Mr. Gimmick

Gimmick is one of Sunsoft's lesser known titles as it was only released in Europe and Japan. The colourful and I dare say cute graphics hide the freakish difficulty underneight created by the rather slippery controls, tough landscapes, and the various enemies and bosses inhabiting this strange world. Gimmick is still pretty darn good though and the bright visuals are a change from the usually dark and more serious tone of some of their other games.

Controls

 * A Button       : Jump
 * B Button       : Fire a Star
 * Up + B Button  : Use an item
 * Start Button   : Pause the game
 * Select Button  : Not used
 * D-Pad : Move your guy around

Screen Info
All information that you need can be found along the bottom of the screen when you're playing a level.

Score: It tells you how much points you have.

Rest: It tells you how many lives you have left.

Health: The dots that are colored in tell you how much health you have left. You start each life with two dots and every enemy takes away one dot each time you're hit.

Item: It tells you which items you've collected. You can keep three items and afterwards you won't be able to pick up certain items when you're full.

Items
Yellow Potion: It will add one dot to your health.

Pink Potion: I'm not sure. I'll have to look into it.

Green/Black Vial: It will add a bomb to your item slot. A bomb is throw the same way as a star but it does damage to any enemy caught in the blast.

Red Vial: It will add a fire ball to your item slot. A fire ball flies straight forward from whatever direction you're facing and does damage to any enemy it hits.

Tips
Each level has a secret area containing a special item that counts towards the ending. They are fairly well hidden but equally frustrating since they involve quite a bit of finesse and quick reflexes to nab the special item.

Your star attack has the added bonus that you can jump onto it and let it take you to areas of a level that are unreachable without it.

The jumping for this game is rather slippery, meaning that you'll slide a bit before you come to a rest after you jump. You should plan ahead to make up for this mild deficient.

Prologue
A girl gets a new doll for her birthday. The other dolls become jealous since they get demoted to a box beside the door and the new doll, Gimmick, is sitting on top of the dresser. In the middle of the night the other dolls come to life and kidnap the girl. Gimmick, who comes to life afterwards, jumps through a portal to try and rescue her.

Level 1
Walk to the right and fire a star when you reach the raised ground just before the two platforms with the conveyors. That should take care of the Ball enemy that will come walking toward you from beneath the platforms and give you a complimentary Pink Potion at the same time. Grab the pink potion as well as the Yellow Potion on the small platform to the right and stay there for a bit.

Two more Ball enemies will come from the right. Shoot them, drop to the ground, and toss another star ahead to clear the group of Ball enemies that will appear further on. Keep throwing stars at them or just jump over them, but continue on and you'll see a tube ahead and a ledge sticking out of the wall. You can head down the tube if you want but the special item for the stage is up there.

In order to get up there, you have to throw a star against the low wall facing that ledge. The easiest way to do this is to stand on the edge facing the low wall, bounce a star down there and jump when it bounces upward toward the ledge. Hopefully, you'll be on top of it and then you can make it to the ledge from there. When you do get up there, jump up to the left and you should be on a fairly small platforms with a series of small platforms leading left.

There will be two tough looking jumps ahead but you can make it if you jump at the right time, which is close to the edge as possible. After that, there will be a long series of moving platforms. It should be pretty easy from this point, just make sure that you time your jumps so that you don't fall off. Grab the special items ahead for some big points and head back to the tube ahead.

Head down the tube. Walk to the left and slide down and do a hop over the hole. Stop yourself from sliding down the second slope if you can and wait for the Ball enemy to come to you. If you couldn't stop yourself from sliding, just jump when you reach the bottom of the slope to jump over the hole and the Ball enemy. Continue jumping up the slope ahead to avoid the cannonballs.

When you see the Small Cannon ahead, jump over the cannonballs that shoots out until you reach the spot where they initially fall. Wait there until another cannonball shoots out and quickly jump into the tube on the left. The tube will drop you right onto another slope over two pits. Quickly jump left to grab the fireball item on the small ledge and slide and jump when you reach the bottom to fly over the pits.

Kill the Worm enemy on the platform if you want but slide down the slope afterwards and jump to stop once you're under the platform on the right. Inch forward to make the first bomb fall and then stand at the edge of the pit and move left/right to make the second bomb fall. Now jump up the slope and land on the flat part at the top if you can and then slide down and jump before you fall into the pit.

