Commander keen instruction manual pdf

A nice little Martian robot that has trouble keeping his hat on. He is nice except for the fact that he usually pushes you off a platform to your death.

These wild-eyed, teeth-gritting Martian monsters are angry at you, angry at themselves, angry at dirt, angry at clouds, just plain angry. If Freud were to see them, he would call them the "Id".

The Vorticons on Mars are members of a Mars outpost and are really on the bottom rung of the Vorticon social ladder. Being on an outpost has made them kind of tough. In the second two episodes, they are known as "Grunts".

These little red robots perform various menial duties around the ship and can walk on almost any surface.

Wise Elders are kept in stasis in the living quarters of the ship. They are from what is known as the Before Time, before the Grand Intellect.

These young Vorticons were sent into space by the Grand Intellect to grow into fierce warriors. They like to tear around and don't much care what gets in their way. These youngsters will most likely grow up to be Vorticon Elite.

These are the Vorticons from Episode One, but they have led a more posh lifestyle, so they are weaker.

These are Elite warriors. To show their loyalty to the Grand Intellect, they had their ears clipped. They are mean and like to shoot a lot. They wear blue and purple suits.

These little yellow creatures like to go out for strolls, whistling, and enjoy the day. Unfortunately, they are completely afraid of almost everything. If you touch them, they will grow so tense that they will pop.

The same spoiled brats that knocked you out in the second episode. Now they play a deadly game of jacks.

A race of green, egg-shaped, horrendously bad singers with sorely misplaced operatic intentions. They think they are the greatest singers in the world. They are wrong.

These are the most deadly enemy in this episode. Not only do they move and jump around very fast, they can also kick you! And to top it all off, they take 4 shots to kill.

His scary picture is framed on the wall of various Vorticon homes and schools. Who is he? Finish the game and find out!

These are the Gnosticenes you are trying to rescue. There are eight of them hidden in the depths of the Shadowlands.

The Princess is here to help you out. If you can find her, she will give you valuable information that will help you complete your quest.

These invulnerable birds are only temporarily stunned by Commander Keen's Neural Stunner, not completely knocked out. In a few seconds they will get up and chase after Commander Keen. Don't break their eggs! A new Blue Bird will be born!

The second-dumbest creature in the universe, this creatures thought patterns go "swim swim hungry, swim swim hungry." They'll eat anything alive and moving near them, though they prefer heroes.

The most common inhabitants of the Shadowlands, poison slugs mean trouble twice - once if you touch them, twice if you should land in the puddles of poison they leave behind.

Virtually immune to your shots, these guys really are pests. There must be some way to get them, though.

These guys look just like regular clouds unless you pass too close; these guys don't take too kindly to disruptive heroes!

The denizens of the planet below the Omegamatic, these guys are just trying to go on with their day. Unfortunately, the Shikadi are making it very difficult.

This purple fellow slides up and down poles and works on his computer terminals. Don't be on the pole he's on, 'cause he slides up and down quickly!

Robo Red is a nasty guard. If he hears a sound, he shoots first and asks questions later. Avoid, avoid, avoid!

These energy beings built the Omegamatic and plan to destroy the galaxy. Watch out for them near poles.

The most frightful foe aboard the Omegamatic, they cast Electrospheres at you and teleport around. Very dangerous.

Woe be the hero that wanders near one of these. They will follow you until you are close enough, then they explode!

This gray guy has a magnetic personality. His presence is electrifying. You'll be shocked when you see him! Watch out when he "charges!"

The Standard Galactic Alphabet (SGA) is a simple substitution cypher that is fairly easy to master. There is no upper and lower case, and the sign ·-· is used to signify a full stop (like a period). The complete SGA can be found hidden in Commander Keen 3 and appears as follows:

Some places are only reachable by the pogo stick. It is wise to practice your pogo skills. The Impossible Pogo Trick is a trick that makes the game easier. How it works: walk or run in a direction, then press the pogo key, release it QUICKLY and press jump. You will pogo up and over at an angle that's not possible using any other method. In Episodes Two and Three, this technique is very valuable.

All good Commanders know when to save their progress. On the World Map, press F5, and select a save position from 1-9. You can continue your game from the title screen, just select Continue Game, and press the number of your previously saved game.

Conserve your ammo! If you can get past an enemy without firing, do it! You'll find this technique especially helpful in Episode Three, where you'll more than likely run out of weapon power if shoot everything that moves. Another useful technique is getting your enemies in between you and either a Tank Robot, a Guard Robot, or a Vorticon Woman. More often than not, they'll get fried in the crossfire.

You can use your pogo stick to avoid going into the Exit door. Before you start leaving, activate your pogo, and you won't get sucked in. Use this to get goodies behind the exit.

You gain an extra life for every 20000 points that you collect.

Read the Signs, they give you invaluable hints (and a whole bunch of information you don't need).

Use your common sense! If it looks sharp, pokey, or otherwise harmful to you, it probably is!

Look for little white dots, these are the upper-left corners of hidden bricks, look out for, and use them! They lead to many secrets.

After completing the first city, you should go to the Pogo Shrine (it's the little grey shrine). There you'll find, surprise, surprise, 'The Holy Pogo Stick'! Also look for hidden bricks above the Exit Door.

The Secret City is accessible through the Red Maze City (the easternmost city, on the dark side of mars). At the bottom of this maze city (near the yellow key card) is a dark area. Fall past two fire pits, and hold down right. Next, hop from the hidden brick to the ice cannon area. Then get into the ice cannon's line of fire, and finally get launched over and go into the teleporter (it'll probably take a few tries).

If there's a sign that says DIE, something nearby will try to kill you (no kidding).

You can get past all of the Vorticons without firing a shot, all it takes is a little practice:

Joystick Guard: Go to the farthest right edge of the ledge below the exit (the one with a Raygun on it). The Vorticon will go off the right edge, and plummet to his death.

Car Battery Guard: Get him to follow you, and make him jump off the platform. Getting the Car Battery should now be easy as pie.

Vacuum Cleaner Guard: Get the Vorticon to jump on the blue cylinders, and run underneath him, through the door.

The Vorticon Commander (Guarding the Everclear): This is VERY HARD to do without cheating, but possible. When he's over on the left side of the platform, climb up, and PRAY that he jumps high. If so, run quickly under him and over to the Teddy Bear. You may also have success trying jumping over him. Make sure you activate your pogo after getting out of his pit to avoid the exit before getting the Everclear! I only recommend you to do this if you feel the need to boost your ego.

If you can somehow get past the Vorticon Commander using the above-stated method and run into the exit without getting the Everclear you'll truly be Marooned on Mars (you can't re-enter levels you have beaten)!

It's undocumented, but important: To pull switches or push buttons, press the pogo button when you are near.

Tantalus Rays are destroyed by using the pogo to hop up, and shooting the purple sparking cell in the glass bubble. WARNING: Don't stand too close to the switch when activating your pogo, you could pull it, and that ends the game (in a bad way)!

The little red robots, Scrubs, can be jumped on for a ride up the wall. You'll find this technique VERY useful.

You can stand on top of Vorta-Cola cans to get to higher places, and taking them may change the way the Scrubs walk.

The wise Vorticon will not jump in the dark. In fact, even unwise Vorticons will not jump in darkness.

Keen can leave Rome's Tantalus Ray still active if he goes as far right as possible at the beginning, and hopping up the little hole. If he does that, though, the game will be left in an unwinnable position!

On the world map, the SGA labels Rome and Moscow are in the wrong places!

On the far right side of the Paris Tantalus level, ♥♥♥♥ is spelled with the small colored platforms.

You need only to complete three levels to finish the game, but what's the fun in that?

At the Caves of Oblivion, follow the directions on the entrance sign.

You can stand on the exit doors!

When Meeps sing, the sound kills, and can travel through anything. Even solid walls!

You can usually run under the VortiNinjas when they jump high into the air.

Line up a foe with a Sentry Gun, or a Vorticon Woman. They'll die in a jiffy.

Remember, some falls are necessary, and some things are hidden in the heavens (think big clouds).

Jacks are almost always deadly, don't enter an area with them unless you have an Ankh, speaking of which.

All Ankhs can be obtained.

If you look at the Blue Key in the Status Screen, it has a sky blue aura around it. Weird!

It's possible to fly in the air without using a cheat. Just press jump and then fire at almost the same time. You'll waste a few bullets, but it's good for getting to tough places when you don't want to cheat.

On the final level, you can stand on the shoulders. (I don't want to give away too much, now do I?)

Don't use two button firing, it makes it even more impossible to do the Impossible Pogo Trick (which is done by running, and hitting the pogo and jump keys in rapid succession).

Sometimes you'll see big arcs of candy. These are usually set up so that you can grab them in one Cool Jump.

You get your first extra life at 20000 points, the next at 40000 points, the third at 80000, and so on, the points needed doubling with each life.

To jump through a hole in the ground, look down and hit the jump key (this is known as the Down Jump).

If you just don't make a jump, you can usually grab the edge and hang on (as long as it's not on a diagonal slope downward).

You don't have to pull up right away if you grab an edge, take a long breather if you want.

Save the game often, you'll be glad you did.

There are many hidden platforms in Commander Keen 4. You can see them flash in the sunlight every few seconds (NOTE: These are usually VERY hard to see, but if a flash catches your eye, be sure to look).

There are seven free keens available on the first level.

You can get to the top of the Pyramid of the Moons. I'm talking the outside! And on the subject of Moons.

If you stand on a shaded moon in the Pyramid of the Moons for a few seconds, Commander Keen will moon you!

Princess Lindsey appears twice.

There's stuff hidden very well in Hillville, all you need is a flash of insight.

The way to the Pyramid of the Forbidden is at the bottom of the Pyramid of the Moons. (Remember, Inchworms will be afoot, but how many of them?)

The Dopefish likes to eat the small Schoolfish that follow you.

The jump button makes you swim faster underwater.

The Skypests can be squashed by jumping on them with your pogo stick.

You can only shoot Mimrocks when they are moving.

If you're running really low on ammo, a trip to The Bean-with-Bacon Megarocket may be beneficial.

Mad Mushrooms leap higher on the third bounce.

If you look up while standing on one of the disappearing ice blocks in Miragia, you won't fall down. even if it disappears!

There are TEN lives available in the first level (but don't expect them to be easy to find).

The names of the two level designers, John Romero the Software Engineer, and Creative Director Tom Hall, are hidden in two of the levels.

The enemy name Little Ampton is actually far dirtier than it would first seem. Tom Hall says this:

'Some British TV show referred to a guy with a. um, small. you know. as having a "Little Hampton". That stuck in my head when I was naming stuff, I guess.'

In Version 1.0 of The Armageddon Machine, in the Energy Flow Systems, there is a Swastika above John Romero's name. However, it was removed in subsequent versions (including the version on Steam). Here's what Romero himself had to say about the incident:

'Obviously, it was a reference to Wolfenstein. ? Sure, Keen 5 was created before Wolfy, but we knew that was our next project.'

Tom Hall, creator of Commander Keen, further expanded on that point:

'I think John put that in as a reference to Wolfenstein, not to imply anything about any character's ideology. Same as when he originally had the swastika shape in DOOM, that folks go so upset about that took it out. As if that meant anything remotely like condoning the atrocities of Hitler. (Remember kids, Hitler bad. Hating groups of people for no reason, very bad. Killing people for the same no reason, very very very insanely bad.)

'If Wolfenstein had had a logo, like a big "W" or something, then John would've made that shape, I'm sure.'

There are 30 000 hidden points near the start of Defense Tunnel Sorra.

You can't destroy the Quantum Explosion Dynamo directly, you'll have to find something (or someone) to destroy it for you.

If you look up while standing on the red spinning platforms, you won't be spun off!

It's possible to make Robo Red hover off the end of a platform. The trick is his attention while he's at the very edge.

Shelley can be destroy by the sentry guns' shots!

The way to the secret level is through the Gravitational Damping Hub, look down and translate.

To see the real ending of Commander Keen 5, you have to do something special in the Korath III Base (but it won't work if you're playing in the Easy difficulty level)!

You probably figured this out, but you break the fuses by using your pogo stick.

The Slicestars can be destroyed! The ones moving on a set path take 20 shots to be destroyed, but the Slicestars that just bounce around take 45 shots to destroy, and are hardly worth the time, energy, and ammo since they're easier to avoid then their slow moving counterparts.

You can duck the nearly invincible Slicestars and the rather vincible Volte-faces, but not Robo Red. He's too big and evil.

You can stand next to Robo Red and not get shot (you can sometimes duck them too), but then you're next to him and that can't be good.

Robo Red's hearing is very good, and if he hears a noise, he'll shoot first, and ask questions later.

Some levels have areas that are preceded by a NO HUMANS sign, these
are places that are especially dangerous, but also have valuable rewards.

You can stand on the horizontal Sentry Guns to get to higher places.

You can stand on top of the strange pillar at the beginning of the
Brownian Motion Inducer.

