NUCCAPOMPULAMYRSCY

TR1(?) Levels by Drobridski

Quick guide by Treeble

This is not a conventional level, and as such this won't be a conventional walkthrough. Playing through the tutorial level is an absolute must, so from the main menu tap right (imagine you're looking for Lara's Home in the original ring menu) and when Pompulacomero is highlighted, press Action.

Before I delve any further into this quick guide, here's a transcript of every tutorial message that will flash on screen:

Welcome! Practice handling here as much as you wish. Be aware though, that getting a hang of it could take a minute or two.

This tutorial refers to the default controls.

Your cutesy ride accelerates automatically, as such, just focus on steering and braking.

Hold ↑ and simultaneously apply ← or → to steer in those directions.

Hold ↑ and tap SHIFT to brake. The brakes kick in after a moment, so make the operation early.

Notice there's a cool-down period, which also prevents you from turning sharply. Release ↑ and press it again to regain better control.

Right-timed braking is required for most zekpoints: blue-bordered sections that all must be correctly visited.

Spend a few uninterrupted seconds inside a zekpoint area and your ears are soothed with an audio cue, meaning you did well.

After you've repeated the procedure on every zekpoint, return to the starting grid to proceed.

Lastly, rotating the camera through WASD keys should prove very helpful. Reset it with the - key.

Alright, off you go. Ready?

Once the level begins, you'll find you are a toy car. First things first: hold the W key for a second or two so the camera pans up and gives you a better reading of the race track. You might find something else works better for you, but generally speaking I didn't fiddle further than this with the camera controls (it always resets to default when you die or when you proceed to the next circuit).

In the tutorial level you are invincible, so take your time to learn the ropes. You always need to be holding the up cursor key as you do your damnedest to remain on the track by steering with either side keys. In the actual levels, going off-road means instant death and you need to restart. You can only save at the beginning of a new circuit.

In each of the circuits, you need to trigger three zekpoints, which are segments of the track highlighted with a blue border. When you approach one, tap (don't hold) Shift and the car will start drifting after a small delay. If you stay enough time inside the zekpoint you'll hear a whoooo! sound indicating success. If you run another lap, you'll notice a zekpoint previously triggered is now filled with sparkling colors, so you don't need to activate it again.

While your car is drifting, take the chance to line up your future trajectory and as soon as you're in motion again, let go of the up cursor key (I also held the down cursor key for a moment or two, to be sure) then get right back on it. The next curves you make will be much tighter, so you might find yourself cutting corners and dying because of that. You'll also find yourself going astray often, don't worry.

When all three zekpoints are triggered, the starting line will be flashing. Finish the lap safely and you'll clear the circuit and watch a brief cutscene before the next one begins, allowing you to save your progress. If the finish line is not flashing, you'll start a new lap on the same circuit instead.

Further circuits will introduce additional hazards. While staying on the track, do not touch any of the floating die (oh no!). Later on, you'll see pseudo zekpoints: these are parts of the track with a red highlight and they trigger a bubbling pompom trap somewhere else, no harm in activating these fake zekpoints but steer clear from the pompoms when you see them.

It will take a lot of time and patience to master this and, for the most part, it might still rely on luck more than anything else. Completing each of the four levels under a preset time gives you a four-character key at the statistics screen. Combining the rewards from each of the four levels will result in a case-sensitive 16-character password to unlock the included Boonus Material zip file. VH9D3ZKZGUPLE6J2

Triggering all zekpoints in a single lap should be enough, except on the last circuit. For reference, these were my personal times. I'm not sure how close I was cutting it, but I still got the password bits for the first three circuits legitimately. I'm guessing the last one needs more than just a couple of seconds shaved off...

Warispattuca: 0:39

Curttucimpale: 0:45

Willamopsipallero: 0:47

Pippurinauta: 0:46

Good luck!