Project: Braid FAQ/Walkthrough
Author: Scruffy a.k.a. CraigG
Date: 08-20-08
"You're not thinking fourth-dimensionally." - Doc. Emmet Brown
Table of Contents:
Use the codes to the right to find what you want.
Introduction BFint
FAQ BFfaq
Special Notes BFspn
Walkthrough BFwlk
World 2 BFw2
World 3 BFw3
World 4 BFw4
World 5 BFw5
World 6 BFw6
World 1 BFw1
Secrets! BFsec
Achievements BFach
Acknowledgments BFack
History/Legal BFleg
Introduction [BFint]
What is Braid? One may as well ask what life is. It is art, it is love, it is
pain, it is a journey. It is itself. I don't mean to sound pretentious. It's
just impossible to define this game as one thing. This is mainly because I may
get something different out of it than you will. For this reason, this guide
will be pretty cut and dry. There will be no attempt at interpretation. The
level text is provided for reference purposes only.
It should go without saying, then, that this guide provides spoilers. I
describe, step-by-step, how to obtain each puzzle piece. I reveal the "ending,"
which is actually the beginning. You, the reader, are responsible for putting
the pieces together, both literally and figuratively. In other words, I am only
here to guide you through this journey. I am not here to guide your under-
standing of it. You will draw your own conclusions, and it would be arrogant of
me to attempt to draw conclusions for you.
It should also go without saying that this guide should be used as a last
resort. I actually agree with the game's author in that you should try to
figure things out on your own. I won't *make* you do that, though. I played
through this and felt lost at points, so my intention in making this guide was
to provide a helping hand to those in desperate need. However, I do reiterate
that this game ought to be played without this guide. Try it. And when you get
so frustrated that you can't even think, you have the option of glancing within
for the solution. You also have the option of taking a break, calming down, and
coming back to the game with a fresh mind. There is no rush.
That being said, this guide may or may not be useful upon a second run of the
game, whilst trying to achieve the Speed Run record. 45 minutes is not a lot.
It goes by quickly. Trust me, I know. I still haven't managed to beat the time.
And yes, I was using my own guide that I made from notes on my second play-
through. Perhaps my methods aren't the most efficient or speedy, and you will
develop your own methods. That's the beauty of "Braid": there is really no
right way to play it. My "solutions" merely reflect my mind's attempt at
working out the "problems" presented.
At any rate, and without further ado, welcome to the guide.
FAQ [BFfaq]
Q. Huh?
A. This walkthrough is for the XBox 360 version of the game.
Q. No, really, WHAT?!?
A. Oh. ;) Braid is, at times, confusing, I know, but if you play through it a
couple times, you'll get the gist of it.
Q. Help, what do I do?!?
A: Here are the controls:
Movement - Left stick (LS)
Jump - A button (A)
Activate/Use - B button (B)
Rewind Time - X button (X)
Speed Up Rewind - Left Bumper (LB)
Slow Down Rewind - Right Bumper (RB)
"Special" ring (world 6 only) - Y button (Y)
Pause - Start button (Start)
Q. I'm being serious. What do I do?!?
A. You roam around trying to find puzzle pieces and bonking monsters on the
head (or not). Seriously, though, this may appear to be your typical plat-
former, but it's not.
Q. Alright, Mr. Smarty Pants, just tell me what to freakin' do already.
A. Play the game. :P Seriously, just try it. If you absolutely positively
cannot get through this thing without a hand-held guide, then feel free to
read on.
Q. Thanks. Was that so hard?
A. I'd ask you the same question. Do you feel better knowing that you weren't
able to beat the game on your own?
Q. ...
A. Thought so.
Q. Um... okay, so what sort of rewards do I get for finishing this game?
A. Personal fulfilment? No really, you do get achievements on the 360. For
those, skip to the Achievements [BFach] section.
Q. What's this I hear about stars?!?
A. Yes, they are there. No, you can't see them... yet. I tell you how to get
them in the secrets [BFsec] section.
Q. Can I still get all the stars if I finished the game?
A. If by "finished," you mean collected all the puzzle pieces and assembled
them, then no. You'll have to go through a second time (i.e. start a new game)
in order to get the stars. I sincerely hope you read this before getting one
star in particular...
Q. What is this game about?
A. The general consensus (i.e. popular interpretation) is that it's somehow
about The Atomic Bomb. Most people point to the quote at the end, "Now, we're
all sons of *****es," which was said by Ken Bainbridge to Robert Oppenheimer
after the first successful test of the Atomic Bomb. Personally... I think this
is stretching it a tad. Feel free to draw your own conclusions though.
Q. Why does it cost 1200 points?
A. Because it's worth it. End of discussion. ;)
Q. Will there be any sequels, expansion packs, or what have you?
A. I have no idea, but I'm guessing no.
Special Notes [BFspn]
1. There are two "endings" to this game. The first you can get by doing the
regular playthrough as detailed below. The second requires you to search for
and obtain eight stars.
2. If you wish to obtain the stars, you need to do it separately from the
puzzle pieces in many cases. There's one star you cannot obtain if you've
already completed the puzzle for world 3, for example. Also, you can't get
the World 1 star until you've gotten all the others and completed all the
puzzles.
3. For the purposes of this walkthrough, I will detail how to obtain the stars
in the secrets [BFsec] section. This is so my walkthrough for the puzzle
pieces doesn't get muddled.
4. I'm still not sure what the purpose of the cloud in the epilogue is. If
anyone knows, I'd be happy to put it in the FAQ and give you credit.