You can make it to the platform where the Small Cannon is sitting and then push it off the side. Otherwise, carefully jump under the platform and make your way into the pipe ahead. Continue through the pipe and in the next room you'll be on a moving platform over a whole lot of spikes. Jump before the platform reaches the middle of spike bed though or you'll find yourself more "holey".

Head up the tube and quickly walk up the slope above the tube to avoid the Ball enemy coming at you. Hit the Worm and then slide down the slope onto one of the platforms. When you're going down the slope you should press back once you get off of it otherwise you'll fall onto the spikes. Once you're safe though, head into the tube above. The Ball enemy in the next room is trouble here.

Wait to see what it's going to do and keep a star charged just in case. Most of the time it will just fall off of one of the small platforms but occasionally it will bump into you. The yellow potion on the right is tough to reach but you'll need it sometime in the future. After that, make your way to the tube and continue on. You'll be above ground again with a few tough spots but you should look on the bright side, since you're almost done this level.

Walk forward a bit and jump when the window opens in the two brick towers ahead and a Electrode Ball enemy falls out. You can jump onto them when they are not electrified and hit them with a star. Continue to the left and start jumping across the small platforms ahead. Keep charging a star while you're jumping since more Ball enemies will start jumping across towards you.

When they are on the platform next to you, jump up and toss a star at it to clear the way. Keep doing that until you're all the way across. A last resort would be to jump onto the Ball enemy but that can be tough. Just try to hit it instead. The last two platforms are larger so you shouldn't have any problems at this point. The boss is right ahead so get ready to rumble.

BOSS: King Electrode Ball
This boss is simple but it will likely get in a cheap hit at the beginning when it starts tossing Ball enemies toward you. The first barrage can be avoided with some luck and skilful moves but you should be able to defeat the boss before it can throw some more at you. Stay on the right and bounce stars off the ground so that it goes over the first whole and slides into the boss. Three hits and it will be down for the count.

Level 2
Jump across the water until you reach the Shell enemy further ahead. Hitting it again will kill but you can just leave it there if you want. Hit the second Shell enemy on the higher ground and then jump into the boat. You'll drift on open water for a bit and then a pirate ship will come into view. The open ports along the side of the ship will drop cannonballs when you pass under them.

The way I usually do this part is to stand on either end of the boat and walk when I pass under the porthole. The other way to do it is to just stand there and then move when you see a cannonball. Either way is fine. There will be a series of platforms leading to the top and a chunk of ground on the right but that doesn't go anywhere. Carefully make your way to the top and walk left.

There's a simple way to finish this stage, although you'll have to forget about the special item. Stand on the edge of platform where the mast is, jump and throw a star to the left. Jump onto the star when it comes back and then jump off onto the platform on the far right. Walk one screen to the right to meet the boss. Simple right? If you don't want to do that, head down the tube ahead.

Once you're inside the ship, you'll see several Ball enemies with cannonballs on their heads. Stand on the edge beside the tube and hit the Ball enemy on the right with a star. Move onto the steps and hit the two Ball enemies walking around here. Head to the left and stand on the right side of the platform with the Ball enemy on it. Now, toss a star at the other Ball enemy on the barrels.

Hit the Ball enemy on the platform and enter the tube to go topside again. Further to the left, a curious looking green enemy will come running at you. Fire three stars at it and jump over it as necessary to defeat it. You can also walk under it if you want. Keep going left and push the Large Cannon off the side of the ship onto the small platform below.

Stand on the edge of the Large Cannon and wait for it to fire, at which point walk left a little so that you end up on the cannonball. I suggest that you save the game here if you're using an emulator, since this part is tough to do. Once you make it to the far left, enter the tube and grab the special item. Walk further and wait for the bird to start flying and then jump onto it to get taken back to the ship.

Walk to the right and hit the two Ball enemies here as well as the Flying Ball enemy... or just avoid it and continue on. A few more Ball enemies will pop up and another bird will appear on the mast on the far right. Jump onto the bird, grab the yellow potion and fall off the side. The boss is just ahead so walk right to meet him.

