Libertechno's torso is back, and this time it's getting funky with a karaoke party for one in Aries Escape No. 18, where stylish scarves and laser balls await. To escape, you'll need to scour every inch of the room and keep your eyes peeled for items and clues, especially since there's no changing cursor to help show you what's interactive and what isn't. Double-click an item you're carrying to zoom in on it and interact with it close up, and be sure to pay attention to the white navigation arrows at the edges of the screen, which could lead you to a different way to look at something you're viewing you might otherwise miss. Don't worry if you can't read Japanese... there's no language barrier in this game. Especially not when the language of music is concerned! Now go forth and let your voice be heard... or at least find the two endings! Players with difficulty viewing certain colours should be aware that this game features several colour-related puzzles.
Like all of the Aries escape games, No. 18 tends to focus on puzzling solving more than cleverly configuring items to use. Most of the puzzles you'll encounter tend to revolve around spotting and using the correct codes, which is intuitive to a point, though the reliance most of them have on inputting numbers or colours in long sequences you have to click through to cycle through all options is a little clunky, not to mention the game sometimes won't accept solutions unless you've viewed the corresponding clue in a correct way, such as, say, a close up. A lot of the clues you'll encounter actually overlap... multiple colour sequences, for instance, or codes being used multiple times, but while there's a lot to see and interact with, the room is well designed enough that you won't often find yourself stuck due to pixel hunting, at least. While some of its interface might be a little awkward, Aries Escape No. 18 still dishes up a pleasantly tricky escape with a lot of puzzles to crack whether you're a songbird or tone deaf.
Thanks to Cyberjar88 for sending this one in!
Walkthrough Guide
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Walkthrough
This is a solutions guide rather than a straight-up walkthrough, i.e. I'm assuming that if I say "wall phone" (for example), you'll know where that is because you will have already looked around the room.
You can't cheat in this game: if you haven't seen the clue to the game's satisfaction, it won't accept your solution.
Colorblind instructions are provided throughout, but note that none of the panels reset themselves, so if you want my instructions to be useful, don't click the buttons randomly. (If it's already too late for that, try clicking each button until it cycles back to white, then follow the walkthrough instructions.)
Don't forget to choose the QUICK start method, unless you like seeing interminable Japanese gibberish scrolling across your screen. (Well, that, or you can read Japanese.)
Phone prep
The mobile phone contains clues to three different puzzles, but first you have to activate it.
Get the phone from next to the karaoke book, then look under the napkin on the other table. Take a picture of the QR code you find.
Beer
There's a panel behind the beer poster (the one closest to the disco ball). The clue can be found by drinking the yellow drink on the table. (Who drinks beer with a straw? But I digress.)
You need to make sure you've zoomed in on the numbers as far as possible before the game will accept your entry.
839473
Get: jigsaw piece
Coat hooks
The clue is on the back of the karaoke controller (the gizmo with the numbers and "start" and "stop" buttons, on the table).
When you're zoomed in on the controller, notice that there are arrows to the sides. Click either one to see the back of the device.
left, up, right, up
Get: blue key
Karaoke, part I
There's a panel on the side of the karaoke machine (zoom in, then click the arrow pointing to the right). The clue is on the table.
The clue is the book titled "KARAOKE" with the not-quite-rainbow stripes.
yellow, green, blue, cyan, red, orange, pink
Colorblind: 4 clicks, 5, 7, 6, 1, 3, 2
Get: jigsaw piece
Safe
You need some clockwise clues, some counterclockwise clues, and a clue for how to combine them.
Clockwise:
Check out the maracas.
Counterclockwise:
Look at the phone.
Combining:
Look at the red poster (between the coat hooks and the beer poster).
The stripes on the maracas are blue, white, green, and pink. Looking at the numbers on the safe dial, those colors translate to 6, 1, 4, 3.
For this puzzle, just read the numbers on the phone from left to right: ignore their colors and positioning. (The circular arrangement juxtaposed with the circular arrow underneath are just there to confuse you. I don't know why the arrow couldn't be a semicircular one, like the ones on the poster.) So 6, 2, 7, 5, 8.
