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Casual Archipelago (Complete)

Sonic Adventure 2: Update 6

One of Arcaneum's chao, the one with tiger legs, showed up to our base and gave an Ancient Light to Shadow, then the Air Shoes, the latter having been found by Classic Sonic in Pyramid Cave. This opened up an item in Radical Highway, which ended up being 50 Rupees for Devalue, and then allowed Shadow to complete the first level of White Jungle, which had ten rings, a magnet shield, and a green Chaos Drive for Arcaneum's SA2, which we gave back to the chao for its return trip. All in all, not much of use, but I'm not sure how the chao checks work (I don't have any in my YAML), so hopefully this gets Arcaneum to Cannon's Core slightly faster so I can get my Shovel Claws and unlock the other half of my SA2 stages.
 
Apologies, have been caught up in a lot of stuff, but hopefully going for a mammoth session today! We'll start with...

SA2B

Lots of people hard at work it seems, thanks for the Light Shoes and Pick Nails, and all the Emblems! I decided to try the next boss gate and... I can't actually do it! I need the ability to dig with Knuckles, as that's part of the boss mechanic. With that a no-go for now, I revisited some of the previous levels to see what I could do. First up was Egg Quarters mission 1 with Rouge, as I could access everything now with the Pick Nails. Very easy A rank, and a Reaper sent to EoT's SC2 for my troubles! I did also get a load of animals for the Chao conditions... but the game crashed and it lost them all...

So next up was the Sonic levels to see if the Light Shoes would help with anything. Pyramid Cave's first mission went a lot better this time and unlocked EoT's Air Shoes in SA2B! The second mission (100 rings) is always a breeze here, with an equivalent reward in some Damascus Steel for my FF12. Green Forest proved to be a bit less fruitful - the 2nd mission gave us a Grimy Fragment and I managed to find an extra pipe whilst doing that, but it only netted my FF12 a Soleil Fang (nothing wild, just casts I believe Fira on enemies).

Another quick stop to the Chao garden allows us to unlock XL Gold Rush Graffiti for Setsuna's BRCF and Junior Roller Coaster for Deva's RCT2!

It was then time to attempt one of my least favourite levels - Final Rush. This level I hate because it is filled with probably one of SA2B's worst glitches - rails. Firstly I manage to find the 2nd Chao Key, unlocking 8 Rep for Setsuna in BRCF, following by some Shredder for EoT's Vikings in SC2 from the first hidden pipe. Then I - thanks to another glitchy rail - manage to skip half the level and land right next to the second and last hidden pipe, unlocking the Mothership for EoT's SC2. My run then abruptly ended there, as I forgot I need the Bounce Bracelet to be able to actually progress after the next section! Our last level was Crazy Gadget, which unfortunately has a similar situation - I need Flame Ring to progress, so only managed to find the first Chao Key (unlocking Warhound for EoT's SC2).

Before moving on to another game, I decided to try some Tails levels as we have the Booster available. First up was Prison Lane mission 1, which was incredibly fruitful). The 2nd and 3rd Chao Keys got my FF12 White Robes and a Chuckle Bean for Porykid's Superstar Saga. Pipe 2 got some Amplified Assimilators for EoT, whilst the Hidden 1 and 3 animals got some Scenery for Deva's RCT2 and another Chuckle Bean. Completing the level got us Setsuna's Key of Chaos and the resulting animals from the level got us the Dedication BMX for Setsuna, Ancient Light for EoT's SA2B and Hammers for Porykid's Superstar Saga! Completing the second (and therefore final mission) for the level got us 20 Rupees for Alex'a ALttP.

Hidden Base first mission was again quite bountiful, netting us:
  1. Morningstar and Grape Juice for SotN (Setsuna)
  2. Energy cell pack and Partial Invisibility for Doom 1 (EoT)
  3. Kilimweave Shirt, Holy (!!!!!!) and Eksir Berries for FF12 (me)
  4. Small Key (Eastern Palace) for ALttP (Alex)
  5. Charge (Predator) for SC2 (EoT)
  6. 100 Time Shards for The Messenger (Setsuna)

And that's it for SA2B for now, moving onto FF12!
 
