ctrl+F anything in brackets to be brought to the respective content, it will help!
[INT]: Introduction
[WR1]: World 1
*1-1 And So It Begins...
*1-1x And So It Begins... Secret
*1-2 Gramen Terra
*1-2x Gramen Terra Secret
*1-3 Big Baddie Cave
*1-3x Big Baddie Cave Secret
*1-4 Sunny River
*1-5 Treacherous Tower
*1-6 Forgotten Forest
[WR2]: World 2
*2-1 Craggy Heights
*2-2 Hydro Hills
*2-2x Hydro Hills Secret
*2-3 Flooded Crater
*2-4 P-Switch Peak
*2-5 Football Canyon
*2-5x Football Canyon Secret
*2-6 Grinder Castle
*2-7 Weeaboo Manor
*2-7x Weeaboo Manor Secret
*2-8 Yellow Switch
*2-9 Swampland Passage
[WR3]: World 3
*3-1 Underground Falls
*3-1x Underground Falls Secret
*3-2 Unearthly Hollow
*3-2x Unearthly Hollow Secret
*3-3 Danger Mines
*3-3x Danger Mines Secret
*3-4 Buzzy Bridge
*3-5 Oh Man! It's Hell!
*3-6 Sinister Dungeon
*3-7 Cave of Lost Pride
*3-8 Mining Outpost
*3-8x Mining Outpost Secret
*3-9 Switch of Many Hues
[WR4]: World 4
*4-1 Permafrost Cavern
*4-2 Frigid Lake Cavern
*4-2x Frigid Lake Cavern Secret
*4-3 Foresty Snow
*4-3x Foresty Snow Secret
*4-4 Zephyr Manor
*4-4x Zephyr Manor Secret
*4-5 Nippy Expanse
*4-6 Frostbite Heights
*4-7 Boreal Bastille
[WR5]: World 5
*5-1 Cotton Course
*5-2 Atop the Clouds
*5-2x Atop the Clouds Secret
*5-3 Stratosphere Ride
*5-3x Stratosphere Ride Secret
*5-4 Pink 'n' Purple Path
*5-5 Chateau of Storms
*5-5x Chateau of Storms Secret
*5-6 Palace Acropolis
*5-7 Sanctuary Fortress
*5-8 To Land Much Below!
*5-9 Snowflake Cavern
*5-9x Snowflake Cavern Secret
*5-10 Aero Skyline
*5-11 Peaks to Puffs
*5-12 Wieza Niebo
*5-13 Nimbus Ascent
*5-14 Red Switch
[WR6]: World 6
*6-1 Dark Desert Night
*6-1x Dark Desert Night Secret
*6-2 Buried Graveyard
*6-3 Lakitu's Lag00n
*6-3x Lakitu's Lag00n Secret
*6-4 Mostly Dead Desert
*6-4x Mostly Dead Desert Secret
*6-5 The Counterfort
*6-5x The Counterfort Secret
*6-6 Cactus Cavern
*6-7 Arbiter's Grounds
*6-8 Sand Castle of Doom
*6-8x Sand Castle of Doom Secret
*6-9 Hidden Oasis
[WR7]: World 7
*7-1 Dark Depths
*7-1x Dark Depths Secret
*7-2 Tropical Stride
*7-2x Tropical Stride Secret
*7-3 Into the Water
*7-3x Into the Water Secret
*7-4 Lulu Boo's Mansion
*7-5 Wild Wet Castle
*7-6 Bully's Bramble
*7-7 Morel Mountain
*7-8 Dinosaur Reef
*7-8x Dinosaur Reef Secret
*7-9 Permafrost Glacier
*7-10 Shoreline Woods
*7-11 Waterlogged Woods
*7-12 Disco Switch
*7-13 Glacial Grave
[EXW1]: Extended world 1 (Only available after world 7)
*1-7 Garden Path
*1-8 Cave of Elements
[WR8]: World 8
*8-1 Confusion Chambers
*8-1x Confusion Chambers Secret
*8-2 Crystals on Fire
*8-3 Toxic Utilities
*8-3x Toxic Utilities Secret
*8-4 Gaijin Cave
*8-5 Adventum Terminus
*8-6 Amethyst Vein
*8-6x Amethyst Vein Secret
*8-7 Rupture in Reality
*8-8 Spectral Abyss
*8-8x Spectral Abyss Secret
*8-9 Forest's Furnace
*8-10 Creepy Dark Woods
*FINAL: Bowser's Castle
[WR9]: World 9
*9-1 Deep Dark Drains
*9-2 Catacomb Calamity
*9-3 Time Up Tunnels
*9-4 Tightpipes to Space
[WR10]: World 10
*10-1 oh god brambles
*10-2 Asteroid Frigate
*10-3 Orbital Fortress
*10-4 Asteroid Belt
*10-5 Arctic Fortress
*10-6 Sizzling Spires
*10-6x Sizzling Spires Secret
*10-7 Megadmin
[CRD]: Guide credits
---
[INT]
This guide is written by Vic Rattlehead (Hey, that's me!), for the purpose of completing An SMW Central Production, one of the most polished and engaging Super Mario World hacks created so far.
What is expected of the reader:
*Well-acquainted with the original SMW and its gameplay mechanics
*Experience dealing with some of the more common custom enemies found in other hacks
*Patience, this hack gets HARD on some stages.
What will be covered:
*Tips on trickier parts of level navigation, with personal recommendations for passing the more difficult obstacles
*Secret exit locations, including the unmarked overworld tiles
*Boss fighting tactics
*Puzzle solutions
*Shortcuts (If you're looking to explore a level, explore it, but this guide will mostly only include the easier critical path to the end of a level)
What will not be covered:
*Dragon Coin locations (Barring the few needed for secret exits)
*1-up locations, or any other minor collectibles.
*Plenty of other misc. areas that don't immediately seem worth the effort to detail
[WR1]
GETTING STARTED:
After opening the hack in your emulator of preference (Lots of stuff doesn't work on zsnes 1.42, don't try it kids!), take a moment to appreciate the title screen. Moving on, select your new game file, whichever one you like, they're all the same. You get greeted by a cutscene explaining the story, and the controls for cutscenes. The A button advances, the B button scrolls... faster? And start skips the scene. After this is over, you are brought to the overworld, Mario's House and Toad Town can be skipped over, there's no real reason to go to them right now. Toad Town has some sights to see, like the bar & grill, as well as a shop, but seeing as you have no starting coins, that ain't no good! You can also visit Peach's Castle, but what kind of jerk would show up without a cake? There's also a pipe, which will lead you to a strange sewer world. You should probably ignore it for now, it unlocks nothing at this point. With that, we start the first level...
---
1-1 And So It Begins...: Every great adventure starts somewhere.
The aptly named first level serves as a nice, easy warmup for your platforming muscles. The secret exit is not available until you have pressed the Green Switch, so don't worry about finding it if you're still on world 1. This level is really straightforward, just keep heading right, dodging or killing the enemies along the way. Not far in to the level, there is a green pipe sticking out of a wall. If you jump under the end of it, an invisible block is there. This is useful, because it's a good 1-up farming spot for the early game.
Once you reach the midway point, there is a springboard just to the right of it, grab it and carry it further to the right, where you'll find a wall too high to simply jump up. Not long after this wall, you're at the end of the level!
---
1-1x And So It Begins... Secret: And so it returns!
The green pipe right before the goalpost leads to the secret exit, but this is of no use if you haven't hit the green switch palace yet. This is likely to be one of the last secret exits you'll get.
---
1-2 Gramen Terra: Spinies hurt.
This level ups the ante a bit, with the Lakitu flying offscreen overhead. He'll get on your nerves, but the level isn't very long, so you should be ok. Keep heading right, and not far in to the level, you will notice a pit, with a pipe in the ground. You can reach it simply by walking in to the pit, and holding B so you fall slower. I strongly recommend entering it, as this will place you in a bonus room, which you can opt to do, or you can just enter the pipe again and be at the midway point in a snap, almost completely avoiding Lakitu. Jump out of the pit to the right, and when Lakitu spawns, just grab a nearby enemy and smash it into his face and make a dash to the right before he respawns. Once you come to a green pipe, you'll have reached the end of the level. Just enter the pipe, and you'll be right beside the end. A very quick level, probably the quickest in the game!
---
1-2x Gramen Terra Secret: Over the top!
The secret exit is found simply by making a jump over the pipe that leads to the regular goal. Sliding down the slope ensures your safety on the path to the secret exit, so do that.
This exit grants fast access to the castle of world 1, making it ideal for speed runs.
---
1-3 Big Baddie Cave: It ain't that bad.
You start outside, in a ditch. Jump at some blocks to make a vine appear, then you enter the pipe in the middle area. There are two main paths through the level, top or bottom. If you can, stay on the top path, it's easier. If you fall down, you have to either backtrack and get back on top, or maneuver some moving coins into a bridge across some munchers. As an alternative to this, you can just hold the R button to get the nearby megamole to spawn, and ride that over. Just keep heading right, and enter the pipe on the bottom path to be set at the midway point. The switches here swap the outlined blocks with filled in ones, as well as make the cave change colors. Pretty! There isn't much to the puzzle, just keep hitting the switch blocks as necessary until you reach the right side. Enter the pipe and make your way to the end.
---
1-3x Big Baddie Cave Secret: Déjà Vu!
The secret exit can be found from the room with the switch blocks at the midway. Just right of the initial starting area, there is another land formation to the right, with a springboard on top. Grab it, flip the switch so the red blocks are solid, go to the right, hit a switch again and turn the blue blocks solid, and head back left, place the springboard under a formation of coins, and jump up! Hitting your head on the blocks above will turn the blocks below you solid, so you can head left into the pipe. You'll be in an area that looks just like the first cave segment, but with different enemies. Go to the bottom path, get the key from the blocks at the end, and go to the top path for the key hole. You can either backtrack to the start, or make a full speed running jump to one of the lower platforms nearby, but this only works 3/5 times due to Mario's strange speed oscillation.
---
1-4 Sunny River: Only one exit.
There's really nothing to this level, since it only has one exit. Just keep heading right, jumping on or over enemies as you please, you own the place, you're Mario. Entering the pipe at the end of the river part brings you to the outside of a castle, as a transition into the next level...
---
1-5 Treacherous Tower: The first castle!
You'll start out near some French looking Thwomps. Bait the one near you in to smashing at nothing, and run into the pit. Don't bother heading to the other side of the pit, there are only a few coins and a block of unknown contents, but it's simply too dangerous with the general lack of use for coins in this hack. After you cross some lava, there's a crossroads. Going right brings you to a bit of a bonus room, and going up brings you to the critical path. Go up. And then head right, taking the middle path to the end of the room, and enter the door. To the right is the midway point, check it, because the boss ahead isn't a pushover. Climb up up up, all the way to the top. There's nothing too special to worry about on the way, but if you must, you can take the time to grab some coins and hit that p-switch. Once you reach the top, there's a big red door, and you know what that means. If you're going to save state, do so now.
GIANT SPINY: And you thought the little ones had an attitude!
When you first enter the room, the boss will just sit in the corner, waiting, in a manner not unlike Boom-Boom from SMB3! Once you reach the middle, you will be assaulted without mercy. Jump over and behind him, and once you hit the ground, repeat it, but in the other direction. If this is too hard for you, you can try to spin jump on him until he goes into firing mode, but sometimes you'll get hit doing this. Once he backs up to a wall, run directly to the other side of the room and get ready to jump or duck.
Make sure all of your jumps are spin jumps, because if you happen to land on a fireball, this way you can get away unscathed. These are pretty much the only things to worry about, but don't even try going behind him during firing, the shots are aimed and will be fired at point blank range. Smack him with the throwblocks that fall from the ceiling 3 times, and he's toast. Not too hard, but he's not much of one to cut you slack, either!
Once the giant spiny is dead, you've cleared world 1! You are a super player!
---
1-6 Forgotten Forest: The first extra level.
A bonus level that does nothing for you, unlocked from Big Baddie Cave's secret. If no unlock for beating it bothers you, it should be skipped over until you're looking to max out the exit count.
A fairly straightforward level, you pretty much just have to head right. There's an obscured pipe in the ground not far into the level, in a pit. If you enter it and exit really quickly, you're at the midway already! Head right some more, on to some timed floating pads. The message box refers to the end of the level, where jumping at the top of the two trees directly near each other will land you on a hidden timed floating pad, dragging you through all the collectibles up top. The exit is right after this, so just tag it and be done.
And that's all the early-game World 1! Congratulations!
[WR2]
2-1 Craggy Heights: They're pushing you around!
