__ __ \\ // / \ ___ __ / \ / /\\ // // //\ \/ / | // ________/ \ | \ / / \ ) _____/\ \ / \ | TM //\ \ / |__ \ \ / /\ \// | \ \ / /| __/ \ \/ / \ / \ \ / / | |_____/ \ / _// \ \/ / \______/ / \ \ / \ / / /\ \ ____ ___ ___ \/ | / / \ \ | )(_ //_\\ // \\ \\/ / \ \// )( . (( )). \\_//. \ / \ / ((__ \\_ _// Vexx x Walkthrough/FAQ version 0.6 x 5/10/03 By Matt "luckylink" Bush x Contact: http://www.ebold.com/mattb/vexx NOTE: This Walkthrough/FAQ is based on the PlayStation2 version of Vexx, but I included some of the changes in the XBox/GameCube versions (such as controls) so it should be usable with all versions. \/-------------\/ /\ LEGAL STUFF /\ This FAQ is intended for personal use only. It can't be used for any profitable purposes nor can it be published in any forms. It can't be altered in any way nor can it be placed on any web site without my permission. No parts of it can be taken without my permission. Any offenders will be severely dealt with. It is protected by U.S. Copyright law. VEXX and Acclaim (R) and (C) Acclaim Entertainment Inc. This FAQ Copyright (C)2003 by Matt Bush Only gamefaqs.com and ign.com have permission to post this FAQ. Please contact me if you want to include my FAQ on your site. \\//=============================================================\\// \/ TABLE OF CONTENTS/ \/ /\ NAVIGATION /\ //\\=============================================================//\\ To automatically skip to a section through "Find": x If you are on a PC, press Control-F to find a section. x If you are on a Mac, press Command-F to find a section. Type in the section name you want to look up, or the section ID, to automatically jump to it. (you should probably "Match case" too.) ID SECTION NAME COMMENTARY A VERSION HISTORY See what changes I've made to this guide. B ABOUT ME About me, contacting me, my other walkthroughs. C GAME BASICS From the manual and my commentary. C-01 Introduction C-04 Items C-02 Characters C-05 Enemies C-03 Controls/Moves C-06 Level/Hub System D WALKTHROUGH Guide to each level and boss. D-01 Training Level D-07 The Below D-02 Timberdale D-03 Rift Hub To be continued... D-04 Dragonreach D-05 The Neverglades D-06 Tempest Peak Manor E FAQS Frequently Asked Questions. / F HINTS/SECRETS Things you may or may not know. under / construction \ F-01 Gameplay Tips \ F-02 Secrets G CREDITS Who helped me make/publish this FAQ \\//=============================================================\\// \/ Section A \/ /\ VERSION HISTORY /\ //\\=============================================================//\\ 3/29/03 x version 0.1 Started Writing the FAQ 4/05/03 x version 0.3 x 67K Wrote walkthrough up to Dragonreach 4/14/03 x version 0.5 x 105K Fixed several small errors Wrote walkthrough up to Tempest Peak Manor Wrote FAQS Section 5/10/03 x version 0.6 x 131K Wrote walkthrough up to The Below \\//=============================================================\\// \/ Section B \/ /\ ABOUT ME /\ //\\=============================================================//\\ Hello, and welcome to my FAQ!! I am Matt Bush (luckylink17 on GameFAQs boards), and you can go to --> http://www.ebold.com/mattb/vexx <-- to contact me. It contains E-mail and Instant Messenger links. Feel free to contact me about this guide and with questions about this game that are not answered in the FAQ section. I have three other Walkthroughs/FAQs. My HTML walkthrough for Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy (PS2) is at http://www.ebold.com/mattb/jnd My walkthrough/FAQ for Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (PSX) is at gamefaqs.com, and a few other sites. My Enemy/Boss FAQ for Ratchet and Clank (PS2) is here at gamefaqs.com and IGN.com. \\//=============================================================\\// \/ Section C \/ /\ GAME BASICS /\ //\\=============================================================//\\ \/--------------------\/ /\ C-01 Introduction /\ _____ |_ _|he terror in Astara began when the powerful and sinister | | forces of the Shadowraith Dark Yabu and his devoted minions |_| came down from the skies. They descended upon the peaceful village of Overwood and wreaked havoc and destruction. __ __ \ \/ /argas, the aging guardian of Overwood, and his grandson Vexx \ / were defiant yet outnumbered and were enslaved with the other \/ defenseless villages under Yabu's dark power. _ _ | | | |nable to bear it any longer, Vexx launched a futile assault | |_| | on Dark Yabu. Before Yabu had a chance to punish the boy, |_____| Vargas attacked the Shadowraith, hoping to distract the evil lord long enough for his grandson to flee. Yabu turned his powers on Vargas and destroyed him as Vexx helplessly watched. ____ / ___)tricken with grief, Vexx escaped through the tunnels, vowing \___ \ to one day take his revenge. Fate would grant him not (____/ revenge, but fortune . . . the legendary Astani War Talons. __ _ | \| |ow armed with his war talons and his fearless determination, | \ \ | Astara's slave turned savior will stop at nothing to |_|\__| overthrow the evil Dark Yabu, avenge his grandfather's murder, and bring peace back to his planet! Vexx is a challenging platform-genre game released in February 2003. Released on PlayStation2, XBox, and GameCube (and will be on Game Boy Advance too, I think.) In my opinion, Vexx reminds me a lot of the Spyro games. Especially the latest addition to the Spyro series, Enter The Dragonfly. (They both use portals to get between levels, they both have a hub level and about nine worlds, with a certain amount of something to get into each level and reach the final boss, they both, unlike other recent platformers, still use "lives," and have similar gameplay and powerups.) On the contrary, the latest Spyro game completely was a failure, but Vexx is great. It has great controls, original gameplay, huge, detailed levels, appropriate sound and storyline, and more. But what's with naughty camera's these days? This game has one of the worst cameras ever, at least you can move it around usually (often it will fix itself). There were also bad cameras in Ratchet & Clank and in Maximo. Well, enough with the game chitchat, here's the basics of storyline, controls, and concepts for Vexx! \/------------------\/ /\ C-02 Characters /\ (From the manual) ==VEXX== Just a kid filled with enthusiasm and reckless spirit, Vexx's peaceful childhood is destroyed by Dark Yabu's vile greed. When Vexx discovers the Astani War Talons, his destiny will never be the same. As he grows into a nimble and able combatant, can he harness the power of the Talons and his own rage to exact his revenge? ==VARGAS== Vexx's tough old grandfather, Vargas, is the aging guardian of the village of Overwood. Even as the years slow him, he never backs down from a fight, and he's taught his grandson to never take anyone's gaff either. ==DARBY== The old wanderer serves as Vexx's guide and mentor. Having lost his once considerable powers, he now must rely on the young Vexx to carry on the ancient traditions and right the wrongs that have plagued his existence. A mysterious figure leading Vexx into an even greater mystery? Perhaps. ==REIA== The last of a proud and noble race, Reia maintains a lonely watch over Astara. A mysterious figure whose ancient powers have waned, Reia moves through the shadows of Astara's dark history. ==DARK YABU== There are none more evil than the Shadowraith Dark Yabu, a creature so vile and troubling that generations curse his name. He is the cause of so much misery, and the one Vexx is sworn to vanquish. He will not be conquered easily... \/----------------------\/ /\ C-03 Controls/Moves /\ ==CONTROLS== Here are the controls for all platforms the game runs on: CONTROL PlayStation2 Button XBox Button GameCube Button MOVEMENT/ACTION: Move Left Stick Left Stick Control Stick Jump ( X ) ( A ) ( A ) Attack ( Square ) ( X ) ( B ) Power Up [R1] or [R2] [ R ] [ R ] Crouch [L1] or [L2] [ L ] [ L ] CAMERA CONTROL: 1st Person ( Triangle ) ( Y ) ( Y ) Center Camera ( Circle ) ( B ) ? Move Camera Right Stick Right Stick C-Stick Zoom Camera R3 (press) Press Right Stick Digital Pad MENUS: Pause [ START ] [ START ] [ START ] Inventory [ SELECT ] [ BACK ] [ Z ] From now on, I will just refer to buttons by the name for them at the left (e.g. Crouch, Attack, Move Left) and button combinations as Jump + Attack, etc., instead of using the names of the buttons. ==MOVES== JUMP = Press Jump button. CROUCH/DUCK = Press the Crouch button. LONG JUMP = Press Crouch while running and press Jump button. PULSE JUMP = Crouch while standing still and press Jump button. WALL JUMP = Press Jump as Vexx strikes a wall after jumping. USE = Press Attack button. SWIM = Hold the Attack button underwater. Tap the Attack button when on the surface. SURFACE JUMP = Press jump when on the surface of water. PUSH = Walk into a pushable object. GRAB = Press Attack when in front of a pushable object. THROW = Press Attack when holding a grabbable object. RECOVER = Rapidly press Move button back and forth to recover from stun/inhibitor. EDGE GRAB = Jump and intersect a grabbable edge. EDGE SHIMMY = Press Move when hanging from edge. CLIMB EDGE = Press Jump when hanging from edge. CLIMB = Press Move in any direction when on climbable surface. DANGLE CLIMB = Press Move in any direction when hanging from a dangle surface. WALL SHIMMY = Move into a wall and press Move to walk along it. CLIMB POLE = Press Up/Down on the Move stick to climb up/down a pole, Press Left/Right to rotate around the pole. You can stand at the top and jump off any direction. ==COMBINATION MOVES== ATTACK = Attack button 3 HIT COMBO ATTACK = Press Attack three times CHARGED PUNCH = Press Attack twice, hesitate, hold down Attack to charge, then release Attack to deliver the blow. ALTERNATE SLASH COMBO = Press Attack twice, hesitate, press Attack twice again. 4 HIT COMBO = Preformed the Charged Punch then Attack again. RAGE ATTACK = Attack an enemy and continue to rapidly press Attack. FLARE KICK (Tumble) = Press Attack while airborne. GROUND POUND = Press Crouch while in midair. UPPERCUT = Press Attack while Crouching. JUGGLING = Once an attack has an enemy in the air (a FLARE KICK or UPPERCUT works) continue the attack, keeping your enemy in the air by "juggling" him. Juggling an enemy fills your Frenzy Meter. ==TALON ATTACKS== TALON CHARGES = Juggle enemies to release glowing blue energy. Collect enough of this energy and you can unleash the hidden power of the War Talons. CHARGED TALON ACTIVATION = To activate the Charged talons, press the Power Up button. TALON DASH = Once the Talons are charged and activated, press Move to move around in a dash. TALON BLAST = Once the Talons are charged and activated, press Attack to fire a Talon Blast. \/-------------\/ /\ C-04 Items /\ ==SHADOWRAITH HEARTS== APPEARANCE - Large, glowing, beating, red hearts. FOUND IN - After completing objectives in each level. Shadowraith Hearts are the goal of this game. There are 8-10 to collect in each level. With certain amounts of them, you can unlock new levels. With 60, you can access the final boss. With 81, you've collected them all. When the Shadowraiths descended upon Astara 700 years ago, their ravenous appetite for power drove them to devour the energy that fueled the Astani's amazing portal system. Now, nearly a millennium later, Vexx can restore power to an incredible network of gates by returning the hearts of the fallen Shadowraiths to the portal's Rift Hub. Once enough hearts are placed in the rift, portals to new worlds will be unlocked. Powering up the portal system is the only way Vexx can travel to the Landspire and catch Dark Yabu. ==SOUL JARS== APPEARANCE - Bright yellow jars, look like bottles with a skull FOUND IN - There are 6 in each level, in the levels that have them Find six of these Soul Jars in a level to reveal a Shadowraith Heart. If the Soul Jars in a level are spread out, I recommend saving this challenge for later until you get other Hearts in the level, since getting a Heart makes your Jar count go back to zero. As the Shadowraiths pillaged Astara during the great Cataclysm, each Dark Warrior carried a Soul Jar at his side. Soul Jars were used to contain the spirits of the fallen Astani so they could be devoured after the battle. Many of these jars were left behind when the war was over and the dead of each side littered Astara. Vexx can collect six Soul Jars in each world and the freed souls from within them will reward you with a Shadowraith Heart. ==SHARDS== APPEARANCE: Small shards of a heart, in a bright little bubble FOUND IN: Usually along paths in all levels I recommend saving this challenge for later until you get other Hearts and Jars in a level, since getting a Heart makes your Shard count go back to zero. In a level there are usually more shards than you'll need, so don't worry, it's easy. Some Shadowraith hearts were broken into the many shards from which they were constructed. Collect 100 shards in each world and you'll reveal a Shadowraith heart. ==HEALTH== APPEARANCE: bouncing blue little balls FOUND IN: Defeating enemies, and finding spirit stones Curiosity and courage can result in regained health. Destroying an enemy can cause him to drop a health pickup and certain objects can be smashed to reveal health pick ups, too. Don't forget to check the spirit stones. Always be on the lookout. ==BUBBLES== APPEARANCE: large magic bubbles of air FOUND IN: underwater in certain locations When you're underwater and need more health or air, go up to one of these bubbles to reset the swim-timer and get one point of health. ==EXTRA LIFE== APPEARANCE: A little gold card in the shape of Vexx's head FOUND IN: Hidden in certain parts of every level Gain an extra life by collecting this item. ==TALON CHARGES== APPEARANCE: Small bursts of blue energy FOUND IN: Rewarded from enemies Juggle your enemies and these wisps of blue energy will fly from the enemies into your War Talons, increasing your Frenzy Meter. ==REIA'S SCROLLS== APPEARANCE: small glowing scrolls FOUND IN: One in each world The history of Astara is written on a few precious scrolls. Collect on in each world. ==ELEMENTAL POWERUPS== At key points throughout Astara, Vexx will find ancient power-up pads that the Astani used to tap into the elemental forges of the War Talons. One unlocks the Air Suit and the other unlocks the Rock Suit. For the pads to work, Vexx must first collect an elemental rune for each. Once the rune has been collected, standing on the elemental pads will unlock special abilities. AIR SUIT (Tornado Icon) - Allows Vexx to glide through the air and land harmlessly on the ground. Allows him to reach heights he never could otherwise. ROCK SUIT (Flame Icon) - Allows Vexx to smash through some tough surfaces, gives temporary invulnerability and faster top speed. Causes him to sink to the bottom of water. Both suits only last a certain amount of time, so be careful. A timer in the corner tells you how long you have. ==SUNDIAL== APPEARANCE: Flat little clocks on the ground FOUND IN: One in every level In many worlds, there is a sundial that can actually be used to change the time of day. When Vexx jumps into the center of a sundial, you can change the time of day by pressing Left and Right on the Move stick. Watch the suns and moons rise as the time rushes by. This device can come in handy when there are tough enemies at night or it's too dark