The 4 win screens are awarded for
- Beating the game
- Beating the game in 90 minutes
- Beating the game 100%
- Beating the game 100% in 2 hours.
It's difficult to get 100% in 90 minutes, so this guide targets Any% first, with mop-up afterwards.
Background info*** Spoiler - click to reveal ***There are 5 main stages, which you can do in any order. You receive upgrades as you beat the stages:
- 1 stage cleared: Hat: hold Right Trigger to increase jump height, then glide
- 2 stages cleared: Grapple: press Y to attach to ceilings
- 3 stages cleared: Kraken ball: lets you explore underwater
- 4 stages cleared: Bomb shot: lets you break large blocks to your side
- 5 stages cleared: Cannon: lets you double-jump *and* break large blocks underneath you.
It doesn't matter which order you clear the stages in: you always get the upgrades as shown above. The stage order below is picked accordingly. For example, we go to Mermaid Falls 4th, just after receiving the Kraken Ball, so that we only need to visit it once in our Any% run.
Once we've cleared all 5 stages, AND collected all 15 genie crystals, a 6th and final stage appears to end the game.
Even following this guide, time is tight, but checkpoints are frequent. I recomend that for each checkpoint, you play it first slowly, watching the cutscenes, exploring, and using healing liberally; but DO NOT SAVE. After the next checkpoint, quit to the menu, reload, and play again as fast as possible, skipping all cutscenes with Start. Save and repeat.
If you get a game over, quit rather than continuing, and reload.
Every half hour / couple of levels, it's worth making a copy of your savegame, in case you miss the time slightly and need to go back.
Time on the pause screen doesn't count.
1. Main Street*** Spoiler - click to reveal ***1. Run through the first area: there's nothing we can get here. Save when prompted.
2. Proceed through the second area, which is on fire, until you're heading down a zigzag staircase. Hit the eye switch to make a platform appear to the left. Stand on the platform, hold down, and press A to slide through the gap. Open the chest for Dark Crystal, and save it for later.
3. Complete the stage.
You now have a pirate's hat. Hold Right Trigger to increase jump height, then glide.
You should have 1 dark crystal saved for later.
ETA: 5 minutes
Intermission: Hypno Baron's Castle, stage 1*** Spoiler - click to reveal ***This is a quick visit to grab Dark Crystals for upgrades. Apply the crystal you already collected, and the two we'll get here, to your pirate's hat.
1. Head right and through the door
2. Return through the door you came from. Open the chest for Dark Crystal.
3. Back through the door again. Head left, past two fake chests without opening them. Open the chest at the far left for a Genie Crystal (1/15).
4. Just to your right, climb up the chains, and left through the door.
5. Head back through the door you came from, into a dark room. Open the chest for Dark Crystal.
6. Press start, and use the barrel (pirate flare) to return to the map.
You should have 3 points in the Pirate's Hat.
ETA: 7 minutes
2. Cape Crustacean*** Spoiler - click to reveal ***1. Complete the first stage. You don't need to kill the other racers: they're irrelevant. Focus on platforming. Remember to use your pirate's hat if needed.
The second area has you moving across airships. The upgrades are beneath hatches, then through doors.
2. Skip the first set of hatches (you need the cannon).
3. Second hatch, use your hat to get the chest for a Genie Crystal (2/15). It needs to be fully upgraded: that's why we visited the Hypno Baron's castle.
4. Third hatch, hold right trigger and jump, then shoot the eye across the room to trigger a platform that blocks the beams. Open the chest for a dark crystal. Save it till you're injured, then upgrade health from 3 hearts to 4 hearts (which will also heal you).
5. Fourth hatch, glide across, and open the chest for dark crystal. Upgrade pistol damage from 1hp/shot to 2hp/shot.
The third area is inside again.
6. Halfway through, you'll fight right past grenadiers, then drop down into a room with spikes on the floor. Shoot the eye switch to make a platform appear to the left. Stand on the platform, hold down, and press A to slide through the gap. Open the chest for a Genie Crystal (3/15).
7. Back to the room with spikes, continue down, then right, into a large area. Head right and use your hat to glide across the gap. Open the chest there for a Dark Crystal, and upgrade pistol speed.
8. The next room has a chest right in front of you. Open it for a Genie Crystal (4/15).
9. Complete the level and beat the Hypno Baron. Your upgraded pistol should make short work of the baron and his guards (thanks to its high rate of fire). Remember you can use your spread shot (when he's surrounded) and seeker shot (when he's in the air) as well.
You now have a grapple. Press Y to attach to ceilings.
