[FANGAME][IDEA] - Cocoron: Return to Dreams

[TomGuycott]

Update Log

7/20:
-Added Update Log
-Added Concept sketches for Ashling and Ragshield
-Added Stage Transitions in development
-Added Secret Boss section
-Added Screenshots to the Original Game section

10/19:
-Added Character bios (Blue Moon, Hydra-Five, Amphiprionsiat)

12/11/10
-Lost track of some minor updates which are still dated
-Added several Boss Descriptions under their respective levels.
-Added descriptions of Story Levels accessed outside of standard World Map selection

Current list of requisitions for a demo level:

1. Minimum of three complete bodies, containing:
a. Heads
b. Bodies
c. Arms
d. Legs
e. Back (optional)
f. Weapons
I intend to make similar kinds of bodies to minimize work, for example several humanoids rather than several different kinds of movement types like vehicle bodies or legs, simply to minimize work early on.

2. First version of a system of effectively switching between afformentioned bodies while minimizing file space.

3. Two to three mildly complete levels in order to test various level elements, particularly stage transitions, as well as test an early version of the map screen.

4. Several complete enemies for each level, while also testing concepts like Rare Enemies and Random Enemies.

5. At least one complete miniboss and boss (probably one of the simpler ones).

6. At least one dialogue scene, containing both regular speech and the questioning scene after.

I’ve finally decided to buckle down on a single idea and try to work off of it as far as I can stand. Out of all the concepts I've wanted to try, this one is the most interesting to me and is the one I can see myself struggling with after months toiling over minor aspects of it.

In advance, I apologize for the lack of visual concepts. I am currently hopping between houses, and I lose track of where I leave things, for instance my tablet charger. I'm feeling more inspired tonight than usual, so I wanted to jot this down and give myself a firmer foundation for this. Additional visuals are to come soon.

My original notes in my ideas thread that will all be expounded upon in greater detail in this thread anyway

Cocoron 2:

A tenative title, of course, I'd probably give it a cheesy subtitle like "Cocoron: Return to Dreams" or something ridiculous like that. Essentially it'd be a spiritual sequel to the original, not really intending to be exactly the same... Maybe I should explain with a list.

Returning aspects:
-Creating characters by choosing different body parts and weapons
-Returning characters like Cocoron, Flint the Pirate, Santa Claus and others
-Non-linear stage select

New aspects I plan to make:
-Melee attacks (Either based on what body you choose, or maybe it'd be a selectable attack)
-New moves (possibly, kind of falls under the melee attacks above, maybe I'd include special attacks or moves based on what head or body you choose)
-Leveling up system maybe?
-The levels themselves would be a little less linear, slightly longer, more bosses, longer game overall.
-Transitions between good and bad dreams (Levels would change based on whether the dream was good or bad
-Possible cameos by other characters based around dream worlds? (Little Nemo, Kirby.. are there some others?)
-Higher than 8-bit graphics

I just thought it was a very interesting game, and I'd love to see a sequel, even if I have to make it myself. xD

First off, a few points:

-Ultimately at this point, this project will be my own vehicle. I'm open to suggestions, but I don't want to get anyone on board for legitimate roles in elements such as design and programing until I can show you more substantial elements.

-I've got some concepts in progress on my other computer. When I get to it, I'll post them up, hopefully after having worked on them a little bit more to ensure a higher level of quality.

-I'm not going to have anything playable for a few weeks for sure, because I don't even have graphics of any kind yet. What will likely happen is that I'll program something with minimal graphics that illustrates the gameplay and post that as soon as possible.

Cocoron (The Original Game) (Updated 7/20)

-The original game Cocoron was a Famicom game never released in America, although there is an easily accessible translated ROM in existence that many people know of.


-The story takes place within your own dream, guided by Tapir, a blue tapir in pajamas with a parasol who allows you to create "heroes", which you play as throughout the dream world. At first there is no goal in mind except to explore, but it is quickly clear that there are sinister machinations in the dream world as each level ends with people being captured or creatures wanting to fight you to fulfill deals with an unseen wizard.


-The "Heroes" consist of a head piece and a body piece, both of which have Weight and HP values, which are added together to determine the health and speed and jumping ability of your character. Certain bodies even have special abilities and traction, for example the Jetpack body, which can hover in the air when Jump is held. Then there are the Arms parts, which are really just the weapons fired, ranging from weapons like Boomerangs, objects like Pencils, and obscure objects like Music Notes. The size and power of the weapons are increased with every few pickups of a weapon powerup.


-The level design consists of seven sections on the world map, most of which having some sort of fantastic, dream-like element to it, such as whales flying in the background, or a sea of milk which has platforms made of cheese. When one level is selected, the player first must leave the level section they are currently in and then go through the level they selected. The uniqueness is that the layout of the level is always different depending on what level you selected. For example, heading to the Forest from the Starry Hill resulted in a stage that consisted of walking through the mountain, while selecting the IceFire Mountain had the player leave the Hill via clouds in the sky.


-Every stage ends with a boss the first time it is visited. Revisiting the stage doesn't result in a boss fight. Different bosses being defeated yield some different things, like expansion on the story, revelations about the locations of lost characters, and release of lost characters.


-Eventually, the fairy Cocorin is rescued, who is searching for the titular character, Cocoron. He becomes a secondary guide for the heroes.


-After all the bosses are defeated, the goal becomes the retrieval of Princess Rua, the Princess of the Dream World. Different hints eventually lead to her discovery, trapped inside an egg. She was trapped by Tapir, who is revealed to be Baku the Dream Eater.

-The final stages of the game all take place in succession without the ability to select any other stages with all but one of your heroes captured by Baku. Each level ends with you getting back one of your heroes, and eventually fighting Baku. The fight ends with Cocoron's release, who allows the heroes to flee before Baku devours them.


-The final stage ends with Baku being defeated, and Cocoron, the only one with the power to do so, seals Baku inside an egg. Thus the dream world is left in peace.

Cocoron - Return to Dreams

The Story

It has been years (in Dream World time anyway) since the player has dreamt of Princess Rua, Cocoron, and all the rest of the others the player encountered when their dream was nearly eaten by Baku. On one quiet night, the player returns to the Dream World and encounters Cocoron, who greets the player as an old friend not seen in many years.

Cocoron leads the player through the dream world, showing them many wonderful sights that have become part of the Dream World ever since they left. More has been shaped due to the increased amount of things the player had supposedly seen since the last time they dreamt of Cocoron and his friends.

