, reminding them they'll need to collect the Cloud Flower before they can stand on any clouds. The nearby Flaptack can refresh players on how enemies interact with Cloud Mario. A sauropod-shaped hedge incentivizes players to jump and spin to reach its head, reminding players of how they can create cloud platforms. This is all wrapped up with a series of platforms, blocks, and Paragoombas spread far apart as a test of the player's ability to handle platforming with the Cloud Flower. It all feels akin to a quiz at the start of a class session. The developers are asking players if they remember how to use the Cloud Flower and giving them a brief chance to refresh themselves and to prove they've retained that skill.
Introduction		At the end of that little platforming quiz, players arrive at a planetoid with a raised wooden platform positioned in the path of a windmill's gusts. Making it as blatant as possible that this is an Introduction step, a Whittle nudges players to ride the wind and a controller prompt pops up in the corner encouraging players to make a cloud. Once players do as told, gusts carry them across a gap to a higher platform. There are no enemies to interfere, no jumps to make, and no obstacles. It may be the shortest Introduction we've ever seen, but it does introduce the mission's new mechanic in a safe environment, so it qualifies!
Intermission		After their brief wind ride, players ascend up a series of bouncy drums to arrive at a pair of cymbals hosting a Launch Star. This neither fits in with the rest of the mission mechanically nor with our four steps, but it is pretty memorable. This is one of those moments in which a Mario mission prioritizes spectacle over mechanical cohesion, as we've seen before. It's fast-paced and goes by quickly, so it manages to avoid disrupting the rest of the mission. That's a crucial consideration with these moments of spectacle. They can fall flat if they rob players of momentum!
Development		Players land on a planetoid with another raised wooden platform, through which a rising wind blows. Armed with knowledge, players make a cloud and begin to ride the wind upwards. Wooden blocks serve as obstacles during this ascent, forcing players to move around during the ride to avoid being pushed off of their cloud. A Goomba and Elite Octoomba wait on solid ground at the end of the ascent, past which players reach another breeze that they ride to cross a distant gap and reach a planet with a Launch Star and a smattering of enemies. The Goombas and co. don't add much danger since a player must always be able to reach a fresh Cloud Flower to proceed, and by wandering around on solid ground, they don't help to develop the idea of players encountering obstacles while riding the wind. The enemy placement here could be improved by taking away some of the existing enemies and putting some Paragoombas in that second wind segment. Having mobile enemies as obstacles would iterate nicely on the immobile blocks during the vertical wind section, reinforcing the Development section's core idea.
Twist		Players move on to a 2.5D section where gravity always pulls downwards towards a bottomless abyss. They're immediately confronted with a rising wind which they must ride while avoiding prickly plants. It feels like an extension of the Development section... but I'll elaborate on that below. After the ascent, players must jump down into a wind gust. This is where one half of the Twist becomes clear, as players have to time their cloud creation so they don't undershoot the wind (going nowhere) and don't overshoot the wind (falling into the abyss). This is followed by a section where players must wall-jump through a narrow passage and use clouds to crest a steep slope, which is in turn followed by a large, windless gap. To cross this gap, players must create multiple cloud platforms. By forcing the player to space their clouds out efficiently so they don't run out prematurely, these segments represent the second half of the Twist. This culminates in one final vertical ascent using a rising wind, with the extra complication that players must ride the wind through moving walls. If players don't time their cloud creation right, they can end up crushed by these walls as they ascend.

There are two "messy" aspects of the Twist section I feel are worth highlighting. First, notice that the Twist section here introduces two wrinkles. At different points, it tests players on their ability to use their clouds efficiently or on their ability to create clouds at the right moment in time. While this feels a little messy, I wouldn't call it poor mission design. In fact, there's a benefit to this approach, and it can be seen in this mission! Timing challenges necessarily slow down a mission's pace, since players must stop to observe patterns or to plan their approach. Stringing timing challenges together, then, will slow down a mission's pace considerably. There are times where that's appropriate and desirable, but in a series like Mario, those times are the exceptions and not the rule. "Head in the Clouds" maintained a fast pace until this point, and clearly the developers wanted to maintain that pace. To do so, they broke their timing-based challenges up with a pair of challenges built around efficient cloud usage. Having multiple challenges or mechanics in a Twist section allows a developer to pull off tricks like this, giving them finer control over points like pacing without causing the Twist section to meander aimlessly.

The other messy element of the Twist section is one to which I previously drew attention. Why is that first vertical ascent (the one with the prickly plants) included with the Twist? It certainly isn't adding any new challenge that we hadn't previously seen in the Development section. In a game where steps can often be mapped to different planets or sets of planets thanks to Launch Stars and Sling Stars breaking missions into discrete units, this first ascent's placement feels off. I wondered why this little ascent was grafted on to the rest of this 2.5D segment, and I've reached the conclusion that checkpoints are the culprit. There's a Checkpoint Flag right at the beginning of this segment, and so the devs needed a way to ease a respawning player back into the mission. It wouldn't have done to toss a player right into a timing challenge! It's best to let them re-acquire the Cloud Flower and to give them a chance to get their bearings before they jump back into the mission's biggest challenges. The ascent gives players a moment to reset, and that's a good reason for including it!

Cloudy Court Galaxy - "Head in the Clouds"
Step	Image	Notes
Conclusion		Players reach the tops of the moving walls, which now become a shifting floor. A Power Star hangs high in the air, past a wind gust that's... pushing players away from the goal! Turning the wind into an obstacle feels like the kind of challenge we would typically see in a Twist step, not the Conclusion! However, I do believe this still qualifies as a Conclusion step. To reach the Power Star, players must not be wasteful with their clouds and must be quick in making them. It builds on the efficient use of clouds from the Twist section, while adding an element of time pressure (hurry or the clouds blow away!) that simultaneously builds off of the Twist section's timing challenges. A player who reaches the Power Star here can bask in their accomplishment, knowing they have mastered riding the wind.

We do see our familiar four steps here, though there are some extra segments and the mission overall is a bit messier than some of the others we've covered. That feels about right for Super Mario Galaxy 2. The four steps had begun to take shape by this point, but were not fully crystallized. As a result, there's still some variation in mission structure and a few rough edges like the enemy placement during the Development step. In some of those odd, rough edges, however, we can still find lessons. In the spectacle of the Intermission and the multiple challenges of the Twist step, we see that our four steps must be complemented by thoughtful pacing. In the odd ascent at the beginning of the Twist section, we learn that we occasionally must distort our four steps in service of level elements like checkpoints. The four steps are a great starting point, but don't neglect considerations like pacing or easing players back in after a death!

If there's anything to take away from the Cloudy Court Galaxy, it's that it pays to interrogate a level's design oddities. Sometimes what appears to be "messiness" is justified, as with that post-checkpoint ascent. At other times, we can find room for improvement, as with the mission's enemy placements. If you want to improve your level design skill, always approach levels with a critical eye and an open mind!

With four purple drums, three rising winds, two Flaptacks, and one set of cymbals, this has been Four Steps for a 3D World!

Killing the Killing Game Roles

Written by: Roserade (talk)

Welcome back, readers, to another edition of Killing the Killing Game Roles, the section where we analyze various player roles from past Mario Boards Killing Games in hope of answering the question, what makes for a good role? By analyzing what's come before, we can discover some tricks and tips that could even help you design your own roles!

After a few months off, we're back with even more Killing Game goodness. Over on the Awards Board, GBA (talk) and Superchao (talk) have recently launched Awards Killing Game 2x2, a reimagining of 2018's Awards Killing Game 2, a game now old enough to be in second grade. To celebrate the kickoff, I briefly thought to review a role from AKG2 - but there will be plenty of months ahead to do that (and eventually, roles from 2x2 itself to analyze!). No, there's a special occasion this month, and I'd be remiss not to join in celebrating Lakituthequick (talk) for his 100 issues on 'Shroom staff... especially when there's a role this perfect to choose.

'Shroom KG - Lakituthequick, Ultimate Scavenger

Role Card

Role Transcript

LAKITUTHEQUICK - ULTIMATE SCAVENGER
The fastest Lakitu in town, joining as a guest participant from the Awards Committee

Card 1

Height: 4'4"
Weight: Floaty
Chest: Shelled
Blood Type: B+
Date of Birth: August 27th
Likes: Website coding, 3D modelling, hiding Stickers
Dislikes: Improperly-coloured shells
Special Notes: Ultimate Scavenger

Card 2

Developer of many useful Forum add-ons, Lakituthequick is known for his excellent coding, 3D modelling, and interactive scavenger hunts, making you the Ultimate Scavenger. You have an unmatchable talent for hiding obscure things in 'Shroom Articles, such as stickers for the Awards Scavenger Hunt.
This gives you very high 'Stealth for hiding evidence almost perfectly, as well as 'Sleuthing and 'Situational Awareness for finding and noticing unusual things yourself.

Card 3

As you are Lakituthequick, you can choose to move extremely fast on any given night. This means that you will not be affected by 'Stamina, and anyone who sees you will be unable to recognize who you are because of your speed. However, using this ability will deplete your 'Stamina to 1 the next night.
Finally, as previously mentioned, computers and software coding is your forte, so you have some understanding over computing and 3D modelling, but the 3D printer appears to be inaccessible to you...

Card 4

'Survival: 2/5
'Social: 2/5
'Strength: 1/5
'Scheming: 3/5
'Stamina: 3/5
'Stealth: 4/5
'Sleuthing: 5/5
'Situational: 5/5

Forbidden Action:
The one thing you cannot hide is your murder weapon. You must leave whatever object or weapon you used to kill someone undisturbed after committing murder.

Card 5 - 'Shroom Writer Info

Has been on the Awards Committee for many years, and returns often to write the Anniversary Announcements section for Pipe Plaza. This year, he implemented a community-wide search for stickers that involved hiding small images within 'Shroom Articles and forum threads.

What's this? Lakituthequick is the role? Yes indeed, at one time he was the basis for a role wholly his own - though the actual abilities ended up in the hands of Gabumon (talk), who would go on to be the sole survivor of 'Shroom KG while depicting the legendary Luigenium. As the oldest role we've analyzed thus far for this section, what can we learn about the evolution of role design and writing, and how does the Ultimate Scavenger fare when compared to more recent roles? Let's talk about it.

General Overview

Although there are naturally aspects of the role's functions to discuss, I first want to mention a bit of the time capsule the Ultimate Scavenger card acts as. For one, Lakituthequick isn't even noted as a 'Shroom staff member! 'Shroom KG started up in December 2017, which means that role creation and distribution happened shortly before, whereas LTQ started his tenure on 'Shroom staff in January 2018. So the flavor text that calls him a "guest participant"? Well outdated by now, but just barely relevant at the time!

There's a few other aspects about the role card that show its age. The design overall takes cues from the Danganronpa series, spoofing how the game presents character information, particularly on the first card. There's also the staggering number of eight total stats, the only time this has happened in the history of Killing Game. Recurrent readers will be familiar with the five "standard" stats for MB KGs that have had stats: Speed, Strength, Stamina, Stealth, and Social. In this game, there was no Speed stat, and instead Survival, Scheming, Sleuthing, and Situational were found alongside the other four. The inclusion of these stats were a one-time occasion, and barring their return is pretty understandable. A game that relies on player intuition and imagination like Killing Game is better off without stats that limit someone's ability to investigate or set up solid kill attempts, and like, how do we even measure "survivability" as a stat in a balanced way?

Really, though, I'd argue that the most dating aspect of the role is the fact that it's based on LTQ. Users being represented in projects like forum games used to be far more common in the community - every role in 'Shroom KG was based on a named user, and that's just one example. Nowadays, this practice of making user likeness integral components of the game design has fallen out of favor. Why is that? I'd argue there's a few reasons.

Back in 2017, the community was on the tail-end of its shift out of the "user fiction" heyday, a time when people were constantly depicting each other in comics, stories, and other planned projects. As far as the modern day Mario Boards culture is concerned, there has been a greater emphasis on utilizing people's characters that aren't user stand-ins for these projects. This isn't to say that the "user oc" has vanished, far from it; rather, when it comes to larger storytelling efforts, people are more invested in playing characters that aren't "themselves", and this becomes reflected back into game design. Nowadays, KG roles are more flexibly open to interpretation, as opposed to saying "you are this one person". If this kind of role existed today, it would probably be called something akin to "the Quickster", rather than "Lakituthequick, Ultimate Scavenger".

