Geki Yaba Runner Anniversary Edition on Nintendo Switch (by QubicGames) Strategy Guide and FAQ -------------------- General Data -------------------- Author: Dale Hoffman (Chickenbolt) Email: dalemichelleh@aol.com Originally Created: January 3, 2020 Version: 1.0 -------------------- Table of Content -------------------- General Data Table of Content Scope Spoiler Alert About the Game Differences from the Original Differences from the Deluxe Version Glitches Help and Strategies Frequently Asked Questions Final Note from the Author Legal -------------------- Scope -------------------- The primary purpose of this document is to help players meet objectives in the game. The secondary purpose is to share interesting information about the game and the game series. This is not intended to be a complete walkthrough. -------------------- Spoiler Alert -------------------- From the very beginning, this document will tell the game's order of events, what is coming, and everything that happens all the way through the game. If you don't like spoilers, I recommend you stop reading, continue playing the game, and only read the parts of this document that you need in order to reach your personal goals in the game. -------------------- About the Game -------------------- The manual for Geki Yaba Runner Deluxe on 3DS says this is a sequel for 2 Fast 4 Gnomz. Anniversary Edition on Switch is generally the same as the deluxe version on 3DS. As of today, there are only about half the courses that are in the deluxe version. Note that in the Switch eShop description for the anniversary edition it only mentions characters "Bumb, Berzerk, and Speedster". Uncle Time is not here... yet. The eshop description also says to expect more courses later. The game has most of the same style graphics, sound, and play as 2 Fast 4 Gnomz. The notable difference is that this is much more difficult, which can be expected for a good sequel. The story has not changed. The purpose of the game is a greater challenge, and not necessarily a story continuation. It simply retells the same story throughout the adventure. Note that the difficulty curve is much like the original game. It starts with a few easy courses to learn any new abilities, then the difficulty ramps up from there. However, in this sequel, the difficulty curve escalates much higher and faster. Note that, like the original game, these courses are not necessarily in order of difficulty level. For more fun after finishing the game, I recommend running back through all the courses again. You will find that the skills you have perfected later in the game will make earlier areas that you struggled with much easier to clear. At the time of this writing, this game is available in the Nintendo Switch eShop, normally for $3.99 USD. There are many courses in this high quality game, and worth much more than the few dollars you pay for it. -------------------- Differences from the Original -------------------- In this section I will refer to Geki Yaba Runner (3DS and Switch) as the sequel, and 2 Fast 4 Gnomz (Wii and 3DS) as the original. 1. Controls In the sequel you can use A or Up to glide. In the original, you could only use Up. This is more convenient, making in-game control much easier--especially being able to hold A to glide. These are good enhancements, but make it difficult to go back and play the original. This game is all about such quick moves, that your brain takes over and does most of it unconsciously. Before you go back and play the original game, you may have to wait a few months for your brain to forget to use the A button to glide. Honestly, I've been playing this game so much, the original is nearly unplayable for me right now because I am unconsciously trying to use A to glide. 2. Challenges In the sequel you must meet challenges to advance to the next course or earn a trophy. In the original you were expected to simply clear the course with focus on sock collection, death count, and speed. There are 2 challenges on each course in the sequel. Meeting the first challenge advances you to the next course. Meeting the 2nd challenge in addition to the 1st will earn you a trophy. 3. Golden Socks The original game had only normal socks to collect. The sequel has the normal socks, plus 1, 2, or 3 golden socks in some courses that are generally more challenging to collect. You will know how many golden socks you have collected by the counter on the top of the screen. Collecting all the golden socks in an area usually earns you a trophy--if you also meet the main objective. 