The Summit Beyond the Clouds

Part 1. This part starts with a combo that signals just how challenging this level really is. It involves the green gem and the two yellow gems located in the secret room on the side of the ship. But before getting this combo it is necessary to kill two, or sometimes three, lone fish. Grab the Lockjaw and shoot them with the canons when they appear.
Now a lot of fish will appear and all the excitement starts. The idea is now to get ten items before taking the green gem in combo. It can be done as follows: Get the Lockjaw and get up on the rail. Walk on the rail in direction of the secret room. The rail ends at a corner and at this corner it is possible to get to the upper deck by means of a glitch. The glitch works simply by walking into the corner. Don’t jump, just walk. It may take a few attempts before it’s working, but practise makes perfect. One note here though: One should get to the upper deck as fast as possible as the fish are continually shooting the ship.
When at the upper deck (with the Lockjaw naturally) make sure there are two fish out there. The combo starts by shooting the canon. Quickly take the two yellow gems while jumping and using helicopter to take the third yellow gem. Just before you go below the upper rail, shoot the canon once again and drop to the lower deck and take the gems on the way down without hitting the Throttle Copter can as you land. Now run like heck and jump on the rail and helicopter to the secret room taking the yellow gem on your left. Jump away and take the yellow gem on the right and finally take the green gem. (12.860 points).

The Green Gem Combo

Back on the ship, use the Throttle Copter to reach the canon on the upper deck and shoot it three times (sometimes two shots are not sufficient). Land on the Throttle Copter can as you go down again in order to get the points with power suit. (13.040 points).

Now to the combo that will determine your score in this part. Renew the Lockjaw and head for the yellow gems on the netting. As you face them climb the netting on the left and take the yellow gems, when you reach the top, move to the right to take the yellow gems and now jump down taking the yellow gems on the right on the way down except the last one in the lower right corner. It may take some practise the make the right jump. Quickly hit the canon on your right and quickly turn back to take the last yellow gem on the netting. Run like the wind to take the first yellow gem that leads to the canon. Shoot the canon on your left and return to take another yellow gem to keep the combo going. The idea now is to keep the combo going as long as possible by combining the remaining yellow gems with the canons. Do this as slowly as possible, thus allowing a new school of fish to appear. It is possible to get a combo exceeding 4.000 points in this part.

The Cannon Combo

Get as many as possible of the remaining fish in combo. (20.000 points).

Part 2. Force the Hoodlock back behind the HMF by hitting him regularly. Get the HMF, break the pig, collect the gems, kill the Hoodlock with a charged fist and finally convert the Black Lum. (21.100 points).

Renew the HMF and run towards the snowballs coming at you. Avoid them by hitting them with the HMF. Don’t collect any yellow gems along the way. You must now get to the upper level without touching any yellow gems. This can be done by mounting the boxes in the middle. Stand on the box to the left of the yellow gem. From there, make a jump to the box furthest to the left. There isn’t much room to move on this box without touching the yellow gem, so be careful. When you jump to the box, grab hold with the hands on the edge pointing away from the upper level. Climb carefully to the box and stand on the extreme corner close to the wall and away from the upper level. From there you can jump to the wooden tower close by. Climb to the top of the wooden tower and jump to the upper level. The hands will grab hold on the edge. You are now at the level with the Hoodlock and a few yellow gems. Again, go to the level above without touching anything. This can be done as follows: Near the yellow gem to the left, you can walk or run a little bit up the hillside. When you reach the highest point you can make a jump to a small platform on the hillside just above the yellow gem. Stand at the edge of this platform and make a jump to the level above. Again the hands will grab hold. At this level, don’t touch anything but jump up one further level, which this time is easy. Now, avoid the snowballs and find your way to the cage. The cage is invisible, but a red circle reveals its presence. Hit it and free the Teensies. They will stop the snowballs and provide you with the Lockjaw. At this point, don’t be tempted to continue jumping the balloons as the Hoodlums won’t appear until you finish off the Hoodlock.

