Here's every track from the game, including the one for The Project, which doesn't even appear on the sound test!
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.
Showing posts with label Gex. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gex. Show all posts
Thursday, April 30, 2020
Gex - The OST
Here's every track from the game, including the one for The Project, which doesn't even appear on the sound test!
Wednesday, April 29, 2020
PrinceWatercress plays Gex (PS1) - Part 15 of 15
Now that we've beaten Planet X, let's get the real ending this time!
When the battle begins, Rez sends a fly into a teal-colored hive. You have to get to this hive, tail whip it to break it, and eat the fly inside, then use it against Rez. It works much like a firefly power-up, but you only get one shot, and if you miss, you have to get another one. If it hits, you'll do damage to Rez.
When Rez throws the projectile, it will sail over your head on the way to the upper-left corner. Wait for it to come down to your level before jumping to avoid it, much less at all.
When the television screens come down, climb the wall to them, then jump from one to another to the other side before they explode. Take care not to fall down to where Rez is moving back and forth. Stick to the wall, tail whip the hive, eat the fly, then spit it at Rez as he flies to the upper-right. Stay on the lower-right corner as Rez flies to the upper right and shoots his first salvo of projectiles. When they all disappear, hold the run button and climb up to avoid the second salvo. You'll then have to jump from one television screen to another, hit the hive, eat the fly and spit the projectile at Rez again.
When Rez is glowing, he is invincible and you won't be able to hit him.
If Rez turns into a fast-spinning tornado, run under him when he is in the air to get away. He bounces four times before the attack stops.
When Rez sends the projectiles down from the top of the room at the left side of the boss chamber, go all the way to the left to avoid the first set of projectiles, then jump over Rez on the way to the right and use the console as a safe spot before jumping over Rez again. From here, the projectiles that rain down alternate between columns, and there will be safe spots between the spots where the projectiles land.
There is another variant of the raining projectiles where the projectiles track your current position. Just stay on the move and they won't hit you.
If Rez shoots laser beams out of his eyes, he's near-death. Just get on the wall to avoid them completely.
After four hits, Rez goes down. This time around, because we've completed Planet X, we get the secret ending, which contains a ton of concept art and stuff that was conjured up when the game was being made.
Also, if you move around after beating Rez, the game might freeze and you'll never get the ending. You'll be forced to reset and beat this boss battle all over again just to get it.
PrinceWatercress plays Gex (PS1) - Part 14 of 15
We've got two levels left...and thanks to a glitch, the last one becomes a total cakewalk.
The Web
Constant electric beams kill; while intermittent electric beams damage. If the beam nodes are purple, they are intermittent; if they are gray, they are constant.
Make your way to the right. Drop straight down and do not touch the beams as you drop. You'll get three hints: "Helicopter platforms are steerable," "Helicopter platforms will keep running even after you have gotten off," and "To park a helicopter platform, place against a wall." You'll soon see a helicopter platform, and the three hints will start coming into play immediately. To steer the helicopter platform, just press one of the four cardinal directions on the Control Pad. Make sure not to touch any constant beams or fly into the ceiling; both of these scenarios will cost you a life. Be sure to constantly move back and forth to avoid the intermittent beams while in the maze-like areas after the start. It will take some practice to get movements down to move through the beam-laden paths like a pro, but it can be done.
At one point, you will have to go to the right, and there will be a right arrow made up of golden flies next to a down arrow made of golden flies. If you've been playing the maze area correctly. there will be a helicopter platform where the right arrow is. Street the platform left, then steer it right and immediately jump off before you get hit by the nearby constant beams by jumping straight up before moving to the left. If you don't do this part, you will be stuck later and forced to start back at the checkpoint.
After the second checkpoint, you'll have to switch between steering a helicopter platform to the right and climbing across ceilings to avoid being shocked or stuck. At the other end, take the far right portal, then hit the checkpoint before grabbing the remote. From here, there will be two helicopter platforms - one on the left and one on the right. Get on the left one, go up a bit, then hold Right before jumping to a solid wall. The helicopter platform will fall. Climb under the wall to the platform on the right. Get that one moving up by holding Up on the Control Pad, then use the "jump straight up and move" strategy to get back to the left platform and have it move upwards too. From here, you'll constantly be switching between platforms - and holding Up as soon as you get on one - whenever there is a gap in the middle, and if one of them drop, you'll be forced to hit a constant beam to start over. This one takes some practice, but it can be done.
There will be two portals at the top. Take the left one to go to the exit. You're done.
