So, I got a new TV. I probably should've actually overseen its purchase, as it has component while the Wii has composite. So until I get some sort of workaround, I'll be playing this game in glorious monochrome! Not that that affects a mostly-text LB much. Heh.
BUDDY: Hooray, Candypalooza! If we tour the candy factory then maybe we'll get some candy!
LYNDSAY: Sorry, Buddy, but I did some research and there's no candy factory on Candypalooza.
BUDDY: Man, what's a guy gotta do to get some free samples, pal?!
LYNDSAY: Well, I'd be happy to share my cupcake with you...except, oh wait! You already ate it!!!
Ooh, icing burn!
BUDDY: Yeah...That was awesome.
We arrive at an island decorated by tikis and torches. There's a guy with a checklist, wearing goggles. He turns around and sees us.
????: Hey, 'sup buds? Welcome to the party of the century: Candypalooza!
BUDDY: Neat! A party! I want free cake!
LYNDSAY: What's Candypalooza? Is that like a concert?
????: Dude, only the sickest concert ever! It's got games, music, awesome decorations, and the one and only DJ Candy!
We look it over.
LYNDSAY: But...I don't see any of that...
????: Oh. Yeah, we haven't set it up yet. No big deal, though.
A bepigtailed girl with a visor and a shirt that lets a little midriff show goes up to him.
????????: Omigosh, omigosh, omigosh, Zack! DJ Candy is going to be here soon and, like, we totally haven't checked a single thing off our to-do list!!
Well, maybe if one of your items had been make a to-do list, you wouldn't have that problem!
ZACK: Relax, Sapphire, it's cool. These dudes can help us.
SAPPHIRE: Oh wow, really? That is just so totally great, you guys. I was, like, totally freaking out there and now I think maybe things will be okay. Thanks!
ZACK: Anyway, thanks for agreeing to help us out. It's gonna be a seriously awesome show. If you want to help me set up the concert, just come talk to me at the main stage. If you want to help set up DJ Candy's place, go talk to Sapphire. Thanks again. You dudes rock!
They go to their respective areas.
LYNDSAY: I think I missed something. Did anyone actually ASK if we could help?
Hey, I was gonna help 'em anyway. King Points! Also, happy Sims!
Kara shrugs.
LYNDSAY: Well, I guess we'd better help them out. We'll get some good King Points out of it, and DJ Candy DOES put on a pretty good show!
Zack
It is Zack's job to look cool all the time and to make sure he is at every hip concert and happening party. Was there a great time had by all? Zack was there. Zack worries about the event details...so YOU don't have to! What a great guy!
His Interest is Fun.
Sapphire
Sapphire is a phenomenon yet to be understood by science. She is known to make hummingbirds look sleepy and boring. She fuels her break dancing and liquid moves with a steady supply of her own brand of energy drink: Sapphire Blu-Energy Burstz. You can find them on the top shelves of stores everywhere, but DARE YOU DRINK THEM?
Fun also.
I talk to Zack.
ZACK: Oh, are you here to help me out? Sweet! Thanks for helping me get this show online. I'm, like, Candy's biggest fan—wouldn't want to disappoint her.
LYNDSAY: I don't get it...are you a fan or are you a roadie?
ZACK: I'm both, but I prefer the term 'Show Producer.' I'm alos president of the official DJ Candy Fan Club!
BUDDY: So how can we help?
ZACK: We have the DJ setup on stage, but there's no power! Think you guys could hook it up?
TASK: Roadie Sound Check
I need to run power to the DJ setup. I could just plop a solar panel next to it, but running wires from the existing wind-powered generator is more Mana-efficient.
ZACK: Sweet, we got some serious power now! Thanks for the hookup, Kara!
He gives off some Mana and 25 KP. I talk to him again.
ZACK: Alright, dude, let's get back to work. Those dance floors need power too! Can't dance the breaks without some electron flow!
Well, yes, nerve impulses are necessary... not sure why you need floors made of colored lights when normal concrete seems to be good enough for some people... nevertheless...
TASK: Dancing Machines
No challenge figuring out the basics of what I need to do here: Dance floors have several points where wires might be attached. I just need to run electricity to one, so I do.
Dancing on a dance floor gives off Happy.
ZACK: Hey, way to go! The fans are really going to dig those.
I talk to him again.
ZACK: Ok, now, we've got all the speakers here, but we need them powered and positioned for maximum volume!
TASK: Watts the Matter?
