Fabulous Tubular Kiko Racing!!

Keen on mastering the game? This comprehensive guide provides you with both the basics as well as the expert tips and secrets that will help you beat the game, earn your 3,000 Neopoints from it each day (with ease), and quite possibly even win a coveted trophy!

Before we get to some of those winning secrets, let’s go through the important basics of the game:

THE IMPORTANT BASICS

(a) Scoring points

The object of the game is to score as many point as possible as you float around Kiko Lake. There are three main ways to score points:

• Guide the Kiko through the checkpoints (under the banners and in between the poles). You score 30 points for each checkpoint.

• Hit the enemy Kikos by firing at them (SPACEBAR). You score 10 points for each hit.

• Pick up the bonus items floating on the lake by moving over them: fruit, bottles of colored sand, leaves, and so on.

(b) Moving and controlling your Kiko

Next, you must learn to control Kavi’s (your Kiko’s) movements and become comfortable with them. This is perhaps the most important part of the game!

The LEFT key paddles your Kiko forward and to his left. From YOUR point of view, this is forward and to your right. The RIGHT key paddles the Kiko forward and to your left.

Notice how the Kiko does not move in a straight line when you try to go right or left. He moves in a sort of curved, circular arc. This is one of the most challenging aspects of the game – often you will find it tricky to quickly and accurately maneuver the Kiko to where you want to get him to because of this! In the section on “Advanced Maneuvering” below, this guide will teach you how to overcome this in no time at all! Once you learn the secret, you will be able to easily, quickly and accurately move the Kiko in any direction and anywhere you want him to go!

For now, note also that the UP and DOWN keys do not move the Kiko straight forward or straight backward. They do the “backwards equivalent” (or “opposite”) of what the LEFT and RIGHT keys do. The UP key moves your Kiko backwards and to your right. The DOWN key moves him backwards and to your left.

(c) Pick up those Bullets and Umbrellas!

In addition to the bonus items described above, there are two other useful things that you can pick up.

• Umbrella shields – These protect you against two arrow hits before they disappear. VERY useful!

• Yellow bullets – These give you extra bullets with which to shoot enemy Kikos.

(d) Watch out!

Losing a “life” is bad for two reasons: firstly because you have only three lives; and the game is over when you lose all your lives. The second reason – for those going for a high score or trophy – is that you lose your “accumulated bonus” each time you lose a life. More on the “accumulated bonus” will follow in the advanced sections below.

For now, just know that there are two things that could sink your Kiko and cause you to lose a life:

• Getting hit by an arrow from an enemy Kiko (unless you have an umbrella shield on).

• Colliding with a whirlpool (this formidable trap sinks you whether or not you have a shield on, so watch out!)

(e) Speed streams and Obstacles

Finally, there are two other things that you should watch out for.

• Speed streams – As its name suggests, these strong currents push your Kiko forward at rapid speeds. On some occasions this is fun and useful (e.g. to get out of a messy situation such as where you are under heavy fire from enemy Kikos). Most of the time, however, these do more harm than good – they push you forward so quickly and in such an uncontrollable manner that they will cause you to miss checkpoints, bonuses and other goodies. It’s best to try to avoid them.

• Obstacles – These will cause you to get “stuck” in them. It will often take you a few seconds of furious paddling before you get free. Sometimes this is pretty harmless. But more often than not, especially in the later stages, getting caught in these obstacles makes you an easy target for deadly arrows from enemy Kikos, so avoid them! Just remember: “Getting stuck makes you a sitting duck!”

Now you’re all set. Practice the game a few times if you want to get the hang of these fundamentals.

Ok – back from your practice? Now for the really important stuff! The sections below will help you ace this game, and maybe even win a high score and a trophy!

SECRET TIP#1: ADVANCED MANEUVERING!

The key to advanced maneuvering is to realize that Kavi your Kiko is perfectly comfortable with ambidextrous multi-tasking – meaning he can paddle in any direction with BOTH hands at same time!! The implication of this simple but crucial discovery is perhaps the most important aspect of the game. By pressing different combinations of MORE THAN ONE KEY at a time, you can steer Kavi in all sorts of different ways, with MUCH more speed and accuracy!

