Adventure Time Explore The Dungeon Because I Do...
Starting on the surface, talk to the princess to get your first quest. Next, dive into the dungeon, fight some enemies, pick up some loot, emerge victorious, spend your treasure, then do it all again, this time fighting a few floors deeper. This is the premise behind many old school dungeon crawlers, but the difference is they actually do interesting things with the genre instead of just skim the surface.
Adventure Time Explore The Dungeon Because I Do...
I was, at one time, very excited for the new Adventure Time game from WayForward. It had all the trappings of a fun dungeon crawler with the added bonus of being filled with cute characters from the show. Heck, with such an easy matching of subject matter and gameplay, it's hard to fathom what could possibly go wrong! That is, until you actually play the game. It only takes a few moments to realize that something indeed has gone horribly, horribly awry here.
The introductory segments have all the graphical fidelity of a bad NES game, and the first thing I noticed as soon as I was dropped into the world was the atrociously low frame rate. The game feels like it's slogging through a swamp every step of the way, and the terribly-paced gameplay does little to alleviate this issue. The moment-to-moment gameplay consists of navigating barren, repetitive dungeons and fighting the same handfuls of enemies. Every few levels the enemies change, but by the time that happened I was so bored with the game that I was just running past them to find the next floor with feverish, misplaced hope that it would be more enjoyable than the previous.
The game features the voice cast of the show. The graphics seem to be emulatingthe look of older 16-bit gaming platforms. Gameplay is heavily reminiscent ofGauntlet, in fact the title features four-player co-op play to cement thefeeling. There are eight characters to choose from, with at least one moreplanned as DLC. The story is by series creator Pendleton Ward.Playable Character TimeAdventure Time: Explore the Dungeon Because I DON'T KNOW! features ninedifferent playable characters. You begin with Cinnamon Bun, [[Finn theHuman]], Jake the Dog, and Marceline the Vampire. From there you canunlock the Earl of Lemongrab, Flame Princess, Ice King, andLumpy Space Princess. Finally, Peppermint Butler is available as DLC.Character descriptions and stats can be found below.Cinnamon BunStat Initial Upgrades Thumps 4 3 Rowdiness 3 3 Focus 1 2 Imagination 1 2 Token Slots 2 Cinnamon Bun was one of Princess Bubblegum's servants. He is strong, but has ashort attention span. Later in the series he starts working for Flame Princessand helps her overthrow her father. His inate ability is that his dodge willalso shove opponents. He has high health and strength, but low focus, makinghim one of the heavy-hitters style of character.Cinnamon Bun's imagination attacks are very defensive. His first bar will causefood to drop. His second bar will make him temporarily invincible. His thirdbar will do the same, only the invincibility will last longer.Earl of LemongrabStat Initial Upgrades Thumps 3 3 Rowdiness 1 3 Focus 3 2 Imagination 1 2 Token Slots 3 The Earl of Lemongrab was one of Princess Bubblegum's experiments, created inher laboratory. He was given a earldom by the Princess, from which he wouldlater seize control of the Candy Kingdom through a legal technicality. He waslater fired and has appeared periodically ever since. He is unlocked byclearing floor seventy of the Secret Secret Lab. The Earl can block and reflectprojectiles. He also has the highest focus of anyone.The Earl of Lemongrab has an odd mix of imagination attack abilities. His firstbar will heal everyone in the party, making it good for multiplayer especially.His second bar will make him temporarily invincible. His third bar, meanwhile,will damage every enemy on the screen.Finn the HumanStat Initial Upgrades Thumps 3 3 Rowdiness 2 3 Focus 1 2 Imagination 1 2 Token Slots 3 Finn the Human is central character of the series. He is seemingly the lastHuman alive in the Land of Ooo, the rest of the species having gone extinct.Finn has average stats, although his inate ability allows him to equip threetokens instead of two like everyone else. Finn is a good choice for startingout with as he and Jake share the spot for balanced character and with hisextra token it can help you on the early floors.Finn the Human's imagination attacks form an odd back-and-forth. His firstbar will damage enemies a little. His second bar will turn weaker, andweakened, enemies into food. His third bar goes back to the first and doesdamage to enemies, only slightly more than a single bar.Flame PrincessStat Initial Upgrades Thumps 2 3 Rowdiness 3 3 Focus 2 2 Imagination 1 2 Token Slots 1 Flame Princess is the ruler of the Fire Kingdom. She is a somewhat chaoticfire elemental who was imprisoned by her father in a lantern before beingfreed by Finn, whom she dated for a while. She is unlocked by clearing flooreighty of the Secret Secret Lab.Flame Princess' imagination attacks are all offense. All three levels willdo damage to all enemies on the screen, at increasing amounts for each levelof bar.Ice KingStat Initial Upgrades Thumps 3 3 Rowdiness 2 3 Focus 1 2 Imagination 1 