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# Super Mario World - FAQ v1.0 #
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Produced by Jon Thomson (edgeleypark#hotmail.com.invalid), (c) 2002

Table Of Contents

1) Version History
2) Introduction
3) Walkthrough
4) Credits

*** Section 1 - Version History ***

v1.0 - Full release of FAQ, with complete walkthrough, brief FAQ
section. (4/9/02)

v0.1 - Pre-release of FAQ, intended as a guide to getting 96 exits and
nothing else. Not accepted to GameFAQs. (10/8/02)

###################################

**** Section 2 - Introduction *****

There are already FAQs out there for this game, but frequent questions
are still asked on the SMW message board. Maybe people just don't
bother to read them, or maybe they're missing something out. Either
way, I thought I'd create a FAQ.

While this is a great game, it's flawed in that it's too easy. It's
simply too easy to get dozens of lives. Pretty much every level gives
up the opportunity to get more than one life, through the Yoshi coins,
standard extra life, the "hit the three blocks in the correct order"
bonus room which pops up even in castles. The 100 stars bonus game and
Top Secret Area merely compound matters. And as for levels like Vanilla
Secret 2 and Choco Island 4, they're just giving a license to get as
many lives as you like. The cape is also far too powerful. Unlike in
Super Mario 3 on the NES, it's possible to fly through whole levels in
one go. All these add up to SMB3 being in my .sig under the "Greatest
Games Ever" category, but not SMW. There's also less levels than its
NES counterpart, 68 compared to 90. In my eyes, the Switch Palaces
shouldn't count as levels, even though they count as goals. There are
96 *goals*, not levels.

Some quick pointers - once you've completed a difficult level, go back
to Donut Ghost House and complete that to save. Pressing L and R
together when over a completed castle or fortress will allow you to
play it again. Collecting 100 stars in total from end of level tapes
takes you to a bonus round, where you can gain up to 8 lives. Just hit
the blocks and keep a steady rhythm to keep getting the same icon.
Having a cape in this hinders you slightly. If you are about to die in
a level you've already completed (for example if you have the regular
exit and are going back to get the key exit), pressing start then
select will allow you to quit and not die.

I'm assuming you've taken the time to read the manual and that you
know what the buttons do. If not, practice on the easier Yoshi's Island
levels until you're comfortable. Practice flying in the Donut Plains 1
coin room (this is the first level where you get the cape, and it
conveniently gives you a generous coin room to test it out in).

Answers to some frequently asked questions - for quick reference, the
switch palaces are in Yoshi's Island (yellow, after YI1), Donut Plains
(green, after DP2), Vanilla Dome (red, after VD2) and the Forest Of
Illusion (blue, after FI2). You can only get 96 goals. There is no 97.
If you think you've got 96 and your file doesn't show 96, you've
missed something out. Most frequently, you'll have forgotten to do both
exits to all the Star World levels, or forgotten to do both the key
exits to Forest 1 and Forest Ghost House. Your map might look complete,
but the exits to these levels will redraw paths you've already got.
More infrequently, you might have missed Soda Lake, Donut Secret 2
or Choco Secret or the key exit to Valley Ghost House.

***** Section 3 - Walkthrough *****

The guide will show you the way I would try to complete the game and
get all 96 goals. SMW is very non-linear, and although it is possible
to complete the game only doing about 11 levels (YI2, YI3, YI4, IC,
DP1, DS1, DSH, SW1, SW2, SW3, SW4 and then the front door), it's not as
much fun that way. You might decide to do the Star World at a different
time to me, probably earlier. That's OK, but I don't see the point
unless we're trying to shoot ahead and finish the game. I only bother
trying to do the Star World once I can use it as a short cut to get
back to the Top Secret Area from the Forest and beyond. Having
completed the Forest also means I'll have hit all of the switches as
well, making getting some of the key exits a bit easier.

On the maps, a symbol of xxx means that the map will pan out to
elsewhere when you take that path. I'd like to do one big map but my
ASCII art isn't great. And a * next to a level indicates a save point.

========= Yoshi's Island ==========

xxx
|
|
IC*--
YSP* |
| YI4
| |
xxx YI3--
| |
| |
YI1---YH---YI2

Key:
YH = Yoshi's House
YI1 = Yoshi's Island 1
YI2 = Yoshi's Island 2
YI3 = Yoshi's Island 3
YI4 = Yoshi's Island 4
YSP = Yellow Switch Palace
IC = Iggy's Castle

==========

Yoshi's House

Left to - Yoshi's Island 1
Right to - Yoshi's Island 2

Nothing of any real use here. Eat the berries with Yoshi if you're
bored.

Yoshi's Island 1 (1 goal, 1 total)

Up to - Yellow Switch Palace
Right to - Yoshi's House

Nice easy start to the game. The first flying block has a power up in
it. One of the bushes also contains a mushroom if you run through it.
Spin jump to break the blocks and go down the pipe to collect the
third Yoshi coin. The fifth and subsequent Yoshi coins collected in
each level get you an extra life. Hit the half way tape to start from
there if you die (this will make you Super Mario if you are not big
already). Throw the Koopa shell at the block above it for an extra
life. The next ? block has another power up.

Yellow Switch Palace (1 goal, 2 total)

Hit the P, collect the coins. More easy lives. Go through the pipe and
hit the big switch. Save your game. From now on, all yellow dotted
blocks will now be filled in, and can be hit for mushrooms.

Yoshi's Island 2 (1 goal, 3 total)

Up to - Yoshi's Island 3
Left to - Yoshi's House

Pick up the shell and knock over all the Koopas for an extra life. The
fourth ? block contains Yoshi. The second ? block after the half way
tape contains another Yoshi. Note that if you already have Yoshi, this
will give you an extra life. A regular block soon after will reveal a
vine to climb to get the fourth Yoshi coin. Hit the P switch near the
end of the level to create a platform to make getting lots of stars
easier.

Yoshi's Island 3 (1 goal, 4 total)

Right to - Yoshi's Island 4
Down to - Yoshi's Island 2

The second ? block has a Yoshi inside. After you see a blue Koopa,
spin round with the next lift to see a pipe, leading to another Yoshi
coin. The second ? block after the tape has a power up. With the Yellow
Switch hit, there's nothing difficult about this level.

Yoshi's Island 4 (1 goal, 5 total)

Up to - Iggy's Castle
Down to - Yoshi's Island 3

The first ? block has a power up. The blue pipe leads to a secret area,
but keep going until you collect the third Yoshi coin and then go back
to it. Hit the P, then get the star from the block. Run along and hit
all the enemies and you should be able to pick up around three extra
lives.

Iggy's Castle (1 goal, 6 total)

Up to - Donut Plains 1
Right to - Yoshi's Island 4

Kill all the Koopas you see. You should start collecting extra lives
by the time you pass the little lava pit with the fireball, unless you
did something silly like hit the P or touch the floor for any reason.
There's seven easy lives here. Ignore the tape (if you die you want to
be able to get the lives again). Go through the door. There's a power
up in the flying block. Don't do anything silly with the mallets and
get to the red door to face Iggy. Jump on him and he'll go downhill.
Knock him in the lava to win.

After completing this level, save the game and you should have around
30 lives, a lot more if you died in the castle and got to get the lives
again. This should do you until the end of the game, so let's continue
to Donut Plains.

