Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Shifting Sand Land - Pyramid Puzzle

N64
It's time to get the secret coins in the pyramid! To make things go faster, I used the Wing Cap to reach the pyramid. The secret coins are by the falling sand. I got the first coin near the moving sand near one of the grates, near the stairs. I got the next one by climbing to the top of the pyramid and going through the cap on the step just before the Star. When facing the back wall, jump down to your right for the next coin. Then jump to the left, then right again. Each time, you should land on small floating squares. Then follow the falling sand to the last secret coin. The Star will appear at the end of the falling sand, before it falls to the center of the pyramid.
Star Get #66, 25 Coins, 3 Lives
Nintendo DS
This mission is a little different from the N64 version. We don't need Wario for the mission, only his ability to complete the Switch Star mission so we could access this one.
I used Mario for this mission. I used the Wing Cap to fly to the pyramid. In the pyramid, once we reach the second level, we see Silver Stars on the Touch Screen Map. They are in similar locations to the secret coins in the N64 versio, so it's easiest to go to the top of the pyramid and collect the Silver Stars as you descend. The first one is near the Star at the top of the pyramid, at the edge where you can jump off. A slight jump off the ledge down to the floating stone will get you the second. Jumping down to the left (when facing the back wall) will get you the third Silver Star. Then jump down in the flowing sand for the last two Silver Stars, making sure to keep jumping to avoid sinking. The Star Sphere is at the end of the flowing sand.
Star Get #86, 26 Coins, 3 Lives
The next Star is Through the Jet Stream in Dire, Dire Docks.

Friday, May 20, 2011

Shifting Sand Land - Free Flying for 8 Red Coins

N64
All of the Red Coins in this course are outside the pyramid. Four are scattered throughout the course and the other four are between the pillars, high in the air. This took me four tries because of the quicksand. The first Red Coin is just behind where you land, in a corner between the instant death quicksand at the edge of the course and a large sand dune. You may need to continuously adjust the camera angle so you don't walk into the quicksand. You'll find the 2nd Red Coin on the lower level of the stone pavilion, on the side closest to the Tox Box maze. It's hidden in a block. The third is in the Tox Box Maze to the left, and a little towards the back. You'll see it once you get past the first Tox Box. The fourth is in the oasis. You need the Wing Cap to get the other four. Take your time and use as many Wing Caps as you need. The Star appears on top of the stone pavilion.
Star Get #65, 22 Coins, 3 Lives

Nintendo DS
You need to Mario for this mission. We can't complete Tox Box Switch Star just yet, so we'll move on to this mission. All of the Red Coins are in the same location as the N64 version. The Star is on top of the stone pavilion. This took me one try.
Star Get #72, 19 Coins, 4 Lives
The next Star is Board Bowser's Sub.

Thursday, May 12, 2011

Shifting Sand Land - Stand Tall on the Four Pillars

N64
For this mission, we have to stand on top of each of the four pillars surrounding the pyramid. On my first try, I landed on two, but fell in the quicksand.
Take 2- To reach all of the pillars, we need the Wing Cap. Three of them can be reached by walking, but the fourth is in the instant-death quicksand in the Tox Box maze. We only need to stand on each pillar briefly before going to the next one. After we've stood on all four, the top of the pyramid spins off and explodes. We hear the chime. We walked up the path around the pyramid to the top, but you can use the Wing Cap to fly there. There is a hole in the top, so we go in.
We land in a cage that lowers to a red brick area in the center of the pyramid. We could see this cage when we got the Star from Inside the Ancient Pyramid. Do not jump out of the cage because there is no way to access the brick without it. Inside the red brick is a hole. If we walk slowly and stare down the hole, we can see the area within. It looks like a temple surrounded by an abyss. We go down to the temple area and step on the stairs. They shake and move, revealing that they are the stone hands called Eyerock. They say "Who... walk... here? Who... break... seal? Wake... ancient... ones? We no like light... Rrrrummbbble... We no like... intruders! Now battle... ...hand... ...to... ...hand!" Eyerock moves and the battle music starts. In the lower part of the palm is an eye, which is its weak point. We have to punch the eye when it is open. Which eye is open will alternate. After a while, the hands will try to pound you or slide you off the altar. They knocked me off, after getting in several hits.
Take 3- We land back in the descending cage. We awaken Eyerock again and hit each eye three times. Eyerock says "Grrrrumbbble! What... happen? We... crushed like pebble. You so strong! You rule ancient pyramid! For today... Now, take Star of Power. We.. sleep... darkness."
The Star appears on the stone. The Hazy Maze Cave music plays.
Star Get #64, 0 Coins, 5 Lives