Gradually, the player is reintroduced to many of the characters from the last dream of this world. Princess Rua has grown up a few years, Santa has remained very much the same, and Flint the Pirate has somehow died and remains living as a skeletal pirate, his ship now towed through the sky by the Ice Dragon that imprisoned Santa years before, who is now much larger than the pip-squeak he was when the player fought him.

After being reintroduced to Flint, he demands to fight the player as a show of prowess. When the player defeats him, Cocoron uses his magic to heal both the player and Flint, and points out that his magic can wake the player up at any time they wish. It is at this point as the player is introduced to the first of the true villains of the game, Ring-Cat.

Ring-Cat (who is an obvious parallel to the Cheshire Cat, although his appearance isn't particularly cat-like, more like a lemur or a marten) reveals himself after mention of Cocoron being able to wake up the player. Ring-Cat attacks the player, supposedly knocking the ability to wake up out of the player, which is proven true as Cocoron finds he is unable to wake the player up. Ring-Cat then flees the scene, leaving the player to travel the Dream World with Cocoron and friends in order to find the means to wake back up.

Returning Character Bios (Updated 6/15)

Cocoron:

The lost brother of Cocorin, and the titular character of the first game. Although absent most of the game, Cocoron is the only one powerful enough to seal away Baku the Dream Eater, who captured him in the first place. With the hero's help, he finally did so. In Return to Dreams, Cocoron now has a more active role in the game, comparable to characters like Navi in Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, giving the player advice in cutscenes and interacting with other characters while the player is a silent hero. Cocoron has a certain amount of power in the Dream World, but is clearly able to be weakened by entities such as Ring-Cat.

Cocorin:

The brother of Cocoron who served as a guide in the original game. In Return to Dreams, he still is part of the main cast of friends, but rather than being the guide (now played by Cocoron), Cocorin serves as the means to change the player's heads, bodies and weapons (to be explained further down).

Princess Rua:

Ruler of the Dream World, and friend to the player. She mostly just serves story purposes, showing up to support the player, however she can be accessed to give hints to the player, which will give useful insight on where the player should go next for the story or locations of hidden items or bosses in stages.

Santa:

In Return to Dreams, Santa's presents are stolen by Ring-Cat's henchmen when he first appears. Throughout the game, the player will come across various presents that he can return to Santa, and in exchange Santa gives the player new heads, bodies and weapons. Items that are harder to find or that are found at random can yield much stronger equipment.

Flint the Ghost Pirate:

Flint, now in possession of a flying ship, can help drop the player off in stages without having them traverse through other stages. However, doing so misses out on stage layouts that yield various items, bosses, etc, so the player is discouraged from using his ship all the time. Later in the game, Flint can be used to visit segments of stages that have already been visited, eliminating the need to pass from one particular stage to the other so long as it has been visited once.

Steel the Ice Dragon: (Updated 6/15)

Allows Flint's ship to fly. Beyond that he is merely one of the player's friends, formerly a villain taught a lesson after being forced to pull Santa's sleigh after being caught by the player. He, along with Flint, serves as the first boss of Return to Dreams to get the player used to the game. Formerly just called “the Ice Dragon”, he is renamed by Flint when taken in by the pirate.

The Harvest Moon: (Updated 6/15)

Once tempted by Baku to fight the hero in exchange for shining brighter than the sun and the stars, he now lives in harmony with the Summer Sun in the Cosmic Skyway of the Dream World. Whenever possible, he helps out the hero in tougher spots of the Skyway stages, when he can.

New Character Bios (To be updated. Some names need reworking) (Updated 7/2)

Ring-Cat:

Old Concept Art

The first villain introduced in Return to Dreams. Ring-Cat, under the employ of an unknown foe, forces the player into a state where he can't wake up from his dream. This causes the Dream World to shift around much more rapidly, the world not taking as definite a shape as it once did. The original intention was to have him have his own agenda beyond his employer's, but I've recently decided to keep him loyal, but have him continue the plans of his employer once the employer ultimately fails.

Malenigma:

Ring-Cat's employer, a Nightmare that wants to become a living, breathing human being. While satisfied temporarily with Ring-Cat's ability to keep the player from waking up, he searches for a way to wake up in the player's stead before the player can stop him and wake themselves up.

Nimble: (Updated 7/20)

A "Dreamer" like the hero, claiming that he (or is it really she?) was also trapped in the Dream World by the Nightmares. Frequently appearing to help the hero, Nimble is also able to take on many different forms because they are a Dreamer. Every time they visit the hero, their appearance is different.

Ashling (Updated 7/20)

Rough Concept Art

An ash sprite with an affinity for fire and destruction. A servant of Malenigma. Although instructed to do so by Malenigma, she has trouble taking orders from Ring-Cat. When available, the player can find her in random locations that have something to do with fire.

Ragshield (Updated 7/20)

REALLY Rough Concept Art (May be onto something with that sock puppet...)

An enigmatic creature shrouded in a jumble of rags. Although cowardly in personality and short in appearance, he is actually more powerful than he looks. The rags he wears have various effects, for example thin veils become solid enough to deflect as though they were steel, scarves whipping by can cut like blades, etc. Unlike Ashling, he takes orders dutifully from Ring-cat, though it is partially out of fear. Ragshield is much harder to find than Ashling, appearing in much fewer stages and in locations that don't necessarily share relations to his appearance or powers. However, when defeated he also can reveal the locations of other villains.

Captain Cherry: (Updated 6/15)

Leader of the Whipped Cream Pirate Armada, she has become the terror of the Milk Sea after the demise of Flint. She and her crew use weapons relating to Ice Cream (catapults that are ice cream scoops, pirates fighting with spoons, and the Captain herself using a sword sheathed in a banana peel with technique names related to Banana Splits). Captain Cherry has hidden a great treasure somewhere in the dream world.

Dread Pirate Brandy: (Updated 6/15)

A pirate captain from the Nightmare World hidden opposite the Dream World, as well as Captain Cherry’s mother. The eventual capture of Captain Cherry’s treasure in the main story introduces Brandy and her crew of pirates Bourbon, Tequila, Vodka, and Rum. While the eventual fight with Captain Cherry is required to complete the game, the entire pursuit of Brandy’s crew after they are introduced is optional. The four crewmates must be found and defeated in order to find Brandy’s secret lair, at which point the hero can battle for Brandy’s treasure.

The Summer Sun: (Updated 6/15)

Once the object of the Harvest Moon’s jealousy, the two are now good friends, and watch over the Cosmic Skyway of the Dream World. The Sun tries his best to help the hero, but much of the sky is blocked from his view because of black storm clouds.