BOSS: Pirate Fuzzy
Here's a fairly tough boss. It has a sword that blocks your stars from the front so you have to jump around and toss them at him to score a hit. It will back up and rush toward you depending on which direction you're moving. As you continue to hit the boss, it will start to alternate between jumping around and rushing toward you swinging it's sword. It takes six hits to finish it off.

Level 3
Walk right and hit the Fox enemies that fall out of the trees. The easiest way to dispatch of them is to just fire a star along the ground; more often than not it will hit one but occasionally the Fox will jump back into the trees. Usually, they will drop a Bomb when you defeat one, which you'll need to get the special item here.

When you get to the water portion, jump to the first patch of ground and wait for the rocks to rumble down the side of the cliff on the right. Two of them will fall into the water but the third one will reach the part of ground you're on so you'll have to jump over it or jump back to the left. Once that's over with, climb the cliff and jump across the small platforms.

Wait for a moment or two when you jump to each of the small platforms for a log to fall down. A group of Ball enemies will start jumping across the small platforms after you. You can continue jumping to the right or just hit the Ball enemies as they get close to you. Once you're on the opposite side of the waterfall, head right until you reach the Bug enemy at the bottom of the slope.

I hope you have a Bomb handy as it's the only item that can defeat the Bug. Stand on the edge of the slope and jump and throw the bomb down. It should blow the Bug to bits and let you grab the special item through the tunnel below. Grab it quickly since a bunch of arrows will shoot at the platform it's on and then continue down to exit.

Grab the Yellow Potion on the platform to the right and then head left until you reach the top of the waterfall. You have to quickly jump across or the logs will take you to the bottom, where the platforms were, or possibly kill you. On the other side there will be two Electrode Ball enemies waiting and path through the ground further ahead.

You have to proceed carefully through the cave since there are cheap hits and deaths aplenty here. Walk left until you're standing just to the right of the grey rock. When the grey rock falls the piece that breaks off should miss you. Jump onto the platform over the spikes and jump up again to avoid the arrows that the Cannon fires from the left.

Jump up the slope to the curious looking item on the ground. That's a Mine. Don't step on it or you'll be sorry you did. Instead, jump over it and the explosion that will likely follow after you clear it. This next part can be tricky so listen up. You have to slide down the slope and jump when you reach the part where it's less steep, to the patch of ground ahead.

After that, you have to quickly jump again to avoid the grey rock overhead. On top of the slope is a tough enemy that throws little rocks at you. It will also block your shots with the leaf that it's holding. Stand midway on the small part of flat ground between the slope and the spikes and jump and shoot a star toward it. The star should bounce off the slope and hit the enemy on the head.

A couple more shots like that and it will be killed, leaving behind a Yellow potion. Drop into the hole ahead and continue forward until the first grey rock falls. The next group of grey rocks are harder to avoid since there are a whole bunch of slopes leading down toward them. The second one can be avoided by jumping onto the top of the slope there and then again when it falls.

In order to avoid the next two, you have to carefully jump over the slope, slide down a tiny bit and then jump back to the right to avoid getting hit. It requires some precision but it can be done. Once you make it through, jump into the hole to reach a whole new area of the stage - an underground lake. Stand on the edge and shoot some stars downward to kill the Worm moving around below.

The second Worm can be killed by jumping onto the tree below but on the left side so the worm doesn't jump toward you. Shoot a couple of stars at it and continue on to the right. There will be some more Worms ahead but you can just jump over them easily enough or kill them. Just to warn you though, a few of them might chase you if you don't do them in.

Soon after that, some mutated looking insects will start flying by. You can jump onto them if you need to, and you might, since they have a tendency to get in your way. Keep going until you reach the hole in the wall after a series of steps. The boss is right ahead. It's rather tough so I hope you have extra health, and if necessary, a potion to restore some health.

BOSS: Annoying Snail
The first thing you should do is to start jumping so that you stay near the top of the slope on the left. The boss will crawl out of the water and start firing a beam of energy at you continuously until you hit it. Stay at the top, charge a star until the boss starts firing at you. At this point you should jump over the beam until you're under the part of the ceiling that crumbling and fire the star. It should hit the boss directly and not bounce off the ground or it might miss. It takes three hits to finish off the boss and continue on.