Here are some control combinations you should become very familiar with:

- MOVING STRAIGHT FORWARD: Press LEFT + RIGHT at the same time. Actually if you think about it, this makes perfect sense. When Kavi uses both arms to paddle forward, the left-and-right turning forces “cancel” each other out, such that the only remaining directional force is the straight-forward movement effect! You can imagine it this way: if you were floating around in a swimming pool, paddling with only one arm causes you to curve forward in a circular arc. Paddling with two arms at the same time causes you to move straight forward!

- MOVING STRAIGHT BACKWARD: Press UP + DOWN at the same. This is the reverse of moving straight forward; and it’s VERY important to become adept at doing this!

- ROTATING CLOCKWISE ON THE SPOT: Press RIGHT + UP at the same time. Ever found it hard to aim at those enemy Kikos? Ever found your Kiko accidentally facing the wrong direction? Need to make a sharp turn quickly? This is the key! Pressing left or right alone causes you to make a slow, wide turning. Pressing RIGHT + UP allows you to swivel around clockwise, sharply and quickly. (To understand how this works, again visualize yourself in a swimming pool, with your left arm pulling back and your right arm pushing forward in concert.)

- ROTATING ANTI-CLOCKWISE ON-THE-SPOT: Press LEFT + DOWN at the same time (the opposite of rotating clockwise).

- MOVING FORWARD, THEN CURVING TO ONE SIDE WITHOUT STOPPING: Sometimes you need to rush forward and swerve to the left or right without stopping – for example when you are trying to avoid a rapidly approaching arrow; or when you need to grab a bonus quickly. With practice, you can learn to do this maneuver easily: while still holding down LEFT + RIGHT, press UP (or DOWN, depending on which direction you wish to curve towards) to swerve without stopping. Yes, three buttons at once!

- MOVING BACKWARDS, THEN CURVING TO ONE SIDE WITHOUT STOPPING: While holding UP + DOWN, pressing LEFT or RIGHT to swerve without stopping. This is the opposite of the above/

- BRAKING: To come to a sharp halt, simply do the opposite of whatever you were doing. So if you were moving straight forwards, press UP + DOWN (straight backwards) to come to a quick stop. If you were moving straight backwards, press LEFT + RIGHT to make a sharp stop. This move is simple, but can be crucial e.g. to stop you from colliding into obstacles or whirlpools.

- MOVING FORWARD AND THEN STOPPING TO MAKE A SHARP TURN; or MOVING BACKWARDS, THEN STOPPING TO MAKE A SHARP TURN: I’ll leave you to figure this one out by yourself! : )

These maneuvering skills are crucial! Learn them well!

Practice makes perfect! In no time at all, you will be able to maneuver effortlessly out of the way of enemy arrows, float smoothly under checkpoints, and race with pinpoint precision to grab those precious bonuses!

SECRET #2: GET THOSE EXTRA BONUS POINTS!

There are two things that you can do in order to maximize the points you get from passing through checkpoints and from picking up bonus items:

- CHECKPOINTS – DON’T BUMP THEM! Bumping into them causes the checkpoint to become narrower, AND it REDUCES the number of points you will get when you finally do cross that checkpoint. If you have mastered the maneuvering skills you learnt above, this will not be too difficult. If you are going to collide into a post, brake fast, or reverse and re-adjust your Kiko.

- BONUS ITEMS and the “ACCUMULATED BONUS” – The first bonus item you pick up, regardless what item it is, will be worth 1 point. The second item will be worth 2 points. The third will be worth 3 points, and so on, until the 10th item and thereafter, which will give you 10 points each. As you can see, it really adds up – the bonuses “accumulate” or snowballs! So if you pick up 15 items, you get 1 + 2 + 3 + … + 10 + 10 + 10 + 10 + 10 + 10 = 155 points.

- Here’s the catch. If at any point you lose a life, your “bonus streak” comes to an end. The bonuses are counted starting from 1 point again. So the first item you pick up after losing the life will count only as 1 point, and so on. Imagine if you lose a life after picking up 5 items, and then imagine you lose another life again after another 5 items. In such a scenario, you would have only score 1 + 2 …+ 5 + 1 + 2 …+ 5 + 1 + 2 … + 5 = 45 points ONLY. This is less than one third what you would have got if you hadn’t lost any lives!!

As you can see, try not to lose a life, and those bonuses will really add up!!

TIP #3: GET THOSE ENEMY KIKOS!

