Raiders of Maraqua - How to Conquer It

Even though I’d be scared to do it myself, I wouldn’t be too scared to play the game. Though it’s a simple game, it’s a fantastic one, and after about three years of playing Neopets, it still remains to be my favourite game to this day.

Despite being great fun, people play the game mostly for the avatar, I’m sure. Who wouldn’t want to own those beautiful, shiny, pixels in the form of an avatar? Silly people. That’s who.

I spend a lot of my time lurking on the boards and I often click on ones about game avatars. People ask ‘what game avatar should I go for?’ Every time I say, ‘Raiders of Maraqua’ because if they’re not using it, there is a sure chance they don’t have it. ‘It’s too hard!’ they answer almost every time (if they don’t have it).

I’m here to assure you, it’s really not. Thinking it’s too hard will make it harder. Believing you can do it is the first step. If you can’t do that, then I’m afraid I can’t help you. However, if you can believe in yourself, please read on!

It's really not a hard game, and it’s so much fun once you get into it. Simply guide Karpoh around the ruins and push the treasure into the chest. Sounds easy, doesn’t it? Of course it does! Except sadly, there’s a little more to it than that. Because if there wasn’t, it would be boring. Okay, the game consists of a large amount of light bubbles, some stones and dark bubbles. Stones can go through all types of bubbles, as long as there is space between the stone and the first bubble. You simply press the spacebar to move the stone. You also press the spacebar to pop light bubbles and move dark bubbles. Dark bubbles can only be popped by stones, though.

Oh, I almost forgot. Enemies! All games have them. So don’t start thinking this game is any different. Sorry to burst your bubble. *laughs pathetically at my bad joke* Okay, your enemies are the Red Jetsams, Slorgs and these nasty sting ray type things. Avoid them at all costs! If you run into them, you lose a life. Also, don’t forget, they are just as capable as you when it comes to bubble pushing. So don’t let yourself get in their way; it could cost you a life or your game. It's odd, but it can feel like they are following you when you get to later levels.

The way to get rid of them is to push any of your obstacles (bubbles and stones) into them. It’s a sure and easy way to send them flying, and the first few times you do it, you score yourself a sweet 5 points, or if you trap more with one bubble, you get five times however many you trapped. So let's say you trap three with one bubble. Rare, but still possible. You just scored yourself 35 points (5 points for the first, 10 for the second and 15 for the third)! Yay! So keep pushing bubbles into them, no matter how monotonous it gets. Wait for them if that’s what it takes to push bubbles into them. You want as many points as possible.

Another enemy is this silly looking mutant Koi fish. It swims really slow and it’s the easiest enemy to trap in a bubble because of how slow it goes. Though unlike the other enemies, as it swims, it can leave bubbles behind. So if you’re in need of some extra bubbles, don’t trap it right away. Let it swim for a bit, leaving bubbles behind, then once you have all you need, trap it. I don’t really think of it as an enemy, to be honest. More like a lost, confused friend of Karpoh’s, but it’s still dangerous, sadly. Trust no one, I guess.

Right, this is extremely important for scoring high in later levels. Keep on pushing the bubbles into the enemies. Trust me on this one. Though you might not get any more 5 point bonuses, eventually (though this could take ages) you will get a floating 10. Floating 10s are sacred. Lifesavers, if you ask me. I could not have gotten the avatar without them. So you see, every time you go up a level, the value of the floating 10 also goes up. So in level 1, it would only be worth 5 points. Not really worth it. Level 2 it will be worth 10, level 3 it will be worth 15, level 4 it will be worth 20. You get my drift? The value of the floating 10 goes up by 5 points every time. It doesn’t seem like that much right now, but once you get to the higher levels (the game has 20 levels) the points from these little 10s really start to add up. And the best part? The number of floating 10s you get is unlimited! I’m not kidding. Some levels you could sit and be pushing bubbles into enemies for ages, other times it could only take capturing a few to score you a floating 10. But seriously, they will be worth your time. I promise!

Other things that are helpful in the game are extra lives. They’re the big red crosses. I’ve found they’re quite rare, but if you get one, go for it straight away. They’re hard to miss.

Another is the tiny gold jewel, worth 5 points. I’ve gotten up to three of these in one level, but I’m sure you can get more. Anything that scores you a bit more is worth going for. Every little helps!

Okay, so I hope I’ve helped a little bit, and maybe shared some clues you didn’t know before that might help you get the avatar. I’m sorry I couldn’t hold your hand with each level, but maybe if you figure it out yourself, you’ll be more proud of yourself. Your biggest aim is of course to keep Karpoh out of danger and trap all those enemies and bring back the treasure from Maraqua! So what are you waiting for? Get playing!