The boss in Episode 4 of Noki Bay, the eel, has a number of unique mechanics.
This article focuses exclusively on explaining those mechanics.
In the next article, I’ll go over how to approach the RTA (Real-Time Attack) run using this mechanical understanding.
This is the state where the eel is waiting at the seafloor before Mario approaches.
In this state, the eel only produces bubbles and does not rise over time or take any other actions.
The transition to the next state occurs only when Mario approaches the center.
In this state, the eel keeps its mouth closed, but you can still clean its teeth normally.
Because of this, as long as you stay away from the center, you can clean as many teeth as you want from a distance.
However, due to a mechanic explained later regarding the back teeth, you can only clean up to 6 teeth in this state: 4 front teeth, the gold tooth, and 1 back tooth.
After transitioning from the initial state, the eel begins to rotate and then ascends.
During this first transition, the rotation duration is fixed, and the direction of rotation (clockwise or counter-clockwise) is determined randomly.
Because of this, you can predict the location of the gold tooth just by watching the direction the eel spins.
In contrast, for non-initial waiting states, both the duration and direction of rotation are randomly determined.
This is the main phase during which you clean the eel’s teeth.
After a certain amount of time, it transitions to the suction phase.