Switchball

Complete stages 1-6 of Lava World:

Personally i got stuck straight away on the first level and had to refer to Youtube to find some videos to help me out. Might as well share these videos with you guys. Now even though they are PC versions of the game, they can still be used to help us out with the Arcade version.

This guide is being written as i go through the last world so anything i come across thats different or unusable i will be sure to note it down.

Level 1

If you are using the video for Level 1 you may notice that their is a small addition to the XBLA version.

At 4.17-4.27 After the player passes the now 3 deactivated magnets, he also passes through a checkpoint. For the Arcade version this part doesn't come straight away. We have to use two air vents to climb higher and then be back 'in place' with video so to speak. It's only a small addition but obviously it adds time and can confuse people, so now you know!

So besides whats been noted for Level 1 everything else is exactly the same.

Level 2

For level 2 at 7.14 in the video the player manages to cross the gap with only 2 out of 3 balls in place. This can be tricky to do, i managed to do this on my second attempt but you need to hit the first ball as it rolls back a little bit from the impact of hitting the first ball.

After hitting the checkpoint there is another slight change from the video, in the arcade version we have to use an Air vent and then successfully elavate to the next checkpoint using 3 Air lifts. This is pretty simple but i would advise leaving plenty of space and time to be able to roll to each Air lift. After hitting the next checkpoint you will be back in place with the video.

At 8.39 in the video he uses the vent to launch straight acroos to the next path. For the Arcade version this cant be done because the path is set a lot further away, here you need to use the Vent to get back to the path right in front of the vent. Then you will see another windmill type machine which you need to use to knock you across to the path, this can be awkward as you need a full on hit to make it. Failing is not to punishing as you respawn as the default ball and can go straight across to this part to try again. Then you are back in place with the video.

At 8.56 there is another minor difference, just that after using the first inflation, there is no platform full of nails until we after the second inflation pad. In the video as soon as he uses the inflation for the first time, the nails/spikes are underneathe the player straight away.

At 9.55-onwards the player uses a shortcut but it is so hard to pull off. To do this copy what he does in the video, but you will only make it with an amazing run up and enough impact off of the ledge you hit as you take off. Once on the otherside keep to the left as much as you can and fight your way through the fans, but keep in mind that they dont blow you away if you are far enough to the left, so dont keep your pad held down to the left too much!

If you really cant get this to work then you need to transform to the default ball and roll across the railing. Turn off both of the fans by the pads, roll back across to the other section and just push one box (the smaller one) onto the pad to the left. This will switch on the top fan above the vent and give you enough force to reach the other side and roll to the finish.

If you are on a gold medal run i would recommend using the default route unless you can master this shortcut.

Level 3

Although this may sound stupid i will make a note of this just incase:

When you come to the part where you have to knock the box off the platform using the Air ball, don't forget to wedge the box into the side of the fan where the blades are coming down otherwise the box will just be knocked if placed on the wrong side!

At 2.35 he uses a shortcut, which is to go straight for the rails and block the fan. Leaving you with just a second to roll past it and onwards to the next part. This is not to hard to pull off and i managed to do this on my second attempt.

At 4.52 this path wont work for the Arcade version as the fans are in different places. So first take the right rails and after rolling to the last switch leave that one on, roll over the one before that but make sure this one is switched off. Then before taking the rails on the otherside make sure the last switch is activated too.

Then on the left rails the 1st and 2nd switches will be on and the 3rd will be off, you need to make it so that only the 2nd and 3rd switches are activated. Then use the inflation pad underneathe the high set fan, this will push you forward into the vent which will rise you up into the fan which pushes you all the way to the ledge you need to reach. Then simply use the next inflation pad to be pushed by the fan into the vent which raises you to the last runway and your homestretch to the finish.

Plus the shortcut he manages to pull off at the end of level 3 is insane!

Level 4

PC version is exactly the same as XBLA version so no problems for this level. Mainly comes down to personal execution for most parts in this level.

Level 5

At 1.30 we have to transform into an Airball where the PC version gets the default ball. So for a change its actualy the Arcade version that saves a few seconds!

After hitting the next checkpoint the Arcade version has a nice and annoying part to work through. First you will see to flying pads that have a small rope path between them, you need to quickly roll onto the right flying pad before it sets off upwards to avoid the fan in the middle of the wooden wall. Then use the rope and the other pad to dodge each set of fans as the pads escalate. Once you reach the next checkpoint you will be back in line with the video.

At 3.05 instead of a set of rails to that keep the other airball inline to go upwards, the arcade version has a tunnel but they both result in the same outcome for the airball.

At 3.36 you wont really need to use the video as the PC version has a couple of extra rail parts for them to do, where as for the Arcade version we can just wait until the other airball drops down onto the magnet activating switch clearing our path to the finish!

Level 6

From 4.40-4.58 doesn't matter to us as this is an extra part for the PC Version, but even after this small part we cant follow the video again because he uses the Jump ability to his advantage and is able to skip the pushing of the box that is needed for the Arcade version.

So to start the first stretch there will be just the 4 boulder slides, it looks pretty easy to quickly get the box across but its not! Timing and speed are obviously the keys here but sometimes you have to allow the boulders to skim or just tap the box so that you can make it past in one piece too.

After making it through the first path you will need to push the box onto the pad which deactivates the magnet above you and releases a metal box. Now you need to roll ahead being extremely careful of the two fans and then avoiding the next boulder slides, give yourself a good run up to roll as close to fans as possible and at the same time timing it to not get hit too hard by the boulder which can sometimes be unavoidable.

Then transform into the Metal ball once you make it across the path and take the Metal ball back across to begin pushing the metal box. The Metal ball is pretty much unaffected by the boulders or the fans but the metal box can be!

The fans only really move the metal box at the same time that you are pushing it, so keep yourself at a good angle towards the fans to keep it in the middle of the path. Then the boulders can still knock the box a decent distance so if the box gets knocked to close to the edge then just let it go and go back for another one that will respawn (unless you are on a Gold Medal run).

After making it past the boulders with the Metal box, push the box over the ramp as hard as you can and then give yourself a good run up to make it over. Then push the box onto the pad and carry on to the next checkpoint but be warned the level is still different from the video.

So for the Arcade versions extra part you need to powerup the ball with the ability to jump, then once you jump onto the platform you need to balance and make it past three windmills. Dependant on which way the windmill is spinning you will either need to put the weight of the ball into meeting the windmills impact or going against the impact (If you get me?). Either way this part can be annoying and each try will probably end up with very different results from the last one.

At 5.18 we can begin to follow the video again.

Now as you will see this part is full of timed switches, try not to pause around this section, off of personal expirience for some reason if i set a timer off and then paused, the timers would still continue to count down and once i unpaused the time would have ran out on the switch! However if this happens to you, you are safe to pause it once you jump to the flying pad at 6.00.

Follow the video all the way to the end using the same method as in the video when he stays on the rails and jumps past the heavy ball you are following. Once you get to the part with the two magnets you use to cross the gap you are pretty much homefree, but just dont get too excited when crossing the last plank. I got too excited about finally reaching the end that i hit the plank before it had settled and fell through the gap meaning i had to do the whole rail part and the magnet part AGAIN!

After finishing this level you will unlock your achievement and recieve a notification on screen challenging you to "unlock all of the achievements!". Good job!

(Credit to Omgarrett for the videos)