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Just a quick one - in terms of checks waiting on me, I have currently done:
  1. Pegasus Boots for ALttP
  2. Plasma Gun for Doom 2
As for what I have outstanding:
  1. Shovel - This will be gated behind an item that allows me into Barheim Passage, so might be a while unless it's already been unlocked by someone
  2. Wingsuit - May be lucky and get Basch as my starting character, otherwise I THINK I can get him quite quickly, but unsure
  3. Rocket Launcher - I think I need the Crescent Stone for this, so again waiting on a specific item
  4. Shovel Claws - Yeah... this is a no-go until I get at least Air Necklace I believe, because otherwise the Knuckles segment is impossible
The OoT ones I've not listed because I can't remember those specific things well enough.
 
Doom II: Hell on Earth
MAP15 Industrial Zone Pt. 1


We sent several Doom Marines to the Paderborn Industrial Zone in Germany, just outside Castle Wolfenstein, a demon-infested fortification notable for being the site where the war hero B.J. Blazkowicz single-handedly killed hundreds of Nazi soldiers during World War II. Despite only having a pistol for most of the level, we didn't lose quite as many Marines as in previous Doom II levels, and we cleared out two thirds of the map. We still need the yellow key to actually enter the southern section of the Industrial Zone, including parts of Castle Wolfenstein itself, but we still got lots of items as it is.

First off, we got a powerful Shikari Nagasa dagger and Sage's Ring, and a not-so-powerful First Aid tome for FF12, then an upgrade to increase our Banshee health whenever we can build them. We also found a Small Key for the Red Magician, a Life Vessel for the Messenger, a Golden Feather and Toy Shovel for Claire, a Bow for Eevee, and Food Stall blueprints for Devalue's park. Finally, Arcaneum's chao gave Plasma Guns for all our Doom II marines, ending our time being stuck with pistols, and unearthed the Purifier Beam in a cave beneath the lava river, which we mounted to the Hyperion to serve as a second ultimate weapon.
 
What are your YAML unlock conditions for Cannon's Core? A critical item of mine is locked behind yours and I want to know how long I should expect to wait for it.
I already have Cannon's Core but I need Air Necklace (and anything else I have forgotten) to be able to complete the mission, so however long it takes someone to get me those I think?

I will take another look at the level once I've made some progression in some other games just in case that's incorrect or I can do so another way
 
I already have Cannon's Core but I need Air Necklace (and anything else I have forgotten) to be able to complete the mission, so however long it takes someone to get me those I think?

I will take another look at the level once I've made some progression in some other games just in case that's incorrect or I can do so another way
Cannon's Core is technically doable without Air Necklace, provided you have the Tails/Eggman items you need to get there in the first place. It's not even a glitch to get through Knuckles' segment without it, the Air Necklace is an optional item in the vanilla game and there are air bubbles in a couple parts for players who didn't get it.
 
Starcraft 2
Mission 10/83: Zero Hour


This mission, we traveled to the planet Korhal, left in ruins by Tychus's mutineers and now home to one of the Federation's largest Zerg bases. We thought we could take them on, but we were wrong, so we fortified our position and waited for evacuation rather than trying to raze the enemy bases.

We received a lot of different Terran units since we last played as them, but for this one, only two really matter. Marines, recruited from the sewers of the Beanbean Kingdom, and Predators, mechanical tigers from New Amsterdam. We also received Reapers from the Egg Quarters, rescued by Classic Rouge, Ghosts recruited from the Beanbean outskirts, and Warhounds looted by Classic Sonic from Crazy Gadget, but none of these were useful this mission so we didn't train any of them.

We built up a large force of Marines, backed up by Predators, and heavily fortified our base with Bunkers full of Marines. We rescued the three groups of Terran rebels outside our base, one of which had an Emblem for us, and then took what troops we had and razed two of the Zerg Hatcheries in the west, getting Arcaneum an Emblem as well and giving us samples to produce Zerg Scourges for less resources.

The Zerg, unfortunately, destroyed our army, but a scanner sweep from our Orbital Command (an invention of the Bomb Rush Crew, who also gave us Planetary Fortresses) got us a target lock to hit two more with orbital strikes from the Hyperion. We found a Parasitic Bomb upgrade for Vipers from the third, which we can't actually produce, and the Mystic Melody for Sonic the Hedgehog, which is useless right now but will open up a dozen more checks over the course of this challenge as he gets more items and accessible levels.

We held out longer, and evacuated our army before the base was overrun. Just before the evacuation, a Marine found a blueprint for River Rafts in a salvaged Bunker that we brought on-board and sent to Devalue. We're going to need a much bigger army to take down the Zerg on Korhal.
 