Thankfully, they don't require some kind of sprinkleresque positioning to satisfy Zack; just power them. Four to the left, four to the right, four in back as monitors, and voila!
ZACK: Thanks for all the watts! This will be our best show ever!!!
25 more KP. I talk to him yet again.
ZACK: Ok, we've got all the sound stuff figured out, but now we need the set all set up. We need decoration!
TASK: Concert Décor
I'm to decorate the stage and dance area. It needs 25 Nature, 10 Cute, and 6 Food. I didn't get a Scroll, so I guess I just make do with what I have.
I'm going to explore a bit first.
The "grass" goes Pear, Musical Note, Sapphire, Simoleon, but at some point, the third in a series gives me an Officer Ewan Figurine!
Onstage, in back, is a Bird of Paradise.
The chest behind some trees east of the dance floor contains some Simoleons and some Modern Apparel. Each outfit shows a little midriff... at least if the character is female.
- One is a striped tube top with a jagged lower hem and a skirt with a skull motif.
- The next is a tie-up top with a star on it, and a skirt with a wave picture on it.
- Next, a top where the straps loop around the neck, and a skirt. The picture is clouds and the side of a pond or something.
- Next, a top that's like a bikini top. Combined with a short pair of shorts, there's a lot of tummy exposure. This is the one I'm going with, but...
- The last one is a lot like the two-piece I had her wear in Agents.
A small island west of the dock has a chest containing Sapphires, Simoleons, and Mana.
Back to the Task at hand. I put out a Picnic Blanket, a Campfire, and a Pizza Oven to satisfy the Food requirement (and generate Chocolate from the Picnics), and place Roses and Tall Bushes for the rest.
ZACK: Dude, you've got the dance pit set up like whoa! Thanks, Kara!
50 more KP. Time to start helping Sapphire.
SAPPHIRE: Omigosh, you guys came to help me! Oh, you guys are totally life savers. I have, like, this ginormous list of demands from Candy's contract. She HAS to have all this stuff or else she won't go on stage!
BUDDY: Wow! You can do that?!
Once you've built up demand, you can. Try it before you've proven yourself, and I can only imagine you'll never get the chance.
BUDDY: Hey, Lyndsay, you should fill my side of the boat with candy or else I'll quit.
LYNDSAY: You can quit whenever you want.
BUDDY: Quit?! Never! I'll help Kara 'til the very end, pal!!!
LYNDSAY: Well, alright, then.
SAPPHIRE: Woah. Drama. Anyway, she sent me this, like, scroll thing. Maybe it will help you build this house thing!!
SCROLL: Sapphire's Scroll
It requires 10 Sapphires, 20 Pears, and 15 8-Balls. We only need the 8-Balls, though we'll also want Pears for another Scroll.
...the Building Blocks Scroll.
LYNDSAY: Great Job! You've gathered all of the Essences needed for the Building Blocks Scroll.
I Treasure Find, getting 8-Balls, Electrobits, and Mana, and unlock the Mad Science Scroll!
LYNDSAY: Is...is that a monkey I see? These new wand powers are crazy!
Now I can build a Monkey, Cereal Boxes, a Tool Set, and paint with Brains Paint.
More Treasure Finding nets me...
SCROLL: Motorin'
It requires 20 Silver and 20 Electrobits. I have so many Electrobits... but I'm lacking in the Silver department.
I shake some more pears down and get enough to unlock Sapphire's Scroll.
LYNDSAY: I was kinda hoping we could keep the Sapphires for ourselves. They're so pretty!
Cabin Logs, a Log Cabin Door, a Wooden Platform, a Log Cabin Covered Window, a Wooden Column, a Pyramid Roof are the new things we can build, and Candy's Natural House Paints are what we can paint with.
TASK: The House of Candy
So now I start to build. The house requires 20 Nature, 20 Structure, 5 Fun, and 1 Door. I use the blocks from Sapphire's Scroll, the Monkey, the Pretty Flower, the Toy Robot, the Garden Gnome, and the Monarch Butterfly, and for a final touch, I paint the exterior wall with a Ketchup pattern. That sounds Fun!
SAPPHIRE: Wow! You totally, like, MADE a house. Let's go check out the insides!
She gives me new headgear, and I get Mana and 50 KP. That next King Level is so close I can taste it! I go inside and talk to Sapphire.
SAPPHIRE: Omigosh! There's, like, nothing in here! How boring! We need to, like, add some fun things to do in here to DJ can unwind after the concert. Here's a Scroll that shows some of her favorite stuff. Think that might help?