The Blue Moon: (Updated 10/19)

When travelling through the Cosmic Skyway, the hero learns of the Harvest Moon's sadness for not having an object of affection. The hero soon meets the Blue Moon residing right behind the Harvest Moon. She has a similar plight, but the hero finds that they cannot turn around to see one another face to face, and have trouble acknowledging the other's existence.


The Red Emperor and Black Empress: (Updated 6/15)

The rulers of Tarot Castle, and rivals of the kingdom ruled by Trump Castle. They supposedly ordered the capture and confinement of the inhabitants of Trump Castle, but it is unclear what their reasoning for the attack was.

The Hanged Man: (Updated 6/15)

A servant of the Emperor and Empress of Tarot Castle, and a provider of much verbal antagonism upon the hero. As more exploration is made through the Tarot Castle, the Hanged Man’s role behind the capture of Trump Castle seems far more sinister.

Cadmium Red Rockmen:

A trio of Color Golems in one of the Color stages. There are three with varying speed and attacks, those being Light (the smallest), Medium (The most balanced), and Deep (the biggest). At first they are simple mindless golems, but shortly after being met, they come under Ashling’s control.

Amphiprionsiat: (Added 10/19)

A creepy Clownfish masquerading around the Coral Reef Circus. Outwardly whimsical, but quickly reveals a dark side when approaching the hero and mentioning "Baku". He doesn't directly talk, but rather squeezes a horn that yells words for him.

Hydra-Five: (Added 10/19)

A quintet of magical snakes that wrap together to form various shapes to attack the hero. They seem to share one consciousness, though each snake brings a unique power that the others do not.

Diablo: (Added 11/1/10)

A three-legged white bird that steals the Summer Sun. After fleeing from the hero and carrying the Sun for so long, his feathers get scorched black. He removes a powerful Firebrand from the back of the Sun's head and uses it to battle the hero.

Gameplay

-The original gameplay is somewhat intact. Overall, the game is still an action platformer with a somewhat unique design in level layout. However, there are differences.

-The weapons are no longer projectile only. There are now Arms that allow the player to use close-range weapons instead of projectiles. However, I am still debating whether to allow BOTH to be used at once. There are definitely going to be some melee weapons that also shoot projectiles so... that has yet to be determined.

-The Hero system will be altered so that instead of the player making six heroes, the player plays as a hero that is interchangeable. The player visits Cocorin between stages to exchange body parts.

-The leveling system is also going to be a little different. When the player gets enough points and levels up or collects a special pick-up that gives them a point, they can put points into various stats, able to increase base stats to make every body faster, jump higher, have more life, etc. They can also level up weapons to more powerful versions, getting things like spread fire or larger swinging radius, and of course more damage.

-The gameplay won't be quite as simple as the original. Enemies will be more difficult to counteract the new abilities the player will have, and as the game progresses they'll get particularly harder.

-While the determination of stage layouts won't be quite as complex as the original's seemed to me, the amount of variety will be much greater due to an increase in the number of stage types. Stages will be explained in its own section.

-Enemies found in stages will vary each time it is visited. While some enemies will always appear, there are some enemies that will only appear at random, or one type of enemies will randomly replace another.

-Body pieces can be found hidden within stages, and sometimes dropped by various enemies. Pickups that can be exchanged to Santa for addition parts can also be found or dropped by enemies.

-Many stages will have hidden areas, sometimes hidden routes all together that lead to treasure or hidden boss fights. I have ideas for most of the optional boss fights to include characters that I've designed for other things other than this game that I have thought up through dreams. A little on the egotistical side, I admit, but I promise the boss fights would be cool.

Stages and Stage Layouts (Various parts Updated 7/20)

-Like the original game, the layouts of stages will be determined by the stage you are leaving and the stage you are going to. However, the differences are going to be a lot more drastic in design.

-The layout of the main map is randomized after every stage completed. This forces players to visit stages in between intended destinations. For example, the player completed the Castle stage last and now wants to go to the Sea stage. However, the Factory stage is in between them now. This forces the player to go through the Castle to Factory transition, followed by the Factory to Sea transition. Only the stage chosen as a destination has a boss.

Tentative List of Stage Types :

(As of thus far. Subject to addition or removal of stages. Also they have no names yet. Also I have a more complete list of transitions elsewhere, to be posted when I have it on hand.)

Intro Stage:

Section 1 - Tutorial
The stage begins with a tutorial section where it explains various mechanics via Cocoron and Cocorin leading the hero along while switching out his various body parts. Eventually he meets various familiar characters, starting with Rua, at which point the player is given the option to make a body from the parts available at the start (Or from any unlocked parts if the player has already beaten the game).

Section 2 - Boss battle with Flint and Steel

After doing a few more tutorial actions, the hero meets Flint, who reveals his ghostly nature since the hero last left. He then shows off Steel, the Silver Dragon that the player defeated in the past, who now works with Flint and is much more grown up. The hero is then dragged into a friendly duel with the duo, becoming the first of the game's boss battles. Steel flies in from overhead and blows icy gusts to freeze the player, occasionally landing to blow a bigger blast of it at the player. Flint usually rides on Steel, but if Steel is defeated first, or if the player gets frozen, he leaps off to perform an attack, and stays grounded for a short while unless Steel is still in the fight.

Section 3 - The Nightmares Attack

At the end of the boss fight the Dream World is laid seige by an army of Nightmares, who Rua reveals have been trying to overtake the Dream World for quite some time. A particular Nightmare, Ringcat, steals Rua's music box and causes a chase scene. The chase takes the player through small segments of some of the levels to introduce them in various ways and introducing the concept of flowing from one level to the other in a dream-like way.
Fairy Forest - The chase begins here, where Cocoron was having the hero visit before the Nightmares attacked.
Tarot Castle - The chase passes by the front gate, and it is revealed that the Red Emperor has a vendetta against the hero, ordering troops to attack him as well as the Nightmares.
Dreamachina Shop - The Shop is seen in the background devouring various elements from the Dream World and sending out robotic conversions of them all.
Milk Sea - The hero is attacked from a distance by the ships of the Whipped Cream Pirates, their origins explained by Flint.
Santa's Workshop - Santa flies over the hero and explains that his bag of toys has been stolen by the Nightmares.
Finish - The hero catches up with Ringcat, who attacks the player and renders him unable to escape the dream, setting the main plot into motion.

