Rewards: Clear Gem—destroy all 90 boxes.
Sunset Vista is similar to the Lost City, except there’s more to it and the challenges are tougher. You have both horizontal and vertical areas. In addition to a Tawna bonus stage, there’s a Neo Cortex bonus stage. You need the boxes from both of these to clear all 90, not to mention you could use the extra lives.
There are several interior areas on the horizontal stages. At the start, enter for a bunch of Wumpa fruit to get started toward an extra life. Then advance to the right. Wait until the flame bowl dies down, then jump across to it and onto a rotating platform. From there, make your way to a stable platform to pick up an extra life. Dodge moving walls that try to push you off the edge; the pattern is simple. Once you’re past them, drop into a low area before flying bats hit you.
Enter this next interior for more fruit. On the right side, barely in view, is an Aku Aku box to help protect you. There’s also an extra life in a hidden box. Watch for the flying bats as you continue to the right. A jumping lizard bounces between platforms. To defeat it, jump on it from another platform as soon as it lands. Look for a hanging bat, which warns of more flying bats. Jump down onto a stump, then onto another lizard on a second stump. After the bats fly over, jump up and defeat another lizard on a stone platform with a jump and spin attack. Retreat to the left and dropping to the stump before another group of bats flies by. Then continue right to a checkpoint and an extra life.
Advance past more moving walls, then jump onto floating platforms that move around in a circle. Ride one of these platforms to a stationary platform with two boxes filled with extra lives. Then ride another floating platform to reach the next area.
Five small shelves slide in and out of the building. As one extends, the next retracts, and so forth. Jump onto the first. Before it retracts, jump to the second. Repeat until you reach the checkpoint on the other side. Then return and jump into the interior of the building. It looks like there’s nothing here, but if you head all the way to the back and jump up, you find an Aku Aku Mask.
Continue right and past more moving walls. Drop into a lower area to avoid bats that are just past the moving walls. When all’s clear, jump across to a flame bowl while it’s cool, then to a lower stump to avoid the bats. A jumping lizard is on the next building area, so wait for it to jump away before you mount the platform. As it jumps back to the middle platform, jump on it to clear your way. Next come more moving walls. Wait until all walls in a group retract at the same time before you rush across. There are two sets. Get past them and activate the checkpoint.
Now begins the first vertical stage. It features a lot of shelves that extend and retract. Timing is everything; get into the rhythm so you jump while the next one is retracted, which means it’s extended when you land. There are also shelves that don’t retract until you land on them, so you have to time it so you hit the next shelf while it’s extended. The second shelf you jump up on is one of these. There are several flame bowls around here, so if you fall, more than likely you’ll get burned. Note that some shelves move in circles. Jump into a flame bowl to get onto these moving shelves. As you approach the top, look for three boxes off to the right—grab the fruit as well as a Tawna icon inside them. Continue your timed jumps to reach the top and the next horizontal stage.
Pick up fruit from the boxes inside the building at the top, then head left. There are two rotating platforms in a row. A shelf separates them. Quickly jump off this shelf before it retracts. After crossing this part, enter the building to get the checkpoint box—you don’t want to redo the vertical stage if you die.
As you exit the interior, you next encounter a combination of moving walls and shelves. Watch for a while to learn the timing. As the shelf closest to you extends and the wall retracts, jump across to the shelf. Immediately jump to the next shelf and so on until you cross all five shelves and reach solid stone. Continue all the way to the right, where you find a stack of boxes with a mask, extra lives, and Wumpa fruit.
This vertical stage is similar to the first, but more challenging and with the moving shelves. About halfway up, look for flying bats. Time your jumps not only to the shelves, but also to reach a high spot before the bats return. Get to the top and smash a checkpoint box.
If you want a Neo Cortex icon, this next part is critical. Move to the right until you see a red lizard. As it jumps toward you, retreat so you’re to the left of the floating box at the top of the screen. Wait until the lizard lands beneath the box, then quickly jump on the lizard so you can reach the box. Hitting it causes several boxes to appear behind the pillars. Go through the opening on the right, then head left for lots of fruit and the Neo Cortex icon. To the right of the opening, jump up behind a pillar for a mask.
Continue right, past moving walls, and avoid flying bats as you jump across pillars and a flaming bowl. From a building platform, rush past a wide moving wall and jump onto two boxes to get on top of the next moving wall. Floating above this wall are an extra life and the second Neo Cortex icon. Keep going to avoid being pushed off by the walls. The final set of walls requires you to rush over shelves before they retract. Keep advancing across a series of pillars with a checkpoint, extra lives, and boxes, including one with the second Tawna icon.
You encounter more moving walls and shelves. Wait until the two shelves extend and the walls retract, then rush across. Drop onto two more shelves, then hop up onto the platform. Clear out some boxes between two buildings, including an extra life, then negotiate moving walls and a shelf to jump across to some floating pillars. Jump off and head behind the pillars on the platform to the left of the Neo Cortex portal to find a hidden box containing the third icon. Use the portal to reach the bonus stage.
After returning to the level, head right and clear out a box with the third Tawna icon inside. Now make your way up the last vertical stage. The Tawna portal is located on the right side as you ascend.
Continue the rest of the way to the top. Near the end, the last few shelves extend and retract at a quick rhythm, so be ready to change the tempo of your jumps. As you move to the right, you must get past a red lizard. When it jumps toward you, retreat across the platforms. Wait for it to land, then jump on it. Near the end portal are stacks of boxes. Smash them all to finish them off and earn a Clear Gem.
Time Trial
Time Requirements
Sapphire: 5:30:00
Gold: 4:10:04
Platinum: 3:41:85
This is a long level for a time trial. As such, while you need to be quick, you don’t have to rush without caution. There are a lot of threats and chances to lose a life, thereby ending the trial, so move steadily through the level. As usual, get all of the time boxes to help with the time. The vertical stages can easily add time if you fall. Watch out for bats and lizards, and be ready to defeat them on the go.