to see your way around. NOTE: The sundial's hand turns counterclockwise. ==SUNDIAL PORTALS== APPEARANCE: Small portals with a small sundial at the bottom FOUND IN: One in several levels At certain hours in the day, these doorways reveal portals to enigmatic worlds. Check each sundial for markers hinting at when these doors will open. ==SHATTERSPHERES== APPEARANCE: Little black spinning capsules with runes on the side FOUND IN: Many places in a level Hit these mysterious bobbing orbs and they reveal precious information that will make the wild world of Astara a little less daunting. ==BOUNCE PADS== APPEARANCE: Hexagonal pads on the ground with a sun on them FOUND IN: Many places in a level These handy pads will give you an extra lift to get to hard to reach spots. Just hop on, depress the pad and you are up and away. ==SPIRIT STONES== APPEARANCE: Large gravestones FOUND IN: Different locations in some levels These eerie memorials to the fallen Astani will give you a glimpse of the awful fate that awaited that proud race. Give the stones a pop and they'll give you health. \/---------------\/ /\ C-05 Enemies /\ All enemies and sections are those so far covered in the Walkthrough part of this guide. Enemy descriptions are from the game manual, everything else I wrote. ==PUGGLES== Levels found in: Timberdale, Dragonreach, Tempest Peak Manor, The Below Health: Medium-Low Attacks: they run at you slowly, touch them to take damage Difficulty: Easy This scuttling little mound of warts known as the Puggle is a squeaky little testament to nature's cruel whimsy. Armless, nearly legless, and covered in bumpy, slimy skin, it should not be surprising that Puggles have a bad disposition. Wait until a herd of them tries to bump you around and you'll see what we are talking about. ==GRIMKINS== Levels found in: Timberdale, Dragonreach, The Neverglades, Tempest Peak Manor, The Below Health: Medium-Low Attacks: they run at you slowly, touch them to take damage Difficulty: Easy This strange race of half-wits may have, by default, inherited much of Astara, but just one look at them and you'll agree they still got the short end of the post-apocalyptic mutation stick. All that misspent evolution seems to have gone to their thick-skulled heads. Watch out for that monstrous melon, by the way, the Grimkin are fond of delivering a jarring, thick-skulled head-butt. ==FLEMBLOSSOMS== Levels found in: Timberdale, Dragonreach, The Neverglades Health: Low Attacks: they squirt a glop of goo at you from a distance. Fairly hard but their aim isn't good and they have low health. Difficulty: Medium-Easy As if the fauna around Astara wasn't bad enough, the flora can be worse. Even the plants can kick your butt around here. You can spot the strange Flemblossoms by their colorful leaves and their tendency to heave up and down right before they spit out a glob of searing plasma. Plasma that can kill you if you get hit too many times. After each shower, the blossoms gurgle up another round -- that would be a good time to get the hell away. At least two different varieties of Flemblossoms are known to exist, possibly each has a slightly different attack. ==SHREEKS== Levels found in: Timberdale (Castle Tower), Tempest Peak Manor, The Below (Estuary) Health: Medium Attacks: if they see you, they summon more enemies and stun you Difficulty: Medium These guys seem to have gotten a raw deal. Tethered to a pole and stuck in the middle of some forsaken spot, the Shreeks are miserable creatures. The only thing that makes them feel better is to make you more miserable. If you catch one napping, try and keep it that way. When it wakes up, a Shreek scans around and if you get caught in its headlight, he lets out a blood curdling scream that paralyzes you with a jolt of electricity (recover from it by jiggling the Move stick back and forth). If that isn't enough, his wail also summons a pack of other enemies, each of whom seeks to hurt you bad. ==SKINXES== Levels found in: Dragonreach, The Neverglades, Tempest Peak Manor, The Below Health: Low Attacks: Gradually dive down and sting you Difficulty: Medium-Low These hooded pests have a habit of showing up in the worst locations. They hover until an enemy comes in range and then use their swooping dive attack to knock you off track. The worst place to be during a Skinx attack, right underneath that, is also the best place to be. Keep that in mind. (Use their shadow to tell where they are). ==HOBBLETRODS== Levels found in: Dragonreach (on the gear), Tempest Peak Manor, The Below Health: Medium (by shaking it off you can defeat it really quickly, but you can also try attacking it in your slow motion phase.) Attacks: Fire an energy beam that slows you down Difficulty: Easy On their own, these critters seem pretty tame. After all, their only attack is defensive: They fire out a single energy beam that grabs onto you and forms a sort of electric leash. The problem is, this leash is kind of debilitating as it inhibits your movements and attacks to the tune of half-speed. No big deal, unless you're in the middle of a risky jump or facing on with a horde if enemies, or desperately chasing a bit of health...well, these guys are a big drag. If you want to get free you'll have to shake your way out. ==SHADOWCREEPS== Levels found in: Dragonreach (whirlpool area), Neverglades (citadel area) Health: Medium-Low Attacks: will creep out of the ground and attack you if you're not watching Difficulty: Medium-Easy Vile creations of the Shadowrealm, these creeps are under Yabu's command and gleefully scurry about on his evil errands. When you find them, you can be sure the dark one has been about. These guys burrow out of the ground, scurry about, and leap into their attack. They also like to travel in packs. ==PHANTOMS== Levels found in: Dragonreach (Haunted House area) Health: Low Attacks: If they hit you, they knock you to the ground AND disappear so you can't strike back and recover health. Difficulty: Medium-Hard (Not described in manual) ==SHARKS== Levels found in: Dragonreach (Underwater area), The Below (Dome) Health: (You can't defeat them since you can't attack underwater, so just swim away quickly to escape) Attacks: Swim after you really fast and bite Difficulty: Medium-Easy (Not described in manual) ==GOOBEASTS== Levels found in: The Neverglades Health: Goobeasts are a little different. Each individual takes only one hit. When you hit a large one, it turns into two small ones. When you step on or hit a small one, it disappears. Small ones grow back into large ones after about 5 seconds. Attacks: If it touches you, you take damage. Difficulty: Medium-Easy (they give out a lot of health) These slithering piles of slime like to me in the swamps where they can spawn their little goo babies in peace. Watch out, because these guys will go to pieces when you pop them. When attack, goodbeasts break into several little goods who will rapidly grow to full size and increase the grief. Fortunately, when they are small you can simply step on them and they'll go splat. ==FIRE SNOUTS== Levels found in: The Neverglades Health: Medium-Low Attacks: Blow fire at you if you stay near them long enough Difficulty: Medium-Easy (Not described in manual) ==SHOCKING SHARKS== Levels found in: The Neverglades (Well area) Health: (You can't defeat them since you can't attack underwater, so just swim away quickly to escape) Attacks: Shock you (or the ring you're trying to electrocute) from a slight distance Difficulty: They're kind of hard, but you have to use them as an ally in the Well Area challenge... (Not described in manual) ==REX== Levels found in: Tempest Peak Manor (Floor Level) Health: Cannot be defeated Attacks: Eat you, you lose a life, if he catches you on the floor Difficulty: N/A You may find your way to the legendary Tempest Peak Manor, the exquisite and imposing former residence of the Storm Giant, an enigmatic figure who once ruled and raged around the peaks of Astara. Legend has it the Giant was sucked up through the Rift to the Shadowrealm. His poor pet was left behind and hasn't been fed for 700 years...so don't tempt him. You might be able to outrun him, but if you think you can defeat him, here's a hint: you can't. ==BLAST BUGS== Levels found in: Tempest Peak Manor (Floor Level) Health: Medium Attacks: Shock you from a short distance Difficulty: Medium-Hard Beware these scurrying insects that seem to have benefited from some very strange mutations over the past 700 years. No one is sure why, but they generate electric beams from their antennae. Stay away from the beams because they result can be devastating. Another heads up, they like to travel in pairs so they can bridge their beams. Sometimes you'll find them in small packs. Together, they can dish out brutal punishment. ==KRUNKS== Levels found in: Tempest Peak Manor (Rafters) Health: Medium-Low Attacks: Touching you, and powerful charge Difficulty: Medium These ornery beasts have a brutal dash attack and have heads like an anvil to deliver it with. Once they lower their heads and start their charge, there is nothing you can do but get out of the way. Apparently, they can be snuck up on grazing, but we can't recommend such suicidal behavior. If you meet a Krunk you will be either airborne or lucky. Krunks tend to inhabit mountaineous peaks and ledges. ==HULKS== Levels found in: Tempest Peak Manor (Sundial Portal) Health: Medium-High Attacks: Powerful body attack Difficulty: Medium-Hard These massive behemoths seem to be some strange mutant cousins of the Grimkin but, unlike those puny melon heads, these bruisers put their whole body into an attack. These guys are tough and appear unfazed by extremes of temperature. When you least want to meet one of these guys, you'll probably meet three. ==SLYPHS== Levels found in: The Below (Hydro-Charger area) Health: Medium-Low Attacks: Grab you with their head if you're near, and throw you Difficulty: Medium-Hard At least Slyphs are stuck in the ground. They aren't going anywhere but whip and strike at anything that comes their way. If you find them on a path you must traverse, you better hope they overextend themselves. ==YABU'S GUARDS== Levels found in: The Below (Hell and Sundial Portal) Health: High Attacks: Swing their axes Difficulty: Hard Dark Yabu's guards are big, bad, and have an axe to grind...a big axe. These guys swing with authority and are amazingly quick for their size. When attacked, the guards block with their mighty axe head. Your only hope may be to get them off their feet. ==SHADOWMINIONS== Levels found in: The Below (Hell) Health: High Attacks: They either have a sword, swing mace, or throwing stars that they attack with. Difficulty: Hard What they lack in stature these shock troopers make up for in viciousness and weaponry. ==FLOPPERS== Levels found in: The Below (Hell) Health: Low Attacks: Crawl around under certain ground and attack you. Difficulty: Medium-Hard The only thing worse than a vicious little enemy is a vicious little enemy that attacks and then hides. You'll find these guys burrowing underground and leaving mounds of dirt in their wake. They like to pop out right where you are standing and send you sailing through the air, only to scurry back underground and escape your wrath. Oh, and here's the bad news: they like to be either where it is really hot or really cold. \/------------------------\/ /\ C-06 Level/Hub System /\ This game is separated into 9 levels. It has an area which you can go between levels, called the Rift Hub. Each level has a main area, usually the largest area, hosting the first heart described, the 100 Shards, the 6 Soul Jars, the sundial, and the access back to the Rift Hub. When you choose to visit a level from the Rift Hub, a screen pops up with the current Shadowraith Hearts collected from each level. The default heart selected is the first one from the left that you have not gotten yet, but you may choose any heart you wish to collect next. By pressing the Jump button the level will load with the arrows in the level guiding you to the heart you selected. Cool, huh? You can go back to this screen and switch the arrows around in the level by going to the Inventory (in Pause menu, and a button by itself.) The Rift Hub is like a base, and you can return to it anytime by accessing the Start Menu, and selecting "Return to Hub." You must be standing still on solid ground to select this. The Rift Hub also holds all the Hearts you have so far in the levels, and every time you get a new heart, you are warped back to the Rift Hub to deliver the Heart. At this point, the game will automatically save (THIS IS THE ONLY TIME THE GAME SAVES, apart from getting new Elemental Runes). You may not save the game manually. Also at this point, your Soul Jars and Shards will go back down to zero. So if you're going for a Heart already floating in part of the level, it's pointless to get all the shards or jars. (After you get a heart, a "shadow" of it that isn't glowing as bright appears where you found it. By returning to the "shadow" and touching it, you will be returned to the Rift Hub, but the game won't save nor will you be rewarded.) The more Shadowraith Hearts you collect, the more levels you can access. Timberdale - first level in the game, visited before the Rift Hub Dragonreach - 2 Hearts required The Neverglades - 5 Hearts required Tempest Peak Manor - 11 Hearts required The Below - 18 Hearts required Daggercrag - 26 Hearts required Summit of the Sages - 34 Hearts required Frostblight Mill - 42 Hearts required Citadel of Shadows - 50 Hearts required The Shadowrealm - 60 Hearts required \\//=============================================================\\// \/ Section D \/ /\ WALKTHROUGH /\ //\\=============================================================//\\ \/----------------------\/ /\ D-01 Training Level /\ After enjoying the opening CGI scene of the game, you'll be teleported here to the training level of the game. Here you can't die or get hurt in any way. If you fall off the platforms you just get moved back to where you fell off. With that said, have fun and get used to the controls of the game, and its wacky camera. You learn how to do the following: Move Triple Attack Jump Uppercut Long Jump Flare Kick Pulse Jump Ground Pound Swim Collecting Shards Climb Collecting Soul Jars So have fun! To skip the training level, go to the menu and select "End Dream." \/------------------\/ /\ D-02 Timberdale /\ This is the first level. After the training level, you go into Darby's house, and then you head outside. Take in the breathtaking graphics of the game, and now you have a whole, fairly easy big environment to explore. ENEMIES: Puggles, Grimkins, Flemblossoms, Shreeks (only in castle tower area) _______________ ==MAP OF TIMBERDALE==/ E tree 1 \ # \ A-F = Soul Jars /8\_______________/__F 2 | 6 1-8 = Shadowraith Hearts / rs _D_____ __/ep | b = Soccer Ball dh_ _______ __ sp # | | (rh) (____ \ \A/ \B_su | | | rs = Reia's Scroll /______/ \_\____/__C__\3_b_/ # = Spirit Stone \__ ___) (rh)= Rift Hub Gate |__| dh = Darby's House sp = Sundial Portal utd 5 utd = Upper Timberdale su = Sundial 4 tree = Tree Area ep = Earth Elemental Powerup It is fairly hard to die in this level, unless you fall of the level's edge. Usually you'll just take one hit of damage from an enemy or fall, but just go to a spirit stone and defeat an easy enemy to regain it. Also