Doom 1
Mission 5/36: E4M5 They Will Repent

And
Mission 6/36: E4M4 Unruly Evil

With Arcaneum retrieving this temple's Blue Skull Key from Rabanastre, we can now completely clear our first level on Mars. We sent in several Doom Marines to open the door and take down the other half of the level, losing four Doom Marines (two to the Baron of Hell), and retrieved several items. First off, we now have the Red Skull Key for Unruly Evil, which let us clear another Doom 1 level just after this one. We then found an Emblem for Arcaneum's SA2, a Firaga spell tome for their FF12, a Heart Container for the Red Magician, and the Artifact of Wild for the Messenger's trip to Tallon IV. This level does have a Yellow Skull Key I don't have, but all it's for is backtracking so it's completely useless to me now.

I then sent a single Doom Marine to the base of Unruly Evil, who single-handedly cleared the last few monsters and the level, but there were no more items here so it's just a level clear. We've now taken two of the nine bases on Mars from the armies of Hell.
 
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Eevee to the Past (Part 5)
Did not plan on writing another update now. Got a fair bit from that Bow, though. Lacked the gear to beat the second phase of King Helmasaur previously. Remedies that with the bow. Died on the first attempt. (Came in a little hurt, which was not ideal.) Won the second time after only taking 4 hearts of damage. Wrested Crystal #3 from the boss.

Also unlocked the route to the Palace of Darkness boss. Fired an arrow into the eye of a statue to reveal a staircase. Encountered Arrgus (the Swamp Palace boss) down there. Expected it to be a slog with Hookshot + Hammer for the puffs. Ended up being pretty safe. Takes damage right after reeling them in usually. Not this time. Roasted Arrgus in the second phase with the Fire Rod. Cleared it without taking damage. Yielded the green pendant. (Knew that already.)

Handed the green pendant to Sahasrahla. Ends this three check update on...the Big Key to Hera? Okay, then. Collected all the big keys with that.

Climbed the mountain the long way to the Tower of Hera. Forgot to peek at the island at the top before. Will probably be a generic star in an 18-player ga--Bombos. Ooooh boy. Could be Alex_Among_Foxes's, but maybe not. Needs Bombos to enter Misery Mire. Increases the value of the Magic Mirror.

Discovered nothing of note in the chests. Expected Vitreous at the top of the tower. Fights that boss here pretty often. Met the standard Moldorm here instead. Aced the fight for the final pendant. Sighs.

Has yet to see Blind, Vitreous, and Trinexx. May see the latter two in their original dungeons. Feels like a simple shuffle of all the bosses.

Yanked the Master Sword out of the pedestal for Porykid's Ohoracle Badge (for hand attacks). May not even have hand attacks yet. Oh well.

Is still without a sword. Just saw another one go by in the log :sadwick:.

Pre-post edit: +1 sword. Finally. (Would have been cross if Alex_Among_Foxes got a fully upgraded sword before having even one.) Was not the in-game hinted one either. On to Skull Woods.

Slashed the curtain open. Yada yada yada Vitreous. Uh oh. Did not know it could be here. (Prevents some bosses from appearing in certain arenas.) Combines attacks that hurt a lot with the nastiest boss arena. Deals 4 hearts of damage from a single eye making contact. Contends with a moving floor in a spike-lined room as well.

Appreciated the bow here. Hits the eyes hard. Cannot handle all of them with just that, however. Defeats one small eye with 3 arrows and the big, central eye with 8. 3 * 9 small eyes + 8 = 35. Has exactly that many arrows. Will never land all 35 while avoiding damage on a moving floor. Relied on a strategy from a past randomizer: chucking bombs. Inflicts only one-quarter the damage as an arrow. Strikes multiple eyes, however.

Gave it a good ten attempts or so before save-stating before the boss. (Grew tired of running back to Kakariko for bombs and sometimes arrows.) Felled the horrid beast about three attempts later.
[PokeCommunity.com] Casual Archipelago (Complete)

Crystal #4. Thought it was the other red crystal. Misremembered. Turns out to be in Misery Mire. Hoped to get two more items. Oh well. Cleared 4 dungeons in one update. Will go and beat both Agahnims too...eventually.

Expects no more major boss kills for a while. Needs a medallion (Ether/Bombos) and Cane of Somaria for Turtle Rock and Misery Mire. Cannot go anywhere in Swamp Palace without Flippers and the Magic Mirror. Waits on an Ice Rod to beat Trinexx, wherever that boss is.

_________

Short note on Open RCT2: Currently at 3/5 of the required roller coasters with the Junior Roller Coaster and River Rafts coming in. Keeps getting those instead of ones that yield more checks. Leaves just the Giga Coaster and Monorail Cycles to close it out.
 
