Well, this was a long time in the making. Of the many topic I've discussed here on Tecku Talks, one of the most recurring ones is the matter of the Dark Ages and Big Wave Beach. Some people like them, some people don't. And I'm one of the ones who dislikes them. However, as much as I find the worlds annoying, I must admit, there's a lot of creativity in them.
The worlds hold their own charm, and do sucessfully capture the mood of the era. And while I'm not fond of many of the new zombies, I will admit, there's a lot to be admired from them. Or at least, what they were trying to do. Yes, Wizard Zombie and King Zombie were terrible, but hey, they were original. The mechanics of neutralizing plants remotely and buffing nearby zombies were ideas that had never been attempted previously. So while I don't believe Popcap blanaced their zombies correctly, I do appreciate what they were willing to try out new ideas.
Now, to be blunt, I'm sick of talking about the same two worlds over and over again. There's only so many times where I can say "this zombie is bad" or "there should be more plants". That's why I'm settling the score once and for all. Instead of just saying how one or two aspects went wrong, I'm here to say how the whole levels could have been different.
TT: Tecku Does Dark Ages and Big Wave Beach
Before I begin, let me lay down the ground rules. I can add as much new content as I want, but I cannot fully remove anything. I can tamper with how a plant or zombie works, and even change it's mechanic, but I have to at least keep the spirit of what the plant or zombie was trying to do.
---Dark Ages---
Now, to be blunt, I'm still REALLY split on whether I should keep the PvZ2 style for mushrooms, or revert to the old style. Both sides have their up and downs, and neither method really breaks the game. I don't want to be indecisive, so I'll pick the PvZ1 style.....but without Coffee Bean (mushrooms simply cost 50 Sun more in the daytime). Keep in mind though, that this post will be as ambigous as possible on this matter, so if you want to regard it with the PvZ2 style, you can.
Dark Ages Plants:
- Sun Shroom
- Puff Shroom has a slightly slower recharge
- Sun Bean
- Fume Shroom
- Magnet Shroom (75 Sun at night, 100 Sun during day)
- Hypno Shroom (75 Sun at night, 100 Sun during day)
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- Ice Shroom
Same as the PvZ1 version
Plant Food (PvZ1 style only): Putting plant food on a sleeping Ice Shroom will cause it to wake up, freeze zombies, and deal extra damage to every zombie with an icy wind.
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Zombies:
- Knight Zombie
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- Jester Zombie
Now works the same as the Hammer Zombie. Seriously, why did they change it in the first place?
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- Wizard Zombie
Originally, I was going to do a thing where Wizard Zombie makes zombies grow like the potion mechanic. But then I realized that I would have a "zombie buffer" zombie later on this list, which made this zombie superflous. Instead, Wizard Zombie now shrinks plants. Shrunken plants deal only half as much damage, produce less sun, and take extra damage. Wizard Zombie also eats any plant it reaches. However, if a Wizard is hypnotized, it will begin to shrink other zombies.
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- Blacksmith Zombie
The replacement for the King Zombie, Blacksmith Zombie buffs other zombies, without overpowering them. Blacksmith Zombie walks along the lane slowly, and has slightly less health than a Buckethead. Blacksmith Zombie can improve the toughness of any headgear (cone, bucket, or helm) ONCE. Improved headgear gains nails/bolts to mark it as improved. This makes Magnet-Shroom actually effective, as they will confiscate the entire headgear. However, since cones cannot be confiscated, it still gives him some utility.
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---Big Wave Beach----
For starters, zombies on BWB do come come out as fast as they used to. Yes, they will come out slightly quicker than past levels, but with Puff-Shroom being less reliable, the last excuse for it is gone. Low tide zombies also now only spawn on the rightmost columns, and "specialty" zombie cannot be in the ambush.
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Plants
- Lily Pad
- Tangle Kelp
- Guacodile
- Banana Luancher now costs 475
- Homing Thistle
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- Chomper now takes only 25 seconds to chew. Furthermore, when he finishes chomping, his burp will knock zombies backwards. Zombies with 12 health or less get sent further back. (Also, there is no more pause between planting him and having him chomp).
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- Bowling Bulbs' bulbs now recharge on a timer, not on whether or not there are zombies.
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- Pineapple Cannon
Costing 425 Sun, Pineapple Cannon can target anywhere on the same lane, including behind. After firing, their spikey ammo reamins for a few moments, proding and poking at zombies passing through, even if the area in covered in water.
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- Umbrella Leaf
Works the same as the first game. Protects plants from lasers, shrinking spells, beach balls, and harmful rays. Also protects nearby tiles from surfboards being planted, or from bones thrown by Tomb Raiser Zombie.
Zombies
- Snorkel Zombie
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- Surfer Zombie works the same as before, however, there is one major difference. When he slams the board down, he does it in the space between plants. In other words, he still creates a 'grave' when he reaches a plant, but the 'grave' doesn't destroy plants, or stop new ones from being planted.
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- Beach Ball Zombie
Beach Ball Zombie throws beach balls at plants. Plants with beach balls will be disabled, but will push the ball up into the air every few seconds, allowing them to fire until the beach ball lands again. This effectively makes them disabled for only half the time. Beach balls will pop if they touch anything spikey, including spikey plants.
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- Reflector Zombie
Fishrman Zombie was a zombie that destoryed plants remotely, and would encourage useage of Banana Launcher. However, even if he was destoryed, plants would remain in a moved spot, making them too quick to truly counter. Reflector Zombies spawn in lifegaurd-like towers on the rightmost columns. They use their reflectors to focus rays of the sun onto plants, setting them on fire. Reflector zombies have high health, but the tower is hit by a heavy, single hit, the tower will shake, causing the attack to be interupted. (Heavy hit means equal to or greater than two peas). Their rays can be blocked by Umbrella Leaf.
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BONUS CHANGE:
Laser Bean no longer penetrates graves or surfboards, only zombies. I know this is sort of cheating, since that isn't or Dark Ages or BWB change, but it will really benefit the whole Laserang-Conundrum. Laser Bean still works excellently in the Far Future, but loses steam in Egypt, Dark Ages, and here. This gives utility to not only Bloomerang, but also to Bowling Bulb. However, players who still want to use Laser Bean can still do so- it'll just not be as effective, OR it'll require Umbrella Leaf.
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Soooo.... what do you guys think? Is it better than the original levels? Do you have you own ideas? Leave a comment!
Next Time on Tecku Talks: Spring Bean