A Guide to Nimmo's Pond

     A Guide to Nimmo’s Pond

     A long long time ago, there was no life on Neopia. The air was covered in cloudy poisonous smog and there was no life, with the exception of Dr. Sloth because he is just super old and basically invincible. One day, a hole broke through that smoggy barrier and light hit the planet of Neopia, suddenly beginning to appear on the planet at an exponentially quick rate. Plants started to cover the terrain and neopets began to randomly appear. Dr. Sloth was baffled. It is my firm belief that whatever chemical, or thing, made Neopia grow is still in that Nimmo’s Pond. Those lily pads are endless and they never stop coming!

     It is quite amusing because when you start the game, Nimmo’s Pond, there is a Nimmo (your main character) just chillin’ out in the middle of the pond and looking super zen. This game will give you anxiety. It is false advertising!

     Today I am going to teach you about how we can manage that anxiety and hopefully earn you an avatar or a trophy. As you should, before playing any new game, go ahead and open up the instructions. I have lost many games by not doing this so I am going to tell you to do it now because I am sure that others are going to do it.

     Introduction:

     Once you open up the instructions, it will tell you a little bit about the game. Your job is to guide the nimmo around the pond without touching any of the lily pads, because obviously they are super sharp and explosive. When you detonate the super sharp explosive lily pads they will blow up and make more smaller super sharp and explosive lily pads. Do NOT touch the lily pads - only the pad your nimmo is floating on is safe from being super sharp and explosive. The fact that the giant lily pads blow up into smaller lily pads only furthers my belief of the super rare chemical that causes things to grow theory. Just saying.

     Controls:

     You can use your arrow keys to paddle around the pond. The up arrow is basically your gas pedal; it makes your nimmo move when he literally lets out exhaust (from using the gas pedal) to propel his lily pad. The left/right arrow keys allow you to turn/steer your lily pad. The down arrow key, well, the nimmo hasn’t figured this one out yet, rendering it absolutely useless. If you want to go back the other way, you have to turn all the way around using the left/right arrow keys.

     The space bar is your friend. Basically, using the spacebar, your nimmo will shoot projectiles (#whydontothernimmoshavethispower?) just as fast as you can smash that button. His projectile will propel across the screen and blows up super razor sharp lily pads (which is pretty lucky). We will talk about his different kinds of projectiles in just a moment.

     The “B” key is very important. Pressing “B” will let out a giant bomb that will explode all of the lily pads on screen and put them into their next lowest form. Use these sparingly; you will need them in tricky situations. You start with three bombs.

     Last is the “V” key. Pressing the “V” key will stick out the nimmo’s tongue to eat power ups that are floating around the game. The nimmo, as mentioned, shoots projectile ammo at the lily pads to stay alive. Occasionally you will see some power-ups floating around. When the nimmo eats a power-up, he gets a new special kind of projectile: artillery power, health, or power restoration. Also, your weapon power-ups can level up!

     All power-ups are seen as floating bubbles with symbols on them. Here is a list of power-ups:

     Red Cross: This (obviously) heals you. Don’t eat these until you actually have to.

     Yellow/Green Bug - Replenishes your paddle power (clearly since it appears to be electrical, this makes sense).

     Red Bomb: Gives you a bomb. Only eat this if you have already used a bomb.

     Green Star: This is your starting weapon. You want to avoid this if it is not still your current weapon. The green star shoots in one line rapid fire.

     Yellow Star: This weapon shoots three projectiles at a time. In my opinion, this is the best weapon. Get this one.

     Red Orb: Shoots high-powered strong projectiles. This is a short range weapon, so avoid it.

     Blue Candy: Resets the speed of the nimmo’s pad.

     Your goal is to achieve 4,000 points to get your Nimmo’s Pond avatar. My biggest tips are listed below:

     1. Never move from your starting position unless you ABSOLUTELY have to. We mentioned earlier that you can press the UP key to make the nimmo move. Don’t do it! Moving causes your nimmo to use paddle power. Remember the exhaust? The exhaust basically excreets a gas, and gas floats. If your nimmo runs out of gas, he will sink and you will lose the game. I typically try to make my nimmo not move for the entire game. In my opinion, the best thing that you can do is to control your space. I know others who disagree, but I find this method a lot easier to manage. It is harder to track the lily pads and yourself. Why not just track the lily pads?

     2. Turning will use paddle power, so watch your paddle power meter from time to time. When your nimmo sits still, your paddle power will replenish; your nimmo can ride currents, but if you use any of the keys mentioned previously, you cannot replenish your paddle power.

     3. At the start of the match, watch to see how aggressively quick the lily pads are moving. If they are coming straight at you and you can’t stop them, use a bomb. Hopefully you can replenish a bomb with a power-up in the near future.

     4. At the end of each match, leave on lily pad so you can clear any unnecessary power-ups and replenish your paddle power before the next match. Power-ups to leave alone until you absolutely need them: health and bombs. Power-ups to clear: blue candy, yellow/green bug, and if you have maxed out your weapon power level, you can clear that as well.

     5. It is incredibly hard to aim, meaning it is extremely important to get the yellow power-ups as soon as possible. While you are waiting, using the left and right arrows quickly to swivel back and forth can help get those awkward shots into your targets. Remember to watch your paddle power though!

     6. At all costs, try to prevent BIG lily pads from crashing into you. If they do, they let out smaller lily pads which could just automatically blow up into you as well, making you will lose; this is how you lose in later levels. The pads get so fast at the start of the level you basically start and die.

     7. There is a power-up that is random. It will change at random speeds and tempt you by appearing as various power-ups (health, a bomb, or in rare situations, a power-up). Avoid this unless you absolutely need it. It is very risky, as you may try to catch this power-up, and it could change into a weapon you don’t want. Example: going from a level 5 yellow star to a level 1 green star would be terrible!

     8. Last thing you need to know: The pond is also a magical portal. If you or a lily pad goes to the screen on the far left side, you or the lily pad will reappear on the right side. If you or a lily pad goes to the top of the screen, you or the lily pad will appear on the bottom. The same is true for the opposite directions as well. This is the easiest way to remember how to track your lily pads. Unfortunately, the portals do not work with your projectiles.

     Well, that is all. I hope you enjoyed the read and I hope that I only spoiled lunch for a few people today.

     See you again in another issue.