Part nostalgia-bomb, part note-taking and part FAQ, what started in GameTrailers as a video game blog is now on Blogger. This blog is a look back at video games, both popular and obscure, from the video game industry's infancy all the way to the previous console generation.
If you need a distance upgrade, you can get one at the top-leftmost destructible block at the start.
Remember the wine bottle from the cutscene at the beginning of this world? Well, you can just jump in and use it in the same way. If there are any breakable blocks in your flight path, you'll blow straight through them.
Once you take that wine bottle up, go to the right and break the wall with your bubbles. From there, charge your attacks underneath the blocks and you'll be able to shoot your way towards the last star of the world. When you collect all five stars in a world, you'll get a special animation screen confirming this.
When you hit the last wine bottle, hold B and Left. You'll be able to slow down your trajectory and get the other weapon upgrade, which is a multi-shot upgrade.
House
Hoshi: You're Milon? I heard from Tosa. You have all 5 stars. Great. I can dispel the curse! (Scene plays where Hoshi dispels the curse) Milon: Yes, the curse is broken! Hoshi: You now have the power to push certain blocks! If you find an odd looking block, try to push on it. It will move! It's quite handy! Oh, and Milon, don't let Amon's Chef defeat you!
Level 2-6
The cookie dogs look like Scottish Terriers. It's funny to see them turn around when they hit a wall, since they're plainly flat cookies.
The torpedo enemies break when they hit a wall. Of course, another one will pop out of the wall soon after, so don't take too long.
When you reach the upper-left corner of this level, break the blocks and walk through the wall to get the Key that's hidden in the supposedly unreachable blocks behind it.
The bubble gum machines will try to throw gumballs at you, while the doughnuts stop randomly as they go back and forth.
Level 2-7
The boss here is the chef of this world, who has been controlled by Amon.
He'll run around spinning his back. Jump over him and shoot him in the head while you can. You can use the wine glass with the green Jell-O desert in it as a platform if you need to. It makes it easier to jump over the arm-spinning attack as well as puts you at the perfect height to hit him at. You'll still need to dodge the cakes, though. When he returns to the center, the chef will shoot cakes out of his head which will drop down from the sky in random spots. Avoid them and keep hitting him in the head. His attack pattern will then repeat. As long as your jumping skills are good, it shouldn't be too much of a problem getting ten hits in.
After the battle...
Milon: Chef, you're okay now! Chef: I feel like I've been baking for ages. I'm so very tired. Please let me rest. For helping me, I'll give you this accordion. Milon: Ouch! Watch it! What power does this accordion have? Alis! I'll save you, just hang on!
We continue through the second level and find out that it looks rather nifty as you progress.
Level 2-3
The star is next to the first candle enemy you see. Just bust through the wall with your bubble attack and you'll be able to get it.
Run through the wall to the right as soon as you enter the second section and you'll get your third shot.
Those self-filling wine glasses aren't hazardous at all. They are pretty nifty, though.
Level 2-4
This level is auto-scrolling, and you'll be using cookies and ice cream sandwiches to get over a bottomless pit.
If you use the charge attack, you'll be able to stop the auto-scrolling effect briefly, which can give you easier jumps onto platforms and/or more time to think, if you need it.
The star is near the end of the first section, and it's dead easy to obtain.
Kurey: Hey Milon! Listen up! This city of candy was made by a great chef. But, the chef is now controlled by Amon's magic. If anyone eats his candy they get a toothache. We can't eat it so it's piled up, making a huge, impassable wall!
Milon: I have to get by. What to do? Ah! Are you a d..d..dentist?!
Dr. Memory: Why, yes I am. I can help you. Here's the new Bombermen I just constructed. Pick one to blast the wall.
BLACK BOMBERMAN
WHITE BOMBERMAN
Black Bomberman: Destroy! Destroy!
White Bomberman: Just leave it to me.
Milon (With Black Bomb.): I have a feeling something bad is gonna happen...
Milon (With White Bomb.): Ok, I trust you.
~ Moves to wall with Black Bomberman...
Milon (With Black Bomb.): I pick the White Bomberman instead.
Black Bomberman: Too late!
Milon: Ouch!
Black Bomberman: The wall's gone, so don't sweat the small stuff! Besides, your dorky bubbles couldn't do it!
~ Moves to wall with White Bomberman...
White Bomberman: This is quite dangerous, so please back up.
Milon: Thanks a lot White Bomberman!
White Bomberman: No problem, it's my job. Now, good luck Milon!
