Showing posts with label Potted Piranha Plant. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Potted Piranha Plant. Show all posts

Monday, April 6, 2015

Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker -- Episode Bonus-3. Shadow-Play Alley

You need 65 gems to unlock this level.

Captain Toad finds himself in an area full of shadows. Pick up a Potted Piranha Plant. Follow the shadows towards the screen for a 1-up. Up ahead are Fire Piranhas. Have the Potted Piranha Plant defeat them for you. Go through the door to enter the shadows. Here, you'll find Fuzzies and a giant Piranha Plant. Go through the door to exit the shadows. Pick up another Potted Piranha Plant and use it to defeat the pink enemies that fit into the wall. On the other side is a Gold Mushroom. Keep going and walk behind a wall to find the Green Star near Bowser's shadow.

Special Challenge: Collect the Gold Mushroom.

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Super Mario 3D World: Crown-Crown -- Champion's Road

This is one of the most difficult levels in the game. There are no powerups or midpoints, so you have to bring all of your powerups with you and start the level over every time you die. Playing with others can help, especially because you can hold more items in reserve. For this level, you'll want to be wearing a Tanooki Suit with a Cat Suit (either Super Bell or Lucky Bell will work) in reserve. Peach and Luigi can be very useful here with their extended jumps.

The Gusty Garden music plays here. You'll start off on crystal blocks. Some of the crystal blocks move and have Octoombas on them. Cross the gaps between the blocks, then go through the clear pipe. This will take you to an area with three Fire Bros. You can ignore them or defeat them. At the top of the stairs with the Fire Bros. are a set of narrow crystal blocks. Stand on one to make a Chargin' Chuck charge at you. Stomp it, ground pound it, or run away. You can run over the crystal blocks without jumping. There are more narrow crystal blocks ahead. Stand on one to make three Chargin' Chucks charge. Run on the set of narrow blocks farther from the wall and jump over the Chargin' Chuck at the end. There is a warp box here.

The warp box takes you to an area with Beat Blocks moving in double time. This is where the Tanooki Suit really comes in handy. To deal with the Beat Blocks, remember to jump normally to a Beat Block of a different color than the one you're standing on, but jump and hover with the Tanooki Suit when jumping to a Beat Block of the same color you're standing on. For the first group of Beat Blocks, I recommend walking onto the first blue set as soon as they appear, jump and hover while moving forward, then land when it comes back. Jump immediate to the pink set, then to the next blue set. Jump and hover to solid ground, or land back on the blue set if you need to. The next set forms a set of stairs, but they do not form sequential steps. Line yourself up on the right side, wait for the blue set to appear, then jump straight ahead and land on the sole pink block on the second set of steps. Immediately jump to the blue set, then the lower blocks of the pink set. Jump from the lower blocks of the pink set and hover over the higher block. Land, then run and jump, then hover to solid ground, ignoring the blue blocks to the side. The final group of Beat Blocks form stairs. In order, it goes: blue, pink, blue, pink, pink, blue, blue. Jump up the first four quickly, then jump and hover over the higher pink block in the set of two. Do the same for the set of two blue Beat Blocks. At the top of the stairs is the first Green Star. Use the clear pipe as a cannon and launch.

You'll land in an area with four fire bars and three Magikoopas. You must defeat all three Magikoopas to make the warp box appear. To make things difficult, each tile of the floor you stand on will start sinking and disappear. It will reappear fairly quickly. When you land, the Magikoopas will fire at you, so jump out of the way to avoid taking damage. Try to defeat the Magikoopas quickly and avoid the fire bars. Warp to the next area.

The next area has spike bars as swinging pendulums and Fuzzies. Past the first spike bar is a Potted Piranha Plant. Jump to it and pick it up. It will make dealing with the Fuzzies easier. If you still have the Tanooki Suit, get a little running start, grab the Potted Piranha Plant, then jump and hover to the next set of pendulums. Stand on the narrow ledge between them, then run into the path of the back pendulum, then run and jump to the area with many Fuzzies. The Potted Piranha Plant will eat them. If all Fuzzies on this platform are defeated, many coins will appear. Next are two more pendulums over moving yellow platforms. Stand on the yellow platforms when they are close and the pendulum is swinging away. Jump, then land on the platforms when they meet in the middle, then jump over the last pendulum towards the warp box. Grab the second Green Star (the Potted Piranha Plant will get it for you if you're still holding onto it). Warp to the next area.

