Board 8 > Finally playing Celeste

(+) Yeah! (+)

Love it so far and I'm definitely dead set on completing everything through the final chapter.

Do I need to keep collecting strawberries in each area? The game said they're just to "impress your friends," but I thought I remembered someone saying that they open up the later chapters.
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Have fun, it's a fantastic game from start to finish.

Strawberries don't do anything meaningful but there are other collectables that unlock stuff
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Shonen_Bat posted...

Have fun, it's a fantastic game from start to finish.

Strawberries don't do anything meaningful but there are other collectables that unlock stuff

What should I be looking out for? I'm only beginning level 2 now
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there's a hidden collectable or two in each area. look out for anything that looks suspicious or odd, i guess.

It's fairly easy to warp around the game, so don't be too crazy about missing stuff. I suspect it is nearly impossible to find everything your first time through, but they help you a lot afterward by giving you organized hints about where to warp to, to start finding stuff you're missing.
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hype has been lived up to!
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I started playing it recently too!

Loved the SMB3 secret in the 4th level. It was conspicuous enough that I got it instantly and then had to explain to my wife who was watching how I knew to do that.

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seems like kind of a weird choice to make stamina so important (especially on the b sides) but to also hide that information from the player

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Quite possibly the best 2D platformer I've ever played! Really excited for the folks here going through it for the first time.
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Reminds me I'm still only partway through chapter 9
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So how many deaths is "normal" for a first run? Just curious
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However many it takes you
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Xiahou Shake posted...

However many it takes you

Everyone is going to be drastically different based on exploration, skill level and your desire to try and collect strawberries.

my favorite game in the last few years glad you're enjoying it!

Nelson_Mandela posted...

So how many deaths is "normal" for a first run? Just curious

Here's what my death count per main story stages is. (although this is after going back for strawberries through chapter 5.) No idea how "normal" I am.
Chapter 1: 79
Chapter 2: 72
Chapter 3: 281
Chapter 4: 225
Chapter 5: 241
Chapter 6: 113
Chapter 7: 540
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I'm currently at 1800+ deaths after completing the first three levels and their b sides and doing a little bit of the b side on level 4

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So I'm dumb

What is the b-side? I assume a harder version of the level that is unlocked if I pick up a cassette?

What do I get for completing the b-side?
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You get a heart for completing it. They dont have strawberries, just get to the end.

Hearts are necessary to unlock some later areas
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So I should be doing the b-sides as I go?
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I don't know if it matters? They are significantly harder than the regular sides, so I'm wondering if maybe it makes sense to clear the main chapters first.

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The difficulty curve is pretty perfect if you play all of the regular levels and then all of the B-sides and then all of the C-sides but you can play them in any order.
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Cool. I did some cursory searching, and it seems like that is the optimal path.

Also it seems like I need 15 hearts to complete the story. Is there a reason to go for any more other than self-satisfaction/for the love of the game?
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You actually don't need any hearts to finish the story! They're all for post game stuff, including the very recently released extra chapter dlc which does have a bonus story in it. You'll need all the hearts for that one.
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Xiahou Shake posted...

You actually don't need any hearts to finish the story! They're all for post game stuff, including the very recently released extra chapter dlc which does have a bonus story in it. You'll need all the hearts for that one.

I thought you only need 15?
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Yeah, it's 15 to get to the second half of the extra chapter. That's the highest heart requirement.
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Finished the level 4 B-Side before I finished the normal level...kinda interesting that it lets you proceed to the next level without finishing the main story.

Also currently at 4 red hearts and 2 blue hearts.

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I did world 2 B-side right after the regular level cuz I loved that theme so much, but the rest I did after the story
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Chapter 2 has been my favorite level so far as well

Fuck the wind chapter
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Nelson_Mandela posted...

Chapter 2 has been my favorite level so far as well

Fuck the wind chapter

The windy areas really pissed me off as well but they do in every platformer.

