Branching paths and weapon choices?

Could someone please explain to me in very simple language the points in the game where my decision affects the course of the game as far as story and weapon upgrades/choices?

SPOILER ALERT
I recommend beating the game once before reading a guide so you can enjoy the other ending without having to worry about the best ending *it is much more difficult than bad and normal ending and you will appreciate the best ending more if you see the normal one first*

You can trade the Polar Star for
Machine Gun: Talk to Curly Brace in Sand Zone
Spur: Go back to where you got the Polar Star and talk to the Old Man
Snake: Somewhere in the Labyrinth talk to a bug behind a counter (also uses fireball)

Trading in Polar Star for one prevents you from getting the other 2

Trade Blade for
Nemesis: Outer Rim, jump towards the bottom until you find a room *Tiny House*. They will tell you they need Mr.Tiny. Mr. Tiny is in the graveyard of Mimiga village. Bring him back to his house and trade Blade to get Nemesis.


Bad Ending: When asked to escape, choose Yes.
Normal Ending: Proceed through the game, there is a very low chance you will get the best ending without a guide.
Best Ending: Too tired to write it right now.

I'll write the "Best Ending Guide" then. There are MAJOR SPOILERS here:

Decision 1:

When in the Labyrinth area you will eventually come to a large room where you will see Booster fall from above and land off screen below. If you choose to go down and speak to him you will receive and item that will make the next area a bit easier but will lose any and all chance to get the best ending. The solution is to simply leap across the gap and continuing on instead of going down and speaking to Booster. A red line is drawn on the floor at the EXACT spot that you need to jump in order to clear the gap. If you fall you must reload your save file (there is a save point right there so you shouldn't have to worry) because you can't get back up without the item that Booster gives you.

If you speak to Booster, you will get his Booster V 0.8 (the incomplete version of the jump boost) and will lose the chance to enter the last area of the game.


Decision 2:

If you spoke to Booster then this isn't even an option, so there will be no way to carry this out.

When you arrive at the Core, Curly will find a scrap robot on the highest platform in the room. Before you talk to her, search in the water at the bottom right of the room for a sparkling item; the Tow Rope. As far as I know you MUST pick up the Tow Rope before talking to Curly. After the battle that occurs, as well as the subsequent minor cutscene, you will need to talk to the unconscious Curly so that you can carry her with you using the Tow Rope. No matter if you picked her up or not, the door to the room will close whenever you leave, so if you left her behind you can't go back for her.

While in the waterway you will come across a door in a very small area about halfway through. When you enter the room (I believe it's referred to as the Cabin) you need to check the bed so that you can set Curly down. From there, check the book case to find out how to drain the water from Curly, and then check Curly again to do so. Be sure to check her again so that you can pick her up again before you leave.


Decision 3:

In the Plantation, if you carried and drained Curly properly, you will find her in a small room at the bottom right of the area. You will need to speak to her and to the person beside her before you can continue with the sidequest. From there you need to return to the Mimiga Cemetary and enter the door on the far top right of the area. Inside you will find a blue mushroom who will try to give you the useless Mushroom Badge. Take it, and speak to the mushroom again to initiate a boss battle. Once you've won, you will have the item necessary to help Curly fully recover.


Decision 4:

Before using the Rocket to gain access to the throne room, speak to Sue to get your Booster V 2.0 back (be sure to equip it again on the Inventory screen).

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Those are the major things that determine whether or not you get the best ending. If you have Booster V 2.0 and you have saved Curly and fully healed her, you will access the harder version of the Last Cave and you will be able to access Hell as the island is breaking apart. While you're trying to escape the island you will see the door to the Prefab Building open. Inside is a save point and the entrance to Hell (the last and BY FAR the hardest area of the game).

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I will not change my signature until the Honey Nut Cheerios win the Superbowl. That will never happen, so expect this to change someday.

Will the best ending still work on easy mode?

^ Yes, but I don't think you will unlock Time Attack mode, though I could be wrong.

Thanks! :D

A couple extra notes on the sequence to get the best ending (possibly with slightly more spoilers):




At the difficult jump in the labyrinth where you see Professor Booster fall, if you have the Machine Gun at Level 3, you can make it across easily by firing downward and using the recoil from the shots to float upward. In this case, don't worry if you drop down to where Professor Booster is; as long as you don't talk to him, you should be okay.

If you don't pick up the Tow Rope before fighting the boss there, you can still pick it up immediately afterward, after the room fills up with water but before Curly ends up unconscious. You really should get it beforehand, though, just to be safe.

In the Plantation, make sure you speak to Curly first and then the native next to her. You can't continue on the sidequest unless the native tells you about the cure, and he won't do that if you haven't talked to Curly.

In Mimiga Cemetery, after you get the Mushroom Badge from Ma Pignon (the mushroom you're looking for), make sure you check it in your inventory and find out that it's useless. Otherwise, Ma Pignon won't fight you when you talk to him afterward.

When you bring the Ma Pignon back, talk to Curly again after she recovers her memory. When you do, she'll give you the Iron Bond. This is one of the two essential items that you need to have in order to gain access to the last dungeon. (The other item is the Booster V 2.0.) If you don't get the Iron Bond, you won't be able to enter the hidden final dungeon even if you saved Curly and restored her memory.

You have to speak to Momorin Sakamoto to get your Booster back, not Sue. Be warned that the dungeon you're about to enter (the one that would normally be the last dungeon if you weren't going for the best ending) will be considerably harder if you are in possession of the Booster V 2.0--not because the Booster hinders you, but because the dungeon itself is altered!

Examine the Mushroom Badge.