Mr. Gimmick/Level 5

Head right, jump onto the platform provided and let take you down. There will be a fuzzy guy waiting on the right ledge here, firing missiles at you. There are two ways to do this part. You can jump down onto the ledge below the fuzzy guy and fall into the hole further on to clear a tricky spot below. You have to do this quickly or the fuzzy guy will drop down and hit you.

You can also dodge the missile the fuzzy guy fires at you by jumping onto the platform that's going up, waiting the missile to get close and then jumping back onto the first platform. This is tougher to do but it's your choice. When you make it to the bottom, jump across the water and you'll be in the clear for awhile. The key to getting the Hidden Item Stage is here too, via switching the lever.

To get to that switch you have to use the second method of going down with the platform and dodging the missile. Stay on the platform afterwards and let it take you back up to the top. When the platform reaches the right side but while it's still near the top, jump to the right and land on the top ledge where the fuzzy guy was standing. Notice I said was. The fuzzy guy shouldn't be there anymore.

When you get in there, jump across the gab and then jump onto the switch to pull it down. That will open up the area where the special item is found. Now you can continue on for awhile. Shoot the Frog sitting on the ledge and continue on to find a whole bunch more frogs sitting on a bunch of little ledges. Carefully jump across but don't take your time.

The frog you're standing on will eventually start jumping around itself, carrying you with it. You can always just hit them. When you make it to the other side, jump onto the tram cart, ignoring the torch Ohagi enemies below. You'll have to jump off again right away when you reach the water hazard ahead. There will be another tram cart just beyond the water hole though.

Take it for a ride and jump off further ahead when the other water hole appears. Another fuzzy guy will be waiting on the ledge ahead. It will fire two missiles at you that you'll have to jump over and walk under to avoid. Don't be afraid to jump around on the ledges the dodge the missiles, the fuzzy guy won't damage you any further if you don't touch it.

After awhile, it will run to the left and into the water. Grab the Orange Medicine ahead and go down the tube, where you'll land on another tram cart. Let it take you for a ride. After traveling for awhile, another Ohagi on a tram cart will chase after you. It will fire bullets at you so it might be best, if you can't dodge them, to jump off and hit the tram a few times to destroy it.

Defeat the Ohagi as well and continue on your way. Stand on the left side of the tram and jump off to the left when you come up to the huge hole in the track. Head down the tube further to the left after that. You'll be in a different area now. Jump onto the non-conveyor platform and hit the torch Ohagi to knock it into the water.

Hit the torch Ohagi off the higher conveyor and the other one on the lower conveyor into the water. Grab the Orange Medicine on the small ledge and continue to the right. There will be several conveyor platforms and a bomb hanging on the ceiling at the end of the second one. The hole here contains the Hidden Item Stage if you pulled the switch earlier; if not, then it will be another pit of water.

Jump into the Hidden Item Stage and you will be around a platform with a spring on it below. Jump to the left, over the water and grab a few Bombs moving around on the conveyor. When your inventory is full, push them together to forge 1UP collectibles. They will come in handy for the boss, trust me. Once you've filled up your item slots, head back to the right until you reach the small platforms hanging over the water. The first two conveyors you see turn left.

Just walk against it and jump when you reach the edge. The third and fourth conveyors turn right. Carefully jump across the two of them until you reach the next group of conveyors that alternate between left and right until you get to the special item sitting on a platform. In order to get up there, face right on the small platform so that one of your feet is off of the edge.

Now, jump and toss a star against the platform so that it bounces and picks you up in turn, and then quickly jump off onto the platform. Finally, jump onto the moving platform in the right corner to get taken all the way back to the start of this jumping gauntlet. It won't spring open on you. =) Head back to the left a bit and jump onto the spring to get back to the normal stage area.

Press left as you're going up to reach the conveyor on the left. The conveyor on the other side is too high. Jump across the hole and the two platforms ahead, including the one where the bombs are hanging from the ceiling over it. Jump forward a bit to activate the bombs close to the top when you're safely onto the triangular shaped platform.

Do the same thing when you're going down the slope on the opposite side and then jump over the water pit below. Continue over the small conveyor ahead and jump onto the last piece of scarce non-conveyor ground before the boss. A whole lot of cannonballs will start rolling down the slope. They won't start appearing in force until you're safe so that shouldn't be a big problem. Head right to meet the boss.

BOSS: Laser Hōdai Ohagi (レーザー砲台おはぎ)
The encounter is pretty damn tough so I hope you grabbed some bombs from earlier in the level and still have most of your health intact. But enough of that; let's get this trainwreck over with. This boss is yet another of those Ohagi guys, except it's protected by an overhead turret machine. Not only but, but it'll move along the belt at the top of the screen while firing lasers down on you.

The laser will speed up slightly each time you hit it, until it's nearly impossible to avoid it. You have to go between the lasers and then jump onto the conveyor to the right and toss a star or a bomb at the boss. You can only really damage the boss while you're on the conveyor so you have to time your attack carefully to avoid getting damaged. After you hit the boss five times, it will retreat to the right. You might think you've won, but you know it's serious when new theme indicates that it has now entered something called the Boss Determination Mode (ボス本気モード).

BOSS: Tasoku Hokō Mecha (多足歩行メカ)
That's right, there's another boss character! Slowly coming your way will be a large multi-legged spider or crab-like automaton with quite an armament, but it can be easier to defeat than the Ohagi's vehicle. It alternates between three different methods of attacking. The first and second attacks are bullets that go straight forward or in a spread formation. The third is everyone's favorite attack... missiles that will home in on you. First you have to dodge the bullets and missiles, and then you have to jump and toss a star between the bullets to damage it. The robot will also gradually move to the left so you have to be quick. After four additional hits, this mechanical menace will be wrecked much to the Ohagi's chagrin.