Instead take the Lockjaw and helicopter down to the level with the Hoodlock. As the snowballs have stopped rolling at you, you can now finish off the Hoodlock nice and easy with the power suit. Do this and take the yellow gem on the left where you jumped to the platform in combo. Run back and convert the Black Lum, also in combo. But for the love of god, don’t touch the yellow gem near the fireplace. (21.420 points).

The Beginning

Use the Throttle Copter to go to the upper level and return to the Lockjaw, again without touching any gems on the way.

Now to the first of the long, big combos in this part. This combo depends on speed and the ability to jump the balloons fast. Take the Lockjaw and swing to the balloons. Take the yellow gems and give the Hoodlum a semi-charged shot. Don’t run into him and he will inflate a balloon and go to the other side. Now run a little bit down the path to the left of the Hoodlum and then turn right into the first balloon. When done right, you will take the first and second balloon in one jump and thus save a precious second or two. Take the yellow gems on the remaining balloons. Take the yellow gem as you land. Go to the circular, wooden arena and jump over the fence midway to take the yellow gem just on the other side. Now go clock wise and take the yellow gems while charging your fist. Electrocute the Elite Monger who appears just where the remaining yellow gem is located. Take this yellow gem and fast run towards the second Elite Monger who is descending by balloon. Hit him one time while on the balloon and now quickly run back and convert the Black Lum from the first Elite Monger (it should give two or three Black Lums). Thus you now have at least 20 objects. Activate Look Mode and take the Matuvu for 2.500 combo points. Turn around and finish off the last Hoodlum who is conveniently placed near you. Convert the Black Lum before the cinematic starts. Now rush to the level below with the pig. Break the pig and collect the yellow gems. Make sure the last gem you take is the one close to the edge. Roll off the edge and land on the yellow gem you left at the fireplace. Continue to roll off the edge here and land on the yellow gem just below. Collect the yellow gems on the boxes and continue to take all the remaining yellow gems in combo (the last three gems will be without the Lockjaw). This combo is worth 10.590 points. (34.600 points).

The Circular Arena Combo

Go back to the Lockjaw and balloon to the other side. Finish off the first Lavicraft and combo it with a lone yellow gem in the corner near the arena. Convert the Black Lum and get the two yellow gems and the end of the wooden path in combo as well. (35.740 points).

Now to the second of the very long combos. Weaken the remaining Lavicraft so one more hit will finish him off. Now he must be placed at a certain spot, which is on the wooden path leading away from the circular arena. The place is right in the middle of the pathway, about one fourth of the way from the arena to the wall of the hill at the end of the pathway. You can place him there quite easily. Make him shoot fire at you and run from the centre of the arena along the middle of the wooden pathway to the wall at the end. Pause there. If he is not in the right position, repeat the process. When positioned, he will not move away unless you approach him. Now refresh the Lockjaw and get ready for the combo.

The combo starts with the yellow gem on the ground at the start of the scaffolding. Take it and jump to the scaffolding. Take the yellow gems and when you reach the platform with the four yellow gems, take the two gems on the left first. Continue with the remaining two gems while hitting the Lavicraft who is placed just down below (you can easily see the red circle). Quickly take the first yellow gem on the first balloon and continue with the other balloons while 1.500 points from the Lavicraft are added to the combo counter. Break the Snowmen and collect the gems. Continue with the trail of yellow gems. Be careful with the gem on the left box as you have to make a jump to get it. Take the gem on the floor between the opposite boxes and jump to the box where the previous gem was located. The following must be done with some accuracy. Jump forward and right (some might say north-east) to the ceiling while taking the first of the two remaining yellow gems. Pass the last yellow gem on the ceiling on the right and turn left to take it just before the combo (and the Lockjaw) runs out. Get the HMF and quickly charge your fist while falling towards the door. Break the door as you stand as close as possible to the door. Continue to take the yellow gem on the box in the other room. Run towards the Snowman while hitting back to break the pig to continue the combo. Break the Snowman, take the gems while charging the fist and send a deadly shot towards the Hoodboom on the scaffolding. Take the remaining yellow gems on the ground floor near the Snowman and on the level where the Hoodboom was placed. The combo ends here. (46.600 points).

