Sunday, July 29, 2012

New Super Mario Bros.: 4-Fort

Once again, we have to deal with Bowser Jr. There is lava below the floor in the first area. We have to use the moving stone slabs as stairs to reach the door. In this room, the lava rises, so you have to climb quickly and carefully. Making things a little more difficult is the grates we have to climb. When the path forks, take the grates on the left and flip the grate to reach the first Star Coin. The second Star Coin is higher up, between two Amps. Near the midpoint are stone slabs with spikes. There is a long, horizontal stone slab over smaller slabs. The third Star Coin is over that. There are some Red Coins that require jumping from grate to grate. Keep climbing grates to reach the boss door. Bowser Jr. is wearing his mask with sharp teeth, which means stomping on him is impossible. He will go into his spiky shell if Mario tries to land on him. To defeat him, either use fireballs, or stop the shells he throws and fire them back at him three times to defeat him. Once defeated, he takes Peach to the castle.

New Super Mario Bros.: 4-3

It's another water level. Take the pipe down to the water, where the level is an automatic sidescroller. This level is crawling with Unagi, some above, some below, and some in the rocks. The first Star Coin is under a ledge. There are Red Coins in the water. The second Star Coin is between two Unagi in rocks, so time your swimming to avoid them. There will be an orange ? Switch that stops the currents near some pipes. Take the last green pipe down and avoid two Unagi in rocks, go left, then down, to reach the third Star Coin. Go back up and you'll find four Unagi in rocks near the pipe to the flag. There is a Goomba on the staircase.

Sunday, July 22, 2012

New Super Mario Bros.: 4-2

This level takes us away from the purple water to an area with lots of mushroom platforms. In this level, the purple mushrooms tilt to the side you're standing on. If you stand on one too long while it's tilting, you will slide off. At the end of a ledge, a brick block has a 1-up. We get hte first Star Coin by wall jumping. The second Star Coin is nearby, so make a purple mushroom tilt so you can reach it. There are Red Coins in this level. There is another ledge with a brick block. Tilt a mushroom so you can go under the brick block to hit it for a vine. This will take you to the third Star Coin, obtainable once you hit another block with a vine. The pipe will return you to the main level. There is a tilting mushroom just before the flagpole.

New Super Mario Bros.: 4-1

World 4 is a forest world, with lots of purple water to avoid. 4-1 is no different. We have to stay out of the purple water while avoiding spiders dangling over the gap. When there are two spiders dangling over the purple water, bounce off both of them and jump high to reach the first Star Coin. Just past the midpoint is Dorrie, the dinosaur we met in Super Mario 64. She can survive in the purple water and ferry us across it. We'll have to either duck under some platforms or go over them to avoid being knocked off. You'll find the second Star Coin over the second spider over here. To get it, jump from the blocks. The Dorrie eventually stops, and we continue on foot. There are donut lifts and more spiders. The third Star Coin is near the end, so we go under the lower set of blocks to reach it. Just before the flagpole is another dangling spider.

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

New Super Mario Bros.: 3-Castle

This castle is filled with spike pillars. Duck under one of them for the first Star Coin. After the midpoint, you will encounter Whomps. They can be killed with a ground pound, but do not kill the one over the spikes: it keeps you from hitting them. To get the second Star Coin, go past it to the right and climb up the pole. Use the rope to swing over to it, making sure the Whomp is lying over the spikes. To the right are lots more spike pillars. You will reach the boss door, but can go under it into the water. To the right is another pillar and the third Star Coin. Get into the water, then climb up when the spike pillar retreats to get it. Through the boss door, we encounter a Giant Cheep-Cheep. It will swim around on the water below, then jump onto the bridge, bounce a few times, then return to the water. Jump on it three times to win, while avoiding the smaller Cheep-Cheep that jump up. Victory gives us the key, then Bowser Jr. carries Peach off to World 5.

New Super Mario Bros.: 3-Ghost House

A ghost house on the beach? We have to deal with it one way or another. The item blocks will make items pop out to the left or right, instead of just appearing on top. The ? Switch will make stairs appear on a slope you can't normally climb (unless you're Shell Mario). The stairs only appear temporarily, so climb quickly. To the right of the first ? Switch is a door to the first Star Coin. Bounce off one of the pumpkins to reach it. There are several Boos in the level to make your life difficult. Once you hit the switch and go up the stairs, go to the left set of stairs while they remain to get the second Star Coin. Once you ascend the stairs on the right, go right. down, then left to reach the next switch. Go back up some of the stairs and drop through the gap to a door. Through that door is an item block that has several items cycling through it. If you get the shell, you can climb the stairs and use the shell to break through brick blocks on the right wall. This leads to the third Star Coin. The door at the top of the stairs leads to the goal.

New Super Mario Bros.: 3-3

This level takes place underwater. This level has lots of Bloopers. Near the start is a 1-up in a hidden block in an alcove. Go down and to the left for the first Star Coin. Near the bottom are three pipes: two green and one yellow. Currents will be coming out of them. An orange ? Switch will temporarily stop the currents so you can go under and left and take the second green pipe down to the second Star Coin. There will be a Blooper Nanny with little Bloopers that will disperse every few seconds. The pipe to exit is in the upper right. Towards the end of the level, you will see an arrow pointing to the end pipe. Drop down and you'll see the third Star Coin. Once you collect it, four Bloopers will appear, so get out of there. The pipe will take you to the flagpole.

New Super Mario Bros.: 3-C

It's another water level. You'll want to stay out of the water to dodge the Spike Bass. You can defeat it with fireballs, but it will infinitely respawn. We have to hop on log platforms. The thinner logs will drop into the water if you land on them. The first Star Coin is below a couple of thinner logs, so let them drop, collect the Star Coin, then hop back up to safety. The Spike Bass will disappear when the jumping Cheep Cheep appear. Dodge them until you reach the midpoint, when the Spike Bass reappears. The second Star Coin is also under a log. Go under the log, then wall jump up to safety. Next is a P-Switch that turns coins into blocks so you can reach the third Star Coin by jumping into the red pipe overhead. The pipe will also take you to the goal, which opens a path to the Castle.

New Super Mario Bros.: 3-Fort

We start at the bottom of the fort, where there are three pipes. They are all cannons, but only the middle one will get you anywhere. It will shoot you to the grates above. Go up the grates on the left, wall jump up, and punch the window in the grate to flip it around, and dodge the Amps to reach the first Star Coin. If you do not flip back over, you will still be on that side the next time you climb up a grate. To get back out, go between the top and bottom Amps to the left side and flip back over. Once you get away from the set of four Amps, the second Star Coin is to the left. After you climb a little more, you'll find two doors. The upper left door will take you to the boss door. It's Bowser Jr. Either stomp on him or use fireballs to defeat him. He will take Peach to the castle. Victory gives us access to 3-3. If you go through the upper right door, you'll find a ! Switch that creates red blocks. Quickly climb up them to a door and the third Star Coin. The door will take you to the boss door, as well.