Main Story Quest 1 - Find the Terrible Three:

The first goal of the hero is to track down Malenigma's three lieutenants, the Terrible Three.
1. Ringcat -
2. Ashling -
3. Ragshield -

Main Story Quest 2 - Enter the Nightmare World:

Entering the Nightmare World requires three things: finding a ship able to traverse down into it, finding a

Main Story Quest 3 - Attacking Malenigma's Castle:

Main Story Quest 4 - Assemble the Warmest Memories:

Main Story Quest 5 - The Final Battle:

From Tarot Castle

From Fairy Forest:

From Milk Sea:

From Cosmic Skyway:

From Dreamachina Shop:

From Worldmaker's Easel:

From Icefire Mountain:

From Fields of Feast:

From Diamond Desert:

From Rua's Musicbox:

From Santa's Workshop:

Nightmare Stage:

Final Story Boss:

Tarot Castle: (Updated 6/15)

Tarot Castle is the opposition of the Trump Castle from the first game. Tarot Castle is ruled by the Red Emperor and the Black Empress, and before the events of Return to Dreams the inhabitants of Trump Castle have been completely captured by the Tarot Castle inhabitants. Most of the main enemies of Tarot Castle are based around the Major Arcana of Tarot cards, particularly the bosses, while some other enemies are just the kind of enemies one might find in a castle.

Tarot Castle Stage Transitions:

Base: Castle Throne Room
Section Miniboss: Fortitude-filled Door Knight "Strength"
Section Boss: The Red Emperor
If the Tarot Castle is chosen first, or if it is selected a second time after transitioning to it from another stage, the player ventures through the main halls of the Castle and eventually end up in the Throne Room.
Miniboss Description (12/11/10): The entrance to the Throne Room is closed off by a massive door with an ornate Knight relief, the Knight springing to life as soon as the player is near. It defends itself with a large shield and attacks with a large hammer.
Boss Description (12/11/10): Appears in the True Final Level.

From Fairy Forest: Lovers' Garden
Section Miniboss: Card Cupid "Percy"
Section Boss: The Lovers "Art and Gwen"
Miniboss Description: Before reaching the heart of the garden, the player is attacked by Cupid, who comes to life from one of the ornate cards displayed in the Garden. He flys around firing arrows either at the player (which makes them fall in love with various hazards in the field like spikes and bombs), or makes inanimate objects fall in love with the player, which fly in and collide much too hard and do damage to them.
Boss Description: Upon interrupting a romantic moment between the Lovers, Art and Gwen take on more intimidating battle forms, Art becoming covered in golden armor and bearing a sword, and Gwen getting wrapped in longer flowing robes and gleaming with magic. The two float through the air thanks to Gwen's magic, Art lunging in for attacks with his sword while holding Gwen. Gwen can deflect attacks with a magical shield, and she can also counter attacks with projectile spells. Defeated, the couple apologizes for their rash reaction to the player and offer to help them.

From Milk Sea: Castle Sewers
Section Miniboss: Loan Shark "Go Fish"
Section Boss: Possessed Card Shark "Blackjack"
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description: Appears in the True Final Level. Provides a side quest to obtain the Aces of Diamonds, Hearts, Clubs and Spades, which requires finding all the 16 cards of each respective suit.
Blackjack starts out wanting to fight the hero, but is quickly possessed by a strange purple spirit. He then begins to fight, but much more aggressively than it seemed he originally intended. After beating him, the spirit flies out of him and takes the form of Joker, the villain who trapped the King of Trump Castle in the first game.
Blackjack Form -
Joker Form - The Joker has four attacks, one for each suit of cards.
Club - Throws a card down on the ground that explodes in a club-shaped mushroom cloud.
Diamond - A transparent diamond shield appears around him. If attacked, it retaliates by shooting many small diamonds around the room.
Heart - He sends floating hearts after the hero, and if the hero deflects them in any way, Joker is healed slightly.
Spade - He creates a random-numbered spade card, and that number of spades fires on the hero.

From Cosmic Skyway: Tarot Tower
Section Miniboss: The Celestial Fire
Section Boss: Ambitious Astronomer "Assayer"
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Dreamachina Shop: Royal Tarot Traincar
Section Miniboss: Trainrobber
Section Boss: The Golden Chariot "Ericht"
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Worldmaker's Easel: Imperial Gallery
Section Miniboss: Family Portrait c. 1259
Section Boss: The Hanged Man "Benedict"
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description: Appears in the Final Level.

From Icefire Mountain: Castle Walls
Section Miniboss: The Fool
Section Boss: The Magician
Miniboss Description: Becomes the Magician.
Boss Description: Transforms from The Fool.

From Fields of Feast: The Royal Kitchens
Section Miniboss: The Husky Hierophant
Section Boss: The Devil Chef "Chunky Punk"
Miniboss Description: A fat Ant.
Boss Description:

From Diamond Desert: Secret Passage Prison
Section Miniboss: The Rotten Hermit
Section Boss: Justice
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Rua's Musicbox: Imperial Ball
Section Miniboss: Temperence
Section Boss: The Black Empress
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description: Appears in the True Final Level.

From Santa's Workshop: Imperial Chess Set
Section Miniboss: Wheel of Fortune
Section Boss: King Chess Piece
In the Game Garden of the Tarot Castle stands a massive Chess Set, through which the hero encounters numerous vicious chess pieces to attack the hero. There are also a number of other board game pieces of various kinds to attack the hero, such as Checkers and Mancala pieces. Upon completing the Chess Set, the hero realizes that the Imperial Chess Set was actually another rival kingdom like the Trump Castle, and that the Chess Pieces were under a hypnotic spell.
Miniboss Description: The Wheel of Fortune is an overseeing entity in the Game Garden where the Chess Set resides. The giant teller of luck uses a number of spinning arms to select a variety of panels that determine the type, amount and behavior of the projectiles it summons for every attack. The number of projectiles ranges from one to twelve and the behaviors include falling from gravity, flying directly at the hero's last position, homing in on the hero, flying at random or flying in a growing circle until flying off the stage.
Boss Description: The hero eventually happens upon the Chess King, who challenges the player to fight him and his legion of Chess Pieces. The King starts the battle performing a Castling, climbing on his Defensive Rook and retreating to the other side of the long arena. The battle begins with the King's army charging forward with various attack patterns. When the player defeats or passes the attacking army he gets a chance to attack the King and Rook, and if the player fails to defeat the Rook fast enough it will retreat to the other side of the screen and the process will begin again. However, if the player defeats the Rook and there are remaining enemies they missed, the enemies will immediately return to attack while you attack the king. Appears in the True Final Level.
Pawn Pattern - Straight charging forward. If a number of pawns reach the end of the screen, the pawn has the potential to be promoted to any number of the other pieces.
Knight - Mounted knights that move in L-shaped patterns, either charging upward or smashing downward.
Bishop - Fires magic in diagonal patterns and teleports in similar patterns.
Attacking Rook - The castle transforms into a golem structure that moves slowly, but attacks for massive damage.
Defensive Rook - The golem who carries the King piece. He attacks in similar ways, but blocks more and retreats.
Queen - A lance-wielding valkrie who can fly in eight directions and attack with swift jabs.
King - He attacks from on top of the Rook with magic, and when the Rook is defeated he moves slowly, but defends deftly and attacks for massive damage. However, only one direct hit will kill him.