Activates God Mode (Invulnerability), unlimited jumping height with the Pogo Stick, and turns off clipping on the World Map

Warp to specified level (check list below):

Secret of the Oracle:

Number Level 1 Border Village 2 Slug Village 3 The Perilous Pit 4 Cave of the Descendents 5 Chasm of Chills 6 Crystalus 7 Hillville 8 Sand Yego 9 Miragia 10 Lifewater Oasis 11 Pyramid of the Moons 12 Pyramid of the Shadows 13 Pyramid of the Gnosticene Ancients 14 Pyramid of the Forbidden 15 Isle of Tar 16 Isle of Fire 17 Well of Wishes 18 Bean-with-Bacon Megarocket

Number Level 1 Ion Ventilation System 2 Security Center 3 Defense Tunnel Vlook 4 Energy Flow Systems 5 Defense Tunnel Furrh 6 Regulation Control Center 7 Defense Tunnel Sorra 8 Neutrino Burst Injector 9 Defense Tunnel Teln 10 Brownian Motion Inducer 11 Gravitational Damping Hub 12 Quantum Explosion Dynamo 13 Korath III Base 14 N/A (Causes game crash) 15 High Scores 16 N/A (Causes game crash) 17 N/A (Causes game crash) 18 N/A (Causes game crash)

Billy Blaze, eight year-old genius, working diligently in his backyard clubhouse has created an interstellar starship from old soup cans, rubber cement and plastic tubing. While his folks are out on the town and the babysitter has fallen asleep, Billy travels into his backyard workshop, dons his brother's football helmet, and transforms into.

COMMANDER KEEN--defender of Earth!

In his ship, the Bean-with-Bacon Megarocket, Keen dispenses galactic justice with an iron hand!

Episode One: Marooned on Mars

In this episode, aliens from the planet Vorticon VI find out about the eight year-old genius and plan his destruction. While Keen is out exploring the mountains of Mars, the Vorticons steal vital parts of his ship and take them to distant Martian cities! Can Keen recover all the pieces of his ship and repel the Vorticon invasion? Will he make it back before his parents get home? Stay tuned!

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ + TP1 TP2----Ice City First Ice + + ! ! Shrine + + Emerald City ! ! + + ! !--------------- + + Second Red ! Third Red ! + + Rock Shrine-----! Rock Shrine-! + + ! ! + + Pogo Shrine-- ! !---Fourth Red + + !---- ! Rock Shrine + + ! ! + + Treasury !-Capital City Fifth Red ! + + ! ! Rock Shrine-! + + !-------- ! Secret + + ! ! City + + ! First Red !-Red Maze ! + + ! Rock Shrine ! City ! + + ! ! ! TP3 + + -------------! ! + + ! ! + + START--------Border Town ! + + ! + + ---------------------! + + ! ! + + Vorticon Commander's Second Ice + + Castle Shrine + +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Teleporter Loops: TP1 -> TP2 -> TP1 -> . TP3 -> TP2

Your ship is missing these parts:

Alright, it's time to begin our Marooned on Mars walkthrough so without any further ado, let's head over to Border Town and begin!

So here we are, the first level of the first game. Border Town is fairly safe so it's a great place to get acquainted with how Keen controls. Practice jumping (and stomping on Yorps) until you've got it down, you'll need the skills for later! If you feel adventurous, you can use the blue platform to head up and to the left to grab the Book, worth a whopping 1000 points! Once you're ready, grab some Lollipops and head over to the right. What's this? A strange sign and a Raygun! Grab the gun (THIS IS NEAT) and continue right. Now there's a sign (DIE) next to some scary looking shell hazards called Pat-Pats. Don't touch them! Continue onward, avoiding the spikey pit that invokes memories of Super Mario. You've made it to the exit! Now you have a couple of choices, you can grab the book underneath, and/or head up and to the left to grab some more points. If neither of these ideas appeal to you, or you've already done them, grab your Soda and leave the level.

That wasn't so bad, was it? Our next stop will be straight up to the grey Pogo Shrine to get a wonderful tool for our adventure.

I'm liking the ambiance. BEHOLD THE HOLY "POGO" STICK! Grab the stick, but don't exit yet. You see that grey dot above the exit? It's a hidden brick! You can only see a hidden brick's upper-left corner, and it usually leads to a wonderful secret! Use your new-found pogo skills to get on top of it and you'll find yourself next to a fire pit. If you're feeling confident leap across the fire and up to get a Teddy Bear (5000 Points!) that's guarded by a Garg. If not, or if you've already grabbed it, head down to the exit.

Alright! Now we're motoring along, let's go back down and take a quick trip to the First Red Rock Shrine.

Hmm, this is a small dark place. Head straight up and you'll find a glowing Yorp statue!

Heh, guess this guy didn't realize that you'd have this FAQ to help you out with that little problem. Well, let's get out of here!

Now you find yourself faced with a choice, you can go left to the Treasury, or right to Capital City. Both are required, but I'll be going left first.

Alright, it's a good thing that we got the pogo stick, it'll make going in this level much easier! So pogo up to the red cylinders above the green spikes. and keep on leaping up the other stack of cylinders. If you want to go for the Teddy Bear on the left, it's reachable by doing the Impossible Pogo Trick (hitting pogo and jump in quick succession) from the third pair of left-side cylinders (two tiles above the red platform). Now pogo up to the purple platform on the right, jump up until you get to the solid roof of purple tiles, and then get on top of it through the little Lollipop chamber. Wait for the Yorps above you to fall off the platform and then go up and up again, avoiding the Butler Robot, and jump to the platform on the left (perhaps using the purple cylinders if you so desire). What's that there? A Yellow Keycard! Grab it and head up and to the right.

Heading right, you'll get to some Soda in an arrow pattern. Drop down and then head left. If you feel like getting a Teddy Bear, you can jump into the small opening made of solid purple blocks. With that out of the way, head straight down, on the right side of the yellow cylinders. Heading right past the Yorp we find the Yellow Door! Go through and jump over the Garg to get the
Red Keycard.

Now it's time to head up the little staircase of red cylinders and to the right past the DIE sign and the Pat-Pats. Grab the Book and head right down the little gap, there's a Raygun down there and ammo is precious at this point in the game! After getting that gun, head back up as high as you can, grabbing as many points as desired. You'll see the blue feet of a Vorticon above you! Head left, back to the green cylinders, and have your first Vorticon encounter! You can either lure him to the left, off of his platform, or take him out with the Raygun! He's a strong one, so it'll take four shots to finish him off. Watch out for his jump! After dealing with him, head for the exit (grabbing the Book if you want) and claim your well-earned prize: the Car Battery for the Bean-with-Bacon Megarocket! One down, three to go!

Ok, well now that that's finished it's time to head right on over to Capital City, we've got another ship part to claim!

After the Treasury, this one will be a breeze. Start off admiring the flag go and grab some Lollipops! The one in the top-left corner can't be collected, so don't waste too much time trying. After that, head into the gap and down one level. See that Yellow Door above you? We're heading for its Keycard. Just a little to the right and. there it is! It's almost too easy!

If you feel like getting some more points, head down below, otherwise just go back and up to the Yellow Door. Going through we find a small section with yellow bricks and SWEET! a Raygun! Grab it and head down. Watch out for the Garg's pit! Heading right, into the red brick area, jump up to the DIE sign next to the Pat-Pat. Him and his friend are guarding your next goal: the Red Keycard!

After grabbing it head back and down toward the final part of the level. It's Pizza time! Grab the two slices and the Raygun. Look up! It's another Vorticon. This guy, though, isn't too smart; if you stand on the right of the Raygun platform he'll probably very quickly head right off the edge of the map. Problem solved! Now just head over and up to get to the Red Door. There are a couple of Books for the adventurous who'll cross through fire, but more importantly there's the second ship part: The Joystick! Grab it and get out of there!

Time to head up and take a pitstop in the Second Red Rock Shrine.

Another nice and easy little level. Just head up the staircase, and use your pogo stick to jump up to the blocks above the fire pit, avoiding the hazard altogether. Head into the light and say hi to another glowing Yorp statue.

Cool beans, I guess we should get there as fast as possible!

So the goal is the teleporter and Emerald City stands in the way. Only one thing to do: Go through it!

So here we are in the beautiful greenhouse that is Emerald City. This level is large and open, and there are many ways to go about it so feel free to explore on your own! As you start out you'll find a nice line of delicious Lollipops heading down. As Admiral Ackbar might say, "It's a trap!" A pit of spikes wait directly below you so make sure if you fall down, you do so to the right. An easier thing to do is jump up to the blue bridge above you. After collecting the Lollipops that spell HI in the Standard Galactic Alphabet, head up and to the left. Once you see the Raygun, collect it and head right. Watch out for the green Strangling Vines! They'll make quick work of you (as the DIE sign may have implied)! Once the purple platforms fork, head on the upper path toward the red platform. Watch out for the Garg that guards the platform and. wow! You're already at the exit. Head up and to the left for an easy Teddy Bear guarded by just one Garg. If you feel like exploring and grabbing more goodies be my guest, I'll be here when you get back. Just watch out for both the Garg that hides in the yellow tunnel and the Tank Robot that patrol the lower path!

Alright! We've made it to the teleporter! It's time to head to the dark side of Mars, a place where the levels are bigger, more complicated, and more deadly! First of all, we still need to collect ship parts so put on your winter jacket and head right into Ice City.

Brr. it's freezing in here, why is Commander Keen still just wearing a t-shirt?! No matter, he's a trooper and he has a mission to complete. Patrolled mostly by robots (and a couple of Book-guarding Gargs), this place may be the first true test of your platforming skills. There are two distinct paths you can take in this city, and we're going to hit both of them. First of all head left, mind the slippery bridge! Grab the slice of Pizza if you're so inclined. Oh look! A Snow Yorp! Walk past it and jump up on the snowy platform. Head straight and up and you'll soon find yourself in a small tower with Soda on alternating sides (beginning with the right side). Once you've had all the Soda that you can handle you'll find two Tank Robots guarding a Red Keycard. Now if you're feeling brave you can rush the robots and grab the Keycard, if not, don't worry, there's an easier way.

Assuming you've grabbed the Keycard, you can now go left and fall through the gap, collecting a bevy of Lollipops, or you can go right to finish the level. I'm going to assume the former. If you decided to not yet go for the Keycard, go back to the Snow Yorp, we'll be there soon! After falling down the gap, pogo up to the snow-covered platform and over to the left side of the Ice Cannon (grab the Pizza if you'd like, but mind the crack in the bridge). Getting past the Cannon isn't too tricky, you just need to time it so that you don't accidentally run into one of its shots. Getting frozen in this case will mean sure death. Alright! We're back at the Snow Yorp! Go back to the bridge but this time pogo upwards. Work your way up (grabbing the Books and Sodas if you so desire) until you get to the column of blue cylinders and a Lollipop covered stairway. If you go down the stairs you can reach a Raygun and Teddy Bear, but it's a dangerous path guarded by two Ice Cannons and a Tank Robot that I can't recommend. Whichever path you choose, work your way up the cylinders until you reach the top. If you haven't got the Red Keycard yet, head left and pick it up (I told you it'd be easier this way!), whilst all Keycard holders should go right, taking a slippery ice-type conveyer belt down to the Vorticon. Roast him and get your prize: the Vacuum Cleaner! After that, it's straight to the exit.

So, we've now got three out of four Ship Parts. If you're a party-pooper you can now head all the way down and to the left to finish the game at the Vorticon Commander's Castle, however if you want to savour the game, head with me now to the First Ice Shrine.

Hey a shrine that starts outside! Looks like we need to first head up to get a Yellow Keycard to get inside. Once you've gotten to the ice structure, the safest way to go is on the left side (avoiding getting pushed off by the Butler Robot), staying above the Tank Robot and grabbing the Yellow Keycard in the upper-right corner of the structure.

Go back the way you came and get down to the bottom and make your way to the Yellow Door on the right. You're now in the shrine proper. Grab the Book and work your way up (grabbing another book) until you find yourself at another glowing Yorp statue.

Hmm, that's slightly cryptic. Oh well, we still have a ways to go until the end so hit the exit and we'll power on through!

Next on the docket we've got three shrines to hit, so let's get going!

Once again a shrine level that starts outside of the shrine itself. Head right and then up the blue blocks, grabbing Lollipops as you head up. Once you finally make it to the top it's time to jump left. Hug the grey block wall as you fall and you'll grab the Yellow Keycard.

Head through the Yellow Door and work your way through the shrine, past the tricky fire jump (it'd also be a good idea to take out that Garg to grab the books that he's guarding), and up to the glowing Yorp statue.

Worried about finding it? Don't be, I'll lead you right there! Ok, time to get going.

Ok, now that we've finished that shrine, it's time to head right to the next one!

The only thing to worry about here is a few tricky jumps. From the beginning head right, over the Garg's head, into the structure. Get past the fire pit and climb up, grabbing first the Book and then the Teddy Bear. Work your way to the left, over the fire and up to. what's this? A glowing GARG statue.