Level 4
Walk to the right and shoot a star at Nessie, who's waiting for you in the water further ahead. It will start shooting fireballs out of its mouth but once you do some damage, it will become docile and take you across the ocean. Avoid the Pterodactyls on the way since you can't really kill them but you can jump on them if they get in your way. Jump off when you reach the opposite shore.

Further ahead there will be an ostrich with a Ball enemy on it. You can knock the guy off of the ostrich to avoid the other Ball enemies along the way. If you didn't hitch a ride, you should just avoid the other guys and make your way to the temple wall. Jump to the left when you're on the small ledge and fire a star ahead to clear out the first Ball enemy with the bow and arrow.

Take care of the other two Ball enemies on the ledges ahead and continue to the left. When you reach the top, shoot a star down the hall to knock the arrows of the Ball enemy ahead out of the way. Don't jump when you fire it or the star might disappear in a poof of smoke and you'll get hit in the lull. There will be some more Ball enemies ahead and then a hole in the ceiling.

Head through the hole and head right. Notice the white lines in the narrow passageway ahead? Those are spikes that will pop up or down as you get close to one. Jump over the low ones but don't take too long or you'll get the point from the spike wall moving from the left to the right. Keep going and then jump across the hole to nab the sought after Yellow Potion on the ledge.

Jump to the left, fall off the side and then jump over the two flames shooting out of the ground. Yet another Ball enemy, this one with a headdress, will come from the left at this point. Jump up and toss a star at it to knock it out and the two other Ball enemies that come after you ahead. When you see the second set of flames, stand next to the first one in the set and jump over it.

The third set of flames should be simple to avoid and another bunch of Ball enemies will accost you once you get past the flames. You can just avoid them if you want since there will be a reasonably high piece of ground ahead that they won't be able to reach. There will be a fourth set of flames ahead, this time they are somewhat high from your position so you'll have to star power.

Stand a little bit to the right of the pillar in the background and bank a star off of the lowest part here so that it shoots back up. Jump onto it and then jump again to clear the first flame and ultimately the second flame. Continue through the hole in the wall to reach a mini boss of sorts - a large Ball enemy with an axe. He's a tough customer. Be careful.

It will jump around and throw its axe at you, which will fly back to the Ball enemy when it stops momentarily in mid-air. You should jump around and toss stars at it when it's on the ground. Jump over it's axe and keep you're eyes peeled since the guy is rather quick and has no problem bouncing around while the axe is still flying.

It takes three hits to vanquish the punk and after that just continue on until you reach the screen with two different paths. The top path leads to the special item and all of the frustrating jumping puzzles therein. The bottom path continues on with the stage. In order to get into the top path, you have to face the wall on the left from the edge of the raised ground.

There will most likely be some trial and error before you find the exact position but once that's done, toss a star while you're in the air, jump onto it, and then jump into the hole where the top path leads. Head right and fall off the edge but don't go anywhere yet. Stand a little to the right of the opening you just fell through and toss a star at the wall on the left.

If you do it correctly, the star will bank off of the wall and bounce off of the edge further to the right. That's where you have to jump onto it when it starts sliding but jump to the small platform on the right when it falls down. After that is a series of platforms that fall not long after you jump onto them so you have to move quickly. On the far end is the special item.

Now, fall off the side and jump over the grey blocks since flames will shoot out after you walk over them. Continue up until you reach the opening you where you came in from. Face right in the opening, close to the lower wall, and jump and shoot a star against the wall on the right. That should make the star bounce around and hopefully with you on it to get to the top.

You can finally go down the lower path now. Continue on down and then left until you reach the small platforms leading up with a few Ball enemies. Ignore them and head upwards to the boss of the stage. A rather charming egg awaits you that soon hatchings into a pain in the ass bird that's fairly difficult to defeat.

BOSS: Little Bird
Stand on the side of the screen and wait for the egg to hatch. It reciprocates your movements almost exactly: you move left and it will move left; you move right and it will do the same; you jump and it won't do anything worthwhile... but tossing stars at it is another story. If you toss it low, the Bird will jump and upon landing will shoot a row of tiny birds at you.

If you toss it high, the Bird will just jump over it and shoot more tiny birds out at you. There's a fairly simple way to defeat this boss though. Walk toward the boss, jump and then shoot a star at it. With a little luck, the star will hit it and kill some of the tiny birds the boss will likely fire at you. Three hits will knock the boss down but it will get back up and attack more aggressively. Two more hits will do the boss in for good. Yay!

