Melting Icecrystal-Tower is the seventh course in Super Mario 74 Extreme Edition. It is located in the same room as the entrance to Infernopit Cave, behind a star door in the first overworld. As its name suggests, this course is a version of Icecrystal-Tower from Super Mario 74, mirrored and made much more difficult. Large portions are removed from almost every platform in the game, making it difficult to explore the course without falling down into the death barrier below. The Wing Cap found on the central tower has also been removed to ensure that Mario will have to master wall kicking to ascend to the top of the Icecrystal-Tower.
Stars[]
Star 1: Brick Battle[]
Just like in the original Icecrystal-Tower course, Mario will have to climb up the platforms spiraling around the tower until he can reach the pillar the Whomp King is on. Being careful of the holes littering almost every platform in this course, Mario will have to go clockwise around the tower. A Mr. Blizzard is hidden on the small column leading to the next platform, so Mario will have to be prepared to dodge him. Once Mario reaches the third platform (the one with a Piranha Plant on it), he will have to wall kick off of the central tower to get enough height to reach the next platform. Finally he'll arrive at the melting ledges set into the wall of the central tower, and after only a bit more climbing he'll be on the first rim of the Icecrystal-Tower. He'll have to make sure he doesn't slide down the slopes along the melting edges of this rim as he works his way to the opposite side of it. From here, he can long jump to the tall pillar with a 1-Up Mushroom on it, and from there he can finally long jump to the pillar that the Whomp King is on. Unlike in the original Super Mario 74, there's no metal box here for Mario to stand on, so he'll have to share the small pillar with the Whomp King. If he falls at any time before defeating this boss, he'll have to climb all the way back up to the first rim of the tower again, and any damage he'd dealt to the Whomp King will be reset. To ensure he doesn't fall after each time he ground pounds the Whomp King, Mario can try to ground pound again as the Whomp King rises back up to try to clip through him and land safely on the pillar. Alternatively, he can try to run up the Whomp King as he rises, trying to stand on top of his head to keep from sliding down his body and falling off the pillar. Whatever way Mario uses to stay on the pillar, he'll eventually defeat the Whomp King, and the star will appear on the pillar alongside him.
Star 2: Floatation in Block Form[]
Mario will have to ascend the tower just as he did in the previous star. Once he reaches the fourth platform though (the one right before the ledges along the tower wall), he should press the Purple Switch instead of continuing to climb. This switch will create five timed boxes, with an invisible secret spot above each one. Mario will only have enough time to safely trigger one secret spot before the timer runs out, so he will have to go back to press the switch again after each secret he collects. Most of the boxes are at a much lower height than the platform with the Purple Switch on it, making it difficult to get back on solid ground after jumping down onto one of these timed boxes. Generally, Mario will have to side flip and wall kick off of one of the inner edges of the platform to get enough height to get back on top of it again. Four of the boxes are located around this platform, while the final box is back on the second platform (with the cold ice water that damages Mario like lava). There will be just enough time to get the secret over this box and return to safe ground before it disappears, if Mario rushes. The star will spawn right next to the Purple Switch once all five secret spots are triggered.
Star 3: Soul of a Climber[]
Just like before, Mario will have to climb his way up the stage until he reaches the first rim of the Icecrystal-Tower. On the opposite side of the rim, near where he jumped to the pillars leading to star 1, a ledge is hidden along the inner wall of the tower above him: A side flip wall kick off of the tower wall will get him onto the ledge. He'll have to continue clockwise along this set of ledges, avoiding the Kuromame and Mr. Blizzards on them. Most of the ledges he can reach with a triple jump followed by a tight wall kick off of the side of the next ledge. The one exception to this is the fourth ledge (the one with a Mr. Blizzard on it): To get to the next ledge from here, Mario must turn around (since the next ledge is counter-clockwise from this one, instead of clockwise) and triple jump into the wall of the tower itself, then wall kick off of it to just barely be able to reach this final ledge. If he makes it this far, he just has to do some easy wall kicks to ascend to the top of the tower, and not fall down the dark slopes along the melting edges of the Icecrystal-Tower's top rim.
Star 4: Bloor-Red Finances[]
The red coins are hidden all along this level in perilous location, with many of them hovering above open air. The red coins' locations are as follows:
- On the left side of the starting platform
- Above the middle of the freezing cold ice water on the second platform
- Between the two pillars connecting the second and third platforms. Mario will have to wall kick off of the second pillar to collect it and make it back safely on top of the first pillar
- Above the far edge of the second platform, only reachable by jumping to it from the pillar between the second and third platforms
- Above the edge of an island on the third platform, only reachable with a careful double jump followed by a kick to give Mario enough backwards momentum to land back on the island
- Above a pit in the middle of the third platform
- Down a dark steep slope on the opposite side of the central tower's first rim
- High in the air next to the first tall pillar leading to the Whomp King, only reachable by jumping from the central tower's first rim
Since the eighth red coin in this list requires Mario to jump from near the top of the course back down to the starting position, Mario will have to effectively climb this level twice without dying to collect the star. Though the Star Marker is at the start of the second platform, the star spawns far above this point, necessitating Mario to climb back up all four main platforms and through the ledges along the Icecrystal-Tower's wall to actually reach the star.
Star 5: Annoying Search[]
This is a star that is much harder to find than to collect. The trick is to simply follow the path described in star 1 above until you reach the pillar that the Whomp King is on. Instead of fighting the Whomp King, jump off the opposite side of this tall pillar. About halfway down the back of the pillar is an alcove with a ! Box in it, containing this star.
Star 6: Unjustifiable Search[]
Fortunately, this star also isn't too hard to get once you know where it is. Follow the path listed in star 2 until you reach the Purple Switch. After pressing this switch, quickly continue clockwise around the tower and jump down back to the starting platform. Right behind the two pillars on this platform, a timed cork box will have appeared beneath the level. Mario just needs to carefully jump down onto this cork box, long jump from it to the next, and then long jump from that to the visible star before the timer runs out.
Enemies[]
- Mr. Blizzard
- Spindrift
- Piranha Plant
- Chuckya
- Kuromame
- Whomp King