Valley of Bowser
Welcome to the Valley of Bowser! Well, okay, you're not QUITE there yet. This level is a fairly difficult one to give advice on, but I'll try.
When you start off, swim to the right (as always) and get the Mushroom/Feather from the ? Block. Now continue right, and try to stay as high as possible so that you don't get hit by a Bullet Bill. However, you'll have to go downward soon so you can enter the pipe. Stay near the top and swim right. When you get above the two "crates" LOTS of Boo Buddies will appear. Calm down, they won't attack you. However, they ARE obstacles, and you have to avoid them. The best strategy is probably to stay at the very bottom and walk right. Most of the time Boo Buddies won't get you there, but be sure to stop if one's in your way. When it disappears, continue onward. Eventually they'll disappear. However, getting past these Boo Buddies is up to you.
As soon as you're past these Boo Buddies, you'll encounter a few Eeries. Fortunately, they're easy to avoid. Just continue right. Unfortunately, you'll encounter one of the chasing Boo Buddies. Try to keep facing it and it won't bother you. There is a ring of Boo Buddies as well. When you see the gap, quickly go through it. When the gap reaches the top, swim upward and then go right. Again you'll find a ring and you'll have to go through the gap. Oh, and be sure to continue facing left so the Boo Buddies don't sneak up on you.
Now for the part with the Dragon Coins. I really hope you have a Cape, because you need to slow your descent if you want to get them all. Here are the best guidelines I can offer you as to where they are. It's EXTREMELY difficult to get them without the Cape, or at least a Blue Yoshi eating one of the Koopas so you can fly. The first Dragon Coin is just a little to the right of where you first enter. After you get it, go farther to the right to get the next Dragon Coin. After that, try to stay in the middle of the entire place. This will both cause you to get the third Dragon Coin and hopefully to also land on a platform with a ? Block which contains a 1-Up. The next Dragon Coin is a little to the left of the platform you're on. After that, go to the right and try to grab the final Dragon Coin (just under the first group of coins). After that, try to stay to the very right until you land on the block platform. Jump down through the gap, and move right a little to hit the orb. You can enter the water and possibly get some 1-Ups, but it's risky with the mines. It's very difficult to get all of the Dragon Coins on your first try, even with this guide. Remember, if you have the Cape, you'll have more time to grab them, but you need to know roughly where they are.
Just to recap, here are the rough locations
of the Dragon Coins:
#1: To the left
#2: To the right
#3: Around the middle
#4: A bit to the left
#5: A bit to the right
Once again, I remind you that a Cape
is absolutely necessary. If you see the Dragon Coin and are not
completely above it, you have a chance
to get it. If you do not, you probably will not have enough time to grab
it. Now onto the Valley of Bowser itself...
The first level in the final world is a confusing maze that can take a while to get through. As usual with levels like these, I'll just tell you how to get the Dragon Coins and then how to get to the end. This level is easier if you have visited the Switch Palaces, because the ! Blocks box some of the Mega Moles in. I'd suggest using Luigi here.
Okay, first off you'll see a Mega Mole surrounded by some ! Blocks so it can't get out (you DID visit the Red Switch Palace, right?). Watch out: A Chargin' Chuck will attack you when you get onto the ! Blocks. Dispose of it, then continue right and drop down. Go right more and pick up the blocks to get through. When you're far enough a Chargin' Chuck will start... well, charging. Pick up one of the blocks and face it, so when it comes close enough to you it'll hit the block and be defeated. Go right some more and hit one of the blocks when the Mega Mole is above it to defeat it. Then jump up and get the Dragon Coin.
Now go back to the left, and this time take the higher path. Go right on it, and when you see the pit, wait on the left side of it. Then a Mega Mole will fall into it. Now continue right and you'll see some steps. Don't start going up yet. A Mega Mole will come down the steps. Jump over it, then go up the steps. When you get to the top, jump over the gap and continue right to get another Dragon Coin... but be sure to jump over the Mega Mole on your way there! Now go back to the left, drop down, and go right (whether you go to the upper or lower path isn't too important; however, I would suggest upper). You may find some Mega Moles on your way. If so, crouch down, and then, WHILE crouching, jump on top of them to get past them.
Anyway, this part is a bit whacky because
there are a lot of different paths and it's easy to get lost. So I'll give
one possible way to go through it. If you took the upper path at the split
part, you can jump to the other higher platform. Continue right, and when
you reach the part where the ceiling is higher than normal, wait there
so you can jump over the approaching Mega Mole. Then go right some more,
and enter the Midway Gate if you want. Take the upper path next (whether
or not you choose to get the Midway Gate) and jump over the Mega Mole.
Now you'll find some Munchers. If you have Yoshi, you can just walk across
them. Otherwise, however, jump on the Mega Mole walking on the Munchers
and ride it to the end of them. Now jump to the upper platform to get the
3-Up Moon, go back to the left and fall down, and then you'll land on a
"pit" of Mega Moles (don't worry, you're on top of them, so they can't
hurt you!). Continue right and jump to the upper passageway, then onto
the passageway above that one. Go right and get the Dragon Coin, then back
to the left. Drop down to the passageway just below your current one, then
go right. It's really hard to make the next jump, so don't bother. Just
fall down, then go right and grab the Dragon Coin. Now go left a bit until
you're below the gap. Jump up onto it and you'll expose hidden ? Blocks.
Once you've hit all three, go left again (noticing any patterns), drop
down, and then get up to the platform to the left. If you're Luigi, you
can easily jump up to the platform, however, if you're Mario, you'll either
need a running jump
or jump off of a Mega Mole to reach
it. By the way, in case you're wondering why you can't just move right
through the bottom passageway, it's because there are Mega Moles and nowhere
to jump. You can try that if you're not normal Mario and can afford to
take a hit, but I wouldn't suggest it...
After getting up to that platform on
the left, jump from that to the passageway above it, then run right over
the blocks you found. You'll find some yellow blocks preventing you from
progressing further, but Chargin' Chucks will go right through them, clearing
you a path. Just remember the Chargin' Chucks can hurt you here, so avoid/defeat
them! Continue right AGAIN and jump over the gap to continue down the passageway
(or drop down, hit the block to make a vine appear, climb it, then jump
from it to the second-to-lowest passageway). You're almost done. The Dragon
Coin is to the far right, so get there while avoiding the Mega
Moles/Chargin' Chucks. After getting
that, return right and go back to where the yellow block that produced
the vine was. If you want, you can climb the vine all the way to get to
one of those bonus 1-Up games, but that brings you a fair bit back through
the level, so I wouldn't reccomend it if you just want to finish it. When
you're on the bottom floor, go right and get through the blocks (don't
forget about the Chargin' Chuck!), enter the pipe, then go through the
Goal! Phew! I'm glad THAT's over!
This level is very self-explanatory, so I won't bother with too much detail. However, you need Yoshi to get all the Dragon Coins.
The beginning part of this level isn't too hard. Just be careful not to be hit by the Swoopers or the Koopas. When you get to the ? Block, be careful: there's the ever-annoying homing shell. You can spin-jump it to take it out, or just avoid it. Anyway, for a while it's the same as it was before. Just be careful about the Swoopers and Koopas. Eventually you'll come to the Midway Gate. You should have one Dragon Coin by this point. Enter the pipe.
If you have Yoshi, you can use the Wings from the ? Block to get to a "bonus stage". There are four Dragon Coins in it, so you can get all five Dragon Coins if you got the previous one. But if you're going through the normal route...
This next part is tricky, and it is hard to give a good walkthrough for. So I'll give you some general advice. Pace yourself. There are "pits" (yes, some "pits" aren't really "pits", but bare with me here) around here you can take temporarily refuge in. Don't go farther than the next pit, because you'll get squashed. You can get the Dragon Coins, but there's no point, because the only way to get all the Dragon Coins is to go to the Yoshi "bonus stage".
After you enter the pipe, you'll find an area where the ground moves upward. It isn't too hard to get through, but when you reach the end, don't continue if you want to get to the Secret Exit. When the floor is all the way up and you're at the end, jump onto the top of it and go left. You'll find the Secret Exit, which leads to the Valley Fortress. If you didn't go for the Secret Exit, just continue right. Since you've visited the Switch Palaces (you did, right?), you can just walk over the Munchers, but be careful of the Mega Moles! The rest is self-explanatory. You'll reach the Goal and be done with this level.
Okay, this level is a bit confusing.
