Earthbound: Breaking it all down
Apr. 24th, 2013 09:46 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dmxratedChapter 2 of Starbound is now up on Fanfiction.net:
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/8895129/2/Starbound
Right now, that's probably as far as I'm gonna go with it for a while until I see what Mother: The Original Story is like.
In the meantime, while I'm down here in New Jersey where it's easier for me to focus on stuff, I think I'll use this entry to analyze how everything in Earthbound interweaves to form its plot, rather than each chapter being just stuff that happens. For those of you who've either missed it or would like to revisit it before or after reading the following cut, here is my original summary of just what its plot is.
Prelude:
-The very first thing that happens, is that the meteorite falls. Towards the end of the game, when Giygas launches an attack on Onett in a last-ditch effort to take care of Ness and co., this is where you find a sample of Zexonyte, which Dr. Andonuts will need in order to complete the Phase Distorter II.
-Meeting Pokey on the hill, at the point blocked off by the police. Right now, he's just a dick, but will become an outright bad guy as the game progresses and Ness meets him in Happy Happy Village, the Monotoli Building in Fourside, and eventually fighting alongside Giygas.
-Buzz Buzz: The one who explains to Ness what's going on, and gives him the Sound Stone upon dying. Afterwards, the only time he's ever mentioned again is if you check a tombstone in front of the Flying Men's hut in Magicant, but he is still worth noting.
-After escorting Pokey and Picky back home, their father, Aloysius, explains to Ness that he wishes he and his family would move away, due to a loan he gave them which has driven them poor. Later on, he and Pokey are living in luxury with Mayor Geldegarde Monotoli in Fourside... until Monotoli is turned good after Ness and Jeff destroy the Mani Mani Statue, at which point, Pokey leaves Fourside itself via helicopter, preventing Ness and co. from taking it where they need to go after rescuing Paula.
Part I: Onett
-Optional, but if you return to Lier X. Agerate's house after leaving the Minch residence, he'll show you a golden statue that he excavated deep underneath his house. This is the Mani Mani Statue, which later drives Carpainter to start the Happy Happyist cult, is stolen by Everdred, stolen from him by Monotoli, and then hidden in the storeroom in Jackie's Cafe after Monotoli realizes how it's driving him insane. Eventually, Ness will fight it in Magicant's Sea of Eden, where it represents the evil in his heart that he must defeat.
-Visiting the library that you pass by is initially optional, since you can only get the Town Map there. Much later on, that's where you go to find a book called Overcoming Shyness, which Ness and co. will need to help the Tenda tribe overcome their shyness, enabling one of them to remove a boulder blocking the way to Lumine Hall and the Lost Underworld.
-Despite Jake and Zerodius's arguments otherwise, I really do see most of what happens in this chapter as filler. Mayor B.H. Pirkle, the Traveling Entertainers, and Police Chief Strong never have any role whatsoever past this chapter, and the only time Frank ever comes up is when Paula prays to everyone on Earth during the battle against Giygas, which shows him having already gained respect for Ness and having found a job at the burger shop. I know that part of the game is about showing you how much you've influenced the lives of everyone you met during your travels, but that's also what happened during the last episode of Mon Colle Knights, an anime consisting mostly of filler.
Part II: Twoson and Happy Happy Village
-Everdred: First fought in front of his house in Burglin Park, before informing Ness on Paula's whereabouts. Upon returning with her, he gives Ness some money (which will end up used to pay off the Runaway Five's debts at Chaos Theater) before setting off to steal the Mani Mani Statue from Carpainter. Met later in Fourside, in the alleyway near Jackie's Cafe, where he had the statue stolen from him by Monotoli. Eventually, Ness meets him one more time in Magicant, where he says "Ness! Maybe you don't want to hear this, but you remind me of myself when I was young. I can't do anything more for you," before vanishing. (It is implied that he has died by that point in the game, and an unused sprite of him as a ghost backs that up.)
-Apple Kid: On the way to Happy Happy Village, Ness pays him and his pet mouse a visit, and he asks for some $200 and something to eat. Ness obliges, and the mouse gives him a Receiver Phone in exchange. From there, his roles are multiple:
Continuing his way, Ness's path is blocked by an iron, pencil-shaped statue not even halfway through Peaceful Rest Valley, and he is forced to come back to Twoson... where he gets a call from Apple Kid asking him to come to Burglin Park to see something he invented. Turns out that said invention is capable of erasing anything shaped like a pencil. Perfect timing!