There is another path at the start. Go past the helicopter platform and climb downt he left wall. You'll find a hidden path leading to another section leading to some secrets and eventually another helicopter platform leading to a checkpoint. You'll have to watch what you're doing as you go further down, sticking to walls and ceilings where necessary. but it will lead to a portal that leads to the long horizontal corridor with the helicopter platform and the constant floor and ceiling beams.
There is another passage shortly after the beginning of that maze to the left that leads to four extra lives. If you take the nearby portal, it takes you to the last two parts with the helicopter platforms.
Clothesline
You'll be taking a platform to the other side.
Y'know, you could actually try to dodge all of these low bridges...or you could take advantage of a glitch in Gex's hitbox and hold Down for the entire level to get through the entire level quickly and easily.
Which would you rather do?
Once you get to the end, jump to the right immediately. You'll find a hint telling you to check out the ending, too. Go grab the VHS tape to save your progress.
Tuesday, April 28, 2020
PrinceWatercress plays Gex (PS1) - Part 13 of 15
These are possibly the toughest levels in Planet X yet.
Newton's 4th Law
For some reason, this level is not playable in the PAL version.
Go to the left at the start, watching out for the electrical barrier as you break both blocks. Slide down to the left, then hit the camera switch to your left with the tail to open the nearby door. Do not climb up the wall to hit another camera after that, instead, go ahead and climb to the next camera switch. Hit it from the right three times, then go to the left of it and hit it one more time.
Navigate through the water-filled corridor up ahead. In the gap in the water, go through the left wall. You'll be on an invisible bridge. Run to the left to avoid falling through the breakaway floor into the spikes, then break your way through the blocks on the way down, making sure not to hit any electrical barriers. You'll find a flea for our efforts. Make your way back to the water-filled path and go down.
Go to the left of the camera switch at the bottom and hit it three times. This gets rid of both barriers up ahead. Hit the camera switch going down the hill once, then hit the camera switch down the next hill once. On the next hill, hit the camera switch twice. If you need to, tail bounce on the camera switches. You've reached the checkpoint.
Run straight to the left to get the remote. When you make it back down, run to the right and keep on running while keeping from getting shocked. At the up arrow made out of golden flies, you'll be in invisible water. Keep tapping the jump button to keep going up. then go right at the top. Aoid getting shocked. At one point you can go through a path in the poison water below to find three extra lives and a trip back to before you went back into the water at this point. When you make it out of the water, you'll find a VHS tape and the exit.
The Project
This level has a song that is not in the sound test, but is thankfully easily available on the Internet.
This level is also a maze, and there is a trick to it. You want to go towards the groups of golden flies that are odd numbers. For example, if you're at a fork in the road and one direction has two and the other has five, you go towards the group of five and move forwards from there. Thankfully, there will always be a choice between an "even-numbered" path and an "odd-numbered" path. Always follow the "odd-numbered" path.
If you go to the left, you'll find the remote followed by the exit further to the left; if you go to the right, you'll just find the exit.
PrinceWatercress plays Gex (PS1) - Part 12 of 15
We have two more levels in Planet X to go through in this entry, and I make the second of the two look easier than it actually is. I lost a good few lives practicing the jumps.
Bombs Away
The beginning of the level is simple enough. Just make sure you get the flea power-up if you don't get anything else. After this, you'll suddenly be in a chasm full of guys shooting bombs at you as you drop down. Stick to the wall and tail whip everybody on your way down. You'll find the remote. From here, you'll have to make your way up and take out all the bomb shooting enemies as you make your way up to the exit. If you go right through the wall at the top, you'll find a grasshopper, three extra lives and super speed. Be sure to grab those if you need to before going left.
To the left of the top of the bombing area is an arrow made of golden flies. If you drop down where the arrow is, stick to the side of the platform and climb onto the underside, a portal will show up. Drop down and enter it to end the level.
Head To Head
The question mark at the beginning will tell you to tail bounce on the robots in the acid pools to get past them. That's the only hint you'll need, as you'll be doing that through the entire level. You can jump on the robots more than once even if they're speeding up and getting away from you after being tail bounced, which is useful. If you fall into the acid pools, it's instant death. It doesn't get difficult until after you reach the checkpoint. If you can make the last few jumps over the acid pools, you'll get seven extra lives for your effort.
Monday, April 27, 2020
PrinceWatercress plays Gex (PS1) - Part 11 of 15
Welcome to Planet X, the hidden sixth world. Can you complete these eight short but challenging stages?
