Fine Fields - Stage 6 EX

You unlock this stage by finding all 12 Sun Stones available in the standard stages in Fine Field.

The stage begins with vertical orientation. You can start up a ladder, or you can float around the underside of the cloudy platform where you start to find a blue star first. When you're ready to ascend, climb the ladder or float upward to reach a cannon. You can aim left first to get some stars before returning to the cannon, or aim right.

When you aim right, you'll launch along a series of cannons before finally arriving at one you can actually control again. Start by aiming to the upper left, which lets you blast through a wall to obtain a Keychain. Then return to the cannon and this time, blast toward the upper right.

You'll be deposited on a green platform. Head right here and you will need to pay attention to the background. Lumberjack enemies chop down trees that fall into the foreground. Proceed right until you see a large brown Waddle Dee walking along some dark ledges. There's a treasure chest below those blocks, and in the background a tree with a trunk that looks ripe for damage. The problem is figuring out how to inflict it.

Continue right and you'll find a 3D Warpstar to help with the job. Ride it back to the background, and you're deposited near the tree. Knock it down, which takes out the foreground. Now ride the nearby 3D Warpstar back to the foreground. Open the chest to grab the Rare Keychain: Magical Paintbrush.

With that tended to, continue right now and you'll come to another door. You can break apart the wall to the right for more stars, or just pass through the door. On the other side of that doorway, you'll appear at the base of another vertical shaft. Climb to the top and you'll see a 3D Warpstar. Carefully, avoid any shots enemies fire at you from the background, then ride the star back to meet them. Tend to the enemies with quick attacks. Then, climb the ladders while avoiding enemies that jump between the foreground and background. You'll find a 3D Warpstar at the top of that particular passage.

Ride the star to the foreground and then take out more enemies and resume your climb. When you reach the top of a ladder, you should see huge boulders rolling toward the screen from the upper left and right. Wait for the boulders to pass, then head to the upper left or right and then float back toward the top center of the screen to find a secret doorway. Enter it.

Your new environment is a dangerous one. There are a series of ledges in the foreground, with more lumberjacks that engineer falling trees from the distance. Proceed carefully to the right to avoid being taken out by fallen timber. Along those ledges, past the sleeping bear, you can find an enemy that yields the Fire ability when inhaled. You want that, so make sure that you get it. Keep going from there and watch for boulders. One chute regularly produces boulders over a vertical shaft. You can easily pass through the shaft, but you can also drop down and find a recess to the left. From there, you can make flaming charges at the weak wall to the right (while avoiding boulders that continue to rain down from overhead) to break through and access a treasure chest that holds a Keychain. If you do lose your fire, you can also gulp down a Beetle enemy overhead and use that ability.

Once you have the Keychain, ascend the shaft to solid ground overhead, and continue right. More trees will fall here, past a series of three boulder chutes, including one that breaks apart some brown blocks to reveal a door. Pass through it and you are in the clouds again. Here, you can choose between the Wing and Beetle abilities. Then you can ride a 3D Warpstar just to the right, where you'll receive an Assist Star.

Continue onward from there to reach a cannon. It blasts you automatically along a set course and then you will arrive on a ledge with a low ceiling. Head right to reach a boss.

Mini-Boss: Blocky DX

Though he doesn't look like much, Blocky DX is actually a reasonably difficult foe at this early stage in the game. He's able to charge straight ahead, which is easy to avoid if you're not foolish, but he doesn't stay stunned for long even when he misses and collides with the wall.

Hit him a few times after each failed charge attempt. Note that he has several patterns of charging, so mostly you just want to keep your distance from him to give yourself time to react, then get in close when he is briefly dazed. You can use the Wing ability to zip back and forth, inflicting damage while Blocky DX is near the center of the screen, but it's risky along the edges because you might stop moving just in time to take a hit.

Blocky DX's most dangerous moves happen when he's slowly floating back and forth overhead (watch for his shadow and don't let it pause over you) and when he is oversized and in the background. He'll try to drop down and smash you in either case, which can cause hefty damage. Otherwise, he's easy to avoid and you can take him out with Wing shots and dashes or with stars his movements produce on occasion.

Once you defeat Blocky DX, continue right to find a bunch of stars. There's also a treasure chest that you can open for a Sun Stone. Then you can hop on board a 3D Warpstar to ride into the background and exit the level.

NEXT: Lollipop Land - Stage 1