The Lavicraft Combo

Get the Lockjaw and go to the secret room. Make sure you get as many yellow as possible in the beginning of the combo and save as many red gems as possible for later. Also the green gem must be taken as gem number 11 – 15 in order for it to give maximum points. (61.620 points).

Go back and renew the Lockjaw. Take the remaining gems in this room. (61.760 points).

Renew the Lockjaw and use the swing. You can choose to pass the HMF as the Lockjaw will do here. Go stand before the yellow gem and let the Hoodlum hit you one time. Get the yellow gem and jump to the level where the Hoodlum is standing. Get the yellow gems here and jump to get the remaining two yellow gems here while charging the fist. Kill the Hoodlum with one hit and convert the Black Lum, all in combo of course. (62.780 points).

We now get to the third long combo in this part. First some preparation. Climb the ladder and jump the balloons to get the Vortex. Collect the four yellow gems. (62.920 points).

Run past the first Hoodlum and shoot the stilts with the Vortex. Now jump down below and wait for the Vortex to run out. Go to the frozen waterfall and hit the Elite Monger five times. He will be joined by the first Hoodlum who has chosen to jump down as well. Go back upstairs using the ladder. The Hoodboom will stand close to the Snowman. Hit him five times and renew the Vortex. When you come back he will be conveniently placed a little bit away from the Snowman. Now to the combo.
Break the Snowman and collect the yellow gems. Hit the Hoodboom and very fast jump and helicopter to the first of the five balloons on the right. When done right and fast you will reach the balloon just in time to continue the combo. Take the five yellow gems while falling/helicoptering/steering to avoid the balloons. When you land on the box, hit the Elite Monger, still with the Vortex. He will give 2.500 points in combo. Get the HMF, convert the Black Lum and finish off the Hoodlum. Convert the Black Lum and zoom in on the Matuvu for additional 2.500 points. Quickly turn around, break the door and collect the gems in the hallway together with the pig. It’s a combo worth of 9.220 points. (74.240 points).

The Balloon Combo

You now enter the last room in this part. In order to prepare the first combo, you might want to weaken the two Hoodlums on the left with two shots each (I don’t do that myself though). Also you have to hit the Hoodboom on the scaffolding in order to make him jump down (jump to the level with the Snowmen, jump and helicopter away from the level while sending a curved shot to the left and aimed at the Hoodboom).

Now to the combo itself. This one was once devised by Cyberscreen and it remains one of my favourite combos in the whole game. Go to the level with the Snowmen. Go stand at the pig with your back to the two Snowmen and thus facing the third Snowman. Break the pig and get the HMF and quickly break the Snowman in front of you in combo and collect the gems. Return to the two Snowmen and break them in the same combo. Renew the HMF while collecting the gems. Charge the fist while running towards the Hoodboom who is now standing on the ground floor and kill him in combo with one hit. Convert the Black Lum. Use the Throttle Copter and finish off the Hoodlum on the left. Run back to renew the Throttle Copter and turn counter clock wise around the corner of the scaffolding. As soon as you see a red circle around the Hoodlum send a curved (charged) shot at him. Quickly use the Throttle Copter for an easy ascent to the level with the HMF and run fast to get the HMF. Now head for the middle part of the wooden hanging bridge where another Hoodboom is standing. Kill him with a charged fist (must be done quickly). Now head for a place underneath the end of the hanging bridge. At this exact spot you can jump and with a charged shot to the right hit the Elite Monger who is standing near the end of the bridge. The exact location of this spot is easily found slightly to the left of a narrow shade of grey in the snow. The combo ends here and there is nothing sweeter than hearing this last charged shot worth of 2.500 combo points hit the target. (85.330 points).