Now that the secret remote that we pieced together from all of the bonus stages is whole, we can use it to head to a secret world. Just pull it out and use it, and you'll enter
Planet X
There are eight levels, and there are plenty of teleporters on the map to take you to the islands that make up this area.
Saucer Section
The question mark at the beginning will tell you to "ride the wall." Jump up to the translucent wall and stick to it like you would any other background wall, and you'll be able to stick to it as it moves. As you go, you will have to avoid UFOs while following the golden flies and making sure that the center of Gex's body does not touch anything.
The UFOs at the beginning just fly forward, while the huge UFOs afterwards move up and down. You'll see the small UFOs again, but they will be moving in a circle. You'll find a remote for another level there, be sure to pick it up. Finally, you'll have big ships that just move forward. After that, you'll reach the exit.
Free Fall
Here, you'll falling straight down. Follow the trail of golden flies to avoid running into electrical barriers. When you see strange patterns being made by the golden flies, get to the center to pick up another remote. From there, stay there until the end.
Sunday, April 26, 2020
PrinceWatercress plays Gex (PS1) - Part 10 of 15
Here it is...the final battle with Rez...almost. We're not done yet...
Rez' Lair
When the battle begins, Rez sends a fly into a teal-colored hive. You have to get to this hive, tail whip it to break it, and eat the fly inside, then use it against Rez. It works much like a firefly power-up, but you only get one shot, and if you miss, you have to get another one. If it hits, you'll do damage to Rez.
When Rez throws the projectile, it will sail over your head on the way to the upper-left corner. Wait for it to come down to your level before jumping to avoid it, much less at all.
When the television screens come down, climb the wall to them, then jump from one to another to the other side before they explode. Take care not to fall down to where Rez is moving back and forth. Stick to the wall, tail whip the hive, eat the fly, then spit it at Rez as he flies to the upper-right. Stay on the lower-right corner as Rez flies to the upper right and shoots his first salvo of projectiles. When they all disappear, hold the run button and climb up to avoid the second salvo. You'll then have to jump from one television screen to another, hit the hive, eat the fly and spit the projectile at Rez again.
When Rez is glowing, he is invincible and you won't be able to hit him.
If Rez turns into a fast-spinning tornado, run under him when he is in the air to get away. He bounces four times before the attack stops.
When Rez sends the projectiles down from the top of the room at the left side of the boss chamber, go all the way to the left to avoid the first set of projectiles, then jump over Rez on the way to the right and use the console as a safe spot before jumping over Rez again. From here, the projectiles that rain down alternate between columns, and there will be safe spots between the spots where the projectiles land.
There is another variant of the raining projectiles where the projectiles track your current position. Just stay on the move and they won't hit you.
If Rez shoots laser beams out of his eyes, he's near-death. Just get on the wall to avoid them completely.
After four hits, Rez goes down. You'll get your ending...but we aren't done yet...
Also, if you move around after beating Rez, the game might freeze and you'll never get the ending. You'll be forced to reset and beat this boss battle all over again just to get it.
PrinceWatercress plays Gex (PS1) - Part 9 of 15
Here we are with the last world of the game. We're just a few stages away from that battle with Rez. Get ready!
Rezopolis
Rez Knight Fever
You'll be going through tubes that suck you in and shoot you out to get around, and you'll also have to do a bit of climbing
The pools of water are instant death, and the only way to get past them is by tail bouncing off the bubbles that slowly rise upwards out of them. The bubbles can hurt you, so be careful with them.
The Rez Knights charge back and forth, and they can also charge through the breakable blocks, making the level easier.
There are plenty of lightning bug power-ups in the first half of the stage; use them to take out the television enemies.
There is a maze of pipes and platforms after the second checkpoint. The remote is next to the third checkpoint, and above that is a portal that leads to two extra lives.
From the third checkpoint, you'll have to hold directions on the Control Pad to get through certain parts of the tube. This is the only way you'll be able to make it to the exit. Be ready to break some blocks from underneath, avoid a television enemy and bounce off a bubble near the end to get to the exit.
Also, the "static blobs" are enemies, so get rid of them before continuing.
On The Move
Besides the jumping TV's, you'll also have to deal with conveyor belts. Thankfully, there are orange chevrons pointing in the directions that the conveyor belts will carry you. There will also be a lot of spikes that you'll have to avoid, and these and the conveyors will be working hand-in-hand to make getting around difficult.
The gray barrels that spawn out of the machines above the conveyor belts will explode when you touch them, so stay away from them.