I would also argue that there's been a cultural shift away from emblemizing users in products because... well, people's attachments to this community change. Sometimes users depart gradually, sometimes they leave after some kind of explosive social incident, and sometimes they are removed outright for poor behavior. There's a sort of inherent risk of future alienation from your project by depicting a specific user in it. Now, again, this isn't the biggest gamble in the universe, and oftentimes these depictions are harmless in a broader sense, but I imagine that in more recent years, there's been a bit more cautious foresight about these depictions.

The good news is, LTQ is a phenomenal user who stuck around, and now we get to celebrate him doing his work with this paper for 100 issues!! Hooray LTQ!!

That heady preamble aside, is there much more to be said about the role upfront? I'd argue not really. The Ultimate Scavenger doesn't exactly fit into one niche; a lot of its powers are integral to LTQ the "character", as opposed to fulfilling an archetype. With that said, there's still plenty to be said about how this role is written, so let's move right on into abilities.

Ability Application

Now, something that should be quickly (hah) said: this role card was made back in 2017, practically a decade ago now, and was written during GBA's first foray into Killing Game hosting. This was alongside cohost Meta Knight (talk), though I'm not certain of who took on the brunt of role writing. I mention this because, as an upfront comment, the Ultimate Scavenger's written abilities feel a bit ill-defined. I'll be analyzing these powers as written, and I'll mention where I see these discrepancies and issues with clarity arise, while also holding that the community's, especially GBA's, touch for role development and specificity has gotten much, much stronger since. Still, with our modern-day glasses, this gives us the opportunity to see where greater specification would benefit the player who received a role like the Ultimate Scavenger.

Firstly, we have the Ultimate Scavenger's connection to the Scavenger Hunt, which was LTQ's biggest claim to fame at the time. With that in mind, the Ultimate Scavenger can hide evidence "almost perfectly", as well as having the intuition to discover unusual things. What's kind of interesting is how these abilities are correlated in-text to the high stat spreads found in Stealth, Sleuthing, and Situational. I can't recall many other cards writing out stat justifications like that, and it makes me imagine a world where instead of hard-wired numbered stat spreads, role cards came with a "properties" chart that indicated what playstyles your role leaned towards. Like one of those pentagonal diagrams, as a quick glance method of seeing your overall strengths and mechanical aims. Food for thought.

Anyway, as a major question for this role... what does it mean to hide evidence "almost perfectly"? Hiding evidence is a critical part of any KG case. The murderer has a responsibility to submit a kill attempt with enough evidence obscuring to get away with their kill. This is on the shoulders of the submitter, not something that happens incidentally. So does this power imply that the attempt can be more sloppily submitted, on account of your role naturally inclining you to hide things well? And what does "almost perfectly" mean in the context of investigation? Presumably, anything can be uncovered with careful eyes during the Day Phase; this is the backbone of solving a KG case. So evidence can't be hidden perfectly, that's a given. What is the unique strength on display here? I think this role trait suffers from a lack of definition over what hiding evidence "almost perfectly" really means. A modern-day interpretation of this idea would likely involve a unique mechanic through which this hiding occurs - for instance, imagine if the Ultimate Scavenger could turn a piece of evidence into a sticker, which they would be able to place somewhere else. Necessary balancing aside, you can see how this is a more specific, crafted iteration on the idea that builds a stronger understanding of role identity.

In comparison, there isn't too much to say about the noticing unusual things. It is also vague, but in such a way that makes it easier to tailor this trait towards what you're submitting. As examples, you could apply this skill to keeping an eye out for traps, or to digging through old books for important lore. Its mechanical throughline is a bit clearer.

Then, the Ultimate Scavenger is able to tap into their quickness for a night, going extremely fast and becoming unrecognizable as a result. I have to say, having this role be usable on "any given night" and for the entire night is one heck of a strength. This would allow you to basically be intangible, unless you end up blitzing into someone's trap, and people failing to recognize you is a great way to obscure any unsavory actions of yours. Something that I'd want more clarity on is if you can turn "on" or "off" the superspeed. If it's a permanent fixture of the night, I can see that being more detrimental, since everyone can assume it's you running by if nobody else has been able to spot you. If you're able to shift gears throughout the night, though, you've essentially got a night-long superpower.

It also feels important that the role specifies "any given night". Like, any night in the game? Without restriction on the number of times you can do it? I imagine that the following night is meant to be a restriction on this - which I'll discuss later - but from what I'm understanding, you can spend at least half the game's night phases in this speedy state. That's pretty nutty.

Lastly, there's the Ultimate Scavenger's strengths in computing and 3D printing. These are more niche skills, but I think best-case application is probably having the ability to 3D print just about anything you want. That's what I would assume the role card is implying, and if so, you could have a fully functional weapon or defensive item in your hand from somewhere technically "unsourced" on the map. That's definitely a boon, especially when you can then proficiently obscure whatever new item it is you've made. It's a good thing the Ultimate Scavenger doesn't have immediate access to the printer, or otherwise this would be a vicious feedback loop of evidence creation and disposal.

Environmental Functionality

As far as environmental interactions are concerned, the Ultimate Scavenger doesn't have a ton of them! Both the Scavenger Hunt abilities and the superspeed are irrelevant to the map design. The proficiency in computing and 3D modelling does require some access to the necessary technologies, however. Unless the host is willing to be lenient in what counts as "3D modelling" and make the Ultimate Scavenger skilled at sculpting or something, these traits will require a computer and a printer. I like this trait being an inherently "gated" aspect of the role as well. If the computer is locked with a private password, this would add some natural progression to the Ultimate Scavenger's capabilities.

Drawbacks & Balances

What balancing factors are in place for the Ultimate Scavenger? Firstly, there's the almost of the "almost perfect" evidence hiding. As I talked through before, this is a nebulous trait in its current writing, but it remains true that the almost is a balancing factor. It ensures that the Ultimate Scavenger can't make evidence vanish wholesale.

Then, there's the clause for using your superspeed for a night: "using this ability will deplete your 'Stamina to 1 the next night." In mechanical terms, this makes it so that the Ultimate Scavenger is frailer and less capable of accomplishing all of their tasks the following night. This is a fair trade-off overall, especially when the superspeed is affecting the entire previous night. That said, the card doesn't explicitly say that you can't just use the superspeed again the next night, so if a lenient host really wanted to play the card strictly as-written, that might become a balancing issue.

As idle commentary, I feel like this "full night effect -> weaker following night" is a bit different than how I would expect this role to be limited in the current day. Rather than a restriction on the following night, I would anticipate it being accessible every night but with a restriction on the amount of time or movement the speed is afforded. For instance, maybe you get a burst of movement once per night lasting around five rooms in length, leaving you temporarily winded afterwards. I can't say there are many roles that are active throughout an entire night these days, unless the abilities are passive or unlocked in some way. Neither approach to ability scaling is wrong; this is simply some observation on the gradual evolution of role design philosophy.

Last but certainly not least, there's the Forbidden Action. The Ultimate Scavenger must leave murder weapons or objects "undisturbed" after utilizing them, and cannot hide the thing itself. I think this is a reasonable angle for limitation, though I'd be curious about hedge cases. If the kill is a trap, can the player clean up the surrounding mess, leaving only the knife that dropped from the ceiling? If they kill using a shot from a gun, do they have to drop the gun where it was fired, or is it technically the bullet they cannot move? I imagine in both instances, the answer would likely be whatever qualifies as the weapon, be it the knife or the gun, while the rest is fine to mess with. However, if the answer is "none of the components of the trap"... that breaks the role in half, doesn't it? What good is hiding evidence if you have to leave behind all of your evidence of your kill? This is an example of where a host would need a fair and discerning eye, to ensure that the Ultimate Scavenger is able to utilize their role to the greatest extent while still following the limitations.

Player Responsibility

In terms of player responsibility for this role, there's not too much they need to consider. It'll take some consideration to determine when it would be best to use their superspeed; do they keep it stored up for when their murder plan comes together, or hold off and save it for a more perilous night, thus keeping it defensive? The Ultimate Scavenger also requires eventual access to the computers and 3D printers, which could be considered a player responsibility. That said, passwords and keys can be found by any player, so it could just as well happen incidentally that the Ultimate Scavenger gets access. If this role indicated that only this player could find the correct information to utilize the printer, there would be more responsibility placed on their shoulders.

Host Responsibility

Of the roles we've discussed over the history of this section, I'd argue that this one of the lightest in terms of host responsibility. The speed and computing powers are both pretty straightforward, without necessitating much of a host's touch - though a host might need to make some decisions about what the 3D printer is capable of outputting. I'd say the biggest host responsibility rests in the scavenger hunt abilities. If the Ultimate Scavenger can passively identify "unusual things" easier, it's up to the host to determine what qualifies as an "unusual thing", especially if the player hasn't specified in their submission what flavor of "unusual thing" they want to spot (be it lore, traps, etc). Passive investigation traits are sometimes tricky to write in night results, since the host is often thinking about the flow of movement during the night, not necessarily every fine detail. Thankfully, memory check mechanics allow for further elaboration on detail readily during the day phase, where more "unusual things" can be specified for the Ultimate Scavenger.

A last aspect of host responsibility is determining what "almost perfectly" hidden evidence looks like. To not drill this point too hard yet again, if you read "almost perfectly" and are unsure yourself what that would really mean, it's likely a good indication that this role trait needs some fine-tuning. As it stands, it's too up-to-chance of host interpretation and balancing for my liking, and having clearly stated mechanics attached would alleviate this burden of responsibility.

Overall Thoughts

We've spent much of this month's section discussing the age of this role and how it fares with eight years of hindsight. While I've been critical of its components, I still think there's a lot of good in this role, as well as many other roles from 'Shroom KG. More than anything, this analysis makes me proud to be part of a community where this game format is ever-evolving and constantly reiterating, careful hands guiding it to new heights and possibilities. With every new Killing Game, fresh blood enters into the role creation pool, more deliberate mechanics are delivered, and that is an exciting prospect.

And I mean, that's the broader thrill of being part of this community as a whole, right? With every month, our ideas are flourishing and growing. In these past eight years alone, not only has Killing Game changed, but so have the forums, the chat venues, the 'Shroom, the Awards Season. All of these passion projects continue to refine and reimagine themselves; and while these projects are the biggest visual indicators of these changes, it's really because we as people regularly change and grow. Every user, with all of their inventive concepts and sparks of energy, contribute to our expanding ecosystem of community creation. Even folks who have been here for well over a decade are continuously redefining themselves and thus redefining this community.

I've had the joy of witnessing this with several people around here, and one such person is Lakituthequick. His resourcefulness, expertise, and yes man attitude are invaluable to what we do in every corner of our community. Hell, I wouldn't even be delivering this section to you if it weren't for his website I'm currently typing this out on! It's an honor to work with him, and the fact that we get to celebrate 100 whole issues with him speaks volumes to the person that he is.

Thank you for all that you do, LTQ, and thank you for being a friend.

That’s all for this month. Tune in next month for more Killing Game goodness!

Pitohui's Pokémon Academy

Written by: Hooded Pitohui (talk)

My goodness, is it breezy out there! I should hope not a one of you had any essentials blow away while on your way in today. Perhaps I should hold my tongue, for we could always face worse. I shudder to imagine these gales blowing with the force of a Delta Stream!

Dare now to command the lord of the sky.

...a curious comparison, you say? Ah, I suppose you see through me. Yes, I am to understand a an indispensable colleague (talk) is being honored for his length of service. This colleague has made a great many sights once thought unimaginable happen. His power over technology is unparalleled, so I thought it only fitting that our session this month cover a Pokémon so renowned for its power that those at Smogon University made an entire new tier on its account. We now turn our attention to the savior revered by the Draconids, the tamer of land and sea, and the destroyer of meteors - Rayquaza.

The following information applies to Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet.

The standard glossary follows below, should you need to consult it. If you are familiar with our terminology, please do skip it!

Base Stats: Base stats are the values associated with a particular Pokémon species, and are the same across every individual Pokémon of a given species. You have no influence on them. You can think of them as traits tied to a species. A chimp isn't ever going to be able to get as good as digging as a mole will be, and, likewise, an Abra is never going to have the defensive prowess a Shuckle has.

