Emus and hamster balls are secondary means of transport that may be found on the map in Super Animal Royale.
You can mount or dismount them using the same key that you use to jump out of the eagle.
Giant Emus
These giant birds walk around on two feet, have powerful beaks and are trained to accept super animals as riders, being ready fitted with a saddle (which also features their health bar).
Emus are sure-footed creatures. Nothing trips them up.
While ridden, they will sharply follow the movement directions given to it by the player. Pressing the fire button as the primary rider will result in the emu hammering down with its beak, attacking anything in that space.
An Emu can also carry a passenger. The passenger’s fire button thwacks the emu for an extra burst of speed (and the cooldown for such will appear as a grey bar above the SuperAnimal).
It is a notable part of SuperAnimal culture that when one is on the back of a giant emu it is taboo to strike at any other SuperAnimal upon that emu’s back as, for as long as two share the back of an emu, their destinies are intertwined.
Of course, that tradition ends the moment that one SuperAnimal gets off.
Even while one is on the passenger seat of an emu, a SuperAnimal’s violent tendencies can be sated through hitting the fire button. The passenger strikes the rump of the emu sharply and watch that emu take off in a hurry!
Like SuperAnimals, Emus have a health pool, and they lose health when they are injured. They can heal by most of the means that a SuperAnimal can, but are unable to drink (or be fed) Health Juice.
A SuperAnimal on an emu is protected from incoming attacks – but is still vulnerable to explosions/blasts or skunk gas.
Hamster Balls
Transparent spheres made out of a heavy, durable and transparent material, hamster balls can be ridden by a single SuperAnimal.
While ridden, they will build momentum in following with the movement directions given to it by the player.
Hamster balls are hefty. It takes time for them to build and lose momentum, and that also applies to changing directions while riding.
Hamster balls are dangerous. When they run over enemy SuperAnimals, they can hurt or even kill them outright, depending on how fast the hamster ball is going.
A hamster ball can sustain several shots before being destroyed. It cannot be repaired.
A SuperAnimal in a hamster ball is protected from incoming attacks – but is still vulnerable to explosions/blasts or skunk gas.
I think that this covers the basics of the game. Of course the basics will only carry you so far, and there is always more to know.
‘Next’ we shall revisit controls – this time with my perspective.