Nintendo DS
We land in Shifting Sand Land and triple-jump onto the stone pavilion to get the Power Flower with the Wing Cap. We landed on all four pillars with ease and watched the top spin off. By that time, the Wing Cap ran out. Unfortunately, the cyclone picked us up and dropped us off on the side of the pyramid, so we slid into the instant-death quicksand.
Take 2- We stood on all four pillars and had enough power in the Wing Cap to fly to the top of the pyramid. We fell into the hole and onto the descending cage. There was a brick in the red brick that we broke for a chime. We can still see the altar below. We step on the stairs, which reveal themselves to be Eyerock. They give the same speech as in the N64 (with fewer ellipses). They still alternate with eye is open. We took out the right hand first, then the left before it could push us off the altar. Eyerock gives the same speech after both hands explode. The Star appears on the stone. The Hazy Maze Cave music plays.
Star Get #71, 4 Coins, 3 Lives
The next Star is Free Flying for 8 Red Coins.

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Shifting Sand Land - Inside the Ancient Pyramid

N64
This mission took 7 tries as I tried to get 100 Coins in this mission. Punching Pokeys will give you a Blue Coin, Fly Guys give two coins, and the Red Coins are outside the pyramid. By the time I entered the pyramid, I had 39 coins. There is a Blue Coin Switch at the entrance, so we can add to our total. The Blue Coins appear directly in front of the entrance over a stone just past the fence.
The Hazy Maze Cave music plays. The path forks inside the pyramid and the center is filled with slow quicksand. Standing on the stepping stones will keep you from sinking. To the left is a rolling mummy block called Spindel. Past it is a 1-up in a box. You can either hide in the alcove in the wall or jump over him to get past him. The path to the left dead-ends here. The path to the right is the one you want to take. There is a cube-shaped mummy block called Grindel, who will squash you, but can act as an elevator. We backflipped onto a Grindel and got off immediately, as it will squish you when it hits the ceiling. Nearby are a couple of grates with coins underneath, so we can add them to the total. We make our way up the pyramid, in a circular fashion. Higher up, there is a network of falling sand. We go across another grate and dodge another Spindel. Near the very top of the pyramid is the Star. We had 95 coins at the time, so we got the 5 Secret Coins, making that Star appear. We ignored it for now, and got the 100 Coin Star. There aren't very many coins in Shifting Sand Land, so get as many as you can.
Star Get #62, 100 Coins, 5 Lives
To get to the mission Star, at the top we stand on a Grindel while it hops across a bridge to the other side of the pyramid. We quickly run up the slope and get the Star.
Star Get #63, 101 Coins, 7 Lives

Nintendo DS
We also attempted to get 100 Coins in this mission. We got Red Coins and five coins from the hopping crazy box. We got Blue Coins from Pokeys with updated sprites. We also got coins from the tops of pillars and from Goombas and Fly Guys. Klepto stole our hat twice. We got 4 Red Coins, bringing our total outside the pyramid to 55 coins, making our job easier. Four Blue Coins from the Blue Coin Switch bring our total to 75.
The Hazy Maze Cave music plays. On the path to the left, there is no 1-up, but a Power Flower, if we want to use it. The sign nearby says "Upon four towers one must alight... Then at the peak shall shine the light..." This is a hint for another mission. We walk all the way to the back on the path to the right and go up the slope at the back. We got 8 coins under the grate near the Amp. We crossed the gap with the Grindel. We climb the pole to the third level. We crossed a grate with coins and got the 100th Coin on the nearby stairs.
Star Get #69, 100 Coins, 4 Lives
We got rolled over by Spindel after failing to jump over it. There are vertically moving platforms which take us to another level. There are two Amps and the floor narrows, so we have to sidle carefully. Climbing up the pole takes us almost to the top of the pyramid. We ride the hopping Grindel to the other side of the pyramid, run up the slope and backflip to the platform with the Star near the ceiling.
Star Get #70, 116 Coins, 6 Lives
The next Star is Stand Tall on Four Pillars.

Shifting Sand Land - Shining Atop the Pyramid

N64
This is a simple mission to complete. After landing, we triple jumped to the top of the stone pavilion. Up there is a Wing Cap. We took off and flew to the pyramid. Near the top is an alcove with the Star. Alternatively, you can walk to the pyramid and walk around the pyramid up to the alcove.
Star Get #61, 0 Coins, 20 Lives

Nintendo DS
For the reason above, you will want to be Mario for this mission. We backflipped onto the stone pavilion and got the feather. We flew to the alcove with ease and got the Star.
Star Get #68, 2 Coins, 4 Lives