Lode Runner 3D(Nintendo 64) FAQ
version 1.5.0.
copyright 2003
by Andrew Schultz [email protected]

Please do not reproduce this FAQ for profit without my prior consent. In
the immediate future I don't think I want to give this document out to
any site other than GameFAQs. Sorry.

**** AD SPACE ****

My web site:
http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Exhibit/2762

Very old classic Lode Runner stuff:
http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Exhibit/2762/loderunner/main.htm

For people who discovered this game because of the good old times, or
for people who flat out wonder what they were.

================================

 1. INTRODUCTION

   1-1. THE GAME AND SERIES

   1-2. GUIDE TERMINOLOGY/MAPS

   1-3. ABOUT THE AUTHOR(BUT NOT TOO MUCH)

 2. CONTROLS, TIPS AND WHAT THERE IS OF SCORING

 3. OTHER STUFF

   3-1. ENEMIES

   3-2. EVERYTHING

 4. THE HUB

 5-1-1 THROUGH 9-5-5. THE LEVELS THEMSELVES

 To avoid repetitive obvious filler and to get into the "real stuff"
quickly(and to warn off anyone who can't figure this rule of thumb out,
as the game is much tougher than the reasoning below,) I note the
outline number corresponds to the level as follows:
 (1st #) - 4 = world #.
 (2nd #) = level door you enter
 (3rd #) = sub-level therein, with 5 counting as the bonus level
regardless of the sub-level where you find the gem to access it.

 Thus you can search for whatever level you want if you put dashes
between the numbers. Giving repetitive headers seemed like filler and
besides I give hints in the actual titles.

 World 4, difficulty 5 has *two* bonus levels as does 5/5. So 8-5-6 and
9-5-6 are valid to search for as well.

 10-1-1 THROUGH 11-5-2(?). THE SECRET HUB LEVELS

 12. MINIMALIST PATH THROUGH

 13. ENDGAME

 14. PER-LEVEL STATISTICS

 15. VERSIONS

 16. CREDITS

================================

 1. INTRODUCTION

   1-1. THE GAME AND SERIES

 Lode Runner was created in 1983 by Doug Smith at Broderbund. It was a
fairly simple game but managed to pack 150 levels into a one-sided 140KB
5.25" floppy disk(back when floppies were still floppy!) At 1 nibble per
square and a 28x16 playing field that amounts to 33600 bytes for the
levels alone. The rest of the memory concentrated on a level editor. It
was a great game for the Apple and I suspect was a relative cinch to
port to the Commodore.

 In the playing field you could fall, dig holes that eventually filled
up(they would trap your enemies for a bit, but you could fall through if
nothing was below) and climb up ladders and across ropes. There were
various ways to make the enemy AI look silly, and they even fell half as
fast as you did.

 However the game wasn't much of a challenge and many of the later
levels were rehashes of earlier ones, maybe throwing in a pretty pattern
here and there. It wasn't until Championship Lode Runner a year or two
later that the intensive puzzling took off. You could even save your
progress, although you could progressively lose guys from your maximum,
and I did so after each level. The only downside: no level editor. But
the later levels were whoppers and made for an intense puzzle.

 Level editors become less viable as the game gets more complex and the
saving options/abilities go down(read: consoles) but the GameBoy port of
Hyper Lode Runner, which had 50 levels at 20x16 resolution(the last 35
included a backroom of similar size) squashed into just 13600 bytes on a
32K cartridge was impressive for the puzzles packed into something so
small. The control however was horrid and made some pleasantly
challenging puzzles into nightmares. Perhaps some levels even had too
much packed in.

 There has also been a release of Lode Runner Extra and Lode Runner:
the Legend Returns to PlayStation and PC. Although PC editions seem to
be rare, there is a PSX combination package of the two previous
titles(~1998,) conglomerated into a Lode Runner title, out that can be
gotten for $10-$15 in an online auction as of 2003. 150 levels each.

 PC also has Lode Runner 2, which has some dazzling graphics. It's on
eBay for ~$10 as well.

 Finally there's this one. It's an odd trip of circular ramps, gadgets,
and wire-type structures with even some beauty along the way especially
in the ice world and the tropics. The action isn't fully 3-d given that
there are very few actual plains you can walk across. It's not perfect
and doesn't have the simple accessibility or extra-quick play of early
Lode Runner(especially if it's emulated,) and there are only one or two
combination-puzzles per level, which makes for relatively little replay
value, but the process of finding what to do is still rewarding overall.
I got this for $5 or so and it was well worth it.

 But any version of Lode Runner is great puzzling value for the money.
While many other games just have you get quicker, Lode Runner actually
manages to present different scenarios and, in later cases, different
tools. Versions I know of Lode Runner are:

   1-2. GUIDE PURPOSE/TERMINOLOGY/MAPS

 You don't have to solve 100% of the levels to get through the game.
This guide does that, including all the ways to get extra lives and gold
and solve bonus levels, and I plan to have a section stating the
quickest way through the game.

block or brick = something you can blast
dig = blast (an artifact from my old Lode Runner days when it looked
like you put salt on the pavement)
dig three times = Push Z 3 times in a row.
dig 4 times, then 3 = drops implied
3->2->1 = dig 3 times, drop, dig the two right squares, etc.
3-<2-<1 = same as above but dig the left squares, etc.
[ go down = move controller down
[ drop down = fall off the edge of a ramp/platform
Note I may say 'drop left' as well or 'go left' and may substitute south
for walking down and north for walking up. I will also often not tell
you which way to drop if there's only one.
bomb--well, it looks more like a mine from the top, but it looks like a
bomb in inventory. Basically, it explodes to take out bricks, enemies,
and if you're careless, all your troubles and worries--along with their
source(according to the 'no-one else can can MAKE you worry' crowd, at
least.)
My standard FAQ terminology of U/D/L/R=up/left/down/right or a
combination of the two meaning diagonal also applies.

 In this document there is a way to search for the level/scene you are
stuck on if you want. It's mentioned in the outline, but just in case
you overlooked it...

 Look at the world number you are on and add 4. That's the first
number. Then see which difficulty level applies(1-5)--then take the sub-
level(1-4) from there. You'll have three numbers a, b and c. Search for
the text string a-b-c.

   1.3. ABOUT THE AUTHOR(BUT NOT TOO MUCH)

 This is my first Nintendo 64 FAQ but not my first Lode Runner FAQ.
Hopefully it will not be my last of either, although it's tough to find
uncharted N64 waters without coughing up lots of cash(i.e. $10+, well
lots to me) on a used game. Lode Runner is a lot cheaper.

 Not only have I made a small Lode Runner fansite and written guides
for all the Lode Runner games I could get my hand on, but I also hold a
certificate in Championship Lode Runner completion from the University
of Broderbund(i.e. won the game on an Apple IIe and sent in a
certificate) and spent long times creating and solving other levels.
Even including my favorite Level of Death which required perfect timing
and that gave you no points for getting any gold. Yay me.

 2. CONTROLS, TIPS AND WHAT THERE IS OF SCORING

 I prefer to position my hands as follows: left thumb/index finger
controlling the joystick, with right hand controlling the buttons and
slipping under to hit the 'Z' button. Although I'm left handed it is
probably best for a right handed person too: this way, you control
moving with one hand and your character's manual activities with the
other.

 The L1 button(left index finger) switches you around. It's not too
useful, really, as if you need to turn around you can just tap the
standard controller the other way. And I often hit R1 instead.

 The R1 button is annoying because it can be easy to hit it
involuntarily when digging or dropping bombs, thus messing up your view.
Its functionality should have been swapped with the L1 button, but oh
well. Basically it toggles how you can zoom. The default is that the
yellow buttons will cause you to rotate your view around your character,
and once you release them, the view snaps back to where it started. A
good grasp of what sort of magnification or view to use can make a level
much easier and the surprises less unfair. You can adjust it while
running, but usually there are plenty of hideouts where you can
readjust. However, the game never seems to start you off well on later
levels. Be warned that it shuts back down to default if you reset the
console, and if you restart the level, it will keep the zoom mode but
not the angle.

 Most importantly: if you mistakenly hit the R button and hit it to get
your old view back, it zooms way in--no memory of your former parameters
is kept. Keep your index fingers low on the controller if possible.

 The start button is incredibly practical. Push it during level play to
see your status. You can use it to restart a level if you get trapped or
even to go back to the hub or a different world. It isn't always
perfect, though; if you try to restart in a bonus level, you hear
maniacal laughter. If you try to return to a hub or a different world,
the game cancels your bonus level. I don't think you get any extra lives
either. So you'll need to reset if you want to get things perfect. But
be sure once you hit the start button and move to your option that you
don't hit start to select it. That sends you back to the game, a bad
deal if you were trying to weasel out of imminent loss of life. Hit A
instead.

 The Z button, which recoils you unless you're already against a wall,
cannot be held down for digging holes, sadly. This would help in certain
situations, with Z switching with B, but if you need to do a few quick
digs, zoom in, fire, wait til your guy lands, and keep at it. If two bad
guys come at you, and you blast right under one, you may recoil into the
second if they are too close together.

 B drops a bomb on the square in front of you. If the square is
blocked, it drops the bomb on your square. Bombs take out 1 square in
each horizontal direction although vertically is a bit different as far
as I know. Bombs will kill you if you are no more than one square away
in all direction. Diagram below.

* = bomb
X = square it takes out

 LEVEL ABOVE THE BOMB     BOMB LEVEL        LEVEL BELOW THE BOMB

                            X X X                 X

            *               X * X               X * X

                            X X X                 X

 It's also possible to use the Z square on a brick where you've dropped
the bomb. Don't worry, you won't ever hit it. It will just drop down to
the next level. This is useful for dislodging bricks way down there.

 A allows you to take one of the various transport devices in the game
or manipulate other tools. You can even hold it down so you tinker with
something as soon as you touch it.

 Often when you run in a spiral you'll need to move the controller
around the rim. There's also a point of contention with branching off.
It's tough to do so sometimes, so if no monsters are behind you may want
to inch out as you turn left/right to be sure you're going the right
way.

 Levels are much, much easier once you understand what to do. Therefore
I recommend hoarding extra guys as well as possible. Run ahead through a
few levels, not worrying too much about life loss or even saving the
game, then reset the game and retry. If you can't see how to get an
extra life coin, don't worry about it, and in fact you may not want to
worry about a gem the first time through since you only have one try for
bonus levels. You can come back later and concentrate on one aspect.

 The more guys you have, the longer you can run on ahead and experiment
in a tough level without your concentration broken.

 If you're having trouble solving a level, get the easy stuff to build
up confidence. Then focus on the hard part, eliminating the easy stuff
which wastes time. Remember that you usually have a margin of error when
making long runs, and if things get tight you can reset the game if
you're reasonably watchful.

 There are two camera angles to control: in calculus, they are called
theta and phi. Theta is simply rotating while staying at the same
vertical level. It is the more useful of the two and is controlled by
the C-pad. Phi is comaparative to the sun rising and setting. It's how
close to the horizon you are--the cross-pad controller uses this. It's
useful for rooting out that last bit of gold, but the game generally
gets a good value of phi for starting out.

 --** SCORING **--

 You get an extra life for each level you solve, and if you go through
a bonus level, you will have saved all progress through that level even
if you die. You also cannot have more than 99 lives.

 Once you take a gem, you need to go through the gem transporter before
leaving a level, or the game will chalk the gem up as found, with the
bonus level off limits to you unless you reset without saving.

 The major weak point of Lode Runner 3-d is that you can't save
branches of one game, and since there's no way to reset a level once
you've been saved as solving it, the only way to revisit a puzzle is
immediately after solving it, unless you know the cheat codes. Which
doesn't quite feel fair.

 3. OTHER STUFF

 The game gives neat descriptions of each foreign entity, but it
doesn't give a lot of strategical tips. I'll note the game text here as
well and give strategy. I'll also point out that if your gold is over
1000 you get ":74," for 1100 you get ";95" or such as total gold, a
silly bug. If you look at the ASCII table you'll notice : is just after
9 so someone got a bit lazy with cute programming :). < = and > would be
next.

   3-1. ENEMIES

 Mad Monks, your major foes, all look alike, but they behave
differently on different levels. It's up to you to figure out the
details of the AI(unless I mentioned it in this FAQ--and I try to, when
it can potentially trip you up.)

 Monks may surprise you by following you with relative degrees of
closeness, turning unexpectedly when you try to fake them out around a
circle, and some can back away if you blast the square in front. They
can sometimes--and it depends on the level--sense that you've dropped
down and turn around. So pay attention.

 Monks always stay in holes you created for a while, but if they drop
in two in a row they die. Some puzzles it will be necessary to bomb them
to get past, and they are also killed by lethal neutral elements such as
cutters or ice leapers. Monks regenerate where they started the level
off--which may be far above the playing field, to allow you some time to
run under. You can also step on where they regenerate and they won't pop
up right away. In fact this generally works until they've raised their
faces from the floor.

 Blasting monks near you requires precise timing; you can take the
floor out from under one, but remember you drill specific bricks, so you
may actually blast past them and still get killed. You may need to blast
some monks; if they get trapped in a hole you dug then they may cough up
any gold coins they collected. Often they can even make your task
easier(or in fact possible) by picking up a gold piece from a place you
can't reach and bringing it down to you.

 They also follow the same falling conventions as you do, unless they
drop through a hole you created. Then they always get stuck, but if
there are arrows around the hole you can fall down.

 Unlike the original Lode Runner gravity affects them the same as it
affects you.

 Levitating robots travel the same way mad monks do. However, they
aren't as prone to switch direction, and you cannot dig holes to trap
them. They aren't invincible, though, as a bomb can take one out.

   3-2. EVERYTHING

 I transcribed the help you get from the console in each world and
added my own notes. There's some pleasing science fiction rubbish but
the only potentially misleading part is that monks can use the gadgets
mentioned.

     3-2-1.

MONK: Mindless creatures of evil. The extreme levels of obedience
demanded of them by their Mad Emperor has reduced them to a robot-like
existence.

GOLD: What this mission is all about. You need to collect htese to open
a Portal. Gold is sometimes hidden in destructible tiles.

FALLING GOLD: This type of gold has the same value as basic gold but is
less spatially stable, and it will always fall until it lands on a
pathway. [Often, you'll need to force it to. I don't know of any case
where it will fall to a place where you can't reach it. Note how it's
winged and standard gold isn't.]

GEM: Gems float above the pathway or are found buried within a
destructible tile. They open the Portals that lead to Bonus levels. [If
you take a gem, you need to enter the portal or it's gone. But you can
solve a level without getting a gem and in fact in some levels the gems
are purposefully tough to get to. Two-gem levels also allow you two
possible levels to enter. If you take a gem and return to a level, your
gold-collecting progress is saved.]

BOMB: Based on the Quantum-Imploder - these are capable of destroying
the less stable tiles. [see separate section]

PORTAL: Travel between the Monks' storage zones is by these Tansit
Portals. Until a minimum amount of Gold is taken from the level it
remains closed. The amount is shown by the number floating within the
Portal. [In fact there's only one case where you can solve a level
without getting all gold. The portal springs open once you've gotten all
you need.]

HELIX-LIFT: By using Phased-Helix energies, the Monks are able to create
elevator-like contraptions. [Looks like a portal, only has weird purple
lights. Monks can enter but not activate transporters. You can cross
over a helix while it's still lit up or even put a bomb on it. You can
also activate it without staying on it to sucker a monk behind you.]

SHUTTLE: Energized Planar Force Effects are used by the Monks to create
platforms that move between the scattered areas of their storage zones.
[Pink wedges that provide a one-way transport. Strangely enough, MONKS
CAN'T USE THEM. That's the case with all these devices, but oh well...]

     3-2-2.

CAPPED WELL: Plasma wells once vented off the magmic energy caused by
the Monks' mines. Now, running wild, they are a constant hazard. Their
plumes superheat anything coming into contact with them - which is quite
fatal. [Actually you can't step over them after you activate them; I
refer to them as PANELS and they tend to heat up metal above them and
spread the heat to the squares around them over time. To turn one well
off and start to cool certain squares, step on another and press A.
Often you'll have to alternate quickly between them.]

STEAM-LIFT: The monks' insane cleverness has led them to harness their
mines' exhaust gases to serve as an elevator system in the storage
areas. [Basically an elevator like the helix in the first world.]

BIT LAUNCHER: A mobile robot drill capable of boring through the less
stable areas of the pathways. Years of neglect have corrupted their
circuits to the point where they are a danger to all. [Basically I refer
to these as tops or drills. They have a predictable pattern--if two hit
each other, one goes crunch, and they tend to go left at a T-
intersection but otherwise either go straight or bounce back at a dead
end. They can blast through ALL diggable squares and take out monks and
can even be suckered into steam lifts. Platforms with bits hanging on a
wire are used to activate them. Push A to do so and note in later levels
you have a choice of launching one to the left or right.]

CABLE DISC: As knowledge of how to build and maintain the Shuttle Discs
was lost by the Monks - they took to building these cruder transport
devices.

     3-2-3.

TELE-FREEZER: Molecular Transceivers are yet another mad device of the
Monks. They use these to move about within their storage zones.
[teleports you with a time delay. Monks often know when you've entered
one, so the coast should be extra clear where you exit before taking
them. The teleports are two-way.]

ICE-LIFT: A monkish ice-making device, its columns can be used as an
elevator. [standard elevator, different clothes]

SNOW-MAKER: A robotic repair device of the Monks. Its poorly designed
programming makes it dangerous to be around but it can repair some of
the broken pathways found in a storage zone. [basically, it has a set
path, and it dies when it runs into a wall, but you can dig the right
holes to make it fall or place ice blocks to run over at critical
locations.]

SNOW-SLIDE: Another of the Monks' strange transport devices. Its rider
is whisked from one part of a storage zone to another. [Like most moving
platforms you saw before but here this has a rail to guide it.]

     3-2-4.

TELE-CLONER: The most bizarre version of a MOnkish Molecular
Transceiver. This one is an outgrowth of their experiments with bio-
mechaincs. [looks like a plant and there's a delay before you're zapped
to the other one. It is two-way.]

GROW-RISER: Hyper-growth hormones have let the Monks create bizarre
creatures. This one is used to hoist a rider to great heights. [looks
abnormal with weird teeth but give normal elevator functions.]

ATTACK-BRIDGE: A mindless , poorly tamed guard creature. Whenever their
attack mode is manually triggered, they become rigid and can be used to
cross over to isolated parts of a storage zone. [They lash out very
quickly if you're along a platform where they can 'see' you even if the
platform is bent. But they retreat at the same pace you walk forward at,
so you can fake them out. You can also stand on top of their base and
extend or retract them.]

     3-2-5.

PLASMA: A simple torsion device that when coupled with nuclear waste
results in a nasty booby-trap. [you see energy pulsing through squares,
and this can destroy anything on them. It's set off by stepping on a
tile.]

SWITCH: this little device is used to remotely trigger some of the more
nasty devices found in the storage zones. [This sets a rock rolling in
motion.]

ROCK: The monks' ability to use sophisticated equipment is vanishing.
They are falling back on crude substitutes. Dropping big rocks on people
is as crude as it gets - it also works. [Rocks are great for killing
monks or blasting bricks you can't bomb. However they can also crush
you. They are destroyed when they run into a brick or a wall. They also
tend to slow down when killing monks.]

RUBBLE-RISER: A crude device that extrudes quick-setting stone. It is
used as a life platform to reach inaccessible areas in a storage zone.
[Your standard elevator for practical purposes.]

EMPEROR-MONK: The crazed being who controls the worlds of Pandora.
Obsessed with the collection of wealth - he has drained uncounted worlds
of their riches. [What a pisser this guy is. Fortunately his little
giggle lets go that he's about to let loose an electric blast which
would kill you or other monks, and it takes a while before the blast
goes through his body and onto the field. Wooden bricks stop his blasts
but are destroyed in the process--which can maroon you between holes or
blast open an area you hadn't seen before. He moves faster than his
monks and can horde gold pieces but can't seem to get out of a pit he
falls in.]

 4. THE HUB/WORLDS

 All the way forward, you have the airlock which leads to different
worlds if they've been unlocked. The arrow to the bottom leads to the
console, where you can see how much of the game you've completed. Off to
the right, you have the five levels found in each world. Each one has a
ramp leading down to the console area.

 The five worlds are as follows:

 blue/yellow themed intro world
 red fiery world
 white icy world
 tropical world
 technical world

 They have mountains and distant cities as far backgrounds and
different colored blocks.

 Every world's hub has five levels, each named similarly:

--CALM BEFORE THE STORM
--DOES NOT GET ANY EASIER
--NEED HELP?
--BETTER HAVE SOME LIVES!
--WHAT THE...

 Each of these has four sub-levels and one bonus level that's more
annoying than the rest.

 For any standard level you can see if you've grabbed all the
gold/gems/extra lives there. One thing you cannot see, though, is how
well you did on the bonus room for the levels behind that transporter.
You just have to hope and remember you got it right.

 The hub doesn't force you to do anything in any particular order.
There are six pieces of the map per world so you can in fact skip a few
screens. However it does make saving awkward. First of all, it doesn't
show you your results for level four before it prompts you to save. This
shouldn't do any damage, and you can check the console or each elevator
individually to make sure you missed nothing on a world, but it is still
annoying. Also remember you need to use the yellow buttons to switch
through sub-levels 1-4...and it starts at level 4. I've wasted a lot of
time picking the wrong level.

 You can also trick the hub out a bit. Let's say you want to
concentrate on a bonus level separately. First of all, if you have to
pick up the gem to get through the sub-level, then if it works you can
discontinue that sub-level and go to a sub-level 4 in another of the
elevators in the hub that you've already completed. #1 should be pretty
simple to complete by just walking through to the transporter. You'll be
asked if you want to save. If you fail, you'll need to reset your N64
and go through a few wait screens to try again. So those looking for
100% will have to plan well.

 You can also just leave particularly tough looking bonus levels or
extra lives for later--even when you get to another world. One thing you
can't do though is to return to the hub or another world after you've
gone through a bonus level and haven't advanced and retry. You'll have
to reset if you want to try again for perfection.

 The console is useful for fleshing some of the story out, especially
if you wonder 'what is that thing chasing me?' It can also tip you off
as to how many lives/gold pieces can be found in a level(i.e. if you
found 4 lives and they're 57% of the total, there are 4/57%~=7 lives
total in the level.)

 5. WORLD 1

 This is a pretty standard introductory world in terms of graphic feel.
However, one thing they could change is how well you blend in with the
rest of the game. This makes it hard to see at the start even if you do
have the focus level set right.

   5-1. CALM BEFORE THE STORM

     5-1-1. SCENE 1

 Run left. drop down. Run right. drop down. Run left. drop down. Run
right and drop down repeatedly until you see the three ladder squares.
Blast the center one(i.e. stand on the edge and face it.) If you blast
an edge one then you can just blast again anyway. Fall through the hole
you made and go right. Get the coin, back up and shoot the blue square.
Go down and right, back up, shoot the blue square. Do this for the third
time and you'll drop down to a platform with the dead end and the first
level exit teleport. Take the helix(stand on it and push A) and then go
right. Blast one blue square and drop through it. Get the extra life and
blast two consecutive blue squares. Fall into the gap and blast again.
Nail the six gold coins before falling to the left. Go down at the
juncture, and you'll be kicked to the second level. This isn't terribly
deep, as you really only have one way to go most of the time. But it
does get tougher.

     5-1-2. SCENE 2

 Blast the square at the left edge of your platform then hit Z again to
blast. Then circle around to the right(counterclockwise) until you're
where the bricks were. Blast the brick below them and fall through. Go
down and pick up the triangle that makes one fifth of the hexagon. Pick
up the two gold pieces as you wish and then you get your first timing
puzzle.

 Blast to the right on the edge. Then go right and blast left. You'll
fall off but don't worry; back up the ramp and blast the center piece as
you're facing down. Blast two adjacent bricks below and go through the
one below that. Picking up the last few gold pieces is trivial.

     5-1-3. SCENE 3

 Get the bomb that fell to the left. Note there are two blue squares
blocking your way; bomb the one leading to the gem(up) first. Remember
to stay out of the way of the bomb. You'll have plenty of time to sneak
in afterwards. Do so. Get the gem and then enter the bonus level
transporter that appears to your left.

 (see section 5-1-5)

 Go back to get the bomb, but this time fall to the right. Go right to
the blocking brick, drop the bomb, and go left. Go right after it
explodes. Blast the edge square and the next one. Then drop down and
blast that square. The next part is about the same except there are
three squares to blast, then two, then one. Gold appears above solid
tiles below where you blast so you get it automatically. The next part
has four tiles at first but fortunately since you're kicked back after
firing timing should not be an issue.

     5-1-4. SCENE 4

 Your first encounter with a mad monk! They get more prolific and guard
more important spaces later, but you'll learn the basics of faking them
out.

 Here the mad monk seems to go off to the left at first, so go to the
right. If not then you can wait for him to circle back and forth. Blast
the right blue block and fall down and wait for the mad monk to get
near. Blast a hole in front of where you want to go and run over the
monk--go around the circle to the other side. He'll be in the hole a
bit, and you're much faster than he is. Go to the left and goad the mad
monk all the way to the bottom left. Dig a hole and then run toward the
center of the level's circular structure to get one gold coin, then run
clockwise and when on the right, run left to get another. You should
have time to do this but you can wait for the mad monk and drop him in a
hole again if you're not sure. Now you can circle over the monk and go
down towards the center. Pick up the extra life and run back up or, if
the monk is a bit too watchful at the moment, blast the square below the
extra life after you get it and then run the way the monk isn't going.
At the top of the circle go up into the transporter!

 Note the monk regenerates at the top of the circle after he's trapped
in a brick, so if you hear a scream, stay away from there.

     5-1-5. BONUS LEVEL

 This bonus level is pretty easy, and it's low-risk too. Blast the
leftmost edge blue brick. Then blast the rightmost edge brick and the
one next to that. Run left and circle clockwise to get the two lives,
then drop down to the left to get the third. Blast either edge square to
get to the portal back to the level. There's no penalty for missing the
encased one, but you should learn how to do it as it's part of the basic
sort of strategy you'll see in upcoming levels.

