Why is it so?

I have a few questions.

1. If Quote is a robot sent to destroy the Demon Crown, why didn't he just go for Ballos first, instead of the Doctor?

2. Why does Quote have a hat that says "Curly Brace" on his head? Shouldn't that be on Curly's head?

3. Why is there a core to the island if Ballos is the one who makes it fall?

4. We know the Doctor wanted to attack the surface, but why? What did he have against his own?

Answers?

 

1. Well, first off, he might not have known that he had to kill Ballos. Second, the Doctor was a much more immediate threat. Third, getting to Ballos was a little bit harder... how would he even know where to look?

2. Where do you get that from? We know there's writing on it because Cthulu says so, but that writing's not visible on the sprite or in Pixel's illustrations in the credits.

3. The Core is there to provide a counter-force to Ballos's attempts to make the island fall. Or who knows? Perhaps there's several other Cores we don't know about, and while the island can still be supported without one of them it can't do so against Ballos's efforts to make it fall.

4. Greed? Lust for power? Why does anyone try to take over the world in these stories?

 

1. If Quote is a robot sent to destroy the Demon Crown, why didn't he just go for Ballos first, instead of the Doctor?

I suspect he did actually know about Ballos, and forgot... unless the messages you receive about Ballos come from Ballos himself. However, he was sent to destroy the Demon Crown, not Ballos, and I don't think he knew about the association between them.

2. Why does Quote have a hat that says "Curly Brace" on his head? Shouldn't that be on Curly's head?

Because Curly Brace gave Quote her hat.

3. Why is there a core to the island if Ballos is the one who makes it fall?

The island has an innate ability to float for some reason or another. Ballos is trying to crash it to the ground. The core is there to counter Ballos.

4. We know the Doctor wanted to attack the surface, but why? What did he have against his own?

He's a villain. He wants power, power, and more power. Specifically, he wants to rule the world. He would probably only kill those who dare to resist him.

 

2. Where do you get that from?

Pixel himself. Basically Quote was originally called "Curly Brace" in the Beta. Curly Brace was renamed Quote later on and the female robot got Quote's old name, but Pixel never changed what the hat read. Pixel told us that the hat read "Curly Brace", but the rest we worked out from the beta images (where, I might add, the hat read "Curly Brace" as well).

 

2. (...) We know there's writing on it because Cthulu says so (...)

Since when Sue is a Cthulu?

 

Since my memory's off, that's when.

 

^ After you defeat Igor

 

Wait wait wait, why did you start a whole new thread about the exact same thing that was in the other thread? When you could have just asked these same questions in that thread. But hey, I don't care I was just curious about why you did this, I know a few people that got banned for double threading.

 

1. If Quote is a robot sent to destroy the Demon Crown, why didn't he just go for Ballos first, instead of the Doctor?

Quote apparently has no memory. In fact, it's questionable if he ever remembers anything... I imagine if Quote woke up and the Doctor was around telling him to defeat the Mimigas, cause it's your duty. Quote would happily start blazing them Of course if it looks too questionable at some point maybe the player would go wait... this doesn't seem nice! [player = quote]

2. Why does Quote have a hat that says "Curly Brace" on his head? Shouldn't that be on Curly's head?

Yeah, it's not really known what it says.. except that the writing on it, is not from the island...

3. Why is there a core to the island if Ballos is the one who makes it fall?

The Core is what makes the island float. We can guess how it works, but the only real fact is... The Core makes the island float. That's it. Says so in the dialogue. Also says that only by destroying the Core, can the Mimiga's red flower rage be lifted...
Who says Ballos really brings down the island? ... oh wait there's Curly's odd comment at the end about negative energy. Well, the Core must be the positive force, and Ballos or maybe just his energy was the negative force.

Why does it stop falling even without a Core? ... there's more than one Core. Remember? All those smaller cores that hover around the main one ? I imagine they can hold the island up now that Ballos is gone.