Past the second checkpoint, there will be an area where two bubbles spawn close to one another. Climb up and use those bubbles to get to the portal leading to the final bonus area. Here, you'll have to destroy as many barrels as possible in Street Fighter II while also contending with conveyor belts. This one is really hard to get a perfect score on, but unlike the others, if you can get a minimum of 27 barrels, the game gives you the message "Close Enough" and gives you the final remote piece anyway. (I did not know this when I played this, so this was my first time finding out.)
After this, getting through the level gets tougher, since you will have to tail bounce off - and completely avoid - the bubbles as you make your way to the exit, especially as you move across upside-down conveyor belts to get to the exit.
Saturday, April 25, 2020
PrinceWatercress plays Gex (PS1) - Part 8 of 15
The desync is due to me not chopping off that silent, non-moving part after the bonus stage footage. This is what happens when I don't check my work when editing. To quote R-Truth, "This is on me. My bad."
Chop Chop
The TVs are now propelled by rockets. When you can, let them come to you.
The samurai geckos will slash at you up close. Be sure to take them out from a distance with firefly power-ups if you can. You'll have to play the waiting game on the last set of them near the end.
The laundry baskets act as trampolines in this level. Just watch out for spikes later on as well as the spinning daggers throughout the level.
The gold lion statues do not sink when you stand on them; the stone platforms, on the other hand, do.
Toxic Turtle
Get on the wall and climb up. Tail bounce on him when he comes your way. He will then bounce back and forth wildly. Get on the wall to avoid him. When he stops spinning and bouncing, hit him again. As you keep hitting him, watch out for the projectiles he spits and the tail bombs that he drops. As you deal damage, Toxic Turtles will get bigger and bigger. After enough hits, you'll get a strange looking remote. It's not over yet...
You'll be back at The Dome. This time, the dome will explode, revealing a door. Go in, and you'll be in Rezopolis. Use the remote you got from Toxic Turtle here to get the first level opened up.
PrinceWatercress plays Gex (PS1) - Part 7 of 15
Only seven parts in, and we're now in the fourth world of the game!
Kung Fuville
Sumo City
The sumo wrestlers fall down when they get hit, and they act as trampolines to get you to higher areas.
The thunder gods will float back and forth and shoot lightning at you if they see you.
The firecrackers explode when you stand on them, and you'll have to use them as platforms to reach some areas.
The daggers will spin around on the walls and will hurt if they touch you.
The one-eyed flying bats just fly back and forth.
The fish enemies are actually piranhas, and you'll see more of them in a future level.
The green water does hurt you if you land in it. The red water is instant death.
The dragons head statue shoots a fireball forward.
The bonus game portal is near the end. Tail bounce to the left off a one-eyed flying enemy to get to the platform where it is located. Here, you'll have to make a mad dash around the room to collect 150 silver flies, and if you can do just that, you can get a remote piece.
Fish Bait
You'll be spending a lot of time in the water in this level. Besides the piranhas from earlier that will now spawn out of nowhere in some areas, there are electric eels that are dangerous to the touch as well as slow-jumping TV enemies.
To get around in the water - especially in the spiky areas - you'll have to tap the jump button to move. For those spiky areas, you'll have to get into a bit of a rhythm.
Later in the level, there are areas where the water changes from blue to green, and if you're in the water when it turns green, you will get hit. Thankfully, there are safe spots that are easy to look for and get to throughout these sections that will protect you when the water gets poisonous.
The octopus enemies will travel around a specific path, but they can easily be taken down with a tail whip.
Friday, April 24, 2020
PrinceWatercress plays Gex (PS1) - Part 6 of 15
As soon as we're in the third world of the game, we're out. Well, it was fun while it lasted.
Jungle Isle
Feeding Frenzy
Aside from a jungle remote, you have a remote that looks like a pagoda. Wild.
The television enemies here are on wheels, and they also shoot fireballs towards you as well. Duck when fighting them. Some of the piranhas will jump out of the water, and you'll also have gorillas that will move towards you and hit you. The spiders on the background walls move in simple patterns, and can easily be defeated with a tail whip.
The rafts can be used to travel across the water. Even if you move far away, the game will remember where it is and you can wait for it to come back when and if you need to. If you fall into the water, keep jumping to stay afloat
The wooden bridges have some weak points that will crumble if you stand on them.
When on background walls, watch out for spikes. There are the ones that will pop out of the walls, but there will also be bamboo pole-style spikes every once in a while on the tops and bottoms of platforms, as well.
