Farewell

 Farewell

Farewell
Madeline holding a jellyfish
Chapter	9
Strawberries	1  • 1
Sides	A-side only
Characters	• Madeline  • Badeline  • Granny  • Bird  • Theo (in a video call)
Soundtrack	Celeste: Farewell OST: 01  •   The Empty Space Above 02  •   Fear of the Unknown 03  •   Joy of Remembrance 04  •   In Stasis 05  •   Crash 06  •   Beyond the Heart 07  •   Final Defiance 08  •   Futility 09  •   Reconciliation 10  •   Farewell 11  •   The Woman and the Bird 12  •   Vovô e Vovó 13  •   wavedash.ppt
Level navigation Core ← Farewell

Farewell is both the final chapter of Celeste, as well as the longest and hardest. Released on September 9, 2019, as free DLC (update 1.3.0.0), it features a space-themed setting, and various new mechanics such as 2-Dash Refills, Pufferfish and Jellyfish, alongside mechanics from every other chapter mixed in.

Farewell introduces Wavedashes to the player, but also uses other tech such as Wallbounces. Unlike all other main chapters in Celeste, only one side in the vanilla game is present due to the developers not wanting to split up the experience. It is initially unlocked as soon as 8A is completed, but more than half of the chapter's checkpoints are gated off by a Crystal Heart Gate requiring fifteen hearts to open.

Madeline and Badeline play major roles throughout the entire chapter. The Bird becomes a central character and gameplay mechanic as opposed to its use in chapters 1-8, with Granny playing a significant narrative role, forming part of the backbone of the plot behind Chapter 9. Theo makes an appearance in the ending cutscene.

Plot

Start through Remembered

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The beginning of Chapter 9 is the same as the end of Summit C-Side. Madeline lands on a grassy platform, one which (previously) would lead up to a crystal heart. As Madeline approaches Granny, a cutscene trigger occurs, and Granny turns into a gravestone. Lightning strikes, and the pink tree in the background loses all its leaves. The weather turns from sunny to gloomy, representing the sudden, unexpected shift in the plot's tone. Madeline reacts in a very sad tone but also shows hints of anger. “Granny... I can't believe you're gone, you old bat.” ~ Madeline Badeline then appears, confronting Madeline about how she never attended Granny's funeral (presumably sometime between the events of Chapter 8 and Chapter 9); Madeline fell apart when she received the news so she couldn't handle it. The Bird then lands on the gravestone, signaling its presence. It then starts flying away, and Madeline starts chasing it via two Badeline orbs and three clouds. The second Badeline orb launches Madeline into space. Badeline becomes confrontational during their ascent; Madeline explains that she's chasing the bird because it's a part of Granny. Badeline explains that Madeline is in denial and that it's just an ordinary bird. Fear of the Unknown starts playing after this cutscene. “Uhh... we're really high up.” ~ Badeline Badeline then confronts Madeline again as she lands on a moon block platform in space, asking how she can breathe here. Madeline rejects her attempts at convincing her, becoming aggressive, and eventually telling her other part to leave. From this point onwards, Madeline only has one dash instead of two, but is much more determined than usual. After navigating through various rooms containing various new elements, such as Jellyfish, and older objects, such as Dream Blocks, Madeline arrives at a large room where the bird can be seen; the Power Source room. As it flies upwards, it seals five key blocks behind, forcing Madeline to retrieve five keys (or skip it entirely). Navigating upwards using the Red Bubble in the room, after all keys are unlocked, will lead to another room, where the skies will turn into a paler shade of (albeit mystic) blue. Joy of Remembrance starts playing, suggesting that Granny is just around the corner. After making it through many more rooms, Madeline makes it to a gray Crystal Heart, named "Empty Space". The heart collection sound resembles the C-Side (golden) heart collection sound. Spoiler Upon collecting the crystal heart, the music starts glitching out (mildly), and the Bird flies by, making it across the screen left to right. Madeline then realizes that even though the "level" (per se) is over, she could still try going on, to chase down the bird. “Wait no... this can't be the end.” ~ Madeline Madeline then forcibly shatters the heart, and recalls how Granny must still be "somewhere out there". She becomes even more determined than before. As Madeline continues right towards the Event Horizon checkpoint, the room starts glitching out, and the background turns into a black hole for a fraction of a second. In Stasis starts playing.