Walkthrough [BFwlk]
Here is the complete walkthrough, including all in-game text. THIS CONTAINS
SPOILERS!!! You have been warned! Note: I normally only tell you how to get
each puzzle piece. As to where they are and how to get to them, I only mention
this if it is important and/or not immediately obvious. The upshot of this is
I won't be telling you each and every movement or whatever you have to
make on the way to each puzzle piece (in other words, I won't be telling you
how to simply make it through a level). It should be fairly obvious how you
need to proceed. In general, you'll want to keep going until you find a
specific puzzle piece. The only case where I'll give specific instructions is
if it's important to help you find a puzzle piece. The extreme, and obvious,
exception to this rule is the "final" level, World 1.
FINAL WARNING ABOUT THE STARS: If you wish to obtain the stars, do NOT put
together the puzzle pieces for World 3 until you follow my walkthrough in
the secrets [BFsec] section for stars 1-7. You have been warned!
Without further ado, here's the walkthrough:
Beginning:
You start off on a bridge. In the background is a city in flames. As should be
obvious, you must move right to proceed. Eventually, you come to a house. Here
is where your journey begins. You step into world 2...
World 2 "Time and Forgiveness" [BFw2]
Tim is off on a search to rescue the Princess. She has been snatched by a
horrible and evil monster.
This happened because Tim made a mistake.
Not just one. He made many mistakes during the time they spent together, all
those years ago. Memories of their relationship have become muddled, replaced
wholesale, but one remains clear: the Princess turning sharply away, her braid
lashing him with contempt.
He knows she tried to be forgiving, but who can just shrug away a guilty lie, a
stab in the back? Such a mistake will change a relationship irreversibly, even
if we have learned from the mistake and would never repeat it. The Princess's
eyes grew narrower. She became more distant.
Our world, with its rules of causality, has trained us to be miserly with
forgiveness. By forgiving too readily, we can be badly hurt. But if we've
learned from a mistake and become better for it, shouldn't we be rewarded for
learning, rather than punished for the mistake?
What if our world worked differently? Suppose we could tell her: "I didn't mean
what I just said," and she would say: "It's okay, I understand," and she would
not turn away and life would really proceed as though we had never said that
thing? We could remove the damage but still be wiser for the experience.
Tim and the Princess lounge in the castle garden, laughing together, giving
names to the colorful birds. Their mistakes are hidden from each other, tucked
away between the folds of time, safe.
World 2-1 "Three Easy Pieces" (3 Puzzle Pieces)
The first thing you will notice is that this level, and this world in general,
acts as a tutorial for the rest of the game. Your gaming instincts will take
over and guide you to the first puzzle piece.
Getting the first piece is almost self-explanatory, but in case you can't
figure it out, you drop down to the lower platform and jump over the broken
parts to get the puzzle piece.
Eventually you'll come to a place with a cannon and a monster. As should be
self-evident, you need to jump on the monster to get the second piece. Take
note of this for the future as jumping on monsters will come in handy. The
upshot of doing this is you bounce higher than you normally are able to jump.
Remember, you can rewind if you don't get it quite right.
At any rate, as you move along, you'll come to a place with two cannons and two
monsters. This one is tad trickier as it requires timing. You need to jump
on both of the monsters to get the last piece. Practice makes perfect, and
rewind is your friend.
World 2-2 "The Cloud Bridge" (4 Puzzle Pieces)
Jump over the fiery pit of doom to get the key. Go back to the ladder and climb
up to unlock the door, then jump over the cannon onto a cloud. The cloud will
literally carry you to the first piece, so you don't really need to do
anything.
On the second set of clouds, you do need to keep jumping across until you get
to the second piece, which is just above the second cannon.
This is where things get tricky. As you probably noticed, the third piece is
what I like to refer to as "just a bit out of reach." You actually won't be
able to get it until you get a puzzle piece found in the next level. I'm not
joking. The piece you're looking for is the one that has part of the table on
it. Once you have that piece, well, it's still kinda tricky. For this to work,
you have to actually enter puzzle mode by pressing the B button (B). Once in
that mode, position the piece so that the table part is EXACTLY level with the
corner of the ledge that the monster is on. Exit puzzle mode to check, and
adjust if necessary. As soon as the monster walks onto it, QUICKLY press (B) to
enter the puzzle assembly mode and move the piece over and down a bit. If the
monster falls off, rewind and try again. Once you have the monster in the right
spot, it should be "stuck" on the "ledge" you created. Ideally, the "ledge"
should be in the middle of the gap between the two larger ledges, and slightly
lower. Climb the ladder to the left-side larger ledge, jump across to the
smaller one, and finally jump on the head of the monster to properly reach the
right-side ledge. Now just grab the third piece. Note that getting this piece
is actually easier if you're willing to wait until you get the second puzzle
piece that has the table part on it. Once you get that, you can simply place
the table part midway between the two ledges and jump across.
In order to get the fourth piece, you'll have to exit the level and re-enter
(just pop into the next level and back). Getting this piece uses almost the
same method as getting the third piece, but this time you WANT the monster to
drop. Once you get the monster walking towards the door, follow it. As soon as
it walks under the piece above the door, jump on the monster to get the piece.
Note that you actually DO need the monster in this case, unlike before.
World 2-3 "The Hunt" (1 Puzzle Piece)
Time to bonk some heads, literally. This level is actually pretty simple, once
you know what to do. Basically, you need to get the door to open at the top. To
do this, you have to eliminate all the monsters. Starting at the bottom, let
that monster know who's boss. Go to the second level, left side, and give that
one a what for. Climb up to the third level, left side, and send that one away.
Time your jump down to the second level right side so that when you jump on the
monster, you land on the third level right side. Kick that one's, er, butt, and
head up to top floor. Bonk this monster and the door will unlock. You can now
snatch the puzzle piece. Note that you'll need this piece to finish the
previous level.