In Threed, after the party defeats Boogey Tent, Ness gets another call from Apple Kid, who delivers his next invention, Zombie Paper, to him via Mach Pizza delivery. This, once set down in the Zombie Relief Corps' headquarters, attracts all zombies plaguing the town, and allows the party to leave town through a spot previously blocked off by two unfightable zombies.
In Fourside, after Ness and Jeff defeat the Mani Mani Statue, Apple Kid calls to let Ness know that another invention of his, the Yogurt Dispenser, has been delivered to him via Escargo Express, Neglected Class... from which it winds up in a grotto in Dusty Dunes Desert. That is where Ness and Jeff will meet with Talah Rama for an infodump, before a monkey teaches Ness PK Teleport back on the surface. The Yogurt Dispenser in possession, Ness and Jeff go to the Monotoli Building back in Fourside, where it's promptly taken by Pokey's maid Electra, gaining them access to the top floor to save Paula and meet Monotoli, who then tells them about the Mani Mani statue and gives them clues on where to go next, offering them his helicopter... which Pokey then takes off with for himself.
Coming back down the building, Apple Kid calls again to tell Ness to fill him in about his co-project with Dr. Andonuts on the Phase Distorter. Players will see what he's talking about towards the end of the game.
Later, after Ness and his friends visit Tenda Village, Apple Kid will call from Winters to fill them in on his next invention, the Eraser Eraser, before being abducted into the Stonehenge Base. The mouse gives that to them when they reach Dr. Andonuts' lab in Winters.
When he and everyone else captive in the base is rescued, he will tell them about the book Overcoming Shyness, which they can find at the Onett library. That's what they'll need in order to help the Tenda tribe overcome their shyness, in order for one of them to clear the way to Lumine Hall and the Lost Underworld.
And finally, there's his role in the Phase Distorter project at Saturn Valley. That is the key to reaching Giygas in the place and time where he currently is.
-The Happy Happyists: The cult responsible for Paula's abduction. After his defeat, Carpainter will inform Ness about the Mani Mani statue that he stands in front of, and how it drove him insane enough to start the cult, before giving him the key to the cell where Paula sits, who in turn will join him as the second of the Chosen Four. This is also where Pokey has his Start of Darkness, most likely due to the statue's influence on him and everyone else in the cult. (Also worth mentioning is that Twoson and Fourside are the only places where you fight human enemies, aside from the Sharks in Onett. One can assume that the Mani Mani statue is responsible for their behavior, since Fourside is the only other place where it winds up before its destruction, although there were also human enemies in Earthbound Zero without there being any equivalent to Mani Mani.)
-The Runaway Five: Up to their ears in debt at the Chaos Theater, until Ness watches one of their concerts and makes it their last there by paying it all off with the money Everdred gave him. Their tour bus is the only vehicle capable of infiltrating the ghost-infested tunnel to Threed (regular traffic buses will fail).
Met later in Fourside, where they're in debt again at Topolla Theater until Ness and his friends pay it off with a diamond they get from George Montague. Later, while Ness and Jeff are doing battle with the Clumsy Robot on the top floor of the Monotoli Building, they're the ones who come in and defeat it by simply shutting it off, allowing the two of them to proceed into Monotoli's office and save Paula. Coming back down, they'll give the three of them a ride to Threed, from which they'll fly the then-fixed Sky Runner to Winters, and then to Summers.
Part III: Threed, Winters, and Saturn Valley
-The zombies guarding the passage to Grapefruit Falls can only be lured away and defeated with Zombie Paper, which Apple Kid will deliver to Ness and co. via Mach Pizza delivery after they defeat Boogey Tent and find a jar of Fly Honey. This, combined with the ghosts infesting the tunnels, is why Ness and Paula decide to spend the night at Threed Sunset Hotel, only to end up trapped by a suspicious woman and some zombies and imprisoned underneath the cemetery, from which Paula telepathically calls Jeff in Winters.
-Upon reaching the end of his maze, Jeff meets a man named Brick Road, who aspires to not only create, but become one with, a dungeon called Dungeon Man, with the help of Dr. Andonuts. Scaraba is where the party will find and navigate such a place, inside which they will meet him again. He will follow them south, before getting caught in some palm trees, and then they'll make their way up again and retrieve a submarine with which to access Deep Darkness.