The Scaffolding Combo

Go back to the HMF and wait for the Black Lum to fly by. Convert it (it usually gives two Lums). (85.390 points).

Now it’s time for the last combo in this room. Use the Throttle Copter to enter the scaffolding. Cross the bridge and head for the Hoodlum. Don’t hit him. Instead jump to the left and with the Throttle Copter fly to the top of the scaffolding and break the cage. You now have the Lockjaw. Head back to the first bridge and the Hoodlum. Charge your fist and take the yellow gem in front of the Hoodlum and finish him off with one hit. Convert the black Lum. Now jump out and upwards to the wooden hanging bridge above. Jump as if you wanted to hit the head on the floorboards. What actually happens is that you pass through the floor and you find yourself on the bridge above. Continue the combo with the Hoodboom that have appeared at the end of this bridge. Convert the Black Lum. Now, in order to continue this combo you have to stand next to the yellow gem where you killed the Hoodboom. The Elite Monger will arrive rather late by the balloon, so as soon as you see him coming down, charge your fist, take the yellow gem and electrocute him at the moment he touches the bridge (only then can it be done). Convert the Black Lum and race towards the Hoodlum at the end. Kill him with one hit after taking the yellow gem. Convert the Black Lum and kill the last Hoodlum and convert the last Black Lum. (90.570 points).

The Second Scaffolding Combo

Renew the Lockjaw and head towards the other room. Take the remaining yellow gem at the end of the first bridge. (90.590 points).

In the other room, jump the boxes to the right and jump the balloons until you get to the balloon with the yellow gem. Take it. (90.610 points).

Jump to the horn and collect the gems in combo, fall down to continue the combo with the pig and the gems below. (91.730 points).

Get the HMF and kill the last Hoodlum with one hit. Convert the Black Lum (this can be made to give three Lums). (92.210 points).

Part 3. In the first room there are two Hoodoos, one protecting the Slapdash and one protecting the cage. Give each of these Hoodoos three shots. Everything in the first room (and then some) can be taken in combo. Start at the pig on the left. Break it and break the other two pigs as well. Collect the gems and take a hit at the cage. The Hoodoo will appear. Kill him in combo and break the cage. Convert the Black Lum and take the red gem left by the Teensie. Take a shot at the Slapdash and finish off the last Hoodoo. Convert the Black Lum and finish off the Slapdash. Convert the Black Lum and continue the combo by flipping the Snowboard (usually three times at this place) and finally take the five yellow gems in the same combo. (96.400 points).

The next combo follows immediately and starts with the five yellow gems followed by a jump where the opportunity of flipping the snowboard should be used to the full extent. When landing close the edge of the path with the two red gems, it is sometimes possible to flip all the way to the gems. Collect the gems and steer left after the jump while flipping like mad. Get the Hoodlock in combo and collect the yellow gems along the wall. I usually land about 1.960 combo points here, but it may vary from time to time. (98.800 points).

Note: If you at this stage of the game are in need of points, it is possible to trigger a launching glitch just after the path with the red gems. Jump to the extreme left when leaving the path and go along the left side wall. At some point you might be launched high into the air and thus being able to flip the snowboard like mad. I once had about 2.800 points in combo that way.

The next combo involves the fence on the left just before the next Hoodlock. Go into the fence on the right side of it. This allows you to flip the snowboard, often up till three times, and furthermore you get the Hoodlock in combo. After the Hoodlock continue down the left path and collect the yellow gems. Jump off the path and flip the snowboard (in combo) for additional points. (99.650 points).

At the next fence on the left, go into to it on the left side and flip the snowboard. Continue into the left corner just after the fence and you can flip again. You can get a combo of 300 points here. (100.190 points).

The next combo starts with the third Hoodlock. Run into him and continue left up the short slope. When done right this allows you to flip four times. Continue and jump off the path towards the next Hoodlock. Flip while in the air. Hit the Hoodlock, ram into the fence, flip, take the yellow gems, jump and flip and finally take the red gem in combo. This combo should be between 1.100 and 1.300 points depending on the number of flips. (101.990 points).