World 2-4 "Leap of Faith" (4 Puzzle Pieces)
Timing is everything on the first puzzle piece. Go up the ladder and activate
the switch for the moving platform. You want to catch a monster on the platform
so that it lands and makes it safely across the fiery pit of doom. If you did
this right, the monster should land and walk towards the door. Jump on the
monster and grab the first piece.
Making your way over, you'll notice a bottomless pit (it's not really bottom-
less). That puzzle piece across the way is just out of jumping range.
Fortunately, you have a monster to help you get there. Unfortunately, jumping
on it requires precise timing. Don't be frustrated if you don't get it on the
first try; this is what rewind is for. Ideally, you'll end up on the other side
of the non-bottomless pit and in possession of a well-earned puzzle piece.
Get over your fear of heights and jump into the abyss. Remember: rewind is your
friend. Seriously though this one is all about the midair steering. Stay
towards the left side and hopefully avoid the spikes to land directly on the
third piece, which is resting safely above a fire pit.
Now, you must go up! Watch out for the *BONK* er, sorry about that. Anyway you
can rewind if this goes wrong. Go up and the final puzzle piece will be on
your right as you ascend.
Congratulations, you finished world 2!
Back in the house, you can solve the world 2 puzzle now if you want. Go ahead
and enter World 3 once you're all done.
World 3 "Time and Mystery" [BFw3]
All those years ago, Tim had left the Princess behind. He had kissed her on the
neck, picked up his travel bag, and walked out the door. He regrets this, to a
degree. Now he's journeying to find her again, to show he knows how sad it was,
but also to tell her how it was good.
For a long time, he thought they had been cultivating the perfect relationship.
He had been fiercely protective, reversing all his mistakes so they would not
touch her. Likewise, keeping a tight rein on her own mistakes, she always
pleased him.
But to be fully couched within the comfort of a friend is a mode of existence
with severe implications. To please you perfectly, she must understand you
perfectly. Thus you cannot defy her expectation or escape her reach. Her
benevolence has circumscribed you, and your life's achievements will not reach
beyond the map she had drawn.
Tim needed to be non-manipulable. He needed a hope of transcendence. He needed,
sometimes, to be immune to the Princess's caring touch.
Off in the distance, Tim saw a castle where the flags flutter even when the
wind has expired, and the bread in the kitchen is always warm. A little bit of
magic.
World 3-1 "The Pit" (No puzzle pieces)
This world introduces a new concept in time travel: objects that are immune to
the flow of time.
Since this is new, I'll just tell you what to do: jump down, jump on the
monster, and grab the key. Now rewind. You'll still have the key. Confused? The
key is "time resistant." In other words, you traveled through time backwards,
but the key didn't (it became attached to you in spite of the flow of time).
Make a note of this as you'll be using this trick quite often from here on out.
World 3-2 "There and Back Again" (1 Puzzle Piece)
Once you start the level, you'll notice a barrier dropping down. Oh no!
Actually, there's no need to panic. Simply climb up, grab the key, and...
rewind to where you were close to the door. Once again, the key is time-proof.
The dropping barrier, however, isn't, and should be at the start of its journey
downward. At any rate, no need to dilly-dally any further. Open the door, and
grab the puzzle piece. You're done here.
World 3-3 "Phase" (2 Puzzle Pieces)
Navigate the latticework at the beginning and get on the ledge. Jump on a
cloud, and prepare for a mind-blowing experience. Jump across the clouds until
you can't anymore. Now CAREFULLY hit the rewind button (X) very briefly and
repeatedly so that you're essentially frozen in place on the cloud. Do this
until the lower clouds, which are actually time-proof, make it possible for you
to jump across. Now simply jump across the clouds and get the puzzle piece,
which is above the cannon. Note that you may need to repeat this trick on your
jump towards the cannon.
Going forward, simply repeat the same trick above to get the second puzzle
piece.
World 3-4 "The Ground Beneath Her Feet" (2 Puzzle Pieces)
Go up the ladder, jump down to the platform, and activate the switch. Now,
rewind back to the beginning. The monster will fall on the platform (which is
time-proof) and gladly fetch the key for you. Grab the key from the monster,
activate the switch to reverse the platform, open the door, and grab the first
piece.
The second one requires some real 4th dimensional savvy. First of all, activate
the switch and go up the ladder and onto the time-proof platform. Stand
directly above the puzzle piece, and count to 5 (not too slowly or quickly).
Go back down, activate the switch, and then rewind. Ideally, you should now be
hovering over the puzzle piece without the time-proof platform under you. If it
didn't work, just try it again. Note that the puzzle piece is also time-proof,
and that you can rewind to before you crossed the pit of doom. This should
allow you to safely exit the level.
World 3-5 "Tight Channels" (2 Puzzle Pieces)
This level introduces what I like to call The Bunnies From Hell. Also, they
sound like cats for some reason. Knowing this game, there's probably a reason.
Anyway, you'll have to have some patience and ingenuity for this next one. When
you get to the first ladder, climb up to the time-proof platform. Now, rewind
CAREFULLY and hope that the monster makes it through the fireballs and lands on
your platform. As soon as the monster is down there, jump on it to get the
puzzle piece above you. Did I mention that rewind is your friend?
The next one doesn't require much besides precise timing and a bit of luck.
Yes, it's time to play dodgeball. In this case the balls are fireballs and
they'll toast you alive if you're not careful. Rewind comes in handy here. At
any rate, once you're through the fire and flames, you can grab the second, and
last, puzzle piece on this level.
