The 'Shroom:Issue III/From the Mushroom Vaults

From the Mushroom Vaults by

FTMV #3: Yoshi and Mario: Items are Fun ANNOYING! Two things in the world of Mario are for sure: The two hardest levels in Yoshi’s Island are “Items are fun” and the hardest Red Coin Star in Super Mario 64 DS is in Bowser’s Sky. Fortunately, 3D has the answers. So fire up the GBA/DS/N64 and get ready to bust these two annoying levels!

Items are FUN! (not) Badum DUM! This level is extremely enigmatic: You can do it the WRONG way and make it the SHORTEST Yoshi’s Isle level ever, or go the RIGHT way and get it to last forever. But which way is the right way? This section will show you how to get on the right track, and grab a few extra bonuses. To start out, grab the juicy melon and spit those Tap-Taps out of the way! Then exit to the next area. Fill up with Huffin’ Puffins; scoot to the right and HEY PRESTO! Goal Ring! But wait... there must be a catch. There is. Go figure. Hop in the nearby pipe to get to the “real” level. Now, I bet you might’ve gone in the pipe before, but gotten scared off by all the complicated-ness in the underground. No need to be freaked out. Head to the right side of the room with some Puffins in your arsenal, but stop at the end of the ledge. Flower above ya, right? But the flippers are blocking it! No matter. Fling a Puffin north-west to scoop up the flower as it boomerangs back. Handy, eh? Now hit the P Switch. WAIT! What’s all this? One platform is blocking another! Wait until the platforms are about to disappear, then bounce and flutter to the solid ledge, hit another switch, then race to the pipe. DON’T GO IN! Bet you did already. ;D If you did, go ahead and flip to the next paragraph. But for those who were patient, WHEE! Above the pipe, there are prizes in a Winged Cloud! When the Stars are gone, flutter to a ledge on the far left. Skedaddle to the end, the hop in the pipe. Now, this is a very interesting area. The Winged Clouds all hold 1-Ups, so shoot them down! But the Bandits, when shot, will give off 1-Ups, too! Just bazooka-mouth them until they spit extra lives. Sweet. When you’re done, fall through the coins (one red) then zip to the P-Switch on the right and hop in the pipe (after going through the procedure aforementioned about the switch, of course.)

Oh-HO! I’ll bet you hopped in the pipe too early and skipped here, did you? DID YOU? Really? You came here after getting all the bonuses? Well, “bully” for you. Bounce on the ball to get to the top of a pile of dirt. Yay. Inside the mound, there should be a Winged Cloud. Shoot it for a door. Now, this should be EASY! Just hop in the door; in the next room, enter the door on the ledge. Now, I’ll leave you to sort out to rest of the level, but there’s a big secret in the dirt-filled room. If you get into the door when it’s on the dirt, you enter an area. If you hit the P-Switch and shoot the dirt under the door, making it land on the ! Blocks, you enter ANOTHER area. And if you get the door to land on the ground at the bottom of the room, you gain access to the last area. One other hint: In one area, there are two Tap-Taps and an Ice Melon near a cliff. Freeze the bouncing metal beasties; then bounce off them to enter a secret area! Cool Cold! With this info, getting 100% on the level should be a breeze.

Red Coins in the Sky! Bowser’s Sky. Intimidating, ain’t it? Fortunately, the red coins are in quite accessible places, and won’t send Mario on any annoying side-quests. For the first, push the block near the purple platform to the end of the ledge, the jump for the coin. The second is very obvious, grab it after the rotating purple platform with an Amp. Fall to the ground from the seesaw right afterward, then gently grab the coin on the right ledge; there’s a trail of yellow coins leading to it. On the rotating checked platforms, backflip to the above ledge to bypass a very dangerous route. Hit the switch, then leap up the stairs. At the top of the metal prepice, leap for the next reddie. Hop on the moving platform and adjust the camera angle, then double-jump for another red coin! Behind the point on the middle of the rotating platform, another can be found. So far, six coins! Climb the pole, then long-jump off the retracting platform to another pole. Handstand on it for the seventh coin. Scoot up the rest of the ledge, then leap onto the rotating platforms again. Wait for them to take Mario up to their top of their revolution, then jump to another set of platforms. Leap off them at the right time to grab another ledge. On the granite platform, the wind is blowing up a storm! Hide behind a pillar for safety. Leap up to the grassy area with the pipe. But wait! There’s still a coin to go! Jump back to the bridge, then drop under it for the last coin. Whew! That’s that! The star will appear by the pipe, grab it before the big boss battle. Good luck!

So that’s that. Umm... Expecting anything more? Well, there isn’t. What’re you hanging around for? Expecting to find extra hints? OK, here’s one: “L IS NOT THE ANSWER!” Now get going already.

64/\/\3 0\/3|-! (Game Over!)