4. Time Bomb In the sequel, some courses have the gnome carrying a time bomb. In these courses you must reach the goal in time. 5. Use of Abilities In the original game, after you had unlocked a new move, you could use it in previous courses to enhance your clear time, death count, and ease of sock collection. In the sequel, the course layout and accompanying special challenges are designed for the specific abilities. In short, you can only use the abilities available to you in any given course. 6. Map Layout In the sequel, the map has much more color and detail than in the original. Congratulations to the game developers--this map is absolutely beautiful. Progress in the sequel is generally upward, where in the original 3DS version, progress was from left to right, and the Wii version map was somewhat twisty with a secret flipside. 7. Graphical Themes The sequel has all graphical the elements of the original, and adds the mirror/castle and lava/volcano themes. Note that the initial publishing of the anniversary edition in 2019 does not yet exhibit the lava/volcano theme, but we expect to see it when the advanced courses are published. 8. Cutscenes After completing some castles, you will trigger a cut scene. The cut scenes tell the same wacky story of senseless urgency as found in the original. The differences are in the added sound effects and enhanced animations, resulting in a more humorous and entertaining flavor overall. -------------------- Differences from the Deluxe Version -------------------- Differences between the anniversary edition on Switch (thus far) and the deluxe version on 3DS are minor. The anniversary edition is slightly more refined as compared to the deluxe version. Following are some details: 1. Number of Courses The deluxe version was initially published with 135 courses, but the anniversary edition was initially published with 89 courses and notes from the publisher to expect more courses later. 2. Level 52 Glitch In the deluxe version level 52 is glitched in that it begins mid-course. You can collect enough socks to continue to the next level, but you cannot collect enough socks to earn the trophy. I emailed the game developers about this, hoping for a patch. At first they were cordial and appreciated the input (as they were working on the Switch version). I checked back with them every 6 months or so, and eventually they stopped responding. We can guess that the 3DS deluxe version will never be fixed, but level 52 is fixed in the anniversary edition to be played all the way through and trophy earned. Thanks to the game developers for addressing this. 3. Lag The deluxe version on 3DS was notorious for some laggy, choppy areas (which on the whole did not affect game play). The affected areas were mostly the castles where there are many animations happening in one place. Thanks to the game developers for fixing this in the anniversary edition on Switch. I saw no lag anywhere so far in the 89 courses currently available. It is obvious that they removed some tornados from the castles, and the reason might have been to eliminate lag. 4. Time Bomb While carrying a time bomb, if you run out of time in the deluxe version the gnome will explode and you will have 3 options: return to the last checkpoint, start over at the beginning, or return to the map. However, in the anniversary edition, if time runs out, the bomb does not explode. All action simply stops, you fail the course and have to start over-- with no option to return to the last checkpoint. Also there is no "ghost" gnome to help pace you. 5. Tutorial In the anniversary edition, the first few courses with new abilities stop action for button press tutorials. This does not happen in the deluxe version. 6. Sock Counter When collecting golden socks in the anniversary edition it always shows 1 sock on the gnome's back regardless of how many he is carrying. On the deluxe version you can count 1, 2, or 3 socks. Perhaps this is because on the switch the sock counts can be found at the top of the screen. On the 3Ds with dual screen, you must look at the lower screen to see your sock counter. 7. Map The map looks the same except that in the anniversary edition the animal animations are more continuous. In the deluxe version the animations are comparatively intermittent. Selecting courses on the map is somewhat different. In the deluxe version you move Bumb with the directional pad, but in the anniversary edition on you select a course with the directional buttons, then press A to make Bumb run to that course. 