| Conveyor Belts
Level When I was a kid,
the common slang referred to this as "the Mud Factory," meaning "the Mud
Pie Factory." This is because we always called the pies "mud pies." I
don't think I've ever found any mention of this elsewhere since then, but
we were the authority when we were kids—the original generation of DKers,
so we created that slang.
In this level, there are conveyor belts
moving killer mud pies back and forth. There are loads of fireballs and
they aren't giving us a break. Your mission is to get to the top conveyor
belt—the one DK is zipping back and forth on—and thereby rescue Pauline.
The biggest challenge is perhaps the two
ladders leading to DK's belt: they move. The upper halves slide up and
down, preventing you from climbing up while they aren't. This seems fine,
but when there are fireballs up on DK's belt and below you, you can't
afford to sit and wait for it to move.
Mario at the bottom. The girder above him is actually a conveyor
belt, and the mud pies zoom across it (usually in threes). The
girder to the left and right of the fiery oil drum (where the
fireballs are coming out) are also conveyors. All three conveyor
belts change direction periodically, making it entirely possible to
attempt leaping over a mud pie and find yourself landing in one.
Note: fireballs are unaffected by conveyor belts; they can move any
way they wish when on them.
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Mario on the first conveyor belt. Mud pies can be seen. There are
two hammers on this level, the first being right on the conveyor
belt with Mario. The second is to the middle left of the screen. You
can also see Pauline's prizes: her handbag on the bottom, bonnet in
the middle, and parasol on the right. Also, notice Donkey Kong: he
is also on a conveyor belt, perpetually moving back and forth, back
and forth.
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Rescuing Pauline is a lot like the Rivets Level: you don't actually
have to climb up to her. However, unlike on the Rivets level, there
actually is a ladder up to her spot. All you have to do, though, is
climb up to Donkey Kong's conveyor belt and the board is won. (It's
more challenging in that DK is going back and forth AND the ladder
moves up and down; you have to hit it just right to make it.) This
always bugged me; the board is challenging and all, but if I had
been designing it, there would have been other ladders to DK's
conveyor belt and Mario would have to avoid DK zooming back and
forth and climb up to Pauline. Of course, with all the fireballs, it
would be insane. Of course, that's most of the fun.
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Big surprise: Donkey Kong climbs up and away, grabbing Pauline and
breaking your heart once again. One wonders just when Mario is going
to learn that this whole process is ongoing, never-ending, and
pointless. Of course, we're the ones controlling Mario, and we keep
playing...
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