Take the five yellow gems in the hallway. (102.080 points).

Ram the Hoodlock and take the yellow gems in combo. Hit the fence and flip one time in combo. You miss the last yellow gem by doing this, but occasionally you can get it after the fence. (102.380 points).

Take the left path and get the red gem. (102.410 points).

The next combo starts with the Hoodlock just after the red gem. Run into him and flip whenever you can and get the gems. I usually get a combo worth of 1.590 points here (and on a rare occasion 1.740 points). For the sake of counting this should amount to 104.580 points. Obviously one cannot keep scoring after 100.000 points.

Now to the combo involving the green gem. It starts with five yellow gems and is followed by flips before and after taking the green gem. The green gem is worth 4.500 combo points. If for example one is able to flip ten times the combo is 5.200 points. In order to reach the “maximum score” in this level one should thus have 99.999 – 5x10 – 10x30 – 1.500 = 98.149 points before starting this last combo and the score will be 105.199 points. This very personal “maximum score” can be adjusted to how many times one actually is able to flip the snowboard.

If one wants to be the world champion in this level we need a different approach and a different combo. It involves a glitch that is a bit hard to trigger, but then again not harder than getting the green gem itself. It starts with the last Hoodlock before the green gem. Run into it and jump and flip, take the yellow gem, jump and flip. Take the following five yellow gems and the red gem and jump and flip to the other side. Now if you aimed right when doing this jump, you can land exactly on the left edge of the pathway. When doing this right, you will be launched into the air and thus being able to flip some more and to top it off, you will land exactly where the trail of five yellow gems leads to the green gem and thus keep the combo going. Take the five yellow gems, jump and flip and take the green gem in a combo of 7.500 points. Let’s investigate this further and be more specific about the combo.

In units of five objects (the first 20 objects) the combo can go like this:

Hoodlock 4 flips| 1 yellow 4 flips| 3 flips 2 yellow| 3 yellow 1 red 1 flip| 9 flips 5 yellow 8 flips green gem

Here I assume one is able to flip 4 times for the first jump, 7 times for the second jump, 6 times for third jump, 4 times after being launched from the edge and finally conservative 8 times when jumping for the green gem.

The combo is worth 11.370 points. In straight points this is: 130 + 11x10 + 30x30 + 1.500 = 2.640 points. Thus in order to reach the maximum score one should have 99.999 – 2.640 = 97.359 points before hitting the Hoodlock. The maximum score for this level in this example is: 111.369 points.

Note 1: The combos in this walkthrough are all tried out several times, but for obvious reasons I have left out being hit along the way.

Note 2: This game is played on X-Box and on this platform the conversion of Black Lums goes like this: If the Black Lum is converted right after the Hoodlum is killed, then it will give 10 points. If you wait a while it may give 20 and wait even further it may provide 30 points and thus count as three Lums (this fact is important in combos). Wait even longer yet and it may be back to 20 or 10 points again. Thus there is a time dependency when converting Black Lums and in a given situation it may be down to luck how it is converted. The combos where the conversion always provides 10 points, it is counted as 10 points in the combo. And where I always can get it for 30 points, it is counted as such (an example is the very first combo in part 2.). In all other cases the conversion is set to 20 points as an average score. Thus for the fanatic player, the score may be a little bit higher than I have stated.

Note 3: In order to get the maximum score it is necessary to get 98.149 points (or 97.359 points depending on the level of your ambitions). It is thus possible to loose around 7.000 points along the way when compared to the walkthrough, so mistakes are allowed. For instance, this time around I got 19.000 points on the ship and I settled for that. I would probably play the whole day to get 20.000 points on the ship and since I can loose points I chose to save the score of 19.000. Plus I tend to loose patience when getting around 20.000 points and the ship is shot to pieces just before I kill the last fish.