You score 10 points by hitting an enemy Kiko. These points are also significant, so keep these tips in mind:

- Aim carefully! Your ammunition is extremely limited, and you do not want to waste any of it at all! Try to make sure every shot you fire hits its target.

- If you find you have a problem aiming, you can GREATLY improve your chances of hitting by paddling right up beside the enemy Kiko. If you do this fast enough, you can usually be assured of hitting him before he even has time to fire an arrow at you. Alternatively, wait for him to fire; and then maneuver or duck around the arrow and rush closer to him, brake, aim, and fire. Again, there should be plenty of time to get him before he has time to fire a second shot.

- But note, if you have paddled close to the Kiko, always be on your guard! If it’s easier for you to hit him, that means it’s also easier for him to hit you! If you take too long, he may have time to fire a shot straight at you. So be mentally prepared to back away quickly from the Kiko, and swerve out of the way, should he fire an arrow at you (UP + DOWN + either LEFT or RIGHT to swerve backwards).

- Remember: take your time to fire. Don’t panic!

TIP #4: PRIORITIZE!

In the first stage, things move pretty slowly. You should be able to hit all or almost all the enemy Kikos, get all the bonuses, and navigate through all the checkpoints without bumping into them. With a little practice, you will easily and consistently be able to score 250+, 260+ or even higher.

In later stages, things begin to move faster. You can’t do everything – so you need to prioritize. Here are some tips to keep in mind.

- Not losing a life at all should be your top priority, for the reasons explained above (accumulated bonuses). At later stages, it may SOMETIMES be better to sacrifice a checkpoint if you think going for it may cause you to lose a life. It will OFTEN be better to sacrifice a bonus item if going for it may cause you to lose a life. It is ALMOST ALWAYS better to sacrifice picking up extra bullets than to risk losing a life. (It’s hard to have time to hit enemy Kikos at later stages anyway.)

- Getting smoothly through the checkpoints should be your next highest priority. This give you the most points: 30 points.

- If you do not have an umbrella shield on, picking up an umbrella should be a very high priority – a higher priority than picking up bonuses and bullets. Remember, if you lose a life your bonus streak will be forfeited! This can be very costly in terms of points! (See above)

- Picking up bonuses without losing a life is your next priority. The bonuses can really add up.

- Hitting enemy Kikos also earns you 10 points, and this is significant. Be sure to hit as many Kikos as you can in the first round. But this can be really hard to do in the last stages. If you happen to be facing the right direction and you’re close to an enemy Kiko, there’s usually no harm in trying a shot. But it’s going to be hard to go out of your way to hit the enemies at the later stages – usually you end up getting shot down, missing a checkpoint, or missing several bonuses.

TIP #5: MEMORIZE THE COURSE!

Finally, you will help your score immensely by memorizing the course! It’s not a long course, and you’ll become very familiar in just a few days or a week if you keep working on it!

If you know what’s coming up, you’ll be ready for it, and that helps you do better. For example, suppose you’ve remembered that after a particular checkpoint the next checkpoint is really close by but on the opposite side of the lake – what you can do is to get ready: rotate on the spot (RIGHT + UP or DOWN + LEFT) to face correct direction as you cross the first checkpoint. The moment you cross it you will already be facing the right direction, so you can rush forward (RIGHT + LEFT) to get to the second checkpoint in time.

Or suppose you remember that at a particular fork in lake, the right-hand path leads to a whirlpool - you would then make sure to steer towards the left-hand side path. Valuable!

Of course, it’s hard to remember the course at first - but you will find it really easy after a while, I promise! Just keep doing it - play a few times every day for several days and you'll be a pro in no time!

PARTING COMMENTS:

Tubular Kiko Racing is an exciting, fantastic game! One of my favorite aspects of this game is that it features some amazing artwork and colors. True to the original Kiko Lake setting, you’ll find crystal clear sky-blue waters, yellow sandy beaches, and rich green shrubs. Truly picturesque!

This fun game challenges your hand-eye coordination and psychomotor skills in maneuvering your Kiko; your concentration and memory in recalling the course; your alertness and quickness in reacting; your ability to multi-task and focus on more than one thing at a time (steering, firing, ducking, picking up things); and your ability to strategize and prioritize in deciding what actions will give you the highest score. It's a challenge, but with these tips you should be a pro in no time!

I hope this guide was comprehensive, clear, and helpful. Good luck!!

Feel free to neomail me if you want to ask me anything! - By ahchickenrice