Event Horizon & Determination

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The bird can be seen nearby as Madeline arrives at the Event Horizon checkpoint. However, as she continues to give chase, the level becomes increasingly glitchier, with "glitch tiles" (forest green, checkerboard-like tiles with a paler green outline) spawning and moon rock tiles falling off. A Crystal Heart Gate falls in front of Madeline once she reaches (relatively) solid ground again; going past this gate requires that she either skips the gate, or has 15 crystal hearts. The next room contains an Internet café and an intro car. Entering the Internet café will allow Madeline to turn on what looks like a large computer; this computer runs BerryOS, a parody of Windows 95, and features a very similar boot jingle. A file named "wavedash.ppt" will be opened; this presentation teaches Madeline about how to wavedash; 13  •   wavedash.ppt plays during this presentation. At the right of the café is a training zone, complete with a silhouette of Madeline performing the required moves; completing these requires both wavedashing and wallbouncing. Soon after, the Bird can be found again; reaching it requires a wavedash, exactly like how the presentation foreshadowed it. The Bird manages to force Madeline off itself, and subsequently flies away, leaving Madeline alone on another platform. The mountain climber wonders whether her other part was right, but her determination ultimately soars through. Another strike of thunder turns the level's theme into the "glitch" state permanently, complete with a black hole in the background. “Well, we don't need their help, right Granny? Don't worry, I won't give up on you! I'll catch that stupid bird and set you free.” ~ Madeline Beyond the Heart starts playing, and the difficulty spikes considerably past this point. Elements from all previous chapters are now integrated; none of Chapter 9's "new" elements are included, minus double diamonds; however, zippers have been reskinned from their Chapter 1 appearance, and spinning blades (from Chapter 5) now appear as spinning stars. A short section at the end of Event Horizon features Madeline, in feather form, chasing after the bird; however, it escapes again, leading to Determination. Determination is almost a continuation of Event Horizon, but it reintroduces even more elements into the game, such as wind. At the end of the final room of the chapter, a feather gauntlet, is a Badeline orb, which boosts you into Stubbornness and into another cutscene with Badeline. Throughout both Event Horizon and Determination, the black hole in the background becomes darker and darker.

Stubbornness

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As Madeline lands and sees Badeline again, she claims that she doesn't need her help. Badeline attempts to ask Maddy why she is still chasing the bird, but Madeline's determination starts pushing itself even further. “All that matters is finding Granny. Then maybe I can bring her home... even if the whole universe is against me.” ~ Madeline Badeline attempts to convince her that she is dreaming and that none of the events of Chapter 9 are real. Madeline, however, continues to deny this, claiming that Granny will "disappear forever" if she wakes up. She then lashes out at her other self, claiming that she wants her to disappear, and calls her selfish. Badeline attempts to reason with her, stating that she needs to "take a step back", but Madeline continues to turn against her; this ends up with Badeline merely wishing her "good luck" prior to vanishing again. Badeline was attempting to help her; internally, this scene is known as "Helping Hand". “We're in space chasing a mysterious bird. None of this is real. You're dreaming.” ~ Badeline The music Final Defiance, which is much more monotonous and empty than the previous tracks, and which merely consists of a beat normally reserved for Cassette Tape rooms overlaid over an ambient track, plays throughout this chapter. Most moon rock tiles have been replaced with glitch tiles, representing just how far Madeline's determination is pushing her. The subsequent rooms consist uniquely of Cassette Block gauntlets, some with three or four colors instead of strictly two. The first room of Reconciliation is the final Cassette Tape room. Throughout Stubbornness, the black hole in the background becomes darker and darker, until it is almost pitch black.