4. We know the Doctor wanted to attack the surface, but why? What did he have against his own?

Doctor Dumb! Maybe he wanted to follow Miakid's footsteps, finish what he started, or maybe he just wanted to be a Superman!

 

Yeah, it's not really known what it says.. except that the writing on it, is not from the island...

It is known what it says. Pixel told us what it says. It was the only story-based question that I had ever heard him answer.

Note that "Curly Brace" was written in English (both on the beta artwork and on Pixel's otherwise Japanese reply), on the other hand Pixel's game was in Japanese. English writing when everyone on the island speaks Japanese. Sounds familiar eh? I can only assume that with the English translation the hat reads "カーリーブレイス".

The Core makes the island float. That's it. Says so in the dialogue.

Oh really?

Misery: This is the heart of the island!
Misery: If you stop it, the island will fall to the earth!
Misery: Is that your grand plan?
Misery: To take the island down with you in a blaze of glory?!

Kazuma: You could destroy the island's core.
Kazuma: If you did that, however, the island would most likely crumble.

Nothing here.

All I see here is that the island would fall if the core was destroyed, there is nothing here to suggest that the core is what makes the island float.

 

It is known what it says. Pixel told us what it says. It was the only story-based question that I had ever heard him answer.

Note that "Curly Brace" was written in English (both on the beta artwork and on Pixel's otherwise Japanese reply), on the other hand Pixel's game was in Japanese. English writing when everyone on the island speaks Japanese. Sounds familiar eh? I can only assume that with the English translation the hat reads "カーリーブレイス".

All I see here is that the island would fall if the core was destroyed, there is nothing here to suggest that the core is what makes the island float.

Oh? Pixel said so in an interview about the hat, directed at Cave Story? I would like to have read that...

And why is it you doubt me? :

Gaudis : Long, long ago, there lived a witch on this island. She's the one who constructed this labyrinth, in order to keep us Gaudis penned up.

Gaudis : The one who sealed us up in here is a witch named Jenka. ...But it's not because she hates us or anything. We're here in this labyrinth in order to protect something. ...I don't really rememeber what it is anymore, but that's all right!

Gaudis : Have you ever seen the outside of this island? This island is floating high in the skies. As to how it manages to float... That secret lies within this maze.

Booster : You see, this island floats in the sky by the power of a certain organism, and I've recently discovered its location. This labyrinth. The organism lives somewhere within this very labyrinth. If one could destroy it, the island would cease to function *chuckle* The doctor must really be in a rush, to send you into the very heart of this island.

Misery : This is the heart of the island! If you stop it, the island will fall to the earth! Is that your grand plan? To take the island down with you in a blaze of glory?! Fools!!

Kazmua : You know, there's one other way you might return the Mimigas to their natural state. You could destroy the island's core. If you did that, however, the island would most likely crumble. A dangerous choice, no?

And soon after destroying the Undead Core... the island shakes, crumbles and falls!

Unrelated but also from that Gaudis quote, we can guess how powerful she must have been at one time... And here's a quote directly from Jenka.

Jenka : Even a witch like me grows old and frail... All I can do now is place my faith in you...

She must have been powerful, but now I think she really is limited in power... [not tying the powers of Ballos down with her mind or something...] That would be my guess anyways...

 

Because everybody is doubting Quote's hat has the words "Curly Brace" on it, I found some concept art.

 

The Core is what makes the island float. We can guess how it works, but the only real fact is... The Core makes the island float. That's it. Says so in the dialogue. Also says that only by destroying the Core, can the Mimiga's red flower rage be lifted...
Who says Ballos really brings down the island? ... oh wait there's Curly's odd comment at the end about negative energy. Well, the Core must be the positive force, and Ballos or maybe just his energy was the negative force.

When Curly made that comment, it sounded to me like she didn't really know what she was talking about, and was just trying to think of some remotely feasible explanation for why the island stopped falling. Remember, she was surprised when the island stopped falling, and if she had known that killing Ballos would stop the island falling beforehand, she would have expected the island to stop falling and wouldn't have been surprised.