It's one of those levels that's difficult to provide a step-by-step
walkthrough for. Oh, and there are
actually six Dragon Coins here! (Fortunately, you only need five.) Let's
start out with the first room.
Huzzah! The giant green bubbles are back! Wait, is that a good thing? Well, regardless of whether it is, the first part is straight-forward. Jump from platform to platform to the right and get the Dragon Coin on the way there. Remember that if you spin-jump onto one of the bubbles, it won't hurt you.
Okay, you've entered the door. Now for the really tricky part. Hit the block above you to get a P-Switch (but be sure to get the Dragon Coin above that block!). Hit the P-Switch and run left along the coins-turned-to-blocks platform. You'll want to avoid the ghosts on the way, but make sure you go quickly, because the P-Switch only lasts a short time. Anyway, when you see the ? Block above you, jump on top of it to get the Dragon Coin, then continue to the left to get to the door. Enter it. Now, you can go allthe way left to get a Dragon Coin. You'll notice a currently non-accessible area to the left. Don't worry about it yet. Also, DO NOT HIT THE ? BLOCK! You'll need it later on, at least if you're trying for the Secret Exit.
Okay, now re-enter the door. Hit the P-Switch AGAIN, but this time run right and make sure you do it QUICKLY. Jump from block platform to block platform, getting the Dragon Coin on the way. When you reach the "Hallway" at the end, run as fast as you can to the right. If you do it quick enough you'll get through ALL the coins and get the extra life. Now, here's where the various doors lead (doors are from left to right).
Door #1 leads you to the beginning of the level. Not exactly the best choice.
Door #2 brings you to where the door on the far left brought you.
Door #3 brings you to the normal exit.
Door #4 brings you to the normal exit also.
Door #5 brings you to a special, hidden area. If you're shooting for the Secret Exit, this is where you should go.
What's behind Door #5? Well, I don't know what's behind it, but I know where it goes! After you enter it, you'll find a P-Switch. If you don't already have all five Dragon Coins, hit the P-Switch to grab the Dragon Coin. If you do, however, grab the P-Switch, jump onto the blocks above the Dragon Coin, go right, and then move back to that area we've already been at. NOW you can hit the ? Block to produce the coin trail. (NOTE: It's essentially impossible to get both the Dragon Coin and get to the Secret Exit in one go, so if you get the Dragon Coin instead, go right, enter the door, and then get to Door #5 again).
This part is really tricky. You basically have to move the coins in a fashion that they get you to the Secret Exit, which is to the upper-right section of the room. It's extremely helpful to be small at this point--it's possible to get to the Secret Exit being Super, but it's very difficult, so let's try for small. Since you can't even see where the Secret Exit is when you're making the "staircase", this is a very difficult moment. If you screw up, unfortunately, you have to start the level over. This part is very difficult to try to give advice on--it's best for you to try it on your own.
Anyway, once you get to the Secret Exit, grab the Key and put it into the Keyhole. Congratulations, that's one more Secret Exit done.
Say hello to "Counting Platforms"! These things have a certain number on them (always a 1 or a 4). When you land on one, it will start ticking down, at the speed of one number per second. After the number 1, the number vanishes and the platforms starts falling. You'll need to jump to the next one quickly or lose a life. Because of the tricky jumps, you guessed it, you'll want Luigi for this level. By now you should be used to him anyway. Be sure to pack a Feather, Mario or Luigi!
There are a number of ways to get past the Koopa Troopas ahead of you. The way I always do it is to try to jump over them while the ones that jump the highest dip downward. Jump upward to the cliff and hit the ? Block to gain a Feather.
Now's a great time to get practice with
the Counting Platforms. By the way, for the record, if you use a
platform and come back to where it
was, it WILL be there, even if it fell!
Once you leave the "safety" of the rope platforms, jump onto the next Counting Platform (which has a 1 on it). Jump from it to to another platform while getting the Dragon Coin, preferably the platform with a 4 on it. By the way, through this whole thing, make sure you don't get hit by the Koopas.
Continue to the right, jumping from platform to platform while being sure to grab the Dragon Coins. Sorry, but I'm not going to do an in-depth walkthrough on this part. I'm picking up at the point when you're standing on the high white cliff. You should have two Dragon Coins at this point. Jump onto the next platform with a 1 on it. Let it fall, you'll pick up the Dragon Coin on the way, but be sure to jump onto the yellow pipe where the Koopa Troopa is. Hopefully you'll jump onto the Koopa and can throw his shell away from you. Now, go into the lower yellow pipe. Don't worry, you won't be missing anything important, other than a few dangerous jumps! You'll enter another of those 1-Up rooms. Just to recap, there are three ? Blocks. One of them contains a 1-Up, the other contain coins. You need to hit the two that contain coins BEFORE hitting the one that contains a 1-Up. You can do it in any order, as long as you hit the ? Block with the 1-Up last. If you hit it before you hit both of the ones containing coins, then the rest will become "hit blocks" (blocks that have already been hit). After that, you'll have to go up to the next "level" and try again. By the way, they are NOT always the same, so providing information on which one contains the 1-Up is not informative.
Once you've completed that (hopefully with more lives than before), you'll exit a pipe. Use the Trampoline to go through the Midway Gate. If you want a Fire Flower (or Mushroom), pick up the Trampoline, move it, and use it to get to the ? Block.
Now continue to the right. Get past the Koopa Troopas and onto the moving platform (not a Counting Platform). Jump onto the Platform with a 4 and get ready for even more tricky jumps! Again, I won't provide one of those step-by-step walkthroughs for this. It's easy to mess up, though if you do, you can land on one of the lower platforms, but that'll screw up this part. Here's some advice: Try to stick to the higher platforms generally, and be ready to jump to avoid the Bullet Bills.
Once you get to the end, you're... at the end! Go through the Goal and win! Again, sorry for not going quite as much in depth as I could have, but if you really need this guide to tell you some of those things, it's sort of is sad.
This level is populated by Chargin'
Chucks that like to throw dirt with their shovels. These "dirt balls" strike
fear in the hearts of many, but they're
not as tough as you may think. Here are various ways to get past their
dirt balls: Have Yoshi eat them, have Yoshi jump on them, cape-spin them,
or spin-jump on top of them. Note that while only cape-spinning them or
Yoshi eatting them will actually destroy the dirt balls, it is helpful
to know that. Oh, and if Luigi's riding Yoshi, you can spit the dirt balls
back at the Chargin' Chucks and defeat it. Neat, huh? Anyway, bring along
Yoshi with Luigi. It'll help you out. Oh, did I mentiton that the secret
exit can only be accessed if you have Yoshi? Since this level is tough,
I highly recommend that you forget about Yoshi and simply go through it
the normal way (preferably with Luigi). If you mess up while trying to
get to the secret exit on your second time through, you can pause it and
go back to the overworld.
While you don't need Yoshi yet (you'll find him later), it is useful to have him at the start. Anyway, you'll get your first experience with the dirt throwin' Chargin' Chucks at the very start. When the cost is clear, scurry underneath it. While you can jump on the flying Koopa Troopa, it's easier to simply jump onto the white platform on the lava, then quickly jump to the other side.
Jump over the dirt balls the next Chargin' Chuck tosses at you, then jump over him (remember that if you jump on any of the Chargin' Chucks on this level, they'll forget about dirt throwin' and will live up to their name by chargin' at you. To the right of the blue pipe is a yellow ! Block, which you can get a Mushroom from if you want (though you probably knew that, right?). Now jump onto the white platform on the lava, then jump from platform to platform, avoiding the Koopa Troopas. When you finally get to the other side, enter the green pipe.
Warning: It's slippery here. Jump from
block to block until you get to the ? Block, which contains a power-up.
Jump onto the next block (make sure
you don't get hit by the Spike Top), then into the water, but be sure not
to get hit by the Cheep Cheeps either. Jump from the lava to the block
on the left, then jump from that onto the next block to the left, timing
your jumps to avoid the Spike Tops, though you can defeat them with a cape-spin.
Continue jumping to the right until you reach the left bank. Enter the
pipe.
Run to the right to avoid the Chargin' Chuck, hitting the yellow ! Block if needed, then going back to the right and jumping over the white platforms, like before. Continue to the right, but this time don't enter the pipe. Hit the yellow block and climb up the vine (if you have Yoshi right now, you'll have to ditch him. The yellow block to the right, surprise surprise, contains Yoshi.
