¡Guacamelee! - FINAL - Acmé

[The Doctor]

So the powerup to break those chicken-egg-lookin' purple blocks is entirely optional right? Because I got up to what looks very much like The Room Before the Final Boss and don't have it (I assume it's equivalent to the morph ball bomb)

Don't spoil how to get it, but I think I might know anyway.

Yup. The upgrade is optional.

[Mata Hari]

Alright cheers

Looks like I have to keep looking around for stuff

[Truhan]

Well i watch more wwe then new japan so its good for me. So many dream matches to have. if only Bryan revives.

Nah, it's very bad. Possibly the worst thing, if you're a fan. This is WWE, they're gonna find the most effective way to screw it up. Invasion 2001, Nexus 2010, nevar forget. They're screwing up with Kevin Owens as we speak, the man should've been their top heel when Seth got injured. They won't let Daniel Bryan wrestle because he's had concussions, but QUICK, CALL IN TOMMY DREAMER TO DO AN ECW VS WYATTS ANGLE! Tommy Dreamer is probably the only human being alive with more concussions than Daniel Bryan.

That said, it's good for the guys. WWE won't let them get injured without pay, at least. That's the only good that can come of it.

[Sebby19]

I am still amazed how good this game is. Maybe I should get this on the Wii U.

Rao, you missed an alternate pathway before you found that secret tunnel to those chicken bombs enemies (anyone care to explain those things? And is the bigger one a screen nuke?)

[Joseph Staleknight]

Man, those flying Exploders. They're not so bad now since failing to detonate them in time will only cause slight damage (though their sheer numbers would make you think otherwise), but later on they will be rather painful to juggle along with the other enemies in both dimensions.

And that's not getting into the insta-death Blurryface ones.

Meanwhile, the double jump is another vital part of your arsenal. From now on the game will expect you to jump longer or trickier gaps than before, so you'll need it to traverse more easily.

E: Actually, you know what? I'm thinking about doing my own LP of Guacamelee STCE after raocow finishes up this one since I still have my copy on my Wii U. It'll be fun seeing the differences in control schemes between rao's Joy2Key setup and my Gamepad.

[Tenlade]

man, combat sure got complicated

Eh, no less complex then smash bros, even less so because everything is color coded. the problem is that the sheilds + unblockable attack monsters start to get real obnoxious after a while.

speaking of color, I like how the dev's noticed the graphics sometimes blend into the background, and put bright, cleanly visible colored line on the floors and walls to help signify where they begin and end. This game has a really great use of color.

[Fapnoob]

So many skipped doors and paths in this tree, my metroidvania sense is triggered.

[Bean]

I am still amazed how good this game is. Maybe I should get this on the Wii U.

Yeah, you should. I keep going on about Freedom Planet and a lot of other people have done the same with Shovel Knight, but Guacamelee! is right up there with the both of them in capturing that kind of quality gameplay from the 90s with a few new tricks.

[Juanbro]

Ah, the Tule Tree, a really interesting place, and the first place were your platforming skills are tested, as well as your ability to see side paths...ability that raocow has some problems to use.

Now, the few references in yesterday's video that I could get.

-The mexican references, phrases and words:
3:28 Tule Tree. It is a name, and is called like that because it is located really close to a church called Saint Maria del Tule. It is the tree the biggest diameter in the whole world, with 14.05 meters, according to a quick research. No one knows how old is, but it is estimated that it has lived more than 2000 years...wow.

-The videogame references and others:
4:45 A fire flower in the wall, to the left of the cackling skull.

And...yeah, I think that is pretty much it...unless there is something else...

[BrokenSaintRW]

I forgot to post this here, but Pescado!!!!!

[Zephyr_DragonLord]

Alternatively, treemendous tales.
...I'll be here all week.

Since I missed a post last time, I though to make the Tule Tree one big post instead. It is the largest area of the game, after all...

That open sky miiiight beat it out, but still...