Why does it stop falling even without a Core? ... there's more than one Core. Remember? All those smaller cores that hover around the main one ? I imagine they can hold the island up now that Ballos is gone.

Hmmm... that's a possiblity I hadn't thought of before, although I doubt that this was what Pixel had in mind for how the island stays afloat. It probably has something to do with the disembodied voice and the walls closing in. Pixel probably wanted this phenomena to not be explainable by events within the game.

In my fanfic...

Spoiler

Quote and Curly aren't powerful enough to kill Ballos on their own, only to weaken him enough so that he can kill himself, if he uses all of his remaining energy up in some huge spell. He decides to heal the Core, allowing the island to float once again.

 

Oh? Pixel said so in an interview about the hat, directed at Cave Story? I would like to have read that...

It was actually answered on his BBS. The message should be somewhere in the Quote's cap thread.

And why is it you doubt me? :

And soon after destroying the Undead Core... the island shakes, crumbles and falls!

They probably came to the same conclusion you did. It is probably easier to assume that something makes it float, rather than it just naturally float.

Admit it. Upon Ballos' death the island stops falling. If the mini cores could keep the island in the air, then why wait until Ballos was dead? The most logical explainations are the "positive/negative" theory and the "Ballos drags the island to the ground with his magic" theory (the seem pretty similar though). Both theories suggest that the core is a counter to Ballos and not what makes the island float.

Unrelated but also from that Gaudis quote, we can guess how powerful she must have been at one time... And here's a quote directly from Jenka.


She must have been powerful, but now I think she really is limited in power... [not tying the powers of Ballos down with her mind or something...] That would be my guess anyways...

She friggin' imprisoned Ballos and most of his magic, that takes some doing.

 

It was actually answered on his BBS. The message should be somewhere in the Quote's cap thread.

Hmm...

They probably came to the same conclusion you did. It is probably easier to assume that something makes it float, rather than it just naturally float.

The simplest conclusion is most likely the correct one.
Jenka's Gaudis, Professor Booster, Misery, and Kazuma imply the Core floats. When you destroy the Undead Core, the island stops floating...
I don't remember Cave Story having tricky dialogue or being filled with lies, having to read between the lines, or having many disproven ideas... Meaning usually what they say, is probably what was intended/meant.

Here maybe this will help you...
Curly : Maybe all the negative energy was weakened after we beat him? ..... Well, I dunno, but it looks like our work here is done.

"When Curly made that comment, it sounded to me like she didn't really know what she was talking about, and was just trying to think of some remotely feasible explanation for why the island stopped falling. Remember, she was surprised when the island stopped falling, and if she had known that killing Ballos would stop the island falling beforehand, she would have expected the island to stop falling and wouldn't have been surprised."

I feel the same way, but let's take Curly's idea at face value... and say she was exactly right, and there's a positive negative thing going on.

Before Undead Core's Destruction :
(Ballos) - - - - - - - - - + + + + + + + + + + + (Core(s))
After Undead Core's Destruction :
(Ballos) - - - - - - - - - + + + + (Core(s))
After Ballos loses :
(Ballos) + + + + (Core(s))

I came to that conclusion by taking Curly, Misery, Gaudis, Kazuma and Prof. Booster's dialogues, and by the depiction of the Core as having multiple little ones around the main central Core. [which is destroyed by Quote]
Also, Booster says the Core is living, so as with most living things, they have a way of continuing life...

The Gaudis also state that Jenka created the Labyrinth to protect the secret of the island... Which I imagine to be the Core. Since Misery refers to it as the Heart of the island... it seems like a likely bet. Finally, in the Ballos dialogues heading through Hell, I remember it saying Jenka confined Ballos to this floating island... Which does not tell us that she did make it float, or that she created the Core and the technology it seems to be housed in... But she did create the Labyrinth, and that looks nothing like the place the Core is kept in... This leads me to...

