PrinceWatercress plays Kirby's Dream Land 3 - Part 9 of 14

In this episode, PrinceWatercress feels that the third game in the Dream Land trilogy isn't exactly what it could have been.

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World 4 Boss: Ado

Ado is a new addition to the Kirby series in this game, and she would also appear in Kirby 64 under a different name, though the question of whether this is the same character with a different name has never officially been answered.

Ado draws pictures of bosses from the last game in the Dream Land series, which come to life. The first one is the Snow Dragon. He comes with all of his signature attacks, including the ice breath. Just spit the ice blocks he sends at you back at him.

The next boss is the Ripple Field boss from the previous game. Duck under the spikes, run under him as he bounces to the other side and spit the starfish he sends at you back at him.

The third boss is Mr. Shine and Mr. Bright. One will fly around and throw stuff at you while the other stays near the ground and gets in your way. They switch positions every so often, so you'll get your chance to take out both of them before you know it.

Once you take out Mr. Shine and Mr. Bright, you finally take on Kracko...or at least a painting of him. He flies around trying to zap you with a lightning bolt and sends miniature clones of himself at you. Spit the mini-Krackos at him and avoid the lightning bolts. Once you bring him down to half health, he stops being a joke and will move from one side of the screen to the other as he zaps a bolt of lightning across the ground. Run away from him and hide in the corner so you don't get hit, and spit the mini-Kracko at him whenever he spits one out. This is harder than expected, as he dives towards the ground as he loops across the screen and spits out four of them, and they all either go up or down.

When you take out Kracko, Ado will finally run towards you in anger. Slide into him by holding Down and pressing B while facing him. It's over.

Level 5: Iceberg

World 5-1

The first section is straightforward, while in the second section you'll have plenty of opportunities to get Fire and Stone. You'll definitely want to get the Fire ability for the next section. There is a Pep Brew at the top of the second section, and you can find it to the left of the exit.

The third section has frozen flowers. Use the Fire ability to unfreeze them. Be careful not to squash them after you thaw them out! You'll get the Heart Star at the end for this. You can also choose between Pitch and Rick in the room halfway through this section.

The fourth section has a lot of snowmen that can give you the Ice ability, and the last section has a lot of bats and guys in ghost rags. The wind will also push you back as you make your way to the exit.

World 5-2

The picture for this level is that of a Metroid. Apparently, these are part of the Heart Star requirement.

The first section is a snowy hill that slowly moves you to the right like a conveyor belt. The second section is auto-scrolling and is very shaky. This is because of the large clouds coming towards you. They'll be too close for comfort near the end, but you'll reach the door to the next section just in time. At least the clouds don't kill you, but they do obscure whatever they cover up.

The third section is a volcanic cave. You can choose between Nago and Pitch shortly after entering by going into the first door. The second door contains a Metroid. If you have the Ice ability, you can freeze it and then walk into it to send it into a wall to destroy it. This is the only way to defeat the Metroids, and doing this to all of them in the level will award you the Heart Star. The third door in this section will have two Metroids, and the fourth will have three. Once you've beaten all six, you'll complete the requirement.

After a room full of those yellow fish monsters (where you can pick up some Pep Brews and heal Kirby if you really need to), you'll get another auto-scrolling segment where you have to deal with those pesky clouds again. When you make it to the exit, you'll get the Heart Star from Samus Aran. She will also be unmasked it you complete the requirement. Nice touch there, HAL.

World 5-3

You'll be able to get an opportunity to pick between Pitch, Coo and Nago halfway through the first section, where you'll meet a new enemy: a mole rolling a snowball at you. Even if you defeat the guy rolling the snowball somehow, the snowball still damages you when you touch it.

If you step on the ice blocks, they'll melt under you weight and eventually 

The second section takes place in an ice cave. When you enter it, the screen will start automatically scrolling once again. You'll see boulders rolling toward you in the water near the end.

The third section has Gordos. This time around, they'll move through the ice floors and walls. Also, I swear, the translucent solid walls and floors seem to blend in with the backgrounds at times.

The fourth section is the mini-game featuring Chef Kawasaki from Kirby Super Star. Five Gordos will drop, and each one will make a sound. Kawasaki will whack the Gordo next to him with his pan, which will match the sound that one of the Gordos made. You'll have to choose which Gordo originally made that noise. After three correct guesses, you'll get the Heart Star at the end of the stage.

The last section is pretty simple, really. You'll finally see the icicles that have appeared in previous games here.

PrinceWatercress plays Kirby's Dream Land 3 - Part 8 of 14

We're in the second half of World 4, and we'll have to wall jump with a hamster, make art with star blocks and fight mummy balls to get the rest of the Heart Stars here.

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World 4-4

You'll be taking on a whole bunch of white puffballs in the first section. You'll then get a chance to choose between Coo and Chuchu.

The third and fourth sections are windy. Hope you got Coo! In the fifth section, you'll be going down in a zig-zag pattern, while taking down Sir Kibbles and spiders that are seemingly pretending to be doors when they're not (this section is long in the tooth if you ask me). The sixth section marks the return of the mummy ball enemies from past Kirby games.

You'll meet the Parasol mini-boss from the second game when you make your way to the left and enter the door. Aside from his sandal kick attack, he can also hop around the room spinning, which makes him invulnerable to your attacks. If you have Coo and the Spark ability, he's all too easy to take down. Otherwise, spit his sandal at him. When you beat him, you'll be able to get the orange ball-like being that was the picture for this level. Apparently, you can only reach this boss battle - and the Heart Star requirement - with Coo.

The final section has you zig-zagging up to the exit door. You'll also meet a new enemy: ghosts who roll into balls and roll forwards. (I think that's what they look like.)

Also, you're supposed to be returning an orange to a snowman so he can wear it on his head. I think. I don't even know anymore.

World 4-5

For this level, you'll have to make it to the end with Rick to get the Heart Star.

There's a lot of bridges here, so don't accidentally drop down as you go through the first section. You'll be doing some basic platforming in the second section before you get a chance to pick between Rick and Coo. Obviously, you want to choose Rick and get to the end with him.

Jump on the Waddle Dee genies with Rick in the fourth section, then use Rick to carefully jump off the walls in the fifth. To do that, move into the wall, hold the Control Pad in that direction, and keep on jumping with B. Yep, it's a new skill. For the sixth, it's a big platforming-fest to the end. If you've got Rick, be ready to wall-jump if you get knocked around by any of the enemies here.

Note: this wall-jump ability shows up again in - you guessed it - Kirby 64, where you had to use the combination of both Stone and Cutter to change into Rick and use the wall-jump ability to get one of the crystals. Unless you had actually played the game back in the day or had an Internet connection and access to GameFAQs, you wouldn't have a clue. If you've wondered where this comes from, now you know.

World 4-6

The first section is simple enough. Interestingly, there are drawings of game enemies in the room.

The guy in the red robe in the second section is a new enemy. Lure him towards you, so you can get him to drop a shadow bomb on the blocks. This is how you're going to get out (and get the stars if you need them).