   5-2. DOES NOT GET ANY EASIER

     5-2-1. SCENE 1

 The tough part here is figuring out which platform goes where.

 The center bottom in the main section goes to the far left, which
kicks you back to the second-left bottom platform. Keep this in mind as
the mad monk paces back and forth so he doesn't trap you in there. The
center left at the top is also necessary. Take it first, in fact. You'll
go to an area above where you started and get an extra guy, too. Wait
until the mad monk is stuck under you then run left. Dig him in a hole
to buy some time and then take the center bottom to go to the isolated
area. Pick up the bomb and return. Dispatch the mad monk by digging and
drop the bomb at the far right. Note that the monk drops around the
right if he's killed so you may want to set up the bomb and then dig a
hole if possible. Drop through the open area created and go to the
platform. Take it.

 Note that the mad monk may get stuck where you want to go when you're
by platforms b/c. In this case just use the yellow arrow controls to
refocus and go to where the mine was. Eventually he'll 'see' you and go
back to the main walkway.

b     1 2 3 4   5
|     | | | |  -+
+-   +-+-+-+-+
|    | | | | |  |
c    6 7 8 9 a  d

 2 -> 5
 4 -> 1
 6 -> 9
 8 -> b
 a -> 3
 c -> 7
 d -> next area

 The next part is a circular area where it seems pretty easy to get all
the coins. However the mad monk may meet you if you do it wrong. So
here's what to do. Get on the bricks and move counterclockwise. Dig
clockwise, pause, dig again, pause, etc. Now the monk will be trapped in
an area but won't die yet. You don't want him to die because he'll just
regenerate where he's guarding the coins and the teleportal anyway. With
one-second counts between blasts all the way to the platform you should
have no trouble at all making it through this scene.

     5-2-2. SCENE 2

 Two gold coins can be picked up just walking around. A third can be
picked up falling off one ledge, and a fourth is taken if you zap the
brick near the mine, fall down where it was, and get the mine. You'll
have to blast the brick to the right to get out. Now take out what's to
the right. Bomb the bricks above the mad monk, step away, pick up the
bomb and drop it through the newly created hole. Wasn't that fun?
Immediately when the bomb explodes, jump right into the hole and get all
the gold you can. Go up the ramp to get the gold and dig where the gold
was. Get the gold to the right and now if you want you can leave but the
bonus level is fun enough, so why not give it a shot?

 If you do the bonus level, you need to pick up both bombs(easy enough
once you've gone left instead of to the transporter) and then go to the
two blocks next to each other. Put a bomb by the first, walk away, and
put a bomb by the second. You can now jump down from where the blocks
were and get the gem. To leave, bomb the monk again and circle around.

[BONUS LEVEL IN 5-2-5]

     5-2-3. SCENE 3

 A bit of digging and waiting here, but nothing you can't handle. The
helix isn't tough to use at all and in fact gives you an extra life the
first time around.

 First you want to look for a chunk of bricks shaped like so from the
side, with x=blue, .=undiggable.

xxxx
x.xx
x.xx

 Dig the right three, then the two below them and the one below that
that you can. Wait for the monk below to pass if he is close by. Note he
pretty much goes in a circle and you can also watch shadows or change
the view to see where he is before jumping if you're feeling paranoid.
Take the helix up(push the A button) but watch out--the monk will follow
you and go up it too. You can finesse by activating the helix, running
off, leading the monk on a chase a bit and then entering, but it's
easier to outwit the monk at the top. Don't run around the circle at the
top unless you're sure he can't follow you. If he does, just blast a
hole, walk over him, blast another and drop down. Dig as before.

     5-2-4. SCENE 4

 You start out by a brick at a crossroads. Blast the brick after you
get the gold and then get the bomb ahead. Bomb the square ahead and get
the new bomb that drops before circling back to the crossroad and taking
a left. Bomb the bricks at the end of the path after you get the gold
coin. Drop down. To the right is a piece of the path, past the helix--
it's a bit obscured. Get it, then take the helix. Go forward and wait
until the monk's near the end of his patrol path before dropping down
and digging a hole for him on the blue square. Don't worry about being
exact, but don't sluff off totally. Drop down again and again to the
area with the bombs, bricks and monk. Blast one square at a time so that
the monk doesn't regenerate(if he does it's at the right end.) Pick up
the gold and bombs and blast the T-intersection brick and jump where it
was. Now to the extra life. You can leave now if you want but if you
want to show your skillz dispose of the first monk as before, go up the
ramp, bomb, run away, run to the end and dig. Drop into the hole you
made and then drop down where you'll find an extra life. Get the bomb,
use it, get its replacement, and go back down to the helix area. Use the
transporter this time.

     5-2-5. BONUS LEVEL

 Tap right to get the mad monks in motion. They aren't terribly tough
to avoid. Just wait until they're in the half you don't want to be in
(each way has a portal back to 1-2-2 so it doesn't matter which way you
start) and then run away from them. Run up the ramp using the diggable
brick if necessary and your main concern is that, if you zap a monk, it
may regenerate in the middle just as you're running there. So dig just
about as he'll reach you. This is good enough but in fact it's even
easier if you drop just before they meet. Then you have to escape only
one instead of two, which is not tough at all.

   5-3. NEED SOME HELP?

     5-3-1. SCENE 1

 This looks easy to start! Blast through the brick and drop down...but
the recoil knocks you off the small platform. Darn. Nothing to do but
use use the helix to go back up on the other side. Go up and then onto
the platform, which circles around. Drop down onto it. Drop the bomb at
one edge and go to the other--this is easier than circling around twice
and dropping the bomb from above, my original solution. Note a mad monk
to the left when you get to the bottom, so go right. Dig a hole for the
monk and get the bomb. Don't use it yet; make sure you have the monk
under control(dig it in a hole or make sure it's run to the opposite
side you're on) then bomb the brick you originally landed on. Run over
to the other side and drop down that way. Dropping down around where you
placed the bomb will let the mad monk below nail you. If you do fall off
and survive there is a helix back to the top and you can repeat what you
did. Otherwise there's no choice but to advance to the next level!

     5-3-2. SCENE 2

 If you're quick here you can blast the brick in front of you and the
one below that and then go right and blast the end piece after picking
up the mad monk's gold piece, but otherwise you'll want to dig, wait for
the brick to reappear, fall left and start operations there, drilling
right to let the monk drop and waiting until he's moved away before
digging the one below that and starting operations. The best way to bag
the monk and his gold piece in this case is to go to one end of the
horseshoe at the bottom, dig a hole well before he's there, and drop
down once he 'sees' you. Then he'll cough up the gold piece. If he gets
out of his hole then he regains the piece and walks away. It's worth
restarting the level if you're caught off guard since there's no
penalty.

 Starting from the main horseshoe here is what you need to do. Go
around clockwise and dig down twice to pick up the gold piece on the
one-way ramp. Dig the brick to the right of the ramp and get the two
gold and the bomb below it. Take the helix up. Wait until the monk has
fallen off the ramp to the right and onto the bricks before going right.
Catch him in a hole some way(he should be goaded into circling around if
you stay at one edge or the other, but you can always dig at the bottom
of the ramp to be sure.) Dig the leftmost square to get out. Take the
helix back up and go forward, dropping down, for one piece. You should
now be able to get the last few gold pieces with ease. If one is to the
left of the brick at the end then shoot the brick if there's a monk
below, wait and then pick up the gold piece. If there are any others to
pick up(below the start, or the monk has one) follow the advice I
recommended above.

 Now you can go back to the helix pretty easily, and the transporter is
hidden behind it, but in case you want to go to the bonus level, put the
bomb on the square to the far left of the ramp where the monk
regenerates. Get the gem and note the transporter is below the two
bricks at the bottom of the ramp in the horseshoe. Blast them one at a
time and then enter.

[SEE 5-3-5 FOR BONUS LEVEL]

     5-3-3. SCENE 3

 This is a very cat and mouse level.

 There's an invincible robot here and you may want to wait to jump down
until the coast is totally clear. Don't go to the crescent at the top
until you have a bomb and the rest of the gold pieces, and the enemies
are well shaken off.

 The first objective is to get to the platform at the left. Eventually
the bad guys will go off to the left, or one will take the passage below
the upper crescent. In any case note there are three passages between
each side and only two bad guys, so one should be open all the time.
While on the small area right of the platform you will want to blast one
end and go to get the bomb. Make sure that whichever end you blast, the
bad guy is well away when you do so, preferably running towards the
platform start or end. If both are on one side go to the other. Get the
bomb and go forward. Place it down at the crescent top and drop down if
you must to avoid bad guys, but if you can stay in the top that's for
the best as you won't have any timing issues before the brick heals up.
You'll have to use the moving platform to go back to the helix area and
now the drop-down becomes especially useful in case both start chasing
you--in fact you may want to wait for one to do so before moving, as
that leaves only one with any chance of catching you. Once on the wedge
dig either way and go down to the helix.

     5-3-4. SCENE 4

 Drop down and immediately go left or right(doesn't matter) and dig
holes to trap monks. Climbing up is a bit tricky as there's a temptation
to blast two holes on each side and stay in the center. Don't do so; it
can be done but the recoil effect is risky and you don't want to wind up
in a hole. Think ahead and leave 'presents' of holes well behind as you
push to the top. Dig the very end square and go down for a complimentary
extra life. Now what to do about those pesky gold pieces on the isolated
platforms? Well, you have some digging to do. Dig on one side of the
horseshoe, run around to the other side, and dig there. Now dig an edge
and center square below them, then dig the square you can below that.
One gold piece is down. Now go up the other stairs and pick up the gold
piece on the ledge that you didn't. You'll want to watch for monks being
too close--or on each side--as you drop down. If they are on each side
run to one and dig him in. Don't let them surround you as the recoil
will leave you trapped unless you restart quickly.

 There will be mad monks with gold pieces that comprise the rest of the
challenge. Take them out one side at a time. Remember if two are close
together or even three it is no problem to string them out, dig a few
holes in a row, and run over them. In case all four are on one side you
can probably goad a few over to the other side, blast, and run back over
them.

     5-3-5. BONUS LEVEL

 It's confusing how to sucker the mad monk into running around, but
once you do, it's just a cherry pick. Shoot the left brick, then the
right, then circle around and shoot the center one. The monk will be on
his way. You can break at pretty much any time since you're faster than
the monk, but he'll probably get trapped where you started. At the end
of the ramp, blast the brick and go down for two extra lives.

   5-4. BETTER HAVE SOME LIVES!

     5-4-1. SCENE 1

 Blast the square to the left, if the monks are not around, and drop
through it. Before the transporter there are two bricks you can blast.
Do so, facing right. This will trap the two monks. You'll want to do it
in the far right and wait for them to avoid the outside chance one is
killed and drops down. The main element of surprise in this level is
that he monks when they regenerate drop from just to the left of the
shape.

 Go to the right and blast the third and second from the right for the
monks to come back. Just to make sure they're out of the way after you
cross over, blast the fourth and fifth and sixth squares while facing
right. Enter the transportation helix. You should now have shaken the
mad monks, but if not, this is only the first time through, so you can
just pick up the extra life by using the helix to the right, falling
right, and getting the extra helix falling to the right again. You want
to time this final jump down to the base so that you will be able to
blast the 2nd- and 3rd- squares again, run over the monks, blast the
squares to the left of those in order, and have another clear path to
the helix.

 Now on the upper level, take the helix. Blast right. You'll fall off,
but no big deal. Get back on and walk right. Activate the helix to the
right of the three blocks, which goes up one less square. This helps you
dig through all the blocks but makes the upper level a one way affair if
you botch it or don't dig the top square. Wait a bit before you blast
left--the timing is important. Again you'll fall off but now you can run
across to the helix left of the blocks, wait for the helix to
deactivate, and blast right. Hooray, you can jump down now! If the
second block fills up too quickly then you need to be a bit more
patient. Remember that there's a warning before most blocks regenerate.

 You can probably camp out and wait for the monks to be to the right of
you before jumping. If they don't want to cooperate then you can
probably fall right, dig holes for each of them, and run past them to
the far left to complete the level.

     5-4-2. SCENE 2

 This is a mysterious level and it starts out looking rather stupid in
fact. The key is that gold drops with timing. First it's to down/right
of where you start then right around the perimeter to the top and then
down. From there you can go left/right, fall down, and go back to the
center for #4 and if a monk hasn't got #3 at the very bottom get that
too. The next one is left and down--two monks should be wandering about
now so don't be shy about blasting one if it gets too close. Be sure if
you nail two though not to stick yourself between two pits somehow.
Fortunately there aren't a lot of one-way passages here so you have
little risk of getting trapped. The next one is in the upper right. Then
there's one left of the start and one at the top again. The first monk
also seems to have a gold piece so be sure to blast around in general.
More monks will appear but fortunately they are mostly stupid; the
last(fourth) one seems to have a gold piece. Your main bugbear here will
be the bad point of view; zoom out so that the bad guys don't trap you,
and if one seems to be just patrolling a certain area, watch for those
that sneak from the other side. The smarter ones look the same as the
dummies, though.

 The best way to complete this level in general is to go to the top
part and then go down. Pause before you're about to jump and plan things
out. The camera angle will catch you with mad monks coming in from all
sorts of odd directions if you're not careful.

 The transporter is below the center part--it's tricky to steer into,
so make sure monks aren't too close.

 Other tips for this level include noting that every other square is
diggable. Be prepared to dig twice if a monk is close by.

     5-4-3. SCENE 3

 First of all: be careful here moving onto the semicircles below. Move
incisively down or you'll just go horizontally--which is a bad thing as
the three monks make the area a bit crowded. Also be careful with monks
regenerating while you're on a helix. That's where they appear. If you
dig one in a hole and need to get to a helix do so right away.

 Fall down either way from your starting platform--there's only one
monk to the left, so it's safe immediately, but if you can nail two to
the right you'll be safe after taking the helix to the top. You may have
to use the circular brick areas to fake out the mad monks and get to the
helices. Blast a few holes to leave them a trail where you went from
behind as well. This also may delay their getting on the helix. Don't
worry about getting the gem now. Just clear the top part of gold coins
and you should have plenty of time to jump off the opposite way you went
up.

 Try to sucker the mad monks down and especially into the semicircles--
they move a bit randomly here even away from you in clear view so
there's no scientific approach. If you can get to the top with only one
monk accompanying you, you can either get rid of him or just work around
him to get the gem. Getting the gem requires two parts: first, put a
bomb below the brick it's above. This will make it drop down to the
center part below. Second part is going to the center to get it. The gem
transporter is off to the right for the bonus level if you feel up to
it.

[SEE 5-4-5 IF YOU LIKE]

 Now you can clean out any gold pieces on the ground and also blast
bricks to get leftover gold from mad monks. If they are not being
cooperative in running at you(you have to watch for them--they don't
always turn towards you when they're close. It's infuriatingly random)
then you can visit the bonus level and on your return the monks will
have coughed up all gold they are holding. Swoop in and get it and exit.
This trick works best when you have 1 or 2 gold pieces left.

     5-4-4. SCENE 4

 Okay, the first part doesn't look to tough. But if you rotate you'll
see more.

 Blast forward, jump, run on the ramp. It shouldn't be much trouble to
get the next few gold pieces and the extra life--a simple matter of
using the down-jump for the bonus life. The tough gold piece is the one
below the ramp. For it, blast the three bricks at the end of the ramp.
You'll have to step back and turn around to get the third one since
there's a bend. If you mess up, no big deal, this part is very low-risk.
Jump down, blast the brick, and jump on it. To the left you'll get the
next gold piece and then you can drop back to the start.

 Go back up to the top of the ramp. Blast the three bricks and fall
down. Go up/right around the slightly lower ramp and blast the brick at
the end. Go left and blast the brick below it. You do not have time to
swing around and drop down clockwise, but instead you can climb up and
blast the block from where one of the three bricks in a row is--the
other way you'll fall back to a place that's far from anywhere. Fall
into the empty space where the brick was. Go left and fall down back to
the start. Now you can make it through if you've been quick. Get the
shape and get on the platform to the second part.

 Go forward, get the bomb, drop it next to the block, and retreat. Get
the four bombs and climb on the platform, which floats around back to
approximately where you were. The mad monks, who will have a gold piece
each, are now released. Drop bombs so that they're on every third square
as you float above the semicircle far below. Precision isn't necessary
as you can always float by again for another bombing spree with little
or no risk; just don't MOVE for heaven's sake while you're on the
platform, or you'll fall where you can't drill. The monks get trapped
again after being resurrected, and once all four are killed the rest is
a cakewalk. If you want to pick up all four bombs for a strafe then you
can get three bombs, bomb the wall you came in by, get the fourth bomb
behind it and come back. But you should be able to nail at least one
monk with three or even two bombs if you anticipate a bit.

     5-4-5. BONUS LEVEL

 Here you start on a brick where you must jump down. The monk will go
to the right. Wait until he stops and drop left. Go up the stairway to
the platform. Use it. Note you get a bomb before you're on the platform.
You can drop the bomb while on the platform and should do so. Note that
the two platforms pretty much shuffle back and forth between each other.
You'll want to drop the first bomb on your starting square(drop it one
square after you're over it,) take the platform back, then jump down on
the starting square. The timing works best if you move left while
directly over that square as you run approximately as fast as the
platform goes. Through all this you need to watch the mad monk. He's not
terribly tough to decipher, but he can surprise you as you're coming
back on the platform. The best bet is to take off only when he is
getting close to you. This will cause him to follow you where the
platform was and fall off, banging into the right part.

 The second bonus coin is less tough to time. Get the bomb and go on
the first platform. On the second platform, turn around and drop the
bomb on the brick. Take the platform. Boom. Wait a bit so the monk won't
be hanging around, then go back to the second platform and drop left to
get the second extra life. Now you can get the bomb, use the first
platform, bomb the three bricks in a row, go back to get another bomb,
and drop a bomb on all that mess. There's no chance to drop straight
down, and digging only traps you, but you can drop off to the left and
then go right--or you even have time to take the platform back, drop
right, and leave that way. Alternatively you can get on the second
platform, dig, drop a bomb and take platforms each way. You may have to
re-dig here but whatever method you use should confuse the monk enough,

 You still get credit for the bonus lives even if you botch it at the
end(and I did once) but--I want to describe the best technique I can!

   5-5. WHAT THE...

     5-5-1. SCENE 1

 This level tests perseverance and attention to detail more than
anything else. First thing to do is to get the bombs to the left and
right; it's actually possible to drop down and dig twice, trapping the
mad monk, and then the bombs below aren't ever going to explode, but
it's riskier than the strategy I'm mapping out. I'm not sure if this
alternate solution was intended but it is cool to note or try later once
you've solved it the regular way.

 Pitch the bomb down the drop below and move away. But not too far--
immediately after the explosion you'll want to drop down before the mad
monk is too far regenerated. Yay, an extra life! To the right is a helix
up. Take it. Now you may need to duck in one at a time to pick up bombs,
which you'll want the vast majority of. Run over one that isn't ready to
explode and run back a few times until one side is cleared. Then go to
the other. You can take all bombs that formerly exploded here. It's
possible to get more than one if you move quickly but make sure you have
a feel for the timing. Once you've got all/most of the bombs drop left
to the next helix. Get on it and at the top wait a second or two before
placing the bomb. Drop down and then get on the helix once it's
vanished. The timing isn't too critical but don't bomb right away or you
won't make it back up in time. Now get the gold pieces and dig the
center brick, drop into it and go down to get the extra life. Bomb the
mad monk as before. More bombs below may have appeared by now; navigate
them as before.

 At the very top, at the right edge before you fall off, drop five
bombs in quick sequence and walk away(there are nine bricks, and each
bomb takes out two.) You should have plenty of time to jump down and go
to the right and the transporter.

     5-5-2. SCENE 2

 Take the platform to the top(you don't have much choice.) Go right,
dig twice, drop, dig. Get the bomb, blast the square under it, drop, and
place the bomb down. Move away but pick up the new bomb which falls down
after the explosion. Take the new platform available. Drop a bomb under
the right brick and move to the left. Don't pick up the other bomb right
now. The object is to get two bombs and the game replaces the one on the
right first if you have two and need to use one. Wait a bit to drop
left. The bonus level is here now, and it's not terribly risky but is
painfully nitpicky about timing, and it forces you to work again to get
your bombs back.

[SEE 5-5-5]

 Now pick up the other bomb as before--well, get it twice, actually,
and go back on the platform and around. Yay! You now have two bombs.
Take the platform in the 't' part that you passed by before. Those two
gold pieces look like freebies but what's below is tougher. Get the
pieces, dig the left brick, and drop a bomb down there before
retreating. Drop into the area, dig left, and drop left again before
getting on the platform. You may have to do this a few times to get all
the gold pieces. It's not too tough to get the ones in the top right.
But it is repetitive.

 If you want to get the extra life that's hanging in space before
getting the final gold piece and taking the platform to the second part,
wait for the bricks to be about to regenerate and then if you want to
get the extra life drop a bomb facing up. Timing is obviously important
here. Too soon and you won't have time to get the extra life. Too late
and you'll need to hit START. Now when on the platform you'll want to
have the controller going right and blast right, jump down, and when
above the area you bombed dig left twice, drop left, dig left, and sneak
left. You'll make it just in time.

 Taking the platform to the top, dig the two right squares and then the
one below that. Then get the gold piece and dig the one below that. Drop
down and go down to the platform. Get on the platform.

 The tough part in the second phase is figuring when to jump. You
shouldn't be on top of the monk all the time as the platform's a bit
faster than they are and moves in the opposite direction. It's best to
jump off just as a monk falls off a ledge. Fortunately the monk isn't
too smart as he could just go to the ledge below and wait for you at any
time. Sometimes he does but then if you just move around he'll
eventually give up and turn away. Wait for him to be chasing you and
then egg him on. Once you have all the gold pieces you can see you'll
still need to extract one from him. Stay to the left of the only brick
you can dig and do so once he gets close. Then lead him on another
chase. Remember if you're down from the transporter the monk will go
where you drop, turn around, then drop down to look for you. Sadly the
brick is not 3-way so you can't go down when the mad monk is where it
was and cut all this chase out.

     5-5-3. SCENE 3

 Drop down. Pick up the bomb. Activate the helix and run off. Put the
bomb on the helix and watch it go up and go boom. But not too long. Go
into the entrance to one of the culdesacs and after the bombs explode
run back across the helix to get the two nearest ones to the center.
They are rather tough to get otherwise, requiring you to use the loops
anyway. Make sure you run away from the gold pieces as they have bombs
under them. Pick up one of the next two gold pieces that fall. Now
there's an interesting bomb avoiding/action sequence. It's always safe
on the helixes and it's good to zoom away from them immediately after
bombs explode as obviously you need to pick off gold pieces between
explosions. The gold pieces near the edges are relatively easy to nip in
and get, but beware of getting trapped on the bottom with bombs around--
they'll blow up half of the bricks. The loops are also good places to go
to pick off unlit bombs, which helps clear up the board from
distractions immensely. The key thing, though, is figuring out the right
time to cross over. Preferably you can get all the bombs but if you
don't see anything across the bottom then you may want to venture
running across and getting on the opposite helix, especially since one
fifth of the map is under there.

 Sneaking across to the transporter to the next level is not too bad
once you've done that. The key though is to start--either in the helix
or, for the items near the center, in the loops(also a great place to
switch to the other side) and get the gold quickly before the bomb it's
with is set off.

 You can also dig holes to disrupt the bombs' rhythm and possibly pick
up a bunch of unlit ones but learning timing may ultimately be more
expedient.

     5-5-4. SCENE 4

 Go up the ramp to the left, blast the brick, drop down, and blast the
three bricks below it while facing left. Drop through to the left to get
a gold piece, then drop left again. Get on the helix and push left as
you're at the ramp. Get the bomb and push right back quickly. WAIT for
the helix to disappear or you may be transported into a brick and
crushed to death. If you don't have the timing right(and this one's
pretty lenient) then you can just bomb although the replacement doesn't
appear immediately so you'll have to start from the drawing board(drop
down from right of the helix and take the platform back to the top.)
With the helix deactivated, Go on it and drop a bomb left onto the Mad
Monk. Now there are two things you can do here:

1. Wait for the mad monk to regenerate and fall into the brick's pit,
then you can quickly pick up the gold piece to the right after the
block's filled in.
2. Drop down immediately after blowing the monk to bits. You'll get to
the very bottom and the transportation helix going up. Get the three
bombs at the top, blast the right edge to drop down, and use one on the
brick left of the ramp entrance(by where you started) before blasting
the brick. You can now drop down to pick up an extra life. Drop left to
get the gold piece in (1).

 At any rate once you've gotten to the very top and gotten three bombs,
you can get the isolated bomb, bomb the monk again, and this will
replace the bombs at the top. You'll be able to get a total of four
bombs, which will come in handy, although strictly speaking only three
are necessary.

 Go down from the start of level. Drop a bomb to the right and then
blast four times in a a row--the first just recoils you but you don't
have to do any running. Drop to get the first gold coin and set a bomb
at the next blocking brick. Back up. Repeat until you're by two bricks
on top of each other. You can bomb them and get out, picking up gold
coins as you go down platforms, but first we want to pick off the three
gold coins to the right. In fact if you are out of bombs you can still
get one off to the right.

 To get the coins without getting an extra life you can dig the two
squares at the end of the walkway although you'll have to turn a
bit(watch the controller--it can dump you in the pit if you don't move
up/left enough) to get the second. Drop down onto them, go right and dig
left. Drop down there and go up the ramp to get the third gold piece.
Now if you don't feel adventurous you can just wait, blast the top
square, and run back across. But that's no fun!

 Of course you can also get the extra life and self destruct but I like
trying to get out alive. Blast the very top square, then the three
squares under it. Blast the two squares on the right, get the bomb and
extra life, and set off the bomb next to the one brick you still can't
nail. You may not have the time to do this so you'll have to resort to
major double-dipping. With the blocks back in place, drop one bomb near
the two blocks. Go back immediately(also you may want to be two squares
away from the brick so you throw bombs here,) get the next bomb, and
place it in what was the center of the bricks. Retreat for a bomb to use
on the first two bricks, immediately retreat to get a new bomb(remember,
you need one to get out of here) and then run back quickly. There's some
window of time but the key is to remember to do the last bits in quick
order.