Level 2-1
The candles can only be hit when their flames are down.
The flashing star with the musical note is the star you need to power up and instrument. You'll need them all to power up all the instruments and beat the game. If you haven't collected the star on a particular level, you'll see a star icon on the part of the map where the course is.
The party cones will launch you into the air when you land on them.
Get on the see-saw and the brown guy on the other end will launch you over.
The cookie platform with the red center acts much like the dead leaf platforms in the first world.
The pumpkins in the capes shoot their heads at you as an attack.
The green icon with the bubble on it allows you to add another bubble to your attack. You can have up to three bubbles in one attack.
The giant orange slice rolls around like a gopher. Get out of its way and wait for it to hit a flat surface. When it falls to the floor, a gopher comes out of the cake and eats the orange.
The regular picture of Milon is an extra-life. You'll find one in the lower-right corner of the second section of the level. Just blast throught the wall with your bubbles, then blast through the blocks to find it.
The monkey chef on the pan flies around and throws two pancakes, one on each side. If you're directly below him, stay there and you'll have nothing to worry about.
Level 2-2
This level will remind you a lot of the original Milon's Secret Castle. You won't be able to tell what the game lets you shoot, so go crazy and shoot at all the walls.
The milk bottles with the spilling milk act as the waterfalls that push you around for this world.
The checkerboard cookie platform moves, while the chocolate-covered cookies are stationary.
There's another bonus game here. Here, you have to guess how many birds fly from one side of the screen to the other. Some of them turn around, and you'll have quite a few on the screen at once, so pay close attention to what's happening, as you'll only see the birds once and you have only one guess. Rewards range from musical notes all the way to a 3-up.
It should be noted that if you pick up a special item that you already have, you'll get ten musical notes instead. You can never have enough of those.
Use your charge attack to open your path to the star in this level.
You'll be seeing forks and knives come out of the floor and ceiling, and these act as spikes that keep poking at you.
Near the end, you'll be dodging huge knives that try to cut you from a bottomless pit. They're basically even bigger versions of the moving spikes you saw earlier.
You'll be dealing with a huge spike pit in the first section. Moving knife spikes will pop up out of nowhere and in places you didn't expect, while the fork spikes will drop and act as platforms as you make your way to the other side. Be prepared to run away and duck whenever necessary, since this is an obstacle course on crack.
There's a bonus game in the cave below and right of the start. Go in and you'll be shooting birds. The closer to the left side that you shoot them from, the more points you get. The more points you get, the better the bonus at the end.
The gold icon of Milon's face with the star flashing behind it is the invincibility power-up.
The icon with the bubble on it is a weapon upgrade. Your bubble attack will have more range when you collect it.
The Winged Shoes will allow you to slowly float downwards, allowing you to make some longer and/or more accurate jumps by holding down the B button.
You can charge your shot to shoot down everything close to you just by holding the Y button. This also lets you shoot down blocks and enemies that are directly above your head, and you'll need to exit this level.
Level 1-5
When the wind starts blowing, you'll be blown away as you jump around. Watch out for the enemies that are being blown back and bounced around by the wind.
You'll tell it's really blowing out there when Milon grabs onto his hat with both hands when you're in the neutral animation.
The lightning bolts will drop to the ground as you make your way through the stage. They'll usually be ahead of you, but you'll be too busy fine-tuning your momentum through the stage to actually run into them.
House
Tosa: Ah, hello Milon! How've you been?
Milon: Tosa, I've reached you!
They talk about all that has happened...
Tosa: Ah, I see! You need some advice on how to save Alis! To defeat Amon, you'll need the 5 legendary instruments, but they were stolen by his minions. On top of that, Amon has cursed the instruments, sealing their true power.
If you obtain an instrument, you should then collect 5 stars. With the 5 stars my friends can lift the curse! Milon, you must hurry if Alis is to be saved! Good luck! I'm counting on you!
Milon: Yes! I must not fail!
Level 1-6
The green guys cutting the floor with the saw move back and forth.
Hit the woodpecker with the bubbles to make it peck parts of walls out of the way.
Wait for the cuckoo bird to fully come out of the clock before you hit it with a bubble.
You'll also be dealing with spinning wooden driedel-like enemies as well as tiny pink guys running around with axes.
The Pinocchio dolls have extending noses that can be used as platforms.
It becomes very apparent here that enemies can respawn a couple of seconds after you get rid of them.
The floor switches (obviously) do things. The first one you see will open up a door.
The Key is used on a door with the picture of the Key on it.