Well, that was weird, let's get out of here!

After escaping that nut house, head to the left again and enter the final Red Rock Shrine. The end is near!

Alright! Goodies! If you feel like boosting your score, head straight up at the beginning and grab some Soda and Lollipops! Don't worry, nothing up there can hurt you. Once you've had your fill, head to the right and into the shrine. Avoid the Garg and work your way up. Hey, what do you know? It's another glowing Yorp statue!

A Yorpish whisper says: Look for dark, hidden bricks. You can see naught but their upper left corner.

Sweet! But we already discussed those hidden bricks. Well, time to take the exit on out.

Well, it's time to take on the craziness of Red Maze City. We'll actually be tackling it twice as through here is the entrance to Secret City! Right and down and hold on tight!

Now this is what I'm talking about! Head up and grab the three (!) Rayguns that'll arm you for this adventure. There are two things to worry about in this level. First, as the name implies, it's a maze, second, there are yellow tunnels that Gargs like to hide in. If you ever come upon a yellow tunnel, shoot first and ask questions later! After grabbing those Rayguns head right and down the second hole (the one with two cylinders stacked on top of each other). Kill the Garg and head up. Ah. A yellow tunnel! (Actually, this one is safe to travel through). Continue upward and go through the next yellow tunnel as well (also safe). Head to the right and then go up as far as you can. Head right and drop down two levels, until you are presented with the choice of dropping left or dropping right. Go right and fall down as far as you can, working your way left and right until you hit the bottom. You should now be able to see darkness below a layer of red bricks. Head right. You see that gap full of fire? You're going to be dropping in there. You'll probably be able to see two levels of fire (though you can probably only glimpse the tips of the second level of fire). Jump down, pass the two levels of fire, then take a hard right while falling to avoid a flame that awaits straight below. What the heck? An Ice Cannon?! That machine is the goal. If you look carefully, there is a hidden brick against the red brick wall. Pogo onto it and jump over to the top of the blue brick wall. Now here's the hard part, you need to get over to the right side of the Ice Cannon, and then pogo into its shots at an angle in order to be vaulted over the other blue brick wall. Easier said than done, and even if you make it over, there's still a Tank Robot you need to worry about (though if a robot's shot hits you while frozen, you'll just be melted out). If all goes according to plan, get out of the Tank Robot's little room and head right, grab the Teddy Bear and enter the mysterious teleporter!

Whoa, what the? We're back out on Mars, and there's the Secret City right in front of us!

Points galore! It's time to grab some stuff! This place is heavy on point items and light on enemies, so it's a good place to stock up on extra lives! I'll give a simplified route that skips some of the point items, so if you feel like exploring on your own just know that you need to get to the upper-left corner of the map to exit. Ok, here we go! First of all, head over to the right, avoiding the spikey pit and getting past the Yorps. Jump over the small wall made of red bricks and jump over that fire pit. Now you need to head up through that gap and go up the stairway-like set of red bricks. Grab the two Soda cans (and go up for some Pizza if you'd like) and jump up and to the left into the gap. Follow the path, grabbing some Lollipops, and once you've made it to the top of the bridge-like structure jump up and out. Once out of there, head up one level. You now see that there are three paths. The right path leads to a Book guarded by a Garg. Straight up, next to the path with Lollipops, is a path that is difficult to navigate, but rewards you with six Teddy Bears (that's one-and-a-half lives)! The left path leads to the exit, so that's where we're headed now (but feel free to grab some points before heading that way). Work your way up, grabbing the Lollipops (and a Book in the upper-right). Once you make it to the top, jump down on top of the Strangling Vines, avoid the Yorps, and zap that Garg who is guarding two Teddy Bears. Now head left, collecting the two other Teddy Bears above that big fire pit if you wish (though it can be a little difficult to get out) and stop. You see three columns heading down. The first two lead down back near the beginning so you probably don't want to fall there. The third one (with a constant column of Lollipops) does, but you need to hold LEFT while falling to avoid being killed by a Garg at the bottom. If that's too scary for you, you can go as far left as possible and jump into larger space. Whichever way you take, as you fall down toward the exit keep left. There's a large pile of Teddy Bears to reward your actions! Well that was great. Head into the exit and get out of here!

Time to head into that teleporter and take our second visit to the Red Maze City, this time to finish it!

Ok, head up and grab those Rayguns again. We're going to start off much in the same way we did last time, but we have a few more pitstops on the way. So head right and drop down the second hole. Get past that Garg and head up and through the two yellow tunnels, then make your way up and to the right until you can't go any higher up. Drop two levels and you'll find yourself once again at the place where you went right and down to go to Secret City. This time, you need to first head left and down. Make sure, though, that you hug the wall on the right! You are now in a small, circular room with the Blue Keycard. Grab that Keycard, head back up, and now go to the right and down, heading back toward the secret teleporter.

You will soon find yourself back at the fiery hole that leads to both darkness and the teleporter. This time jump over the gap and head right. Watch out! There are two Gargs waiting to make a quick meal of you. After dealing with them head as far right as you can and snag that Yellow Keycard.

Now we're rolling along! Work your way back up to the fork in the road between the two Keycards. Instead up heading up and to the left, where you originally came from, go up and to the right. Go up as high as you can, and then head right skipping the first small pit (the one that the Garg probably just walked into) and heading down the second. Passing the three red cylinders, keep left and go back down as far as you can. Head right and you'll find another two Gargs guarding a Keycard, this time the Red one! Grab it and head back the way you came.

Going back up, keep right as much as possible. You should soon run into two yellow tunnels. Watch out! These ones are infested by a Garg! Take a shot and then from the tunnels head up and to the right. The Green Keycard!

Finally, head down from the Keycard, keeping right. You'll soon find yourself at one more yellow tunnel and from there the Doors and exit. You've made it through the maze in one piece!

Alright, from here the only way we can go is down. Next stop: the Second Ice Shrine.

Well this is an easy level, you just have to walk. Oh wait, it was definitely a trick. Looks like there's more to do in this one! Well, the first order of the day would be to grab the Blue Keycard on the left, it'll be important! Now head right, past the Green Door. Oh look, a Book! Be warned that below that book is a fall-through brick. Hold RIGHT after grabbing it or you'll probably be making a one-way trip into a Garg's mouth! Continue right and when presented with the three paths of purple bricks, choose the upper one (though you might want to wait for the Garg to fall down first). Walk along it and right into the Blue Door. It seems like a simple task grabbing that Red Keycard but another one of those annoying fall-through bricks sits in front of it. Grab the Keycard and fall through to the level below.

Now, that Teddy Bear there may be tempting but (not surprisingly) there are fall-through bricks below it as well. Head up, grabbing the Soda on your way, and go right. Snag as many goodies as your heart desires and head up and right to the Red Door. Another fall-through brick awaits you next to the Green Keycard so be careful! Grab the Keycard and jump up to the blue brick path, heading left.

Avoid the Butler Robots and (more importantly) the Tank Robot until you've gone as far left as possible. Right now you may be saying, "Hey wait! What about the Green Door and the Yellow Keycard?" As with many things in this level, it's a trick, there is no Yellow Door! Jump up and head back to the right, eventually falling down a gap. Hey! We've finally made it to the entrance of the shrine proper! Make your way up past the fire and touch the last glowing Yorp statue that we'll see.

A bit of an exaggeration (he will die after being shot 105 times), but close enough to the truth. Time to get out of here and head to the Vorticon Commander's Castle!

So here we are, only one level left. Let's not delay, get in there!

Alright, time to get moving! Head right past the drawbridge and into the Castle. As you walk by the grey columns, stop and take a look at the third one. Hidden bricks! If you feel so inclined, head up and to the left, weaving back and forth, and you will soon come to an excellent stash of goodies, include ID written in Soda! After you're done stocking up, head back down to the bottom and go right. Head up the icy stair and keep on going up until you reach the Tank Robot guarding the Blue Keycard. Grab the Keycard and head back down to the stairs.

Walk a bit to the right (climb the dark tower for some more Soda) and the pogo up through the small gap located just before the dark fall (if you miss it, don't worry, just head right, avoiding the Butler Robots who want to push you into fire, and up). Head right and work your way up, through the Blue Door. Keep moving up, past the little robot and face your adversary: The Vorticon Commander. Go up near him, but don't enter that cage (unless you're feeling incredibly brave)! Look carefully, you should be able to see a hidden brick in the column right before the Commander's cage. Pogo up to it and to the right. You should now find yourself in the small gap between the roof and a huge slab that's held up by a weak-looking chain. Shoot the chain! SQUISH! Well, that takes care of that. Grab the Everclear (and the Teddy Bear if you want) and head to the exit to watch the final cutscene.

You've completed Marooned on Mars! Congratulations.

Commander Keen returns to the Bean-with-Bacon Megarocket and quickly replaces the missing parts. He must get home before his parents do!

Keen makes it home and rushes to beat his parents upstairs.

Shhh, honey. let's see if little Billy is asleep.

Billy. Are you a--WHAT IS THIS ONE-EYED GREEN THING IN YOUR ROOM.

Aw, Mom, can't I keep him?

Well, we'll talk about it in the morning, son. you get some rest.

OK, Mom. Goodnight.

But there is no sleep for Commander Keen! The Vorticon Mothership looms above, ready to destroy Earth!

TO BE CONTINUED.

You must find your way onto the Vorticon Mothership and destroy all the horrible Tantalus Rays! If you don't--THE EARTH EXPLODES! Don't miss Episode Two!

And then on to Vorticon VI where the whole planet awaits your arrival! Make your way through all the Vorticon Cities and Military Installations, and prepare yourself for the final confrontation with the Grand Intellect! You won't believe the shocking finale!

Commander Keen says:

"Hope you enjoyed the game. I did!"

THE END (for now. )

Billy Blaze, eight year-old genius, working diligently in his backyard clubhouse has created an interstellar starship from old soup cans, rubber cement and plastic tubing. While his folks are out on the town and the babysitter has fallen asleep, Billy travels into his backyard workshop, dons his brother's football helmet, and transforms into.

COMMANDER KEEN--defender of Earth!

In his ship, the Bean-with-Bacon Megarocket, Keen dispenses galactic justice with an iron hand!

Episode Two: The Earth Explodes

His parents think he's asleep, but there's no time for napping--a Vorticon Mothership is poised above Earth, preparing to destroy every major city with their deadly Tantalus Ray! Keen must sneak aboard the ship and stop each Tantalus team from their terrible task. If he fails, the Earth Explodes! Of course, this will mean he won't have to get home in time for school. The Earth or no school. Hmm.

After much deliberation, Keen decides to save the Earth anyway. Don't miss an action-packed second of this exiting episode in the Commander Keen trilogy!

Well, here we are at the beginning of another exciting walkthrough! Run up into the Galley and let's get started!

What happened to Galley A? No idea! Grab that HyperPistol (THIS IS NEAT) and head straight up. At the top of the map, make your way right, grabbing some delicious points as you make your way toward the exit. As this level is so simple and hazard free, it'd also be a good idea to acquaint yourself with how Keen moves, jumps, and pogos. You're going to need those skills for later!

Well, that wasn't so hard, now was it? Now head left and enter Engineering B!

After the long fall, it's time to head right. Climb on top of the blue structure and go down into the pit. Ah! It's a Vorticon! Don't worry though, this guy is a Grunt, he only takes one shot before he goes down. Take care of him, grab that Yellow Keycard, and head back up.

To your right there is a bonus area full of goodies protected by a Guard Robot. Feel free to head there, but you're on your own! Now go up and to the left. Stand on the upmost red girder and ride the moving platform over to the Yellow Door. Pop through it and voila! You've finished another level!

We can't just go through Engineering B without tackling Engineering A, now can we?! Head right and prepare yourself for another plasma-filled adventure!

The first order of business here is to fall down to the bottom of the level and head right. It'd probably also be worth your time to work your way back up the right side of the girders to grab the HyperPistol and Stuffed Toy Vorticon. Go right, jumping up the purple barbells, and into the top chamber. Here you'll find the Green Keycard, but how to reach it? You'll need to pogo from the right-most blue brick. You can use the Scrub to get a little higher (or just shoot him if he's bothering you). After grabbing the Keycard, head out of the little chamber and go up to the right.

After getting to the green barrels you need to head left (taking care of that Grunt) and then go up a level and work your way back right. Go through that Green Door and head out the exit!

Ok, enough fooling around, it's time to save some cities! Head up and to the left. The first target city that we're going to save will be foggy ol' London.