     5-5-5. BONUS LEVEL

 This level's a ramp that revolves around above itself. Get the first
bomb and go clockwise. Drop it, but stand TWO squares away from the
brick. This is very important as you'll immediately need to run back
left, up onto the platform to get to the bomb, and back right. You'll
just make it past. You need to swivel the controller pretty quickly to
get on the ramp, so if you goof up a bit you may not want to risk
getting trapped in the brick. Practice without the bomb available until
you get the hang of it.

 Now you're boxed in a bit, so what you want to do is blast the blue
square that's shadowed so you can't see it well(it's in the center) from
the left.  Go back to the square where you blasted it, face left, drop a
bomb and go right. Get the bomb and go right, detouring up the side ramp
for the other bomb which should appear just as you walk by. Run quickly
past where the first block was You now have two bombs to take out the
remaining two barriers. Congratulations, you've earned the extra lives
you just picked up.

 6. WORLD 2

 Bricks are red in this fire world. The first part is not too bad but
the rules for the new devices you face such as the cutter can be
confusing.

   6-1. CALM BEFORE THE STORM

     6-1-1. SCENE 1

 This level seems singularly pointless. Get two gold coins, dig the
center square, repeat four times, drop below. There's no need to use the
helix, unless you try to misplay and wind up falling off one of the
center platforms. The recoil alone from the blast gets you the gold
piece at the top. The teleportal is in the ring below. Take it.

     6-1-2. SCENE 2

 This one isn't too challenging either but has a neat new device to
play with. Go to the weird thing on the left and push A. There'll be
this spinning cutter that starts taking out bricks. It's lethal to
touch(hey, if it nails bricks, you're nothing) but you can walk around
behind it and pick up all the gold pieces you can find. The trick here
is to use the helix when the cutter is well out of sight. Blast the end
square and fall through as the cutter goes up. Instead of going in a
circle the cutter will now go back and forth on the bottom if the helix
turns off. However, if it is turned on the cutter will go in a figure-
eight, taking out the bricks on the top as well. You may want to
activate the helix and move up, and when it moves right and gets sucked
up, follow it quickly. Get the extra life to the right of the
transporter the first time around, and the next time take the
transporter to the next level.

     6-1-3. SCENE 3

 You'll be unsighted at first here but the key is to remember to follow
the cutter.

 Get the coin and when the cutter is pointing left, push A. Follow the
cutter down to the bottom. Keep following until the path branches off
into more than a dead end--if you can't, then use one of the dead ends
to avoid it as it goes back and forth and follow it later. Get the coin
on the brick bridge and take the transporter up. Drop left, blast the
brick, drop right, drop left.

 Up the ramp to get the coin, take the helix, drop right, wait for the
helix to go out, blast the brick and drop the bomb. Come around again to
get the bomb. Now you can drop further down to another ramp and you have
a bomb. Climb up the ramp and use the helix. Go left and fall down. Bomb
the brick to the left to get to the bonus section.

[BONUS LEVEL]

 Get down to the bottom(reactivate the cutter if you've done the bonus
level) so now you can stay behind the cutter and then run past the helix
to get to the transporter.

     6-1-4. SCENE 4

 Blast the three bricks that you can, then the two below them, then the
one. Get the gold coin and the bomb. Go to the top and shoot the brick
and get the gold coin above it. From where the brick was, go down and
you'll drop and get an extra life. Now take the helix to the top again
and fall into the gap where you started. Bomb the right blocking brick.
Go where it was and then down. You'll get a piece of the map. Pick up
the bomb and go back up to the gap. Blast three, drop, blast the middle
brick, and now you'll go onto a ledge. Here's what you do. Wait until
you're sealed off. Drop the bomb on the very right square, back up to
the left, and blast right. Wait until the brick regenerates then make a
beeline for the transporter behind the still-bombed brick. If you are
too slow to dig the hole then just drop through, get the bomb, and try
again.

     6-1-5. BONUS LEVEL

The monks will drop down and get stuck, so release the cutter when it's
pointing along the path. You should just be able to follow it to get the
first extra life and eventually it will hit a brick and drop through
that so you'll need to wait to follow it a bit there. Beware that the
mad monks regenerate by the level exits so you may get killed before
then and get two lives instead of three, still a good haul. Also be
aware there's a level exit near the bottom by where you started the
cutter as well as the one you can see more readily--the second is
tougher to reach from my experience.

   6-2.

 Here you're introduced to braziers, which heat up the platforms above
them to make them lethal. The way to handle them is to push A over where
the other one is, as frequently if there are two braziers only one can
be activated at once.

     6-2-1. SCENE 1

 You don't have to go left to get the two coins first, so just go right
and dig left and drop down. Take the right helix and pick off the coin
at the top. Dig the center square again and drop. Push A as you go to
the right; the other brazier will start. Now pick off the left the same
way you picked off the right. After jumping back down go left, down,
right and up to get to the transporter.

 Note you can run over the brazier and still safely get to the top
taking the helix next to it. This is an indication of how things will
get harder.

     6-2-2. SCENE 2

 The bomb to the right seems to drop right away only after you've just
lost a guy so you may not always be able to run over the brazier to the
right and get the bomb before it explodes--the first time. If not, dig
the square down from the hot square, jump down, and push A going up the
ramp. Wait around a bit until the bomb square is cold(it's fun to watch
your guy dance on a cooling square) and then get the bomb. Then dig the
square south, drop through it, hit A and stand on the square at the
start of the ramp. Wait a bit once you leave the square, then circle
around to the very top of the ramp. Put a bomb on the brick there and
then dig. Wait a bit--boom--and jump down. Push A to take the
transporter.

 The next part would be much easier if you could take a bomb with you,
but you can't. Note that there's a partially obscured transporter path
two blocks to the left. It is important to get the bomb, but first let's
cover the easy parts(in contradiction to my general advice, but I'm just
showing how to do things to escape the level, not worrying about the
bonus yet.)

 Dig the leftmost square. Go left and down. You'll fall to get two gold
coins. Take the helix back to the top, dig the rightmost square, and
drop to the starting point. Again dig left but now go left and dig
right. Drop, go right and drop down to get one gold coin. Come back on
the helix again and on the top face right to take out the center brick.
Blast again and drop down. Go right then blast left. Drop down, go left,
drop down to get the three gold coins.

 I highly recommend just getting through the regular levels before
attacking the bonus level.

 Here's how to get to the bonus level. First get the bomb then the gem.

 Getting the bomb: Blast the rightmost square. Wait three seconds.
Blast the next two squares. Drop right and then go right, blast the
square left, and get on the transporter. Drop right, blast left, drop
left, blast right, and now if you've been quick you are on top of three
bricks(the right will close soon.) Blast the rightmost and center and
drop and blast the left of this pair of bricks. The bomb is below.

 Getting the gem: once you see where to bomb you don't need to worry
about timing so much. Take out the left two bricks at the top. Take out
the left brick below that. Drop the bomb to the left, go left, dig right
and go right just out of reach of the pyrotechnics. Dig left, drop, dig
left. Voila! Enter the bonus level at the bottom.

[SEE 6-2-5]

     6-2-3. SCENE 3

 Start the cutter on its way. Follow it around. It will drop down and
go away from the gold coins. Sneak in and get them and, when the cutter
drops down, the extra life. Follow it again past where you start. Don't
worry about the gold coin you just missed yet. This next time you will
want to get the piece of the map behind the block. This is easy enough.
When the cutter turns left, you'll want to wait instead of going for the
gold pieces like you did last time. When it crosses back right, go left
and get the piece. Then go up the ramp and wait near the top, just
before the brick at its end. You'll want to time this, here; you'll need
to dig the brick, retreat and drop down to avoid the cutter, circle
around, and follow it, before you have the cutter drop through without
touching the top brick. The top brick regenerates; walk over it and drop
onto the final gold piece. Before, you would have been trapped. Now with
the bricks removed it's no problem. It's also no problem to go back up
the ramp, to the right, and take the transporter.

     6-2-4. SCENE 4

 An easy level unless you want to detour for the two extra guys. Step
on the brazier and activate it. Eventually a bomb will drop to your
level. Use it on the brick in your way, then retreat to pick up the
replacement bomb and run back through the brick to get a second bomb.
With these two bombs you need to run to one brick, place the bomb, run
to the other brick, place that one, re-collect the two bombs and then
run past the far brick. It sounds easy enough but it's important to move
quickly and also try to place the bomb next to the second blocking brick
with a significant pause(1.5 seconds) after moving away from the first
brick you dropped a bomb near. If you don't want to test your skills
there, then just pick up the further along of the two bombs, run down
the ramp, blast through the brick and enter the transporter.

 But if you do, you'll note that bombing too soon leaves a lit bomb at
the bottom and bombing too late--well--you're just stuck. However,
complete the timing and the rest is easy. You just have two blocks to
blast through with the two bombs before the two lives on the extra ramp.
Back right, and you have the transporter. Hooray!

     6-2-5. BONUS LEVEL

 You can go immediately left and down to get one extra life. This
suckers the mad monk into going right and possibly touching the
fire.However time is of the essence here with all squares turning to
fire, so you'll want to cut back up, right, up, right to get the second.
Then go left for the third, and right/down and then counterclockwise to
pick up the fourth. Clockwise to left of the transporter(which is where
you started) and then to the transporter.

 This is MUCH easier said than done so I must reiterate: complete the
levels, then come back for the bonus, to inconvenience yourself as
little as possible.

   6-3.

     6-3-1. SCENE 1

Gold pieces: 8

 Even though this is the first of four levels, it's rather nasty. You
will get killed by the invincible guy, a new introduction(he glides over
holes,) to start, if you aren't sharp with the controls. And there's not
much elbow room. Also beware if the bad guy gets caught in the helix on
the opposite side of the transporter. He can jump down the path to the
transporter on top of you, which is particularly inconvenient given
that's where the bomb is.

 You can destroy the monster with a bomb, which gives you a temporary
reprieve, but if you're not careful the monster can sneak up through the
helix instead of you.

 So what you'll have to do is to get a bomb, place it on the helix and
activate the helix(bring the monster around so he doesn't surprise you--
push B then hold A just before you run through the helix and you should
kill the monster too. Or if he's far away just feint to the transporter
so he tries to chase you and run like crazy.)

 Once you're on top be sure to note which way the monk is and head the
other way. You may want to dig in the center of the semicircle to give
yourself time to dig to get a coin. Dig two squares, drop, dig a square
and check for the invincible guy below. Then repeat the other way. Again
don't worry which side the coin is on. Go away from the monk and dig in
the center. Run over him if need be; he'll be in there a while.

     6-3-2. SCENE 2

 Gold pieces: 10(276)

 This is not too bad once you realize two things: first, for your
safety, that you need to switch the fire from the left to right side
every so often or the entire bottom will get hot, and you need to
remember which platforms are lethally hot. The second thing is that, at
times, you need to drop when the bad guy is at one edge and zap in the
center so you don't fall off. You have a second or so in which to drop--
the helix is slow, but once at the top you have a second before it
vanishes--so you should eventually have time to drop in. In fact you can
even fall up in order to buy more time if you must

 I just go up the whole progression. Activate the helix, then go south
and right, one square from the edge. Blast, run left, run and drop
right. Drop left, and now you may want to push A as you run over the
flame square. Take the helix again and go to the second level. Take a
brief detour jumping up here to get an extra life, then push down when
the coast is clear, run left and blast right(the quick turnaround should
not be hard.) Run to the right edge then drop left to get the gold piece
on the left sometimes-hot squares.

 You can change the heated side now if you're paranoid, but remember
how everything resets once you've gone through the bonus level. So you
can go back up the helix, get the gem, blast either way, get all gold
pieces, and go north to the helix area. You may drop back down which is
no big deal. Just take the helix up again and past the first level of
the structure you can push up into the gem transporter.

[SEE 6-3-5 FOR BONUS LEVEL.]

 You'll wind up back near the transporter to the next level, so take
it.

 You're forced into the bonus level here, which is a bit of a doozy, if
you want to clear the top. However because the fifth level has two
pieces of the map, you can actually complete 1, 2, 4 and 5 and come back
for this one if you are intent on a perfect score and don't want to
dawdle right now.

     6-3-3. SCENE 3

 This is more a game of patience than of sleight of hand.

 Collect the thirteen gold pieces. Then collect the bomb that drops in
front. Bomb the block and run forward; you won't get another bomb, so
don't worry about trying for one. Hold down A to deactivate the main
chute. At the edge wait for the structure above to cool so there are no
more bombs going off. Then, drop a bomb on the brick and shoot it. Now
wait for the bomb below it to explode and jump down. You'll always need
to be two drops behind. It takes a while but eventually get there.

     6-3-4. SCENE 4

 Once you set the cutter in motion it's obvious you need to do
something, but you need to get the gold pieces before you drop down to
follow it.

 Activate the cutter and follow behind it to get the extra life just
past the turn-off. Then run back to the T and take the turn to your
right. Run quickly ahead of the cutter to get all the gold pieces above,
then dig the end, drop and go down into the two-square-long corridor
after you get the triangle. Wait for the cutter to come back and then
follow it around the loop. You'll eventually see the exit to the screen
bottom, so take it.

     6-3-5. BONUS LEVEL

 Singularly nasty. I find that I cannot use the timing I think I need
to get through the level. Here seems to be the solution: dig the square
at the left bottom prong of the upside down U. Run to the other one and
blast it, then blast the ones before it. You'll drop down after nailing
the last one. Circle clockwise for the first life and go back along the
dug part of the U to get around. Get the extra life and bomb. Dig the
hole. Drop into it. Face left and drop down, then drop the bomb to the
left and dig. All three remaining bricks get blown away; left and drop
down to leave the level.

 In reality I seem to just miss the timing of the digs. I think that
you need to 1)position yourself as far away from the end blocks as
possible before digging and 2)get a perfect rhythm down. Any delay seems
fatal. I don't think the bomb can be used to blast your way through the
U(too long) and am offering this solution by process of elimination.

 Fortunately it's easy to get three lives; dig the right prong of the
U, drop and get the bomb, and bomb/dig after you've dropped to below.

   6-4.

     6-4-1. SCENE 1

15 gold

 Start the level by jumping down and running right so that you can go
down the ramps and collect a bunch of gold chests. But be careful
getting the gold piece behind the fire as you can fall in there. Once
you've gotten everything, blast the brick, drop down to get the three
gold pieces and go back up the helix. You'll find gold and an extra life
there. Get them and dig down. Now push A while on the rightmost of the
three flame squares and you can get the gold piece that was blocked by
the fire(actually, you can get that one first, but it requires exact
movement--not too easy in this game.) Note you can fall down the back
way. Now all that's left is to exit and for this, blast the brick and
activate the left flame square before taking the ramp back up. The hot
square that once guarded the path to the transporter is now cool, and so
are you--for getting to the next level.

     6-4-2. SCENE 2

(9 gold)

 There are three things to do in this level. The first two are about
getting gold, and the third is about getting to the bonus level.

 Go left, activate the helix, go right, activate the helix, and wait
for the cutter to face left before activating it. Follow it. It will
drop to the left and eventually to the bottom. Use the niches to avoid
it and get the four gold pieces as it goes back and forth. Then take the
transporter on the right back up and drop left.

 Go right, activate the helix, and activate the cutter when it faces
left. At the last part, you'll want to drop down when the cutter goes
right again--as it will be going into the dead end by the teleportal.
You can take the teleportal to the third level and save the gem for
later or go back up via the transporter. I prefer the former just
because the cutters will be gone when you return.

 The third thing to do is to get the gem, which you can do by taking
the right helix from the start and when the cutter faces right, activate
it and then follow it. The transporter is on the bottom level just to
the left of where you wind up falling.

[SEE 6-4-5 FOR BONUS LEVEL]

 Once you've done this it is easy to leave, because you'll be back at
the start. Just go back up to the top and let the cutter go left. Follow
it down one drop but wait for it to go back under before your second
drop. The transporter is on the left end.

     6-4-3. SCENE 3

 The first thing to do here is to get the triangle. It's not too bad;
activate the cutter, drop through the hole it blasted, and then get the
bomb to the right. Wait for the cutter to come back around and then walk
underneath the triangle. Make the view so you can see the cutter coming
around and when it goes around the curve before the hot-squares you'll
want to drop the bomb, move away, and circle behind the cutter in its
path. It will now only take out one block, leaving the bottom block to
regenerate first. You can then get the triangle and get another bomb on
the way back.

 The rest of the level requires a bit of a back and forth but first you
will want to follow the cutter until it bashes through the two blocks at
the end of the potential hot squares and falls off the edge below. It's
coming back below first, so don't drop down until it does. Then it will
bounce again and come back. So wait again to drop, but when you do, head
away from it to get two gold coins and activate the flame square behind
them. Wait around just before you reach the cooling hot square.

 Wait for the cutter to come around again. Then once it runs past you
and into the flame square, before it bounces back, run ahead of it. If
you miss then go into the nook to your right or you'll get squished. Now
the square it normally takes out is intact, so just run over it and pick
up the gold pieces. Now you just have to get up the ramp.

 The first way, if you have a bomb, is just to go there, bomb the brick
guarding the flame square, which you can then activate. I don't think
you can make it up and across in time, but if you just sneak past the
cutter once it hits the flame square and gets stuck, dig the square it
would have taken out next, drop and activate the flame square in the
corner, you can make it across the squares before they heat fully to get
the last two coins.

 You can also let the cutter remove the brick guarding the flame square
and then sneak in and start the process that way.

(9 gold)

     6-4-4. SCENE 4

 You'll want to take a long range view of this level. It's pretty one-
way, except for the early detour to get the extra life. To do so, make
sure you can sucker the bad guy so that he is on the other side of the
original circle when you blast the brick. The mad monk below will go
left towards the extra man then right. Once he's on the right edge, drop
and run left and off the edge.

 You'll have to fake the mad monk near you out again. This is not
tough, but this time you want to run right and make sure the bad guy is
all the way to the left, especially with the blast recoil. Drop down and
then you're at another circle.

 For this one you will need to get on the platform with the cutter, but
the cutter doesn't always face the way you want it to. Only when it's
about to face the brick(it goes counterclockwise, so that means it faces
up) should you attempt to get on after faking the monk out in the usual
manner. Then let the cutter drop, and if the monk is nowhere near, you
should be able to drop down after it--if not, you can always try again.
Here it gets a bit confusing, but when you stop, quickly dig the brick
and fall left through it. Then you'll need to fall right. You'll get to
the bottom and a monk will be running around a square below. You'll want
to drop quickly one way as the bricks above you will start filling up;
just remember if he's on one side, drop to the other, and if you can't
see him, drop down. Now you can put yourself in a corner and blast him
whichever way he's coming. He should cough up his gold piece, and you
can exit to the left.

(16 gold)

     6-4-5. BONUS LEVEL

 Key word here is pre-emption. Get the bomb, drop it on the brick
below, and immediately run across to get the extra life. Make sure you
get to the edge to avoid the bomb's range. Then run and fall where the
brick used to be, get another bomb, and do the same thing(bomb brick
below, run across to edge, get extra life) before turning around
immediately on explosion and running back into the new gap. You won't
have much time before the bad guys regenerate but you can sneak through
the gap to get the third life.

 This will get you 100%, but perfectionists still have to contend with
getting out of there. You can probably dig the two bad guys into holes
and then use the bomb on where you came from in order to get to the
bottom and the transporter out. The best bet is NOT to dig the leftmost
hole immediately but instead to dig from the right on one side, circle
the other monk around, dig on the other from the left, run left and dig
right before placing the bomb and backing up.

   6-5. WHAT THE...

     6-5-1. SCENE 1

 To start this level out I really recommend you tilt the camera angle
so that the cutter is at the bottom. Then go left, up, down and right
quickly.

 The mad monks here are smart so you have to dig right when they're
close by. You also need to watch out for if they get too close. If the
camera is too close in you can't see them all but if it's far away you
need to guess at where squares are; it's possible to blast with a guy
close by and he still gets you. So time them when they seem one square
away. Make sure no-one has a gold piece left when you go to the cutter.

 It's possible that you can get all the gold pieces without using the
cutter if you know where they're buried. But if not(and it's time
consuming) just activate the cutter--make sure it's pointing up--and
follow it around and then, once you've gone up a ramp and the square
next to it has regenerated, back beyond it to the transporter.

 You'll have to watch out for a few things here: if too many bad guys
are near, they'll wind up stepping on each other to get to you after you
release the cutter. Also bad guys may fall between you and the cutter,
or right on top of you, so be prepared to reset the level in that case.

 This is a treacherous introductory level and in fact is downright
unfair in several ways, but the others in this group are not nearly as
hard.

     6-5-2. SCENE 2

 Take the rail to the top. Go right. Blast over the coin, go down,
blast over the coin, jump down. Get on the rail and after two seconds
drop a bomb there. You'll leave before it explodes.

 Now a lit bomb will drop below. Wait for it, burrow in and light a
bomb where the previous one created a cavity. Run back for where you got
the first bomb and after the explosion run for the drop on the right.
You should get a second bomb along the way and as you fall you'll get a
piece of the map. Take the rail back up and now go up into each segment
above and drop the bomb below the gold piece. The best way to do this is
to stand on the passageway and throw it forward. The pieces will drop
down and four bombs will be revealed. Take them all.

 Dig to get to the bottom(either square on the top will do it.) Back
the view up to make sure you don't fall near monsters; you won't fall in
the circle they travel in, but rather in a dead end where they may find
you easily. Push down as you fall to avoid this.

 Fortunately the invincible guy here is stupid as he just runs around.
But the bad guys may follow you and each probably has a gold chest. So
circle around a bit and when you catch up to one from behind, or get
close to it, he will turn around. Drop him in a hole then. Eventually
you'll want to get out--the right square to blast for that is in the
lower left. Zoom in for the last part. Drop the bomb on the monk below
and down and run back, then run in and nab the gold. You'll need to do
this four times, but don't worry too much about the mad monks; they fall
from far above, so you can't dawdle, but the blocks refilling is more of
a concern. As you drop the final bomb, check to see where the monk below
is before you drop. He wanders around a tight circle. Give him the slip
and exit through the transporter to the south.

     6-5-3. SCENE 3

 Drop left. Take the helix up. Get the bomb. Drop it right. Run left
and wait for the explosion. Drop right and run across.

 You'll be using the above quite a bit as you go to get the gold pieces
above. For the ones on the second platform to the right, do the above
and then put a bomb on a brick and blast it. Move quickly through the
hole to get the gold piece and then, for the brick to the right, drop
down, but for the brick to the left, you'll want to dig a hole to the
left and jump through it before dropping left, going up the helix and
dropping a bomb to the right. This should wipe the bad guy out but go to
the left(you'll get another bomb on the way up and dig a hole at the top
just in case and leave a bomb over the helix(it'll reach him not you)
before going left. That way the bad guy will fall in and get blown up.
You want that bad guy trapped. Eventually he'll regenerate in the
trapped part.

 Thirdly you can dig the three bricks to the far right, then two below
that, then one to get two more gold pieces. Blast to the right and drop
a bomb. This should kill the bad guy below, but sadly he will
regenerate. So run quickly to the left of the brick, get a bomb, dig a
hole for him and drop the bomb there. That should do for him.

 The last part is to get the gold pieces on the stairs. First of all
you need to figure how to use the left helix. For this, bomb the brick
between the two helices. Then wait on the right helix to get another
bomb, step across the left helix while holding A, pull immediately
right, drop the bomb on the left helix, and run to the right helix. Push
A. When you get to the top you'll get your bomb back. Run left and now
you can, to avoid the bonus level for now, dig the brick with the gold
beneath it, drop down, go right and circle clockwise to get back to the
right helix and do the last bit.

 If you feel it's time to go in for the bonus leve, though, drop a bomb
on the brick beyond that and blast it. Drop down the hole created to get
the gem and the gold, then circle clockwise to the right helix.

 You'll have to proceed as before, since the gem transporter is to the
left of where you dropped the bomb to get the gem. So, bomb center, get
new bomb, go left, A/B, go right, A, go left at the top, enter
transporter.

[BONUS SCENE: 6-5-5.]

 The last part is easy assuming you're back at the starting helix.
Check to make sure one gold piece is required, and then go up, drop a
bomb right, go left, wait, go right and collect the bomb, pause before
the hole. Here you can drop the bomb down the shaft. Once it explodes,
follow it down and go right to end the level. Note the Mad Monk doesn't
regenerate near the transporter, so you don't need to time your jump
before the bomb explodes.

     6-5-4. SCENE 4

* detail two ways to start this level *

 Activate the cutter and run behind it. Then activate the helix as you
step on it, and take it. Do this quickly, but watch out, the monk will
get on it too.

*-note, you can also activate the helix, continue left, and

 Run left throught the bombs and then activate the flame square. Dig
left, drop, dig right, get the bomb and gold, dig right and you're at
the bottom across from the transporter. Go over to it and blast the
brick. Drop down and climb up the ramp. Eventually the bombs will stop.
Meanwhile the cutter's going back and forth. Hit the helix as it goes
away from you, then take the path off to the side. The cutter's stuck
now. Take the rail back to the start and then release a cutter and take
the helix. Loot the gold in the horseshoe at the top. Go to the left
edge and drop a bomb on the bad guy below. Pick the bomb up from where
you found it.

 If you've gotten every other piece on the second world up to now, you
don't need to get this last one.

     6-5-5. BONUS LEVEL

 This one starts out nasty but turns out relatively pedantic. What
you'll need to do first is drop to the right. Then notice the three
bricks. Stand on the center one and blast three times. Jump down in
their area and activate the flame square--don't step all the way across
it, just touch on it. Then hook back up/left/around until you get to the
top flame square. Activate it.

 Now you're right back where you started, but with one flame square
going instead of two. You can just go back to the bricks. Go right and
jump down, then activate the flame square. Move quickly to the
helix(down/right/up/left) holding down A as you do so. Move left on the
helix so you'll get a running start past the hot square, which is past
the first extra life. Follow the path to the top and now I suggest
trying for the leftmost extra guy. Note that there is a drop as the
passage curves down. I recommend nudging left until you circle a bit
more over. Then you can drop down to get the extra guy.

