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4-3 Breakdown
Written by
Golem
About the game
Adventures of Lolo
Posted on
May 27, 2014
In Adventures of Lolo, certain enemies only attack after you've collected all of the heart framers. Setting yourself up for that moment takes two skills: first, the skill to predict what may pose a danger, and second, the skill to manipulate the level in a way to reduce or eliminate that danger. If you only reduce the danger, there is a third skill required when that enemy wakes up: reaction time. (From the Richard Terrell skill spectrum, prediction and manipulating the level take knowledge while reaction time requires dexterity, reflexes, timing, and adaptation. In other levels, manipulation may also require dexterity if enemies are awake before Lolo collects the last heart framer.)
This is the most complicated prediction challenge in the stage, since you have to imagine how the skull will track Lolo. It will continuously seek out Lolo until its death, so if you don't completely block it, its reaction can span over an infinite number of steps. Also, bear in mind that the skull will not randomly bump around, but instead, will take turns towards Lolo's location.
One solution that does not work is pushing the leftmost emerald framer one tile to the right. Doing this will temporarily block the skull, but not long enough to prevent it trom trapping Lolo in the bottom left hallway. This stresses how hard it is to predict what the skull will do--with each change you make, you have to imagine it tracking Lolo through a slightly different course.
There are two solutions that work:
Solution 1 - Push the leftmost emerald framer right, then push the middle emerald framer left. This is tied for second most complicated level manipulation in the stage, since it takes two pushes--one push on each emerald framer.
When I talk about how simple a level manipulation is, I really just mean how many emerald framer pushes it takes. This is the dumbest possible way to measure the complexity of level manipulation, so it gives me an easy entry point for commentary; later commentary would have to come back and address issues like, how easy is it to think about using two emerald framers versus one?
Solution 2 - Push the leftmost emerald framer right and then up. This takes two pushes, which ties it for second most complicated level manipulation in the stage. Because this gives the skull an opening, you're left with the strictest reaction challenge in the stage, which requires you to stay out of the skull's reach for the rest of the stage.
The skull presents the hardest prediction challenge in the stage and, no matter which way you cut it, the second most complicated level manipulation.
This is tied for the second most complicated prediction in the stage. Gols will shoot at Lolo if he passes within their line of sight, and they never change the direction they face. Anyway, this prediction is simpler than the skull's because gol's reaction takes place in one step, no matter what context. However, the gol's fireball is not an instant death; if Lolo is far enough away when it is shot, he can avoid it. Planning for this timing challenge makes gols harder than medusas.
There are two solutions that completely block off the gol.
Solution 1 - Take the middle emerald framer. Push it right, up, and then down. This takes three pushes, making it tied for the most complicated level manipulation.
Solution 2 - Take the middle emerald framer from the trio at the top right. Push it down once, then push it left into the boulder and down. That's three pushes, tying it for the most complicated level manipulation.
And a third solution that leaves a reaction challenge.
Solution 3 - Push the middle emerald framer either left or right. If you push it left, you can push it either up or down; if you push it right, you can only push it up. Either way, it's two separate pushes, tying it for the second most complicated level manipulation.
This leaves a gap in the very center of the room you can use to evade the gol's fire. This is the second hardest reaction challenge in the stage, since you only need to pass by the gol's vision before you reach safety.
Bear in mind that 4-3 only has two possible reaction challenges; other than the skull and the middle gol, no enemy can be evaded without completely nullifying its attack.
This is the second most complicated prediction challenge in the stage, since it's the same as the middle gol.
Blocking the gol is trivial, since it just means pushing the topmost emerald framer one tile to the right. This is the third most complicated level manipulation in the stage, since it's just one push.
The real puzzle is getting past that trio of emerald framers at the top right, which may only be cleared by pushing the top emerald framer right, the bottom emerald framer right, and then the middle emerald framer either up or down. In fact, in clearing this puzzle, you will always block the medusa and the top right gol; there is no way to pass into the rightmost column of the room without blocking their fire.
