World Flower-8: Blast Block Skyway

“Scary” is a great word to describe this remixed course. Previously, the Beep Blocks would give you a few game seconds before switching between the red and blue sets of blocks. You have less than a second now. You must time your runs and jumps across these blocks carefully. Hold onto that Super Leaf that you can snag at the beginning of the level!

Complicating things here are the Spikes. Their deadly rollers can make navigating the Beep Blocks harder than it already is.

There’s a Character Switch in this level, but it only summons Coins and is not a high priority.

Green Star #1

The first Green Star hovers over a ? Block that hangs over a set of blue Beep Blocks. If you’re without a Tanooki Power-Up, it’s easiest to approach the star from the south, jumping off a red Beep Block just before it disappears so that you can land on the blue Beep Block underneath the star just as it appears. Another quick hop up should get you to the star. Complicating this plan is the presence of Parabones, though you can also bounce off them in a pinch.

The Super Leaf can make getting this Green Star much easier. Additionally, Luigi, Peach, and Rosalina all have very big advantages over the other characters. Luigi jumps high naturally, Peach can float, and Rosalina’s spin attack (which is only available when she has no Power-Ups equipped) can act as a double jump.

This is a tough stairway to climb. You’ve got a Spike at the top throwing down his rollers combined with rapidly switching blocks. Once you start climbing, you have to maintain a specific jumping rhythm until you reach a safe zone.

Green Star #2

A small mercy in this level is the presence of a Checkpoint Flag after the Beep Block stairway, and it’s very close to the Green Star Ring you need for the second Green Star. It’s not a bad idea to wait until after you grab the second star before touching the Checkpoint Flag, but it might also be wise to grab it first, in case you mess up collecting the Green Coins.To get all the Green Coins, you’ll have to blow into the GamePad microphone to raise the Propeller Platform up to the last four Coins.

After taking the Warp Box just past the Checkpoint Flag area, you’re confronted by Parabones and two Spikes guarding the long Beep Block slide down to the Goal Pole zone. Grab a Super Leaf from the nearby ? Blocks, and make your way down this slide.

It’s actually not too bad. The blocks switch places fast enough that with well-timed jumps (and maybe some help from your Tanooki Power-Up), you can maintain a steady and relatively safe pace down the slide so long as you don’t break your jumping rhythm.

Green Star #3

You find the last Green Star on the latter half of the Beep Block slide, after the two colors have switched sides.

As with the last set of steps you climbed, the Beep Blocks leading up to the Goal Pole do not reward hesitation. Once you commit, keep your jumping rhythm and bore in on the Goal Pole.