use the water that's in so much of the level to break your falls. Note my "level difficulty rating system." This is a grade out of five, five being the hardest, in how hard it was for me to do this task relative to the other tasks in the level. (So a five in the first level might still be easier than a one in the last level). ==REIA'S SCROLL LOCATION== Reia's first scroll is at the end of the main dirt path from Darby's house to the Tree area, near the base of the tree, in a circle of Shards. ==HEART #1 Climb the Tree== Difficulty: 1/5 Riddle: High atop a village of metal, wood, and flame a twisted tree to pillage a secret to attain Objective: Climb to the top of the level's tree to get your first Shadowraith Heart and be introduced to the Rift Hub. Location on the map: At the 1, is where the heart is located. Just follow the arrows from the entrance to most of the way up the tree, which is the Heart that Darby mentions before disappearing. Going up the tree is fairly easy. Remember that the Shards and Soul Jars get reset once you get a Shadowraith Heart, so don't bother collecting them yet. You will stay solely in one area in this challenge (there are also some sub-areas of Timberdale you can go to). After the part of the tree with the falling boulder, take a right turn to climb/jump up the rest of the tree and the Heart. (After your first heart, whether it's this one or a different one, you get transported to the Rift Hub, see the next section for more on the Rift Hub.) ==HEART #2 Sumo Match== Difficulty: 2/5 Do this Heart first: Heart #1 Climb the Tree Riddle: Hulking sumo crashes Storms his crushes bring To win escape his smashes Or be knocked out of the ring Objective: Climb to the very top of the tree and defeat the Sumo in a minigame for your next Heart. Location on the map: Sumo and Heart are both at the 2. Follow the arrows again, this time to the top of the tree. Time for your first boss battle - the Sumo Wrestler! It's not hard at all. Keep moving to the side so he's never really facing you. When he starts "flaming", move out of the way so his powerful charge misses. Go up to him and strike him out of the ring as he's recovering, for a point. Repeat this twice to get the Heart. ==HEART #3 Dancing Rocks== Difficulty: 3/5 Do this Heart first: Heart #1 Climb the Tree Riddle: Upon a spirit breeze Stones dance against the void A prize there you must seize A fall you must avoid Objective: Climb the rocks flying around the top of the level to get another Heart. Location on the map: You start climbing at 3 on the map. Climb the rocks near the Hub's entrance, also near the soccer ball. On the climb, you run into two "climbing walls," which can be hard with the plant enemies at the top, and some falling rocks. Once you reach the top of the cliffside, you must jump through the series of rocks. (The next rock you have to jump to is always to the side of your rock, not above.) Plan ahead for each jump, what angle you'll jump at, and when you should jump. You can climb up the side of the rocks, fortunately. If you fall, it should only take away one health point, so recover at the Spirit Stone near the Sundial and try again. The Heart is hovering where the last rock can reach it. =HEART #4 Castle Tower== (D-02.4) Difficulty: 5/5 Riddle: Beyond the curtain falls model castle comes to light to scale the tower walls mind what is out of sight Objective: A hard task, you must venture deep into Timberdale to a tower with a Shadowraith Heart at the very top. Location on the map: Upper Timberdale Area. TO GET TO UPPER TIMBERDALE: Follow the path behind the first waterfall by Darby's house. The path is fairly easy to see as it's lined with Shards. After the first waterfall, walk the path towards the falls' center, to the rock with the Shard, and climb up the wall past the second waterfall into a cave in the wall. In the cave, go straight, up into the mysterious portal, and soon you'll be in a peaceful little village area. For the heart, go straight from the village area into the tall tower. This is probably the hardest challenge in the level. You have quite a ways to go up. Start with hopping only on the darker blue platforms onto the elevator. Don't touch the other platforms. Look at the following platforms/enemies/etc and their descriptions for more. Bottom Platforms - At the bottom of the area. Only jump on the dark blue ones. The other ones collapse and will no longer be able to save you if you fall from above. Air Blowers - Fairly easy to avoid, except when they're grouped up. They make the invisible platforms visible, but they also do damage. Invisible Platforms - They're always there, the air blowers only help you see them. Jump on them when the blowers stop. Rock Back and Forth Platforms - There's only one of these. Start on near end to make the far end go the highest (don't worry, it has a limit) then go to the other side and do a Pulse Jump to get up. Very Skinny Platforms - Be careful on these. They're not that hard if you go slowly, since Vexx will grab onto the edge if you begin to fall. NOTE the platforms under the large gap in this platform. Crushing Statues - LETHAL but easy to dodge. They crush downward. Hiding Statues - These ones crush towards the wall, but they don't deal damage. There are extra lives behind them, and it's fun to play hide and seek with the monsters the Shreeks hire. Rotating Wall Cubes - Jump onto the next one as they start turning. Purple Platforms - Jump to the next one before the one you're on falls down and disappears. Revolving Platforms - At the top of the level. You're almost there... Once you reach the top of the main chamber through the pole, just jump off the pole, climb up the spiraling platforms into the center, and finally a well-earned Heart for you. ==HEART #5 Water Towers== Difficulty: 4/5 Riddle: To each watery tower You may get around Grab a gift of power When their answer is found Objective: Climb the three water towers in Upper Timberdale to get another Shadowraith Heart. Location on map: Upper Timberdale Area. Use the description from the last Heart challenge to get to Upper Timberdale again. This time, note the towers to the left, right, and behind the tall tower from the last Heart. You need to swim through a ring in each of them to activate them. You can do them in any order, here they are: Tower to the left: Probably the easiest. Get out of the water, climb up to the pole, climb the pole, jump into the floating water, swim through the ring, go back down, exit. Tower in the center: Medium difficulty. Swim up to the surface of the water and find the first Bounce Pad. Jump up to a series of two more bounce pads, until you find yourself stuck to the ceiling. Move the Move Stick until you're hanging over the center of the tower in the middle. Press X to drop through the ring, and swim back through the exit. Tower to the right: Probably the hardest. It's all water, no place to get air, so you have to be fast. Swim upward through the moving "blades" (they don't hurt you, just block you), being fast. After about four blades, you can swim through the ring at the top, back down, and outside. Once you've swam through the third ring, you get a message that a Shadowraith Heart has appeared outside. Go back outside and look around the back of the town square area for it. ==HEART #6 Soccer== Difficulty: 1/5 Riddle: A reward is concealed somewhere 'twixt and knoll for it to be revealed keep your mind on your goal Objective: Kick the soccer ball across some of the level into the little goal. Fun and easy. Location on map: Soccer ball located at point "b". Goal area located at the 6. Kick the soccer ball, found near the Rift Hub and the entrance to the cliffside for heart #3. It moves just by running into it. Don't let it roll any hills out of your control! If it goes into water or off the edge of the level, use "Warp to Hub" and it should appear again at its starting point, or just go back to where it was and it should teleport there again. Make the ball keep steady to keep it from rolling out of control, and make it roll around the back of the Hub entrance so it's further away from all the water. The goal is located near the Earth Elemental Powerup, by the tree and the spirit stone in that area. Kick the ball into the goal and the Heart appears. ==HEART #7 Sundial Portal== Difficulty: 2/5 Riddle: A one-way portal calls Sundial tells the time Hidden gateway opens halls missed chance would be a crime Objective: Go through a platforming challenge in the Sundial Portal. Location on map: The sundial portal, next to the sundial, marked with "sp". Go onto the sundial and set the time (left or right with your controller) so the nearby Sundial Portal is active, and go in. It's a platform jumping challenge. I had a lot of fun with this one. Like the Rock-Jumping challenge above the level, plan all your jumps onto and off of moving platforms. Pretty easy. ==HEART #8 Heart in Veil== Difficulty: 2/5 Riddle: Cursed heart just out of reach behind a crystal veil if molten trick we didn't teach this run will not avail Objective: Activate the Earth Elemental Powerup of this level so you can get a heart encased in crystal. Location on Map: Earth Rune is in Darby's House Earth Elemental Powerup is marked with "ep". Locked Heart is located at the 8. See the encased heart near where you started the level (by Darby's house?) You need to break it's cover, which can only be done with the Earth Elemental powerup. Start by going back into Darby's house. Jump on the table in the center (watch out for the fire) then Do a Pulse Jump + Flare Kick in the air (Crouch + Jump + Attack) for the maximum air to reach the rafters. Get the extra life, then go into the whirlywindy thing to enter the fire tapestry. Climb up the animal's back to the powerup to now be able to activate any Earth powerup at any time now! The game should save auto- matically. Now go to where you can power up (near the soccer goal and the Hub Entrance). You can power up as many times as you want now. To get to the crystal veil in enough time, use this route: Go from the powerup into the shallow water by the giant waterfall. Jump from there to the lower part of the tree. Go towards the original dirt path you took. You should finish with around five seconds. Just run into the veil to release the Heart. ==HEART #9 Soul Jars== Difficulty: 3/5 Riddle: Souls of Astani old are trapped in these jars six to gain the prize they hold make use of all your tricks Objective: Collect the six Soul Jars in the level for a Heart. Location on the map: They're marked A-F on the map. Soul Jar A: Climb the wall near the first Shattersphere (that, appropriately, tells you about climbing). EXTRA LIFE near this Jar, under the second waterfall bridge. B: Similarly, perform a pulse jump on the ledge by the second shattersphere (that tells you about Pulse Jumping). C: Similarly, find the third Shattersphere (do a Pulse Jump + Flare Kick (Crouch + Jump + Attack) on the high plateau near the sundial. This shattersphere tells you about long jumping. Long jump to the nearby platforms hovering over the large waterfall and climb up. D: This Soul Jar can be found in the middle of the very large rotating platform at the base of the big tree. E: Swim around the base of the tree to an island with a Bounce Pad. Climb up and launch to the Soul Jar. F: Hard! Climb the tree until you reach the platform about halfway up that rocks back and forth. On the tree stump area after this platform, you should see a pole sticking up off the other edge of this stump. Jump onto this pole and climb down. This is the tough part - jumping to the other poles. Face the camera so the pole Vexx's on is the closest, and so Vexx is as close as possible to the other pole, and almost all the way up to the top of the earth where the poles are hanging from. Jump and hold down "up" all the way to get Vexx to grab onto the next pole. Repeat, climb up, good job. ==HEART #10 Shards== Difficulty: 2/5 Riddle: When hearts did burst asunder much energy did scatter to return this heart its thunder one hundred's all that matters Objective: Collect 100 Shards for a Shadowraith Heart. Location on the map: Everywhere, in the main section. I recommend doing this challenge after you've done all the hearts (or at least all the ones on the main section of the map, since you may want to come back to the level to do #4 and 5 which are hard). Just explore all around the main section of the map to get 100 of these. Revisit everywhere you've been, especially the route to Upper Timberdale, the areas with Soul Jars A, B, C, and E, the main dirt path of the level, and up, down, and all around the tree. If that still isn't enough, go up to Upper Timberdale's castle tower section for about 20 more, but you'd better not die up there. \/----------------\/ /\ D-03 Rift Hub /\ After you collect your first heart, you will be transported here for the first time to offer the heart's power to the amazing portal system. With more hearts, more portals can be opened to new levels. You come to the Rift Hub every time you get a new heart in a level. The Rift Hub is connected to every level with a large metal entrance door. You can also Warp back to the Rift Hub by accessing the start menu (you have to be standing still on solid ground to do so). Even when you've just been to Timberdale, you can open two more levels very easily: Dragonreach - 2 Shadowraith Hearts required The Neverglades - 5 Hearts required And the other levels open up after about every 8 hearts you get. Tempest Peak Manor - 11 Hearts required The Below - 18 Hearts required Daggercrag - 26 Hearts required Summit of the Sages - 34 Hearts required Frostblight Mill - 42 Hearts required Citadel of Shadows - 50 Hearts required To go to a new level, if you have enough hearts, just stand on the circle in front of the entrance to the level, choose a mission to do (this will determine where the arrows in a level point), and proceed into the open portal. For more on the Rift Hub and choosing levels and Hearts, see section C-06 Level/Hub System for more. \/-------------------\/ /\ D-04 Dragonreach /\ Hearts Required to Enter: 2 This level is a little harder than Timberdale. There are no spirit stones, you must recover life by defeating enemies. The deserty level has kind of a circular layout, and three levels. The first level is low on the ground, containing three pools, the sundial, and the whirlpool. The second level has the large spinning gear, and entrances to two side areas (one with a fun minigame). The highest level is a bone bridge that spans over the circle of the level, ending in the first Shadowraith Heart and in your ability to glide. Enemies: Puggles, Grimkins, Skinxes, Hobbletrods (on the gear), Shadowcreeps (whirlpool area), Phantoms (Haunted House Area), Sharks (Underwater Area) _____________ ==MAP OF DRAGONREACH== / \ __4__ / ep \_________ /=====\___________| whirl =========\ ##############$$$$$$$#####################=====\ ###\==##############$$$# /===####===\____ ### ###==/ \=/ \=/ | su /=======##===\ \ ## ###==/ ___rs |-| | /_________#===|rune\ # wp / 6 /gear\ /-/ | /==========#===|____/ # | (p3) \====/ _/ / /=========###===/ # \ ____ ___/ /======#####===/ /|\ \ / /=2==\ __/ \_ ===####=====/ 1 __ \____\ \====/____/ /====###======/ /==\ \__ ######======/ \5=/ (==) (p1) | (p2)====/ | \______/ \________/ -SURFACE