2 Token Slots 2 Ice King is the main antagonist of the early season of the series. He wasoriginally a Human named Simon Petrikov, but bought a cursed crown when hewas younger that eventually transformed him into a villainous ice-themedwizard. He is unlocked by clearing floor thirty of the Ice Tunnels dungeon.Ice King's inate ability is that he can freeze enemies. His stats are fairlybalanced like Finn and Jake.Ice King's imagination attacks are somewhat balanced. His first bar willfreeze all enemies on the screen. His second bar will make him inviciblefor a short period of time. His third bar will damage all enemies on thescreen.Jake the DogStat Initial Upgrades Thumps 3 3 Rowdiness 2 3 Focus 1 2 Imagination 1 2 Token Slots 2 Jake the Dog is a magical dog and Finn's best friend and adoptive brother inthe series. He is Finn's constant companion on their various misadventures.He is also dating Lady Rainicorn and has five children with her. Jake is thesecond balance character along with Finn. Instead of a boost in tokens, however,Jake's inate ability is that he can stretch his body to get over pits. Thisallows you to reach areas isolated by pits in the dungeon.Jake the Dog's imagination attacks provide support roles for the party. Hisfirst bar will cause sub-weapons to drop around the screen. His second barwill cure the party of all curses. His third bar will heal everyone in theparty.Lumpy Space PrincessStat Initial Upgrades Thumps 2 3 Rowdiness 1 3 Focus 2 2 Imagination 2 2 Token Slots 2 Lumpy Space Princess is the princess of Lumpy Space. She is a large, purplecloud and is depicted as a self-absorbed teenage "princess," often textingon her phone while doing every day things. She is unlocked by clearing floorten of the Secret Royal Dungeon. Her inate ability is increased imagination.Lumpy Space Princess can actually get the highest imagination of anyone, soif you rely on those special attacks she may be the way to go.Lumpy Space Princess' imagination attacks are a mix of support and utility.Her first bar will freeze all enemies in place. Her second bar will cureeveryone in the party of all curses. Her third bar will deal damage to allenemies on the screen.Marceline the VampireStat Initial Upgrades Thumps 2 3 Rowdiness 1 3 Focus 3 2 Imagination 1 2 Token Slots 2 Marceline the Vampire is actually a half-demon, half-vampire who is the daughterof the demon lord of the Nightosphere. She began as an adversary of Finn andJake, but eventually became good friends with them. She is over a thousand yearsold. Marceline's inate ability is that she can absorb red shots, to gainimagination. She can also safely cross over hazards on the floor by hovering. Herhealth starts lower than most, but she has higher then average focus.Marceline the Vampire's imagination attacks are all offense like Flame Princess.Each bar does damage to all enemies on the screen in increasing amounts for eachbar consumed in the attack.Peppermint ButlerStat Initial Upgrades Thumps 4 3 Rowdiness 2 3 Focus 3 2 Imagination 1 2 Token Slots 1 Peppermint Butler is Princess Bubblegum's butler. He is versed in black magicand has a strong connection to Death and the Land of the Dead. He is availableas a DLC character slated for late this year.Walkthrough TimeBegin the game to view the first movie scene. Princess Bubblegum will summonFinn, Jake, Cinnamon Bun, and Marceline. She will explain that the CandyKingdom has many enemies and that when those enemies are captured she locksthem in the dungeon. Unfortunately they seem to be escaping, so she wants youto go inside and figure out what is going on because I DON'T KNOW. This willbegin the Tutorial.TutorialPrincess Bubblegum will take you to a part of the dungeon where her BananaGuards train. First she will instruct you to move around, so just walk aroundthe room until she is satisfied. Next she will explain attacking, chargeattacks, and the thump meter. Defeat the two skeletons she summons with chargeattacks to move on.Next she will cover the imagination meter, special attacks, and sub-weapons.She will offer you some bamboo poles. Pick one up and whack the skeletons afew times until she relents and tells you to just use your regular attacks onthem.Once they are dealt with she will discuss blocks, dodges, and reflectingprojectile attacks. Two bubblegum worms will spawn and start spitting at you.You need to time your block to coincide exactly with when it would connect withyou to destroy the projectile and move on. She will now move on to inateabilities and stats before ending the tutorial.Back on the surface Princess Bubblegum will tell you to talk to other peoplearound to possibly increase your stats. You can speak to her at any time todelve into the dungeon. Lastly, she will give you your first quest. You canlearn more about quests in the Quest Time section below.It is not covered in the tutorial, but is worth noting, that pressing selectwill bring up a map of your current floor. Floor switches will be indicatedin red, exits will be indicated by stairs, and your current position will beindicated by a white box. This will become a very helpful feature later inthe game.Candy Castle GroundsThe Candy Castle Grounds function as a base camp for you adventures. The otherplayable characters you have unlocked will wander