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Climb Ev'ry Mountain


by deuceloosely4711

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Have you ever wanted to go rock climbing in real life? No? That's okay. A lot of people in the world are the same way. But if you have an adventurous spirit that would rather simulate this activity, live vicariously through the Gnorbu Princess in the new game, Shenkuu Warrior. It can be frustrating at times, and it will be at first, but at least if you miss a rock ledge you won't run out of lives after a fall. This contributes to the very addictive quality of the game. You’ll soon find you can’t... stop... playing...

The object of this game is simple: get to the top of the mountain. You do this by throwing a grappling hook attached to the end of a rope at rock ledges above you so you can propel yourself further upward until you reach the summit.

Sounds easy, doesn't it? Well... the trick to this new game is knowing how to aim your grappling hook at the rock ledges as they fly past you on your way up the mountain. Just because you place your pointer on a ledge doesn't always mean you're actually aiming there. And since everything is happening so fast, you really have no time to glance down at the "compass" at the bottom of the screen (which shows you the direction and angle of your next throw). You really need to learn and know how to aim for those rock ledges so you can achieve better success with Shenkuu Warrior.

At the start of this journey, you stand at the base of the mountain. Before you start the level, move the pointer around the screen and watch the needle on the compass. Note where you'll actually be aiming according to where the needle is pointing. On your way up, the ideal position for you to be in relation to the screen is near the middle when your ascent slows and it's time to throw your grappling hook again. This is to ensure that you can reach a ledge to either side of you if there's not one directly above. Remember: you don't have an infinite supply of rope attached to the hook so you won’t always reach your target if, for example, you’re falling on the right side and the only available ledges are to the far left.

Now consider the art of aiming, for you will not always travel in a straight line upward. More often than not, you'll end up bouncing back and forth off the "walls" at the edges of the screen. Remember that your view of the mountain is not the correct one in terms of properly aiming for a ledge; it’s that of the Gnorbu you control. You're actually aiming from the character's perspective rather than your own.

For example, if you find yourself falling straight down from under a ledge located on the far right side, you must aim your pointer to the center of the screen so the Princess will throw her grappling hook straight up. This will lead you into a straight ascent, as the compass will also illustrate (if you dare look). If you have your pointer aimed to the right, as if you were going to click on the ledge itself, you'll throw the hook further right than you really want to and send the Princess flying into the right wall and bouncing around back and forth.

No matter what your horizontal position is, your vertical aim can mean the difference between completing a level and falling back to the beginning. For example, if you find yourself on the left side of the screen without a ledge to throw your grappling hook at (except for that one way over there on the opposite side), place your pointer somewhere in the lower half of the screen and to the right. Your hook should travel more across than up.

If you manage to catch the underside of that ledge, however, you'll probably begin bouncing up the mountain wildly and seemingly out of control. Don't give up hope, though. Just place your pointer in the middle of the screen and click the mouse as soon as you fly under a ledge. More times than not, you'll hook it and propel yourself straight upward and stop bouncing. This should give you plenty of opportunity to scout the next target for your grappling hook.

The ledges seem to appear in random locations on the mountain face, which means there’s no way to predict where the next target will be situated. There will be times when your ascent will stop and your only choices will be one ledge which is just beneath you and to the opposite side of the screen and another that’s directly below you further down but too close to the bottom to grab on the way as you fall. This is especially frustrating when you’ve reached the upper parts of the snowy peaks. You won’t lose any lives, but starting from the bottom is never fun.

Hopefully, you have figured out enough about aiming and grappling within the first two or three levels because each one is longer than the last. The first level or two are very short once you have mastered the art of throwing your hook. After that, you’ll notice it is taking much longer to reach the next area of the mountain and that you are having to start over more often.

Just have patience, as this is a goal-based game. It’s not hard; it’s just fast. As easy as it may happen, don’t lose your temper if you fall to the bottom a lot. It won’t help to be stressed out when you’re trying to aim your hook at targets which are flying by at blistering speeds. This game is also addictive to those Neopians out there who can’t live with themselves if they don’t complete a task. Given a little time and a lot of practice, you’ll find yourself going back to playing Shenkuu Warrior all three times per day for a quick thousand neopoints per game.

Happy grappling!

 
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