It may be debated whether the gol and medusa are a way of incentivizing the player to clear the trio of emerald framers by first pushing the top and bottom emerald framers right. This is the only way to clear such a formation, and this formation will return in later levels. Earlier levels (1-4 and 2-5) have used similar formations, as well, but tweaked so as to be more lenient.
This is the third most complicated prediction challenge in the stage. If you pass within the medusa's line of sight without blocking it, Lolo will die instantly. The medusa's reaction takes place during one step, and you don't need to count how many tiles the medusa's attack will go; it stretches across the entire stage until hitting a boulder, emerald framer, or heart framer. Also note that the medusa is the only enemy in this stage that can act before you collect every heart framer.
Blocking the medusa is a matter of pushing the bottom emerald framer from the trio one tile to the right, tying it for third most complicated level manipulation.
Again, this is the second most complicated prediction.
You can block the gol by pushing the bottom right emerald framer one tile left. This is tied for the simplest level manipulation. Interestingly, if you work left to right through the whole stage, this will be the last enemy you block. There is no way to get past the gol without blocking it, leaving no room for a reaction challenge.
The skull was neither the hardest nor the easiest level manipulation challenge, but it posed both the greatest prediction and reaction challenges.
The medusa was among the simplest level manipulation challenges and was also the simplest prediction challenge. It left no room for reaction.
Predicting the gol's attack was both harder than the medusa and easier than the skull, and it's also the most common enemy in the stage. I think this gives the stage a well-rounded feel. You also get a wide range of gol uses; you can evade the first one, there's no way to get hit by the second one, and the last one absolutely must be blocked, but is a gimme.
Because gols are not instant death like medusa, they can be used in a variety of ways.
On the other hand, because they have some limiting elements (they can't move, and they can't change the direction they face), they play along well with block-pushing. The skulls do not because A) it takes more effort to block them off (you need to seal all possible entrances, like in skull level manipulation 2) and B) even if you don't successfully block them off, you can often just run away (like in skull level manipulation 1).
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Skull
Skill 1: Prediction
This is the most complicated prediction challenge in the stage, since you have to imagine how the skull will track Lolo. It will continuously seek out Lolo until its death, so if you don't completely block it, its reaction can span over an infinite number of steps. Also, bear in mind that the skull will not randomly bump around, but instead, will take turns towards Lolo's location.
Skill 2: Level Manipulation
One solution that does not work is pushing the leftmost emerald framer one tile to the right. Doing this will temporarily block the skull, but not long enough to prevent it trom trapping Lolo in the bottom left hallway. This stresses how hard it is to predict what the skull will do--with each change you make, you have to imagine it tracking Lolo through a slightly different course.
There are two solutions that work:
Solution 1 - Push the leftmost emerald framer right, then push the middle emerald framer left. This is tied for second most complicated level manipulation in the stage, since it takes two pushes--one push on each emerald framer.
When I talk about how simple a level manipulation is, I really just mean how many emerald framer pushes it takes. This is the dumbest possible way to measure the complexity of level manipulation, so it gives me an easy entry point for commentary; later commentary would have to come back and address issues like, how easy is it to think about using two emerald framers versus one?
Solution 2 - Push the leftmost emerald framer right and then up. This takes two pushes, which ties it for second most complicated level manipulation in the stage. Because this gives the skull an opening, you're left with the strictest reaction challenge in the stage, which requires you to stay out of the skull's reach for the rest of the stage.
The skull presents the hardest prediction challenge in the stage and, no matter which way you cut it, the second most complicated level manipulation.
Middle Gol
Skill 1: Prediction
This is tied for the second most complicated prediction in the stage. Gols will shoot at Lolo if he passes within their line of sight, and they never change the direction they face. Anyway, this prediction is simpler than the skull's because gol's reaction takes place in one step, no matter what context. However, the gol's fireball is not an instant death; if Lolo is far enough away when it is shot, he can avoid it. Planning for this timing challenge makes gols harder than medusas.