Get rid of the star blocks in the third section so you can get past the Shotzos. You'll be in the animal friends room, but all you can do here is enter the door below. You'll have to use the bomb-dropping guy to open access to the doors and pick the animal friend of your choice (either Nago, Coo or Rick). The door to the right is the exit out of this part.

After a room full of those propeller-heads, you'll find another door in the seventh section. This pink guy is another random shape. He looks like an upside down wine glass. Leave the room and make your way past the cloud balls by dashing to the right, and go through the first door on the other side. From top to bottom, it's 5, 3, 1, 1 and 3 blocks. Yes, that's right. You'll have to recreate the image to look like a right-side up wine glass even though the guy is upside down, because he'll be right-side up at the end. For the eighth section, it's more block-bombing. Make your way to the center door, as your memorization skills will betray you this time.

You'll be able to heal and get a 1-Up in the next room.

After another block-bombing room, you'll be back in a room that looks like the beginning. This time around, the enemies come to life! Take them out like you normally would as you run right to the end.

PrinceWatercress plays Kyatto Ninden Teyandee - Part 1 of 11

I remember watching this cartoon before getting on the bus in fifth grade. I really need to watch it again.

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As soon as you start the game, you are introduced to the Rescue Team. Catton can punch rocks, Meowzma can dig in dirt, Bat Cat can fly and Spritz is the best swimmer.

Stage 1

Little Tokyo is peaceful...until a giant robot starts attacking the city. Now it's up to the Samurai Pizza Cats - Speedy Pizzas, Guido Anchovy and Polly Esther - to stop it.

A jumps, B attacks, Left and Right let you move around and double tapping either direction lets you dash and make some very high running jumps. Go in the other direction to stop. Up and B lets you use your Ninpo attacks, which uses some of your Ninpo meter.

The hearts are your health. To the right of that is your score and current amount of lives as well as the Help Meter. When you pause the game, you can switch between the Samurai Pizza Cat you are currently playing as and the four members of the Rescue Team with the Control Pad. When you use their abilities, the Help meter goes down. Picking up a jingle bell icon or switching back to your main Samurai Pizza Cat will refill it, even though the jingle bell is an instant full refill.

You'll have to move into the rock and hold the Control Pad towards it before punching it with B in order to break it with Catton. 

The enemies here are pretty easy, all things considered. Some of the ninja birds will double back if they run past you.

The Japanese symbol powers up your Ninpo attack. The first one is always a shuriken of some sort, though the second attack is a more powerful projectile that may or may not be some sort of boomerang. The third level is a full-screen attack.

There are alternate paths through the levels, but they all lead to the same place in the end. One such path has water, and while you usually have to jump to ascend in it, you can use just the Control Pad if you're playing as Spritz.

Meowzma can dig through the dirt. Just move into it and Meowzma will do the rest.

The scroll with the N fully refills your Ninpo.

The small cop robots will explode after they start standing still. Watch out for the debris that comes down.

At the end of the stage, you'll meet Bad Bird, who sends Pappaira at you. To beat Pappaira, go up to him and hit the small skull on its body. There will be UFO's descending towards you, but Pappaira is super-easy to beat.

After the battle, Seymour "The Big" Cheese takes his anger out on Jerry Atric, then you can choose between the next three stages.

MIRROR MIRROR ON THE WALL (by The YouTube Pooper)

WHOO

PrinceWatercress plays Kirby's Dream Land 3 - Part 7 of 14

After fighting a raccoon and a fox, we start World 4. This is where the scenery gets interesting.

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World 3 Boss: Pon & Con

Pon & Con is actually a combination boss. This is much like the fight with Nelly and Nruff in Kirby's Dream Land 2.

You're basically fighting a raccoon and a fox. Swallow the miniature raccoons and foxes and spit them at the bigger ones whenever they're onscreen. Watch out for the bombs that drop from the ceiling at the sides of the room. They don't move around, but they do explode after a few seconds.

If you re-visit a boss after you've found all the Heart Stars in their world, you'll be able to meet them on more friendly terms. It's nothing special, but it's a nice thing to accidentally discover.

World 4: Cloudy Park

World 4-1

The first section is dead simple. You can get Rick in the next room. The game lets you use different animal friends in the even-numbered sections.

After that, you can get Rick if you want to.

The third section is the in-game debut of Scarfy. Y'know, the flying guy whose face resembles an angry cyclops as he chases after you for trying to inhale him? Yeah, him. Also, you can get Nago in the next room.

The fifth secton has Gordos and those guys with the skeleton heads. I swear, they remind me of the Skull Mousers on Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, except they don't throw bones at you. You can get Pitch after this.

In the seventh section, you'll enter a cave-like area that soon start automatically scrolling once you approach it. Be sure to get down quickly after you fly up to get the Pep Brew above the entrance. Avoid the boulders. Also, there's a fake Kirby above the exit here. The heck?

The next room lets you get Chuchu, if you want her for some reason.

The ninth section has you going to the right. You can get a bunch of stars here, as well as a Maxim Tomato. You can choose Kine or Coo afterwards.

The eleventh section has more boulders. Avoid the boulders by utilizing the hideaway spots along the path. The twelfth and final section leads to the goal and has the flowers for this world. To get the Heart Star here, you'll have to get here with both Coo and the Broom ability, and clean the dust off of the flowers.

World 4-2

This stage takes place in the clouds. Boy howdy, do the bright white colors make this so confusing. Once you mess with your monitor's contrast settings enough, though, you won't feel like you're snow blind. You can get the Ice ability in the first section, before choosing between Nago, Pitch and Chuchu in the next.

The third section has holes in the ground with air currents that take you upwards. The fourth is the same, but has more of them as well as those purple pterodactyls. The fifth and sixth sections are similar: there are some deep dips in the ground, and while they may not have holes in them, they're pretty hard to see through.

The seventh section is some basic "run to the right" action where those one-eyed toothy fish return, and the final room where the goal is has a chick holding on to a balloon for dear life. Pop the balloon with the Needle ability to save the chick and get the Heart Star for this stage!

World 4-3

It's raining! The first section is pretty straightforward, but you'll get the chance to swim around in the second one. Also, putting the rain clouds that attack you with droplets of water is a nice touch, even though they die when they enter the water. Strange. I also love the movement on the top of the water, too.

The third section has the green slime balls that shoot you in certain directions, which you'll be able to use to get to the door in seconds.

When you get there, you'll meet some guy who's red, yellow and blue. You'll see a bunch of Gordos in multiple colors. They'll either be red, blue, yellow or black. This guy will then ask how many Gordos of a certain color there were, so you'd better be paying attention! It also gets much quicker on the third attempt, so you have to be ready to count as quickly as possible. You'll get the Heart Star after three consecutive correct guesses.

The next section is auto-scrolling, and will take you to the goal.

PrinceWatercress plays Zen: Intergalactic Ninja (Game Boy) - Part 5 of 5

It's now time for the final confrontation with Lord Contaminous!