 Now you'll just need to go to the flame square on the far left and
activate it. Wait for the top to cool and activate the right flame
square, making a tight run for the helix and picking up the remaining
extra life. Activate the left flame square if you want and then head for
the transporter.

 7. WORLD 3

 This is a world of ice. You'll learn to deal with weird leaper
characters that create ice blocks for you to walk over, and you'll also
have to navigate ice blocks that disappear in a chain reaction.

 Here we distinguish between ice blocks(like regular blocks you can
dig) and frost blocks(chain reaction--they are whiter and have a frost
coating on top. Ice cubes are just plain blue.)

   7-1. CALM BEFORE THE STORM

     7-1-1. SCENE 1

8 gold pieces

 Blast the first two squares, drop, and blast below. Drop again, blast,
and run up the ramp created by removal of the frost squares. Blast the
ice block at the top of the ramp. Jump down and now the squares you
blasted first should regenerate. Three blasts to the right, jump down,
two blasts, jump down, one blast, drop down to get the gold coins, and
you can't miss the transporter.

     7-1-2. SCENE 2

8 gold pieces, 1 extra life

 Again no monsters but this time you have to deal with chain reactions.
Blast what's in front of you, run left, and turn down until you get to
the non-frost square.

 After the previous frost blocks fill in(watch the recoil,) the next
part is to blast the second loop and run around. Follow the frost blocks
and turn off the oval to the right when you can, onto the dark square.
Now you're at a more square ramp.

 Blast the square with the coin and go up the ramp as far as you can.
The frost will regenerate on the left and run onto the new ramp of frost
that reforms. At the top you'll find an extra life. Now blast that top
square. You can pretty much just wait to drop down until you're on solid
ground, then go back to the square between the loop and the final ramp.

 Now blast the square to the left. Follow the tunnel that is created.
Eventually you'll be right before the second block to reappear. Once it
does you'll have a frost ramp to climb up. Turn off at the top and
you're back to the first ramp.

 Blast the frost before it goes under the knot and circle around the
dark squares until you are before a drop. Wait for it to fill in and
then again climb up the ramp of frost that reappears. You'll make it
back to the transporter and can exit the level.

 Through this all your movement may not be perfect, but that's OK. You
have a lot of room/time for error here.

     7-1-3. SCENE 3

 Here you'll deal with transporters. Instead of the helix you have a
more sure method of transport. They look like barrels or rockets and
entering one switches between two locations as a sort of hyperspace.
This one's pretty obvious but you'll need to time later ones.

 Dig three times, drop, dig two times, drop, and dig once. Get the gold
pieces below. Dig to the left two times, drop, dig once. Get the three
gold pieces, again. Enter the rocket. Run up the ramp to the forced
drop, and now you can exit if you want. The bonus level isn't too hard
to get to, but you might want to save it for later.

 Run past the transporter to the top of the ramp. Drop down and get the
bomb and run back to the top. Dig the top square and drop the bomb down.
Boom! Drop down the two ice blocks and get another bomb; place it next
to the lower ice blocks and take a few steps back. It will explode, and
the one below will regenerate, leaving you free to get to the gem.

[SEE 7-1-5 FOR BONUS LEVEL]

     7-1-4. SCENE 4

 That swiveling platform provides the first example of the ice leaper,
and you'll want to use it right away. Now it's a bit tricky here; first,
wait for the platform to turn left. Then push A and use the ice leaper
as a lead blocker, but don't touch it. If you're lucky then you can take
all the gold, but the monk in the twisty part at the top may hold one.
If that is the case you may just want to go back to the start and dig a
hole for him(this may require you to fake the monk out in the loops) and
dig a hole for him near to the left. He'll cough up a coin but don't
climb all the way over him or you'll fall in.

 You may just want to leave and come back here--a way of saving your
work. The next part is not trivial. The first thing to do is to drop
down and get two bombs. Do so just before the bad guy makes it all the
way to the right. Now you'll want to go left into the transporter. As
the monk runs away, set up a bomb by the transporter above. Then get
back in the transporter and wait for the bomb to explode. Go back
immediately and run past the brick that's killed. If the guy above falls
into the brick you can try again although you may only be able to get
one bomb while on the bottom.

 Now for the final gold piece you will want to drop the bomb off the
edge to the left of the square that produces the ice leaper. It will
explode and set the other alight. They will alternate and eventually you
will see the mad monk get killed. He isn't well synched with them at
first, which is good, because the variant cycles eventually match up,
but after that he will be trapped in a cycle. Then go past the
transporter to the top of the ramp. You should time when the mad monk is
coming back so that you start running before he regenerates(you have a
time window) and then when he blows up make a beeline for the
transporter. You'll get the last remaining gold piece.

     7-1-5. BONUS LEVEL

 Two loops of frost surrounded by a central ramp of frost. Each one has
the same strategy, just mirrored. Blast the center square to start--
actually you can blast anywhere except where you'll recoil into the
center, as that traps you. You'll drop onto one of the rings. Wait a
second and blast anywhere there. Now note there's a hole in front of
where the mad monk fell. Wait for him to fall in there, then run across
him. Wait for the ramp to regenerate before getting the first extra
life. Run back. The delay is important, as it allows you to run over the
monk and back before the ramps reappear. However for the second monk you
run over, you can just enter the transporter and leave the level.

   7-2.

     7-2-1. SCENE 1

 Go right to start. Drop down. Get the bomb and all the gold coins you
can before you ake the transporter back up. Let the blue arrow turn to
the right and have the leaper put down a few squares. Now let the blue
arrow turn to the left and watch the leaper go ahead. Dig the first
frost block he puts down so he can twist around and go on a little while
longer. Next you'll want to go back right and place a bomb while the
leaper is climbing back up. Preferably just when he's to your
character's direct right. Now you need to go left, drop down, and blast
the frost square you fell on. The leaper will now bridge the gap to the
other gold pieces and start to go in a circle. Once he's past, drop down
to get the bomb. But use patience or you'll be trapped between him and
an ice block!

 You can get rid of him by creating another that goes to the left to
start, but in any case you can just run around and keep away from him.
He's slow. Once you're practically behind him(and you should be,
collecting gold pieces in his wake,) drop the bomb on the frost square,
blast it, and walk away. Once it blows up, run right and down and
quickly take the transporter. Next level!

 BTW if you do drop ahead of the leaper before he fills in the ice
block near the level exit, then just duck into the canister.

     7-2-2. SCENE 2

10 gold pieces

 Go to the left and blast the only square in front that you can. Now
start running counterclockwise up the ramp. Here with the controller be
prepared to time how to rotate it, and also note that if you get things
wrong that the restart level feature is available and wastes just as
much time--and fewer lives--than getting killed. No evil laughter
either. All you have to do is run continually counterclockwise. The
trick is to use the same motions when you CAN'T see your guy as when you
can, i.e. move the controller 45 degrees in the same intervals, as you
are traveling on two helices.

 You'll fall twice but hopefully when the frost squares right below the
gold pieces come back you'll be to the right of them.  If you wait for
longer than one revolution of frost squares being taken out(1 second)
it's curtains but on the other hand it just takes a few tries to get it
right. Now stand to the left of the bottom part of the line bisecting
the circle. Shoot it. (Standing to the north drops you in a hole.) Then
go back to above the entrance. Eventually you'll just fall down back to
near the start. Be sure to go south just before you fall onto the very
bottom, though!

 Now for the right side. You'll need to blast and run forward as far as
you can three times. However you'll want to delay a bit. Once you're on
the top it's no problem to get all the gold. Wait for everything to
form, get the loot, and now stand on top of where you entered so that
you can blast the frost above the entry squares--you will need to do so
three times, dropping down before the final helix comes apart. The very
bottom squares will fall of their own accord if you blast the ones right
above them--helices are wrapped so that each coil is three above the
previous.

     7-2-3. SCENE 3

 Drop left to get the bomb. Place it on the ice. Move back and wait for
the monk to fall in. He'll get to the other side where you'll get the
gold he picked off from the top of the ice block. Then he'll get
consumed. The next thing to do is to drop a bomb on the ice block to the
right and shoot it. Then drop down after it to get the gold piece and
climb onto the jet-plank at the bottom. Anticipation isn't necessary,
just precision...the jet-plank flies around to get the two suspended
gold pieces. Then there's another gold piece, and now you're at the most
emotionally trying part of all, the slow elevator up.

 Unless you choose to make a detour for a few extra lives, which I
really do recommend. The gem is behind the bad guy you wiped out. To get
it, you'll need to dig on the left, wait three or four seconds, and drop
the bomb there. If all goes well, it will explode before the brick you
dug regenerates, leaving the bad guy to drop in the hole created beyond-
-depending on timing he may also fall in the second hole, and you can
run over him then too. Get the gem, and enter the gem transporter which
appears right there. This is pretty low-risk since there's no way for
the bad guy to get out, and you don't have to, but the timing of the
bomb is important. Just remember to keep stepping away.

 Now for the piece of the map. Be sure to have a bomb and get on the
cranky noisy elevator. Drop to the left at the top, dig, go left, and
place a bomb to the right. Quickly drop left and run around to the right
and take the elevator up. You should have time to drop left to get the
map piece.

 The final part involves two gold pieces near the end. Get a bomb and
get on the elevator. Go to the top. Go left and wait until the elevator
goes down. Drop a bomb to the right, run left off the suspended ice,
wait to get another bomb, and drop right. Go right from the elevator
base and drop the bomb. Go left and wait for it to explode. Run right
quickly or the mad monk will regenerate, and enter the transporter.

     7-2-4. SCENE 4

 There seems to be a lot going on in this level; it is a sort of
scramble, but it's also one of the easiest you'll play. Simply drop left
and then go down when at the center of the frost squares. You'll have to
dig the "entry square" to the frost square grid a few times to get
through this one. You'll want to go right and up and blast the frost at
the end of the passage to drop and get an extra life as well. After
taking it out you'll also take out the frost squares holding up the gold
pieces, but wait a bit before jumping back on the grid.

 Now go back to the entrance and just blast away when the bad guys near
the middle row. This will make it easier to get their gold pieces before
they regenerate. You can do so after each time you blast the frost, or
you can wait around and then collect it all at once. Either way is not
too tough.

 If you should be so unfortunate as to let a mad monk escape, no big
deal. Just go to the ramp by the transporter and blast the frost there
and reenter the grid from the top.

     7-2-5. BONUS LEVEL

 A very easy bonus level. Interesting Escheresque ramps with drops, but
go to the penultimate top square and blast away from the top. You'll
drop down from the recoil.

 Repeat three more times, and then head to the center.

 The trick here, I think, is that most people will just blast the top
square half-reflexively and fall into the pits from the frost and die
that way.

   7-3.

 Here you start to see dark arrows on the blocks which indicate you can
jump down. Unless you zoom in they're tough to see, so be warned.

     7-3-1. SCENE 1

 This is a really beautiful level both from the perspective of a puzzle
solver and from just looking at it. I'll make a map below of undiggable
squares, frost and ice from the side.

 The basic idea is to dig to the bottom and drop on a gold piece/extra
life, avoid the monk, find the transporter, go back up, and repeat. But
there are different paths down to each goodie.

 The point of view is a real problem here and I suggest that when you
are at the top you set it so you can just barely see the top of the item
you're trying to pick up. Otherwise you'll have too little detail for
seeing the bottom, which you need--both the cannister and the ice blocks
are tough to pick out.

 You may also get screwed by the timing and bad guy placement so I
suggest making two passes through this: one to get the gold and the next
to get the extra lives.

 Also once you are near the bottom, wait to dig the final hole to drop
down until the monk and robot are away. Also be sure to dig ice and not
frost. Because you can run over a monk if you trap him in one ice block
but not one in a frost block next to a frost block you removed. Also the
mad monk tends to know right when you've fallen, so don't panic and jump
too early. You have plenty of time to wait--zoom out the camera if you
must.

frost = <>
ice   = .
rock  = X
life  = +
gold  = $

Map presented clockwise from the block at the top.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O
XX
XX  $     $     $     $     $     $     $     $
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>..<><><><>..
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>..<><><><>..
.XX....XX..<><><>XX........XX..XX........XX....
.XX....XX..<><><>XX........XX..XX........XX....
<>....<><>............XX......XX<><>....<><>..<>
<>....<><>............XX......XX<><>....<><>..<>
XX<><><>XX<><>XX<><><><>XX<><><>....<><>..<><>..
XX<><><>XX<><>XX<><><><>XX<><><>....<><>..<><>..
.....XX....XX<><>..XX..<><><>XXXX<>XX<><>XX<><>
.....XX....XX<><>..XX..<><><>XXXX<>XX<><>XX<><>
   +1    $1T^  +2    $2    +3    $3    +4    $4

 How to get everything:

+1: Drop down on 3 after blasting it. Blast the two ice blocks below.
Blast the frost when you drop down there. Drop down and blast the frost
again. Blast the ice on the right.

$1: Drop down after blasting the huge layer of frost on the top. Dig the
ice at 6 and the frost at 7. Dig 3 ices below that and then the frost at
7 below that. Dig the ice at 6.

+2: Drop down similar to $1, but the 3 ices you need to dig after
blasting 6 and 7 near the top are 7, 8 and 9. Then dig the frost at 9
and the frost below that at 9.

$2: You can repeat in the same area, after digging the 7-9 ice and the
frost dig the C ice at the very bottom.

+3: Dig around E or so. Then dig C, D and E ice, drop and dig D and E.
After digging the frost at E, go all the way right, dig the frost at F,
and drop down for the extra life.

$3: From the left blast the frost at K, the ice at J, and the frost at
I. Now dig I-K from the right, then dig the frost at I and ice at J.
Below that you can dig the ice at H and I. There's frost below them and
a gold piece below that.

+4: Dig K/J/I as in $3. Then dig L/K/J, then L/K. Then dig K(frost)/L
and stand on L and dig the frost at K. You'll automatically fall into
the extra man.

$4: Blast I and J from the right then O and N from the left. Now the
whole top row is gone! Blast the ice at N, O, and 1, then drop and blast
the ice at N and the frost at O. Blast the frost at N and the ice at O.
Drop onto O and blast the frost to the left. That'll net the final gold
piece.

     7-3-2. SCENE 2

 No distractions make this a low-risk level.

1. Send an ice leaper right. It will drop down after 1/2 rotation then
make almost a full cycle before placing an ice block down and dying.
2. Send one left, circle clockwise and block the ice block at the ramp's
end that would otherwise block it. It'll fall on the ice block created
in 1, circle around, and make a block that will give a bridge to the
three bottom gold pieces.

 Now dig the clockwise from the top. Drop right and get the three gold
pieces and then drop right again and circle around. You can go up, blast
left, and drop that way. Go down from there and then left to the
transporter. Note if you mess up the canister back to the top is to the
right.

     7-3-3. SCENE 3

 Get the two gold pieces on the u-shaped partition where you start and
take the canister to the top. Drop to the right and blast the three ice
squares and then one to drop down for the two gold pieces. Drop down
from the left side to get out. The one below them will be dealt with
later. Take the canister to the middle and then to the top.

 Now drop left and get on the spinner. If you zoom in you will note the
bad guy is below you so make sure you don't fall. When the spinner faces
left, push A. Now when the path is complete the mad monk will come
chasing after you. He'll run into the ice leaper and then run after you.
Note that if you run right behind you can pick up the gold piece he has-
-then run back across the path to sucker the monk and run down. When the
next spinner points down, get on it and push A, but lead the monk around
until you can time it so. Kill the monk if the spinner is pointing left
with the A button, but eventually you may have to lead him around the
upper semicircle a few times.

 Once you get the spinner pointing down, run towards the ice leaper
when it's near the end of its run and quickly get on the last spinner.
Don't worry which direction it's pointing; you want it to be right, but
the main thing is to synchronize the two bad guys so they are as one.

 To get the gem and to get to the bonus level, dig down from the
canister. Wait four seconds, dig right, drop right and hold A as you
fall. Down, face left, dig, fall through and hold A again. Go left and
jump down. You can't see the arrow but it's there. You'll drop through
the center of the U and right onto the transporter.

[SEE 7-3-5 FOR BONUS LEVEL]

Dropping down to the bottom is easy. To be far too flowery(wait, that's
the tropical world, #4,) you have a veritable cornucopia of methods for
your utilization. If any bad guys get stuck at the bottom go to the far
right of the top structure and blast the frost.

     7-3-4. SCENE 4

 I recomend rotating the board so that the transporter has a path going
down from it.

 Drop up to the transporter. Drop the bomb by the ice block and move
away. The frost will get blasted away and now you just have to bootstrap
your way between nooks to get gold pieces slowly.

 Note that there are always a chain or chains of about five frost
blocks active. I call them the frost train. You'll want to sneak behind
the train continually to get to the promised land, then climb on it.

 For the first piece turn off to head down from your original past
chasing the blasted frost, and get a gold piece that way. For the next
one circle counterclockwise and duck in left. Then for the next one wait
for the frost train, follow it up, and take the first right to drop for
another gold piece.

 Back down and left and then wait for the train to come by. Follow it,
go up and around the quarter turn and down at the first chance you get.
Take the right turn to get the two gold pieces and stay there. Note the
frost train splits off above. Follow the one that goes down and take the
first right to get two more gold pieces.

 Now the rest of the gold pieces are above the normal playing area, and
you need to climb on the train for them. Go back left, up and right and
go to the edge. When the train comes by, get on it, take the quarter
circle path and go up for the first piece. If you fail(the curve is not
easy to navigate) it's a short trip back to where you were. But with
each further gold piece you get you'll take longer to start over. Still
timing yourself to climb on the front of the train to start is not hard,
so you have room for error.

 The next gold piece, go down onto the train, left and up. Move left
quickly or you'll take the part of the train branching down at this
intersection. Next: down, down/left quarter circle, left. Almost there!
Go right and down/right on the quarter circle and be sure to stop at the
first black square you reach. Wait for the unlit bomb to drop close to
you and pick it up and retreat, then just walk in and get the other
bomb.

 Now you can walk right and counterclockwise and down to get the
remaining two gold pieces, but that ice block is in the way. Go back to
the black square and blast the frost. Wait two seconds and then bomb the
ice block. When the frost reappears, walk over it and up to the
transporter. You're done!

     7-3-5. BONUS LEVEL

 Tilt so you're above the transporter. Fire down so you land at the top
square you can hit. Circle around to the top and go up the ramp that
divides the level in half. Now there hould be time to jump down once the
frost goes back and blast it again before the bad guys come up the ramp
to get you. They'll fall down if you just hide under the ramp, and
they'll be toast. Go back up the ramp and stand by the ice. Blast it and
circle around to the extra guy and then to play it cautious wait for the
ice to regenerate. Back up against it and blast and run towards the
center and south. You can also blast so you recoil where the ice was if
you do everything quickly enough. But you have more than enough time to
make it and even if you mess up the turn down you can circle around, to
the top of the ramp, and wait for the frost to reform, drop down, and
fire.

 The key is to get a jump on the bad guys so you can blast the frost
right after it regenerates and sneak under the ramp to hide.

   7-4.

     7-4-1. SCENE 1

 Get the gold piece down the ramp, then blast through the frost. Then
dig an ice square. Drop down to get the two gold and bombs. Wait for the
frost to come back. Then dig two holes below and dig the frost. Run up
the ramp and around. You will want to rotate the view to the left as you
move up the ramp. After you make the first forced right angle turn, make
another turn before the ramp descends(tough to do from the original
perspective.) You'll go into a semicircle and go to the edge before you
drop off. Now the frost will come back. It should form in front of you.
First, get all the gold pieces you can along with the extra life. Push
down(in the new view) and quickly go right. You'll be on top of the
frost and can get the rest of the gold pieces.

 Now you can get the triangular piece as well. Rotate so that you see
the structure's back corner. Blast the frost on top, go to the back
corner--the one you couldn't see well before. Leave a bomb on the corner
ice square and run away from where you originally blasted, then drop
down and go down the newly created passage to get the map piece. Use the
canister to get back to the top. Then blast the frost, go to the corner
square again, place the bomb and dig. Drop down to get to the
transporter.

     7-4-2. SCENE 2

 A maddening little level with the distraction of the invincible enemy.
Your problem here is to figure how to bridge the gaps to the islands
with gold pieces. Then the gem and extra life seem completely obscured,
but you may suspect that the pivoting platform plays a large role in all
this.

 If the invincible guy were not in the way, here would be the level
plan:

1. release ice leaper when spinner is facing down(away from the
canister.) It falls through a hole, comes back up the ramp, and drops an
ice block where it fell previously.
2. release ice leaper when spinner is facing down. It won't fall through
the hole but will go down the ramp and make a square to complete a
semicircle.
3. Dig the first ice square created.
4. release ice leaper when spinner is facing down. It will fall through
the hole, go up the ramp, and repair the hole while traveling left--in
fact, it can now drop without being destroyed and repair the holes to
the left. Yay!
5. Get the gold piece at the end of the left branch of the spinner's
four-way intersection at the top, as now you won't fall into the trapped
area with the inactive transporter and the mad monk.
6. If you want to get to the bonus level, dig the left of the two ice
blocks you started on after you release an ice leaper when the spinner
faces left. It will drop through the hole and won't repair it, but after
dropping some more, it will come to the gap near where you started and
in fact bridge the two squares.
7. To get down there, I don't recommend following the leaper even if it
does kill the monk below. But once you do, the bonus level is very
achievable the first time around. If you just want to have gotten the
extra life, remember to stand on top of ice while blasting it, or you'll
recoil into the gem.
8. Transporter is at the bottom left. You may want to redo the ice
blocks so you can blast and then fall when the monk guarding the area is
as far right as he can get.

 As it is, to get around him, wait a bit so he goes up the ramp, then
drop right and onto the canister square. When he's very near, enter it.
This will give plenty of time to try for (1). Enter the canister, go
back down, wait for the bad guy to come down, re-enter and activate (2).
Note that if you are lucky with timing you can get the arrow to turn
right as the bad guy is near. Then the ice leaper will run over him, and
he will start at the bottom.

 To dig the first ice square, let the bad guy come up the ramp and
towards you in the curvy part from the right. Run down and follow the
leaper's path, turning right and blasting the ice square. Then drop or
run down the ramp to the canister. Wait again, kick yourself back up,
then release (4). This may take a while so be prepared to use the
canisters during the ice leaper's commute. After that, Should be plenty
of time for (5)--in fact, if the bad guy is at the bottom you have lots
of time to get the gold and extra lives across the created bridges at
first, although when he comes back you may want to goad the bad guy into
following you, otherwise he may be waiting for you on the other side.
Blast the leftmost square on your trip around.

 If you're feeling brave then go for the bonus level by releasing (7)
although you may need to play canister hide and seek in the meantime
because the leaper's a bit slow.

 Drop through the hole you can blast in the third created ice square
from the left to get on the level with the gem. Do not drop early to
anticipate his going to the far edge as he will sense you.

[SEE 7-4-5 FOR BONUS]

Once you're back, you can time your jump down from above the transporter
so the monk doesn't quite catch you. Otherwise you can play extra safe

     7-4-3. SCENE 4

 No bad guys, but plenty of challenge. It's not easy to get out of the
starting spot to anywhere meaningful at first, but here's how you do it.
Figuring what to do is also a bit tangly.

 First note that if you goof things up you can just circle around the
ramp to your left and drop down to the starting area.

 Dig the two ice blocks to the left. Drop, go left and face right.
Blast the ice, turn down, blast the frost. You'll drop to the next
level. Face right and blast the frost. Congrats, you're now on the
bottom part of the level. Go right and blast the ice to the south, run
south, face north and now here is the running the gauntlet part.

 Blast the frost north. Push A to get in the canister. Push down and
left, and now get out of the starting area the same way you did before.
Run right and then up. Hold up/right as you are about to take the brief
turn-off onto the ramp. Now get the bomb and place it against the frost,
go back to the top, wait for a bomb to drop, and run like heck out of
there.

 In the future I will describe this process as "get the bomb." You will
need to get the bomb twice, and in fact on one of the occasions, when
you place the bomb against the frost, you'll want to retreat just a
little before you go down the ramp where the frost was, get the extra
life, and climb back up.

 So now that you've gotten the bomb, I'll describe how to get the piece
first. I found it easier, actually, but you can skip it if you want
since you probably got one in the first scene. What you will want to do
is to go back to the start and dig out as before...except you will want
to place a bomb under the ice you can't dig. Then blast the ice to the
south to get back to the start and dig the two squares to go down. Now
there's a clear path to the piece across the frost. To get out of the
mess back against the north wall and fire, dropping you down, go right
and south and blast the ice to get back to the start.

 To get the final gold piece, get the bomb but as you turn off go hard
left this time. Wait for the blasted frost to reappear, and then drop a
bomb right by the frost. Hook right and down, blast the ice at the end,
and return. Now dig the leftmost square, drop down, and climb up the
ramp. You should have plenty of time to get the gold piece and drop back
to the right, to the start as well. The canister leads you to the end of
level bit easily.

     7-4-4. LEVEL 4

 Clockwise of the canister is where you want to shoot to start. There
will be two frost squares, and below them a whole range. This will
repeat several times until you get to the bottom. You'll get some gold
and a bomb here. Take the canister back up.

 Now you're ready to tackle the extended cross-looking structure on the
other side. Drop a bomb down on the one frost square and run away. Then
run down, get the extra life(left,) run to get the bomb and drop it on
the frost square. Wait for the next bomb to drop on you and then drop
down. Now you can go to either side to get the extra life or bomb and
then as you walk back across to get the other item you can drop the bomb
in the center. Wait right near the explosion, drop down again, and
repeat. Eventually you'll get to the bottom. Go left to get all the
goodies and then go right.