You're greeted by a cutscene, if you don't feel like taking in the story, remember to press start to skip it. You'll see a strange blue headed creature once you enter the level. These cannot be jumped on without injuring yourself, don't try it. You can spin jump off them if you wish, though. Not far in to the level, you'll find some elephant looking things that will push you if they make contact. Dangerous, considering the cacti and pits around the area. I recommend pressing R to scroll the camera, and leaving it like that for the entire level, as you only need to head right. If you're quick to jump over the enemies like this, you can actually despawn them behind you, saving some trouble if you need to slow down ever.
---
2-2 Hydro Hills: It isn't actually all that wet.
Another simple level, just head up by spin jumping off the Torpedo Teds, avoiding the enemies along the way. When you reach the right side wall, you'll have found the midway point, and a pipe. I advise you tag the midway, and enter the pipe. The inside of the cave is a bit nastier than the outside, the enemies are more plentiful, so watch your step. Keep heading right until you reach a dead end, when you touch the side of the screen, you'll be placed at the exit! Strangely enough, even though you never entered a pipe, you exit from one at the goalpost.
---
2-2x Hydro Hills Secret: Dripping with simplicity!
Just take the same path you did before, but after passing the puddle with the Urchin in it, you'll find some blocks, with a + formation of coins. Above these coins is the key, encased in some brown blocks. Head a little further in to the level, and you'll find a blue p-switch. Take this switch back to the blocks, and hit it, and grab the key. Then, carry on with the route to the normal exit, the keyhole is just beyond the midway point, a short ways in to the cave.
---
2-3 Flooded Crater: You're going swimming.
One of the prettier levels, be sure to take in the scenery for a moment, and appreciate the parallax scrolling background. Once you're done with that, head down the vertical shaft, following closely behind the Urchin. Almost every downward facing pipe is a secret missile stockpile, so watch out for passing Torpedo Teds. (Author's note: I hate when pipes are used for torpedo launchers) There's a pipe with some smashable bricks under it, but I advise against entering it, as the end result puts you slightly further back in the level, as well as being fairly dangerous for a bonus room. Continue on the relatively direct path to the end, and you're done!
---
2-4 P-Switch Peak: These switches smell funny.
When you enter the level, head left. Observe the no-cape sign, if you have a cape. It means that flight is disabled, but you can still float. Once you're out in the wide open field, grab the silver p-switch hidden behind some shrubbery. This is a peculiar switch, since it has a very short timer, and jumping on it gives you a boost. It also can be grabbed immediately after kicking it, so feel free to have fun with it. Just carry the switch all the way to the left, don't press it before you enter a cave located all the way on the left side of the level. Once you locate the cave, head right, and take the lowest path until you find some Munchers blocking your path. Hit the switch now. Grab the blue p-switch, and continue right, jump up the clouds, and enter the pipe nearby.
Follow the coin trail down from your exit, and go back to the start of the level. Hit the blue switch at the brown blocks, and tag the midway. Go all the way right, and enter another cave. You enter from a reset pipe, so there's no going back now. Head left, go down, hit the block for a vine, and grab the silver switch. Carry it back up the vine with you, and trigger it at some munchers under some blocks. Collect the coins they turn in to, and then go down the pit to the right, grabbing a block. Hit the invisible blocks on the right side of the wall, and go back up. Toss the block at the blocks under the blue p-switch, and knock it down. Take this switch left, and hit it at the brown used blocks. You'll notice some munchers in the left wall, if you were to get another silver switch, you could get a free cape behind them, but there are easier places to get one later. Just head right to the pipe at the end, and you're finished with the level.
---
2-5 Football Canyon: It's more of a general sports canyon.
Start the level by heading out right, hit the invisible block under the football punter, and go up. There's a baseball pitcher in a small cage, try to take him out while he's still under you. Go down the side, and grab the springboard from the crevice under where the pitcher used to be (R.I.P.) and carry it right to the wall. The message box explains that you'll need the Chuck down in the pit for the secret exit, and you will. Ignore it for now, and head to the right side of the level. Nothing too tricky to worry about, just get to the pipe, and enter.
You'll be placed by the midway point. The message box warns you about the nasty little trick ahead, but that's only one of the tricks in this cruel segment of the level. Once you hit the midway, DON'T STAND AROUND. There is a hungry blue crocodile head waiting to feast on you. Just keep holding right as you fall and you should be fine. This applies to all pits with bones in them, anywhere in the level. Right after this, you meet the Mini-Press and the shooting critter, from Cave Story. The Press is simple enough to deal with, just treat it like a Thwomp. The critter is a little trickier, and waits until you get near to go up, rather than down. When it leaps, it will fire a couple of blue orbs at you, so just jump back around on to the higher level of the platform and bait it in to jumping again, where it will get trapped up top. They can also be jumped on, so if you get the opportunity, take them out. Continue to the right side of the level, and enter the door.
Go to your right, and navigate the tunnels until you find a pipe you can enter. Once here, go down the hole near the Press immediately. Jump over to the right, and grab the key up above, never stopping along the way so the croc doesn't get you. Take the key back down the hole, and on to the middle path. Drop it on top of the munchers, and walk over. You'll find a door, with some fat critters behind it. Use their heads to get a boost to the silver switch up above, and take it to the pipe at the top of the room. Go back down the pit near the Press, and hit the switch, taking the lowest path possible until you get the blue switch. Take this up, and trigger the croc at the highest pad. Jump on top of his now solid head, and hit the switch to get past the brown blocks. Run down to the door with the Boos guarding it, and enter.
Even though the platforms in this room have plenty of bones on them, no crocs seem to be present. Navigate your way through the Boos to the upper left corner. Hit the block for a Starman, and run like your hair is on fire to the right. Hit the block along the way to get a new Starman, and keep going. Once you make it to the end of this room, you're done! Don't get killed by the Chucks right before the end, though.
---
2-5x Football Canyon Secret: Enemies are your friends!
Take the normal path up to the first message box, from here your life can only get worse. Observe the Chuck in the pit, jumping rabidly towards you. If you're going to make a savestate, now is as good a time as any. Lure him to the right side, and into a small maze of blocks and platforms. Do not jump on him at any point before this, as there are two times where you are extremely likely to hit him, so if you mess up, just despawn him and try again before he dies. Once he hits the right side of this maze, you should jump on him once, and quickly get to the lower left side of him while he's still stunned. This will get him over to the upper left side of the maze, and so now all you have to do is jump to the top. Lure him through the falling platform, and up the hill. You're almost definitely going to hit him at this point, due to the low clearance, so make the best of it and run on top of the yellow blocks you want him to destroy.
Take the key to the midway point, and keep going. Take the lowest possible path, just jump on top of the Press, he'll move out of your way before you make contact. Get to the platform below the conveyor belt, all the way on the right side, and hold B. Now, run to your right, don't jump, just run. Keep going right, in to the black updraft, and tap the down button periodically so as to not get expelled out from the top side. Make it across, and then go up the next updraft to the keyhole, done.
---
2-6 Grinder Castle: Buzzsaw? Buzzsaw kill!
The first part of this level has little more to it than just dodging enemies to make it to the right side of the level. As an aside, you can't spin jump on the stationary saws, they act as spikes. When you make it to the other side, enter the pipe to be placed outside of the castle. Head right, and spin jump on to the Thwomp under a yellow block, it contains a vine plant. Take the springboard to the right, and double back to the area you entered from. Jump up to where the Dry Bones is, and press forward through the obstacles ahead. Continue to the right side of the level, where the midway point is, be cautious not to fall in the pit right before it. Entering the door right beside you will place you at a Koopa, who may just as well be a Lemming. Use the switches littered all over the place to guide him to the end, where you can get your hands around his neck and use his shell to clear the obstacles ahead. The last part is particularly tough, just keep pressing the switches until it's about to allow him to walk in to the lava to the right, but as he touches the wall to turn around, raise the platform. He should make it over, if not, there are reset pipes all around for you. Once you succeed, there is a big red door and some mushrooms waiting for you. Take the health, and get ready for...
GIANT MONTY MOLE: Holey Moley!
This boss is fairly easy, but has quite the hefty stamina, and will take many hits to go down. At first he only pops out of holes, you can use this time to get acquainted with the room, or just listen to the music, but don't dillydally too long, the timer is still running. When you're ready, jump on his head, and he will start to throw bouncing rocks when he pops out of his mole holes. You still have to jump on him, but he aims his shots in your direction, so be careful. If you get hit from underneath while going upward, it will hurt you, but if you're descending and you land on a rock, it will shatter. If you stand directly under where he pops out, the rocks thrown will ricochet directly up and down, making it nice and easy to either destroy them or let them disintegrate on their own. Keep dodging rocks and jumping on his nugget, and he'll go down.
Congratulations! World 2 is passed!
---
2-7 Weeaboo Manor: We are Boo Man, or?
This level is unlocked from Hydro Hills secret exit.
The start of the level is simple, but the Boos seem to have an attraction for attention. Looking at these ones draws them closer, while looking away keeps them in place. Just make your way to the right side wall of the level, then go around to the top area to the left, where there is a door. Enter it, and head right until you find a dip in the ground with a clock and a Boo, with a Ball 'n' Chain to the right. This is where things get complicated, so it will be broken down step by step.
1) Climb the rope above the clock, head right.
2) Grab one throw block, use it on the on/off switch.
3) Grab another block, jump through the now passable blocks, and throw the block at the switch, and drop down (Press L to scroll the camera, to ensure the hit registers).
4) Go left, hit the on/off switch, go left more, throw the silver p-switch on to the left side of the Ball 'n' Chain.
5) Take the springboard, and go to the right, down from where you entered the small room. Place it on the slightly higher platform, and jump up the vertical shaft.
6) Use another throw block to flip the on/off switch.
7) Go back left, drop down, and take the silver and blue switches.
8) Go back to the start of the interior of the level, and press the silver switch, carry the blue one with you.
9) Use the blue p-switch to hit the on/off switches as necessary, it's much safer than using the throw blocks you're standing on. (Author's note: it is sadistic design to make such a deadly segment right after a fairly complex puzzle with no midway point)
10) On the platform with 2 ! blocks and 4 throw blocks, attempt to discard the blue p-switch at the on/off switch, taking extra care not to stand on the ! blocks, as they will soon be turned transparent.
11) Continue left, until you get to a massive pile of throw blocks. Pass over these, and go in the door to the left, using the switch in the room.
12) Now that you're outside again, head left past the blocks that were once solid. Follow the coins down, and hit the goal tape to the right!
This exit grants fast access to the castle of world 2, ideal for speed running.
---
2-7x Weeaboo Manor Secret: At least it's not Japanophile House.
Go to the door leading to the interior, but don't enter. Go back to the top of the stairs to the right, and jump through the upper left wall. Run left, grab a blue p-switch hidden behind a box, and go back right. Once you reach the reflecting Boo stream, let it pass by, and hit the switch. Follow the arrows made of coins, and go through the wall, to the secret door. Much, much easier than the regular exit!
---
2-8 Yellow Switch: Well, it ain't green, but it will have to do!
This level is unlocked from Weeaboo Manor's secret exit.
The most basic of switches! This is probably one of the easiest levels, there's a Starman in the upper right corner of the level, to get through the Pokeys, and that is all you really need to know. Just grab that and plow through everything into the pipe below. Yellow switch blocks contain Mushrooms, they also make some levels a bit safer.
---
2-9 Swampland Passage: So that's where the sewer leads.
This level is unlocked from Football Canyon's secret exit.
Nothing much to look out for in this level, just keep heading right, using the generously placed throw blocks to tear the nearby Wigglers apart. Keep going until you find a bridge of throw blocks, and tear out the middle to fall down into some water. Swim up and out, and you'll have reached the end before you know it. A nice breather after the level needed to unlock it! Now would be a pretty good time to clear the sewer level, since it will help with transportation.
And that's all there is for world 2! Congratulations!
[WR3]
3-1 Underground Falls: Soothing.
As per world 2, you're greeted by a cutscene in this first level of the world. The normal exit for this stage is very straightforward, just as easy as point A to point B. The biggest troublemaker is right at the start, just wait for the football kicker to launch his ammo, then take him out and move on. Keep heading to the right, and you'll make it to the end with little trouble.
---
3-1x Underground Falls Secret: Sand in ya shoes!
Take the normal path up until you locate a section with some blocks, one of which contains a vine leading up to a Dragon Coin and a blue p-switch (unnecessary, but it will help you find the exit). Hit the switch, and go right, there will be some coins indicating to go down the sand pit. Sink in to the quicksand to the right of the Chuck, and you'll end up at the key and keyhole.
---
3-2 Unearthly Hollow: The house of 1,000 corpses!
