Super Mario 64 #14 - Lethal Lava Land
Lethal Lava Land - Walkthrough
Lethal Lava Land is the seventh course in Super Mario 64 and Super Mario 64 DS. As the course's name suggests, it is filled with lava. When Mario gains the basement key after beating Bowser in Bowser in the Dark World, he can travel into the basement of the castle, where there the painting to Lethal Lava Land can be found. In Super Mario 64 DS, this is the only main course where any of the four characters (Mario, Yoshi, Luigi, or Wario) can obtain any Power Star.
The The Hazy Maze namesake is located deep within the cave. This maze was referred to as the Toxic Maze, the Clouded Maze, and the Hazy Maze throughout the game. The Hazy Maze is a labyrinth whose passageways are clouded with a highly toxic yellow gas (purple in the remake). Mario's health is slowly depleted the longer he stays in the maze, and will eventually suffocate if he is unable to get fresh air. To make matters worse, the Hazy Maze is full of Snufits, Monty Moles, and Swoopers that can hinder Mario's progress. Fortunately for Mario, there are small areas of higher ground scattered throughout the maze, Green Metal Boxes (Red ? Blocks in the remake) (Metal Mario/Metal Wario and Invisible Luigi are unaffected by the poisonous fumes), a Spinning Heart (in the remake only), and several escape routes that are clearly marked on the map just outside the entrance.
Obtaining certain Stars requires the use of certain escape routes. In the remake, Wario's Cap can be found in all the course's missions, Wario's powers are required to get most of the course's Stars in the remake.
There is a special hidden area in this course called the Cavern of the Metal Cap that can be accessed through a door near the underground lake. The Metal Cap's ! Switch is located here, along with eight more Red Coins that can be collected to receive one of the castle's Secret Stars. In the remake version, the Metal Cavern does not have the metal cap switch and instead has several Power Flowers that can be used for Wario & Mario to be used with an extra Star at the top of the course only accessed by Mario's balloon ability.
To enter Hazy Maze Cave you must have beaten Bowser in the Dark World and unlocked the basement. Upon entering the basement, go to the right and use the door to access the corridors. Follow the corridor toward the right. The entrance to Hazy Maze Cave is through the door with the Star on the right side of the corridors.
Layout
The player starts off on a platform with a couple of signs, and the player has to long-jump in order to reach the next platform. This platform splits into either a small circular platform on the right that contains a yellow block with a Shiny Shell inside during the later missions or a platform to the left that has several Sparkies jumping across it. At the end of the left path is a large platform with a single Bully. Here, the platform splits and leads to either the left or the right side of the course.
To the right are a lava plume and a ramp and platform that lead to the spinning ring platform that circles the volcano and a flamethrower with a 1-UP Mushroom on top of it at the back of the platform. If the player stands on this platform, it will slow to a halt; the volcano will erupt, spewing out several fireballs; and then the platform will resume moving. To the right are platforms that lower and rise in and out of the lava. Here, the platforms lead to either a circular platform with a duo of Bullies or an M-shaped platform. The platform with the Bullies has a steel-grated platform that brings the player to a rolling log. The M-shaped platform leads to four sinking and rising platforms with a large platform with a trio of Bullies, where a Big Bully will be fought if the player defeats the normal Bullies.
To the left of the large platform with the Bully is a drawbridge leading to a steel-grated platform with a Mr. I. and a warp underneath it. The warp leads to a small platform containing a Wing Cap. Past the Mr. I. is a platform tilting in and out of the lava with a group of sliding puzzle platforms with Bowser's image. Beyond the picture of Bowser is a platform with a couple of Bullies leading to a spinning platform with a fire bar, and a couple of platforms beyond that lead to a Big Bully. The spinning platform does not hold Bullies when they are pushed onto it, causing the Bullies to fall through it.
The above text is from the Super Mario Wiki and is available under a Creative Commons license. Attribution must be provided through a list of authors or a link back to the original article. Source: https://www.mariowiki.com/Lethal_Lava_Land
Enemies encountered
Bully, Podoboo, Mr. I, Fire Arms, Flamethrower, and Big Bully (BOSS)
- 1. Boil the Big Bully
- 2. Bully the Bullies
- 3. 8-Coin Puzzle with 15 Pieces
- 4. Red-Hot Log Rolling
- 5. Hot-Foot-It into the Volcano
- 6. Elevator Tour in the Volcano
- 7. 100 Coins Star
1. Boil the Big Bully, Lethal Lava Land
Long-jump over the first gap in the platforms and turn left through the archway. Once you cross the path with the arrows, turn left and run across the draw-bridge to reach the other side.
Just past the rotating eyeball is a platform that is teetering in and out of the lava. Hop across it, staying on the lava-free sections, and go right to jump onto the moving Bowser sliding puzzle. When moving across the puzzle, make sure to stay away from the pieces that are adjacent to the missing piece — make your way across and quickly run past the enemies on the next platform, onto the rotating platform ahead.