Nightmare Stage: The Underworld
Section Miniboss: Death
Section Boss: Judgement
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

Final Story Boss: The Hangman's World

Fairy Forest: (Updated 6/15)

The home of Cocoron and Cocorin, formerly ruled by cruel fairy queen Titania who the player vanquished in the first game. In an effort to keep Cocoron and Cocorin from helping the hero, Ring-cat casts a hypnotic spell through the forest that renders the beasts wild, forcing the fairies to scramble to keep the animals from tearing the forest apart. The forest contains transfigured wild animals as enemies, as well as frightened, desperate fairies.

Fairy Forest Stage Transitions:

Base: Fairy Village
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss: Grand Fairy Guardian "Vajra"
The main section of the Fairy Forest is the home of the fairies, which is under attack by the transfigured wild animals. The player has to venture through the village as it is attacked, and eventually is forced to fight against the Guardian of the village, who fights the player as a misunderstanding.
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description: Diamond Spear wielding, thunderbolt affinity Mandril. Appears in the True Final Level.

From Milk Sea: Flooded Rainforest
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss:
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Cosmic Skyway: Blustery Treetops
Section Miniboss: Ninja Squirrel
Section Boss: Tenacious Tengu "Bojo"
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Dreamachina Shop: Lumberjack Camp
Section Miniboss: Steel Beaver "Ax-Th 600"
Section BOss: Terrible Termite Legion "Mastotermidon"
Miniboss Description: Dreamachina robot beaver with chainsaw tail. Controls the beaver lumberjacks.
Boss Description: Thousands of termites forming demonic looking termite king.

From Worldmaker's Easel: Autumn Leaves
Section Miniboss: Pumpkin Head
Section Boss: Squirrel Witch "Rubilith"
Miniboss Description: A pumpkin with vine arms and a long cape.
Boss Description: Rubilith meets the player and greets them happily, but not convinced they are strong enough to conquer the villains causing discord in the Dream World, she offers a test of strength to the player. Throughout the battle leaves fall from the trees, and when the come in contact with Rubilith's attacks they produce various effects. In the second phase, Rubilith rides on her broomstick and attacks by tackling the player, but also causes the broom bristles to be charged with one of the magical types, the magical imbued broom performing the same effects to leaves as her projectiles would.
Wind - She creates a tornado that appears on top of the player's position, and all the leaves that hit it are deflected off it and spin at high speeds while becoming razor sharp.
Ice - A giant snowflake is formed that flies across the bottom of the screen, then the top. The snowflake makes the leaves frozen and heavy, damaging the player if they come in contact with them as they fall. They shatter upon impact with the player or the ground.
Fire - She fires a high-speed fireball either straight or at an angle. The fire ignites the leaves and makes a small burst of fire.
Lightning - She creates a slow-moving, flowing ball of electricity, and when it collides with a leaf it makes a very quick bolt of lightning hit the ground directly below it.

From Icefire Mountain: Underground Rootbeer Roots
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss: Whipped Cream Brewer
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Fields of Feast: Enchanted Orchard
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss:
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Diamond Desert: Barren Bog
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss:
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Rua's Musicbox: Birdhouse Chorus
Section Miniboss: Falcon Fencer
Section Boss:
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Santa's Workshop: Wintery Evergreens
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss: Yeti
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

Nightmare Stage: Forest of the Lost
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss: Bloodwood Tree
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

Final Story Boss: Totem Master "Owl Eyes"
Boss Description: Appears in the True Final Level

Milk Sea: (Updated 6/15)

Although food related, it is excluded from the food-related world as its own section for the purpose of having a dream-like ocean and I'm out of good ideas for it. The Milk Sea is the former stomping grounds of Flint the Pirate before he became a ghost. Now it is terrorized by the Whipped Cream Pirates.

Milk Sea Stage Transitions:

Base: Whipped Cream Armada
Section Miniboss: Admiral Parrot "Sprinkles"
Section Boss: Whipped Cream First Mate "Caramel"
The Whipped Cream Armada is a series of ships leading up to the flagship, led by the captain of the pirates, Captain Cherry. The enemies consist of pirates, parrots and cannons which utilize whipped cream, ice cream, and various other related food items as weaponry. The Captain eventually flees the scene and leaves the hero to battle her first mate, Caramel.
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Tarot Castle: Lost Undermilk Civilization Curdlantis
Section Miniboss: Curdish Seaquestrian
Section Boss: Sea Antlion "Fluffy"
The ruins on the outskirts of the Tarot Castle's estate lead under the milk sea, and are in fact interconnected with a civilization lost long ago under the Milk Sea. Curdlantis is home to beligerent Curdmen, aquatic centurions of the deep. The highest ranked of the Curdmen High Guard is sent to fight the hero to the death upon his arrival, riding on their captive Sea Antlion.
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Fairy Forest: Sherbet Seaweed
Section Miniboss: Surfing Sea Monkey
Section Boss:
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Cosmic Skyway: Gelato Abyss
Section Miniboss: Dangerous Viperfish "Lockjaw"
Section Boss: Illuminating Devilfish "Charonangler"
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description: In the depths of the Abyss, the hero and Cocoron eventually find a massive sealed gate with Ringcat's insignia, telling outsiders to "KEEP OUT". Naturally willing to thwart Ringcat's plans, they open the gate to cause him trouble. However, it turns out to be a trap, initiating a battle with Charonangler, a giant nightmare Angler Fish with a large lantern hanging from its head.

From Dreamachina Shop: Submarine Wargames
Section Miniboss: Submariner Punk
Section Boss: Pugilist Squid "K.O. Kraken"
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description: Giant squid with boxing gloves on each tentacle. Appears in the True Final Level

From Worldmaker's Easel: Coral Reef Circus
Section Miniboss: Elephant Seal
Section Boss: Creepy Clownfish "Amphiprionsiat"
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description: A long fish dressed in clown attire, including a long coat with incredibly long sleeves and gloved hands on the end. Appears in the Final Level.