Here's where the Cat Suit comes in handy. It's best if you still have the Tanooki Suit at this point. First, you'll have to spring from a springboard onto the wall in front of you. There are many Spiked Ant Troopers walking down the side walls. After you spring onto the wall, run up it as far as you can go, then wall jump to one side and run up higher. Keep wall jumping and bouncing off ants until you reach the top. Without the Cat Suit, you'll have to wall jump and bounce off ants unaided. Ahead is another springboard. The wall you will spring two has four Piranha Creepers on it. Center yourself, then spring up and run as high as you can. You should be able to run past the third Piranha Creeper. Run over it, then slide down on it to bounce. Continue running up the wall and jump to reach it if you have to. Without the Cat Suit, you'll have to spring, then bounce from Piranha Creeper to Piranha Creeper. At the top is a block of water and many spike blocks. Get into the water block and it will start moving to the right. Swim with it. On the back wall are two colors. Gold areas mark where most of the spike blocks are or where they can move. The white areas mark what is mostly safe. Swim to the right until the water block reaches the end of the wall, then quickly swim up and to the left. You'll have to drop down at points to deal with the maze. At the end is a clear pipe cannon, periodically blocked off by a moving red spike block. When the path is clear, you may want to ground pound in the water while over the pipe so you can reach it before the spike block returns. Launch to the next area.

Aside from where you land, the next part is completely made up of boost pads. The Tanooki Suit is especially useful here. Making your life difficult are the numerous lasers in the area. The first set of them fire square lasers and the second set fire circles. When you start, you'll run forward, left, then forward. You'll then have to jump across the gaps to more boost pads. The Tanooki Suit will allow you to hover and slow down, so you can avoid taking damage from the lasers. The boost pads will initially give you two spaces to move forward on, then one. Once you pass those boost pads, the lasers will fire circles and will be closer together. Run to the left to find the third Green Star and the next challenge. The boost pads are arranged in a square with four lasers. There are five Key Coins to collect: one in the middle and two on each side. They can be very tricky to get. The Tanooki Suit will allow you to slow down and hover over the lasers and line yourself up to collect the Key Coins. If playing alone, I recommend getting the Key Coins on one side first, running back up the middle (towards the screen), then getting the other two on the other side. If playing multiplayer, you can try to have everyone go for a set of Key Coins, have one player collect the Key Coins while the others are in bubbles, who can drop in in case the player collecting Key Coins falls off or dies, or have one person collect the Key Coins will the others stand on the lasers to stop them. This will unlock the warp box in the back. Carefully aim for the warp box.

The warp box will take you to a set of clear pipes. You can relax now: the hard part is over and you don't need powerups. All you need to do is not fall off the level. Enter the clear pipe and it lights up like a neon sign. Follow the path to the right and more of the pipe will light up, revealing the message "THANK YOU!!" There is a warp box at the end.

The warp box takes you to the flagpole. Many friends are gathered here, including Sprixies, Captain Toad, with a few piles of coins, some bunnies and Plessie. Slide down the slide and grab the coins. The stamp is on the second step of the stairs. The top of the flagpole is easy to reach. Congratulations, you're done!

The stamp is of Cat Mario holding a coin.

You may notice that you're missing a few stamps. The last stamps you need can be obtained from completing every level with each character (as in, complete all levels as Mario to get the Mario stamp. The stamps will be each character's portrait from the Character Select menu. To see which levels you completed with which character, go to the map using the (-) button and check the level completion.

Even though I ultimately completed the level by myself, several individuals helped me try to beat it. Thanks to Derek, Tony, John, and Tareq! I really appreciate the help!

And with that, we complete Super Mario 3D World. It was a fun game and those last two levels were especially challenging. I highly recommend this game. Stay tuned to see what I play next!

Friday, April 25, 2014

Super Mario 3D World: Crown-Mystery House -- Mystery House Marathon

The last Mystery House is a long one. You have to collect 30 Green Stars and have ten seconds to make each one appear and collect it. Once you collect the Green Star, the timer stops, so you can take a break if you need to. If you fail to collect one, you'll have to start over. If you find this to be a bit difficult, having more players can make things a little easier.

