Dig Dug 2 FAQ(arcade) version 1.0.0 copyright 2004 Andrew Schultz schultza@earthlink.net Please do not reproduce this FAQ for profit without my prior consent. However, if you write a polite e-mail to me referring to me(and this FAQ) by name, then I will probably say OK. But if I ignore you that means no--and I am bad about answering e-mail. Sorry. **** AD SPACE: **** My home page: http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Exhibit/2762 ================================ OUTLINE 1. INTRODUCTION 2. CONTROLS AND ENEMY TRICKS 3. POINTS AND LEVEL PROGRESSION 4. GENERAL STRATEGIES 5. LEVEL MAPS AND STRATEGIES [ctrl-f and type 31 * to search for level 31] 6. VERSIONS 7. CREDITS ================================ 1. INTRODUCTION Dig Dug 2(DD2) is an odd sequel to the much-ported Dig Dug. It doesn't get nearly as much respect or recognition as Dig Dug, and though DD2 has a fatal flaw, it has some captivating levels and challenges...until your control goes all squicky on you. The basic challenge is to drill out islands by creating fault lines. If the fygars and pookas, your friends from Dig Dug, are on these islands, you get big points. The levels are over quick but the death throes aren't. If you like sticky games you can be pleased you conquered, or you like to triumph over bad controls, Dig Dug 2 has a surprising amount of strategy. After a few tries the first few levels will seem trivial and you may find that dying has more to do with not wangling the controls correctly, but certain basics allow you to go far if you concentrate. You can just blast through all the monsters, chip away at the islands to get a 'goody' to appear, or sit in a near- island that needs one fault line to collapse it, wait for company, run across the fault line and--BOOM! 2. CONTROLS AND ENEMY TRICKS You can only move in four different directions, but there are some nasty surprises to be worried about. Dig Dug would be a much easier game if it weren't for the treacherous controls. Let's say that your person is one square unit. Then he is actually on a grid, and if there are four pegs in a small square, they form a grid of four square units. Your person, if he is in the corner of a four-square grid, can move any way he wants. If he's here: ..XX ..XX .... .... There will be a pause if he tries to move down. Similarly with .... .XX. .XX. .... There will be a pause if he tries to move left/right. And you don't know which way he'll move. This isn't entirely illogical. Dig Dug works the same way, but it's a bit more evident since the game is easier to define on a grid. Here your character needs to be able to move onto a peg, but the distance between pegs is two coordinate- points on the invisible grid where you move around. Firing your gun works as in the previous game, with the fire button. You need to push it several times, but if you run at your opponent and fire, he blows up quicker. There are three stages of inflation for your opponents before they pop. During that time you can run circles around them or even close off their island. Note that the closer you are, the quicker you can rapid-fire and kill the monsters. If there's only one in front of you, you may want to puff him up quickly. If there are two in front of you, be sure to move as you fire. If you don't, you'll hit the monster you already started pumping instead of the closest ones, and one monster will get you. And you use the other button to drill. This does nothing unless you're on a peg, but if you are, a brown fault line appears. If a piece of land is enclosed by the fault line and others it touches, an island breaks off. The peg and the smaller of the two islands you created fall into the sea, and you will teeter on the edge. Push away from the water to get out, although this may not be an option if the water surrounds you on three sides. Therefore check when you're cutting off an island--if the cut is angular and you're taking a large bite, you could be in trouble. Beware of angled parts of an island. You can sneak into them, but you always want to let yourself a little extra time to escape. Enemies cannot cross the fault lines unless they turn into masks, which make them go slower. They're still lethal, but you can pump them up and get by them quickly, and often they'll try to go around the fault lines. Then you can walk through the lines and get a head start going to the other side, where you can start drilling out an island. It may take a few games to get used to drilling on the