Head right, but before you get the Vorta-Cola, stand on top of it (that's a neat trick!) and pogo up to grab a HyperPistol that would otherwise be just out of reach. Keep going right. Your goal here is to release a Scrub (which you can also stand on) in order to make it up the tube at the beginning of the level (with the white GO UP sign). The first Scrub that you encounter would make an excellent candidate so take the first two columns of Vorta-Cola and watch the little red guy make his way to the left. Once he hits the edge up the map he'll begin to walk up it and toward the tube. As he begins to climb the tube, catch a lift and head right. Once on top, pop over to the left and push that light switch. Wise Vorticons don't jump in the dark, so it'll make your going a little bit easier. After plunging the station in darkness, head to the right, working your way down (avoid the pit with the Guard Robot) into the small gap. You've reached the first Tantalus Ray! Avoid the Vorticon Elite that'll come after you (at least you've gotten rid of his jumping ability) and go up to the machine. That purple thing up there is your target (it's actually part of the Big Purple Space Amoeba). Activate your pogo (but not too close to the machine or you'll activate it and destroy the world) and shoot at that amoeba. Blammo! One Tantalus Ray down, seven to go! Head up and to the right and work your way down, collecting your Stuffed Toy Vorticon for a job well done before leaving through the exit.

No stopping now! Head right and stop Cairo from being destroyed!

This level is fairly linear, it is also fairly danger free, as long as you can avoid being beat up by the Youths who are tearing through the place. Once you make it to the fiery pit, you can go down and grab some more goodies (guarded by a pair of Grunts), or just skip it and head to the right. As you work your way right, make sure that you grab that HyperPistol! You're going to need it in your upcoming fight with a Vorticon Elite! Head right, there's no darkness to protect you this time! Avoid the Elite's shots and hit him three times to take him out. Once he's been taken care of, shoot at the Amoeba powering the Tantalus Ray and head out of there. Cairo has been saved! Don't forget your Stuffed Toy Vorticon on the way out!

So far it hasn't been so bad, two Tantalus Rays down and not so much as a bead of sweat on the brow! Our work is down here so head back to the middle and up until. great. The way is blocked by the doors to the Reactor Core. Looks like there's no choice but to go through it.

Head right and grab that HyperPistol and then make your way down and. whoa. Who turned out the lights? No matter, visibility isn't too bad down here. Grab that tempting Stuffed Toy Vorticon and head on down to the bottom. Watch out for the Grunt, and flick the switch to make a bridge over that deadly pool of plasma. Head up right after the bridge to find a hidden cache of Stuffed Toy Vorticons. Sweet! After having your fun with them, head back down and to the right. Now all that's left is a simple (yet annoying) climb through a scrub-filled tower (if they're really bothering you, you can take the bridge out from under them, plunging them to a plasma-filled doom) and finally up past a Grunt into the exit.

It's time to stock up! Head left from the core and down into Home A. Prepare to meet more Vorticons than you've ever before seen!

Grab that HyperPistol and check your trigger finger, there's some killing to do! Head right, taking out the two Grunts that stand in your way. Work your way down. You will soon come to the nursery. It's full of some incredibly annoying Youths, but it's also full of Stuffed Toy Vorticons. You're probably going to waste a lot of shots getting out of there, so it'll be a good idea to get some more. Head right from the nursery and you'll find yourself at a small armory filled with HyperPistols and guarded by three Vorticon Elite. Take as much ammo as you dare and keep heading right and down. What's that strange thing encased in glass? It's a Vorticon Elder! Remove his guard and walk up to him to hear what he has to say.

The Elder Vorticon in the stasis field says: The wise Vorticon never jumps in the dark. In fact, even unwise Vorticons will not jump in darkness.

Good to know! Well, now that we've milked the old guy for information, head up and to the right. Pogo from the second-highest blue platform to make it over and through to the exit. You'll notice that we skipped a room full of point items. Unfortunately it's protected by three Guard Robots and is probably way more trouble than it's worth, just cut your losses and get out with your skin!

Ok, time to save New York (Go Yankees)! Head up and to the left and jump in feet-first.

This level can be particularly hard. Especially since there is a large group of Vorticon Elite guarding the machine and no light switch to keep them from jumping. From the entrance head to the right, staying on the middle path. Avoid the Scrubs and grab the HyperPistol above the glass window. Keep going right until you find yourself above another window. You see that blue platform right above you just out of reach? You want to use the Scrub that's merrily walking along below you as a base to get up there. Hoping that he doesn't get blasted away by the crazy Vorticon Elite below, get up there (making sure to avoid the Guard Robot) and fall down the small gap next to the white sign. Blast the Space Amoeba and get out of there before the Elites realize that they've been had! As usual there's a Stuffed Toy Vorticon waiting to reward your trouble.

With that out of the way, head over to the right. We've got two more cities to save and another Home to visit before heading up towards the endgame. First stop: Sydney Tantalus Ray!

This is actually a fairly simple level and it's chock-full of Vorticon HyperPistols! Great! From the entrance, head up to the level above you and ride the Scrub up the left wall to grab the Red Keycard.

Be careful not to shoot him or you'll be left in an unwinnable state! After that, head to the right and ride the other scrub up the girder wall. Four HyperPistols?! Can it get any better? After grabbing them, work your way over to the top right where both some Cake, a HyperPistol and the Blue Keycard await you. Grab them all and head down to the Doors.

After heading through the Doors you'll want to use the green blocks to jump up to the small platform made of red blocks. What you want to do is wait for the Guard Robot to just pass you on the left, then jump onto his red blocks and make a sprint for the small red platform on the right. Whilst there, shoot to your right. You'll take out the Amoeba and shut down the machine. Escape up and away from the Vorticons, grab your Stuffed Toy, and head into the exit.

From Sydney Tantalus Ray (or what's left of it), head up. Two places present themselves. We'll be heading into Home B first.

Oh great, a maze. Luckily this maze isn't nearly as big as Red Maze City on Mars. Start off by heading right, grabbing the HyperPistol, and making your way up and right. Take out that Grunt and grab the Green Keycard, the first of four.

Get out and walk past the dead Grunt, head down one level and go left. You'll soon find yourself near some Vorta-Cola and, more importantly, the Yellow Keycard.

Go back, drop down another level, and head left for yet another Keycard, this one the Blue one.

Also in view is the Red Keycard. Work your way around and grab it too.

Excellent! Now all Keycards are in your possession. Head on down, keeping right. Soon you'll be seeing the Doors. Head through them and drop down to the blue platform. Head left, taking out all Grunts that get in your way. Once you get to the yellow blocks, shoot the Grunt who's trapped in the small cage-like area (he'll cause trouble it you don't) and then climb up the blocks, descend into the cage, then climb up the other side. Fall down, keeping right to get a Stuffed Toy, then drop to the purple blocks above the pit of acid. Fall into the gap in the acid pit and head right (as well, there's a HyperPistol on the left if you're in need of one). Cut through those who oppose you and say hello to another Vorticon Elder!

The Vorticon Elder says through the stasis field: The Grand Intellect is not from Vorticon VI--he is from the planet Earth. His evil Mind-Belts control their minds. They are not evil. Please do not shoot them, human.

Oh, whoops. Guess it wasn't such a good idea to go all trigger happy on the Grunts. oh well, all's fair in love and war! With that, we're done here. Head out of the pit, to the right, and through the exit.

I suppose that maze wasn't too bad. Anyways, it's time to save another city! Off to liberate Paris (right below Home B)!

Whoa, this is a weird layout! Looks like we're making a big loop. Work your way up and to the left. Look those Stuffed Toy Vorticons! Looks like they can't be accessed yet though. Keep going left. Two Grunts guard a HyperPistol and a large string of Candy Bars indicate a drop. Feel free to follow them, or keep to the right as you drop. See those weird grey funnel things in the gaps by the Grunts? You can fall through them but can't return that way, so make sure that you're committed before going through one. After that wonderful trip, head to the right. A huge pool of plasma! If you want to access those Stuffed Toy Vorticons, you need to use the Scrub as a base to jump up and to the right. There are a whopping eight (!) Stuffed Toys in there guarded by Guard Robot, so it might be worth it to check it out. After having your fun up there, you'll need to ride the moving platform to the other side of the plasma pool (make sure that you time it so that the Scrub doesn't push you off the platform to your death). It's time for a showdown! An Elite and a Grunt guard the machine aimed at Paris. Take them out to take it out!

Alright! Only three cities left to save! Head back to the center of the ship and go up and to the left. Time to restock again, this time at Weaponry A.

Hmm, another dark level. Look! The Yellow Keycard! Unfortunately it's out of reach, so we're going to need to lure a Scrub over here to be able to grab it later on. Head to the right (grabbing some delicious Vorta- Cola), and up into the red area. Make your way up, grab the Red Keycard, and jump over to the blue area.

Make your way up and to the left. There are two Grunts with some Youths guarding a bunch of HyperPistols and the Blue Keycard. Take them out and grab your items!

If you want, you can go further left for an additional two HyperPistols. Next stop: the green area. Head back down into the red area and over to where the two Vorta-Colas are stacked under the lamp. Don't grab them! Jump on top (or over) them and make your way up to the green area. Grab the Green Keycard, and follow a Scrub as he slowly makes his way back to the beginning of the level.

Following the Scrub, make your way up to the Yellow Keycard and head back to that stack of two Vorta-Colas.

Now you can pick them up, and it's a straight course through the colored Doors to the exit.

Time to save Moscow. It's directly to the right of Weaponry A (despite what the letters above it may say).

First things first, hit that light switch and work your way left. Under the cover of darkness grab the Yellow Keycard and make your way back to the light switch.

Turn it back on and head back to where the Yellow Keycard was. Stand next to the platform and wait until all the Vorticon Elites have jumped up, away from the Red Keycard. Now head back to the light switch (last time, I promise!) and turn off the lights. With that out of the way, head left and fall straight through the one-way chute. Once you hit the bottom, go left and head up to
claim the Red Keycard.

Work your way back to the right, grab the HyperPistol, and fall down the next pit, avoiding the acid on either side. Go to the left, work your way up, and then down and take out all the Grunts and Youths that stand between you and the Doors. After going through, work your way up and over to the machine. Lure the Elite over to the left so that he falls into the pit, and take out that
Space Amoeba. After destroying the machine and claiming your Stuffed Toy Vorticon, pull out your pogo stick and sneak past the exit door. There's a small gap to the right of it! Fall down that gap while keeping left and you'll pick up a HyperPistol and some more goodies! Out the second exit we go!

Almost there! Head right to Rome and save the Colosseum!

There are two ways to finish this level. If you are very impatient (and skilled) just head right from the beginning, avoid the Guard Robot, jump up through the gap in the floor into a room full of Vorticon Elites, and escape up to the exit (make sure that you destroy the Tantalus Ray before leaving or you'll be stuck in an unwinnable position)! However, I'm going to assume you want to go the more reasonable way. From the entrance head right, avoid the Vorta-Colas (taking them will slow you down), and ride a Scrub up the blue wall. Grab the HyperPistol and points on your right and then get over to the acid pit on the left. Ride the moving platform across the pit and then go up to the next level, heading all the way to the right side of the map. Once you've gotten to the other side, head down and to the left. Avoid pulling the lever for a moment and head down to turn off the light switch. With that down, go back to the lever a create a bridge to easily cross the pit of plasma. Jump up to grab the Stuffed Toy Vorticon and then make your way a bit farther to the left to encounter the evil Space Amoeba! Take it out. And make your way to the left, up the blue platform (avoiding the fire above), and out the exit.

Before we finish saving the world, let's take a pit stop in Weaponry B.

Hey, that's a nice change of background! Too bad that this is one of the most difficult levels in the game. Head right, and wait at the end of the girder. A moving platform should soon be there to pick you up. Jump on it and work your way down and right, from platform to platform. To the right of the acid pit you'll find a huge stash of HyperPistols. Just work your way over and down, taking out any Grunts that dare stand in your path. There is also a Guard Robot protecting four Stuffed Toys if extra lives are your thing. Once you've finished collecting all you need, head back up and to the left. You need to take the moving platform that serves the middle (one tile) platform. While on it, keep going left until you reach the long string of Candy Bars. Drop down that pit and then head right. Follow the Grunt you see down into the pit, head right and then go over the girder wall. Drop down until you see the long horizontal line of Candy Bars and go left (you can go right if you want, but it'll eventually dead-end into a very angry Vorticon Elite). Grab the HyperPistol and drop straight down. You'll land on the platform that sits precariously above the plasma pool. Work your way right (grabbing the Hamburgers as you go) and you'll very soon find yourself at the exit.

Well, that's it! Time to turn this of the Tantalus Rays for good! Head left and up into Washington, D.C.

So here we are, the final battle. Jump up and turn off those lights! Grab some HyperPistols and get up onto the red platforms. There will be three Vorticon Elites hunting you down, but as long as you stay above them, you'll be safe. Head right and eventually you'll get to a point where there will be another small row of red platforms one tile below the others. Don't go down there, but wait right before it and the three Elites will fall on the right to their doom. After that, make a tricky jump over to the right and go up. You'll find a Stuffed Toy Vorticon and a lever (that you should pull). Go across your newly created bridge and wait at the edge. Soon, a moving platform will come for you. Get on that moving platform (don't worry about the Red Keycard as there's is no Red Door) and get up to the level above as soon as you can. Go right and work your way up, avoiding the Guard Robot, and snagging the Blue Keycard from the Grunt.

