BARTOLI'S RETURN

Level series by Alan

Walkthrough by Treeble

SAVE OFTEN. Savegames referenced in the walkthrough below are available here.

LEVEL 1: SEWERS

As the level begins, begin stockpiling by collecting the supplies at your feet, which include the HARPOON GUN. Slide down the longer side for a few more medipacks and try to snipe the enemies underwater. Dive and swim through the slightly wider crack between the starting position to locate the silver dragon (SECRET #1).

Swim back out and beyond the yellow submarine, following the wall until you locate an underwater lever near the corner. Turn around and swim to the open door on the opposite end. Inside this new room is a small pond filled with deadly water, so be careful not to fall in as you dispatch the two goons. Climb the lowest of the four pillars and jump around to reach a lever. For the third jump, jump off the highest corner and wait a second before pressing down action for a late grab.

The lever opens a door on the opposite side (near the underwater lever), so head back there. Kill the two shotgun goons and locate the small floor accent near the doorway to climb up to the upper level. Near the medipack is a lever for a tightly timed secret. Push it, then roll around and perform a long running jump at an angle so you reach as far left as possible on the second trapdoor, quickly shimmy to the solid ground and climb up to retrieve the jade dragon (SECRET #2). Dispatch the shotgun goon shooting at you through the crack and climb back up to the lever.

Jump across the gap to find another lever hidden behind the hanging orange block and swim back to the initial area. The latest open door is right by the yellow submarine, so head there. Dispatch the goons and swim through the hole in the center of the room. Swim past the barracudas in the underwater passage and climb out of the water in the end to locate a small alcove housing a lever that opens the double doors in the initial area. Make your way back there.

You are faced with a triple tiered pushblock puzzle here. Before doing anything, as you enter, look up on the top right side of the room to spot a lever: that's what we need to get to. You'll no doubt spot a floating medipack above the crates on the left side, move the upper block beneath it to retrieve it.

Now, use the other two blocks to create a bridge between the wall with the lever and the block in the middle (you'll reveal the AUTOMATIC PISTOLS beneath the center crate as well), then move the crate above against the wall. We're still one level short, so run up through the gap to locate another crate that you can now push out. To climb up to the lever, you'll need to move the crates on the base level again: pull out the one closest to the triple stacked crates and drag it into the gap you just went through, creating another bridge for the crate on the corner. Pull it once and use it to reach the lever with a running jump.

The final set of double doors is now open. Slide down on the leftmost side, you'll no doubt spot an opening on the wall. Time your jump and steer inside to find the gold dragon (SECRET #3), which rewards you the GRENADE LAUNCHER if you've found all secrets. Drop back to the slide to reach the end of the level.

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LEVEL 2: HYDROGEN CREATURES

savegame.0 – Start of level 2

Just as the level loads, you are sliding to your death, so be ready to jump and grab the climbable wall past the shattered glass. Climb to the top, where a goon and a medipack await for you. On the next chamber you'll notice two locked doors and a trapdoor, but, for now, climb into the open door and, immediately, climb up to either side to avoid the rolling barrels.

Kill the two shotgun goons and retrieve the items, then throw the lever atop the slope, where the rolling barrels came down from. To exit the room, step on the ventilation grate near the door to open it and drop through it while it's open as it'll close when you get near.

Swim through the open trapdoor to reach an underwater cavern filled with sharks and barracudas, but don't waste your time: swim straight ahead to locate the BOATHOUSE KEY on a flat surface, then quickly spin around and swim back through the narrow passage to return inside. If you want, you can swim down through an opening on the far left side corner where you'll find the silver dragon (SECRET #4), just be wary of your health.

Climb to the side passage with the blue wooden panels to use the key. After dispatching the gun, save your game and prepare yourself for a very frustrating timed run. You need to press the button behind the door, run in a circular pattern so that you can make an angled jump at the opening to grab the middle of the second trapdoor, let go and immediately press action again to cancel the dangling animation, and then shimmy to the right and still just barely make it in time. You find another button for a second timed trapdoor sequence, but this one isn't as bad.

savegame.1 – Past timed trapdoor sequence

Jump across the gap and kill the trigger-happy goons, then climb through the only available passage. You climb into a tight squeeze and you need to perform a last-second running jump to clear the gap between the collapsible floor tiles, otherwise you'll land right on top of deadly shattered glass. Don't hold down action, Lara will bump her head but land on her feet, so quickly move to the safe floor ahead.

