Many of you have obtained all 180 emblems, using the full set of skills the game allows you. But take away one of those skills, and how far will your other skills compensate for it?
The goal is to start a new SA2 file, and get as many emblems as you can...without picking up the Mystic Melody character upgrade for any of the 6 characters. All other upgrades are allowed.
So far on my dedicated MM-less file, I'm up to 164 emblems. On another file, I've done the procedure that will allow me to go to 165, and then 166 goes down easily. The emblems I don't have are:
-Aquatic Mine 3/4/5, plus Knuckles' All-A. This is the one I've done on another file. I have to do it once on 3 and again on 5, and it's incredibly random to do. To get the all-A, both times it has to be done rather quickly. 100% chance that these emblems are (at least theoretically) possible.
-Egg Quarters 3/4/5, plus Rouge's All-A. I think I know how I'm going to approach this, but it's random like Aquatic Mine, plus I still have to familiarize myself with the layout so I know where to go. 85% chance that these emblems are possible.
-Eternal Engine 3/4/5, plus Tails' All-A. It's hard to judge whether I get my positioning just right, and thus whether I need to try again with improved positioning or if it's just a case where even a perfect attempt falls just short. 55% chance that these emblems are possible.
-Iron Gate 3/4/5, plus Eggman's All-A. The lost Chao here is in a really lousy position given Eggman's poor mobility, and it appears this level will hold off any attempts at MM-less 180 for all time. 3% chance that these emblems are possible.
All other emblems in the game are definitely possible without Mystic Melody, and I have them on my save file. At least on Dreamcast they are; I haven't been able to test whether GameCube players miss out on Mad Space 3/4/5 (the possibility exists that they do).
Can you do better than 164 with the handicap? Will someone, someday, defy all common sense known to the game and get Iron Gate, along with the others, for a full 180?
I'd try, if I didn't lose my SA2 DC game to begin with...
yeah, I can get it for GC, but do I really want to rage through 180 emblems again?...and what was Mystic Melody again, cause I definitely don't remember.
Mystic Melody activates the shrine that allows you to get Lost Chao. Basically, without it, presuming you can't find an alternate method, you can't get the lost chao and therefore lose out on 4 emblems - Missions 3, 4 and 5 and the All A's for that character. I take it getting to 164/166 requires finding a lot of alternate routes - there's only about 5 levels worth missing max, by my count.
By the first post, you'll see that I'm currently missing 3 levels, and a fourth that's partially complete (because just getting the path is hard enough, and then there's the matter of getting it fast enough for an A rank--twice). I'm not banking on it, but if someone somehow finds a way to greak out of the boundaries of Iron Gate early on in the level, there's serious consideration to all 180 emblems being possible.
I'm guessing a lot of these for which the mystic melody is the only way to get to an enclosed space (Wild Canyon comes to mind) Require a lot of noclip glitching and various other general haxiness?
Wild Canyon is one of the more straightforward ones. There are actually two clearly defined ways into the Chao room; one of them is taken away in hard mode, but the remaining path you take there to get a piece still works in m3.
Yes, but I'm guessing these 'ways' are noclip glitches in which you can walk through a wall due to the sh*tty programming?
Levels that involve passing through walls or other surfaces that should seemingly be solid:
Aquatic Mine
Hidden Base
Death Chamber
Meteor Herd
one of the two methods in Dry Lagoon (the method that doesn't work on GameCube)
the method I have envisioned for Egg Quarters, if it ever materializes
Lost Colony
Weapons Bed
Mad Space
What do you think the number of possible MM-less emblems should be?