Individual Values (IVs): Individual values, as their name implies, are associated with individual Pokémon. They range from 0 to 31 in each stat, with 31 being considered a "perfect" IV and higher numbers corresponding to different stats. Magikarp A and Magikarp B will have the same base stats, but they may very well have different IVs. To stick with the animal analogy, one mole may be born with larger claws than another mole, and that first mole is probably going to have an easier time digging through dirt than the latter. Individual values are set in stone, strictly speaking, but you can use Hyper Training (from Generation VII onwards) to functionally get a perfect IV in a stat.

Effort Values (EVs): Effort values are the one thing you can easily change. A Pokémon can earn, primarily through battling, but also through means like the use of certain items or mechanics like Super Training, up to a total of 510 effort values, with up to 252 in any given stat. To finish off the animal analogy, no matter what kind of claws a mole is born with, moles who have more experience digging are probably going to be better at digging than moles which have never dug.

Nature: A Pokémon's nature is, more or a less, a stat modifier with a name meant to make it sound like a Pokémon has some personality. Natures will raise one stat by ten percent and lower another stat by ten percent. Some natures raise and lower the same stat, canceling out the effect and leaving stats unchanged. Natures can be functionally changed with the use of special mint items from Generation VIII onwards.

STAB: STAB stands for Same-Type Attack Bonus, and refers to the boosted power of moves that match the type of the move's user. To illustrate this, consider the case of a Lombre, a dual-type Pokémon which is both a Water-type and a Grass-type. Any Water-type moves Lombre uses will have their power boosted by 1.5x, and any Grass-type moves Lombre uses will, likewise, have their power boosted by 1.5x. (There are circumstances where this does not apply, and, while the 1.5x multiplier is typical, some games use other multipliers.)

Bulbagarden Archives: Not a term to be defined, but the source of many of the images used in this section. I thank those who maintain it as a resource.

For more information on the terms defined here and how you can raise Pokémon, feel free to consult this guide. It is written with Pokémon Scarlet and Violet in mind, but its broad principles are applicable through many of the main series games beginning with Ruby and Sapphire.

We have much to cover this month, so I will proceed quickly during this session and condense my words wherever possible. At a glance, we see that Rayquaza possesses excellent base attack and base special attack stats paired with reasonable bulk and decent speed. You may balk at me calling 95 merely "decent", but that is a tad low relative to the threats Rayquaza is likely to encounter. With these base stats, Rayquaza falls into the very common category of a Pokémon best suited to maxing out its speed and one attacking stat.

We know we will invest fully in speed, but do we complement it with full investment in physical attack or full investment in special attack? Well, I have a particular move in mind for Rayquaza, and that move is the physical Dragon Ascent. As such, we will favor physical attack. There are two reasons behind our teaching Dragon Ascent to Rayquaza. One we will discuss later in the session. For the moment, know it is Rayquaza's most powerful Flying-type move. It is also Rayquaza's most powerful move with no drawback (I'm including low accuracy as a drawback).

We will lock Dragon Ascent into Rayquaza's moveset and invest 252 EVs into speed and physical attack. The remaining six EVs, put into HP. To further boost speed (which is in greater need of the boost) without sacrificing any useful stats, ensure Rayquaza has a Jolly nature.

Name:	Rayquaza		Base HP:	105
Category:	Sky High		Base Attack:	150
Type:	Dragon	Flying	Base Defense:	90
Abilities:	Air Lock		Base Special Attack:	150
			Base Special Defense:	90
			Base Speed:	95

Rayquaza has only one ability. Air Lock negates the effect of weather. It does not clear weather away from the battlefield; it only negates the effects. Water-type moves won't get a damage boost from rain, Fire-type moves won't deal reduced damage in rain, Rock-types and Steel-types won't get a special defense boost in sandstorms, other Pokémon won't be damaged in sandstorms, etc. It may offer very slight benefits, but is not all that useful.

Level: 78	HP IV	31	HP EVs:	6	HP:	276
	Attack IV	31	Attack EVs:	252	Attack:	312
	Defense IV	31	Defense EVs:	0	Defense:	169
	Special Attack IV	31	Special Attack EVs:	0	Special Attack:	236
	Special Defense IV	31	Special Defense EVs:	0	Special Defense:	169
Nature: Jolly	Speed IV	31	Speed EVs:	252	Speed:	248

We have three more moves to select. In Dragon Ascent, we already have a Flying-type STAB move. Typically, I would suggest a Dragon-type STAB move at this point to take advantage of Rayquaza being dual-typed. Let's inspect our options. We can choose from Outrage, Dragon Tail, Dragon Claw, Scale Shot, and Breaking Swipe. Keeping in mind that we have raised Rayquaza with a focus on speedy offense, let's remove the three options (Dragon Tail, Breaking Swipe, and on average Scale Shot) with less than 80 base power. After all, too weak a hit may allow a foe to endure and retaliate.

The dragon ascends even beyond the atmosphere.

Of the two options which remain, Outrage has 120 base power but locks Rayquaza into using the move for 2-3 turns and causes confusion afterwards. That may become an issue if a Fairy-type (immune) or Steel-type (resistant) is sent out to face Rayquaza. Dragon Claw has no drawback, but sits at a mere 80 base power, barely making our cutoff while offering no benefit to offset that lower power. Both are usable, but neither is ideal. In this situation, it helps to reexamine our starting assumptions. Typically, dual-type Pokémon benefit from having a STAB move for each of their types, but is this a typical case?

Rayquaza has such high offensive stats that we may not need the STAB boost. It is still nice to have, but we have flexibility. The Dragon type is supereffective against only one type, and that type is itself. Sending out Rayquaza against other Dragon-type Pokémon is risky and unwise when a Fairy-type teammate could do far better at dispatching any draconic threats. A Dragon-type STAB move offers only the limited benefit of raw power (which Rayquaza has in spades), so let's set aside the notion that we must include one, and consider what Rayquaza lacks and how we could address that.

Rayquaza's speed is just low enough that other Pokémon in its league may naturally outspeed it, so let's look for solutions to that issue. Fortunately, Rayquaza has a priority move available in the form of Extreme Speed! Even better, Extreme Speed a rare priority move with decent power and is a physical move. That it gives Rayquaza the ability to strike first against speedy-but-frail opponents or to finish off opponents who raised their speed after enduring an attack is invaluable.

Name	Power	Accuracy	Description	Base PP	Learns
Dragon Ascent	120	100%	The user attacks the target by dropping out of the sky at high speed. This also lowers the user's Defense and Sp. Def stats.	5	Lv. 1
Extreme Speed	80	100%	The user charges the target at blinding speed. This move always goes first.	5	Lv. 27
Dragon Dance	--	--	The user vigorously performs a mystic, powerful dance that raises its Attack and Speed stats.	20	Lv. 18
Earthquake	100	100%	The user sets off an earthquake that strikes every Pokémon around it.	10	TM149

Now, Extreme Speed has its limits. There are some types it won't find success against, like Steel or Ghost. It would serve us well to find a way to boost Rayquaza's speed. Rayquaza, beast that it is, has just what we seek in the form of Dragon Dance. In fact, Dragon Dance increases Rayquaza's speed and its attack, aiding it in overcoming its speed deficiency and causing it to hit even harder. It is not foolproof. Some Pokémon may retain an edge by raising their speed by two stages in one turn with moves such as Agility. Between Extreme Speed and Dragon Dance, however, Rayquaza is much better-equipped to overcome its relatively middling base speed.

Is it time for Outrage now? No. We have a new problem to consider. Extreme Speed and Dragon Ascent are both resisted by Steel-types and Rock-types. Adding a Dragon-type move would only worsen the problem. We require a move which is supereffective against both types and which takes advantage of Rayquaza's high physical attack. We require a Fighting-type or Ground-type move, and again restricting ourselves to 80 base power or higher, we find only one move which fits our criteria - ol' reliable Earthquake.

Now we have a STAB move with incredible power, a move to counter speedy opponents, a move to counter the two types which resist the previous two moves, and a move to further boost Rayquaza's most important stats. We are finished, then! There is no more work required of us! I can dismiss you, and we may all go about our days!

...is what I would say if it were not for Rayquaza's Mega Evolution. It was not Rayquaza's base form which broke rating scales and staked a claim to the title of most powerful Pokémon, and if I am to cover a Pokémon which matches the feats of my honorable colleague, then I must discuss Mega Rayquaza.

Let us continue.

Mega Evolution

The following information applies to Pokémon Legends Z-A.

Before we can discuss Mega Rayquaza itself, I must remind you that Lumiose City has taken to a new form of battling conducted in real-time. This new form of battling comes with new and altered mechanics. If you attended December's lesson, you are already familiar with this form of battling. I will not go over all of the details again, but I will provide a refresher on the new qualities of moves. I've updated some information and swapped some sources from our December discussion:

Power: Base power mostly remains the same, but unique to Z-A is the Plus Moves mechanic. For any Pokémon, some energy from the Mega Gauge can be used to turn the next move used into a Plus Move, which will increase its base power and may affect other aspects of the move. Against neutral matchups, Plus Moves get a 20% increase in base power, but the increase varies based on the targeted Pokémon's weakness or resistance to the move used. For Mega Evolved Pokémon, all moves are treated as Plus Moves. For this reason, I've listed the Plus Move's base power (assuming the default 20% increase) in parentheses.

Casting Time: This measures the time (in seconds) you'll have to wait after selecting a move before you're able to select another move. This is actually sub-divided into two parts - start-up and the attack loop. Start-up is the time it takes to initiate a move after selecting it, while the attack loop is the time it takes for the move's animation to finish. For simplicity's sake, we'll only consider the combined casting time. I'm not a data miner, so I'm getting this information from Serebii generation IX AttackDex and making the assumption that 60 frames are equivalent to one second (consistent with the Switch 2 version of the game). I'll link to the move pages on Serebii directly if you'd like to see the frame data.

Cooldown: After using a move, there is a set period where you cannot use the same move again. This is called its "cooldown", and is expressed in seconds. More powerful moves tend to have greater cooldowns. For this reason, you'll sometimes want to consider having secondary STAB moves (even on monotype Pokémon) in Z-A so that you are able to alternate between your STAB options while each one resets. Of course, that comes at the cost of coverage, so think carefully! Cooldown is impacted by a Pokémon's speed stat, with higher speed reducing the cooldown of a Pokémon's move. Cooldown can be reduced to a minimum of three seconds.

Distance: This is a move's reach. This affects where a Pokémon needs to position itself to use a move and how far the move can travel. Different moves will travel through space in different ways, with a set of "casting archetypes" dictating this behavior. We will discuss those archetypes in another session. For now, just know that a small number means the user will need to get quite close to their opponent, while higher numbers mean a move can be launched from farther away. If I list dashes, it means a move either travels a very long linear distance forward or that it affects the user and distance does not apply. Distance and casting archetypes are not listed directly in the game, so for these I am relying upon a spreadsheet and Reddit post by Reddit user ragonc (from who I also take the term "casting archetypes"). In cases of moves introduced in the Mega Dimension DLC, I've turned to Serebii's AttackDex for maximum distance information (linked above). If you know of or discover a better resource than those I'm using, let me know!

Turning our attention to Mega Rayquaza itself, we find that its attack and special attack have risen through the exosphere. They are beaten or matched by only a handful of other Pokémon. Mega Rayquaza's base speed sees a respectable 20 point boost, mitigating the speed issues which held back its base form. With only a slight boost to its defenses and HP, Mega Rayquaza is best thought of as "more of Rayquaza". Mega Evolution does not fundamentally change how Rayquaza operates. If we were using a Mega Rayquaza in a normal battling format, you would not need to greatly change the base form we just raised.

Unfortunately, in Lumiose City's real-time style of battling, speed loses some importance. It is still a useful stat, to be sure, but rather than determining turn order, it affects how quickly a Pokémon's moves recharge. It can make a critical difference in a chaotic battle royale, but not with the same consistency with which it decides the course of turn-based battles. For this reason (and because a Rayquaza transferred into Z-A cannot return to older titles), we will raise a second Rayquaza with a different spread of EVs and a different nature.

For Mega Rayquaza, we'll shift our EV investment from speed to HP. This will allow Mega Rayquaza to stay on the field just a smidgen longer, which is a great boon in a battle royale. The remaining six EVs, we'll move into special defense to help Rayquaza better weather ranged Ice-type attacks. Like its base form, it has a double weakness to Ice. To reinforce this new focus on attack over speed, we'll want this Rayquaza to have an Adamant nature.