Level 1-7
The first boss of the game is a robot. Shoot bubbles at him as he comes at you and tries to punch you with the punch glove in his stomach. He'll stop shortly before he tries to punch you. After two hits, be ready to run towards him and jump over his head. You can stand on his head if you need to go while you're jumping over him. When he has that angry look on his face, you can hit him again. He'll drop down into the bushes, climb a tree, and drop back down. The attack pattern will then repeat.
After the battle...
Milon: Yes! I've beaten one of Amon's henchmen!
*something falls on Milon*
Yeeouch!
Oh! Is this flute one of the legendary instruments?! Now to find the stars and undo the curse! Those stars are mine!
Yep, this is one of the five instruments you're going to need to beat the game!
Believe it or not, this is the sequel to Milon's Secret Castle. Believe it or not, it's a lot better. Believe it or not, we didn't get it because NINETEEN NINETY SIX. Virtual Console has since corrected this horrifying sin, so we can actually play a Milon game that's actually halfway decent.
Anyway, some giant demon materializes and kidnaps Milon's fairy friend. Why? Not sure. Oh, wait...
This is an action game where an energetic boy named Milon sets off on a great adventure in a cute fairy-tale world. Piccolo is a village in the country of Fantasia. One day, they hear from the fairy Alis that songs and music have disappeared from the forest. Suddenly, the wizard Amon appears, grabs Alis and vanishes with her. The brave Milon must now go on a journey to rescue his kidnapped friend, with his bubble shooter as his only weapon.
Baron: What?! The mage Amon?! If she isn't saved, who knows what may happen?
Milon: I'll save Alis! As tough as it may be!
Baron: Hmm... so be it! It must be done!
Colin: Wait! I'll tell you the ways of the woods first!
- Use the springs to break through hard rocks.
- Take care where the strong winds blow.
Polom: Seek out Tosa. He may be able to help you.
Milon: Okay! Just leave things to me! Well, I'm off!
Level 1-1
To defeat enemies, simply blow bubbles at them. If an enemy in a bubble hits another enemy on the way up, they'll get captured in a bubble as well. You can also use this attack to break blocks.
If you collect clothes, you'll get two extra hit points. Milon's clothes will go from red to green to signify this. If you pick up an extra set of clothes while you have the extra hit, you'll gain ten musical notes. Pick up 100 musical notes to get an extra life. When you get hit, you'll go from green to blue to red.
The bowling ball can be picked and thrown to hit multiple ground-based enemies.
Use the spring on the wall to propel Milon to a faster speed and break through the blocks.
Level 1-2
Just jump into the log to go down the slide on it. If you want to get the extra life in the lake, you'll have to make it to the clouds on the top and jump into the lake from there. The clouds will bounce you up whenever you land on them.
You can also jump on enemies to use them as stepping stones. Some enemies will be killed outright if you do this.
Level 1-3
The leaves act as platforms. Watch out with the dead leaves, as they'll slowly drop as soon as you land on them.
The bubble gum rescues you from a bottomless pit in case you accidentally fall into one. Once you use it, though, you'll have to find another one. You'll fly really high when you use it, so you'll have to make a snap decision to either go back to where you were or sail clear over the pit. It's your call.
Throughout the level, you'll also be dealing with logs falling from the sky. Jump over them as they come your way.
The first section has conveyor belts as well as birds that run at you from the left side of the screen.
Believe it or not, you can duck and throw the crates at the levers to get the conveyor belt running in the opposite direction.
The second section contains electrified wires in not-so-bottomless pits as well as red birds that keep flying forward from the right side of the screen...and never stop. You can kill them all you want, they'll just keep coming. When you're close to the end, they'll drop eggs that contain baby birds that will come at you. Just get to the end.
You'll get healed by Monterey Jack and his cookies yet again.
The third section has lasers at the beginning. You're better off going against the conveyor belt so you can jump past the lasers when they stop firing.
The fourth section has cannons that shoot green balls. Do not use the crates as ammo or as cover. Instead, stand behind the crates so the balls will bounce off of them. For the third cannon, stand between the two stacks of crates and the ball will miss you.
The fifth section has Rescue Rangers logos positioned to spell out DANGER. This part is easy. Just kill the spoon guys and collect all the logos if you want.
You'll finally meet Fat Cat. Instead of taking you on directly like in the last game, he sics the Fat Cat robot after you.
