Arid Flats

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**Arid Flats** is the game's second area, accessed by getting through The End. It's a large desert-like field with withered plants and surprisingly uneven terrain. Some of the area's downwards secrets are partially flooded with clean water. The area introduces the player to springs and three new enemies. First level of Arid Flats serves as a proper introduction to warp points, also known as the "ancestors' guts", which are used for the game's fast-travel system.

Arid Flats' main path consists of 20 levels. Main levels contain 20 regular tumors.

Arid Flats contain 14 secret levels, in which 7 mega tumors and 1 cartridge (Blaster Massacre) can be collected.

In level 5 of Arid Flats **Steven I** is hiding from the sun in a small cave.

## Mechanics

### Springs

Springs appear in many of Arid Flats' levels. Jumping on top of the spring allows Ash to bounce, getting much higher than he normally would. Holding the jump button results in a very tall jump (9 blocks), while bouncing on the spring normally results in smaller jumps.

## Enemies

Arid Flats are a home to three enemy types:

* Kukos (also known as Floaters) - spiky balls with one eye, floating in the wind. They come in two variations. Small ones are roughly the size of Ash, while fully grown ones are considerably larger. Big kukos don't appear often in this area. Both variations of kuko kill Ash on contact. Harmless baby kukos can also be seen around the area, especially in upwards secrets. They look like partially transparent one-eyed blobs, which inflate and float away when approached by Ash.
* Slags - spiky slug-like creatures slowly crawling from side to side, unbothered by Ash's presence. Touching them will kill Ash.
* Toasts (also known as Dois for the sound they make) - frog-like creatures with human skulls on their heads, which they use as a protective shell. They hop around and try to chase after Ash if they spot him. Toasts are the first "bouncy" enemy type encountered by Ash. Jumping on their skull shell lets Ash bounce off of them and holding the jump button when doing so will make him bounce higher. Touching a toast from the side of getting stomped on by one will kill Ash.

## Secret entrances

* Arid Flats 2 (downwards secret) - 1 level, 1 mega tumor. Accessed by walking through a fake wall under the left side of the central platform.
* Arid Flats 4 (upwards secret) - 1 level, 1 mega tumor. Accessed by bumping the right side of the tall pillar between two platforms with slags on them, getting one block to fall out of the pillar, and then climbing up.
* Arid Flats 6 (downwards secret) - 2 levels, 1 mega tumor, 1 NPC. Accessed by jumping into the narrow hole at the bottom of the level.
* Arid Flats 10 (upwards secret) - 2 levels, 1 mega tumor. Accessed by jumping to the right side of the level, waiting for a spring to float up from the bottom of the level, and using it to reach the cliff on the left.
* Arid Flats 12 (upwards secret) - 3 levels, 1 mega tumor, 1 key, 1 NPC. Accessed by grabbing onto the hook at the top of the level and then unlocking the gate it reveals with a key.
* Arid Flats 14 (downwards secret) - 1 level, 1 mega tumor. Accessed by jumping on the toast's head and dashing down into the breakable blocks in the floor.
* Arid Flats 17 (upwards secret) - 3 levels, 1 cartridge, 1 NPC. Accessed by reaching the right side of the level, waiting for a spring to drop from the top on the left, and using it to jump up.
* Arid Flats 20 (downwards secret) - 1 level, 1 mega tumor. Accessed by crawling into a small cave near the bottom of the level.

## Characters

Arid Flats has 7 NPCs. Click on "Open" to see their dialogue.