peg, and you need to be quick about it in any case. But once you learn, the results can be impressive. Drilling a hole causes you to teeter, so if there's a monster coming up behind you, you may be in trouble. As for enemy tricks--the nastiest is when a bunch are clumped together. You'll often want to blast through them without worrying about killing anything. If there is a fygar about to breathe, that will put you in trouble, because you can't see the usual glow that they emit. Fygars and pookas are equally fast and equally persistent chasing you. They can't reverse direction unless they hit a dead end, and they seem to burrow at random to try to get you as opposed to just bouncing around trying to find you. Burrowing slows enemies down and gives you an ideal chance to pump them up. Most importantly, though, monsters move on the same grid you do when they're not burrowing. This allows you to run by them when they run at you. If you don't want to risk a jam on a ninety degree turn, just wait 'til they pass by a fault line or something. I usually wait facing horizontally since it's easier to see whether enemies turn down a fault line or between pages. When you're not in line and try to turn, the computer moves you to the nearest gridline where you can turn, so you may in fact reverse direction. I'll say this at a later time, too--don't turn unless you're in the clear! 3. POINTS AND LEVEL PROGRESSION Points are similar to the old Dig Dug. You get 200 for any Pooka you blow up and 200 for a Fygar you blow up vertically. You get 400 if you blow it up horizontally. Hazard pay I guess. You can stun the pooka from above/below and shoot it from left/right but that is chiseling points. Dropping one enemy on a submerged island gets you 1000 points. Two: 2000. Three: 4000. Four: 7000. Five: 10000. More: I don't know. Level select allows you to start at 1, 5, 10 or 15. Dip switches allow an extra man at 30000 and 80k, 100k, 120k, and 150k. You can also get 3 coins for 2 credits, 2/1, 1/1, 1/2 or a choice between 3 and 5 lives. High score defaults follow: KAZU 20000 5 YAMA 20000 4 SIGERU 20000 3 JUNKO 20000 2 MIYUKI 20000 1 The level maps and strategies are below but here are the basic big picture statistics for the levels. The monsters' places are in fact set but they are impossible to divine as most are off the screen. LEVEL|FYGAR POOKA|ITEM/POINTS -----+-----+-----+----------- 1 | 2 | 2 |turnip/400 2 | 2 | 2 |mushroom/600 3 | 1 | 3 |eggplant/800 4 | 0 | 3 |tomato/1000 5 | 4 | 2 |tomato/1000 6 | 3 | 3 |watermelon/2000 7 | 2 | 5 |watermelon/2000 8 | 4 | 4 |grapes/3000 9 | 3 | 3 |grapes/3000 10 | 4 | 4 |banana/4000 11 | 5 | 4 |banana/4000 12 | 5 | 3 |corn/5000 13 | 4 | 6 |corn/5000 14 | 4 | 6 |pineapple/6000 15 | 3 | 6 |pineapple/6000 16 | 4 | 4 |big drink/7000 17 | 3 | 4 |random from here on out 18 | 5 | 5 | 19 | 5 | 5 | 20 | 5 | 5 | 21 | 5 | 5 | 22 | 5 | 5 | 23 | 4 | 6 | 24 | 4 | 4 | 25 | 5 | 5 | 26 | 4 | 4 | 27 | 5 | 5 | 28 | 5 | 5 | 29 | 5 | 5 | 30 | 5 | 5 | 31 | 5 | 5 | 32 | 5 | 5 | 4. GENERAL STRATEGIES First of all, always run at a single opponent to blast him. This gets you where you want to be, usually, and it also pumps them up quicker. If a Fygar is about to breathe, you might be able to shoot him in the pause. This quiets him down. Try to avoid lumps of enemies, and if you're being chased, run over a fault line to gain time. You can often run back over to cross your enemies. Even without a faultline you can often fake out the enemies. Firing over, or on, a fault line is great technique. Just pay attention to enemies that turn into masks. On later levels, the bonus from the 'goody' may be worth more than any speculative bonus from dropping enemies in the drink. If you just blast through a level and have one enemy left, pump him up and knock of small islands. Then get the 'goody' risk free. The longer and narrower the corridor, the more bad guys you can trap in it. If it's twisty, you may have to go to the mouth and run along it to get bad guys to chase more quickly. When in doubt, don't drill an island off the map. More fault lines favor you; less space and fewer pegs, or more open spaces, favor the bad guys. In open spaces, drill many different ways. It's quick and can slow the enemies down. If enemies are chasing you and you can flip them around, it can give a lot of time on the other side to set up an island to collapse. Lodging yourself in an angled island fragment means the enemies have to come to you. But of course if too many come at once, you're toast. It's great in a pinch though to knock off one monster. The best sort of island to send into the sea is one that creates corridors. Chopping up an island in the center of the board can reroute enemies substantially. You can even lead enemies on a circular chase, stunning the ones directly behind until you can buy enough time to just blow them away. Moving left and right and blasting away may seem dull, but it's a good survival strategy. 