To beat the Fat Cat robot, you'll have to wait for it to go into the air and drop a timebomb. The "Danger" indicator clearly dictates where the robot is going to land. Grab the timebomb, and throw it into the robot's upper body as soon as it reads "1." You only have three seconds before it explodes, so make those three seconds count. You'll want to make sure the resulting explosion hits the boss, not just the bomb itself.
The robot can send sparks running through the floor with its tail (which can easily be jumped over), and can also attack you by sending its hand at you (which is hard to telegraph but is easier to dodge when you're in its field of vision and in the center of the screen). If you're behind the boss as often as possible, you won't be seeing him attack very much at all, which makes this battle much easier.
As you damage the boss, you'll see the wear and tear form. After a few hits, flames will come out of the pipe on the robot's back. If you're far away, this won't be much of a problem. It will also send the spiked ball on its other arm bouncing too, but this is very easy to avoid if you know where to stand, as the ball's angle is pretty high and be easily stood under.
When you beat the boss, you did it! Enjoy your credit-less ending!
The moles with the hardhats will throw wrenches upwards and forwards. They don't have much range. Good thing a crate you get your hands on does.
The rats shock themselves, and send two electrical shocks traveling along the ground in different directions. Jump over the shocks and whack them with a crate when they stop frying themselves.
You'll also see platforms moving around on chains pulled around by gears. You'll have to land on them from above, as the game won't let you jump onto them from below. This will be one of your main ways of getting around inside the clock tower.
The boss here is an ostrich riding a gear unicycle. Grab the white gear that it throws onto the floor and toss it at the ostrich.
Whenever the boss here moves around, you'll want to stay at the very edge of either side of the screen. That way, you'll give yourself more time to dodge the boss when it's moving around, and you won't be unknowingly whacked when he jumps up to either of the two platforms here.
Western World
When you increase your max health to five hearts, you'll get one big heart instead of five small ones to signify five hearts.
The first section has enemies you've seen before: the porcupines and moths from the Ship level. This is easy as this level is going to get.
For the second section, walk up to the lever to control the mine cart. Hold Left on the Control Pad to slow down and Right to speed up. Be careful not to get hit by the boulders that fall from the ceilings, or else you'll be accidentally falling off the mine cart and into the abyss during the invinicibility flash. Your best bet is to slow down near the boulders, as they fall when you get close enough to them.
The third section is basically the same as the second, but you'll also be avoiding chained balls that swing to and fro on the ceiling. Here, you'll have to speed up once they're to the side as far as they can go. When the mine cart falls to the lower section of track halfway through this section, either hold Left or don't move. Holding Right will cause you to accidentally fall over the right side of the mine cart and plunge you right into the bottomless pit.
The fourth section is just like the third. When you reach the end of the mine cart part here, you'll be dealing with the snake-in-the-box enemies as well as the bats from the Sewer level. once again, there's nothing here that you haven't seen before.
The boss here is a magician cat. Avoid the cards he throws, and when the magician cat throws a card onto the floor, grab it and toss it back at him. This is actually a very easy boss, as he is very slow to move to the other side and his cards are easy to avoid as anything if you're paying attention.
Future World
The first section has the moles and rats from the Clock World level in it. You'll also have the crushing blocks. You can walk over them if you want to (and you'll definitely have to do it with the second one to get over the pit), but it's best for you to wait for them to rise back up so you can walk under them.
The second section has a new enemy: rats with slingshots. Thankfully, they're easier than you think as they don't use the slingshot to send your crates back at you; instead, the slingshots are their main attack. The platforms here are just like in Mega Man 3, but you have more time to wait for them to open up and drop you down. This game is meant for children, you know.
The mechanical dogs return in the third section, and this time they're on wheels. They cover a small area when they move back and forth and they will chase after you when you're in range, so use a crate to get rid of them.
Throw the metal block up to the bottom of the magnet to get the 1-Up.
The boss here is a lizard controlling a crane with a spiked ball on it. The spiked ball will produce debris whenever it lowers and hits the ground. Grab the debris that is left behind and throw it at the lizard. You cannot hit the spiked ball or the chain it's connected to, or else the debris will bounce off of it. That, however, will be the least of your problems as your main problem will be the crane itself, as it moves around quite a bit and can even move so far to the left that the spiked ball will be at the left edge of the screen. Be careful whenever you stand between the ball and the crane, as you won't have much room to maneuver.
Control Room
Finally! We have all three keys! We can now access the control room and take on Fat Cat for the final confrontation!