 So far, so easy, but the rest of the level has a clever twist. You'll
need to dig down the two-frost-square tunnel and then get the bomb. Get
in the canister, face the block, and drop the bomb before getting back
in to go down. This is a bit deceitful to the player with the graphics
because they imply the bomb has gone in the canister. But fear not. Get
the bomb that drops at the bottom, and when you go back up there's a
path to the spinner. Once on the spinner rotate the view so the
structure is behind the spinner. Send an ice leaper one way. Then step
off to the other side, wait for him to dig four squares and send one the
other. Follow the first leaper and when he disappears, drop a bomb on
his last square. Run like heck around the circle and to where the ice
block guarding the transporter was. If you did it right, only one half
of the circle will explode--and you should be able to see if it's
exploding from two sides(bad) or not. Hold down A as you get near the
end and go through the transporter as it is easy to fall.

     7-4-5. BONUS LEVEL

 This one's solution is easy to conceive, which makes up for it being
ardudous to get to, and in fact you have a nice time window to get
everything done as well. Starting from the right side, blast right eight
times, drop right and go to the edge, blast right eight times, drop
right again, and repeat twice more before you're at the bottom. Drop and
take a detour down before coming back up, right and down to get the
other two lives.

   7-5. WHAT THE...

     7-5-1. SCENE 1

 Rotate so you're at the bottom of the S. You may want to rotate 180
degrees between each separate area.

 Get the bomb there. Go to the top, bomb diagonally from the ice block,
run for the bottom, wait for the frost to come back, and go back up.
Wait until the block is destroyed to pass it. It will be periodically
destroyed by the alternating bombs. Enter the canister.

 Go forward and left and dig. Climb up the ramp and go down to get the
bomb. Now the frost will reform and run up the frost ramp to get four
gold coins. Shoot the frost then turn and shoot the square the bomb was
on. Drop down onto the frost and go right. If you aren't able to time
this well don't worry--go to the top of the ramp and then dig the ice
square and drop down when the frost below forms.

 Now, off to the right. Bomb in the square where the frost would meet.
Step back, dig the ice, and wait for it to heal and then run away. Later
you will want to sneak in and drop the bomb where the frost starts. That
will give you a clear run through the loops so you can get all the gold
there--you'll have plenty of time to make it too.

 If you goof up then just get the bomb in this area first then get the
gold by the S.

 The second part is the circle to the right of the bombs/ice block.
Recharge your two bombs.

 Go around to either side of the ice block after you bomb the square to
the right of the canister to knock off the circle's top row. I prefer
the bottom because you'll see where you're going next. Drop the bomb and
swing around to the other side of the block. When it explodes, step on
it and then when the path left appears again climb up it, but not before
or you'll fall in. Not much of a window here. But it's easy to pick
everything off at the top. Blast any frost square on the outside to go
down, but do NOT blast the square on the far left or you'll fall into a
hole, and be sure to wait for the bottom frost to return before
blasting.

 Return to the start and the transporter.

     7-5-2. SCENE 2

 Drop right and down. This is another level where you can't see the
arrows but oh well.

 Take the elevator on the right and go up the ramp across the two ice
blocks and dig down. Go to the right and up the elevator. Face left and
dig the two ice blocks and jump down to get two gold pieces.

 Now go back up the elevator, left and up. Wait for the elevator to go
down. Turn around and dig down, then drop there--if you dug from the
right you could fall off unless you were quick. Dig the right square
then the frost square below that--you'll drop but go right and up the
elevator and left. Drop again and dig left to get a gold piece.

 Now go back up to the top but this time take the ramp to where it ends
in an ice block. Blast the ice block. Then blast the one below it from
the left. Go to the right frost square and blast left. Blast left again.
Now there are two things to do--you'll have to come back around another
time.

1. blast the ice square and standing on the left frost square blast
right. Go left and blast the ice below to drop on the piece of the map.

2. Blast right and drop right to get the extra life.

 Now for the left side. Take the canister up for each example below.

1. to the right, dig three ice blocks and dig the left one below them
for a gold piece.
2. dig three ice blocks to the right, then the two right below that,
then the rightmost. Drop left once you land.
3. The 'chicken' way is to dig the two left, then the one below them,
and get the coin and exit the level. But what about the lives? and the
gem?
4. Getting the gem is a bit easier than getting the lives, so we'll
start there. You'll be using the canisters on the left heavily. Go to
the top, drop right and nail the left two blocks. Drop in there, dig
left. Go left and dig right and drop right onto the canister. You'll
need to move quickly and hold down the A button as you drop. Then when
you're in the canister, hold left and blast right twice. Drop down and
blast right three times and you'll happen upon the gem.
5. This is a bit trickier. What you need to do is to dig as before to
drop to the right canister but this time instead of the final drop right
and dig, drop right, go right and dig left. Timing is VERY important
here so if you lose a beat you may want to restart--easy enough to dig
to get to the ice block with the arrow, drop down, and go up the
canister.

 Gem transporter is in the lower right.

[SEE 7-5-5 FOR BONUS]

     7-5-3. SCENE 3

 Tilt this so that you can walk down onto the frost. Blast the frost
and then run counterclockwise. At 9:00(left side) run to the center,
drop down, and get a bomb. Run to 12:00 and blast. Take the detour down
for the extra life and then run into the down/left loop. Bomb around the
middle of it so you have enough time to duck back to the ledge where you
dropped to get the bomb before--you certainly have enough time to get
the gold piece down here although you can take a separate trip for that
if you want. Now you'll want to walk around counterclockwise again(use
the strip where you started as a shortcut and it should be no problem at
all) and at the left duck to the center and go down when the frost
starts to reform. This allows a clear passage to the top.

     7-5-4. SCENE 4

 A maddening run back and forth with a crazy twist at the end. Timing
the bombs is everything here. Tilt so the bombs are at the bottom of the
oval. Then zoom in for the first part.

 Go down and get the bomb. Stand on the center square and then blast
and drop the bomb(either way.) Go back to where the bomb fell and pick
it up and go back to the top of the circle, circling through where you
blasted and then up through where the brick was, and to the top brick
blocking progress.

 Drop a bomb by this brick, circle counterclockwise, blast the ice, and
go right, quickly down, and right. This is the trickiest transition(here
and back) to make but fortunately you have almost two seconds of error
time to make your move.

 Bomb the block behind the extra life(yay) and go to the bottom. Zoom
out. Now the nastiness begins. To make sure you bomb in the right spot
you have to go ON the square you want. If you stand in the center you'll
drop a bomb in the center, contrary to usual logic for this game.

 Bomb left, go onto the old ice square, wait five seconds, and drop
another bomb. Now the tough timing part comes into play. Bomb one of the
ice blocks to the side, go clockwise and bomb the ice at the top. Then
go left, bomb the ice block there, drop down and enter the transporter

     7-5-5. BONUS LEVEL

 First of all, to do this level right, you need to zoom in on your
character fairly closely. Also note where the bad guys are or
regenerate--you may be rotating around a bit but fortunately there are
always two places you can drop in to get any one extra life. So if you
want to remember where the bad guy(s) drop(s) then note where the level-
exit transporter is and remember what direction they are from that.

 Also, you should note if you wait a bit at the bottom then one guy
will drop down after you. This is a good thing. One guy is much more
easily faked out than two, even if you have to do it twice.

 Don't worry about the middle parts of the structure. Just go up
through the center, notice where the two bad guys are, and run away from
them when on top. In fact you can intuit where they will be and push a
direction away from them. There are four directions and two people--or
one if you waited a bit.

 On the bottom the object is to run past the one guy--just get him onto
the outer circle and then run inwards and you'll make it easily. As you
go to the top you will want to rotate the view so you can see the next
extra life you want to pick off, i.e. its quadrant is facing you. Zoom
out if this doesn't work and then run around at the top and switch the
view until you can see an extra life. All this is useful so you don't
make a trip down in vain.

 Now what you can do is to trap the bad guy on the far side in a hole,
then circle around and drop a bomb. If you like you can also dig the two
squares closest to the trapped bad guy for protection before you drop
the bomb--you have the space to do so. Then drop through the bombed area
and be sure you go the right way to get the extra life.

 The question now is which square to dig in. There are four squares per
ninety degree arc and you will want to use the extra life's shadow to
determine whether to dig the ice on the second from the left or right.
It should be clear which side the shadow is closer to.

 8. WORLD 4

 It doesn't get hellish right away, but there are a few immediate
convenient ways to kill yourself.

 The purple plants are odd customers; they shoot out quickly at you,
but they retract as slowly as you walk. The second part is useful for
getting to areas you think are impossible. Often you'll want to push <z>
while on them and you'll need to calculate the recoil so you land in the
exact right place.

   8-1. CALM BEFORE THE STORM

     8-1-1. SCENE 1

 Don't worry about the gold pieces on the wings yet. Your first order
of business is to disarm the purple plants which shoot out at you when
you get too close and force you to flee or die. While it's possible to
get the gold on the edge, you will want to disarm the plants first.

Below is a map from the side of the main area. There are two-
hit(darker) bricks and one-hit(orange) bricks. You'll want to carve a
path to the bottom at first.

XX12221XX
X11211X
X11X11X
 1XXX1

 Do so as follows; dig the four leftmost squares from the right, then
dig the remaining three leftmost. Drop down, dig the three leftmost, and
dig the one remaining. Dig the two below and dig the one below them to
fall through. Don't be distracted too much by the explosions.

 Now you have an opportunity to climb on a plant. Push A and it will
stretch out. Run quickly down it because the other one will lash out but
fortunately your guy doesn't slow down grabbing the extra life.

 Now there are two of what looks like a set of spikes i.e. more lethal
than a lavender plant. Get on one and it will in addition to acting
vaguely phallic make a decent elevator you can take to the ramp that
goes to the top. You'll just have to climb across another plant and push
A. Now you can climb back down and disable the other plant by climbing
across.

 In fact once on one of the plants go to its edge and press B. You'll
drop down and get the gold piece you can't dig for. Repeat for the other
side and re-freeze the plants if you want but it's not necessary.

 Now dig the mirror image of how you started at first to get the final
gold piece at the bottom and exit the transporter at the bottom.

     8-1-2. SCENE 2

 Go down the ramp to get the bomb and then back up. Wait until the monk
is one square away from your ramp base and jump off the top. Go zap the
square ahead, then drop the bomb. Circle back around quickly--watch the
hot corners as those are where the plants jump out at you--and when the
square looks about to come back, run at it and go to the plant on the
side where the bad guy isn't. Hold down A and go across the tentacle,
then walk away from the bad guy and go up the ramp. Keep an eye on the
bad guy if you intend to go the other way as he may interfere with the
plans if he is in the area when the bomb explodes--and it is pretty
random whether he is, although you can perhaps sucker him down the path
to the brick.

 If you have gotten all the gold, then the bad guy will only be able to
block one path to the transporter.

     8-1-3. SCENE 3

 Getting through the scene isn't too bad. Go a square left, dig right,
and climb down the staircase getting the gold pieces. Enter the flytrap
and it will take you to the top. Then do a bunch of digs from the right.
Five, drop, four, drop, etc. down to one. You'll land on the root of a
purple plant. Push A and then go in towards the circle(probably up if
you have your view adjusted so you face outwards.) This will get you
back on the elevator. Go down and fall left and walk on the plant to the
next elevator. For this one you'll want to drop right and then get back
on and drop left--if you're shrewd you can barge into the plant and get
all gold coins in one swoop. That should clear the level. The exit is
clockwise.

 But given the bonus level has four extra lives it's worth a try to get
to. Of course it's a little tricky here to get the gem. Dig the top 4
squares then dig the right two, wait a bit, dig the left two, fall
right, dig the one below where you are and wait two seconds before
digging the one below it. Transport to the top, go down, dig left, drop,
go left, dig right, go right. Dig left when the wall appears, go north
and dig south. Jump down, dig right twice, drop right, and dig right.
Fall onto the bomb. Then at the top dig the 4 squares then the two left
ones. Drop and dig right then face left, place the bomb, and enter the
transporter after another drop.

 NOTE: Once you return, do NOT NOT NOT drop to the left. The board has
reset, so the plant is active again. It will kill you. Blast the
rightmost square and circle around to exit.

     8-1-4. SCENE 4

 My suggested angle of focus is with the transporter at the top. Zoom
in though a bit as digging the holes is tricky work with fatal results
if it goes wrong, and I know I've missed it a few times.

 This is a tough one with the loops and all. My advice is this: when in
doubt, pick on the guy that's alone. There are two sides and three guys;
therefore, one side has fewer than two. If you go over to this side then
you can, with the two bricks on each side, dig one to hold the bad guy
up and rob him of gold and the other to drop down and re-enter the
central zone.

 Once gold pieces begin to get sparse you may have to deal with two
guys at a time. For this I would recommend the following: if two guys
are on one side then you can dig two holes and drop through the second
one before the second guy falls in. Since the bad guys regenerate in
different places, you can maybe even separate them into their original
three compartments. Just be sure that one doesn't stick himself in the
end of the loop. If you can goad him away even a bit(run towards him)
then you can drop down and dig a hole to trap him. Otherwise dropping
down through the near brick is trouble.

 And at this point I discuss how to start. Wait for the bad guys on the
sides to tuck themselves into corners. Go up, blast the brick there,
enter when the bad guy is at the top of his run, circle either way. Dig
a hole and drop through it. Now you can pick on one side where there's
just one guy once you circle around.

 Note that even if three guys are on the same side they will either be
pushing the center block or in the corner. I should mention how to deal
with guys pushing the center block(blast it, wait for them to run past,
and sneak the other way shortly after, leaving holes in your trail that
they will fall into) or in the corner(run at them, blast two holes and
drop through the second.) If it doesn't look favorable you can wait for
them to reshuffle and the center block to reappear. Jiggle around the
center to see how to pigeonhole them where you want.

 If two guys are in the corner you can sucker them around, dig both
squares, and go into the corner. Wait for the first guy to get out then
run under.

 If you know which bad guy has the final gold piece(if not, use
elimination reasoning and digging holes) then what you do is, if they're
in three separate chambers, drag the top guy(who can't have one, you've
already got the gold at the top) to the side with the monk with no gold.
Dig a hole for him and run back over to the other side. Bingo, it's just
you versus the monk.

 It's not easy to get this, though, and in the meantime you may have to
try to bait monks from the corners they tail into and back around to the
other side, digging holes to trap them and coming back around.
Fortunately once you know how to escape the sides it's hard to get
trapped--either dig two holes ahead and run back or run past the bricks,
digging behind you, and falling through the second to escape(dig below
that too if a monster was near the end of the loop.)

 Basically you'll want to isolate the final bad guy, and remember you
can manipulate how he moves a bit, whether it's into the corner or into
the block ahead of you.

 Leaving once you have all the gold is pretty straightforward. You'll
also get a map piece as you do.

     8-1-5. BONUS LEVEL

 The monks don't really seem to follow you here, and the key is to drop
without getting killed. Fortunately they don't sense when you fall
either so just be patient. Loop around the outside for extra guys when
the coast is clear, but you can dig a few holes if you want it now. Be
sure to get as many monks as you can to follow, and use the center of
the cloverleaf frequently. There are enough T-intersections that you can
wait for people to follow and take the safe path, especially with the
monsters being slow. Dig in the center to drop down to get to the
transporter.

   8-2.

     8-2-1. SCENE 1

 If your timing is good then you can just go to the outside of the
circle and quickly go onto the root of the plant. When a monk comes
around, push A and then walk across. You can almost do this circularly
but watch out for where the monks regenerate. If you have a problem
making it across any one plant, then you can always move ahead by using
the two walkways--note that the brick you can blast and drop through on
the top one is a way to make a de facto 90 degree leap, and you can leap
180 degrees on the bottom. So you have a couple of ways to get bad guys
out of the way. At the end of the level, the transporter is in the
center on the bottom ramp.

 Often I find I can get through quickly if I just floor it in the up
ramp and start moving clockwise. But I try to zoom out to make sure I
know no-one's coming at me.

     8-2-2. SCENE 2

 Take the elevator on top, dig three quickly, drop to the center, dig
right twice, drop, and on the right edge drop the bomb left. Dig to fall
off then take the elevator back up. Push left and you'll drop down to
get the gold piece over there.

 Go back up to the top. Push a bit left and drop the bomb onto the
orange area where the gem is. Dig and drop three times then go back left
and drop to get the gem and enter the bonus level, which is easy enough
to get 100% even if you lose a guy. Of course you can just dig early and
get the gold to the right.

[SEE 8-2-5]

 Next time, drop down after taking the elevator and go all the way
right. Dig a hole to the right to help the poor fellow that's trapped
but be anonymous and don't introduce yourself. Once he gets stuck run
hard right so that you'll step on him before he regenerates. Drop down
right/left/right to get the gold. Now come back up and dig right/drop,
etc. When you can't dig right at the next drop, drop the bomb. Then you
can squirm through that opening and get two more gold pieces. From there
you need to sucker the bad guy, which actually isn't too bad. Dig the
two squares to the right and wait for him to go out a good ways before
running right and digging to get the final gold piece. He may have one
and you can just wait by the transporter and dig to nail him and his
gold piece.

     8-2-3. SCENE 3

1111111
2222222
2222222
X1X1X1X

 You'll need to repeat a similar process three times in a row to solve
this level, but it's not particularly arduous.

1. get the bad guy out of his corner by digging down the big structure
of blocks
2. wait for him to fall off
3. drop down and get near the edge
4. Entrap him in the winding maze and use the transporter to go back to
the top of the huge wall.

 Digging each way is not too hard. Just be sure not to fall off when
you do so--for this reason the leftmost guy, I start digging from the
left and make 4 holes. There's plenty of time to double-zap the three
below them(three zaps, back left, and three quick zaps again,) then the
two below those and the final one. The rightmost guy, do a mirror image.
For the middle guy, you'll want to be a little careful. You'll need to
change the directions you dig holes but I have a sample way to do things
below( . = my suggestions.) Start digging left, then switch to digging
right when there are two left. Again for the top part do three zaps in a
row, move, do three zaps in a row.

1....11
2...222
22..222
X1X.X1X

 The twisty maze is not so bad either. You just have to remember you
need to dig twice, so keep the mad monk at arm's length and dig a couple
of holes in a row. I recommend doing two zaps then moving back and doing
two more. That will regenerate the bad guy where he can't do anything.
Then zap the dark square above the transporter twice to drop down and
get a bunch of gold as well.

     8-2-4. SCENE 4

 Here you'll have to take advantage of how the purple plants retract.
There are three gold pieces it shoots out at, and you can get the right
two by lining up on top of the third one and facing right and pushing Z.
Floor the controller right. Now activate the bottom plant and use the
flytrap to go up to the three-square platform, nipping left to get the
xtra guy(move back quickly.) The bad guy will go up where the plant is,
and now you can walk to where he regenerated all the time(lower left)
and get the bomb, blast the square over it, and enter the transporter.

 Let's get the triangular piece now. Wait for the bad guy to be far
away. Blast the square to the left, drop down, take the transporter up,
make sure the bad guy's still irrelevantly placed, dig left and place
the bomb right. Jump left and go down and left into the transporter
area. Blast the orange square and enter the transporter, then drop left.

 For the last part you'll want to get rid of the bad guy. To do so
simply goad him into the lower left and when he start to walk across the
plant you can, while standing left of it, push Z and then the monk will
regenerate continually in the lower left after you escape via the
transporter.

 Now climb out onto the long plant after stretching it out. Stand above
the middle of the three blocks, push Z and then B. Go back to the
plant's beginning and push A. When the bomb explodes go to the middle
square and push Z. You'll drop onto the final gold coin, and you'll be
able to get out, too.

     8-2-5. BONUS LEVEL

 The first extra life is easy to get. Take the transporter plant to the
top. If you're lazy(as I am) then just drop to the right and enter the
transporter and get killed for a net of two lives.

 I honestly see no way to exit, but you won't lose a guy if the mad
monk gets you anyway, so why bother trying--this game makes you think
enough :-).

   8-3.

 Here you'll begin to explore the wonders of bombing blocks twice. It
gets a little tedious but there are some interesting pizzles for those
who can figure out what's going on.

     8-3-1. SCENE 1

 Wait for the monk to go up the spiral. Stay back and dig a hole for
him, then dig a hole for the monk coming up the spiral. Leave some
trailing holes if you like. Fall right at the top and then bomb the
blocks to the right.

 Bomb the top of the spiral after getting past the bad guys. Climb up
the path created for gold and drop down. Blast the block to the south.
Climb up the spiral again and drop to the right. Stay a second to get
your bomb back, then get the gold coins after you bomb to the right and
then drop right after getting the bomb.

 Now to get the extra guy right of the transporter drop a bomb near the
wall. When it explodes drop the second bomb next to the wall. The bottom
block will regenerate before the middle one. Sneak by. Use the bomb when
you're on top of the ramp. Then you can walk right for an extra life.
You're done here.

     8-3-2. SCENE 2

 Get the bomb to the left and dig over the square. Drop through, place
a bomb, and go away. Its replacement should fall through. You can bomb
the monk that fell in the hole and drop through right after. There's an
elevator back to the main area. Again get the bomb, dig, and place it to
the left. Get the bomb but this time, though, run across the bad guy.
Stay in the bottom of the ramp. Run onto the elevator if he chases you
but back up top if he does not. Now drop right, drop the bomb one right
of the brick, wait two seconds and drop left then quickly right. The
plants will just miss you. Use the elevator if you like to get rid of
the gold piece to the right of its top.

 Drop the bomb on the orange square to the far right. Wait until one
guy comes into the playing field. Run onto the transporter, go up and
left for the bomb then drop, take the lift, and go right to the edge.
When the bad guy is on the elevator square, run right and drop the bomb
on the orange square--try to drop it while you're one square away.
Double back and circle around once. Let the bad guy follow you pretty
closely, then make a break right to get all that gold and dig the far
right square. Jump down and get the gem.

 You can also drop up or down after digging if you want to save the
bonus level for later.

[SEE 8-3-5.]

 You may have to bomb the right side once more to make the bad guys
cough up the last gold piece. Also a problem: the last bad guy may be
the one running around below you and not easliy vulnerable until you get
the bomb. Drop it on the elevator when he's on the other side of the
circle he potters around in. He'll die at the elevator, so get the coin
and drop right.

     8-3-3. SCENE 3

 Run to the transporter, then run onto the block and quickly run back.
Note there's a plant there--nasty. So run quickly onto the orange brick,
go back, blast it when the plant zooms back by, and make a right turn
and drop down the ensuing hole. Blast the brick below and then the one
below that.

 Rotate the camera so you're at the right. Now you climb up a ramp,
blast the left, and drop three times. Rotate the camera now so that the
next path drops off to the left after the structure bends ninety
degrees.

 Drop the bomb, move away, drop onto the mad monk after he falls, drop
a bomb on him, turn left, wait a second and drop the bomb off the ledge.
Once the first explodes move right a square. Repeat until you drop to
the bottom of the three monks. Then just dig left and jump down. Get on
the plant and push A and move down a bit so the monk doesn't fall on
you.

 Go to the section of plant over the hole and face towards the orange
brick. Push Z and then when you drop keep walking on the platform to get
the gold coins. Be sure to start moving the controller once you are
falling because you don't have much leeway--but on the other hand the
movement doesn't have to be exact.

 Now you can, to play safe, enter the leafy transporter, fake the plant
out, blast the orange brick, drop, and run back into the transporter,
saving the piece of the map for later.

 However it's one of the easier parts of the level. Just blast the two
orange squares to get to the bottom as before and take the elevator up.
Blast the first ramp and walk up to the second. Place the bomb on it and
blast it. Wait a bit then drop through the huge hole made to get the map
piece. Don't be afraid to take a few seconds to switch views after
getting the map piece just to stabilize yourself.

     8-3-4. SCENE 4

 This one is dreadfully confusing at first, but in fact there is a
logic to it. First note that the structure at the very bottom is safe,
as is the one at the top(unless you put yourself inside a brick) and in
the middle you can always get a spare bomb, which is useful to use on
the levitators. Nothing wrong with picking off gold one at a time here.
You'll also note that if you dig one of the four isolated bricks and
drop, you'll fall on gold. You'll have to fall through all four to solve
the level.

 Still there's no set order to do things in, which isn't all bad.

 But the start is not too bad. Take the left elevator up and blast
right. Drop south and take the elevator on the south. Blast north, go
right and north, dig left. Fall through the center.

 To get the extra life, dig right. Hold A as you fall, go right, blast
south, go left, blast right and then get the life(later you don't have
to fall left as you'll take the elevator back up.) Blast the square that
was revealed and drop down to get the bomb and back across. Now take the
elevator up and go right and south. Wait for the right moment to come
along before dropping in.

 Also note that to retrieve a bomb you can just dig the brick on the
other side of the huge line as where you drop into the middle area, then
fall through.

 So what is the right moment, then? At first you can shake the monks
pretty easily so wait untol the two levitators are far away. they seem
to turn around at random, so there may be a wait, but if you're really
getting your feet wet just dig the square you fell on, jump in the hole,
and go down. Dig the square right of where you drop to get an easy gold
piece. Then you're put back on the left. Same criteria here for dropping
down although you can also drop a bomb and hide in the transporter if
there's just one guy in your way. And you can always kick yourself back
to Home Base pretty easily. Be sure to zoom in a bit though to make your
move to the passages to the right--from a distances it's easy to miss
the turn offs a bit, which the game is mean about.

 Here it's easy to go to the passage to the left and drop to get that
gold piece, then dig and drop through for another one on the very
bottom. Just be sure to lead the bad guys toward you as some have a
tendency to 'play prevent' waiting under where you drop if you time it
wrong. Also watch for regenerating monks at the ends of the long brick
passage. Move in too quickly and they'll be waiting for you.

 Eventually monsters will vacate the W/U at the bottom left and when
they do, drop on the right side of it to get the suspended gold and go
to the bottom, dig a hole, and get the third gold piece way below.

 If a mad monk happens to pick up a gold piece then your best bet is to
shuffle around the top area with lots of bricks, dig a bunch, and
observe how they fall and hope eventually one of the two leaves
something behind. Again there are low risk ways to do this and get back
to the top and get a bomb to destroy them, even.

 Basically there are a few save havens, and whenever you drop out of
them you'll want to make sure none of the bricks are guarded from
quickly digging and dropping down. And you can also use bombs in a few
choice places.

