Prologue
| Prologue | |
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| Strawberries | None |
| Sides | Interlude |
| Characters |
• Madeline • Granny • Bird |
| Soundtrack |
Celeste OST: 01 • Prologue |
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Level navigation Prologue → Forsaken City | |
Prologue is the first level in Celeste, which starts automatically after creating the save. It introduces the four basic techs within the game: walking, jumping, climbing, and dashing. Madeline[1] and Granny, also known as the Old Woman, are this level's characters. The Bird is also introduced.
Three gameplay entities are introduced in this chapter: an Intro Crusher (a block which falls on its own), a collapsing bridge, and the (in)famous intro car.
Prologue isn't considered an A-Side, but instead an "interlude" chapter, similar to Epilogue. The chapter is not segmented into checkpoints but has a few spawn points throughout. It consists of 4 screens on the main path and 2 hidden screens. It is longer than Epilogue.
Plot[edit | edit source]
For the list of dialogues, check Prologue/Dialogues.
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This is it, Madeline. Just breathe. Why are you so nervous? Madeline, having just arrived at the foot at Celeste Mountain by car, is about to embark on a journey. She jumps across several pits, narrowly avoiding a falling block of ice. The Bird is then introduced; it teaches Madeline how to climb a wall vertically. After making it past a few bumpy hills, she arrives in front of a shack where an old woman, also known as Granny, lives. Madeline asks her whether she is on the right trail or not. After the woman confirms this, the mountain climber asks about the collapsing driveway. The old woman starts laughing, claiming that the mountain might be "too much" for Maddy, but she stays determined and states that she'll be fine. Granny then warns her that Celeste Mountain is a strange place, where she might end up seeing crazy things, but Madeline ignores her. As Madeline steps onto the bridge, it starts collapsing under her feet. Madeline barely manages to make it alive as she jumps across falling pieces, while the music intensifies and introduces the "Madeline" leitmotif. Yet, the bridge ends up destroying to the point where she can no longer reach the other side. After Madeline makes a leap of faith, time stops, and the bird reappears, teaching the mountain climber how to dash to save herself. Madeline starts panting as soon as she dashes to the other side. The camera scrolls upwards towards the night sky, and the text "You can do this." appears. Subsequently, the player is returned to the map screen with Chapter 1 unlocked. |
Speedrun strategies[edit | edit source]
It is impossible to dash during the prologue, except in the end cutscene. Therefore, the only way to progress quicker than walking is via bunnyhopping and cornerboosting throughout the level. It's also possible to skip the dash cutscene right when Madeline stops falling.
Trivia[edit | edit source]
- Upon release, the final dash cutscene wasn't meant to be skippable, yet speedrunners found an exploit requiring frame-perfect menu management to save time. The devs made it skippable in version 1.2.6.0 to remove the need for a very precise and tedious skip at the beginning of the speedrun.
- The original skip also allowed skipping the "You can do this" text following the dash cutscene. This was removed because the developers wanted to remind speedrunners that they can do it, as a message of encouragement.
- Cheat Mode can be activated from Prologue by going to the intro car room and inputting a certain code.
- Prologue has a hidden "bird room" located above the starting screen. It contains birds that fly away when Madeline nears them, and has no practical use.
Celeste base game chapters
- ↑ She appears earlier during the save creation screen.