When you reach the checkpoint, go underneath the nearby bridge and head left into the wall. You won't be able to see it, but you will hear a portal. Press up to enter the bonus area. Here, flies will come down and you will have to catch them. This is the first one I ever did as a kid. To ensure you catch all thirty silver flies and get the secret remote piece, just walk; don't run. If you need to, use your tail whip to extend your hitbox and get the flies you can barely get to.
At the exit, you can climb up the wall to the right, then keep holding Up and Right and jump to jump over the wall (try not to die inside the wall). There will be a bunch of flies and a 1-Up, as well as a portal that takes you back to the VHS tape in the level.
Congo Chaos
The big gray blocks can be tail whipped. The yellow block platforms crumble when you stand on them. When you jump on the big block on the floor, the rest of the level will start...and it will be auto-scrolling. Don't get crushed, watch out for the spikes on the trails (which is definitely reminiscent of Super Mario World) and watch where you're going, as you can accidentally get caught in walls due to the climbing mechanics not exactly playing well with the auto-scrolling. (I actually got caught in a wall and died because of that. Seriously.)
The drums can be used as trampolines to get to higher areas.
New enemies include Indiana Jones lizards who whip at you with their tails as well as indigenous people with masks and spears. The Indy lizards are easy, but you may want to use the Lightning Bug power-ups to spit lightning at the spear guys from a distance, as you may get hit at least once trying to tail whip them.
There are multiple paths that you can take at certain points.
There is another portal that you can find if you get on the ceiling where all those spike balls are, and it will lead you to the bonus area.
After the super speed power-up, take the low road after all the background walls you have to climb up and down. You'll find an alternate path that will take you through the water and take you behind the exit. From here, you can explore the area again without worrying about the auto-scrolling, as the auto-scrolling will stop. The high road has more spike balls on tracks, for those wondering.
Jungle Gym
When you start the level, the game tells you "Climb To The Top." This is actually what you're supposed to do.
In this level, you're jumping snf climbing to the top of a wall while trying to avoid a giant snake-looking thing with wings on its head that jumps around through the holes in said wall. If the snake's head touches you in any way, you will get hit. Be sure that you are not in front of any holes in the wall for too long, either, and watch them to see where the boss will jump out from next. At first, you will be jumping, though you may have to climb to get to where you need to go or to save yourself.
Halfway up the wall, you'll find a grasshopper power-up. If you eat it, take care not to get hit; otherwise, you'll have to utilize running jumps to get to the most narrow of platforms, which can be quite difficult as it is possible to slide off them after jumping on and not realize you did until it's too late.
When you reach the top, grab the remote that is up there. A gorilla will show up and knock some boulders down, forcing the snake thing down to the water at the bottom and crushing it.
CGR Undertow reviews Gex
There's not going to be a whole lot to do with the intermissions, sadly, but I did manage to find CGR Undertow's review of the game.
Thursday, April 23, 2020
PrinceWatercress plays Gex (PS1) - Part 5 of 15
This level is optional, but it sure is fun.
Knock! Knock!
Believe it or not, this level is completely optional. You don't have to beat it, you don't have to play it and you don't even have to unlock it. There aren't even any remotes here. If you do play it, however, you'll have a slightly more difficult yet very fun stage.
There are doors throughout the stage, and pressing Up in front of one will open it up. Some will contain brick walls, train passages or showering women in typical 20th century American cartoon fashion, but others will contain portals that you can enter by pressing Up a second time. When that happens, you'll go between the daytime area where you start at to the nighttime area. You will have to go between them in order to complete the level. If you find a camera, hit it so it turns purple. You'll have to hit a camera switch in case you can't seem to find a way to get any further.
Arrows made of golden flies will lead the way. As you play through the level, you'll be able to figure out where you need to go pretty easily, although there are alternate paths.
If a piano falls onto the ground and you walk all over it, you'll get musical notes to play.
Some spikes poke in and out of the floors and ceilings, especially near the end of the level.
PrinceWatercress plays Gex (PS1) - Part 4 of 15
It didn't take long to complete the second world in the game at all. We're not done yet, though...
Rock It!
The question mark icon at the start gives you the hint of "An arrow points down at the desert!" Remember that for later.
For the majority of this level, you're going to have to ride on rockets. If you accidentally touch the front, nose cone end of a rocket (or a rocket's explosion), it will hurt you. Also, there will be plenty of Star Trek, Star Wars and even Elton John references here and there.