around here. You can speak tothem to switch to one. Princess Bubblegum is also present and can be spoken toin order to enter the dungeon.There are also various other characters present who offer quests or upgrades.At the beginning of the game the only people present other than the playablecharacters are Princess Bubblegum, Lady Rainicorn, Mr. Cupcakes, Neptr, andMuscle Princess. Every ten floors you clear of the main dungeon will addanother character to the courtyard.Lady Rainicorn upgrades your focus. Initially this costs one-hundred treasures.After that the second upgrade costs four-hundred treasures. No one has any morethan two upgrades to focus, so that is it. Focus decreases the amount of timeit takes to charge a charge attack.Mr. Cupcake will upgrade your thumps. Initially this costs thiry treasures.After that the second upgrade costs one-hundred and twenty-five treasures. Thethird upgrade costs three-hundred treasures, which is as high as it goes forany of the characters. Thump increases your health meter by one unit.Muscle Princess will upgrade your rowdiness. Initially this costs sixtytreasures. After that the second upgrade costs two-hundred treasures. The thirdupgrade costs five-hundred treasures, which is as high as it goes for any of thecharacters. Rowdiness increases the damage you deal with normal and chargedattacks.Neptyr will upgrade your imagination. Initially this costs one-hundred andseventy-five treasures. After that the second upgrade costs seven-hundredtreasures. No one has any more than two upgrades to imagination, so that isit. Imagination increases your special attacks damage that uses the imaginationmeter to perform.The treasure chest in the northeast corner contains all your sub-weapons. Evenif you do not currently have a sub-weapon there, it will still show you all thesub-weapons you have found in your travels. This makes it easier on you tofigure out what you are missing if you are chasing trophies.When you are ready speak to Princess Bubblegum to go into the dungeon. She willtell you about tokens briefly, but don't worry about them right now. She willalso let you know that when you come back out of the dungeon you should spendall your treasure before going back in because she will take whatever you donot spend in taxes. It's the law, so spend everything you can whenever you comeout.Secret Royal DungeonDungeon floors are randomly generated each time you enter. As such this part ofthe guide is going to provide general information on enemies in each set of tenfloors, as well as boss strategies. Every five floors you can leave the dungeon,while on every tenth floor you will find a boss. The subsections below are thusdivided into sections of ten.On non-boss floors your goal is to find the stairs down to the next floor. Whilesome enemies are stationary and begin in place, most enemies will spawn out ofenemy generators spread out throughout the floor. As mentioned in theintroduction, this is very reminiscent of Gauntlet, so if you have playedthat you will be right at home here.Various types of food and treasure can be found on the floor or even drop offenemies. Food heals you as soon as it is picked up, so if you pick it up at fullhealth it will be lost. Treasures come in different shapes and sizes, signifyinghow much treasure they count for on the surface for costs. You can also findsub-weapons and tokens lying about. For more information on them, see theSub Weapons and Tokens sections below.Floors 1-10Your initial floors start out simple enough. You will begin by encounteringskeletons and bubblegum worms on these initial floors. These all behave thesame as they did in the tutorial and should not pose much trouble for you.These floors even use the same dungeon motiff as the tutorial level.Starting on the third floor you will start encountering dive bomber birds.These birds will hover just out of reach and then quickly dive at you. Thebest way to deal with these enemies is to stay just out of their range, waitfor them to dive, and then move in and kill them as they try to fly back.Starting on the sixth floor you will begin seeing spitting plants. Theseenemies are stationary and will fire projectiles in either a cross ordiagonal pattern. They can alternate or stay the same, so be on the look outfor both. They can also regenerate other nearby defeated plants by burrowingroots towards where they were. If you kill one, you need to take out all ofthem in close proximity quickly to prevent this.Demon CatOn the tenth floor is your first boss, the Demon Cat. This creature originallyappeared in the episode Dungeon of the series, which funny enough is thename of the trophy for defeating it. He is not impressed by the "one or moreadventurers" who challenge him because of his "approximate knowledge of manythings."The Demon Cat has two attacks. It can use an arcing lick attack that willdamage anyone positioned in front of it or close to his mouth on either side.He can also fire fireballs from his tail directly behind himself. To avoidboth attacks, position yourself to either side of the Demon Cat and strike itonce. When he spins, he will perform one of his attacks. If you strike onceand start moving you can keep on the side of him the whole fight and chip himdown without taking a hit. 041b061a72