-Continuing his way through a cavern, Jeff and Bubble Monkey will pass a Sound Stone location, but won't be able to actually interact with it. That will have to wait until he comes back with Ness and Paula later on.
-Before finally reaching his father's laboratory, Jeff will pass through a place called Stonehenge. Entering the hole initially won't lead anywhere, since the way is blocked off by an iron, eraser-shaped statue. This will be where the party needs to go, though, when Apple Kid, Dr. Andonuts, a Mr. Saturn, and others are abducted.
-Dr. Andonuts hasn't seen Jeff in ten years, and will remain in his lab until he is abducted into the Stonehenge Base. Afterwards, he will go to Saturn Valley to work on a machine called the Phase Distorter, which Ness and co. will need to use in order to reach the point in time and space where Giygas is.
-The Sky Runner is the vehicle Jeff pilots to Threed, before crashing it conveniently into the chamber where Ness and Paula are trapped. It will be fixed up later on for the three of them to ride back to Dr. Andonuts' lab, where he will program it to travel to Summers while they fight Shrooom!!! in the cave and visit Rainy Circle. However, upon reaching Summers, it will crash again on the beach, never to be used again.
-Saturn Valley, along with neighboring the home to Master Belch, is also where Apple Kid and Dr. Andonuts will work with the locals on the Phase Distorter, which Ness and his friends will ride to a cave in the Lost Underworld, before traveling far into the past into Giygas' time.
-Master Belch is the monster responsible for Threed's zombie situation, and upon defeat, will tell the party that the Mani Mani statue has already been smuggled into Fourside. Later, he will await the party in Deep Darkness as Master Barf, but with no buildup at all (no zombies that time, for one thing) and only as a filler battle for Poo to make a Big Damn Heroes moment where he will use PK Starstorm for the first time.
Part IV: Dusty Dunes Desert and Fourside
-After running into a traffic jam blocking the way to Fourside, Ness and his friends are forced to wander the vast Dusty Dunes Desert. Along the way, they will meet a man named Gerardo Montague, who has started a gold mine but is feeling hungry. They give him some food, and then come back after learning how much debt the Runaway Five are in at Topolla Theater. They learn here that the mines, which have come a long way now, are infested with five giant moles and a shitload of other monsters. They defeat the moles, and on the way back to Fourside, are met by his brother George, who gives them a diamond that he found, which they then use to pay off the R5's debts at Topolla.
-And then there's the rest of it, most of which I already covered: The party visits the Fourside Department Store, Paula is abducted by the Department Store Spook, Ness and Jeff fight it inside the manager's office, it tells them where Paula is, they go to Jackie's Cafe, meet Everdred, wind up in and navigate Moonside, fight the Mani Mani statue, fetch the Trout Yogurt Machine, listen to Talah Rama's speech, and conquer the Monotoli Building.
-Once Ness and Jeff save Paula, Monotoli tells them about his experiences with the Mani Mani statue and what it does. He tells them that it was telling him not to let Ness and his friends go to Summers or the pyramid in Scaraba, meaning that that's probably where they should go next. He opens the way to his helicopter pad, but then Pokey takes off with the helicopter (which they'll eventually find busted up in Deep Darkness). Plan B: Take the newly repaired Sky Runner to Winters, and let Dr. Andonuts modify it to fly to Summers.
Part V: Summers and Dalaam
-What the party mainly needs here is a copy of a heiroglyph from the Cultural Museum, in a room denied to the general public. Said heiroglyph contains instructions on how to enter the pyramid in Scaraba, which they need to raid for the Hawk Eye, which they will need to light the way through Deep Darkness on their way to finding the seventh and eighth Sound Stone locations. The person guarding it will only let them in in exchange for a ruby, which only Poo has.
-On his way to Mu, Poo is greeted by a monk called Star Master, who wishes to show him a higher level of intelligence. Later on, when the entire party exit the Pyramid in Scaraba, Star Master stops by to take Poo somewhere to learn PK Starstorm. (This, I believe, serves mainly to make a temporary space for Dungeon Man to fill in the party, and to lead up to him returning at the end of the battle against Master Barf to show off his new power for the first time. Not to mention that, when he meets the party in the Cave of the Past, Poo just learns its Omega level, and that Kumatora learning it from Ionia late in Mother 3 happens instantly.)