5. LEVEL MAPS AND STRATEGIES The first sixteen levels do not repeat. The next sixteen loop until the end of the game. It's impossible to offer a quick walkthrough, but I want to outline which levels are best to blast through and show how to proceed, at least until few monsters are left on the board and you can afford to snip at the edges to get the big pop-up prize. When you do so, try to take out only a one-unit block at a time. *********** * LEVEL 1 * *********** xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx x x x x xxxxxxx * * xxxx x x x x xxxx x x x x xxxx x x x x xxxxxxxxxx x x x x x x x *xxxxxx * *xx*xxx x x x x x x x xxxx x * * * x x xxxx x x x x xxxx x x x x xxxx x * * *xxx x x x x x x x x x x xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx This is not a tough level. You can start by going north and to the right you can drill up then right. That should take care of the pooka to the right. Then you can go left and drill left. That will take care of two more monsters. Now you can just blow up the final monster and dig the island around him. There are enough holes that you can make a 1x1 island around him or, if he's in the upper left, go to the upper left peg and drill left/up. You can also dig an extra island so that the turnip appears, but it gets you less than dunking the final monster, so don't work too hard to get it. *********** * LEVEL 2 * *********** xxxxxxx xxxxxxx x x x x x x x x x x x * * x x * x x x x x x x x x x x x x xxxxxxx xxxx xxxxxxx x x x x x x x * *xxxxxx xx x x x x xxxx xxx* * xxxx x x x x x x x x x * xxxx x x x x x x x x x xxxxxxx xxxx Another level that's not too bad. Notice the square of pegs in the middle. Get on the lower right one and drill right to take out a pooka. Then go up and drill up. Go left and drill left. Now you have a small problem, as if you go down and drill that way, you'll drop your side of the island into the water. So you can wait for the fygar to come into the center cross-shaped area, pump him up a bit, run by, and cut him off by using the last peg in the center area. Note that just blasting up from the upper-right peg in the center, left from the upper-left, down from the lower-left and right from the lower-right causes the cross shaped island you're now on to fall instead of the pooka's. The first real trick the game throws at you. *********** * LEVEL 3 * *********** xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx x x x x x x x x x * xxxxxxxxxx * x xxxxxx* * x x xxxxxxxxxx x x x x x xxxxxxxxxx x x x x x xxxxxxxxxxxxx *xxxxxx * * * * x x xxxx x x x xxxx x x x xxxx xxxx xxxx * * x x xxxx xxxx xxxx x x xxxx xxxx xxxx x x xxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx * x x x x xxxx x x x x xxxx x x * *xxx x x xxxx * * x x x x x x x x x x x xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxx A good start for this level is to go right and down. Then drill down and right. The upper right pooka should get trapped. You can hang in the upper right for a bit, inflating pookas that get too close. Head south when enough are trapped and drill right while on one of the pegs by the right coast. There'll be a huge collapse. You can clean up everything else manually. There should be enough 1x1 islands you can take out if you want to pick up the eggplant this round. *********** * LEVEL 4 * *********** xxxx x x x x x * * x x x x x x * xxxx * x x xxxxxx x x xxxxxxxx x x * xxxxxxxxxx * x x xxxxxxxxxx x x xxxxxxxxxx x x * * xxxxxxxxxx *xx*xxx x x x x x x x x x * *xx* xxxxxxxxxx * * * x x x x x x x x x x x x x xxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxx You can move left, pump up the pooka that appears across the fault line, go up, drill left, go left and drill left to knock off one pooka. Then you can go to the left corner of the remaining island, turn right and blast away at the pooka coming from the top. Drill up twice on successive pegs to kill off that one. Chip a small island off so you can get the tomato and then take out the final pooka. An alternate solution is to go