Skill 2: Level Manipulation
There are two solutions that completely block off the gol.
Solution 1 - Take the middle emerald framer. Push it right, up, and then down. This takes three pushes, making it tied for the most complicated level manipulation.
Solution 2 - Take the middle emerald framer from the trio at the top right. Push it down once, then push it left into the boulder and down. That's three pushes, tying it for the most complicated level manipulation.
And a third solution that leaves a reaction challenge.
Solution 3 - Push the middle emerald framer either left or right. If you push it left, you can push it either up or down; if you push it right, you can only push it up. Either way, it's two separate pushes, tying it for the second most complicated level manipulation.
This leaves a gap in the very center of the room you can use to evade the gol's fire. This is the second hardest reaction challenge in the stage, since you only need to pass by the gol's vision before you reach safety.
Bear in mind that 4-3 only has two possible reaction challenges; other than the skull and the middle gol, no enemy can be evaded without completely nullifying its attack.
Top Right Gol
Skill 1: Prediction
This is the second most complicated prediction challenge in the stage, since it's the same as the middle gol.
Skill 2: Level Manipulation
Blocking the gol is trivial, since it just means pushing the topmost emerald framer one tile to the right. This is the third most complicated level manipulation in the stage, since it's just one push.
The real puzzle is getting past that trio of emerald framers at the top right, which may only be cleared by pushing the top emerald framer right, the bottom emerald framer right, and then the middle emerald framer either up or down. In fact, in clearing this puzzle, you will always block the medusa and the top right gol; there is no way to pass into the rightmost column of the room without blocking their fire.
It may be debated whether the gol and medusa are a way of incentivizing the player to clear the trio of emerald framers by first pushing the top and bottom emerald framers right. This is the only way to clear such a formation, and this formation will return in later levels. Earlier levels (1-4 and 2-5) have used similar formations, as well, but tweaked so as to be more lenient.
Medusa
Skill 1: Prediction
This is the third most complicated prediction challenge in the stage. If you pass within the medusa's line of sight without blocking it, Lolo will die instantly. The medusa's reaction takes place during one step, and you don't need to count how many tiles the medusa's attack will go; it stretches across the entire stage until hitting a boulder, emerald framer, or heart framer. Also note that the medusa is the only enemy in this stage that can act before you collect every heart framer.
Skill 2: Level Manipulation
Blocking the medusa is a matter of pushing the bottom emerald framer from the trio one tile to the right, tying it for third most complicated level manipulation.
Gol Above the Chest
Skill 1: Prediction
Again, this is the second most complicated prediction.
Skill 2: Level Manipulation
You can block the gol by pushing the bottom right emerald framer one tile left. This is tied for the simplest level manipulation. Interestingly, if you work left to right through the whole stage, this will be the last enemy you block. There is no way to get past the gol without blocking it, leaving no room for a reaction challenge.
Conclusion
The skull was neither the hardest nor the easiest level manipulation challenge, but it posed both the greatest prediction and reaction challenges.
The medusa was among the simplest level manipulation challenges and was also the simplest prediction challenge. It left no room for reaction.
Predicting the gol's attack was both harder than the medusa and easier than the skull, and it's also the most common enemy in the stage. I think this gives the stage a well-rounded feel. You also get a wide range of gol uses; you can evade the first one, there's no way to get hit by the second one, and the last one absolutely must be blocked, but is a gimme.
Because gols are not instant death like medusa, they can be used in a variety of ways.
On the other hand, because they have some limiting elements (they can't move, and they can't change the direction they face), they play along well with block-pushing. The skulls do not because A) it takes more effort to block them off (you need to seal all possible entrances, like in skull level manipulation 2) and B) even if you don't successfully block them off, you can often just run away (like in skull level manipulation 1).