Go back down and jump onto the moving platform as it heads left. Go through the Blue Door and pull the switch. A small bridge has been created! Get back on that moving platform and head right, again jumping onto the cyan blocks once you reach them. Hope your Scrub-riding skills are up to snuff because they're about to be put to the test! Ride the Scrub up the wall that he's walking on, and then leap over to the bridge that you've just created. From there ride ANOTHER Scrub up THAT wall (avoiding the hazard at the top), and jump on the small platform that is two tiles wide. Pogo up to the left and drop down. It's the Green Keycard! Grab it and go back up.

Get on the moving platform and pogo up through the gap when it reaches the right wall. Walk toward the Green Door (make sure that the lights are still off!) and drop down the gap. Lure the four Elites into the small pit on the left. You're home free! Take out the last Tantalus Ray and head right. Once again there are two exits, this time with two paths to get there! As the game will be over, we want points, so activate your pogo, get to the right side of the exit, and drop down, hold LEFT to grab some wonderful Stuffed Toy Vorticons! Head out of the exit and into history.

That's it! The Earth is saved! Enjoy the cutscene and write your name with pride on the High Score list!

After disabling the weaponry of the Vorticon Mothership, Billy heads for Earth. Even great space-heroes need a nap after defeating a vicious horde of violence-bent aliens!

The Vorticon ship limps back toward Vorticon VI to tell of their defeat at the hands of Commander Keen. The Grand Intellect will not be pleased.

Wake up, Billy. It Snowed last night! There's no school!

Wonderful, Mother. That will give me time to rid the Galaxy of the Vorticon menace and discover the secret of the mysterious Grand Intellect!

Ok, hon, but you'd better have a nourishing vitamin fortified bowl of Sugar Stoopies first.

TO BE CONTINUED.

Now, it's onward to Vorticon VI where the whole planet awaits your arrival! Make your way through all the Vorticon Cities and military installations, and prepare yourself for the final confrontation with the Grand Intellect! On your journey there, you ponder upon the words of the ancient Vorticon. Who is the Grand Intellect? You won't believe the shocking finale!

Commander Keen says:

"Hope you enjoyed the game. I did!"

THE END (for now. )

Billy Blaze, eight year-old genius, working diligently in his backyard clubhouse has created an interstellar starship from old soup cans, rubber cement and plastic tubing. While his folks are out on the town and the babysitter has fallen asleep, Billy travels into his backyard workshop, dons his brother's football helmet, and transforms into.

COMMANDER KEEN--defender of Earth!

In his ship, the Bean-with-Bacon Megarocket, Keen dispenses galactic justice with an iron hand!

Episode Three: Keen Must Die!

Keen blasts through a hyperspace gate and arrives on Vorticon VI, landing on the island of Vortiville. Here he faces mind numbing horrors of suburban life. Then he will travel to New Vorticon, where life is a dark, dangerous enterprise. He will also have to face the violent forces massed in the Vorticon military installation. After this, he will face the impossible maze of the Caves of Oblivion! If he passes this barrier, he will finally reach the Castle of the Grand Intellect, where all his beliefs and fears come together in a titanic, shocking finale! Don't miss the incredible shattering conclusion to the Commander Keen trilogy!

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ + The Caves The Castle of + + TP1-----of Oblivion-----the Grand Intellect + + Cape + + TP2---TP3 Fort Canavorta + + ! Cavort ! + + TP4 ! TP5---TP6 + + Fort ! Fort + + TP7---Vorticon---!---Vorta Bella + + TP8 TP9 ! + + ! ! ! + + Beens----!----Hal's Fort TP10 + + ! Kitchen Vox West ! + + ! Vortiville---Valden + + The ! Park + + Bonks ! + + ! TP12 + + TP11 Vortiville---TP13 + + ! + + New ! Lower + + TP14---Vorticon---TP15 START--------------------Vortiville + + ! + + Hidden TP16 + + City + +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Teleporter Loops: TP1 -> TP7 TP2 -> TP7 TP3 -> TP5 TP4 -> TP8 TP5 -> TP16 TP6 -> TP1 TP7 -> TP9 TP8 -> TP10 TP9 -> TP3 TP10 -> TP11 TP11 -> TP12 TP12 -> TP13 -> TP12 -> . TP14 -> TP16 -> TP14 -> . TP15 -> TP4

Commander Keen begins his adventure on the Island of Vortiville. You'll find in this walkthrough that I'll guide you through every city on Vorticon VI. This generally isn't how you'd play the game, so feel free to use the map to plan your own route and use this walkthrough as your adventure guide. As it is though, we've got to get going! Run up to the first city (the walled one) and let's find out the secret of the Grand Intellect!

Welcome to Lower Vortiville! Scare the Foob half to death (run into him to finish the job) and grab the chocolate bars and ammo as you head right. Take the first elevator up to the third floor. It contains more ammo, which is a precious resource at this point in the game. Go back down, then head up to the top of the adjacent building, get even more ammunition, and jump off toward the next one. You'll now be faced with a bizarre, green, one-way barrier. Both you and your shots can only go one way through it (in the direction indicated by the arrow). Jump through the barrier and head over to the next building. Go up to this fourth building's top level, grab the Pistol and ammo, and then head out through the first floor and into the final building, climbing it and going out the exit.

Right beside Lower Vortiville we have Vortiville, guess where we're going next?

What a nice place! Scare off another Foob, avoid the stranded fish, and head right. Pogo up near the waterfall and jump up to the red platforms. Grab the Pistol and head right, filling up on Burgers. Once you get to the end of the platform, jump off to the right (watch out for the pit straight below!) and head into the house. Make your way right, avoiding (or killing) the Grunt, Woman, and Youths, and if you're so inclined sack it for loot and out into the garage. Go out through the loft and into the exit.

Alright! Time to go exploring. Jump into the teleporter right above you and you'll find yourself in the other part of the Island of Vortiville. There are two settlements here, and we'll be tackling the smaller one first.

Cool! A house built into a hill! Head to the right and up as you begin your exploration of West Vortiville. As you near the big yellow sign you may notice that the cloud on your left is bigger than some of the others. This is a special cloud that you can stand on! Pogo over to it and keep going left. There's a Stuffed Toy VortiNinja! Grab it and the ammo and walk back up the hill. Go into the first entrance on the other side of the hill and make your way underground. Once down there, head left to grab a Pistol and the Green Keycard, and then head right to drop even deeper down.

Quickly head left through the one-way barrier and make the loop. Coming out the one-way barrier at the bottom, you've come face-to-face with a VortiNinja! You can choose to take him out with the pistol (which will waste four shots) or you can pick up the Ankh and be invincible for ten seconds. Whichever way you choose, get past the VortiNinja and to the exit.

That leaves just one more city on the island of Vortiville. We're just cruising here!

Here we are, deep in suburbia. Make your way to the right, jumping on top of the first building to stock up on ammo. Make your way up the second building but beware the Vorticon Woman! She takes quite a bit to take down! Climb out the roof and into the clouds. Make your way right through the clouds over to the tall building, and drop down with all the Candy Bars and work your way up the right side of the next building. Jump out of the right wall (skipping the Yellow Door) into the clouds again and grab some more ammo. Jump off to the right and take a nice stroll through the park itself, but watch out for the Meep's singing voice! It's deadly! Keep going right until you reach the waterfall. Jump INTO the waterfall and enter the secret base below. Head left, arm yourself, and the go right (or keep going left if you want to have the fight of your life with multiple VortiNinjas) until you can jump up and grab the Red Keycard (watch out for the shots coming from that pistol).

Head left again, jump back up the waterfall, through the Red Door, and out the exit.

Awesome! You've completed the Island of Vortiville! With that done, head back down into the teleporter that you first used and then jump into the teleporter that lies next to Lower Vortivile. You suddenly find yourself on New Vorticon Island, with the city of New Vorticon lying in front of you.

Welcome to downtown New Vorticon, the biggest settlement on the planet. Head right through the building and into Central Park. If you want a huge fight with Grunts and Vorticon Women, head down into the subway. Otherwise, head right into the apartment complex and try not to get lost as you make your way through it. Head up and to the right as much as possible and you
should be able to find the a path through the roof. Collect all of the items that you come upon, and watch out for Vorticons! Once on the roof, either jump to the top of the next building and pogo over the pool, or fall down between the buildings and walk right. The next two buildings are full of goodies but also full of Vorticons. Attack them at your own discretion, but beware the Vorticon Women! Once you've finished plundering the homes, head out the exit at the bottom right.

Well there goes the main city, time to tackle the suburbs! Head into the teleporter that you just unlocked, and then teleport again once you reach your destination. You'll notice that few of the teleporters loop back and forth here on Vorticon VI, but it can sometimes be a useful way to get around! Since we've just popped out next to Beens, we'll tackle it first.

Head right, past the Grunt and the stranded fish. If you need it, you can get some ammo up in the sky above the first building. Keep heading right and you'll soon find yourself in the second building. Rob the place blind and keep going right. Now, if you perform the Impossible Pogo Trick from the exit of the second building you'll be able to get on top of the school, grabbing some ammo and making your trip life a bit easier by avoiding a Vorticon Woman and a bunch of Youths. Fall off of the school (there are a lot of stranded fish nearby, and you don't want to be landing on any of them) and head to the right. Eventually you'll get to the city's edge and the only direction you'll be able to head is down. Go down there and start making your way left. At first it'll be easy, with just a few Grunts guarding some ammo and points but watch out! As it opens up to the left you'll encounter both a VortiNinja and a Vorticon Woman! The brown platform is your warning. You also have to watch out for a jumping Grunt below! Keep your wits about you, and you'll be able to safely make it through the exit.

That end bit may have been crazy, but we still have two more suburbs to visit here on New Vorticon Island! The next one is down below, The Bonks.

Here's a nice small place guarded by a few Grunts. Make your way right, going into the guard tower if you only desperately need ammo and points, and over to the nursery. Though you won't be killed by anything in the nursery, if you enter it you're probably going to get beat up pretty bad by the Youths and Jack Balls. But hey, sometimes Double Chocolate Cake is worth it, right? After passing (through) the nursery, get carefully past the small volcanoes and pogo up to the exit.

Only one city remains on this island, so without further ado.

Prepared for Hell? (Oh wait, no, it's Hal, isn't it. ) One enormous building is all that awaits you in Hal's Kitchen. Due to level design errors, a good chunk of this place isn't accessible. As such, I'll just give you a quick route through the building. First head into the building and immediately go up until you reach the Burger. From there, pop down one level and then head up to the right. From here you want to work your way downward while keeping right. You'll soon find yourself at the elevator shaft. Take the elevator up, and then head right over the dangerous spikes and out. Fall down and keep right while making your way down as much as possible until you make it to the desk. From the desk, take the elevator and begin to go up and to the right. Once you see a long string of Candy Bars, you'll know that the exit is near. Fall down, grabbing as many as you can, and then fall again to the right, getting the Cola. When it comes time to drop into the dark grey area, keep right to avoid deadly spikes below. Finally! We've made it out of the maze! Head into the exit and get out of this crazy place!

With the Island of New Vorticon finished, it's time to head to the Vorticon Military Installation! Get into the teleporter right above Hal's Kitchen, and then head to the teleporter on your left after you pop out. Head into the closest fort and we're off again!

Head straight down into the waterfall, grab some goodies, and head into the one-way barrier. Watch out for the opened radioactive barrels down here! Someone has been very careless! Grab the Stuffed Toy VortiNinja, go left through the next barrier, and snag the Yellow Keycard down below.

Now, jump up through the red sealed radioactive barrels, and head back the way you came, up and to the right. Jump out of the waterfall and head left. Skip the first hole in the ground and then fall down the second shaft. And fall. And fall. Once you finally reach the bottom, it's time to work your way back up. Carefully use the elevators and girders to get past the laser grid that protects the interior of this installation. Once you finally make it to the top, head through the one-way barrier and begin to head downward. Be warned that those lasers that caused so much trouble while you were heading up will also cause trouble as you go down! Avoid the lasers and fall down next to the pool. Get your trigger finger ready, because this pool is infested with Youths who would just love to knock you off the moving platform as you head right to the other side (though, if you're lucky they won't bother you at all). Once you've made it safely over, head through the Yellow Door and into the deep abyss below. Head down, take care of the Grunt and head down and to the right, there you'll find a trove of six Stuffed Toys. Go back up and head left, working your way down and to the left (you can ignore the Blue Keycard as you won't be needing it). Go through the one-way barrier and grab the Red Keycard, but don't yet use the Red Door!

Head right, shooting the Grunts as you go, and you'll soon see the very necessary Green Key. Grab it and head to the left and down.

Make your way through the Red Door and follow the linear path to the exit, taking out all that might stand in your way.

Our next target it the walled city to the north, Fort Cavort.

