Groovy Long Legs: Difference between revisions

Groovy Long Legs
Appears in	Pikmin 4
Scientific name	Pseudoarachnia discopedes
Family	Arachnorb
Areas	None
Caves	Below-Grade Discotheque
Dandori Challenge stages	None
Dandori Battle stages	None
Attacks	Crush Pikmin, confuse Pikmin

Latest revision as of 16:31, October 25, 2024

The Groovy Long Legs (ダマグモインフェルノ^?, lit.: "Inferno Orb Spider") is a member of the Arachnorb family and only appears once as a boss in Pikmin 4. It is one of two bio-mechanical enemies seen in the game, with its carapace suggested to have been completely replaced with a spinning disco ball, with its numerous eyes serving as both photoelectric sensors and lights. The beast's four bony white legs are wrapped with strands that look similar to electrical wire and the second set of joints on all of its limbs have sets of four holes containing exocrine glands.

Like most Arachnorbs, the Groovy Long Legs attacks by stomping its four large feet around. This is where shared qualities end though, as the rest of its strategy involves spewing neurologically manipulating gasses below itself, which, when coming into contact with Pikmin, hypnotizes them to dance uncontrollably. It then switches the color of its eyes before speeding up the rhythm of its stomping in an attempt to squash anything afflicted by the chemicals underneath it.

In both size and mechanics, it resembles the Raging Long Legs, being an Arachnorb with a larger-than-average torso and an attack pattern that starts slow, but can speed up tremendously.

Stats[edit]

Weight	Max. carriers	Seeds	Value	Health
N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	11000

Behavior[edit]

The Groovy Long Legs will be passive upon first being encountered, hanging from a web on the ceiling with its main body close to the ground. In this state, its eyes shine a cyan light and a flickering speaker hum can be heard when standing close.

When attacked, the Groovy Long Legs will quickly descend from its web, breakdancing as it slams its body into the floor by swinging its legs into place, knocking back the player character, Pikmin, or Oatchi. At this point, the music plays the opening boss battle theme before being replaced with the creature's own electronic music.

During the battle, the Groovy Long Legs stomps to the beat of its own theme, with these stomps being its method of killing Pikmin. At times during the fight, it will stop to spray pink gas beneath it from holes in the lower joints of its legs; this is preceded by four smaller clouds of gas as it preps its attack, acting as a warning. Pikmin sprayed by this gas will fall under the control of the beast, a process referred to by Olimar as the "Endless Dance," and will stay frolicking beneath the creature aimlessly. Unlike other hazards in the game, such as fire and ice, attempting to whistle your Pikmin does not free them from the effects of the gas (similar to the spores released by the Puffstool found in Primordial Thicket).

The only way for Pikmin to be freed from the effects of the gas is to wait for the Groovy Long Legs to calm down and return to its base tempo stomping (where its eyes are cyan). However, after sustaining heavy damage or if the Pikmin under its effects have been dancing for a while, the Groovy Long Legs may raise up two of its legs to slam them back down, freeing Pikmin from the gas in the process. While this move cannot kill Pikmin, it can launch them, the main character, and Oatchi back rather far. However, if the slam misses or doesn't shake off any Pikmin, the Groovy Long Legs may trip and become stunned for a moment. If it takes damage, but not too much, it will instead simply shake its body horizontally.

As has been mentioned, the Groovy Long Legs can change the tempo of its song during the battle, which controls the speed of its stomping and can be identified by the color of its eyes.

Cyan eyes

During this stage, it plays an intimidating yet funky song, which it stomps to at a slow speed (forty four beats per minutes).
After some seconds, the creature will decide what to do based on whether there is any prey near it. If not, it will pause to catch a breather and then continue. If the leader, Oatchi, or Pikmin are under it, it will instead stop to spray its gas. After spraying, it will blare an airhorn and change the color of its eyes to yellow.

Yellow eyes

During this stage, it plays a more upbeat and striking tune, which it stomps to at a moderate speed (seventy beats per minutes).
After being in this state for a while, it will stop to rest and then continue. Eventually, it will decide its next action based on whether Pikmin are dancing beneath it. If there are none, it will revert back to having cyan eyes. If there are any, it will once again stop to spray the area beneath it, followed by blaring another airhorn and changing to red eyes.

Red eyes

During this stage, it plays a more frantic and higher-pitched version of the previous song, which it stomps to at a fast speed (eighty-five beats per minutes). Any Pikmin that are dancing will now begin to dance in a circle around its feet, making it more likely that they will be crushed.
After a brief dance, it will stomp with two legs and revert back to cyan eyes. Any dancing Pikmin will return to normal.