========== Donut Plains ===========

TSA
|
|
----DGH*----DP3--- xxx
| | | | |
| | | DP4--MC*
GSP*--DP2 DS1--- |
| | | --P2
| | |
----DP1 DSH*--P1
| |
xxx S1

Key:

DP1 = Donut Plains 1
DP2 = Dount Plains 2
DGH = Donut Ghost House
DP3 = Donut Plains 3
DP4 = Donut Plains 4
DS1 = Donut Secret 1
DSH = Donut Secret House
P1 = Pipe 1
P2 = Pipe 2
S1 = Star Road 1
GSP = Green Switch Palace
TSA = Top Secret Area
MC = Morton's Castle

==========

Donut Plains 1 (2 goals, 8 total)

Left to - Donut Plains 2
Up to - Donut Secret 1
Down to - Iggy's Castle

Jump on any of the flying Koopas with a flashing cape to win that cape.
The upside down blue pipe (above some yellow ! blocks) leads to a bonus
room. When you leave, the pipe next to where you come out leads to
another bonus room with lots of coins. Practice your flying here and
collect some more lives. When you leave this room, track back for the
half way tape. The first bush after the tape holds a mushroom. The
first block after the pipe mentioned earlier holds Yoshi. The fourth
regular block after Yoshi holds a vine leading to a Yoshi coin. The
regular exit is shortly ahead. To get to the key exit, you need to head
up the green dotted blocks once they have been filled in. You can fly
up now, or take the easy route once we've hit the green switch in a
couple of levels time.

Donut Plains 2 (2 goals, 10 total)

Up to - Donut Ghost House
Left to - Green Switch Palace
Down to - Donut Plains 1

This level is an auto-scroller, similar to the second part of Iggy's
Castle. As such, it's really annoying as you can't rush through it.
The second ? block has a power up. The ? before the sandbank dropping
from the ceiling has a power up, the one after it sometimes has
multiple coins. You can go up the second green pipe to a bonus room.
You will see four regular blocks, hit the highest one to release a vine
which you can climb to get the key exit to the switch palace. Use the
koopa shell if necessary (which is blue, so if you have Yoshi you can
fly up). Otherwise, head to the pipe for the regular exit. This is
quicker than doing the level the normal way.

Green Switch Palace (1 goal, 11 total)

Right to - Donut Plains 2

Hit the P, grab the Koopa shell and kick it left from the platform.
Follow it right and get an extra life with a bit of luck. Go and hit
the switch. All the green ! blocks hold feathers.

Donut Ghost House (2 goals, 13 total)

Right to - Donut Plains 3
Up to - Top Secret Area
Left to - Donut Plains 2
Down to - Donut Secret 1

Bring a cape to this level. Note that you will leave Yoshi outside,
probably because he/she/it's scared. Head to the first pit, run left
and fly up. Run along the platform all the way to the end and drop
down for 4 lives and the exit to the Top Secret Area. Otherwise, run
along and go through the first two doors. Hit the block you see for a
P switch. This is a red herring, you can go through the blue door it
creates to the left for some coins if you like, otherwise go through
the regular door AGAIN and hit the same block for a vine for the exit.

Top Secret Area

Down to - Donut Ghost House

Middle block is Yoshi, left two are flowers, right two are capes.

By this stage you should have 11 goals (or 12 if you went back and got
the Donut 1 secret exit), over 40 lives and a nice easy way to save
the game. We have a choice of paths now, we can either go and clear
the Donut Plains levels up to Morton's Castle, or clear the Donut
Secret levels. Just so we don't miss out anything (and gain access to
the Star Road), we'll clear the secret levels first.

Donut Secret 1 (2 goals, 15 total)

Up to - Donut Ghost House
Right to - Donut Secret House
Down to - Donut Plains 1

The third ? block holds a power up. The pipe leads to a bonus room. Go
up and left with the balloon for another balloon. The second block
holds an extra life. Grab the life and the Yoshi coin and drop down the
right hand side for a power up. The ? block as you come out holds a
power up. To get the secret exit, carry the P block along until you see
the keyhole. Hit the switch and then hit the ? block which was blocked
for the key. Otherwise, carry on, going as high as possible shortly
after (you'll see a tiny gap) for a possible sixth Yoshi coin.

Donut Secret House (2 goals, 17 total)

Down to - Star Road 1
Right to - Pipe 1
Up to - Donut Secret 1

The first section is pretty obvious. The block below the door that you
can't reach right now holds an extra life, to get it you need to go
through the "floating door" in the next area, then take the left exit.
Grab the P switch and go back to the "floating door" area. Hit the P.
Go through the blue door you see (assuming, of course, you grabbed the
coins) for the regular exit, otherwise hit the block above the
floating door for a vine. Quickly climb it and run along for another
blue door to face Big Boo! Grab the blocks and lob them at him. He
reappears in fixed positions (you can see him move anyway) so this
isn't difficult. Just don't do anything daft like falling through the
floor.

Donut Secret 2 (1 goal, 18 total)

Right to - Pipe 2
Down to - Pipe 1

This isn't on the map presented above, it's in the Valley of Bowser.
The level is icy but pretty straight forward. The block on the floor
holds a coin chain. Direct it and collect lots of coins. The block
above the spring holds a vine leading to a star. Grab it and hit lots
of things for points. I don't think a 1-up is on here. The green pipe
leads to a secret room. Nip backwards after you leave it for the final
Yoshi coin. Jump on all the Koopas at the end for an extra life.

Pipe 2 will lead you back to Donut Plains 3 where we continue.

Donut Plains 3 (1 goal, 19 total)

Right to - Donut Plains 4
Down to - Pipe 2
Left to - Donut Ghost House

Spin through the regular blocks to reveal a vine, leading to a Yoshi
coin. Go back down and while on the lift, hit the switches to change
direction. The elevated yellow pipe leads to a bonus room. Head back
after leaving it to claim the fifth Yoshi coin. The end isn't far
ahead.

Donut Plains 4 (1 goal, 20 total)

Right to - Morton's Castle
Up to - Donut Plains 3

Kill the small Koopa before he gets in his shell, as the shell will
become invincible unless you spin jump it. The blue pipe leads to a
rather dull secret room. To kill the Hammer Brother, hit his platform
from below. Kick a Koopa to the right on the hill off the brick to get
an extra life if you're lucky. The second ? block in that section has a
power up. The next blue pipe leads to another bonus room. The block
after the half way tape holds Yoshi. When you reach the block where you
can choose a power up, get the star and leg it to the right, hitting
everything. You should get a couple of lives at least.

Morton's Castle (1 goal, 21 total)

Up to - Vanilla Dome 1
Left to - Donut Plains 4

At the start, you'll see a gap in the ceiling. Fly up there for a bonus
room. You may need to run about a bit to get the Thwimps to go away to
get a clear run up. Otherwise, just carry on until you get to a stony
bit with moving platforms. You need to get to the top of this to face
Morton. The fourth regular block in a row of five half way up conceals
a vine which you can climb to get an invisible 1-up. Killing Morton is
easy, just jump him three times. Be quick, or he'll climb the walls and
drop on you from the ceiling. If he does that, jump out of the way and
float down onto him (you did get that curiously placed feather right by
the red door didn't you?) to hit him. Nothing too difficult, and castle
2 is out of the way.

You're now almost a quarter done, and should have over 70 lives, even
if you do lose silly lives on Donut 4 while preparing this guide. Even
if you don't, by the time you get Vanilla Dome done, you'll have 99
really easily. Is this a design flaw? Probably.

== Vanilla Dome and Bridge Area ===

P3 VGH*------ | P3--VS2--VS3--VF*--BB1--BB2--LuC*--
| | | | | |
| | VD3 | ---CBA----CM | xxx
S2--VS1 VD2-- | | | | | |
| | | VD4 | P4 | ---------
| | | | | SL
--VD1-- RSP* LeC* | S3 |
| | | | |
xxx P4---- | -----

Key:

VD1 = Vanilla Dome 1
VD2 = Vanilla Dome 2
VGH = Vanilla Ghost House
VD3 = Vanilla Dome 3
VD4 = Vanilla Dome 4
RSP = Red Switch Palace
VS1 = Vanilla Secret 1
S2 = Star Road 2
P3 = Pipe 3
LeC = Lemmy's Castle
P4 = Pipe 4
VS2 = Vanilla Secret 2
VS3 = Vanilla Secret 3
VF = Vanilla Fortress
BB1 = Butter Bridge 1
BB2 = Butter Bridge 2
CBA = Cheese Bridge Area
SL = Soda Lake
S3 = Star Road 3
CM = Cookie Mountain
LuC = Ludwig's Castle

==========

I've decided to group these two worlds together as it makes mapping
easier - after Vanilla Dome 1, there are two distinct paths to
Ludwig, one via Lemmy and one via the fortress. Also, just having a
map of the bridge areas looks a bit daft without the later Vanilla
Secret levels on. To make things absolutely clear, the map on the
left is INSIDE the dome, the map on the right is OUTSIDE.