right, pump up the pooka in the lower right, and keep him inflated while waiting for the others. Then you can collapse the whole structure at once. *********** * LEVEL 5 * *********** xxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx x x x x x x x x x x x * * * * xxxx * * * * x x x x x x x xxxxxxxxxx * * * xxxx * * * x x x x x x x x x x x xxxxxxxxxx x x x * * x x x x x x x x x x *xx* * xxxx * * x xxx* x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x * * * x x * * * x x * x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x xxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxx Go left immediately to take out the pooka. Pump up the fygar if he's too close and dril left so that the upper left is almost an island. Then go up and start drilling the isthmus above in half. Don't drill from the left peg. Wait at the end of the culdesac you made. The bad guys will loop around, and when they do. go right and dig to trash the island(there are several spots.) If one goes through the fault line, pump it up to get by. There's a chance for 7000 here. *********** * LEVEL 6 * *********** xxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx x x x x x x x x x xx x x * * * xxxx x * x * * x x x x x x x x x x * xxxx x xxxxxxx * xxxx x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x xxxx x * * xxxx x x x x x x x x xxxx * * * xxxxxxx x *xx* x x x x x x x x x x x x x x * * x x * * * * x x * * x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxx Hereyou can go down and right and dig to get the first island(2x2 square with 1x1 on the side) taken out. To the left, you can create a small maze near the edge by standing on the second-left peg and digging each way. You can sucker bad guys in, retreat, and go up and right and use the pegs there to take enemies down. *********** * LEVEL 7 * *********** xxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxx x x x x x x x x x * x x * x x x x x x x x x x * xxxx x x * x x xxxx x x x x xxxx xx x x * x xxxxxxxxxx x * x x xx xxxx x x x x xxxx x x * x x * x x x x x x x x x x * x x * x x x x x x x x x x * x x * x x x x x x x x x xxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx Go right, as there are no narrow quarters there, then to the middle peg and dig left/right. Then you can dig down. Don't take out the island, but when bad guys come to the bottom, you can dig up along the column of pegs. You have two dead ends to trap monsters in now. The one above is a bit easier as you can dig left. For the one below you have to get to the bottom and dig. *********** * LEVEL 8 * *********** xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx x x x x x x x x x x x x x x xxxxxxxxxx x x x x x x x x x x x x x *xxx *xxx x xxx* * x x x x x x x x x x x x x xxxx x * x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x *xxxxxxxxx xxxx x *xxx x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x * xxx* x x x * x x x x x x x x x x x x xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Here you actually have a quick way through the maze, so to speak. Go left, blow up the Fygar, and continue left. Go up to the peg and drill up and down. Go back to the start--right past a peg and then down at the fault line. If you drill left/right you can catch a bunch of bad guys and sink a huge island. The rest should be trivial. *********** * LEVEL 9 * *********** xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx x x x x x x x * * * * x x x x x x x xxxx xxxx xxxx x xxxx x x xxxx x x xxxx x x xxxx x x xxxx x xxxx xxxx xxxx x x x x x x xxxxxx* * * * x x x x x x x x x xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx This is a tricky level to start. The monsters seem to come right down on you' But they're almost too quick about it. You can go down and right and dig the peg right to nail one monster. Then reverse left and go up. The bad guys will follow. You can dig the leftmost peg left and come back and dig right--not making an island until the bad guys come around. ************ * LEVEL 10 * ************ xxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx x x x x x x x x x * * x * x * x * * x x x x x x x x x x x x x x xxxx xxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxx x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x xxxx x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x * xxxxxxx * x xxxxxxx * x x x x x x x x x x * * * xxxxxxxxxx * * * x x x x x x x x x x x xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx The fault limes in the center allow you to wait around