1. Kill three Koopas to get the first Green Star.
2. Run and jump on the pendulums, then jump for the Green Star. Avoid the spike bar on the last pendulum. If you fall off the last pendulum, you may be able to hop back on and get the Green Star.
3. There are two Brolders and three P-Switches. If you are playing solo, throw the Brolders onto the P-Switches and stand on the last one. If you are playing with others, have them stand on the switches.
4. There's a triple item block on the back wall. It contains a Fire Flower. Light all four torches to make the Green Star appear. You'll have to jump to light the torch in the back left corner.
5. You'll be in a spinning room with Peepas. Throw fireballs to make the Peepas temporarily transparent. Get the Green Star when it's close, on the left side.
6. You're in a room full of crates. The Green Star is in the set of crates in the back right corner. The crate it is in is the lower left corner.
7. There are six Microgoombas and a Goomba in the room. Defeat them all.
8. Throw a baseball down the slope at the Green Star (or hit one down with a fireball, or slide down). Avoid having the baseball hit a Biddybud or it will miss the Green Star.
9. There are four spring enemies, one of which turns into a spring. This one is on the far right. Turn it into a spring, then quickly ground pound it to reach the high platform with the Green Star.
10. There are two Thwomps and a footlight path so you won't fall. Stand on the Thwomp, then wait for it to rise so you can run to the Green Star.
11. This one can be a little tricky. Jump to land in a Kuribo's Ice Skate and start sliding down. Follow the coin trail and avoid the Walleyes. Repeatedly hit (Y) for a speed boost. Try to line up with the Green Star at the end so you slide into the warp box.
12. Grab a Super Bell from the back wall, climb up over the right wall, hit the P-Switch, climb back up the wall and jump over the left wall to get the Green Star. You can split the work with two or more people.
13. Climb up the tower, avoiding the moving brick blocks. The Green Star is at the very top. Before you warp, you may want to hit the glowing spot nearby for another Super Bell.
14. There are Beat Blocks moving at double time forming stairs up to a wall. Try to reach the top Beat Block, then climb up the wall. The glowing spot here also has a Super Bell.
15. Climb up the wall, which will fall away after you clear a chunk of it. Run quickly and grab the Green Star on the rock.
16. There are Fuzzies circling a wheel on the back wall. The Green Star is surrounded on three sides, forming a "U". You can run up the wheel, or spin jump to the Green Star, which is easier.
17. Use the boost pads to chase the bunny. Catch it for the Green Star, then grab the Green Star.
18. Grab a baseball, run and jump from the springboard, then throw the baseball at the P-Switch. The baseball may grab the Green Star for you.
19. You're in a spinning cylinder with Piranha Plants. Run to make the cylinder spin so you can reach the Green Star. Alternatively, if you have the Cat Suit, run up the wall and jump for it.
20. Push two Bullies into the lava. It's a little easier with a Cat Suit.
21. There are giant item blocks that form bridges when you ground pound them. Jump from the top bridge to get the Green Star. Alternatively, with the Cat Suit, run up the wall.
22. There are boost pads at the start of a narrow path. Line yourself up with the center, run and jump across the platforms to get the Green Star. Alternatively, you can run around on the platforms. Avoid the Cat Bullet Bills.
23. There are sleeping Piranha Creepers forming stairs to the Green Star. You have to hit the one at the top to reach it. Bounce on all of the Piranha Creepers or climb the wall with a Cat Suit and bounce on some of them.
24. There are baseballs, two Thwomps, and a bomb. Use the bomb to clear out the lower gray bricks, then use the Game Pad to clear the ! Switches. You can also throw baseballs at the ! Switches.
25. Grab a Potted Piranha Plant and have it eat the Fuzzies. Then stomp both Potted Piranha Plants for the Green Star.
26. Run over the cylinder with the Piranha Plants. The Green Star is on the right side, the side closest to the screen.
27. There's a large spotlight over some gray bricks. Wall jump up between the bricks, then jump for the Green Star. Cat Bullet Bills will appear if you enter the spotlight.
28. There are two Spikes throwing spike bars onto donut lifts. Run, dodge, and weave to make it to solid ground with the Green Star.
29. Boom Boom is here. Hit him once to make the Green Star appear.
30. There are stacks of coins on the path ahead. Coins will rain down. Run to the edge of the path, grab the stamp on the way, and jump off the cloud to reach the Green Star where the Sprixies are gathered. You're done!