Should you intend to raise a base Rayquaza in Lumiose City, you may do better to invest in special attack over attack. We are here to raise a Mega Rayquaza, though, and that requires Dragon Ascent. Since we must use a physical move, we will continue to favor attack.

Name:	Mega Rayquaza		Base HP:	105
Category:	Sky High		Base Attack:	180
Type:	Dragon	Flying	Base Defense:	100
Item	Yache Berry		Base Special Attack:	180
Notes:	When the Mega Gauge is full, Mega Evolution can be triggered after using Dragon Ascent.		Base Special Defense:	100
Notes:			Base Speed:	115

You see, Dragon Ascent is the key to unlocking Rayquaza's Mega Evolution. I alluded much earlier to a second reason for including Dragon Ascent; Mega Evolution is that reason. Most Pokémon can Mega Evolve so long as they hold their Mega Stone, but Rayquaza has no Mega Stone. Instead, Mega Evolution can be triggered after Rayquaza has used Dragon Ascent once. For this reason, the move is an absolute requirement and is in most cases going to be the move with which you lead off. Just be cautious since your opponent will likely anticipate you opening with Dragon Ascent, and be willing to hold it back for a moment if you sense danger.

The upshot of this unique method of achieving Mega Evolution is that, unlike other Mega Evolved Pokémon, Mega Rayquaza can still reap the benefits of a held item. You'll see above that I've given Mega Rayquaza a Yache Berry. A Yache Berry reduces the damage dealt by a supereffective Ice-type attack by 50%. This is a boon for a Pokémon that takes quadruple damage from Ice-type moves! Additionally, I hear that Ice-types have been prominent in Lumiose's battle royales, making them a threat you must consider. As powerful as Mega Rayquaza may be, it will struggle when hit with an Ice-type move. I won't claim that a Yache Berry is the best item you can have Mega Rayquaza hold. There are likely much better choices, and I encourage you to experiment!

(As an aside, in other games, Mega Rayquaza has a natural defense against Ice-types. Its ability, Delta Stream, neutralizes the weaknesses of its Flying-type, leaving it with only the weaknesses of the Dragon-type. This causes Ice-type moves in particular to deal double damage rather than quadruple damage. It's a great ability, but abilities do not exist in Legends Z-A, so we must disregard it for now.)

Level: 85	HP IV	31	HP EVs:	252	HP:	353
	Attack IV	31	Attack EVs:	252	Attack:	429
	Defense IV	31	Defense EVs:	0	Defense:	201
	Special Attack IV	31	Special Attack EVs:	0	Special Attack:	303
	Special Defense IV	31	Special Defense EVs:	6	Special Defense:	202
Nature: Adamant	Speed IV	31	Speed EVs:	0	Speed:	226

Dragon Ascent is a great move, boasting 144 base power with the Plus Move mechanic and allowing Mega Rayquaza to dodge an attack by sending it into the air. Unfortunately, it also has a lengthy cooldown time. We desperately need a move with a short cooldown that we can alternate with our more time-consuming attacks. Here, a familiar move stands far above all others. With only three seconds of cooldown time, Extreme Speed once again finds a place on our moveset. By using Extreme Speed between other moves, Mega Rayquaza should never be left in the position of having to wait for all of its moves to recharge.

Name	Power (+)	Max Distance	Description	Casting (s)	Cooldown (s)	Learns
Dragon Ascent	120 (144)	8	The user attacks targets by dropping out of the sky at high speed. This also lowers the user's Defense and Sp. Def stats for a short time.	1.33	20	Lv. 1
Extreme Speed	65 (78)	8.5	The user attacks by charging into targets with blinding speed.	0.33	3	Lv. 27
Dragon Rush	100 (120)	3	The user attacks by tackling targets while exhibiting overwhelming menace. This may also make targets flinch.	0.75	12	Lv. 58
Stone Edge	100 (120)	3	The user attacks by stabbing targets with sharpened stones. This move has a heightened chance of landing a critical hit.	0.58	10	TM065

We have a high-powered move and a move with a short cooldown, but we still have an issue in the form of Ice-types. Unlike in the normal turn-based format, coverage moves are somewhat viable. We could try a Steel-type move to counter both Ice-types and Fairy-types. I went and experimented with running Iron Tail on Mega Rayquaza. With 120 base power as a Plus Move and a ten second cool down, it was... serviceable. Where I took issue with Iron Tail was its range. With a range of 0.5 to 1.5 units, it just required that Mega Rayquaza consistently get too close to the opponent. That was troublesome for a coverage move, as it necessarily meant that Mega Rayquaza exposed itself to a supereffective counterattack either during the approach or right as the move finished.

A cutting gale blows...

Unsatisfied with Iron Tail, I looked at Ice's remaining weaknesses, considering it a higher priority to counter than the Fairy-type. Mega Rayquaza has no physical Fire-type moves and its only physical Fighting-type move is Brick Break with a middling 90 base power as a Plus Move. Rock-Type moves appeared promising, though. In particular, Stone Edge had the same base power and cooldown as Iron Tail while having double the maximum range. I tested it, and I found it to work fairly well. It's not without risks, and is especially prone to failing when used against Pokémon that fly or levitate above the summoned stones, but it was a considerable improvement over Iron Tail. It worked well enough that I opted to slot it in.

Mega Rayquaza has no pressing need to boost its speed in this format, and Dragon Dance is not in use in Lumiose City. We're freed to include a Dragon-type STAB move this time, and Mega Rayquaza has a new option in the form of Dragon Rush. You can choose between Outrage, which offers higher power but longer cooldown and casting times, or Dragon Rush, which offers the inverse. Outrage is not as risky a choice as before due to it now being a one-use move and due to changes to the Confusion mechanic, but I still went for Dragon Rush. Dragon Ascent's cooldown is so long that, even with Extreme Speed, I think it prudent to lower the cooldown time of Mega Rayquaza's alternative STAB move. Additionally, Dragon Rush sends Mega Rayquaza into the air briefly, making it another option for dodging.

With Dragon Rush selected, we reach the end of our discussion. I'm certain you all are eager to discuss Rayquaza's role in Hoenn mythology and its territorial nature, but, alas, we haven't the time. I suppose I shall just have to spare you on this occasion... All jokes set aside, as always, I encourage you to view what we discussed as only a base, and to experiment with your own methods of raising Rayquaza (Mega Evolved or not!). Remember, it is strategy and research, not raw strength, which win battles and overcome trials! I'm sure my aforementioned colleague, skilled as he is in technical and organizational matters, would tell you much the same!

Take that lesson to heart, and stay curious. I grant you a reprieve from assignments this time, but if you do see Lakituthequick, give him your gratitude!

Rising From Obscurity

Written by: Waluigi Time (talk)

Hello there, 'Shroom readers, and welcome to another edition of Rising From Obscurity, the section where I sometimes look at Mario things that disappeared and then reappeared. Today I'm going to be doing something a little different, since I'm not looking at a character, per se. Instead, I'd like to talk about Tanooki Mario!

Imagine how sweaty he'd be if you could wear this in Desert Land, ick.

Tanooki Mario was one of several power-ups introduced in Super Mario Bros. 3, and a secret one, at that! You probably wouldn't find the Tanooki Suit just by running through the levels, as it was only available in secret areas and Toad Houses. It works as a straight upgrade of the much more common Raccoon Mario, retaining the abilities of flight, gliding, and attacking with the tail, while also adding the Statue Mario form that lets you become impervious to nearly all damage for a short time and can also defeat several enemies that are normally invulnerable! Interestingly, it also stacks with the P-Wing, so if you're using one and then collect a Tanooki Suit, you retain the infinite flight. I didn't know that until I did research for this section, so that's pretty cool!

I'm a stone, Luigi.

Alas, Tanooki Mario was not meant to stay. Aside from direct remakes of Super Mario Bros. 3 (Super Mario Advance 4 specifically adding some new abilities allowing it to interact with new blocks in World-e), the only other appearances of Tanooki Mario were in "Tanooki Suits Me" from the Nintendo Comics System and on a card in Nintendo Monopoly, of all things. Surprisingly, it wasn't even in The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3, although there was some concept art drawn for it. The Tanooki Suit would rarely be mentioned in a throwaway joke every now and then, but otherwise faded into the halls of Mario history.

That's actually par for the course for the time! The old faithful set of the Super Mushroom, Fire Flower, and Starman appearing in most games may skew memory on this a bit, but for any power-up that didn't have the distinction of originating in good old Super Mario Bros., it was pretty much a foregone conclusion that it wouldn't be coming back for another mainline game. It was actually New Super Mario Bros. Wii that first bucked the trend by bringing back the Mini Mushroom from its predecessor.

He's fuzzy now!

So it was a pretty big surprise when Tanooki Mario returned as the flagship power-up in 2011's Super Mario 3D Land! This is where things get a little weird, though. The 3D Land iteration of Tanooki Mario was a lot more like Raccoon Mario, lacking the statue transformation and using the Super Leaf as an item instead of the Tanooki Suit. According to an interview with game director Koichi Hayashida, who Strategy Wing readers will probably recognize from Pitohui's very well-crafted section Four Steps for a 3D World, the choice to use Tanooki Mario over Raccoon Mario was for the sake of visual clarity, as the full-body costume more immediately communicated to players that this was a power-up. Probably not a bad idea, especially on the 3DS' small screen. (That being said, I have to wonder what spurred the latter's return in New Super Mario Bros. 2.)

Look at Luigi, making his own fashion choices.

Anyway, Tanooki Mario kept the gliding and tail whip abilities, but flying was fully removed. The ability to turn into Statue Mario does eventually pop up in the postgame however, granted by the Statue Leaf which provides a slightly different version of Tanooki Mario. So slightly different that it doesn't have a name or its own wiki page, it's just Tanooki Mario wearing a bandana. The redesign for Statue Mario is nice, though! This game also started the trend of Luigi getting more of a unique visual spin on his power-up forms than just being Mario's but green, with a totally different suit based on the mythical kitsune. Also also, since Nintendo really liked Super Guide mechanics around this time, a special White Tanooki Mario form also appears if you lose too many lives on a single level, which is just Tanooki Mario but invincible.

I'm a redesigned stone, Luigi.

Following a cameo as a Mii costume in Mario Tennis Open, Tanooki Mario's next big appearance was in the successor to 3D Land, Super Mario 3D World. All of the power-ups from 3D Land returned, including Tanooki Mario and its invincible variant. Peach, Toad, and Rosalina also got Tanooki forms, but unlike Luigi's, they're not very distinct from Mario, unfortunately. Not much else to say otherwise, nothing really changed with it mechanically. Tanooki Mario also showed up as a DLC driver in Mario Kart 8 (promoted to base game in 8 Deluxe), and was also playable in Arcade GP DX and Tour, the latter game also featuring Kitsune Luigi and Tanooki Rosalina. The form even shows up in the climax of The Super Mario Bros. Movie!

Those are the most prominent appearances of Tanooki Mario to date, though it's also showed up in little references in a few other games in that time, so I don't think it's going anywhere even if it might not be in a platformer again anytime soon. Unless Nintendo decides to include it in the inevitable Super Mario Maker 3, or does something no one expects again and drops an announcement for Super Mario 3D Universe or something. Regardless, it's certainly overshadowing Raccoon Mario these days.

So You Want to Romance the Three Kingdoms?

Written by: Shoey (talk)

Hello, and welcome back to So You Want to Romance the Three Kingdoms?, The 'Shroom's only historical simulation SNES strategy game strategy guide section. It's been a while since we last had a new edition. What can I say? War is expensive! Nobody can afford perpetual war! Even the famous Hundred Years' War (which actually lasted for 116 years) wasn't a perpetual conflict, but rather a series of wars that happened within that timespan! Last time, we successfully defeated Yuan Shao, who cowardly bent his knee to Lord Kong Rong in exchange for his life being spared. We also turned down multiple requests for an alliance from that cretin Dong Zhuo and claimed the neutral city of Xiang Ping, bringing it under the banner of Lord Kong Rong. Speaking of Xiang Ping…

Step 21: Not All Cities Are Created Equal!