-There is also that whole deal with the sailor and his wife. The party hasn't been to Scaraba before, and thus can't teleport there. That's why they need a ride on the sailor's ship. He, however, is not up to snuff, given his wife's situation at the Stoic Club. Once they meet her in the club, she's the one who will lead them out to her Magic Cake cart and offer them some.
-The Magic Cake itself doesn't seem to have any plot-related purpose, though, beyond putting the party to sleep before Poo meets them for the first time.
-On the way out of the Cultural Museum, Ness answers the phone, since he's the only one available to. On the other end is Mr. Spoon in the Fourside Dinosaur Museum, who informs them about something he just saw. Upon meeting him in person, he asks for an autograph from Venus, before telling them about what turns out to be the Plague Rat of Doom guarding Magnet Hill. None of this seems plot-related, though, beyond building up to the fifth Sound Stone location and the sixth one afterwards. Neither Venus nor Mr. Spoon ever appear again, beyond an appearance of the former w/ the Runaway Five as Paula reaches out for their support during the final battle.
-For that matter, while people do talk about the Kraken that the party will fight while sailing to Scaraba, nothing is ever mentioned again about that either. (There are also three Krakens to fight in Magicant's Sea of Eden, but they don't seem to serve any plot-related purpose either. Is it possible that they symbolize something, considering that Magicant itself is a physical manifestation of Ness' mind?)
And onward:
-Before they explore the cave complex below Tenda Village, a Tendite will entrust the party with a Tendakraut, which they need to bring to a refugee camp in the Lost Underworld. They will also find several Nosepass-like rocks to talk to. Both those things lead up to one of the last few infodumps in the game by another one of said talking rocks in said camp.
-Optionally, the Cave of the Past can be accessed a first time from the Lost Underworld. This is where the party will come with Dr. Andonuts and several Mr. Saturns via the Phase Distorter II later on, before taking the Phase Distorter III into the distant past.
-And then, Ness finds the last Sound Stone location, explores Magicant, conquers his inner demons, and travels with his friends into the past to defeat Giygas.
With that all said and done, here's hoping Chelle and anyone else interested will be able to help me formulate some kind of plot for Starbound, instead of just me making stuff up to put its main characters through as I go along.
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/8895129/2/Starbound
Right now, that's probably as far as I'm gonna go with it for a while until I see what Mother: The Original Story is like.
In the meantime, while I'm down here in New Jersey where it's easier for me to focus on stuff, I think I'll use this entry to analyze how everything in Earthbound interweaves to form its plot, rather than each chapter being just stuff that happens. For those of you who've either missed it or would like to revisit it before or after reading the following cut, here is my original summary of just what its plot is.
Prelude:
-The very first thing that happens, is that the meteorite falls. Towards the end of the game, when Giygas launches an attack on Onett in a last-ditch effort to take care of Ness and co., this is where you find a sample of Zexonyte, which Dr. Andonuts will need in order to complete the Phase Distorter II.
-Meeting Pokey on the hill, at the point blocked off by the police. Right now, he's just a dick, but will become an outright bad guy as the game progresses and Ness meets him in Happy Happy Village, the Monotoli Building in Fourside, and eventually fighting alongside Giygas.
-Buzz Buzz: The one who explains to Ness what's going on, and gives him the Sound Stone upon dying. Afterwards, the only time he's ever mentioned again is if you check a tombstone in front of the Flying Men's hut in Magicant, but he is still worth noting.
-After escorting Pokey and Picky back home, their father, Aloysius, explains to Ness that he wishes he and his family would move away, due to a loan he gave them which has driven them poor. Later on, he and Pokey are living in luxury with Mayor Geldegarde Monotoli in Fourside... until Monotoli is turned good after Ness and Jeff destroy the Mani Mani Statue, at which point, Pokey leaves Fourside itself via helicopter, preventing Ness and co. from taking it where they need to go after rescuing Paula.
Part I: Onett
-Optional, but if you return to Lier X. Agerate's house after leaving the Minch residence, he'll show you a golden statue that he excavated deep underneath his house. This is the Mani Mani Statue, which later drives Carpainter to start the Happy Happyist cult, is stolen by Everdred, stolen from him by Monotoli, and then hidden in the storeroom in Jackie's Cafe after Monotoli realizes how it's driving him insane. Eventually, Ness will fight it in Magicant's Sea of Eden, where it represents the evil in his heart that he must defeat.