Level 5
Head right, jump onto the platform provided and let take you down. There will be a Fuzzy 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 and fall into the hole further on to clear a tricky spot below. You have to do this quickly or the Fuzzy will drop down and hit you.

You can also dodge the missile the Fuzzy 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 special item is here too, via the switch.

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 was standing. Notice I said was. The Fuzzy 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 Ball 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 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 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 Yellow Potion ahead and go down the tube, where you'll land on another tram cart. Let it take you for a ride. After travelling for awhile, another guy 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.

Kill the Ball enemy 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 Ball to knock it into the water.

Hit the Torch Ball off the higher conveyor and the other one on the lower conveyor into the water. Grab the Yellow Potion 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 is the path to the special item if you pulled the switch earlier. Jump into the hole.

There will be 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. 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 reach the previous area again.

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 crapload 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 Guy
The two bosses that you encounter here are 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 lets get this train wreck over with. The first boss appears in a box that moves along the top of the screen that fires 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 blow and move off the screen to make way for the second boss. The second boss is a large machine with quite an armament, but it's easier to defeat than the last guy. 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 favourite 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 the boss. The boss will also gradually move to the left so you have to be quick. After four additional hits, this boss will be wrecked and you'll finally be done with this level.

Level 6
You start out having to take a stroll across an icy surface and over (presumably) sub-zero temperature water. Oh, and of course, enemies that are scattered here and there. Start walking right and blast the Fox and the Fuzzy further ahead. Getting rid of the Fuzzy is simple enough but oddly, the Fox can be a pain in the ass. It will follow you around, even jumping over the water.

You can jump onto it though or just try to goad it into jumping into the water to be rid of it. Continue to the right, grab the Yellow Potion, and then enter the tower. Walk right a little bit and the statues in the middle of the room will come to life. You have to kill them to open the gate on the far right so there's a bit of a battle ahead.

They use their maces pretty well, which gives them a long reach and you can't really attack them from above because of it. Furthermore, they jump around a lot while swinging their maces around so you should be jumping around as well to avoid getting hit. Keep them on one side and wait for them to jump, and then toss a star so that it damages them when they land.

It takes three hits to do each of them in. After which, the gate will finally let you into the interior of the tower. Jump into the tube and then the group of blocks beside the Ball enemy with the bow and arrow. Face away from it and toss a star. It should bounce toward the Ball enemy and do it in so that you can continue on.

Jump up the wall to the left and take out the first Ball enemy on the gear. Get rid of the second one on the smaller gear by bouncing a star off of the big gear. If you get impatient, just jump onto the big gear and hit the other Ball enemy from there. Continue across the gear and enter the next tube on the right. You don't have to bother with the Bomb on the ledge though.

When you emerge again, toss a star to the left to get rid of the two Ball enemies on the gear ahead. This next part can be tough. It's a jumping marathon across a long field of spikes. Make your way across and enter the tube and then jump across the gears in the next room to the screen above. Stand on the edge and jump left slightly to get onto the small platform there.

It never hurts to get more health so it's a good idea to nab the Yellow Potion near the ceiling. Once you grab it, you can just jump down onto the small gear and continue on until you reach the springs ahead. Jump onto the first one and then the next, and then the small gear leading to the tube. You can also wait on each spring to get your bearings and then jump up again to continue on.

The tube will toss you out and if you don't press back when you first enter, you might fall onto the spikes below. Once you're safe, fall onto the big gear below and continue onto the tube on the right. Walk left and stand close to the left wall. Jump and toss a star against the wall and ride it to the tube sticking out of the ceiling. Jump into it when the star gets close to reach the area where the special item is found.

Er, not really, but you're really close now. If you have a Bomb on hand, push the spring toward the right side of the Cannon and use the Bomb on it. If you don't have a Bomb, you'll have to use the spring to reach the ledge where the cannonballs are falling and wait until the Cannon shoots out a Bomb. Grab it and do the part that I already mentioned.

Now, push the spring back to the left wall and jump onto the Cannon. I think you know what you have to do next and it's not pretty. Basically you have to do the same thing you did to get the special item on level 2, that is wait on top of the Cannon until a cannonball comes out and then walk onto it and ride it to the opening in the wall. If you can push the Cannon forward a little do so.