SCROLL: Natural Furniture
It betta. Speaking of bettas, it requires 5, along with 5 Squid and 20 Wood. I harvest all the Wood I need and then some fro a Musical Note tree, and go to the pier. Along with Bettas and Squid, I get an Alexa Figurine! (I also get Electric Eels, but I have enough of those.)
I unlock the newest Scroll.
LYNDSAY: Alright! Let's see what we get!
Tree Branch Bed, Tree Branch Chair, Tree Branch Sofa, Tree Branch Coffee Table, Tree Branch Lounger, Roundstump Dining Table, Squarestump End Table, and Interior Au Natural Paints.
Paints excluded, it's basically wooden furniture that isn't too removed in appearance from its source.
TASK: Rock the House
The interior requires 15 Domestic, 10 Fun, 10 Food, and 5 Cute.
The problem with the NF scroll is that the furniture you unlock primarily satisfies Nature and doesn't do much toward the other Interest requirements. But with some creative application, I fulfill them.
SAPPHIRE: Oh, this is perfect, Kara! DJ Candy will definitely have fun in here. Thanks!
GUILLERMO: Chitter-chitter!
That's right, folks, it's time for the rewards for achieving King Level 4!
BUDDY: Here, Guillermo! Over here, boy!
LYNDSAY: So where is he?
Did I fail the quicktime?
BUDDY: I guess he's late!
But... we came running outside because we heard him... He does fly down soon after, however.
GUILLERMO: Chitter-chit! Chitter-chitter!
BUDDY: Oh, that's okay, pal. Those crosswinds can be brutal.
Buddy is given the letter, and starts reading:
BUDDY: "Dear, Kara. CRISIS! I finally tried a cupcake I didn't like! I don't know what to do!"
...Read The Light in the Darkness? I hear that washes out the taste of unsavory cupcakes from one's mi— I mean, mouth.
BUDDY: "It had lychee-flavored icing! Disgusting! I was very sad and confused, but then I heard about the amazing things you've been doing as Wandolier."
I've seen Sad Essences, but not Confused. Huh.
BUDDY: "That raised my spirits considerably! Well done! The kingdom's in better shape than ever! In fact, many people you've already helped are asking for your services again! I'm including new maps, but feel free to revisit the lands you've been too and see how everyone is doing! They may have new challenges for you!" Neat! We can see our old friends again!
Well, we could anyway, but there was no gameplay point to it.
LYNDSAY: And I want a look at those new maps!
The Uncharted Isle, The Royal Academy, and Trevor Island are uncovered on the world map. That only leaves one more island covered!
LYNDSAY: Wow! I don't know where to go first!
BUDDY: Kara can decide when we're back at the boat. Thanks again, Guillermo!
LYNDSAY: After you, Kara!
SCROLL: Fit For a King
It requires 65 Wood, 25 Happy, and 25 Sapphire.
Also, Royal outfits in Kingdom Outfitters, a sorceress outfit in Costume Corner.
I'll go into more detail about that other aspect of things at the end of this chapter, but for now...
Outside the house, we're all gathered together.
ZACK: Annnnnnd...check! That's it, Saph! Thanks to our friends here, we got every single item on the list!
SAPPHIRE: Omigosh, that is so awesome! I wasn't totally sure if we could pull it off and then WE DID!!! Now there's only one thing missing...
DJ CANDY: Well, I'm never gonna get a better cue than that!
SAPPHIRE: Omigosh it's HER!!!
ZACK: Ladies and gentlemen...
SAPPHIRE: ...The one, the only...
...the eponymous...
Dramatic camera angles!
DJ CANDY: DJ CANDY!!!!
She starts dancing.
BUDDY: WOW! What a great entrance!
We look around.
LYNDSAY: Wait a second, where's...
They're dancing with her.
BUDDY: Ha! Ha! This is fun! Unh...yeah...
He starts dancing, too, though not the same thing...
BUDDY: ...boom-boom, yeah...chicka-chow...unh...
...Oh, Buddy. Anyway, Candy looks around.
DJ CANDY: Not bad, guys. SUPER not bad. You really outdid yourselves this time!
ZACK: It's all thanks to Kara and her friends!
DJ CANDY: Oh, wow! You put all this together, Kara?! Nice job, dude, nice job! I wanna make sure you guys are front and center for my concert tonight!
LYNDSAY: Thanks, that would be great!
DJ CANDY: Cool. Yo, Z! Can you and Saph make final preps while I go check out my new digs?
ZACK: You got it, Candy!