Cannon's Core is technically doable without Air Necklace, provided you have the Tails/Eggman items you need to get there in the first place. It's not even a glitch to get through Knuckles' segment without it, the Air Necklace is an optional item in the vanilla game and there are air bubbles in a couple parts for players who didn't get it.
In that case I need at least the Eggman booster
 
This is likely something I'll need my Wingsuit for, which is in Arcaneum's FF12, but I'll see if I can somehow nab this without it. I don't think it's very likely, but my tracker is basically telling me I can't get several checks that I obtained anyways because I randomized the portal locations, so anything feels like fair game. If it isn't possible, I'll be clearing out tons of stuff in Messenger and SotN once I get it, so I'll gladly pick that up along the way!

@Devalue I've got my Wingsuit, so I'm gonna be spending a good while tomorrow morning picking stuff up, I'll be sure to get your sword then!
 
In that case I need at least the Eggman booster
After playing through Cannon's Core on a test map without using it, I've made it through after five or so tries, so the Jet Engine technically isn't required either. You'll take some damage, sure, but you have the Protective Armor so it should be doable. The only hard requirement is Tails's Booster, which you already have. That being said, there was a section as Sonic that I forgot about that requires either the Bounce Bracelet or quick timing with a time switch, so you may also need that item as well.

(EDIT: For future reference, it also requires Knuckles' Hammer Gloves, which you already have as well.)

If you aren't skilled enough to beat Cannon's Core without either upgrade, and if you don't mind sharing a save just for this one mission, I could log in on your game's save tomorrow and beat Cannon's Core to get my Shovel Claws.
 
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After playing through Cannon's Core on a test map without using it, I've made it through after five or so tries, so the Jet Engine technically isn't required either. You'll take some damage, sure, but you have the Protective Armor so it should be doable. The only hard requirement is Tails's Booster, which you already have. That being said, there was a section as Sonic that I forgot about that requires either the Bounce Bracelet or quick timing with a time switch, so you may also need that item as well.

If you aren't skilled enough to beat Cannon's Core without either upgrade, and if you don't mind sharing a save just for this one mission, I could log in on your game's save tomorrow and beat Cannon's Core to get my Shovel Claws.
I will be doing it myself when I can, I don't want to be essentially not playing my game. It's not high up on the list of priorities at the moment though!
 
Alex Fox LtP: Bat Cave Cave <= Ice Palace Exit
Alex Fox LtP: Pyramid Fairy => Ice Palace Exit
Alex Fox LtP: Ice Palace <= Eastern Palace Exit
Alex Fox LtP: Capacity Upgrade => Eastern Palace Exit

[PokeCommunity.com] Casual Archipelago (Complete)
 
I don't know what "Infested: Victory" is or means, but it has my flippers and I need 'em BAD... >.>
@Explorer of Time
 
I don't know what "Infested: Victory" is or means, but it has my flippers and I need 'em BAD... >.>
@Explorer of Time

That's a mission in my game. The bad news is that it's seven missions away at best, and with a couple of these being the two Nova levels I can't beat with her current equipment, my optimal path with my current equipment is eleven levels. It's going to take a day or two to get there.
 
I will be doing it myself when I can, I don't want to be essentially not playing my game. It's not high up on the list of priorities at the moment though!
Well, this is the most high-priority item across all four of my games, with not having it locking out 17 of my SA2 missions, plus it has a hinted item locked behind it for Vendily as well. Please get it as soon as possible, and that means hinting for Eggman's Jet Engine and Sonic's Bounce Bracelet if you need them.
 
Starcraft 2
Shoot the Messenger, Failed Attempt #1


I played through the beginning of this mission, where I sent Maar to Kaldir to try and disrupt Khalai Protoss logistics on the planet Kaldir, but despite having all three Spear of Adun Hyperion ultimate abilities thanks to Setsuna finding something called the "Pie in the Sky Mega Shard" to power Time Stop, I failed to destroy the third shuttle quickly enough thanks to my only Zerg anti-air being Swarm Queens, which don't have strong attacks, Kerrigan Maar, who's just one unit, and Scourges, who self-destruct on their attacks and were too expensive to construct in the early game.

I would like to thank the Bomb Rush Crew for getting the Scourges from Brink Terminal nonetheless, but I still wasn't able to destroy the third shuttle before it warped out. I did find a Card Draw for the Defect, rescued Pyro the phobekin from a frozen Zerg Hatchery, and found a Strawberry for SotN as my final item before I lost the mission.
 
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