==========

Vanilla Dome 1 (2 goals, 23 total)

Right to - Vanilla Dome 2
Left to - Vanilla Secret 1
Down to - Morton's Castle

The first couple of ? blocks you see contain power ups. You will see a
large number of regular blocks ahead, in the third "compartment" there
is a power up in the second block from the left in the top row. There
is a Yoshi coin nearby if you still can't find it. The block one to
the right of the orange pipe has an extra life in. The block on the
floor by the red dotted blocks holds a power up. The block in the sky
which you probably can't reach now holds a vine which leads to the key
exit. With Yoshi you can probably jump off in mid air and get up, but
we hit the red switch in a couple of levels' time anyway. When you get
the star, you can run along and hit all the enemies for an extra life,
but you have to hit the koopa quickly or you'll end up in the lava.
Having a cape helps here. In the next area the block after the Yoshi
coin has a power up inside.

Vanilla Dome 2 (2 goals, 25 total)

Up to - Vanilla Ghost House
Right to - Red Switch Palace
Down to - Vanilla Dome 1

The second block from the left holds a power up. Make a mental note of
the 3x3 block structure as you get the first Yoshi coin. The key to the
Red Switch Palace is down there. Carry on and jump out of the water at
the extreme left where you see three ? blocks to get an extra life.
The block on the right of those three holds a power up as well.
Continue and the next ? block holds a power up. Get out of the water
and go left. Carry the P switch as far left as you can, grabbing the
power up if you need it. Hit the switch and go through that 3x3
structure I mentioned earlier, which will now be coins. The key and
keyhole are both down there. For the normal exit, go right where you
left the water for the halfway tape. Get the star and run right hitting
everything for lots of lives.

Red Switch Palace (1 goal, 26 total)

Up to - Vanilla Dome 2

Let the koopa get in the shell and become invincible. Hit the P and
goad the shell to the right by walking along the platforms, hitting the
other koopas as it goes and earning you an extra life. Try to trap the
koopa between the last two coins as the P wears off so it doesn't get
in the way of you getting in the pipe. Hit the switch and save the
game.

My method now clears up to Vanilla Fortress, but it makes sense to
clear the ghost house, as it's a recognised save point. The way you go
now until Ludwig is up to you, this is simply my preferred method.

Vanilla Ghost House (1 goal, 27 total)

Right to - Vanilla Dome 3
Down to - Vanilla Dome 2

The first block holds a power up. A block in the bottom row of the two
where you meet Big Boo holds a vine to a Yoshi coin. There's a gap in
the row above it which only gives you a couple to choose from. If you
stay on the ground, the next ? block holds a power up. To get past the
green ball things, spin jump off them. The middle block of the 3 holds
the P switch you will need. Take it right, remove the 5 coins in a door
shape, hit the switch and go through the door.

Vanilla Secret 1 (2 goals, 29 total)

Up to - Pipe 3
Left to - Star Road 2
Down to - Vanilla Dome 1

To get past the first bit, head to the right and find the vines. For
the secret exit, get to where you have to springboard past the koopas,
and fly up and left to a pipe. It's easier to get if you've hit the
blue switch as there are a couple of blocks which you can put the
springboard on, but that means coming back from the Forest. There's a
power up to the right of the springboard in the rightmost block which
will let you get hit when going through the koopas if you are taking
the normal exit. Use the next springboard and jump around to get the
final two Yoshi coins.

Vanilla Secret 2 (1 goal, 30 total)

Right to - Vanilla Secret 3
Left to - Pipe 3

The first ? block holds Yoshi who is incredibly helpful for
negotiating your way past the koopas. Just swallow and spit out
rapidly. Go past the tape until you see Lakitu in a pipe and some note
blocks. The third note block holds a power up. Grab that, and let Lakitu throw
out a couple of Spinys, preferably to the right. DO NOT
KILL LAKITU! Keep going until you see lots of Spinys in a pit. Hit the
second regular block you see for a silver P. Hit this and all the
Spinys will turn to silver coins. Grab the lot and you will get three
lives, run left and kill anything that moves for lots of 3-ups. The
green pipe guarded by Lakitu holds a Yoshi coin and will launch you
past the Chuck that splits into three. You'll still only have 4 Yoshi
coins, the fifth is in the sky near the start of the level. It's not
worth getting it, considering you'll have picked up over 10 lives in
this level anyway.

Vanilla Secret 3 (1 goal, 31 total)

Right to - Vanilla Fortress
Left to - Vanilla Secret 2

There really is nothing to this level. I don't like this level as it's
so boring. Try and fly through it all, ignoring the dolphins. If you've
got Yoshi, you can just bounce off the big fish if necessary. There's
no point in collecting the Yoshi coins as you should be on 99 lives
after the last level. Get in, get out, get on to the next level.

Vanilla Fortress (1 goal, 32 total)

Right to - Butter Bridge 1
Left to - Vanilla Secret 3

There are two ways to do this level, the "small" way and the "big" way.
I'm not sure which path is easier, I'm tempted to say the "big" way,
simply because unless I'm already small, I'm not going to hit something
just to get under those spikes and miss out half of the first section.
It doesn't save you much time, as the "big" way will drop you out half
way through the second area with the red door, where as the "small"
way puts you right at the start of it. If you take the "small" way, I
think taking the top route in the second area is slightly easier but
it's all personal preference. It's all fairly linear and pretty self
explanatory, most blocks give you power ups. If you have a cape you can
spin the Dry Bones and those weird bandaged turtle things whose names
I forget right now. Just take your time and don't do anything stupid.
To kill Reznor, just knock all four heads off their platforms from
underneath. You'll probably have to jump onto one of the platforms to
get rid of the last one as the floor disappears to try to dump you in
the lava. Finish him off and save your game.

You can carry on and take out the two Butter Bridge levels if you like,
but I'm going to complete all of the Vanilla levels and come back to
them once I've got to Ludwig via Lemmy.

Vanilla Dome 3 (1 goal, 33 total)

Down to - Vanilla Dome 4
Up to - Vanilla Ghost House

This level is annoying in that it's not an auto-scroller, but it's very
difficult to quickly fly through the level. The second flying ? block
at the start of the level contains an extra life. The yellow pipe takes
you to an icy bonus room. The block in it holds a power up. When you
get to the stage where the lift goes under the platform that you have
to stand on, use a Buzzy Beetle to clear the plants out of the way. If
you fly up where you have to hit the hidden block to get past the
orange pipe, you can find a bonus room. The ? block above the half way
tape holds Yoshi.

Vanilla Dome 4 (1 goal, 34 total)

Down to - Lemmy's Castle
Up to - Vanilla Dome 3

Once you get used to dodging the cannons, this level isn't too
difficult. The blue pipe after the halfway tape leads to a secret room.
Track back a short way and you'll see a row of ? blocks with a regular
block in the middle. That holds an extra life.

Lemmy's Castle (1 goal, 35 total)

Down to - Pipe 4
Up to - Vanilla Dome 4

This level is horrible! Come in as Super Mario (preferably with a cape)
to spin through the blocks and move to the right. Don't stop until you
hit dry land. Otherwise, you'll have to wait for the magician to make a
hole for you. His wand will hit blocks and turn them into koopas. Grab
the P, run along until you can see the door in mid air surrounded by
coins. Take away enough coins so you can get at the door once you hit
the P (the right three in a vertical row should suffice - just make
sure you leave the one under the door). Go through the door for the
half way tape and an extra life. The next section is great fun, just
wait for the gaps, or, if you're a bit of a daredevil, try to run
through as quickly as possible. There's a feather right by the red door
to make things easy for you. Lemmy isn't difficult - just don't do
anything daft with the fireball, and don't worry if you don't hit him
after a few goes. Three hits will do for you.