She friggin' imprisoned Ballos and most of his magic, that takes some doing.

Yes! She was friggin' powerful, the Ballos dialogues say something about her being really powerful as well right? But...
In most games I know, magic is something that happens at once. Not something that takes constant fuel or mana/magic upkeep. She states, even 'She' has grown old and frail and all she can do is place her trust in you...
She may have imprisoned Ballos, created the Labyrinth and achieved many amazing things in her life... But, I think those are spells that have been cast. [aka once the spell was cast, Ballos was sealed. once the spell was cast the Labyrinth was created... it's history, days gone by]
The only direct evidence that she can still use magic ... is by her ability to give you pot... life pots Those are amazing...
And I bet you might even posit that Jenka is what makes the island floats since she can only do positive things like life pot or send the dog to bring a life container thing... Maybe her magic is directed into the Core? Maybe she is the positive factor?

... once again I say the simpliest answer is probably the best one. Jenka says she's old and frail and has to depend on Quote. Most of the characters in CS imply the Core is what makes the island float (also the Core seems kept in some strange base that doesn't seem to be Jenka's doing)...
Curly only says "maybe" something about negative and postive energy...

Bottomline : I just don't personally see any evidence to make me change my mind about Jenka. Maybe she was hot stuff even 10 years ago during the 10 year war. But.. now...

EDIT : oh and Misery calls the Core, the heart of the island... Meaning that the Core could be exactly that... The heart of the island. If you stop the 'heart' whatever the heart gives life to dies... [you could say something else on the island causes the island to float, but is given life by the core...]
Then there's the ole Mimiga factor to add in... [the Mimigas return to normal according to Kazuma upon the Core's demise]

 

1. The negative energy was most likely Ballos' magic.
2. The core, like most things, was probably corrupted by the constant exposure to Ballos' magic.
3. If the core naturally blocked Ballos' magic or even confined it, how can Misery teleport to anywhere on the island? This leads me to believe that the core was made to block Ballos' power, even past the day Jenka might die or lose her powers to old age.
4. Misery came into the equation late, what would she know?
5. The core was protected by the Guadi and the order of Jenka. Jenka obviously had a personal reason to protect the core.
6. If it wasn't the core as Ballos' seal, then what was?

I am assuming that the "storage base" was actually a "research facility" set up by the pre-war human explorers, like with most of the tech set up around the island.

Oh and the message:
http://community.livejournal.com/doukutsu/2006/12/10/

 

1. The negative energy was most likely Ballos' magic.

That seems likely.

2. The core, like most things, was probably corrupted by the constant exposure to Ballos' magic.

Maybe, probably. The only strange thing is if Kazuma is right... the Red Flower's power would disappear with the Core's death. One possiblity could be the Core/Island feeds on Ballos' power, and it is a magical living thing. So just as Ballos is the magical entity of destruction... The Core is like the magical entitiy of creation on the island. Bah, lol I don't know how the Core works ;(

3. If the core naturally blocked Ballos' magic or even confined it, how can Misery teleport to anywhere on the island? This leads me to believe that the core was made to block Ballos' power, even past the day Jenka might die or lose her powers to old age.

Does the Core/Island seal Ballos' power?
How is Jenka connected to the Core?
What's with all the skeletons in the seal room?
hmm...
Okay, what if, the floating island has always been floating. And the kingdom Ballos used to live in was actually on this floating island. And all of those skeletons in the Seal Room are actually the people of the Kingdom that he burnt/killed. That explains the whole hot thing, the walls are closing in thing at the end... Maybe, all the souls/dead became a natural seal thanks to Jenka? Maybe she used them to seal him in?
Maybe the Core is the heart of the island and the island is alive... and somehow that's where the positive/negative energy thing comes from. The island feeds off Ballos' magic naturally, which keeps it from becoming too powerful. Oh... example, once the Undead Core is destroyed, Ballos doesn't come flying out screaming, I'm FREE!! TASTE MY POWER!! He seems like's still sealed in that chamber... but now he can crash the island which would probably destroy most of the island and free him and his magic.