-Visiting the library that you pass by is initially optional, since you can only get the Town Map there. Much later on, that's where you go to find a book called Overcoming Shyness, which Ness and co. will need to help the Tenda tribe overcome their shyness, enabling one of them to remove a boulder blocking the way to Lumine Hall and the Lost Underworld.
-Despite Jake and Zerodius's arguments otherwise, I really do see most of what happens in this chapter as filler. Mayor B.H. Pirkle, the Traveling Entertainers, and Police Chief Strong never have any role whatsoever past this chapter, and the only time Frank ever comes up is when Paula prays to everyone on Earth during the battle against Giygas, which shows him having already gained respect for Ness and having found a job at the burger shop. I know that part of the game is about showing you how much you've influenced the lives of everyone you met during your travels, but that's also what happened during the last episode of Mon Colle Knights, an anime consisting mostly of filler.
Part II: Twoson and Happy Happy Village
-Everdred: First fought in front of his house in Burglin Park, before informing Ness on Paula's whereabouts. Upon returning with her, he gives Ness some money (which will end up used to pay off the Runaway Five's debts at Chaos Theater) before setting off to steal the Mani Mani Statue from Carpainter. Met later in Fourside, in the alleyway near Jackie's Cafe, where he had the statue stolen from him by Monotoli. Eventually, Ness meets him one more time in Magicant, where he says "Ness! Maybe you don't want to hear this, but you remind me of myself when I was young. I can't do anything more for you," before vanishing. (It is implied that he has died by that point in the game, and an unused sprite of him as a ghost backs that up.)
-Apple Kid: On the way to Happy Happy Village, Ness pays him and his pet mouse a visit, and he asks for some $200 and something to eat. Ness obliges, and the mouse gives him a Receiver Phone in exchange. From there, his roles are multiple:
Continuing his way, Ness's path is blocked by an iron, pencil-shaped statue not even halfway through Peaceful Rest Valley, and he is forced to come back to Twoson... where he gets a call from Apple Kid asking him to come to Burglin Park to see something he invented. Turns out that said invention is capable of erasing anything shaped like a pencil. Perfect timing!
In Threed, after the party defeats Boogey Tent, Ness gets another call from Apple Kid, who delivers his next invention, Zombie Paper, to him via Mach Pizza delivery. This, once set down in the Zombie Relief Corps' headquarters, attracts all zombies plaguing the town, and allows the party to leave town through a spot previously blocked off by two unfightable zombies.
In Fourside, after Ness and Jeff defeat the Mani Mani Statue, Apple Kid calls to let Ness know that another invention of his, the Yogurt Dispenser, has been delivered to him via Escargo Express, Neglected Class... from which it winds up in a grotto in Dusty Dunes Desert. That is where Ness and Jeff will meet with Talah Rama for an infodump, before a monkey teaches Ness PK Teleport back on the surface. The Yogurt Dispenser in possession, Ness and Jeff go to the Monotoli Building back in Fourside, where it's promptly taken by Pokey's maid Electra, gaining them access to the top floor to save Paula and meet Monotoli, who then tells them about the Mani Mani statue and gives them clues on where to go next, offering them his helicopter... which Pokey then takes off with for himself.
Coming back down the building, Apple Kid calls again to tell Ness to fill him in about his co-project with Dr. Andonuts on the Phase Distorter. Players will see what he's talking about towards the end of the game.
Later, after Ness and his friends visit Tenda Village, Apple Kid will call from Winters to fill them in on his next invention, the Eraser Eraser, before being abducted into the Stonehenge Base. The mouse gives that to them when they reach Dr. Andonuts' lab in Winters.
When he and everyone else captive in the base is rescued, he will tell them about the book Overcoming Shyness, which they can find at the Onett library. That's what they'll need in order to help the Tenda tribe overcome their shyness, in order for one of them to clear the way to Lumine Hall and the Lost Underworld.
And finally, there's his role in the Phase Distorter project at Saturn Valley. That is the key to reaching Giygas in the place and time where he currently is.
