Even Some More Tales from Castle Balderstone - Study Guide

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I’m not saying these are exactly the questions that will be on the exam. I am NOT saying that.

To avoid spoiling anything for your classmates, it’s probably safest if you DM me your answers. But that’s just my opinion.

Letavermilia

  1. Why does this story seem so familiar?
  2. Did you figure out an unambiguous ordering for the obelisk puzzle? I think all of the testers had to resort to some amount of brute force…
  3. Is there a cute hidden message embedded in the cipher key? I honestly don’t remember.

Nyvo the Dolphin

  1. How come there are two Metroid games in this anthology?
  2. There really isn’t much to say about this one.
  3. One day I was really grumpy and I started trying to make a game where a skeleton teaches a dolphin how to scream. That’s the only idea I had on the subject for about a year.
  4. You might try examining the water in the ship, or the plankton, if you haven’t already.
  5. What do you suppose the etymologies of “Nyvo” and the other made-up names in this story are?

Singing for Me

  1. Where did that title come from? What, if anything, does it have to do with the game?
  2. Which bachelorette did you marry?
  3. Is it possible to trigger all three bachelorettes’ “10-heart events” in a single run? I assume it is, but I haven’t tried.
  4. Vanessa is supposed to be the toughest lady to woo. But if you do marry her, her special ability will be very useful.
  5. How much money did you end up with?
  6. The ending changes a little if you have at least $1000.
  7. There is a more drastically different ending, but the way to trigger it isn’t clued very well and you shouldn’t feel obligated to look for it.
  8. Does Darren have any family?

Visit Skuga Lake

  1. Did you find all the magic items?
  2. I believe the spinel is the hardest one to get. I also believe it is the coolest.
  3. How many moves did it take you to win?
  4. Since I know the game intimately, I can win in under 100 moves. Without using any debug commands!
  5. But how fast can you beat the game while also picking up all the magic items?
  6. Almost all the puzzles have multiple solutions. A lot of them can be solved without magic. (I think all the braziers can be lit without using any spells… I think?)
  7. I don’t think you can finish the entire game without using any magic. But there’s probably some sort of bare minimum.
  8. Did you meet a third owl?
  9. Did you meet Srete?

Other

  1. What do the responses to >SING have in common?
  2. Did you get someone a coffee?
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Letavermilia

  1. Why does this story seem so familiar?

I figured it was the Masque of Red Death.

  1. Did you figure out an unambiguous ordering for the obelisk puzzle? I think all of the testers had to resort to some amount of brute force…

I had it narrowed down to two options.

  1. Is there a cute hidden message embedded in the cipher key? I honestly don’t remember.

I used an online solver and didn’t check!.

Nyvo the Dolphin

  1. How come there are two Metroid games in this anthology?

What’s the other one? The magic one.

  1. There really isn’t much to say about this one.
  2. One day I was really grumpy and I started trying to make a game where a skeleton teaches a dolphin how to scream. That’s the only idea I had on the subject for about a year.
  3. You might try examining the water in the ship, or the plankton, if you haven’t already.
  4. What do you suppose the etymologies of “Nyvo” and the other made-up names in this story are?

Singing for Me

  1. Where did that title come from? What, if anything, does it have to do with the game?

A google search suggests Bob Dylan’s Day of the Locusts. This says a lot about society.

  1. Which bachelorette did you marry?

Reagan and Vanessa.

  1. Is it possible to trigger all three bachelorettes’ “10-heart events” in a single run? I assume it is, but I haven’t tried.

I accidentally got 2 in the same run.

  1. Vanessa is supposed to be the toughest lady to woo. But if you do marry her, her special ability will be very useful.

True, but is it only for selling or also buying/finding?

  1. How much money did you end up with?

I think $500 is the most I ended up with.

  1. The ending changes a little if you have at least $1000.
  2. There is a more drastically different ending, but the way to trigger it isn’t clued very well and you shouldn’t feel obligated to look for it.

Does it have to do with Owen?

  1. Does Darren have any family?

I thought I saw something about a sister but I may be misguided.

Visit Skuga Lake

  1. Did you find all the magic items?

I think so!

  1. I believe the spinel is the hardest one to get. I also believe it is the coolest.

I can’t remember which stone is which now but I got the Spinel and I remember it being one of the cool ones.

  1. How many moves did it take you to win?

Hundreds; I didn’t record it.

  1. Since I know the game intimately, I can win in under 100 moves. Without using any debug commands!

wow

  1. But how fast can you beat the game while also picking up all the magic items?
  2. Almost all the puzzles have multiple solutions. A lot of them can be solved without magic. (I think all the braziers can be lit without using any spells… I think?)
  3. I don’t think you can finish the entire game without using any magic. But there’s probably some sort of bare minimum.
  4. Did you meet a third owl?
  5. Did you meet Srete?

can’t remember who srete is so probably not?

Other

  1. What do the responses to >SING have in common?
  2. Did you get someone a coffee?

I misremembered it as tea but yes, I think so

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