Strategies

All strategies in this section are valid in runs. Some of them may be intended design mechanics, while others seem like minor programming errors. In general, this seemed like a good place to document them.

Extra Life Animation Skip

Normally, when receiving an extra life (either via promotion or the Extra Life present) you will spend several seconds in a glowy, arms-raised-to-the-sky pose, during which you are immobile. This immobility does not trigger if you are not on the ground, such as:

• flying with Icarus Wings
• jumping with Spring Shoes
• jumping with Bonus or Super Hitops
• diving into the water
• swimming
• falling (e.g., between levels)

If you are doing any of these things when the "receive life" animation is supposed to trigger, you will still receive the extra life, but still be able to move.

Total Bummer Recovery

If you hold the menu button (B) during the total bummer "shaking" animation, then in the frame after the animation completes but before your character dies, the menu will open. This gives you one last opportunity to open a healing item (Fudge Sundae, Rootbeer, or taking a further chance with Food).

Wing Fling

If you open an Un-Fall while flying, your air momentum isn't properly reset, which will launch you in the cardinal or inter-cardinal direction you were facing at a very high, uncontrollable speed.

If you do this in a normal run, this is likely to result in you falling down some number of levels. However, this glitch does have a useful purpose in the "Hot Tub (Fixed World)" category; an Un-Fall can be purchased from the mailbox on level 2, and Icarus Wings are located near the ship piece. This combination allows you to fling yourself in the direction of the level 0 hole (SW from start) very quickly.

Randomizer Protection

The Randomizer does two things:

• It shuffles the contents of the presents in your inventory (except for Bonus Hitops)
• It shuffles the mapping between "appearance" and "contents" for all presents (except for Bonus Hitop and the mystery present)

One thing it does not do is change the contents of presents on the ground.

Thus one strategy is to drop presents that you want to "keep" before you open a Randomizer. After the Randomizer, the presents will have a new appearance (note: this won't necessarily update until the presents have to be redrawn) but will have the same contents.

This can also be used to keep track of the Randomizer itself-- if you have two copies of an unknown present, drop one copy, then open the other. If it is the Randomizer, then the appearance of the dropped present is the new appearance of the Randomizer.

Of course, you then have to remember that present for the rest of the game; as an unidentified present, it'll just show as "????" unless you identify it.

Poverty Mole

Moles only "attack" if you have at least one present in your inventory to steal. If you do not have any, or if you drop all of your presents, then there's nothing for them to steal.

This can be seen most frequently in Alive on 25 runs, as most players will immediately drop all presents to keep their inventory empty.

Clear Skies

If you enter the elevator with a rain cloud, you will not have the rain cloud upon entering the next level. For additional experience points, one trick is to rapidly open all Rain Cloud presents (for 2 XP each) immediately before exiting the level, before you can be zapped and take damage.

Note that this does not work with Un-Falls; if you have a rain cloud, then Un-Fall up a floor, you will still have the rain cloud when appearing on the next floor.

Dance Skip

When forced to dance near a hula girl, you cannot move or use your active items at all. However, you can open your presents menu and use presents as normal. If you open a present that is an active item (IE Tomatoes, Hi-tops, even Innertube. Anything that shows up as an icon on your HUD) you will no longer be dancing. Though you are risk of starting another dance, what you use might be just enough to escape the situation. Additionally, if you are under the effect of icarus wings and you start dancing you can press A and fly away at any time during the dancing animation.

Softlocks

These are things you probably want to avoid.

Life gain in elevator

If you reach a promotion level that earns you an extra life (Poindexter, Bro, Funk Lord), and you enter the elevator, and the elevator leaves the level while receiving the extra life, you will be stuck in the "receiving extra life" animation when the elevator enters the next floor, with no way to get out.

Moles Got Ya Shook

Being caught by a mole at the same time you enter a doorway will result in you being stuck in the "shaking" animation at your destination.

Other glitches

Intro Cutscene Glitch

During the introduction, if you press Start during the scene where Toejam and Earl are screaming after colliding with an asteroid, then the Toejam and Earl sprites will remain (and be very yellow) on the Who and What menus.

This effect is cleared on starting a new game.