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Lord Contaminous

Aside from the enemies from Dust Zone and the lava pits you'll have to jump over, you'll have some new hazards to deal with. There are areas where the ground looks different in parts, as if they have faces. These "faces" are where flame jets will shoot out at regular intervals. 

During the part where you'll have to drop down, you'll have to watch out for rocks that drop down from the top of the screen. The rocks will always bounce towards you once they hit the ground. Thankfully, the thin rock platforms allow you to hold Down and press A to drop down, and the 1-Up here is easy to get.

The skulls that come out of the holes in the background are indestructible; just avoid them and move on.

You'll soon meet Lord Contaminous, and the orb containing Jeremy will move up and down as it travels from one end of the room to the others. Hit the stalk that is holding the orb from above, preferably with charge shots, and avoid Lord Contaminous' attacks.

If fireballs rain down, hide underneath a platform to avoid them. Stay all the way to either side of the room to avoid the smog breath. To avoid the guy who bounces around, just slide under him when he moves and just stay away from him. As for the lava plumes, just watch the ground as Lord Contaminous keeps stomping his foot. The plumes usually show up in specific spots.

After you do enough damage to that vine, you'll free Jeremy, who will melt Lord Contaminous melt with the Geocrystal. Lord Contaminous' essence will flee back to his spaceship, and Earth is safe...for now...

PrinceWatercress plays Kirby's Dream Land 3 - Part 6 of 14

It's time to complete the rest of World 3 before facing the boss. Steps for the World 3-6 Heart Star are also included!

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World 3-4

The first section has...snowmen. Swallow them to get the Ice ability. Yeah, this is definitely the most interesting place for such an enemy to debut in the game. It's pretty interesting to use. Just freeze an ice enemy with your ice breath, then you can push the ice cube that results forward, destroying anything that's directly in its path.

The first door you'll see lets you choose between Rick, Pitch and Nago.

The second section has some more Needle enemies. Also, the yellow one-eyed fish thing you've seen in World 2 can go up now. Speaking of which, there's a Maxim Tomato directly above that one-eyed monstrosity if you're needing some health.

The third section is auto-scrolling. You're also going to be swimming the whole time, too. You'll also see another underwater enemy: mollusks. Unlike other underwater enemies, these guys propel themselves, stop and propel themselves again, giving them a stop-start motion without homing capabilities that makes it harder to hit them with even the regular air gun attack. These enemies will have a tendency to hug the ceilings as they follow you, which is even more of a hindrance.

Take the bottom path, then the top path and finally the middle path. This will take you to a mini-boss battle with...a giant broom. The broom will produce stars by either jumping onto the ground or sweeping dust at you. Move away when it moves towards you before you inhale the star. You can only hit this mini-boss in the face. If you aim for the handle, the star will go straight through the boss.

After you beat the broom mini-boss, you'll see a little blue guy. This is actually a mother's child, and you'll have to bring him back to get the Heart Star here. Pick him up, then head through the door to enter the final section. If you have the Broom ability from earlier, then congratulations! You have a free 1-up! The Needle ability will let you get a Maxim Tomato (you can get Needle in this section), and the Stone ability (also available here) will help net you an invincibility lollipop!

The mother and child at the end are Donbe and Hikari, the main protagonists from the Famicom Disk System graphic adventure Shin Onigashima.

World 3-5

The picture for this level is a yellow Chuchu. Obviously you should know that you'll need to have Chuchu at the end to get the Heart Star.

You can drop down in the middle of the first section and go right to find Rick if you need him for whatever reason. You don't really need him for this stage, though.

After dropping straight down in the second section, you'll be dealing with boulders that roll after you in the third. If you have the Fire ability and you don't have an animal friend, you can use the Fire ability to go through the boulder and stay behind it. Not sure if this is a glitch, but it's still a somewhat strange tactic.

The first door you see contains Chuchu, so go in and get her so you can continue through the rest of the level with her.

Combining Chuchu with the Fire ability lets Kirby fly slowly upwards like a hot air balloon. It's still better than Chuchu's own multi-jump ability.

You can get a bunch of stars to get closer to a free life with in the fourth section if you have the right abilities (Fire and Broom). You'll need the Cutter ability to exit this section, but you'll find some Sir Kibbles below the part where you'll need it.

In the last section, you're going straight up. Since you have Chuchu, though, this section is built to put your basic ceiling walking skills to the test. You'll need to take out enemies as you move to the end. If you somehow have Chuchu and the Fire ability, this last part is a cakewalk. You'll also meet a new enemy around here: some fuzzy white balls. They split into three smaller ones when you attack them.

World 3-6

The first section takes place in the desert yet again. You'll then enter an obsidian pyramid in the second section.

Go inside, and you'll go into a weird-looking room with a moving background and a lot of large cannonballs falling from the sky.

In the fourth section, you're underwater, yet the game doesn't make it known until you jump. Turns out, there is a way to get the Heart Star here, but I'd rather make this its own separate section.

Taking the door to the right here lets you exit out of the pyramid. Watch out for the tongues of the invisible mouths in the fifth section, as well as the cannonballs and crushing rectangles. Be sure not to accidentally fall down the blue platforms.

You'll then leave the obsidian pyramid. The final section has you avoiding Shotzos and their little cannonballs en route to the end.

World 3-6 Heart Star

In the fourth section, you'll be rebuilding a robot. You'll have to find the five parts before you can get the Heart Star for this stage.

The easiest one to get it is the head. This one is north of the green ball of slime that lets you go through the walls to enter the doors, which you'll be using to access the doors and get the robot parts. You'll be climbing up an auto-scrolling section. You can leap down the blue platforms, but not the red ones. When you reach the door at the top, you'll find the head.

The next part is in the bottom-left door. To get it, you'll have to enter the door at the bottom. Here, you can choose between all of the abilities of this game, and then you'll find a door that leads to two other doors. These contain the animal friends of the game, with the old ones from the second game on the left and the new ones from this game on the right. Take the left door and get Coo. Go back to the ability room and swallow the white armored guy with the Stone ability. 

For the bottom-left door, get off Coo and carefully destroy the blocks so you can get Coo to the other side. Then, use Coo to get through the wind and get one of the arms.

For the third part, go back to the bottom door and get Kine and the Parasol ability. Then, rocket to the bottom-right door. Use the Parasol to float with Kine to the other side. Since you have Kine, you can enter the door and get the other arm without worrying about the underwater current.

For the fourth part, ditch the Parasol ability and get Spark. You'll want to keep Kine for this one. Enter the top-left door, which was the part we saw earlier. By using the light bulb, you can see where to go. When you see the doors, use the Light Bulb to light up a symbol in front of the doors. If a door has an "O" on it, go through that door. You should be able to get the bottom of the robot in no time. (It's center, left, right, left, and center if you don't feel like using the Spark ability and Kine.)