Down the step, push the slightly green-tinted block on the side twice, then pick up the STEEL KEY and follow the new corridor to the door at the end: it opens upon approach. Drop back down into the previous room and use the newly found key on the door to the left side.

Kill the goons inside and you'll no doubt notice floating Uzi clips beneath a fallen trapdoor. Go through the blue tunnel at the end of the room, where four hungry barracudas will be desperately trying to bite you, and wade to the switch at the end. This raises the trapdoor you'd seen moments ago.

On your way back, climb up the rusty slanted pathway to the right. At the end, push both blocks as far as they'll go. Now return to the raised trapdoor, collect the no-longer floating Uzi clips and push the block once. Stand on it and push another block into the wall, it will rest on top of one of the blocks you moved earlier, so climb back down, and around the wall to see the new stack. Climb to the top and finally push one last block as far as it will go.

Head back to the previous room and you'll notice the two blocks you've pushed are now jutting out of the wall, allowing you to climb to the upper level. From the mezzanine, look across the room and you'll notice a few floating break-away tiles and, more importantly, a secret right in the middle of the room. Save your game.

Do a running jump to land close to the wall, then use the momentum to line up and jump to the floating platform on the center of the room and grab the edge. Remember the floor only breaks away when you climb onto it, so use this time to calculate your next jump. The jade dragon (SECRET #5) rests atop a breakaway tile, so make sure to run up to it and grab it before the floor falls beneath your feet. You'll safely land in the small body of water below, so hastily make your way back and use the remaining breakaway tile to clear the gap between the mezzanines.

Collect the M16 clips near the railing and climb through the (not quite) crawl space. Save right before the medipacks as we're now faced with another rather frustrating sequence. Top up your health if necessary, then approach the tight gap near the barrels and jump, holding down action, so that you slide down as close as possible to the wall. Two sets of barrels will roll behind you, but keep your cool. As soon as Lara drops down the small step, hold down the jump button plus the right cursor key to steer to the side. While in midair, quickly open the inventory to use a small medipack so that, when you land, the barrels don't kill you.

We're not out of the woods yet. For the next set of barrels, jump off the end of the small slope and stay as close to the left wall as possible as you run and jump all the way down, right up against the wall. The barrels should bounce off the wall, while you remain unharmed thanks to the weird collision box.

For the next, and final, barrel run, again jump off the end of the small slope and perform a running jump, with a midair roll, to slide down the slope as close to the far wall as possible. Grab the edge and quickly shimmy to the right side as the barrels will kill you if you're under the slope. If you manage it in time, shimmy all the way to the side for the gold dragon (SECRET #6), which also grants you extra ammunition if you've retrieved all secrets in this level. Otherwise, just let yourself down the rather long fall into the body of water down below.

savegame.2 – Past the barrels

Retrieve the large medipack from the center of the pool, minding the eels on the edges, and swim through the opening on the right side into a small maze-like room filled with supplies (including the UZIS) and eels — stick close to the ceiling to minimize damage. Your oxygen bar is too short to get them all in one go, so if you want all the pickups, make your way back often. More importantly, swim down into a hole as soon as you see it for an underwater lever that opens a timed trapdoor in the other end of this room.

In the dark room, kill all the trigger-happy goons (who spark no interest on the barracudas) and then collect the IRON KEY from the shallow pond. Light a flare, if necessary, to spot the first of a series of ladders in the far corner and climb all the way back up to the beginning of the level.

Now use the key on the last receptacle, retrieve the supplies and drop into an underwater room filled with frogmen. You can engage in battle, if you feel the urge, but you might as well swim to the left side, locate the underwater lever near the ceiling about halfway through and finally swim through the open door behind the blue wall in the back to finish the level.

