Bored of trying to solve the dragon's puzzle, I hop around Daventry to see if I can find some place to plant the magic beans. After all, if the carrot patch didn't work, then there must surely be some even greater patch of dirt out here that could better accomodate these beans! Disappointingly enough, I finally find a place to plan the beans...in a completely nondescript field in the middle of nowhere. Way to make it surprising.
So, as you can guess, a giant beanstalk sprouts right out of nowhere, and I take it upon myself to climb it. And let me tell you, this section is a mother. Climbing the beanstalk demands pixel-perfect precision so you don't slip and fall, and any fall at this height is instantly fatal. Thankfully Save Scumming is always an option, but it does make me miss the good ol' days of Leisure Suit Larry goes Looking for Love (In Several Wrong Places) where all that happened was losing points.
So I finally climb the beanstalk and enter the kingdom in the clouds. This is the part of the game where it asks "Hey, did you like that beanstalk climbing section? How'd you like to do the same thing blind?" This time, you have to make it past a field of clouds...except the game doesn't give any indication which part of the clouds you can walk on, and which ones you can't. It's a massively frustrating memory game where every step could be fatal, and every single time you fall, you have to watch the full death animation, which doesn't help much. Thankfully, this only took me about twenty or so tries, and I'd say I got off fairly easy too.
Traipsing past the field of clouds, I finally come upon what looks like a forest. "Look"ing around tells me that I should expect to find a giant here - and as luck would have it, that's exactly what I find one screen to the east, with the huge angry giant clutching a treasure chest, one of the three treasures! And now he's crushed me to pieces. Taking a more cautious approach, I sneak closer from the south, hiding behind a tree. The giant knows I'm there, but he's having a little trouble finding me...so in about five minutes, he gives up and takes a nap, leaving his precious chest unguarded. Sneaking stealthily, I grab the chest, and stuff it into my pants. Hot damn, that was easy!
East of the giant's trampling grounds, I find a cave entrance, and take a look inside. Here I find a twisting passage of wooden planks, hanging off of ropes. I follow the path cautiously, making sure not to fall...and falling anyway, about twenty or so times along the way. This is another part where Save Scumming comes in handy. Halfway across the screen, I'm stopped in my path as a little gnome approaches me on the bridge, and suddenly vanishes. "Did he steal something from you?" the game ponders, so I check my inventory, and...
...wait, where the hell is my chest? Son of a bitch!
Reloading (twice), the gnome stays away this time, so I carry on my merry way. This is where I noticed that the new mouse-driven controls are much more helpful, because I can now play the game at full speed without having to worry about falling. At the end of the passage, I find a wooden door, that vanishes on touch. I pass through, to find myself back in the fields of Daventry, as the door materializes behind me. Oh, so that's what was behind that door.
Alright, one down, two more to go.