Reconciliation & Farewell

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Madeline finally manages to trap and catch the Bird in the first room of Reconciliation. A tune, 09  •   Futility, plays as both Madeline and the Bird end up collapsing into some moon rock. Madeline then interrogates the bird, trying to know where Granny is, but it ends up solely making a cry of pain. She then freaks out, but the bird manages to get back up; Maddy apologizes, attempts to chase after it again, and fails to do so. Her determination leads even further, leading her to contemplate leaving the mortal plane to rejoin Granny. “If you have to go, then... take me with you.” ~ Madeline, to the Bird Badeline then reappears, telling her to stop. Maddy reiterates how much Granny means to her and starts wondering how her other self can cope with Granny's passing so easily. Badeline then states that it wasn't easy, but she wants to, alongside Maddy, survive this, and not be stuck in Farewell forever. Madeline finally breaks down, acknowledging that she can't bring Granny back and that chasing the bird is futile at best. Badeline then tells her that she should "wake up" and face this, but Maddy can't because the bird is still stuck inside a maze of obstacles. She suggests setting things right first by setting it free. Badeline agrees but reiterates that she wishes to leave this place afterward. “This place is so weird...” ~ Badeline Madeline then starts venturing off to free the Bird. Elements from the first four subsections of Farewell, such as Jellyfish, return. The black hole in the background turns brighter, from black to purple, and eventually to magenta pink. Badeline, even though she hasn't "merged" back with Madeline to give her a permanent double dash, helps intermittently via her Purple Orbs, and the Bird now can also launch Madeline rightwards, helping her as well. Several rooms with electrical boxes must be cleared of electricity, allowing the Bird to proceed. Badeline then returns to encourage Madeline as they arrive at the final screen, aptly named Farewell, typically taking about two minutes to complete. If Madeline dies too many times during this final room, Badeline asks Maddy if she's okay, and encourages her yet again. Upon completion, Badeline will ask her to say goodbye on her behalf before boosting her one final time. “Say goodbye to [Granny] for me.” ~ Badeline

Post-Chapter

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Madeline at the computer talking to Theo. Madeline lands on some clouds, presumably in heaven. She gets excited when she sees Granny, but she does end up commenting about how she is in a dream. Granny refutes her point. “So what? That didn't stop you from coming all this way. You finally found me, and now you care that it's just a dream?” ~ Granny Madeline then apologizes for not attending her funeral, to which Granny starts laughing, stating that funerals are for "all you suckers stuck living without me". The mountain climber then continues to confess her feelings, saying that she misses her, but as she attempts to approach Granny, the latter fades into dust. Madeline then wonders how she's going to make it through. As the screen fades to white: "Like you aren't... gone forever?" This is the first time Madeline demonstrates fear since she was first propelled into space. (Later, after Madeline wakes up...) Celia and Carlos at Celeste Mountain. Madeline is on a video call with Theo. She apologizes for having vanished for quite some time and says that she's finally coming to terms with Granny's passing. Theo agrees, stating that he misses her a lot, but suddenly interrupts things to say that he remembered something: a photo of Theo's grandpa, Carlos, with Granny, at Celeste Mountain. It is then revealed that they were friends and shared the mountain. Several easter eggs in this cutscene are present, but most notably, Madeline is revealed to be trans during this cutscene. A small trans flag can be seen at the right of Madeline's mechanical keyboard, alongside a pride (rainbow) flag.

Gameplay

This section is still a work in progress!

Start

Aside from a few trivial clouds and floating platforms, the first checkpoint doesn't feature any gameplay. It mainly serves as a plot-development chapter introducing much of what makes Farewell itself; see #Plot for details.

Singular

The Golden Strawberries can be found at the start of this checkpoint. The first room introduces the Double-Dash Crystal, an object that gives the player two dashes, albeit only once (Madeline only gets 1 dash back when touching the ground). The first three rooms of the checkpoint are fairly straightforward, but the next three are much harder, rivaling the difficulty of many C-Side rooms. This is likely because the developers wanted to dissuade people from trying Farewell before their skill level is high enough.