This level can be quite a chore if you're not in to falling down holes (Or just don't have a cape). At the start, jump up the tree branches over to the right and notice the springboard on top of a block that's looming over the head of a scarecrow, just out of reach for both of you. You can opt to get creative with your running jumps, or just find the shell further in to the level to get it. Once you're near the top of the level, as indicated by the foliage overhead, you'll find a small piece of land with a pumpkin and a skull on it. Go down the narrow hole to the left, and hug the right side wall, and you'll fall down to an area where you can find a shell. Take the shell back to the start and get the springboard. Take the board through the level to the right, to another scarecrow. Use it to jump over the imposing wall, and you'll find yourself at the entrance to a ghost house.
Here, the background and foreground sort of blend in to eachother, so watch your step. Go to the top path, find a springboard, and carry it around to the lower half. Place it on the corner area where a Ball 'n' Chain and Dry Bones are hanging out, go right some more, find another springboard, carry that, and then jump up off the other board. You'll soon find yourself at the end of the house, with a reset pipe. Jump over the side of the house and go down the pipe you find a short distance to the right. Take the top path in the house, and keep heading right, you'll find the end of the level soon.
---
3-2x Unearthly Hollow Secret: The grass is much greener on the other side.
Take the same path to the end of the first ghost house, instead now you go down the reset pipe while holding a springboard. Fortunately for you, someone forgot to place the ceiling generator at this pipe, so you can simply jump over the wall for the other springboard you need! Head left from the reset pipe, and go back up to where you grabbed the first board, near the Ball 'n' Chain, then jump back over the wall and you'll be well on your way. Set the board you're carrying down at the wall past the pipe leading to the second ghost house area, and you'll find yourself in a nice, healthy looking forest area. Much less bleak compared to the rest of the level! Grab the key and go down into the water for the keyhole.
---
3-3 Danger Mines: Monochrome Mines would work too.
You start on a falling pad, so think fast. After this, it's a pretty easy trek until you reach a football kicker and some lava fountains. The lava will kill you instantly, and the football guy is going to try see to it that you burn alive. You can take him out by jumping over, being careful not to touch the lava, or you can toss fireballs at the cement block, which will provide accurate shots to said football man. Once he's dead, take a moment to prepare yourself for the jump ahead. I personally recommend letting go of the run button, doing a full height spin jump, and mashing left and right to keep centered. After this jump, just go right until you enter a pipe, then head left. Keep going left until you reach the end of the screen, and go down the orange pipe with the cement bricks under it, and do not let go of your run button from here on. Hold on to the switch, and get close to the right side of the screen, but not so close you can't see the enemies spawn. Keep your speed, and go for the top route. By the time you get to a large pool of lava with a Buzzy Beetle near it, the fast scroll should have kicked in to gear, and you'll be plastered to the left side of the screen. Follow the coins to the pipe, and enter it asap.
Phew, now that that is done, use the blue p-switch you carried out, and enter the pipe surrounded by the used blocks. Tag the midway point, and go to the right, under the pipe, and jump over the lava bridge. Be careful of all the surrounding lava, and head through the pipe maze. Soon after, you'll have found the goalpost.
---
3-3x Danger Mines Secret: This time it's left.
You have to be a big form of Mario to get this exit.
Follow the normal route to the midway point, but this time go left. Drop down on to the 2 floating skulls, and press R to pan the camera forward. This will throw off the timing of the Blarg monster things as well as the piranha plants so you can just sit still the rest of the way. Jump off at the rope bridges, and then smash the block at the bottom to the key and keyhole.
---
3-4 Buzzy Bridge: It'll leave you buzzed!
A nice, simple one exit level. Just head right, watching out for the upside down buzzy beetles on the ceiling. Head under the goal post to the right, grab the blue p-switch and bring it back under the goal, and activate it. Collect the coins, and you're done!
---
3-5 Oh Man! It's Hell!: P-switch, springboard, p-switch, springboard, p-switch, springboard, SILVER p-switch, spring-over-board.
One of the most item grab-happy levels in the hack, fortunately it is really easy to find what you need, if you just pay attention to coin formations, and jump at impossibly high walls, you'll almost always find the invisible blocks needed to reach the items. Critters make an appearance here, so you'll want to have fireballs to fry them before they can fire at you. Keep paying attention to the surroundings, and you'll have reached the midway in no time. Repeat the process, and hit the note block at the end of the next cave segment, and a star will pop out. Head to the goal.
---
3-6 Sinister Dungeon: It will turn you inside out!
Start by heading right, and keep going. Once you arrive at a pipe, don't bother going in it, there's nothing good down there, and you risk getting hurt before the harder areas. Shortly after the pipe, there is a somewhat tricky jump to make. Press R, get a view of the obstacles ahead, and time your jump just as the pencil stick retracts into the ceiling, and duck as you jump. Continue on, the rest of the area is pretty simple. Enter the door at the end.
In this door, take a moment to observe Mario. He'll start flickering rainbow colors, and your controls will be reversed. The timing is not random, you'll have to get in a bit of a rhythm to keep your direction going. The blocks to the right contain a cape, or a mushroom if you're small. If you get the cape though, you're in business, it makes things a lot easier! Cautiously make your way to the right, only advancing when controls are normal, and tapping the controls when reversed so the conveyor belts don't dump you in to lava. Or you could just jump and let go of the controls, because it doesn't reverse your speed, just which button sends you what direction. Idle on top of non-moving blocks as often as possible if you're not confident in your rhythm, you're given enough time to advance to the next safe spot every time.
You'll come across a door with some ! blocks in your way, enter the door. The controller flipping happens roughly 4 times as often in this room, but it's fairly safe. Just get in a good rhythm, and press the direction you'll need to when you think it's time, and you'll make it across to hit the switch in a snap. Back out of the room, the controller reversing thankfully only happens once every few seconds again. The next part is easily the hardest, with a conveyor belt and an on/off switch at the end. Drop down to the solid ! block below and wait until your controls are normal, then quickly activate the switch and get back to safety. Advance a little further to find there is a koopa kicking a shell at a switch, flicking it on and off against your will. Hang out at the end of the ledge with the pencil stick thing coming from the ceiling, and wait until both your controls are normal, and the shell is about to turn the switches back on, then make a beeline for it. With any luck, you'll have found the door to the end of this place, where behind it you'll find the midway point, as well as everyones favorite big red door. This is where you'll find...
THE JOLLY GREEN GIANT KOOPA: That you, Bowser?
This guy is a behemoth. Every time his shell slams in to the wall or floor, you'll get stunned if you're on the ground. Avoid this, as the time you're stunned is usually enough for him to pick up enough speed to mow over you, which will deplete your powerups very quickly. He doesn't seem to follow you as closely as the Giant Spiny, so you can expect him to hit the walls often. Jump on his head when he's standing upright to damage him, soon, he'll start to spin in one spot, then rise into the air, slamming down in to the middle of the arena. Four of his regular sized goober cousins will fall down on top of where you are. Try to stay over him for this, as when his shell is spinning, it will kill the goobers instantly. Continue jumping on his head when you get the chance, and soon, he'll use his last stand, the kamikaze shell. It looks a lot like the attack where he goes in to the air, but instead will slam at your direction at a high speed. Just jump over it, and he'll kill himself on the wall, and you're done.
Congratulations! You've beaten world 3! Pat yourself on the back, and you can move on to the ice world.
---
3-7 Cave of Lost Pride: You might lose your sanity, too!
This level is unlocked from Underground Falls secret exit.
This is a pretty tough level, be prepared to hit the Toad Town shop a few times to get the edge. At first, just go down the shaft to the right, landing on the mushroom and cave flooring protruding from the walls. Watch out for the floating Dry Bones heads scattered throughout the level, they have a nasty habit of blending in with the surroundings. You can ignore all the enemies, you won't be coming back here soon enough to worry about clearing them. Continue on until you reach some floating skull pad platforms. After you've gotten up those, the path to the end can take some twists. If you're small, you have to take the upper path. If you're big, you can opt for the lower path. The lower one is easier, use it if you can.
Instructions for upper path:
1) Grab blue p-switch from small nook below.
2) Carry it to the right, where 3 stacked bullet bill launchers wait on the other side of some used blocks, and use it here.
3) Climb on top of the Mega Mole when it is freed from the used blocks and ride it across the munchers, over to the mushroom platforms at the end.
Instructions for lower path:
1) Spin jump the yellow blocks away, holding the jump button as you do so, and get back on to solid ground after there's a hole to get through, and grab the blue p-switch.
2) Jump down the hole, holding the jump button and hugging the right wall.
3) Head right and keep going until you hit some used blocks, and hit the blue p-switch here. Keep running right, and go through the wall at the end of the tunnel to end up just above some mushroom platforms.
From here, the paths merge. Continue going right, but be wary of the molehills, even though they don't animate, moles will pop out of them. Drop down the pit at the end, and hit the on/off switch to the left. Continue right, and take the upper path as far as you can. There's a reset pipe before a maze of vines here. Navigate the vine maze, jumping under from between the two munchers at the end should ensure your safe exit. Once you reach the end of the path, you'll find a trapped mega mole. Hit the switch under him, and trap him in the pit to the right of the switch. Hit the switch further back to drop him down, then hit the other one to drop him even further. Now is a good time to save state, should you choose to use them.
Hit the switch once more, and drop down in the single tile wide shaft to the left. Follow closely behind the mole, and press L to get a good look ahead. Hit the switches as necessary to ensure he doesn't fall off the map, or you have to redo everything from the reset pipe onward. Keep hitting switches to allow him to progress. Once you have him trapped above the Bullet Bill launchers, hit the switches again and go right. Take care not to accidentally hit the mole with the Koopa's shell just above, and use his head to enter the pipe. You'll be surrounded by two mega moles, but just let go of the run button and walk with them and you'll be fine.
You'll exit to an area with a blue p-switch. Grab it, or else you have to redo the whole level over again. Go back to the left, and you'll notice you're back at the start of the stage. Some coins are likely to be missing from your first time around, so take extra care not to fall into the pit below. Use the blue p-switch to knock down the silver p-switch, and carry that just a little further to the right. Where you see some munchers blocking a pipe, use it right there, and enter. Head right, and tag the midway point. Don't worry though, it's almost over! There's a pit to the right, with some chain-link fencing to climb on. Drop down, if you're big, there's a power-up box with the all-mighty feather in it. If not, you still get a mushroom! Continue heading right, the rest of the level is very simple, and then you're done.
This level lops off nearly all of world 3 on the path to the castle, making it extremely worthwhile to do, despite the difficulty and length.
---
3-8 Mining Outpost: It crushes rocks and plumbers!
This level is unlocked from Unearthly Hollow secret.
A nice and straightforward exit, not much to get confused on here. Just head right. When you get to some winged platforms, jump down the pit below, it's much safer than trying to wrestle the Ball 'n' Chain on the same arc as the plaform. Continue on right to the midway point. The sign tells you not to enter, but when has that ever stopped Mario? Thanks. Enter the door, and get ready to dodge the angriest Thwomp you'll see this side of the Mushroom Kingdom. Keep dodging him, the closer you are to the ground, the safer. There are some transparent blocks around the place, you can't pass through them, but the crusher can. When in two tile wide shafts, hug the left wall, and run right so you can spin jump on top of him. Keep your speed, and try never to let him land when you're stuck, it's almost a guaranteed hit on you. After this is done, you've found the exit.
---
3-8x Mining Outpost Secret: It's the Hellivator.
Take the normal route up until you have to spin jump on the 3 Grinders. Once you land, press L to observe the key across the pit. Spin jump on top of the highest Grinder and you should make it across with little trouble. Continue on for a little bit, until you see coins in an upward arc, with a yellow block below. Stand at the very edge of this higher platform and boot the key forward, into the pit. If you were close enough to the edge, you'll have smacked the block, revealing a vine. You're not getting that key back, so don't bother trying. Enter the elivator room at the top. There's not much to explain here, but there is a sort of rhythm to dodging the incoming Grinders. Once they intersect, jump at that area, since it will take a little while before they converge again. Just keep jumping to the side, to the middle, and to the side again until you've reached the Thwimps. These guys are probably the toughest part to deal with, as the walls close in a little. Soon, you'll reach the top though. Be sure to snatch the 1-up in the upper left corner of the key room, you earned it.
---
3-9 Switch of Many Hues: Many switches of many hues, but the one you want is big and blue.
This level is unlocked from the Mining Outpost secret exit.
The only switch in the game that really makes you work for it. It's "just" a couple puzzles, but they're some of the tougher ones in the hack. Recipe for blue switches:
1) Head right from the start, and tag the yellow switch. There's a roto-disc just so perfectly placed that you'll jump into it almost every time, so watch it.
2) Head back left, and go up the now filled in yellow pads. Tag the blue switch.
3) Go back towards the start, and head back over to the right. Climb up to the springboard, and grab it.
4) Drop back down, tag the yellow switch, and place the springboard on the yellow blocks to the left.