From the rotating platform, jump right to the square platform floating in the lava. Wait until the next platform emerges from the lava and quickly jump across it to reach the platform with the Big Bully.
Big Bully Battle
Push the Bully off the platform and into the lava in order to get the star he is holding — lure him toward the edge of the platform, dodge his attack, and run behind him to punch him in the back. It will take more than a few punches to push him off the ledge, leaving you to jump up and grab the Power Star.
2. Bully the Bullies, Lethal Lava Land
Head through the archway the same way as last time, but when you reach the platform with the first Bully on it, turn right instead. Jump your way to the snaking stone walkway, and follow it to a set of four platforms that sink and rise in the lava. Hop from platform to platform (do not walk across, you will likely hit the lava between them) to reach the furthest one to the left.
From there, you can jump onto the moving mesh platform and jump onto the area with the three Bullies. When you get to the platform with the Bullies, quickly run to the right side and try to lose their attention. You have to knock all three off the platform, and it is much easier to do so if you can go at them one at a time.
When knocking the Bullies off the ledge, it is important to attack early. They are very fast, and if you hit the attack button right when you run into them, you lose the fight and get bounced back. If you attack early, your fist will meet their face before they get close enough to touch you, sending the Bullies flying and letting you hold your ground. Once you lose their attention, attack one from behind when it walks near the edge of the platform.
After knocking out all three Bullies, a Big Bully will drop onto the platform. Knock him off the ledge as you did last time to get the Power Star.
3. 8-Coin Puzzle with 15 Pieces, Lethal Lava Land
Follow the path as you did to get the first star, so that you reach the sliding puzzle of Bowser: Long-jump over the first gap in the platforms and turn left through the archway. Once you cross the path with the arrows, turn left and run across the draw-bridge to reach the other side. Just past the rotating eyeball is a platform that's teetering in and out of the lava. Hop across it, staying on the lava-free sections, and go right to jump onto the moving Bowser sliding puzzle.
All of the eight Red Coins are on top of the puzzle pieces—no searching necessary. Run around the surface of the puzzle collecting the coins. Only the puzzle pieces adjacent to the hole in the puzzle will move; so, as long as you stay away from the hole. Collecting the coins is a bit easier if you zoom the camera out, giving you a better view of the shifting puzzle. When all eight Red Coins are collected, the Power Star appears nearby.
4. Red-Hot Log Rolling, Lethal Lava Land
Run toward the archway and turn right when you reach the first Bully. Further to the right is a platform with two Bullies circling around—jump onto their platform, do not worry about fighting them off. Just hop past them and onto the mesh platform. Swing the camera behind you around, as the mesh platform carries you past some spurts of fire and to a new set of obstacles.
Run up the steps ahead to get level with the large log in the area. You need to step on the log and lightly run to get the log rolling toward the platforms to the left. Face right and start moving slightly, and speed up as the long starts to roll (in order to avoid falling off). Once you get the log all the way to the left, you can run across it to reach the platform ahead of you. Run down the narrow walkway to grab the Power Star.
5. Hot-Foot-It into the Volcano, Lethal Lava Land
Run through the archway and turn right at the first Bully. Instead of continuing right, however, hop onto the spinning platform that circles the volcano in the center of the level. When you set foot on the platform, it will stop spinning, while a spout of lava fires up into the air. Wait for it to stop and then jump into the volcano (you can walk on the sides of the volcano).
Head toward the right, across the platforms in the lava, until you reach the outer walkway that runs around the perimeter of the volcano's interior. Follow the walkway upwards, dodging the spout of fire from the wall, the Bully, and the falling section on the wall to the left. After hopping across a series of small platforms, you reach an area with another Bully. Knock it off the ledge to give yourself plenty of time to creep along the next narrow path.
Climb the pole ahead, reach the top, and turn your back to the next platform before leaping off onto the second pole. Slide down to touch the platform below; then, jump up to the next ledge to claim the Power Star.
6. Elevator Tour in the Volcano, Lethal Lava Land
Get to the Volcano
Return to the inside of the volcano as you did for the previous Star. To reach the inside of the volcano: Run through the archway and turn right at the first Bully. Instead of continuing right, however, hop onto the spinning platform that circles the volcano in the center of the level. When you set foot on the platform, it will stop spinning, while a spout of lava fires up into the air. Wait for it to stop and then jump into the volcano (you can walk on the sides of the volcano).
Inside the Volcano
Instead of following the stone platforms toward the right, as you did in the previous mission, turn around and jump back across the stones. Step on the checkered platform at the end, and wait on it while it starts ascending through the volcano.
As soon as the checkered platform meets up with a second identical checkered platform, quickly jump onto the next platform before the first platform falls into the lava. Shortly after boarding the second platform, it will begin to circle around a pole. Quickly jump onto the pole to avoid falling into the lava.