KEY- (== / # bone bridge (highest) \___ ___/ $ pole part of bridge \ / (can both be passed under) \rh/ = medium-high elevation 1-6 = Shadowraith Hearts 4 = Haunted House Area, with Heart #4 (p1)(p2)(p3) = Underwater area, has pools with Heart #3 rs = Reia's Scroll gear = spinning gear with Hobbletrod su = Sundial whirl = sand whirlpool area wp = Wind-Elemental Powerup rune = Wind-Element Rune (high up) ep = Earth-Elemental Powerup rh = Rift Hub (ENTRANCE) ==REIA'S SCROLL LOCATION== In this level, Reia's scroll is located between the whirlpool area and the area with the locked heart, near the sundial. ==HEART #1 Bone Bridge== Difficulty: 3/5 Riddle: Find a pulsing treasure on an ancient knuckle take care in each measure or it may just buckle Objective: Climb the lengthy bone bridge to introduce you to the level and receive a Shadowraith Heart. Location on the map: At the 1, is where the heart is located. By looking at the map and following the arrows, just go along the high Bone Bridge path to get to the heart. Stick to the heart and don't fall off. Here's some of what you'll run into: Crushers - If they crush you you die instantly, but it's easy to run past them in time. Skinxes - These annoying bee-like creatures are common along the bone bridge path. Practice attacking them, use an Uppercut (Crouch + Attack) and don't fall off! Opposite-Rotating Rocks - This pair of rocks are rotating in opposite directions on the path. Just jump forward a lot and you shouldn't be thrown off the path. Pole Sequence - Stay on the poles, go to the top of each one and jump off to the next one. If you fall off them you'll either slide to the bottom of the pole section or off the whole bone bridge. Large Rotating Cylinder - When you get to the top of the poles, use the path to the right to finish the way to the first heart. For this difficult section, run towards about 10:00 (from facing forwards) so you don't get thrown off the platform but are still proceeding forward. Revolving Meteors - It's easy to dodge these meteors revolving around the final section of the bone bridge. Usually you can just flat out run and not get hit. Soon, you'll reach a heart perched on a large claw-bone overlooking the level. Congratulations and welcome to Dragonreach! ==HEART #2 Drop and Hop== Difficulty: 1/5 Riddle: Beneath the dragon's grasp where time did make him stop You must move twice as fast to win at drop and hop Objective: Play an Inner Demon minigame, and win to get a Heart. Location on the map: At the 2 you can enter the area with the minigame. Follow the arrows along a fairly short path to the 2 on the map. It's a building, placed on an area of fairly high elevation. The first Inner Demon minigame is kind of like Snake, with you and three computer players. Once you run off a floor tile, it disappears and you get one point. Running in a straight line is effective. Your Inner Demons should be much slower than you at collecting the tiles, plus they can't Attack or Jump like you can. Which means you can almost trap them on a single tile by taking all the ones around them, and they don't jump off. There is no penalty for falling off, and you will be regenerated in a few seconds. The tiles grow back after about 5 seconds. Vexx is represented by a blue circle under him, so you can tell him apart from the demons. Each character's score appears above their head. Each round lasts 30 seconds. There are three rounds, and whoever has the LEAST amount of tiles at the end of a round gets disqualified for the next round. In the last round, there are only two participants. Survive three rounds in a row to be declared winner and receive the Heart. ==HEART #3 Well Cubes== Difficulty: 5/5 Riddle: What once was ancient swells a sea did drain below to find it down the wells you'll find you have to go Objective: Descend into the three wells and activate several targets underwater for a Shadowraith Heart. Location on the map: At the (p1), (p2), and (p3). To get this heart, dive into all three wells and swim down. There are a bunch of "Cubes" you have to activate, and you need to go into all the wells to access all the sections of the underwater area. There is a very handy map in the corner showing Cubes and Bubbles. Here are some of the enemies and items you'll run into: Glowing Cubes - This is the main goal of the section. You must go up to all the cubes in the area, simply swimming into them deactivates them. All active cubes are shown in the map in the corner, so it's easy to find them. Some cubes are hidden behind doors you can open, see Tall Door description. Air Bubbles - These are almost as important as the Glowing Cubes, as they'll keep you alive underwater. Run into them and the swim timer resets, and you'll get one point of health. They're also marked on the map. Switches - swim through the circular metal rings in the water to open a nearby Tall Door. Tall Doors - You can see these doors by swimming fairly high, where their opening is. Open them with a switch. Swim through the small opening to reach some of the Cubes. Sharks - Swim away if they're chasing you until you reach an air bubble. Don't let them slow you down. I guess they're just plain annoying. If you don't swim away they'll take away some health. Exits - When you're done with a section or you chicken out, exit back to Dragonreach by swimming up high, where a large black opening in the wall is. Once you deactivate all of the Glowing Cubes, a Shadowraith Heart will appear by the current section's exit. ==HEART #4 Haunted House== Difficulty: 4/5 Riddle: Where dragon's heart did beat a doorway with suspense within use talons' heat to loose some things immense Objective: Head into the "Haunted House" area and get a Shadowraith Heart by lowering a series of blocks. Location on the map: At the 4 where the Haunted House area is. Follow the arrows once this mission is selected. You'll go past the arena for Heart #2, go across a gear, and reach an elevated area with a hole in the wall leading to the Haunted House. Why is it haunted? It's full of Phantoms, who are very annoying. If they hit you, they knock you to the ground AND disappear so you can't strike back and recover health. In the house are four challenges, and four platforms to lower to reach the Heart in the main room. To get to the challenges, go left or right into hallways out of the main room, then left or right once you're outside. Here are the challenges, you can do them in any order, but these are in order of difficulty: 1. Left hallway, turn right when you're outside. Platform jumping with platforms that rock back and forth. It's pretty easy. 2. Right hallway, right turn. Platform jumping, with narrow platforms and some moving platforms. At times it's hard to see, but just imagine the platforms you can see go on in a straight line. 3. Right hallway, left turn. Launch up. Once you reach the room, you can't see a thing, but stand on the edge, center yourself in the doorway facing into the room, and jump forward into the darkness. You should end up grabbing onto an edge. Continue forward slowly until you reach the fan. This is the hard part, you must jump over the fanblades rapidly, going around the platform, to get to the end. 4. Left hallway, left turn. Hard. Pole-to-pole jumping with moving poles. Just patient and wait for the poles to position themselves. Climb to the top of the poles each time. NOTE FOR ALL CHALLENGES: The phantoms will not be able to damage you or knock you over when you're up high in the rooms. If you fall into the darkness, you will lose one point of health and be returned to the main room. When you reach the end of each challenge, use an uppercut or ground pound to cut the ropes and lower the platforms. Once all four platforms are lowered, return to the main room, climb up, and get the Shadowraith Heart. ==HEART #5 Flying Lessons== Difficulty: 3/5 Do this Heart first: Heart #1 Bone Bridge Riddle: Beyond the fossil's grasp a ship floats in the air just thread the banded path with wings to get you there. Objective: Activate the Wind Powerup by obtaining the rune, and try it out to get a Shadowraith Heart. Location on the map: Rune is located at the "rune" (special way to get there) Powerup is located at the "wp" Heart is located at the 5 To get this heart you must do three things: Get the wind rune, get to the powerup, and fly to the heart. To get the wind rune, climb the bone bridge (that you used to get heart #1) until you reach the poles. Right after jumping off the final pole, jump down to the ledge on the left. You should see a platform that looks similar to a bounce pad, but it's really a teleport pad. Step on it and you get teleported to the plateau with the rune. Get the rune and the game auto-saves. Remember to come back here if you need Shards for Heart #9. Return to safe ground by using "Warp to Hub". To get to the powerup, climb the bone bridge again. Go straight when you get off the poles, and slide down the sand. (You should be glad the game saved when you got the rune - this can be hard). Step on the powerup. To fly to the heart, once you get gliding from the powerup, immediately fly towards the heart (straight forward, in the direction of the nearby rings.) Fly through the rings for a speed bonus, which you'll probably need to reach the platform with the heart in time. Once you land on the platform, get the heart! ==HEART #6 Heart in Veil== Difficulty: 1/5 Do this Heart first: Timberdale Heart #8 Heart in Veil Riddle: Again a heart in sight is locked within clear walls without your molten might it remains beyond your calls Objective: Destroy another crystal veil protecting a Heart using the Earth Elemental Powerup Location on the map: Earth Elemental Powerup is located at the "ep" Heart is located at the 6. This is pretty self explanatory. Remember the last heart when you did this? (If you didn't get the locked veil heart in Timberdale, get it now since you need the rune from it to do this one.) The Element Powerup is in the sand whirlpool area. The locked heart is near the third well (to the left of the Rift Hub.) Since the powered-up Vexx cannot jump out of the "moving sand" surrounding the mesa in the level, you need to get close to the far wall (away from the Rift Hub) so you have a fairly clean path to the Heart. Figure out a good path beforehand, and it's easy. The area you pass through should have the Sundial and Reia's Scroll. ==HEART #7 Sand Castle== Difficulty: 6/5 (It's so hard, maybe you should come back later, definitely do all other level tasks before this one) Do this Heart first: Timberdale Heart #4 Castle Tower Riddle: Within a certain spire while moving hand o'er hand access you'll acquire to a castle of sand Objective: Venture into Timberdale, to the Castle, then to the Sand Castle for a difficult heart. Location on the map: Not on map because not in level. This is kind of confusing, since this heart isn't even part of Dragonreach. You have to go back to Timberdale. Go back to the Castle area by going to Upper Timberdale, and enter the tall tower. (For more on this area, visit Timberdale Heart #4, use the keyword D-02.4 in a Find search) Climb the tower once again. When you reach the area with the very narrow platforms going across the tower, find the gap in the platform. Jump to the small platform under the first side of the gap, and you'll notice a switch above your head. Jump to activate it and watch a nearby window open. Your destination is that window. You have two choices here, and start by jumping to the other lower platform. Either: - Jump up and claw to the bottom of the long narrow platform. This is really hard and you're likely to drop. Inch your way along with the move stick until you reach the window. OR: - Do a Pulse Jump - Flare Kick (Crouch + Jump + Attack) to get back onto the main platform. Make your way to above the window. Inch back to the edge of the platform until you're hanging from the edge. Align Vexx and the camera with the window, drop and quickly Flare Kick. (Down + Jump, then Attack button). You need good timing with your flare kick, but you should hang onto the edge of the window. Walk into the next room. Now you're back in Dragonreach. This is a nearly complete replica of the last room, with slightly bigger gaps, different enemies, faster-moving platforms, and different decorations (note the shells don't do anything, they can be distracting). If you go back through the exit, you will be teleported back to Dragonreach, instead of Timberdale's Castle Tower. Luckily, where you are is a restart point, just make sure you have some lives to spare. You will need to use Pulse Jump + Flare Kick (Crouch + Jump + Attack) and Long Jump + Flare Kick (Move + Crouch + Jump + Attack) a lot to get across some of the platforms. Start by doing a Long Jump + Flare Kick to get to the elevator platform without touching any of the hexagons on the ground. When the elevator arrives, do a Long Jump + Flare Kick again quickly to get to safe ground. Continue up, this is what you'll encounter: ENEMIES: Giant Hobbletrods - Easy, as you'll be on solid land when you encounter them. Shake them off, or go up to them and attack them if you need health. Giant Flembossoms: Easy. One of them is facing away from you, and they go down in one hit. PLATFORMS/DEVICES: Bottom Platforms - At the bottom of the area. Don't jump on them unless you land on them from above. Air Blowers - Fairly easy to avoid, except when they're grouped up. They make the invisible platforms visible, but they also do damage. In the big group of them, you will have to take damage, but simply try to keep from falling off! Invisible Platforms - They're always there, the air blowers only help you see them. Jump on them when the blowers stop. Some of them are hard to see in this level, but you should remember where they are. Rock Back and Forth Platforms - There's only one of these. Start on near end to make the far end go the highest (don't worry, it has a limit) then go to the other side and do a Pulse Jump + Flare Kick. Very Skinny Platforms - Be careful on these. They're a little harder this time. Like the invisible platforms, there's a section that only shows up when grains are dropped on it (it's always there.) Inch along slowly so Vexx will catch the side if you start to fall. Once again, there's a midway gap you have to jump. Gray Rectangle Platforms - Jump to the next one before the one you're on falls down and disappears. Use a Pulse Jump + Flare Kick. Crushing Statues - LETHAL but easy to dodge. They crush downward. Hiding Statues - These ones crush towards the wall, but they don't deal damage. There is one extra life behind the second one. Rotating Wall Cubes - Jump onto the next one as they start turning. This time they turn fast. Get REALLY HYPER with Pulse Jumps to survive. Gray Square Platforms - Jump to the next one before the one you're on falls down and disappears. One of them is a little higher up, do a Pulse Jump to get to it. Revolving Platforms - At the top of the level. You're almost there... be careful jumping onto the pole, use a Flare Kick in your Jump if you don't think you're aligned right. ONCE (or IF) you reach the top of the main chamber through the pole, just jump off the pole (Watch out for the Air Blower, climb up the spiraling platforms into the center, and finally a very-well-earned Heart for you. Now go take a break from