SAPPHIRE: Omigosh, totally yes!
DJ CANDY: Sweet! Kara, let's swing by my house and make sure it's ready for the concert.
I got 50 KP, putting me at 40.
DJ Candy "Supergroove"
Touring the Kingdom 24/7 to ensure that every party is optimally mega-fun can sure be exhausting, but DJ Candy doesn't back down. She's always the groovin' party centerpiece and resident Kingdom genius of all things related to sweet sound, hot beats, and AV cable magnetic shielding.
Like the other two, her Interest is Fun.
TASK: Candy's New Digs
I walk up the short steps. Candy is standing near a crab that I'm... pretty sure I didn't place.
DJ CANDY: Oh, this is soooooo chill. Kara, your work is excellent. I might have to ask you to tour with me!
I'll consider it... after all my other Wandoliering duties are done.
DJ CANDY: And that crab-shaped statuette is a hoot! So kitsch. And totally life-like.
It starts moving...
DJ CANDY: ACK! That's a totally real crab! What's it doing here?!
Lyndsay and Buddy are beset, as well.
LYNDSAY: Scram! Get out of here, you crazy crabs!
She hits the ground with rolled-up paper. Kara comes over.
LYNDSAY: They just came out of nowhere!
ZACK: Help!!
SAPPHIRE: Look out look out look out!
Some crabs chase them.
SAPPHIRE: Oh no! N-no n-no no no!
ZACK: We've scheduled Candypalooza right on top of there island's annual epic crab migration!
LYNDSAY: Schedule conflict. Bummer.
ZACK: We'll have to herd these crabs out of here before they pinch up all the equipment!
SAPPHIRE: Does anyone here have herding experience?
ZACK: Just get them to the shores, kay?
TASK: Attack of the Crabs!
There are crabs around in different places, but they can be herded to the shores to the north and south without much trouble. I talk to Candy when I'm done.
DJ CANDY: Whew! Thanks for chasing those crabs away. Well, looks like it's about that time!
We transition over to the stage and dance areas. DJ Candy is at the DJ equipment, playing music. Lyndsay has the dance floor, while the others dance around the edges. Next, Kara's turn. Then, Buddy. Zack and Sapphire stop dancing for a bit until Buddy starts breakdancing. Then the music stops when he's done.
DJ CANDY: Yo! I wanna give a special shout out to my number one fan, Kara! None of this would have been possible without her help! I'm gonna take a little break and hit the dance floor. Kara, get yourself up here and spin for us!
She goes to the dance floor while Kara takes her place. All while the music plays, it gives off Musical Notes, the occasional 8-ball, Happy, and eventually, while I DJ again, the DJ Candy Figurine!
Now that that's done, I want to harvest Essences for Fit For a King.
While I'm Treasure Finding, I spot a chest containing Mana, Electrobits, and Chocolate!
LYNDSAY: Great! You've collected all the Essences needed for the Fit For a King Scroll!
I gain the ability to place a Royal Mirror, Crown Bookends, a Mounted Crown, a Royal Bed, a Knight's Chair, a Knight's Dining Table, a Knight's End Table, a King's Chair, and a Royal Sofa, and paint with Castle Roof Blue Shingles Paint, Castle Stone Paint, Castle Floor Paint.
Anyway, Buddy and Lyndsay are yawning when I talk to them, so it's time to head off.
Now I'll talk about what I said I would.
Every island has, shall we say, a few loose ends to tie up. Not another fully involved story, you understand, but every NPC now has a few more Tasks for us to complete. And the islands that I haven't gone to yet? Well, I have to do their stories first, but yes, they have those, too.
Incidentally, I'm going to hold off on further Fish and Figurine deliveries until we go to Capital Island and Rocket Reef, respectively.
So... this is normally where I ask my readers where they want me to go next. Not this time. I'm going to Trevor Island next. Why? Because I hate it so much. That doesn't make sense, you say? Well, consider the following:
- We've been getting KP for completing Tasks.
- KP adds up to King Levels.
- Each new level adds up to a new reward.
- The next level I get gives me the final reward.
- Any Tasks I perform thereafter are for the sake of completeness.
- Trevor Island has one really frustrating task, and also has a number of other tasks that aren't so bad in themselves, but it's what goes on while I'm performing them that irritates me.
- This means that, if I put it off long enough, I don't even get King Points as a reward for them.
Therefore, that's one I want to do as soon as possible. In fact, the next update may be later today. Keep an Eyeball Essence out for it!
Next time: Trevor Island!