5) Grab the blue p-switch from up top. Jump back down, and set the blue p-switch on top of some yellow blocks that are under some currently deactivated red blocks. Grab the springboard and do the same.
6) Go back to the start, and climb up the yellow pads. Tag the blue switch at the top.
7) Go back down, and over to where you dropped the items. Tag the red switch, you'll now be mostly trapped.
8) Set the springboard down by the munchers on the right side, and take the blue p-switch left, near the gray platform. Hit the switch, and collect some of the coins, dash over to the springboard, taking care not to trigger the blue switch, and jump off of the springboard and clear that path.
9) Collect the silver p-switch from the small room up at the top of the path, and bring it back to the springboard. Hit it, and collect the munchers quickly. Tag the blue switch, and jump over to the door on the right.
Now you're in a new room, with stars flipping switches in a spastic manner. You're welcomed to start jumping on the last remaining switch, just because it's awesome. After this is out of your system, reset the room with the door on the left, and crush the stars immediately. This room is not very easy, and you will probably need to reset a couple times.
1) Tag the blue switch, and catch your breath, and focus.
2) Trigger the pow block to create a path for the panda head thing to get across. Tag the yellow switch so he has something to latch on to.
3) Tag the blue switch to get him on to some used blocks. Tag the yellow switch so he can't go back.
4) Trigger the pow block when he passes by the coin, to get him on to the platform above.
5) Collect the coins against the wall, then flip the pow switch again and collect the brown blocks so they aren't connected to the blue blocks.
6) Tag the Blue switch, and hit the pow block, keep hitting it until he's about to make contact with the ? blocks that were spawned. Run to the right, tagging either the red or yellow switch on the way, jump over the ? blocks, and spin jump on the panda thing until you make it up to the door.
From here, enter the door, and hit that big switch! Blue switch blocks don't really do anything except make some levels a bit easier, and grant access to some secret exits.
That's all the exits in world 3! Bravo!
[WR4]
4-1 Permafrost Cavern: You'll be positively iced!
Once again, you're greeted by a cutscene on this level, furthering the story along. This is one of the better levels for getting free capes. Just stay on the upper right path and hit the upper rightmost block in a small room with many blocks. Keep going right until you tag the midway point. From the midway, observe the blue p-switch on the right. Go over and grab it, and go back up and to the right. Drop it on top of some munchers, and go back left. A block over here contains Yoshi. Saddle up, and use his licking abilities to grab the silver p-switch from within the blocks. Don't drop Yoshi yet or you will get stuck until the time runs out. Hit both switches and drop through the now cleared path. Hit the block left for an easy 1-up. To get over the tall wall, you need to jump off of Yoshi's back mid-air. The pipe to the right takes you to a level where you get to fly Mario's version of the Vic Viper! This part is really easy since it auto scrolls, just have fun with it and hit the goal at the end.
---
4-2 Frigid Lake Cavern: Deep freeze plumber.
Easy normal exit, but beware of the ice projectiles some enemies shoot, they freeze you in place. Getting frozen also removes your fire power, if you have it, but it will not actually damage you. Just head to the right of the stage, hit the on/off switch, and double back to the midway. Enter the pipe, and continue going right, you'll be in a swimming section now. Again, just head right, fire power or a cape will make this much easier. Enter the pipe at the end, and you'll be placed at the goal.
---
4-2x Frigid Lake Cavern Secret: Double dipper.
You need a fire flower to get this exit.
It would be a good idea to have a cape, and a fire flower in your reserve item box. Take the normal path up until the midway point, but this time instead of going all the way right, you will notice some ice blocks near two ice spewing panzers about halfway through. Take them out with your cape or fireballs, and clear the ice to the upper left to find the key and keyhole.
This exit will rip through most of world 4. It's quick to get, and bypasses the long and hard Zephyr Manor, making it a good choice for speed running.
---
4-3 Foresty Snow: It's a winter wonderland!
Start by heading right, but be careful of the Boos, they're colored similar to the background. Head right, and keep going. Within a few seconds, you'll have hit the midway point. Probably the quickest midway point in the game. Ignore all the switches and such, those are for the secret exit. It's not a very long run to the end, just keep going, and you'll finish in no time.
---
4-3x Foresty Snow: Scavenger hunt!
Having the blue switch activated would help tremendously with this exit.
To get this exit, you need to collect all of the dragon coins. The first one is right above you to the left, either jump up the blue block, or fly up at it, or lure a Boo over and jump off of its head. The second dragon coin is below the path with the Boo ring, blocked off by some brown blocks. You can hit the switch above to get rid of them, but it doesn't last long, so you have to be quick. This is pretty hard to do without taking a hit, so if you're able to, just man up and take the damage to run through. Horribly disfiguring scars caused by vengeful ethereal creatures builds character!
The third coin is in a pipe just right of the midway point. If you're big, smash through the blocks denying your entry. Otherwise, aim a shot at the side of the blocks with some of the nearby throwblocks and dive in. You only need one side open, keep in mind. Once in, hit the yellow block on the ground with one of the throw blocks around the place, climb the vine, and claim the coin. For the fourth coin, just head right from where you were placed after #3, and take the high path on top of the cement blocks a little further down.
After this, there will be a silver pow-switch. If you have the blue blocks triggered, this is as simple as jumping up to it. Otherwise, you can lure a nearby Boo and spinjump off it. Immediately head right, and grab the blue p-switch from behind where the munchers used to be. The fifth dragon coin is not far ahead, just drop the blue p-switch down on to some ? blocks and hit it, and claim the coin. Drop down and snatch the key. If you don't have the blue switches activated, just use a nearby Boo's head as a lift with some spinjumping to reach the keyhole.
---
4-4 Zephyr Manor: The bane of all that is good and holy!
This is one of the harder levels in this game, due to its length and being slippery, as well as introducing a strange new sprite. With some of the tricks here, you should be able to get by with just a couple cuts and bruises. It can be bypassed with the Frigid Lake Cavern secret exit, if you really have to.
Oh boy, here we go. The first part of the level is simple, just go to the door to the right side, which will place you at an area where there is an updraft. It will slow your descent down a lot, as well as make your jumps much higher. With a cape, you can use the floating ability to rise into the air. Soon in to this area, the updraft turns downward, making you fall much faster, and your jumps much lower. You can use this extra downward momentum to crush the cracked blocks.
Once you get back inside the building, you can take a number of paths. I personally recommend just going a little bit to the right, pressing R, and calling some Boos over. Standing on the box right near the entry pipe ensures the Boos will be up high enough to reach the area above. Spin jump on them to the springboard up above, and bounce upward into the pipe.
You'll be in a deep pit with another updraft. Having a cape here makes this much easier. Jump and follow the coins to the right, and jump up to the top area when you land. From here, the path is pretty straight, since the wind dictates where you can or cannot go. Once you reach the bottom, you'll find a message box with a little cloud platform next to it. Your life can only get worse from here. Run at the platform, if you're too slow, you might accidentally trigger it to go off on its own, don't bother jumping.
The cloud allows you to press the directional buttons to change the direction it is going. Once it starts going in a direction, it won't stop until you change its direction again. Navigate the spike maze ahead, being cautious of the Boos inhabiting it. There's no way to fight back against the Boos, you just have to plan ahead with your movements. If you've got some pretty good dexterity, you can go backwards at all the Boos by looking away, ducking, and then pressing the direction you need to go. This will more often than not, make the Boos pass right over you. Keep in mind pressing down will keep you in place on top of spikes, and the cloud platform will keep your feet safe. When you reach the end, you have to dismount the cloud and smash some blocks. Press down, jump to the side, and smash them. Loop back around from underneath to the left, and get back on the cloud. Navigate to the end, smash the blocks again, being careful NOT to mount the cloud again, or else it will smash you in to the ceiling when you try to go down, and either spin jump off some Boos into the pipe above, or make a running jump. Tag the midway, it's much safer just to duck-jump from the blocks below than it is to mess with the fishin' Boo above. Congrats, you're halfway there!
Exit the pipe to the upper right, being careful of the ghost fella. Catch your breath, and jump on to the brown blocks ahead, which will start moving. Once they start, they're not slowing down for anyone, so it's best just to find an area where it will be looping around. In this first part, hang out around the big or little fireball guys platforms. The small fireball thing has a Ball 'n' Chain above it, so it's more dangerous. Wait until the used blocks loop around a few times, and climb aboard.
In the second segment, just jump off right away and wait next to one of the Ball 'n' Chains. The block above contains a cape if you're big, which you will want. When the block snake comes back around, jump on it. Once you get to the third segment, immediately dismount to the right side block protruding from the wall, jump to claim the 1-up, and wait. Once you see it making its return, keep waiting. When it makes another loop around, going perfectly vertical, get on it. Stay on it the rest of the way, and when it comes to a big mess of spikes in the air, jump through them to the upper left side, absolutely do not stay on the right side platform unless you have a cape you can use to float through the maze.
Follow the path to the top, it's a thankfully forgiving area after the last part. You can kill Mario by making a full speed run in to a wall where the wind is pushing against, so take caution not to do that. Take the left side path, mount the cloud platform thing, and navigate to the end, watching out for the bouncing spike things. Remember to duck. After you reach the end of this maze, you're finally done! Hooray!
---
4-4x Zephyr Manor: Glutton for punishment!
This exit is a lot easier than the normal path, fortunately. Go the normal route up until you're outside of the building, and the updraft turns into a downdraft. Climb the vine to the left of a couple of cracked bricks, and line Mario's butt up with the cloud in the background just to the left, and jump right, holding the jump button as you fall. If you did it perfectly, you'll end up on the platform below. If you only broke the right side cracked block, just jump back over, then run in to the pit where the cracked block used to be, it will land you on the pad below.
You'll be in a green bonus room, one of the few areas in the hack with original SMW music. Go right, and dodge all the obstacles, there's not much to worry about here aside from a few rocks falling from above. Take the blue p-switch at the end, and exit the pipe. Press the switch outside on top of the raised platform, and jump up the ? blocks at the high left side of the map, the updraft will help you make it up.
This last part is just annoying, with the wind. For some reason though, if you're in the air and let go of the direction you're holding, it stops pushing you. Use this to your advantage when jumping under or over Thwomps. Just keep climbing up, eventually you'll find a cloud thing, and ride it through the spike maze, you'll find the key and keyhole at the top.
---
4-5 Nippy Expanse: I wouldn't look down if I were you.
Start by going left, you can jump off the second flying Koopa's head to get to the net above and climb all the way left. Once you reach the end, grab the blue p-switch and carry it back over on the same net you came off of. Go right past the start of the level, and use the switch to get past some brown blocks. Grab some coins, and wait for the switch to run out of time. Hit the switch below, and use the springboard to bounce up. Quickly get over the coins that are now blocks to the right, to find some winged pads, ride these to the midway point. Jump down the pit where the coins lead, and head right. The way to get past the otherwise impossible jump is to back up, and run at it, holding the jump button as you land on top of the Banzai Reggie. Continue right, the rest of the level is pretty straight up platforming action.
---
4-6 Frostbite Heights: It doesn't seem all that high up.
Finally, a nice, straightforward level with no p-switches or springboards to worry about. It's just plain old platforming, from left to right, just littered with boomerang bros. A fire flower will help a lot here, buy one from Toad Town if you must.
---
4-7 Boreal Bastille: I can see right through you!
This is possibly the most simple castle in the hack. There's almost nothing special to know about it, aside from the boss. Anyone who has played the original SMW should be able to find their way to the end of this one with no trouble, just keep heading right. Right before the boss door, though, there are some blocks to the upper left, one of which contains a cape. Useful. Behind this shimmering blue boss door lies...
UNDINE: She'll send chills down your spine!
This elemental of ice and water is out for blood. Mario's blood, that is, and will not hesitate to impale him for it. In the beginning, Undine will just fly around menacingly, but if you don't jump in to her you'll be fine. Soon, there will be a nasty little tidal wave following you around, this will push you around on land, and if it covers over you while you're in water, it will slam you down to a watery grave. It does no contact damage, but it can push you in to the ice spikes Undine sometimes summons. To hurt Undine, you need to grab the ice balls she shoots at you, but they hurt while in motion, so you have to land them on the tidal wave at the right angle so they don't break. This also eliminates the tidal wave for a short while, giving you a clean shot. You can't do anything about the ice spikes except for trying to dodge them. It's a good idea to alternate between the two inner gaps in the spikes, so as to not be in the water for the tidal wave to kill you. You can tell which attack she is using by looking at her, or at the bottom of the screen. Red rod means ice spikes, and the blue ball is ice ball. Keep throwing the ice balls back at her, and you'll be done in no time.
And that's it! You beat world 4! You pretty much already beat it when you completed Zephyr Manor, but congratulations anyway! This is also the only world where finding all the secret exits on the critical path won't land you extra exits to backtrack to, since Zephyr Manor's secret sends you to world 5.
