AUTHOR NOTE: It took me a while to decide which game to write about for this chapter. I considered Dig Dug II, The Tower of Druaga and Motos for this chapter, but I ultimately decided on Motos because The Tower of Druaga feels too much like a fantasy Pac-Man, and I only want to write one more sequel which I'm saving for the penultimate chapter.
The Namcoator chuckles. "I wonder where your enthusiasm came from, Jackie. Man, I'm going to miss you and Gus once both of you are gone. Anyways, the thirteenth challenge is the Motos challenge, which you will be undertaking."
"Did you say 'motor'?" Jackie asks, having misheard what the Namcoator said.
"No, I really did mean 'Motos'." the latter clarifies. "I'd better get you to the playing field. He snaps his fingers and Jackie dematerialises.
Once Jackie rematerialises and opens her eyes, she's greeted by an interesting sight. The sky is jet black with white dots peppering Jackie's surroundings. She is standing on a large flat rectangular platform, its surface a grid of square tiles alternating in colour between teal and a dull lavender. At one of the far edges sit a pair of red spherical Pupa enemies, currently stationary.
"Where even is this place, anyway?" she wonders.
The Namcoator's voice sounds out from an intercom in the sky. "I'll admit, not even I am sure where this is. All I know is that once again, you are in a car. I promise this will be the last time you are in a car. Turn around."
Jackie turns around, seeing the mentioned car. However this one looks drastically different from the others. It looks more like a bumper car, the sort she would find at an amusement park, with blue bumpers and a red stripe down the centre.
Jackie walks up to it. "Is it me, or is this a bumper car?" she questions.
"Yes, actually." says the Namcoator. "Hop in and I'll tell you more."
Jackie hops in and buckles herself up.
"Alright then. This bumper car is called Motos."
"Okay then. So what's happening?"
"Your goal in the Motos challenge is to bump a number of enemies off of the playing field across 62 rounds."
"62!? That's a lot!" Jackie spat upon this revelation.
"It is, but don't worry. You'll be allowed to take breaks every 15 rounds."
"Okay then. So you said I have to bump enemies off the edge?"
"Pretty much. But that's easier said than done when they are trying to do the same to you."
"Seems fair."
"There are also power-ups you can collect across the stages that will increase your bumping power or give you the ability to jump over gaps."
"Those should be useful."
"Do be careful however. Jumping on a tile will cause it to crack, and landing on a cracked tile will shatter it, most probably sending you plummeting to your doom!"
"Alright, I'll be careful."
"Also,if you take too long on a stage, meteors will start raining down to crack the tiles."
"Anything else?"
"That's basically it. Only thing left is to show you how to control Motos."
One explanation later, Jackie feels she is ready. "Alright, I am ready."
"Very well. Let the Motos challenge commence!"
The Motos round start jingle plays.
JACKIE JOHNSON - READY!
After a few seconds the Pupas begin moving towards Jackie, who does likewise, but since they are both only 380 kg each - light by Motos standards, Jackie easily forces them both over the edge. The round clear jingle plays.
"That was fast." she notes.
"Yeah, it is fast. This is why I wanted you to do all 62 rounds - they can go by pretty quickly, so if you only did 15 this challenge would be over in a flash!" Jackie's vision then turns white as she is transported to the second round.
The second round sees Jackie prepare to face three 380-kg Blue Pupas and a 400-kg Polar. 2 stationary Beacons are also present. It doesn't help the enemies much, however - Jackie first eliminates the Beacons, and then lures the enemies over to the edge of the field and knocks them off.
Jackie is now on round 29, bumping against a huge Giga enemy. She is making progress in pushing it off, albeit very slowly. Gus turns to the Namcoator.
"How heavy is that thing again?"
The Namcoator thought for a second. "13,400 kilograms."
"So, pretty heavy." Gus extrapolates.
"Pretty heavy, but only about one-seventh the mass of a large dinosaur."
"I see."
Gus then turns to the monitor and begins cheering Jackie on - albeit clearly doing it to the tune of the music, which he clearly finds catchy.
Sixty-nine rounds have come and gone, and Jackie has just forced the last Giga over to the edge of the field. After one last bump, it teeters on the edge for a second and then tips over, plummeting off the edge of the field. Jackie watches as it disappears into the void the platform is in.
"That's round 62 done. Challenge clear!"
"Well done, player! You have cleared the Motos challenge!" says the Namcoator. Not wasting any time announcing the trophy, he snaps his fingers and Jackie dematerialises.
Back in the monitor room Jackie rematerialises to see the Motos trophy, featuring the Motos bumper car. Jackie takes the trophy and begins admiring it.
"So what's the next challenge?" asks Gus.
"Well, since only two challenges remain - one for each of you - you only have one challenge left each to prove yourself as Namco masters. For the final two challenges, you will be revisiting what you did in earlier challenges!"
"So are we doing those challenges again?" Gus questions.
"No. You will be going through challenges whose games added more to the basic formulae."
"I see… so what's my final challenge?"