Yucca Desert

The Yucca Desert is a location in EarthBound Beginnings, found east of Union Station, and north of Youngtown. The desert is the location of the fifth melody. The music gets remixed in EarthBound for Dusty Dunes Desert.

Overview
The desert is accessed from going north of Union Station, then east. The desert is large and mostly uninhabited aside from a war veteran camped near an oasis. Additionally, Ninten can speak to the camel bones found throughout the desert. Near the center of the desert is an oasis with the veteran who will allow the player to ride his plane, with ticket stubs being given to each party member, which reveals the location of the singing cactus if he chooses the first course. If Ninten gives him ten of these stubs, he will offer him a ride in his tank in order to gain entrance to the ruins in the eastern side of the desert.

West of the oasis and slightly north are a group of cactuses, one of which has a face. Should Ninten use Telepathy on it, the cactus will sing one of the Eight Melodies. In the eastern portion of the desert are ruins, which requires defeating the R7037 with the tank in order to access. This is optional, however, as it is not required in order to finish the game, but instead provides a secondary exit from.

A single tile in the far north-eastern part of desert sets off a land mine revealing a message from Shigesato Itoi stating it is important to keep the place a secret.

Plane
The war veteran will let Ninten and his friends fly a specific route in his airplane, which varies depending on the type of Ticket Stub they buy. There are three different kinds of Ticket Stubs; one for FlightplanA, FlightplanB and FlightplanC, which cost 5, 10 and 15 per party member, respectively.

When taking FlightplanA, the party will fly north, passing several cacti and shortly form a circle around a specific cactus which appears to have a face. They will then fly along the coastline to the east, then head southwest to return to their starting point, while passing the ruins of the desert on the way.

During FlightplanB, they will fly far to the west, passing several previously visited areas on the way, and then simply head back to their original spot by going east. Locations they pass during the flight include Pippi's and Ninten's houses, the Choucream Zoo, and Duncan's Factory.

During the final flight, FlightplanC, they pass the Look-Out Tower when flying to the east, and they also fly past the train station of Youngtown on the way back. After Ninten and his friends have purchased a total of ten Ticket Stubs, they will receive a tank from the man, which is needed to defeat R7037, who resides near the entrance of the desert ruins.

Role in EarthBound Beginnings
Ninten must pass the desert in order to reach Youngtown. However, while train tracks normally would travel through the desert, the tracks are broken, requiring Ninten to trek the path toward Youngtown on foot. In it, Ninten can find a cactus that will sing one of the Eight Melodies when its mind is read via Telepathy.

Ninten also meets a veteran in the central oasis, who allows him and his friends to ride the plane while giving out ticket stubs. After obtaining ten stubs, Ninten and his friends are allowed to ride the tank, which he uses to face off the R7037 guarding the ruins to the east. They defeat it by firing the tank's cannon at it, albiet breaking the tank in the process. After exploring the desert the party head south to continue on to Youngtown.

Plane ride
The veteran offers three different flight plans showcasing different parts of America.

Enemies

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