For the fifth and final part, enter the top-right door. You'll want to keep Kine for this one as well. Go through the left door at the time, and ditch whatever power-up you have to swallow the white armored guy on the right with the Cutter ability. You'll be able to access the door on the left. Enter it, then ditch the Cutter ability and swallow the white guy with the Broom ability to the left. (Break the left door with Kine, then get off of him and float to the other ones and break the other Broom blocks to get into the door with Kine.) You'll be able to access the door on the right. Ditch the Broom ability and swallow the guy with Needle to the left, so you can break the needle blocks under the door to the left. Enter it, ditch the ability, and use the Fire ability to break the blocks under the door to the right.

I did some digging for that last one, and you just need to enter the door to the right every single time just to get the part.

When you reach the end, you'll find out that the robot is R.O.B. from the good ol' NES days, and you'll also see Professor Hector from Gyromite aka Robot Gyro.

It should be mentioned that when you use the slime ball to get to a room and enter the room, the background will scroll in the direction that you traveled to get to that room.

PrinceWatercress plays Kirby's Dream Land 3 - Part 5 of 14

We wrap up World 2 with the battle against Acro, then start World 3.

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World 2 Boss: Acro

Acro will leap toward you and and try to tackle the wall. Jump over his tackle attack and spit the rock that comes out of the wall back at Acro. After he takes enough damage, you'll fight him underwater. Use your air attack to send the objects Acro spits out back at him. If he hits a wall, rocks will drop from the top of the screen, and you can use those against Acro as well.

It takes a little longer than it should, as this sometimes sends the objects back at an angle, but it's still doable and a little safer than using an ability.

Level 3: Sand Canyon

World 3-1

In the first section: Crush the flowers. Avoid the mushrooms. Get the Heart Star. Any questions?

The second section introduces a new enemy: a bunny. If left alone, he just buries himself in the background wall, never to be seen again. There's nothing special about the bunnies, though.

You can get either Rick or Pitch in the third section.

In the fourth section, you'll be getting rid of Star Blocks to lower some of the cannons while jumping over others.

The fifth section has a new enemy: three boulders in a triangle formation that act as one small enemy that slowly tumbles around and gives you the Stone ability when swallowed. You can use the Stone ability to roll down the hills and get through this part a little faster.

The cavemen in the sixth section throw stars at you. You can only attack them with certain attacks, like the Stone ability, as the air pellet spit and projectiles will just be batted back. (If you swallow more than one enemy at once, the projectile will hit them without a hitch.) You'll also see the purple pterodactyls fly around here. (These pterodactyls would return in Kirby 64.) If they hit a wall, they bounce back before turning around.

World 3-2

Okay, I take it back. They actually use something from Kirby Super Star. It's just the first song from Gourmet Race, though.

The guys with the shovels attack you with dirt. Meanwhile, the tops of the cacti are green spiked balls that will jump to the ground and try to attack you.

The door in the first section lets you choose between Coo and Chuchu. The sand slopes will move you downwards.

The second and third sections are pretty easy. When you enter the door in the third section, you'll see a yellow guy with a broom. Apparently, you'll need a Broom to get the Heart Star here. Leap into the bottom center of the walls between the door in the second section to get two Pep Brews and a 1-Up.

The rest of the third section is a simple "get-out-of-this-pyramid" route. One of the rooms has a bunch of dust on it. Get off your animal friend if you have one and use the Broom ability on the floor. Clean it up and you'll get the Heart Star at the end.

The fourth section is inside the sand and it's another route with those garlic-shaped guys with copters on their heads. At least they're not as annoying as they were in the second game.

The fifth section has you running to the end in a desert oasis. One of the pools of water has a Maxim Tomato if you need it. Also, the bottles contain Waddle Dee genies. That's hilarious.

World 3-3

The guys will the skulls on their head will run away when you inhale their headgear off of their heads. You can still catch the guys and either finish them off with the skulls or spit the guys at other enemies.

The doors you'll come across in the middle of the first section will let you choose between Pitch, Coo and Chuchu.

In the second section, you'll be dealing with crabs and crushing blocks. Be sure to hit the Star Block above the last crushing block so you can enter the third section.

In the third section, you'll have a lot of fire dragons as well as miniature lava waterfalls. Be careful not to touch exposed waterfalls as you make your way to the right.

For the fourth section, you're playing yet another mini-game. Pay attention to the ten Gordos and count how many open their eyes. If you guess right, you'll get a point. Guess correctly three times and you'll get the Heart Star for this stage. If a Gordo has a grin, he doesn't count! Be careful on that, because this can trip you up at least once.

As you go through the fifth section, you'll have black fireballs under the bridge that rise up when you get close enough. After that, it's another run to the end where you'll also meet a fake Kirby that you'll never come in contact with..

PrinceWatercress plays Zen: Intergalactic Ninja (Game Boy) - Part 4 of 5

We head to the Dust Area to take on Garbageman...and with the first four stages cleared, it's time to take on Lord Contaminous.

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Dust Area

Aside from the guys chasing after you making a return appearance, you'll have guys with cannons on their head. Take the latter out with a charge shot.

After the stairs, continue right so the deluge of dust doesn't kill you, then drop down as much as you can as quickly as you can so the deluge that comes down doesn't kill you either. Don't forget that you can hold Down and press A to drop down from the platforms with the diagonal stripes on them. There is a 1-Up near the end, but unless you're really fast, getting it is not recommended.

Afterwards, make sure not to hit your head on the spiked crushers and to move on from them once they go up high enough.

After a vertical section with some slow-moving robot enemies from the Oil Area, there will be some mechanical claws that will drop trash where you're standing. Stand away from where you want to jump to bait them, then get moving once they get close.

To beat Garbageman, stay all the way to the left at first, and jump up and shoot a charge shot. When he rushes at you, keep holding Left, then turn around and hit him from behind once he stops. When he disappears, stand all the way to the left to avoid the first salvo of fists that come out of the ground, then move two tiles forward (where the first fist came out from) and stand there to avoid the second.

For the bonus area, you'll need to watch the ceiling and hit the cans that come out to knock them into the recycle bin while avoiding the rocks. If you can fill up the gauge all the way to the left, you'll get 10,000 points.

PrinceWatercress plays Kirby's Dream Land 3 - Part 4 of 14

It's time to keep tearing it up with World 2 and the Heart Stars. The boss will be in the next video.

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World 2-4

The enemies that blend in with the waterfalls and try to whack you with the club in their hand will give you an ability if you swallow them. Why? I don't know. But these white-masked guys look somewhat like Meta Knight and carry different weapons. These different weapons will have different abilities, and the ones here give you the Broom ability. I guess that guy was hitting us with a broom.

The three doors in the second section will let you choose between Nago, Chuchu and Kine.

In the third section, you'll be dealing with giant cannonballs again. There are also four doors, but the one at the end is a lot lighter. This is the real door, as the others are black blobs that disguise themselves as doors and show their true from when you get close enough. There is a secret door that you can find with the combination of Kine and the Spark ability.

