Split Pea



Split Pea is the combination of a forwards-facing Peashooter and a backwards-facing Repeater (without the dark green leaves), similar to conjoined twins. It is the 29th plant obtained, found after beating the backyard fog level 4-5.

Usage
Use the Split Pea where you would use a normal Peashooter, but plant ahead of the rear line, so that it can fire backwards at foes such as Digger Zombies. Note that the second head is a Repeater, and can shoot Peas twice as fast.

Suburban Almanac Entry
Split Pea

Split Peas shoot peas forward and backwards.

Damage: normal

Range: forward and backwards

Firing Speed: 1x forward, 2x backwards

"Yeah, I'm a Gemini," says Split Pea. "I know, big surprise. But having two heads -- or really, one head with a large head-like growth on the back-- pays off big in my line of work."

Cost: 125

Recharge: fast

Standard Levels
This plant is needed on the earliest levels that you know will have the Digger Zombie. Don't plant the Split Pea in any row left of the third row, so as to give your Split Pea time to kill the Digger Zombie. Otherwise, the Split Pea will be eaten before it can kill the Digger Zombie. Alternatively, you could simply put Pumpkins around the leftmost plants.

Split Peas can also attack Bungee Zombies behind them. When targeted by a Bungee Zombie, the Split Pea fires 3 peas, both from the back and front.  It is also usefull to put them behind Shield zombies such as Ladder Zombies, Screen Door Zombies, Trash Can Zombies, Newspaper Zombies and Jumping Zombies such as Pole Vaulting Zombie, Dolphin Rider Zombie, and Pogo Zombie as they attack with the firing rate of a Repeater, cost less, don't have to damage the shield (this is especially useful with Screen Door Zombie), and won't be eaten by the Zombie you put it behind.



By placing a Torchwood behind the Split Pea, it can become more effective against Digger Zombies, which can be helpful if you have to play the level with predetermined plants and you have no room to waste slots. However, doing so is thought to be wasteful of the valuable rightmost ground spaces.

For levels with Dolphin Rider Zombies or Pole Vaulting Zombies where Split Pea is a predetermined plant by Crazy Dave, it may be helpful to use it as a form of offense. When the Dolphin Rider/Pole Vaulter jumps over it, it will be hit with the equivalent of a Repeater from behind. If the Split Pea is not a predetermined plant, however, this is generally not worth it.

Additionally, one can bring out gimmicky layouts with it combining it with Garlic as in the following image (without the Gloom-shroom). This strategy lets you kill the zombies from behind, thus bypassing zombie shields.

I, Zombie
It is a bad idea to use a Pole Vaulting Zombie to jump over the Split Pea in the I, Zombie levels. The same applies to using Digger Zombies in rows containing the plant. Rather, treat it as you would a normal Peashooter, and simply use Buckethead Zombies or other tough zombies to get through the Split Pea lanes, unless there is far more offensive power facing forward than backwards. If there is a very tough lane with a Split Pea, send a Bungee Zombie to steal it, then send a Digger Zombie. However, a Digger Zombie can survive a Split Pea in the second column from the left.



Trivia

 * When a Split Pea is firing from both heads, a glitch causes the front head to also fire two Peas, causing it to become a Split Repeater. This glitch doesn't happen in the XBLA version.
 * It is the only plant that can fire in multiple directions with one side firing faster than the other side.
 * Its name may be a reference to the actual split pea, the dried, peeled and split seeds of Pisum sativum from north India.
 * The Split Pea is the only plant that faces to the left (except for the left-facing Repeaters in Vasebreaker).
 * The Split Pea and Threepeater are the only plants that can shoots 3 peas at a time (Split Pea can shoot 2 at backward and 1 at forward).
 * The Split Pea, Twin Sunflower and the Cherry Bomb are the only plants with two heads in the game.
 * However, the second head of the Split Pea is, according to itself, more of a large head-like growth.
 * The Split Pea is one of the only five plants which are able to fire backwards, the other four being the Cattail, Gloom-shroom, Repeater (only in Vasebreaker) and the Starfruit.Split_Pea.jpg
 * Sometimes in Versus Mode, the Split Pea shoots backwards when a zombie is in front of it, even when there are no zombies behind.
 * The Split Pea's firing animation is different than the Peashooter's or the Repeater's.
 * Split Pea calls himself a Gemini as the Astrological Sign Gemini represents twins, and the Split Pea is a twin plant (a joined Repeater and Peashooter).
 * Split Pea is the last peashooting plant you get, unless the Gatling Pea is not yet purchased.
 * Split Pea is the only multi-directional plant to fire at 2 different rates for both directions.
 * The peashooter's head that is facing right is bigger than the back-facing repeater's head.