Solstice Yard

**Current Stage: Solstice Yard**

*Previous Stage: Fairy Forest | Next Stage: Capital City*

3. Infiltrate the Base

4. Rescue Rena

5. Defeat Artificer Joules

The **Solstice Yard** is the fifth and penultimate world of Grapple Force Rena. It is a frozen, ruinous landscape that houses Joules' underground laboratory.

In the story of Grapple Force Rena, Rena heads to the Solstice Yard in the hopes of finding out where the Capital is producing hollows. She meets Arlet, who tells her that his father is being kept in the same lab that the hollows are being made, and asks Rena to free him. When Rena enters the lab, she finds Joules, Arlet's father, but is not aware that Joules is the person she is meant to find. Joules, who is in turn unaware that Rena has saved his son, captures Rena for experimentation. Sometime later, Arlet comes into contact with Pine and shows her the lab that Rena is inside, so Pine jumps down to save her. Before she is captured by Joules, Arlet enters the lab, destroys the Hollow Forge, and reunites with his father. Joules, now understanding the full extent of the situation, frees Rena and all the other bound artifact users.

## Course 5-1

The first course begins in a snowy, ruinous area. There are many brick structures and some trees in the landscape, but nobody appears to actually live in the region. There are also platforms in the level that are very icy, and if Rena steps on them, she slides around. Rena's goal is to grab yellow "fruits" off of parts of the level and give them to a mysterious traveler named Paiya. The level itself is a fetch-quest; Rena has to collect fifteen "fruits" scattered around the level and toss them into Paiya's minecart. The minecart can be dragged left and right along the bottom of the level, but it must be taken back to Paiya with enough "fruits" in it to complete the level. Despite the player only needing fifteen "fruits", there are actually twenty-five in the entire stage, and nabbing all of them earns the player the "Stack 'em up! 'Fruits'" achievement.

## Course 5-2

Course 5-2 takes place in a large, snowy area that is very similar in aesthetic to the previous level. There are icy platforms that Rena will slide around on and snow that must be cleared by sliding towards it at a fast speed. (Doing so actually gives the player the "Plowing Through" achievement. At the center of the level is a large metal door with red, green, and blue colored markings on it. Each of the markings on the door represents a lock that must be turned off by destroying a generator of the same color. The generators themselves can be destroyed in any order the player wants. The red and green generators spawn in various types of enemies that must be thrown back at it, and as the generator takes more damage, it begins to spawn stronger enemies. (For example, it starts by spawning in Propella Fellas, but then moves to spawning in Hollow Champions when near death.) The green generator is in a horizontal room, and the red one is in a vertical room. The blue generator must be destroyed in a different way, however. When Rena enters the room with the generator, a large miniboss called the No. 1 Fan appears from the top of the room to fight Rena. The No. 1 Fan acts like a giant Big Fan; it blows Rena to the far-left end of the room and tries to crush her with black blocks. The only way to damage it is by picking up the icicles that constantly reappear on the top of the miniboss arena and throw them at the miniboss. Once all the generators are destroyed, the player must head back to the large door.

## Course 5-3

The next level (as well as the remaining levels in the Solstice Yard) take place in Joules' underground lab. The lab is packed with heavy industrial equipment moving in both the foreground and background, and there are shelves with various books and chemicals on them. The goal of this stage is to reach the center of the lab, where the hollows are created. Along the way to that area, the player must fight their way through all of Joules' security, which consists not only of hollows, but also many other miscellaneous hazards as well. The most obvious hazards are the mini-pylons that generate electricity between them and the lasers that fire down at a consistent rate. There are also explosive crates littered around the area, which the Scoops and Pushers can throw at or push onto Rena to deal lots of damage to her. There are also several locked doors throughout the facility which require Rena to find golden keys and toss them into locks near the door to progress. The last door requires three keys to be opened, though there are four in the nearby area. Taking one extra key to the end of the level awards the player the "Key to Victory" achievement. Finally, at one point in the level, the player is given a piece of a Hollow Soldier that Rena can fit into and wear like a costume. This allows Rena to sneak past hollow without being caught, but it limits her movement and grappling abilities.

## Course 5-4

The fourth stage of the world takes place in the lab again with the exact same goal, but this time, the player controls Pine. Many of the same enemies and hazards from the previous level are present in this one as well, but there are also a couple of new objects to interact with, both of which are similar to objects in previous levels. There are the yellow trampolines, which act like the giant green mushrooms from the Fairy Forest, and the yellow panels, which are very similar to the blue panels in the Glass Caverns that propel the player upward. Other than these new objects, and a different layout, this level is similar to the previous one.

## Course 5-5

Course 5-5 returns to the pattern of having the final level in each world be a boss fight; this time, the player, as Pine, must fight Artificer Joules in the center of the laboratory. During the battle, Joules will use copies of all the bound artifacts. He is constantly flying around the room using the Booster Wings, and he will use the Arm Cannon and the Royal Sword as his two main attacks. Later on in the fight, he will utilize the Portal Gloves to attack Pine from new angles. If he accidentally hits himself with his own attack, then the player gets the "Stop Hitting Yourself!" achievement. The final artifact, the Grapple Bracelets, will only be used when the player tries to charge up Pine's magic attacks on Joules, so using magic is not recommended for the fight. The player's best opportunity to hit Joules is immediately after he misses an attack, seeing as he stops in place for a little bit after each attack. If the player is able to beat Joules without taking a single pip of damage, then they get the "Joules Shorted" achievement.

## Enemies

### Regular Enemies

* **Big Fan**: Big Fans blow the player towards the direction they're facing, even when being held.
* **Clingamajig**: Clingamajigs cling onto walls and fire bullets at the player.
* **Cool Bomb**: Cool Bombs stroll up to the player and explode, killing themselves in the process.
* **Hanging Sentry**: Hanging Sentries hang from the ceiling and fire on the player from above.
* **Hollow Champion**: Hollow Champions are like the Hollow Fencers, but they carry a shield with them that blocks objects from being thrown at them. When they are stripped of their shields, they behave just like Hollow Fencers.
* **Hollow Fencer**: Hollow Fencers wield swords with great efficiency. They are very quick to attack.
* **Hollow Sniper**: Hollow Snipers carry a gun and fire large, white bullets at the player.
* **Hollow Soldier**: Hollow Soldiers are the default enemy in Grapple Force Rena. They walk up to the player and damage them by punching them.
* **Hollow Vanguard**: Hollow Vanguards are like the Hollow Soldiers, but they carry a shield with them that blocks objects from being thrown at them. When they are stripped of their shields, they behave just like Hollow Soldiers.
* **Latcherator**: Latcherators cling onto walls and move up and down them. Their blades do damage to the player on contact.
* **Mace Face**: Mace Faces are bulky enemies that jump around and strike the player with their mace hands. The hands can be stripped away and throw back at them.
* **Neo Smilby**: Neo Smilbies are large enemies with rotating shields that slowly walk towards the player.
* **Propella Fella**: Propella Fellas fly around the screen and home in on players in their vicinity. When held by Rena, they allow her to jump up higher than normal and fall down slowly.
* **Pusher**: Pushers (also known as Shovers) push objects off of ledges.
* **Scoops**: Scoops pick up objects and other enemies and chuck them at the player.

### Minibosses

* **No. 1 Fan**: The No. 1 Fan acts like a giant Big Fan; it blows Rena to the far-left end of the room and tries to crush her with black blocks.