Cassette Block
| Cassette Blocks | |
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| Other names |
Alternating Blocks Rhythm Blocks |
| Found in |
1 • 2 • 3 4 • 5 • 6 7 • 8 • 9 |
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| List of entities | |
Cassette Blocks (also known as Rhythm Blocks) are blocks that appear in all A-Sides, all B-Sides and Farewell. They appear and disappear every two beats, either accordingly to an 8-bit version of the level's track (found in Madeline's Grab Bag), or 07 • Final Defiance (in Farewell). The blocks, when visible, act as any other block; however, when not, a dimmed version of the block is drawn in the background, and Madeline will end up phasing through it. If she's inside the block, it will remain deactivated even if it would normally be solid, and allow the player to leave it freely. Cassette Blocks may also have spikes on them, which are colored identically to the block itself; they act the same as regular spikes. When deactivated, every block color has a unique line pattern to make them more distinguishable to people struggling with colorblindness.
Cassette blocks in A/B Sides
Both the A-Sides and B-Sides feature two block colors: blue and pink. They will alternate in a specific rhythm and the tempo is always the same. In A-Sides they can be found in rooms that feature the Cassette Tape required for the B-Sides. The rooms are usually rather short. Once the player collects the tape, the Rhythm Blocks deactivate for the rest of the chapter.
In B-Sides, Rhythm Blocks appear at the very end of the chapter, but instead of the tape, there's a Crystal Heart at the end of the room. They behave the same as in A-Sides and the design around them is similar as well, with the exception of Summit and Core where they also have spikes attached to them.
Every cassette room features an 8-bit remix of the chapter's theme, all of them having the same BPM (beats per minute).
Cassette blocks in Farewell
Farewell's 6th checkpoint, Stubbornness, features two more block colors: yellow and green. Due to there being more than two blocks, they go through the entire cycle, usually in the corresponding order: blue -> pink -> yellow -> green, starting over after passing green. If the last one isn't available, it instead ends at the yellow color and resets back to blue.
Unlike other chapters, in Farewell, Cassette Blocks alternate at different speeds, from normal to slower and faster. The music also changes to Final Defiance, and the blocks play an echo-y ticking sound instead of the usual clicking noise, creating a more gloomy atmosphere. They also don't happen at the very end of the chapter.
Trivia
- For a long time, yellow and green Cassette Blocks were in the game files, but they remained unused until the release of Farewell.
- In the game, the ticking noises depend on the tempo of the blocks, however in the Celeste: Farewell OST they play at a specific tempo depending on the music progression.
- In the initial release, cassette spikes didn't change their color depending on the block they're attached to and they were disappearing once the block became inactive, but it ended up being changed in version 1.2.5.0.
- Other types of spikes also change their colors, however in the vanilla game, only the default ones are shown.
- If you stay inside a block through the entire cycle, it will start moving up by a pixel on every beat, allowing the player to mess up its position. This quirk is unintended. It can be easily done in the Forsaken City cassette room.
- If you jump as soon as the block pops up, Madeline will get an extra bounce as she jumps. It's caused by the popping up animation giving her additional momentum. It can be easily done from both sides, if you stand inside a deactivated block, wait for it to become "solid" and buffer a jump when leaving it.