I accidentally posted this link on r/SquaredCircle instead of something wrestling-related that I actually cared about when I worked on this entry. OH NO I'VE BEEN DISCOVERED
Ship
When you hide in the crates, you can also throw them while ducked down inside to hit low-lying enemies, such as the porcupines. You'll have to hit the porcupines in the back, as they'll knock the crates back if they catch sight of them.
The blue moths will fly down and then forward, sprinkling some sort of powder every so often that damages you to the touch. Thankfully, both the moth and its attack are easy to avoid.
The baseball can be used as a throwing weapon. While it doesn't work at all like the crates (you simply throw it straight up and slightly forward), it's useful against the moths and the monkeys in the buckets that move up and down and throw fish at you.
The boss here is a pirate weasel. He'll drink out of some black bottle and spit fireballs at you. As you fight him, the screen slowly buy constantly scrolls upwards. Whenever you see a crate, throw it at the guy. Believe it or not, the boss constantly jumps to a higher platform and never drops down, so use that to your advantage and hit him from below if you have to...just don't accidentally get autoscrolled out of the battle.
After you beat the boss and get through the bonus game, you'll find out that the Urn of the Pharaoh is missing, and the trail is cold. Zipper notices somebody creeping into a dockside warehouse (and if you notice the background while Zipper is talking, you'll notice it too).
When Chip and Dale enter the dark warehouse, the door slams behind them and the lights turn on. Turns out this is a giant refrigerator, and Chip and Dale have been trapped inside. Fat Cat finally shows up, and gloats at them before leaving.
Refrigerator
The enemies here simply skate around and jump every so often. They're quick, but they're really not that much of a hassle to deal with.
You have exactly three minutes to make it to the end of this short level before you're frozen solid. Thankfully, that's more time than you need here, especially since the game was made for kids.
The fans blow you upwards, and the height you'll get off of them is higher than your jump.
You'll also want to watch out for the icicles, too. They form every so often on the bottoms of the pipe platforms, and they'll fall down after a few seconds.
Haunted House
After you get out of the giant fridge, you'll end up at an old house with Monterey Jack. As expected, Fat Cat has opened the Urn of the Pharaohs and let all the ghosts out.
The candles spin around before rushing towards you. Hiding in a crate against these things works best. They also take two hits to kill.
The ghost dogs slowly fly forwards, but if they spot you, they'll go in for the kill. Thankfully, a single crate will get rid of them. Sometimes they'll circle around, too.
Don't worry about the doorknobs banging on the doors near the end of the first section. They're just there for show, even though they actually make a banging noise. Nice work on the details there, Capcom.
In the second section, you'll be seeing the lights go and off. Thankfully, you'll still be able to see where you're going, but the paintings will change into something slightly more macabre (like that haunted house in Disney World) and cloud-like enemies will pop up where the heads on the portraits are and come at you. Thankfully, these clouds are easy to avoid.
The acorns are in the game, too, and they'll refill your health. Why I somehow failed to mention them, I don't know. You'll also see an entrance to an area where you'll hear the first level music again as Monty refills your health with cookies again. You'll start back to shortly before this door, and you'll have to go up from there.
The boss here is a mummified ghost. When the candles go out, he'll pop up and float to the other side. Avoid him as he makes his way over there, and grab one of the wrapped-up balls that he drops when he does. The candles will light up again, so take this opportunity to grab the ball and throw it at him when you see him when they go out again.
His next attack will be two sparks that come out of his hands. Stay at the very edge of the screen and jump over the sparks, and he won't be able to hit you when he stops right next to you. When he does this attack he won't drop a ball.
He has three attacks: a ball drop where he floats in a sine-wave pattern, a ball drop where he quickly floats to the other side, and the spark attack where he doesn't drop a ball.
Amusement Park
After you beat this level, you'll close the lid on the Urn of the Pharaohs and get rid of the ghosts. Unfortunately, Fat Cat will hole himself up in an amusement park. There, you'll have to take him on...but not before beating three levels. Each one contains a key to the control room, and you're going to need all three to get to him.
This is the only part of the game where you get a choice of where to go. The rest of the time, you're on rails. You have a choice between the Clock Tower, the Western World and the Future World.
Yay! A sequel! This is one of the rare Disney-Capcom games to get a direct sequel. It doesn't have all of the charm of the original, but the original gameplay premise is still there.
Once again, you get to choose between Chip and Dale, and once again there's no gameplay difference between the two.
Anyway, this time around, Fat Cat breaks out of jail after he was sent to jail following the events of the first game. (Never saw anything like that on the show!)