the game! ==HEART #8 Soul Jars== Difficulty: 2/5 Riddle: The spirits of the damned trapped in eternal pain can be found throughout this land among earthly remains Objective: Find the six Soul Jars in the level for a heart. Location on the map: All jars around the Whirlpool area. Find the six soul jars, they're all around the Whirlpool area, look around all the bone bridges. (One's a little far away, near the start of the big Bone Bridge, on a claw-bone.) ==HEART #9 Shards== Difficulty: 2/5 Riddle: When hearts did burst asunder much energy did scatter to return this heart its thunder one hundred's all that matters Objective: Collect 100 Shards for a Shadowraith Heart. Location on the map: Everywhere, in the main section. I recommend doing this challenge after you've done some of the other hearts, such as #1 and #5 and #8 especially. Just explore all around the main section of the map to get 100 of these. Revisit everywhere you've been, especially the route to the Haunted House, the entire bone bridge, the high plateau with the Rune, the area around all the wells, and all the little places you haven't noticed before, that you can see by going to a high point like the bone bridge. \/-----------------------\/ /\ D-05 The Neverglades /\ Hearts Required to Enter: 5 This level isn't too hard. Spirit Stones come back. This level pretty much has three areas - A large temple in front of you, a castle area behind you, and a very watery area to the left. The sundial is at an upper area above the temple. And, once again, there is another Inner Demon minigame. ENEMIES: Flemblossoms, Goobeasts, Krunks, Skinxes, Shadowcreeps (Citadel area), Shocking Sharks ______________________ ==MAP OF NEVERGLADES==/****************#*****\ /*********/TEMP\********|^^^^ /****/~| |________| |\***|~~~~> ____________/wp**/~~|____________|~\**|~~~~~> h2| |~~~~~~~~<\**\~~~~~~|____|~~~~~/**|~~~/h3\ | | |~~~~~~~~<<\**\~~~~~|____|~~~~~\**|~~~\___\ |_| |~~~~~~~~< |6 |~(tc)~()<|*****\~~~|____|~~~~~~~~~~~~/ | _____| /~~~~~~~~~<<\*****************\~~~~~~~~\___| / ______/~~~~~~/ 2 \<<|**\**************\~~~~~~~~~~~> |_/~~~~~~~~~~~~~\___/<<|**|~~~~| |~\***|~~~~~~/ | |_|7~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |__________|~|_|~|__ 1 ________ ________)^^(__/ |~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~\_/******\ | | /*su*\^^^^^^/ \~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(************/_| | \****/^^^^^/ --CITA area-- \~~~~~~~~~~~~~<<<<<<<<<<<<<~~ ~~>>>>^^^^^/ to main | | _______/ s1 \ --TEMP area-- /| rh |\ / s2 \_||__\ _C_____D_ __/ |____| \__ | \ B/ 8 \ | | | [ 3 4 ] \ / ___ \E | __\ /__ | | ___ / | / 5 \ | | | CITA | | \_______/ _____/ A|___ ____|F \ \______/ / \ \ \main/ \__________/ \__s3/ ** = High elevation area (can sometimes be passed under, accessed from top of temple stairs or climbing behind Rift Hub) ~~ = Calm water << ^^ >> = Water with currents (Left, Up, and Right, respectively) TEMP = Temple area (has its own map) CITA = Citadel area (has its own map) 1-9 = Shadowraith Hearts A-F = Soul Jars h1 h2 h3 = Heart #1 Heads s1 s2 s3 = Heart #4 Head Switches rh = Rift Hub (ENTRANCE) # = Spirit Stone rs = Reia's Scroll su = Sundial wp = Wind Elemental Powerup tc = Talon Charger Platform ==REIA'S SCROLL LOCATION== In this level, Reia's scroll is located along the path straight from the Rift Hub to the temple, at the base of the stairs. ==HEART #1 Stone Head Assembly== Difficulty: 3/5 Riddle: Relics wrecked lay in rot What mystery transpired? Heads up, mind this caveat: Some Assembly Required Objective: Find the three stone heads around the level and place them on the stone bodies to unlock a Shadowraith Heart. Location on the map: Locked heart and stone bodies located at the 1. Three heads located at the h1, h2, and h3 in the main section of the map. First, follow the level's default arrows to the little altar with the three stone bodies, and the Heart encased in stone. To get there, pass across the water at the beginning, and take a left turn at the stone intersection. Now it's time to get the three colored heads, and put them on their corresponding bodies. Note - Carrying Heads: To carry a head, simply walk up to it and press the Attack button. You should grab onto the head and hold it above Vexx with your claws. To let go of the head, press Attack again. This will make Vexx throw the head. Vexx can do powerful throws by moving, and even jumping during a throw. You'll need to use this method to get the heads above several gaps. If you leave the heads alone for about 10 seconds, they will disappear in a blue burst and return to their original position. Head 1 (Yellow): Simply go back to the Rift Hub, and take the path straight forward, to the base of the Temple stairs. You should see the Reia's scroll, and on a rock to the left, you should see a Yellow Stone Head. Go up to it and pick it up. Bring it back to the Altar by walking back along the path to there. To get the head up a high stair, just jump in front of the stair, throw, and the head should land at the top if you did it right. Go up and get the head again. When you reach the Altar, just go up to the Yellow Body and press Attack. Head 2 (Green): From the Altar, keep going forward into the water cave area. Simply follow the path lining the wall until you get to a slightly raised area with the Green Stone Head. Kill all the enemies along the way so you don't have to fight them on your way back with the head. Pick up the head. Heading back should be fairly easy. At the stairs, just Jump, Throw, Climb Up, Pick Up, repeat. At the circular revolving platforms, just jump onto the rotating platform when it comes, without Throwing the head, and jump off on the other side. At the large gap above the spirit stone: Jump up, but not out. Throw at the top of your jump, and go across. The Altar should be right in front of you, deliver the head. Head 3 (Red): From the Altar, turn around to the path back to the Rift Hub, but go straight until you reach a series of large platforms over open water. Jump across these with Long Jumps + Flare Kicks. At the end of the series is the last Head, which is red. Pick it up and Jump up (not in any direction) and throw to get the Head across all the gaps, follow it, and repeat. ==HEART #2 Electric Sharks== Difficulty: 5/5 Riddle: A drop into a well is followed by a splash Beware the fish are fell electric is their lash Objective: Go down into the well and use the electric sharks to charge up a platform that leads to a Shadowraith Heart. Location on the map: The well is located at the 2. This is an odd, kind of glitchy task that involves charging up a platform using electric sharks in a separate area. To get to this "Well" area, follow the arrows for Heart #2, or go to the Altar for Heart #1, continue to the cavern area, and take a right turn by the spirit stone, and look around in the water for the well. Go down. In the well area, you'll notice a ring in the water. This has nothing to do with you swimming through it. Also, in the center of the area, there's a little whirlywindy thing that will take you back to the main area, and a sunken underwater platform under it. You should also notice three bright sharks swimming around in different parts of the water. Be careful around these. They're what make this challenge difficult and scary. (If you're down to 1 or 2 pieces of health, warp out and fight a Goobeast to regain all your health.) What you need to do is swim around, fairly slowly but not too slow, and attract the sharks to you and make them follow you to the ring. If you think you can do this fairly easily, just go around in a circle around the center of the area, making all the sharks follow you, and swim through the ring. This will make all the sharks shock the ring with their electricity and will make the large sunken platform rise. You need all three sharks shocking at the same time. It's harder than it sounds. Just attract them all to the area with the ring. Try not to get shocked yourself in the process! Once the platform rises, climb up it and step on the switch to reveal the well-earned Shadowraith Heart. ==HEART #3 Open the Citadel== Difficulty: 2/5 Riddle: This age old citadel did time and sand devour Its hazards you must quell to scale its inner tower Objective: Unlock the door to the Citadel area in back of the level, and go into the Citadel for an easy Shadowraith Heart. Location on the map: The Citadel entrance is located at the "CITA". In the area, the Heart is located at the 3. The first task here is to unlock the door to the Citadel. Go to the wall of vines behind the Rift Hub gate and climb up. This is the door to the Citadel. You need to find three glowing relics around the castle wall to open up the door. Just go to the side of the tower and you'll see platforms along the side. Explore the area around there for three glowing relic things. Touch them to deactivate them and see a cutscene with a section of the door opening. Once you get all three of them the Citadel Door opens. Go inside. Now, go up to the structure in the middle of this dark, sandy area (Watch out for Shadowcreeps!) and look around it for a ramp going up onto it. There should be a ramp on the opposite side of the entrance to this area. From there, climb up the odd structure to the top, and jump down into the middle (Do a Flare Kick when you're at the same level as the Heart) to get a Shadowraith Heart floating in the middle of this structure. ==HEART #4 Nanyk Temple== Difficulty: 4/5 Do this Heart first: Heart #3 Open the Citadel Riddle: The temple of Nanyk lies buried in the sand Head up to make three clicks and try for one last stand Objective: Get another heart in the Citadel area by exploring the large heads surrounding the buried ruins. Location on the map: The Citadel entrance is located at the "CITA". In the area, the three heads are located at the s1, s2, and s3, and the Heart is at the 4. You should do Heart #3 before this. Go back into the Citadel area. You need to turn on the eyes of three "head switches" at different sides of this area to raise the tower in the middle out of the sand. Head Switch 1: From near the entrance, you should see a Bounce Pad on the ground on a slightly raised area. Go up to a bridge, cross the bridge to a switch on the ground that lowers another bridge. Cross the next bridge and climb up the wall to the Head Switch. Step on the ground switch to activate it. Head Switch 2: From Switch 1, go around to the right side of the structure in the middle to find another raised area. This time, there's a bunch of "temporary support" platforms that activate when you pass through from under them. Go up the series of these platforms to reach another Head Switch. Activate it. Head Switch 3: Go to the back corner of the room, and climb up the ramp of sand. There should be a series of platforms going up and down. This is easy as long as you don't fall off, walk along until you reach the last Head Switch, and activate. To get back to the main area quickly drop down from the platform with the Head, you should see a teleport pad which will return you to the tower in the center. ==HEART #5 Temple Rings== Difficulty: 2/5 Do this Heart first: Dragonreach Heart #2 Drop and Hop Riddle: Shadowed alcove through a game of gatherings Collect more than a few to win at Temple Rings Objective: Participate in another Inner Demon minigame in the temple and win three rounds for a Shadowraith Heart. Location on the map: The Temple entrance is located at the "TEMP". In the area, the Heart is located at the 5. From the Rift Hub, just go straight. Straight ahead, across the bridge, up the stairs, up the ramps, and into the temple, and into the door straight ahead when you get into the temple. You just entered another "inner demon" minigame. Remember the last one? The second Inner Demon minigame is Ring Collecting, with you and three computer players. Each ring you collect is a point. A good way to do this is to run to where there's a lot of rings, and where your enemy could easily get them, but make sure he doesn't get them before you can! Your Inner Demons should be slightly slower than collecting the rings, but this time they can do attacks. By attacking or juggling your Inner Demons you can make them spill rings. But watch out, since they'll do the same to you. Make sure you don't lose control when you're near them. If you go near an enemy, attack it before it attacks you, even if you don't pick up what he drops, at least you'll stall him. There is no penalty for falling out of the arena, and you will be regenerated in a few seconds. A new bunch of rings falls about every 5 seconds, too. Vexx is represented by a blue circle under him, so you can tell him apart from the demons. Each character's score appears above their head. Each round lasts 30 seconds. There are three rounds, and whoever has the LEAST amount of rings at the end of a round gets disqualified for the next round. In the last round, there are only two participants. Survive three rounds in a row to be declared winner and receive the Heart. ==HEART #6 Fear of Flying== Difficulty: 2/5 Do this Heart first: Dragonreach Heart #5 Flying Lessons Riddle: Above dark cavern floats Heart teasingly so near To get high above the moats hope flying's not your fear Objective: Use the Wind Elemental Powerup to glide to a floating Shadowraith Heart over the wet area to the left of the level. Location on the map: Flying powerup located at "wp". Heart located at the 6. Make your way up the temple stairs ahead and jump up past the temple. Follow the path to the left, and you should soon see the level's Wind Elemental Powerup. Your objective is simple: Glide to one of the level's hearts floating in the air, above the water cavern section. The heart shines brightly, so you should be able to see it when you start gliding. If you can get good control of your glide, this should be easy. Simply touch the Shadowraith Heart to collect it. ==HEART #7 Talon Charger== Difficulty: 0/5 (so easy it should have been in the tutorial) Riddle: Over shadowed pools in gloom Lifeless eyes are dark In sockets fire will bloom If lightning there does arc Objective: Use the Talon Charging Platform to activate a large head relic and make it release a Shadowraith Heart Location on the map: The Talon Charger is located at the TC. The Heart is located at the 7. Make your way up the temple stairs ahead and jump up past the temple. Follow the path to the left, then take the right fork in the upper path. You should see a bunch of odd-sized platforms descending to the right. Climb down them to the bottom to get to the Talon Charger. Charge your Talons with the Attack button if they're not fully charged already, and Power Up. Face the large stone head that should be directly ahead of the camera and fire away with attack. A heart should quickly appear in the head if you hit the right places. Charge up again, but don't use the charge, and jump down into the pool and swim up to the Heart that you freed. ==HEART #8 Soul Jars== Difficulty: 3/5 Riddle: An ancient temple wall contains a mystery return before the fall and join its history Objective: Go into the Temple area and check out the beautiful tapestries to find the six Soul Jars. Location on the map: The Temple entrance is located at the "TEMP". The six Jars are marked with letters A-F. Getting the Jars is interesting this