Ignore the Trampoline and go to the far right. Here's the tricky part: Use the R-button to jump off of Yoshi while above the yellow blocks. Now jump back on Yoshi, and you'll start to smash the blocks! Cool, huh? Note that if you're small, you'll have to jump down the narrow "chute", but make sure you end up a bit to the right or you'll fall in the lava.
Anyway, if you've used the yellow block breaking technique, you'll find yourself on a ledge. Go to the right and hit the yellow block to unveal a 1-Up. Now drop directly down (getting the Dragon Coin), jumping again from white platform to white platform before they sink into the lava, and once again avoid the Koopa. Now, HOPEFULLY you'll either catch the 1-Up on its way down (unlikely) or while you're on one of the white platforms you'll grab it (somewhat likely). In any case, on the next ledge you'll find a Chargin' Chuck heavin' dirt at you. It's annoying, but get underneath it and you'll be fine. Jump behind it and then off Yoshi (while Yoshi's in mid-jump) to get the Dragon Coin, then go back on Yoshi and jump to the right onto the white platform, then over to the right to go through the Midway Gate.
Since you'll have Yoshi (hopefully) just gobble up the dirt balls the Chargin' Chuck heaves at you. If you have Luigi, you can throw them back at him. In any case, either get past him or defeat him. Remember that Yoshi eating the dirt balls is very useful to get past the Chargin' Chuck. Anyway, jump onto the white platform, then onto the yellow ! Block (you DID visit the Yellow Switch Palace, right?).
Jump up to hit the ? Block to gain a power-up (hopefully you're big enough to do so, though if you're on Yoshi you can use the classic jump with Yoshi then jump off Yoshi then jump back onto Yoshi after hitting the ? Block combo). If you haven't been following this guide correctly, you'll have to jump directly to the next white block, though if you have you just jump from the ! Block to the white block. In any case, jump from the second white block to the next ledge.
Since you probably got a Feather from the ? Block, you can just sneak up behind the Chargin' Chuck and cape-spin it. If you haven't, sneak up behind it anyway, then jump onto it three times to beat it. Now quickly jump into the little "cave" and grab the Dragon Coin, landing on the white platform, then jumping back to the right. Continue upward and to the right. When you're at the highest point and there's the big "gap" below you, jump down but keep to the left. You should land on a yellow ! Block. You'll notice that there's a Chargin' Chuck throwing dirt balls in your way. Wait until the dirt ball is IN THE LAVA, jump onto the platform then to the right. Hopefully you'll have done it before another dirt ball can be heaved at you.
Once again, continue to the right, walking up the slanted ledge. Go down the other ledge, then jump onto the white platform, then jump (hopefully) onto the Chargin' Chuck, then jump off it to the right. Actually, if you have Luigi, it might be good to jump off of him when you're on the left ledge, then jump over the lava altogether and land on the Chargin' Chuck, then make it go into the lava (like before), THEN go back to Yoshi, THEN jump over there with him.
The next part's really tricky. If you
have the Cape it's no problem, if you don't the jump is much harder. Try
jumping onto the Koopa Troopa, then
jumping off of it onto the white platform. Yes, I know it's hard. Anyway,
jump over to the right, and keep going until you get to the place with
the Trampoline. Quickly run across the blue ! Blocks to get the Dragon
Coin, then quickly run back, jump on the Trampoline, then onto the Chargin'
Chuck's head. Hit him three times to knock him out, then jump far to the
right. If you still have Yoshi, make his tongue go through the wall(!)
and grab the key, then have him spit it out. Jump off of him, grab the
key, then insert it into the keyhole. Oh, the goalpost is right up ahead
if you want to take the normal exit.
This is a tough level, but it'll provide a shortcut to Bowser. Be sure to bring a cape to this level, and Luigi is good (but Mario will still be ok).
When you first start out, QUICKLY run as fast as you can to the right. Yes, you will fall a few times. When you can't run any further because of the platform blocking your way, jump onto it and hit the Green ! Block to get a Feather. Make a dash (but jump, too) to the right when all of the spikes are MOVING upwards. Jump over the yellow spikes and to the right to land on the platform (but don't jump too far or you'll crash into some yellow spikes). Go over to the right. There are some Dry Bones and Boney Beetles in this part, be sure to avoid them or cape spin them. Anyway, when the loose spike falls down, jump up to where it was and get the Dragon Coin. Trying to get the Dragon Coin before it falls will cause you to be hit by the spike when it falls. Go to the right, and watch out for more loose spikes. You'll come to a platform overlooking some yellow spikes, along with a spiked log going up and down. When the coast is clear, jump OVER the platform that the log is just above and land on the larger platform with no spiky log above it.
Here's where the cape comes in handy. You can use it to grab the Dragon Coin and not get hurt, just jump above it and float down. When you get it, float to the left, again when the spiky log is not in your way (it's very important to know how to time these things correctly, and that's something I can't help you on). If you didn't get the Dragon Coin with the cape, you might be able to get it while you're jumping to the ledge below the ledge. Be sure to jump off of that ledge quickly! It would be easier to jump over it, but that's tough without Luigi.
The next part's really tough. There are three logs, and you need to get past all of them. Plus, there's a Dragon Coin on the way that makes it even harder. After you clear the first log, try jumping up to the Dragon Coin and floating down. If you're lucky, you'll manage to get on the platform when the log is going up, and you can get past the next two. However, if you fall onto the spikes, that's not too bad. By the time your momentary invincibility wears off, the log will almost certainly have retracted, giving you a clear path. Otherwise you'll have to make a large jump to make it, which is difficult when you're trying to get across in time.
Up ahead is the Midway Gate. After cutting the tape, continue to the right and you can get a Mushroom, if you'd like. You need to jump from platform to platform, avoiding the Dry Bones, Buzzy Beetle, and Podoboos. Jump to the platform below the spikes, but make sure you don't hit the spikes.
Here's a really hard part. The spiky logs here just go up and down quickly. Knowing when to jump is very important, and it's not the sort of thing you can explain in text. Get past the first log. The next part is hard, because you need to time your jump between the log and the Podoboo. When you're between the two spiky logs look to the right and see the Dragon Coin. Make a high jump and grab it, then get past the log. Like before, you'll be on a platform between two of those logs. Jump to the next platform using the same strategy, but this time make a lower jump. It's hard to pick up the Dragon Coin, but possible. If you mess up, you can try running back and grabbing it, then turning around while the log is up.
Now jump over the next log and get to the boss' chamber. Sorry if this doesn't help you too much, but what's tough about this level is that it's so hard to give advice on, because jumping at the correct times is up to you. Reznor is absolutely no different than the first time, so this should be child's play by now. To refresh your memory: Watch out for their fireballs and jump underneath their platforms to knock them off. After two of the four are knocked off, the platform you're on will start to collapse. If you're quick you can get another of Reznor's heads knocked off. In any case, jump onto one of the empty platforms. When the platform with the Reznor on it is above you, jump to knock Reznor off. If you can't hit Reznor's platform from the one you're on, jump to another. When you've beaten him, you'll unlock a shortcut to beating Bowser!
You're almost there to saving Princess Toadstool, but not quite! Here's another castle in which you must use Magikoopa's help (or the cape) to get across those yellow blocks. Oh, and say hello to the return of the block platform! Careful, this level is hard. Just make sure you bring a Cape, and preferrably two. Luigi's probably best for this level, and you should be used to his jumping by now.
If you run to the left, then run to the right and jump while you have the cape, you can get pretty high up. You can either continue flying (which is hard) or wait for the block platform. If you're on the platform, follow this walkthrough!
Use the platform to get past the spikes, then continue on it to the right, but watch out for the Ball 'n' Chains. Jump or duck to avoid them. When you're past them, the moving blocks will slope diagonally downward to the right. There are some more Ball 'n?'Chains to worry about, so carefully get past them. Now jump onto the stationary block above, then jump onto the onto the next block, then jump onto the platform. Be sure to jump carefully, or you might miss your ride! Grab the Dragon Coin while you're at it. Or, you can jump on top of the moving blocks and move up while it moves; it makes it easier to get the Dragon Coin, anyway. If you miss it, just wait a while and it'll return. You'll miss some Dragon Coins, however. If you got onto the blocks, then watch out for the Ball 'n' Chains!
