Rewards: Clear Gem 1—smash all 60 boxes. Clear Gem 2—use five colored gems to unlock five secret stages, and get to the end.
This final level of the warp room—and of the game—is quite long and challenging. Not only does it have a bonus stage, but also five different secret stages. You need a different colored gem to unlock each of these secret stages. If you haven’t already earned those gems, it’s a good idea to get them prior to playing this level. Or feel free to focus on the first Clear Gem and continuing on to the boss battle. Without all five colored gems, you can still collect the crystal and all the boxes. Since the five secret stages are linked, you must have all of the colored gems to attempt that collective section of the level; you can’t tackle them individually.
Danger presents itself right from the beginning. Follow the walkway to a platform. As you jump onto it, avoid the hot pipes surrounding the edges. Stick the landing directly in the center of this platform when you jump onto it, as it moves back and forth. Jump up onto a walkway, and get past pistons and robots with curling arms. The pistons only come down partway, so stand under them while waiting to attack the robots—you won’t get smashed. The Blue Platform, accessed with the Blue Gem, is located here and leads to the Gem Path.
If you aren’t yet ready to take the multicolored Gem Path, continue right. While the pistons don’t come all the way down, be careful not to hit them while jumping onto robots. Stay under the floating platform. It’s not worth the risk to try jumping onto it without hitting the hot pipes just to get some fruit. The next series of pistons is a bit different; the first and last come all the way down to the ground, while the middle pistons do not.
Get to the second checkpoint, then jump over a series of nitro boxes. There are robots between some of the nitro boxes, so decide whether to jump on them or slide into them, depending on their arms. Eventually you come to a shield lab assistant. Don’t let him push you back, or you’ll hit a nitro box. Instead, wait for the attack, then jump over the nitro box and hit the lab assistant until he moves back into a nitro box and is defeated.
Jump over two nitro boxes and slide into a robot. Wait for it to move away so you have enough space to land, then start the slide. Keep going to the next checkpoint. As you jump down to lower walkways, make sure you jump far enough to avoid the hot pylons, and defeat the robots here. There are now six pistons in a row. They move in pairs. As soon as the first pair rises, move under them. Keep moving as the next pair rises to get past them. Then drop down a shaft near a large “?” to access the bonus stage.
Grab a mask and slide under two pipes. There’s a pressure pad between them, so move quickly before an energy ball comes down on you. Or stand and perform a spin attack to get the ball. Jump over some hot pylons and onto another pressure pad. Either stand and spin-attack or quickly jump again to get over a second set of pylons. Jump over the robot below as it walks toward you, then slide to the left to eliminate it. Time your movement to get under one piston, then ride a second up to a walkway. Slide under a pipe, spin-attack the energy ball from the pressure pad, then slide again under a second pipe. Defeat a robot and get to the checkpoint.
There are two pressure plates below. Jump down while the robot is moving away, and spin-attack the energy ball. Then slide into the robot to defeat it. Get under a piston and use a flying spin attack to pass over pylons with a pressure pad between them. Hit the switch to destroy all the nitro boxes, then break some boxes and grab the crystal.
Jump onto one of the dangerous platforms and ride it across to a walkway with a shield lab assistant. Wait for his attack, then jump off and attack to push him off the walkway. Jump over the pressure pad under a piston while avoiding a hit. Then enter the portal room to claim the Clear Gem for destroying all the boxes.
Time Trial
Time Requirements
Sapphire: 2:03:00
Gold: 1:09:24
Platinum: 0:56:95
This is another tough time trial. There are lots of dangers in this level, and rushing increases your chances of losing a life restarting. To save time, jump over robots instead of defeating them. Hit all of the time boxes. You may have to pause at pistons or spots where you time a piston and a robot. The pressure pads can also be tough, though there are several you can make long jumps over or slide past so you don’t waste time attacking the energy balls. As soon as you pass the last threat, run all the way to the portal to stop the clock.