[INT]: Introduction
[WR1]: World 1
*1-1 And So It Begins...
*1-1x And So It Begins... Secret
*1-2 Gramen Terra
*1-2x Gramen Terra Secret
*1-3 Big Baddie Cave
*1-3x Big Baddie Cave Secret
*1-4 Sunny River
*1-5 Treacherous Tower
*1-6 Forgotten Forest
[WR2]: World 2
*2-1 Craggy Heights
*2-2 Hydro Hills
*2-2x Hydro Hills Secret
*2-3 Flooded Crater
*2-4 P-Switch Peak
*2-5 Football Canyon
*2-5x Football Canyon Secret
*2-6 Grinder Castle
*2-7 Weeaboo Manor
*2-7x Weeaboo Manor Secret
*2-8 Yellow Switch
*2-9 Swampland Passage
[WR3]: World 3
*3-1 Underground Falls
*3-1x Underground Falls Secret
*3-2 Unearthly Hollow
*3-2x Unearthly Hollow Secret
*3-3 Danger Mines
*3-3x Danger Mines Secret
*3-4 Buzzy Bridge
*3-5 Oh Man! It's Hell!
*3-6 Sinister Dungeon
*3-7 Cave of Lost Pride
*3-8 Mining Outpost
*3-8x Mining Outpost Secret
*3-9 Switch of Many Hues
[WR4]: World 4
*4-1 Permafrost Cavern
*4-2 Frigid Lake Cavern
*4-2x Frigid Lake Cavern Secret
*4-3 Foresty Snow
*4-3x Foresty Snow Secret
*4-4 Zephyr Manor
*4-4x Zephyr Manor Secret
*4-5 Nippy Expanse
*4-6 Frostbite Heights
*4-7 Boreal Bastille
[WR5]: World 5
*5-1 Cotton Course
*5-2 Atop the Clouds
*5-2x Atop the Clouds Secret
*5-3 Stratosphere Ride
*5-3x Stratosphere Ride Secret
*5-4 Pink 'n' Purple Path
*5-5 Chateau of Storms
*5-5x Chateau of Storms Secret
*5-6 Palace Acropolis
*5-7 Sanctuary Fortress
*5-8 To Land Much Below!
*5-9 Snowflake Cavern
*5-9x Snowflake Cavern Secret
*5-10 Aero Skyline
*5-11 Peaks to Puffs
*5-12 Wieza Niebo
*5-13 Nimbus Ascent
*5-14 Red Switch
[WR6]: World 6
*6-1 Dark Desert Night
*6-1x Dark Desert Night Secret
*6-2 Buried Graveyard
*6-3 Lakitu's Lag00n
*6-3x Lakitu's Lag00n Secret
*6-4 Mostly Dead Desert
*6-4x Mostly Dead Desert Secret
*6-5 The Counterfort
*6-5x The Counterfort Secret
*6-6 Cactus Cavern
*6-7 Arbiter's Grounds
*6-8 Sand Castle of Doom
*6-8x Sand Castle of Doom Secret
*6-9 Hidden Oasis
[WR7]: World 7
*7-1 Dark Depths
*7-1x Dark Depths Secret
*7-2 Tropical Stride
*7-2x Tropical Stride Secret
*7-3 Into the Water
*7-3x Into the Water Secret
*7-4 Lulu Boo's Mansion
*7-5 Wild Wet Castle
*7-6 Bully's Bramble
*7-7 Morel Mountain
*7-8 Dinosaur Reef
*7-8x Dinosaur Reef Secret
*7-9 Permafrost Glacier
*7-10 Shoreline Woods
*7-11 Waterlogged Woods
*7-12 Disco Switch
*7-13 Glacial Grave
[EXW1]: Extended world 1 (Only available after world 7)
*1-7 Garden Path
*1-8 Cave of Elements
[WR8]: World 8
*8-1 Confusion Chambers
*8-1x Confusion Chambers Secret
*8-2 Crystals on Fire
*8-3 Toxic Utilities
*8-3x Toxic Utilities Secret
*8-4 Gaijin Cave
*8-5 Adventum Terminus
*8-6 Amethyst Vein
*8-6x Amethyst Vein Secret
*8-7 Rupture in Reality
*8-8 Spectral Abyss
*8-8x Spectral Abyss Secret
*8-9 Forest's Furnace
*8-10 Creepy Dark Woods
*FINAL: Bowser's Castle
[WR9]: World 9
*9-1 Deep Dark Drains
*9-2 Catacomb Calamity
*9-3 Time Up Tunnels
*9-4 Tightpipes to Space
[WR10]: World 10
*10-1 oh god brambles
*10-2 Asteroid Frigate
*10-3 Orbital Fortress
*10-4 Asteroid Belt
*10-5 Arctic Fortress
*10-6 Sizzling Spires
*10-6x Sizzling Spires Secret
*10-7 Megadmin
[CRD]: Guide credits
---
[INT]
This guide is written by Vic Rattlehead (Hey, that's me!), for the purpose of completing An SMW Central Production, one of the most polished and engaging Super Mario World hacks created so far.
What is expected of the reader:
*Well-acquainted with the original SMW and its gameplay mechanics
*Experience dealing with some of the more common custom enemies found in other hacks
*Patience, this hack gets HARD on some stages.
What will be covered:
*Tips on trickier parts of level navigation, with personal recommendations for passing the more difficult obstacles
*Secret exit locations, including the unmarked overworld tiles
*Boss fighting tactics
*Puzzle solutions
*Shortcuts (If you're looking to explore a level, explore it, but this guide will mostly only include the easier critical path to the end of a level)
What will not be covered:
*Dragon Coin locations (Barring the few needed for secret exits)
*1-up locations, or any other minor collectibles.
*Plenty of other misc. areas that don't immediately seem worth the effort to detail
[WR1]
GETTING STARTED:
After opening the hack in your emulator of preference (Lots of stuff doesn't work on zsnes 1.42, don't try it kids!), take a moment to appreciate the title screen. Moving on, select your new game file, whichever one you like, they're all the same. You get greeted by a cutscene explaining the story, and the controls for cutscenes. The A button advances, the B button scrolls... faster? And start skips the scene. After this is over, you are brought to the overworld, Mario's House and Toad Town can be skipped over, there's no real reason to go to them right now. Toad Town has some sights to see, like the bar & grill, as well as a shop, but seeing as you have no starting coins, that ain't no good! You can also visit Peach's Castle, but what kind of jerk would show up without a cake? There's also a pipe, which will lead you to a strange sewer world. You should probably ignore it for now, it unlocks nothing at this point. With that, we start the first level...
---
1-1 And So It Begins...: Every great adventure starts somewhere.
The aptly named first level serves as a nice, easy warmup for your platforming muscles. The secret exit is not available until you have pressed the Green Switch, so don't worry about finding it if you're still on world 1. This level is really straightforward, just keep heading right, dodging or killing the enemies along the way. Not far in to the level, there is a green pipe sticking out of a wall. If you jump under the end of it, an invisible block is there. This is useful, because it's a good 1-up farming spot for the early game.
Once you reach the midway point, there is a springboard just to the right of it, grab it and carry it further to the right, where you'll find a wall too high to simply jump up. Not long after this wall, you're at the end of the level!
---
1-1x And So It Begins... Secret: And so it returns!
The green pipe right before the goalpost leads to the secret exit, but this is of no use if you haven't hit the green switch palace yet. This is likely to be one of the last secret exits you'll get.
---
1-2 Gramen Terra: Spinies hurt.
This level ups the ante a bit, with the Lakitu flying offscreen overhead. He'll get on your nerves, but the level isn't very long, so you should be ok. Keep heading right, and not far in to the level, you will notice a pit, with a pipe in the ground. You can reach it simply by walking in to the pit, and holding B so you fall slower. I strongly recommend entering it, as this will place you in a bonus room, which you can opt to do, or you can just enter the pipe again and be at the midway point in a snap, almost completely avoiding Lakitu. Jump out of the pit to the right, and when Lakitu spawns, just grab a nearby enemy and smash it into his face and make a dash to the right before he respawns. Once you come to a green pipe, you'll have reached the end of the level. Just enter the pipe, and you'll be right beside the end. A very quick level, probably the quickest in the game!
---
1-2x Gramen Terra Secret: Over the top!
The secret exit is found simply by making a jump over the pipe that leads to the regular goal. Sliding down the slope ensures your safety on the path to the secret exit, so do that.
This exit grants fast access to the castle of world 1, making it ideal for speed runs.
---
1-3 Big Baddie Cave: It ain't that bad.
You start outside, in a ditch. Jump at some blocks to make a vine appear, then you enter the pipe in the middle area. There are two main paths through the level, top or bottom. If you can, stay on the top path, it's easier. If you fall down, you have to either backtrack and get back on top, or maneuver some moving coins into a bridge across some munchers. As an alternative to this, you can just hold the R button to get the nearby megamole to spawn, and ride that over. Just keep heading right, and enter the pipe on the bottom path to be set at the midway point. The switches here swap the outlined blocks with filled in ones, as well as make the cave change colors. Pretty! There isn't much to the puzzle, just keep hitting the switch blocks as necessary until you reach the right side. Enter the pipe and make your way to the end.
---
1-3x Big Baddie Cave Secret: Déjà Vu!
The secret exit can be found from the room with the switch blocks at the midway. Just right of the initial starting area, there is another land formation to the right, with a springboard on top. Grab it, flip the switch so the red blocks are solid, go to the right, hit a switch again and turn the blue blocks solid, and head back left, place the springboard under a formation of coins, and jump up! Hitting your head on the blocks above will turn the blocks below you solid, so you can head left into the pipe. You'll be in an area that looks just like the first cave segment, but with different enemies. Go to the bottom path, get the key from the blocks at the end, and go to the top path for the key hole. You can either backtrack to the start, or make a full speed running jump to one of the lower platforms nearby, but this only works 3/5 times due to Mario's strange speed oscillation.
---
1-4 Sunny River: Only one exit.
There's really nothing to this level, since it only has one exit. Just keep heading right, jumping on or over enemies as you please, you own the place, you're Mario. Entering the pipe at the end of the river part brings you to the outside of a castle, as a transition into the next level...
---
1-5 Treacherous Tower: The first castle!
You'll start out near some French looking Thwomps. Bait the one near you in to smashing at nothing, and run into the pit. Don't bother heading to the other side of the pit, there are only a few coins and a block of unknown contents, but it's simply too dangerous with the general lack of use for coins in this hack. After you cross some lava, there's a crossroads. Going right brings you to a bit of a bonus room, and going up brings you to the critical path. Go up. And then head right, taking the middle path to the end of the room, and enter the door. To the right is the midway point, check it, because the boss ahead isn't a pushover. Climb up up up, all the way to the top. There's nothing too special to worry about on the way, but if you must, you can take the time to grab some coins and hit that p-switch. Once you reach the top, there's a big red door, and you know what that means. If you're going to save state, do so now.
GIANT SPINY: And you thought the little ones had an attitude!
When you first enter the room, the boss will just sit in the corner, waiting, in a manner not unlike Boom-Boom from SMB3! Once you reach the middle, you will be assaulted without mercy. Jump over and behind him, and once you hit the ground, repeat it, but in the other direction. If this is too hard for you, you can try to spin jump on him until he goes into firing mode, but sometimes you'll get hit doing this. Once he backs up to a wall, run directly to the other side of the room and get ready to jump or duck.
Make sure all of your jumps are spin jumps, because if you happen to land on a fireball, this way you can get away unscathed. These are pretty much the only things to worry about, but don't even try going behind him during firing, the shots are aimed and will be fired at point blank range. Smack him with the throwblocks that fall from the ceiling 3 times, and he's toast. Not too hard, but he's not much of one to cut you slack, either!
Once the giant spiny is dead, you've cleared world 1! You are a super player!
---
1-6 Forgotten Forest: The first extra level.
A bonus level that does nothing for you, unlocked from Big Baddie Cave's secret. If no unlock for beating it bothers you, it should be skipped over until you're looking to max out the exit count.
A fairly straightforward level, you pretty much just have to head right. There's an obscured pipe in the ground not far into the level, in a pit. If you enter it and exit really quickly, you're at the midway already! Head right some more, on to some timed floating pads. The message box refers to the end of the level, where jumping at the top of the two trees directly near each other will land you on a hidden timed floating pad, dragging you through all the collectibles up top. The exit is right after this, so just tag it and be done.
And that's all the early-game World 1! Congratulations!
[WR2]
2-1 Craggy Heights: They're pushing you around!
