Mystery Quest/3-A to Castle V

Outside

 * 2-A: After leaving the castle, head left and kick the ice cube over. You may have to deal with a Snake that gets in the way.  Keep pushing the block until the Snake leaps out of the way.  Avoid falling in the first gap, as you will be forced to run back around to some pipes before the castle.  Instead, leap over the gap and fall down the second larger gap.  When you land, jump back out of the left side, and shoot at the wall on the opposite side of the water.  You will eventually find a moon to collect.  Grab it and return down the gap.
 * 3-A: Drop down to the floor and collect the sign post. Then head to the right.  Watch out for Bats and Hedgehogs.  The first pipe that you come to has a star, but you'll have to leap to the right side beyond the platform above in order to collect it.
 * 3-B: The entire right side of the staircase beyond the three enclosed pipes can be shot out. The only thing that is of interest inside is the middle pipe which contains a star.  Use the high platform to leap on to the left column of bounce blocks.  Then triangle jump to the top of the right column.  Leap over the water to the small platform ahead, and then use the Faster Boots to make the long jump to the next platform which contains a trampoline block in the middle.  Regain control over Hao's jumping, and then leap to the bounce column and jump off of it to reach the top.
 * 3-C: Fall down to the platform below (be careful of the trampoline block,) and once again use the Faster Boots to leap across the large gap. Then drop down to the floor below and continue through the tunnel.  Shoot the Scorpions and Snakes that you encounter.  When you approach the skulls that precede a pool of water, jump on the blocks ahead of the skulls to create an opening to the safer path below and take that.
 * 3-D: Shoot the bottom of the candle that you come to in between the high platforms to reveal a star. Drop to the ground, and kick the ice block that you come to.  Walk up to it, jump up, and shoot out the block above the ice blocks in order to proceed.  Collect the sign post before the town.
 * 3-E: The pipe after the town has a star. After the pipe, you will reach a set of blocks that provide branching pathways.  Drop down to the bottom level and shoot out the blocks to your left to reveal a Magic Lamp.  Collect it to receive temporary invincibility.
 * 3-F: Don't kick the first ice cube that you come to. Instead, leap over it and kick the second ice cube to the right.  Then return to the first ice cube and kick it right as well.  This should enable you to leap over the pool over water to safety.  When you get beyond the platform, drop down and return to the left.  Jump on the floor near the dead-end to reveal the location of a hidden Hao Doll.  Triangle jump off the bounce wall to the left and continue up to the right.  You will come to an area between two bounce walls with a pipe in between.  Jump on the floor above the pipe to clear it away.  When you drop down to the pipe, you will reveal a moon.  Furthermore, if you push down on the pipe, you will be given access to a very long warp that will transport you all the way to 3-I!
 * 3-G: Run past the town and up the steps. You can take either the higher path or the lower path through the blocks.
 * 3-H: Jump over to the cloud to make it across the water. All of the blocks to the right of the water can be shot out, giving you a place to land on the other side.  Pass through the tunnel, and use the trampoline block to jump up to the top of the wall (watch out for a falling Hedgehog.)
 * 3-I: After the wall, you must drop down to the lower path and shoot out the blocks in the wall to proceed. The first and third pipes contain stars.
 * 3-J: Pushing down on the first pipe may take you back a very short distance to the last pipe in 3-I, or all the way ahead to 3-K. Otherwise, take the S tunnel up and around to the top level, and jump onto the cloud above the water.  Carefully jump onto the middle platform to avoid drowning.  Jumping from the middle platform to the high column on the right without bumping your head can be tricky.
 * 3-K: At the end of the lowest level, you can jump to the right of the small steps, and jump on the floor to reveal a 10,000 point Wizard Hat. Then jump up to the middle level, head left, and jump up to the highest level to proceed to the right.
 * 3-L: Jump over the water to the blocks with the Scorpion. Jump over the next pool to the blocks with the Snake.  Then jump over the final pool.  Collect the sign post.  Jump up to the platform above the stairs, and drop down so that you can access the cloud below.  Ride it to the left and shoot out the left wall to obtain a moon.
 * 3-M: The pipe between the platforms has a star. Jump over the pools of water and approach the castle.  Collect the sign post and enter the castle.

