Forsaken City

Forsaken City 

Forsaken City
Chapter	1
Strawberries	20  • 3  • 1
Sides	1A  •  1B  •  1C
Characters	• Madeline  • Theo
Level navigation Prologue ← Forsaken City → Old Site

Forsaken City is the first chapter of Celeste. Preceded by the prologue and succeeded by Old Site, it introduces several core mechanics of the game, notably octadirectional dashes, red strawberries, red winged strawberries, and dash-refilling diamonds. Additionally, Theo is first introduced during this chapter.

Plot

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After crossing the collapsing bridge and narrowly escaping death, thanks to the Bird, Madeline arrives at the titular Forsaken City, an abandoned city apparently built by a mega-corporation, but where no one ended up settling. As Madeline continues to climb Forsaken City, which is filled with traffic-light blocks and city decor, she ends up finding Theo and meeting him for the first time. He is slightly hidden within the city's "main path", so meeting Theo isn't guaranteed. Theo ends up presenting himself in a much more flamboyant way, being in awe because of the city; he does end up rejoicing because of Madeline's presence. Her silence ends up scaring him to some degree though, to the point where he ends up calling her a "lone wolf type" prior to even knowing her name. Madeline then subsequently introduces herself, and states that she has "a lot on her mind". Theo reacts positively, saying that she couldn't have "come to a better place". She than asks where he comes from: apparently, Theo lives in Seattle. Madeline then talks about what she knows about the city itself. After Madeline asks Theo about why he is present at Mount Celeste, he answers that he "has a thing for abandoned places", and also considers himself a budding photographer, often posting online via InstaPix (a parody of Instagram). Madeline then states that she is heading for the summit, something that directly ends up telling Theo about how determined she is. Theo, on the other hand, mainly wants to explore the ruins around the mountain. He knows that he is doing something irresponsible, but then suppresses his "holding-back" instinct, saying "YOLOOOOOOOOO!!" Madeline then continues up the mountain, without Theo (for the moment), until she ends up reaching the Celeste Mountain Memorial, a memorial dedicated to those whom perished on the climb (towards the summit). Right beside, seeing an unlit campfire, and realizing how tired she is, she chooses to light up the campfire, put down her backpack and sleep for some time. The Bird makes a reappearance, landing on her head. She then contemplates whether her decision to climb the mountain was a mistake or no.

Gameplay

A-Side

Forsaken City A-Side
Level	1A
Strawberries	20  • 1  • 1
Soundtrack	Celeste OST: 02  •   First Steps

Forsaken City A-side  • B-side  • C-side

Forsaken City's A-Side serves as an introductory level to much of how the game works. Madeline, controlled by the player, is introduced to combining jumping, dashing and climbing in order to make it through various rooms. Strawberries, cassette tapes, crystal hearts, dash-refilling diamonds, and many other objects are all introduced here. Momentum is another core mechanic that is presented.

Three sub-chapters are present: Start, Crossing, and Chasm.

Start

The beginning of "Start" introduces the player to several basic mechanics. The second room introduces wall jumping, which occurs when Madeline jumps from one wall to another; it's the simplest way to climb without using stamina.

Zippers, also known as "traffic light blocks", first appear during the fourth room. Jumping too soon, whilst the block is moving, will result in Madeline being thrown into a wall of spikes; this is the player's first introduction to momentum. The next room after features a winged strawberry; dashing will result in it flying away, and as such, Madeline must jump on the disappearing platforms right of the berry in order to collect it. The subsequent room features a light shining at the left; it's the first occurence of a "berry room", a (hidden, off-center) room which contains a strawberry.

Springs, which bounce Madeline in the direction the spring is pointing towards, and smashable walls, which may be dashed into to remove, are also introduced here. Six strawberries are hidden within this subchapter.

Crossing

At the beginning of this subchapter, take the path left, and use the dash refill diamond to dash twice leftwards. This will lead into a room with a tent, where Theo is hiding. Diamonds refill your dash mid-air.

Later during this subchapter, falling ice blocks make a reappearance. 9 strawberries are hidden in this subchapter, and so is the Crystal Heart.

Chasm

The final subchapter contains several slightly more intricate uses of zippers. A Cassette Tape unlocking the B-Side can be found here.

Five strawberries are hidden within this subchapter.

B-Side

Forsaken City B-Side
Level	1B
Strawberries	1
Soundtrack	Celeste B-Sides: 01  •   First Steps (Sever the Skyline Mix) Remixed by Maxo

Forsaken City A-side  • B-side  • C-side

Forsaken City's B-Side builds upon the mechanics of the A-Side, presenting them in a more challenging way. No new objects are introduced in this chapter, but skull-shaped binoculars, present in later chapters, also appear. Zipper blocks are now no longer octadirectional, and now appear much more frequently and often with spikes on them.

The level follows approximately the same course as the A-Side, but continues slightly past the unlit campfire into a Cassette Block room. The red crystal heart, situated at the end of the room, is named "Sever the Skyline".

Three sub-chapters are present: Start, Contraption and Scrap Pit.

Strawberries

Main article: Forsaken City Collectibles

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The first strawberry is found on the second screen of the chapter, requiring the player to jump up using the spring and dashing up to reach it The second strawberry is found on the third screen, to collect it you have to jump off the block at the end of the room, collect the berry and then quickly dash up to avoid falling into spikes and grabbing a wall The third strawberry is located in the fourth room, it's a winged strawberry which means the player can't dash in the room with the berry, because then it will fly away off screen, to reach the berry without dashing madeline has to go on the crumbling blocks on the right side of the screen to reach the top without using the dash, there is also a speedrunning strategy, involving wallbouncing up the wall to collect the strawberry before it flies away The fourth strawberry can be found, to the left of the fifth room behind a small challange The fifth red berry is on top of screen 5, requiring the player to boost of off a zipper and then jump up a floating block