You're greeted by a cutscene, if you don't feel like taking in the story, remember to press start to skip it. You'll see a strange blue headed creature once you enter the level. These cannot be jumped on without injuring yourself, don't try it. You can spin jump off them if you wish, though. Not far in to the level, you'll find some elephant looking things that will push you if they make contact. Dangerous, considering the cacti and pits around the area. I recommend pressing R to scroll the camera, and leaving it like that for the entire level, as you only need to head right. If you're quick to jump over the enemies like this, you can actually despawn them behind you, saving some trouble if you need to slow down ever.
---
2-2 Hydro Hills: It isn't actually all that wet.
Another simple level, just head up by spin jumping off the Torpedo Teds, avoiding the enemies along the way. When you reach the right side wall, you'll have found the midway point, and a pipe. I advise you tag the midway, and enter the pipe. The inside of the cave is a bit nastier than the outside, the enemies are more plentiful, so watch your step. Keep heading right until you reach a dead end, when you touch the side of the screen, you'll be placed at the exit! Strangely enough, even though you never entered a pipe, you exit from one at the goalpost.
---
2-2x Hydro Hills Secret: Dripping with simplicity!
Just take the same path you did before, but after passing the puddle with the Urchin in it, you'll find some blocks, with a + formation of coins. Above these coins is the key, encased in some brown blocks. Head a little further in to the level, and you'll find a blue p-switch. Take this switch back to the blocks, and hit it, and grab the key. Then, carry on with the route to the normal exit, the keyhole is just beyond the midway point, a short ways in to the cave.
---
2-3 Flooded Crater: You're going swimming.
One of the prettier levels, be sure to take in the scenery for a moment, and appreciate the parallax scrolling background. Once you're done with that, head down the vertical shaft, following closely behind the Urchin. Almost every downward facing pipe is a secret missile stockpile, so watch out for passing Torpedo Teds. (Author's note: I hate when pipes are used for torpedo launchers) There's a pipe with some smashable bricks under it, but I advise against entering it, as the end result puts you slightly further back in the level, as well as being fairly dangerous for a bonus room. Continue on the relatively direct path to the end, and you're done!
---
2-4 P-Switch Peak: These switches smell funny.
When you enter the level, head left. Observe the no-cape sign, if you have a cape. It means that flight is disabled, but you can still float. Once you're out in the wide open field, grab the silver p-switch hidden behind some shrubbery. This is a peculiar switch, since it has a very short timer, and jumping on it gives you a boost. It also can be grabbed immediately after kicking it, so feel free to have fun with it. Just carry the switch all the way to the left, don't press it before you enter a cave located all the way on the left side of the level. Once you locate the cave, head right, and take the lowest path until you find some Munchers blocking your path. Hit the switch now. Grab the blue p-switch, and continue right, jump up the clouds, and enter the pipe nearby.
Follow the coin trail down from your exit, and go back to the start of the level. Hit the blue switch at the brown blocks, and tag the midway. Go all the way right, and enter another cave. You enter from a reset pipe, so there's no going back now. Head left, go down, hit the block for a vine, and grab the silver switch. Carry it back up the vine with you, and trigger it at some munchers under some blocks. Collect the coins they turn in to, and then go down the pit to the right, grabbing a block. Hit the invisible blocks on the right side of the wall, and go back up. Toss the block at the blocks under the blue p-switch, and knock it down. Take this switch left, and hit it at the brown used blocks. You'll notice some munchers in the left wall, if you were to get another silver switch, you could get a free cape behind them, but there are easier places to get one later. Just head right to the pipe at the end, and you're finished with the level.
---
2-5 Football Canyon: It's more of a general sports canyon.
Start the level by heading out right, hit the invisible block under the football punter, and go up. There's a baseball pitcher in a small cage, try to take him out while he's still under you. Go down the side, and grab the springboard from the crevice under where the pitcher used to be (R.I.P.) and carry it right to the wall. The message box explains that you'll need the Chuck down in the pit for the secret exit, and you will. Ignore it for now, and head to the right side of the level. Nothing too tricky to worry about, just get to the pipe, and enter.
You'll be placed by the midway point. The message box warns you about the nasty little trick ahead, but that's only one of the tricks in this cruel segment of the level. Once you hit the midway, DON'T STAND AROUND. There is a hungry blue crocodile head waiting to feast on you. Just keep holding right as you fall and you should be fine. This applies to all pits with bones in them, anywhere in the level. Right after this, you meet the Mini-Press and the shooting critter, from Cave Story. The Press is simple enough to deal with, just treat it like a Thwomp. The critter is a little trickier, and waits until you get near to go up, rather than down. When it leaps, it will fire a couple of blue orbs at you, so just jump back around on to the higher level of the platform and bait it in to jumping again, where it will get trapped up top. They can also be jumped on, so if you get the opportunity, take them out. Continue to the right side of the level, and enter the door.
Go to your right, and navigate the tunnels until you find a pipe you can enter. Once here, go down the hole near the Press immediately. Jump over to the right, and grab the key up above, never stopping along the way so the croc doesn't get you. Take the key back down the hole, and on to the middle path. Drop it on top of the munchers, and walk over. You'll find a door, with some fat critters behind it. Use their heads to get a boost to the silver switch up above, and take it to the pipe at the top of the room. Go back down the pit near the Press, and hit the switch, taking the lowest path possible until you get the blue switch. Take this up, and trigger the croc at the highest pad. Jump on top of his now solid head, and hit the switch to get past the brown blocks. Run down to the door with the Boos guarding it, and enter.
Even though the platforms in this room have plenty of bones on them, no crocs seem to be present. Navigate your way through the Boos to the upper left corner. Hit the block for a Starman, and run like your hair is on fire to the right. Hit the block along the way to get a new Starman, and keep going. Once you make it to the end of this room, you're done! Don't get killed by the Chucks right before the end, though.
---
2-5x Football Canyon Secret: Enemies are your friends!
Take the normal path up to the first message box, from here your life can only get worse. Observe the Chuck in the pit, jumping rabidly towards you. If you're going to make a savestate, now is as good a time as any. Lure him to the right side, and into a small maze of blocks and platforms. Do not jump on him at any point before this, as there are two times where you are extremely likely to hit him, so if you mess up, just despawn him and try again before he dies. Once he hits the right side of this maze, you should jump on him once, and quickly get to the lower left side of him while he's still stunned. This will get him over to the upper left side of the maze, and so now all you have to do is jump to the top. Lure him through the falling platform, and up the hill. You're almost definitely going to hit him at this point, due to the low clearance, so make the best of it and run on top of the yellow blocks you want him to destroy.
Take the key to the midway point, and keep going. Take the lowest possible path, just jump on top of the Press, he'll move out of your way before you make contact. Get to the platform below the conveyor belt, all the way on the right side, and hold B. Now, run to your right, don't jump, just run. Keep going right, in to the black updraft, and tap the down button periodically so as to not get expelled out from the top side. Make it across, and then go up the next updraft to the keyhole, done.
---
2-6 Grinder Castle: Buzzsaw? Buzzsaw kill!
The first part of this level has little more to it than just dodging enemies to make it to the right side of the level. As an aside, you can't spin jump on the stationary saws, they act as spikes. When you make it to the other side, enter the pipe to be placed outside of the castle. Head right, and spin jump on to the Thwomp under a yellow block, it contains a vine plant. Take the springboard to the right, and double back to the area you entered from. Jump up to where the Dry Bones is, and press forward through the obstacles ahead. Continue to the right side of the level, where the midway point is, be cautious not to fall in the pit right before it. Entering the door right beside you will place you at a Koopa, who may just as well be a Lemming. Use the switches littered all over the place to guide him to the end, where you can get your hands around his neck and use his shell to clear the obstacles ahead. The last part is particularly tough, just keep pressing the switches until it's about to allow him to walk in to the lava to the right, but as he touches the wall to turn around, raise the platform. He should make it over, if not, there are reset pipes all around for you. Once you succeed, there is a big red door and some mushrooms waiting for you. Take the health, and get ready for...
GIANT MONTY MOLE: Holey Moley!
This boss is fairly easy, but has quite the hefty stamina, and will take many hits to go down. At first he only pops out of holes, you can use this time to get acquainted with the room, or just listen to the music, but don't dillydally too long, the timer is still running. When you're ready, jump on his head, and he will start to throw bouncing rocks when he pops out of his mole holes. You still have to jump on him, but he aims his shots in your direction, so be careful. If you get hit from underneath while going upward, it will hurt you, but if you're descending and you land on a rock, it will shatter. If you stand directly under where he pops out, the rocks thrown will ricochet directly up and down, making it nice and easy to either destroy them or let them disintegrate on their own. Keep dodging rocks and jumping on his nugget, and he'll go down.
Congratulations! World 2 is passed!
---
2-7 Weeaboo Manor: We are Boo Man, or?
This level is unlocked from Hydro Hills secret exit.
The start of the level is simple, but the Boos seem to have an attraction for attention. Looking at these ones draws them closer, while looking away keeps them in place. Just make your way to the right side wall of the level, then go around to the top area to the left, where there is a door. Enter it, and head right until you find a dip in the ground with a clock and a Boo, with a Ball 'n' Chain to the right. This is where things get complicated, so it will be broken down step by step.
1) Climb the rope above the clock, head right.
2) Grab one throw block, use it on the on/off switch.
3) Grab another block, jump through the now passable blocks, and throw the block at the switch, and drop down (Press L to scroll the camera, to ensure the hit registers).
4) Go left, hit the on/off switch, go left more, throw the silver p-switch on to the left side of the Ball 'n' Chain.
5) Take the springboard, and go to the right, down from where you entered the small room. Place it on the slightly higher platform, and jump up the vertical shaft.
6) Use another throw block to flip the on/off switch.
7) Go back left, drop down, and take the silver and blue switches.
8) Go back to the start of the interior of the level, and press the silver switch, carry the blue one with you.
9) Use the blue p-switch to hit the on/off switches as necessary, it's much safer than using the throw blocks you're standing on. (Author's note: it is sadistic design to make such a deadly segment right after a fairly complex puzzle with no midway point)
10) On the platform with 2 ! blocks and 4 throw blocks, attempt to discard the blue p-switch at the on/off switch, taking extra care not to stand on the ! blocks, as they will soon be turned transparent.
11) Continue left, until you get to a massive pile of throw blocks. Pass over these, and go in the door to the left, using the switch in the room.
12) Now that you're outside again, head left past the blocks that were once solid. Follow the coins down, and hit the goal tape to the right!
This exit grants fast access to the castle of world 2, ideal for speed running.
---
2-7x Weeaboo Manor Secret: At least it's not Japanophile House.
Go to the door leading to the interior, but don't enter. Go back to the top of the stairs to the right, and jump through the upper left wall. Run left, grab a blue p-switch hidden behind a box, and go back right. Once you reach the reflecting Boo stream, let it pass by, and hit the switch. Follow the arrows made of coins, and go through the wall, to the secret door. Much, much easier than the regular exit!
---
2-8 Yellow Switch: Well, it ain't green, but it will have to do!
This level is unlocked from Weeaboo Manor's secret exit.
The most basic of switches! This is probably one of the easiest levels, there's a Starman in the upper right corner of the level, to get through the Pokeys, and that is all you really need to know. Just grab that and plow through everything into the pipe below. Yellow switch blocks contain Mushrooms, they also make some levels a bit safer.
---
2-9 Swampland Passage: So that's where the sewer leads.
This level is unlocked from Football Canyon's secret exit.
Nothing much to look out for in this level, just keep heading right, using the generously placed throw blocks to tear the nearby Wigglers apart. Keep going until you find a bridge of throw blocks, and tear out the middle to fall down into some water. Swim up and out, and you'll have reached the end before you know it. A nice breather after the level needed to unlock it! Now would be a pretty good time to clear the sewer level, since it will help with transportation.
And that's all there is for world 2! Congratulations!
[WR3]
3-1 Underground Falls: Soothing.
As per world 2, you're greeted by a cutscene in this first level of the world. The normal exit for this stage is very straightforward, just as easy as point A to point B. The biggest troublemaker is right at the start, just wait for the football kicker to launch his ammo, then take him out and move on. Keep heading to the right, and you'll make it to the end with little trouble.
---
3-1x Underground Falls Secret: Sand in ya shoes!
Take the normal path up until you locate a section with some blocks, one of which contains a vine leading up to a Dragon Coin and a blue p-switch (unnecessary, but it will help you find the exit). Hit the switch, and go right, there will be some coins indicating to go down the sand pit. Sink in to the quicksand to the right of the Chuck, and you'll end up at the key and keyhole.
---
3-2 Unearthly Hollow: The house of 1,000 corpses!