Most people I know IRL stopped at the wind chapter
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Had to look up how to get the blue hearts on the first two levels.

On the first level, I had the inputs but for some reason didn't figure out I needed to dash

On the second level, I was going crazy trying to figure out how to get up there in the dream section...I didn't put together what the poem meant about "out of frame"

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Golden Ridge is a good chapter though

wind is way easier to deal with than dust bunnies
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The only thing I hate about Golden Ridge after doing the b side is those stupid jump clouds

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I've completed the first 5 chapters + B sides so far.

Golden Ridge B Side has my most deaths at 615.

I think Mirror Temple and Old Site have been my favorites so far, though I actually enjoyed the windy parts of Golden Ridge

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Yeah I thoroughly enjoyed Golden Ridge despite the wind.

At this point I'm definitely going to do all the b-sides (and collect the hearts) once I get to chapter 8.
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If I go back and collect a heart or cassette, do I need to still finish the level or can I just exit?
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Pretty sure I was able to just exit after going back to get a heart

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You can just exit.

On the records screen, you get a little star/symbol if you collect everything (all strawberries, the heart and the cassette) and finish the level in one run, but this doesn't unlock anything, so if your aim is just to see all the content, then you can grab the item and immediately exit.
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Holy Christ that chp 6 boss was epic

Might be one of the best boss fights in any game ever
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yeah during that fight was when I figured out this was one of my favorite video games ever
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So I adore this game...but how are you genuinely supposed to figure out the crystal heart puzzles? That's the one thing keeping this from being a 5/5 game rather than a 4/5. The patterns are totally unintuitive. If that was just for a nominal bonus that's fine, but to complete the game it's kind of insulting.
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Yeah celeste is top 5 for me and i completely agree. I looked up most of the solutions and felt no shame about it
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Good game

I should really finish it. I think I was in chapter 7?

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the chapter 4 one especially, I mean, if you don't get the reference, you'd be completely hopeless!!
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Nelson_Mandela posted...

So I adore this game...but how are you genuinely supposed to figure out the crystal heart puzzles? That's the one thing keeping this from being a 5/5 game rather than a 4/5. The patterns are totally unintuitive. If that was just for a nominal bonus that's fine, but to complete the game it's kind of insulting.

They are just for a bonus. Not everything in games need to be spoon fed.
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foolm0r0n posted...

Nelson_Mandela posted...

So I adore this game...but how are you genuinely supposed to figure out the crystal heart puzzles? That's the one thing keeping this from being a 5/5 game rather than a 4/5. The patterns are totally unintuitive. If that was just for a nominal bonus that's fine, but to complete the game it's kind of insulting.

They are just for a bonus. Not everything in games need to be spoon fed.

They are to open up the later chapters.
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You only need like 8 hearts to unlock the chapter. Getting all the hearts unlocks the B side I think.
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foolm0r0n posted...

You only need like 8 hearts to unlock the chapter. Getting all the hearts unlocks the B side I think.

You need 15 to unlock chapter 9, which means you need all of the esoteric hearts in the main chapters AND you have to beat all the b-sides.
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You can unlock the first part of chapter 9 with less but about halfway through there is another barrier that requires 15
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I think it's important to make the distinction that you beat the game at chapter 7. Chapters 8 and 9 are purely bonuses. (9 didn't even exist until a couple months ago.) With that in mind I think the hearts being crazy obtuse brain busters is totally fine.
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eh, chapter 8 is only four hearts. you'll probably find that many, or close to it, by the time you beat the game. each b-side is a guaranteed heart, for example.

now, I can agree that needing 15 for chapter 9's second half is a bummer (though, if you're really good, you can skip the requirement entirely). chapter 9 didn't even exist until a few months ago though so I see that as bonus content for players who are all in on celeste, but maybe that's the perspective of someone who played the game in 2018. and honestly, if you haven't been through the b-sides the difficulty will probably fuck you up anyway.
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