From Icefire Mountain: Cremeatoa
Section Miniboss: Rock Lobster
Section Boss:
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Fields of Feast: Fudgey the Whale
Section Miniboss: Tooth Fairy
Section Boss: Disgruntled Janitor "Little Willy"
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Diamond Desert: Cheesey Beach
Section Miniboss: Navy Seagull
Section Boss: Vengeful Ghostcrab "Heikegami"
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Rua's Musicbox: Siren's Cove
Section Miniboss: Bottomless Gut "Charybdis"
Section Boss: Schizophrenic Siren "Scylla"
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description: A nymph with an incredibly monstrous lower body, snake-like tendrils at the bottom that constantly lean up towards her and whisper mean lies in her ears that make her attack the hero.

From Santa's Workshop: Sunken Treasure Ship
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss:
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

Nightmare Stage: Sea of Rust
Section Miniboss: Wreck Collector "Sarcosuchus"
Section Boss: Shark Bounty Hunter "Bloodfin"
Miniboss Description: A giant, partially mechanical alligator.
Boss Description: A flying mercenary shark who fights using a pistol.

Final Story Boss: Leviathan

Cosmic Skyway (Updated 6/15)

The vast, beautiful skyline of the Dream World can be traversed in various ways by the player. The balance of the Cosmic Skyway is governed by the Harvest Moon and the Summer Sun. The Skyway can be accessed from various levels, such as on the clouds, the rainbows, or even the stars themselves.

Cosmic Skyway Stage Transitions:

Base: Cloud Climbing
Section Miniboss: Zephyr
Section Boss: Typhon
The clouds in the Dream World are being blown over the sky by Typhon, a Nightmare who was ordered to darken the Dream World's sky with storm clouds. The level consists of lots of jumping across platforms, and the level as well as the boss battle has the player resisting being blown off the stage by powerful winds.
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Tarot Castle: Vertical Cityscape
Section Miniboss: Sniper Toad
Section Boss: Super Villain
Miniboss Description: Attacks from a distance. The player can attack level objects that bring the frog to the foreground to let him be attacked.
Boss Description:

From Fairy Forest: World's Tallest Tree
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss:
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Milk Sea: Amazing Geyser
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss:
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Dreamachina Shop: Dreamachina Rocket
Section Miniboss: Keggar UFO
Section Boss: Galactic Overlord "Keggar"
After clearing a stage in the Dreamachina Shop, the Hero can hitch a ride into outer space via a rocket ship. The ship flies up straight most of the time until it gets into space, where it also begins flying on its side on occasion. The stage is mostly a rail stage at first, until the rocket stops moving and the hero is required to leap between asteroids. Eventually, the ship collides with Overlord Keggar's UFO, and it causes him to lose his Dragon Gems, making him enraged and attack the hero. This initiates a side quest where the player has to retrieve the Dragon Gems to make a wish.
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description: DBZ inspired villain, uses various energy attacks with beer game-themed names. Appears in the True Final Level
"Shotgun Slammer!" -
"Keggar Stand!" -
"Beirut Buster!" -
"Big Blackout!!" -
"Power Hour!!!" -

From Worldmaker's Easel: Rainbow Bridge
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss: Rainbow Rider "Adaro Raider"
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Icefire Mountain: Levitating Mountainside
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss:
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Fields of Feast: Cloudforming Cornfields
Section Miniboss: Tomahawk Hare "Bluavar"
Section Boss:
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Diamond Desert: Tremendous Tornado
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss:
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Rua's Musicbox: Soaring Music Notes
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss:
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Santa's Workshop: Toy Airplanes
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss:
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

Nightmare Stage:
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss:
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

Final Story Boss: Catastrophic Constellation "Almagest"

Dreamachina Shop (Updated 6/15)

The Dreamachina Shop is a giant mechanical hulk that devours elements of the rest of the Dream World to make very orderly, refined, but otherwise bland and lifeless dreams. The Shop is fully automated, populated by various robots, computers, and other machines.

Dreamachina Shop Stage Transitions:

Base Level: Intelligence Hub
Section Miniboss: REM Series Prototype
Section Boss: REM Series 1.0
The brain of the Dreamachina Shop, overseeing the functionality of the facility, as well as designing the bland dreams that the factory churns out. The Reserve Existential Mastercomputer (REM) maintains the functions of the factory, but when the hero attacks, the REM retreats even deeper into the shop and leaves the hero to fight the REM Series.
Miniboss Description (12/11/10): The REM Series Prototype is a humanoid robot produced by the Dreamachina Shop as a test for a new Series of robot invaders for taking over the Dream World. The Prototype has much fewer abilities than its later counterparts, however, and can only attack using its body as a means rather than possessing weaponry based on the other areas of the Dream World.
Boss Description (12/11/10): The REM Series is the first in a production of mass produced robot soldiers being developed by the Dreamachina Shop in order to hasten the takeover of the Dream World. The number of the humanoid series of robots corresponds to the number of stages, one robot representing each stage and possessing a weapon inspired by that environment. A few weapon drops are unique to this battle and extremely rare. Each REM robot has relatively low HP, considering they are a mass produced machine meant to have strong numbers, not the soundest engineering.
REM Tarot Castle: Sword Arm - Utilizes jumping slices and swift screen-crossing thrusts.
REM Fairy Forest: Leaf Blower - Blows away projectiles at player while shooting razor sharp flurries of leaves.
REM Milk Sea: Cannon Arm - Fires powerful cannonballs
REM Cosmic Skyway: Magnetic Comet - Fires comets that home in on the player.
REM Dreamachina Shop: Missle Barrage - Fires single missles straight or several up into the air that fall on the player.
REM Worldmaker's Easel: Spraypaint - Creates looming poisonous clouds of paint.
REM Icefire Mountain: Steam Burst - Blocks attacks and attacks close with big bursts of steam.
REM Fields of Feast: Microwave Oven - A relatively close range radiation attack that quickly drains HP
REM Diamond Desert: Flamethrower - A medium range blast of fire.
REM Rua's Musicbox: - Stereo Speakers - Produces harmful music notes that fly in wave patterns.
REM Santa's Workshop: Pogo Stick - Bounces around the arena on a pogo stick. Higher bounces make rocks spring up.