time. Start from the Rift Hub by going straight into the Temple area. Once you're in the inside area of the Temple, don't go into the Inner Demon Minigame, instead turn left by the Shattersphere and go into the other hallway. This is the temple wall with the Jars. Like getting the Fire- Elemental Rune, you must go in a series of tapestries to get this Shadowraith Heart. The tapestries are separated but the design is continuous, so jumping or running from one tapestry will immediately place you on the next one. Surfaces you can run on are usually marked with bright lines. There is no penalty for falling off. Enter the tapestry puzzle by going into the at the dark doorway at the left of the room. Soul Jar A: Far Left Tapestry. Get to the top branch of the tree by climbing the pole. Soul Jar B: Center Left Tapestry. Top of watchtower in the middle, just jump to it. Soul Jar C: Center Tapestry. Top of second pole-ship. Just jump to it and climb if necessary. Soul Jar D: Center Tapestry. Top of Brick Tower to the right, to get over there do a Pulse Jump + Flare Kick while holding Right, with good timing, from Jar #C. Soul Jar E: Center Right Tapestry. Under the bird, just jump to it. Soul Jar F: Far Right Tapestry. End of the line, you have to use the "dangle surface" of the spaceship to get there. Get all of the Soul Jars and the Heart will appear in the middle of the room. ==HEART #9 Shards== Difficulty: 1/5 Riddle: When hearts did burst asunder much energy did scatter to return this heart its thunder one hundred's all that matters Objective: Collect 100 Shards for a Shadowraith Heart. Location on the map: Everywhere. I recommend doing this challenge after you've done some of the other hearts, such as easy ones #6 and #7. Just explore all around the main section of the map to get 100 of these. Revisit everywhere you've been, especially the upper area with the Sundial and the Wind Powerup and all the paths to the stone heads for the relics in Heart #1. Also swim around underwater in the cavern area for some, and revisit the Citadel area if you need to. \/--------------------------\/ /\ D-06 Tempest Peak Manor /\ Hearts Required to Enter: 11 This level is harder, but is a lot of fun. There are no spirit stones this time. This level is a whole different setup than the last three... the level's just a single room, but Vexx is tiny. Don't drop on the floor, since Rex (see enemies section) rampages around, and will eat you if he catches you. The game recommends using a Vent or a Cushion to get back to safe ground, but I recommend simply standing still, going to the pause menu, and Returning to Hub. You're out of danger like that. Skinxes (flies) are very common in this level, but it's mostly easy enemies. ENEMIES: Puggles, Grimkins, Skinxes, Hobbletrods, Blast Bugs, Krunks, Shreeks, Hulks ==MAPS OF TEMPEST PEAK MANOR== FLOOR LEVEL (REX'S AREA) ___________________ _/ /******\******_$_*| ==LEGEND== _/ /********\ V ||_________ _/ /**PIANO***\ |********| | 1-6 = Shadowraith Hearts /_ /************\ |***TV***| | A-F = Soul Jars |S*| (*) ___ __(*) |********| | |H*| /*$*\ |CU| _|________| | ELEVATION |E*| \***/ -- |CU| /*$*\ | [**] = Higher Elevation (Wall) |L*| -- \***/ | [ ] = Current Elevation |F*| |-|-------|-| [^^] = Lower Elevation (Fall) \ _ |***********| \V _/*\ |***COUCH***| PLATFORMS/SURFACES \/$***\ __ \********$/| V = Vent \SINK*\ |CU| ____ V | CU = Cushion (bouncy) \****/ -- /$***| lamp| $ = Ideal landing spot from a \*/ ___________ |CHAIR ___ | Vent or Cushion \ |***********| (***/ __ \| @ = Moving platform comes here \ |**TABLE***| ( CLOCK) \_|**********|________\____/ LEVEL LOCATIONS PIANO = Large Piano MIDDLE LEVEL (RIFT HUB) TV = Television ______________rh___ COUCH = Couch for the TV _/^_/ _su\________$_ | SHELF = Bookshelf _/^_// / 2 \\@^^^^^ V ||_________ SINK = Kitchen Sink _/^^/ / /_rs__\\ \^^^^^^| ______ |^| TABLE = Kitchen Table /_^^/ /___$______\ \^^^^^||**TV**||^| CHAIR = Small Chair |6 | ( )^^___^^^^^( )^^^^^||******||^| CLOCK = Grandfather Clock | 5|^^^^^/CU \^^^^^^^^^^^^|___$_cons^| | |^^^^^\___/^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^/CU \^^_| USUAL THINGS radio^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^\___/^|*| rh = Rift Hub (ENTRANCE) |__|@^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^rem---$---avs su = Sundial \^^^^^@^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^| |cont | | rs = Reia's Scroll \V _/ \^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^| \_|_____/ | (note that there are no \/$ \^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^\________$/| elemental powerups in \ 4 \^^^^^^^^^^^^^^____^^^^^ V | this level) \ _/^^^^^^^^^^^^^/CU| |^^^^^^^| \_/^^__^________^^|__/$/^^____^| TV EQUIPMENT \^^|__|_ |^(___/^^/ __ \| rem = Remote Control \^^| ( )ooo _ |@^^^^^@( gc) ) cons = Game Console \^|_______(_)|^^^^^^^^\____/ cont = Game Controller HIGHEST LEVEL (RAFTERS, ETC) WAYS TO GET TO THE RAFTERS ___________________ avs = Air Vent Switches _/^/ \^^^^^^^^^^| (Step and get blown upward, _/^^/ \^^^^^^^^^|_________ located at COUCH armrest) _/^^^/ PIANO \^^^^^^^^^______^^^| radio = Radio Antenna /_^^^/____________\^^^^^^^| TV |^^| (Step on radio button | |^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^|______|^_| on radio on SHELF to raise | |^^^^^^^^^^\A\|B|/C/^^^^^^^^^^^^| | radio antenna to climb) |__|___________\__@__/_____________|_| lamp = Lamp Elevator |____________________________________| (Goes straight from floor |__|^^^^^^^^^^^/ \^^^|^^^^^^^^^__| to high level by rafters) \^@^^^^^^^^^^/D/|E|\F\^^|^^COUCH^^| | \^^_/^\^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^|^^^^^^^^^| | OTHER AREAS \/^^^^\^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^\^^^^^^^^| | 2 = Piano World for Heart #2 \SINK^\^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^|_| gc = inside Grandfather Clock \^^^^/^^^^^^^^^^^^^/^^^^|^^lamp_| (go out at top for H #3) \^/^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^|CHAIR^^____^| sp = Sundial Portal (inside \^^|^^^^^^^^^^^|^(^^^/^^/3_/ \| (gc area, not on map) \^^|^^TABLE^^^|^^^^^^^( (/gc ) 4 = Drain Area for Heart #4 \^|^^^^^^^^^^|^^^^^^^^\/___/ 6 = Inner Demon Minigame for H #6 ==REIA'S SCROLL LOCATION== Reia's scroll is a little harder to find, go up to the part of the piano, at the front of it, that would normally hold a book (and I guess it does in a way). You should get it on your way to Heart #2. ==HEART #1 Console Gaming== Difficulty: 2/5 Riddle: If you play it clear Despite your lack of size You'll break out of the screen A console-action prize Objective: Play a minigame on the level's TV, similar to "Breakout," and earn a Shadowraith Heart by destroying all blocks. Location on the map: All on Middle Level: Console located at "cons", Remote Control located at "rem", Controller located at "cont". This is an interesting task requiring three objects around the TV area. Follow the arrows to the front of the TV, and go to the game console. Turn it on by standing in front of it next to the controller wire and pressing Attack. Use the cushion on the footstool to get to the couch nearby. Get on the armrest of the couch where the remote control is hanging off the end. Stand on the remote and do a Ground Pound to turn on the TV. With the TV and console on, you should see an image of a video game. If you win the game, the Heart will pop out of the screen and land on the couch. If you get "Game Over, simply turn on the console again and return to the controller. Here is the game: There are nine blocks at the top of the screen. There is a pong-like paddle that you control at the bottom of the screen. A Shadowraith Heart will act as the ball. The ball needs to bounce off of you (the paddle) or you lose a "life" (one of them on the console game, marked with Vexx's head in the corner of the TV's screen.) You win when the ball bounces off all of the blocks at the top and makes them disappear. The ball (and music) get faster the more blocks you destroy. Have fun with this! Since the ball follows a geometric pattern, and the same pattern each time you play, you should win in no time. ==HEART #2 Piano World== Difficulty: 5/5 Riddle: Ebony, Ivory and each color between Dissonance, Harmony 'neath the piano strings Objective: Go into the challenging "Piano World" by going into the piano, and make your way to the top for a Heart. Location on the map: To get into the piano, go into the piano's strings, located at the 2 on the Middle Level. This is a pretty tough task involving a side area. To get to the side area, follow the arrows, or go right from the start of the level, until you're in the strings of the piano (get Reia's scroll on the side of the piano now). If you touch the strings you get transported to the side area. This new area is just music and instruments. You have to stay stepping on them or you fall and die. There are sufficient extra lives in the area, though. Here's what you'll run into on this adventure, in order: Music Notes - This is the safe area with no properties. However, this is where all the enemies will appear. Be careful and go slowly since the camera can get annoying. Drums - These platforms are bouncy and pretty fun. Don't fly off! Xylophone - Don't let the stick moving back and forth push you off. Otherwise a safe platform. Cymbals - Normal rotating platforms, often associated with poles. Bass - Large thick string that "vibrates" and pushes you away from where the keys strike it. Don't get crushed by the keys nor fall off the strings, and watch out for the circular platforms at the ends which are hollow in the middle. Trumpet - Simple lift at the end of the first bass. Piano - Press all three keys to get the cover to act as a lift. Saxophone - Normal platform after the piano. Get inside it from the piano and go all the way in for two extra lives! Horns - Above Saxophone. Wait for them to stop blowing before passing them, one at a time. Violin - Watch out for the bow and the Hobbletrod at first. Once you defeat the Hobbletrod, use the bow to get to the next areas by doing a Pulse Jump straight up standing on the strings when the bow will appear under you. To one side is an extra life in a bass drum, to another side is the path ahead. Large Note Platforms - The first set of these stay in place, but they sag down just a little when you step on them. The second set of them do not sag, but they move around. At the end of the line, on a drum, bounce up to get a well-earned Shadowraith heart. ==HEART #3 Climb the Clock== Difficulty: 3/5 Riddle: Time as it waits for no one The works of peril spin Face glowing like a sun Hides a reward within Objective: Climb the inside of the grandfather clock to get a Shadowraith Heart at the top. Location on the map: Grandfather clock located at the "CLOCK". Go to the "gc" in the Middle Level to enter. Exit the clock at the Top Level to get the Heart located at the 3. This task is similar to the last one, but not nearly as hard. Go to the Grandfather Clock by making your way across the TV and couch to the kitchen table, waiting on the edge of the table nearest the clock for the platform to come, and taking a moving platform to the base of the clock. Climb up the notches in the clock's table until you reach as high as you can go, and then go into the mouse hole into the clock. Here's what you'll find inside the clock: Large spinning gear - Harmless, at the bottom of the area. This gear comes in handy, so you don't die every time you fall. But it's kind of badly textured, ya? Wall pushers - Watch out for them as you approach, don't let them push you off the wall. Small spinning gears - Harmless moving and spinning platforms. Don't get dizzy! Large yellow platform that rocks back and forth - self-explanatory. You can't fall off, and note the sundial platform to the right side of it. Up and Down pendulum - Normal platform after the back+forth one. Ferris wheel gear - Yay! Ride this gear at any point, try getting all the shards, and use it to get across the clock. Air Vent Switches - Stand on them and they blow you upward. Wire surface - Normal dangle surface, drop onto the small gear under it. After the last small gear, jump onto the wooden circular platform that leads back out of the clock. Go back into the main Tempest Peak Manor area, take a look around from so high up in the level, and get the heart waiting right there. ==HEART #4 Down the Drain== Difficulty: 1/5 Riddle: A Heart is held a captive to free it is a pain Your goal is adaptive Your work is down the drain Objective: Go down the drain with the water in the Sink Area for a Shadowraith Heart trapped in another level. Location on the map: Go to the SINK area at the Middle Level. The drain is located at the 4. This is a generally easy task. Make your way to the SINK from the SHELF or from the TABLE. Just go around the level following the arrows. Once you're at the sink, first go to the bottom of the sink bowl and blow off the drain cover by doing a Ground Pound (Jump + Crouch). Now go up to the button next to the faucet tap and do another Ground Pound to turn on the water. Jumping back into the drain will now take you to the drain world, a new area will load. I'm not sure if you're supposed to do anything in this new area, you're just sliding down a tube. You can move side to side and jump. You may need to jump over a gap in the piping. After about 10 seconds, you will be forced into a new area, the game will load again. Now, for some reason, you're in Summit of the Sages in a small suspended cage, but you can get your Heart, which you're sharing the cage with. ==HEART #5 Heart Hiding in Box== Difficulty: 1/5 Riddle: It's in plain sight to find But not without some luck In the interest of being kind Through top of box you duck Objective: Find a certain shoebox on the shelf and drop through the top for an easy Shadowraith Heart. Location on the map: Go to the SHELF area at the Middle Level, the Heart is located at the 5. This task is easy, easy, easy. Go to the Shelf area from by the piano. As soon as you're on the shelf, you should hear the beating of a heart that you can't see. The box to your left, a green one that looks like a shoebox, should have writing on it. (I think it's Vexx writing for "Do Not Open.") Stand on the writing and do a Ground Pound (Jump + Crouch button) to open up the top of the box and get the Heart inside. ==HEART #6 Tower Rings== Difficulty: 2/5 Do this Heart first: The Neverglades Heart #5 Temple Rings Riddle: This tower's tiny clone is sleeping with the fishes catch the rings as they're thrown defeat yourself for wishes. Objective: Play a Inner Demon minigame very similar to the last one for a Shadowraith Heart. Location on the map: Go to the SHELF area at the Middle Level, the aquarium is at the 6. Another Inner Demon minigame! To get to it, go to the bookshelf area (go across the Piano), and climb up, using the Radio, to the top area. (Use the button on the radio to raise the antenna to climb.) Move the camera so you can see the fish tank under you. Jump down into the tank and swim into the tiny tower to start the game. This time the game is almost identical to the last one. Once again you're collecting rings with three inner demons, one eliminated after each round. See The Neverglades Heart #5 for more. ==HEART #7 Sundial Portal== Difficulty: 3/5 Do this Heart first: Timberdale Heart #7 Sundial Portal