It will help. As you did before, you'll want to use a save state here if you're using an emulator. When you make it, cross the spikes via the spinning platforms and grab the special item. Head back across and enter the tube in the room below. Ignore the item on the other side of the spikes and head down and left into the next room. Jump onto the moving platform and then onto the big gear ahead.

Keep jumping onto the next moving platform and grab the Pink Potion when you see it further on. Jump back onto the moving platform and wait for the other moving platform to get close and then jump onto the reach the end of this room. You're near the end of the level and therefore it's necessary for a sub boss or two, or even three... just kidding. Or am I?

Anyway, the first sub boss appears in the next room. Heh. It's a cloaked enemy that floats around and shoots bubbles at you. The bubbles will trap you and not allow you to use your star power on it. Just jump around and avoid them if you can and throw stars at the guy when it's close to the ground. It takes three hits to finish it off and then some blocks will appear.

In the next room, another cloaked enemy will appear but it's tougher than the last one since it will drop icicles onto you as well as the bubbles. Do the same thing that you did with the last one and you'll be alright. After you kill it, a couple of blocks will appear again and you can continue on. The next couple of rooms are empty but the final boss appears in the room after that.

BOSS: Cloak
The boss of the level is really a large version of the last two sub bosses. And it attacks pretty much the same way as well, only it's much more aggressive. It will stay fairly high off of the ground and start shooting bubbles at you like crazy. If you get caught in one, it will start flying close to the ground to try and hit you but it will do that anyway if you manage to stay clear of them.

It's pretty simple to avoid getting hit but actually hitting Cloak because of the way it attacks is tough. The most effective way to damage it is to purposely get caught in a bubble after tossing a star out. That way you'll get Cloak to come near the ground and the star might run into it, causing damage. It takes five hits to finish it off.

Ending 1
If you didn't collect all of the special items in each of the stages, you'll get this ending. All of the dolls were defeated but you couldn't find the girl. The game starts over from the beginning at this point.

Level 7
If you DID collect all of the special items in each of the stages, you'll be able to play this level. It's a pretty simple level really. Walk to the right and avoid the large white enemies that resemble teeth and the Cat Ball enemies. You can't jump onto the Cat Ball enemies because they will damage you unfortunately. Continue on where you'll find a few more enemies and stuff, and a tube on the far right.

Continue up the steps and enter the conveyor tubes ahead. Walk right two screens until you reach a large open room with several potions sitting around. You should grab the Yellow Potions and just ignore the other potion. Jump up to the next room. Ignore the Cat Ball enemies inhabiting this area and just head left. Toss a star at the ones in your way to make them run away.

At the far left, a Cat Ball will be waiting on small platform ahead. Get close and it will jump off and chase you. Just jump over it and continue upwards. Jump over the Cat Ball on the white enemy ahead and continue on. Further ahead there will be a few more Cat Ball enemies and another white enemy, and you'll be at the final boss of the game.

BOSS: Shadow
The final boss is a tall lanky fellow who's dressed in a black cloak which obscures most of his body. He only has one attack at this point, a wall of wind that moves away from him, but you can jump over it at the right distance. After he attacks, he will teleport to a different spot. The easiest to damage him is to wait until he teleports and does his wind attack.

Stand fairly close to him when he reappears and jump over the wind attack as he uses it. And finally toss a star at him to do some damage. After you hit him three times, he'll lose the cloak and start doing some crazy ninja moves as well as a new attack. The new attack is just a volley of small white balls that home in on you but they are easy to dodge.

He will start jumping around as well which makes it more difficult to damage him. The best way to damage him now is to wait until he jumps and toss a star at him when he lands. You likely won't be able to damage him any other way. Keep away from him when possible and just toss stars when he lands. It takes five more hits to defeat him where he'll explode into what looks like confetti.

Congrats. That's the end of the game, enjoy the real ending.

Ending 2
Gimmick will start walking through the palace until he comes to a door. He finds the girl inside and she hugs him after he walks inside. The palace starts falling apart as they both start walking outside and escape into their own world as the palace disappears. They end up back in the girl's bedroom and they look out the window. After that the credits will roll.