Cheese Bridge Area (2 goals, 37 total)

Right to - Cookie Mountain
Down to - Soda Lake
Left to - Pipe 4

Another fun level, with possibly one of the most infuriating secret
exits in the game! Bring Yoshi into this level. The first section is
just a case of setting all the lifts going, switching between them to
avoid the saws and collect things. The first two blocks both contain
power ups. Or, if you have a cape, just fly through this first section,
with Yoshi you can bounce off the saws. Shortly after half way, you can
get a power up, wings for Yoshi (which if collected will finish the
level) and you can go down a blue pipe for a bonus room. Assuming you
took the quick route to finish the level, you'll now have a handy blue
Yoshi who's going to give his life so that we can get to Soda Lake.
Get past half way, ignore the wings and you'll get to the rope and saw
section. Using a cape, fly to the right and float down, using the last
place you can for the run up to take off. You'll bounce off the saws
and stay afloat. Now, when you reach the tape, don't hit it, instead
float UNDER the tape and jump off Yoshi. Go to the right, collect 3
lives and go to Soda Lake. You can also get under there by flying
regularly, but it's very difficult.

Soda Lake (1 goal, 38 total)

Down to - Star Road 3
Up to - Cheese Bridge Area

This level is horrible. At times it's pretty much impossible to avoid
being hit by the torpedos or the fish. There's no trick to it, just
wait for the gaps and try not to die too much. Once you've done this,
move back up to Cookie Mountain.

Cookie Mountain (1 goal, 39 total)

Down to - Ludwig's Castle
Left to - Cheese Bridge Area

None of the row of ? blocks holds anything special, but the one above
this row holds a power up. After you have thrown the shell at the
moles, fly up and run along the clouds for an extra life. Shortly after
the halfway tape, there is a vine that leads up to an extra life. The
next pipe leads to a nasty pointless bonus room, which puts you back to
where I showed you the first 1-up was, so ignore it. The next ? after
that pipe holds Yoshi. Eat the two pink berries to get a weird cloud
thing, otherwise just grab the star and finish the level.

Butter Bridge 1 (1 goal, 40 total)

Right to - Butter Bridge 2
Left to - Vanilla Fortress

This level is just horrible. It's an auto-scroller, and has some
annoying jumps. Come in with Yoshi and a cape to increase your chances.
Don't jump unless you know where you're going. To stop the platforms
sinking too much while you wait for the next platform to appear on
screen, repeatedly make lots of small jumps, floating if possible.
Put this one down to experience and move on.

Butter Bridge 2 (1 goal, 41 total)

Right to - Ludwig's Castle
Left to - Butter Bridge 1

The best bet for this level is to just fly right through it all. There
are lots of caped koopas and koopas kicking shells at you, and it makes
for an awkward level. If you decide to stay on the ground, the first
elevated block holds a power up - use a koopa shell to get it. The
second blue pipe after the half way tape leads to a bonus room. The
block on the ground shortly after that holds Yoshi.

Ludwig's Castle (1 goal, 42 total)

Right to - Forest Of Illusion 1
Down to - Cookie Mountain
Left to - Butter Bridge 2

At the end of the first corridor, jump through the roof, there's a hole
in that small square stone. Go up and right to a pipe and a bonus room.
After leaving, run like hell to the left, stopping only to hit the
switch or to avoid being hit. In the net section, the first exit off to
the right holds a power up. The red door is in the top left of this
area. Ludwig is easy, run to the right straight away and jump him and
you can get a hit in before he starts shooting at you. Once you've hit
him, he'll duck into his shell and roll towards you. Try to keep him
in the middle of the screen and quite close to you, so (a) he doesn't
go off the screen when he jumps out - you can't hit him then, and (b)
so you can quickly hit him before he starts shooting at you again.
Three hits is all it needs, so get them quickly and head to the Forest
Of Illusion.

By now, you'll have 99 lives, give or take a couple, over a million
points, three of the four switch palaces, three of the five Star Road
entrances and four of the seven castles completed. We'll take out
another 14 goals in the Forest, then the 10 in the Star Road (leaving
the Special World for later), which will put us on 66, two thirds of
the way there.

======= Forest Of Illusion ========

xxx
|
|
----FGH*--FI1---
| | |
FI4---+-------FI2--BSP*
| | |
| | |
FSA -----FI3---
| |
x | xxx
S4--FF*--x-- |
x RC*------
|
|
CI1

Key:

FI1 = Forest Of Illusion 1
FI2 = Forest Of Illusion 2
FI3 = Forest Of Illusion 3
FGH = Forest Ghost House
FI4 = Forest Of Illusion 4
FSA = Forest Secret Area
BSP = Blue Switch Palace
FF = Forest Fortress
S4 = Star Road 4
RC = Roy's Castle
CI1 = Chocolate Island 1 (just included for clarity)

==========

Forest Of Illusion 1 (2 goals, 44 total)

Right to - Forest Of Illusion 2
Left to - Forest Ghost House
Up to - Ludwig's Castle

The first ? block holds a power up. The regular block you can see
surrounded by note blocks holds a 1-up. If you can eat the two pink
berries, you'll create that cloud thing again. When you reach the block
giving you the choice of power ups, get the star (other people will
describe the method of hitting the Wigglers for lots of points, but I
don't bother) and run through everything. You'll go over the keyhole.
The key is in the block next to it. To get there, drop off the platform
you went over it on and grab the balloon from the ? block and float to
the left. The conventional exit isn't too far to the right from there.

Forest Of Illusion 2 (2 goals, 46 total)

Down to - Forest Of Illusion 3
Right to - Blue Switch Palace
Left to - Forest Of Illusion 4
Up to - Forest Of Illusion 1

This level is mostly linear and isn't too difficult, especially
considering there's a feather right at the start. After the first real
power up, go right to continue, but you can get an extra life by going
down and then to the right. You'll see a small cubby hole with an
entrance four blocks wide, the third block holding an invisible 1-up.
Beware, the rest hold invisible coins, and hitting them may prevent
the mushroom from dropping down to where you can get it (This happened
to me - I had hit just one of the other blocks, I had to hit a third to
launch the mushroom up and give it the angle to drop down through the
only remaining gap). Going through the level the normal way, once you
reach the yellow ! block by a sleeping fish at the bottom of a long
drop, you can pass through the wall to the left to reach the key, or go
to the right for the normal exit.

Blue Switch Palace (1 goal, 47 total)

Left to - Forest Of Illusion 2

Collect all the coins you can first, then hit both switches to drop the
Spinys down, then turn them into silver coins. If you don't collect the
coins first, some will be stuck.

Forest Of Illusion 3 (2 goals, 49 total)

Down to - Roy's Castle
Left to - Forest Ghost House
Right to - Forest Of Illusion 2

The first ? block contains Yoshi, who can collect two pink berries to
get another one of those clouds. There's nothing important in this
level, the key exit is in the tall pipe after the Chuck, although you
will have to be big to get it. This is right near the end of the level.

Forest Ghost House (2 goals, 51 total)

Left to - Forest Of Illusion 4
Right to - Forest Of Illusion 1
Down to - Forest Of Illusion 3

The first section is pretty straight-forward, just remember to spin
jump off the ghosts if you need to. The second ? block holds a power
up. The flying ? block after you go through the door holds a power up,
but I don't advise stopping around to get it. The same advice applies
to the first normal ? block. Those ghosts can cause you more problems
than you would envisage. If you are small, you can get in and under
that block below the P switch for an extra life (be quick about it or
you'll lose a life to the ghosts). Grab the P. The first door you see
takes you back in the level and wastes your time, go into the second
pit, hit the P and go through the blue door. Go left on top of the
original corridor, and through the first door for the regular exit, or
continue and collect the final Yoshi coin and go through the second
door. This leads to the secret exit (which also has a 3-up moon).