The yellow alien guys with the green stripes on their stomachs attack with a "Yikes!" reaction complete with Tex Avery-style eye bulge-outs, and
By standing on the tail end of the blue rockets, you can get the rocket to angle upwards and go slightly higher, and by standing on the front end, you can make it tilt downwards and go slightly lower.
The UFO enemies fly around in short patterns, and if you happen to be under them, they will hit you from above with a boxing glove.
If a rocket travels upwards, you can stick to the side like any other wall in the game. As for the ones traveling downwards, stay away from them and their explosions.
For the stack of rockets travelling parallel of one another, you want to stick onto the ceiling with the golden flies and make your way right from there, or else you'll get trapped above a bottomless pit and die.
When you see the arrow made of golden flies pointing down from the hint from earlier, follow it downward. Hit the camera switch with your tail whip, then go right. You'll find four extra lives and a remote. You'll find another remote from going through the level normally. One opens up an extra level, while the other opens up Flatulator, which is the next boss battle.
Near the end, you'll have to stick to the bottom of a rocket and then drop down to another rocket underneath in order to get to the exit.
The Flatulator
This boss battle is against a thin, ugly washed-up superhero who drinks a bunch of gunk out of a giant cooler and turns into a fat, ugly washed-up superhero. Wait for him to fart himself towards you, then jump over him. Avoid any anvils that drop down when he collides with the wall. Jump over him when he charges at you again and avoid anvils. Keep doing this until he flies into the air.
When he flies into the air, climb up the wall and onto the ceiling, and tail whip the strings that are holding the anvils hanging from the ceiling so that they fall on The Flatulator. After long enough, you'll be knocked off the celing and you'll have to avoid The Flatulator's charges again. If you manage to hit him with three anvils quickly enough, you'll get a health ball to refill one of your hit points with, too.
After hitting The Flatulator with three anvils in quick succession three times, you'll get a remote for the next world, which is a jungle world. You'll be able to start the third world in the game right away!
Wednesday, April 22, 2020
PrinceWatercress plays Gex (PS1) - Part 3 of 15
I miss a remote piece by one frame, then find a secret bonus area that I never even knew existed. Get the popcorn for this one, folks.
New Toonland
Twin Towers
There are two halves to this level: green and purple. Green is the left side, and purple is the right side.
The holes in the background wall cannot be crawled through. You'll have to jump to get past them.
When you see flashing bubbles with exclamation marks on them while climbing walls, do not stand under them. Falling pianos, safes and anvils will come down and hit you.
The maces on the ceilings swing back and forth.
The carrots crunch their way into non-existence when you stand on them.
New enemies include Chippendale chipmunks that take two tail whips to kill and boxing gloves that shoot out of green boxes at regular intervals. The boxing gloves cannot be destroyed.
Jagged edges on the floors are spikes, though they are not instant death.
The blue ball with the grasshopper gives you higher jumps, and lasts until you get hit.
The bonus area is out of the way. There is a purple platform you can stand on that will move you to. Drop down where the golden make a down arrows, and the portal will be there. For this bonus level, you'll have to jump into and bounce off the sides of the walls and pick up all the silver (platinum?) flies. Be careful and don't go too fast, as you may miss some flies and you may go up when you want to go down. This is especially true when I miss the last fly by one frame.
I got so mad that I accidentally found a secret area full of couches underneath where I found the bonus area. Turns out, the two golden flies underneath the platform hint at something, and this is that something. You hold X before landing on the couches to get higher, and if you land between the couches, you'll be forced out of the area.
In the couch area, there is a place where you eventually have to go, and you have to go wall climbing to get to it. You'll find a portal there, and this leads to a portal maze. Each room will have three portals. One portal kicks you out, while the lets you continue through the maze. Thankfully, it's the same pattern every time. To get out, it's right, left, left, left, and right, and the last room gives you a grasshopper power-up and an extra life.
If you make a running jump to the left of the maze portal - which you must have the grasshopper power-up active in order to make, you can find even more couches to bounce on. Thankfully, there are no portals to boot you back out of the room, and if you go all the way to the left, you'll find a couple of extra lives in the sky and a portal between the last two couches that will boot you back out of the room.
There is a glitch involved with this secret area: if you enter it, Gex's vocals stop for as long as you're in the level or until you lose a life.
The remote to the next area is above that whole area near where you find the bonus and secret areas. The remote will always be on
The stars are trampolines, but they don't take you upwards as much as the couches do. Once you see them, you'll start seeing night sky instead of a daytime one, and you'll have free reign between the two different-colored halves of the stage. It won't be long until you reach the exit, regardless of which half of the level you go to.
