PrinceWatercress plays Hook - Part 4 of 10

The fourth level of the game sends Peter Pan over a waterfall and across some treacherous waters.

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Level 4

As soon as you start the level, you'll see Tink to your immediate right. You'll want to fill up on flight power pronto. From here, you'll want to get to the top of the waterfall, land on platforms where necessary, and get to the other side, where you can refill on flight magic just to get above the wall at the end and over the spikes. While there are pick-ups if you stay low, I found it easier to stay all the way up just to get through the first half of the level with minimal effort.

The feline enemies (Pumas? Panthers? Tigers?!?) here shoot out growl projectiles. While they don't hurt you, they will temporarily stun you. You also can't defeat these enemies either, so your best bet is to avoid their projectile attacks and just get past them however you can.

The pirates in the hot air balloons are easier to defeat if you slash the balloons rather than the pirates in them. The balloons pop and fall like a rock after one hit, while it takes two to defeat the pirates, who are shooting at you with pistols. It's better to attack the balloons. Smaller ones will show up once you're past the waterfall, and these will start dropping barrel bombs. You can destroy these with your dagger, but you're better off just attacking the pirates. The first two drop bombs, while the third moves up and down while the pirate inside shoots at you; just duck down on the ground when you see him.

Once you're past the waterfall, you'll be swimming across what seems like the ocean (which is really more like a small lake with some weird currents). Remember to hold B to stay in place underwater. If you go too far down, mermaids will show up to carry you back up. You'll need to avoid the pirates, their bombs, and the gray barrels that are on the surface of the water. You can destroy the gray barrels with your dagger, but you can jump over them if you need to with the help of the mermaids. You'll soon come across some dry land, but if you miss out on getting the mermaid to help you before the dry land is all the way to the left, you won't get crushed by the screen; you'll just be placed on the dry land.

The boss here is a flying pirate ship that shoots out barrel bombs that float downward three at a time. Load up on pixie dust for your flight meter, then slowly fly around and avoid the barrels as well as the spikes below while hitting the pirates whenever they come out of the sides or the underside of the ship. If you need to, strike the bombs with your dagger to get them out of your way. This boss takes three hits to defeat like previous bosses, but this battle can be rough if you try to rush through it or if you aren't paying attention. After this, take your place among the Lost Boys to clear the level.