In the seventh room, the player is introduced to Pufferfish, also known as "Exploding Fish" after their primary property. The second half of this checkpoint includes many rooms that showcase the various properties of the fish.

Power Source

At the start of this checkpoint, the game introduces Jellyfish to the player. The first room has a noticeable split path. The top one is intended for speedrunners, as it requires a wavedash to pass, and the game has not taught the player wavedashes yet. Then, there are a few more rooms teaching the player properties of the jellyfish, and then the player reaches a huge room with electricity everywhere. A red bubble appears, and the player must find 5 keys to clear the path for the red bubble to travel upwards. Once the player finds their way through the maze and clears out the electricity, they gain access to five rooms, each with a key at the end. These rooms further teach the player various techniques with the jellyfish. Taking the red bubble upward and out of the maze ends this checkpoint.

Remembered

When the player reaches this checkpoint, the background turns from a dark indigo to a lighter blue and the music changes. They must clear a new gauntlet of rooms, most containing a jellyfish or an exploding fish. These rooms are very difficult, even harder than most B-side rooms. The end of the checkpoint is marked by a fake gray Crystal Heart, entitled "Empty Space".

Event Horizon

At the start of this checkpoint, the game starts glitching, with the background briefly flickering to a dark void. In the very first room, the player is greeted with a Heart Gate, requiring 15 hearts to pass (so the player must collect all 8 blue hearts and must complete all the B-sides except 8B). However, it is bypassable. In the second room, the player reaches the "Internet Café", which shows them a humorous presentation teaching them how to wavedash. Next, they must clear three tutorial sections, where there is an image of Madeline on the screen showing the player exactly how to complete them. After catching the bird, lightning strikes, and the level permanently enters the "glitch" state. After this, the levels utilize mechanics throughout essentially every previous chapter (although not including the jellyfish and exploding fish), and are ever more difficult.

Determination

This checkpoint is essentially a continuation of the previous checkpoint, Event Horizon. Both checkpoints involve various gameplay mechanics, utilizing almost every mechanic introduced to them throughout the game in new and creative ways. This checkpoint and Event Horizon are considered the most difficult checkpoints in Farewell.

Stubbornness

When the player reaches this checkpoint, the background becomes darker and the music becomes quiet and ominous. The player is re-introduced to the cassette blocks from the B-sides, except this time, there are 4 different colors instead of two. The player then must complete a series of challenges based on the new cassette blocks. The last three rooms feature a different tempo than the default, which is the first time in the game this has occurred. This checkpoint is relatively short compared to the other checkpoints in the chapter, only containing 7 rooms.

Reconciliation

Continuing off the previous checkpoint, the first room is another cassette block screen. However, it ends with the player catching the bird again, and after a discussion with Badeline, the background lights up. The player must now clear a long series of levels, and they are reintroduced to the Jellyfish and Exploding Fish, mechanics not seen since the Remembered checkpoint. The first half of the checkpoint is a relative break in difficulty, although these levels are not "free" by any means. The second half introduces some harder rooms utilizing these mechanics. The background vortex gradually gets lighter as the player advances, ending in a bright pink. Meanwhile, the music also progresses through four stages, each more intense than the last.

Farewell

This checkpoint only consists of a single room (excluding secrets), but it is the longest room in the game. Players can expect to take between 1.5 and 2 hours to complete this room for the first time. There are Skull Binoculars that let the player see some of the room. The level begins with the player holding the jellyfish and being flung by the exploding fish (which, coincidentally, is the first instance in the entire game where jellyfish and exploding fish are used in the same room). Then, the player must navigate through a series of electricity and jellyfish barriers and be careful not to let the jellyfish touch the barriers. The player gets flung by the bird, and then they grab onto another jellyfish, and then wind appears. After a short series of obstacles, the wind starts pushing the player straight up. This allows the player to float in the updraft with the jellyfish. Thus, the player can move in any direction by pressing the corresponding movement keys. They must avoid a series of obstacles, then release the jellyfish to trigger touch switches surrounded by electricity. Afterwards, they finally reach the last Power Box, which they can break. After that, the player is flung by the bird, starting a series of boosts from it and Badeline eventually leading to a feather climb into the final Badeline boost, finally ending this extremely long chapter.