You should have 1 point in health, 1 in pistol damage, 1 in pistol speed, and 3 in the Pirate's Hat
3. Tassel Town*** Spoiler - click to reveal ***In the first area:
1. Just after the first pool of water, you'll find a massive wall. Hit the eye switch to bring it down. Stand on the wall and hit the switch again, to raise it up. At the top, jump right for a chest with a Dark Crystal. Save it till you're injured, then upgrade health from 4 hearts to 5 hearts (which will also heal you).
2. Next, you'll cross a pond with a chest above it. Jump back and use your hat to grab the chest. Open it for a Genie Crystal (5/15).
3. At the end of the first area, use your grapple to collect a chest with a Dark Crystal. Upgrade pistol damage from 2hp/shot to 3hp/shot.
While climbing the tower:
4. Near the top, you'll see a chest in the open. Slide through the narrow gap and open it for a Dark Crystal. Upgrade pistol speed. By now your pistol is better than your cutlass against most random enemies.
6. Just after, you'll see three statues on your left. Jump up to the right and use your grapple for a chest with a Genie Crystal (6/15).
7. At the very top of the tower, use your hat and grapple for a chest with a Dark Crystal. Upgrade pistol damage from 3hp/shot to 4hp/shot.
In the third area:
8. Early on, there's a chest underneath a platform. Use the grapple to collect it for a Genie Crystal (7/15).
9. Finish the level.
You now have the kraken ball, which lets you explore underwater.
You should have 2 points in health, 3 in pistol damage, 2 in pistol speed, and 3 in the Pirate's Hat.
4. Mermaid Falls*** Spoiler - click to reveal ***1. Run through the first screen.
2. In the second screen (wide open area), run all the way to the right and jump into the water. Head right and jump up for a chest. You'll need to jump, use the hat, then grapple a platform above you (hard to see, but it's basically in the middle of the bit you're jumping up). Open the chest for a Genie Crystal (8/15).
3. At the top-right of the level, grapple onto the moving platforms right at the top. You can use your grapple to move left and right from platform to platform until you reach the chest. This is a tricky one! You can come back on the 100% run with the cannon if you can't pull it off, but I promise it's possible. It contains another Dark Crystal. Save it for later.
4. In the dark area, run through the first screen.
5. Drop down into the water before the big blue enemy. At the bottom-left, behind some seaweed, there's a chest with a Genie Crystal (9/15).
6. Out of the water again, run all the way to the right into a cave, where the blobfish was in the main game. Jump across the gap with your hat for a chest with a Dark Crystal. Save it for later.
7. All the way up in the top-left of this map, use your grapple for another chest with a Dark Crystal, where the Bat Dance was in the main game. Save it for later.
8. On the next screen, where the is in the main game, jump up and grapple for another Genie Crystal (10/15).
9. Finish the level. Against the first phase of the boss, your standard pistol is great, because you can shoot the locks on both sides of the screen without needing to change platforms. Against the second phase of the boss, use those points you saved to upgrade your Seeker shot, and blow it to smithereens in a few seconds.
You now have the Bomb Shot, which lets you break large blocks to your side.
You should have 2 points in health, 3 in pistol damage, 2 in pistol speed, 2/3 in the seeker missile, and 3 in the Pirate's Hat.
5. Hypno Baron's Castle*** Spoiler - click to reveal ***Load section 2 of the level:
1. The first chest is halfway through the second screen, in plain sight under a purple platform. The switch to unlock it is below and to the right. Save it for later.
Stand just to the right of the switch, about a character width away from the edge, and shoot it with the Spread shot (three orange balls). Then you can jump back up and open the chest for a Genie Crystal (11/15).
2. The second chest is at the end of the third screen, just before the exit. Jump back onto the higher ground to your left, then hold right trigger and make a running jump to reach it. You may need to make two jumps to first hit the chest, then grab the Dark Crystal. Save it for later.
3. For the boss, use your regular pistol against the red squid (jump with the hat when he's in the air). In the second round, use your regular pistol against the squid again. When he's dead, use the Seeker missiles to soften up the magician, then finish him off with the pistol as well.
You now have the Cannon, which lets you double-jump with . It also breaks large blocks underneath you. This is the last of the abilities.
Load section 1 of the level:
4. Run right through the first door.
5. Run left past the two fake chests. Climb the chains and continue left. Climb up again, then head right (glide or grapple to cross the gap). At the end, blow up the large block with your Bomb Shot. Drop down, ignore the fake chest, and go through the door. Open the chest for a Dark Crystal: save it for later.
6. Return to where you blew up the large block. Climb up the chains to reach the rooftop. Head to the far left and grapple up for a Genie Crystal (12/15).
7. Run to the far right of the rooftop and use your hat to jump up for a chest with a Dark Crystal. Upgrade the Cannon to max, so it shoots four times.
