Diggin’ It

Rewards: Clear Gem 1—destroy all 95 boxes. Clear Gem 2—get through the death route.

There are two Clear Gems you can earn in this level. Both can be achieved in a single attempt if you can get through the entire level on a single life. There’s also a secret portal that takes you to part of an earlier level you couldn’t access before. Save that for a later time.

During this level, you follow a path through a forest with some ruins. Near the start, you come across a new threat. The plants here don’t wait for you to get close before they try to bite you; they spit projectiles that explode when they hit you or the ground. Dodge the projectiles and run past the plant. As you close distance, they drop down to hide and stop spitting. Don’t just jump on them—they have spikes when they hide that hurt you. Instead jump on the middle of the plant and Belly Flop to take it out.

After passing a few of these plants, you then must avoid land mines across the path. Since you’re not being chased by a boulder, these are easy to avoid. When you come to a gap where jump onto a pillar, be careful. A plant spits projectiles onto the pillar, so time your jump across to the other side of the gap. Keep going, dodging around a moving totem. Use the speed boosts to jump over gaps, but be careful of mines on the other side.

Continue down the path, avoiding gaps on the sides and another totem, to reach the checkpoint. Jump over gaps and grab a mask, and don’t touch the nearby nitro box. Eventually you come to an electric barrier. Slide under the arcs to reach the other side. When going under the second barrier, time it to avoid being hit by plant spit.

For your next challenge, electric barriers cover the entire path. These turn on and off. As soon as the power goes down, rush past them before they charge up again. Another plant spits at you as you pass two of these barrier close together. Get past one, then stay to the left side to avoid the projectiles until you pass the second barrier. Continue past a totem and more plants to reach the circular platform that takes you to the bonus stage.

When you return to the level, hit the checkpoint and keep going. At the fork, head right to complete the level and earn the Clear Gem for all the boxes (if you’ve also completed the death route). After smashing several boxes, you come to a beehive. Move around it and keep going; if you stay near them long, a bee comes out and starts flying around. In that case, use a spin attack. Jump across gaps and use an arrow box to hit a fruit box. There are more beehives to avoid, as well as land mines. Get past a couple of intermittent electric barriers.

After jumping over a pit, you face two plants up ahead. Notice that the ground looks different. Press the Attack button to dig down into the soil. Now you can move without worrying about threats. Jump up once you pass the two plants, and claim the crystal. While underground, you can still hit boxes and defeat those pesky plants. However, you must emerge to jump over gaps.

Continue along the path and deal with all the threats. Hit the green switch along the way to destroy all the nitro boxes in the level. Eventually you come to a human with a large hammer. Move in quickly to hit him with a spin attack before he can hit you with his hammer. Continue past more mines and another guy with a hammer. Enter the portal room to claim your Clear Gem and return to the warp room.

Time Trial

Time Requirements

Sapphire: 2:40:00

Gold: 1:48:12

Platinum: 1:36:77

This trial can be tough due to the plants spitting explosives at you. You may have to pause at times where they’re hitting a pillar or small area where you have to jump. For the most part, though, keep moving and jump out of the way if the projectiles get too close. The electric barriers may also require brief pauses as you wait for them to shut down. There are quite a few time boxes throughout the level, so collect them to lower your time further. When you reach the hammer guys, run around them; don’t risk getting hit while you spin-attack. Finally, it’s usually a good idea to stay aboveground through most of the level. However, if you have a hard time with the section containing several plants, digging in offers an alternative.