First, the etymology of the place. Tule is a type of plant native to the marshes of Mexico City and California. Since this game referenced it, I assume its range extends into Mexico proper as well. (orrr I could miss a reference explaining it right above me. Gah, both explanations work.)

Next... double jump. This one explains itself. You regenerate it upon a wall jump. Simple. Just like the lone No Power Choozo statue.

And now to explain the enemies.
First up is the Exploders. They have a countdown, and will start ticking as soon as they spawn. When they explode, they do some damage to you. You'll want to wail on them with whatever abilities you can hit them with. They'll be sure to use these to test your knowledge of your attacks, so act fast!

Next are Windmill Skeletons. I'm sure their official name is far more dignified, but I'll leave it here for now. These enemies have two main attacks; a sword spinning windmill around them, and a stab with all four swords. The latter attack is swift for the great reach it has. They can also dodge your attacks. You'll want to be wary around these enemies... they'll be placed along with other dangerous enemies near the end, which is when areas become really hectic.

Lastly, Jaguar Gladiator Skeletons. (Also not their official name) They wield a big hammer, and swing it towards you. This leaves them open to attack. They can dodge, so stay on your toes. A point to note is that enemies around this size (like the Windmill Skeletons above) can only be flinched with a Special Attack, such as a Rooster Uppercut.

You're doing well here, raocow. You did miss some collectables, such as in the first area with saws. This is the point where collectables become a challenge to obtain, so keep your skills sharp. The whole platforming section outside the Tule Tree reminds me of Super Paper Mario... in a good way.

[Mata Hari]

I thought it was called the Tule Tree because it's very tule.

[Joseph Staleknight]

(Alt title: "Soooooooy un perdedooooor...")

Well, I laughed at the "No Power" Choozo. Uay Chivo must be sore from all the property damage by now.

Anyway, if the Exploders haven't upped the difficulty in combat, the Windmills and Hammertimes will. The former can dodge like the yellow Esqueletos and have this spinning attack that is sure to hit you unless you also dodge. Meanwhile, the latter are slow but have a strong, undodgeable hammer swing that shoves their name into your face. You'd best get close and keep up the pressure on those types to destroy them.

Also, there's the new mechanic of white shields. If you don't act fast they can really mess up your combo like the colored versions. Best to stick to simple combos to break them before going gung-ho on the enemies they protect.

Finally, you should have gone further in that one path where you died to the wall saws, raocow. I think there were some extra goodies there!

[Alice]

The path that raocow skipped over due to the saws is the one I was talking about yesterday/the day before so I was actually kinda hoping he'd go that way so I could see if they changed it at all in the turbo edition. The path he took doesn't seem to be changed so I'm assuming not. That one is definitely the easier of the two since it's not completely made up of instant death bullshit.

[Juanbro]

Oh raocow, forgetting about an ability he got recently since inmemorable times...

The "No Power" fanfare made me laugh so much when I played it...this game sure has a good sense of humor.

And...yeah, the game is starting to pick up, which isn't bad, because it adds more fun to the game. Sadness that you didn't explore the other path at 12:00 to its fullness...despite being harder, I got more fun traversing it than the one you took in the video.

And now...for the close to zero references in the video.

- The Mexican references, phrases and words:
9:18 I may be looking into it and consider it a reference just for the sake to try to refer it to something, but I think that the snake dragon thing in the mural there is Quetzalcoatl, a god of the mesoamerican civilizations. One name they used to refer "him" was "feathered snake".
16:20 There we have again the snake dragon thing again. As I said...one may be Quetzalcoatl, and the other...Tlaloc, the god of rain? I don't really know.

- The videogame references and others:
Unless I am blind, I did not notice one in the video.

[Alice]

Oh raocow, forgetting about an ability he got recently since inmemorable times...

A new ability that a fair chunk of the last video was about making use of nonetheless, lol.

[ztarwuff]

At the moment, I'm trying to 100% the game and it's just too much. I don't think it'd be fun watching raocow do everything. Just maybe the more interesting secrets?

