The Cave Of The Lakitus

The Cave Of The Lakitus is a cavern level in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island and Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3. It is the second level of the fourth world. Enemies found in the level include Shy Guys, Piranha Plants, Koopa Troopas, Tap-Taps, Wall Lakitus, Fly Guys, Bats, Lantern Ghosts, and Baron von Zeppelins. The Cave Of The Lakitus is named after the Wall Lakitus that lurk in the caverns.

Overview
When the level starts out, Yoshi finds himself in a forest area, where he can find many pipes, some of them with Piranha Plants on top of them. Yoshi must enter the very first pipe, which will lead him to the cavern, with a yellow Egg Block, and a pink cloud with an arrow in it, constantly spinning. If the dinosaur hits this cloud with an Egg, it will cause it to hit a Red Shell, defeating several Koopa Troopas in a small section of the cavern, earning the dinosaur a 1-UP. After getting past a pair of One-Way Flippers, the hero encounters some rocky platforms with waterfalls, and Koopa Troopas serving as common foes in this area. The hero can also find some stairs here, where he stumbles upon some Red Coins floating above the stairs. As Yoshi walks through the cavern, he finds several Lakitus, hiding in holes in the wall. Fortunately, the hero can easily defeat the many foes of this area by simply hitting a nearby POW Block. Right ahead of this area, a Spring Ball can help Yoshi reaching a tall platform, where some Piranha Plants await to attack the brave hero. There is a small corridor in the middle of the wall, where Yoshi can push a Crate to a small room with a Winged Cloud in it.

Yoshi can find a ! Switch above a waterfall near some Piranha Plants. By pressing it, Yoshi encounters a hidden entrance in the waterfall, indicated by a red arrow. This hidden entrance leads the dinosaur to a vertical section, where he must Flutter Jump all the way down to the bottom, while collecting a few red coins hidden amongst normal coins. Once he reaches the bottom, he enters a Warp Pipe, leading him back to the previous area. Next, Yoshi will notice a Koopa Troopa walking in a tal platform, and a Flower to the right of it. This flower can be collected if Yoshi hits the Koopa with an egg, causing it to dash around in its shell, hitting the flower. Piranha Plants found in the hero's way can pose a threat tothe dinosaur, although he can simply hit them with an egg.

Next, Yoshi can use a Red Shell to defeat enemies in his way, such as Lantern Ghosts and Koopa Troopas. Yoshi occasionally finds a locked door, and, to find its key, he must enter a pipe located near a pit, leading the hero to a very small room with a Fly Guy holding a red coin, as well as a Baron von Zeppelin holding the key. The dinosaur can play the minigame "Throwing Balloons" once he enters this door. A Middle Ring can be found ahead of the door, as well as some Fangs flying in Yoshi's direction. Using some Flatbed Ferries, Yoshi must head to the bottom of the cave, while dodging Spiny Eggs thrown by Lakitus in the cave. At the very bottom, two Flowers can be collected: One by using Yoshi's Flutter Jump ability to hover over spikes, and the another by shooting eggs at clouds with arrows on them, causing the eggs to hit the Flower. The goal is located ahead of a pair of One-Way Flippers, where some Lakius still try to harm the hero by throwing Spiny Eggs at him.