Get out of that tree and head left until you reach the shaft. Drop down into the missile silo and head left, taking care of the two Grunts. Climb up the barrels (watch out for the laser shooting onto the top one!) and grab that Yellow Keycard.

Drop down and head right and up the elevator. This time there will be no avoiding those Youths playing in the water, but you may be able to shoot them from the other side of the barrier to avoid certain death (though if you wait a little while they'll probably jump out the Yellow Door to the other side). After you're done, make your away across the pool and jump down to the right side. From here, snipe all the Vorticons that menace you. Grab the Blue Keycard, go through the Door, and wait.

You're going to need perfect timing to get past the next part. You need to drop right after the guns fire and run for your life to the right, pogoing up to the red barrels as soon as possible to avoid the next volley. If the VortiNinja has managed to get himself stuck up there, well, it's going to be impossible going from here. If not, jump up and take out that VortiNinja. Take the elevator up to the Ankh, but don't grab it yet! The timing is too limited to waste so you need to grab it as the elevator makes its way back up again. Get the Ankh and rush past the remaining two VortiNinjas into the exit.

Back outside in Vorticon VI, head to your right, over to Fort Vorta Bella.

This level is fairly difficult and not really worth your time, but if you insist on finishing every single level here's the easiest way to do it: First, get the pattern of the guns down. Keep to the left side of the map, the only safe spot is the second platform with four Candy Bars stacked in two rows of two on it. The Blue Keycard is at the bottom left, right in the line of fire.

The Blue Door is located on the opposite side, on the bottom right. If you by some miracle survive going across the Youth infested water, head up the tree, grabbing all the Candy Bars that you can see, up to the exit.

Finally we have only Fort Vox left on this part of the island. As you might imagine, it's no cake-walk.

After entering, wait just one second. Everything is shooting! When you're ready, start sprinting to the right and avoid all the lasers! Jump through the one-way barrier and keep left. Kill the two Grunts that guard the radioactive barrels, grab the Stuffed Toy above you, then ride the moving platform to the left. Grab the ammo above and get the Red Keycard.

Head back where you came from and drop down to get through the Red Door (ignore that exit sign, it's lying). Meep galore! If you desperately need ammo, head down to the bottom to get it, though you run the risk of having a VortiNinja lock you in. After stocking up, head left over the Meep cages and down to the exit. Get out of this crazy place!

With that finished, head back into the teleporter. Upon arrival back at New Vorticon, enter that same teleporter, and upon arrival enter it again. You now find yourself near the tip of the Vorticon Military Installation: Cape Canavorta.

Ah! VortiNinja! Start shooting until you take him out and head right. Ignore that Yellow Keycard and Yellow Door. If you need ammo, just jump up the small gap through which the laser is shooting. Keep on right through to the barracks. A group of VortiNinjas will try to stop you but a steady stream of Pistol shots will take care of them. After passing through the bathroom, jump up on top and grab the Ankh. Sprint through the next building and out to the other side. Take the moving platform to the right, pogo up and to the right, grabbing another Ankh in a graceful leap. Keep going right and you'll find yourself visiting the brig. Watch out for the Meeps and VortiNinjas as you make your way left, up, and around until you finally drop down near the exit. This is where we say goodbye to the cape.

With that done, we're on the homestretch. Head into the other teleporter. You find yourself on the Island of The Grand Intellect. First we must make it through The Caves of Oblivion.

Hmm. does that sign say GO UP? Ok then, up we go! Pogo up and to the right. When it seems like you can't go any higher, use the cloud for a little boost. Go up and over to the right (stick to the clouds to grab some Stuffed Toy VortiNinjas) until you reach the exit. If you need to, go CAREFULLY by the stalagmites and stalactites to grab some more ammo. The Caves is a huge labyrinth filled with few points and no way to access the exit. Up and over, though it may seem like cheating, is the only way to get past this obstacle!

Well, that wasn't too hard. Only now does the Castle of. wait. There's a small beach here. Let's go over and wait by the leafy greens. Hey! It's the legendary Messie, and she's giving you a ride! After a while you'll disembark next to the legendary Hidden City. Let's check it out!

First of all, just like in The Caves of Oblivion, head up with your pogo stick. Head right and you'll see a school full of Youths, a Vorticon Woman, and a complete translation of the Standard Galactic Alphabet! Keep going to grab some Stuffed Toys and then head back to the entrance. Now, if you're not feeling adventurous you can just go right at the entrance and perform the Impossible Pogo Trick to get to an early exit, but this city is full of points and populated only by Foobs (and the Vorticons that we already met up above)! I recommend going down and exploring! On the bottom level alone, you'll find a whopping sixteen (. ) Stuffed Toy VortiNinjas. When you're done exploring, head to the bottom right to get out of here.

Once you leave Hidden City, hop back on Messie and straight to The Castle of the Grand Intellect. It's time to finish this!

No. It can't be! MORTIMER McMIRE. Mortimer has been a thorn in your side for as long as you can remember. Your IQ test score was 314--Mortimer's was 315. He always held that over you, never letting you forget for one day. All the practical jokes, the mental cruelty, the swirlies--each memory makes your teeth grit harder. And now he's out to destroy Earth! You have had enough! "All right Mortimer, what's the problem? Why destroy Earth?" "You and all those mental wimps deserve to die! I'm the smartest person in the galaxy. Aren't I, mister THREE FOURTEEN! Ah ha ha!" "I'll get you for that, Mortimer!" "Come and try! You'll never get past my hideous Mangling Machine! Prepare to die, Commander Clown!"

It's time to finish this. The first thing you need to do is jump up on the Mangling Machine's left shoulder. The shoulders are one of the few safe spots in the room. Much like the Tantalus Rays in The Earth Explodes, the Mangling Machine is powered by bits of the Big Purple Space Amoeba, and those bits must be destroyed! From the left shoulder, shoot the amoeba in front of you and jump up to get the one that looks like the Machine's eye as well. Head down to the ground, stop on the bottom-most brown platform, and take out the lower-left amoeba. You now have the precarious task of runner UNDERNEATH the Mangling Machine! The different colored bricks are safe spots, so time your sprints to get to each one before you're squished. On the right side repeat the process, working your way up from the bottom. Once all the amoeba bits are gone, the heart of the machine is vulnerable. Shoot it and finish it off!

Congratulations! You've completed the Invasion of the Vorticons trilogy! Now enjoy the final cutscene and get into the High Scores!

With Mortimer McMire out of the picture, and his brain-wave belts no longer controlling them, the Vorticons are freed from their mental enslavement.

"Commander Keen, in honor of your meritorious service in freeing us from the Grand Intellect's mental chains, I and the other Vorticons you haven't slaughtered want to award you the Big V, our highest honor."

You have finished the final episode in the Commander Keen trilogy!

• Find the secret city in episode one?
  
• Journey to the secret island in this episode?
  
• Write down the Galactic Alphabet and read all the signs in all three episodes?

"Hope you enjoyed the trilogy. I did!"

Episode Four Secret of the Oracle After delivering a crippling blow to the plans of Mortimer McMire and receiving the praise of the Vorticon race, Commander Keen returned to his home in the suburbs. Here he was forced to go to bed at an early hour, and to eat mashed potatoes. Months later, Billy tinkered around with his latest invention, the Photachyon Transceiver, or faster- than-light radio. After picking up a lot of bad alien sitcoms, he stumbled upon a strange message of terrible importance.

COMMANDER KEEN in . . . "Goodbye, Galaxy!"
Keen Episode Four: Secret of the Oracle

Billy Blaze toils in his backyard workshop, busily constructing his latest invention: the Photachyon Transceiver. Put in simple words, it is an instantaneous radio -- point to anywhere in the galaxy, and you can pick up a signal as if you were right there. After picking up a lot of very bad alien sitcoms, Billy hears a strange message, spoken in the language of Omnispeak that the Vorticons taught him.

brrzzz. giggg. oment of great triumph. frzzt. ast the Milky Way will be. huzzzzz. terly destroyed. pyuneeeeeeg. can stop us now. We will remake the galaxy in the name of the Gannalech. Power to our race! Power to the Shikadi!

Then the radio is silent.

"So the Shikadi are planning on destroying the Galaxy, huh?" thinks Billy. "Sounds like a job for. COMMANDER KEEN!"

Billy once again dons his brothers football helmet, contemplating three questions:

Who the heck ARE the Shikadi?
Where are they?
How are they planning to destroy the galaxy?

Climbing into the Bean-with-Bacon Megarocket's cockpit, Billy sets up the launch sequence for Gnosticus IV, the home of the Gnosticenes, guardians of the Oracle. They owe him a favor, and he needs to get some questions answered. The launch sequence begins.

"Suppertime, Billy!" announces his mom as she walks out to the workshop.

"Aw, nuts!" spouts Billy. He realizes that there isn't enough time to stop the sequence and cover the ship! Thinking quickly, he pulls out his Neural Stunner, points it at the door, and waits.

One "Zzzzap!" later and his Mom is frozen in the doorway.

"Honey? What's the matter?" says Billy's dad, coming out the back door.

"Double nuts!" mutters Billy. He peeks past his mom, takes aim and.

Once at Gnosticus IV, a Council Page runs up to him.

"Oh, Captain Keen!" he begins.

"That's Commander Keen," Billy corrects.

"The Shikadi were here, and they kidnapped the members of the High Council and took them to the Shadowlands far to the west."

"They didn't kill them?" Keen asks.

"Impossible. They are immortal," says the page. "So they just made sure they weren't available to activate the Oracle."

"Well, I'll just go get them," Keen says, turning with heroic determination.

"Um, but Captain Keen, they also left a bunch of horrible creatures and traps to guard them," says the Council Page.

"Well, I'll just go get them CAREFULLY, then," Keen says over his shoulder.

Keen turns to walk out the door, stops, turns and addresses the page.

"And if you call me Captain Keen again, I'm taking you with me."

Keen boldly heads out the door as the page mutters, "Sorry."

Commander Keen hops in his Bean-with-Bacon Megarocket and heads for the Shadowlands.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ + Cave of the Chasm of + + Descendents Chills Crystalus + + ! ! ! + + -----------------------------! + + Lifewater ! + + Oasis ------------------!----- + + ! ! ! + + ------ ! Slug + + ! ! Village + + !-----Miragia Hillville ! + + Sand ! ! ------!--------- + + Yego-----! ! ! ! + + ! ! ! Border + + ! ! ! Village + + ------------------------------ ! ! + + ! Perilous--! START + + Pyramid of---! Pit ! ! + + the Moons !--Pyramid of ! Bean-with-Bacon + + ! Shadows ! Megarocket + + Pyramid of the ! Isle ! + + Gnosticene Ancients--- of Fire--!--Isle of + + ! Tar + + Pyramid of Well of + + the Forbidden Wishes + +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ah, Secret of the Oracle. This is probably the most-played of all the Commander Keen games and thus the one for which people have the fondest memories. Chances are, if you're reading this FAQ you've finished this Keen game multiple times and have no need for a walkthrough. Nevertheless, for your pleasure and enjoyment, the walkthrough for Commander Keen 4:

Here we are in the Shadowlands. First things first, launch into the Bean-with-Bacon Megarocket and let's get started!

Wow, not much here, is there? Spend some time playing around with the controls, figuring out how Keen run, jumps, and pogos. You can come back any time to admire the Bean-with-Bacon Megarocket. As well, any time you run low on ammo (4 shots or less), you can return to the Megarocket for a free Neural Stunner!

Ok, with our practice out of the way it's time to head up and make a run for the Border Village!

Alright! The first real level! First of all head left, and practice jumping on the Bounder and using him as a platform to get sweet candy. Heck, you can even go for a ride if it tickles your fancy! Once you're done with the Bounder head into the first building. You're in a small room with some Shikadi Soda. Not too interesting. Head out and into the next building (watch out for the Poison Slug). This is more like it! Take the ammo and head down the pole into. what is this place? A shrine to the King of the Poison Slugs?! Bizarre! Head to the left, watching out for the bubbling pools of poison. Now it's time to head into the super-secret area! Stand on the left side of the second (left-most) poison pool, and perform the Impossible Pogo Trick towards the upper-left. Before you reach the wall, make sure you deactivate the pogo but keep holding LEFT (this may take a bit of practice to get right). If you've done it right you'll find yourself climbing INTO the roof of this underground passage! Above you there will be a floating platform, pogo onto it and grab the seven extra lives waiting above. Be warned! If this platform drops it won't be coming back so make each jump count! Once you've cleaned house just head up to the right and into the exit door!

Awesome! We're off to a good start: one level down and a ton of extra lives in store. Head upwards and slip into Slug Village.

Grab the Raindrops and avoid the Poison Slug as you head to the left and down into the pit. Once at the bottom jump right, into the wall, and head down the secret passage that you've just discovered. Grab the goodies that are to be had and then out again to the left. As you continue left feel free to drop into the first pit to snag some treats from the evil Mad Mushroom that guards them, and to head into the secret path in the right wall of the seemingly-empty second pit. Head up the pole once you get to it and head right (or, if you must have every-single point, first follow the path to the left), going left once you once again reach the surface. Watch out for the blue Lick! He's a nasty character who'll quickly put an end to your adventure with his fiery breath. Keep heading left, using the Bounder to grab the goodies that would be otherwise out of reach, and then sprint out the exit!