[ * * * ]

LEVEL 3: PYRAMIDS OF TEOTIHUACAN

savegame.3 – Start of level 3

Tigers and crows hear you sliding in, so they rush towards you. After dealing with them, notice that there's a ladder beyond a V-shaped valley near the beginning. Use mid-air steering to cross the slopes all the way to the ladder, then center yourself as you climb the ladder almost to the top, leaving yourself room to backflip (without hitting the invisible ceiling) and landing right on the silver dragon (SECRET #7), which rests atop a break-away floor. Nab it before it's too late and fall down to the V valley below.

Run past the structure with the redwood panels and the closed door and locate a lower block in the alley behind it. At the top, drop down to a small medipack on the opposite side and line up for a running jump to a thin floating grate platform. Use it to boost yourself up to a catwalk which leads you to a lever to open the door we've just seen.

After killing the spiders, head to the pushable block up in the back corner and move it all the way so it stands above the pillar jutting out, giving you a platform to activate the lever above. Use the side blocks to gain height and jump to said lever.

Back outside, dispatch a few more tigers that have spawned and go through the open door to climb up to a lever at the top to open a door at the end of a zipline. Climb down the giant steps and head left to climb to the top of the natural archway right in front of you. Near the end, don't climb down but rather perform a running jump at an angle to grab the ladder, then climb up to the catwalk above. As you grab the zipline, never let go of the action button to make sure you grab the doorway ahead of you.

Before venturing inside, walk through the opening on the left side, jump and grab the slanted edge ahead of you, shimmy to the right and climb up and backflip to the top of the building you were just in. Collect the jade dragon (SECRET #8) and the M16 ASSAULT RIFLE, then backflip onto the middle of the same slope to jump and glide into the opening you came from (hold down the action button so Lara doesn't bump into the wall).

Into the dark cave, get rid of the spiders and proceed to find a huge shaft above a deadly flame trap. You'll notice a series of break-away floors leading to the top, you need to quickly make your way upwards. In true Tomb Raider logic, they only break once Lara stands on them, so make sure to grab their edges to calculate your next move. The only tricky part is the third platform, where you need to turn around on the spot and jump upwards to grab the edge behind you – your timing must be perfect.

At the top, retrieve the LIBRARY KEY and climb down the hole to slide down to the level below. Retrace your steps back outside and locate the keyhole near the door behind the end of the archway you climbed to reach the zipline before. Spoiler alert: it's not a library. Grab the medipack bundle ahead of you and save your game. It might be a good idea to make separate and periodic saves as you clear the trap sequences ahead.

Run into the trapdoor and as you slide, a boulder will roll behind you. At the end of the slope, jump so you can keep your momentum and do your best to jump over the wall-mounted blades. At the end, steer into the opening on the right side.

Slide down and jump over the spike trap, grabbing the edge ahead. Two boulders will run down, but you can simply outsmart these by hopping backwards and grabbing the ledge again. When you're clear, climb back up and head downwards for a rolling blade and some flame traps. You now need to perform a running jump at an angle so that you land right at the end of the slope ahead (anywhere else and Lara will bump and fall into the flames beneath). As you land the jump, keep the jump and action keys pressed down to grab the ledge ahead.

Again, outsmart the next rolling boulders by immediately hopping backwards and grabbing the ledge again. Down the slope, time your jogs to clear the rolling blades. You are making periodic saves, right? After the second blade, slide down into a massive spike field.

You have no other choice here but to burn quite a few of the medipacks you've collected, so keep a close eye on your health meter. Here's what's going on: in addition to the zillion spikes on the floor, there are wall-mounted blades, a couple of boulders will roll down along the way, there is a rolling blade covering the central row of spikes, and, the cherry on top of this deadly cake, there are two spike walls coming from both ends of the room.

You need to reach the center of the room by running through the spikes and dodging other traps. You cannot jump, of course, and your every move costs you precious health. What worked best for me was making "short runs", ie tap the run button and wait a second, rinse and repeat, this gives you a bit of time to process the traps ahead of you while also giving you a chance to check how much health you have left. Stick to the right side, so the boulders fly right over you, changing to the middle row only to clear the wall-mounted blade, and after the second boulder, go straight towards the opening on the opposite wall.