I think maybe that's a good theory. The dead seal him in [thanks to Jenka's handywork], but his magic is another story...

4. Misery came into the equation late, what would she know?

We don't know how long Misery has been around... I'd say Jenka knows the most, with Ballos, Misery and then Balrog being the least. [Can't really say how much Booster and the scientists could discover]
Misery is really a Mistery... (...)

5. The core was protected by the Guadi and the order of Jenka. Jenka obviously had a personal reason to protect the core.

Well... Let's say the Core Base is actually an ancient technology ruins, lost deep inside the island. Maybe the Core is some kind of Organic high technology? Maybe technology is behind the creation of magic? Or maybe it was to emulate it?
Well anyways, if the place is ancient maybe it's been her task to protect this place? We really don't know anything about Jenka's past, except that she was a powerful witch... What's the deal with the Sand Zone...? [ancient ruins and a desolate desert area in the middle of the island..?] Too many unanswerable questions without just making stuff up (using plausible theories...)

6. If it wasn't the core as Ballos' seal, then what was?

I think the dead had a hold on Ballos all this time. He could not leave that place as long as it wasn't broken by someone or something. The destruction of the Core let Ballos' power run free... but only the seal chamber's destruction will set him free.
When Ballos maybe is weakened by defeat thanks to Quote, maybe that allowed the dead to finally drag Ballos to his grave? And the dead could finally rest?
Dunno...

I am assuming that the "storage base" was actually a "research facility" set up by the pre-war human explorers, like with most of the tech set up around the island.

I used to think that too... But, it just seems too much maybe... Building such a base so deep in the island? Building the waterway to control the flow of water to that area? The thing about that place is it seems out of place... You go from Jenka's Labyrinth, to ancient ruin area?, to high tech place...
EDIT: (Well, I dunno; suppose we can just imagine. It just seems odd... I would have to say...
If it is not ancient technology like I was thinking. and returning to the idea that tech stuff on the island is newly made, then I say :
The Base is something Miakid and Misery cooked up. The war 10 years ago can't be called a war if it happened very quickly maybe...
And that killer robot might have been the remains of the robots that were re-sent to stop Miakid...)

But, why were those robots all there? there were tons...
Did the robots really go home? Their work finished? Or did Miakid and Misery have a plan to get rid of the robots? Send them to that place and/or the labyrinth, and they were destroyed? Why would the robots go home, the mimigas cause war on the earth, and the robots never return to stop Miakid? Hmm... ;(
Why is it so... why did Pixel leave so much to imagination ;p

Oh! And thanks for the link to livejournal... I suppose that answers that lol

 

2. The core, like most things, was probably corrupted by the constant exposure to Ballos' magic.

Maybe, probably. The only strange thing is if Kazuma is right... the Red Flower's power would disappear with the Core's death. One possiblity could be the Core/Island feeds on Ballos' power, and it is a magical living thing. So just as Ballos is the magical entity of destruction... The Core is like the magical entitiy of creation on the island. Bah, lol I don't know how the Core works ;(

If the core fed off of Ballos' power, then it would become enslaved to it like Misery was.

Does the Core/Island seal Ballos' power?

Yes.

How is Jenka connected to the Core?

I think she created it. It probably looked better before being exposed to Ballos' corrupting magic, and a bit more friendly towards robots and humans... until it was attacked during the war. Of course it would strike out against Quote and Curly. They are robots. As far as the core is concerned, robots are bad.

What's with all the skeletons in the seal room?

The dead from the kingdom maybe. How they got there? No idea. Make a new thread for it though, it sounds like a heavily debatable topic

hmm...
Okay, what if, the floating island has always been floating. And the kingdom Ballos used to live in was actually on this floating island. And all of those skeletons in the Seal Room are actually the people of the Kingdom that he burnt/killed. That explains the whole hot thing, the walls are closing in thing at the end... Maybe, all the souls/dead became a natural seal thanks to Jenka? Maybe she used them to seal him in?