Pow!
There is a second, green remote that looks like a jungle. A jungle world, perhaps.
The yellow firefly gives you a three-way lightning shot that will kill anything it touches.
There are new enemies here. The purple guys with the green hats roll around in a wheel in groups of four, and when hit, they split up and go after you. They can also throw joke presents that can do damage when solo. Some of the TV enemies now have tank treads and can go up slopes and walls, but they go down as easily as ever. There are also superhero geckos that fly around and go after you when you're close enough.
The TNT sticks are like the carrots, but they blow up and cause damage with their explosions.
The level is one big maze of destructible blocks and portals. If you know where to go, you can find hard-to-reach power-ups and even a hidden wall that leads to a bonus area. There is also a brief maze area separate from the rest of the level.
There is also a VHS tape in this area. The cartoon level remote can easily be found as you make your way to the level exit. As for the jungle remote, it is below where the checkpoint is. Just explore the area the portal leads you to and you'll find it. Interestingly, if you go all the way to the bottom after entering the path to the jungle portal and go right, you can go right through a fake wall and find the bonus area again. Further to the right is the main level area.
PrinceWatercress plays Gex (PS1) - Part 2 of 15
The first world is over already, but it's not going to get any easier from here on out.
Tomato Soup
If you see a blue console below a TV, it's a VCR. That means that there is a VHS tape in the level, and if you pick it up, you'll get a password after clearing the level (unless you're on 3DO, then you'll be able to save your game). The one here will be at the very end of the level, but they will be in more out-of-the-way places later in the game.
There are two new enemies. The first is the killer tomato that bounces forward and splat rather nicely when they are killed. The second is the gargoyle that flies back and forth and spits a fireball downwards every so often.
The spike pits with the skeletons in them are instant death.
At one point, there is a background wall maze, and you'll have to hit cameras to open a path to a flea power-up. It will also be over a pit of instant death water.
Disco Inferno
Unlike the other levels, there is a second remote, and it looks different from all the skeleton head remotes you've picked up so far. Unlike those remotes, this one opens up a whole new
The torches are fire demons that will pop in and out of the torches every so often to throw a fireball at your current position.
The blue firefly gives you an ice breathe. Firing the ice projectile will encase the enemy it touches in a block of ice. If you attack the block of ice, you'll destroy the enemy, but if you leave the enemy be, it will revive.
Interestingly, if you use the ice breathe against the torch enemies, you'll instantly kill them from a distance instead of freezing them.
There are instances in this stage where some platforms hanging off the edge of a floor will crumble when you stand on them, so don't be on them for long.
There is an area with three 1-Ups that is seeming unreachable. You have to jump into the water to the immediate left to fall through a fake wall to get there.
As long as you're walking on the breakable walls, you can't destroy them. If you do a tail whip while holding the Control Pad towards them while on them, then you can break them...and that an lead
Spin-n-Puke
We found both remotes, and if we use the different-looking remote that cycles the color spectrum, we'll open up the next world automatically. But we still have one more skeleton remote, and if you use that, you'll suddenly create a bridge to a TV. None of that was ever there before. This leads to the level boss.
The area will scroll back and forth while skull heads rotate in a pile in the background. You'll then see what looks like the girl from Poltergeist summoning skulls around here. Hit her while avoiding the skulls, the spike pits on the ground and a crushing death at the hands of the level design itself. There are health pick-ups as the area scrolls back and forth, but there's only a few and you need to preserve your health here, as you only have three hits.
After hitting the girl floating in the center of the screen three times, she turns into a zombie and starts projectile vomiting to the sides. You obviously want to avoid the vomit as you hit her three more times. After three more hits, she dies and leaves a remote for the next world. Grab it to end the bonus level and get a password. If you have any health left at the end, you'll get extra lives based on how many hit points you have left. Sadly, you cannot replay boss levels.
Tuesday, April 21, 2020
PrinceWatercress plays Gex (PS1) - Part 1 of 15
Here's some backstory as to how this happened.
And now here's the game!
Uh-oh...after Gex has set up his own perfect hideaway for watching all the TV that he wants, he gets pulled into the TV world by an evil entity known as Rez, who wants to make Gex into a gecko mascot forever. Gex obviously isn't in the mood for this, and now he has to utilize his gecko skills as well as his quick, quote-packed wit to run the gambit through several long-time TV stand-bys such as the Saturday morning cartoon, the horror movie marathon and the late-night kung fu flicks to get to Rez's domain, give Rez the what-for and ultimately obtain his freedom and get back to the real world he's trying to escape from from within.