Hmm, almost seems too easy, doesn't it? Well we still have a lot of adventuring to do, so no dilly-dallying! Head up into the frozen wastelands of the north, but yourself under the blue crystalline structure, and reflect upon entering Crystalus.

Here we are, the first big level that we have to tackle. It might seem like a huge obstacle, but there's a prize waiting at the end. What is it? Continue on and you'll see! Head to the right, avoiding the hazards and jump up onto the first platform that you see. From here jump to the left until you get until the diamond of Shikkers Candy Bars. Wait here until a moving platform shows up and take it up. Once at the top of the lift go left (though there are some optional points to the right, if you so desire) and head up. Once you get up high enough to see more solid looking ground to your right with some Three-Tooth Gum above it, head in that direction, avoid the Poison Slugs, and drop down into the pit, keeping right. Sweet! The Green Gem!

Once you've hit the bottom head to the right (through the ring of Shikkers Candy Bars) and onto the above platform (watch out for the Mad Mushroom). From this platform that is now guarded by the Mushroom you need to jump over to the left and take the moving platforms up. If you're having problems with the platform that keeps dropping, remember that if activate your pogo you can jump on it without too many problems! Once you make it to the top, jump through the small gap above. Hey it's the Yellow Gem! That's our next objective, but it'll take some work to get there. Head up the poles, jump onto the little platform, and head to the right and up. Blow through the Green Door, head to the left, and follow the path of the Shikadi Soda down to the Yellow Gem.

Make your way out of the pit (make sure to follow the trail of Soda leading out or you might find yourself once again dropping down the pit that contained the Green Gem!) and head to the left. Jump up onto the platform once you reach it and open the Yellow Door to snag the Red Gem!

From here, if you have the pogo skills, jump ON TOP of the room containing the Red Gem and follow the precarious path above to get some great points. Once you're done getting points, head right and once again fall down the chute that contained the Green Gem. Continue heading right and up to the platform with the jumping Mad Mushroom. This time instead of heading jumping left from the platform, jump to the right. Head upwards, navigating the falling platforms, and you'll soon find yourself at the Red Door. Go through it and head up the pole. Watch out for the angry Lick that will come attack you for the intrusion! Jump up the two falling platforms and snag your prize: the Blue Gem!

From getting the Gem, head back the way you came, past the platform that holds the Mad Mushroom and drop down. Once you've dropped down to the solid ground below, head to the right. Watch out for the Bird! He'll only be temporarily stunned by your shots, so scoot by him quickly! Run into the Blue Door and through the archway that presents itself. Head right, avoiding or stunning all enemies that you see. Most of all don't touch that egg! It'll hatch another Blue Bird at the slightest disturbance! Finally, you'll see your first Council Member, walking around, waiting to be rescued. Run up to him and finish the level. No sweat, oh guardian of wisdom!

Ok, one down, seven to go! Our next destination should be pretty obvious, so head left and shiver along the Chasm of Chills.

This place seems at first glance to be a fairly simple one to navigate, but it holds great secrets! First of all, grab the goodies in front of you and drop down. Head right, avoiding the Mad Mushroom, and make your way to the small pits guarded by Poison Slugs. Jump over the first pit, but fall into the second pit, make sure you shoot down and kill the Slug before dropping in there, though! Jump into the wall on your right and you'll fall down to a secret door! Enter it and head right. Grab some points and watch out for the Lick, Mimrocks, and Poison Slugs! Climb down the pole and head into the door. After falling and grabbing a bunch of Raindrops, catch the moving platform back up to the beginning of the level. This time, work your way right. Be careful! Keen won't grab the edge of these platforms so if you miss the jump you'll have to work your to the left and back up the lift! You'll eventually make it to a platform that lets you see the grass and blue sky above. Jump two more platforms to the right and you'll see a Lick hopping around on the grass above. Shoot up to stun him and then pogo up and onto the grass (you'll have to use The Impossible Pogo Trick to get enough height). Continue to pogo into the cloud above and you'll bounce right into Princess Lindsey!

Thanks for the mysterious clue, Princess! With that out of the way, head to the right until you reach the Thundercloud at the edge of the screen, and then jump down to make your way to the exit!

Thankfully, we're almost out of this freezing-cold area. Only one more place to visit in this snow-filled area of the Shadowlands. Time to plod down into the Cave of the Descendents.

This is one dangerous cave! From the entrance head left and don't stop until you find yourself at the gap. Drop down the gap onto the moving platform and continue left to grab the Red Gem.

There are goodies to be grabbed by continuing on to the poles, but be warned that a Skypest patrols the area and spikes lay below. Once you're ready to move on, go back to the moving platform (which is almost stationary unless you flick the switch) and drop down to the other moving platform which lies below. Once there go through the door and head back to the right and up. The gap may seem impassable but as long as you continue to hold RIGHT when you reach it, you'll cross over with no problems. Continue to up to the right and you'll soon come to an evil Mimrock. Sneak by him and jump up to the right to enter the Red Door. Sweet! It's the Yellow Gem! Grab it and head all the way back to the gap where you snagged the Red Gem (if you'd like, continuing to the right underneath the Red Door leads to a large amount of point-items, though the path will eventually dead-end).

This time instead of falling down into the gap, jump across it and head left, heading into the arched doorway. You've almost made it to another Council Member, but you'll first need to navigate a treacherous route patrolled by Mad Mushrooms! Ascend the platforms, but make sure that you always look up to make sure the path is clear before jumping up. Continue to the top and you'll find yourself at the Yellow Door and your second Council Member! Sounds like a plan, bearded one!

Time to get out of this frozen wasteland, make your way down out of the snow and stumble upon Hillville.

Here's a simple, linear level with some secrets in the sky. Start out by heading to the right, and waiting on the first island that lies between the two spike pits. Look between the trees almost directly above the rock, and you'll see something glinting in the sun. It's a flash of insight! Flashes of insight can be stood on just like any normal platform, they're just hard to see in the light! Pogo up to it the flash and then wait until you see the next one, a little bit above and to the left. Continue up the hidden flashes and you'll soon make it to a set of platforms being held up in the air by thrusters. First head left to collect a bunch of ammo for you Neural Stunner, and then head to the right as far as you can. Once you get the Doughnuts, wait and perform the Impossible Pogo Trick to the right. You should land on another flash, and be able to collect the Lifewater Flask for an extra life! As you fall, you should land near a hill. Hey it's Princess Lindsey, back for another visit!

Thanks, your highness! From the Princess, swing down the pole and flick the switch. This will activate the moving platforms. Go across the platforms and make it to the other side of the fire, spikes, and other danger. If you pogo off to the right of the right-most moving platform, you should land on another flash of insight (it's just above and to the left of the first raindrop on the right). Follow the flashes up to more platforms in the sky. Up there you'll be able to grab a Jawbreaker and an Ice Cream Cone! Once you've finished head right and exit Hillville.

We're rolling now! Head down from Hillville into the grove of pyramids. First on the list? Back into the Pyramid of the Moons.

From the beginning, jump over the structure and head to the right. Slide down the first pole you see to grab some goodies below, climb back up, and then repeat at the next pole you come to. Watch out for those dart shooters! They'll make a quick end to your trip! After coming out of the second pit head left and go down the first pole into that little area with a door. Grab the candy and then stand on the moon for a few seconds. Hilarious! With that Easter Egg out of the way, head into the door. You'll now find yourself standing on a platform high in the air. Head to your right and jump onto the moving platform, from the moving platform jump over to the Yellow Gem and pogo back up again.

Return through the door by which you entered and head back up the pole. Head left, skip the first two poles that you come to, and drop down the third one. You should now find yourself in another small chamber with a door. Enter that door and you'll find yourself in a big room filled with dart shooters and Inchworms. Run over to the right and you'll reach the Yellow Door. Open it up and flick the switch inside. Remember how Princess Lindsey said something about the way to the Pyramid of the Forbidden being under the Pyramid of the Moons? Well it turns out that we're in the basement of that very pyramid and it's time to find the secret path to the Pyramid of the Forbidden! The secret lies with the Inchworms; you know how twelve inches make a foot? Twelve Inchworms make. well, you'll see! Make your way to the left at a leisurely pace, allowing all of the Inchworms you've seen follow you without problem. Once you get to the small bridge, sprint across it and pogo up just to the left of the grouping of four dart shooters. You notice how you'll go into the roof? There's a pole hidden up there so at the apex of your jump, deactivate the pogo stick and hold UP. You'll begin climbing, but watch out for the dart shooter directly above you and the other enemies that patrol the small chamber! Make your way to the right and go through the door. Sweet! It's an extra life guarded only by a Poison Slug! Grab the life, and go back through the door. But wait, there's one more secret to be had in this pyramid! After returning through the door, pogo straight up and to the left. Another secret passage! Continue left to grab a bunch of Ice Cream Cones. If you go through the door in front of you, you'll pop out on top of the pyramid, allowing you to get a view outside and make a quick exit. We, however, want to return back down the way we came. There's a secret pyramid to visit! Head back to the Inchworms and get them to cluster at your feet. BOOM! Twelve Inchworms have become a foot! How bizarre! Jump on the foot and you'll have escaped from the Pyramid of the Moons.

Oh weird. This has to be the strangest way Commander Keen has ever travelled, and seeing how he's ridden the back of a sea monster, that's really saying something. You'll soon be dropped off in a clearing, and it's time to hesitantly cross in the Pyramid of the Forbidden.

WATCH OUT! From the beginning, two Licks will come flying towards you at high speeds. This pyramid is by far the hardest level in the game. It's fairly linear, but it definitely won't be a cake-walk. Make your way up and to the right. If you survive the journey you'll score a Lifewater Flask. Awesome! You've now come to a gap. As you fall down the gap make sure that you keep left to avoid spikes at the bottom. If you miss the Red Gem on your way down, CAREFULLY jump out to grab it and open the Red Door.

Run to the left and flick the switch stand over to the gap that you created and look down. You're going to have to fall in such a way that you avoid both the Poison Slug, the dart shooters, and the darts. As well, you'll need to duck to avoid the darts at the bottom. Make your way over to the Yellow Gem, ducking under every dart that passes, and open up the Yellow Door.

Sprint through the Yellow Door, smoke the Slug in the pit, and go through the doorway. Whew! And that was only the first section! From the door, look down and you'll see a moving platform. Jump down to it while it moves right and duck! You'll make it past the outcropping at head level and can jump down below onto safer ground. Kill the Poison Slugs and the Lick that drops down and flick the switch. Use the now liberated moving platform to pogo up and continue on the pathway. Once you see the Ice Cream Cones, STOP! There are an outrageous amount of Skypests guarding this small chamber. Take them out carefully, one-by-one, claim your Ice Cream prize, and head through the door. From the doorway, once again look down. Drop onto the moving platform as it heads left and jump up once the gap appears. Snag the Green Gem on the left and then head up to unlock the Green Door and get the (second!) Red Gem.

Be careful around those spears! Once you have the Red Gem in your possession, head back onto the moving platform and pogo back up to the door. From the door, pogo up to the left to get the Neural Stunner, open the Red Door, and flick the switch. Go back to the doorway, look down, and jump onto the moving platform as it heads right. Immediately duck as you hit the platform, and ride it to get the Blue Gem.

As you come back, pogo up through the Red Door and unlock the Blue Door above you. Finally, drop down the gap, grab the Doughnuts, and head through the doorway. Almost there! After reaching the bottom of the drop, jump onto the moving platform and pogo onto the other platform on the right. Be warned, this platform will drop so make sure to not deactivate your pogo stick! Continue from platform to platform until you make it to safe ground on the right. From there, make your way to the up and left using the moving platforms. Watch out for the Skypest and Poison Slugs! Once you've safely crossed over to the other side, enter the doorway. You're practically home free! Oh no, the other side holds a switch puzzle! Flick the first switch, watch out for the Lick, and jump up to the left. Flick that switch, and drop down the gap you just created to your right. Jump across the small gap to your right and flick that switch. Head back to the left and up, and flick the switch next to the spike pit. Work your way back up to the gap that was just created, zap the Lick, and flick the switch that he was guarding. Now that there's a platform over the spikes above, head up and cross them to flick the switch on the other side. Head back down and go to the bottom right. Kill the Poison Slug that guards the switch and flick it. Finally, make your way back up across the spikes and drop into the hole that you just made. Avoid the Mad Mushroom and push through the arch. Jump on the moving platform and collect some well-deserved Ice Cream Cones. Awesome! A Council Member! Go save him and. wait. A janitor. This had better be a joke. Oh well, head through the door, grab the extra life, and take that foot out of here!