Forest Of Illusion 4 (2 goals, 53 total)

Right to - Forest Of Illusion 2
Down to - Forest Secret Area
Up to - Forest Ghost House

If you grab the 1-up which Lakitu is dangling down, he'll start
throwing Spinys at you. It's a matter of preference whether or not to
get it, personally I find it harder to dodge the 1-up than dodge the
Spinys so I just grab it straight away. The fifth ? block of six holds
a power up. The elevated blue pipe after the half way tape leads to the
key room. A Yoshi coin is high in the sky above the unoccupied blue
Koopa shell.

Forest Secret Area (1 goal, 54 total)

Down to - Forest Fortress
Up to - Forest Of Illusion 4

There's not a lot of interest in this level. Either get on the lifts,
or ideally fly through the whole level in a fraction of the time.

Forest Fortress (1 goal, 55 total)

Left to - Star Road 4
Right to - Forest Secret Area

In the first section, stay as far to the right as possible, which will
take most of the giant mallets out of the equation, just leaving you
to deal with the saws. There isn't any real trick to the second
section, just wait for the gaps to open before advancing. If you head
up above the red door, you can fly across the lava pit and get a lot of
extra lives, but considering we've got a ton of those already, it's not
worth the risk. Just take the normal red door and deal with Reznor.
There's no difference between this one and the Vanilla Fortress Reznor,
indeed they're all exactly the same and all just as easy to kill.

Roy's Castle (1 goal, 56 total)

Down to - Chocolate Island 1
Right to - Forest Of Illusion 3

Stay as close to the front of the moving chain of blocks as you can,
so you can anticipate its moves and react to them. The fireballs
shouldn't get in your way. When you get off, DON'T hit the P, instead,
carry it along and throw it away safely. Ignore the power up as there's
too much trying to kill you at that point. Run along, dodging anything
that comes at you. Having a cape helps a lot. Roy is exactly the same
as Morton except the side walls move inwards to decrease the playing
area, so hurry up and kill him.

We've now hit all of the Switch Palaces, and have only one Star Road
entrance to find (it's in the Valley of Bowser, conveniently next to
the Front Door), so now is the time to get the first part of the Star
World done.

=========== Star World ============

---S3---
| |
S2-------SW2 SW3-------S4
| |
| S6 |
-----SW1 | SW4-----
| | |
| | |
S1-----SW5-----S5

Key:

SW1 = Star World 1
SW2 = Star World 2
SW3 = Star World 3
SW4 = Star World 4
SW5 = Star World 5
S1 = Star Road 1
S2 = Star Road 2
S3 = Star Road 3
S4 = Star Road 4
S5 = Star Road 5
S6 = Star Road 6 (to the Special World)

==========

The Star Road is the quickest way to get from one side of the map to
the other. Every level has two exits, one will take you forward, the
other will take you back (except SW5, which is slightly different).
These levels allow you to choose a colour of Yoshi, and get lots and
lots of extra lives (I'm sure we'd be on 200 or so now, if the damn
counter hadn't stopped at 99... suppose they were too lazy when
programming this thing to use anything other than an 8 bit integer).

==========

Star World 1 (2 goals, 58 total)

Left to - Star Road 2
Down to - Star Road 1

For the key exit, simply go to the far right and spin jump down. The
regular exit is right at the bottom of this level. After the second
drop, spin jump 7 or so blocks in from the right to get an extra life.
Having a cape helps in this level, as while spinning, you'll also knock
out the blocks to the side of you, allowing you some lateral movement.
Get the star when you see it, kill everything on this level before
getting the other star (in the same place as the first, but on the
opposite side). Move down, killing things for lives. Get the third star
(I think that even if you lose the invincibility before picking up the
third star, your "invincible points meter" will not reset, ie. if the
last enemy you killed while invincible got you 8000 points, the next
one will give you a 1-up, not 100 points). If you initially spin jump
down where the right hand hole is (after getting the second star),
you'll come across enough flying koopas to get you a life easily. When
the stars all run off, just get out of the level.

Star World 2 (2 goals, 60 total)

Up to - Star Road 3
Left to - Star Road 2

When you come into this level, you'll see a baby Yoshi (unless you
already have Yoshi) hatch and a star float down. Don't feed the Yoshi
the star, take the star and move along quickly to the right. Carrying
the Yoshi will give you enough speed to reach the second star (in the
block) for lots of lives. Hit everything you can without stopping. If
you already have Yoshi when you enter the level, you'll have to let the
star bounce along for a bit in order to reach the second star in time.
In any case, the pipe leads to the normal exit, or swim to the right
under the pipe (through that small gap) for the key exit.

Star World 3 (2 goals, 62 total)

Right to - Star Road 4
Up to - Star Road 3

For the normal exit, run to the right. You can wait around and hit the
P to get Lakitu to throw out silver coins, but I prefer to just lob a
block up at him straight away. Get the cloud and head up to find the
key and keyhole. You can fly up as well, which is easier with Yoshi.
The only danger on this level is grabbing a block and falling through
the floor.

Star World 4 (2 goals, 64 total)

Down to - Star Road 5
Right to - Star Road 4

If you decide to come into the Star World from the Forest Fortress,
this is where you'll start. I went back to Donut Plains to do the
levels in numerical order. There isn't much to find here, it's a simple
case of jumping from platform to platform. Feed Yoshi if you don't have
one already. When you get to the red shell, grab it, drop onto the !
blocks, throw it at the ? block and grab the key. Obviously, don't use
the red Yoshi - he'll spit out flames which are no good. Use your cape
if you have one. If you want the normal exit, there isn't any major
obstacles preventing progress, and it's not far to go from there.

Star World 5 (2 goals, 66 total)

Left to - Star Road 1
Up to - Star Road 6
Right to - Star Road 5

The only confusing thing about this level is how to get across the
large chasm once you've crossed the initial set of drop lifts. It's
quite simple, set off the coin chain and send it to the right. Then,
once it's stopped, hit the P and run along. If you want the normal
exit, keep going to the right, using Yoshi to defeat anything in your
way. There's a baby yellow Yoshi where you get off if you need one with
easy enemies to eat. For the key exit to the Special World, you'll need
a cape. Send the coin trail up and right at about a 45 degree angle
until it is just off the top of the screen, then send it straight to
the right. Run along and fly off the end. You should see/land on some !
blocks (if you miss the first time, you'll know where to aim the next
time), carry on along these (I hope you've hit all the Switch Palaces,
which you should have done) ducking under the blocks as appropriate for
the key. You'll have to dump Yoshi if you have him but that's not a
problem.

After opening up an easy path around the game, we'll go back and do
Choco Island and the Valley of Bowser before going to do the Special
World. There's only 30 more goals to go now!

======== Chocolate Island =========

RC*
|
xxx CGH*--CI1
| |
---SGS* P5--+--
P6 | ------ | |
| | | | | |
---WC* CF*--+--CI3---CI2 |
| | | | | |
| | ------ ----
CI5--CI4

Key:

RC = Roy's Castle (again included for clarity)
CI1 = Chocolate Island 1
CGH = Choco Ghost House
CI2 = Chocolate Island 2
CI3 = Chocolate Island 3
CF = Chocolate Fortress
CI4 = Chocolate Island 4
CI5 = Chocolate Island 5
P5 = Pipe 5
P6 = Pipe 6
WC = Wendy's Castle
SGS = Sunken Ghost Ship

==========

Chocolate Island 1 (1 goal, 67 total)

Left to - Choco Ghost House
Up to - Roy's Castle

The first bush holds a mushroom. The flying block holds a power up.
The yellow pipe will launch you across the chasm. The next flying block
after half way holds a power up. The next ? block holds Yoshi. The grey
pipe will launch you and you should hit the koopa and bounce to safety.