8. Title Screen The anniversary edition has a title screen, where the deluxe version (after the loading screen which serves as a title screen) goes directly to the map. 9. Miscellaneous Some animations and sounds are slightly different between versions, though barely noticeable on a casual playthrough. For example, when you crash, the golden socks keep moving and bounce around in the deluxe version, but not in the anniversary edition. There are rare and minute differences in sock and time requirements. Some socks might be placed slightly different, but not enough to have any effect on play. Normal socks, even though located in the same places on the course in both game versions, are often different colors. Finally--and obviously--the deluxe version is played in SD on dual screen and the anniversary edition is played in HD on one screen. -------------------- Glitches -------------------- This section is always titled Glitches--plural, but I only noticed 1 glitch. Sometimes when moving between courses on the map the requirements page from one course will move to another course, yet the level number on the top of the page will be correct. This does not affect game play. -------------------- Help and Strategies -------------------- This section is intended to help you complete the 2 challenges for each course, and not intended as a complete game walkthrough. Some courses are not tricky, and can be cleared with practice and patience. The courses with obvious paths and normal socks are not mentioned in this section. However, this game is full of tricky maneuvers, hidden passages, and difficult item collection. Below you will find the following: 1. Locations of all golden socks, whether hidden or obvious, are included. (The obvious or easy golden socks are included only for the sake of being thorough.) 2. Complete walkthroughs for trickiest courses are included in relatively high detail. 3. In general, solutions for finding hidden paths or socks are described very briefly. If there is a course you are having trouble with that is not mentioned here, or if one of my descriptions is not of help, please post a question in the answers section for this title. Here are the notes: Level 2 The 1st golden sock in the entire game is placed very conspicuously just after the 2nd checkpoint. Jump to collect it. Level 4 After the 1st checkpoint, glide through 4 socks, and fall down to a platform to collect the golden sock. Level 7 Run all the way through the 1st whirlwind to find the golden sock. Level 8 Jump through the last 4 socks (green, light blue, dark blue, and purple) and at the top of your jump, glide to get the golden sock. Level 11 Just before the 2nd checkpoint, ride the whirlwind up to find the golden sock. Level 12 After the checkpoint, the golden sock is easy to see. Time your fall to collect the golden sock without touching the thorns. Level 15 After the 3rd checkpoint, ride the whirlwind and time your fall correctly to collect the golden sock which is in plain view. Level 16 After the 1st checkpoint, collect 6 socks then fall down to the low road to find the golden sock. Level 18 After the 1st checkpoint you will hit a switch, then you will see 2 arrows. One points straight ahead, and the other points down. Glide across straight ahead to find the golden sock. After collecting the golden sock, immediately fall and glide to the platform below so you don’t miss any normal socks. Level 19 After the 4th checkpoint, glide up through the series of whirlwinds to take the high road and find the golden sock. Level 22 After the 1st checkpoint you will see a green arrow pointing straight ahead, and a red arrow pointing down. Fall down and glide through the golden sock next to the switch that opens the path to the next checkpoint. Level 25 In this castle you often find 2 mirrors to choose from. The next paragraph shows the combination of mirrors I used to get all socks. You can only miss 5 socks and still get the trophy, so pick up as many as possible using this path of mirrors: Upper, lower, upper, upper, lower, lower. From here you will exit the mirror and fall down automatically through some socks, then run into another mirror. This is the 1st checkpoint. You will exit the mirror outside the castle. Avoid hazards and run into the next mirror which is the 2nd checkpoint. Avoid hazards and run into another mirror which is the 3rd checkpoint. You will exit this mirror inside the castle. Glide through the 3 socks to the upper mirror, which will take you back to the 3rd checkpoint where you can fall down to continue collecting socks. Run into the lower mirror. When you exit the mirror you will be able to run outside the castle and reach the goal. If you have collected 73 or more socks you will earn the trophy. Level 26 Dive off the last ledge before the goal to collect the golden sock. Level 27 Immediately after the checkpoint, fall down to the low road to find the golden sock. Level 29 If you ride the 2nd whirlwind high enough, you can collect the golden sock above the tree. Level 33 After the checkpoint, count 3 trees. After the 3rd tree, the socks will lead you down to the low road to find many more socks. You must collect all 36 socks to get the trophy. Level 36 In this