Clear Pipe Cruise, as the name suggests, will use a lot of the clear pipes in order to traverse around it. At the beginning, take the first clear pipe to a small island with a Fire Piranha Plant, then move over to the next one, where another Fire Piranha Plant awaits you. Defeat this second one to have a Fire Flower pop out, which can be extremely useful in this level. The pipe to the right leads to an invisible cloud platform (shoot some fireballs to destroy the mines), where some hidden coins are located. You should see Green Star #1 in the main section just ahead, but it’s blocked by mines.
Due to the layout of the clear pipes, you can’t use the Fire Flower here, but there is a Super Star in the pipe itself. So, go and grab the Super Star, then head into the left section and grab the Green Star before the invincibility disappears. Once you get it, go to the right and use the Warp Box to get to the next area. You can hit the POW Block to get the ?-Block above it, which should shoot out another power-up. Shoot a fireball through the clear pipe to the left to kill the Piranha Plant on the other side of the gap, then follow through the pipe. Ahead, you’ll see some mines inside the bottom pipe. If you break them with the Fire Flower, you can snag an easy 1-Up Mushroom on your way up.
Fuzzies move through the entire next area so you need to time your entrance and exit in the clear pipes. The first one has a clock pick-up, while the second has Green Star #2. The trick is to cycle around the top section until the Fuzzies pass, then re-enter the main pipe to exit. Hit the Checkpoint Flag, then instead of using the Clear Pipe Cannon to shoot yourself to the other end, climb atop it. When the pipe turns toward the sky, use a Cat Suit to get to the top for a tricky Stamp placement. Additionally, you can wall jump off the pipe, then turn towards the upper portion and perform a mid-air roll.
In the next area, you can quickly race up the wall with a Cat Suit or use the Clear Pipes to avoid the Fuzzies, finding a power-up from the ?-Block on the second level with the clouds. Take the Warp Box and at the top, shoot a Fireball into the clear pipe to your left, then follow it to a Cloud Cannon. This is a typical Cloud area where you race to the end using Dash Panels and claim the star at the end, but instead of getting a Super Star at the beginning you’ll want to snag a Piranha Plant. Grab Green Star #3 at the end of the run, then head down the ramp taking out the Piranha Plants in the process.
The final area requires you to find five Key Coins to use the Warp Box. Key Coin #1 is right at the entrance to the Clear Pipes, so get it then dash right dodging the Fuzzies. Grab Key Coin #2 and Key Coin #3 from the top right, then either go up or down to reach the left side, depending on where the Fuzzies are. Get Key Coin #4 and Key Coin #5 from this symmetrical left side, then head into the Warp Box. Move through the clear pipes here, exiting at the top to cap the Goal Pole.
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