 Once that's done you'll want to go back to the area where you dropped
down to start. The higher of the two elevators is where you'll want to
place a bomb; push B, run across while holding A, drop down, and wait
for the elevator above to start coming down before you push A(1 second
after the explosion.) Quickly run right while holding A. The transporter
is to the left. Hold the pad that way when you get close.

     8-3-5. BONUS LEVEL

 This is Old Skool Lode Running at its finest. I think you will want to
go to the sides to get the extra lives first. The one in the middle is
hardest because you can't dig anywhere. But first you need to get out of
the center. Wait for the two guys to come in from below. Dig holes for
them and run by. If they go different ways around your circle then blast
on each side, but even if all three come you can either a) goad all
three or b) pick on the one guy and run past him, digging behind to nail
the two.

 In the stripey circles on the side, you may want to bring a bad guy
all the way back, then run back to the center to confront any other bad
guys you find. Dig something behind you and note that even if two guys
come at once you can dig two holes and cross over; if they're spaced far
apart then cross over one before digging the other.

 The above circle with no bricks is nasty, and although for practical
purposes you can just get killed here, I recommend trying to trap bad
guys deep in a circle and letting maybe one in--you can give him the run
around. Let others in if you must but only when the bad guy is trailing
you--you may have to wait a bit near the exit for this circle to sucker
another guy in, then lead them very carefully or they will go opposite
directions.

 Even if you can move to one of the other stripey circles, you'll have
it made since those are relatively navigable. No need to get to the
bottom in one swoop.

   8-4.

     8-4-1. SCENE 1

 Two tips on how the game makes things tougher:
--Bad guys may escape their regular places and start walking around in
the main area. If this happens you'll want to use the leafy transporters
to get rid of them. If you stand on one side of the center plant you can
often get them to come over. Then blast the plant that connects them
with the regular area.

--Be aware here that if you enter one of the leafy transporters the view
resets.

 Nasty introductory level here. Might as well get the easy extra life.
Here on each side you will need to push A on the plant and run across
and get the
bomb--preferably after the bad guy has just gotten eaten by the plant.
Once on the platform where the bad guy regenerates, drop a bomb, move
back, push Z on the plant if the bad guy is near, then push A and run
across, past the block, where you push A again and run to get two gold
pieces. Do so for both sides. Also be sure NOT to run through the top
center as that is where you will get killed by a plant.

 Now for the tough part--Even if you've got two bombs the second never
drops where you want it to, as the object is to get behind the back
corner block with two bombs, which you use to knock out the back
three(don't forget to blast the plant in back as some bad guy may be
coming from behind.) What's the solution? Perseverance seems to work for
me. I try to go a bunch of different places and also try to shoot the
plants at various times. Also when I enter I try to make sure there's
only one purple plant connecting the bad guys' regeneration spot to the
main area. That way if one is close by I can try to fake him out--also
once the plant is activated you don't want to run down it as a bad guy
could be waiting.

 Once you've gone and straightened out the center plan, dig the orange
square at its end and drop down when the monk below is to one side. It's
not hard to collect all the gold pieces he doesn't have(run by him and
then go up/down and repeat) but to get the one he owns you'll need to
run by him horizontally then turn up and face to the center quickly.
Once you got him, blast the brick to the south. The transporter is
below.

     8-4-2. SCENE 2

 Tilt the view so the transporter is to the right.

 Bomb, dig left, then wait for the brick to reappear. Bomb it and wait
to get the bomb dropped and go left. Go up the platform and then move
quickly onto the front of the plant then back right and up. That gives
you an idea of what's to come. Move down/left then right/up then follow
the end of the plant closely--if you're more than one brick away from it
it will kill you on the rebound. Drop the bomb over the square that is
blocking the platform below and hit Z but don't stop moving. You will
want to go all the way to the left. Zoom in and when the bomb explodes
go to the right and blast left, place the bomb on that square, and blast
again. Go to the right and make three left digs. The bomb should explode
around when you drop down, and from there the digging down is pretty
clear. You'll have just enough space to dig the bottom square and run
left to get the gold pieces. Now you'll be near an elevator, but it's
easier to take out the gold pieces on the left first. You can come back
for the piece later.

 Getting the piece is tricky, but you're helped by the very bottom
block taking two hits; tough to tell by the color, but it does. If you
have three bombs you can pour them down and just run after them.
Otherwise there's some manipulation going on, but it's possible to do
with just one bomb.

     8-4-3. SCENE 3

 It's a cinch to complete this level but you may need to focus on the
gem later. Basically you can dig the two right squares and the one below
that. Then drop onto the curvy ramp and dig anywhere there to get to the
bottom. Pick up everything you can but run for the orange brick last. A
plant will come around and try to nail you. Go right, dig left and while
recoiling push left. Repeat, mirrored, and repeat re-mirrored. Now you
can climb on the plants and make it back up to the area with the
transporter.

 Of course getting the gem is a bit tougher.

     8-4-4. SCENE 4

 Not a bad idea to just wait around a bit at first here. Zoom in to
avoid being unsighted and be sure you can see the U straight on--whether
it curves toward you or away. Push A and then when you feel like it
blast left and then hold the controller left until you hit the bottom.
Whew, the plants just missed you. Now navigate the alternate brick/solid
surface to dig a couple of holes near the lower left edge. Run past the
mad monks that get caught and then dig four more holes. Bomb when at the
lower right and move back--you may want to rotate so you can see
yourself and not fall into a pit here. Drop through the hole you created
but don't dawdle as a lit bomb is below. Collect that bomb once it's
deactivated.

 By the way if a bad guy follows you into one of the side areas you can
drop a bomb on him while on the transport as it descends. Which is fun.
The general violence, not the side area.

 I like to have things so the extra lives are to the left here. Also I
assume that once you drop back down you pick up the bomb if you need it.
You can run left for the bomb and right for the piece of the map for
your first outing. Next time go right at the lower part, drop a bomb on
the brick and dig it. Jump through the hole you made for a gold piece.
Next trip up straighten out the plant, walk across it until a shot will
recoil you onto the nearest gold piece. Once you fall push away from the
plant and then blast four or so holes.

 Then after you re-straighten the plant, next one up you will want to
go right at the top. Quickly go left to get the bomb over there and back
right--a piece of the map, pretty easy. Bomb the brick in your way and
then take out the one guarding the other end of the U. Now you can make
all three plants still, so you can determine where you will drop down.

 As before I always assume you take the bomb on the bottom before
climbing up. Drop down and then shift the view so the transporter is on
the left. Push A on the top one, dig left at its start, drop a bomb and
step out on the plant a bit. Get the gold piece below. Then get on the
next plant and let it cross. Dig left and get the extra life and then
try again.

 Be sure you've got a bomb before climbing on the top plant every time
after this. You're going to be dropping down into the blocked off area a
few times, and you'll need to bust your way out. There should be four
gold pieces left to fall on by now. One below the middle plant, three
below the bottom one. All of these can be gotten by blasting in the
right place and then falling away from the plant once it lashes out.

 Shoot the top plant and fall onto the middle one. Dig and recoil so
you wind up on the only gold coin left. If you mess up here you can
always drop from the top(from the fourth length to the third) and
quickly move away from the middle plant.

 Now the three bottom ones can be nailed by

1. activating the top plant, bombing the bricks to the side and dropping
to activate the bottom one, getting the bomb
2. dropping onto a platform with a bomb, if you have trust in your
perspective skill or care to note that you got the first bomb digging
under the square left of the center(with the U upside down,) pairing
this with your position on the plant, and working out that every two
squares must be a bomb. But only if the middle plant is frozen as well.

..and then digging the bottom plant and calculating the recoil. Of
course you will have to dig your way out of a jam three times. If you're
having trouble visualizing where to recoil then note that the platforms
alternate above, below, etc. the plant. So just go below the platform
next to/above the coin you want to get, face away from the coin, and
fire. You'll drop a height below the plant so there's no need for
evasive action.

 Observe which side the monks are on. If both away from the side with
the transporter(the one that controls the lowest plant) just dig two
holes to trap the monks and run over to bomb the block guarding that
side. If both are over there, run to the other side, dig a couple of
holes, and run back over them digging back as you go. Place a bomb that
way.

 If they are on either side then run away from where you want to start.
Dig on each side but don't cut it too thin. Leave some holes behind and
run over to use the bomb.

 Remember that the reverse directions will apply once you have all the
gold pieces and want to get to the top. The transporter's on one side,
but the way to get there is on the other(through the two walls you can
bomb.) Just inch forward when you're almost there and don't fall off.

 This isn't a particularly lethal level once you have your bearings,
but it does require some pedantry.

     8-4-5. BONUS LEVEL

   8-5. WHAT THE...

     8-5-1. SCENE 1

 Back up the view a bit so you can see the two guys close to you. Dig
the right brick and then the left brick. Wait until the third scream and
drop onto the plant. Go left, push A, go to the edge of the plant and
blast the brick before running left. Push A and run right. Get the three
gold coins and nw dig the center square from the right. Drop through and
immediately dig left. You should have time to get the gold piece, go
back right and dig left twice. Then drop and dig once.

 In the second enclosed area, you will need to go left and dig right.
Step over and dig left twice. Now when the bad guy is trapped in the
rightmost hole run to the center--just as that hole fills--and make
three quick digs left. The extra time you get by climbing over the bad
guy before he's dead should allow you to fall down and dig twice, fall,
dig once and get to the bottom. You'll need bombs to get to the extra
lives so don't worry about them now.

 Climb up the ramp on the backside and after getting the gold drop the
bomb where you found it. Head back down the ramp a bit and retake the
bomb before you go left. Then dig the right square and pass by and dig
the center square from the left. Place the bomb and walk away. Once it
explodes dig the final hole and run away up the ramp. This should leave
the bottom bad guy trapped.

 At the top of the second ramp place the bomb where you found it and go
to the right. Run across the bad guy and this time wait to see if the
bad guy regenerates on the left before you dig as you did below(dig to
right, drop bomb to left, dig to right) to ensure he is a nonfactor. If
he escapes it's not hard to time the explosion so he gets caught(when
he's just past halfway up the ramp) but you'll need to hide in the
corner and bomb again.

 The third guy is dealt with the same way as the first although again
you may have to lure him up the ramp and bomb him there. Once at the top
with no-one chasing you, bomb and step down the ramp, get another bomb,
and bomb what's way on the left. Back up and when the released bad guy
goes up the ramp, drop down where he was, take the elevator and go left
to the next level.

 You'll need lots of bombs for the extra lives, so be sure to go down
and battle the three monks and then up the three ramps. At the top one
you'll want to dig down twice and then bomb the final wall to the left,
getting a bomb to make three.

     8-5-2. SCENE 2

 Twist the camera so you'll be going left at the start. Bomb left, dig,
wait for explosion, bomb the cavity. Now when the bottom squares
regenerate they'll need two hits but the top will need one. So...just
drop a bomb once everything's back, walk away, and remember to pick up
your complimentary bomb before running across to the main course.

 The prospect of repeating this tedious start is good motivation to
take precautions that you get everything right the first time around.
It's tough to botch but puts a damper on the restart level option--as
bad as the loading times!

 Go up the ramp(direction left/up, and your vision will only be blocked
a little while) and go to the part that looks like a sort of double
comb. The plan here is to blast the orange brick and drop, then for each
one below move away from the brick and then back to the wall. The plant
will shoot out at you, and you must retreat, blast and drop down.
Fortunately there's a four extra life treat in it for you, making this
less drudgery in waiting than the opening. At the bottom you have a bomb
which you will also need. Take the elevator to the top.

 Now it's possible to solve this level if you run out of bombs in this
area(bomb and go back to the start) but you can be exact with relatively
little pain and planning, so why not do so? Run right, zoom out to see
your whole course, and bomb the block in front of the ramp and cross it.
Facing the next orange block, drop a bomb and then blast the block. Hook
around again and as you cross the first brick again be sure to blast it
after you cross it. This sets it back to the 1-hit block over the 2-hit
block; otherwise you'll need to bomb it several times to get back.

 Drop onto where the second brick was and circle counterclockwise for
two bombs, blasting the brick to the right and quickly navigating the
curves although don't rush or worry; you can bomb the brick and go back
into the dead end if you mess up. You're more likely to goof when you
get the third bomb in the drop down with the four plants.

 With the three bombs, repeat the process to get to the second ramp as
before, but this time instead of sneaking behind for the two bombs, take
out the brick at the top of the ramp.

 The drop down into the last area should be easy enough to handle. You
can just cut out without getting the two extra lives if you'd like, but
on the other hand you can try to get them. Fancy footwork is involved,
though.

X.2X1++
1b.

 The way to go about things is to bomb the square next to the right X
and then get another bomb. Drop it on what was the 2-block and then run
into the ex-brick square. You'll need to be pretty quick about this, but
when the second bomb goes off, move away from the square where the
brick's about to reappear, step around the hole for the two-block, and
go get the two extra lives.

     8-5-3. SCENE 3

 This is a doozy. First thing to do is to focus the camera so you're
north of the top brick. This'll help you see what you need get the row
of gold pieces. In order to do so, dig the top square. Drop down, wait
five seconds, and dig the two squares below it. Come around and dig the
top square, drop, and dig the right square as quickly as possible. Climb
back up to where the two blocks have reformed, count off a second and a
beat, then dig and drop. The bad guy will have moved into where the
block will regenerate. When the block starts to cover him up push right,
dig left, then face right and dig as you fall. Climb up the ramp and
drop to the left, and you should just make it. Go down the passage,
rotate so you're to the left of the new area and drop. Now tempt the
plant with a quick back/forth movement.

 As an aside, no, you can't just dig and drop. The brick won't let you
move that way. You'll have to bomb it. So close, yet so far...

 Run towards it after that and dig the rightmost square and the next
three quickly. Drop down and dig the three to the left, then two, then
one. You'll drop to a small area where you can get a bomb. Place it next
to the brick(be sure you're facing it. Don't drop it on the elevator)
and take the elevator. Wait for the explosion, get the bomb, drop down
the shaft and run right. Then take the elevator to the right and drop
left at the top for five more bombs. Take it again and go right. Rotate
so you are right of the blocks.

 Now you'll need all six bombs for this one. If you mess up, take the
elevator on the right, get the bombs, then go to the left and get the
bomb, then get the five to the right again. Also you can dig the far
left brick if you get trapped inside the middle left.

 Place a bomb next to the rightmost block. Then place one where the
lower right block disappeared. Sneak through the passageway. Wait for
the holes to refill and place a bomb at the bottom of the ramp. This
will take out three blocks. Now place one bomb each under the two
remaining blocks. Go to the top of the ramp. The bricks on the bottom
will regenerate first, and you can walk across and get on the plant.

 Climb and drop off the plant. Face towards the original area, drop the
bomb, push Z, and run into the plant. Boom--you are barely unaffected.
Run for it, and you'll make it down to the transporter.

     8-5-4. SCENE 4

 There are two clear parts to this level: the eleven gold pieces behind
the mad monk and the one guarded by the plant. The one is substantially
tougher to pick off, and you have to get it first as the eleven lead to
the transporter and by themselves leave you--quelle coincidence--one
short!

 What you need to do is note that the plant is stunned by bombs. So
when it is recoiling you will want to leave a few bombs in the first
square of the semicircle before activating the elevator. From here I
like to have the view so the start of the plant it in the far
background--if you get to the ground successfully. You'll want to drop
from the other side of the plant on top, and you'll want to move out of
the way of the semicircle. Taking the elevator back up doesn't give you
enough time to avoid the plant, and besides, there's an extra life in
the nook.

 If you go up the elevatorwhen the plant below is passing under the
gold piece, it will lash out again and run into the bombs as its
reflexes aren't quite perfect. Take advantage of this to run over the
top plant and turn at the intersection. The plant below will in fact run
through you(odd, must be disabled) and if you motor around you'll make
it into the nook. Duck out to goad the plant and then take the elevator.

 This part was weird to figure out but I did so because straight out
running just missed. The second part is much easier.

 Activate the top plant. Get all the bombs. Run to the end of the plant
and place a bomb on its farthest square and then its second farthest.
Move away. Boom, boom. Run over the carnage and take a couple of lefts,
and you'll wind up at the transporter.

     8-5-5. BONUS LEVEL

 9. WORLD 5

   9-1. CALM BEFORE THE STORM

     9-1-1. SCENE 1

 There's not much to do here, but it's obvious right away that you
can't dig yourself below out of the structure where you start. Rotate
the camera and you'll notice a trailing path that wasn't shown at first.

 Dig two left, drop, dig left, drop and go up. Wind around to the top
of the structore. Ah, something to blast that will make your life
easier. Now blasts to the right to take out as many bricks as you can
will get you to the corners of this level. Run around counterclockwise
and at the top mirror the procedure you used before. It's an easy trip
to the transporter from there.

     9-1-2. SCENE 2

 Getting all four bombs in the square is a no brainer. Knowing what to
do with them is tougher. Note that if you use all four in one area, two
will appear close by at the corners of the side you're on, so it's more
like you actually have six at your disposal long-term.

 At the tower of five bricks on the left, drop a bomb to the right of
them and walk away. Dump one in the gap created and then dump one on the
bottom. After that drop the bomb where the first one was. After a tense
wait(why not collect the two bombs that have fallen to keep yourself
busy?) you can run across. Dropping stuff ASAP after a bomb explodes
works fine here.

 Now you don't have to repeat the bombing orgy if you are clever. Don't
worry if you mess up what I mention below, but it is nice not to have to
worry about heaving bombs everywhere.

 Top gold: dig a hole on the top square, wait two seconds and throw a
bomb on there. Step back--boom, two squares below taken out. When the
top square regenerates, turn left on it and then drop and turn right.

 Gold to the right: drop a bomb on the top square, back up for a huge
running leap and then drop to the right and run back up the ramp.

 Gold in front: Dig the top square and run down and away from the top
part.

 The bonus level has five count 'em five gold pieces, and it's pretty
risk-free, too, so you really should give it a shot. Here's how to get
that oddly suspended gem.

 Bomb at the bottom of the ramp, run up, and bomb the top. Drop a bomb
in the gap. Wait for the bottom block to reform and dump a bomb in
there. Then bomb the remaining(top) block and it will be the last one to
reappear, allowing you to drop on the gem. Again you can pretty much go
through the bombing without wait.

[9-1-5 FOR BONUS SCENE]

     9-1-3. SCENE 3

 If those first three levels made you lonely then I'm glad to say there
are mad monks in this one. And there's a new way to kill them too. Step
on the platform and it releases a big rock that rolls down. You'll need
to backtrack and step to the side, or you can dig a hole and watch the
rock drop.

 Starting is easy enough. Go to the platform and press A until the
machine in the background starts spinning. Then stand to the right of
the middle square in the row of bricks. Drill it when the rock gets
close. Two rocks will fall through it, onto a square they can't crash
through and into a brick on the right. Follow the second ball, which
creates a passage in the lower area. Get the bomb and gold, dig the
brick(from the left) and jump down.

 Now you'll need to follow a rock to get into the back and upper areas.
Every other one knocks out the block that separates you from the two
monks.

     9-1-4. SCENE 4

 And the first part is so nice and linear...but quite honestly this
level could be a LOT worse. What I recommend you do is to use as many
bombs as you can to take bad guys out. There's a finesse for this to
make the trip below relatively painless. Note that the bad guys follow a
path directly counter to yours, although just under-ish, to get to the
bottom, and only your bombs help them get by. Also note that you don't
want to bomb everything in a row too quickly or the bad guys could
really get too close to the bottom part too soon, moving two partitions
at a time instead of one.

 What you need to do is bomb the blocks in your way and run past. Then
you can jump down after going 3/4 around the square. Dig one of the last
three squares and drop down to get the gold piece, go back up(center of
the semicircle arc) and around again. That's the simple way of doing
stuff. It may result in several monsters going to the bottom at once,
which is already nasty given the levitator down there.

 You may have noticed, though, that you have no shortage of bombs. The
way to go about using them correctly is to bomb one of the blocks and
then you can pick up the bomb ahead, go back to where the block was, and
bomb again. That will kill some guys below without removing the block
that will get them that much closer to dropping down. It will kick the
bad guys who regenerate near the end of your linear journey back there.
This is very convenient. It's not critical, but it's risk-free, and it
helps keep the body count down below. The more guys chasing you, the
worse it is for you.

 Along the linear path you'll get the first triangular piece of the map
as well. But crunch time occurs in the bottom. First note how the
levitator moves--along the outer arc, back and forth. Monks also potter
around in the corner and often you have to goad them out. On every trip
down I strongly recommend wiping out all the bad guys that drop down as
well before climbing back up. Of course once you stick one in a hole you
can dig on each side of him to make sure he doesn't get out--just watch
the way the levitator's going and exit the other way.

 A quick debriefing of how to do this:

bricks in a row: 12345

 Enemy gets stuck in 3. Stand on 3 and dig 2. Stand on 5 and dig 4--or
the flipside is to dig 4, stand on 1 and dig 2.

 The nasty part here is that you need to see where you're dropping, but
on the other hand you need to zoom in for the bottom part. The best
angle to take so that the semicircle is off to the right of the screen
and curving toward you. Anywhere else and you may be obstructed as you
move around.

 Fortunately there are a lot of bricks around so you have a good
defense against the bad guys. Even if a monk is behind a levitator, run
at the levitator and dig a hole and run away. The worst thing to do is
run into a corner and dig because as you turn the corner the monk may
decide to change direction.

 The first time through you will also want to get all the gold you can.
The gold in the nooks is easy to get when the levitator isn't
around(just to be careful wipe out the monk before speculations) and
then the suspended gold by the elevator is also pretty easy to get. Just
get on the elevator and jump off. Trick the levitator into following you
away from the suspended gold piece you need to get before getting on the
platform.

 The platform is also a decent defense/attack tool. If there are
several monsters on the board, getting on this thing lines them up in
order. They'll likely gravitate towards the platform, and you don't need
much time on it to be invincible. Plus you know how to bomb bad guys so
the two in the very back don't come up again. Let multiple bad guys work
as one...just be sure to drop off the platform before it lands, and if
there are three or more enemies make sure there's a side free to drop
off, i.e. two people are coming from the same side, or be prepared to
drop back in with not the greatest of views to aid you. You can also dig
holes next to the platform, which tend to get monsters stuck as they
bang up against it looking for you--but make sure they are perpendicular
to avoid falling.

 A bit of this level depends on releasing bad guys so they pick up gold
pieces along their path to the bottom, so check the upper part for
progress on that. Once you get the hang of dealing with 2 or 3 enemies,
though, the level will not seem so bad.

     9-1-5. BONUS LEVEL

 This is tricky--where to drop the bombs so that they open up all the
holes?

 Collect the three bombs. Dig the right of the two joined bricks and
drop two bombs down--one four seconds after the other. Go to the top of
the ramp. Dig and fall. From that square, face left, drop a bomb(the
square to the left should be regenerated by now because you delayed the
second bomb,) and drop right. You've got a clear path down now to pick
up all the bombs. Push down to leave the structure.

   9-2.

     9-2-1. SCENE 1

 In my opinion this is the toughest of the scenes in the second phase.
It's not clear what holes go where or what the weird squares are for.
There are also some ways to dead-end yourself--with a monk bearing down
on you or not. There's a way to cycle among the areas but it's a bit
loopy to conceive at first.

 Ledger

M = monk starts here
T = transporter
3 = drop to area 3
2 = drop to area 2
1 = drop to area 1
~ = heat blaster

 Starting area drops to area 1

 Area 1 map:

  ^     ^
 / \   / \
/   \1/   \ (1 drops to transporter below)
3M         M3
\   /T\   /
 \ /   \ /
  2     2  <- $ here

 Area 2 map:

  $           $
   \         /
    \       /
3     X     X     3 <- $ here
\   / \   / \   /
 \ /   \ /   \ /
  $     v     $

 Area 3 map:

     ^           ^
    / \         / \
   /   \       /   \
  3     1     1     3 <- 3 goes to dead end
   \               /
/   \             /   \
$     2           2     $
\   /             \   /
 \ /               \ /
  ~                 ~


 I like to view this scene straight on, so that it's symmetrical
horizontally. This means some diagonal movement but otherwise you'd just
be rotating everywhere.

 I go DL/DR and dig the hole I drop on immediately. If I am quick
enough I don't have to scramble around getting a gold coin from one of
the two guys guarding area 1. Then I take one of the drops at the
bottom, to area 2. Whenever dropping from area 1 I try to sucker the bad
guys over to the side opposite I want to go; if I wind up on their side
I risk them pacing back and forth right under me when I get to area 3.

 But first area 2: the idea is to get to the top quickly, to the brick
with gold above it. But if possible you will want to nip in to the dead
ends with gold pieces if the bad guy is not around. Don't risk it,
though; if you are on one side of the board in area 3 he will eventually
take the gold himself, which is easier to deal with.

 On dropping to level 3 immediately go away from the dead end (up +
towards edge) and instead go up and in, digging the brick there. Don't
activate the heat square yet either. Now you can double back to get the
gold and have plenty of time to activate the heating square which should
make the bad guy in area 2 cough up a gold piece. Go to the top and dig
a hole up there down to level 1. If the bad guys are clumping around
there then maybe you can head back down, dig the drop to the dead end,
let the bad guy fall in, go back to level 2 and cross to the other side.

 The whole process may need to cycle more than a few times times, and
if you wind up with one gold piece left and it's not visible, it is
probably with the guy in area 2. Try to evade him quickly and use the
heat ray--cross over to the other side going back up to area 1. But
remember to look before you leap and also to understand where you're
leaping.

     9-2-2. SCENE 2

 I recommend waiting until you've solved the level to come back for the
gem and extra lives.

 Go left and drop down to get the bomb. Come around and place it at the
obvious blockade. Run left and down, waiting to dig the hole when the
monk is about to drop. Circle around for his gold piece and then drop
down. Wait until he tries to follow you until moving further--you don't
want him regenerating where you just bombed him from! Dig the next brick
once past it to get the gold coin. Then go in and bomb. On the square
among the blocks you need to face down and blast the brick there. Walk
down and get the bomb and take out the block up the ramp. Then get
another bomb and sit where the block you just removed was. Count three
seconds, drop the bomb in the center square, and run away. All the gold
will be easy to pick off, and you can now escape. I recommend saving the
bonus level for next time.

