Christmas Special: An Interview With Bowe and Cassil

Feral: "Good morning, kind miss and sir. I'm from the Neopian Times. I would like to interview both of you about this championship."

Bowe: "Oh, okay! We have got a lot of free time. So don't be in a hurry!"

Cassile: "Okay, what is your question, dear?"

Feral: "Well, what are the tricks for gaining a high score?"

Bowe: "The tricks are fairly simple, actually."

Cassile: "But first, you have to know about the scoring."

Bowe: "The judges here, those Gnorbus, are pretty foolish actually."

Cassile: "They always gave the same score for each trick. So we just alternate between two tricks, and we get the maximum points."

Bowe: "Those two tricks are the easiest, which are Whirling Kazeriu and Tomamu Tail Flare. Yes, these are the tricks that award the least points, but if you understand how the scoring works, well, you will understand."

Cassile: "One thing. Do not do the same trick in a row. The judges appreciate different tricks."

Bowe: "If you wonder how the scoring works, here is an example. For roughly the same time, if you do a Whirling Kazeriu, and then Tomamu Tail Flare, and then Whirling Kazeriu, and then Tomamu Tail Flare again, you will get 1 point for the first trick, 3 points for the second trick (1 point for the trick, 1 point for the 2nd trick, and 1 point for a different trick), 4 points for the third trick (1 point for the trick, 2 points for the 3rd trick, and 1 point for a different trick), and 5 points for the third trick (1 point for the trick, 3 point for the 4th trick, and 1 point for a different trick), with a total of 13 points.

Cassile: "But if you use a harder trick, like Sandan Somersault, and then Juma Spin, you will get 4 points for the first trick, and 6 points for the second trick (4 points for the trick, 1 point for the 2nd trick, and 1 point for a different trick).

Bowe: "The same applies to the hardest trick. For the same time, you can only do one trick, which is either Pygui Roll or Quilin Eclipse, you will only get 8 points for the trick.

Feral: "Wow! That was a lot of information! But I think that helps us novice surfers a lot."

Cassile: "Then let's move to the 'tries' part."

Bowe: "You are given three tries. Each time you passed a level, you gain one."

Cassile: "But remember, you can't have more than three tries. So there's no four tries at a time."

Feral: "Okay, then. But, what are those orbs that appear across the river?"

Bowe: "Those are powerups. Those things give you various advantages that will benefit you most of the time. Apparently, those things appear by magic, but they are always at the same location every time we surf. So, who knows?"

Cassile: "The most common one are the blueish powerups that usually come in groups. Those are the 'Speed Boost' powerup. Those give you extra speed."

Bowe: "Beware, though if you are a very new surfer, don't bump into this very often. If so, the speed will be very fast and if you don't control your surfboard well, you will bump into a rock and you will either lose a 'try' or lose your invulnerability."

Cassile: "About the 'invulnerability', those are the powerups that have a metallic colour. Those will save you from losing your 'try' once, but ONLY if you hit a rock. If you fail to land safely because of and unfinished trick, you will still lose your 'try'."

Bowe: "The last powerup, the best one, is the one that has a blue and a little whitish colour, which is the 'Super Jump' powerups. The name pretty much explains itself. It makes you jump higher. Do a double jump when hitting this, and you will get a ultra high jump."

Feral: "Well, that pretty much explains about the powerups."

Cassile: "Wait! There are also items that adds a certain boost that you can buy on the user and Neopian shops, those are:

1. Boots of Leaping, which give you higher jumps.

2. Bracers of Fury, which makes you able to land when you're in a middle of doing a trick. But this doesn't make you able to land freely.

3. Speed Beads, which will make you surf faster.

4. Pack of Holding, which will make the judges give you extra points every time you complete a level.

5. Helm of Recovery, which makes you recover faster after you fell from your surfboard.

6. Shenkuu River Rush Winged Talisman, which was sold in the NC Mall, but was taken down after a few days of its release. It is rumoured that this item reduces gravity."

Feral: "Thank you for the information. Now I think that covers the whole thing, I..."

Bowe: "Wait! There are also a few things that is very important."

Cassile: "First, even when you're on a stream, jump as much as possible. Sometimes it may only make 1 point, but every point counts."

Bowe: "There is also a secret passage. On the middle of the third level, there is a waterfall on your left that you can see clearly when jumping. The stream of that waterfall will flow below the main path. If you land on that stream, you will enter a secret level and gain a 'try'. But the normal route makes more points. So only enter the secret level when you're 'try' left is only one.

Cassile: "The last thing, you could make 100 points very easily. When you first enter the third level, pick up the first invulnerability powerup. Then, do a double jump on the first ramp so you can hit the Super Jump powerup there. Then just push forward as strong as possible and you will land on a natural bridge. There, you can freely do some tricks until you rack up 100 points. Then you can fall from the bridge because you can only make 100 points on each jump. But be careful! Exactly below the bridge is a log. Don't hit it because if you do, you will lose the points. So once again, push forward as strong as possible to avoid that."

Feral: "Well, that pretty much covers the whole thing. I hope that this interview will make this sport more popular. I will end this interview now. Thank you!"