Riddle: A one-way portal calls Sundial tells the time Hidden gateway opens halls missed chance would be a crime Objective: Go through another platforming challenge in a new Sundial Portal for a Shadowraith Heart. Location on the map: Sundial in the PIANO area at the "su". Sundial Portal in the CLOCK area, go in at the "gc". (Both in Middle Level) First, go to the sundial. You can get there by going to the Piano, going to where you would drop into the Piano World (the strings), but walk along the edge of the piano until you're at the back of it to find the sundial. You should see two notches at the "dawn" part of the day, so set the clock at exactly the one that's still at night. Now pause the game and select Return to Hub. (It's quicker to get to the next area). Now, go into the Grandfather Clock, like for Heart #3. Go up through the first few parts of the clock until you meet the large yellow platform that rocks back and forth. Quickly jump to the right, under the large yellow lift, and you should see the Sundial Portal. You have to go through the correct side of it if it is active. Go ahead. You're in the Sundial World now. This place is pretty easy. Like the last one, there are enemies, moving platforms, and a cool sky. This time, the moving platforms are poles (no different than normal platforms, just climb up to the top and jump), and there's an added enemy: Hulks. They're not that hard, just keep hitting them and they won't attack you, and they'll be down in no time. ==HEART #8 Soul Jars== Difficulty: 4/5 Riddle: Upon a chandelier Are trapped these poor spirits To make a heart appear Allow your steps to steer it Objective: Climb up to the level's rafters and get all the Soul Jars on all ends of the unstable chandelier. Location on the map: In the center of the Highest Level is the rafter and the chandelier with the Soul Jars (A-F). The main challenge here is getting to the rafters. There are three ways: -Use the radio. Go to the SHELF area in the level (past the piano) and climb up until you reach a radio on the shelf. Press the button on the radio (jump on it or use a Ground Pound) to raise the antenna. Climb up the antenna, and after clearing the enemies there, look around to see the books you climb to get to the rafters. Go up to the beam and walk toward the center. There is a Shreek here. Be careful, just pass by it, and more importantly, don't fall off the rafters. -Use the air vent switches. Make your way to the armrest of the couch with the remote control. Go around the backrest until you're on the armrest closer to the wall. At the end you should see a switch on the ground. Step on it to be blown up to a small shelf on the wall with a flower pot. First, look around the back of the pot for an extra life. Then, blow up with a second switch and land in the pot. This causes the flowers to grow. Go back down to the switch, and blow up + flare kick to the flower leaf closer to you. Jump to the next leaf and then to the ledge on the wall. Simply use the final air switch to get up to the rafters, and walk to the center. -Use the lamp. Go to the Grandfather clock, you'll notice on the floor towards the chair there is a lamp/coat rack/something that has a section that can be used as a lift from the floor to near the rafters. Use the nearby Vent to get on, and be lifted up. Get over to the Air Vent Switch on the part of the wall to get up to the rafters. Once you're at the center of the rafters, time for business. This is fairly easy as long as you're slow. Look for a platform that will take you down to the chandelier. As unstable as the chandelier is and as annoying as the camera is, you won't fall off. Just walk slightly towards each Soul Jar, wait for the camera and chandelier to adjust, and walk slowly the rest of the way to each. Get all six and the Heart appears at the top of the rafters. Take the platform back up and enjoy. ==HEART #9 Shards== Difficulty: 3/5 Riddle: When hearts did burst asunder much energy did scatter to return this heart its thunder one hundred's all that matters Objective: Collect 100 Shards for a Shadowraith Heart. Location on the map: Everywhere. I recommend doing this challenge after you've done some of the other hearts, such as easy ones #4 and #5. Just explore all around the main section of the map to get 100 of these. Revisit everywhere you've been, especially the entire piano, all of the shelf, and around the rafters. If you fall on the floor, be sure to use Warp To Hub, since if you die, it's all the Shards down the drain. (speaking of down the drain, you won't find any down the sink's drain.) This time it's harder since you need to go to more places to get the Shards. You probably need to visit the Grandfather Clock area (get all the shards on the Ferris Wheel platform!) and the Piano World (be careful, easy to die in there!) Get in the Sundial Portal area if you can. \/-----------------\/ /\ D-07 The Below /\ Hearts Required to Enter: 11 This level is full of a lot of difficult tasks. The level is a large underwater dome, but fortunately, none of the tasks in the level take place fully underwater. That would be scary. Most of the hearts in this level have their own little section. Overall, this is a well- designed level that's a step up from the last few. By the way, there are quite a few new tough enemies. There is one spirit stone in the level, and several rocks scattered on the land which you can also hit to gain health. IMPORTANT NOTE: There is a very easy way to get a lot of extra lives in this level. See Heart #3, and the FAQ's section. ENEMIES: Puggles, Grimkins, Skinxes, Hobbletrods, Slyphs, Floppers, Yabu's Guards, Shadowminions, Sharks _________________ ==MAP OF THE BELOW== /F ' __ \_ _______/\__/____(__)_D_____ \_ _/~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~/ /~~~~~\_ \ \ /~~~~~___~~~~~~~~~(_)~___~~~~\ \_\ \ _ /~~~~~/ \~~~~~~~~~~~/rs \~~~~\ \E__\ /#\__/~bub~~| 3 _~~~~~~~~~~~| 4 |~~~~~\ /(_)_/~~~~~~~\___/~~~~~~~~~~~\| |/~bub~~\ __ | \ |~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~@@@~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|/B \ \ \|~~~~~~~~___~~~~@ 5 @~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| | \ C \~~~~~~~/ \~~~~@@@~~~~/| |\~~~~~~/su | \__/\~~~~~~/ 1 |~~~~~~~~~~~| 2 |~~~~~/\ | \~~~~~~/__/~~~~~~~~~~~\___/~~~~/ / / \_~~~~~~~~~bub~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_/ / / / \________________________/__/ / \_ |_| _/ \____ (___) ______/ \________________/ \ rh / \_______/ rh = Rift Hub (ENTRANCE) # = Spirit Stone su = Sundial ~ = Water in Dome rs = Reia's Scroll (_) = Access to dome from land A - F = Soul Jars bub = Air Bubble in Dome 1 - 5 = Shadowraith Heart Side Areas: 1 = Dome with Inverted Area/Sundial Portal (Hearts 1 and 7) 2 = Dome with Statuary Area (Heart 2) 3 = Dome with Hydro-Charger Area (Heart 3) 4 = Dome with Sumo Arena (Heart 4) 5 = Underground area with Hell (Hearts 5 and 6) ==REIA'S SCROLL LOCATION== Reia's scroll is located under Tower #4, in a little alcove. Go for a swim and dig it up from the bottom of the dome. ==HEART #1 Inverted== Difficulty: 2/5 Riddle: In the slightest bubble You may be alerted To some running trouble When you are inverted Objective: Activate six pads while the camera is upside-down, in a certain time limit, to free a Heart in a side area. Location on the map: Inverted Challenge Area located at the 1. From the Rift Hub, dive into the large pool, and once you swim into the dome, go to the large underwater tower to the left of you, which should be the closest one. Look on the left side of this tower to find a beam of light shining out the side of it, towards the bottom of the tower. Swim into the beam of light to get to the Inverted area. You'll find yourself in a new area, with a shallow pool of water below you, and some walkways in front of you. The circular pads are what you need to step on once the camera flips over. The button right in front of you flips the camera. All you need to do here is step on all of the pads while the camera is flipped over (there are six of them) and the force field around the Heart on the ledge above you will deactivate. Once you step on the button and flip the camera, you need to stay on the walkways and press the buttons. You can do this as many times as you want...the button-pads never deactivate themselves. So either stand on your head, or say "I'm too cool to do that, I want to take the challenge," and walk the plank to each pad. It's not that hard once you get used to it. The last pad can be hard to get, since you have to run to it before the "inverted timer" runs out. Once you activate all of the pads, go up and get the Heart on the nearby ledge. ==HEART #2 Statuary== Difficulty: 4/5 Riddle: A shocking task exists Through an estuary Match your wits against This puzzling statuary Objective: Go into a side area and step on a series of switches for a Shadowraith Heart. Location on the map: Statuary Area located at the 2. __ __ I /3 \ /11\ II This Statuary area can be tough. \ v<\ /~/~/ You emerge in the middle, there \>^ \/~/~/ are six outer areas. _____\ 4 8 /_____ I = Gazebo with Shreeks /9 # 6 /\ 10|| 1\ III II = Lake with Cutting Things VI \__#__ \/ _||___/ III = Narrow Platforms with Puggle / 12 2 \~~~~ IV = Platforms with Poles /// /\ o \~~ V = Mechanic Area with Boxes / ///~~\ o \ VI = Arches with Climbing Surfaces V \7_/~~~~\_5/ IV (~ = water, o = poles) This task can be very hard if you don't know what you're doing. I had to do a lot of trial-and-error to get all the switches in order. Anyway, to get to this area, from the Rift Hub, swim into the dome, and go to the tower to your right this time. Look at the back of it for the beam-of-light-entrance. You'll find yourself underwater, in a well. Swim up. A strange camera-bot will join you. You can't defeat it, so let it just follow you around. Take a look around and try to find all the areas mentioned on the mini-map above. There are six statues surrounding the fountain in the middle, and six more that are further out, past small challenges. You need to press these twelve switches in the right order, alternating between an outer one, and one near the fountain. If you press the wrong switch the camera-bot will zap you and take away health, but you don't need to go back and press any previous switches. Here are the six outer areas in more detail (clockwise): Area I: There's a structure with Shreeks around. They're easy to avoid if you along the outer edge of the area. This is how you regain health if you've been zapped too many times. Area II: This area has those weird spinning disc enemies. To get past them, go up to the middle platform, get the attention of the spinning disc there, make it come towards you, then quickly go to a side platform, and jump into the middle platform, past the first disc. Area III: This area has a single Puggle and some orange-colored narrow platforms. Just Long Jump + Flare Kick to get across and don't let the naughty camera get to you. Area IV: This has a three poles, one of them moving up and down. Climb and jump to get to the top. Area V: This area has three boxes which you can push. Move the lower- left one first, then the lower-center one, then the small box on top of them, and push it in to clear the statue switch. Area VI: This area has a few arches and an extra life behind them. Look for the climbing surface, you'll have to do some climb-jumping. The order you do them in is (shown on the map): 1: Area III exterior 5: Area IV exterior 2: Area IV interior 6: Area VI interior 3: Area I exterior 4: Area 1 interior Exterior means the one that requires the challenge. Activating this one correctly gives out a cool green spark. Interior means the one next to the fountain. This one should have a statue identical to the last one, and has a vivid yellow burst when activated correctly. Activate all of them to see that annoying camera-bot turn into a valuable Shadowraith heart! ==HEART #3 Hydro-Charger== Difficulty: 4/5 Riddle: A massive structure looms 'neath the Hydro-Charger One wrong step spells your doom unless your skill is larger Objective: Deactivate the Hydro-Charger in a side area and get the Heart inside. Location on the map: Hydro-Charger area is at the 3. Swim into the dome from the Hub, and go into the tower to the middle-left. The beam-entrance is on the right side. You'll love the area that you come in, it's full of waterfalls and palm trees (behind you.) This is a simple platform challenge, with few enemies, except the Slyphs. Watch out for the Hobbletrod and Grimkin to you left. Here's what you'll run into: Pole at the bottom - You'll see this at the end of the solid platform you're on at the beginning. You can jump down and get 2 extra lives. For more on collecting extra lives here, see the FAQs section. Purple Square Platforms - They sink down a little. Waterfall Water - When you're standing on the water, it moves you slowly towards the cliff edge. Run towards the cliff-wall to stay on it. (The water at the falls' bottom runs you off and kills you). Giant Crusher - Easy to avoid. Just go into the little ditches when it comes down on you. Platform above Platform - This is after the crusher, where there's thin-looking platform above another one. You can either wall-jump off the waterfall-wall to the left (hard), or just stand on the edge of the platform, pulse-jump up slightly to the left, and flare-kick to the right. With this method, if you fail, you'll just land where you started, instead of dieing. Slyphs - These mischievous snakes will grab you in their heads and throw you around to wherever they want, which is usually off the cliff. Avoid them by attacking them as soon as possible, they go down in one or two hits. Jutting Spikes - Easy to tell where they are on the cliffside, so go when they disappear. Narrow platform - This platform to the side of the waterfall is for a fairly pointless extra life. When you reach the top, defeat the Slyphs and look for the button to turn off the Hydro-Charger. Jump down and get a well-deserved Heart! ==HEART #4 Sumo Rematch== Do this Heart first: Timberdale Heart #2 Sumo Match Difficulty: 5/5 Riddle: Within the furthest dome a brute demands a rematch His moves you may have known now include a detach Objective: Fight the Sumo again in an interesting arena for a Heart. Location on the map: Sumo arena located at the 4. BOSS BATTLE! Time to show the Sumo who's boss. The arena is much more dangerous this time. Start by swimming to the Sumo's tower. From the Rift Hub, it's the tower to the middle-right. Look under it for Reia's Scroll. Enter towards the front, in the beam of light. In the new area, run forward until a cutscene starts. It's show time! > Boss: Sumo-Kin Needs to be knocked out of the Arena 4 times in a row to be defeated. > Arena: Water Arena Standing in the water very gradually makes you move towards the edge. Each time you knock the Sumo out of the ring, the arena gets a little smaller. If you get knocked out of the ring, the battle starts all over again. > Boss Attacks Push: Standard attack. It can be dangerous if you're very close to the edge, between it and the Sumo, but it's very easy to avoid, just by running. Long Jump to play it safe. The only risk of being hit is being knocked off the arena, it doesn't take away any health. Meteor Attack: This is a little tougher attack. It's easy to dodge, but if you get