Choco Ghost House (1 goal, 68 total)

Down to - Chocolate Island 2
Right to - Chocolate Island 1

The best bet in the first section is to simply run like hell until you
get to the power up, then keep going quickly to the door. It can get a
bit hairy, but if you don't think about avoiding the ghosts and moving
pit and concentrate on simply moving quickly it works out easier. If
you time your jumps so that you avoid the Fishin' Boo (which is the
REAL problem) you'll be okay. After the door, the ? contains a power up
which will come in useful if you messed up the first bit. If you feel
the need, there's a 1-up in the extreme right hand end of this room.
Otherwise, simply get the "brick ghosts" to follow you and form a
platform which you can use to get up to the door and exit.

Chocolate Island 2 (2 goals, 70 total)

Left to - Chocolate Island 3
Down to - Pipe 5
Up to - Choco Ghost House

This is a fun level to explore and is one of my favourites. The info
box should give you some clues. The first section holds a Yoshi, a coin
box and not a lot else. There's a hidden block below and to the right
of the coin box which will allow you to get in plenty of coins (around
20 if you do it right). Where you go when you go through the pipe
depends on the number of COINS you have - 8 or less will take you to a
slopy area with some flying koopas and some awkward jumps, 9-20 will
take you to an area with lots of Rex's, and 21 or more will take you to
an easy bit where you simply have to fly across a big pit with no
resistance. Once you've completed any of these second areas, the TIME
you have left on the clock will determine where you go next - get in
the pipe with 250 or more on the clock and you'll go to the key exit
leading to Choco Secret, just miss it and you'll go to an area with
lots of dinosaurs, miss by a lot (more than about 20 seconds on the
clock) and you'll go to an area with lots of mushrooms in bubbles. If
you didn't get the key, the final tape will be in the fourth section of
the level.

Chocolate Island 3 (2 goals, 72 total)

Left to - Chocolate Fortress
Down to - Chocolate Island 3
Up to - Chocolate Island 3
Right to - Chocolate Island 2

The first ? block you see holds a power up. The blue pipe leads to a
bonus room where you can grab lots of coins. If you want the half way
tape (this room cuts out a large chunk of the level) you'll have to
track back, but you've missed nothing important if you simply continue.
The first block to the right as you leave the bonus room holds a power
up. Climb the vine you see for the fake exit (which sends you in a
circle back to where you started), or fly under to the right for the
real exit and three more extra lives.

Chocolate Fortress (1 goal, 73 total)

Down to - Chocolate Island 4
Right to - Chocolate Island 3

To negotiate the spikes, simply take your time and wait for the gaps.
After the power up, don't try and run across the gap under the spike,
jump. The easiest way to get past the first Thwomp is to get it to fall
down then spin jump onto it and off to the right. The left block of the
three is a power up - if it's a mushroom hit the right block and change
the direction of it and try and send it through the gap, rather than
mess around with the Thwomp and die trying to get it. To pass the
Thwomp over the spikes, edge right until it drops and spin jump on and
off it. To get past the next one, jump slowly right and whip back to
the left when it drops, then spin jump over. Having a cape helps a lot.
The same trick applies to the next one. Kill Reznor (using the generous
feather right next to the final door) and move on.

Chocolate Island 4 (1 goal, 74 total)

Left to - Chocolate Island 5
Up to - Chocolate Fortress

There's three extra lives stupidly left in plain view near the start of
the level. Having hit the blue switch, getting them is easy. That's
just the starter, though. The main course is down that grey pipe which
is blocked off. Make sure you have a cape. The third block from the
left in that diagonal row above holds the P. Hit it and go down the
pipe. Hit the P and fall down the extreme left side and don't float or
anything. When the P wears off, fly back up one level at a time,
collecting about eight lives and loads of power ups. Your clock will
probably be running low after you leave here, so when you leave ignore
the power up that's in the block to the right (unless you went in
without a cape, in which case wait a few seconds after you hit the P
so that you can get it to change back before you drop all the way to
the bottom, and hopefully land on a level with something useful) and
keep heading right. It's pretty linear and easy, and there's not far
to go.

Chocolate Island 5 (1 goal, 75 total)

Up to - Wendy's Castle
Right to - Chocolate Island 4

The ? holds Yoshi, and the bottom right block of the 8 holds a power
up. The yellow pipe leads to a bonus room. The yellow pipe before the
big ocean leads to a bonus room as well if you ignore the first one.
After you pass the trapped mushroom (if you ignored the first pipe),
the bottom left block of the five on the floor holds an extra life.
There's little of interest after half way, so try to keep the cape to
make the trickier jumps easier and to help get past the Chucks.

Chocolate Secret (1 goal, 76 total)

Left to - Pipe 6
Right to - Pipe 5

To get here, take the pipe you accessed by getting the secret exit to
Choco 2. Come in with a cape if you have any plans of survival. The
green pipe leads to a secret room, but it's evil and doesn't hold
anything useful, so ignore it. Slide the whole of the way down the
second section. Having Yoshi helps in the third section, which is a
test of how quickly you can run and jump. After the first multiple
sandbank area, the block holds a power up, but ignore it if you're
already fully powered, concentrating on avoiding the Chucks instead.
You're home and dry after the second nasty sandbank bit.

Wendy's Castle (1 goal, 77 total)

Up to - Sunken Ghost Ship
Down to - Chocolate Island 5
Left to - Pipe 6

Wait for the first spike to start rising before continuing past it.
Don't try and cheat it on the way down. Duck under the first saw and
spin jump over the second in the appropriate places. Take your time in
the spike/saw section, especially if you can't duck under the saws.
Take the quick moving spikes one at a time, jumping over the middle
one, hit the half way tape and be glad you don't have to do that again.
The second section is really easy so long as you remember that you can
spin jump everything, and you don't try to cheat any of the moving
platforms. Wendy is the same to kill as Lemmy, except all the pipes are
the same height and there are two fireballs to contend with. Your
priority here is not being hit by the fireballs, there's only one extra
but it makes things a lot harder. Take your time and Wendy will soon
be toast.

Sunken Ghost Ship (1 goal, 78 total)

Up to - Valley Of Bowser 1
Left to - Wendy's Castle

Just one fairly easy level before we get on to the Valley of Bowser.
The only block you can see in the first area holds a power up. In the
next section, loads of Boos will drift in and out - just be patient and
stay in the middle where the biggest gaps are. It's not hard, just
remember to face the regular Boos when you reach them, as you might
have to wait a while to get past the circle of Boos. Enter the pipe
and you'll hit a star and begin a huge drop. Hit as much as you can for
lives, but try to stay roughly central, maybe a bit to the right, in
order to land on a platform and grab another star. I think that if you
miss it, a star falls anyway to pick up. Hit the green sphere to
complete the level.

Head to the Valley of Bowser if you want, but my guide will now
complete some unfinished business elsewhere, namely the Special World.

========== Special World ==========

S7---Fun*---Out---Mon*---Gro--
|
S6---Gna---Tub*---WC----Awe*--

Key:

S6 = Star Road 6
Gna = Gnarly
Tub = Tubular
WC = Way Cool
Awe = Awesome
Gro = Groovy
Mon = Mondo
Out = Outrageous
Fun = Funky
S7 = Star Road 7 (leads to Yoshi's House)

==========

Here come eight levels which range from the sublime to the
ridiculous...

==========

Gnarly (1 goal, 79 total)

Right to - Tubular
Left to - Star Road 6

Read the message box for an ego massage... then set off all four vines.
Use the moving rope to get up, hitting the block on the right for an
extra life. The block further up to the right holds a vine. Further up
still, there are two blocks - one holds a vine, the other a P. Take the
P right up to the top (there's one awkward jump using a note block that
will take some practice) and set it off. Fall down the right side,
hugging the right wall. You'll land on a ? block which the P created
next to a pipe. Go through it. Get the Yoshi coins to the left and run
along to the right for three lives. Hit the blue P and carry the silver
P across. Kill the Hammer Brother and use the silver P where you find
Lakitu. You probably won't get any lives here though. The exit is just
to the right.