The Dome
You'll start out in the overworld. Use the Control Pad to move to a TV and press X in front of it if the picture on it is working. Only one is working, and you're right in front of it, so press X.
Cemetery
Well, there's only one TV working here, so go to it and press X.
Frankie and Heli
Left and Right let you walk, Down lets you duck and look down, Up lets you look up. Square lets you eat things with your tail, Circle lets you Tail Whip, X lets you Jump and holding L1 lets you run in conjunction with Left and Right.
From left to right, the HUD consists of your score, your current amount of lives, the current amount of flies you have and your health. If you lose all your health, you lose a life.
Tail whipping question marks give you hints.
The two enemies you'll meet here are Frankie and Heli. Frankie is a Frankenstein's gecko monster that slowly walks forward, while Heli is a flying television that explodes a few seconds after being hit when its timer counts down to zero, hitting anything close to it. Both enemies can easily be tail whipped.
The sets of stone blocks can be tail whipped to get them out of your way.
Golden flies act like coins. Collecting 100 gives you a 1-Up.
Powerballs gives you one health point if you whip them, but if you eat them with S. The first one you'll see is the teal ball with the worm, which is the centipede. The centipede gives you super speed for either a limited time or until you get hit. Don't forget that you can hold Up and press Square to eat stuff above you.
When you leap into a wall, Gex can climb on it. Use the Control Pad to climb around. You can still tail whip and eat things while eat things while wall climbing.
The ladybug gives you full health.
The dagger-like spikes do not kill you instantly, and neither do
If you see a static-filled portal, press Up in front of it to go through it. You can find ways to enter other areas or even other areas cut off from the rest of the level. You may even find bonus areas, such as the one that is unique to the Cemetery: a bonus game where you have to whip skulls being spit out upwards by a tree so they hit ten Frankies. If you defeat all ten Frankies before time runs out (the timer is in the lower-left corner), you'll get a part of a secret remote. You can find the bonus level multiple times, and if you find and play it again after getting the secret remote piece, you'll get extra lives depending on how well you do.
Speaking of remotes, you'll have to explore the level in order to find them. The remotes will be easy to find now, but they'll be a little more difficult to track down later.
The butterfly gives you an extra life.
The camera acts as a continue point when you tail whip. If you die, you'll start over at the last camera you tail whip.
Holding Down and X in mid-air allows you to tail bounce on enemies and blocks, and holding X after hitting something with the tail bounce allows you to bounce up slightly afterwards.
Jump and press Up to stick to background walls. Use the Control Pad to climb in eight directions. Once again, you can still tail whip and stick out your tongue to eat things while climbing on background walls.
The pools of water are instant death, so don't fall into them.
The big TV with the word "exit" in its static-filled screen is the level exit. Press Up in front of it to clear the level and get a bunch of bonus points based on how well you did as well as a one-liner from Gex courtesy of comedian Dana Gould.
Now that you're back on the overworld, press Select to open the remote menu, then use the Control Pad and X to select a remote. Using a remote will turn on another TV, which opens up another level to enter. When a level is completed, its screen will be nothing but static, but you can go back to levels you've already cleared and play them again if you desire.
Grave Danger
There are some floors that will fall away, and they are indicated by black gravestones, so be careful. The graves act as trampolines when you stand on top of them.
If you haven't found the bonus area, this is where you will first meet the tree stumps that spit the skulls upwards. The skulls hurt, but you can tail whip them and send them into other enemies.
The chainsaw slashers are pretty fast, but you can hit them with a simple tail whip.
The roange ball is a flea, which refills . The red ball with the fly is a red firefly. The red firefly gives you the ability to spit fireballs with Square. The firefly power-ups act as extra hits and have their own icon on the health meter, and if you get hit, you'll lose the power-up instead of one of your hits.
There is a platform above two Helis, and the only way to get to it is to tail bounce off the Helis. If you can get to it, you'll get a portal you can enter that leads to some golden flies as well as a 1-Up. There will also be another portal to the bonus game, which you can use to re-try getting the secret remote piece or play again for extra lives.
Hitting cameras will activate things and change the scenery, allowing you to enter areas you won't be able to access before. They go from yellow to purple to signify they are activated. Hit them and look around to see what happens.
The white ball with the worm is the caterpillar, which gives you temporary invincibility. The white ball with the gecko paw replenishes one hit no matter what.
The skull bridge will get you over a whole pool of water, but it will fall into the water when it can't go any further, so get off once it stops.
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