The stamp is of a Starman.

Thanks to Ashwin, Derek, John, and Tony for helping me complete this level.

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Super Mario 3D World: 6-1 -- Clear Pipe Cruise

This level can be difficult as it requires quick reflexes to navigate through the pipes. There are lots of clear pipes, which is how you'll get around. There are Fire Piranha Plants that will breathe fireballs, sometimes into the clear pipes. Be careful. Kill one of the Fire Piranha Plants for a Fire Flower. This allows you to clear out the spike balls in the clear pipes. You can't go through parts of a clear pipe with spike balls. Up ahead is a looping pipe. To the left is a Starman. Use it to destroy the spike balls in the center so you can get the first Green Star. Leave the pipe to the right to reach the warp box. There are more spike balls in the pipes, but they can be cleared out with the POW Block. Up ahead are Fuzzies. You can't defeat them with fireballs, so avoid them. The second Green Star is in the top loop in a section of clear pipe. Once you get of the clear pipes, you'll reach the midpoint.

Ahead is a long clear pipe. Instead of going through it, jump on it and walk on top. You'll find the stamp up here. The pipe leads you to an area with more Fuzzies, spike balls, and POW Blocks. Use the POW Blocks to clear out the spike balls so you can go up to a moving cloud that takes you to the warp box. You'll end up near a Fire Piranha Plant and a clear pipe. Use fireballs (yours or the Fire Piranha Plant's) to clear the pipe. It takes you to a cloud cannon. Pick up a potted Piranha Plant and run. The potted Piranha Plant will eat the Piranha Plants in front of you and grab the third Green Star at the end. You'll drop back down, leaving the potted Piranha Plant behind.

Go down the slope with the Piranha Plants. Ahead is a clear pipe with two loops with a Key Coin out in front. There is a group of Fuzzies in each loop. With good timing, go through the pipe, then to the upper loop and to the right. Go through the right branch and get the two Key Coins. Go into the loop, going up when the coast is clear, then get the last two Key Coins in the left branch. Go down into the loop and to the warp box at the top. The warp box takes you to the flagpole. There's a clear pipe with a group of Fuzzies in it. Take the third exit from the bottom to reach the top of the flagpole.

Saturday, January 18, 2014

Super Princess Peach: 2-3 -- Shadow-Play Alley

In the first part of the level, you can see yourself, but the shadows are very prominent. Get a Super Bell and pick up a Potted Piranha Plant, which will eat anything in your way, and pick up things for you, such as Green Stars. You'll encounter Fire Piranhas and Fuzzies. Have the Potted Piranha Plant eat them. Go to the right and you'll see the shadow of a Green Star. Walk towards the front wall and you'll find the area extends far forward. Keep going to reach the Green Star. If you stand on the platforms near the front wall, you may find something. Soon, you'll find a midpoint and a door.

The door leads to the other side of the gap, but now all you can see is shadow, making the area 2D. You'll get another Potted Piranha Plant to use on the Fuzzies. Ahead is a Giant Piranha Plant. Stomp it, then drop down and use your claws to reach the stamp below. There are crates that look like walls are blocking your way. At the end of the area is a door.

The door will bring you out of the shadows. Pick up another Potted Piranha Plant. There are pink enemies covering part of the wall. Tap them on the touch screen or have the Piranha Plant eat them. Behind them is a Mystery Box. Hit the P-Switch on the stairs to reveal that the second Green Star is hidden under the stairs. Drop down, then go left to get it. Pick up the Potted Piranha Plant again and have it eat the Fuzzies. Go past the next door you see. You'll find Captain Toad cowering near the shadow of Bowser. Walk towards the front wall to reveal that it is really animatronic cardboard. Use your claws, fire balls, or just knock it over to destroy it. Captain Toad will give you the third Green Star. Go through the door to reach the flagpole.

The stamp is of the Potted Piranha Plant.