Meanwhile, Chip hears about a bomb threat in a restaurant on the television. How they have a television in their clubhouse, I have no idea. Chip and Dale are on the case! But after they leave, they miss the news bulletin that Fat Cat has escaped from prison.
That reminds me...why would the humans even care about Fat Cat or know that he would have the same intelligence and criminal ideations of a human being? It definitely wasn't clear to his owner in the pilot (who was seen only in the pilot), that's for sure.
Restaurant
Unlike the last game, where you didn't have to beat all the stages before going through the last three, you're mostly on rails the entire time. Also, you won't be able to throw crates diagonally, and the large items such as the apples are gone. While it makes the gameplay a little simpler, it was the little details that came with these things that cause the sequel to lose a bit of the charm that the original game really had going for it.
At least you get cutscenes between levels, like you saw at the beginning of the game. You got them last game, obviously, but these are a little better.
The flowers are replaced with the orange "R/R" Rescue Rangers logos, and they serve a bit of a different purpose this time: collect 50 in a level to get a continue.
Just so you remember, the health meter is now in the bottom corner rather than the top. I feel this should be mentioned since a good amount of games put the HUD on the top rather than the bottom. It's just a matter of aesthetics, but I think HUDs were placed on the top of the screen more often in NES games. Maybe it's just me?
The flies carrying the jars of honey will fly forward, stop to drop a gloop of honey down then fly around and stop again to attack once more. They're pretty easy, as is their pattern.
The rats that carry the forks around move back and forth and swing their forks like staves. If they hit a crate you throw at them while they're swinging, they'll send the crate back at you. You won't take damage if you get hit, but you are stunned for a few seconds.
In the second section, you won't have to deal with the bottomless floor that the first one did. You will, however, have to deal with rats carrying spoons. You'll have to hit them from below, as these guys have AI and will instantly batter up and smack your crate back at you if you throw one directly at it. When you hit them, they'll be stunned, leaving you free to perform a direct assault with another crate.
Some of the crates that you'll pick up in the game will make a harsher throwing sound when you toss them forward. You'll be able to tell them apart when they start flashing after you pick them up. These things can be pretty powerful and take down more than one enemy, so take advantage of them when you know where they're at. They'll go into a spiral pattern sometimes, too, so take advantage of that as well.
Some of the crates will have enemies in them. You'll be able to spot them by the brown outline of a box instead of a white one. From there, hit them with a crate or just jump over them when they start walking towards you when you're a short distance away.
The stars give you extra lives whenever you pick one up every single time. No need to go for 20 stars like last time; you'll just get the 1-up.
The box in the sink contains Zipper...and a gravy boat. Just stand on the gravy boat while Zipper turns on the water, and you'll be able to float to the top without taking unnecessary damage.
In the next room, Monty will throw you some cookies. If you're low on health prior to the boss, you'll be full now.
The boss here is Water Rabbit. You'll find out he set the time bomb to create a diversion...and it worked! Chip and Dale will finally find out from him that Fat Cat broke out of prison last night. Fatcat is hunting down a treasuere known as the Urn of the Pharoah, and he probably already has it now. When Chip and Dale ask where the bomb is, Water Rabbit tells them to find it themselves.
You'll then face Water Rabbit in a boss battle. The water flowing off the stacks of dishes wil push you towards the pit at the bottom. Wait for a crate to drop down from the top of the screen, then grab it and throw it at Water Rabbit. Watch out where he goes, since he shift between the three levels of platforms whenever he can, even though he doesn't move very fast. If a crate falls on Water Rabbit before it gets picked up, it will count as a hit. Don't let them fall on you, or you'll be stunned. Water Rabbit has a water squirt attack, but it doesn't go very far and is only of concern if you're at close-to-mid-range.
At the end of every level, the number of Rescue Rangers logos you've picked up will be tallied. For every fifty you have at the end of the level, you'll get a Rescue Rangers badge as well as an extra life. Collect enough badges to increase your health meter.
You'll also get a bonus game at the end of every level. You'll have ten seconds to grab a ball and try to get a prize. The gold star will bring you three extra lives and the silver star one extra life.
You'll cut the wire on the bomb after this. Cutting either wire will deactivate the bomb.
Sewers
The pink fish jump in and out of the poisonous sewer water below. They're pretty easy to avoid, but they can easily be taken out from a distance.
The bats will fly at you when you wake them up. Hiding in the crates by holding Down on the Control Pad works well against them. Some of them walk back and forth on the ground instead of hanging upside-down on the ceiling, and they'll come after you if you're close enough.
