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Post by Deleted on May 5, 2012 22:01:42 GMT -5
Anyone playing Monster Land? I can make it to Level 6 (the pyramid). Here's some hidden stuff I've stumbled across... Level 2: Above the lava pit you'll see a message "Someone be behind the wall". Press up to get the Letter to Catherine.
Level 4: In the town, climb the ladder to the platform with the Shield store. Move over so you're above the Bar door, then press up. You'll get the Flute from Catherine.
Level 5: When you fall down the well, once you get to the third "zombie" (the burrowing enemies) if you walk along that stretch of ground a question mark will show up - press up to find a hidden mid boss and get the second sword power-up.
Afterwards, when you get to the "Mam Desert", buy two of the more expensive drinks, and the bartender will give you a "Letter to Betty."
Level 6: After the spike area, jump the first "pit" to get near the green snake, and get the three gold bags that spawn. Drop down to the left to the bottom level, then drop down the first pit you see. Go right and enter the door, then buy two of the expensive drinks to get the hint for the Sphinx.
Level 7: After the clouds portion, keep going until you see a tall rock/ladder. Climb the ladder and you'll play the flute. Now you can keep going right to get to a castle, where you'll get the Charm of Star from the old man.
....aaand, some fucking green thing shot me with a homing shot and 1 hit killed me. Fuck.
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Post by xerxes on May 5, 2012 22:47:49 GMT -5
Evidently, a big part of this game is finding hidden money. If anyone finds huge cash reserves, please post where.
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Post by Deleted on May 5, 2012 23:44:43 GMT -5
Evidently, a big part of this game is finding hidden money. If anyone finds huge cash reserves, please post where. Jump everywhere. And it's all up to luck as to how much you get. Just about every "hut" that you can jump onto (i.e., like the fortune teller's hut at the beginning) there's a spot where you can jump up multiple times to collect up to 3 coins or money bags. Try to avoid having to use the hospital, because every penny counts. BTW, watch the attract mode to see where at least a couple of hidden items are in the first level. One thing I've noticed is that you really need the Leather Boots off the bat...otherwise you're guaranteed to take damage in Level 2 from not being able to clear the lava. So if you don't have 80 gold by the start of level 2, restart. As for that Letter to Betty, if you buy drinks from the bartender (Betty) in Level 6 and have the letter, you'll get clues to the boss' riddles that are really freaking obtuse. I got it wrong and then I had to fight him - I'm not sure he's beatable that way because I hit him about 15 times before croaking. So yeah, so far...fuck you Westone.
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Post by kal on May 6, 2012 3:32:08 GMT -5
So my personal order has been Leather Boots > Armor > Light Shield > Legendary Armor. Are the better shields/Boots worth purchasing? Also since it's not really clear, you can fight several of the bosses twice if you reset the area AFTER fighting them the first time. It's necessary to note that the magic stores will sell you an extra revive potion if you used your starting one. Also the slimes can drop them but killing them is an absolute bitch. Some hidden coins in pyramid There's quite a big stack of gold in the pyramid after you get past the initial spike area (with the reapers) just before you get to the moving green snake. Also below that on the right before the huge pile of spikes there's a big amount of cash you can jump for (about 7 coins worth) but the green plant will shoot at you a lot.
Guide to Sphinx fight You can kill the Sphinx, I had to fight him because I never bought the expensive drinks. You really need the light shield minimum - then be about 2 - 3 Wonder Boy lengths away from him, I find it easiest to wait for after his SECOND lightning bolt hits the shield then immediately rush him and hit at max sword length, repeat about 18 times. You will go through at least 1 clock.
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Post by Snarboo on May 6, 2012 7:28:33 GMT -5
I've put a couple hours into Monster Land over the last couple days and I have to say I'm enjoying it. I'm loving the emphasis on hidden items and bonuses. It makes this game a perfect fit for GC9X. Speaking of which, thanks for the tips! This made getting through the first few worlds a whole lot less painful. I also find it amusing that all the shopkeepers in this are basically furries, but hey, it is called Monster Land. Anyway, here are some random things I've discovered so far: - You can almost always find gold if you jump atop the platforms above miniboss doors.
- While in Round 4's town, it's possible to fall into a pit of water below two moving platforms that lead to the boss. There, you can find a secret underwater section with a magic shop and a special enemy: the red octopus. The octopus takes a lot of hits to kill and can only be hit while in midair, but it will net you a very powerful item if you can defeat it. During the last game I played, it dropped the ceramic boots for me, which came in VERY handy.
- There is a cloud in Round 4 that you can jump onto after being launched from a brick with a spring in it that will net you a lot of money.
- In the deserted town in Round 7 or so, there's a hidden door on the second row of houses that leads to a boss battle with a wizard. Killing him you nets 9 thunder flashes, which come in very handy for boss encounter.
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Post by Deleted on May 6, 2012 8:47:32 GMT -5
Kal: interesting! I didn't know you could kill him...
Here's a little more info on the pyramid - he has different questions each time apparently. Not sure if the answers are the same each time. When Betty's clue was "Sphinx has many clubs", the answer was "Golf", and when she said "Sphinx looked dizzy" the answer I gave was "Afterburner".
To get to "Betty", go get the gold like Kal mentioned, then go left and drop down, and drop down the first pit you see. If you head left then go to the door on the platform above the spike pit, that's the bar. I hate those shooting plants.
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Post by Jave on May 6, 2012 11:07:57 GMT -5
I could never beat that sphinx when I was a kid. I could brute force my way through the game up to that point, but I never really knew what I was doing.
I'm pretty sure I told this story on the forum once before, but my first three years of elementary school were taught exclusively in French. Despite being anglophone, I didn't learn how to read English until about 1990 or so. Any game that required reading prior to then was difficult to impenetrable for me at the time. I'm pretty sure this particular limitation shaped my taste in games.
