Shinsen's Lost in Blue Survival Guide Chapter One: Introduction Chapter Two: The Facts Chapter Three: Unarmed Chapter Four: Fish Food Chapter Five: Hunting Chapter Six: Closing Chapter One: Introduction Congratulations on buying the game. I have nothing but good things to say about it, and I'll forever remember it as the best DS game I have ever owned. For those who DON'T know what Lost in Blue is and are just cruising for something to read, LiB was and is a Nintendo DS survival/adventure game, released in America in 2005. The game is two years old (at the time of me writing this), but this is just one of those games that I can't forget. It featured two young adults, an 18-year-old Keith and 17-year-old Skye, as they strived to escape a tropical island. It used every feature the DS had to offer; the mic was used to start fires (blow into the mic to feed the sparks), the control pad was used to move, and the touch screen was used to aim your bow for hunting. It was one of the real trailblazers of the DS (like Trauma Center). A sequal came out this year (2007) under the title of Lost in Blue 2, but it failed to meet the fans' expectations. By that, I mean it sucked. A lot. This guide is to be used assuming that you can advance the story on your own. This guide is a survival guide; these are the tricks of the trade of a real survivalist (yeah, that's right, I've been logged for 350+ days of survival!). These are Shinsen's LiB survival tactics! Chapter Two: The Facts Before I get in two deep, you have to know how the three attributes relate to each other and your HP. The 'attributes' are the three little percentages you see in your top-screen profile. There's stamina, water, and food; each are individually important. Stamina is your first priority! Stamina is consumed by existing, but is sped up by walking and running. In addition to that, 1 stamina is taken away from your stamina pool on every cliff climbed or dropped off of (that's why you burn so much more energy taking Skye places; 1-block and 2-block cliffs burn the same amount of energy, but with Skye you have to climb the long way, burning more energy). Run out of stamina, and your HP drops radically. Food is commonly referred to as the least important attribute, but it is the generator behind your stamina. The 'Rest' option turns your Food pool into stamina efficiently. Without Food you can't sleep, and with low Food your sleep will only regenerate minimal stamina/HP. Food decays over time. Water is another annoying factor. When your water meter goes to 0%, your HP begins to drop; less rapidly than an empty stamina bar, but still quickly. To throw in another problem, 0% water means your Food pool will no longer convert to stamina. In addition, you've got to know your way around the island. Your main places for food should be the shore, the river, and the grasslands. Travelling anywhere else for food (except for more items in your Scrapbook or stuff for recipes) is just plain stupid. My worst NDEs have been in the Grasslands and the Ruins when I'm out of Stamina, so I figured I might as well tell you how I escaped them. The problem here is getting all the way to the cave without dying, right? I'll start off with the Grasslands, the razor's edge between life and death. There is a semi- secret way to the cave from here in the southeastern part of it. If you hug the bottom of the grasslands and head to the left, you'll come across it in a cut scene. The idea is to snag some raspberries and veggies, chug 'em, then rest until you're out of Food. No matter what, you DON'T want to head ANYWHERE without Stamina! You then need to take that path down to the cave. Next up is the Ruins. There's no razor's edge here--this place is Death's happy freakin' household. The Ruins are a stamina trap; every time you press a block, you waste one Stamina, and then you have to repeat the whole process if you screw up on the puzzle. The keywords here are 'Jerky' and 'Aqueducts.' Somewhere along the way, Skye will indeed ask you to make a Jerky Rack, which you can use to make conserved food. Jerky should accompany you whenever you take a Ruins trip! Make sure there's ten pieces; five you take, and five you leave in the jerky rack for Skye to eat (this works according to a good friend I know). Don't forget to leave her water in the water drum, either, or to tell her you'll be gone. As for the 'Aqueducts,' I don't really know what else to call them. They're little ruts in every unsolved room in the Ruins. If there is no aqueduct, you're probably stuck in the first room because you didn't press the two-man switch on the lakeside opposite from your cave. Tag the coast there and you'll find it. Anyway, the aqueducts are where the water rises up from in those rooms once their puzzles are completed. You can drink from them, but their main purpose is an escape route! I'm pretty sure a