Survival Guide - Guide for Lost in Blue

Shinsen's Lost in Blue Survival Guide

Chapter One: Introduction
Chapter Two: The Facts
Chapter Three: Unarmed 
Chapter Four: Fish Food
Chapter Five: Hunting
Chapter Six: Closing



Chapter One: Introduction

Congratulations on buying the game. I have nothing but good things to say about
it, and 
I'll forever remember it as the best DS game I have ever owned. For those who DON'T 
know what Lost in Blue is and are just cruising for something to read, LiB was and
is a 
Nintendo DS survival/adventure game, released in America in 2005. The game is two 
years old (at the time of me writing this), but this is just one of those games
that I can't 
forget. It featured two young adults, an 18-year-old Keith and 17-year-old Skye,
as they 
strived to escape a tropical island. It used every feature the DS had to offer;
the mic was 
used to start fires (blow into the mic to feed the sparks), the control pad was
used to 
move, and the touch screen was used to aim your bow for hunting. It was one of the
real 
trailblazers of the DS (like Trauma Center). A sequal came out this year (2007)
under the 
title of Lost in Blue 2, but it failed to meet the fans' expectations. By that, I
mean it 
sucked. A lot. This guide is to be used assuming that you can advance the story on
your 
own. This guide is a survival guide; these are the tricks of the trade of a real
survivalist 
(yeah, that's right, I've been logged for 350+ days of survival!). These are
Shinsen's LiB 
survival tactics! 

Chapter Two: The Facts

Before I get in two deep, you have to know how the three attributes relate to each
other 
and your HP. The 'attributes' are the three little percentages you see in your
top-screen 
profile. There's stamina, water, and food; each are individually important.

Stamina is your first priority! Stamina is consumed by existing, but is sped up by
walking 
and running. In addition to that, 1 stamina is taken away from your stamina pool
on every 
cliff climbed or dropped off of (that's why you burn so much more energy taking Skye 
places; 1-block and 2-block cliffs burn the same amount of energy, but with Skye you 
have to climb the long way, burning more energy). Run out of stamina, and your HP 
drops radically.

Food is commonly referred to as the least important attribute, but it is the
generator 
behind your stamina. The 'Rest' option turns your Food pool into stamina efficiently. 
Without Food you can't sleep, and with low Food your sleep will only
regenerate minimal stamina/HP. Food decays over time.

Water is another annoying factor. When your water meter goes to 0%, your HP begins to 
drop; less rapidly than an empty stamina bar, but still quickly. To throw in another 
problem, 0% water means your Food pool will no longer convert to stamina. 
In addition, you've got to know your way around the island. Your main places for food 
should be the shore, the river, and the grasslands. Travelling anywhere else for food 
(except for more items in your Scrapbook or stuff for recipes) is just plain
stupid. My 
worst NDEs have been in the Grasslands and the Ruins when I'm out of Stamina, so I 
figured I might as well  tell you how I escaped them. The problem here is getting
all the 
way to the cave without dying, right? 

I'll start off with the Grasslands, the razor's edge between life and death. There
is a semi-
secret way to the cave from here in the southeastern part of it. If you hug the
bottom of 
the grasslands and head to the left, you'll come across it in a cut scene. The
idea is to snag 
some raspberries and veggies, chug 'em, then rest until you're out of Food. No matter
what, you DON'T want to head ANYWHERE without Stamina! You then need to take 
that path down to the cave.

Next up is the Ruins. There's no razor's edge here--this place is Death's happy
freakin' 
household. The Ruins are a stamina trap; every time you press a block, you waste one 
Stamina, and then you have to repeat the whole process if you screw up on the puzzle. 
The keywords here are 'Jerky' and 'Aqueducts.' Somewhere along the way, Skye will 
indeed ask you to make a Jerky Rack, which you can use to make conserved food. Jerky 
should accompany you whenever you take a Ruins trip! Make sure there's ten pieces;
five 
you take, and five you leave in the jerky rack for Skye to eat (this works
according to a 
good friend I know). Don't forget to leave her water in the water drum, either, or
to tell 
her you'll be gone. As for the 'Aqueducts,' I don't really know what else to call
them. 
They're little ruts in every unsolved room in the Ruins. If there is no aqueduct,
you're 
probably stuck in the first room because you didn't press the two-man switch on the 
lakeside opposite from your cave. Tag the coast there and you'll find it. Anyway, the 
aqueducts are where the water rises up from in those rooms once their puzzles are 
completed. You can drink from them, but their main purpose is an escape route! I'm 
pretty sure a cut screen will have already told you this, but you can climb into
them and 
they'll transport you to the ruins in the middle of the grasslands. That's right; the 
grasslands. From there, you can go home!

