Immediately after I finished Animal Cove’s original storyline, KingsIsle released an update with 50 additional levels. Talk about perfect timing! It didn’t take me long to run through, so now it’s discussion time! I’ll be talking about what’s new in this update and recapping major story points.

First things first, here’s a list of update notes from the App Store:

• 50 New Match-3 Levels: These continue the storyline! Play through them to collect keys and discover secrets about the entrance to the park. Just a heads up – there are more keys than there are storyline tasks. You should have quite a few left over even after you complete the current storyline (I have 13 spare keys).
• Solve “Hard” and “Very Hard” puzzles to earn more keys: Hard and Very Hard levels are just normal storyline levels with upped difficulty. You’ll know when you’re about to face a Hard or Very Hard level because your level button will show as red (Hard) or purple (Very Hard). This gives you time to mentally prepare and opt to use boosts if you so choose. Hard levels give you 2 keys and Very Hard levels give you 3 keys.
• New Obstacles: Rockets, Sand Dollars, and Balloons are just some of the new puzzle pieces you’ll encounter within the 50 new levels. My personal favorite is the rockets. They’re just so satisfying to set off.
• Decorate the Park Entrance: You’ll get to do this when you reach a specific point in the storyline. You have a few options, but Wizard101 players will find them all familiar. My banners have the Fire School symbol on them.

Other Things I Noticed:

• I could be mistaken, but I’m almost certain that Harper’s voice actor changed. She sounded a lot different to me.
• The park entrance has some creepy carny horror movie-like music to it. It took me off guard, but I kind of like it. It adds to the mystery.

Summary

Time to recap what’s happened since my last Animal Cove storyline post. If you’re not caught up, you can read part 1 here and part 2 here. If you don’t have access to the game yet and want the story to remain a surprise, now is the time to run away. You’ve been warned …

Still here? Great! Let’s get started!

Last you left off, you and Winston decided to travel to the Food Court to prepare for an en-route alligator chef. One small problem though … the Food Court is just beyond the park entrance and well, the park entrance is in shambles. Requiring some assistance, you call Harper for help. Unfortunately, Elias didn’t mention that she was on vacation. Not wanting to disrupt her personal time, you and Winston tell Harper that you’ll find a way to manage on your own. Time for plan B.

With Harper away, Winston goes to fetch someone else who can help. That person being … Dez? Like you, Dez thinks Winston is nuts for even thinking that he’d be capable of helping with a cleanup. But when Dez threatens to go back to his couch, Winston pulls just the right strings. Knowing that Dez doesn’t like the idea of you venturing further into the island, Winston insists that if the park entrance isn’t cleaned up, you’ll have to find another way to the Food Court. Another way which is sure to lead even further into the park. Once Dez hears that, it doesn’t take long for him to change his tune.

When you, Winston, and Dez clean up the rubble near the park entrance, you discover two vases and two shards of metal. Upon closer inspection, you realize the shards of metal seem to match the pattern on the floor. You successfully place both in their respective positions, but you’re still missing one piece. Luckily, Dez knows exactly where it is. Turns out he was using it to level his couch. Once you place the final metal shard within the pattern on the floor, both the floor and the two vases you found earlier start glowing. Looks like it’s time to take a closer look at those vases.

Buried in the vases you find a case which contains two seeds. The question is, how do you open it? Since the case and the two vases have the same pattern on them, Winston thinks there might be a connection. If you repair the vases, perhaps the case will open.

In the process of fixing the vases, Dez finds some banners and other decorations. They look fairly new, which makes Winston question whether Elias had plans to reopen the park. Dez says that he probably did … until he found out about the (and then trails off). Sick of Dez hiding the truth, Winston pressures him to share what he knows. Unfortunately, Dez comes up with “Tropical Theme Park Island Taxes” as his excuse. Seems Dez is a tough cat to crack.

After hanging up the new decorations (which Wizard101 players will instantly recognize), Dez gets back to repairing the vases. As soon as he does, the seeds pop out of the box … almost as if they WANT to be planted. Although they burst to life after you plant and water them, they don’t grow as much as you expected. Winston believes there’s more to this mystery. Upon taking a closer look at the spiral pattern on the floor you fixed earlier, you notice a gaping hole in the middle. Winston thinks some type of large gemstone might fit there. Dez seems to immediately remember seeing a gemstone somewhere but then retracts his thoughts. After Winston threatens to search further in the island for one, Dez changes his tune once again. He states that he recalls seeing one and will venture out to get it. Winston offers to help, but Dez declines. A visibly worried Dez then travels further into the island alone.

Dez eventually makes it back to the shore, but not without problems. It appears someone … or something … was chasing and/or attacking him on his way back. He’s a bit rattled, but did get the gemstone in the process. Winston congratulates Dez on a job well done and places the gemstone in its rightful place. As soon as that’s complete, the plants instantly sprout into full form. They’re a bit unusual though. They seem to have faces. Very odd and expressive faces.

You, Dez, and Winston will investigate them further – right after a quick coffee break! That’s right, the park entrance area isn’t complete just yet. The game’s “coffee break” is equivalent to an intermission. Part 2 of the park entrance storyline will be available in the next update. In the meantime, what do you think of those weird plants?!