Intro

Video:

This is the fastest and also the hardest of the two methods to clip through the gate. It is one of the hardest tricks in the game and also one of the biggest timesaves.

Beginning players may want to consider not doing this skip at first if they struggle to learn it or may consider learning the box method (). The box method requires 2 controllers and should especially be much easier than this in co-op.

First, pick up one of the snails as Shrek and carry it to the gate.

Pushing the snail into the gate

Put the snail down at a 45 degree angle in the corner at the right side of the gate.

Quickly switch to Fiona and run against the snail to push it into the gate. You may have to switch to Fiona and move her closer to the corner before putting the snail down as Shrek, depending on where the AI controlled Fiona goes as you carry the snail. Also, it is possible to run into the snail too soon as Fiona. You want to start running into it right as the snail touches the ground. Sometimes when the snail is not going through you can switch to Shrek for one final push.

Clipping through the gate

There are different ways to do this but I will just explain the way I find to work most consistently.

Run against the gate as Shrek. The middle part of the gate where there is a crack between the 2 doors of the gate is important. Place Shrek so that his left shoulder is just to the left of the crack. Hold towards the snail so that Shrek is directly facing it when you pick it up. Now pick up the snail. It helps to be running against the gate when you pick up the snail. Make sure you are against the gate and running when you press the button to pick up the snail.

If you animation cancel the snail pickup animation Shrek will usually drop the snail as he goes through the gate, saving about 1 second. However this makes Shrek more likely to drop the snail on times when he doesn't go through the gate.

Hitting the target

Now you need to throw a turtle at the target to open the next gate. The snail that you used to clip through the first gate will not hit the target. It is faster to punch a turtle and pick it up than it is to body slam the turtles.

Pick up the hourglass item while carrying the turtle towards the target.

When aiming the throw you have two options. You should either place the cursor directly on the target or place it far beyond the target. If the cursor is just slightly behind the target the throw will not connect consistently.

Crocodiles

Get close to the first crocodile and wait for them to back off.

It is best to stay Shrek while waiting for the crocs to get in position for the slow-mo part. If you switch to Fiona while waiting Shrek will often turn around and run back towards the other characters.

Switch to Fiona, press the special attack button, then switch back to Shrek. This does not need to be done as fast as possible but shouldn't be too slow. I try to slow time after the crocs have retreated the whole way and are close to starting their next jump.

Camera manip

While running past the crocs Shrek will reach the game's limit on how far away from the other characters he is allowed to go. To go further requires using some camera movement. If Shrek is at the edge of the screen (preferably outside the view) and you turn the camera so that you can see him again, he will be able to walk further for a brief time.

In the clip, I repeatedly move the camera to cover Shrek when he stops moving and then turn it forward again to gain ground. Big camera movements. Using animation cancel dash attacks makes this trick significantly easier but is not necessary.

Another strategy for the camera movements is to keep Shrek at the edge of the screen and very slowly turn it forward, never tilting very far forward or backwards. If done correctly, this allows you to move across the path smoothly, without stopping to do big camera tilts. I find this to be hard to do consistently, but it is an option. This may work better if you have trouble with the animation cancels.

Camera movement method #2: Notice the smaller camera movements.

Punch the nearest box as you approach it. Oftentimes Shrek will barely not reach the checkpoint at the end. When this happens it helps to change the angle he is running to something more right and less up. Also tilt the camera back and forth, covering up and then revealing Shrek.