8. Return to where you blew up the large block. Run left and through the door.
9. Climb the chains in front of you. Immediately to your right, jump towards the hole in the ceiling and grapple. Open the chest here for a Dark Crystal.
10. Drop down and continue right. Before entering the door, jump up using the Cannon for the final chest in this area.
You now have all the upgrades you need to complete the game. Spend the rest of the Dark Crystals however you like. I recommend ignoring the Grapple and Kraken Ball, as they're useless against the bosses, and upgrading everything else.
Press Start and exit the level with the Pirate's Flare.
6. Main Street revisited*** Spoiler - click to reveal ***From now on, with both the Cannon and the Hat at max, you can speed through levels by flying in the sky for large distances.
Load section 1:
1. In the first pool of water, follow the pipe to the left, then use your Bomb Shot to blow up a large block and find a chest.
2. In the second pool of water, swim through a pipe to find a chest.
3. In the third pool of water, use your Cannon to find a chest.
4. In the fourth pool of water, use your Cannon to find a chest with a Genie Crystal (13/15).
5. At the end of the first area, jump up with Cannon to the platform to find a chest.
In the second area (on fire):
6. Climb to the top, and use your grapple to head up further for a chest with a Genie Crystal (14/15).
7. Use your Hat and Cannon to jump and glide left from that chest to the very top-left, where the Harpy's Talon is the main game, for another chest.
8. Head right. At the top of the zig-zag stairway, jump up and right past two pots. On the next screen, use your Cannon to break the blocks below you for another chest with the last Genie Crystal (15/15).
9. Shoot the eye switch here and jump right across the platforms for the final chest in this section. Press Start and use the barrel (Pirate's Flare) to return to the map.
Save your game, quit out, and copy your entire save file.Now you can use one of your files to complete the game Any% for two win screens, and the other to complete it 100% for the other two.
To complete the Any% run, head to stage 6, Risky's Hideout, and play through it.
For mop-up, we will revist Mermaid Falls, Tassel Town, and Cape Crustacean, to get the Dark Crystal chests we missed earlier.
7. Mermaid Falls: mop-up*** Spoiler - click to reveal ***1. Run through the first screen.
2. In the second screen (wide open area), there are two chests behind large blocks in the second pool of water. Use your Bomb Shot to get them.
3. Leave the water, and head to the right-hand side of the level. You'll pass a big blue enemy, then jump up and start moving left. On the second big platform here (the one without a waterfall), jump up to the small platform above it. You'll see large blocks up and to the left: where you got a lollipop in the main game. Jump and use your hat to fire a Bomb Shot and break those blocks, for another chest.
4. If you missed it earlier, get the chest in the top-right of the level now. It's easy with the Cannon.
5. In the second area (dark cave), jump into the third pool of water, and break the large blocks below you with your Cannon for a chest.
6. Run into the next screen (wide open cave area). Head to the very top of the level, and use your Cannon to jump up to where there's a cave entrance (for the Data Chip) in the main game.
Press Start and exit the level with the Pirate's Flare.
8. Tassel Town: mop-up*** Spoiler - click to reveal ***In the first area (the desert),
1. In the first pool of water
2. In the second pool of water
3. Above the second red scorpion after the massive wall
In the second area (the tower),
4. About halfway up, when you need to slide left between fireballs, destroy the statue which shoots those fireballs with your Bomb Shot.
5. When you've ridden a yellow block upwards, and the path forks left and right, destroy the statue on the right.
Press Start and exit the level with the Pirate's Flare, then re-enter in stage 3:
6. Run through the first screen.
7. You'll see the chest under the level in the second screen. Use your Cannon to break the blocks and grab it.
Press Start and exit the level with the Pirate's Flare.
9. Cape Crustacean: mop-up*** Spoiler - click to reveal ***Load the second section of the level.
1. Drop through the first hatch; enter the door; and shoot the blocks with your Cannon.
Press Start and exit the level with the Pirate's Flare, then re-enter in stage 3:
2. Facing the first set of grenadiers & unlimited soldiers, you'll see a hole in the ceiling. Grapple through it for a chest.
3. In the room with pairs of lasers, drop down through a platform to reach the area with all the waterfalls. There are two chests here. Grab the obvious one first, then jump up and grapple to reach the top of the area, and head far left for the second.
4. In the top-left of the next large room, use your hat to jump up and left, then grapple to reach another chest.
Press Start and exit the level with the Pirate's Flare.
You should now have 15 Genie Crystals, and 3 stars in every possible upgrade. If that's the case, head to Risky's Hideout and finish the game. If you're missing anything, check the map to see which level it's in.
The win screens appear (and the achievement pops) after the credits.