C5L3: JoJo's Big Adventure
C5L3: JoJo's Big Adventure is the third level of the The Nightmare Levels Expansion for Blood II: The Chosen. It is set in a circus surrounded by "clown guards" and monsters as Ishmael tries to make an escape. It is meant to evoke the same style as Dark Carnival, one of the more popular levels from the original Blood. In order to enhance the overall feeling of unreality, two planets from the sky of Reality Beta are clearly visible throughout the entire level, even though it is supposed to be set in the real world.
Objectives[edit]
Killer Clowns[edit]
Time to give up the JoJo act and get on with world conquest. You'll have to get past your captors first, though.
Walkthrough[edit]
[Video of Ishmael's cut-scene]
Ophelia concludes her tale, and the others look to Ishmael.
ISHMAEL: Well, I suppose it is my turn, yes? My, my. Like Ophelia, I have a secret. Doubtlessly, you two have heard of "JoJo, the Idiot Circus Boy".
GABRIELLA: Of course. (laughs) When I was a child, my papa would take me to de freak show every year. And every year I would see JoJo. I used to throw little clumps of dirt at him.
ISHMAEL: Er-hem, yes, well, I remember that. You see, I was JoJo. Unemployment did not cover evil cultists in those days, and the only place an out-of-work tattooed man could find work was the circus. So, for a time, I became JoJo. The previous JoJo passed on the revered mantle of "JoJo-ness" to me, and it was with proud grace that I strutted out onto the stage my first day. Then, bastard little dirt-throwers, like yourself, taught me what it really was to be a freak. After a year of that, I was a prisoner to my own low self-esteem. One day, though, it all changed. Tchernobog spoke to me, and did bid me to free myself of this mortal mockery. And so I did, but it was not easy.
The scene changes to a cage in the circus. A carnival barker drones in the background. On the nearby wall, a small painting of Tchernobog speaks.
TCHERNOBOG: Ishmael. Listen.
ISHMAEL: JoJo hears, master.
TCHERNOBOG: You are JoJo no longer. Go. Kill these mortals and come to my side. We have much work to do.
ISHMAEL: JoJo hears and obeys, master.
The level begins from there as Ishmael fights his way out of the circus, against the institution's clown guards. After raging through the freak shows and "Tunnel of Love" ride, Ishmael finds the parking lot and freedom. Caleb suddenly materializes and sees "JoJo" (apparently not recognizing him as Ishmael). He asks to see his tightrope act (a reference to Blood) before disappearing again.
Enemies Present[edit]
- Clown Guards (actually Cultists with a different skin).
Weapons present[edit]
Fun Stuff[edit]
- Ishmael sarcastically refers to the Fish-man as "the catch of the day". This is most likely a reference to the Fiji Mermaid, an exhibit so unconvincing that it was later marketed by P. T. Barnum as a "genuine fake".
- When Ishmael sees the torn in half Half-Man Half-Woman, he sarcastically remarks "Looks like he had to split."
- The circus announcer is constantly heard throughout most of the level. In one of his announcements, he claims that when people see JoJo, they will believe "a potato can fly."
- When Caleb appears for a while near the end of the level, he doesn't recognize Ishmael and thinks he has met JoJo. Surprised at first, Caleb asks if he could see JoJo's famous tightrope act, seconds later he is sucked into yet another portal.
- Freakish and distorted circus music is often heard throughout the level, conveying an overall atmosphere of insanity. These sounds have been borrowed from the Dark Carnival audio track in the original Blood.
- Ishmael seems particularly happy to see a Fudge booth.