World 3-6 "Irreversible" (3 Puzzle Pieces)
Above you, you'll notice two platforms. A larger platform moving to the left,
and a smaller platform moving upward. The trick here is that the one moving to
the left is affected by time, while the one moving upward isn't. You need the
left-moving, time-prone one to block the upward-moving, time-proof one. For
this reason alone, stay close to the door. Knock off the monsters and bunnies
if you must, but STAY BY THE DOOR. Wait until the left-moving platform is
safely past the upward-moving one, and THEN go up the ladder. If for some odd
reason the larger platform doesn't make it across, exit the level and re-enter
it. Once the platform is in place, make your way over to it to get the first
puzzle piece.
The next part requires more 4th-dimensional savvy. Once you reach the ladder
going down into the depths of the earth, climb down and pick up the key to the
left past the man-eating plant. Use the key to open the first door. Now rewind
a tad so you have the key again. The door will still be open, as it is time-
proof. Use the key on the next door, and grab the second puzzle piece.
The third one is kinda tricky, but also not. Go down from the second puzzle
piece and CAREFULLY make your way into the pit. DO NOT grab the key after the
first plant. DO grab the key at the bottom of the pit. Now rewind to before you
crossed the plants. Open the first door with the key you have. NOW grab the key
after the first plant. Use this to open the time-proof door, rewind just a bit
so you have the key again, and open the final door. Grab the puzzle piece, and
you're done.
World 3-7 "Lair" (No Puzzle Pieces)
There's not much to see or do here besides... HOLY CRAP WHAT IS THAT THING. Oh,
it's sleeping. Anyway, you'll have to wake it up and defeat it to proceed. To
do this, you'll have to climb up to the chandeliers and drop them on his head.
You can use rewind to your advantage here, since the boss is time-proof, and
the damage that you do to him is permanent. It'll take six bonks on the head
to get him down for the count. At any rate, once he's down, grab the key and
leave this place.
World 3-8 "A Tingling" (2 Puzzle Pieces)
Oh-so-tricky! Right. The first thing you'll have to get over is there's A LOT
of backtracking to be done here. A lot. Anyway, your first order of business is
to get to that switch. Activate it and send the time-proof platform to the
right. Now comes the tricky part. Go grab the key from the monster if you want.
However, your main task should be to go over to the left of the screen so that
you're on the platform above the door. Stand at the edge of that platform for
about 10 seconds. You'll see why in just a moment. Now, go back to the switch,
activate it again, and immediately hit rewind. Speed up the rewind to about 8x
so that you actually beat the platform back to the left side. Now, jump on the
platform when it comes over and quickly jump on the ladder. Go up and claim
your first puzzle piece. You can now send the platform back to the right and
open the door to continue.
You're about to find out just how good a friend rewind can be, especially when
it doesn't affect you. Once you're through playing dodgeball with fireballs and
whatnot, make your way carefully to a switch located below and to the left of
the pit of doom. Activate this switch and hit rewind a tad so you're back on
the latticework just above the platform. Now, hop onto that platform. Hit
rewind. Speed it up as fast as you can, and wait. Eventually (it will happen,
trust me), you'll see a barrier that went down before go back up. Lucky for
you, this barrier is affected by time. Unluckily for you, it still moves pretty
quickly. As quickly and as efficiently as you can, make your way to the closing
barrier and grab the second and final puzzle piece of this level.
Congratulations, you've beaten world 3!
Back in the house, you may now solve the puzzle for world 3 if you wish. After
you're done here, go ahead to world 4.
World 4 "Time and Place" [BFw4]
Visiting his parents' home for a holiday meal, Tim felt as though he had
regressed to those long-ago years when he lived under their roof, oppressed by
their insistence on upholding strange values which, to him, were meaningless.
Back then, bickering would erupt over drops of gravy spilt onto tablecloth.
Escaping, Tim walked in the cool air toward the university he'd attended after
moving out of his parents' home. As he distanced himself from that troubling
house, he felt the embarrassment of childhood fading into the past. But now he
stepped into all the insecurities he'd felt at the university, all the panic of
walking a social tightrope.
Tim only felt relieved after the whole visit was over, sitting back home in the
present, steeped in contrast: he saw how he'd improved so much from those old
days.
This improvement, day by day, takes him ever-closer to finding the Princess. If
she exists - she must! - she will transform him, and everyone.
He felt on his trip that every place stirs up and emotion, and every emotion
invokes a memory: a time and a location. So couldn't he find the Princess now,
tonight, just by wandering from place to place and noticing how he feels? A
trail of feeling, of awe and inspiration, should lead him to that castle: in
the future: her arms enclosing him, her scent fills him with excitement,
creates a moment so strong he can remember it in the past.
Immediately Tim walked out his door, the next morning, toward whatever the new
day held. He felt something like optimism.
World 4-1 "The Pit" (No Puzzle Pieces)
The first thing you'll notice is that the monsters only move when you move, and
they either rewind themselves or go forward, depending on your movement in the
level. Try it out in this first level to get the hang of it, and when you're
ready, grab the key and move on (the key is time-proof, again).
World 4-2 "Jumpman" (3 Puzzle Pieces)
Look familiar? :P Ignore your gamer instincts and, after you go up the first
and second ladders, jump on the stone thing to your left. Now, jump on the
monster that's seemingly defying gravity, and "ride" it up to the top so that
you're behind the cannon. Jump over the cannon, go up the small ladder to your
right, and grab the first puzzle piece. Note that this puzzle piece is not
actually time-proof, and that you'll need to grab it again later.