-The Happy Happyists: The cult responsible for Paula's abduction. After his defeat, Carpainter will inform Ness about the Mani Mani statue that he stands in front of, and how it drove him insane enough to start the cult, before giving him the key to the cell where Paula sits, who in turn will join him as the second of the Chosen Four. This is also where Pokey has his Start of Darkness, most likely due to the statue's influence on him and everyone else in the cult. (Also worth mentioning is that Twoson and Fourside are the only places where you fight human enemies, aside from the Sharks in Onett. One can assume that the Mani Mani statue is responsible for their behavior, since Fourside is the only other place where it winds up before its destruction, although there were also human enemies in Earthbound Zero without there being any equivalent to Mani Mani.)
-The Runaway Five: Up to their ears in debt at the Chaos Theater, until Ness watches one of their concerts and makes it their last there by paying it all off with the money Everdred gave him. Their tour bus is the only vehicle capable of infiltrating the ghost-infested tunnel to Threed (regular traffic buses will fail).
Met later in Fourside, where they're in debt again at Topolla Theater until Ness and his friends pay it off with a diamond they get from George Montague. Later, while Ness and Jeff are doing battle with the Clumsy Robot on the top floor of the Monotoli Building, they're the ones who come in and defeat it by simply shutting it off, allowing the two of them to proceed into Monotoli's office and save Paula. Coming back down, they'll give the three of them a ride to Threed, from which they'll fly the then-fixed Sky Runner to Winters, and then to Summers.
Part III: Threed, Winters, and Saturn Valley
-The zombies guarding the passage to Grapefruit Falls can only be lured away and defeated with Zombie Paper, which Apple Kid will deliver to Ness and co. via Mach Pizza delivery after they defeat Boogey Tent and find a jar of Fly Honey. This, combined with the ghosts infesting the tunnels, is why Ness and Paula decide to spend the night at Threed Sunset Hotel, only to end up trapped by a suspicious woman and some zombies and imprisoned underneath the cemetery, from which Paula telepathically calls Jeff in Winters.
-Upon reaching the end of his maze, Jeff meets a man named Brick Road, who aspires to not only create, but become one with, a dungeon called Dungeon Man, with the help of Dr. Andonuts. Scaraba is where the party will find and navigate such a place, inside which they will meet him again. He will follow them south, before getting caught in some palm trees, and then they'll make their way up again and retrieve a submarine with which to access Deep Darkness.
-Continuing his way through a cavern, Jeff and Bubble Monkey will pass a Sound Stone location, but won't be able to actually interact with it. That will have to wait until he comes back with Ness and Paula later on.
-Before finally reaching his father's laboratory, Jeff will pass through a place called Stonehenge. Entering the hole initially won't lead anywhere, since the way is blocked off by an iron, eraser-shaped statue. This will be where the party needs to go, though, when Apple Kid, Dr. Andonuts, a Mr. Saturn, and others are abducted.
-Dr. Andonuts hasn't seen Jeff in ten years, and will remain in his lab until he is abducted into the Stonehenge Base. Afterwards, he will go to Saturn Valley to work on a machine called the Phase Distorter, which Ness and co. will need to use in order to reach the point in time and space where Giygas is.
-The Sky Runner is the vehicle Jeff pilots to Threed, before crashing it conveniently into the chamber where Ness and Paula are trapped. It will be fixed up later on for the three of them to ride back to Dr. Andonuts' lab, where he will program it to travel to Summers while they fight Shrooom!!! in the cave and visit Rainy Circle. However, upon reaching Summers, it will crash again on the beach, never to be used again.
-Saturn Valley, along with neighboring the home to Master Belch, is also where Apple Kid and Dr. Andonuts will work with the locals on the Phase Distorter, which Ness and his friends will ride to a cave in the Lost Underworld, before traveling far into the past into Giygas' time.
-Master Belch is the monster responsible for Threed's zombie situation, and upon defeat, will tell the party that the Mani Mani statue has already been smuggled into Fourside. Later, he will await the party in Deep Darkness as Master Barf, but with no buildup at all (no zombies that time, for one thing) and only as a filler battle for Poo to make a Big Damn Heroes moment where he will use PK Starstorm for the first time.
Part IV: Dusty Dunes Desert and Fourside
-After running into a traffic jam blocking the way to Fourside, Ness and his friends are forced to wander the vast Dusty Dunes Desert. Along the way, they will meet a man named Gerardo Montague, who has started a gold mine but is feeling hungry. They give him some food, and then come back after learning how much debt the Runaway Five are in at Topolla Theater. They learn here that the mines, which have come a long way now, are infested with five giant moles and a shitload of other monsters. They defeat the moles, and on the way back to Fourside, are met by his brother George, who gives them a diamond that he found, which they then use to pay off the R5's debts at Topolla.