Tubular (1 goal, 80 total)

Right to - Way Cool
Left to - Gnarly

Contrary to popular belief, this is NOT the most difficult level in
the game, I think Awesome is. However, Awesome is easily navigated with
a blue Yoshi. In any case, this isn't too difficult if you know what
you're doing. Come in with a cape. This can help you if a balloon dies
near the tape and you can float across. Hit the P, drop onto the
springboard and hit the ?. Get the balloon. Stay high above the Chucks.
Hit the ? for another balloon. Let it run along a bit before getting
it, ideally up to the koopas. Go in between the bottom two koopas and
underneath the plants. The block that the bottom of the two Chucks is
standing on holds your final balloon. You need to dodge the footballs
and grab it. When you get it, you should be under the firing arc of the
higher Chuck, so kill him from below and do the same to the next two
plants, the only thing standing between you and the end of the level.
See, that wasn't too hard, was it?

Way Cool (1 goal, 81 total)

Right to - Awesome
Left to - Tubular

There are two ways to do this level - the hard way and the easy way.
The hard way involves going past all the switches, hitting that ?
block to release the wings, wonder why you haven't got Yoshi and
continuing right past a really hard rope section, or hitting the
switches in this order - ON, ON, OFF, ON, going down the pipe, getting
Yoshi, coming out where the aforementioned ? is and getting the wings
to finish the level. You decide. I chose the easy way.

Awesome (1 goal, 82 total)

Right to - Groovy
Left to - Way Cool

There's no trick to this, it's just really hard. Come in with a cape
and blue Yoshi from previous level. Keep eating koopas and flying
through the whole level. If you decide to do it the hard way, the only
thing to remember is not to go berzerk when you get the star, and that
you need to bounce off one of the koopas onto an incredibly small icy
block, which you will kill straight off if invincible. The jumps are
simply too hard, especially if you try without a cape to stabilise
yourself.

Groovy (1 goal, 83 total)

Left to - Mondo
Right to - Awesome

Looks familiar? It should do. The block on the floor holds Yoshi, which
you should know from the title sequence. There's nothing difficult in
this level, just get to the star and then run through everything. The
only difficult bit is right at the end where you have to pass a couple
of awkwardly placed Chucks.

Mondo (1 goal, 84 total)

Left to - Outrageous
Right to - Groovy

Having Yoshi is a big help on the final three Special World levels.
The strong current makes this level awkward. Kill the Hammer Brother,
then get onto dry land. Wait for the water to rise and grab the power
up just before the blue pipe. The highest of the next three ? blocks
holds Yoshi if you lost him, and the lower of the next two blue pipes
leads to a bonus room. Near the end, there are two long rows of ?
blocks, the sixth block in from the right on the top row holds a power
up. Kill the Hammer Brother, get in the pipe and you're done.

Outrageous (1 goal, 85 total)

Trying to do this level without Yoshi is asking for trouble. If you
lost Yoshi on the last level, go back to Way Cool and get one. Come in
with a cape as well if possible. Eat all the Wigglers and large flames,
you can't eat the small ones and they still cause damage so you'll just
have to get around them. Swallow the springboard when you reach it, and
try to jump from cannon to cannon. Two things can go wrong here - you
could fall off onto the floor (get back up very quickly - spit out the
springboard and eat anything in the proximity if necessary), or Yoshi
could start to eat the springboard. If he does, spit it out and eat it
again. You need it to clear the large orange pipe. Clear it, kill the
Hammer Brother and eat anything that moves in the "exploding enemy
block" section. There's another Yoshi ahead if you lost him in this
area. Keep moving forward, the middle of the three ? blocks holds a
power up (keep your cape if you have one). Kill the Hammer Brother at
the end of the level very quickly before the Bullet Bills become a
factor.

Funky (1 goal, 86 total)

The first thing to realise is that you only have 200 seconds on the
clock. The second thing to realise is that Yoshi can eat the green
berries to give you an extra 20 seconds. The high ? block holds him if
you don't have one. The P you can find doesn't appear to do anything
constructive. The high flying block above the rows of blocks you can
pick up holds a 1-up. Get past the Chucks and read the You Are A Super
Player !! sign. Just don't run out of time whilst gloating.

Once completing this level, all the map colours will change and a lot
of the enemies will have changed.

======== Valley Of Bowser =========

DS2---P2 S5---FD BD
| | | |
| | | |
P1 VB4--LaC* VF*
| | |
| | | x
VB3--VGH*-VB2--VB1---x
x

P6----CS----P5

Key:

P1 = Pipe 1
P2 = Pipe 2
P5 = Pipe 5
P6 = Pipe 6
DS2 = Donut Secret 2
CS = Chocolate Secret
VB1 = Valley Of Bowser 1
VB2 = Valley Of Bowser 2
VGH = Valley Ghost House
VB3 = Valley Of Bowser 3
VB4 = Valley Of Bowser 4
S5 = Star Road 5
VF = Valley Fortress
LaC = Larry's Castle
FD = Front Door
BD = Back Door

==========

Valley Of Bowser 1 (1 goal, 87 total)

Left to - Valley Of Bowser 2
Right to - Sunken Ghost Ship

Two things to remember - your goal is in the bottom right, and you can
safely stand on the giant moles. Go down at the first fork for a Yoshi
coin. After collecting that, keep taking the top route until you find
the half way tape. From there, head up and use a mole to cross the
munchers, and jump across to the right to find a 3-up moon. There's
nothing worth backtracking for, so drop down and continue to the right.
Take the second path from the bottom for a Yoshi coin, and fill in the
gap in the path above by hitting the invisible coin blocks. The second
path from the top also leads to a Yoshi coin. The bottom and middle
paths will allow you to continue. Find the vine (shouldn't be too
hard), climb it and enter the pipe for a bonus room. Otherwise, take
the top or middle paths for another Yoshi coin, or the bottom path to
exit.

Valley Of Bowser 2 (2 goals, 89 total)

Left to - Valley Ghost House
Up to - Valley Fortress
Right to - Valley Of Bowser 1

The first block holds a power up, but beware as the invincible koopa
shell will be coming for you. If you are small, hit the half way tape
before collecting the mushroom so you can have it in reserve. When you
leave the pipe, jump up and go up and left as far as you can, then jump
for a power up. The Yoshi wings will allow you to skip the rest of the
level if you have Yoshi - which is useful. To get the key exit, you
need to traverse this moving maze of sand, which will crush you if you
don't think. The golden rule is that there's normally a place to stop
and think out your next move. There's only normally two choices - to
advance when it's going up or down. Look to which one doesn't kill you
and take the other one. You're going to have to run in places to avoid
being squashed. When you go through the pipe, head right STRAIGHT AWAY
as you'll immediately set the floor off rising, then fly up and left
onto the ceiling at the first opportunity, carry on to the left and
find the key. The normal exit is shortly ahead to the right, although
I'd just get the key, do the level again to the half way tape, start
and select and go back and get Yoshi from somewhere.

We now have a choice of paths. I'm taking out Valley Fortress first, as
it can be a bit annoying and I want it out of the way.

Valley Fortress (1 goal, 90 total)

Up to - Back Door
Down to - Valley Of Bowser 2

Run past the first three spikes straight away and get the feather. Take
the next four as one group and pass through the yellow spiky section
with care (if you're going to die, at least die on a "proper" bit of
the level). Take the next spike as soon as it starts to go up then
wait. Do the same with the next one. Press R to see that there's a
group of spikes ahead. As soon as the first one starts to rise, hop
onto the platform, jump onto the next one and do a big jump and float
to safety. Don't do anything silly in the fireball bit. The first two
spikes are okay to get past, just mind the fireball on the second one.
The next two pairs are tighter, and the second adds a fireball into the
equation. The final spike is easy to clear, then go and kill Reznor.