Time to play dodgeball with fireballs again. Except this time you can literally
control the speed of the fireballs with your movements. Sometimes this works
to your advantage, but sometimes it doesn't. Once you're at the top, grab the
key if you want. WARNING: DO NOT open the door to the right of the puzzle
piece. If you do, the door won't open, you'll lose the key, and you'll have to
restart the entire level. Instead, go back to the beginning and repeat the
steps I gave above to get the first puzzle piece. Now, you can unlock the left
door and grab the second piece AFTER you get the first one.
Go play with the fireballs again and triumphantly return to the top ledge. Now,
simply nab the puzzle piece that's patiently waiting for you there.
World 4-3 "Just Out of Reach" (2 Puzzle Pieces)
This one may take some patience and careful timing. Go up and activate the
switch. Now go up again. Jump down and to the left so you essentially undo the
switch, and at the same time, hit the monster so you bounce onto the second
level where the monster and the walls are. Now, you can go to the right and
jump on the monster so that you end up over the first wall, and thus able to
grab the first puzzle piece. It takes some practice, trial-and-error, and a bit
of the rewind.
This next trick requires some very careful timing. You'll become intimately
attached to the rewind function here. From where you just got the first piece,
jump down so that you hit the monster and wind up next to the ladder. Now,
climb up the ladder, jump over to where the monster was jumping down from, and
get ready for some tricky timing. What you want to do is make it so that you do
NOT hit the monster. Jump down to the right and get ready to play with rewind.
It requires a lot of trial-and-error, and you'll essentially have to get lucky.
Once you get you AND the monster safely across to the platform across from
where the first puzzle piece was, with you next to the ladder and the monster
below you, proceed across and let the monster grab the key. Now, you have to
get the key, so go back and do some more time manipulation until you get the
key. Now, you have to go back AGAIN and jump on the monster ANOTHER time to get
back up to the ladder. Don't rewind as the key is not actually time-proof.
Finally, open the door and grab the second and last puzzle piece.
World 4-4 "The Hunt" (1 Puzzle Piece)
This one is essentially the same as world 2-3, but now with extra annoying time
manipulation. Keep in mind that you can actually UNDO eliminating a monster by
going too far in one direction or another. You have been warned.
First, get to the very top using whatever method you deem most fit. Knock off
that monster; it should be close to the left side. Head back down and double
jump on the monster on the 2nd level, right side. You want to wind up on the
3rd platform to the left. Knock off that monster. WARNING: If you walk over to
the ladder, the top monster will come back to life. At any rate, after getting
rid of the 3rd level, left side monster, head down a level and bop the one on
the 2nd level, left side. You should now have 3 monsters left. Go ahead and
send the one at the bottom packing. Now, go up and double jump on the second
level, right side monster like you did before to get to the 3rd level, right
side. Make the last monster no more and the door will open. Luckily, the door
is time-proof, so don't be alarmed if a monster resurrects.
World 4-5 "Movement by Degrees" (2 Puzzle Pieces)
Oh boy. Okay, you're going to have to get used to thinking 4th dimensionally.
Keep in mind: the monster moves when you do, in the opposite direction. The
plants are time-proof, and therefore do not abide by your silly rules. At any
rate, you have to get the monster across those deadly plants so that it fetches
the key for you. You have to go to the right CAREFULLY and do part of this
blindly. You'll know when you succeed when you hear a soft "ting." Now, once
the monster has fetched the key, it doesn't really matter if it survives. Go
back and get that key (luckily, it's time-proof), and make your way up to the
locked door. Grab your first puzzle piece.
For our next trick, the monsters are time-proof, but the plants aren't. You'll
have to play around with this a bit for sure, but the goal is to get a monster
to the platform UNDER the puzzle piece. The easiest way to do this is to stand
on the platform under the puzzle piece for a few seconds, then go foward so the
second plant is down, and stand there for a few seconds. Finally, go forward
until the first plant is down. Now is when you get to play with rewind.
(remember, if you rewind, the monster doesn't). Rewind CAREFULLY and you should
be able to get a monster across the plants safely this way. The monster will go
to the top platform first, and then jump down to where you are. You can now
jump on its head to get the puzzle piece. Make sure you time the jump right, as
if you miss, you'll have to repeat this process to get a new monster across.
With puzzle piece in hand, you're done here.
World 4-6 "Movement, Amplified" (2 Puzzle Pieces)
Time to play with time, in more ways that one. Your first task, again, is to
get the monster across the deadly plants safely. As before, the monster is
affected by your movements, whilst the plants aren't. The trick here is to use
the clouds above you to your advantage. Don't worry about getting the monster
across just yet, just get up to the clouds and to the extreme left of the
level. Now go, but be aware that the clouds speed up your movement (and also,
the monster's movement). Once the monster is to the double trouble plant spot,
QUICKLY dash to the right when the plants retreat. If you do this right, the
monster will safely fetch the key for you to go back and grab, kinda like
before. Now, all you have to do is go up and CAREFULLY jump over the time-proof
plant. Note that the clouds up here have essentially the opposite effect of
the clouds below: they slow you down. Once you unlock the door, you can grab
the first puzzle piece.
The next puzzle piece is slightly easier to get. Actually, it's a lot easier.
You just have to time your jump right. Note that when you jump to the right, a
huge cloud comes zooming at you. You need to land on this and cross it to jump
on a series of platforms. Once you're on these platforms, it's just a hop,
skip, and a jump to the second and last puzzle piece of this level.
World 4-7 "Fickle Companion" (2 Puzzle Pieces)
This one gave me a headache. You may or may not get ultra-frustrated with this.