-And then there's the rest of it, most of which I already covered: The party visits the Fourside Department Store, Paula is abducted by the Department Store Spook, Ness and Jeff fight it inside the manager's office, it tells them where Paula is, they go to Jackie's Cafe, meet Everdred, wind up in and navigate Moonside, fight the Mani Mani statue, fetch the Trout Yogurt Machine, listen to Talah Rama's speech, and conquer the Monotoli Building.
-Once Ness and Jeff save Paula, Monotoli tells them about his experiences with the Mani Mani statue and what it does. He tells them that it was telling him not to let Ness and his friends go to Summers or the pyramid in Scaraba, meaning that that's probably where they should go next. He opens the way to his helicopter pad, but then Pokey takes off with the helicopter (which they'll eventually find busted up in Deep Darkness). Plan B: Take the newly repaired Sky Runner to Winters, and let Dr. Andonuts modify it to fly to Summers.
Part V: Summers and Dalaam
-What the party mainly needs here is a copy of a heiroglyph from the Cultural Museum, in a room denied to the general public. Said heiroglyph contains instructions on how to enter the pyramid in Scaraba, which they need to raid for the Hawk Eye, which they will need to light the way through Deep Darkness on their way to finding the seventh and eighth Sound Stone locations. The person guarding it will only let them in in exchange for a ruby, which only Poo has.
-On his way to Mu, Poo is greeted by a monk called Star Master, who wishes to show him a higher level of intelligence. Later on, when the entire party exit the Pyramid in Scaraba, Star Master stops by to take Poo somewhere to learn PK Starstorm. (This, I believe, serves mainly to make a temporary space for Dungeon Man to fill in the party, and to lead up to him returning at the end of the battle against Master Barf to show off his new power for the first time. Not to mention that, when he meets the party in the Cave of the Past, Poo just learns its Omega level, and that Kumatora learning it from Ionia late in Mother 3 happens instantly.)
-There is also that whole deal with the sailor and his wife. The party hasn't been to Scaraba before, and thus can't teleport there. That's why they need a ride on the sailor's ship. He, however, is not up to snuff, given his wife's situation at the Stoic Club. Once they meet her in the club, she's the one who will lead them out to her Magic Cake cart and offer them some.
-The Magic Cake itself doesn't seem to have any plot-related purpose, though, beyond putting the party to sleep before Poo meets them for the first time.
-On the way out of the Cultural Museum, Ness answers the phone, since he's the only one available to. On the other end is Mr. Spoon in the Fourside Dinosaur Museum, who informs them about something he just saw. Upon meeting him in person, he asks for an autograph from Venus, before telling them about what turns out to be the Plague Rat of Doom guarding Magnet Hill. None of this seems plot-related, though, beyond building up to the fifth Sound Stone location and the sixth one afterwards. Neither Venus nor Mr. Spoon ever appear again, beyond an appearance of the former w/ the Runaway Five as Paula reaches out for their support during the final battle.
-For that matter, while people do talk about the Kraken that the party will fight while sailing to Scaraba, nothing is ever mentioned again about that either. (There are also three Krakens to fight in Magicant's Sea of Eden, but they don't seem to serve any plot-related purpose either. Is it possible that they symbolize something, considering that Magicant itself is a physical manifestation of Ness' mind?)
And onward:
-Before they explore the cave complex below Tenda Village, a Tendite will entrust the party with a Tendakraut, which they need to bring to a refugee camp in the Lost Underworld. They will also find several Nosepass-like rocks to talk to. Both those things lead up to one of the last few infodumps in the game by another one of said talking rocks in said camp.
-Optionally, the Cave of the Past can be accessed a first time from the Lost Underworld. This is where the party will come with Dr. Andonuts and several Mr. Saturns via the Phase Distorter II later on, before taking the Phase Distorter III into the distant past.
-And then, Ness finds the last Sound Stone location, explores Magicant, conquers his inner demons, and travels with his friends into the past to defeat Giygas.
With that all said and done, here's hoping Chelle and anyone else interested will be able to help me formulate some kind of plot for Starbound, instead of just me making stuff up to put its main characters through as I go along.