Once defeated, the Groovy Long Legs cycles rapidly between tempos and associated colors of its song and then collapses; it floods the arena with a bright white light before blaring an airhorn as its torso explodes into confetti, dropping the Amplified Amplifier (if it hasn't been collected already) as the rest of its body disintegrates.

Locations[edit]

Below-Grade Discotheque, sublevel 5

Strategy[edit]

The following article or section contains guides.
The strategies shown are just suggestions.

It is recommended to gather all of your Pikmin onto Oatchi's back for the entirety of the fight, as this will make avoiding its stomps fairly easy. Be sure to call Pikmin off of its bulb when it begins to shake them off, as the Groovy Long Legs always tries to do so if there's anything stuck on it after positioning all four of its legs, and always be on the lookout for an opportunity to use Oatchi's rush when it stops stomping and lowers its body very close to the ground.

It is possible to damage the Groovy Long Legs while it remains hanging from the ceiling, but doing so is almost futile due to the extreme damage reduction of approximately 1/8 damage taken. It is possible to reduce its HP to zero while it hangs, but doing so requires a few Lightning Shocks and many Spicy Sprays. An additional time-consuming strategy it to have Oatchi attack one of its two exposed feet. While this method would take an exceedingly long amount of time, it is a possible method of attack.

When the Groovy Long Legs signals that it is about to expel its mind-controlling gas, get out from underneath and stand away from it. It stops stomping when it begins to expel gas, so you can flee from underneath it without needing much caution. Any Pikmin under the effects of the gas will become uncontrollable until the Groovy Long Legs ends its red light cycle and tries to stomp on them, after which they die or survive through the cycle, so there isn't much use trying to call any afflicted Pikmin back. If you feel brave, you can go up to it in this state and toss a bunch of Pikmin onto its body, as they can't get shaken off until the Groovy Long Legs ends the cycle by slamming into the ground. You may experience a few hiccups in your Pikmin tossing as you or Oatchi get some airtime from the stomps of the red cycle though.

Using a smaller group of Pikmin (30-50) is recommended, as there is less to keep track of. If you want, you can use Glow Pikmin, since they are immune to its gas.

If you are especially worried about losing Pikmin, or have struggling with this fight, it is possible to use all Rock Pikmin against this boss. The ground in the Below-Grade Discotheque is considered soft, despite being partly metal, so Rock Pikmin are entirely immune to the Groovy Long Legs’ main form of attack. However, despite being an exceedingly safe strategy, care must still be taken to not let any Pikmin fall into the abyss.

Notes[edit]

Dalmo's notes[edit]

“With mesmerizing lights that pierce through the darkness and a low groove that stirs your soul, how can you NOT get your dance on?! Is it a creature or a machine? Who cares! Everyone can join this party! A word of caution though-be careful you don't dance right under one of its feet.”

Olimar's notes[edit]

“This species has some remaining organic internal organs, but its carapace and eyes are made up of inorganic material. All 19 of its eyes are actually photoelectric sensors that the species uses to precisely locate its prey.

The gas emitted from the posterior of its first leg joints includes a chemical substance that, after making contact with another organism's brain, temporarily controls that organism's actions. The Groovy Long Legs uses this natural phenomenon, called the "Endless Dance," to make its prey jump between its legs while it moves around in bizarre rhythms.

The entire interaction is seemingly odd for a living organism, but the line between organic and inorganic on this planet is not always clear.”

Louie's notes[edit]

“This creature is mostly tendon, so it often gets stuck in your teeth. Smells like burnt plastic or possibly metal.”

Pikmin Garden[edit]

Text

“内臓の一部に有機物を残すが、甲殻のほとんどが無機物でできているダマグモの仲間。第一関節の裏側から放出される気体には、獲物の脳に作用して一時的に行動を乗っ取る化学物質が含まれている。

特徴その1 複数の眼

19個の光る眼（光電センサー）で、獲物の位置を正確に把握する。

特徴その2 地獄のダンス

ピクミンが一心不乱に跳ね回る様子は、地獄のダンスと呼ばれている。

特徴その3 機械か生物か？

体を覆う被膜や垂れ下がるひもは、塩化ビニルのような高分子化合物でできている。

(Image text: むき出しになっている骨には、金属成分が多く含まれている)”

Translation

“An Arachnorb that, though it retains some organic matter in some of its internal organs, has a carapace made up mostly of inorganic matter. The gas emitted from the posterior of its first joints contains a chemical substance that acts on the brain of its prey and temporarily takes over its actions.