Anyway... get ready to yell at your TV. Now, grab the key, and cross the pit of
doom. Go up the ladder, and activate the switch. Go across to the place where
the monster is roaming around, and jump on him. This is the tricky part. You
have to catch the decidedly time-proof monster on your platform, and get it
across safely to the platform just above you (where the switch is). Something
you'll notice is the key doesn't like to stay with you when you do this. Don't
worry about it yet. You want the monster to grab the key. Now race that thing
up and WAIT till it is right by the SECOND ladder, and IMMEDIATELY jump on it.
You'll more than likely wind up above the key, but HOPEFULLY (avoid rewind if
you can), when you go back down, you can simply grab the key and take it up to
unlock the door. Sometimes, though, it doesn't work right. This is the time you
need to play with rewind. The key isn't time-proof, so don't be afraid to mess
around with the wacky physics here. Once you've unlocked the door next to the
puzzle piece, you can move on.
More fun with physics! Woo! After you get the first piece, you'll get the key
back once you move down and to the right. What you have to do, essentially, is
unlock the first door, and get your key back to unlock the second door. The way
I did this was to unlock the first door, walk back to the left, eliminate the
wandering monster so that a new one spawns, and pray. Seriously, you want the
monster to land so that it doesn't bounce into the lower passageway thing. You
want it to grab your key, drop down, and bring your key through that lower
passageway. Now, you can bonk its head and get your key back. From here, it
should be as simple as using that key to open the final door and grabbing the
second and last puzzle piece.
Congratulations, you've beaten world 4!
Back in the house, you may now solve the puzzle for world 4 if you wish. Once
you're done, move on to world 5.
World 5 "Time and Decision" [BFw5]
She never understood the impulses that drove him, never quite felt the
intensity that, over time, chiseled lines into his face. She was never quite
close enough to him - but he held her as though she were, whispered into her
ear words that only a soul mate should receive.
Over the remnants of dinner, they both knew the time had come. He would have
said: "I have to go find the Princess," but he didn't need to. Giving a final
kiss, hoisting a travel bag to his shoulder, he walked out the door.
Through all the nights that followed, she still loved him as though he had
stayed, to comfort her and protect her, Princess be damned.
World 5-1 "The Pit" (1 Puzzle Piece)
Welcome to the world of shadow rewind. Go ahead and jump down to get the
puzzle piece. Now, rewind. As soon as you re-enter normal time, your "shadow"
will appear and happily fetch the puzzle piece below. Keep this in mind as
you'll be using this trick exclusively through this world.
World 5-2 "So Distant" (2 Puzzle Pieces)
Go up the ladder. Now wait at the switch for about 5 seconds. Activate the
switch, but don't move yet. Now, rewind to reset the switch, and go towards the
barrier. Your shadow SHOULD activate the switch, allowing you to pass. If not,
try again. Once you're through, climb up to grab the puzzle piece and proceed.
The next one requires a bit of timing. Go to the right and jump on the monster
so that you land near the switch. Activate the switch and rewind to before you
hit the monster. Now, when you jump on the monster, land on the left side.
Meanwhile, your shadow should jump to the right, and activate the switch. This
should allow you to pass and get the puzzle piece above. If not, try again.
World 5-3 (No Name) (2 Puzzle Pieces)
This requires some luck. Go up the latticework and grab the key. Jump across
the pit of doom. You'll die, but this doesn't matter. Rewind to before you
went up the latticework and stand on the left edge of the pit. Your shadow man
should grab the key, and leap across the pit of doom. If you're lucky, you
should now have the key. Now, it's just a matter of opening that door and
grabbing the first puzzle piece.
The next one is a matter of timing. First, jump across to the structure where
the monster is wandering on top. Wait a couple seconds, and then jump down.
Now, go into the passageway under the structure and lure the bunny from its
hole. Now, rewind so that you're back on top of the structure, and wait for
your shadow man to lure the bunny. Now, as quick as you can, go to the OPPOSITE
side of the structure, down into the passageway, up the ladder, and nab that
puzzle piece. Ideally, you should be able to grab it before the bunny gets you.
If not, well, then you'll probably have to go back and try again. After you
have the puzzle piece, you'll probably have to rewind so that you're on top of
the place where you got it. Jump across to exit the level.
5-4 "Crossing the Gap" (3 Puzzle Pieces)
Make your way up to the switch and activate it. Now, after going over to the
left, jump back down and hit the monster. Immediately after this, rewind so
that you're standing back on the platform next to the cannon. Your shadow
should go down and get the monster. This will spawn a new monster, which you
can jump on to get to the platform above you, and then you can jump up to grab
the puzzle piece.
For this next one, you have to somehow get a monster across to the same
platform where the switch is. You'll see a rug type thing to the right.
Starting at the switch, make sure the platform is to the left. After this, you
need to jump down, eliminate the monster wandering down there, and immediately
rewind so that you're back up by the switch. Your shadow should go and kill the
monster. Meanwhile, as soon as the new monster spawns, you need to flip that
switch. This should create a shadow bridge that should guide the monster
across. If the monster falls, don't fret. You can rewind and it should make it
across on the second try. Anyway, once you have it across, wait for it to go
near the rug thing and jump on it. Now you should be on top of the rug and you
can simply climb up to get the second piece.
The next piece requires some timing and skill. Make sure the platform is to the
left, and get a monster to respawn from the cannon. Now, quickly go to the
right and stand on the ledge for a second or two. Now, drop down to
just beyond where the ledge is (ladder on left, door to the right). The monster
will kill you when it drops off, but not to worry, you actually want it to do
this. Now, rewind so that you're back on top of the ledge. When it kills your
shadow man, you'll notice that it bounces up. At this exact moment is when you
want to jump on it. If you time it right, you can snatch the last puzzle piece.
If not, there's always good old rewind. Note that it may be easier to try this
trick from higher up. Climb the ladder first and then do almost the same thing
as I suggested above.