You've seen them before, but there are always small dots for creatures that crawl along the ground. Sometimes they're tiny black blobs, sometimes they're birds, sometimes they're something else.

The fourth section starts scrolling upwards as soon as you start going up. This one is more linear than the autoscrolling segment in the last stage. There are two hidden doors before the scrolling section that can lead to both a Maxim Tomato and a 1-Up if you have the Stone ability (you'll need Kine and the Spark ability to find them).

You'll then come across a room with a white guy carrying a fire sword. Above him is a brown frog, and he's stuck inside the ceiling. Turns out his mother at the end of the stage is looking for him. To get him, go back to the vertical autoscrolling area and hunt for a door at the left side of the topmost area where the exit is. You'll make your way to that area with all the Gordos at the sides. Jump straight up to avoid getting hit by the Gordos and you'll find a door. Be sure to get all the nearby stars, then go in.

Remember that giant spiked ball guy that gave you the Needle ability from the last game? Well, you'll fight him here. Get him to rush into you, and fly over him to get him to run into the wall. He'll also shoot the spikes at you. Whatever he does, inhale the needles that fall off and spit them back at him. Be careful near the two waterfalls in this room, as they will suppress your jump height a little bit. After enough hits, you'll be able to take him down and enter a door. Swallow the downed mini-boss to get the Needle ability. This takes you to the small frog. Use the Needle ability to break the blocks above him so you can get him. From there, it's back to the end of the stage to get the Heart Star. 

The final section has you moving to the right, swimming through huge pools of water and avoiding squids on your way to the exit.

World 2-5

There is a theme with each of the stages concerning the Heart Stars:

Stage 1: Flowers

Stage 2: Partner and/or ability combination

Stage 3: Minigame

Stage 4: Find someone, bring them to the end

Stage 5: Bring a certain animal friend to the end

Stage 6: Shapes

This stage takes place in a giant whirlpool.

To get the Heart Star for this stage, it's completely obvious that you'll have to beat the stage with Pitch.

For the second section, you can stand there and use the Needle ability to plow through the enemies, which also include small orcas (which we've probably seen in other stages). You can also grab everything by using the Cutter ability with Pitch if you don't have Kine.

The next section is a room with Kine. You'll need him to get Pitch, so pick him up and enter the next section. Enter the door to the right. In this cave, you'll come across a room that is blocked by three sets of ability blocks: two for Fire, one for Stone and one for Spark. There is a flame dragon in the door to the right of the ladder that takes you to this route. Swallow it to get fire and take down the first set. For Stone, you'll have to go all the way up the ladder, ditch Kine to go through the small hole, and swallow the Rocky that falls off the Star Block. Go back and destroy the second set of blocks, then get Kine. You should be able to get to the rest of the level with Kine.

The fourth section is another whirlpool room. It's pretty hard to swim to where you want to go, and the last go around has Gordos in it. Ouch! If you have Kine, you can swim to the left on the second whirlpool and enter a door. Pitch is inside. Get him.

The fifth section has you swimming against the current on the way up to the door, and has you doing that in order to...avoid more Gordos.

The final section is pretty easy.

World 2-6

The first, easy section is very picturesque and has one of the best simple Super NES backgrounds that I've ever seen. It's also got just a few crabs. The sand here will slow you down.

The second section lets you choose between Nago, Pitch and Rick. Since you're already here, you could probably cheat and get Pitch here to get to the end with him in World 2-5...but guess what? It's doesn't work. So you'll have to do the ability block puzzle in 2-5 after all.

The third section has a lot of bridges and a variety of enemies. If you knock the brooms off of the witches, the witches tumble to the floor.

The requirement isn't in the fourth section, so don't worry about that. For the green slime orbs, choose the top, the bottom, and the upper center for each respective choice between the two, the three and the four green slime orbs.

In the fifth section, destroy the Star Blocks to get rid of the rotating iron ball rods. You'll see a path that leads down to three doors. The door in the center leads to a yellow, jagged diamond-shaped person you're trying to help. In the two doors to the side, get rid of the Star Blocks so that they look like the blocks above the door in the center of the room. When you do that, return to the center room. The jagged-diamond guy will be smiling, indicating you've completed the requirement for the Heart Star.

Now that we have the Heart Star, all that's left is the final section, where you make your way up and avoid all the explosive nuts to reach the exit.

PrinceWatercress plays Kirby's Dream Land 3 - Part 3 of 14

Whispy Woods shows some new tricks, and we head to another Float Islands-esque world to continue the adventure.

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Boss 1: Whispy Woods

Whispy's back as the first boss in the game. *sigh* Old friends (or enemies) never die. Just inhale the fruits that Whispy spits out and send them back at him. At least he has more than just the apples this time around.

What's that? He MOVES when you bring him down to half health? Okay, now that's impressive.

He still spits the fruit out as he chases after you, it just goes farther before dropping to the ground. With that being said, it's not that much more difficult. He sure is getting tired of being the initial punching bag of the game, though.

When Kirby dances, he no longer has the clones of himself with him. That's a shame, because I and a zillion other fans love the Kirby clones.

After the battle, jump into the Warp Star and you'll head to World 2.

World 2: Ripple Field

World 2-1

You may have probably figured this out earlier, but swallowing a Broom Hatter actually gives you the Broom ability. This is the only time where a run-of-the-mill enemy that's been in every game in the series gives you an ability. Since the ability doesn't show up again in a later game, it's also the last.

You'll need the Broom ability before you get Pitch. If you haven't already, go get it now. The next room lets you choose between Pitch and Nago. Choose Pitch. In the third section, there will be a thin white floor that you can drop under and find a door. Go in, and you'll find a plant sapling that hasn't grown yet. Combining Pitch and the Broom ability lets you shoot water balloons, so hit one with the plant to get the blue flower that signifies the first stage. Now do yourself a favor and don't step on it or attack it again, unless you want to epically screw this up.

If you ever hear a chime when you enter a room or section, you'll find something involving the requirement there.

There is another room shortly after this one that contains two of these flowers, and another one after this that contains three.

The fish under the bridge at the end will lunge out of the water and into your face. Once on land, they can spit starfish at you. You can swallow them for the Spark ability. Also worth mentioning the exploding tree nuts of doom that fall of the palm trees and explode. Yep, they're back!

World 2-2

There's a platform you can drop under and find a door. Here, you can choose between Chuchu and Kine.

The next part will take you to an all-underwater area where pipes pump out strong air currents that push you around. Kine can swim against these currents if he's tagging along.

In the final section, you'll see a door. This takes you to some yellow blob with an umbrella on his head. This guy is involved for this level's requirement. You'll have to approach him with both Kine and the Parasol ability and use the attack near him to make him happy, which awards you with the Heart Star for this level. Just hold the Y button for a second and you'll get it to work.

The crabs have extendable claws which would be more of a help if they weren't so short. They do make it harder to jump over them, so you're better off taking them out.