This checkpoint is also the location of the Moon Berry.

Music

Main article: Celeste: Farewell OST

Unlike all prior chapters, Farewell has its own OST album, composed of thirteen distinct tracks (six serving as the primary soundtrack for this level). Additionally, their leitmotifs are quite distinct from earlier chapters, because the chapter takes place in space.

Speedrun strategies

Power Source Key Skip

See also: Farewell Golden Strawberry strategy guide

Taking a previous jelly into the Power Source hub allows you to do a jellyvator through the tight gap into the small hole with the electric box. This speeds up the electricity removal, but it's only a part of this speedrun strategy. Dying means having to take a slower route to unlock another jellyfish.

After the player has collected the double dash, they can jump off the floating platforms with the jellyfish, and get to the top route, where normally they'd have to collect a key. After that, they need to stay in the middle of the small hole next to the spikes, jump, throw the jellyfish into the tight tunnel, quickly move back to the red bubble, and regrab the jelly by dashing upwards into it before it goes too low. It allows the player to completely ignore the need to collect any of the keys and go through a secret path on the right which takes them straight into Remembered (the next checkpoint).

Crystal Heart Gate Skip

If the player starts at the beginning of the giant piece of ground with the falling heart gate, it's possible to do a superdash into a wavedash off of the sticking out 2 tile block to dodge the gate. It saves a lot of time, as the player doesn't have to wait for the opening animation to end, however, due to the required quick reactions, it may be risky for challenges such as a golden strawberry run.

The skip can be done without collecting 15 typically required Crystal Hearts. However, the gate's there to warn casual players that the chapter will get a significant difficulty increase, and they might not be ready for it yet.

Oil Skip

The Oil Skip allows to have 2 dashes through most of the chapter (up until Stubbornness), making it much easier and faster. Typically the ability to regain two dashes upon touching the ground is removed after the dialogue with Badeline in space. The Oil Skip circumvents this trigger.

Golden Strawberry strategies

Main article: Farewell Golden Strawberry strategy guide

Farewell's golden strawberry, often abbreviated to FWG (for "Farewell Golden"), is for most the hardest to collect: as such, it is often considered the 202nd and final strawberry in the game. The number of people who have Farewell's golden strawberry is so limited that there is a list of people having obtained the Farewell Golden Berry in existence.

Secrets

Debug Mode Room

In the first room, it's possible to teleport to the very right side through Debug Mode, which will show a giant box with the text "DEBUG MODE :)", an intro car, and a bunch of other decals at the top, as well as a snake made out of red and green bubbles. If the player goes back to the left, they can activate a secret dialog in which Granny says: "I see you have discovered Debug Mode". This is because the player doesn't activate a trigger that's right before reaching Granny, which changes the room's appearance.

Hidden Intro Car

In the falling pillar room of Remembered, there's a small hidden area in the top-right that can be reached if the player takes a jellyfish from the previous room. It will reveal a little room with a hidden intro car.

Kevin Room

Main article: Kevin Room ARG

The final room of Event Horizon features a small hidden area that can be accessed by going left when the player starts going up with the feathers towards the end. The small house is an ARG (alternate reality game) puzzle managed by Kevin Regamey himself.

The ARG reveals various images and hints that had to be opened through a spectrogram in a specific way. If the glitch files are put together in the proper order, it would reveal a big list of nicknames of people notable in the Celeste community.