5-5 "Window of Opportunity" (2 Puzzle Pieces)
The first one is actually pretty straightforward, kinda. Go over until you see
the monster with the key. Now get that key, go back down, and stand in front
of the non-purple door for a few seconds. Now go back down and open the purple
door. Rewind to when you were standing in front of the regular door. You'll
have the key, and you can use that to open the regular door. Quickly go through
the regular door and jump OVER the purple door. Climb up the ladder and go hit
the switch. Meanwhile, your shadow man should open the purple door. Return back
to the start of the level and grab the puzzle piece that was under the barrier
that moved.
The next one is a matter of timing. Start off by standing by the upper switch
for a moment. Now, go stand on the long platform under the lower switch. Wait
for about 5 seconds or so. Now, this may seem counter-intuitive, but press the
B button (B). Now, rewind so that you're back by the upper switch. Your shadow
SHOULD go down. As soon as he's on that lower platform, activate the upper
switch. Ideally, he'll activate the second, lower switch. This is when you can
quickly jump on the second, shorter platform, and then jump over to get the
second puzzle piece. If the timing doesn't work for you, adjust as necessary.
5-6 "Lair" (1 Puzzle Piece)
As for defeating the monster, it's similar to before, but this time the damage
undoes itself if you rewind too far. Use the shadow feature to your advantage
here, and you'll have him down for the count in no time. After you get the key,
don't go rushing for the end just yet. Go left and unlock that door. Wait about
3-5 seconds, and hit the switch. Now, rewind to when you were climbing over
towards the door. Now, run. ;) As quickly as possible, go to the end of level.
You should still have the key. Meanwhile, your shadow will hit the switch, thus
raising the barrier so you can get the puzzle piece. Hopefully.
5-7 "Fragile Companion" (1 Puzzle Piece)
Don't worry, this is nowhere nearly as frustrating as "Fickle Companion."
First, get the key from the monster. Jump down towards the door, and just
BEFORE you unlock it, rewind. Your shadow SHOULD still unlock the door, which
will allow you to pass through to the second door and the only puzzle piece on
this level.
Congratulations, you've beaten world 5!
Back in the house, assemble the pieces if you wish. Once you're done here, it's
time to move on to the final level... or is it in fact the final level?!?
World 6 "Hesitance" [BFw6]
Perhaps in a perfect world, the ring would be a symbol of happiness. It's a
sign of ceaseless devotion: even if he will never find the Princess, he will
always be trying. He still will wear the ring.
But the ring makes its presence known. It shines out to others like a beacon of
warning. It makes people slow to approach. Suspicion, distrust. Interactions
are torpedoed before Tim can open his mouth.
In time he learns to deal with others carefully. He matches their hesitant
pace, tracing a soft path through their defenses. But this exhausts him, and it
only works to a limited degree. It doesn't get him what he needs.
Tim begins to hide the ring in his pocket. But he can hardly bear it - too long
tucked away, that part of him might suffocate.
6-1 "The Pit?" (No Puzzle Pieces)
No real point to giving a walkthrough here. You can play around with your time
slowing ring if you want. Simply press the Y button (Y) to activate it.
6-2 "There and Back Again" (1 Puzzle Piece)
You'll notice a barrier coming down. You want to put your time ring below that.
After you've done this, climb up and grab the key. You should have enough time
to go up, get it, and climb back down. Now, grab your ring. Quickly grab the
puzzle piece from behind the unlocked door, and dash towards the exit.
6-3 "Phase?" (2 Puzzle Pieces)
From here on out, not only is rewind your friend, but the time ring is your
friend. Anyway, get on that cloud and drop that ring. The ring should slow the
cloud down so that you can jump to the next one. Repeat this until you can
safely jump to the cannon. Grab the puzzle piece and off you go.
The easy way to get this next piece is to set your ring down on the ledge
above where the clouds are coming, slightly to the left of the flower. You can
then get on the clouds below (make sure the one you choose isn't close to
evaporating). As soon as you see a new cloud come out of the
cannon, jump. And pray. You may need to rewind and fiddle around with the
timing on your jump a few times, but you'll get it eventually. Once you have
the piece you're good to go.
6-4 "Cascade" (3 Puzzle Pieces)
Time for some fun with dodgeballs, time rings, and monsters. The order you
want to get these pieces in is actually a bit counter-intuitive. The first one
you want to get is actually the rightmost piece. After playing dodge ball and
ladder dash, Head over to the right-hand side and find the cannon there. You
need to hop onto that cannon and get your time ring on top of it. Now, it's
just a simple (haha) matter of getting a monster down to the platform level
with the cannon, jumping on that monster, and nabbing that puzzle piece.
Practice makes perfect. Don't forget your ring.
The second piece you want to get is the one wayyyy up above the door. This is
actually relatively easy compared to the next one. Head up, and over to beyond
the fiery pit of doom where the monsters are continually being sent to their
deaths. Drop a ring to the left of this pit (you may have to adjust the
position) and... wait for it... jump up so that you hit a monster and bounce
up. You will definitely have to double-jump (as in, hit two monsters), and you
may even have to triple-jump, depending on your angle. At any rate, you want to
end up on that platform above you. Once you're up there, just grab the puzzle
piece and you're on your way. After you grab your ring, of course.
