Turtle Woods

Rewards: Clear Gem—destroy all 62 boxes. Blue Gem—don’t smash any boxes.

This is a fairly basic level that lets you get used to some of the new features and challenges in the game. Start off by moving along the path and smashing boxes. There’s an armadillo walking across the path—jump over it or dodge it. Jump on the fruit box for lots of Wumpa fruit; you hit the floating box as well. Continue down the trail and through the water without fear of losing a life.

Watch out for gaps on the side of the trail as well as across the trail. Spin-attack to get rid of armadillos. Keep going until you come to a stone circle in the middle of the trail. Jump up and press the Crouch button to do a Belly Flop right onto the stone to break through and enter a secret area.

You drop into a lower area with waterfalls. Break the boxes and make your way to the right. Don’t spin-attack the turtles down here—their spikes will kill you. Instead, either jump over them or jump on them to flip them over so they can’t hurt you. Keep going until you see a large bird come at you. Jump over it or onto its back to defeat it.

Stay up on the high platforms. Don’t worry about the nitro boxes; you can take care of them later. Jump onto the backs of the large ostriches to force them to stick their heads into the ground. Now you can drop down and get the last wooden boxes. Move right and avoid the bird that swoops down at you. Before you get onto the platform that takes you back up to the level, hit the switch to detonate all the nitro boxes.

After you’re back on the trail, grab a mask and use the checkpoint. Get past more of those spiky turtles and continue until you find a circular stone with a “?” on it to enter the bonus stage.

Continue down the path. Smash boxes along the way, including those in the water. As you rush on, use the checkpoint and then smash through a wall of boxes. Drop into the large, aquare pit. You can’t jump over it. As you hit the bottom, moles start popping up. Defeat them with spin attacks to make a mushroom grow. Jump onto the mushroom to escape the pit.

On the path, jump on the lone turtle to flip it over, then jump onto it to get up to a hidden box above it. Drop into another pit and defeat more moles to get the mushroom for jumping out. Be sure to pick up the crystal along the way. Continue to the end of the level, collect your Clear Gem if you’ve smashed all the boxes, and take the portal back to the warp room.

Time Trial

Time Requirements

Sapphire: 1:15:00

Gold: 0:56:87

Platinum: 0:45:47

While this level isn’t too long, there are things you can do to speed up your time. When traversing the water, which slows you down, jump as far out into it as possible so you have less to get through. Only pick up Aku Aku boxes and time boxes; leave the rest behind. Skip the secret and bonus stages, and get out of the pits as quickly as you can.