Demodash Room

In Determination, the vertical star room has a hidden entrance in the right path that takes the player to a small, seemingly impossible room with walls of crystal spinners that can only be passed through with demodashes. This room was meant to be a homage to the demodash, a major speedrunning trick discovered after releasing the game. It's also meant to be an alternate, slightly faster route to reach the next room. Since entering the room is tricky and failing can cause a lot of time loss, this route is underused in normal speedruns, apart from TAS or challenge runners.

Moon Berry

After breaking the final power box, the player can go to the left, which allows them to jump off the floating blocks scattered around the massive room. They will reveal an alternate path to a secret room in which the player has to perform a spawn exploit (die) to reach the next room, which is a long jellyfish challenge room. Upon reaching the very end, the player will find a few floating platforms and the Moon Berry floating right above them. After getting it, they can use the Badeline orb to get to the ending cutscene, or the golden strawberry room if they are carrying a golden strawberry.

Golden Strawberry Room

Main article: Farewell Golden Strawberry strategy guide

If the player finishes the final room while also holding a golden strawberry, they will be taken to the "true" final room with a unique appearance. The golden room is known for having a yellow/gold color grading and the wavedash.ppt music playing. It is meant to be a sort of surprise for everyone who's going for the hardest golden strawberry, however, the room is very forgiving and it has several watchtowers that allow the player to check and analyze the obstacles that they have to face. Despite being an extra challenge, it's meant to be beatable through sight reading, without practicing. Thus, the real challenge is if a person can handle the immense stress that this room gives. If the player reaches the very top, they will find a Badeline orb that takes them to the ending cutscene, and a green flag referencing the end of the PICO-8 version of Celeste.

Trivia

• Despite Farewell being possible to play before Summit C-Side, the chapter starts at the very end of 7C. This might have been a leftover or a reference to the chapter, as formerly Farewell was meant to be a post-game chapter available only after finishing every C-Side. This idea was scrapped later in development, as the developers wanted more people to be able to play it.
  • Farewell was meant to be only a pack of difficult rooms at first before Maddy figured out a story for the chapter and added more rooms. It's speculated that the original version was meant to have only Event Horizon, Determination, and Stubbornness as their checkpoints.
  • In the game files, Farewell is referred to as "LostLevels", as it was initially supposed to be a hidden pack of various challenges. This is a reference to Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels (known as Super Mario Bros. 2 in Japan). This is not the first time a Mario game has been referenced in Celeste: Golden Ridge's Crystal Heart references Super Mario Bros. 3.
• The green flag in the Golden Room and its sound reference the Celeste Classic's summit flag.
• If the player manages to reach the Moon Berry room while also holding a golden berry, it will temporarily detach from them and move to the next spawnpoint, as the player has to perform a death exploit to reach the next part of the challenge.
• The falling heart gate in Event Horizon is the only entity that can kill a player with invincibility active via Assist Mode or Variant Mode.
• In the main route (ignoring secrets and speedrun paths) are exactly 100 screens. A few screens contain multiple respawn points (e.g., the first two tutorial rooms in Event Horizon are technically a single screen), yet, they are counted only once.
• The final cutscene reveals a tiny pride flag and a trans flag hanging next to Madeline's computer, hinting that the protagonist might be transgender, which caught a lot of interest within the community. On November 6, 2020, Maddy Thorson confirmed that it is, indeed, true, on a Medium blog post.
• During the 1.3.3.x beta phase, the hidden Demodash room has undergone multiple changes to make the room a more accessible speed path. They ended up being reverted eventually, as most people found the original Demo room to be a well-hidden nod to the speedrun trick.
• The tool-assisted speedrun of Farewell with the Super dashing variant on clocks in below 4 minutes, thanks to a large variety of otherworldly glitches, exceeding the speed of light on multiple occasions.

Notes

Celeste base game chapters

• 

  Prologue

• 

  Forsaken City

• 

  Old Site

• 

  Celestial Resort

• 

  Golden Ridge

• 

  Mirror Temple

• 

  Reflection

• 

  Summit

• 

  Epilogue

• 

  Core

• 

  Farewell