Anyway, when the blocks start to move underneath the stationary blocks, jump up onto the platform that isn't moving. Go to the left, avoid those Ball 'n' Chains (again!), wait for the platform to finish going underneath, and then jump on it. However, if you're small Mario/Luigi, you can stay on the platform as it moves to the right underneath the other. If you're above it (not between the platforms), make sure to jump onto it when it goes upward, grabbing another Dragon Coin. If you want a Mushroom, hit the block. Keep going right with the platform. By the way, just so I don't have to keep repeating myself, avoid the Ball 'n' Chains as you follow the instructions.
As the platforms moves right, down, left, jump and land on it when it comes back to the left. You don't even need to move for the next few sections; just stay in place. When it goes upward, jump up onto it, then jump up again when the next opening comes. When you get to the spikes and Ball 'n' Chain, keep going right, grabbing the Dragon Coin. When the platform starts going downward, STAY ON IT! You'll come to a secret Midway Gate, along with a Mushroom (jump over it if you don't want it) and two Dragon Coins. Enter the yellow door, and you'll emerge where you would have emerged if you didn't find the secret Midway Gate. Say hello to Dry Bones, spiked logs, those annoying yellow block obstacles, and of course Magikoopa! Watch out; you may start to run low on time. Oh, did I mention that a few of the Dry Bones throw bones?
Go to the right, but don't run, there's a Dry Bones ahead. There's not too much room to jump, so do so carefully, then keep going right. There's a small diagonal conveyer belt, but it really isn't important. There's another Dry Bones up ahead.
There are some pointed logs that go down and up. Run underneath them when they're down. Guess what, Magikoopa's here. You can stomp him to make him go away for a little while, but since you MAY need his help, it's best to avoid him.
Here's yet another Dry Bones, and those meddlesome yellow blocks. If you have the cape, they're no problem, but otherwise you'll have to trick Magikoopa into destroying them for you. Get the Mushroom if you want from the block.
More spiked logs are up ahead. You'll have to jump over them while they're down to get past them. It's possible to get past them with them being upward, but it's more dangerous. Guess what, there's another Dry Bones, and a Podoboo next! Avoid them both and jump over the lava. Once again, you'll have to trick Magikoopa into letting you through. Here's a tip: after he's destroyed one block, try ducking and jumping into the gap. You might get past it, even if you're Super Mario (or Luigi).
Waddya know? Larry has to avoid this repetition... there are more spiked logs, but this time there are two, one coming down, one going up. You'll want to DEFINITELY wait until they seperate, then slip through. Another Podoboo, along with some lava, awaits you.
There are a lot of spiked logs coming down, a bunch of Podoboos going up, a Magikoopa staying in one place trying to zap you, and one plumber going to the right. Avoid them all (except for the plumber... wait a minute, that's you). Avoid the next Dry Bones, then go right (onto the conveyer belt). You'll see the final Dry Bones, along with a Green ! Block, which you can grab for a Feather. Enter the big, red, scary-looking door.
Heeeeeeeeere's Larry! He's EXACTLY the same as Iggy, with one difference: there are three Podoboos jumping up and down, and up and down, and up and down, and up and down. Stay where you are at the beginning to see where they are. Try your best to stay between them, so you don't get fireballed by either them or Larry. Larry will shoot fireballs at you (like Iggy), but you can give him a taste of his own medicine by fireballing him. However, like with Iggy, it's faster to just jump to push him into the lava. Remember, make sure that the platform's sloping in the direction you want it to.
After a few good knocks on the head, Larry falls into the lava! He'll probably run squealing back to his father, but it doesn't matter, because you're about to defeat him, too! Onto the Front Door, where there are plenty of possible paths to take!
There are many possible routes through this castle, and I'm not going to go through every single one of them. I am going to give a somewhat brief description of each section.
You'll start off in a "hallway". There are four doors, and this isn't a game show! So, what's behind these doors?
Door #1: This is the third easiest of
the first four doors. Don't take this one unless you've visited all the
Switch Palaces. Podoboos will pop out
of the lava, and you'll have to avoid them. Your best bet is to try to
jump underneath them. And if that weren't enough, those falling logs will
torment you also.
Door #2: This is probably the easiest path of the first four doors. Climb the net and avoid the Podoboos. Easy!
Door #3: This is the second easiest of the first four doors. A maze of tapestries and Mechakoopas are here. The tapestries will sometimes cover up the Mechakoopas so you can't see them. There are a few hidden power-ups, but they're tough to find.
Door #4: This is probably the hardest path of the first part and may revive memories of Wendy's Castle. Sparks orbit suspended blocks while you have to make your way through moving blocks.
Now you'll come to another hallway, with more doors! This time it's a bit harder to decide the order of difficulty in them, but I'll give it a try.
Door #5: This is the third easiest,
but you'll only want to use Mario for it as he's faster. If you have
Luigi, you
may want to pass on it. What happens
is that there are a myriad of thwomps and spiked logs. When the first of
the spiked logs retracts, you have to run through very, very quickly. However,
timing is EVERYTHING!
Door #6: This is probably the hardest of ALL the doors. The only good thing is that there's a Yellow ! Block, and it's still tough even with that. You're underwater with Dry Bones, Spikes, and Ball 'N' Chains all around.
Door #7: This is the second easiest of the doors. There are some statues of Bowser lurking about. Some will just stay in one place and breath fire while some will jump about. They're not too tough. Okay, there is a lava pool and a Podoboo, but this is probably easy. However...
Door #8: This door is the easiest, especially if you brought along a cape (or at least visited the Blue and Green Switch Palaces). Feathers are useful because they can beat the Chargin' Chucks in one easy hit. However, this is still not too hard even if you don't have a cape, as long as you're careful.
FOR THE REMAINDER OF THIS LEVEL, SEE BACK DOOR.
You'll come here whether you took the
Front or Back Door, but if you took the Back Door you'll start here.
Go to the right and hit the Red ? Block
to activate a light. My suggestion is to simply try to jump onto the stairs
because you'll hit the block AND go there. Trying to hit the block and
THEN going to the stairs will cause it to be hit again, turning off the
light. Beat the Ninji and then jump down to the right. Unless you have
Luigi or the cape you probably won't make it, so you'll have to jump onto
one of the blocks over the lava, THEN jump over to the next platform.
Continue right, taking care of the enemies. At the end, if you took the Back Door (not the Front Door), you'll find a Midway Gate. Whether or not you did, enter the big red door and fight the final boss!
BOSS: This is it! The final battle!
Unlike his kids, Bowser will take six hits to beat. He'll show up in his
Clown Copter and throw Mechakoopas at you. BIG MISTAKE! Throw them right
back at him (jump on them, pick them up, and throw them directly upwards
so that when they come down they'll hit him). Watch out for his propeller,
it can hurt you. After two hits he'll retreat... temporarily. Flames will
drop from the sky so be sure to avoid them, probably by trying to stay
between them, that is, the vacant space between two fires. Bowser's
Clown Copter will return and Princess
Toadstool will throw out a Mushroom to you, which you should pick up if
you need it. Now for Phase Two!
Bowser will do just what he did before, except he'll try to hover above you. You'll have to run over to the side, then throw the Mechakoopas at him. However, instead of throwing Mechakoopas, the Clown Copter will sometimes turn upside down and throw out some giant balls at you (how DOES he hold all those things in there?). You can try jumping over them, but here's a tip: If you spin-jump onto the ball, you won't receive damage. Unfortunately, that will cause you to jump higher, and you may get hit by the propeller.
Anyway, after conking Bowser on the head another two times he'll retreat again, and you'll have to go through the flames yet again. Princess Toadstool will appear again and throw a Mushroom at you. Okay, no offense, but I don't think something that small can hold those giant balls, Mechakoopas, Bowser, and the princess. But anyway...
Now for the toughest part yet! Bowser in his Clown Copter will now bounce around and follow you. You'll have to run underneath the Clown Copter while it's in a jump to avoid it. When Bowser throws the Mechakoopas, do the same thing as before. After another two hits Bowser's hard head will finally give way! The Clown Copter will turn upside down, but instead of a giant ball Princess Toadstool will float down safely and Bowser will be blown away from Dinosaur Land.
Congratulations, YOU'VE WON! Now, go back and try to get all the Dragon Coins if you haven't already and beat all of the levels you haven't gone through including the hidden Special World. Good luck!