Interesting theory but Jenka confined him to the island after he went wild, which suggests that he wasn't originally on the island.

Though the souls/dead as a seal makes sense, plus the Core to seal his power.

Maybe the Core is the heart of the island and the island is alive... and somehow that's where the positive/negative energy thing comes from. The island feeds off Ballos' magic naturally, which keeps it from becoming too powerful. Oh... example, once the Undead Core is destroyed, Ballos doesn't come flying out screaming, I'm FREE!! TASTE MY POWER!! He seems like's still sealed in that chamber... but now he can crash the island which would probably destroy most of the island and free him and his magic.

I don't think the island feeds off of Ballos' magic, Misery already learnt a harsh lesson about that. I'd think that the core resists Ballos' magic or naturally repels it.

I think maybe that's a good theory. The dead seal him in [thanks to Jenka's handywork], but his magic is another story...

Which would be sealed by the core.

5. The core was protected by the Guadi and the order of Jenka. Jenka obviously had a personal reason to protect the core.

Well... Let's say the Core Base is actually an ancient technology ruins, lost deep inside the island. Maybe the Core is some kind of Organic high technology? Maybe technology is behind the creation of magic? Or maybe it was to emulate it?
Well anyways, if the place is ancient maybe it's been her task to protect this place? We really don't know anything about Jenka's past, except that she was a powerful witch... What's the deal with the Sand Zone...? [ancient ruins and a desolate desert area in the middle of the island..?] Too many unanswerable questions without just making stuff up (using plausible theories...)

I am willing to bet that most of the technology was there to aid in research of the island.

As for "Organic high technology" and "magic from technology", those theories are so wild that they might as well eat red flowers.

6. If it wasn't the core as Ballos' seal, then what was?

I think the dead had a hold on Ballos all this time. He could not leave that place as long as it wasn't broken by someone or something. The destruction of the Core let Ballos' power run free... but only the seal chamber's destruction will set him free.
When Ballos maybe is weakened by defeat thanks to Quote, maybe that allowed the dead to finally drag Ballos to his grave? And the dead could finally rest?
Dunno...

I think you are right about that.

I am assuming that the "storage base" was actually a "research facility" set up by the pre-war human explorers, like with most of the tech set up around the island.

I used to think that too... But, it just seems too much maybe... Building such a base so deep in the island? Building the waterway to control the flow of water to that area? The thing about that place is it seems out of place... You go from Jenka's Labyrinth, to ancient ruin area?, to high tech place...
EDIT: (Well, I dunno; suppose we can just imagine. It just seems odd... I would have to say...
If it is not ancient technology like I was thinking. and returning to the idea that tech stuff on the island is newly made, then I say :
The Base is something Miakid and Misery cooked up. The war 10 years ago can't be called a war if it happened very quickly maybe...
And that killer robot might have been the remains of the robots that were re-sent to stop Miakid...)

What do researchers do? They research. What do they do with a long timespan at the site? They set up camp and equipment. Their equipment includes teleporters, airways to improve conditions, platforms to navigate heights (as if they had a booster 2.0 handy when it was invented only recently), electricity, cabins, etc.

But, why were those robots all there? there were tons...
Did the robots really go home? Their work finished? Or did Miakid and Misery have a plan to get rid of the robots? Send them to that place and/or the labyrinth, and they were destroyed? Why would the robots go home, the mimigas cause war on the earth, and the robots never return to stop Miakid? Hmm... ;(
Why is it so... why did Pixel leave so much to imagination ;p

I believe they did return to stop Miakid. That would explain how he died. Miakid betrayed the governments, so they would try to kill him, and they most likely succeeded. It was their own fault for letting someone else do their dirty work.

I guess operation "destroy core" failed, while operation "kill miakid" succeeded.