course, all 3 golden socks are in plain view but might be missed because the positions are at varying heights. At the beginning of the course there are 3 rows of socks to glide through. After the 2nd row of socks, dive down to the platform to collect the golden sock before gliding through the 3rd row of socks. After the checkpoint, jump on 2 platforms, then jump off the 2nd platform high enough to glide through the 2nd golden sock. Continue on to 2 whirlwinds. Ride these 2 whirlwinds high enough to collect all the socks, then just before the 3rd whirlwind, fall between the thorns to collect the 3rd golden sock. Level 37 After the 2nd checkpoint there are 4 platforms. After the 4th platform with the light blue sock on it, dive down to find the golden sock. Jump slightly before smashing the tree to collect it just before reaching the goal. Level 39 After the 1st checkpoint, ride the series of whirlwinds high enough to collect the 1st golden sock. After the 3rd and final checkpoint, ride the series of whirlwinds and control your glide to the low road to collect the 2nd golden sock just before the goal. Level 40 The golden sock is plainly visible just before the 1st checkpoint. Smash the tree, collect the golden sock, and jump quickly before touching the thorns. Level 41 Just before the goal, hit the switch to open the low road and access the golden sock. Level 43 After the checkpoint, watch for the arrow pointing up before you reach the double whirlwind. Ride the whirlwind up, fall through the 3 socks, and continue falling to the main road to collect the golden sock. Level 44 Just before the 2nd checkpoint, take the low road to collect the golden sock. You are allowed to miss 20 socks and still advance to the next course, so you can afford to miss some. However, here are a few that might be tricky to collect: After the 2nd checkpoint, don't ride the whirlwind too high. Take the low road, or you will miss 10 socks. After the 3rd checkpoint, jump over the switch. If you hit the switch, 3 socks will be blocked by a trap door. Level 45 After the 2nd checkpoint, drop down just before the 2nd whirlwind to collect the golden sock. Press the glide button as you collect the golden sock, or you will not have enough lift to clear the wall and thorns. Level 47 After the 2nd checkpoint, fall down just before the 2nd whirlwind to collect the golden sock. Press the glide button as you collect the golden sock or you will not have enough lift to clear the wall. Level 48 At the beginning of the course, jump at the very edge of the 1st cliff as high as possible and glide. When you have gone past the switch, dive down for the golden sock. If you hit the switch, a trap door will block access to the golden sock. Level 49 After the checkpoint, hit the switch, fall down for some normal socks, ride the whirlwind up, and immediately drop through the crumbling platforms to collect the golden sock and more normal socks before reaching the goal. Level 50 After the 1st series of whirlwinds you will have to dive correctly to collect the golden sock. After collecting the golden sock, continue holding the down button to smash the tree just before the 2nd checkpoint. Level 58 After the 1st checkpoint you will need to perfect a series of normal jumps, mini jumps, and dives to collect the golden sock-- and survive to the next checkpoint. Level 59 Start by smashing a sword and diving down through some socks. Enter the mirror. Exit the mirror gliding. Glide over the bricks, dive through more socks just after the bricks, and enter the lower mirror. Exit the same mirror gliding again, and continue gliding all the way to the upper mirror. This is the 1st checkpoint. Exit the mirror, jump for some socks and avoid the thorns, smash the sword, jump for more socks, and dive through the tornado. Hit the switch and enter the mirror, which takes you back to the 1st checkpoint. Exit the mirror, and see that the switch you hit dropped the bridge. Dive down to the dungeon floor while collecting any socks you may have missed, jump some spikes to collect socks, smash a sword, jump more spikes, charge through the tornado, and jump into the mirror. Run through a whirlwind and charge through the tornado. Jump the spikes to collect socks, smash the sword, jump the chasm, charge through the tornado, throw the switch, and enter the mirror which takes you again back to the 1st checkpoint. Jump the open bridge, jump the spikes, and dive down the next open bridge to collect some socks, make 3 consecutive jumps charging through a tornado and smashing 2 swords, then quickly ride the whirlwind up, and charge through another tornado. Jump the spikes for more socks, smash a sword, and enter the mirror. You will exit the mirror down one level. Jump the spikes to collect