 For the gem, you need to collect the bomb, use it on the monk's
chamber, run around to the left to get another, and then get the monk to
follow you so he gets stuck on the crescent on the left. Use another
bomb to get into the monk's chamber and then face south, dig, and switch
directions and drop the bomb. Drop south and get the bomb to the right
and then drop left, dig left and run around. It's tough to get the
timing down, but when you do you can run north from the monk's chamber
with two bombs and blow up the bricks to get the gem.

[BONUS LEVEL ON 9-2-5.]

     9-2-3. SCENE 3

 This is an entertaining level with the pleasing detail that the gold
coin on the top ledge is in fact tougher to get. Note the dark green
arrows indicate you can fall down once you've got the gold coins, so no
need to dig through the whole structure as I'd originally feared.

 Your first encounter with a heat ray that can actually kill you here
is a tough one. What you want to do is step on the plate north of the
bricks, then go south and left off the edge. You'll avoid the pulse.
Push A to send the elevator to the top, and now note that the bomb in
the lower right has dropped to the bottom and been lit because the bomb
next to it exploded. This is great; the next bomb dropping will not be
live. All you have to do is to dig the four top blocks, then the
rightmost three and two below it. Pause until the bomb to the right
explodes and make the final right dig. Get the gold and dig the
southmost square and take the elevator back up.

 Now that you've got one precious bomb you shouldn't ever have to do
THAT again. First order of business is to go up the ramp, bomb the block
in your way, detour for the three gold coins and go back UR to get all
the bombs. Blast the lowest square to drop for another gold coin,
leaving only the two in the ledges in the structure.

 Note that if you botch things and the unlit bomb is on the bottom, go
over the heating square below it by dropping onto the elevator and
following the path. That'll bring things back to default.

 With five bombs getting the lower gold coin should be easy. Dig and
drop two bombs in the gap you created, at half second intervals. Run
left a bit, then drop right. Go left and down. Now bomb the block on the
ramp and get your bomb total back up to five.

 This next one's tricky; a straight dig and bomb means you fall into a
pit as you see the gold off to your side.

 Dig, bomb, bomb. Wait for three seconds and drop another bomb down the
chute. Dig when the top square comes back(you may have to reverse the
order here) and if the second-bottom square in the pit was destroyed,
drop a bomb on top of the remaining mess once the second-top is
rejuvenated. You may have to dig the top square again.

 The key is to time the third bomb so that it takes out the second-
bottom square. Then the next bomb after you dig won't create the pit
your very first bomb did.

 The best part of all this is that you now have one bomb left to make
it to the transporter up the ramp behind the block.

     9-2-4. SCENE 4

 Run right and step on the panel. This will 'synchronize' the two
levitators below. Your next task is to pick up the gold pieces to the
left and right of the elevator that stepping on the panel raised. It is
possible to get both in one trip, but the levitators tend to be able to
get to you after the elevator starts rising--being levitators, they can
cope with a surface a bit off the ground. So I recommend going it slow
because the next part is a bit of a coup anyway. Drop when they're
facing away from you and you should have easy picking.

 Once you get the second gold coin and take the elevator back up, step
on the panel to the left of it. The bad guys are now trapped between the
two elevators, and once the left one is at the top, run across it and
fall down. Get the three gold pieces and activate the far left elevator.
I'm not sure why the other two elevators are there except maybe as red
herrings. People too beaten down by the bootstrapping nature of other
puzzles may get caught out by this one!

 Go all the way up the ramp and then when all three monks are on the
left side of the platform right below you, drop onto the elevator and
take it. You'll get two gold coins, and the three monks will be joined
together. Drop north. Wait for the platform to come down, and in short
order all three monks will be to the right of it. Drop on the elevator
again, take it, and immediately go left. At the left edge blast left
four times in a row. The bad guy over there will see an opening and drop
through it. You'll have time, after the holes refill, to dig the far
left and jump down before the elevator stops blocking the three monks.
Digging two squares, then one, below is pretty straightforward.

 The ramp is pretty one-way, so it's not hard to see what to do next.
There's another wait for all the bad guys to go to the left. Here you
can even afford to have one with a foot on the elevator--just hold down
the A key until you're on! Take the elevator once again and drop north.
Then pigeonhole them to the right as before and drop left. Drop a bomb
on the rightmost square and dig it. Once the bomb explodes, drop through
and go left where the transporter is waiting.

     9-2-5. BONUS LEVEL

* not done *

 This is a cool one. You want to jump UL to start and once you're on
the plate note that two rocks will come at you. Duck to the right to
avoid the first one then duck to the left and then the right. Now you're
on the main concourse and can pick up two extra lives easily. From there
you'll want to dig the left of the two bricks, from the left.

 Getting out is not too tricky but you need to get one ball to follow
the others. The one coming from the long trips down is the one you'll
rely on to help blast your way through.

   9-3.

     9-3-1. SCENE 1

 This level is not so bad if you realize the right timing. Go to the
top and stand on the panel beneath the rock. Just after the platforms
flash, go down and clockwise and escape the next flash in the
transporter square. Now you can walk across to get all the gold pieces,
but the brick the block blasted will reappear shortly, so don't wait for
the rock to knock out the brick that had impeded you before you run
down.

 So step on the other panel and wait for the two flashes. You'll be
able to run back into the transporter with ease. Just remember there'll
be two flashes--one when the rock drops originally and the second when
it is just about to hit the brick.

     9-3-2. SCENE 2

 Oddly there's nothing to getting the gem but that doesn't make this
level easy. Three gold pieces are easy enough to pick up but to get
anywhere you need to use the lift at the bottom. Jump down when the bad
guy's to the left and push A. Run left at the first platform to the
left, then hold A as you go clockwise up the ramp, pausing to make sure
the panel depresses. That will cause a heat flash to the right, wiping
out the monks momentarily. That's all you need to make it to the right
side.

 Now there are three more gold pieces that are easy to pick up, but the
tough ones are the one the monk on the far right is holding and the one
over the heat ray. Let's get the heat ray one first. Activate the ray at
the top of the ramp, then left/down/right to activate the heat ray at
the bottom. Boom, explosions. The bomb will remain on the bottom, unlit,
as it has fallen through a couple of times. So once both blocks are
intact again activate the bottom heat ray and then go up to the top ray.
This will destroy the lower of the two blocks stacked, then the higher.
But it takes a while to walk around--which means you have plenty of time
to go right and collect that gold piece and bomb.

 Sadly it's also possible to get the bomb stuck between the two bricks,
and you'll hve to restart if that happens. Or enter the bonus level and
come back.

 Put the bomb on the heat ray. Activate the heat ray and step away. The
gold will fall.

 Get the bomb back; you'll need both of them to carve a path to the
transporter. What you need to do after getting the upper right bomb is
activate the top ray, then the bottom ray. If you go quickly enough you
can drop down after the bomb that fell/regenerated explodes, go south
all the way and quickly blast north before dropping--this eliminates the
guesswork which always seems to fuddle me of if you're hitting the brick
square when you zap or not.

 Oh yeah, the mad monk will also have given away his gold piece here.

 Armed with two bombs you can now go back to the transporter. Dig the
brick to the left of the up-ramp that had the bomb and drop for another
gold piece. Use the elevator and leave again at the first left. Climb
all the way up. Be sure you have thirteen gold pieces before this trick;
drop a bomb, wait a second, drop a bomb and retreat. Drop into the hole;
had you dug you would have a gap before the bomb. Get the bomb and drop
it on the brick and run left. Wait, then drop right to the transporter.

     9-3-3. SCENE 3

 Patience and watchfulness are important here. Seven of the gold pieces
are hidden, and it should be pretty easy to remember where they are.
Also remember the turn off when you leave the elevator may be necessary
and is rather tough, so be sharp.

 I feel getting the map piece is the toughest part of the level so you
may want to run through the first time without bothering.

XXX     XXX
X   X   X   X
X   X   X   X
1X2X3X4X3X2X1

 I've labeled the gold pieces different numbers to indicate different
methods of getting them.

1: you can either dig to trap the bad guy there and dig again to get him
to give up the gold, or when the elevator on that side is down, jump
down into the hole you dug and then off to the side.

2: you'll want to dig this hole from the center and then run off to the
opposite elevator-drop. The bad guy that ran through the hole from the
north and dropped below will come at you; dig twice in the alternating
brick/hard ground to trap him back where he started before releasing
anyone else. Keep track of which of these you've dug or you'll have an
extra cycle to deal with a bad guy and no gold reward. Try not to dig
these holes twice, and try not to let two guys down in the bottom at one
time, either. This level can wear you down into a silly mistake.

3: the nastiest. You'll have either dig the square closer to the center
and dig this, then fall down, or you'll need to dig here when the mad
monk on the top is hot on your trail, then trap him with some more
holes. You'll get trapped if you try to jump in to get the piece. You
also will get poor results if you dig from one of the arcs.

4: same as 2, pretty much, except you want to leave this guy alone a
bit. Why? Because when he's un-trapped, he guards the map piece. You'll
want to drop to the bottom, sucker him over, and then take the elevator
up. Instead of pottering back and forth under the map piece, he'll pace
somewhere else, and the next time on top you can dig square 4 and drop
south. The best way to lure the guy is to wait on the elevator and
eventually he'll come around.

 If you need to dig holes to trap the monk, dig every other one
starting one in from the ends.

 The levitator isn't much of a factor here. He basically even wanders
around below some times if you stay down there too long. Once he blasts
off the end it's a great time to go up and pick off the gold pieces in
3. However the mad monk above can be nasty. He may duck out of the way
if you blast a hole right in front of him, so you may need to wait until
he's right next to you. Also be careful about blasting a hole when on
the far left/right and goading monks below over to the elevator
especially when getting the map piece under 4.

     9-3-4. SCENE 4

 Only two pieces are actually tough to get here. They're the ones you
can't reach by walking. Go north and east to get on the panel, then back
to the three blocks where you started. Blast the right block and then
the center, then loop around to get the left block that you fell off.
The rock will roll by. Drop down and dig the two left squares, drop and
dig left. Follow the rock as a lead blocker after it squashes the bad
goy and get to the bottom. You'll find an elevator to the right and once
at the top fall off left and dig the brick that's suspended. Get the
rest of the gold pieces. That's it!

     9-3-5. BONUS LEVEL

 The main problem with this bonus level is the terrible lighting.
Fortunately there are no other distractions. Go to the bottom of the
ramp. Step on the heat ray and get the bomb which falls through after
the first one explodes. Go up to the top of the ramp, set a bomb on the
brick, and DON'T blast it. Drop, go right for the extra life and dig
left, then activate the heat ray. If you did everything right the bomb
should drop onto the top of the ramp. Combined with the other bomb you
have the ammo to get to the two in the bisecting corridor. Face the
brick to the side of the ramp, drop two bombs and dig. Once you hear the
explosions, drop north and go south. You'll fall back to the start as
the arrow that allows you to jump is a nasty dark green.

   9-4.

     9-4-1. SCENE 1

 This is a very annoying level--the sort where you see what you need to
do quickly enough that the forced delays will distract you from doing it
for several times unless you're very focused. The first part is really
rather clever. Step on the panel to the left and move left. The first
rock will drop. Then when the rock-holder is about upright, run back,
depress the panel briefly, and run to the right. The next rock should
fall. Blast the brick from the right and then step on the right panel.
Step off. Follow the two rocks down. It takes a bit of timing but if you
get stuck on the right just wait for the bricks to reform and drop one
rock on the structure to restart.

 Be sure to move right quickly. Stay just left of the heat panel and
after it activates run right by it and go to just before the second
brick and blast it. Here's the tedious part. After two pulses of heat
the brick will regenerate. Blast it, wait for two more pulses of heat,
and run forward, blastink the next brick. You could wait a second or so
and dig, but that is a bit subjective. You'll get to the top with the
forward and dig/wait and dig. Be prepared to rotate while you wait.

 Once you're at the top of the ramp and have dug the final square, wait
for the bomb to drop and then for the second shaft of heat to go up.
Then drop onto the heat square.

     9-4-2. SCENE 2

**redo slightly

 A slightly easier more straightforward level here. The main thing to
note is that although you can do nothing right away there is a heat ray
in the center. From it you an go straight down to the transporter and
just make it before the heat swaths come by. Then you can enter where
the blocks were in the way before, although you may want to duck in and
get a few gold pieces and a bomb after you dig a hole for the bad guy.
Now you may have a problem with the big blocking brick at the top of the
structure, but just dig the brick furthest away, run up and drop a bomb
there, and quickly walk away and dig the brick closest to it. You can
make a run for the area with the gold and gems(the bonus level is pretty
unintimidating) whether or not a monk is on the other side of the
exploding brick waiting to fall in a hole for you to climb over.

 You'll have to do this for the other side too and you may have to
watch for bad guys escaping. If they do a heat swath will take care of
them, and the bad guy on one side(the one you first raided) won't return
if you made the detour to get the bomb.

     9-4-3. SCENE 3

 An entertaining chase here, although you have to play exactly due to a
nasty trap at the end you may not realize until it is too late.

 The trick is to keep ahead of the rock as it rolls down, blasting the
way through for it. Then you get the gold that's suspended--carefully--
get another rock and follow it to the promised land.

 Step on the panel to the left. Hook UR, DR and D then drop right and
dig left as you pick up the gold coins. Stand on the rightmost square on
the platform until the rock below bounces back left. Run after it and
turn down before the curve. Blast the brick at the end and continue to
run ahead of the rock, dropping onto the lowered elevator. When the rock
is four squares behind you take the elevator and then go to the next
one. Take that. Go right when you see the gold. Get it all and start
digging right when the elevator comes back down. Pause a bit, dig the
three below, pause some more, and when the elevator is one length off
the ground dig the two below and then the bottom one. Run ahead of the
rock to the next elevator. Get on it, then drop left. Three seconds
after the far right elevator is on the ground and the rock is rolling
again, push A to start your elevator. Dig right at the top. This timing
will allow the rock in the top right, activated by the rock you dropped
to the teleport area, to run left and fall and eventually take out the
brick under the bomb(don't sit back and feel smart yet--be sure to move
north out of the way.) Too soon and the very top brick reappears for the
rock to blast, rendering all your work useless, as you may note that if
you get several rocks running around in the bottom circle by the
transporter it can make things tough. So be sure to get the timing
right.

 Now what to do about the bombing? First, bomb under either bomb, step
away, and bomb a nearby square withe the replacement bomb. Get its
replacement. You'll want to do this repeatedly. It's like a perpetual
two bombs for the price of one which is handy since bombs are so scarce
to get to start. Just remember to place the first bomb correctly and
then pick off the next.

LLLBLRBRRR
XXXXXXXXXX

 Above is a map of the suspended gold and if you should pick it up with
the left or right bomb.  Obviously the gold on the edges affords the
least time for error but in fact the worst screw up you'll make is
bombing the wrong square. Remember: fourth in from either side works.
And if you totally forget where you were you can see where one of the
two bombs is; pick that one up and proceed from there. No need to do one
side all at once.

 After that bit of fun you'll need to use the next rock as a lead
blocker. Proceed as before to bring the rock down except now when you go
up the far right elevator just wait to drop back down. And when the bad
guy regenerates around you(he appears in the middle and the rock grinds
up his regenerated body a few times first,) step on him until the rock
has fallen to the transporter area. Time your jump carefully--there
should be good space between the two rocks of a few squares--and don't
bump into the rock ahead of you on the way to the fourth scene!

     9-4-4. SCENE 4

 This last level is pretty slick, too. You need to get a rock to roll
down and knock out the block to the right of where you start. Note if
you activate the heat ray you won't make it back to the transporter.

 Go to the top of the structure below the rock. Dig right to take out
the left four holes. Wait two and a half seconds. Dig left. Dig right
twice. Walk over the panel and make sure it depresses before dropping
and climbing back up the ramp. From there dig the center-left and center
bricks. Now jump right ahead of the rock. Get on the heat ray and hold
A. When the rock busts the brick, go left/down and blast the brick that
had connected the left side with the right. You can now drop through
when the bad guy isn't patrolling. Place the bomb on the two bricks and
then give the monk the run around to get an extra guy. Drop on the right
and then go left. You'll wind up near an elevator after the gold pieces.
You'll also get a piece of the map. Where does it lead?

     9-4-5. BONUS LEVEL

 The bonus level is thankfully not up to much either. The first extra
life, in the circle/ramp area, just requires that you dig the top, fall
right quickly, and dig below. Even if a bad guy gets trapped down and to
the right you can still go back, blast the top square, and run right and
quickly blast the square at the intersection.

 The other two lives are long and tedious to get but hardly impossible.
To get the bomb, just dig by one of the bricks around the big brick
blocking and fall in. Then dig the brick below where the bomb was to get
out--time your exit so bad guys are well away.

 Now go back up to the brick blocking your way, digging holes behind
you as you do. Drop a bomb and then retrace steps and dig the brick you
ran across before the bomb goes off. You'll be unable to run over the
brick immediately but it will reform before the blocker will. Then all
you have to do is run across and get either extra life. Fortunately the
bad guys are dumb and even if one regenerates near you he may run away--
and you can drop down the square you dug anyway in an emergency and try
again.

 Once you do this twice, you'll need to get out. Well, if you're a
perfectionist--practically, so what if you lose a life on the bonus
level, as that loss doesn't officially count. Get the bomb and drop it
on the two-brick pile. Run away and dig the brick at the intersection.
Move back forward to avoid being devoured by the regenerating brick, and
wait for either a bad guy to drop in the hole in front or for it to
regenerate just before the stack you bombed. Run through and out of the
level.

   9-5. WHAT THE...

     9-5-1. SCENE 1

 If you haven't said 'what the...' before this you will now. There's
this insane GUY running around with the occasional burst of speed, and
he even manages to pick up four gold pieces on the way down as he falls
with you. This guy means business. If I'd gotten a new copy of the game
I could tell for sure if he was the emperor.

 But first there's a sort of Old West faceoff. Note that you get four
gold coins below you and the emperor gets all four below him too. You'll
need to coax them out of him, and there are two ways of doing the level
based on this. The first is to clear everything except the circle to
your right first, and I like it better, because that part is tricky and
if you trap the emperor in one of the holes created by blasting the
wood, you'll have to go back around. The left area is much easier.

 In the middle circle you'll need to fake the emperor out to get to the
gridland to the left, which isn't too bad. He'll go one way and you can
go the other. Occasionally he'll pause to cackle and send an electric
burst, but you should make it in time.

 Your mission here is simply to grab all the gold pieces you can find.
I'd actually recommend digging the left of the two wood blocks before
dropping down. The reason here is that the emperor, once he falls in a
hole, can't get out. He also drops a gold piece each time he falls in a
hole. So you'll need him to fall into four, and you might as well get
started early.

 Don't worry about the emperor following you into the bottom part. It's
rather easy to outrun him and in fact if he does make an electric blast
you can run away--the blast destroys the diggable wood blocks but does
not pass through them, which is a problem for him as he often falls in.
You just have to run along the outside of the square.

 Now there's a minor possibility that the emperor, after regenerating,
will fall left of the two adjacent wooden blocks and stay there, so
you'll want to run up from the UL corner of the square and to the top of
the ramp. The emperor should fall in soon.

 A good way to trap the emperor if he's in the left area and you're in
the center is to dig the left of the two connected wood blocks. He'll
frequently run into where it'll cover up. Dig it again to get gold and
drop left--that should be another coin. This is also useful for the last
part, where you'll need to bring the emperor back to the top. If he's
stuck in the left land this is a nice thing to try to avoid having to go
back down there and playing cat-and-mouse.

 Assuming you're both back in the right area, the trick will be to get
the emperor to make an energy blast when close to the circle on the
right. Note that if you almost let him catch up and then run away, he
will pause to make a blast, and you can run. Stand two squares away from
the intersection where the middle circle meets the right and be sure
that the emperor's on the other side of the intersection. Then run away
when he pauses. You may have to loop back around the circle, but you
have more than enough time. Climb the right circle's ramp and dig the
top square. It should be safe to fall, as the emperor goes to the very
right. Then you can pretty much blast, drop, break left to the edge and
down, and enter the transporter.

     9-5-2. SCENE 2

 Good lord this is an obnoxious way to start a level. Drop the bomb
that's dropped on you and keep the second one. Wait to drop through, and
what you need to do is keep bouncing back and forth between where both
mad monks regenerate. Don't step squarely where they regenerate, but
when they're pushed down head to the other side. Eventually bombs will
rip up the barries to your entrance. You can only pick off the gold
coins on one side of the starting structure each time through, and
you'll also need to shuttle around until they do drop on one side. But
you will have three chances to do so.

 Now a bit about gems and how they help you solve this level.

 There's also a danger you can get practically stuck in the game. Say
you get the two gems without ever getting the gold at the beginning.
Then if you try to re-start after enterting a bonus level, you have one
chance to get gold on both sides.

 The way around this is to kill bad guys at the exact right time so
that they drop down to get the gold pieces, but given how far they are
away it's rather speculative to test the view. The point: get two gold
pieces in each of your first two times through this. It may take a few
extra seconds, but it will be worth it.

 Remember, once you've gotten one gem(don't get both before entering a
transporter or you'll only get to visit one level) and returned to the
start, you'll need to attack the other side from where you started.
You'll also have a bit of a break from the hectic action and a sort of
save point for your progress.

 You also must get both gems to get through this level since on each
side you have gold pieces on ramps only accessible from dropping via the
square with the gem on it.

 Enough just about gems; on to gold. There are eighteen gold pieces
total. Keep this in mind and pause if you can't see the transporter--you
will want to make sure you can view yourself, from 45 degrees above and
with symmetry on each side. Part of the field will be blocked, and that
is why I recommend, after ten gold, entering the first bonus transporter
and entering the second after at least fourteen.

 The level is basically symmetric and with the long ramps you really
have to make sure no one's at the other side. But when you start out and
just dropped from the original structure you'll want to take either
semicircular ramp up and fall down for the extra life when the coast is
clear. This detour often buys you more time as if the Emperor comes by
and decides electrify the brick to the south that is guarding the four
bombs, he won't get you as well. If he is away, you'll want to bomb that
brick to get access to the bombs, which are really the only way to kill
the emperor. You'll need to if there don't seem to be any gold pieces
although when you get a break you may want to tilt to a full overhead
view. The very best way to sucker him may be to go south to the
transporter, dropping on it from the ramp, and leaving a bomb there. You
can also time how fast he's coming up the long ramp to the outside.

 The gems are useful squares for shaking off bad guys since they are
virtually at four-way intersections. Just make sure if you want to
traverse the long ramps leading up to them that no-one's there.

 If you see the emperor behind the mad monks in relation to you, let
them catch up, because the emperor could wipe them out with a heat blast
and make it a one on one situation until the bombs had their effect and
the monks took the long walk down the pike.

 Oh yes. Note there's a triangle in the middle between the two next-
outside ramps. And gold can get hidden in the ramps inside those too
with the view I recommend.

 Given the large number of four way intersections in this level it is
very hard to get trapped. Just remember to loot the bombs and leave one
in your inventory and the rest as presents for chasing baddies. Having
even one less pursuer can make scrambling around this level MUCH easier.

     9-5-3. SCENE 3

 This is the most difficult of the last levels. I don't want to get
your hopes down by discussing the anguish I went through but I needed
two sessions to get through it. The second one being much shorter after
some planning.

 There are fourteen gold pieces here, and although the level is
symmetrical, you need to grab the gold pieces and leave quickly, and in
addition there are many spots where you want the Emperor to avoid
blasting. He seems to blast a lot more when you stay still, so you will
want to run around a good deal. I'll include some of these general
strategies for running around and keeping safe, but first I'll relate
the reason you run around and try to find some spare time and what to do
with said spare time.

 The first order of business is to get a bomb. I'll concentrate on the
left side for all examples here with the understanding the right side
mirrors it perfectly. So tilt the look-down angle to 45 degrees and back
up the view so you can see 3/4 of the board. Ideally you'll want it so
that, if you are at the bottom, you can see if the Emperor is on the
walkway connecting the two bombs or south of there. When between the two
bombs or even where he regenerates(the crossroad near the top, south of
the transporter outta here,) you'll want to know if anyone is going
around the bottom. Because you can't see all this in one screen, some
intuition is required. Account for the bad guys at the startas follows:

--1 to left of the 3 suspended gold, should be blocked until you want
that piece
--1 to north of the 3 suspended gold, should be blocked until you want
that piece, but this is the least difficult suspended gold to get
--1 to right of the 3 suspended gold, should be blocked until you want
that piece
--emperor, regenerates near the top, and you can dig where he
regenerates to trap him again and perhaps dig the monk out momentarily

 The coast should be clear for you to get a bomb, and you can make it
that way by waiting for the emperor to make his move and then going to
the other side. Assume you're on the left. Once the ramp straightens out
and there's a brick to the outside, hold down A. This drops a rock on
one of the lifts. Keep going north and hold down A as you go
counterclockwise. This will raise the lift with the rock. The rock rolls
in a nice circle the marble from Marble Madness would be envious of
before taking out the brick at the bottom.

 Now that left walkway is nasty. A heat swath sets the bomb off, it
explodes, and then you have a short window of time to get the bomb. What
I recommend doing is running around until you can walk right in **just
after** the bomb has blasted the brick. Get the bomb and gold piece and
retreat. This requires great timing i.e. no bad guys around to spoil
your concentration, especially since you need to stay out of the bomb's
way and make a quick run. Fortunately the bomb keeps reappearing until
you take it.

 Once you have the bomb I recommend going to the other side, depressing
the bottom of the panels, and then going to the Emperor's crossroads,
north, and dig south. Place the bomb between the two bricks and then
drop to the right. You have made it quickly to the treacherous loop at
the top where you can activate the rock. Do so. The Emperor will
probably be trapped too long to react. Then use the other bomb to jump
off to the left. Although bombs can be handy in blowing up bad guys,
they are too tough to get, so I will relate other ways to can bad guys.
The best way to do so is to let them chase you a bit and make sure the
emperor isn't coming from the other side(i.e. run around the top until
the emperor's near, he blasts the ground with his rod, and his pals are
affected since they can't run as fast as you.)

