07-13-2019, 08:42 PM
Recently, I have had another interesting game idea in my mind that builds upon my Mario & Luigi story. Basically, it's a sequel to Captain Toad Treasure Tracker, and a pseudo-sequel to Mario & Luigi: Eclipsed Memories starring Toadette. It would also be an interesting attempt at edutainment, as my tentative title is presently Toadette's Spelling Exploration. Here's my plot:
- Wingo is after the super-shiny "Orthocrystal." Spelling is required to access it, and Wingo is illiterate, so she decides to search out her adversary, Captain Toad, to try to access it for her, as he was always good at solving puzzles. Flying over to Toad Town, she searches the hamlet only to find that the Captain wasn't there. But she soon encounters her other adversary, Toadette, walking home from her Music Room - close enough! Concealed, she stalks the Toad back to her home and waits for an ample opportunity to snatch her away. Soon Wingo notices Toadette's boyfriend, Nerr T, approaching with a bouquet of flowers. A ransom! Nerr T had just finished his semester at Sarasacademy (as depicted from the events of Eclipsed Memories) and was going to spend some quality time with Toadette. When Toadette comes out to greet him, Wingo reveals herself, knocks Toadette over, then grabs Nerr T and carries him off. Toadette then darts inside her home, changes into her explorer outfit, and runs in pursuit, beginning the story.
- Wingo has a niece named Avia that resents her aunt's actions. Toadette meets her at the close of Episode 1, when Avia rescues Toadette from a collapsing cavern complex or castle (where the final boss of the Episode was fought) and becomes her guide and companion for Episode 2. She would only be about a third the size of Wingo. This Episode could end with Toadette fighting Wingo and unwittingly unveiling the crystal, which Wingo then grabs and flies away. This causes all written letters in the Mushroom Kingdom to become horribly scrambled, wreaking havoc everywhere. Wingo also finds out about how her niece was involved and takes Avia away.
- Episode 3 would start with Nerr T escaping the enclosure (a playable character, in other words) that Wingo had concealed him in, as she was not aware that Nerr T was also smart enough to solve the puzzles within. He meets up with Toadette soon after Wingo takes the crystal and adventures with her in pursuit of the giant bird to rescue Avia (Nerr T could think "This isn't exactly what I had in mind when I said 'I need to find some more activities for Toadette and me to do' . . ."). Toadette reaches the place where Avia is being held, but finds that it was all a trap and ends up being abducted herself by a concealed Wingo. Nerr T then follows after his girlfriend and fights Wingo himself. Three hits jar Toadette free, but Wingo still is active. The two Toads then engage Wingo in a final encounter (pick your character) and defeat her, taking back the Orthocrystal and putting everything back to normal.
This game idea is inspired by an edutainment game that I remember playing when I was young called Yobi's Basic Spelling Tricks or Spelling Jungle. The puzzles were quite challenging, which is why my father also had fun playing it. Some of the spelling gimmicks could be in the form of Shy Guys with a letter on their robes that would need to be defeated in the right order so as to spell out a particular word, and Toadette would be awarded with a Super Gem (a similar gimmick can also be found in Word Rescue). This concept can easily be applied to Japanese as well, such as writing out a particular kanji in kana (either hiragana or katakana).
Also, I had another idea (very, very preliminary at the moment) for a possible Partners in Time sequel. I have nothing of particular value to share except that the Bros could ride Yoshis and having an encounter between Baby Bowser and Bowser Jr.
Also, I had another idea (very, very preliminary at the moment) for a possible Partners in Time sequel. I have nothing of particular value to share except that the Bros could ride Yoshis and having an encounter between Baby Bowser and Bowser Jr.
By the way, if I haven't been posting lately, it's because I've been drawing a lot. I am putting together some sketches to put into my Word document as accompanying illustrations. Hopefully, I can get it all put together in the near future. I will post an update when that happens. If you think this edutainment game could work, feel free to leave a 1-Up.