The slightly darker-hued crates contain snakes. Throw a crate at them to stun them, then throw them (hopefully into the nearest enemy).
The boss here is a vampire cat. Whenever he flies around, he'll blow you back. Jump over the rocks that come down and then towards you, and avoid him when he comes down on the way to the other side. If he simply flies down, get away. If he slides onto the floor near the other side, jump over him. When a rock is able to land on the floor, pick it up and throw it at him. Standing near the center as he flies helps with getting a rock on the floor, but if he skids into the rock, it will be knocked off and fall through the bottom of the screen. After a few hits, the vampire cat will go down.
Q: whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy
A: I don't know how jokes work.
Q: How do you know where to find the Koopas with artifacts?
A: The Koopas' spawn locations are determined by the order in which Luigi visits the cities. Since I follow the same route every time, I know where the Koopas will be.
Q: Why do you visit the cities in that weird order?
A: I believe it yields better spawn locations than I would get from visiting the cities in a more natural order, enough to make up for the extra time spent running between doors. I still need to plan and run a couple natural-order routes to confirm this, however.
Q: How do you answer the questions so fast on the first floor?
A: The curators ask the same questions in the same order as long as I follow the same route on the first floor. I memorized the inputs for answering those questions. On the second and third floors, some of the questions are random, so I have to stop and read many of the menus.
Q: Why do you wait to cross the street at the beginning of San Francisco (and a few other places)?
A: The game prevents you from crossing a street, going into a pipe, or opening the plumber's toolbox during the post-stomp animation for a Koopa with an artifact.
Q: How much faster do you think you can get this?
A: Sub-21:30 is definitely possible with this route. However, I don't plan to go for it.
Q: Why not go for sub-21:30?
A: I'm really tired of the game.
Q: What would a 100% run entail?
A: Luigi's computer tracks which of the clues he has received in each level. The game also records which photos Luigi has taken. Therefore, 100% would require reading all of the brochures, asking every NPC every possible question, and taking a photo of every landmark. Nobody should run that category under any circumstances.
Q: Do you plan to run any other educational Mario games?
A: No.
I just realized that this has an extra location compared to the NES version. Yep, I had to get on the keyboard once again to type up the questions for Athens, Greece. Also, I haven't heard the muzak rendition of Star Road from this game in ages.
Now that you've completed the first floor, it's time to fight Ludwig. He won't even damage you, so just jump on his head five times to take him down and go up to the second floor.
Second Floor
Once again, we're going from right to left.
This floor also gets different music.
Athens, Greece, Europe
Unlike the NES game, Athens is Super Nintendo-exclusive. Enjoy your bonus material.
Brass Plaque
Q - For whom did they name the arch for the new Roman city?
A - Hadrian.
Q - What other famous arch does this resemble?
A - Arc de Triomphe.
Q - The arch is made of:
A - Marble.
Parthenon Column
Q - Which of the three types of Greek columns is best represented?
A - Doric
Q - The Parthenon was built to honor:
A - Athena
Caryatid
Q - Each Caryatid has a lovely face. What are they meant to replace?
A - Columns
Q - What is one thing the Erechtheion Temple has not been?
A - Disco
Q - The original Caryatids were removed to protect them from:
A - Pollution.
Despite the small pile of extra features that The Software Toolworks made for this, the Super Nintendo version is more of the same in a more colorful package.
Unlike the last game, you'll have three floors with five doors each. When you complete a level, you won't be able to return (thankfully). When you complete a floor, you'll get the easiest boss battle ever. Just defeat the Koopa Kid that runs around three times to beat him.
There are numerous Koopas in the cities now, and the ones with the loot die in funny ways, such as crumbling into pieces or shooting up into the sky like a rocket. Press B to pick the loot up. Yeah, you have to jump to pick up loot. I guess Software Toolworks couldn't make any uses for any of the other buttons...or remembered the X button exists.
The people are in specific spots on the map (which seems to generate at random, maybe it's just me). There are five people in all, and they not only look different from one another, they'll give you clues to where you are and what you've currently highlighted in the Artifacts section (more on that later).
Despite the roads going diagonally on the map, you still go left and right, so don't let that confuse you. Speaking of which, you can use the Select button to toggle an in-game map to see where you're currently at on any given street, as well as any people, pipes, info centers, and Koopas. Pressing L or R while this in-game map is toggled on will let you see the whole city map where everything moves in real time. If you're riding Yoshi, Luigi will be replaced by Yoshi on the map.