So, much like in real life, not every city in Romance of the Three Kingdoms IV: Wall of Fire is created equal. The biggest and most important reason for that is that, much like in real life, the populations of different cities can be widely different. For example, at this point in the game, Xiang Ping, which hasn't been ravaged by the need to feed an ever-growing war machine, has a population of 69,300. In contrast, another city under our control, Nan Pi, which has been ravaged by war from both Yuan Shao and Lord Kong Rong, still has a population of 399,000.

Xiang Ping is basically a microcity!

What does that mean for us, you ask? Well, it basically means that, at this point in the game, Xiang Ping is worthless! Its population is just far too low. The higher the population, the larger the tax base and the larger the agriculture yields. In January and July, places with higher populations will provide larger revenues and provision yields. A good example of this is Bei Hai. Even though our capital Bei Hai, Lord Kong Rong's home city, has a higher economy score (90) than Nan Pi (89), Nan Pi is still going to bring in 2,000 more gold come tax time simply because its population is over five times larger!

The other main advantage of larger cities is simple; bigger populations mean more people you can conscript. Larger cities are simply better equipped for raising armies. Xiang Ping can only muster 26,000 soldiers a month, which is hardly anything! Meanwhile, Nan Pi can conscript 63,000 troops at any given time!

63,000 troops isn't even that great compared to some of the larger cities!

The takeaway of all this is that small cities like Xiang Ping or the recently-conquered Bei Ping are going to quickly fall by the wayside in this section. I'll still be doing stuff in the background in an attempt to make them basically feeder cities. To do so, I'll usually leave two officers in each city so that they can maintain growing either the Farm or Economy stats. That way I can use the "send" option to send the gold and provisions they produce to more relevant cities. In the past, I've used them to just churn manpower to beef up my armies, but honestly I really don't recommend that. Your Train stat is heavily affected by the size of your army and the Train level it's at when you conscript, so if you only have 1,000 troops and you recruit 26,000, your Train level is going to go way down. The more you send untrained troops into your main army, the more your main army's Train level is going to suffer! In addition, if you're in a larger city where you can recruit upwards of 70k-80k troops a pop, it's going to take forever to train them into an effective fighting force if there isn't already a large number of well-trained soldiers in the city! While I will use feeder cities to beef up armies sometimes, I don't recommend doing it often, and I'd recommend having some well-trained soldiers already in that city to make sure your Train level doesn't just tank. I'd also recommend trying to visit every feeder city every turn and leaving an officer who can recruit there, just in case a wandering officer visits the city. You never know who could show up! Maybe it'll be somebody good! But probably not...

Now, as for Xiang Ping specifically, I'll be sending the Yuan Clan into exile there to serve under the watchful eye of the loyal Gongsun Du as part of a deal to spare Yuan Shao's life. I'll also be keeping 1,000 soldiers there as a token amount just in case there are any rebellions. I've never actually seen a rebellion succeed, but I've also never left a city without any soldiers. Finally, even though we're going to be ignoring this city from here on out, make sure you at least raise its Spirit level up to 80. That way you aren't having to deal with constant rebellions every January and July, which will tank the stats of the city and make them worthless as feeder cities. Plus, it's just annoying to get like ten rebellion prompts every July and January! Even though they never succeed, it's just another little time-wasting screen you have to watch and I'd rather not deal with it, especially when it's so easily avoided. Just give the peasants some food!

Step 22: Redistributing the Officers

Now that we've got a decent number of cities under our belt (having conquered five of them), the game is going to start getting more and more complex as we try to balance the needs of our kingdom with maintaining strong front lines. The most important thing we need to do is replenishing the fronts with strong and capable officers! Right now, we've got a real imbalance going on, which will hinder our abilities moving forward. As of May 192, in our three frontline cities, Dai Xian has 9 officers and 1 POW., Bei Hai has 3 officers (including Lord Kong Rong), and Nan Pi has only 4 officers. In addition, only Long Kong Rong in Bei Hai has the ability to recruit.

Lord Kong Rong is critically understaffed!

Nobody in Nan Pi has the ability to recruit, which has actually cost us because both cities had free officers arrive who could not be recruited since Lord Kong Rong was tending to training his forces and since Nan Pi simply had nobody talented in persuasion. It's time to fix that! Over in Dai Xian, we currently have at least 3 officers who can recruit that aren't committed to something else. We have Tian Feng with an 82 Politic, Gu Yong with a 76 Politic, and Chen Lin with a 67 Politic. We're going to go ahead and move Gu Yong and Chin Lin to Nan Pi for now. Unfortunately, our efforts to recruit Chen Zhen, the last of the Dai Xian POW holdouts, failed, but we'll get him next time!

Bei Ping currently has 6 officers, but that's a bit of a fake stat since 3 of those will be sent to Xiang Ping. Luckily, before he was shipped out, Yuan Shao managed to convince Shen Pei to stop his foolishness and finally submit to Lord Kong Rong! Shei Pei also had the extremely useful "recruit" ability, and come the month of June, he will also be shipped out to Nan Pi.

Yuan Shao proving his worth to Lord Kong Rong

A quick note: there's a one month layover between any officer action and an officer being able to be sent to another city. If you recruit an officer, you won't be able to send them to another city until the next month. The same goes if you have them give provisions, draft soldiers, or take any non-passive action basically.

Now, you might be asking why all these officers are heading to Nan Pi. It's actually pretty simple; officers can only be sent to cities that directly border the city they're in! So if we look at our map of what we control, we can see that Dai Xian, which is our westmost city, borders Nan Pi, our centermost city, and Bei Ping. That means officers from Dai Xian have to be sent to Nan Pi if we hope to move them to the capital Bei Hai!

Our growing empire!

That's gonna do it for the month of May outside of a few minor things like assigning officers in our cities to different works projects and giving food to the people. We have to give out food because the harvest is coming soon and I'd really like to avoid rebellions! BUT, HEY, DON'T WORRY! AS MAY ENDS, JIA XUE IS BACK, THIS TIME OFFERING 286 GOLD PIECES AS A TOKEN OF FRIENDSHIP. You know what? The hell with it! Lord Kong Rong will take your gold, as paltry as it is. It's not like it's going to matter.

Thanks for the free cash, idiot!

Dong Zhuo has no honor, so it's not like our honor can suffer from tricking him into paying us for nothing!

Step 23: Planning for the Future

As the summer begins in the month of June, our diplomats bring us news that Lord Qiao Mao of Pu Yang has formed an alliance with his neighbor Lord Han Fu of Ye. Such an alliance could prove troublesome in the future. Right now, we have no way of knowing their threat, for our wars against Yuan Shao has left us little to spare for spying on potential future enemies!

The other lords conspiring together!

With this news and the harvest just around the corner, I along with Lord Kong Rong have decided it's time to start planning for the future! For starters, both Xin Pi and Shen Pei have been called to Bei Hai to serve directly under Lord Kong Rong, with both expected to arrive in July. In addition, the Yuan family status has had a little change of plans. While Yuan Shao and his son Yuan Xi will join Yuan Shao's oldest Yuan Tan in exile in Xiang Ping, the defiant and still locked-up Yuan Shang will no longer be joining them when he sees sense. Rumor has it that, despite being younger than Yuan Tan, he's actually Yuan Shao's preferred successor, so Lord Kong Rong has ordered he be moved to Bei Hai as a hostage to ensure Yuan Shao's loyalty. To prevent Yuan Shang from escaping, 19,000 soldiers will accompany Xin Pi and Shen Pei!

Now editor's note - this actually has nothing to do with the game from a mechanical point of view. There's no part where the Yuan clan will rise up to claim Xiang Ping, but sometimes I just like to write my own little stories while I play these games!

Moving prisoners actually is tricky, though! It's completely possible for a prisoner to escape, and when they do, if their ruler is still active, they'll (I believe) return to that ruler. If he's not active, they'll become a wanderer. Because of this, I don't usually move prisoners until late in the game. Eventually you'll just get a ton of prisoners, and because you'll be on the move, you can end up with a ton of prisoners with either very few officers or no officers at all to recruit them. The only time I really move them is when I'm trying to move them closer to the front lines where the bulk of my officers are, just to make it easier for me to recruit them!

Also happening in June in Dia Xian, Civilian Officer Ju Shou managed to convince Chen Zhen to accept Lord Kong Rong's rule. With that, General Feng Ji has been sent to Bei Ping to help Governor Guo Tu's maintenance governance. Both have also been given 1,100 gold to develop farmland to support the wider empire. In Xiang Ping, the Yuan clan (minus Shang) have arrived, and as part of Lord Kong Rong's efforts to make sure the frontlines are supported, Gongsun Du and Yuan Tan have taken charge of turning Xiang Ping from an abandoned, desolate city into a fully-connected support city for the fronts.

Woof, this is what happens when you don't have a government!

While as of now little money can be spared for the revitalization of Xiang Ping, what little gold can be spared has currently been put to work. Gongsun Du and Yuan Tan take charge of the economy, and eventually Yuan Shao and Yuan Xi will be put in charge of the farmland

As the harvest begins, multiple disturbing reports have come in. The first one is just kind of confusing. Ma Teng and Liu Bei have formed an alliance. I don't know why, exactly? Ma Teng is in the mountains and is nowhere near Liu Bei, so that alliance is basically worthless. I suppose it could come up if either one of them makes truly dozens upon dozens of moves but unless that happens the alliance isn't worth the paper it's written on! Well I suppose paper is a pretty rare thing in this time period and would actually cost quite a bit of gold to have produced...BUT WHATEVER! THAT'S NOT THE POINT.

Significantly more troubling is that there have been reports of rumors spreading throughout Nan Pi doubting the virtue of Lord Kong Rong. Rumormongers scold him for claiming Xiang Ping, claim that Lord Kong Rong defeated Yuan Shao using treachery, and finally say that Lord Kong Rong plans to take more than his share of the harvest for himself! They're all slanderous lies, spread no doubt by servants of that oh-so self-righteous Liu Bei! That hypocrite, claiming to be a true servant of Han while sowing such discord! He's barely even a member of the royal family! No more than a minor cousin from a twisted-off branch! And he dares doubt the virtue of Lord Kong Rong? He'll get his, oh he'll get his! It actually takes very little time for Liu Bei to get his, with reports of plague outbreaks throughout Ping Yuan crippling not only the harvest but decimating his troops - no doubt divine intervention for spreading such vile rumors!

You're not supposed to talk like this, but man is this like the perfect plague outbreak!

Not only did the plague hit Ping Yuan, but it also spread to every city neighboring Ping Yuan and multiple cities neighboring the neighbors of Ping Yuan! Of course, not only Nan Pi, but every city under the rule of the virtuous Lord Kong Rong was spared the wrath of such an outbreak, proving once again that Lord Kong Rong has the divine on his side! Not only that, but Liu Bei's rumors lead to little more than grumblings that are easily quelled by Nan Pi Governor Gao Lan. There were no revolts in this land, just successful harvests!

Also happening in July, Xin Pi and Shei Pei (along with the imprisoned Yuan Shang) arrive in Bei Hai. Happy to see his old friend Xin Pi (one of his oldest allies) Lord Kong Rong rewards the already maxed-out-loyalty Xin Pi with 100 gold for his services while also awarding Shei Pei and Wen Chou with 100 gold. Lord Kong Rong also decides to shake up the administration of Bei Hai, deciding that Shei Pei will work directly under him to develop the economy of Bei Hai - no doubt as part of a plan to fully win over the still somewhat suspect Shei Pei to his cause with his personal charm. Meanwhile, Xin Pi and Wu Anguo will take control of working the farmland with a low (for now) budget of 500 gold.

You might be asking yourself "what's with the low budgets?". Well, right now our empire is, to use a technical term, broke. A solid year of warfare and expansion has dramatically lowered the coffers of our treasury thanks to constant needs to conscript soldiers, to reward loyal officers, and to develop new cities. It's all very costly because, like I said in the intro, war is expensive! Because of that, there's very little we're going to be able to do until January when we get those sweet, sweet tax revenues!

One thing we can do, though, is espionage! As I said, we've been unable to assess the strength of our neighbors for months thanks to both conflict and the aftermath of conflict with Yuan Shao. But that ends now! Lord Kong Rong has ordered multiple spies to investigate the bordering regions to assess not only troop strength but the damage caused by the plague. From Bei Ping, General Feng Ji will be sent to spend six months spying in the Yu Territory (the yellow bordering territory). From Dai Xian, Tian Feng will be sent into the Yo Territory (red territory) for six months, with order to particularly pay attention to Dong Zhuo's Jin Yang and Liu Bei's Ping Yuan. Finally, out of Nan Pi, General Chen Lin will be sent to spy on the Xu (neighboring blue territory), with a particular eye to assessing the strength of Bei Hai's neighbor Xia Pi.

