Booster vs. tow rope

[fPeter]

Makes no damn sense.

All i did was talk to the man, i didn't even ask for the damn thing, and how does it prevent me from finding a tow rope anyways? :confused:

Furthermore, if i didn't research this, how would i ever find out about the rope in the first place? Like, what kind of gamer ignores something that falls past them and is very clearly pointed out?

[Zefar]

You have to clear the jump without going down to the professor.

The Tow rope is shining at the bottom right corner of that place. So you would most likely spot it at some point.

So if you want the good ending you need to clear the jump on the first try and get the tow rope at the boss stage. Later on you'll get a better Booster pack to use.

[fPeter]

So if you want the good ending you need to clear the jump on the first try

See, this is exactly what i take issue with. "If you're a good person, you don't check on the professor who just fell down into a deep hole"

Of course i know that now, but how was i supposed to come to this conclusion on my own without a walkthrough? :/

If i didn't read up on the game, i probably would have taken the booster in every playthrough, because why not, and i never would have known that you can actually save Curly. (That is unless the game actually hints at that later, i don't know because i ragequit after the core)

[seleniteSB]

See, this is exactly what i take issue with. "If you're a good person, you don't check on the professor who just fell down into a deep hole"

Of course i know that now, but how was i supposed to come to this conclusion on my own without a walkthrough? :/

If i didn't read up on the game, i probably would have taken the booster in every playthrough, because why not, and i never would have known that you can actually save Curly. (That is unless the game actually hints at that later, i don't know because i ragequit after the core)

Toward the end of the game, right before you fight Misery, There is a little hut where you can save your game.
If you checked out the bookshelf, the professor's dairy will state that if he lives, he will make a a booster 2.0. This should be a big clue. A first playthough will most likely result in the bad/normal ending.

On your second playthrough or there after, once you've ignored the professor when he falls down in the labyrinth, the rope will also appear during the core boss fight. And once you have the rope, you'll pretty much get the clue that you might be able to save curly (because the first/previous playthrough Quote couldn't carry her due to having no rope).

[joypad]

Toward the end of the game, right before you fight Misery, There is a little hut where you can save your game.
If you checked out the bookshelf, the professor's dairy will state that if he lives, he will make a a booster 2.0. This should be a big clue. A first playthough will most likely result in the bad/normal ending.

On your second playthrough or there after, once you've ignored the professor when he falls down in the labyrinth, the rope will also appear during the core boss fight. And once you have the rope, you'll pretty much get the clue that you might be able to save curly (because the first/previous playthrough Quote couldn't carry her due to having no rope).


OP says the obvious: Talking to Booster doesn't mean that you're the one who kills him. You have to INFER that if you go straight down when you see him falling and you attempt to talk with him you will kill him and he won't create booster 2.0.

Furthermore, how can saving the professor leads the rope to exists in the core room? How is the professor and the rope in the core room connected?

That's what the OP says. There is no logical explanation and, if there weren't any online walkthroughs, I could never ever guess that if I skip the dialogue of the professor I will make him live -> the rope will exist in the core room -> more stuff towards good ending.

The book near the end does say that if he lived he'd make booster 2.0 but how are you killing the professor by talking to him? He took a fall! If you're killing him by talking to him you're actually the killer. If the fall kills him then it shouldn't matter if you talk with him or not.

[Roler42]

OP says the obvious: Talking to Booster doesn't mean that you're the one who kills him. You have to INFER that if you go straight down when you see him falling and you attempt to talk with him you will kill him and he won't create booster 2.0.

Furthermore, how can saving the professor leads the rope to exists in the core room? How is the professor and the rope in the core room connected?

That's what the OP says. There is no logical explanation and, if there weren't any online walkthroughs, I could never ever guess that if I skip the dialogue of the professor I will make him live -> the rope will exist in the core room -> more stuff towards good ending.

The book near the end does say that if he lived he'd make booster 2.0 but how are you killing the professor by talking to him? He took a fall! If you're killing him by talking to him you're actually the killer. If the fall kills him then it shouldn't matter if you talk with him or not.

talking to booster makes him assume he's no longer needed, therefore he no longer has the will to live as he knows he's leaving everything in your hands

not talking to him has him think things are still bad and he's still needed, therefore he gets the will to continue making his booster 2.0 and make it back in order to give it to you

as for the tow rope, let's just say the tow rope gets lost within the remains of the robots because it took you too long to get out of there (jumping down, talking to booster and then making your way out), where as skipping the talk with him makes you get to the core room faster and on time to save the tow rope

[Preacher Bob]

Additionally, at some point you just might start to wonder what the red marker (in the room where you see the professor fall) means, and wonder if you could make that jump, would it break the game if you did. And then you might connect the dots that the marker is your approximate jump marker, and everything kind of follows from there.