socks, smash the sword, hit the switch, and enter the mirror and takes you again back to the 1st checkpoint. This time you will jump both bridges, and you will see that there is a bridge allowing access through the tornado. Charge through the tornado. Jump more spikes, smash a sword, and jump more spikes (all the while collecting socks), then jump into the mirror. You will exit the mirror at the goal. Level 60 The lower mirror leads to the goal, but you will need to hit a switch to open the path. So, ride the whirlwind up to the top mirror. When you exit the mirror, jump over 2 mirrors while collecting socks. Smash the sword and run into the 3rd mirror. You will exit the mirror on the upper ledge where you collect the golden sock. Dive down and enter the 4th mirror. You will exit the mirror in a room with many socks that cannot all be collected on one visit. Collect as many socks as possible, then run into the lower mirror (the upper mirrors are closed for now). Exit the mirror, jump the thorns, dive down one level, smash the sword and enter the mirror. You will exit a mirror on the left side of the same room. Jump the thorns, glide up the whirlwind collecting socks, hit the switch, and enter the upper mirror. Here again is the room with many socks. Notice that the first of the 2 upper mirrors was opened with the switch you hit in the previous room. Collect as many of the remaining socks as possible, and ride the whirlwind up to the first upper mirror. You will enter a high room with one whirlwind. The mirror on the floor is blocked, so ride the whirlwind up to enter the center of the 3 mirrors. This is the 1st checkpoint. This brings you to the top of the room. Hit the switch to open the lowest mirror and dive to the floor. The lowest mirror is now clear. Enter the lowest mirror. This the 2nd checkpoint. Here is the middle of the room. Jump the gap to reach the highest mirror while collecting the last few socks in the room. This will return you again to the room with many socks. Now you will see that the upper mirror on the right side of the room is clear. Try to collect all remaining socks and glide up to enter the upper mirror at the right side of the room. This takes you to a small room with 2 swords to break. Enter the mirror and hold down to dive through all the socks, hit a switch (which opens the path to the goal), and enter the mirror. This will return you to the first room. Hold the glide button as you exit the mirror to collect a line of socks. At this point you have 2 options: Option 1: If you have not yet collected at least 68 socks, you will need to enter the upper mirror (there are 6 socks remaining on the final path to the goal, and you need 74 socks to clear the course). Jump over the 3 mirrors and enter the 4th mirror to again reach the room with many socks. Here you can collect any missed socks that you need. Enter the upper mirror to return to the first room. Drop down and enter the lower mirror. Option 2: if you have at least 68 socks, you can dive to the floor of the first room and enter the lower mirror. After finishing 1 of the 2 options above, be ready to exit the mirror, jump, glide through last 6 socks, and reach the goal. Level 61 This is the 1st course that has a trophy hinging on a time limit--but you cannot dash yet. To get the trophy, you will have to take the correct course with very few mistakes, and you can only miss 7 socks on the way. At the beginning, just run into the mirror, exit on the ceiling, immediately glide through 3 socks, fall down past the mirror you just entered, jump through three socks, and into the mirror. This is the 1st checkpoint. Exit the mirror, jump the chasm, glide through the socks over the spikes, drop down through the socks, hit the switch, and run into the mirror. This will bring you to the ceiling, so immediately glide to the brick platform. Jump and glide through more socks over the spikes, smash the sword, jump and glide through socks over more thorns, dive down, and enter the mirror. This is the 2nd checkpoint. Exit the mirror, and make 3 jumps to collect socks. After that third jump, you will charge through a switch then enter a mirror. Exit the mirror, hit a switch, jump through more socks, smash the sword, dive down as far as possible, and enter the mirror. Exit the mirror, hit the switch, jump and glide through more socks, and enter the mirror on the ceiling. This is the 3rd checkpoint. Exit the mirror, dive down, jump through three socks over thorns, dive to avoid the overhead wall, jump again, glide through the 3 socks over the thorns, and dive or fall into the mirror. This is the 4th checkpoint. Exit the mirror and immediately ride the whirlwind up to the next mirror. When you exit that mirror, ride the whirlwind up again to the top mirror. Exit