Now I'm sure we've covered spying before, but just as a refresher, spying is an action that can be assigned to any officer with the "spy" ability. They can be sent out to any region in the game for a maximum of six months. While they are there, you will be given the ability to see the stats for any city in that region, but obviously the most important ones are the military stats (troop strength, training, morale). You also get the full list of officers in that city, their stats, and any items they might have! This is very useful because not only can it tell you who it makes the most sense to invade next, but it can also alert you if any of your neighbors are beefing up troops. If they are, you'll know you need to recruit or move around soldiers to prevent an invasion. If you can spare the officers, I recommend doing the full six months for maximum information. Just note that officers who are spying can't be used to recruit, draft, or train soldiers, but they still somehow do their work in developing infrastructure. They can also be rewarded. I don't know how exactly that works. Do I just send a letter to somewhere in, say, the Yo region saying "here's 100 gold"? I don't know; I'm not a logistics expert!

One thing I find kind of odd about spying is there doesn't seem to be any way to fail at doing it. Like in Nobunaga's Ambition you could fail and lose a little bit of money and you could only do it to one fief at a time and I believe if i'm remembering correct you don't get to keep that info for multiple months. You have to spy every month in order to get up to date information. But in Romance of the Three Kingdoms not only do you get to spy on multiple cities with a single officer you can do it for up to six months. And strangely despite the fact that both defection and officers being imprisoned is a thing. I don't think a spying officer can defect or be captured while spying on a region. The only downside seems to be losing that officer for the time while they're gone. Which can be a problem if you theoretically sent all your officers that can recruit but that would be a dumbo move anyways. Other then that the officers that can spy don't tend to be the most martially strong officers so it's not like you're going to send away a general who could be better used training or going to war. It just seems weird that a mechanic that's objectively speaking really good has no real downside or failure condition outside losing the ability to do certain actions with that officer while they're spying on the region!

As July ends, more stuff happens! Cao Cao and Kong Zhou form an alliance, which in theory gives them a combined 269,000 soldiers and a ton of officers, but I've also seen a lot of times these so-called alliances end up with the other party refusing to help when their ally gets invaded. So who knows how that will turn out! In addition, that treacherous Liu Bei set fire to one of our armories. For a guy who only has 100,000 men according to our spies, he sure is cruising for a bruising!

As Summer begins to fade and August starts, the training in Nan Pi comes to an end. Now, normally I'd give them a month off, but they're only at 71 Train and I have a feeling war is going to be on the horizon come the new year, so Yan Liang and Zhang He have been ordered to begin another six months of training to prepare for the coming wars. On the same token, in Bei Hai, Lord Kong Rong has ordered that Wen Chou and Shen Pei begin a five-month long training period of the forces defending Bei Hai. In addition to this, there has been another shake-up in the administration of Bei Hai. In order to let Shen Pei focus solely on training the army, he has been relieved of his duty to develop the economy. Instead, Wu Anguo has returned to serve with Lord Kong Rong. Joining Xin Pi is the newly-freed Yaun Shang, who, after a personal visit from Lord Kong Rong, finally agreed to give up his resistance and submit to Lord Kong Rong. Originally Lord Kong Rong wanted the young Yuan Shang to serve with him, but me and Xin Pi convinced him that, for his own safety, the hot-headed Yuan Shang should instead serve under Xin Pi. Back in Dia Xian, a wandering warrior by the name of Dong Heng requested a meeting with Dia Xian Civilian Officer Ju Shou to inquire about serving under Zhao Yun. A warrior of some degree (but no Wikipedia page) with above-average stats (75 Lead, 70 Power), Marshal Zhao Yun, with the permission of Lord Kong Rong, accepted Dong Heng into his service.

We've also gotten the first results back from our spies! Like I said, you get the results for every city in a region, but right now I only care about three cities. Those three are: Jin Yang, controlled by Dong Zhuo and bordering Dai Xian; Ping Yuan, controlled by Liu Bei and bordering Nan Pi; and finally Xia Pi, controlled by Tao Qian and bordering Bei Hai. Looking at Xia Pi first, we can see they only have 72,000 troops, which means that Bei Hai with its 126,000 troops isn't in any danger. We can see that the officers in Xia Pi aren't really anything to write home about, with the best being Niou Jin. He's a skilled enough general, no doubt, but with only a Lead stat of 70 and Power of 82, there's no chance he will risk defeat by attempting to invade Bei Hai in Xia Pi's current state. In Ping Yuan, Liu Bei has an army of 100,000 soldiers of max Train and almost max morale. While they won't be invading Nan Pi anytime soon, it will be somewhat of a challenge to successfully siege Ping Yuan. In addition, Liu Bei has the formidable Guan Yu in his services! With a Power of 104 and a Lead of 100, he wields the legendary Black Dragon blade, giving him +6 to his Power. Any army led by Guan Yu will be difficult to defeat!

When this is all over, you will be mine!

Luckily for us, Liu Bei is a fool. My guess is that instead of consolidating his forces around Guan Yu, he'll split his army, arrogantly attempting to lead his own army into battle in order to further his own legend! This will prove to be a crucial mistake when the time comes, for no other general in Liu Bei's forces has a Lead of more than 71. In an attempt to further his own vanity, Liu Bei will instead seal his own doom.

Finally there is Jin Yang, one of the many cities controlled by that cruel butcher Dong Zhuo. Reports are that Dong Zhuo is personally ruling from Jin Yang with a force some 63,000 strong.

Hearing this, Lord Kong Rong's first instinct was to order Gao Lan to send the bulk of his forces to Dai Xian and order Zhao Yun and Taishi Ci to strike at Dong Zhuo personally, hopefully capturing the mad tyrant and putting a swift end to miserable fiend. While, much like Lord Kong Rong, both I and Xin Pi would like to see Dong Zhuo exterminated, we advised Lord Kong Rong against such actions. There is no way of ensuring that Dong Zhuo wouldn't simply flee at the sight of our army, leaving our strongest force at the potential mercy of an army coming out of the capital of Luo Yang, an army which at this point we have no information on the size of but which could possibly be massive considering the sheer size of the capital's population. In addition, Dong Zhuo is himself is a formidable warrior, wielding multiple legendary weapons (such as, ironically enough, the sword of peace), and the Marshals that serve under him, Hua Xiong and Lu Zhi, would be difficult to beat in the field. Hua Xiong is both a fierce warrior and an expert strategist, boasting an 86 Lead and 93 Power. While Lu Zhi might not be much of a warrior with only 66 Power, he's a noted strategist on par with Hua Xiong an possesses an 86 Lead.

Instead, while we all wish to defeat Dong Zhuo, both Xin Pi (using the cute little advice tab) and I think it's wiser to instead crush that troublesome Liu Bei, who has seemingly made it an effort to defame Lord Kong Rong at every point.

The wisdom of Xin Pi.

Not only would an attack on Liu Bei rid us of one who could use his family ties (as minor as they are) to claim the imperial throne, but it would also give Lord Kong Rong a chance to bring a legendary and respected warrior like Guan Yu into his service, which would no doubt boost the reputation of Lord Kong Rong throughout these troubled lands! After listening closely to our arguments, Lord Kong Rong in his wisdom decided to accept our advice and has summoned his officers from all over the land to a banquet. The banquet will be followed by a meeting to discuss the strategy for the rest of year and to craft the eventual war plan to crush Liu Bei once and for all. So that's it for this section, for I must not be late for said banquet. Join me next month when hopefully we advance more than four in-game months and bring Liu Bei to his knees!

The Tattle Log

Written by: Hooded Pitohui (talk)

A faded, crinkled journal page titled "Pikkarikun" displays artwork of a Pikkarikun from Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3. Beneath the title is a line reading "Kitchen Island", with an additional line reading "First Appeared: Wario Land: SML3". Beneath this line, the text reads "This petulant cloud sports a pull chain and brings lightning down on treasure hunters. Get away when it flashes! Strangely, bolts turn other enemies into 10-Coins. Could this cloud solve the retirement savings crisis!?"

An Overly Detailed and Funny Walkthrough of Mega Man 6

Written by: Sparks (talk)

Played by Sparks through the Mega Man Legacy Collection for the Nintendo Switch. Why not the Nintendo Switch 2? That's because I have to figure out how to transfer my data safely... nothing wrong with the first Nintendo Switch, right?

North American box art

Japanese box art

It's time for a brand new Mega Man game! I present you An Overly Detailed and Funny Walkthrough of Mega Man 6, a four-part guide to Mega Man 6, the final NES game in the series! It released in Japan in November 1993 and in North America in March 1994.

This game wasn't released in Europe until 2013, thanks to Virtual Console. Additionally, Capcom didn't publish Mega Man 6 outside of Japan due to the NES becoming less and less popular, so Nintendo handled it for North America.

We have another intro to watch - how exciting!

In the year 20XX AD...

The 1st Annual Robot Tournament was held with 8 of the world's most powerful robots, but...

Mr. X, the sponsor of the tournament, took control of the robots and began to take over the world.

Megaman: Mr. X!! Why!?

Mr. X: It's time to tell you the truth. I have been manipulating that fool, Dr. Wily from the beginning. But now I no longer need Dr. Wily's help. Come and face my power, Megaman!!

Megaman: We'll stop you! Follow me, Rush!

Mr. X? I know several characters who go by that name, but this isn't the Streets of Rage Villain or anything like that. Nevertheless, it's a cool name for a bad guy!

Mega Man 6, like the previous games in the series, changes some things up!

There is no Rush Coil this time around. Instead, after certain requirements are reached, Mega Man will gain Flight and Power Adaptors where Rush merges with the Blue Bomber to give him some sweet new powers that never run out of energy. More on those later once I find them!
M Tanks are removed, but E Tanks still remain.
Four of the eight Robot Masters have a different way of reaching them. If you were to find a secret boss gate and defeat them, you'll gain a letter. Obtain all four, and you'll acquire BEAT!
There is an optional Energy Equalizer item hidden in one of the stages. If you get it, the weapon with the least amount of energy remaining will automatically recharge if you're not using any of the special weapons. This saves time as you're not constantly switching special weapons to charge them back up! Very handy.
Password system again? Yep.
Not really important gameplay-wise, but in previous games, Capcom received submissions from people in Japan for Robot Master ideas. Mega Man 6 is the first (and so far, only) game to accept submissions from people outside of Japan! Two of the Robot Masters in this game (Wind Man and Knight Man) were designed by North American fans. The other six were from Japanese fans. Cool, right?

Those are all the notable things to point out. Let's see the eight Robot Masters!

The eight Robot Masters!

From top left to bottom right (going left to right): Blizzard Man, Wind Man, Flame Man, Plant Man, Tomahawk Man, Yamato Man, Knight Man, Centaur Man.

Blizzard Man is weak to Flame Man's weapon.
Wind Man is weak to Centaur Man's weapon.
Flame Man is weak to Wind Man's weapon.
Plant Man is weak to Blizzard Man's weapon.
Tomahawk Man is weak to Plant Man's weapon.
Yamato Man is weak to Tomahawk Man's weapon.
Knight Man is weak to Yamato Man's weapon.
Centaur Man is weak to Knight Man's weapon.

I highly recommend you start with Flame Man. If you do, you can clear every stage without having to return to any for hidden stuff. That, and Flame Man isn't that difficult. He's who we're starting with!

Flame Man stage

Check it out! Each Robot Master gets a cool introduction that provides information about them. Cool! Flame Man is in an oil field.

We start in a hallway with some pits of oil. If Mega Man is in the oil, his movement speed and jump height will be reduced. Try to steer clear of it whenever possible! There are also some Mettaurs along the way - they hide when you're far away and pop out when you're close like in the other games, and they attack by shooting a spread of three bullets before hiding again. Remember to attack them when they come out of hiding!

Who'd allow these enemies access to such a flammable location?