From Tarot Castle: City Planner
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss:
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Fairy Forest: Wood Carver
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss:
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Milk Sea: Milkshake Brewery
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss:
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Cosmic Skyway: Star Collector
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss:
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Worldmaker's Easel: Color Stripper
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss:
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Icefire Mountain: Rock Sculptor
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss:
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Fields of Feast: Automated Food Processor
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss:
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Diamond Desert: Hourglass
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss:
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Rua's Musicbox: Music Recorder
Section Miniboss
Section Boss:
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Santa's Workshop: Office Supply Closet
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss:
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

Nightmare Stage: Genocidal Conveyor Belt
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss:
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

Final Story Boss: Reserve Existential Mastercomputer (REM)
The Reserve Existential Mastercomputer (REM) maintains the functions of the factory.

Worldmaker's Easel

An odd portion of the world covered in various artistic elements, such as pictures or art supplies. The suppiles seem to stem from a massive easel in the center of the landscape, supposedly used for the artistic expression of some form of celestial or giant being. Artistic, imaginative creations have a tendency of coming to life when created around it.


Worldmaker's Easel Stage Transitions:

Base: Canvas of Infinite Imagination
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss:
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Tarot Castle: Balsawood Base
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss:
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Fairy Forest: Charcoal Fields
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss:
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Milk Sea: Turpentine Lake
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss:
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Cosmic Skyway: Plein Air Plane
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss:
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Dreamachina Shop: Titanic Tablet
Section Miniboss: Curious Cursor
Section Boss: CMYKiller
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Icefire Mountain: Clay Crags
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss: Cadmium Red Rockmen (Light, Medium and Deep)
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description: Appears in the True Final Level

From Fields of Feast: Still Life
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss: Fruit Golem
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Diamond Desert: Eraser Epiface
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss: Eraser Head
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Rua's Musicbox: Music Sheets
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss: Quinacradrone Quill Bird
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Santa's Workshop: Patchwork Pillars
Section Miniboss: Sock Serpent
Section Boss: Slippery Spidermonkey "Anansim"
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description: The creature responsible for building the sewn Pillars. Appears in the Final Level

Nightmare Stage:
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss:
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

Final Story Boss:

Icefire Mountain (Updated 6/15)

Another returning location from the original game. While mainly just a mountainous region, it also has sections heavily based on ice and snow, and others based on fire and lava. It is the original home of Steel the Ice Dragon, and is also the home of Ashling, serving as one of the main areas where Ashling can be found and fought.

Icefire Mountain Stage Transitions:

Base Level: Steamy Peak -
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss: Frostflare Eefrit
The central peak of the mountain where the connections between the ice and fire are strongest, thus making a large amount of steam that shoots up into the sky. At the core of the peak the hero meets an Eefrit made of half ice and half flames. If one half of the Eefrit is destroyed, the other half will separate into a second form that utilizes a different strategy than the other, as well as alter the landscape (The fire half would melt the ice away and form lava pits, while the ice half would freeze even more of the battlefield and make the friction much worse).
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Tarot Castle:
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss:
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Fairy Forest: Petrified Forest
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss:
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Milk Sea: StrawberryBlue Waterfalls
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss:
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Cosmic Skyway: Star Hill
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss: Harvest Moon
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description: Appears in the True Final Level

From Dreamachina Shop: Gold Quarry
Section Miniboss: Iron Mole "Drillbit Model M20"
Section Boss: Mining Mastadon "Solid Mammut"
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Worldmaker's Easel: Cave Paintings
Section Miniboss: Cave Painted Chieftan "Altamiro"
Section Boss: Cave Painted Monstrosity "Aurochanid"
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Fields of Feast: Strawberry Snowcones
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss:
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Diamond Desert: Cracked Cliffs
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss:
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Rua's Musicbox: Sleeping Giant
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss: Awoken Collossus
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Santa's Workshop: Dwarven Smithy
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss: Greed-Stricken Glutton "Fafnir"
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

Nightmare Stage: Mountain of Madness
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss: Cthulu
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

Final Story Boss:

Fields of Feast

Has transitions like a milk sea (reference to first game) when approached from the Sea stage, and cotton candy clouds when approached from the Sky stage.

Fields of Feast Stage Transitions:

Base:
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss:
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Tarot Castle: Castle of Cakes
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss:
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Fairy Forest: Vegetable Valley
Section Miniboss: Ghost Chile
Section Boss: Carrot Wizard
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description: Forcefully transforms the hero into a Rabbit body.

From Milk Sea: Butter Bay
Section Miniboss: Whipped Cream Attack Dog "Scooper"
Section Boss: Whipped Cream Oar Boss "Walnut"
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Cosmic Skyway: Cotton Candy Clouds
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss:
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Dreamachina Shop: Processed Pier
Section Miniboss: Alloy Apple
Section Boss:
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Worldmaker's Easel: Fruit Fortress
Section Miniboss: Juice-sucking Vampire "Nectarferatu"
Section Boss: Slithering Quintet "Hydra-Five"
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description: Offers a power-giving apple to the hero before attacking as part of a trap. Appears in the Final Level.

From Icefire Mountain: Moutain of Meat
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss:
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Diamond Desert: Sugary Sand
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss:
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Rua's Musicbox: Dancing Food
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss:
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Santa's Workshop: Holiday Delights
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss:
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

Nightmare Stage: Pit of Rot
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss:
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

Final Story Boss:

Diamond Desert

Has transitions like a castle made of bones when approached from the Castle stage, or an oil field when approached from the Factory stage.

Diamond Desert Stage Transitions:

Base: Glittering Sands
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss:
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Tarot Castle: Femur Fortress
Section Miniboss: Skeletal Swordsman
Section Boss: Skeletal Anathema
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Fairy Forest: Cactus Fields
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss:
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Milk Sea: Beautous Oasis
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss:
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Cosmic Skyway:
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss:
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Dreamachina Shop: Oil Fields
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss:
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Worldmaker's Easel:
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss:
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Icefire Mountain: Giant Dunes
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss:
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Fields of Feast: Valley of Scavengers
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss: Ant Queen
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Rua's Musicbox:
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss:
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Santa's Workshop: Forgotten Toys
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss:
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

Nightmare Stage: Quicksand Tomb
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss:
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

Final Story Boss:

Princess Rua's Music Box

Another abstract stage based on musical instruments. Has transitions like a massive Organ when approached from the Castle stage, or a stage full of glasses filled with water when approached from the Sea stage.

Base:
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss:
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Tarot Castle: Grand Organ
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss:
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Fairy Forest: Forest of Flutes
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss:
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Milk Sea: River of Blues
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss:
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Cosmic Skyway:
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss:
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Dreamachina Shop: Stereo System
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss:
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Worldmaker's Easel:
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss:
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Icefire Mountain:
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss:
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Fields of Feast:
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss:
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Diamond Desert: Tribal Beat
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss:
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Santa's Workshop: Children Chimes
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss:
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

Nightmare Stage:
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss:
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

Final Story Boss: Wandering Violinist "Mantideus"
Boss Description: Appears in the True Final Level.

