Old subject by now, but you guys are probably right about the selective quest completion not having any long-term benefits. Although it was fun to try... and my Spanish snowman is still being annoyingly lucky, even though I've started finishing quests with him. He just collected three Old Rusty Keys, a Méluzzine Key, a Singing Ocarina and a Chaos Stapler in less than a week. I want those on
this server, dang it!
Anyway, I'm keeping him as my PD crash test dummy. Instead of Igor, I call him El Zorro, since he so boldly charges into peril.

(If any of you guys continue to experiment with strategic quest-skipping, let me know how it goes!)
And now, a question! Is there anything special about that one-square hole on the left of the screen in the Carrotian Council? Has anyone managed to jump up there and/or kick a bomb into it (either on the first or second visit)? I can almost-but-not-quite manage it from the nearest ledge. There's probably nothing, but it's made me curious!
And one more: Does "eating" an enemy with Ghost Candy spoil your chances of getting the large crystal? I finished off the last two fruits in Level 36 that way, and no crystal -- but I'm not 100% sure that I got the order right, so I can't tell whether it was the fault of

or not.