World 2-3

Rick has been changed around since his debut in the last game. He can jump on enemies to defeat them now, and he can't inhale enemies as well as Kirby does anymore. You have to be right next to an enemy in order to suck them up.

The Waddle Dees on the boat take two hits to get rid of. Hit them one to destroy the boat, then you can use him as ammo if you need to.

The yellow guys with one eye will drop down and try to eat you if you don't run away from them in time.

You'll be able to take Kine with you after the first section if you want to use him. It's better if you do, as you can get the 1-Up in the third section with him and get through the sixth section, too.

The Heart Star requirement here is another mini-game. Here, you'll have to guess which pot out of the five the eel is in. You have to guess which one he was in last. If you can guess correctly three times, you'll get the Heart Star!

The sixth and final section is auto-scrolling. There are times where you can take the top or bottom path to collect a star to get closer to an extra life.

PrinceWatercress plays Zen: Intergalactic Ninja (Game Boy) - Part 3 of 5

Things get just a little bit harder as we enter the Smog Area...but the bosses sure don't seem to.


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Smog Area

The guys with their fists up will follow you around. Be ready to hit them with a charged shot.

Some of the branches are frayed; they will fall under your weight, so get to jumping.

The wooden platforms on the zip lines will slowly slide down; jump forward before they drop at the other side.

You'll eventually start seeing clouds and thunder at the top of the screen. When you see thunder, hide underneath a platform so the acid rain doesn't damage you.

The chopped trees act as spikes.

Once you reach the vertical section, watch out for the fans that push you back as you deal with the eyes and the grenade throwers. At the two platforms that move up and down, duck on the first one so you don't hit the spikes, and watch your jump to the second one.

You'll soon reach the roof, where you'll see smog pop out of pipes and dog enemies jump at you.

To beat Smogger, stay all the way to the left and hit him with charged shots from far away. If he gets on the pipe next to you, stand near the pipe and duck to avoid the smog breath that drops down, then smack him with the staff until he disappears into the pipe. If smog comes out of a pipe afterwards, that is where Smogger will come back. Smogger shouldn't be too hard.

For the bonus stage, you'll need to strike the smog clouds that come out of the pipes. Watch the faces to see which one laughs; that is where the next smog cloud will pop out of. If you fill the gauge up enough, you'll get 10,000 points.

PrinceWatercress plays Kirby's Dream Land 3 - Part 2 of 14

In this entry, we complete the rest of World 1 and get all the Heart Stars.

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World 1-3

In the first section, the doorway you'll see halfway through contains both Coo and Kine.

The second section auto-scrolls upwards. Make your way to the top of the mountain without falling onto the bottom of the screen!

The third section has some white blobby guy with a hat throwing circles behind a wall. Pay attention to what he's throwing, as each circle has a different face. Get all of them right and you'll get the Heart Star for this stage.

The fourth section has you going down platforms. When you reach the end, you can swallow all four Nellys to get rid of them.

The fifth section not only re-introduces the cannons, but also introduces the big cannonball, which falls at regular intervals near the end. Interesting.

World 1-4

The grey clouds drop raindrops on you, while the big Kaboos are...well...big Kaboos. The big Kaboos spit regular-sized clones of themselves at you as an attack. The bats swoop down at you.

The green bird you see in the second section makes it debut here, even though most players first saw this enemy in Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards. It will throw the spiky crown on its head at you as a boomerang, and will also fly around. 

The green balls of slime with the smiley faces shoot you in another direction, taking you through blocks and letting you access other areas.

You'll also see an enemy that hides behind the wall and attacks you with a small white ball. You can get rid of him whenever he comes out of hiding. Just wait for him to come back out.

For the uninitiated, the red tomato with the M on it is the Maxim Tomato. This will completely restore your health.

In the third section, take the lower path and go into the water. You'll find a door to the right. The fireball mini-boss isn't that hard at all. All it does is run into the wall and lose its fire, which transforms into a ball that Kirby can spit at the mini-boss. When you defeat this mini-boss, you can swallow it to get the Fire ability. You'll also open a door. Inside is a monkey crying. Touch her, and you'll apparently take her with you.

The light brown droplets are blob-like enemies that peer up and look at you. They can be easily taken care of. Meanwhile, those sea anemones that move up and down and spit stars out of their heads make a return appearance here. Yes, they can still stick to ceilings and walls. They're another series mainstay.

You'll also see a black stone square acting as a crusher. It smashes into the floor, goes back up to the ceiling, and repeats. Move along.

The spiked ball is the Gordo, as mentioned earlier. These things are indestructible and act as the moving spikes of the series.

After the very easy final section, you'll find out that you were supposed to return the monkey to this young girl. You'll get a Heart Star for your efforts. The monkey and the girl are none other than Goku and Chao, the main protagonists of the Famicom Disk System graphic adventure Yuuyuuki.

World 1-5

Besides the Broom Hatters, Sir Kibbles and the the bouncy pink spring enemies, you'll also see those little guys with the copter blades on their heads from the second game. This time around, you can actually inhale them and spit them at other enemies.

The bridges consisting of those huge rolling logs act as a slow conveyor belt. They're not that bad, actually, since they don't seem to throw you into any sort of danger.

The first door in the second section lets you choose between Kine and Coo. Coo the Owl moves around differently in this game. To dash, you have to press B repeatedly while holding the direction you want to go. The second lets you choose between Rick and Nago.

To get the Heart Star here, you'll have to make it to the end with Kine. Notice that the pink fish looks just like Kine except for the face. That poor fish...

World 1-6

The spiders wait at the top of the screen and slowly come down once you're close enough. They can only go so low, so you can be well under them if you're low enough.

The first door you see contains Rick and Chuchu.

Rick works differently here. For starters, instead of inhaling, Rick just opens his mouth, and you have to get dangerously in close in order to get an enemy in his mouth. This can be a pain for some. He also has the added ability of wall jumping: just move into a wall and keep jumping while holding towards the wall with the Control Pad. (This ability returned in Kirby 64, and given how Dream Land 3 went under the radar, that became the game where a lot of people first found out about it.) He can also jump on enemies and defeat them Mario-style.

The second section has you walking around in a tree (in typical series fashion), and it contains black balls that turn into huge spiders. They aren't that menacing, but their legs are pretty long. You can still suck them up, though. There's also a lot of trees you can see through. If you're playing on an emulator that is bad at the transparency effects, though, it's going to be pretty difficult going through this area.

The third section introduces you to the archers. They jump up and shoot an arrow downwards at you. You can find Coo and Nago in the door in the middle of this section.

The fourth section has triangle-shaped enemies that revolve around trees in an attempt to poke you with their faces. I wish I was making this up. You can use them as ammunition against other enemies, thankfully.

To get the Heart Star for this stage, you'll have to look around the level to find three enemies that the clown at the end can juggle. Interestingly, they are all in the second section and shaped like blocks that are different colors and shapes. You have the orange cicle, the green triangle and the blue rectangle.