[spoiler=Santa's Workshop]
Has transitions like riding in on Toy Planes from the Sky stage, or climbing up a pile of stuffed animals when approaching from the Mountain stage.

Base:
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss:
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Tarot Castle: Building Block Building
Section Miniboss: Block Wizard
Section Boss:
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Fairy Forest: Decorated Trees
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss:
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Milk Sea: Iceskating Ponds
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss:
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Cosmic Skyway: Santa's Sleigh
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss:
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Dreamachina Shop: Elf Workshop
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss:
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Worldmaker's Easel: Young Artist's Backpack
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss: Crayon King "Edwin"
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Icefire Mountain: Stuffed Animal Pile
Section Miniboss: Sock Monkey
Section Boss:
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Fields of Feast: Christmas Dinner
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss:
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Diamond Desert: Coalmining Basement
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss: "Krampus"
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

From Rua's Musicbox:
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss:
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

Nightmare Stage: Marionette Workshop
Section Miniboss:
Section Boss:
Miniboss Description:
Boss Description:

Final Story Boss: Three Christmas Ghosts

Nightmare Stages
Each stage has a nightmare version of itself. During the first half of the game, Nightmare stages are only accessed when the player loses all their lives. They then are forced to play an abbreviated version of the stage's Nightmare version, where all enemies are much stronger and the stage ends with a miniboss fight. Defeating the nightmare stage allows the player to get more lives and start the stage normally again, while dying in the stage results in a game over. However, later in the game the player gets access to the full versions of the stages, and loses the ability to get out of game overs in that method. After a certain point, losing all your lives results in a game over. There is a Nightmare stage for every stage, but not every transition of every stage, only the stage concept itself.

(Additional stages exist and will be explained as the story is explained more, seeing as they are based on key elements to the story, such as the final battles with Malenigma and Ring-Cat.)

Bosses

[spoiler=Stage Bosses:]

Full bosses (not minibosses) are fought in the stage that is chosen from the world map. However, the boss fought is determined by the stage you are coming from. For example, the boss of the Coral Reef in the Sea stage is a Moray Eel-like creature, while the boss at the end of the Submarine ride in the same stage is a massive squid grabbing the sub. When a boss is defeated, it does not have to be fought again, but Cocoron can allow the player to fight them again for experience if they wish, though the experience is reduced from what it once was.

Story Bosses:

Sometimes there are bosses that help the story progress hiding in certain stages, or sometimes in a certain stage transition. If they are active, they replace the original boss or bosses, and you fight them instead. Such is the case for fighting villains like Ring-Cat when they are hiding somewhere in the Dream World. Story bosses cannot be refought at the end of a stage, but towards the end of the game an arena for fighting them can be unlocked.

Final Story Bosses:

After a certain point in the game, the player is required to get several powers in order to take on the true Final Boss of the game. In order to do so, the player has to access secret sections of certain areas of the world, in which the hero fights a large boss. Although there are several ways to reach this section, the boss is always the same for each section. For example, whether you entered the Whipped Cream Armada stage or the Submarine stage (both located in the Milk Sea), you fight Leviathan if you access the final story section regardless of which stage you chose.

Secret Bosses (Added 7/20/10):

In several stages, there are secret cooridors that serve various purposes such as hiding secret items, powerups, and in some cases a boss fight. All of the secret boss fights are optional, and they end the stage run with the stage you are currently travelling, and while they don't allow you to question the characters at the end of the stage, it does yield a healthy experience bonus, as well as the potential to unlock very powerful parts, among other things. The catch is that the Secret Bosses tend to be much more difficult than regular bosses. Most of the Secret Bosses are references to other media, as well as some personal characters of mine from other concepts I have just for fun.

The Dream Master:
A character based on Little Nemo, particularly his incarnation from Little Nemo: The Dream Master for the NES. The Dream Master fights by summoning his animal friends one by one with candy, and each riding form must be defeated to have him summon the next until he goes through each. The first form is the Frog, who leaps up into the air and crashes back down. The Lizard form moves quickly but travels rather low to the ground and can be jumped over. He climbs up the walls and jumps down, as well as swings his tail. The Mole digs underground and either rises up out of the ground, the ceiling or the walls to attack the hero. The Ape mostly attacks with punches, but sometimes climb

[TomGuycott]

Made some new character bios and stage explanations, mostly minor stuff though, and some of the stuff marked as updated I actually added a few weeks ago, I just didn't bump it. However, I do have some character designs drawn, but I have yet to get them into a digital format. Since I no longer have access to a scanner, does anyone have any troubleshooting advice for taking images via digital camera before I attempt it myself tomorrow?

[Sengir]

Are you going to program this into a game? Because it sounds pretty interesting

[TomGuycott]

I plan to, and I know for a fact that I could pull off a game if I limited it to just a few areas for each stage, and had maybe 2-3 times as many heads and bodies and weapons as the original game. However, I'll have to wait and see if I can actually manage the scale I actually intend, I want it to be pretty epic and I want to put lots of love into it.

Unfortunately, I program via Multimedia Fusion 2, not from scratch, so it's not THAT much love I'm putting into it. That's not to say some decent games haven't come out of that program, it's just not AS cool as from scratch.

[Sengir]

It's not like you plan to sell the game for profit (which is illegal anyways). Hobby coding in MMF2 is perfectly fine, it's when you cross that line into "indie pro" territory that you gotta learn more advanced stuff.

Regardless, I can't wait to see how this turns out!

[ThePortalGuru]

Unfortunately, I program via Multimedia Fusion 2

You know, it's actually a really flexible program. Two incredible games, Lyle in Cube Sector and Noitu Love 2 were made with it, and countless others. Good luck, though! The project really fascinates me, so make sure to keep the thread updated with new happenings.

[TomGuycott]

I made some small additions, including SMALL concept sketches of two of the villains. The main additions are various tentative stage transitions and bosses. Stuff will be edited as time goes on, but I wanted to make a small update that's actually in the forum. (I mostly make updates to a notepad document that I add here every now and then just in case).

[Sengir]

Dusclops Ragshield looks cool.

Now hurry up and make this >:I

[TomGuycott]

Ragshield actually gets really badass later. He starts out really short and cowardly, but late in the game someone gives him the courage he needs to fight the hero proper, and he gets all tall and scary looking.