Rewards: 2 Clear Gems—destroy all 95 boxes (Purple Gem required to get all of the boxes).
Almost the first thing you see in this level is a snake. Why’d it have to be snakes? Eliminate it with a slide or spin and head inside the tomb.
Break the huge stack of 12 boxes and jump over the pit at the bottom of the ramp. Head up the stairs to reach another pit…but not an empty one. A crocodile hops up and down in the pit, no doubt looking to clamp its jaws around a tasty Bandicoot! Take it out with a spin, or wait until it goes back down before you jump across. Either way saves you from becoming dinner.
After crossing the pit, break the box and head into the oil on the ground. Watch out! It’s slippery, which will come into play shortly. Step on the switch by the oil to open the wall on the other side of the pit. As soon as you hit the switch, jump over the pit and enter the now-open wall.
Break the three boxes and step onto more oil. Stay on the right side of the path as you slide across the oil, avoiding a pit to the left. Once you exit the oil, continue to another switch. Step on it to open the wall on the other side of the yawning pit. Jump onto the platform over the pit, then jump over the rest of the pit, through the opening, to break open the checkpoint.
Forge ahead and break the upcoming two boxes. Go right and note the colors of the platforms. Cross the platforms, keeping to the green ones as much as possible. The red ones drop as soon as you step on them.
Once you finish crossing the platforms, break the two boxes and then step onto the “?” platform to reach the bonus stage.
After the bonus stage, continue ahead and cross two sets of red falling platforms. Hit the “!” box to make a platform move over to you. When it gets near, jump onto it and ride to the left. Return to the main path and proceed.
Monkeys pop out of pots and start throwing things you don’t want to think about at you. Spin into the pots to eliminate this simian threat. Once you clear them out, break the box here.
You come to a pit with oil on the other side. Large blocks that cover the entire path drop on the other end of the oil before moving into the pit. Jump over the pit onto the oil, hopping over any of the falling blocks as needed.
When you reach the other side, deal with the enemy who’s making the blocks fall before breaking the three boxes behind him. Forge ahead to reach three boxes where you see three rays of light coming from the ceiling. Avoid these rays! Step on them and arrows fire at you from the left wall.
Break the three boxes, avoiding the light. Break the next four boxes before you come to two walls opening and closing over a pit. Timing is key here. When the second set of walls opens, pass the first one, jump over the pit, and clear the second one. Break the checkpoint box.
The path now splits to the left and right. The left path is blocked off unless you have a Purple Gem, earned from the Skull Platform path in High Time, a later level.
If you don’t have the Purple Gem, you can still claim the Aku Aku box in front of the Purple Gem path. Slide and jump to clear the path and break the box. Repeat the slide and jump to return to the path on the right.
Break the four boxes and slide across the oil slick, jumping over the pit at the end. Trigger the nearby switch, which extends a platform out into another pit. Jump from it to another platform in the pit. When the wall opens, jump over the last stretch of the pit and through the opening.
Smash the three boxes nearby before reaching another pit, platform, and switch. This time the platform is moving. When it gets close to you, trigger the switch, which causes another platform to emerge from the left wall. Jump onto the platform, then onto the moving platform. When it travels to the other side, jump off onto solid ground.
Stay on the left side of the path, avoiding a pit to the right. Go around the pit to the left, avoiding the ray of light. Break the two boxes you come to, noting that there is now a pit in front of you and another ray of light. Jump over the pit, avoiding the light, and break the next four boxes. Head up the stairs and break four more boxes and the checkpoint box at the top.
Cross the oil slick, being careful to not let the moving blocks push you into the pit with them. Instead, jump up on one of the blocks, then up to reach one of two boxes on the ceiling. To get the other, repeat this process. Eliminate the enemy operating the level to drop the boxes, if desired. Note that if you get rid of him prematurely, you can spin or slide into the switch to drop another block, allowing you to reach the other ceiling box.
Perhaps as a last-ditch effort to keep you from clearing the level, another enemy with a flamethrower blocks your path. As before, he moves left and right. Spin into him when his weapon points left or right. Once he’s gone, break the box and cross three green platforms (this is the end of the Purple Gem path as well).
Kill the snake and break the two boxes behind it. There are more green and red platforms in your future. Above the green ones is the crystal. Cross the platforms, collect the crystal, and get to the other side.
Hit the “!” box here, which makes the three platforms in front of you move. Two move left and right, with the third moving forward and back. Make your way across them carefully to reach the other side of the pit. Go up the stairs and end the level.
Time Trial
Time Requirements
Sapphire: 1:42:00
Gold: 1:10:00
Platinum: 0:53:90
This level is an extremely challenging time trial. Getting the Aku Aku boxes is key, as invincibility serves you well here, with time extremely tight.
If you have the Purple Gem, you can choose to take the Purple Gem path or the regular path to get through the level. Because the Purple Gem path contains so many hazards, it’s only a good choice if you can get all three of the Aku Aku Masks, making you invincible. As always, Speed Shoes make this easier, although on this level, they don’t guarantee earning a relic.