This level can be quite a chore if you're not in to falling down holes (Or just don't have a cape). At the start, jump up the tree branches over to the right and notice the springboard on top of a block that's looming over the head of a scarecrow, just out of reach for both of you. You can opt to get creative with your running jumps, or just find the shell further in to the level to get it. Once you're near the top of the level, as indicated by the foliage overhead, you'll find a small piece of land with a pumpkin and a skull on it. Go down the narrow hole to the left, and hug the right side wall, and you'll fall down to an area where you can find a shell. Take the shell back to the start and get the springboard. Take the board through the level to the right, to another scarecrow. Use it to jump over the imposing wall, and you'll find yourself at the entrance to a ghost house.
Here, the background and foreground sort of blend in to eachother, so watch your step. Go to the top path, find a springboard, and carry it around to the lower half. Place it on the corner area where a Ball 'n' Chain and Dry Bones are hanging out, go right some more, find another springboard, carry that, and then jump up off the other board. You'll soon find yourself at the end of the house, with a reset pipe. Jump over the side of the house and go down the pipe you find a short distance to the right. Take the top path in the house, and keep heading right, you'll find the end of the level soon.
---
3-2x Unearthly Hollow Secret: The grass is much greener on the other side.
Take the same path to the end of the first ghost house, instead now you go down the reset pipe while holding a springboard. Fortunately for you, someone forgot to place the ceiling generator at this pipe, so you can simply jump over the wall for the other springboard you need! Head left from the reset pipe, and go back up to where you grabbed the first board, near the Ball 'n' Chain, then jump back over the wall and you'll be well on your way. Set the board you're carrying down at the wall past the pipe leading to the second ghost house area, and you'll find yourself in a nice, healthy looking forest area. Much less bleak compared to the rest of the level! Grab the key and go down into the water for the keyhole.
---
3-3 Danger Mines: Monochrome Mines would work too.
You start on a falling pad, so think fast. After this, it's a pretty easy trek until you reach a football kicker and some lava fountains. The lava will kill you instantly, and the football guy is going to try see to it that you burn alive. You can take him out by jumping over, being careful not to touch the lava, or you can toss fireballs at the cement block, which will provide accurate shots to said football man. Once he's dead, take a moment to prepare yourself for the jump ahead. I personally recommend letting go of the run button, doing a full height spin jump, and mashing left and right to keep centered. After this jump, just go right until you enter a pipe, then head left. Keep going left until you reach the end of the screen, and go down the orange pipe with the cement bricks under it, and do not let go of your run button from here on. Hold on to the switch, and get close to the right side of the screen, but not so close you can't see the enemies spawn. Keep your speed, and go for the top route. By the time you get to a large pool of lava with a Buzzy Beetle near it, the fast scroll should have kicked in to gear, and you'll be plastered to the left side of the screen. Follow the coins to the pipe, and enter it asap.
Phew, now that that is done, use the blue p-switch you carried out, and enter the pipe surrounded by the used blocks. Tag the midway point, and go to the right, under the pipe, and jump over the lava bridge. Be careful of all the surrounding lava, and head through the pipe maze. Soon after, you'll have found the goalpost.
---
3-3x Danger Mines Secret: This time it's left.
You have to be a big form of Mario to get this exit.
Follow the normal route to the midway point, but this time go left. Drop down on to the 2 floating skulls, and press R to pan the camera forward. This will throw off the timing of the Blarg monster things as well as the piranha plants so you can just sit still the rest of the way. Jump off at the rope bridges, and then smash the block at the bottom to the key and keyhole.
---
3-4 Buzzy Bridge: It'll leave you buzzed!
A nice, simple one exit level. Just head right, watching out for the upside down buzzy beetles on the ceiling. Head under the goal post to the right, grab the blue p-switch and bring it back under the goal, and activate it. Collect the coins, and you're done!
---
3-5 Oh Man! It's Hell!: P-switch, springboard, p-switch, springboard, p-switch, springboard, SILVER p-switch, spring-over-board.
One of the most item grab-happy levels in the hack, fortunately it is really easy to find what you need, if you just pay attention to coin formations, and jump at impossibly high walls, you'll almost always find the invisible blocks needed to reach the items. Critters make an appearance here, so you'll want to have fireballs to fry them before they can fire at you. Keep paying attention to the surroundings, and you'll have reached the midway in no time. Repeat the process, and hit the note block at the end of the next cave segment, and a star will pop out. Head to the goal.
---
3-6 Sinister Dungeon: It will turn you inside out!
Start by heading right, and keep going. Once you arrive at a pipe, don't bother going in it, there's nothing good down there, and you risk getting hurt before the harder areas. Shortly after the pipe, there is a somewhat tricky jump to make. Press R, get a view of the obstacles ahead, and time your jump just as the pencil stick retracts into the ceiling, and duck as you jump. Continue on, the rest of the area is pretty simple. Enter the door at the end.
In this door, take a moment to observe Mario. He'll start flickering rainbow colors, and your controls will be reversed. The timing is not random, you'll have to get in a bit of a rhythm to keep your direction going. The blocks to the right contain a cape, or a mushroom if you're small. If you get the cape though, you're in business, it makes things a lot easier! Cautiously make your way to the right, only advancing when controls are normal, and tapping the controls when reversed so the conveyor belts don't dump you in to lava. Or you could just jump and let go of the controls, because it doesn't reverse your speed, just which button sends you what direction. Idle on top of non-moving blocks as often as possible if you're not confident in your rhythm, you're given enough time to advance to the next safe spot every time.
You'll come across a door with some ! blocks in your way, enter the door. The controller flipping happens roughly 4 times as often in this room, but it's fairly safe. Just get in a good rhythm, and press the direction you'll need to when you think it's time, and you'll make it across to hit the switch in a snap. Back out of the room, the controller reversing thankfully only happens once every few seconds again. The next part is easily the hardest, with a conveyor belt and an on/off switch at the end. Drop down to the solid ! block below and wait until your controls are normal, then quickly activate the switch and get back to safety. Advance a little further to find there is a koopa kicking a shell at a switch, flicking it on and off against your will. Hang out at the end of the ledge with the pencil stick thing coming from the ceiling, and wait until both your controls are normal, and the shell is about to turn the switches back on, then make a beeline for it. With any luck, you'll have found the door to the end of this place, where behind it you'll find the midway point, as well as everyones favorite big red door. This is where you'll find...
THE JOLLY GREEN GIANT KOOPA: That you, Bowser?
This guy is a behemoth. Every time his shell slams in to the wall or floor, you'll get stunned if you're on the ground. Avoid this, as the time you're stunned is usually enough for him to pick up enough speed to mow over you, which will deplete your powerups very quickly. He doesn't seem to follow you as closely as the Giant Spiny, so you can expect him to hit the walls often. Jump on his head when he's standing upright to damage him, soon, he'll start to spin in one spot, then rise into the air, slamming down in to the middle of the arena. Four of his regular sized goober cousins will fall down on top of where you are. Try to stay over him for this, as when his shell is spinning, it will kill the goobers instantly. Continue jumping on his head when you get the chance, and soon, he'll use his last stand, the kamikaze shell. It looks a lot like the attack where he goes in to the air, but instead will slam at your direction at a high speed. Just jump over it, and he'll kill himself on the wall, and you're done.
Congratulations! You've beaten world 3! Pat yourself on the back, and you can move on to the ice world.
---
3-7 Cave of Lost Pride: You might lose your sanity, too!
This level is unlocked from Underground Falls secret exit.
This is a pretty tough level, be prepared to hit the Toad Town shop a few times to get the edge. At first, just go down the shaft to the right, landing on the mushroom and cave flooring protruding from the walls. Watch out for the floating Dry Bones heads scattered throughout the level, they have a nasty habit of blending in with the surroundings. You can ignore all the enemies, you won't be coming back here soon enough to worry about clearing them. Continue on until you reach some floating skull pad platforms. After you've gotten up those, the path to the end can take some twists. If you're small, you have to take the upper path. If you're big, you can opt for the lower path. The lower one is easier, use it if you can.
Instructions for upper path:
1) Grab blue p-switch from small nook below.
2) Carry it to the right, where 3 stacked bullet bill launchers wait on the other side of some used blocks, and use it here.
3) Climb on top of the Mega Mole when it is freed from the used blocks and ride it across the munchers, over to the mushroom platforms at the end.
Instructions for lower path:
1) Spin jump the yellow blocks away, holding the jump button as you do so, and get back on to solid ground after there's a hole to get through, and grab the blue p-switch.
2) Jump down the hole, holding the jump button and hugging the right wall.
3) Head right and keep going until you hit some used blocks, and hit the blue p-switch here. Keep running right, and go through the wall at the end of the tunnel to end up just above some mushroom platforms.
From here, the paths merge. Continue going right, but be wary of the molehills, even though they don't animate, moles will pop out of them. Drop down the pit at the end, and hit the on/off switch to the left. Continue right, and take the upper path as far as you can. There's a reset pipe before a maze of vines here. Navigate the vine maze, jumping under from between the two munchers at the end should ensure your safe exit. Once you reach the end of the path, you'll find a trapped mega mole. Hit the switch under him, and trap him in the pit to the right of the switch. Hit the switch further back to drop him down, then hit the other one to drop him even further. Now is a good time to save state, should you choose to use them.
Hit the switch once more, and drop down in the single tile wide shaft to the left. Follow closely behind the mole, and press L to get a good look ahead. Hit the switches as necessary to ensure he doesn't fall off the map, or you have to redo everything from the reset pipe onward. Keep hitting switches to allow him to progress. Once you have him trapped above the Bullet Bill launchers, hit the switches again and go right. Take care not to accidentally hit the mole with the Koopa's shell just above, and use his head to enter the pipe. You'll be surrounded by two mega moles, but just let go of the run button and walk with them and you'll be fine.
You'll exit to an area with a blue p-switch. Grab it, or else you have to redo the whole level over again. Go back to the left, and you'll notice you're back at the start of the stage. Some coins are likely to be missing from your first time around, so take extra care not to fall into the pit below. Use the blue p-switch to knock down the silver p-switch, and carry that just a little further to the right. Where you see some munchers blocking a pipe, use it right there, and enter. Head right, and tag the midway point. Don't worry though, it's almost over! There's a pit to the right, with some chain-link fencing to climb on. Drop down, if you're big, there's a power-up box with the all-mighty feather in it. If not, you still get a mushroom! Continue heading right, the rest of the level is very simple, and then you're done.
This level lops off nearly all of world 3 on the path to the castle, making it extremely worthwhile to do, despite the difficulty and length.
---
3-8 Mining Outpost: It crushes rocks and plumbers!
This level is unlocked from Unearthly Hollow secret.
A nice and straightforward exit, not much to get confused on here. Just head right. When you get to some winged platforms, jump down the pit below, it's much safer than trying to wrestle the Ball 'n' Chain on the same arc as the plaform. Continue on right to the midway point. The sign tells you not to enter, but when has that ever stopped Mario? Thanks. Enter the door, and get ready to dodge the angriest Thwomp you'll see this side of the Mushroom Kingdom. Keep dodging him, the closer you are to the ground, the safer. There are some transparent blocks around the place, you can't pass through them, but the crusher can. When in two tile wide shafts, hug the left wall, and run right so you can spin jump on top of him. Keep your speed, and try never to let him land when you're stuck, it's almost a guaranteed hit on you. After this is done, you've found the exit.
---
3-8x Mining Outpost Secret: It's the Hellivator.
Take the normal route up until you have to spin jump on the 3 Grinders. Once you land, press L to observe the key across the pit. Spin jump on top of the highest Grinder and you should make it across with little trouble. Continue on for a little bit, until you see coins in an upward arc, with a yellow block below. Stand at the very edge of this higher platform and boot the key forward, into the pit. If you were close enough to the edge, you'll have smacked the block, revealing a vine. You're not getting that key back, so don't bother trying. Enter the elivator room at the top. There's not much to explain here, but there is a sort of rhythm to dodging the incoming Grinders. Once they intersect, jump at that area, since it will take a little while before they converge again. Just keep jumping to the side, to the middle, and to the side again until you've reached the Thwimps. These guys are probably the toughest part to deal with, as the walls close in a little. Soon, you'll reach the top though. Be sure to snatch the 1-up in the upper left corner of the key room, you earned it.
---
3-9 Switch of Many Hues: Many switches of many hues, but the one you want is big and blue.
This level is unlocked from the Mining Outpost secret exit.
The only switch in the game that really makes you work for it. It's "just" a couple puzzles, but they're some of the tougher ones in the hack. Recipe for blue switches:
1) Head right from the start, and tag the yellow switch. There's a roto-disc just so perfectly placed that you'll jump into it almost every time, so watch it.
2) Head back left, and go up the now filled in yellow pads. Tag the blue switch.
3) Go back towards the start, and head back over to the right. Climb up to the springboard, and grab it.
4) Drop back down, tag the yellow switch, and place the springboard on the yellow blocks to the left.
5) Grab the blue p-switch from up top. Jump back down, and set the blue p-switch on top of some yellow blocks that are under some currently deactivated red blocks. Grab the springboard and do the same.