PrinceWatercress plays Kirby's Dream Land 3 - Part 1 of 14

It's finally my turn to play this game...and I had no idea how demanding this game would be when it comes to going for 100%, especially at the end.

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This would be the last game Nintendo would develop for the American Super NES, even though there would still be support for the system for the next two years in Japan and there were still some more games for the system for about another year or so. Europe and Australia would have to wait for the Virtua Console releases to even play this game, as there were problems with the PAL conversion that never allowed it to see the light of day there until later on.

Once you figure that out, though, it's actually a really enjoyable game...to a point. As you can see, my opinion of this game has changed a bit now that I've finally played it. It plays like the second game, and introduces more new ideas, some of which would ironically never appear in future games. Unfortunately, there were some changes made that should never have been made at all. You'll see them as we play. Also, this is one of the most demanding games in the entire Kirby series to get 100%, and while it starts out simply enough, it gets nasty near the end.

World 1: Grass Land

World 1-1

The first door in the game gives you two characters. Rick the Hamster is on the right, while the guy on the left is Nago the Cat, who walks around with Kirby in his hands instead of just having Kirby riding him. This makes for some interesting ability attacks, such as throwing Kirby at an angle like an energy beam with the Cutter ability. Nago also has a triple jump that can come in handy in some situations.

Getting on the animal friends is different compared to the previous game. Instead of walking into them, you have to walk into them and then press X. You also use the X button to dismount. This confused me at first, and it's probably done the same to a lot of other players who hadn't played the game before...and it's not like it was broken in the second game, so why do this?

Also, Kirby moves really slow if you're just walking, and you'll be dashing all the time just to get through the level at a decent pace. Even then, this gets annoying. Also, when you move, you're not in the center of the screen; instead, you're left of center when going right and right of center when going left

The Cutter Ability is the first ability you'll see in the game, and it allows Kirby to throw boomerangs. There are also Cutter blocks with a picture of a boomerang on them that can only be destroyed by that ability, too. This won't be the last you'll see of such blocks, as there will be others that can only be destroyed by a certain ability.

The stars are back, and the more stars you collect, the more of the six stars on the HUD that you fill up. When you fill up all six stars, you get a one up. You need 30 stars to do this.

Kirby takes ten hits before he goes. That's pretty lenient compared to other games, but this makes even more sense when you press the A Button and call Gooey. Yes, this is the name of the dark blue blob in the opening cutscene, and if you have a second controller, you can play as him. The only catch is that you lose two of your hit points, but if you swallow and inhale him again, you'll get your two hit points back and you can also bring him to heal him. He controls the same way Kirby does, except he uses his tongue to eat enemies instead of inhaling them. In case you beat a level with Gooey, Gooey can also go for a power-up, so you essentially double your chance of getting something from the end-of-stage bonus level that you want.

Speaking of hit points, the thin orange bottles are Pep Brews for those of you who are completely in the dark when it comes to a Kirby game. These bottles replenish two hit points.

You'll also see the Parasol and Spark power-ups in this stage, too, and they both have their own respective blocks here as well. You'll also find the Invincibility Lollipop near the end.

You may notice pink flowers in this stage. If you jump on them, you'll stomp them. Don't do this. If you leave these flowers alone, you'll get a Heart Star when you beat the stage. If you don't know what to do to get the Heart Star, the room at the end as well as the picture on the world map provides a hint. You'll need all the Heart Stars to fight the final boss of the game.

When you reach the exit, you'll be in a room with a door. This door takes you to the end-of-level mini-game. Kirby will move up and down, and the lower Kirby's arms are, the further he jumps. Whichever tile you land on dictates what prize you'll win. If you land on the evil smiley face, you get nothing. (This would be the basis of the post-level mini game in Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards.) 

The medium-sized stars here are worth three stars, while the big ones are worth five.

World 1-2

If you swallow the witch on the broomstick, you'll get the Broom ability. While this is an interesting ability, as it lets Kirby sweep the ground with a broom for whatever reason and actually works as an attack, it's probably one of the weirdest ideas ever and has rarely been used in other games since. It is useful with animal friends, though. I mean, look at Nagi. It's like he's getting enjoyment out of waxing and buffing floors.

You'll also see the Stone and Fire power-ups for the first time in this game, too.

You'll meet two new animal friends here. Chuchu is a pink blob of sorts that's nothing like Kirby. She can cling to walls and climb up them, and she can also hang onto ceilings and walk on them, but your flying ability is limited. Pitch is a rideable green bird that's about as big as Kirby that can fly but also run on the ground, unlike Coo.

In the second section, there is a door hidden behind some blocks. Inside is some green guy with a coil for a body. What you're supposed to do here is come here with Chuchu and without an ability. Walk up to the guy and swipe him in the face with Chuchu. Boom. You got the Heart Star for this stage.

Nelly reappears in this game from the previous installment, and this time around she's demoted from a boss to a normal enemy.

Controls

Control Pad: move left and right (double tap left and right to run), duck, swallow inhaled enemy

A: Summon Gooey

B: Jump (double tap and use againto fly, press Y to spit out air pellet), slide (press while holding Down on the Control Pad0

X: Mount onto and dismount from animal buddy

Y: Inhale/spit out/use ability

Select: Drop special ability

PrinceWatercress plays Zen: Intergalactic Ninja (Game Boy) - Part 2 of 5

The dam area takes us to a slightly harder area where the jumping gets a little more difficult.

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Dam Area

The dogs will come at you at the beginning of this level, and the grenade throwers will also make their return.

Be ready to slide in some parts. Watch out on the bridge above the pit; jump over to the other side before the bridge explodes. Wait for the laser beams to disappear before moving past the laser shooters on the ceiling. 

The water acts as a conveyor belt and will push you back. Keep an eye on the screen, as sometimes things other than enemies can suddenly appear behind you, like health power-ups.

The waterfalls will hinder your jumping. Wait for them to disappear before making your move.

The "1UP" symbol is an extra life.

You'll have another vertical section ear the end, and two waterfalls will drop down every so often, pushing you downwards if you move into them as you jump from platform to platform. There will also be platforms that disappear and re-appear, and these things are made more difficult by the aforementioned waterfalls.

To beat Sulfura, shoot her with charge shots as she flies around. When she stops at a platform, get on the other platform to avoid her sticks of dynamite and hit her with a charge shot if you can. If she flies in place at the center, be ready to avoid fireballs that rain down from the sky. She will then repeat her attack pattern.

The bonus area at the end of this one has you shooting cans before they land in the water. Use the Control Pad to move the target reticle and press A or B to shoot. If the can is in the reticle, you'll blow it up. You can miss a few and still clear this bonus area for the 10,000 points.

PrinceWatercress plays The Adventures of Star Saver - The Longplay

Enjoy!

PrinceWatercress plays The Adventures of Star Saver - Part 5 of 5

We are now inside the alien mothership! It's time to free our sister and get back to Earth!

Stage 9

Throughout the level, you'll have to jump from one platform to another. Watch what is going on and jump carefully.