We're not out of the woods just yet, but you can catch your breath and save your game now. After the spiked walls cross each other, you can go back for a secret: grab the edge above the spike field and shimmy all the way to the left so that you can safely drop in a small empty spot amidst the spikes. You can now calmly walk past the spikes — just mind the rolling blade in the central row — towards the end opposite from the entrance where you'll find a small alcove with the gold dragon (SECRET #9). Walk back to the exit in the middle of the room.

Up next is a series of running jumps over break-away tiles with disc traps being flung all over the place. You might actually survive the fall, but there's no way out, so don't. Slide down and jump to the double tiles ahead of you, this gives enough room to make a running jump towards the next tile, then to the next one close to the wall (harder to spot). Quickly spin around and jump to the next one, still close to the wall, and time the next break-way tile so that you fall on top of the tile right below. You need the momentum to perform a running jump towards the next one, close to the far redwood wall and here's a catch: you need to grab the ledge below. To do so, stand a few steps away from the wall and start running when the floor is about to give in, so that you have enough momentum to grab the ledge. Shimmy sideways to safety. Top up your health and save your game.

As you hit the water below, swim towards the opposite end, but be warned that both spike walls will move, so try to keep a safe distance as you swim through them. When the coast is clear, you can hop back in the water for some grenades if you want to. Climb up the long ladder at the end of the tunnel.

savegame.4 – Past the trapfest

Retrieve the DETONATOR KEY (not really) from the altar and then dive into the water passage in the corner. The underwater trapdoor is now open and allows you to return to the initial area. Climb down into the pit beneath the natural archway and use the key to open the exit door.

A T. rex awaits amidst the four small pyramids. Kill it however you see fit, and you'll no doubt notice a red helicopter simply hanging in the air. Climb the pyramid that's farthest away from the entrance to make it fly right through the wall, then to the top tile to hit the finish trigger.

[ * * * ]

LEVEL 4: THREATENING ICE CLIFFS

savegame.5 – Start of level 4

From your starting position, head to the cliffside to your right and grab the edge, then climb down to the bottom and head all the way towards the end of the world. A small alcove is hidden by a breakable ice wall – shoot it to reveal the silver dragon (SECRET #10). There's nothing else of interest down here, so make your way back up the ice cliff.

Head inside the building and down the large slope to fight off two snow leopards, then through the passage on the side you can retrieve some grenades in the farthest inlet. Use the blocks to climb up all the way to the ceiling, where you can throw a lever to reveal a snowmobile right at the entrance of this area. Safely get down and make your way back there.

Dispatch the two mercenaries and hop on the snowmobile. And here is another timely reminder to save often, what comes next is not necessarily difficult but rather unpredictable due to the vehicle.

Speed up the slope, minding the deadly gaps, and you'll soon come to a series of rolling snowballs. Quickly drive past them to a flat spot on the other side and immediately stop the vehicle. Turn it around and use the last slope to drive up to the area where the snowballs rolled down from. Get off the snowmobile and locate the icy push block on the corner, push it once and then push the newly revealed block to your left three times to reveal a small cave. Mind the stalactites and claim the jade dragon (SECRET #11) and some supplies, then return to the snowmobile.

Drive it close to the opposite side and then down the slope near the beginning of the slope sequence you came up from. Steer past the flat spot and run over about a dozen different enemies before heading into the next snowball section. If you want to test your resolve for a very unfair secret, read on, otherwise, skip the next paragraph.

On foot, disarm all the rolling snowballs ahead and then return to the snowmobile. Save your game. With the traps out of the way, carefully ride up the slope and locate a slope downwards the other side near the end. With a lot (and I mean it) of luck, you will eventually manage to make the snowmobile go down the slope without exploding or flying off into the abyss below. Follow the narrow pathway into a small cave, then hop off and walk in to retrieve the first gold dragon (SECRET #12) – you also get the UZIS if you've retrieved the previous two secrets in this level. Use the snowmobile to ride up the same slope you used to get down and pray it doesn't blow up in the process.

savegame.6 – Entrance to gold dragon cave

Past the snowballs lie another frustrating sequence, so keep making periodic saves in different slots. Gain some momentum to clear the gap and try your best to dodge the stalactites while also trying to retain your speed, otherwise you might fly off too far ahead and cause the vehicle to go boom. If you go too slow, however, there's a possibility it might get stuck into the metallic trapdoors between the snow slopes, so be sure to quicksave and quickload whenever necessary.