the mirror into a room with a special switch. You will have to trip the switch by landing on top of it. Simply jump through the socks, land on the switch to trigger it, and run into the mirror. This will take you back to the 4th checkpoint. When you exit the mirror, ride the whirlwind up to enter higher mirror. Exit the mirror and flick the glide button to simply fall between the 2 mirrors to continue on toward the goal. Jump 2 chasms to reach the goal. Level 65 After the 3rd checkpoint make a precise dive for the 1st golden sock, which is just past a small ledge in plain view. After the 4th checkpoint, the 2nd golden sock is also in plain view and collected in much the same manner is the 1st one. Level 66 After the checkpoint, hit the switch, cross the bridge, then fall down one level and glide so you don't miss too many socks. You will have to take the low road if you want to earn the trophy. Level 67 After the 2nd checkpoint, drop down the 1st whirlwind between the thorns to find a hidden low road and 8 socks (you can still advance to the next course without these socks if you get enough of the others in the course). Ride the large whirlwind back up to the high road, but not too high, or you will hit some thorns. Continue on until you see an arrow pointing down into the snow. Drop down through the snow to find the golden sock and an alternate goal. Level 70 Fall over the very 1st ledge and follow the low road to find the golden sock. Ride the whirlwind to regain the high road. Level 71 After the 1st checkpoint, jump into the switch and collect the 1st golden sock. Drop slightly and glide through another switch and collect the 2nd golden sock before dropping down and gliding through a 3rd switch. It will take practice to time all 3 drops correctly. Level 73 Before the 1st checkpoint you will come to a row of crumbling platforms. Dash across them, and dive at the precise moment to go safely down and collect the golden sock. Level 75 After the 2nd checkpoint, you will have to glide high enough to reach the 3 golden socks on top of 3 trees, while still getting low enough to dash under falling stones between them all. Level 78 After the 2nd checkpoint, dive off the ledge to collect the 1st golden sock. Then the 2nd golden sock is located in the fog just after dashing under 2 falling stones. It may be difficult to see because of the fog. You will have to meet the golden sock at the high point of your jump to collect it. The 3rd golden sock is immediately before the 4th checkpoint near a patch of thorns. Dive just after the thorns to collect it safely, then run through the 4th checkpoint. Remember, this course has no time constraint, so take it easy, and don't dash unless you have to. If you miss 1 sock, you will still earn the trophy, as long as you have collected all 3 golden socks. Level 80 After the 1st checkpoint, follow the down arrow to the low road for 15 socks. You cannot advance to the next course without them. Collect a golden sock on the way back up to the main road, though it is of no value in this course. Level 86 This one of the rare courses where there are no normal socks to be collected. The main focus is to stay ahead of the clock, which gives you only 30 seconds to finish. If you want the trophy, collecting the 3 golden socks and reaching the goal fast enough will take practice and skill. Dash as much as possible. Fall over the very 1st ledge, glide through the 1st golden sock, and ride the whirlwind up. Shortly after the whirlwind, you will see the 2nd golden sock. After collecting the 2nd golden sock, dive immediately to avoid a collision with a wall. Shortly before the goal, you will see the 3rd golden sock in plain sight. The jump and glide maneuver must be precise in order to collect it without hitting the thorns. Level 87 This castle is somewhat complex, loaded with 158 socks, and there may be more than one way to clear it. Keep practicing, and try to collect as many socks as possible. You are only allowed to miss 13 of them to advance to the next course. The following walkthrough may not be the best or most efficient way through, but of all the ways I have tried, it was the fastest for me. Most importantly, this is the method I used to access all socks, and to earn the trophy: Start by dashing under a falling spike ball. Continue straight through, jump over the chasm for an arc of socks, then run into the mirror which is right at the gnome's feet. If you dash into that mirror, you might hit the wall. This is the 1st checkpoint. Jump through another arc of socks and into the mirror. Exit the mirror, hit the switch, and dive through a downward line of socks. The switch will close the bridge on the floor so you can jump for 2 more socks leading to a sword. Smash the sword, dive down