The poster says to alternate between counterclockwise and clockwise. (Point toward the sides of the gray area of the safe dial to see the arrows. This held me up for quite a while; I kept trying to click the dial and/or the numbers.)
left to 6, right all the way around back to 6, left to 2, right to 1, left to 7, right to 4, left to 5, right to 3, left to 8.
If you get it right, all the lights above the dial will light up, and if you have your sound turned on, you'll hear a click. (Dunno why the lights don't light up progressively; I guess that would've made them actually, like, useful.)
Get: nothing. Well, another box to solve, but no actual useful item for your inventory.
Equalizer
The front of the karaoke machine has a box with five sliders. The clue is on the phone.
Ignore the numbers and their colors; just look at their relative heights. If you number the rows 1-4 from the top, this gets you 3, 2, 4, 1, 3. Set the sliders accordingly, then click the word "OPEN".
Get: yellow key
Pink box
The box is on the shelf next to the couch. You need the blue key to open it; if you don't have that yet, solve the coat hooks.
Get: jigsaw piece
Couch cushions, right side
Behind the second cushion from the right, there's a panel with five buttons. The clue is on the phone.
Use the colors of the numbers, from left to right.
Cyan, red, yellow, green, black
Colorblind: 6 clicks, 1, 4, 5, 8
Get: note with blue shapes
Couch cushions, left side
There's a panel behind the third cushion from the left. You need 4 jigsaw pieces and a yellow key to solve this.
Pieces are located:
On the red poster
Beer puzzle
Karaoke part I
Pink box
Key:
Equalizer puzzle
Put the pieces into the jigsaw above the couch (you'll need to zoom in). Notice the left arrow? Click it, put in the key, and turn it. Zoom out and read the number.
4936
Get: note with blue arrow.
Box inside safe
You need the two notes that have blue things on them. To get them, open the two panels behind the couch cushions.
Read the shapes on the first note in the order given by the arrow on the second note.
pentagon, triangle, triangle, circle, hexagon, square, circle, hexagon.
Get: screwdriver
Ottoman
There's a panel on the side of one of the ottomans. (To see it, zoom in, then click the arrow to the side.) You'll need the screwdriver and the green scarf to solve it.
Screwdriver:
Open the box inside the safe. That's one well-protected screwdriver.
Scarf:
It's in plain sight. No, really.
Click the torso to the right of your inventory, then click the scarf.
Use the scarf on the disco ball, then look at the wall.
blue (or is that purple?), pink, yellow, red, cyan, green
Find the panel on the side of the ottoman, then use the screwdriver to reveal the buttons.
Colorblind:
7 clicks, 2, 4, 1, 6, 5
Get: green key
Karaoke, part II: turning it on
Use the green key to open the change return slot on the karaoke machine. (Not sure what use a change return slot is if it's locked, but whatever.) If you don't have the green key, solve the ottoman puzzle.
Get: a note with numbers, and crucially, a dash.
72448-05
The karaoke controller on the table also has numbers and a dash.
Put the numbers into the controller, then press Start.
Get: a new clue
Zoom in on the screen of the karaoke machine.
Wall phone
You'll need to turn on the karaoke machine to see the clue.
Just read the numbers from left to right; the arrows and the different heights are merely to confuse you.
8437192
(Don't forget to hit E for Enter after dialing.) Get: an unlocked door.
Normal End
Just exit after solving the wall phone puzzle.
Happy End
Get a microphone from the karaoke machine and examine it. Take a picture of the UPC code and note the new song number.
59638-39
Click Stop on the controller, put in the new number, then press Start.
Look at the screen of the karaoke machine and note the new phone number.
1072955, and the <blink> tag is still evil
Click C on the phone to clear the previous call, then put in the new number and press E. Get the medal (and here I thought it doesn't get weirder than storing your screwdriver inside a locked box in a locked safe), and then you can finally go out the door.
Posted by: Reka
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October 26, 2015 11:48 PM