6) Go back to the start, and climb up the yellow pads. Tag the blue switch at the top.
7) Go back down, and over to where you dropped the items. Tag the red switch, you'll now be mostly trapped.
8) Set the springboard down by the munchers on the right side, and take the blue p-switch left, near the gray platform. Hit the switch, and collect some of the coins, dash over to the springboard, taking care not to trigger the blue switch, and jump off of the springboard and clear that path.
9) Collect the silver p-switch from the small room up at the top of the path, and bring it back to the springboard. Hit it, and collect the munchers quickly. Tag the blue switch, and jump over to the door on the right.
Now you're in a new room, with stars flipping switches in a spastic manner. You're welcomed to start jumping on the last remaining switch, just because it's awesome. After this is out of your system, reset the room with the door on the left, and crush the stars immediately. This room is not very easy, and you will probably need to reset a couple times.
1) Tag the blue switch, and catch your breath, and focus.
2) Trigger the pow block to create a path for the panda head thing to get across. Tag the yellow switch so he has something to latch on to.
3) Tag the blue switch to get him on to some used blocks. Tag the yellow switch so he can't go back.
4) Trigger the pow block when he passes by the coin, to get him on to the platform above.
5) Collect the coins against the wall, then flip the pow switch again and collect the brown blocks so they aren't connected to the blue blocks.
6) Tag the Blue switch, and hit the pow block, keep hitting it until he's about to make contact with the ? blocks that were spawned. Run to the right, tagging either the red or yellow switch on the way, jump over the ? blocks, and spin jump on the panda thing until you make it up to the door.
From here, enter the door, and hit that big switch! Blue switch blocks don't really do anything except make some levels a bit easier, and grant access to some secret exits.
That's all the exits in world 3! Bravo!
[WR4]
4-1 Permafrost Cavern: You'll be positively iced!
Once again, you're greeted by a cutscene on this level, furthering the story along. This is one of the better levels for getting free capes. Just stay on the upper right path and hit the upper rightmost block in a small room with many blocks. Keep going right until you tag the midway point. From the midway, observe the blue p-switch on the right. Go over and grab it, and go back up and to the right. Drop it on top of some munchers, and go back left. A block over here contains Yoshi. Saddle up, and use his licking abilities to grab the silver p-switch from within the blocks. Don't drop Yoshi yet or you will get stuck until the time runs out. Hit both switches and drop through the now cleared path. Hit the block left for an easy 1-up. To get over the tall wall, you need to jump off of Yoshi's back mid-air. The pipe to the right takes you to a level where you get to fly Mario's version of the Vic Viper! This part is really easy since it auto scrolls, just have fun with it and hit the goal at the end.
---
4-2 Frigid Lake Cavern: Deep freeze plumber.
Easy normal exit, but beware of the ice projectiles some enemies shoot, they freeze you in place. Getting frozen also removes your fire power, if you have it, but it will not actually damage you. Just head to the right of the stage, hit the on/off switch, and double back to the midway. Enter the pipe, and continue going right, you'll be in a swimming section now. Again, just head right, fire power or a cape will make this much easier. Enter the pipe at the end, and you'll be placed at the goal.
---
4-2x Frigid Lake Cavern Secret: Double dipper.
You need a fire flower to get this exit.
It would be a good idea to have a cape, and a fire flower in your reserve item box. Take the normal path up until the midway point, but this time instead of going all the way right, you will notice some ice blocks near two ice spewing panzers about halfway through. Take them out with your cape or fireballs, and clear the ice to the upper left to find the key and keyhole.
This exit will rip through most of world 4. It's quick to get, and bypasses the long and hard Zephyr Manor, making it a good choice for speed running.
---
4-3 Foresty Snow: It's a winter wonderland!
Start by heading right, but be careful of the Boos, they're colored similar to the background. Head right, and keep going. Within a few seconds, you'll have hit the midway point. Probably the quickest midway point in the game. Ignore all the switches and such, those are for the secret exit. It's not a very long run to the end, just keep going, and you'll finish in no time.
---
4-3x Foresty Snow: Scavenger hunt!
Having the blue switch activated would help tremendously with this exit.
To get this exit, you need to collect all of the dragon coins. The first one is right above you to the left, either jump up the blue block, or fly up at it, or lure a Boo over and jump off of its head. The second dragon coin is below the path with the Boo ring, blocked off by some brown blocks. You can hit the switch above to get rid of them, but it doesn't last long, so you have to be quick. This is pretty hard to do without taking a hit, so if you're able to, just man up and take the damage to run through. Horribly disfiguring scars caused by vengeful ethereal creatures builds character!
The third coin is in a pipe just right of the midway point. If you're big, smash through the blocks denying your entry. Otherwise, aim a shot at the side of the blocks with some of the nearby throwblocks and dive in. You only need one side open, keep in mind. Once in, hit the yellow block on the ground with one of the throw blocks around the place, climb the vine, and claim the coin. For the fourth coin, just head right from where you were placed after #3, and take the high path on top of the cement blocks a little further down.
After this, there will be a silver pow-switch. If you have the blue blocks triggered, this is as simple as jumping up to it. Otherwise, you can lure a nearby Boo and spinjump off it. Immediately head right, and grab the blue p-switch from behind where the munchers used to be. The fifth dragon coin is not far ahead, just drop the blue p-switch down on to some ? blocks and hit it, and claim the coin. Drop down and snatch the key. If you don't have the blue switches activated, just use a nearby Boo's head as a lift with some spinjumping to reach the keyhole.
---
4-4 Zephyr Manor: The bane of all that is good and holy!
This is one of the harder levels in this game, due to its length and being slippery, as well as introducing a strange new sprite. With some of the tricks here, you should be able to get by with just a couple cuts and bruises. It can be bypassed with the Frigid Lake Cavern secret exit, if you really have to.
Oh boy, here we go. The first part of the level is simple, just go to the door to the right side, which will place you at an area where there is an updraft. It will slow your descent down a lot, as well as make your jumps much higher. With a cape, you can use the floating ability to rise into the air. Soon in to this area, the updraft turns downward, making you fall much faster, and your jumps much lower. You can use this extra downward momentum to crush the cracked blocks.
Once you get back inside the building, you can take a number of paths. I personally recommend just going a little bit to the right, pressing R, and calling some Boos over. Standing on the box right near the entry pipe ensures the Boos will be up high enough to reach the area above. Spin jump on them to the springboard up above, and bounce upward into the pipe.
You'll be in a deep pit with another updraft. Having a cape here makes this much easier. Jump and follow the coins to the right, and jump up to the top area when you land. From here, the path is pretty straight, since the wind dictates where you can or cannot go. Once you reach the bottom, you'll find a message box with a little cloud platform next to it. Your life can only get worse from here. Run at the platform, if you're too slow, you might accidentally trigger it to go off on its own, don't bother jumping.
The cloud allows you to press the directional buttons to change the direction it is going. Once it starts going in a direction, it won't stop until you change its direction again. Navigate the spike maze ahead, being cautious of the Boos inhabiting it. There's no way to fight back against the Boos, you just have to plan ahead with your movements. If you've got some pretty good dexterity, you can go backwards at all the Boos by looking away, ducking, and then pressing the direction you need to go. This will more often than not, make the Boos pass right over you. Keep in mind pressing down will keep you in place on top of spikes, and the cloud platform will keep your feet safe. When you reach the end, you have to dismount the cloud and smash some blocks. Press down, jump to the side, and smash them. Loop back around from underneath to the left, and get back on the cloud. Navigate to the end, smash the blocks again, being careful NOT to mount the cloud again, or else it will smash you in to the ceiling when you try to go down, and either spin jump off some Boos into the pipe above, or make a running jump. Tag the midway, it's much safer just to duck-jump from the blocks below than it is to mess with the fishin' Boo above. Congrats, you're halfway there!
Exit the pipe to the upper right, being careful of the ghost fella. Catch your breath, and jump on to the brown blocks ahead, which will start moving. Once they start, they're not slowing down for anyone, so it's best just to find an area where it will be looping around. In this first part, hang out around the big or little fireball guys platforms. The small fireball thing has a Ball 'n' Chain above it, so it's more dangerous. Wait until the used blocks loop around a few times, and climb aboard.
In the second segment, just jump off right away and wait next to one of the Ball 'n' Chains. The block above contains a cape if you're big, which you will want. When the block snake comes back around, jump on it. Once you get to the third segment, immediately dismount to the right side block protruding from the wall, jump to claim the 1-up, and wait. Once you see it making its return, keep waiting. When it makes another loop around, going perfectly vertical, get on it. Stay on it the rest of the way, and when it comes to a big mess of spikes in the air, jump through them to the upper left side, absolutely do not stay on the right side platform unless you have a cape you can use to float through the maze.
Follow the path to the top, it's a thankfully forgiving area after the last part. You can kill Mario by making a full speed run in to a wall where the wind is pushing against, so take caution not to do that. Take the left side path, mount the cloud platform thing, and navigate to the end, watching out for the bouncing spike things. Remember to duck. After you reach the end of this maze, you're finally done! Hooray!
---
4-4x Zephyr Manor: Glutton for punishment!
This exit is a lot easier than the normal path, fortunately. Go the normal route up until you're outside of the building, and the updraft turns into a downdraft. Climb the vine to the left of a couple of cracked bricks, and line Mario's butt up with the cloud in the background just to the left, and jump right, holding the jump button as you fall. If you did it perfectly, you'll end up on the platform below. If you only broke the right side cracked block, just jump back over, then run in to the pit where the cracked block used to be, it will land you on the pad below.
You'll be in a green bonus room, one of the few areas in the hack with original SMW music. Go right, and dodge all the obstacles, there's not much to worry about here aside from a few rocks falling from above. Take the blue p-switch at the end, and exit the pipe. Press the switch outside on top of the raised platform, and jump up the ? blocks at the high left side of the map, the updraft will help you make it up.
This last part is just annoying, with the wind. For some reason though, if you're in the air and let go of the direction you're holding, it stops pushing you. Use this to your advantage when jumping under or over Thwomps. Just keep climbing up, eventually you'll find a cloud thing, and ride it through the spike maze, you'll find the key and keyhole at the top.
---
4-5 Nippy Expanse: I wouldn't look down if I were you.
Start by going left, you can jump off the second flying Koopa's head to get to the net above and climb all the way left. Once you reach the end, grab the blue p-switch and carry it back over on the same net you came off of. Go right past the start of the level, and use the switch to get past some brown blocks. Grab some coins, and wait for the switch to run out of time. Hit the switch below, and use the springboard to bounce up. Quickly get over the coins that are now blocks to the right, to find some winged pads, ride these to the midway point. Jump down the pit where the coins lead, and head right. The way to get past the otherwise impossible jump is to back up, and run at it, holding the jump button as you land on top of the Banzai Reggie. Continue right, the rest of the level is pretty straight up platforming action.
---
4-6 Frostbite Heights: It doesn't seem all that high up.
Finally, a nice, straightforward level with no p-switches or springboards to worry about. It's just plain old platforming, from left to right, just littered with boomerang bros. A fire flower will help a lot here, buy one from Toad Town if you must.
---
4-7 Boreal Bastille: I can see right through you!
This is possibly the most simple castle in the hack. There's almost nothing special to know about it, aside from the boss. Anyone who has played the original SMW should be able to find their way to the end of this one with no trouble, just keep heading right. Right before the boss door, though, there are some blocks to the upper left, one of which contains a cape. Useful. Behind this shimmering blue boss door lies...
UNDINE: She'll send chills down your spine!
This elemental of ice and water is out for blood. Mario's blood, that is, and will not hesitate to impale him for it. In the beginning, Undine will just fly around menacingly, but if you don't jump in to her you'll be fine. Soon, there will be a nasty little tidal wave following you around, this will push you around on land, and if it covers over you while you're in water, it will slam you down to a watery grave. It does no contact damage, but it can push you in to the ice spikes Undine sometimes summons. To hurt Undine, you need to grab the ice balls she shoots at you, but they hurt while in motion, so you have to land them on the tidal wave at the right angle so they don't break. This also eliminates the tidal wave for a short while, giving you a clean shot. You can't do anything about the ice spikes except for trying to dodge them. It's a good idea to alternate between the two inner gaps in the spikes, so as to not be in the water for the tidal wave to kill you. You can tell which attack she is using by looking at her, or at the bottom of the screen. Red rod means ice spikes, and the blue ball is ice ball. Keep throwing the ice balls back at her, and you'll be done in no time.
And that's it! You beat world 4! You pretty much already beat it when you completed Zephyr Manor, but congratulations anyway! This is also the only world where finding all the secret exits on the critical path won't land you extra exits to backtrack to, since Zephyr Manor's secret sends you to world 5.