[churine]

9:18 I may be looking into it and consider it a reference just for the sake to try to refer it to something, but I think that the snake dragon thing in the mural there is Quetzalcoatl, a god of the mesoamerican civilizations. One name they used to refer "him" was "feathered snake".
16:20 There we have again the snake dragon thing again. As I said...one may be Quetzalcoatl, and the other...Tlaloc, the god of rain? I don't really know.

In some myths, Quetzalcoatl was a deity of resurrection... So I think that the other dragon could maybe be his brother Xolotl? While never depicted as a feathered serpent (rather a dog and the Axolotl), he's a deity of the dead and the underworld, and both share a symbolism with the morning and evening star.
Given the game's theme of between the living and the underworld, and Calaca trying to overtake them, it would be fitting... But on the other hand, it also seems out of place for this game to just "adapt" a cultural element like that.

[Grounder]

rip in peace smw flame head

[Joseph Staleknight]

Going by his Prohibition line, I always thought Flame Face was a Texan who just helped Calaca because he was promised free tequila forever. (No offense meant to actual Texans, of course.)

Speaking of Flame Face, raocow was lucky to do him in in one round. Unlike X'tabay, Flame Face has no checkpoints in his fight. This along with his predilection for remembering his bottomless magazines this time, his flame-based attacks, and his mooks make him a great deal tougher than the previous boss. Probably doesn't help that his fight is preceded by a rather annoying one-directional maze of vines and insta-kill saws--I too had some difficulty clearing them.

So, now that you've gotten the Dashing Derpderp [sic!], you can now do plenty of things before heading to the Sierra! Obviously there are a few alternate paths to take in the Temple of War, but there were plenty of other sidequests to finish up in the areas you've been to before. One major one is going back to the Tule Tree and

ascending its heights to the Tree Tops for a Chac Mool mask piece.

Finally, Goat Climb is awesome since you can climb areas much more quickly. It also helps bust multiple Rooster Uppercut blocks without the need for that move, provided they're all next to a wall. Pair that with the final ability

not including the Chicken Bombs or the Chac Mool special ability

, and you can go almost anywhere!

[The Doctor]

- The videogame references and others:
Unless I am blind, I did not notice one in the video.

There was the Return of the Jedi reference.

El Presidente's daughter: "Your overconfidence is your weakness."
Calaca: "Your faith in your friends is yours"

[Zephyr_DragonLord]

......! You mastered the Dashing Derpderp (amazing name, by the way) in a matter of minutes!
The rest of the game should not give you too many problems, in that case.

This is also what I thought of when I said you won't be seeing the last of those saws. It is a rather problematic room, but becomes simpler when you learn the motions through it.

Anyways, Flame Face. I've always seen him as a person who died, but could not pass into the afterlife, as his passion continues to burn, and his pain of limbo only being drenched with... bar drinks. He's gone mad from all of this, so it's natural he'd be on Caleca's side.

This time, he did bring ammo, and will used it with reckless abandon. All of that can be dodged. What makes him rather dangerous are his other attacks. He'll also bring himself into a flaming cartwheel that can be dodged as well, but moves rather fast, and only gets faster the lower Flame Face is on health. He will also summon skeletons to the other dimension, and cause a flame wave to be raised in the dead dimension. The skeletons can be hit in your dimension, and the flames becomes water in the living dimension. He'll also spend more time on the upper ledges at low health, adding a series of gunshots as an attack when perched up there.

You managed to take Flame Face down very fast... I'm impressed. Now to tackle the last leg of the game and/or explore.
Oh, and there was a Lion King reference snuck in the dialogue before the Flame Face fight.

[Willhart]

The fighting in normal mode is starting to seem a bit easy. The player is not taking too much damage from anything.

[S.N.N.]

I remember Flame Face being surprisingly easy for me as well. I was left with a "that's it?" feeling after beating him, especially given how great of a character he was leading up to this.

The remaining bosses more than make up for him difficulty-wise, at least.

[Wolfolotl]

I'm gonna miss Flame Face he was handsome in that weird way that object heads or faceless humanoids are