Steven I in Arid Flats 5, who allows Ash to access a challenge area in The Future, which contains the Denial cartridge;

**Skeleton in Arid Flats 1:**

```
oh hey . . .

them's the remains
of our ancestors
down there

their guts all
connect
underground

at night i
can hear them
. . .

whispering

. . .

HELP US!
WE ARE BURNING
IN HELL!

. . .
or something
like that

it's hard to
hear them over
my own screams

. . .

anyway
it's like some kinda
tunnel system

so when you
find a new one

just remove the
scab, hop in
and BOOM!

you're home!
```

**Skeleton in Arid Flats 6:**

```
shhhhh

. . .

there are others
. . .
close by

crazies
who believe in
what they call

THE ASCENSION

they hide
just out of view

some are above
. . .
some below

don't try and
find them

and definitely
never speak
to them

. . .

stick to the
linear path
kid

exploration can
only lead to
disappointment

i explored
myself once
. . .

and now i'm dead

. . .

think about it
```

**Skeleton in Arid Flats 7:**

```
pppsssstt

hey kid
. . .

ya ever wanna
grab corners
while running?

. . .

it's easy
. . .
all you gotta do is

be ducking
while you
are running

your body will
just snag on
the corner

everytime!

. . .

it's a classic
tactic i used
to use

to escape
. . .
from my urges

. . .

don't worry
. . .
we are nice now
```

**Descender blob in the secret below Arid Flats 6:**

```
one of us
one of us!

gooble-gobble
gooble-gobble!

one of us
one of us!
```

**Ascender blob in the secret above Arid Flats 12:**

```
oh god
i can
feel it!

i'm ascending!
it's happening!

i can
see
something!

it's . . .
it's
you

you are
waving goodbye
to someone

but
they aren't
waving back

. . .

you are scared
lost
and angry

becoming darker
and
darker

. . .

who
are
you?
```

**Ghost in the secret above Arid Flats 17:**

```
i may look cute
but really i'm the one
that haunts you!

i'm the one that
wakes you up
at night

with those past
memories you'd
like to forget

i'm the one
that reminds you
of your mistakes

i am death!

spooky huh?

really though
remember when you
got the phone call?

hahah!
ngotcha!

. . .

see you
in your
dreams!
```

## Trivia

* The theme for Arid Flats is a remix of Antonin Dvorak's New World Symphony.
* The Arid Flats theme has the most variations of any theme in the game: The in-game Arid Flats version, the in-game Gloom version, the OST version and the unused Arid Flats version.
* The chant of the descender blob found in the secret below Arid Flats 6 is a reference to the film "Freaks" from 1932.
* Springs are portrayed as mushrooms in the version of the level editor Edmund and Tyler used to make the game. This probably means they were originally supposed to look like bouncy mushrooms.
* There is a bug associated with springs, which reduces the height of the full bounce ever so slightly if you fast-fall onto the spring while holding the jump button.

## Gallery

### Gallery of Arid Flats' main levels

* Arid Flats 1
* Arid Flats 2
* Arid Flats 3
* Arid Flats 4
* Arid Flats 5
* Arid Flats 6
* Arid Flats 7
* Arid Flats 8
* Arid Flats 9
* Arid Flats 10
* Arid Flats 11
* Arid Flats 12
* Arid Flats 13
* Arid Flats 14
* Arid Flats 15
* Arid Flats 16
* Arid Flats 17
* Arid Flats 18
* Arid Flats 19
* Arid Flats 20

### Gallery of Arid Flats' secret levels

* Arid Flats 2 down 1
* Arid Flats 4 up 1
* Arid Flats 6 down 1
* Arid Flats 6 down 2
* Arid Flats 10 up 1
* Arid Flats 10 up 2
* Arid Flats 12 up 2
* Arid Flats 12 up 3
* Arid Flats 14 down
* Arid Flats 17 up 1
* Arid Flats 17 up 2
* Arid Flats 17 up 3
* Arid Flats 20 down

## Individual level pages

Links to individual level pages

* Arid Flats 1
* Arid Flats 2
* Arid Flats 3
* Arid Flats 4
* Arid Flats 5
* Arid Flats 6
* Arid Flats 7
* Arid Flats 8
* Arid Flats 9
* Arid Flats 10
* Arid Flats 11
* Arid Flats 12
* Arid Flats 13
* Arid Flats 14
* Arid Flats 15
* Arid Flats 16
* Arid Flats 17
* Arid Flats 18
* Arid Flats 19
* Arid Flats 20

## See also

* The End - the area which comes before Arid Flats.
* Overflow - the area which comes after Arid Flats.
* Gloom - the Future version of Arid Flats.