Feature #1: Multiple eyes

The 19 glowing eyes (photoelectric sensors) allow it to precisely locate its prey.

Feature #2: Endless Dance

The way the Pikmin bounce around single-mindedly is called the Endless Dance.

Feature #3: Machine or creature?

The coating that covers its body and the dangling cords are made of a high-molecular compound similar to vinyl chloride.

(Image text: "The exposed bones contain a large amount of metallic components")”

Other information[edit]

Pikmin 4 Piklopedia number: #45
Musical theme: Groovy Long Legs battle

Naming[edit]

See more: Arachnorb family#Naming.

Common name: Groovy Long Legs. It shares the Long Legs part from other Arachnorb family members. "Groovy" is a slang term used during the 60s and 70s, an era known for disco music.
Japanese nickname: ダマグモインフェルノ^?. ダマグモ^? (lit.: "Orb Spider") refers to the Beady Long Legs. インフェルノ^? (lit.: "Inferno") is the Italian word for "hell", and may be chosen as a reference to the song "Disco Inferno". Its "Endless Dance" is similarly referred to as 地獄のダンス^? (lit.: "Dance of Hell").
Japanese name: スソビロボンオドリツユハライ^?, lit.: "Wide-footed Bon Odori Tsuyuharai".
Scientific name: Pseudoarachnia discopedes. Disco alludes to both its appearance as a disco light ball and the location it is found in. Pedes is the Latin plural word for "foot".
Internal names: DISCODAMAGUMO. "Disco" alludes to both its appearance as a disco light ball and the location it is found in. DAMAGUMO is the internal name for the Beady Long Legs.
Prerelease: None.

Names in other languages[edit]

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	ダマグモインフェルノ^? Dama Gumo Inferno	Orb Spider Inferno
Chinese (traditional)	煉獄球蛛 Liànyù Qiú Zhū	Purgatory Orb Spider
Chinese (simplified)	炼狱球蛛 Liànyù Qiú Zhū	Purgatory Orb Spider
Dutch	Blitspoot	Flashyleg
French	Didi longues jambes	Didi long legs	The name is possibly a portmanteau of "disco" (disco) and "Longues jambes" (Long legs)
German	Disco-Langbein	Disco Long Legs
Italian	Longopede disinvolto	Breezy long legs
Korean	박거미인페르노 Bag-Geomi-Inpereuno	Gourd Spider Inferno
Portuguese	Patalonga-disco	Disco longleg	"Patalonga" is a portmanteau of "pata" (leg) and "longa" (long)
Spanish	Pelota patas largas disco	Disco ball long legs

Gallery[edit]

The Groovy Long Legs using its gas attack.
The Groovy Long Legs hanging from a web before it becomes active.
The Groovy Long Legs as it appears when it enters its vulnerable state.
The Groovy Long Legs as it appears during its red state.
The Groovy Long Legs hanging from a web in the Below-Grade Discotheque.
The Groovy Long Legs in its idle state just as its drops down from its web.
The Groovy Long Legs' body lighting up as it gets ready to explode after its death.
The Groovy Long Legs' legs dissolving after its main body has exploded.
Groovy stomping with a large group of Confused Pikmin underneath.
A defeated Groovy Long Legs about to explode from a different angle.
A defeated Groovy Long Legs' remains of dust and confetti.
The lengthy web that suspends the Groovy Long Legs from the ground.

Trivia[edit]

The music most likely comes from the boss itself as diegetic music; background music that characters hear and react to in-universe. There is much evidence to support this: the creature is biomechanical, it moves to the beat of the song, it pauses its music when it stops moving to shake off Pikmin, it plays a quavering tune when it stumbles after stomping, and the treasure it drops is a speaker. The music itself can also be heard in a muted form while the boss is still inactive, and the lead instruments stop playing when the game is paused. This is presumably why it is the only creature to keep their battle music within the Piklopedia.
When the Groovy Long Legs trips, the music plays a melody reminiscent of the Pikmin motif, signifying it's their chance to attack.
The Groovy Long Legs marks the first time an Arachnorb's webbing has been seen up close, not as a shadow.
The Groovy Long Legs can be damaged by Oatchi on its exposed feet.
While below half health and its blue state, Groovy Long Legs' legs will shake upon taking a step. The same happens to the Baldy Long Legs.
Though its eyes have been replaced with artificial sensors, this still makes it the only member of the arachnorb family known to have any kind of visual organ.
- Although the split in the orb of the Baldy Long Legs will glow red in Night expeditions similar to the eyes of other enemies, it's unknown if these are also eyes.