Chapter Three: Unarmed 

In the beginning, you'll be washed up on a beach with nothing, and chances are
that you'll 
have the same problem later on in the game (as tools break at a mindblowing pace). To 
this extent, thank God for the plants and shore food! When you're on long trips, 
remember to take jerky. Before jerky, be sure to pick up any food you can! When you 
come home (if you don't need to use it for stamina...) you can cook it up if your
hunts 
were unsuccessful.

If you used up all of that food, go to the shoreline. At low tide (which is
conveniently 
located at early morning and nighttime consistantly...I think), you can find all
sorts of 
clams and seaweed, alongside the coconuts. Never forget the albalone, either! Tag the 
shoreline westwards and you'll find a stone wall...right? There are actually
'steps' up 
there. Climb up and jump rock-to-rock, eventually landing on the last rock.
There'll be a 
lone albalone, and it's useful for many recipes. There'll always be one per day!

Chapter Four: Fishing

Fishing (hunting too) burns time, but doesn't burn any of your attributes. That's
right--if 
you have perfect timing with the Y button you may be able to fish for hours
without ever 
dropping 1 HP! That's my justification for the usage of the fishing pole. I admit
it! I 
admit that the spear is the most efficient(fastest) way to fish. However, why do we 
WANT it faster? It's not like we could get hurt from spending more time fishing. I
enjoy 
using the fishing pole. Arguably, the best place to fish is the river. Why would
you fish 
anywhere when you wouldn't need to fish? (Perfectionists who want to fill up their 
scrapbooks, forgive me) Slap on some bait and go at it. 

You can make a spear with:
1) a wooden stick
2) a wooden stick + a sharpened rock
3) a wooden stick + a sharpened bone
4) a bamboo stick
5) a bamboo stick + a sharpened rock
6) a bamboo stick + a sharpened bone

You can make a fishing pole with:
1) a wooden stick + a vine + a sharpened rock
2) a wooden stick + a vine + a sharpened bone
3) a bamboo stick + a vine + a sharpened rock
4) a bamboo stick + a vine + a sharpened bone

NOTE: for those who don't know how to get bone, you basically kill a big animal
and ask 
Skye to cook it. She'll put the rare Bone on the left side of the cave, leaving
you to pick it 
up and sharpen it.

A seasoned veteran can actually tell what kind of fish will come out of the water
by its 
pull on the pole. I can only describe it like this; a crucian will come out with
barely any 
resistance, right? A black bass, however, will make wild turns, though it's not
strong 
enough to really resist the forward pull of the pole. 

Chapter Five: Hunting

Hunting is straight-up fun. I remember countless times of romping around the
grasslands 
and shooting anything that moved!
To make your tools, you'll need this.

You can make a bow with:
1) a wooden stick + a vine
2) a bamboo stick + a vine

You can make ten arrows with:
1) a twig + a sharpened rock
2) a twig + a sharpened rock + a feather
4) a twig + a sharpened bone
3) a twig + a sharpened bone + a feather
5) a bamboo stick + a sharpened rock
6) a bamboo stick + a sharpened rock + a feather
7) a bamboo stick + a sharpened bone
8) a bamboo stick + a sharpened bone + a feather

I always reccomend feathered arrows! ALWAYS! When you make some (you can find 
some feathers somewhere down the hidden passage to escape grasslands, or you can
kill a 
rooster with unfeathered arrows), compare their accuracy with unfeathered ones. 

Remember, when hunting in grasslands, you shouldn't waste arrows on big game to 
shoot. You can't take one of those things down in one hit (or can you? I never have). 
Instead, only shoot big game when it's stuck in your Big Trap (wooden stick +
vine) and go for the small animals. Run around the entire grassland; if your prey
runs, 
immediately press the Y button. He'll still be there. It's a glitch that all
hunters know and 
LOVE. 

Your bow will shoot an arrow about a centimeter above the arrowtip. Shoot a few 
practice shots to familiarize yourself. If you get your measurements right (it's
an estimate, 
but a vet won't forget it) and you have feathered arrows, you will NEVER miss the
kill!

Chapter Six: Closing

And that just about wraps it up. On a final note, I would encourage you to NOT
GIVE UP 
on this game! The Ruins are tedious, I know, but don't give up. You will have many 
deaths before you reach full mastery of survival! Don't give up! This is a jewel in 
disguise. The ending is truly moving, and you'll have to see it for yourselves.
Wild dogs couldn't drag a spoiler from my lips. If you have any questions about
survival 
or Lost in Blue in general, email me at [[email protected]]