andshoot enemies pretty easily, and if you can avoid them or fake them out, then you can go to the bottom and maybe drill some islands off. It's a bit tough, though, and you may have to feint over the two lakes and to the outside. This is a level you can blast through for convenience, but it's not too tough. ************ * LEVEL 11 * ************ xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx x x x x x xxxx *xxxxxx xxxxxx* xxxx x x x x x x x x x x x x x x * x xxxxxxxxxx x * x x x xxxxxxxxxx x x x x xxxxxxxxxx x x xxxxxxxxx*xxx xxxxxxxxxx xxx*xxx x x x xxxxxxxxxx x x x x xxxxxxxxxx x x x * x xxxxxxxxxx x * x x x x x x x x x x x x x x xxxx * * * * * * xxxx x x x x x xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx This is the first level I got 15000 on though that's not necessarily easy. What you can do is to dig out the row at the bottom--go a peg right and then dig left/right at each one, go left 2, etc. You may have to sucker the monsters all the way left, then flip back over and go right. It might also be worthwhile to dig south from the left peg on the fault line so monsters don't burrow through the fault lines. If enough monsters are trapped below, then you can get a huge bonus. ************ * LEVEL 12 * ************ xxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxx x x x x x x x x x * * x x x x * * x x x x x x x x x x x x x x * * x xxxx xxxx * * x x x x x x x x x x x x x x xxxx *xxx x x x x * * * x x x x x x x x x x x x x x * * x *xxx x xxxx x * * x x xx x xx x x x x x x x x x *xxxxxx x x * x x * * x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx You can fend off the first wave of attackers in the maze, especially the vertical shaft, but actually, the monsters are rather stupid in this level. I find that going left, near the edge, allows you to drill left/down and capture two Fygars. You should then have the time to go to the upper left peg and drill right/down. Now the monsters can come to you and get trapped in a long corridor. ************ * LEVEL 13 * ************ xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx x x x x x * * x xxxxxxx x * * * x x x x x x x x x x * xxxx x * * * x x xxxx x x xxxx x x xxxx x x xxxx x x xxxx x x * xxxx x * * * * xxxx * x x x x x x x x *xxx x * xxxx * xxxx * x x x xxxx x x x x xxxx x x x x x * xxxx * xxxx x x x x x x x x x x x xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxx This level is a bit of a scramble with all the enemies, but the fault lines provide good shields to fire over. If you can get to the upper left, you can carve out a corridor, but otherwise just blast through this level and cut a few islands with a couple monsters left to get the reward. ************ * LEVEL 14 * ************ xxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxx x x x x x x x x x * * xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx * * x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x * * x x * * x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x * * xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx * * x x x x x x x x x xxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxx The open spaces mean trouble here, but I find going left to the fault line and pumping up the fygar, then retreating and going up, shakes a lot of bad guys. You may wish to retreat behind the center fault lines as well. I've had the most success when I've gone in left and cut back right, where I had times to drill pegs for more fault lines. It's possible to create an island here, but it takes a long time. You have to use several pegs. But you can make a wicked corridor. ************ * LEVEL 15 * ************ xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx x x x x x * * x * * * * * x x x x x x x x x x x x * * * xxxx xxxxxxxxx* * * x x x x x x x xxxx * xxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx * * x x x x x x x x x x x xxxxxx* * * x x x x * xxx* x x x xx x x x x x x x x x * * * x xxxx * x * x x x x x x x x x x x xxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx Go right a bit, fire at the pooka, go back left, and fire at the fygar if it's running at you. Otherwise go up and left across the fault lines, firing whenever something is in your way. Once more monsters come, go down, and you can get through by shuffling back and forth in the center, left to right, over the fault lines. The left-right tunnel created by the fault lines is a good bunker and a good place to shoot down approaching enemies. ************ * LEVEL 16 * ************ xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx x x x x x * * * * * * x x x x x x *xxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx x x x x x x x * xxxx x x x x x x * * * * x xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx x x x x x x x x x * xxxxxx* * *xxx * x x x x x x x x x x x xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Blast most monsters and carve out a few small islands is again the way to do things. You can go left from your culdesac and draw in a few fault lines, or up and then drill all four ways. There probably isn't time to carve up the top, but if you get to the bottom part, you only need two horizontal drills to take out a nice chunk. ************ * LEVEL 17 * ************ xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx x x x x xxxxxx* *xxxxxx x x x xxxx x x x xxxx x x x x xxxxxxxxxx x x x x x x x *xxxxxx xxxx x x x x x x x x xxxx x * x x xxxx x x x x xxxx x x x x xxxx xxxx * xxxx x x x x x x x x x x xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx You're in the repetitive levels now. Though going up, pumping the pooka, and drilling the right peg looks promising, you can get a big bonus by starting down. Draw the bad guys in, pump them up, and go up and left. From the peg on the left, drill left for a nifty collapse. ************ * LEVEL 18 * ************ xxxxxxx xxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxx x x x x x x x x x x x xx xx x x * x x x * * x * * x x x x x x x xx x x x * x xxxx x xxxxxxx xxxxxxx * x x xxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxx x x xxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxx x x * xxxx * xxxxxxx xxxxxxx x x xxx x xxxxxx x x xx x xxxxx x x * x x x x xxxx * xxxx x xx x x x x x x x x * x x x xxxxxxx * * * * x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x xxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx It's easy to go left here. Attack the fygars aggressively--run at them and shoot--because behind, you have the time to make a long column of fault lines. Then wait for the monsters to come in. It may be best--and more efficient--to place the lines as such: * | *-* | * | * | ----- ************ * LEVEL 19 * ************ xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx x x x x x x x x x x x x xxxx x * xxxx x x xxxx xxx* x x x x x x x x x x x x x x xxxx x x *xxxxxx x * x xxxx x x x x x x x x x x x x xxxx x x xxxx xxxx *xxx x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x * xxxx xxxx * xxxx x * x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x xxxx x x * xxxx * xxxx * x x x x x x x x x x x x x xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Go right right away and then start pumping monsters full of whatever Dig Dug has in that container on hisback. There's no area with a lot of fault lines, but on the right, a peg has lines to the right and down. That's a good place to add more. Also, be careful about breaking off an island piece. It's easy to nail one that has no monsters on it. ************ * LEVEL 20 * ************ xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx x x x x x x x x x * * xxxx * * x x x x x x x * x x * x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x * x x * x x x x x x x * * xxxx * * x x x x x x x x x xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx There's not much room for you to escape, but you should stand on the fault line to the left and blast the one pooka. Then turn back onto the other fault line and blast through the pookas. If you make it to the open right area, dig all four ways on a near peg. You shouldn't need any more protection. ************ * LEVEL 21 * ************ xxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx x x x x x x x x x x x x xxxx * xxxxxxx x x * * x x x x x x x x x xxxx * * *xxx xxxx xxxx x x x x x x xxxxxxx * xxxx * * xxxx x x x x x * * * x * * xxxx * x x xx x x x x x x x x x x x x * * * x x xxxx x x * x x x x x x x x x x x x x xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxx Another blast and go level. Go up, blast the pooka above, go down and blast, and then go right through the faultline. The lower right has a good deal of space, and you can create some fault lines there so you have time to watch what opponents are going to do. ************ * LEVEL 22 * ************ xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxx x x x x x x x x x * * * * * x x * xxxx x x x x x x x x x x x x x x * * xxxxxxx * x xxxx x x x x xxxxxxx * xxxxxxxxxx xxxx * xxxx x xxxxxxxxxx xxxxx x x xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxx x x xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx * x x xxxx xxxxxxxxx x x xxxx xxxxxxxx x x * * xxxx x xxxxxxx * x x x x x x x xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Being at the bottom here means that you can just be lazy and blast left/right. Once the opponents' number dwindles there are some cheap islands to break off. ************ * LEVEL 23 * ************ xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx x x x x xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxx xxxxxxxxxx x xxxxxxxxxxx xxxxx x x xxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxx x x * * xxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxx * * x x xxxx x xxxxxx x x xxxx x xxxxx x x * * xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx * * x x xxxxx x xxxx x x xxxxxx x xxxx x x * * xxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxx * * x x xxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxx x x xxxxx xxxxxxxxxxx x xxxxxxx x xxxx xxxxxxxxxx x xxxxxxx x x x x xx xx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx This is another level where you can just stay at the bottom and be very uncreative indeed blasting your opponents. The area in the center makes it hard to drop any islands in the middle, so just ************ * LEVEL 24 * ************ xxxxxxx xxxx xxxxxxx x x x x x x x x x x x x x * * x x x x * * x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x * x xxxx x * * x x xxxxxx x x xxxxxxxx x x xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxx x x xxxxxxxxxx x x x xxxxxxxxxx x xxxx x xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx* xxxx x x xxxx x x x xxxx x x * * * x xxxx x * * * x x xx xx x x x x x x x xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx Go left and down and get the fygar out of the way. There'll be one trapped in the cul-de-sac of fault lines, running in circles. Once he's gone(others may get stuck in this flypaper as well) you can plow through the two horizontal ones and have a bunker to bust bad guys. Heck, you can even go right and make a long horizontal fault line of your own. ************ * LEVEL 25 * ************ xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxx x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x * x * x x * xxxxxxx * xxxxxxx x x x x x x x x x x x * * xxxx *xxx x * xxxx x x x x x xxxxxx* x * * * x x x x x x x x * x * x * * *xxx xxxx x x x x x x x x x * xxxx xxxx * xxxx * x * xxxx x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x xxxxxxx xxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxx Go left and blast the fygar and come back. On the peg near(UL) of where you started, dig all four ways. Then go right and dig horizontally again. This will allow you a place at the bottom to shuffle left and right. Don't worry about killing stuff on the way to the right. ************ * LEVEL 26 * ************ xxxxxxxxxx x x x x x * * x x x x x x xxxx xxxx x x xxxx xxxx x x xxxx xxxx x x xxxx xxxx x x x x x x * * x x * * x x x x x x x x x x * * * xxxx * * * x x x x x x x x x xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx Go up to start out. Blow up the two fygars in the chute. You will need to pause a bit as you want to fire up at them. You should be able to kill them and thee have time to make the three-wide fault line which will trip your enemies up. Go above it and go in the direction the monsters ain't. Then wait for when you are able to go back down--you may need to pump a few up slightly. Then create a horizontal fault 2 wide in the bottom. Make a small maze as this is where you'll catch the monsters. Let them almost catch up to you and sink them. ************ * LEVEL 27 * ************ xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxx x x x x x x x x xxxx * * xxxx x * xxxx x x x x x x x x xxxx xxxx * xxxx x * * xxxx x xxxx x x x x xxxx xx x xxxx xxxx xxxxxxx x * * * xxxx x xxxx x x xxxx x xxxx * * xxxx * x * * xxxx x xxxx xx x x xxxx x x x xxxxxxx xxxx xxxxxxx x * * xxxx x x x x x x x x x x xxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx Go north, hit the pooka once, and then plow through the fygar to the left. Don't worry about killing anyone or anything; just get to the left, going down a bit, and drill up and down to give yourself a bunker on the left coast. Blast at enemies coming from the top or burrowing from the right. ************ * LEVEL 28 * ************ xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx x x x x x x