After sliding through a small gap, we reach an area with platforms high above spikes, which still have the power to one-hit KO Mega Man if touched. We also see a brand new enemy that resembles a Telly (slow chasing enemy from Mega Man 2) but orange; these things fly horizontally along a fixed X axis. They occasionally drop flames that stick around for a second or two upon hitting the ground. No big deal, right? We then come across more pits of oil, along with more Orange Tellies. If one of these foes drops a flame into the oil, it'll catch fire! Touching these raging flames means instant death for the Blue Bomber, so it's best to prevent them from happening in the first place. Try charging up the Mega Buster to blast them before they get the chance to drop even a single flame. The path kinda splits up into two near the end of the hallway, with the lower path having a large health power-up. A ladder takes us up into the next room.

This next room is a small one with another ladder leading further upwards. There are two wall turrets that "track" Mega Man and shoot him at fixed angles. Their shots are easy to dodge, and they can be taken out in a flash. One fully charged Mega Buster will destroy one instantly.

This next area is another hallway. We're greeted with an orange enemy low on the ground. It attacks by "lobbing" bullets with funny sound effects. This thing also deflects Mega Buster shots, but a fully charged shot will knock it back and cause it to explode when it hits a terrain. That's what you gotta do! Two more are directly afterward, followed by a large pit of oil and what seems to be an impossible jump. If one of these "Orange Lobbers" lands on the oil, a cloud will appear beneath it and the enemy can be used as a platform! Jump on the foe to move it forward slightly. With a boost of this enemy, you'll be able to overcome a ledge.

This is fine.

Beyond the ledge is another lobber preceding an oil field. We'll DEFINITELY need this one's help, as Orange Tellies suddenly appear and ignite the oil! Don't be scared if you're knocked into the oil; your invincibility frames will save you. There are two floating platforms above this (probably ignited) oil, each with their own lobber to help you get across safely. You'll have to jump over another high ledge with the help of one. Afterwards, you will arrive at the end of the hall with a ladder leading down. Watch out for a small pit of spikes and more Orange Tellies!

We arrive at another small room, this time with three wall turrets instead of two. Get rid of them and descend further!

I will not burn to the ground!

One more hallway until the boss gate! Atop a small set of stairs we see an invincible enemy that moves along the ground. Whenever it's on the same "ground" as Mega Man, it'll speed up. A fully charged Mega Buster shot will stun it momentarily, allowing for an escape chance. Past this ground enemy is a new foe that tosses flames from its head. These flames disappear upon touching terrain, but they too can ignite oil fields. Beware! As for these "Flame Throwers", they take a few shots to defeat. They can survive a fully charged Mega Buster shot, so don't rely on it!

After climbing that small staircase is more pits of oil. A ground enemy inhabits a patch of solid ground between two oil pits, so you'll need timing to get by unscathed. Then, you'll have to do some platforming over a field of fire with another Flame Thrower awaiting at the last jump. What follows is a small breather with a large health power-up atop a high platform and an E Tank on solid ground, although a ground enemy inhabits the same space. Try to grab it though!

Now for one more challenge; making it to the boss gate itself! There's a large pit of oil separating you and Flame Man, and it's protected by more Flame Throwers. Chances are, the oil will catch fire and you will have to carefully jump your way across small platforms while under attack by the enemies. Take your time, and defeat any that are in your way. Two of them are atop a very high platform that can't be reached - you will have to just avoid them. Finally, you'll arrive at solid ground in front of the boss gate itself. Defeat that last Flame Thrower and enter!

Flame Man fight

Flames are known for gaining power from resources, but repelling them instead? That's new.

Flame Man has three attacks at his disposal:

He jumps up high in the air. This is his only form of movement - he doesn't walk or run. If he jumps straight at you, slide under him.
Flame Man shoots three slow flames, one by one. Simply jump over each one.
The boss ignites the ground, causing small pillars of flame to rise out of the ground at certain spots of the ground. They appear at specific distances from Flame Man, so memorizing them will definitely help. Jump at the right time to dodge and then land on a spot with no flames. These flames also deflect all projectiles.

Obviously, his third attack is the hardest to dodge. Overall, Flame Man isn't too difficult, but he may catch you off-guard with his pillars of fire. Try not to get trapped in a corner, as that'll only make you more vulnerable to Flame Man's attacks and give you less time to dodge.

He's weak to Wind Man's weapon, which we don't have. So, we'll have to use the good ol' Mega Buster! Fully charged shots are the way to go here. Try to strike when Flame Man lands from a jump or after he attacks. Don't attack while he's creating pillars of Fire, as your shot will be deflected. You can attack when he shoots flames however.

I love that we can see the weapon used in a demonstration!

Nice! Flame Man is defeated and we get our very first weapon: F. Blast, likely short for Flame Blast! It allows Mega Man to shoot a flame projectile that curves downward, creating a small pillar of fire upon hitting the ground. The curve is very sharp, so the projectile only travels a very small distance horizontally. It's capable of melting ice too! While equipped, Mega Man turns orange/white.

But that's not all - defeating Flame Man also gives us Rush Power Adaptor! As I mentioned earlier, Rush doesn't have his typical abilities in this game. Instead, he turns into armor for Mega Man to equip, merging the two and giving him new powers! For Rush Power Adaptor, Mega Man's attacks are much stronger, and his charged attacks can break certain blocks in the way and defeat specific enemies like those ground enemies from earlier. However, Mega Man cannot slide, and his attacks have very short range, especially his charged attacks.

I'll showcase the Rush Power Adaptor in the next Robot Master stage - Blizzard Man!

Blizzard Man stage

Blizzard Man is found on a frozen island. This stage contains plenty of ice, so you'll slide around. Be careful!

Alright, before I begin, here's the little animation when equipping the Rush Power Adaptor! Go to the menu and select POW from the top of the screen. I'm going to stick with normal Mega Man for now though. Select NOR to return to normal.

Bad seal! Don't you know better than to hurl snowballs at people?

This first section is a hallway with some steps and a few pits. Along the way, we encounter several new enemies ready to stop us! First up is a seal that's anything but playful. They attack by charging up a snowball before tossing it at a slight curved trajectory downward, passing through all terrain. They don't move at all however, so you only have to focus on dodging their attacks. Their HP isn't much either. We also have a flying camera enemy that opens up for a few seconds and flies a little towards Mega Man's current location before stopping and hiding in an outer shell. You can only damage it when the camera is showing! The final new foe (so far) is a walking ceiling-turret that shoots bullets downward at a steady pace when Mega Man is near. If they're low enough, get rid of them! All three of these enemies appear throughout this section.

This hallway has several points of interest as well. There's a 1-Up behind two walls of ice that can only be obtained by using Flame Blast to melt the walls. Getting out may be troublesome, so it may be best to leave this 1-Up be. There are also bomb platforms that deflect all bullets. They have a switch that's either on top of them or on one of their sides; if touched, they will count down from the number shown on them quickly. When "0" appears, the bomb will explode shortly afterwards. Sometimes these bombs appear above pits and spikes, so you'll have to be fast! Near the end of this hallway is a high path leading to a large health power-up, although you'll need assistance from bomb platforms beforehand to reach it. A pit at the end leads to the next room, which is a very short room with a camera enemy guarding a destructible ice block. However, I forgot this was here and continued falling. Maybe there’s a good power-up inside the block? Oh well.

Spinning like that all the time has gotta make that thing dizzy.

We land in another hallway, this time being inside a building rather than outside. There are two new enemies here, one of which being a flying shield enemy from the fourth and fifth games. This one moves quickly left and right and, as always, requires you to attack its back to defeat it. Nothing we haven't seen before. Jump over it or slide under it depending on its height! The other foe is a curling stone-like enemy that slides on the icy ground, turning around whenever it hits a wall. They're easy to get rid of, but they could prove somewhat dangerous thanks to the flying shield enemies.

This section contains an E Tank behind three walls of ice! Don't worry about using a little bit of Flame Blast because you'll have plenty for Blizzard Man. Near the end of this hallway is a destructible block - by using the charged attack of power form, we're able to destroy it, revealing a large health power-up! A ladder takes us further down into another small room. This one contains a large, stationary green enemy that attacks by spitting purple ice blocks that slide along the ground and firing homing missiles. The ice blocks and missiles can be destroyed, and the missiles don't follow Mega Man forever. This enemy has lots of HP, and all of its missiles will vanish the instant it does, so get rid of it as fast as you can! Sometimes it may be better to take it down ASAP instead of dodging for a while. A ladder behind it leads to the next area.

Breaking blocks with your fist isn't something only Mario's capable of!

This is a small room with a few jumps over icy spikes. Simple! Afterwards is something interesting...

We enter a large hallway underground, where some sort of vehicle emerges and submerges in the icy water. We must climb aboard and continue our journey. The ceiling is lined up with spikes, and so is the water, so you'll have to time your movements and jumps to make sure you don't lose a life. There's a new enemy here as well - a Sniper Joe aboard a turret. When one appears on the screen, it'll turn to face Mega Man and begin firing bullets at a steady pace. The shots aren't accurate however, but due to the vehicle's movements, dodging the bullets may be tougher than you think. A few are seen on top of the vehicle.

There are also destructible blocks atop the vehicle. If we didn't have the Rush Power Adaptor, we'd have to jump over them at the right time and get down before we touch the spikes. Sounds tough, but we can destroy them, it's not a problem at all! One of these blocks is on a lower level, blocking three small health power-ups and an E Tank. If you plan to acquire these goodies, use the Power Adaptor to break the block, revert back to normal, and then slide repeatedly before jumping before the vehicles submerges into the spikes. Risk VS. reward! Near the end of the vehicle has these little openings in the ceiling spikes, so we have to "fit in" to avoid death. Afterwards, we must jump across several bomb platforms to reach a ladder leading upwards. Be fast!

Almost there! Now we have to get through a few more short rooms before facing Blizzard Man. First, we must reach another ladder by using more bomb platforms. If you mess up, descend the ladder you came from and climb back up to make the bombs respawn. After climbing up some more, we fight another large stationary green enemy. This one is atop a small staircase, making it harder to approach. I went all out! Lastly, we must get through another small room with more bomb platforms, although we can actually fall this time. Jump across the small platforms and activate the sideways bomb atop the bomb blocking the boss gate, and then jump on top of the second bomb to clear a path! Blizzard Man is waiting...

Blizzard Man fight

Funny that a snowstorm isn't going on in this battle.

Blizzard Man is easy. I don't know if he's easier than Flame Man. Here are his attacks:

Blizzard Man curls up into a ball and rolls at Mega Man quickly. While he's like this, he’s invincible to all attacks. Simply jump over him.
He can cause four snowflakes to appear in the air before sending all of them directly at Mega Man. These snowflakes are slow, but avoiding all of them may be a problem. Try running to a wall and jumping over all of them at the same time.
Blizzard Man also "skates" forward a short distance, so try to keep away from Blizzard Man as best you can.

Flame Blast does good damage to the boss! The best moments to attack him are after he rolls or while he's sending snowflakes your way. You shouldn't have any trouble with Blizzard Man!

Defeating Blizzard Man gives us B. Attack (Blizzard Attack)! It allows Mega Man to send forth four snowflakes at once! Two snowflakes go forwards, while the other two are curved upwards and downwards respectively. Blizzard Attack uses up more energy than some of the other weapons, so try to conserve it. When equipped, Mega Man turns light blue/white.

Who's next? It's Plant Man!

Plant Man stage

Plant Man is found in a forgotten area, where plants grow without restraint.

Sometimes enemies that are difficult to hit are tougher than the big strong ones.

We start in a short "hallway" leading to a building. We have two new kinds of enemies to watch out for: a flying beetle that ambushes Mega Man from the trees, and a low jumping enemy. The beetles are slow and constantly follow Mega Man, but their biggest strength is the ability to attack unexpectedly. Take your time traveling through this stage so you don't get caught off guard! Their HP is low. As for the jumping enemy, they're difficult to attack directly because of their small size. One Mega Buster shot will do them in though, but the best thing you can do is fully charge up a Mega Buster shot because it'll get them even if they're on the ground! Near the end of the hallway is a destructible block guarding a large health power-up and 1-Up. A ladder takes us to the next room.

This next room is a small room containing a new enemy that's quite tough. Its HP is high, and it attacks by flying in the air a good distance before dropping to the ground. After a few moments, it takes flight again. If this enemy is directly above Mega Man, it'll immediately smash down. You'll want to bombard it with attacks before it gets the drop on you - literally! If you're desperate, you can try sliding underneath the foe while it's flying and then make your escape. A ladder takes us up even higher to another short hallway.