Well, that was absolutely crazy. It's time to relax a little and head to the left to reverently enter the Pyramid of the Gnosticene Ancients.

Here's a nice wide open pyramid for your enjoyment. The first order of the day is to head right and blast any Treasure Eater that you see. They'll eat your goodies! After the first Eater takes the two Lifewater Flasks from you, zap him, cross the bridge, toggle the switch, and jump up to the platform above you. Take care of any creatures you may see there and climb the pole. Flick the switch up top and take the moving platform up to the pole above you. From the top of the pole head right and take the path downward. Flick the switch and head back up, dropping into the pit on the right that you just opened. Follow that path down and you'll find ANOTHER switch that you need to flick. After toggling that switch head back up and continue down the slope, avoiding the Lick and dropping down the gap. Head to the left and jump up to the first gap that you find. Continue up the structure and flick ANOTHER switch (only two more, I promise). Go back down to where you came from and take the path to the left downward to find. the Red Gem! Grab the Gem and head back up and to the left, dropping down the now opened bridge where you encountered your first Treasure Eater.

From the bottom of the drop, head to your right and cross the very dangerous tar pit, watch out for the spear and flick the switch that it guards. Head back to the left, open the Red Door, and watch out for the Lick! Head down, and try to pogo into the left side of the outcropping above the arch. Walking through the secret passage, hop over the little ledge that blocks your way and collect some ammo and an extra life. Head back to the arch and go through it. You're near your objective! Jump up to grab the Green Gem and flick the switch.

Ride the moving platform to the left, jumping up onto the platforms when you reach them. Don't worry about the Licks, they can't hurt you or land on the moving platform. Once you get to the left side of the room, open the Green Door and save the Council Member! No problemo.

Only one pyramid remains. Head to the right and move silently in the Pyramid of Shadows.

The first part of this pyramid is very maze-like, so to avoid getting lost the simplest route will be taken. However, if you feel like exploring you'll be rewarded with a multitude of goodies. Anyways, from the entrance head right, avoiding the spears and Poison Slug until you get to a doorway. Enter the door and immediately drop down the pole next to you to avoid the Skypest. At the bottom of the pole, head to the left and drop down. Walk right and jump up to take the middle path. Continue along this path, look down to avoid landing on a Slug below, and fall down. Grab the Doughnut on your right, and then flick the switch and head through the doorway on your left. Head right, across the newly created bridge, and avoid the hazards to make it through the doorway. After exiting the door, head to your right, jumping across the dangerous falling platform to the safe ground on the other side. If you wish to get the extra life that was underneath the bridge, pogo up to the left to toggle the switch up there and you'll deactivate it, allowing you to backtrack, if you so desire. To continue on with the level, however, head right across the multiple falling platforms. When you at last meet a Poison Slug, you'll know that you're on the right side of the room and can take the falling platform in front of him down to the doorway. Go through the doorway and flick the switch. Carefully avoid the Skypest and dart shooters to get to the other side. If you're in the mood for a lot of extra lives and don't mind replaying the level, you can duck as the moving platform hits the right wall. You'll enter a secret area. If you drop to the right from the platform, you'll find some seven Lifewater Flasks waiting to be consumed. However, the only way out is by being burned by the tar to your left. If you decide that suicide isn't the answer, head into the arch. From the other side of the archway, head right, grab the Blue Gem, avoid the hazards, and open the Blue Door to save the Council Member!

Great. You know, you look a lot like the last guy I rescued.

Well, that's it for pyramids! Head out of the grove of pyramids and to the left into the desert of the Shadowlands. After that, grit your teeth and enter Sand Yego.

What was that? A flash of insight?! Indeed it was! Wait to see it again and then use it to jump straight up to grab a hidden Ice Cream Cone! Drop down and grab the lift up to the first part of the fortress. Stay up on the top level and jump to the right, watch out for the Mimrocks that guard the way! You'll soon get to a small platform with a cloud in from of it. From there pogo up and to the right to grab the ledge of the platform with the pole running through it. If you look to your left, you'll see another flash of insight! Follow the flashes to get to a floating platform that holds some goodies, including a Lifewater Flask! After grabbing them, head back to the platform with the pole and jump up to get the Green Gem.

After getting the Gem head down the pole to your right and through the doorway. On the other side of the door avoid the urge to pogo up to the Shikadi Soda above you (a Skypest guards the way) and head to the right and up the path, stunning any slugs that might bother you. After a little bit of climbing you'll soon reach the Green Door! Go through the door and up the pole. Grab all the goodies you can and head right, carefully making your way past the Mad Mushroom. From the Mushroom, drop down into the pit below the bridge and switches. Toggle all of the switches, and then ride the moving platform back up the gap. From the top of the gap head right (watch out for Skypests) and back into the structure. Ride the moving platform up, avoid any Skypest you see, and watch out for the Mimrock at the top. From the top, climb the pole, head right, and climb back down the other pole. From there you have no choice but to go right, and up into the exit!

Back in the Shadowlands, head up and to the right, until you're able to disappear into Miragia.

Miragia is a unique and interesting place full of goodies and strange platforms that will disappear and reappear. From the beginning head to the right and take the moving platform up to the next level. Pogo up to the disappearing platform to grab some Doughnuts and continue to the right. Jump up the two disappearing platforms, on top of the dome, and jump into the entrance on your right, grabbing some Shikadi Soda and Raindrops on your way down. Climb down the pole and head right (going up the path of disappearing platforms if you need more candy). You will soon come to a pathway leading up. Make sure you look up to avoid the Poison Slugs above you and work your way up. Once you've made it to the top, you have a choice. You can head to the left a take a large roundabout route, collecting a lot of goodies on the way, or you can jump onto the disappearing platform and up to the right. Either way, the way out is by collecting the Wetsuit. Cool! You can breathe underwater now!

Almost out of this desert. Head up and to the left and crawl into Lifewater Oasis.

A nice simple level to finish off the desert levels. Head to the right, avoiding the Poison Slug, and fall straight down into the pit. Hopefully you landed on the platform on the left. If not, jump up to it and jump over to the small ledge on the right. You'll see a sign that says HIGH LOW and a switch. Flick the switch and jump back to the platform on the left. Near the left edge of the platform you're on, jump up and you'll enter the roof. Climb up to the left and you'll quickly fall to a secret lower pathway. Admire all of the Raindrops and Lifewater Flasks that you can't access, and head to the right. Hit the switch and ride the moving platform up, jumping to the left at the top to escape the hidden passage. Once you've dropped down, head to the left, watching out for the Poison Slug and Wormouth, and climb up the pole. From the top of the pole head right, up to the moving platforms. Take the moving platforms up and to the left, watch out for the Thundercloud, take the pole down, and enter the arch. On the other side of the arch, watch out for the sneaky Mimrock behind you and drop down on the second falling platform. Grab the Green Gem and activate your pogo stick to bring the platform back up.

Jump over to the right and enter the Green Door. Through the door, head right and save the Council Member! Good idea, Gramps.

Alright, enough of this desert! Head all the way back to Slug Village and go down, passing to the left of Border Village in order to plummet into The Perilous Pit.

From the beginning head into the house, stock up on ammo, and drop into the eponymous pit. Once reaching the bottom slide down the pole on your right, jump into the wall to the right of the sign the says HI to grab some candy, and sneak under the Mad Mushroom to grab the Red Gem.

Climb back up the pole, head left, jump across the small gap, and climb up into the room containing the Bounder and the Blue Gem.

Climb back down and fall into the gap. Open the Red Door and watch out for the hazards you encounter. Use the poles to safely navigate the path above the Lick, and climb the third one to find the switch that is guarded by a Mad Mushroom. Toggle the switch and head back out the way you came, climbing back out onto the right side of the gap. If you don't already see it, a moving platform will soon come down near where you're standing. Ride it up to its highest point and head left past the Mad Mushroom into the arch. On the other side of the arch you'll find the Blue Door and another Council Member to save! May the road rise to meet your feet Mr. Member.

Endgame time! Enter Three-Tooth Lake and muck along the Isle of Tar.

Head to the right, enter the house to grab some goodies, and carefully make your way across the tar pits until you can fall down into the pit, collecting Raindrops on your way down. Ignore the switch for now and head left, using the falling platform to jump up to the left. Pogo up to the tar pits, jump across them, and fall down hugging the right wall. Flick the switch in the little chamber that you find yourself in, and head left. Jump to the ledge that's parallel to the falling platform and continue left. Watch out for the Wormouth! Jump up to the moving platform (if you miss it just head right, enter the two doorways, and you'll find yourself back in the hall with the Wormouth), avoid the Skypest, and grab the Red Gem.

With Gem in hand, head back down to the hall with the Wormouth and continue to the right. Continue to ignore the switch that you come across and slide down the long pole that you will soon come across. From the bottom of the pole head left, drop into the pit, flick the switch, and wait. Soon a moving platform will come down to get you. Take the moving platform up, enter the Red Gem, and snag the Yellow Gem.

Head back to the long pole, climb all the way up, and head to the left. Continue down underneath the hall with the Wormouth and jump across the gap to open the Yellow Door. Head down, avoid the Mad Mushroom, flick the switch, and walk INTO the wall on your right. After hitting the ground, head right, look out for the Wormouth, and enter the doorway. From the doorway head left and drop down into the pit. Now prepare yourself, because some crazy stuff is about to happen. You're going to jump over the small outcropping, avoid the two Wormouths that guard the ledge, jump over to the Blue Gem, fall straight down, and quickly hop across six falling platforms until you can grab the pole above the sixth, climbing back to safe ground. Are you ready? GO AND DO IT!

With that insanity over, you'll find yourself back near the Red Door. Go left, use the moving platform to get up to the right, and once again climb the long pole. At the top of the pole head right and open the Blue Door. Head right, ride the moving platform up, and climb the pole. Enter the house, grabbing a well-deserved Lifewater Flask in the top-left corner, and then leave and make your way up to the right to exit the island.

Swim down and to the left to blaze across the Isle of Fire.

This level has a very simple layout (a nice change from the Isle of Tar) but can at times be difficult due to the nasty invincible Berkeloids that guard the island. From the beginning head right, avoiding the fire the gets in your way, and drop into the pit to climb down the pole. Head left, watch out for the Poison Slug and multiple Mimrocks that want to end your adventure, grab the Yellow Gem and flick the switch.

Make your way back, open the Yellow Door, and climb up the pole above the Yellow Gem holder. The switch has activated a moving platform in the sky to the left. Jump on it and work your way left to snag a whole bunch of Ice Cream Cones. After grabbing the Ice Cream, head back to the right, down the pole, and go through the Yellow Door. Grab the Neural Stunner and climb down the pole, heading right. Mind the sign and head up using the moving platforms that you encounter. Kill those pesky Slugs and fall down to the right. Head right and begin to climb down the pole. You need to grab the Blue Gem without being killed by the Berkeloid.

If you're successful, climb back up the pole and fall down to the right. Jump over the fire, open the Blue Door, and save the Council Member! Wise plan of action, your ancientness.

Alright! We've saved the best for last! Head right and hopefully enter the Well of Wishes.

This level's a complete change of pace from the others. No pogoing, no shooting, just swimming. Use the button or key usually used to jump in order to swim faster. The Well of Wishes is a maze infested with Dopefish and other nasty creatures so I will just take the most direct route to the exit. Exploring will net you some good candy, but can be frustrating. From the entrance, swim down, collecting the Schoolfish and avoiding the mine. Keep going down, avoid the Sprite, and you'll find a Lifewater Flask. Sweet! An extra life! Continue down and to the right, until you can't go down any further. Once at the bottom of the well, head to your right, avoid the first path up (the one with the Shikkers) and take the second. Unfortunately this second path is guarded by a Dopefish; this is where Schoolfish come in handy. Use the poor little Schoolfish as bait for the Dopefish, and swim away as fast as possible as he chomps down on them. Soon, however, you'll reach a branching path that will free you from the tyranny of the Dopefish (however it also makes it very difficult to return from where you came). Continue upwards, avoid the mines and Sprite, and you'll be forced left. You're almost there! Continue around to the left and you'll find a chamber guarded by a Sprite and two Dopefish. Do some fancy swimming and you'll be able to head through the arch to save the last Council Member! You're the last one, fella. Let's both get back to the Oracle chamber!

You've discovered the Secret of the Oracle! Not sit back, relax, and enjoy the final cutscene.

Wow, this is really an impressive way to activate this monolith of ancient wisdom.

Everyone be silent. The Oracle is about to speak.

Hmmm. Maybe it's got a dead battery or something.

The Shikadi are a race of shadow beings from the far side of the galaxy.

They are building an Armageddon Machine and are planning to blow up the galaxy with it, then rebuild it to suit their needs.

They live on the third planet of the Korath system, which is 71,000 light-years from Gnosticus IV. The Armageddon Machine is almost complete.

And this is what they look like.

These Shikadi are toast!

Thanks for the scoop, Oracle. I'm outta here.

I hope it doesn't rain on my folks.

Meanwhile, back on Earth.