through more socks and dash into the mirror. This is the 2nd checkpoint. Now dash through a switch, which is in the middle of another arc of socks. That switch will open the way to socks through and over spikes. Follow these socks until you can dash through a switch in front of a mirror. This mirror takes you back to the 2nd checkpoint. Exit the mirror to the same location, but this time dive down through socks. Next dash through a long arc of socks, over a crumbling platform, and through another switch which is right in front of a mirror. This takes you back to the 1st checkpoint. When you exit the mirror, begin dashing immediately to fall perfectly over the spikes and through a switch. Jump and dash through another long arc of socks, and you will see another switch at a ledge. Dive over the ledge after hitting the switch. You will dive down to a floor where you can jump for 3 more socks, dash under a spike ball, smash a sword, and mini jump to enter a mirror. This is the 3rd checkpoint. You will exit the mirror on the top floor. Dash under a spike ball, smash a sword, and jump down to collect a downward trail of socks--jump normally with no dashing, diving, or gliding. If the angle is correct, you can collect all the socks on the way down. Immediately dash under a spike ball, and jump through 2 long arcs of socks, and through a switch in front of a mirror. This is the 4th checkpoint. Exit the mirror and hit a switch. Now practice a normal jump over the ledge, then a dash over the 2nd ledge until you can get all the socks over both ledges. After you have dashed over that ledge, jump normally up a half level. You will see that the switch has formed a bridge. Dash through the socks over that bridge, hit another switch, dash under a spike ball, through more socks over spikes, and into the mirror. This is the 5th checkpoint. Exit the mirror and dive down through more socks. Keep jumping for 4 more upward lines of socks, then dash into the mirror. As you exit the mirror, immediately glide through a row of socks into the mirror directly across the chasm. Exit the mirror and make a short dash into the opposite mirror. Glide as you exit that mirror to reach another mirror directly across from the one you exited. Hold the down button as you exit the mirror to dive down and avoid spikes, and dash into a mirror. This is the 6th checkpoint. Exit the mirror, then jump and glide through more socks, leading all the way to the goal. If you collected enough socks you will advance to the next course. If you were fast enough, you have earned the trophy. Level 89 Although my walkthrough often says to dash over long stretches of spikes, you can also jump and glide over many of them. Note that there is no time limit in this castle. You can take it as slow or as fast as you want, but here you can only miss one sock if you are playing for the trophy. Start by dashing under a spike ball, and long-jumping twice to clear spikes and a crumbling platform. Jump and glide up through the whirlwind, and continue gliding to a hidden path along the ceiling where you can run into a hidden mirror. This mirror will bring you back to a place just before the whirlwind. You can fall through more socks, then ride the whirlwind up again. This time, dive down to the lower mirror. This is the 1st checkpoint. You will exit the mirror into a room with 7 socks ahead of you. It may not be possible to collect all 7 socks on the 1st visit to this room. Jump to collect the arc of 5 socks, dash under the spike ball, jump over the spikes, dash under another spike ball, ride up a whirlwind, and jump into the mirror. This is the 2nd checkpoint. Dash under a spike ball, through the switch, over the spikes collecting socks, then glide before hitting the spikes to collect 4 more socks. Go through the whirlwind, but do not jump into the hanging mirror. Dash over more spikes and a crumbling platform to collect more socks, then hit the switch and enter the mirror. This is the 3rd checkpoint. Exit the mirror, fall down, dash under a spike ball, jump over some spikes to collect socks, dash under another spike ball, smash the sword, hit the switch, and enter the mirror. This is the 3rd checkpoint... again. You are again at the 3rd checkpoint--but the switch you threw has opened the floor. Now you can drop down to the next floor with 4 mirrors surrounded by spikes. The first 3 mirrors on the ground will take you back to the same 3rd checkpoint. Keep trying to dodge the spikes and mirrors until you can glide over the final spikes and into the 4th mirror which is hanging from the ceiling. This takes you back to the 2nd checkpoint. Exit the mirror at the 2nd checkpoint. Now that you have returned to this room, you can collect the socks you missed on the last visit. The floor