Star World
Okay, this level is a bit tricky to
provide an actual walkthrough for, considering it's basically just doing
the
spin-jump through yellow blocks. First
off, bring Capes. They're a must-have. They let you maneuver around the
yellow blocks so if you go into the wrong place, you can go to different
columns. Luigi is also good, because of his jumping power. TIP: If you
press down and R, you can see more, allowing you to see where items are
better.
Okay, first you'll see a Super Mushroom. Ignore it. You have your Capes.
Now drop down and go all the way to the right. Don't spin-jump yet. Make sure you've positioned yourself on any of the blocks BETWEEN the fourth block from the right and the tenth block from the right. You should get the Dragon Coin. Let yourself fall down. If you want to get into the Secret Exit, just spin-jump on the right-most blocks and you'll get to the place with the Key and Keyhole. Otherwise, spin-jump on the blocks fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, or eighth from the left. Of course, you can see the place the Dragon Coin is anyway, so why am I bothering to tell you?
Now drop down again. You can see the place the Dragon Coin is yourself, but in case you're at a loss somehow, you can choose the blocks fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth from the right. There's also a 1-Up Mushroom to the far right. You can get that AND the Dragon Coin using the Cape.
Drop down AGAIN and spin-jump down and get one of the Invincibility Stars. There are a few enemies, and this assures that they won't be a problem.
Drop down yet again. Here's where it gets tricky. There are TWO Dragon Coins here. You can go down through the blocks 3-10 from the left. Once you get THAT Dragon Coin, position yourself to the far right of the chamber it's in, and then you'll fall into another chamber with a Dragon Coin. Now you have them all!
This part's pretty easy, even though it does have enemies. Fortunately there's an Invincibility Star to the right. There's also a Red Yoshi Egg! In case you haven't visited Star World 4 and hatched THAT Yoshi Egg, spin-jump down all the way, then go back up, grab the Egg, and use it to gobble up the enemies. If there's a shortage of enemies, try jumping on them, then have the Yoshi Baby eat both the Koopa AND its shell. Now just go through the pipe to the right and go through the Goal!
This is a completely underwater level, if you don't count the very ending with the Goalpost. You'll also get a blue Yoshi. Getting him will also cause blue Yoshis to show up in normal Dinosaur Land!
At the start you'll see a Yoshi egg and an invincibility Star. You can grab the Star yourself and feed the Yoshi some fish, or have the Yoshi baby eat the Star to become large. Yoshi will prove very useful for eating the fish that get in your way.
Go upwards and a little to the left to get a Dragon Coin, then head to the right. There will be Cheep Cheeps and Rip van Fish about, so use Yoshi's tongue to rid yourself of the pests. It's tough to get the second Dragon Coin without using Yoshi's help. Of course, Fire Flowers and Capes will also work.
Up ahead is a ? Block. If you're still invincible from before, it'll yield an invincibility Star, if you aren't, it'll just give you a coin. If you get invincibility, you can plow through the enemies easily. However, if you don't, you'll need to use Yoshi's tongue.
Continue to the right (avoiding or defeating the enemies) until you find two Dragon Coins. One of them is pretty high up, so you may need to swim upward to see it. After getting that, continue to the right. Just in case you forgot, try not to get hit by the enemies.
You'll find a green pipe. Above it is a Dragon Coin. Entering the green pipe will take you to the normal exit. While that exit won't actually get you anywhere, if you don't enter it, you won't be able to have gone through all of the exits!
SECRET EXIT: This actually isn't too tough. There's a gap underneath the green pipe. Swim through it and underneath the pipe, but be careful not to fall. When you get to the end, swim up, grab the key, and insert it into the keyhole so you can get to Star World 3.
Finding the normal exit is easy (you walk right, that's it). Finding the secret exit and getting all the Dragon Coins is a bit harder. Well, here goes.
Walk up to the egg to make a baby Yellow Yoshi hatch. Hold him like you would an item and have him eat five spinies, and he'll grow up to become a Yellow Yoshi. Now when you hit a block to produce Yoshi, sometimes it'll be a Yellow Yoshi!
Grab the Dragon Coin to the right. Hit the P Switch to turn the Spinies into coins so they won't bother you. Pick up one of the blocks and throw it up so it hits Lakitu. He'll fall out and you can enter his cloud (note that just jumping on him will make him and his cloud disappear).
Jump into the cloud. You can maneuver it with the control pad. Go upwards, collecting the Dragon Coin as you go. Take the Key and use it in the Keyhole to enter the secret exit. But, if you want the Dragon Coins...
Hopefully you still have the cloud. Maneuver yourself to the upper right of the place with the Key and go over the wall blocking you. Keep going right, then jump out. You'll be behind the Goal! Grab the three Dragon Coins. If you're incredibly lucky and the cloud hasn't worn out you can go back up and enter the secret exit. Otherwise, enter the normal exit from the other side. Hmm... does that make any sense at all?
As with all Star World levels (except for Star World 5) you need to find the secret exit to gain access to the next Star World level. To find the secret exit you'll need to have found and completed the Green and Red Switch Palace. If you haven't, you'll need Yoshi. Fortunately, there IS a Yoshi in this level.
Go to the right and jump onto the higher platform. If you don't already have Yoshi, you'll get a baby red Yoshi. Feed him some of the enemies to make him a normal red Yoshi. Once you've done that, you can find red Yoshis outside of Star World!
Go onto the three revolving platforms. When you have a chance, jump to the right. You'll find some Koopa Troopas you can feed Yoshi. Continue to the right onto the next three revolving platforms. On one of the revolving platforms is a Dragon Coin. Jump to the next green mushroom platform which has two Koopa Troopas. Feed them to Yoshi. By now you should have a normal red Yoshi. As you should know, no matter what color shell he eats, he can spit out flames, although he can gain the other powers. For example, if he eats a blue Koopa Shell, then he can both fly and breath fireballs.
There are a series of platforms below the upper platform to the right. Jump onto the top platform and eat the blue Koopa. Now that Yoshi can fly, float down to the bottom platform. Since Yoshi can fly, there isn't a danger of falling. Grab the Dragon Coin there, then jump up back to the top, then jump to the right (but use a shell to create fireballs so you can go through the red Koopas that are flying around) to the platform with the ? Block, which will yield a Feather (or at least a Mushroom). Again jump to the right, but don't get hit by the blue Koopa Troopa. Now jump to the three revolving platforms, one of which houses a Dragon Coin, but be careful because there are red Koopa Paratroopas on patrol. When the platform you're on is to the right, jump over and land on the platform, then continue right onto the next three revolving platforms. Jump to the right again and gobble up the blue Koopa Troopa. Since you have red Yoshi, use the shell to either fly underneath the Koopas or fry them.
Keep going right (jumping where necessary, of course) until you reach another of those three-revolving platforms. Use it to jump on top of the pipe to grab a Dragon Coin. Now jump down (to the left of the pipe). If you haven't visited those two Switch Palaces yet, have Yoshi eat the blue Shell and jump down beneath the stone platform. Fly to the right while underneath it and go to the Key and Keyhole, but spit out the shell onto the ? Block so you get the Key. If you have visited those palaces, you'll need a cape to Cape Spin the ? Block to get the Key, or carry the Koopa Shell to get the Key out of the ? Block.
If you aren't going that way, go back
to the top of the pipe and this time jump to the right. Continue to the
right, and don't fall into the green
Paratroopa pit. You should know how to make the jumps now, so just continue
right until you find something like those three revolving platforms, except
there's only one platform. Jump from that to the three revoling platforms,
then jump to the part with only one platform, grab the Dragon Coin, jump
to the right into the Goal, and finish the level.
Unlike the rest of the Star World levels, the Secret Exit DOESN'T just let you move around Star World. The normal exit in this level does. The Secret Exit will take you to Special World, where some of the hardest levels in the game are. Unless you plan on using a Cape Feather or something, you need to have visited all of the Switch Palaces to reach it. Either Luigi or Mario is good for this level. There's some tricky jumping (Luigi), but there's a part where it's best to run really quickly (Mario). So take your choice. Oh, yeah, and there really aren't any power-ups in this level. So the only thing you have is what you take with you. Yoda impression somewhat intended.
