Petpet Rescue: An Avatar Collector's Guide

     I have always had a competitive streak, and so, when my friend Misty suggested a friendly contest to see who was the better avatar collector, I immediately accepted. The challenge? Reach 300 avatars before the other person. I had a long backlog of game avatars, and to win, I knew I had to tackle them...

     In this article series, I will share the strategies I used to reach the avatar score for various flash games. I wanted to start with Petpet Rescue, because while it is challenging, the score can be achieved without relying on significant luck. It's all about quick reflexes! Petpet Rescue is also a fast-paced game, so feel free to try it out before reading this guide.

     Here's the premise of Petpet Rescue: you play as Samuel the red Scorchio. He's a member of PPL, and his goal is to rescue petpets forced to labor in the mines of Gargrall the Evil (ominous, isn't it?).

     GAMEPLAY

     Petpet Rescue is played with only the arrow keys. Samuel must rescue a certain number of petpets by carrying them back to the door at the beginning of the level, one at a time. He receives 10 points for each petpet rescued. In the first level, you must rescue four of them; in the second, six petpets; in the third, eight. Don't worry about any level past that! You should be able to achieve the avatar score of 250 partway through the third level. This is because Samuel can pick up additional points from colorful gems sprinkled along the level. These gems are crucial to earning a shiny new avatar for your collection!

     Of course, there are dangers in the petpet mines. You will lose a life if you touch the boulders or the lava, or get hit by the spikes that fall from above. The spikes however, wobble a few seconds before they fall, so you have some time to get out of the way. If you're on a mine cart when it rolls off screen, you can lose a life as well. You can also lose a life if the timer runs out, but with a little practice, that should not be an issue except in level three (which again, you do not need to finish.) You get 99 seconds each level. Luckily, you have three lives plus the life you start out with, which adds up to four chances in total. There is no way to earn extra lives, so be careful!

     One interesting quirk about Petpet Rescue is Samuel's hitbox. The hitbox is basically the area that the game considers to be Samuel: if an obstacle damages any part of the hitbox, Samuel loses a life. However, because the hitbox isn't the same thing as Samuel's pixel body-shape, you may occasionally think Samuel is safe when he is in danger. Or vice versa, as in the picture below. It looks like Samuel has touched the deadly lava, but actually, he is safe on the mine cart! The takeaway here is that just because it looks like Samuel can slip past a boulder, doesn't mean he can. When in doubt, play it safe.

          STRATEGY

     The most important thing is practice. If you restart the game, you will find that the level layout does not change between games. This means that the mine carts move in the same direction and at the same speed every time!

     What does change between games is the location and number of gems, as well as the location of the petpets. Even the petpets tend to be clustered in the same areas of each level. For example, in the first level, the petpets and gems are located after the first set of mine carts. The spikes also fall randomly, although they fall more frequently in the later levels.

     Let's consider the gems, because they provide an effective points boost that can be the difference between an avatar to show off to your friends, and nothing (well, nothing except Neopoints.)

     In each level, a certain amount of gems are randomly placed throughout the level. The color determines the value: the purple gems (5 points) show up starting on the first level, the blue gems (10 points) on the second level, and the green gems (15 points) on the third level. Note that you may not see the higher-colored gems on the first level they show up. It is possible, for example, to see only purple gems on level two. Blue gems are possible, but not guaranteed!

     How does this fit into the strategy we are developing? Well, first of all, if the gems are unfavorable, you can choose to quit the game and start over. I recommend only continuing onto level two if you get at least three purple gems on level one. Similarly, on level two, try to get at least one blue gem, and one or two purple gems if any are located. The level ends right after you return the last petpet to the starting area, so keep in mind how many petpets you have already rescued. Unfortunately, there is no way to tell from the game's interface.

     Lastly, I recommend you focus on the patterns. Like the mine carts, the boulders always follow the same pattern. This comes in handy during the third level, when you must get past boulders to reach even a single petpet. If, for instance, you notice four boulders, then a gap, then three boulders, that will always be the order and speed the boulders move in. You can therefore time it such that you slip past the boulders without losing a life. Once you play each level a couple times, you gain an intuitive understanding for which openings in the boulders to wait for.

     THE END

     Well, that’s it for my guide! Feel free to reach out if you have any questions or comments about this article. I would also love to hear if it helped you in any way. Thanks for reading, and good luck vanquishing Petpet Rescue!