cut screen will have already told you this, but you can climb into them and they'll transport you to the ruins in the middle of the grasslands. That's right; the grasslands. From there, you can go home! Chapter Three: Unarmed In the beginning, you'll be washed up on a beach with nothing, and chances are that you'll have the same problem later on in the game (as tools break at a mindblowing pace). To this extent, thank God for the plants and shore food! When you're on long trips, remember to take jerky. Before jerky, be sure to pick up any food you can! When you come home (if you don't need to use it for stamina...) you can cook it up if your hunts were unsuccessful. If you used up all of that food, go to the shoreline. At low tide (which is conveniently located at early morning and nighttime consistantly...I think), you can find all sorts of clams and seaweed, alongside the coconuts. Never forget the albalone, either! Tag the shoreline westwards and you'll find a stone wall...right? There are actually 'steps' up there. Climb up and jump rock-to-rock, eventually landing on the last rock. There'll be a lone albalone, and it's useful for many recipes. There'll always be one per day! Chapter Four: Fishing Fishing (hunting too) burns time, but doesn't burn any of your attributes. That's right--if you have perfect timing with the Y button you may be able to fish for hours without ever dropping 1 HP! That's my justification for the usage of the fishing pole. I admit it! I admit that the spear is the most efficient(fastest) way to fish. However, why do we WANT it faster? It's not like we could get hurt from spending more time fishing. I enjoy using the fishing pole. Arguably, the best place to fish is the river. Why would you fish anywhere when you wouldn't need to fish? (Perfectionists who want to fill up their scrapbooks, forgive me) Slap on some bait and go at it. You can make a spear with: 1) a wooden stick 2) a wooden stick + a sharpened rock 3) a wooden stick + a sharpened bone 4) a bamboo stick 5) a bamboo stick + a sharpened rock 6) a bamboo stick + a sharpened bone You can make a fishing pole with: 1) a wooden stick + a vine + a sharpened rock 2) a wooden stick + a vine + a sharpened bone 3) a bamboo stick + a vine + a sharpened rock 4) a bamboo stick + a vine + a sharpened bone NOTE: for those who don't know how to get bone, you basically kill a big animal and ask Skye to cook it. She'll put the rare Bone on the left side of the cave, leaving you to pick it up and sharpen it. A seasoned veteran can actually tell what kind of fish will come out of the water by its pull on the pole. I can only describe it like this; a crucian will come out with barely any resistance, right? A black bass, however, will make wild turns, though it's not strong enough to really resist the forward pull of the pole. Chapter Five: Hunting Hunting is straight-up fun. I remember countless times of romping around the grasslands and shooting anything that moved! To make your tools, you'll need this. You can make a bow with: 1) a wooden stick + a vine 2) a bamboo stick + a vine You can make ten arrows with: 1) a twig + a sharpened rock 2) a twig + a sharpened rock + a feather 4) a twig + a sharpened bone 3) a twig + a sharpened bone + a feather 5) a bamboo stick + a sharpened rock 6) a bamboo stick + a sharpened rock + a feather 7) a bamboo stick + a sharpened bone 8) a bamboo stick + a sharpened bone + a feather I always reccomend feathered arrows! ALWAYS! When you make some (you can find some feathers somewhere down the hidden passage to escape grasslands, or you can kill a rooster with unfeathered arrows), compare their accuracy with unfeathered ones. Remember, when hunting in grasslands, you shouldn't waste arrows on big game to shoot. You can't take one of those things down in one hit (or can you? I never have). Instead, only shoot big game when it's stuck in your Big Trap (wooden stick + vine) and go for the small animals. Run around the entire grassland; if your prey runs, immediately press the Y button. He'll still be there. It's a glitch that all hunters know and LOVE. Your bow will shoot an arrow about a centimeter above the arrowtip. Shoot a few practice shots to familiarize yourself. If you get your measurements right (it's an estimate, but a vet won't forget it) and you have feathered arrows, you will NEVER miss the kill! Chapter Six: Closing And that just about wraps it up. On a final note, I would encourage you to NOT GIVE UP on this game! The Ruins are tedious, I know, but don't give up. You will have many deaths before you reach full mastery of survival! Don't give up! This is a jewel in disguise. The ending is truly moving, and you'll have to see it for yourselves. Wild dogs couldn't drag a spoiler from my lips. If you have any questions about survival or Lost in Blue in general, email me at [shinsenxiii@hotmail.com]