Climb up the pole to the very top and turn your back to the platform above. Jump onto the platform and climb a second pole. Again, jump back from the top to land on the small platform above. Then, hop across to grab the Power Star.
7. 100 Coins Star, Lethal Lava Land
Collect 100 coins without dying or leaving a level to earn an additional star. Collect all the coins you see laying around but do keep in mind the following tips as you play. There is a possible 139 coins to collect.
- Make sure to defeat all enemies. Snufits and Scuttle Bugs give out three coins each.
- The Mr. I enemies give blue coins when defeated.
- There is a blue switch in the toxic maze that gives a hefty 35 coins if all coins are collected.
This is one of the worse 100-Coin hunts in Super Mario 64, so prepare to have you patience tested as you run around the entire level scrounging for every coin you can find. From the start make sure you are killing every Scuttlebug you see as you head toward the Red Coin room. They are worth 3 coins each.
By selecting Stars 5 or 6 you can spawn a box with a Green Koopa Shell in it just past the arch near the start of the level. This shell makes it incredibly easy to collect the coins in the lava and on the ramps all around the level, so make sure you grab it and ride carefully so you don't lose it until you've gotten all the far flung coins in the stage.
Once you get most of the hard to reach coins, go around and defeat bullys and the eyeball enemies to get some extra coins. Grab the 8 Red Coins for another easy boost of coins, and collect the various coin rings and lines on platforms along the edges.
If you get most of them you should have about 90 coins, at which point you can hop into the volcano and follow the path to find your final 10 coins.
- Head to the first bully, go left and run around the Mr. I a few times to get a blue coin, or 5 normal coins.
- A little further on, there are five yellow coins in a line.
- Go to the location of the eight red coins just a little further on. Grab them all for 16 coins.
- Wait around a while, and eventually, once the puzzle is completed, five yellow coins will appear in the middle.
- Head to the end, turn right, and jump down to the next platform, where there are five yellow coins in a line just up ahead.
- Run past the Big Bully and jump onto the moving cage. At the end, there's another platform with 8 yellow coins.
- Jump over to the raising and lowering platforms and grab the four coins on them.
- Head down the curving path, jump over to the raising and lowering platform, and grab five coins.
- Backtrack a little bit and jump onto the round platform, where you can get 8 coins in the middle.
- Head back over to the platform surrounding the volcano and grab the three coins on it.
- Head back to the beginning, where there is a platform with a ! Block, and grab the Koopa Shell inside. Take the shell for a ride under the drawbridge and get the five coins underneath.
- Right ahead is a very steep hill with a 1-Up on it, and over that is a much shallower hill with four coins on it.
- Go around to just behind where you started, and near that will be another shallow hill with three coins.
- Ride back around to where the second Big Bully would be, and climb the very steep hill for five coins.
- Near this is a platform with 8 coins and a Mr. I with a blue coin.
- Head into the volcano. Right in front of you when you start is a platform with three coins.
- A bit further up the volcano is a platform with five coins. You should have the star by now.
Trivia
- The Nintendo Player's Guide for Super Mario 64 labels the "Elevator Tour in the Volcano" Star as "Inside the Volcano," which ended up becoming the mission's name in the remake.
- In the beta version of the game, Lethal Lava Land was located somewhere in the main hall. Also, the left section of the first platform was missing, and you started where the Koopa Shell is in the final game.
- The only enemies in this stage are Mr. I's and Bullies, both small, and big.
- Knocking a Bully onto the Bowser puzzle will make it fall into the lava, even if it lands on a puzzle piece, due to collision errors in the game.
- There is a glitch in which you can slide kick on the lava, but it is slightly hard to do and requires good timing.
1-Up Mushroom Locations
The following is a list of where to find all four green mushrooms.
- On the steep hill just past the drawbridge.
- On the shallow hill just past the steep hill.
- On the shallow hill in the corner of the level.
- On the top of the fire shooter.
- Behind the platform where the Boil The Big Bully star appears.
- On the steep hill near the Mr. I.
- Hidden in one of the poles near the top of the edge of the volcano.
Statistics for Lethal Lava Land
- Total Number of Coins: 133
- Caps Found: Wing Cap (1)
- Spinning Heart: Inside the volcano, past the hidden smasher, on the platform to the right.
- Cannons: 0
- Warp: The area under the Mr. I. near the picture of Bowser can warp the player to the island with the Wing Cap.
Courses
- 1. Bob-omb Battlefield
- 2. Whomp’s Fortress
- 3. Jolly Roger Bay
- 4. Cool, Cool Mountain
- 5. Big Boo's Haunt
- 6. Hazy Maze Cave
- 7. Lethal Lava Land
- 8. Shifting Sand Land
- 9. Dire Dire Docks
- 10. Snowman's Land
- 11. Wet Dry World
- 12. Tall, Tall Mountains
- 13. Tiny Huge Island
- 14. Tick Tock Clock
- 15. Rainbow Ride
- 16. Peach's Castle Secret Stars