hit it takes away 2 points of health. This attack happens a lot, the Sumo will do a prayer-type thing, and you'll see a large green target moving towards you. You don't need to do anything until you see the target get really small, and the meteors will then crunch you. If you just run or jump out of the way at the last second, the attack will miss. You should just run around to play it safe. This attack will happen 3-5 times in a row. Flaming Push: This is the tough attack, that can knock you out of the arena easily if you're not careful. Usually after a Meteor Attack, the boss will stand in place with one arm down, you'll see a small burst of flame, and he will rush at you. As usual, you can run out of the way or jump at the right time to avoid it. If you survive this attack, this is when you strike him. > When to strike The way to knock Sumo-Kin out of the arena, which you have to do four times, is to wait until he's at the edge. There are two ways: - Survive his attacks until he does the Flaming Push. Make sure he misses, but stay near him, so you can quickly run up to him and push him off the edge of the arena. - Be offensive, and before he starts his Meteor Attack, go up to him and push him around until he's near an edge. The easiest place to push him is his butt, otherwise it doesn't affect him. The boss battle gets harder after time. I had a tough time surviving the final round when the arena's only so small. I did a Pulse-Jump over him to dodge his normal push, then frolicked around, surviving the Meteor Attack, and quickly moved out of the way for his Flaming Push before giving him a good final claw in the butt. After you do this, you'll get another good-ole Shadowraith Heart. ==HEART #5 Hell== Difficulty: 4/5 Riddle: Deep in a boiling well above the ghastly steamer Climb to the peak of hell A heart there seeks redeemer Objective: Go to hell (and get a Heart after a lot of climbing.) Location on the map: Hell is located at the 5. To go to Hell, swim into the dome as usual, and in the middle of all the underwater towers should be a large dark crater on the sea floor. Swim in to this crater to get to the new area. Hell is full of tough enemies: Shadowminions - These guys are medium-hard. They sometimes brandish a knife, a swing mace, or a kind of throwing-star. The ones in here only have knives or maces, which are easier. Just attack them, and jump up and do an overhead attack if you want. The easiest way with these guys is to send them into the air with an uppercut. Yabu's Guards - These guys, with their big axes, can be tough. It's best to Pulse-Jump up, avoid their axe swinging, and give them a pop on the head a few times. Floppers - If the floor under you has the lava-ey texture, then watch out for these guys. If you move around, you may see tiny orange bursts from the floor following you. If you stand in place and there's a Flopper around, he'll most likely pop out from under you, and when you land back on the ground with one less point of health he'll be long gone, but ready to attack again. Defeat them simply by preparing to attack them when you see the little orange bursts under you (attack with a jump + Ground Pound.) And quite a few annoying-as-usual Skinxes, and Grimkins. If you land in the lava it's fatal. You may see some random switches around. You need to press three switches to get an extra life in the middle of the area, but it's not really worth it. To actually go somewhere, find the area with the platforms going up and down out of the lava. Go across this area and climb the poles, and go to the left once you're going along the walls, and it's basically a small spiral up to the top of the area from here, with simple challenges and enemies ahead. At the top of the area is the Heart you're wanting. ==HEART #6 Color Puzzle== Difficulty: 3/5 Riddle: Above a sea of flame A ghostly vessel drifts On board you'll find a game whose colors seem to shift Objective: Go to hell until you get on the ship with a puzzle- game in it, in which you can earn a heart. Location on the map: Hell is located at the 5. Go back into Hell like you did for the last heart, and cross the platforms that are going up and down out of lava again. This time, after climbing the poles, take a RIGHT turn. Shortly along the path you should see a pirate ship floating in the lave. Jump into the hole that you can see on the deck to come to a new area. The puzzle that awaits you is an odd one. It took me a bit of patience and luck. There are sixty-four squares, like a checkerboard. When the game starts, all the squares are alternating colors, like a checkerboard. By stepping on a square, you switch its color. You win the game once all the squares are the same color (white or black). The large plate above the board comes down every 25 seconds (there is a timer in the corner). It switches the color of every plate, which doesn't really make a difference. Get out of the way before the plate comes down or you'll get crushed. The game would be easy to complete if it were not for the bombs that occasionally bounce across the game board on every other square in a row. Since that's so hard to correct when this is happening a lot, my method for completing this minigame was, let the bombs complete it. By only stepping on the board a few times, I just let the bombs drop until they made the board all one color, since they correct their own mistakes. The only way to lose any health or die from this game is to be crushed by the large plate. Good luck, this one can be confusing. You get your Heart out of the treasure box in the front once you win the puzzle. ==HEART #7 Sundial Portal== Difficulty: 4/5 Riddle: A one-way portal calls Sundial tells the time Hidden gateway opens halls missed chance would be a crime Objective: Go through the Sundial Portal for a tough challenge in the Sundial Rift for a Shadowraith Heart. Location on the map: The Sundial Portal is located inside the 1 area. Go up to the sundial and turn it to the beginning of the Sundial Portal section that's marked (remember, turn it to the mark that's further clockwise, as the clock turns counter-clockwise.) Now get to the Sundial Portal. This is located in the "inverted" section, the tower to the far left when you swim into the dome. To get to the Portal in this area, ignore the "inverted" switch and climb up to the strange empty room past the heart. Turn around and look at the doorway you just came from, and right above it should be a little ledge. Jump up to the ledge, and follow the path that goes back into the main room, along the wall, until you reach the portal at the end. Enter. You know the Long Jump move, right? This sundial area is focused a lot on it. Here's what you'll run into. Giant Crushers - These machines will come down quick on you, but will take about 10 seconds to raise back up because of their size. There is one at the beginning of the level. Duck under it for a split second, move out of the way before it comes down, and use its delayed ascending time to Long-Jump + Long-Jump + Long-Jump continuously along the road unharmed until you're out of danger. There is one at the beginning of the area and at the end (the last one especially requires the Long-Jump.) Crusher-Platforms - The series of platforms right after the first Giant crusher. As soon as you step on it, nearby blocks come down on the platform and crush it into oblivion, so just keep running and long-jumping out of the way. Elevator - board it when the odd door opens. Stacked Logs - This is a challenging part. Vertical rows of log- like figures come at you, and you have to dodge them and get through them. Each time a log hits you, it disappears out of the way, but you lose. Trust me, you do NOT want to lose health when you see what you have next. To get through them, look at this diagram: ( ) (=============) (=============) (======^======) ( ) (=============) (=============) (======^======) (======V======) A. Several logs B. Gap on top of C: No gap in with a gap on top: a single log: the logs: Do a Pulse-Jump Simply jump You must attack the over the first few through the gap. log on the bottom or do method C. to make it disappear. Yabu's Guards - This is the really hard part, as it's a step up in enemies, and you have TWO PAIRS of them to take on. What I did was keep attacking them until they're both defending with their axes. Then Pulse-Jump up, and you'll avoid both of them swinging their axes, and on your way down pop one of them in the head with a Ground-Pound or a Flare-Kick, or both. Repeat and you shouldn't lose any health, and they should be gone after 4 to 6 hits. Spiraling Tower - Climb up to reach the final section of the area. In the gaps in the platform, watch out for some spinning gears on the side of the tower. ==HEART #8 Pirates' Treasure== Difficulty: 1/5 Riddle: In the belly of the beast Short's chest deserves a look The key to its release is hidden in the book Objective: Open the treasure chest in the belly of the whale with a certain combination. Location on the map: The whale is swimming all around the Dome area. Swim into the Dome, and look around the top of the dome for the Giant Whale, Leviathan. The whale won't hurt you. Swim in front of the whale's mouth and be swallowed. Once inside, you'll find yourself in a tiny boat inside the whale's stomach, with the three pirates, Nasty, Brutish, and Short. Go up to the treasure chest, and press Attack to start entering the combination. The combination for PlayStation2 is (X) (Square) (Circle). I'm not sure what it is for GameCube or XBox, but look in the game manual and you should see the possible buttons. If you get the combination right, the heart is yours! If you get it wrong, you are simply thrown out of the stomach and back into the giant Dome. ==HEART #9 Soul Jars== Difficulty: 2/5 Riddle: Along an outer track Hide these souls in trouble To send their spirits back Free them from their bubbles Objective: Collect six Soul Jars from around the main section of the level for a Shadowraith Heart. Location on the map: At the A, B, C, D, E, and F. The Soul Jars this time are fairly easy. They're all scattered about the main part of the level in bubbles. A: To the left of the Rift Hub and pool. B: In an alcove by the sundial, which is to the right of the Rift Hub and pool. C: In a side area to the left of the giant dome. Go into the dome, and search the left edge for the other small exit. You'll emerge in a small pool by a spirit stone. Go to the left of the pool to encounter a weird enemy holding the bubble. Attack it and get Soul Jar C. D: There's another "side area" with D, E, and F. To get to this area, swim around in the dome behind Tower #4 (the Sumo). You should see on the sea floor an area with air under the water.(?) Swim down, and climb up the Launch Pads to the new area. The bubble's right by the entrance. E: This can be a little hard. From Soul Jar D, go to the right, and you'll see an enclosed area with a few Skinxes. Defeat the naughty bugs, climb up the ramp (where you can see the bubble), and do a Long Jump ahead, and a quick Flare Kick as you're about to touch the bubble. If you do it right, you'll get the Soul Jar, but you may fall down a mysterious hole in the level to your death. F: From Soul Jar D, go to the left to a weird structure. Go under the structure, and do an uppercut when you think you're under the bubble to get it. When you have all the Soul Jars, the Heart appears at the very top of the dome, which you have to swim to. This could be a hard part, swimming right to this Heart. Don't get swallowed by Leviathan the Whale along the way! ==HEART #10 Shards== Difficulty: 2/5 Riddle: When hearts did burst asunder much energy did scatter to return this heart its thunder one hundred's all that matters Objective: Collect 100 Shards for a Shadowraith Heart. Location on the map: Everywhere. This could be a little harder this time. Most of the Shards in this level can be got by swimming around the Dome, hidden under the towers and in their "beams". Happy swimming. This will give you about 70 Shards. To get more, visit Tower 2 (Estuary), which has a few. If you still need more, you can go to Hell (at the 5) and the Waterfall area (at the 3), but make sure you don't die in there or you'll have to start all over. \\//=============================================================\\// \/ Section E \/ /\ FAQS - Frequently Asked Questions /\ //\\=============================================================//\\ Q: I heard this game is really hard, like Maximo. Is this true? A: This game is pretty hard, but not in the same way as Maximo. Maximo was hard because of the enemies and the way you defeat them and have limited opportunities to save/travel/etc. In this game, the variety in the gameplay and the difficulty of some platform jumping make it hard. The enemies are some of the easiest things in this game. Q: How big is this game / How long does it take to beat? A: This game is pretty big. Each world contains several tasks that can take from two minutes to two hours. Usually the whole game takes at least 30 hours, plus it has difficult gameplay. Q: How do I get more extra lives? A: There are several easy ways to get extra lives. At the beginning of the game, Timberdale's Castle Tower is the best way. -In the main area of Timberdale, there is an Extra Life under one of the waterfall bridges, and one of them up a ledge which you Wall Jump up. -In the "Water Tower" to the left of the castle tower in the Upper Timberdale area, there is an Extra Life floating under the floating water. -In the Castle Tower, there is an extra life off of the narrow platforms, and two extra lives behind the stones that close into the wall. Once you reach The Below, there is an even better method. -Go to the side-area where there's a large cliffside with several waterfalls, and the heart gets protected by an electrocuting beam. Go up to the edge of the man-made platform you're on, look at the waterfalls below you, and you should notice a cave in the wall with two extra lives. You can either pulse jump and land there, or notice a pole going down to an island that links to there. Simply get both extra lives, die, and you'll still have one extra life left and both lives will be back in the cave. So just keep collecting them and jumping off the cliff and you will collect them up quickly. Q: What is the purpose of Reia's Scrolls? A: They're just for collecting, there's no reward. Q: Is there any reward for collecting all 81 Shadowraith Hearts? A: No. \\//=============================================================\\// \/ Section F \/ /\ HINTS/SECRETS /\ //\\=============================================================//\\ \/--------------------\/ /\ E-01 Gameplay Tips /\ (Under Construction) \/--------------\/ /\ E-02 Secrets /\ (Under Construction) \\//=============================================================\\// \/ Section G \/ /\ CREDITS /\ //\\=============================================================//\\ Most of the credit so far is to myself, as I bought the game and had the idea for this guide, and I've written almost all of it. Also credit to all the sites that have this guide on it: www.gamefaqs.com www.ign.com \\//=============================================================\\// \/ END OF \/ /\ WALKTHROUGH/FAQ /\ //\\=============================================================//\\