The Expotition (どうくつ探検隊 Dōkutsu Tanken-tai?, lit. "Cave Expedition") is a mini-game which becomes available after receiving the Torn Page responsible for unlocking the Spooky Cave area. The mini-game can be replayed at any time after the first playthrough by talking to Kanga.
The plot sees the various residents of 100 Acre Wood going on an "expotition" to locate Winnie the Pooh, with Sora guiding the group through a meandering cave system. The Sweet Memories Keychain is unlocked after completing this mini-game.
Story
Sora arrives at the Spooky Cave to find the other characters stood inside the entrance. He immediately recognises that Pooh is not present, and when he questions the group, Piglet replies that Pooh has found his way deeper into the dark cave. Rabbit queries whether a jagular might be hidden within, prompting Owl to begin to reply. He is cut off mid-sentence by Sora, however, who states that if the group are so worried about Pooh, then they should go to search him out. The group as a whole agree, though Rabbit again mentions the potential for their encountering a jagular. Kanga asks Sora what they should do, and Sora asserts that they should definitely go to find Pooh.
Pooh is eventually found at the end of the passages, sat on a slab of rock in a chamber walled by a collection of crystal shards. Sora addresses Pooh directly, telling the bear that they had looked everywhere for him. Pooh responds by stating he was searching for an important friend, to whom he had made a promise. Upon being asked if he found said friend, Pooh answers in the negative. Tigger then tackles Pooh, and after a short conversation about jagulars and Pooh's "rumbly" stomach, followed by a prompt from Kanga, Pooh at last recalls Sora's name. The cutscene concludes with the group exiting the passages to go home, with Sora holding Winnie the Pooh's hand.
Jiminy's Journal Objective
In order to complete the Jiminy's Journal objective for this particular mini-game, Sora and his friends need to locate Pooh in fewer than ninety seconds.
Strategy
The aim of the mini-game is to find Winnie the Pooh as quickly as possible. Once the timer starts, Sora is able to traverse around the Spooky Cave, which is styled as a labyrinth with multiple passages leading off to make the objective more difficult to complete. Sora is accompanied by Tigger, Roo, Eeyore and Piglet during gameplay. The mini-game makes use of action commands to carry out tasks and take actions.
In order to keep the Courage Gauge full, Sora must keep his friends close by him. The gauge will deplete if they begin to lose their way and also whilst simply walking through the cave system. A fully depleted gauge will cause Sora's friends to panic; this can be reversed if Sora remains close to them. Other stimuli can also cause the Courage Gauge to deplete. These include if Sora slips and falls on icy patches and if bees spawn in the area and sting Sora and the rest of the group. No Heartless appear during the mini-game, but instead the aforementioned bees act as the main antagonists. If the Courage Gauge depletes completely, the group will break apart and each member will run around wildly. The "Settle Down!" reaction command will then appear, prompting the group to reform. The Courage Gauge is then automatically refilled.
Within the cave, there are large patches of ice that can be walked on. However, after a few steps onto the ice, it shines a light blue color, causing Sora to slip and fall over. There are also rocks which fall from the ceiling, much in the same way as they do in the Underworld. Being struck by a rock will contribute towards the depletion of the Courage Gauge. In the cave system there are also numerous treasure chests, some easier to access than others.
Once Pooh is discovered, the timer stops and the mini-game concludes. The Sweet Memories keychain is awarded as a reward for completion.
Controls
The following action commands are used throughout the mini-game to perform the required actions necessary to proceed.
- Forward march: Instructs the company to move forwards.
- Company halt: Instructs the company to stop moving.
- Open: Allows Sora to open a treasure chest.
- Settle down!: Prompts the group to reform again.
Gallery
Trivia
- The Expotition mini-game is based off of the 1997 direct-to-video film Pooh's Grand Adventure: The Search for Christopher Robin in which Winnie-the-Pooh and company go on an "expotition" through a spooky cave to find their missing friend.