30. N3 The Vast Plain — Gray
I like this treasure’s focus on the theme o’ invisibility: while the Pneumos @ the beginning hinder you by covering your face, making you able to see yourself but not your surroundings, taking potions that the Mad Scienstein throws @ you, which make you unable to see yourself but not your surroundings, is necessary for progress. & yet being unable to see yourself makes the next series o’ jumps mo’ treacherous than normal. All o’ this really instills the duality o’ status conditions in this game.
My qualms are that I feel the 3rd treasure in the game is a bit early for making players do platforming while invisible. Also, having to get to where the gray chest & gray key are, right next to each other but blocked by an seeing-eye doors, while invisible, only to have to fall back down, eliminate one’s invisibility by going thru a pipe, & then climb back up & do the same platforming one did invisible while visible so they can return to the gray chest, — which is only accessible while visible, for unexplained reasons — feels repetitive, specially since the latter part is easier: once you’ve jumped o’er these platforms while invisible, doing the same while able to see perfectly just feels silly. I think this treasure would’ve been stronger if they, A, placed it later in the game, & B, were able to program in some kind o’ challenge where you have to do platforming — maybe the same platforming — but with a Pneumo o’er your head, able to see yourself but not your surroundings, as an extra challenge for the gray chest. Maybe they could’ve had a new area, where you couldn’t take any enemies, & had the Pneumo as the only thing you could pick up & have @ the end blocks you have to throw the Pneumo @ to pass thru.
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