Dark Sun: Wake of the Ravager (DOS) [15] Volcano Core

This was horrible to record as a Frankenstein's monster of 3 separate recordings, though it's all due to one really stupid section here (I'll explain in a bit).

As I mentioned in the previous episode, this section is timed. The screen will flash red each time 25% of the clock has elapsed, and with the 4th flash, it's game over, period. As such, it's a mad rush to get to the Fire Ruby and back. I set my CPU cycles to 15,000, it was the fastest the game seems to run without screwing us too much on the clock. It also helps that there isn't many moving enemies or NPCs here.

The fire drakes to the south are optional. The game is kind enough to leave a grappling hook here if you need one (and you will need one for the section later). Further to the east, we fight what I call Super Draxans (they have 13 HD, seem completely immune to Hold Person and are very well equipped), save some Verini kids and meet a dying Galinix.

The bridge section resulted in a load after using the grappling hook multiple times to get to the west. I wasn't expecting to cross the bridge all the way to the west and then get "NO PATH TO HERE" AND no options to attack the Draxans there. Sigh.

After that, we're in the dreaded Sinking Stones Maze. Why is this here in a time-critical segment?!? I screwed this one up a few times offscreen before nailing it properly. If you're stuck, look up an FAQ or a cluebook or pay really close attention to where I'm stepping since you don't want to step on some tiles twice. I ended up stopping my previous recording to do one good take and continue from there.

The rest is a bunch of easy fights with one real annoyance being the section at 24:47. The first time I got here, I had no idea where I needed to go to continue forward. Was there really a need for this here too?!? Anyway, we grab the Fire Ruby in the end, run back, seal the place, and we find out that Fori isn't just a simple storyteller. This section has one cut as well as I forgot to turn on Speech Effects after doing the Sinking Stones Maze nonsense. Sigh. I like the idea of this area, but we really didn't need the maze, or having to walk exactly to the a gap to jump over.