Valley Ghost House (2 goals, 92 total)

Left to - Valley Of Bowser 3
Up to - Larry's Castle
Right to - Valley Of Bowser 2

The block in the green ball area holds a power up. Remember that you
can spin jump onto them, but the last one is the only one that could
cause you trouble. Go through the door and you'll see a P. Hit it and
head right quickly. Going left will take you to the key room, but you
can't access the P so it's a waste of time. Go right and you'll see
doors and lots of coins. Run right as fast as you can. The first door
will take you right back to the start of the level. The second door
will take you to the key room, but again you can't access the P. The
third and fourth doors will take you to the normal exit, and the fifth
door will lead you to the key room and the hallowed P. Carry the P
along until you see a couple of ghosts and a ? block. Put the P down
and hit the ? block. This activates a coin chain - immediately send it
right, and keep changing the direction up and then right every 3 or 4
coins. Keep going until the music stops. Hit the P and climb the coin
chain. You'll see a key, a keyhole and an incredibly tiny gap which
you've got to get through, and, knowing your luck, you've probably
blocked it. It's possible to get in even if you haven't lined up the
coin chain for a run and duck - just jump and duck repeatedly and try
and head right when the bricks turn back to coins. This is easier if
you are small or have a cape to slow your descent. If you get in
slightly, keep jumping and pushing right to get through (if big, don't
worry about the ghosts hitting you - it will help). This is not easy to
do so be patient.

Valley Of Bowser 3 (1 goal, 93 total)

Up to - Valley Of Bowser 4
Right to - Valley Ghost House

Spin jump the first two koopas in one go when the first one is just
about to hit the floor. The first block hides a power up. The numbers
on the lifts indicate how long it takes for it to drop off the screen,
so prepare to get off the 1 lifts quickly, and also get off the 4 lifts
soon after they hit 1. The block just after the half way tape holds a
power up. There's nothing overly difficult from here on in, just make
sure you activate as many of the lifts as possible to make it easier to
dodge obstacles like the giant Bullet Bills. Surely they should be
giant Pidgit Bills?

Valley Of Bowser 4 (2 goals, 95 total)

Right to - Larry's Castle
Up to - Star Road 5
Down to - Valley Of Bowser 3

The green pipe leads to a bonus room. Climb the vine and get Yoshi.
Take the spin jump option of descent. Set off the 1-up, and float down
and right. Actually getting the extra life isn't easy and probably
isn't worth the risk. Yoshi can eat the rock things that the Chucks
dig up, and I think they can be caped as well. There's a power up in
the ? block above the yellow ! block. The key exit is in plain view,
the only way to get it is to keep Yoshi up to there and get him to
swallow it. The trick to this level is to tactically use the cape to
get the Chucks to dig the rocks, and only drop on the "target" platform
once they're out of the way by floating. If you die after half way, go
back to the Top Secret Area or wherever and get Yoshi and a couple of
capes.

Larry's Castle (1 goal, 96 total)

Bring two capes. This is the hardest level in the game excepting some
of the Special World levels, and without a cape it becomes very hard.
Use a running jump to get off the moving platform onto the stationary
platform above right at the start. Rejoin the moving platform when it
comes round (it will approach from below and nip up to the left).
DON'T go through the first door, stay on the lift and go down for the
half way tape (you don't know how useful that is - there's no real way
to do the first part of the level any quicker, and the second part can
take a very long time if you lose your cape), a couple of Yoshi coins
and a mushroom (ignore it if you still have two capes). Go through the
door to the really really horrible bit. Spin any Dry Bones or other
spinnable opponents with the cape and kill the magician quickly. You'll
come up against several vertical walls of blocks which, without a cape,
the magician will have to remove for you. They normally turn into
koopas, but they can turn into Thwimps as well. Spin the blocks and
move on. You might be under time pressure if it's still your first
attempt, but take your time and don't lose the cape. If you lose your
cape, pray. Killing Larry is the same as Iggy, except there's fireballs
to deal with and the platform seems to tilt more.

You've now done 96 goals! Wahey! But we've still got the unfinished
business of Bowser to deal with. Go in the Front Door, or, if you're
a woos, go in the Back Door (which is so incredibly nice to you - it
even gives you a half way tape right before the final door).

Front Door

Left to - Star Road 5
Down to - Larry's Castle

This level consists of six stages - stages one and three require you
to pick a door. Stage One has a choice of four, numbered 1-4, Stage Two
is the area relating to that door, Stage Three gives you doors 5-8 to
choose from, Stage Four is the area relating to that door, Stage Five
is an easy section (which is where the Back Door starts) and Stage Six
involves taking out the big fella himself. Easiest path is to take door
2 then door 5.

Door One involves a nasty little auto-scroller with lots of mallets and
fireballs. This is, in my opinion, the hardest of all eight doors.

Door Two is a really really easy net section - all the koopas are on
the other side of the net, and the fireballs are easy to avoid.

Door Three is an easy maze with a few Mechakoopas to avoid. There's an
extra life in the top left corner of this room.

Door Four is an annoying platform/fireball section similar to the bit
in, for example, Wendy's Castle. If you have a cape it's really easy,
just fly up and right (that's the only way to get the extra life) and
then fly across the whole room. It's not too difficult otherwise.

Door Five involves lots of spikes and Thwomps - edge up to the first
spike while it is in the floor then run to the right as fast as you can
once it's cleared the floor and don't stop until you reach the door.

Door Six is a water section, with moving spikes and Dry Bones. It can
get hairy, but there's a power up in there. The ball and chain section
isn't difficult, despite the large number of them, but getting out of
that section can be as there's not a lot of room to manoeuvre.

Door Seven involves lots of those fire breathing stone koopas like in
Roy's Castle, some of which jump. It's not very nice.

Door Eight is filled with lots of Chucks that do big jumps at you. With
a cape this is a doddle (there's a cape half way through this room),
otherwise they could take some dodging.

After this, you enter where the Back Door joins us. Hit the block to
turn on the light. There's just a few Ninjis and Mechakoopas to deal
with, so get past these and go through the red door.

Ah, the familiar final boss music. He'll come down in a giant
helicopter type thing. The blade will hurt you, but the side of the
device won't. The first stage will see Bowser repeatedly move in a semi
circular arc. I like to press up while he's doing this for comedy
value. Eventually, he'll throw down two Mechakoopas. Jump on them and
throw them upwards. You need to hit Bowser twice. Easiest way is to
stand dead centre and throw up when he's at the zenith of the arc.
He'll fly down and meet it perfectly. If you hit him only the once and
lose the koopa, spin jump one of the two he'll throw down later. You
don't want the other one to be interfering with your throw.

Get two hits and he'll fly off. Stand about left-centre. Lots of
fireballs will rain down - just stand in between two of them. Bowser
will return and the Princess will pop up and throw a mushroom down to
you. This time Bowser flies higher and moves more or less laterally,
following your movement. Run from side to side. After a while he'll
stop, turn upside down and drop a giant ball on you. Spin jump over
this a la Vanilla Ghost House. Repeat this with the second one. He'll
then throw two more Mechakoopas at you. It's harder to hit him now for
two reasons, first he is flying higher so you'll have to jump, and
secondly he trails your movement, so you'll have to move out to the
side and quickly get the Mechakoopa up before he gets there. It's
harder than before, but it shouldn't take too long.

The fireballs will come back again and the Princess will throw down
another mushroom. This time Bowser starts bouncing all over the place,
but he moves so slowly he's easy to dodge. I prefer to force him to
make two bounces one way then two the other, by simply moving from one
side to the other of where the middle bounce will be. To hit him with
the Mechakoopas, throw it just to the side of where he'll bounce, so
he goes up as the Mechakoopa goes down. Two hits and you've saved the
world again. Watch the average ending, find out what a Blargg is and
then repeat this with your other two save files.

###################################

******* Section 4 - Credits *******

Thanks to Nintendo for producing yet another fine Mario game.

Thanks to gamefaqs.com for hosting this guide.

Thanks to The Strokes, The Coral, Doves, System Of A Down and other
great bands for not being crap.

Thanks to all those who have also written full Mario World FAQs, and
other FAQs in general which we all find helpful, and to those on the
SMW message board.

Thanks to the ZSnes team for continuing to improve their emulator. And
I do own the original game...

Why not check out my Lost Levels FAQ? Dig out my contributor page.