At least that's what happened to me.

It's the same thing with the Mimiga Hero stuff, you wonder if you could just not talk to the lady and fly the rocket anyway.

[Firetaffer]

See, this is exactly what i take issue with. "If you're a good person, you don't check on the professor who just fell down into a deep hole"

Hi, I believe this is a very conscious design choice as this game is pretty much meant to be played at least twice. You are given hints that if Booster is alive you would have got a different ending, so upon your second play through you will recognise that talking to him will kill him. The save point is located at a perfect spot so that you can just retry everytime you kill him. This leads you to discover the red mark is actually the jumping point.

[Miraglyth]

To chip in: I like the concept of nudging a player toward the bad ending so their subsequent playthrough/s will do things differently and get better ending/s.

I just don't think the game does enough to make the branch point recognisable.

Had I not been clued in on my first play, I'd have probably jumped down to Booster every time, played the next few minutes the same all the time, and then wasted hours looking around everywhere for what I'd need to do differently.

I might have eventually tried ignoring him (and would like to think that the bad result of talking to him would incentivise me for that) but I expect I'd probably have resorted to a guide by that point.

As for Curly and the Tow Rope, Roler42 said the magic words:

let's just say
When that phrase is needed, it's to cover up a continuity failure, plain and simple.

Overall I can't help but feel there was meant to be some connection between the branch point and the rope, something that explains the latter's existence (or lack thereof) while also being a proper clue to the jump, that the creator had intended to include but couldn't quite work out. It just feels like that is missing.

[Firetaffer]

snip

Regarding the tow rope disappearing, I enjoyed when Curly died and no matter what I did nothing would save her, it gave a really depressing 'You're the man who will save everybody but lose people on the way' feeling. It was an atmospheric decision to tug on your emotions that both Booster and Curly have died. Canonically, there is little to suggest why this occurred. Maybe Quote seeing Booster die because of his interference gives him second thoughts about rescuing Curly? And, this is all merely Quotes subconscious trying to protect Curly by not having anything to do with her?

That's besides the point, not everything has to follow logic if it is made up for the Graphics, atmosphere, so on so fourth. This is not always the case but in Cave Story I believe it works, as it motivates for that second playthrough. You do not question (anymore, probably) the regenerating health in Call of Duty.

[Miraglyth]

C'mon now, if you're going to come up with ideas that are tough to swallow, at least don't throw in an AAA reference for the hell of it.

[Nerfed]

Cave story has multiple endings. You're supposed to play through the game multiple times.

[Firetaffer]

C'mon now, if you're going to come up with ideas that are tough to swallow, at least don't throw in an AAA reference for the hell of it.

Sorry if I offended, I was just using a game that was commonly played. And, there is really nothing we can do with this topic but speculate.

[Miraglyth]

True, and no worries. My speculation's just leaning more towards some form of omission.

Without spoiling too much, just after where you get the Tow Rope, you proceed through an area with another branch point that they couldn't have made much more obvious - A tough jump in plain view followed by a stream that drags you around. If you miss the jump the game gives you the consequence when the stream ends, the moment you regain proper control.

And that's an example of the norm: The other branch points are well-shown, or at least explained. This creates the expectation that - in your words - the game will follow logic which is why it feels so bizarre when in this one instance it really doesn't.

(Incidentally that one jump is IMO harder than everything else in the game prior to that. The streams and the game's naturally slippery movement make it very easy to pass over the one block you can jump from without being able to do anything about it, and the lack of save points force you to replay most of the level on what little you were left with after the area you get the tow rope in.)

[Nerfed]

(Incidentally that one jump is IMO harder than everything else in the game prior to that. The streams and the game's naturally slippery movement make it very easy to pass over the one block you can jump from without being able to do anything about it, and the lack of save points force you to replay most of the level on what little you were left with after the area you get the tow rope in.)

Hold the left arrow key. You'll end up standing still on the block, at the end of the stream. You can now prepare for the jump. To make it, just hold the right arrow key until quote is at the edge of the block, and hold the jump button.

[hawkshadow741]

Protip: Save BEFORE you jump, and jump at the red mark that is clearly marked

[Miraglyth]

Hold the left arrow key. You'll end up standing still on the block, at the end of the stream.
Or you won't, in which case reload the save twice until you're lucky enough to not be swept clear over the block without ever landing on it and being allowed to brake against the game's slippery movement in time.

I'm bemused that part hasn't been mentioned by the guides I've looked at. Between trying to do it by running forward and trying to jump as you get pushed by the stream (which is how it works at the end of Bushlands btw) and the aforementioned incidents of the game deciding to give you no chance regardless of whether you do it right, it took me five stupid reloads and journeys through most of that map. Crazy.