All the info booth girls look like Princess Peach now. The questions are exactly the same as the NES version, but you have to answer two questions instead of one to return the artifact. You can also ask for a newspaper for the artifact's location, so you can study up on the questions and learn general information about the landmark it's from. When you return an artifact, you can go into the booth and take a picture of the item so you can see a 16-bit rendition of what it looks like. If you get a question wrong, you'll have to wait for about a minute before you can try again.
To cross the roads, you actually have to cross at the crosswalks. Doing it in the road itself will cause a car horn to sound, probably to deter you from doing it like in the NES game. When you go down, Luigi looks both ways before crossing. Even if you go up, there's still a bit of a wait. It gets slightly annoying over time, and when you do it while riding Yoshi, Yoshi looks like a damn zombie. Seriously, it looks like he has no irises when he looks straight south.
The blue pipe takes you to Bowser's castle and is guarded by a Pokey. Unless you get Yoshi to where you are, you won't be able to scare it away, get on the pipe and return. The green ones warp you around the level, and this is pretty useful if you've just entered it and haven't even come close to killing all of the Koopas yet.
When you beat a level, you'll also get a bonus that depends on how much time you took to complete the level as well as the rewards for the artifacts you returned. Don't know why you'd want to get a high score in this game, but it does prove how good you are. Just like in the NES version, you'll also get a password for when you want to continue your game at a later date.
You actually get the Sistine Chapel picture here, but the nudity is tastefully edited. No genitalia here in an educational Super Nintendo game, thank you so much. At least it doesn't feel forced.
Now for the menu. The Artifacts section lets you choose which artifact you want to ask about. Just select the one you want so the border around it is in red, then continue on with the game. The Computer lets you re-read the clues you've gotten from other people. The Globulator lets you call Yoshi, who will appear if you choose the right location. The City Map gives you a view of the entire city map, but if you press both L and R at the same time, you'll be able to see it with everything moving in real time just like in normal gameplay. The Photo Album lets you see the pictures of all the artifacts you entered the booth for.
When you beat a level, you'll leave Yoshi behind whenever you re-enter Bowser's castle. You'll have to use the Globulator every time you enter a new city.
First Floor
We have five levels to choose from, but this is just the beginning. Since Jerry's leading the way, we're going from right to left along with him.
Venice, Italy, Europe
Sistine Chapel Ceiling
Q - What does Sistine mean in Latin?
A - Six.
Q - Let's make this picture perfect. Who painted the ceiling?
A - Michelangelo.
Q - Where is the Sistine Chapel located?
A - In the Vatican.
Gladiator Spear
Q - Just how many people could fit in this place?
A - 50,000.
Q - When was the Colosseum built?
A - AD 72.
Q - Who would use that spear?
A - Gladiators.
Trevi Fountain Coins
Q - Add your two cents, Luigi. Why do people throw coins?
A - To return to Rome.
Q - The Trevi is the biggest and oldest _____ in Rome.
A - Fountain.
Q - When was the Trevi built?
A - 1762.
Beijing, China, Asia
Great Wall Stone
Q - How long is the Great Wall?
A - 3946 miles.
Q - About how many men did it take to build the wall?
A - 300,000.
Q - When did the building of the wall begin?
A - 5th century BC.
Tower
Q - What did the Emperor do here, one night a year?
A - Fasted and prayed.
Q - Amazingly, the Great Hall was built without:
A - Nails.
Q - About how high is the Hall of Good Harvest?
A - 123 feet.
Archway
Q - Who built the heavenly gate?
A - Yung Lee.
Q - Who was forbidden from entering Forbidden City through the Heavenly Gate?
Q - About how many men did it take to build the wall?
A - 300,000.
Q - When did the building of the wall begin?
A - 5th century BC.
Tower
Q - What did the Emperor do here, one night a year?
A - Fasted and prayed.
Q - Amazingly, the Great Hall was built without:
A - Nails.
Q - About how high is the Hall of Good Harvest?
A - 123 feet.
Archway
Q - Who built the heavenly gate?
A - Yung Lee.
Q - Who was forbidden from entering Forbidden City through the Heavenly Gate?
A - Everyone but the Emperor.
Q - What is Forbidden City's present name?
A - Palace Museum.
Some final battle or something.
When you beat all the levels, you can go all the way to the right and fight some red horned Koopa. Just jump on its head eight times to defeat it. You don't even take damage. It's that easy. Grab the key like you would loot, and the game's over. You won. Yay.