x x x x xxxxxx*xx*xx*xxx x *xxxxx* x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x *xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx x x x x xxx* x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x xxxx xxxxxxx x x xxxx x xxxx x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x xxxxxx* x x * x x xxxxxxx x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x xxxxxxxxxx x xxxx x x x *xx* x x x x x x x x x x x x x xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx The maze here isn't so good for dropping a bunch of monsters in the drink as for letting you survive. Perhaps you can trap a bunch of monsters in the top left, but it's also possible to snip off too much(drill up from the bottom right.) You can go left right away and blast a fygar, and I recommend this. With a few monsters left, the best way to get the popup gift is to roam along the top and drop the islands in the drink from left to right. There are also a few 2x1 blocks you can drop into the sea. ************ * LEVEL 29 * ************ xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx x x x x x x x x x * xxxxxxx xxxx x x * * x x x xxxxxxx xxxx x x x x x xxxxxxx xxxx x x x xxxx xxxxxxx xxxx xxxx * xxxx xxxx x xxxx xxxx x x xxxx xxxx x x xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxx * xxxx * x x xxxxxxx xxxxxxx x x xxxxxxx xxxxxxx x xxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx * * xxxx x x xxxx x x xxxx x x *xx* * xxxxxxx * * x * xxxx x x x x xx x x x x x x x xxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx Go up to the fault line and take out the fygar there. Then work your way up-- don't worry about killing anyone if you're actively chased. The goal is to make it up, left, and down the narrow strip to the left. You can then peg out a corridor--drill up from the lower left peg and right from the one next to it. It's possible just to win a firefight at the top, though, too. ************ * LEVEL 30 * ************ xxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx x x x x x x x x x x x x x * xxxxxxxxxx x x xxxx * * x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x xxxxxxxxxx x x x xxxxxxx x x x xxxxxxx x * x * xxxx x xxxxxxx x x x x x x x x x x x * * xxxx xxxx xxxxxxx * * x x x x x x x x x x x x x x * * x xxxxxxxxxx x * * x x x x x x x x x xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx Go on to the near peg and dig all four ways. Go left and see if you can blow up any monsters. Some may come from the bottom of the cross you dug, but you can probably go back and forth across it and win pretty easily. For points there's the series of pegs in the lower left. ************ * LEVEL 31 * ************ xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx x x x x x * * x x x x x xxxxxxxxxx * * * * xxxxxxxxxx x x x x x * * * * * * * x x x x x xxxxxxxxxx * * * * xxxxxxxxxx x x x x x x x x x x xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx This seems nearly impossible--you can't even blow up an opponent before they all converge!--but you have some time before they start in on you. Use it to go left to the first peg and up a bit. Drill all four ways. Then go right a peg and dig the three remaining ways. The rest is touch and go; look for burrowing monsters and blast them. You'll have to run left/right over the fault lines, and you will also want to see if more monsters are on the top or bottom. Switching vertically allows a lot of space as well, but you might not need it if you got the good quick start. ************ * LEVEL 32 * ************ xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxx x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x * x x * xxxxxxx xxxxxxx x x x x x x x x x x x * * xxxx *xxx x * xxxx x x x x x xxxxxx* x * x x x x x x x x * x * x * * *xxx xxxx x x x x x x x x x xxxx xxxx * xxxx * x * xxxx x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x xxxxxxx xxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxx This level is identical to 25. So see the solution for level 25. After this, each level is identical to the one 16 back. End of FAQ proper ================================ 6. VERSIONS 1.0.0 submitted to GameFAQS 3/30/2004. Should be complete although I am futzing around a bit confusedly on the later levels. 7. CREDITS Thanks to the usual GameFAQs gang. They know who they are, and you should, too, because they get some SERIOUS writing done. Good people too--bloomer, daremo, falsehead, RetroFreak, Snow Dragon/Brui5ed Ego, ZoopSoul, and others I forgot.