On the other side, you'll go right through a wall of ice and a long fall will bring the deserved fate to the snowmobile, while you safely glide away and land on a body of water. Now that's done, swim towards the land and climb out and into the cave. Kill the snow leopard and climb the icy wall in the back end.

You arrive to a small village with several shacks surrounded by the end of the world (literally). Retrieve the supplies from the one right in front of you and follow it to the corner, on the opposite side of the hole you climbed through, to locate a nearly invisible brown lever against the wooden exterior. Use the slopes to reach the now raised trapdoor and climb onto the rooftops, as you slide the rooftop of the shack you went inside earlier you'll hear two eagles flying in. Jump to the next rooftop, climb to the block with the shotgun shells and use it to hop across to the next rooftop, collect the grenades on the chimney (as it were) and jump to the final rooftop, to your left side. Another lever is just around the highest block on the rooftop, so activate it to open the entrance to another shack and then climb down safely using the mound of snow on the ground level.

Kill the masked goons, if you haven't yet, then head left to the shack to which the trapdoor is attached to. Climb to the highest block inside to another nearly invisible lever, this opens the door to the shack near the snow mound, so head in there and throw yet another lever to open the shack straight across from this one. Use the slope to gain height and throw the lever that opens the high door near the blue-iced tunnel.

Drop into the hole in the center of this shack for one last lever, then climb inside the last shack and perform a running jump towards the slope in the back, so that you can backflip onto the flat surface right above. Collect the ORNATE KEY near the opening, then drop back out and go through the blue-iced tunnel to your side.

You can already use the key if you like but behind the door is another locked door. We need to climb the ice tower all the way to the top. Use the platforms hanging on the left side to start your climb, then shimmy across the crack to reach some more platforms. After the icy ladder blocked by a trapdoor comes a sequence of sloped jumps, so it might be a good idea to resort to our good old buddy, quicksave.

Ignore the shatterable wall of ice (you'll fly through in a bit), and keep negotiating the sloped jumps, eventually adding some climbing to the mix as well. You'll eventually hear a door opening, allowing you to jump to the trapdoor you saw earlier and then climb the icy ladder to the top of this tower where you'll find one last K2 KEY. You know exactly where it goes, but let's make a little detour first.

On the exact opposite side of the icy ladder is an unmarked climbable wall, so hang off the edge and climb down carefully until an opening on the wall. Let go and quickly press the action key again, then climb inside for the extra gold dragon (SECRET #13) and some ammo, the final secret in this adventure. You can use this unmarked wall to climb safely all the way down to the bottom. Swim around the tower to climb out and go use your precious key.

Climb the tower to the top, from the inside this time around, and you'll find a snowmobile parked right behind the shatterable ice wall we ignored before. Full throttle through and beyond, straight into the abyss (?!), to finish this level.

[ * * * ]

LEVEL 5: FINAL ROUND

savegame.7 – Start of level 5

It's time to take the fight to Bartoli. Gear up and then throw the lever to open the gates ahead of you. Six spear warriors come to life as the gates shut behind you, but at this point neither health nor firepower should be an issue. My personal suggestion would be to spare the Uzis however. Once they're done, throw the lever behind one of the columns to open the next gates.

On the second room, about a dozen knife-throwing cultists will come at you. Again, dispatch them with anything but the Uzis. When the coast is clear, check the bodies as one of them holds the P1 MYSTIC PLAQUE. Place it in the receptacle near the final set of gates to finally meet Bartoli.

As you approach his body, he morphs into a Dragon. You pretty much defeat it the same way as in the original game: ie fill him with lead (the Uzis are your best friend here, as they allow great mobility while keeping a great rate of fire). If you are set ablaze, quickly run towards the edges to cool off in the water before resuming the battle. Once he tumbles down, quickly run towards his chest and press action to remove the P2 DAGGER OF XIAN from his body.

Find and activate the lever on one of the columns to open the humble backdoor and make your escape, but don't be hasty: look towards the ceiling to spot some jade debree. These will fall as you move towards the black grid in the back. Once you finally get close to it, your journey will have come to an end.