Let's start off. Yay! More collapsing platforms! </sarcasm> As you know with these annoying things, they drop once you get onto them, making it very hard to successfully backtrack. So start going right and go quickly enough so you don't fall down all the way with your platform, but definitely not so quickly that you don't see what's going on! There are some enemies around here that you'll have to deal with. Anyway, above the third platform is a Dragon Coin. Be sure to get it! The next Dragon Coin is a bit tougher, though. It's underneath the platform. Stay on the platform, and the instant you get the Dragon Coin quickly jump to the right to get to the next platform. Continue right after that until you get to the non-dropping-green platform. Here you'll find a P-Switch and a ? Block. DO NOT USE THE P-SWITCH YET. The ? Block produces those trails of coins. Now, hit it, and IMMEDIATELY make the coins go right. In other words, the coin line should be just one block above the ? Block. DO NOT GET THE COINS. Wait until the music ends so you know it's done moving. NOW hit the P-Switch and run across the newly-made block platform. A few enemies will block your way -- just jump over them. You'll reach four yellow blocks. Next to them is a Dragon Coin.
If you want to get to the Secret Exit, hit the block second to the right to produce a vine, then climb it. If you're not small Mario/Luigi, then what you need to do to get past the gray blocks blocking your way is to run towards them and then quickly duck. You should manage to slide under them if you do this.
Now, if you DON'T want to get the Secret Exit, instead of going on the vine, jump ONTO the yellow blocks, and jump to get the Dragon Coin. Try to stay in the same vertical area as the Dragon Coin was when you fall. If you did this, you should hopefully fall onto one of the falling platforms. Quickly jump from it to the next one, and then onto "normal" ground. Pick up the Yellow Yoshi Baby and let it eat all of the enemies to turn it into a normal Yellow Yoshi (which can do that stomp thing no matter what kind of Koopa shell it eats). This will also let you get Yellow Yoshis in the rest of the game.
This next part is a bit hard. You need
to jump from falling platform to falling platform and do it quickly. The
difficult part is that the next platform
is always a little higher than the platform you're on. When you get to
the last platform, you'll get the Dragon Coin on it. Stay on it and let
it fall. You'll collect the last Dragon Coin. Now jump off and get onto
the green platform. Yoshi can easily take care of the enemies, but if you
for some reason don't have him, pick up the Koopa Troopas' shells and toss
them at the Spinies to defeat them. The Goal is right ahead. As always,
just enter it! Congratulations! Another level completed! And, if you used
the Secret Exit, it's onto Special World!
Special World
Welcome to the Special World! Before doing anything else, give yourself a small pat on the back for finding this place. Save the larger pat for when you beat it, because this world is harder than any other world and even contains the most difficult level in the game. In other words, it's best to beat all the other levels (and find all the exits) before going into this world. Believe me, it's tough, and I mean tough! Oh, while it's debatable, I still think that the hardest level is here. The hardest level is either Tubular or Outrageous, both of which are in this world. Fortunately, this level isn't too tricky.
Interesting Fact to Know: If you stay on the overworld screen in Special World long enough, it'll actually start to play the original Super Mario Bros. music! You'll have to wait a while, but it does happen.
Well, it's about time I started the walkthrough for the level in question and stopped blabbing on about Special World. This is actually a pretty short level, almost certainly the easiest of the Special World levels. While this level does have eight Dragon Coins, it's only possible to get five. At least, I think so. There are plenty of different power-ups and distractions in this level, so I'll just give the direct route to the finish. If you wish, you can explore it a bit more.
When you first start out you'll see a Message Block. If you hit it, it'll tell you a little about how not many people find that hidden place. Well, you're obviously one of those lucky people. Don't forget that I'm one, too! See those vines sticking out from the left and right side of those blocks? You'll need to use them to jump higher through the level. You'll jump higher using them if you're closer to the end of the "vine" that is NOT coming from the edge of the block.
Use the two vines to jump up onto the platform that's sort of a rope. Don't worry, you won't fall from it. To the right is one of those moving rope things. You can use it to both get a 1-Up and a shortcut, though you'll miss a Dragon Coin.
Anyway, on the rope platform (which you can jump to from underneath), there are four blocks, each containing a vine. Climb the right-most vine. You'll get to a brick platform with a Dragon Coin above it. Get the Dragon Coin, then go back onto the vine and climb up. You'll come to a place with two bouncy vines and a red flying Koopa. Hit the block above the left vine to release a P-Switch. Hold onto it... it'll prove useful later. Oh, and get the Dragon Coin.
Use the bouncy vines and music boxes to climb your way up. There's also a vine you can use to climb up, but you can't use a P-Switch then. You'll eventually come to a place with three marble blocks and three coins to the right. If you have the P-Switch, jump on it! Using the ? Blocks that appear, you can get into the upper pipe and emerge to a place with three Dragon Coins and three 1-Ups. You don't need the P-Switch to get all five Dragon Coins, but without it you have to fall all the way from the 3-block platform. There are three Dragon Coins on the way down, and it's tough to get them all.
Irregardless of which path you take, you'll end up in a place with three P-Switches: two blue ones and one gray one. Hit one of the blue ones and the gray one, then carry the other blue one to the right. Knock the Hammer Brother off its platform and jump onto it before the ? Blocks appear. If you mess up and need to keep them there more, hit the P-Switch you're holding again. Watch out for Lakitu (but hopefully his Spinies will just be coins). If you didn't need to use the second P-Switch, it'll become a power-up when you cross the Gate. Well, you've beaten the first Special World level. Onto what could be the hardest one, Tubular!
Oh, this is a hard one. Even with this guide, this level's gonna be tough. Make sure you have a slew of extra lives for this level. This level is Trial and Error, and through your Trials, you'll make a lot of Errors, trust me. Although it is possible to fly through this level if you have a cape, it's really hard. For the main part of the level, whether you use Mario or Luigi makes no difference I believe, but Luigi is good for the very beginning. Maybe Mario floats faster than Luigi. Who knows? Anyway, the key to this level is knowing where the P Balloons are, and this guide will help you in that aspect. Please note that if you hit a block that contains a P Balloon while you are not using one currently, it will yield only a coin. Of course, THIS doesn't apply to the first! I'm mentioning it because a friend of mine had trouble with this, and I'm tring to clarify it.
First off, power-ups don't help you except at the beginning, because getting hurt while using a P Balloon completely deflates you. In fact, you'll want to be small, because it makes you a smaller target. Anyway, dispose of the Chargin' Chuck or get past him in some other way. Make sure you land on the pipes! Next, watch out for the Piranha Plant that jumps. Get the Dragon Coin on your leap over the Chargin' Chuck onto the second yellow pipe. Now comes the REALLY hard part. Jump on the blue P Switch, then time your jump carefully down onto the Trampoline. Hit the block, then get the P Balloon (the block will become a coin, making it easier to get). Float to the left and get the Dragon Coin, probably hitting the block on your way. Avoid the Chargin' Chuck's baseballs, then float over the top one to get the Dragon Coin. DO NOT TRY TO GO UNDER THEM, you'll just end up using up the balloon and dying.
Float to the left and hit the ? Block, and grat the P Balloon. Time your float carefully to get past the Koopas. Next, avoid the Lava Lotus' fireballs CAREFULLY, going between them to get the Dragon Coin. Keep going right, past the Koopa Troopa. Stay down, and go UNDERNEATH the Piranha Plant as it jumps up. You'll make it, but barely.
Here's a really tough part. Get underneath the block which the Chargin' Chuck is standing on (avoiding his footballs, that's the hard part). Hit the block, simultaneously getting the next P Balloon and eliminating the Chargin' Chuck. Avoid the next Chargin' Chuck's footballs, and try to be straight underneath the Lava Lotus to both avoid its fireballs and get the Dragon Coin. You can get the block and destroy it if you want. Keep going left, and find... the SIXTH Dragon Coin?! Well, if you missed one earlier, you can grab this one if you avoid the fireballs of the below Volcano Lotus. If you have them all, just skip it, continue floating right and to the Goal. Congratulations! You just beat, through Trial and Error, one of the hardest levels there is in this game!
This is probably the easiest level to give a walkthrough for. To get the easiest route to the end and get all the Dragon Coins, follow this procedure:
Jump onto the moving platform. Ignore
the first two On/Off blocks, but hit the third. Also hit the fourth. The
platform will end up near a pipe. Jump
onto the pipe and enter it. Hit the ? Block to get Yoshi, then enter the
other pipe. When you emerge from the
pipe, move to the left until you reach the long green/white platform. Go
to to the left side of it (not the absolute left, a little to the right
of the absolute left). Jump while on Yoshi and while in midair, press R.