 The mad monk trapped in the center is easy enough to release if you
haven't already. He doesn't hang around dangerously like the other ones
do, and once you've dug him out(temporarily, mwahaha) you can drop into
the hole you made and go and fall south. Go off to the side here; this
is a great niche for avoiding monks. Once the coast is clear you can
circle back.

 For the monks on the left and right it's best to keep them trapped
once you've dug to get the piece they're guarding. The one on the left
can be had by digging the brick on the ground left of him, waiting a
couple of seconds, U/R/D and digging the hole blocking him. Now usually
he would pace back and forth and you'd need exact timing. You don't need
to worry about that here--or the guy wandering around afterwards. He
will get swallowed up by the hole he fell in if you were able to wait
long enough. If the wait was short enough he'll get entombed as he tries
to gain freedom from where he regenerated.

 It's best to take care of them last as you want as few opponents as
possible for the last bit.

--now for some general hints:

 If you stay at the top of the bottom circle a while the Emperor may
tap his rod so that monks are released. This is bad news.

 You often need to blast a square on the edge right as the monks drop
in or they'll turn away.

 The best place to get the Emperor to go is in the bottom curve. Then
you can circle back around and perhaps even dig a hole as you leave and
hope he falls in. Then dig a hole at the crossroads, losing him more
time.

 I've no clue how to get the extra lives the game claims are here.
Maybe next revision. After losing seventy or so(not counting restarts) I
was just grateful when I managed to get through this one in one shot
when I tried the next day. Playing at 9 PM vs. playing at 4 AM does make
a difference. As does sleeping on the bus to/from work. And liberal
introspection and planning at work, blocking out all visual
distractionzzzz...heh. Not really. But again the important thing is to
do a lot when the emperor is regenerating. And don't try to get the
gold/bombs on the side too soon.

     9-5-4. SCENE 4

 Help! The exit transporter indicates you need twenty gold pieces, and
only one seems to be visible! What's the deal?

 Roaming around the level you'll find that the others are encased in
bricks. Since you have to dig all these bricks(bar one) to get out of
the place, I won't recount where you find them all. Let's just say you
can't miss them, and they're inside pretty much every important brick
including the three at the end.

 That visible gold piece looks pretty high up but in fact it is a hint
of what the elevator near where you start can do.

 The first part of this level is a timed obstacle course. You may want
to break it into parts to see, okay, I can do this for sure. The last
part is the cruelest so be warned. Fortunately with no mad monks and the
emperor inactive on his throne(that's the blue area) you really have
little to worry about in terms of getting killed. Unless you walk
towards him--it is actually possible to touch him as he only blasts the
ground at certain intervals when you get close.

 Drop down and go off to the right. Take the elevator up, wait for it
to go down, and then dig the brick to the bottom right from the left.
You'll fall down; go up and push A on the elevator. You'll need to step
over it to get a bomb much later. Fortunately it takes forever to get to
the top. The bad part about this is if you goof up it may take a while
to reset the game so this elevator's all the way down.

 Holding A, run left and up and down, right, down right. You should
have fallen where the brick was. Keep running right to the next elevator
and take that. Run up and now the tricky parts begin. You'll need to
make some sharp double-right turns and in fact if you goof up there are
worse things to do than practice.

 Up, left, up, left onto the ramp, and up. Now go left and blast left
at the end, drop left and go down. Turn sharply down, face right and
blast. Up, right, down a square, and right. You'll go up the ramp and
when just above the brick you can drop down and sneak left. This will
cause the emperor to send forth a lightning blast. This blast will open
a bunch of bricks up. Now you blasted the one brick so you can take the
path down. There are zigzags right and down after this. You have to be
careful here, because if you don't switch quickly, you'll fall to the
bottom and have to start all over again.

 Eventually you'll get to the end of this and can go down onto the
elevator. Quickly turn right(again, don't hold down or you'll fall that
way) to get the bomb to the right of the blasted brick. Drop down. Run
around to the elevator and take it up. Go fix something to eat while you
wait for the whole thing--there's a gold piece at the very top here.

 The next part involves picking up three bombs. Once you know where to
dig, it is not too bad. Take the two-story elevator, drop right, wait
for it to drop, go down and blast right, then take the elevator up and
R/D/drop R. Run right to the elevator and take it up.

 For this part you'll pick up gold coins along the way, which I won't
specify. You'll want to go to the square right of the brick the emperor
blasts. You don't even need to risk going on the brick. Then run right,
circle U/R/D and blast the brick at the end there. Now quickly come back
U/L/D and blast the brick at the bottom. Turn left and blast left twice.
This will make you fall off. Circle around counterclockwise and you
should have time to fall down and go left. Go to the edge and blast
right. You'll drop left but can go clockwise on the ramp below and blast
left--just be careful not to go too far clockwise or you'll fall. Then
drop and blast left and take another semicircular run to where you'll
find a brick in your way.

 That bomb you worked so hard for now reaps dividends. Place it near
the brick and move away. Move in to get the bombs under there, placing
one of them bu the far right brick. Step back, then get the gold piece
in the far right(the only piece in the brick not blocking your way) and
make sure you have three bombs before droppping down from the square
where you laid the very first bomb.

 Now you can get a fourth bomb by retaking the one you originally got,
but quite frankly it's useless for what you need to do next. You'll need
to take the far right elevator back up and now go along the top ramp and
then up and left. Blast left, drop left, go down and blast the brick to
the right. Go clockwise back to where you just fell off and drop right,
then down. You're now very close to the transporter. There should still
be three gold pieces you need to get(i.e. you have 17)--fortunately each
one lies inside the bricks you need to get past(just checking. We've got
the time.)

 But less fortunatelythe path to the transporter is blocked by brick-
brick-space-brick from left to right. The final bit of trickery and
timing below: bomb the right brick. Step on its square and face the
center brick. Wait for the little dot in the center to indicate the
brick is about to reappear. Then drop the bomb left and run down/left.
The bomb should now take out TWO bricks. The final one, I think you can
guess where it goes. Next to the final brick. Hook around
counterclockwise into the portal.

 By the way...wouldn't it be low if they had a green drop arrow to the
left of the left brick?

     9-5-5. BONUS LEVEL (RIGHT HAND SIDE)

 Three gems. Here's how to get two: if the transporter's on the bottom
of the screen then start at 11:00 on your ramp and keep digging from
counterclockwise. Then run in and grab the extra life behind there and
run back down. The next time will be even easier; just grab the extra
life you didn't this time around.

     9-5-6. BONUS LEVEL (LEFT HAND SIDE)

 Lots of extra lives in the air, behind lifts, here. The trick is to
distract monks to the other side and then run to a completely different
lift and jump off.

 10. SECRET HUB 1

 After you enter the code and activate the option in the control menu,
you'll note hub 1.

 1 2 3 4 5
 | | | | |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|           |
+-----------+
|           |
+--to hub 2-+

   10-1. LEVEL 1

 A couple of helical worlds.

     10-1-1. SCENE 1

 This is a really rough introduction, and it takes a lot of readjusting
the camera to get through safely. You may need a bit of practice to
adjust the camera so it can see the area you can run to after you take a
transporter up. BTW here when I say 'left' I assume the leftmost as the
camera is facing the screen so that you can be viewed moving reasonably.

 The first thing to take care of is the bad guy above. You can either
run right to the transporter quickly and push A, or you can run left,
wait for him to fall, and dig and run back over. But at any rate it's
easier to get up the next transporter. Thee gold pieces are here; take
them. Dig the leftmost square, fall through and continue to get a bomb
and get on a pink platform. Get the bomb and dig. If the bad guy is
there wait for him to walk in, get killed, and regenerate. Then dig
again and get the gold to the left. Place the bomb on the brick below
and dig that. The bomb will fall through. When it explodes, drop down
into the hole you made and get your gold(important as a bad guy is below
to the left, and he may trap you.) Dig right to get the bad guy. Then
dig behind you once past him, go to the edge of the bricks, and if a bad
guy's below dig that one(otherwise just fall and dig--he's stuck on the
other side of the transporter and will come at you once he 'sees' you,)
come back and dig several holes so the immediate bad guy is trapped. The
brick will close on the bad guy below leaving you a path in.

 Here you should probably wait for a regenerating bad guy to fall and
approach you. Dig and get past him and go up. Get another bomb as
before. Now ascend to the top. Go right and place the bomb once the bad
guy's on the other side of the block. Go left for a gold piece. Then
fall right and dig a hole ASAP. Go until you hit a block, turn around
and dig. This is an important square because it's where the guy
regenerates.

 Now dig repeatedly behind you and be prepared to fall into the ex-blue
square next to the solid brick. The guy below is smart and can see you
falling from above, so be sure he's well out of the way when you fall,
probably to the right but you can't be picky with a bad guy around(you
can lead him on a chase by running against one block, digging, running
against the other, but eventually you'll need to dig and drop down.) The
bad guy below will probably have a gold piece so you'll have extra
incentive to dig in his direction before you run away.

 Now for the last part--falling down--which is not as trivial as it
would seem. 'Look before you leap.' If a bad guy is too close to where
you're about to dive, dig somewhere else. There are enough places.

 At the bottom, the transporter to the next level is up from the helix
and then to the right. The bend is tricky after all the curvy movement.

     10-1-2. SCENE 2

 Again you'll need to get used to rotating the camera continually, but
here you have great big pauses of time where you're not threatened. Many
of the gold pieces are in out-of-the-way locations, but given that
there's only one bad guy to worry about you'll find your stumbles won't
put you back as far.

 To the left of the helix, there are four gold pieces you have to drop
down on. We'll pick them off from left to right and assume you've taken
the helix up top, run left and blasted a hole, and let the bad guy run
into the hole before going across. I'll also assume that the bricks are
numbered 1-9 from left to right.

1st coin: dig 2.
2nd coin: dig 4.
3rd coin: go over to 2, dig 3. Then dig 4-7 behind you and dig below 6.
4th coin: the toughest maneuver. Go to 2, dig 3. Then dig 8/7/6 and then
4 and fall in--it's a quick maneuver. A 2-1 dig from there works. You
can also dig 8,9 from the helix and work down(tricky timing) or even get
the bomb(see later) and drop it on 8 and dig 8.

 For the 5th coin dig the three squares just right of the helix, from
the right. Dig the two below and drop in. Take the helix back up. Now to
get the bomb.

 Dig the rightmost square on your platform. Drop onto the helix, face
left and activate. Push Z to blast the brick below. There's some luck
with timing and you can try to drop on the brick, go right and face left
and dig again quickly. It's tricky but low risk. Once that brick's gone,
drop left and 3-<2->2-<1 dig to get to the bomb. Then you can either
circle back around and once on the helix's base dig 3->2->1 OR you can
make getting the extra life a lot easier overall. Drop the bomb over the
helix. Go one left and dig left. Drop in, dig right/fall etc. and you'll
walk onto the extra life before falling.

 But whatever road you take, when below the helix, you'll fall right
and get two bombs.

 Getting past the walls here isn't as bad as it looks, but you have to
be sharp; place one bomb against the wall and retreat left. Once you get
the bomb back, run right, wait a half second, and place it against the
next wall. Run back left and then place the third regenerated bomb
against the wall. You'll have time to retreat for the bomb and run
through.

 The transporter on the other side will kick you back under the extra
life under the helix. Run right to the transporter and now dig right
twice, drop, dig left and fall left for one gold coin. Then go all the
way left(and before you beam into the floor above) after the next time
you take the helix. Place a bomb and retreat. Go left, place another
bomb, and retreat. The winged gold will fall, and you can drop left for
the other. There's one more to get but you'll need to get the two bombs
back first.

 One solution--which only uses one bomb--is to place the bomb on the
helix, wait a second, and run right and activate the helix and run left.
With this it may blow open a path to the brick over the gold but if not
just get on the helix, run right, and place a bomb wherever the bottom
of the hole you carved out was. Then go left and after the explosion
drop in right. You should be able to dig or fall onto the gold even if
your first bomb blew up at the top.

 Now after picking up the two bombs as before you'll want to go to the
left this time and place them to blow away the two bricks there. Then
get on the elevator and move right. You'll have to drop onto another
elevator but the scene transport is down from the next area.

   10-2. LEVEL 2

 These two levels pretzel around each other, but you can almost be sure
of solving them by trial and error. There are few ways to get trapped
and eventually you'll step on the right panel.

     10-2-1. SCENE 1

 The main thing here is just to be expedient. If you wait around too
long the metal areas will get too heated and you won't be able to bounce
back and forth between the two panels and keep the squares you need to
jump on cool.

 Go right, get the coin and then 3->2->1 dig to get out before the
panels below heat up. Fall right. The platform below is shaped like 2
L's--walk along to the edge and open up the heating jet on the other
end. Drop onto the transporter but don't take it yet. Rather get the
gold, come back, and once the squares above are all cooled, set off the
panel before you take the transporter up. Run left and dig right and
drop in for two more gold--you'll get the bomb later. Fall down on the
right square--it may be a close thing here. Zigzag to the other panel,
set it off, and drop down. Now there's another transporter on this level
but your view of it has probably been obstructed. It's a one way zig zag
to it. Set off the panel as you run towards it and you should be able to
go to the top of the grav-field and get two gold on that platform--you
will also want to sneak in below their platform to get another gold
piece and then go back into the grav-field's flow. Dig to the side at
the edge and fall down. Set off the panel next to where you fall.

 For the last part fall back onto the transporter next to the panel--
set off that panel and go up. Then get the bomb and drop left. Here dig
the top three squares and then place a bomb on the left side and dig
there. After the explosion you can drop in, and be sure to go away from
the teleporter to get the final gold piece if you didn't when you took
the obscured transporter.

 10-2-2. SCENE 2

 Very tangled level with few opportunities to mess up outright until
the end. Your tasks are:

1. get oriented.
2. find a panel to step on so the fire stops.
3. get the bomb and use it to blast your way to the suspended gold
4. step on the right platform, go back to the start, and enter the
teleporter that was otherwise hidden from view.

 Rotate the camera so you can see yourself on the left of a platform.
Right, up the transporter, left, down, left, up and fall. You can't see
yourself now, but go left and up. Take the transporter to the left, go
right, and go and fall down. Fall right off the block below--don't blast
it as the recoil will land you on a hot square. Right, up, left, down,
right. You can tell when you stop moving because the screen does the
same. You should be on a panel now so push A.

 I'd turn the camera 180 degrees here. Right, down, left across two
panels. Go up to get one gold piece and set the panel off as you go
down. Right, up, and take the transporter. Push up immediately and then
go right, down, and left to get a bomb. Retreat and next time take the
transporter to the top. Place the bomb at the end of the platform and
drop right from where it exploded--this bags you the suspended gold. Dig
the block to get an extra life. You'll drop back to where you started.
Reset the camera so you can actually see yourself and then take the
transporter right and up.

 Left, down, left, up. Wait for a bomb to blow apart the blocks and run
right and up to the 90 degree turn. Then wait for the next bomb to
explode and run left and turn up to leave.

   10-3. LEVEL 3

 Two pretty snappy and very symmetrical scenes here.

     10-3-1. SCENE 1

 Go immediately up and dig the ice. Then retreat and blast the frost.
Head to the left. Blast the ice so the monk goes right and traps
himself. Wait for the ice to reform, go down, left and up and fall
right. Dig left and go up the ramp. Blast the ice, drop and quickly go
left. Then dig behind you and climb over the monk once he falls in. Go
back up, right and down.

 Now you can save a little time by blasting right from the crossroads
and blasting the crossroad square. Then blast the frost once the monk on
the left is as far up as he'll go. Get the gold coin and get out. Go
right and up and wait for the monk to come by. Dig him into a hole. You
should be able to run back over him, down, right and up. Don't fall in
yet; he's in a hole but his co-worker can run through him to get you.
He'll regenerate in the center where he can't get you, leaving you free
to take out the right ramp.

 The last thing you need to do is to get the gold the trapped monk on
the left took. First you'll need to release him by digging left from the
crossroads and going down and digging up twice. Then just wait by the
ice block where you dug a monk before. He'll fall in. Go up the left
ramp, get by the monk trapped in the center, and enter the transporter
south of the frost.

 If you released both monks on the side early, then you'll have to do
what's in the preceeding paragraph twice.

     10-3-2. SCENE 2

 The screaming you hear is from monks getting perpetually killed under
the frost. Harden your heart and kill the sound effects to make this
level a lot easier.

 Now there are two ways to do this: the elegant and inelegant. The
elegant takes more practice, the inelegant more brute force bombing.
Each requires some preparation.

 Basically you can get the four extra lives on top of the frost with no
harm. Once you dig that frost the two bad guys pop up. What I do here is
to dig left of where I start and then go up and dig down. Then I dig up
onto the frost, run up for the gold and bombs and then retreat. By now
the bad guys should have crossed into the holes, and you can nip into
the right side and get more gold and bombs before going clockwise and
then up the ice ramp. You can mirror this for the left side, and for the
last part climb on the frost, go down, and dig either way. Then head
down to the transport and the next level.

 Timing is tough here though and you need to nip in and out quickly for
this to work. You shouldn't be ashamed to get stuck in the sides after
looting the top; you can always bomb your way out. It may take a couple
of bombs against the frost, but eventually the bad guy guarding you will
escape and the other will come down the layer of ice at the bottom.
He'll fall in a hole and you can walk past him, DL or DR, and up the
ramp. Here patience works well.

   10-4. LEVEL 4

 Sadly there are no attack bridges in here and although the levels look
neat, they aren't really all that tough. This is probably the easiest of
the lot.

     10-4-1. SCENE 1

 The symmetry here is interesting, but that doesn't mean you can place
the bombs any old place. The way to get around the top is dig, drop, 90
degrees right, forward, etc. The way to get rid of any of the four
pillars

3-4-T
| |
2-1

 To get through the level you'll want to blast 2, drop a bomb down, go
forward, blast 3, drop a bomb where it used to be, and circle around,
digging twice more. You'll fall through and be sure to go right to get
one gold before circling around. Up past 2 and right and drop the bomb
by 4. Retreat; you'll have time to make it to the transporter although
your view may show 2's pillar getting closed up.

     10-4-2. SCENE 2

 This level would be much more of a challenge if it forced you to save
the bomb for the end. As it is it feels quite bland. Go left immediately
and you should be able to make three blasts in a row--if not you can
just blast once, walk over the bad guy, and make three blasts right. At
any rate you can dig under the trapped monk to make a 3-2-1 dig and fall
to the bottom. A bomb's to the right and an elevator is up. You'll need
to fall down and dig to trap the monk(best to kill him) before bombing
the block that's counterclockwise. Don't detour for the coins yet.
You'll get them at level's end. Instead fall down the shaft after you go
straight.

 The rest requires minimal timing and I assume you'll tilt the camera
right as you move along so you're always running to your right. You'll
need to be quick off the elevator but as there's no punishment for
getting it wrong there's little problem with progressing eventually. Dig
right, drop, dig right, drop, dig left, drop, dig right. Up the elevator
to the right, dig left two times, drop, dig left, retreat for the gold
and dig up. Fall in and 2-1 dig to get back to the elevator.

 Two digs right, get the gold, 2->1 dig and then dig right to get to
the bottom. Left from the next elevator, dig left twice, drop, dig right
and get the gold on the undiggable square. Dig up. Dig to get out and go
right.

 Three digs right and then a 3->2->1 dig down. Take the final elevator,
dig left, drop, dig left, back up and dig up, and then dig right to drop
back down. Go right from the elevator. Now the bad guy seems to go to
the right but if he were under it'd be a neat puzzle to either 1)use the
bomb to take out the block guarding the portal, circle down for another,
and run past(you just seem to get caught,) or 2) time things so the bad
guy falls into the first elevator and can't get out.

 As it is you just need to get by him and 3-2-1 dig to get the bomb and
then dig behind as you go to take out the block. Then get the final gold
pieces and enter the portal.

 10-5. LEVEL 5

 Some great variety here in two snappy puzzles which don't look like
they took long to think up. You may spend more time on them than you
think.

   10-5-1. SCENE 1

 Here you need to either have a really quick hand with the camera or
you'll need to visualize. I just keep the camera in place and remember:
two digs per level for the top four, but you dig the square in the
center of the fifth(bottom) to fall on the final gold piece.

* = to dig
X = don't worry

  X
 X X
X   X
 * *

* *
X
X X

* X *
X X X X

X   X   X
X X X X
 *   *

X * X
X X X X

 Note that if you fail to dig any of these squares, the area in the
next level down is not continuous, and since there's no way back up,
there's no way to really solve the level. If you like you can rotate the
board 180 degrees after blasting the first two levels--you probably have
the time--but I actually enjoyed doing this with an obstructed view. If
you want the full view remember you'll have to rotate all instructions
180 degrees.

 So basically now that you know what squares to dig the question is how
to do this efficiently. First of all, the top level is not too bad. Run
to one edge, dig, and run to the other. Dig and drop down. Then dig
below the first square you got, get the gold pieces, and dig the other
way.

 The next level will be obstructed a bit but whichever way you dropped,
go to the edge there. Assume you dropped to the UR. Then UR/DR for the
gold, UL/DL and dig UR. You can tell how far you've gone if 1)the screen
keeps moving or 2)you note that one step ~= 1 square. From there you can
go UL DL UL DL and dig UR and fall in.

 Assuming the above you can go UL for gold then DR and UR a bit. Dig
DL(this is the tough part--to dig the intersection) and go UR DR UR and
then DL one and dig DL.

 From there you need to drop DR into the corner and then zigzag UL/DL
before coming back UR and DR and digging UR.

 Tricking out the bad guy at the bottom is another matter. There are
two short dead ends where you can get extra guys and two long ones. For
any one of them, stay in the opposite corner and run at it once the monk
makes it clear he's about to make it to one square away from you. Then
run away from him.

   10-5-2. SCENE 2

 This required quite a bit of practice for me and after you figure how
to get the top two golds and a bomb I recommend you just cut to the main
part until you can solve it.

 As for the top--fall left to get the bomb, get the gold and dig right.
Then fall right and place the bomb under the gold. Retreat to under
where you dug. You'll need to do this quickly, as the point is to get
the bomb that falls. You'll then have to wait for your bomb's damage to
heal to run across and get the gold.

 Here's what the main part looks like from the side.

 XX...XX
 $b...b$
X...$...X
X.......X
X.......X
XX...$...XX
X$.......$X
X.........X

 To start, dig right three times(well--you can go left too--as a mirror
image solution) and then drop in. Dig right from the center, then back
at the center drop the bomb left and dig left. You'll fall right. Get
the bomb and gold and dig the two left squares. Drop in and once the
bomb explodes it will set off a chain reaction. Dig left twice on your
new platform and drop in. Dig left and fall. Get the bomb, place a bomb
left, dig right and fall in. Get the gold. The next explosion will drop
the winged gold on the left. Run to get it, dig left, drop and dig left
again. Drop left and then get all the extra guys. Under the final gold
to the right, place the bomb and get the gold once it's dropped. Dig the
center square and go down.

 11. SECRET HUB 2

 I curled into a fetal ball after 10-1-1 and didn't bother with
this...yet. Turns out though that it's just a cheap conglomeration of
earlier scenes. Each level takes a scene from each of the first four
levels of its respective world.

 12. MINIMALIST PATH THROUGH

 You can avoid the fifth part of a world if you just skip through the
rest. However you can also just solve the Calm Before the Storm(CBtS)
levels and then solve every level up to where you get your first piece
of the path. Often you'll get one in the first scene of the fifth part,
so when you get one piece in any sequence of levels, complete the level,
go back to the hub, and save your game after completing the fourth level
of CBtS.

 I don't think you need to do any more than complete the very hardest
part of level 5 in order to beat the Emperor, or at the very least you
just need five pieces of the map, but I'm much too exhausted right now
to play through it all again.

 13. ENDGAME

 Nothing much special happens here--the most drastic thing seems to be
that your game is saved after all this, so if you didn't get all the
gems in 5-5-5 and 5-5-6 you may want to try again there until you do and
then save. The emperor undergoes a huge violent electric shock, and his
lightning rod cane falls to the floor. There are credits, and then
you're given the secret code. It is for activating the secret worlds,
which I've put just ahead.

Hold down the Z key. Push the C-pad's down button(ie zoom out) and then
hit the index-finger buttons in the following order: L R L R L R L R L R

 14. PER-LEVEL STATISTICS

(if I can be bothered)
Ledger
T = triangle, a+b=gold+lives. Summaries given at the end of the line
with extra men totals in bonus lives before.

1-1 8?+1T

S1-1 9+1,

End of FAQ proper

================================

 15. VERSIONS

1.0.0 submitted to GameFAQs 01/23/03--so much for my numerology fetish
as I got done 8 days of my target 1/31/3! Complete walkthrough but some
bonus levels/gems/extra lives not covered.
1.1.0 submitted to GameFAQs 04/25/03--forgot to write up one critical
level and also started chipping away at the bonus stuff.
1.5.0 submitted to GameFAQs 04/27/03--finished too soon mainly because
bonus levels were much easier and less original than expected :(. But
there are still some in the regular game to tune up completely.

 16. CREDITS

Whoever requested this--that much more motivation to write this guide,
which I'd wanted to.
Toys R Us for having the N64 at a bargain, Gamestop for having this game
used as a bargain.
The usual crew on AIM/ICQ/E-Mail and for this FAQ especially putting up
with me treating this like there was a reason it was a secret project.
Alphabetically asherdeus, bloomer, falsehead, daremo, MaxH(who mentioned
this game in a chat of ours, good one, after which I Got Mysterious,)
RetroFreak, Snow Dragon VGRevolution, and probably many more too!
My co-workers for putting up with my grouchy side after I had a few all
nighters with the later levels, lost 50 guys, and won quickly the next
day to raise my confidence, save the game--and lose 50 guys exploring
the next higher levels.
Thanks to CJayC for hosting this on GameFAQs *and* making it one of five
to win "FAQ of the month" in January! -- even if I let out part of one
critical level :). It recouped my initial investment of $50 on a Pokemon
N64 and made the challenge of writing this guide even more worth it.

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