This hallway has several of those flying camera enemies from Blizzard Man's stage, but also two purple turrets. These turrets remain in place and attack by shooting slow projectiles forwards. They also have low HP. Pretty easy overall! A hole at the end leads downwards into a small room containing our good friend Eddie! He serves the same role he did in the previous two games - giving us a random item before leaving. He gave me a large health power-up even though I was already at full HP. Well, it's the thought that counts, right? We descend further.

It's on like Donkey Kong!

Upon landing, we come face to face with a gorilla-like miniboss! This thing slowly moves towards Mega Man, occasionally stopping to shoot out its fist at a low angle before it returns to the gorilla (which can be jumped over) or spitting out a spread of bullets from its mouth. The latter attack is harder to avoid, because you have to jump through a gap in the projectiles.

To damage the gorilla, we must shoot at its face. It has plenty of HP though, so be persistent! If you attack its tank-like feet, your bullets will be deflected, but you'll also push the gorilla back slightly. Don't be afraid to push this thing back if it gets too close! Obviously, the closer it is, the harder it is to dodge its attacks. After draining all of the gorilla's HP, we can proceed to the right and move on with the stage.

We exit the structure and return to the great outdoors. There's another hallway we must get through, where more beetles and low jumping enemies await. There are also springs on the ground in some places, allowing Mega Man to bounce constantly while on one! If the jump button is held upon landing on a spring, Mega Man will bounce extra high! There are spikes above some springs however, so you don't wanna bounce too high and touch those. High up platforms contain small health and weapon energy capsules, and the end of the hall contains two large weapon energy capsules behind a destructible block.

The room afterwards contains another gorilla miniboss! It's the same as the previous one, so use the same strategy against this one (constantly jumping and shooting, while pushing it back if it's too close).

What does this have to do with plants?

We're in the final area before the boss gate, and it's a very long hallway filled with danger and springs! Mega Man must leap and bounce his way over water and avoid treacherous hazards, including more purple turrets, purple variants of the beetles that fly in from the right side of the screen at lightning speed instead of ambushing Mega Man, and yellow piranhas that leap out of some bodies of polluted water, surprising you and making you fall in, resulting in the loss of a life.

The best advice I can give for this part? Take your time, be patient, and always pay attention. Before you move forwards, defeat any turrets that may be in your way. If you come across water, stop at the edge of the solid ground you're on to see if a piranha jumps out. If there's nothing, jump to the next platform. If a piranha appears, wait for it to fall back in the water or get rid of it before jumping across. Be quick! Another piranha will appear not long afterwards. Always be on guard for sudden purple beetles; if you see one charging right at you, jump over it or destroy it before it reaches you. Paying attention is vital here. Later on, you'll find two turrets bouncing on springs. They still attack while bouncing, and it can be difficult to avoid their attacks because you're also bouncing too! Defeat them before moving on.

This section also contains unique flying drones that turn into platforms when shot at. Use these to help you get across too! Also, there are lots of small health power-ups disguised as flowers on the tree leaves, allowing for plenty of healing. After getting through all that, you're more than ready to fight Plant Man!

Plant Man fight

Time to make you wilt!

Plant Man is another easy boss. He attacks in a pattern:

First, he forms a Plant Barrier and jumps up high in the air.
Upon landing, he releases the Plant Barrier straight ahead (left or right). Jump over it to dodge!
Once the Plant Barrier leaves the screen, Plant Man runs forward until he reaches a specific distance or if he reaches Mega Man. Try to get away from him when he runs. He will then restart his attack pattern.

The Plant Barrier deflects all projectiles. The best time to attack Plant Man is after he tosses a Plant Barrier. If Plant Man jumps over you, slide under him and get to open ground. Try not to get cornered here as well! Blizzard Attack will take him down in several hits. Piece of cake!

Defeating Plant Man gives us Plant B. (Plant Barrier) and Rush Jet Adaptor!

As for Plant Barrier, it allows Mega Man to create a barrier of petals around himself, shielding him from attacks. Like Skull Barrier, it cannot be sent out. Sadly I think it's the worst weapon in the game... sorry. When equipped, Mega Man turns pink/white.

Rush Jet Adaptor gives Mega Man the power of flight! If you hold the jump button in midair, Mega Man will propel upwards, allowing for him to reach normally unreachable locations and fly across wide gaps! There is a limit to how long it lasts however, so you must keep track of a red bar close to Mega Man's health bar. If it runs out, Mega Man will fall to the ground. While on the ground, it recharges in the blink of an eye, allowing for another flight. Cool! While the Rush Jet Adaptor is equipped, Mega Man cannot charge up the Mega Buster, and he also cannot slide.

Now for the last Robot Master of the issue - Tomahawk Man!

Tomahawk Man stage

Tomahawk Man is in a restricted area...

First things first - the Rush Jet Adaptor animation! Select JET in the menu to equip it! Once again, I'm sticking with normal form the most.

It's high noon!

The first section of this stage is a short hallway leading to a pit. Along the way are multiple destructible blocks, one of which contains an E Tank! There are also several cowboys serving as enemies. They stand in one place and shoot slow-moving bullets with their guns. Whenever their bullet leaves the screen, they shoot again. They have more HP than you think, but they aren't much of a threat. Simply jump over their shots and you'll be fine. Fall down the pit to enter a small room where another cowboy lies. Defeat him and descend further. you'll land in another small room where a flying shield enemy is stuck between two ledges. Jump over it and proceed to the right.

Free Mettaurs for everyone! Don't keep one though - they're dangerous.

The room we enter has a large machine that spawns Mettaurs. The Mettaurs that appear from it can jump forward or run forward, shooting no matter what they do. Try to destroy them before they get a chance to attack. This may also serve as a good grinding point for life and weapon energy! Attack the bottom of the machine to deal damage to it. After enough attacks, it'll explode, allowing Mega Man to continue onward.

What follows is a short hallway leading into a small passage. In it are two "Drill Tanks" that rush at Mega Man to deal damage. If you end up behind one (which shouldn't happen here), it'll turn around. If one crashes into a wall, it'll explode. Due to the very limited space, you'll have to shoot your way through. After the small passage are two Mettaurs and a ladder leading upward. Eddie's found here, and he gives me an E Tank! Awesome! Another ladder takes us higher.

Upon reaching the top of the ladder, you'll find a beautiful 8-bit sunset in the background. There are two ways to go; we can proceed onward to the right, or we can use Rush Jet Adaptor and fly to a high-up ladder. We're taking the ladder!

I believe I can fly!

The path I'm taking is a hallway with no enemies. Sounds easy, but the entire ground is covered in spikes! We must use the Jet Adaptor to fly and land on several platforms that move up and down. There's also some solid ground along the way, but most of this section involves moving platforms. This path takes us to a fantastic reward: a large health power-up, a large weapon energy capsule, and an E Tank! A pit at the end takes us downward a few rooms. We land in a small room with a motor enemy charging at us. It's small and can easily be jumped over, but defeating it might be better, as its HP is small. It can turn around, but don't worry about it.

We fall down further and encounter that large flying/slamming enemy from Plant Man's stage. Due to it starting on the top of a small staircase, getting rid of this one isn't as easy. Like before, you can try to destroy it quickly or escape at the right time. The room afterwards has another Mettaur spawner. It's easy like the last one.

Now things get interesting! We have two paths to choose from - either the high or low. The low path requires the Rush Jet Adaptor, but it leads to the secret boss gate. I want to go there, but first I must take the upper path as it leads to something special! Those ceiling-bound turrets from Blizzard Man's stage return, while flying shield enemies inhabit the lower path. A ladder takes us to a small room containing a destructible box beyond a small pit of spikes. Oh dear.

Perfectly timed screenshot (look at Mega Man's eyes)!

To destroy this box, Mega Man must be standing right at the very edge of the solid ground so his charged attack can reach and destroy it. It's not easy to pull off. After destroying it, we can access a small secret room, and we hear Proto Man's whistle before Proto Man himself appears! He leaves something on the ground and leaves the scene. This is the Energy Equalizer! Once it's picked up, Mega Man's lowest charged special weapon will automatically recharge when a weapon energy capsule is picked up, meaning you don't have to constantly switch weapons to recharge them! However, this will only happen if you don't have any special weapons currently equipped - your current weapon will recharge instead otherwise. Still, that's so nice to have!

Now, we must go back the way we came and take the lower path of the previous area! Be careful when navigating through here. You can avoid the first shield enemy, but you should take out the other two to clear a path forward. If a turret enemy is around, be mindful of them too. A ladder will take us up to a small room with the secret boss gate! Spikes inhabit the entire floor, so don't fall in them! There's a large health power-up on a low ledge; you'll need it for Tomahawk Man if you're hurt. There's also a unique spike platform that initially has its spikes facing downward; when jumped on, it'll turn the other way, making it harmful. Anyway, just get through the gate, and prepare for Tomahawk Man!

Tomahawk Man fight

Those have got to be razor-sharp feathers.

Aw man, why did they have to make the hardest Robot Master weak to the worst weapon in the game? Tomahawk Man has three moves he can do:

Tomahawk Man jumps forward. The distance can be very small or big.
He throws a Tomahawk that curves upwards the farther it goes. If you're close to the boss, you can jump over it. If you're far enough away, you can slide or even stand still.
The boss throws three feathers straight forward. The feathers have different speeds, effectively spreading them out. They can be jumped over or slid under. The closer you are to Tomahawk Man, the easier they are to dodge.

Tomahawk Man isn't easy like the previous Robot Masters faced thus far - he's an actual threat who's unpredictable. Most of the difficulty is from Plant Barrier being his weakness, meaning you have to fight very close to him to make the most out of it. While this does make dodging his feather attack easier, it also gives you less time to react to the boss's attacks. If you happen to run out of weapon energy during the fight (this could happen because of invincibility frames + blocking projectiles), don't be afraid to use an E Tank to ensure a guaranteed win. You DON'T want to fight him without Plant Barrier. Trust me. Just stay calm, and don't freak out if you run out of weapon energy.

Tomahawk Man gives us Silver T. (Silver Tomahawk) and BEAT B-Parts!

Silver Tomahawk allows Mega Man to throw tomahawks that curve upwards when thrown, making it great to hit high-up enemies at the right angle. When equipped, Mega Man turns brown/white.

BEAT B-Parts is given to us because we defeated Tomahawk Man at the secret boss gate! If he was defeated in the normal path, we wouldn't receive these parts. If you didn't get them and want to acquire them, then never fear! You can replay any of the Robot Master stages and find stuff you missed. Anyway, BEAT B-Parts is for BEAT, and we need three more letters until he joins us. They're all from secret boss gates in the three upcoming Robot Masters.

And... that's all for now! Mega Man 6 is a fantastic and underrated game that's so much fun to play. Come back in June to see the remaining four Robot Masters fought! Goodbye!

The 'Shroom: Issue 230
Staff sections	Staff Notes • The 'Shroom Spotlight • Poochy's Picks • Credits
Features	Fake News • Fun Stuff • Palette Swap • Pipe Plaza • Critic Corner • Strategy Wing
Specials	Cloudgazing

The 'Shroom:Issue 230/Strategy Wing

Director's Notes

Section of the Month

Brothership Boss Battle Guide

Glohm Pipegunk's stats

Glohm Pipegunk's abilities

Luigi Logic

Tips and tricks

Recommended gear

Recommended Battle Plugs

Other things

The Death of the Player

One Sin and Hundreds of Good Deeds

1.76MHz

Forsaken Murderer

The Heart of Aspiration

Four Steps for a 3D World

Killing the Killing Game Roles

'Shroom KG - Lakituthequick, Ultimate Scavenger

General Overview

Ability Application

Environmental Functionality

Drawbacks & Balances

Player Responsibility

Host Responsibility

Overall Thoughts

Pitohui's Pokémon Academy

Mega Evolution

Rising From Obscurity

So You Want to Romance the Three Kingdoms?

Step 21: Not All Cities Are Created Equal!

Step 22: Redistributing the Officers

Step 23: Planning for the Future

The Tattle Log

An Overly Detailed and Funny Walkthrough of Mega Man 6

Flame Man stage

Flame Man fight

Blizzard Man stage

Blizzard Man fight

Plant Man stage

Plant Man fight

Tomahawk Man stage

Tomahawk Man fight

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