Inside

 * Front layer to door 1: Normally, you must run along the bottom of the castle, leaping over the pools of water, to the right side, and then double back along the top side to reach the first door. However, you can use the trampolines to shortcut the whole process.  The blocks above, and slightly to the left of the trampolines can be removed with the Power Helmet, allowing you to access the top level directly via the trampoline blocks.  Once you're at the top, head left to the door.
 * Back layer of door 1: From the entrance, jump up and head left to encounter the mini-boss of this castle, a dragon. Defeat the dragon as quickly as possible to obtain a key.  Then return right, take the top level to the end, and drop down to the middle level to access the door below.  Whatever you do, do not shoot at the lower blocks in the wall to the left.  Shoot the blocks above the floor.  Jump up and hit the ceiling to create a hole that you can jump through, and shoot parts of the floor that you cannot break with your head.  Use the blocks on the floor that you didn't shoot to reach the level above and collect the Magic Wand to improve your fire power.  Then shoot the wall to the right of the door.
 * Back layer of door 1 continued: To proceed, you will need to return through the original door to the back layer, and shoot out the wall to the left of where you arrive. You will likely encounter a dragon again, but it will take much fewer hits to defeat since you collected the Magic Wand.  Defeat it to collect a key and continue to the left.  After leaping to the top of the column after the first trampoline block, you can shoot out the blocks in the ceiling to you left to reveal a moon.  Collect it to restore your health and continue left.  Pass through the next door.
 * Front layer to door 2: Use the Faster Boots to leap over the pool of water, and run across the floor to the area ahead. Leap across the water and shoot out the wall to the right to discover a hidden SOS.  Then return to the trampoline block and use it to access the blocks above and to the left which can be broken with the Power Helmet.  Punch a hole in the ceiling and use the trampoline block to reach the top level.  Run to the left at full speed and leap off the ledge to the trampoline block below so that you bounce off of it and fly all the way over to the top of the platforms on the left.  Then drop down to the second door.
 * Back layer of door 2: Take any level to the left to encounter another dragon. Fight the dragon to obtain a key.  Drop down to the lower level, get running at full speed to the left and bounce off the trampoline block to make it to the top of the platforms to your left.  Drop down and do it once again so that you can collect the moon located on the top level.  Then drop down to the middle level and continue left to the door.
 * Front layer to door 3: (If you do not possess an SOS, you can claim another one from the wall to the left.) Run right and before you use the trampoline blocks, jump up and shoot the air above the pools.  A block should materialize in two shots.  Use the trampoline block to jump up to this block.  You'll need to do this four times to get all the way across.  After this section, if you fall down to the floor, you'll need to use the Scorpions that materialize here to jump back up to the middle level above.  A Wizard Hat is hidden in the wall on the floor to the right.  Then simply leap up to the top, run along the top to the left, and access the third door.
 * Back layer of door 3: Head right and jump up to the top level. Then head left, shooting the flowers as you go, until you encounter a dragon.  Defeat it and collect the key.  Then using the speed of the Faster Boots, leap over the gaps in the top level to remain up there.  Leap over two gaps and shoot the left wall to discover a hidden moon.  Then drop down to the middle platform to the right of the gap.  Build up speed and carefully jump to the left across the gap so as to avoid hitting your head on the platform above, and jump on the floor below the ceiling fan to drop down to the door.
 * Front layer to door 4: There is a short cut to the fourth door above, by jumping up and hitting the blocks above the flower mantle to the left, and then shooting up to remove the remaining blocks and jumping up on the mantle to access the middle level above. Before you do, however, if you need a Hao Doll, head to the left to the first trampoline block.  Use it to bounce high.  Shoot the bricks to the right, but avoid shooting the lowest bricks, or the Doll will fall into the water.  Clear the blocks out until you reveal the Hao Doll, then bounce up to collect it.  Return to the shortcut to access the fourth door.  Or find another shortcut above the second set of blocks after the second trampoline block by jumping up and breaking a hole in the floor above with the Power Helmet.  Then run left.
 * Back layer of door 4: Run along the top level, all the way to a dead-end and jump on the floor below to access the middle area to the left. Obtaining the Symbol of Family is easier than it looks, and does not involve passing through either door.  Instead, simply shoot up at the floor beneath the symbol until it drops down and you can collect it.  Then jump on floor beneath the ceiling fan to access the lower level and exit the castle.