Run under the crushers before they reach the center of the screen. As for the two "pincer" platforms, there is a P block that will let you get your mech back in case you can't jump through cleanly. Afterwards, jump on each flashing piece of the floor to remove the barrier, then shoot downt he notes and pass straight through. You'll end up getting some sort of egg afterwards.

Shortly after this, you'll rescue your sister. You'll both enter a machine that you have to use the A button in conjunction with Left and Right on the Control Pad to control. Shoot down any enemies that get in your way, and watch where you jump and land as you do. There may be enemies that come at you from the left side of the screen, but you can easily avoid them and their projectiles to get to the exit. You just beat The Adventures of Star Saver!

PrinceWatercress plays Zen: Intergalactic Ninja (Game Boy) - Part 1 of 5

Zen's interplanetary clean-up action was also on the small screen as well, and since it's by Konami, you know you're in for a fun time on the go.

Next | End | Longplay
 

When you start the game, there are four levels that you can pick in any order. Once you complete them, you'll head to the final area and face Lord Contaminous, who is trying to pollute the Earth into ruin.

Oil Area

Left and Right let you move around, Down lets you duck, B lets you attack, and A lets you jump. Down + A lets you slide, and holding the B button down lets you charge up a charge shot. Release the B button after you fill up the gauge at the bottom to let it loose and do more damage than you can with your staff alone. Get ready to use it a lot.

Along with the gauge for the charge shot, you'll also have your current health and lives at the bottom of the screen.

The slow-moving robots amble back and forth, and take two charge shots to destroy. The guys with the guns are faster but take only one. Duck down to avoid being shot.

The oil pits are instant death. Floors with oil on them are slippery, but if you jump forward constantly, you won't have to worry about slippery walking physics.

You'll soon need to drop down. Down + A lets you drop down on certain platforms. The crystal gives you temporary invincibility from the eyes that shoot at you (and take one strike to defeat) and the fires. Watch out for the guys throwing the grenades; even the grenades and the grenade throwers themselves can do contact damage.

The large sphere recovers a good amount of health. The smaller sphere will give you a little bit of health.

The dog enemies go down with one strike from the staff, but they can jump over pits and latch onto you to cause a few hits of damage. Even if they latch on to you, strike them anyway. You can strike a whole bunch of times if you rapidly mash the B button, and the hitbox on the staff strike is a bit generous.

The barrels that move in and out of the oil pits are platforms. You can leap onto them, but the main thing about them to get used to is the timing in which they rise out of the oil. Also, there will be a few times where you will have to slide in order to get through narrow areas and continue on.

You'll eventually have a small conversation with Oil Slick before fighting. Hit him with a charge shot, then slide under him as he bounces around. You want to be as far away from him as possible when he latches onto the ceiling and shoots a three-way shot downwards, then you'll need to duck down and hit him with charge shots until he repeats his attack pattern. That's all there is to Oil Slick, and he ends up being a pushover.

After every stage is a bonus area. For this one, you'll need to save the seabirds while jumping over the rocks. Left and Right let you move while A lets you jump. If you can save them all, you'll get 10,000 bonus points. If you hit even one rock, the game is over automatically.

PrinceWatercress plays The Adventures of Star Saver - Part 4 of 5

We're near the end of our quest, and our adventure sees hidden exits, flashing tiles to shoot and some more bosses.

Stage 7

Jump on the two flashing pillars at the start; first the right one five times, then the left one five times. This extends the bridge.

Jump on the flashing platform three times, then shoot the flashing tile above and to the right to make another platform. Jump on the flashing platform a few more times to reach the other platform.

You'll see a flashing tile soon afterwards. Jump on it until a platform shows up, then jump on the platform until the door to the right opens. Go to where the door was and keep jumping until platforms show up. Jump on the platforms to find another bonus area. Shoot the circular blocks and stand on the lion's back when you are able to in order to warp to the end.

Shoot the flashing tile to the right, then jump on the flashing platform that is ahead to move it upwards. Be ready to shoot enemies on the way up to the goal. There will be a hidden P block that you can shoot to reveal if you need to. There will be some enemies near the top, so make short hops as you make your way to the exit.

But what if you didn't take the shortcut to the end? Leap on the flashing tile ahead once to open up a platform, then go past the dog and you'll face the boss...or do you?

If you don't want to fight the boss, you can drop down to the lower part and shoot the wall to the right in just the right spot to get an instant exit.

If you do want to fight the boss, here's what you do. Make your way to the right when the screen goes dark, then shoot at the boss's tentacles. From here, run all the way tot he other side of the screen and keep shooting. Rinse and repeat until you beat the boss. Simple enough.

Stage 8

Shooting at the floating mines will eventually get rid of all of them for a ton of points.

The tentacle-like corals will stun you if you touch them.

Be sure to get the spinning triangle soon after the start; you'll need it to avoid as many enemies as possible afterwards.

You'll eventually come across a platform on the water that will move when jump on i. The stationary rafts will sink under your weight. Shoot the robot Nessie in the head to use it as a platform, then continue to the right to face the boss.

The boss is a robot gorilla that throws bolts. Run to the right, stop as soon as you see him, then run left to avoid the bolts and shoot the boss in the torso when it comes to a complete stop while moving back and forth. Be careful not to get hit by the falling stones on the tree on the way to the goal. You can get through without getting hit if you move very slowly at the tree.

Super Shitehole Brothaz (by MrTennek)

Because finding an intermission for The Adventures of Star Saver is impossible.

PrinceWatercress plays The Adventures of Star Saver - Part 3 of 5

Our weird adventure continues as we fight a radio, avoid getting shocked and cross a river.

Stage 5

The weirdest new enemy here is the radio. Should you approach it, it will shoot out notes that you can shoot down for a bunch of points.

For the bridge, pay attention to the underside. If you can see dots on the underside, that part of the bridge is safe; otherwise, that part will turn into a moving platform.

The electric currents on the wire bridge will stun you.

At the wall with the two flashing parts near the boss, shoot or run into the flashing tile on the right to warp later into the level. If you ride the platform into the floor, you'll end up in the "square." Shoot the flashing tile to the left three times, and you'll get a shortcut out of the level.

If you move past that, you'll come across a ship. Jump on the smokestack three times to enter another bonus area. Leap on all the flashing tiles, then jump onto the lion's back to teleport to the boss.

The boss here is a monster in a snail shell. Jump over the shell and shoot at the head as it pops in and out after the boss reaches the side of the screen. That's it. Just jump over the boss and shoot the head when it is exposed. That's all.

Stage 6

Be careful at the beginning so you don't get hit by the fish that pop out of the water below.

The tree branches with the darker outline will fall down under your weight.

When you reach the robot Nessie, shoot the head until it freezes so you can stand on the head and use it as a platform.

The fish at the third Nessie gives you platforms if you destroy it.

The boss is some sort of bird monster. Shoot down the eggs when they grow legs and move around, and shoot at the boss when it moves up and down on the right side of the screen.