Mario will leap off of Yoshi and will get the Dragon Coin. Now go back
to the right. Hit the ? Block and touch the wings. Since you have Yoshi,
you'll be transported to a bonus stage with four Dragon Coins. Get all
of them, then when you see the Coins making the downward arrow, float down
to the bottom of the screen, and you'll have completed this level AND gotten
the five Dragon Coins.
This course is a tricky one, especially because you have a tendency to slip just when you don't want to, especially near the end. Oh, and did I mention the flying Cheep Cheeps? I find this level much easier with Mario, by the way. Oh, and Yoshi is useful, because those "homing" Koopa shells have the ability to provide Yoshi with ALL of his powers. That is, fire breath, stomp, and flying, no matter what Yoshi it is. This guide will be written as if you don't have Yoshi, but he can help you out if you manage to keep him. Oh, and be sure to bring Feathers and/or Fire Flowers to provide a quick way to defeat your enemies!
Almost immediately you'll see one of
those "homing shells". The only way to beat them is to make it fall off
a
cliff, spin-jump it, or slurp it up
with Yoshi. Fireballs won't beat them, and neither will normal jumps. Once
you're done with it, continue right and jump onto the shifting yellow blocks,
then onto the ledge, then go
downward and beat the Rex. WARNING!
A shell will come down at you soon afterward! Here's how to survive it.
First, jump over it, then go as far to the right as you can (without jumping).
The shell will disappear! Guess Nintendo didn't program it perfectly, eh?
However, if you have firepower you can destroy those troubling shells easily.
By the way, you can't enter the pipe, so don't waste your time with it.
Jump up and continue right, but don't get rocked by the small-yet-dangerous Shelless Koopa. Squash it, then go down into the pit. Looking familiar? Beat the Rexes, grab the Dragon Coin, but don't be hit by the shell. The next pit contains no Rexes and a ? Block containing a Fire Flower. Unfortunately, the homing shell can really cause problems. Remember that spin-jumping will destroy it, though jumping on it normally won't destroy it, but it won't hurt you.
Now continue right again, jump over
the water (snatching the Dragon Coin), but be ready to jump again because
of the Koopa Shell about to be kicked at you (don't these guys EVER give
up?). Once again, continue right. DO NOT HIT THE P-SWITCH, PICK IT UP!
While holding it, jump over the
water. Shells will be kicked at you
AGAIN, jump over them and stomp the Koopas while STILL HOLDING THE P-SWITCH!
Rexes are next, just jump over them.
Surprise surprise, a Koopa will kick a shell at you. The next Koopa will
just walk by, jump over it, but run underneath the jumping one. Oh, and
more Rexes are coming! Just continue right. When you're underneath the
pipe, jump on the P-Switch. Quickly run to the right and jump onto the
blocks, hit the ? Block, and grab the Star. Run right, grabbing the Fire
Flower. Now for the hard part. Jump onto the blue blocks while grabbing
the Dragon Coin. The Star will help you out a lot against the enemies,
especially the Cheep Cheeps. Keep running right, jumping to grab the Dragon
Coin, then
continue right. This next part is REALLY
hard. Jump from pipe to pipe, then from block to block. Now go from the
platform to the high blue block. This jump's tricky. Immediately jump from
that to the high platform. Now you'll have all the Dragon Coins. Continue
right, and you'll find (what else?) the Goal!
This level contains lots of Pokeys, enemies that can ONLY be defeated by Yoshi. Also, there are Volcano Lotuses, enemies that are only beaten by Yoshi or capes. In other words, Yoshi is very useful for this level, especially if it's a blue Yoshi. Fortunately, there is a Yoshi at the very beginning of the level.
You may notice this level is at the
intro of the game. Anyway, jump on the Koopa, grab its shell and run right,
then let go of the shell so it'll hit
the ? Block (but be sure to jump over the shell!). I don't know if it's
always
like this, but I almost always find
a blue Yoshi there. I'm not quite sure if it's because of the way you progress
through the game (which colored Yoshi you find first), or if it's automatically
like that. In any case...
Jump on Yoshi and continue right. By the way, there are plenty of Berries in this level if you want to eat them. On your way right be sure to grab the Dragon Coin. Soon you'll encounter a sliding Shelless Koopa Troopa. Be sure not to get hit by it. Afterwards there are four Koopa Troopas... try slurping up the blue ones to gain wings for Yoshi if you want. It'll make the level easier, well, PART of the level. Continue right.
Fly over or eat the Pokey, and be sure you don't get hit by the semi-hidden Piranha Plant. Continue right, and make the jump to the upper ledge, but time it so you don't get hit by the Volcano Lotus' blasts. Next up you'll find a Roulette Block. Get whatever you want from it, probably a Feather or Star, but be sure you don't get hit by the Piranha Plant jumping out of the bushes along the way.
You'll encounter more Pokeys. Hopefully
you still have Yoshi (if you don't, this level will be much harder). If
you do, just slurp 'em up, piece by
piece. One of the Pokeys is in a slight depression (no, not the "Life is
no good" kind of depression, the OTHER kind). Slurp that one up too, then
get directly underneath the upper Volcano Lotus so you don't get hit by
its fireballs. Jump up to collect the Dragon Coin, then scurry past the
Volcano Lotus when it isn't shooting
out the fireballs. Eat the Pokey on the way quickly, or you might get fireballed
by the Volcano Lotus.
Another Pokey is ahead, along with TWO
Volcano Lotuses. Swallow the lower one to make matters easier (if you don't
have Yoshi, you'll have to try to jump over it or spin-jump onto it then
off), then continue onward. Guess what? There are more Pokeys ahead! Keep
going right, past the Pokeys (Do I really have to tell you how to get past
them? Just jump or slurp them up.). Soon you'll come to a gap. To cross
it, you'll need to
jump onto the pipe housing a Piranha
Plant, so you have to be very careful and make sure you'll jump onto the
pipe when the Piranha Plant is inside it. Now jump to the right again and
land on the ground.
The next part is tricky. Jump up to
the highest platform and eat all of the Pokeys' parts (you'll eat some
of the
Pokey below you). If you want, you
can eat the rest of the Pokeys, as you can gain a coin for each thing that
Yoshi eats. If you don't have Yoshi, you'll want to wait for all of the
Pokeys to fall off of their ledges, THEN jump over it (hopefully).
After you're on the highest ledge, jump to the pipe. Like before, be careful with the Piranha Plant that's jumping over it. Jump onto the slanting ledge and run to the top/right of it. Jump far to the right and grab the Dragon Coin above the Chargin' Chuck. Jump off of its head to the right. Now go a bit to the left, as the Chargin' Chuck will charge after you. Finish it off by jumping on it twice, then continue to the right. Eat the Pokeys and the Volcano Lotus, and grab the Dragon Coin.
The next part is very hard. Hopefully
you still have Yoshi (if you still do, good job!). What you'll want to
do is
jump with Yoshi when there's a break
in the Chargin' Chucks' baseball barrage, then press R in mid-jump to jump
off of Yoshi and to the right, hopefully past them, or at least on the
top one. If you don't, you'll have to plan to take a hit, because it's
very difficult to get past them without getting hit by at least one baseball.
If you get hurt, just run straight past them (you'll be invincible for
a very short time). No matter how you get past them, you'll reach the exit,
finishing this level, which is anything but its name.
Okay, this level is a bit weird. The water level will rise and fall, which can be frustrating. The advantage of having the water level high is that it lets you reach things that are higher up more easily--but if the water level is low, the Cheep Cheeps are helpless. I'd highly suggest bringing Yoshi, if for no reason other than to provide protection against the Munchers. It's a bit difficult to provide a guide for this level, because the water level is changing so often, but I'll try.
Okay, you'll start out with the water
about halfway up. When the timer hits 275, however, the water level will
start to rise... then fall... then
rise... then fall... then rise... then... well, you get the picture. One
annoying thing about the water is that it'll push you back, so you'll have
to keep going right.
Start going right. Avoid the rather-easy-to-avoid
Cheep Cheeps. Then comes your first challenge--a Flying Hammer Brother!
Quickly knock him off his perch before he can cause you many problems,
then go right. Avoid the Piranha Plant and go over its pipe. Now you'll
encounter some Munchers. If you have Yoshi, these guys should be a snap.
