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Fester's lightning
You want to keep this blue as much as possible. The higher your health, the longer the lightning. As I recall, with full health, the lightning is blue. With less than that, or blue could be more than half health, but green is less than blue, I think that blue is full health, green is more than half health with some damage, and red is less than half. You really want to keep your lightning at least green, because red stinks! During a boss fight, when you've exhausted your restoratives and your lightning is red, you're practically doomed to failure. Keep your cookies, especially the black beetle cookies, for when you really need them, as Granny only replenishes your cookie supply at various intervals, I think that she at least replenishes them every boss. Probably every dungeon. Crusty cookies are good for areas with lots of tough enemies, where you really don't have time to fight. I never got more cookie recipes than that. On Ivel the undefeatable: I didn't figure this out until after I stopped playing the game, but Ivel sure is defeatable, just like the manual says. All that fuss over the music box isn't for nothing, as it's the weapon that kills Ivel. I think there are other ghosts that can only be killed by the music box, too. Later on in the game, like when your path branches and you go to the sewers, you'll find these little things, I think they're blue orbs, that raise your health past it's upper limits. They'll do that, but once you lose the health you can't get it back unless you find another orb or get your health raised in a more conventional manner.