"You did look foolish today, but clown tryouts are next week."
—Funfair Fever, Death Screen
Funfair Fever is one of two run-and-gun levels on Inkwell Isle Two. You can start this level by interacting with the target on the ground on the western side of the map. This can be accessed by heading through the tent that opens after completing the Sugarland Shimmy level, or by taking the shortcut behind the mountain just above the tower for Fiery Frolic after completing the Carnival Kerfuffle level.
Sections
There are five sections in this platforming level:
- A tent where you have to jump on a trampoline and dodge balloons.
- A grassy area where you have to dodge rolling balls.
- Another tent where robot monkeys block your path and you have to dodge cannonballs, along with a mini-boss.
- Another grassy area that’s the same as the last one, except that there’s a mini-boss at the end.
- A moving area where you have to kill pretzels and dodge condiments shot by the hot dog mini-boss at the end of the level.
Description
The level starts off in a grassy area with the entrance of a circus in the background. A ringmaster will appear, then shoot a magical ring in the former position of the player. The rings are fairly easy to dodge. You just have to move left and right. They will temporarily disappear after shooting the ring, but they will reappear again and shoot another ring. The ringmaster can be disposed of by shooting it. Hitpoints: 8
You will then enter a large tent with a living trampoline. The living trampoline cannot be hurt. It will try to get under you to help you gain extra height to jump over high walls. There will also be living balloons that fly around, which can be dashed through if using the smoke bomb charm. They can be shot, and when you do, they’ll explode in a spread of bullets. There are three types of them:
- Blue: These ones will have male faces on them.
- Green: These ones will have female faces on them.
- Pink: These ones will have female faces on them, and they are parryable.
In the end of the tent, there will be another ringmaster and clowns riding on different colored balls. If you kill the clown, the balls will roll faster, making it easier to get hit by them. There will also be a wall with a parryable bell moving up and down (you must parry the bell in order to jump over the wall). You will then enter another large tent with dunk platforms and robot monkeys blocking your path. The robot monkeys can be shot, and when you do, they’ll fall into the abyss inside the tent. Hitpoints: 12
Inside the tent, cannonballs will be shot at the player(s)(some of them are parryable). The cannonballs will knock down dunk platforms they come across. You will then encounter a line of three cannons that are shooting the cannonballs. When defeated, the cannons will close their eyes, then come up off the screen, allowing you to continue with the level. Hitpoints: TBA
You will then enter one last grassy area with two ringmasters and more clowns riding balls. In the end of the grassy area, there will be a sentient machine that fires a line of ducks from the sky that will damage the player if touched. Once defeated, the top of it will crack, and the players are now able to walk through it. Hitpoints: 125
Afterwards, you will then encounter moving platforms with anthropomorphic pretzels jumping up and down on some of them. They can be disposed of by shooting them. Hitpoints: TBA
Later on, there will be a giant anthropomorphic hot dog that shoots lines of ketchup, mustard, and relish at you. When defeated, the hot dog will disappear piece by piece, as if being eaten. Hitpoints: 125
After defeating the hot dog, jump on the platform, and you win.
Enemies
| Name | Behavior |
|---|---|
Magician |
A magician that teleports around and shoots magical rings at the player(s). |
Balloons |
Balloons that deal contact damage, and explode in a spread of bullets if shot. One type of them is parryable. |
Trampoline |
Quadrupedal trampolines that allow the player to bounce higher and be able to complete the level. |
Ball Clown |
Clowns that ride on different colored balls which move faster if you kill the clown. |
Robot Monkey |
A line of robot monkeys that block your path, making you vulnerable to the dunk platforms as well as hindering your progress. |
Cannon Wall |
The first mini-boss, a three headed cannon that shoot balls to knock down the dunk platforms. |
Shooting Range |
The second mini-boss, a duck shooting machine that fires down a line of ducks. This boss can be killed incredibly easily by standing right on the platform right before you get into the area where you're vulnerable to attack and shooting her with longer ranged bullets. |
Pretzel |
Pretzels that jump up and down, blocking you and leaving you open to attack from the Hot Dog. |
Hot Dog |
The third mini-boss of the level. This one shoots different condiments at you. |
Walkthrough
Soundtrack
Trivia
- This is the only level to have five sections. All the other levels have only three or four.
- This is the only level that has three different mini bosses. The three lined cannon is first, the shooting range game machine is second, and the hot dog is third.
Inspirations and similarities
- The music from this level is very similar to Super Mario World's Athletic Theme chord structures. This has been confirmed to be a coincidence by the composer Kristofer Maddigan as they both were inspired by Scott Joplin's "Maple Leaf Rag", with Funfair Fever's theme being inspired by this cover of the song by Tom Brier, Julia Riley, and Kitty Wilson from 2011.[1]
- The Hot Dog mini-boss seems to be inspired from the featureless hot dog sausage from the Mickey Mouse cartoon The Karnival Kid.
- The Hot Dog may have also been inspired by Bowser the final boss in the Super Mario franchise, they both shoot out projectiles that appear when you get near them, which look strikingly similar.
- In terms of video game references, the ringmaster/magician fights similarly to the Magikoopas from Super Mario World. In contrast, while the Magikoopa shoots out rings of hollow circles, squares, and triangles, the ringmaster/magician shoots out rings of solid shapes which include a green circle, a light blue square, a dark blue triangle, a red diamond or heart, and a yellow star.
- The weapon that the Shooting Range is holding appears to be a cartoonish depiction of a 12 Gauge Double Barreled 1878 Charles Parker Side by Side Shotgun, which is also based upon the gun that the Looney Tunes character Elmer Fudd is commonly seen wielding.
- ↑ Mentioned in the game's credits, as well as this video's description. https://youtu.be/_ChNUW4HtP8