Sir Pompadour (appropriately named for his hairstyle) feels that it just wouldn't do to mess up his hair. So, instead of diving down to find the treasures of Maraqua himself, he decides to enslave employ several Maraquan petpets to do the work for him. Who can blame him? It is a pretty fancy do.
Wouldn't it just be too awful to speak of if this hair was ruined?!
The Controls
Take a long, loving look at your keyboard. It has carried you through so many times of difficulty. Chatting with friends, ranting at trolls on the Neoboards, searching "water-skiing budgerigars" online... As it turns out, you won't be using it! Yep, this game just requires using your cursor. Depending on which style of mouse you are using (standard mouse, laptop keypad, or tablet), this game may or may not be a little more difficult for you, so it might be helpful to experiment with the different kinds you have available to determine which is the best for you.
This is an example of the game window. When you want to send your petpet in a certain direction, simply left-click, hold, and drag your mouse in the direction you want your little Maraquan friend to move. However, keep in mind that the further you drag the arrow that appears (marked in blue), the faster and farther your petpet will go.
The Items and Obstacles
Now it's time to find out about these treasures Sir Pompadour has his eyes on (and the things guarding them)!
Required Items
These shells are all necessary items that you need to pick up to complete the level you are on. Missing just one of them will earn you a ticket to the "Game Over" screen.
The blue shell will stop appearing after level four, with the exception of bonus levels.
Like the blue shell, the yellow shell will also stop appearing after level four, only this shell won't even show up in bonus levels after that.
The sand dollar will start to appear in level five, but will stop appearing after level eight, with the exception of one bonus level.
The dark green shell is rather like the yellow shell. It will appear from levels five to eight, but will stop appearing after that. No extra appearances in bonus levels for this little guy.
Ooh, now the shells come in purple! The purple shell only appears from levels nine to twelve, as the last bonus level has only blue shells to pick up.
The light-purple, almost creepy looking shell has the worst deal of them all, it only appears in levels nine and eleven! Not that you should mind, look at the spikes on that thing...
Power-ups
These shells and other items are extremely helpful while attempting to complete the levels. They give your petpet an added advantage when picked up. However, with the exception of the clam shell, they are all still necessary items to pick up.
The pink shell, as well as gaining you points, also gives you a speed boost. This is something that will really come in handy when the later levels only give you a few shots. This shell appears in levels one to four, and in two of the bonus levels.
The teal and yellow shell and speed-booster appears in levels five to eight, and in one bonus level.
The final, purple speed boost and shell appears in levels nine to twelve.
Friction: it ruins the fun while sliding across your kitchen floor in socks, and messes with acceleration-o'-gravity experiments. But fear no longer! The maractite chunk will get rid of all friction, and your petpet will be able to glide at constant speed for a short period of time.
The green clam is a life-saver in later levels. By collecting the pearl inside, you will get an extra shot. But, be sure that the clam is open when you shoot your petpet at it, otherwise the pearl will be trapped inside, and you won't get the extra shot.
Bubbles
These bubbles serve as bumpers, and can help your petpet navigate the underwater levels. Occasionally they will serve as obstacles, but most of the time, these bubbles will help you to complete the levels sooner.
The first blue bumper-bubble is pretty flimsy, it only takes one bump to pop it. So, be careful how you use it, you won't get another chance.
The spiffy green flame bumper-bubble is much more sturdy; it takes three shots to pop it. But, unlike the blue bumper, when you careen into this one, you'll get a speed boost to propel your petpet even further.
The orange bumper-bubbles are the strongest of them all! They won't ever pop, and you can keep using them over and over to aid you in your quest to collect shells.
Petpets
Finally, there are the obstacle petpets. These guys move around to block you from collecting your items. Don't worry, they're okay to hit, you won't loose a shot, but you may get redirected and move away from the shells you need to collect.
The first obstacle petpet is an Arkmite and appears in levels number six, ten, and twelve.
The Ghoti is just like the Arkmite, and appears in levels number seven and eleven.
The Darpinch is a bit of a rarity, and appears only in level number nine.
Bonus Levels
There are bonus levels after Levels 4, 8 & 12. In order to get the bonus "whirlpools" to appear during these levels you need to have completed one of the prior 3 levels getting the max bonus. For levels 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9 & 11, that means you need to complete the level on the first shot. Since level 10 awards 2 extra shots, you must complete that level by the 3rd shot and it only has to be one of the three in that group.
Some Final Tips
- Try to plan out your moves before starting the level. Using your hands as a straight edge to plot out your next move move really helps - try using a piece of paper if you prefer more accuracy, though.
- You might want to toggle the effects off. The water-effects, although pretty cool-looking, slow down the game, and are quite distracting to deal with.
- Don't get frustrated if you can't collect all of the shells in your first move! For some of the levels, this is impossible, and you will end up using most of your shots to complete it.
- Use the obstacles to your advantage! Sometimes bouncing off that arkmite will mean using one less move than you might have had to spend.
- Please enjoy yourself! It's funny how often it's easy to forget that you're playing a game that's meant to be pleasantly frustrating, not rip-your-hair-out difficult.
The best fun is under the waves!