If you don't, then... well, they won't be as much of a snap. Just avoid
them, then. You can get the ? Block, which contains a Mushroom/Feather,
if you want. Go right over the pipe, and be careful--another Flying Hammer
Brother is there! Dipose of it quickly. You can use its platform to jump
over the next pipe, but if the water is high enough you can jump from the
water over the pipe. Be careful to avoid the Muncher pit. Next you'll find
three ? Blocks, but the only one worth bothering with is the top one, which
contains Yoshi! Unfortunately, it's
fairly difficult to reach unless the water is high, so you might want to
wait
until then if you want it. To your
immediate right is another Dragon Coin. Go right again. You'll see a few
pipes and a ? Block. The ? Block is ONLY accessible when the water is high
enough--if you go into the place where it is when it's low, you won't lose
a life from falling, but you'll have to wait until the water goes up again.
Now, go to the smaller blue pipe (it's
to the left) and enter it. Now go through a pathetically easy cloud-like
world. You'll get a Dragon Coin. Enter
the pipe at the end. You can backtrack a bit to get what you missed, but
all you missed is a multiple-coins ? Block, so I wouldn't recommend heading
back. Instead, go further right. This part's pretty self-explanatory. When
you get to the place with all the ? Blocks, you can get them if you want--but
all contain coins except for one, which contains a Mushroom/Fire Flower
(it's on the top row, sixth from the right). The important thing here is
the Dragon Coin underneath the bottom row of ? Blocks. Continue right after
getting it. Beat the Flying Hammer Brother and use the block platforms
(or just swim if
you're underwater) to get the Dragon
Coin. Then get onto the upper ledge using either the flying platform or
jumping when the water is high. Enter the pipe, and go through the Goal.
This is possibly the hardest level in the entire game. Bring along Yoshi, a cape, AND a Feather in reserve. You'll need them if you want to complete the level and get all the Dragon Coins. The jumping fires are REALLY annoying because they leave behinds flames that can still hurt you. Fortunately, cape spins or Yoshi can beat them. However, even this strategy guide is not going to help you much in this course. Start off going to the right, avoid the Wiggler and jump over the gap. Continue going right, avoiding the (very annoying) jumping flames. The good news: Yoshi can eat them! Oh, and get the Dragon Coin!
The ? Block contains a Fire Flower. Grab the Trampoline (or swallow it, as the case may be, but if you swallow it be sure to spit it out before Yoshi eats it. Keep going right. You may have to get a running start to jump over the Bullet Bill Cannons. Grab two Dragon Coins along the way.
When you get to the pipe, use the Trampoline to jump onto it. Jjump off the Wiggler to get over the Bullet Bill Cannon just before the pipe. Continue to the right, past the WIgglers. Jump underneath the Hammer Brother to hit him off his platform, then jump on it and get over the pipe. You'll want Yoshi in this next part to gobble up the enemies. If you don't have him, you'll just have to avoid them. Get a Dragon Coin on your way to the next pipe.
Don't get hurt by the Piranha Plants and get the Yoshi from the ? Block if you don't have Yoshi. Get over the next pipe. Jump over the gap onto the next pipe when the Piranha Plant is down. Then jump upwards from that onto the higher platform, then downwards, but don't fall into the pit.
Dispose of the Hammer Brother, but don't get hit by the Bullet Bill. Jump from on top of the Cannon onto the flying platform, then jump from that onto the high pipe. If you have Yoshi, eat the jumping flame and grab the coins (and Fire Flower, if you want) from the ? Blocks. If you don't have Yoshi or a cape, it's a lot harder. Jump over the pipe when it's safe. If you can, jump over the Wiggler and jumping flame altogether onto the next pipe.
Jump over the Bullet Bill, grab the Dragon Coin, beat the Hammer Brother, and jump on its platform. Now jump all the way over the gap, through the Gate.
Phew! That was tough! Give yourself TWO pats on the back if you beat this.
Funky
The very last level of Special World!
I highly, highly, HIGHLY suggest you bring Yoshi with you, for reasons
that will be apparent shortly. Fortunately, you only have to go to Groovy
in order to get Yoshi.
There's a Sumo Brother above you at the beginning, so it's a good idea to start running at the very start. If you run immediately to the right and jump, you'll jump underneath the Piranha Plant while it's in the air. Immediately afterwards you'll see a green fruit. Have Yoshi eat it. This adds 20 to your time! THAT'S why you need Yoshi, because otherwise this level would be really annoying due to its short time limit. You need to keep Yoshi as long as possible so you can keep your time up. Whenever you see a green fruit while with Yoshi, be sure to eat it.
Anyway, there's another Sumo Brother up ahead, so either run underneath him quickly or wait for the fire to disappear after he pounds the platform he's on. Next up are some small platforms with Koopa Troopas on them. Try gobbling up the first one, jumping onto its platform, and then spitting out the shell at the other one. Oh, and get the Dragon Coin also. The upper ? Block contains a Yoshi egg. It's hard to get up to it, so I'd suggest only bothering with it if you already have Yoshi, so you can get a 1-Up. There are some enemies here- dispose of them. Next up is yet another Sumo Brother. Wait for its fire to disappear, then quickly hit the ? Block it's on to take it out. The ? Blocks only have coins, so don't bother with them other than that. Get a running start in order to jump onto the platform it previously was on. Go right and dispose of the enemies. The ? Block has a Mushroom/Fire Flower. The left of the two yellow blocks has a P-Switch. There's no real reason to bother with it, so ignore it and continue right. Get onto the ? Blocks and hit the music block the Sumo Brother is on to take it out.
Right here, if you don't have Yoshi or a Super Mushroom, you are in trouble. If you have a Super Mushroom (or a Fire Flower/Cape), spin-jump through the yellow blocks. If you're small and can't spin-jump, you need to get above the music notes, and you need Yoshi to do this. Basically, just jump while on Yoshi, then press R (while at the top of the jump) to jump off of Yoshi so you can get above the music blocks. Otherwise, I don't think you actually can get up there, unless maybe you have Luigi and it's pretty tricky to do so.
If you used a spin-jump to get through the blocks, go to the left and nab the Dragon Coin, then go right when the Sumo Brother isn't sending fire at you, though you can take him out if you want to. If you went over the music blocks, run to the left under the Sumo Brother, grab the Dragon Coin, then run right underneath him. Up ahead are some Chargin' Chucks. Defeat them and grab the Dragon Coin. Some Super Koopas will appear now. They're very annoying, so just try to avoid them. Get over the purple blocks (make sure you don't press B while on them if you don't have Yoshi, because you'll pick one up and fall to your doom). Hit the music block to get rid of the Sumo Brother (or just run past him). Up ahead is a ? Block that contains multiple coins, which you can get if you want. Jump over the pit to the right onto the platform with the Koopa Troopa, then jump over the next pit. You'll see a Chargin' Chuck. Taking care of him is easy. Jump on top of him and just stay there until he's defeated (isn't it nice the pipe will keep you in place?). Oh, but while doing so, if the Super Koopas appear, just press A to jump high enough so they don't hit you. Super Koopas will appear again, so try to hurry through this part so they don't get annoying. Jump over the gaps avoiding the Super Koopas and Koopa Troopas as you go. Yet again there's a Sumo Brother... either run past him or take him out by hitting the music blocks. The Super Koopas should be gone by this time, but make sure to keep going. Soon you'll get to a platform to the left of a higher platform that has a Chargin' Chuck on it. Jump onto the platform when he has a break in the baseballs, take him out, then grab the Dragon Coin and continue right. Be careful of the Koopa Troopas and hit the ? Block to get a Mushroom/Feather. A bunch of purple blocks and a flying ? Block are ahead. If you can, hit the flying ? Block for a 1-Up. Now you'll find three Chargin' Chucks. You should have at least one power-up at this point, so the best way to go through them is to just jump up the platforms they're on. You'll probably get hurt, but that gives you temporary invulnerability, so you should be able to get past them. Make sure you grab the Dragon Coin. Now you're at the end! Coins that spell out "YOU ARE A SUPER PLAYER!!" will appear. Run right while jumping to get the coins, then enter the Goal! Congratulations, now you've beaten every level (hopefully)! If you’ve collected all the Dragon Coins, they now all turn into Peach Coins. And now I've finally got this guide done!
Oh, for the record, if you go through the Star Warp that now appears and have found all the exits, the map will be a different color and some of the enemies will look different. For example, the Piranha Plants look like Jack-o-Lanterns, the Koopa Troopas will look like Mario, and the Pokeys will be gray blocks. It doesn’t affect gameplay at all, however.
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