Also, for what it's worth, I had a master system before I had an NES, so I cut my platforming teeth on the original Wonder Boy.
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Post by Feynman on May 6, 2012 18:04:56 GMT -5
I finished Monster Land today! Huzzah! The final boss was fairly challenging, but I still had a revival potion, so I was able to win with brute force.
The last level is basically a maze, where choosing the wrong path sends you back to the beginning. It suuuuuuucks.
I found another hidden sword upgrade as well. In... I think it's level 9? The stage where you have to fall down a giant pit and basically move downward through a vertical cave. Near the end, you'll come to a room with a single blue spirit floating above a platform. That platform has a hidden door that leads to a boss fight where a weapon upgrade is the reward for victory.
Was this game ever an arcade game? Because I swear I played this game in an arcade once a very long time ago.
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Post by muteKi on May 6, 2012 18:51:47 GMT -5
The last level is basically a maze, where choosing the wrong path sends you back to the beginning. It suuuuuuucks. [snip] Was this game ever an arcade game? Because I swear I played this game in an arcade once a very long time ago. 1. Oooh, hope you remembered your way through it. 2. Yeah, it was. The sequel (Dragon's Trap / Curse), however, was not.
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Post by Deleted on May 6, 2012 19:52:05 GMT -5
That last level is completely ruthless. However, if you manage to complete the trading subquest starting from level 2 and ending in 11, you can get either a bell or ruby. The ruby massively weakens the final boss' first form, but the bell is more generally useful as it chimes when you're walking in the right direction in the endgame maze. There are a couple of points where it's off-kilter, but for the most part, the bell is a BIG help.
A note on this trading quest: The first step is straightforward as the game tells you about the secret door where you get the letter to Catherine, with Catherine herself being easily found in the beginning of stage 5. However, I believe it's stage... 7 where you're at this island with a large tower for the exit. Instead of heading through the tower, keep going right and climb to the top of this ladder on this isolated island to automatically play the flute you get from Catherine to reveal a small fort, and within is the next item you get for trading. The guy here tells you to take the item (which I forget) to the Great Catfish, found in... I think stage 9, down this pit in a watery segment where you can enter what seems like a bar door if you hold left. Here's the Guide Dang It bit: YOU MUST ENTER THIS DOOR TWICE to see the Great Catfish, and he'll give you the emblem that you can trade in at stage 11's final outside-the-castle stretch for the bell or ruby.
If some of this is confusing, I apologize that I don't remember the details 100%. But for navigating the final stage, the bell is very much helpful... though you may want to consider the ruby if you know your way around the final stage. However, that one bit where you have to jump up the twin platforms and even the slightest mistake will send you back to near the beginning of the level with the jump detection being just a bit faulty? You're on your own. :x
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Post by Discoalucard on May 6, 2012 20:02:39 GMT -5
However, that one bit where you have to jump up the twin platforms and even the slightest mistake will send you back to near the beginning of the level with the jump detection being just a bit faulty? You're on your own. :x This is always where I got tripped up as a kid. Never beat this game. :\
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Post by Feynman on May 6, 2012 20:08:46 GMT -5
I completely missed the Great Catfish... that bell sure would have been useful! I spent forever figuring out that damn maze, and nearly had to use my revival potion.
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Post by Scylla on May 6, 2012 20:31:14 GMT -5
This topic is making me feel masochistic, wanting to give Monster Land another try. It's one of the very few games where I've gotten up to the final boss and just had to give up. I was so utterly defeated by the game that my fiance and I joke as if I actually did beat it, haha. I was playing the Bikkuriman World version on PC Engine, and I don't know if it's harder or what. I don't know if I was screwed by missing the whole trading sequence or if I was missing something else that's crucial, but it just wasn't gonna happen. I went through that damn maze over and over and OVER until it made me want to barf, and the fights against the boss would take ALL ETERNITY until it finally whittled me down to nothing. Then I FINALLY thought I had managed to beat him, only for him to transform into a freakin' pissed off Santa Claus. That's when I had to throw my hands into the air. There was no way I could last long enough to get through two forms. I don't know what the hell I was doing wrong, and I'm sure it didn't help that I was playing in Japanese, but Monster Land made me its bitch. I still haven't played the following game, oddly enough, but I beat the last two Monster World games in Japanese with no problems (well, besides the Sphinx being a pain).
But all in all, I totally <3 the Wonder Boy series.
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Post by xerxes on May 6, 2012 21:50:51 GMT -5
Here's a little more info on the pyramid - he has different questions each time apparently. Not sure if the answers are the same each time. When Betty's clue was "Sphinx has many clubs", the answer was "Golf", and when she said "Sphinx looked dizzy" the answer I gave was "Afterburner". When I did it, my question was "What did I have for dinner yesterday?" I answered "No dinner" and it turned out to be right. I have no idea if that's supposed to be a joke or what.
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Post by Deleted on May 6, 2012 23:17:39 GMT -5
I was a bit wrong on the stage order for the trade quest above: It's levels 2, 4, 7, 10, and 11 where you have to look out for all the hidden dealies, and Catherine's door is hidden on a blank space up the ladder in the large building in Baraboro.
It's also useful to get the sword powerups which you can find in stages 2, 5 (door is hidden in the cave), 7, and 9 (door is hidden on a platform being guarded by an invincible blue ghost).
If anyone can't beat this game, don't get discouraged! ML is full of bull, but it CAN be beaten with a lot of patience. Also, upgrading your armor is also quite helpful, as well as boots for extra mobility; shield is generally the least important equipment, but you may at least want an inexpensive one for those arrow-firing trolls.
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