is now open, so you can drop down and enter the lower mirror. Keep practicing to get the angle right for sock collection here, as you are only allowed to miss one sock to earn a trophy. This is the 6th checkpoint. Exit the mirror, dash over the crumbling platforms through socks to more crumbling platforms, dive through the last platform, and immediately begin to dash again to stay on top of more crumbling platforms. Jump into the mirror, and when you exit, you will reach the goal. Spoiler: This concludes the anniversary edition courses published in 2019. It appears that you have saved another "princess", but this is a cliffhanger with the message, "To be continue.." The eShop description and cutscene both tell us to expect more courses. For now, you may want to just buy the deluxe version for the 3DS. The cost is only $4.99 USD, and it includes 135 courses--a real bargain. Often the price cuts lower. Currently, as I write this on 3 January 2020, the price is only 99 cents! Thanks to QubicGames for developing a high quality runner and making it affordable for everyone. When more courses are available, I will leave this paragraph as it is, then update this document with the strategy guide continue.. -------------------- Frequently Asked Questions -------------------- Here are some questions that are often asked, in order of most frequent to least frequent. Q: What does the game title mean? A: I have no definite answer, but will share what little I know. This is the first question many of us thought of when we first saw this title in the eShop. I consider myself an expert at Geki Yaba series, but I am in no way an expert at languages of the world. American English is my first language. I know some college Spanish, and nothing else. That being said, I did a little poking around the internet out of curiosity, and here is what I found: I have not yet determined if Geki Yaba is a well-known term in countries outside my United States, but I assume not, since there is little to be found on the internet regarding the name. I went on to look into gekiyaba (see 3DS eShop description) and geki yaba and geki and yaba as normal words, and everything I've found seems to point to Japanese, even though the game developer is in Poland. Geki generally points to a similar sounding Japanese word for theater. Also, some searching points toward Japanese words referring to the releasing of one's wrath. Since "raging force of destruction" is mentioned in the eShop description for the game, I am inclined to guess that this is what the title of the game is referring to. Perhaps this game is the theater where the gnomz unleash their anger, or where we as players can get so frustrated by the difficulty level that we exhibit rage--or maybe both. Q: Why is this series so addictive? A: Yes, the music is excellent. Yes, the gnomes are entertaining. Yes, the graphics are colorful and fun. But I think what makes this one of the best runner series is the fact that when you crash you do not have to go back too far. If there were no checkpoints, I would not even bother to finish this game. The developers are genius to make sure the gnome starts again immediately after crashing, which makes you want all the more to complete that stretch and reach the next checkpoint. And, since the fast action is constant, and there are no boring areas to have to drag yourself through after you crash, it is so much fun to try again, over, and over, and over... Q: Why do you spend so much time writing an FAQ? A: The short answer is that it is fun, and adds more enjoyment to a game that I already enjoy. Here's the long answer: This question seems to come up more and more, not only from asking myself, but other people also ask. Some people think it is a waste of time to spend hours writing something like this. When I finish a game that I really enjoyed, I always wish there was a way to find more content. When there is no more content, I find great joy in going back through the game while writing a help file, so others, who would otherwise not be able to finish the game, can finish it or make more progress. If even one person gets some benefit from the document, it was more than worth the time it took to write it. I checked the gamefaqs.com statistics for my contributions, and it turns out that my 2 Fast 4 Gnomz text documents have been accessed over 1000 times each. Writing this is certainly not a waste of time. -------------------- Legal -------------------- I had no part in the programming, distribution, or creation of Geki Yaba Runner Anniversary Edition in any way. This document may not be reproduced for any reason except for private use. It may not be placed on any websites or be distributed in any other way without written permission. Copyright 2020 Dale Hoffman