#anothercrabstreasure

In the penultimate "Alliance Insight" edition of Packs & Facts we're taking a look at Totally Accurate Battle Simulator and its developer Landfall Games!

Next time we'll wrap up our Magical Girls and Dragons quest with the final Alliance Insight pack and then ONTO A DIFFERENT TCG to open for a bit!

Final Boss Analysis #4 Firth, The Crab Who Stole The Whorl Another Crab's Treasure

"That's the cool part about being a GOD, I don't need you to let me do anything! It's just gonna happen!"

What seems like the weirdest decision for a final boss from a story standpoint actually fits perfectly within the games themes. Let’s dissect what makes Firth such a great final boss.

Firth is an asshole (Foreshadowing, also)

Among the sea critters Kril meets on his journey to get his shell back, Firth might be the worst and most despicable type of person: A cryptobro.

It's not surprising if you picked up on the themes of Another Crab's Treasure, being mostly a critique of capitalism and those who perpetuate it. Being an aspiring adventure crabitalist, Firth is seen multiple times throughout your journey, and by god is he never stopping that grindset. Every time you see him, he gets progressively shinier and cooler shells, which foreshadows something very important later.

Let’s kill god (Then do it again)

Shortly after telling Kril to KILL HIMSELF (Yes, he says this)

Kril fights basically a metaphor for the oceans pain and pollution. Somehow, he wins.

So we killed God, basically. That was the final boss. The macguffin, The Perfect Whorl, is afoot, which will turn whoever wears it into basically a god, which Kril will use to solve all of the oceans problems. Freaking sweet.

However, while Kril is distracted by his dying friend (Anti Grindset Behavior) Firth, ever the entrepreneur, takes this opportunity to yoink it for himself, unaware of it's power.

The Crab Who Stole The Whorl

Empowered by the Whorl, Firth basically becomes a God.

While he is now capable of fixing everything in the ocean, he instead plans to dump literally all the trash in the ocean directly onto the city in an attempt to revive and revitalize the economy there. Of course, this would just cause everyone to get polluted faster (And Kril needs the shell to save his friend (Anti Grindset Behavior)) so now we need to fight him.

Moveset

Firth's first phase is a mirror of Kril's fighting style and abilities he's gained throughout the game, since they're both hermit crabs. The difference being that he fights with a spoon, the inferior cutlery. It's a test of knowledge, not of your enemies abilities, but your own. He can hide in the Whorl and parry you as well.

His second phase has him pulling out all the stops, summoning tendrils and tornadoes while throwing projectiles at you. One thing I love about this phase is the sound the tendrils make as they swing, the reversed piano chord really puts into perspective the godliness aspect of him.

Soundtrack

His 1st phase theme, The Crab Who Stole The Whorl, is a fast paced mostly electronic theme. It's a stark contrast from the laid back vibe of the previous songs, while also sounding (And I cant find a better way to put this) Amateur in nature with its use of simplistic soundfonts, which show the gap in skill between Kril and Firth. (Kril actually working for his strength, while Firth just Stole The Whorl. (Took Another Crab's Treasure. (If you will.)))

His 2nd phase, Avatar Of Waste, showcases the finality and intensity of the battle. Long, drawn out notes backed by an intense drum section.

His Purpose and Symbolism

Firth symbolizes two things.

The literal embodiment of the phrase "Don't attribute malice to which is adequately explained by stupidity." While the economic boom seems well meaning, he's too self justified to consider the long term consequences of doing so. In general, he doesn't really seem to care about actually helping people, just that he's the one doing it.

2. Perpetuation of capitalism. Imagine If you could take out all the support structures, somehow demolish the ideology, and wipe it from the map. Kill god, if you would. Nonetheless as long as greedy people still exist in the world unopposed, the risk of capitalism being built again stands. Kril's fought all matter of embodiments of greed, so it makes sense that the final hurdle would be the embodiment of what builds it up and keeps it going.

Conclusion

Well, it wasn't Iwami but I'll get to him. (Sorry for lying.)

Mirror matches are pretty much the coolest trope in history, so the only way you could make that better is if its the final boss. He's also just got such an asshole personality that I can't help but like him. Helps that he's voiced by Micheal Reeves, the perfect voice actor for an asshole.

MOAR CRAB SHENANIGANS

Time to find the ONE PIECE-- er, the pieces of a mysterious treasure map! This will surely go well! twitch.tv/nicooriia #furrystreamer #anothercrabstreasure #twitch 

[Streaming Crabs!]

A selfish shellfish shiftly pilfered my silly shell off my tail. We're getting it back! twitch.tv/nicooriia