The piece just above the door requires a lot, and I do mean a lot, of timing,
patience, and guts. At any rate, I hope you're good at using rewind. And back-
tracking. Go back to the right from the puzzle piece you just got, and stop by
the cannon just beyond and above the ladder. Wait for a monster to come out and
jump on it to go up to the same platform as the cannon. Now, when the next one
pops out, jump on it to go to the right. Hopefully, you'll land on the platform
with the key. Grab that key, and go back to the rightmost cannon, and repeat
the trick you did before with the time ring. This time, you want the monster to
get down to the lower level. It may take a few tries to get it down there. Grab
your ring and chase that monster. Jump on it before it kills itself. Your goal
is the cannon floating in midair. You want to be on top of it. Once atop that
cannon, drop your ring. Now, you'll need to get a bit lucky. Hurry over to the
ladder and climb up. You should have JUST ENOUGH time to unlock the door, hit
the switch, and walk back out... without getting toasted. You may have to dodge
a fireball by the switch, but that's better than having to dodge a fireball
when you're in the passageway. Get up that ladder and head to the left. Now all
you have to do is jump down and grab the last puzzle piece. You're done with
this level.
6-5 "Impassible Foliage" (2 Puzzle Pieces)
This one is kinda like that other level with the two platforms, and you want
one to beat out the other. The catch is that you have to use your time ring
here. Use it on the upward-moving platform, and the other, left-moving platform
should beat the upward-moving one. Play around with the monsters and bunnies if
you want in the meantime. Once you're reasonably certain the left-moving
platform will make it, head up. Drop your time ring under the plant. Go up, and
as soon as the plant goes down, head to the left. You should JUST make it. Now
that you're in the clear, grab the puzzle piece to the left. Don't forget your
ring.
This next one is probably the most difficult puzzle piece in the game, at least
in terms of level of risk versus reward. You're gonna have to become intimately
familiar with your time ring. What you want to do, in practice, is guide at
least two monsters (and probably three, or even four) across the plants and to
the platform just under the puzzle piece. The catch is that the monsters are
unaffected by time (even your time ring doesn't slow them). The plants,
however, ARE affected by time, and this is where the time ring comes in handy.
You'll probably need to reposition your time ring at least a dozen times in
order to finally get this done, but again, you want to safely get at least two
monsters across the plants. How you do this is really a matter of timing, luck,
and practice. I had to place my ring down and move it quickly to the left as
the monsters were going. Sometimes you want to use your ring, sometimes you
don't. Learn the timing on the plants and this may help you out. Now comes the
fun part. As soon as you have two or three monsters over by the puzzle piece,
run like heck and jump on them. You'll need to jump on two of them to get high
enough, so this is why you probably want three of them over there. Don't jump
if there's a monster above you, and remember that rewind doesn't affect the
monsters. Anyway, it may take some time, practice, and a few missing hairs, but
eventually you'll wind up on the platform with the puzzle piece (trust me, it
IS possible). Grab it and get out of there. Note that there is a SLIGHTLY
easier method, if you manage to get lucky. This requires you to be a master of
time manipulation. Basically, for this method, you'll be using rewind, kinda.
Pay attention to the timing on the plants. There should be a BRIEF moment when
all the plants are down at once. This is when you want to hit rewind, and then
immediately hit the right bumper (RB). What this does is essentially freeze
time for you and the plants, but not the monster. If you do this JUST RIGHT,
the plants should all be down, and you can let as many monsters as you want
across. If it's off by even a tad, you may have to adjust it somewhat. Play
around with using rewind sparingly (or, just tap the RB button and LB button
alternating so that the plants are all down). Just be aware that the more
monsters you let across, the more you have a chance to actually mess up when
you jump up to get the puzzle piece.
6-6 "Elevator Action" (3 Puzzle Pieces)
I hope you have insurance for this one. ;) Just kidding. It's actually quite
easy, once you know what to do and when to do it. Go up and play dodgeball with
the fireballs, and head over to the switch. Activate that switch and head down
to grab the key. Now, activate the switch down by the key, and jump on the
platform. Once the platform is at the top, place your key at the edge of that
platform. Hit the switch to the right, and if you did it correctly, the ring of
time should be heading down. Now, go play "race the time ring" down the ladders
and hopefully you will be able to dodge the fireballs on the way down (the
reality of this is that you don't want to have to dodge ANY fireballs). Once
you're safely to the bottom, go over and unlock the door to claim your first
piece. Don't forget your ring. ;)
Time is a funny thing. Go ahead and head to the far right of the level and
climb up to the switch. Lay your time ring down and activate the switch. Now,
jump on the time-proof platform (which will make you time proof) that the
ladder is attached to. Stand all the way to the right on this platform and
rewind. The upshot of this is you'll end up perilously close to the fireballs
above your head. No worries. Just jump over when you can and go grab the second
puzzle piece.
Grab your ring and activate the switch again. Head back over to the platforms,
and drop your ring on the longer one. Note that, while the platform itself is
time-proof, the ladder isn't. Go back and activate the switch again, and wait
for the platforms to reset. Once they're reset, activate the switch one last
time. The smaller platform should outrun the larger one. Now, grab your ring
and head up the ladder to activate the switch. You'll notice a ladder drop
very quickly to your left. You'll need to slow this down, or reverse it
somehow. You can actually do it two ways. The easier way to do it is to jump
down, head over to the small, time-proof platform, and rewind so that the
ladder hasn't yet dropped, but isn't all the way to the top (this is important,
since you don't really want to go back and flip the switch again). Quickly
drop your time ring after you re-enter normal time. The ladder will drop. Now,
quickly jump on the ladder and you should be just in time to jump over and grab
the final puzzle piece. Rewind if necessary. The not-so-easy way is to forget
the time ring. Simply stand on the time-proof platform, rewind so the ladder is
just about to drop, and jump. You have about a second at most to get on that
ladder, rewind, and jump over to the puzzle piece. Any longer than that, and
the time-proof effect on you wears out. See why I suggest using the time ring?
After you have that piece, you can move on with life.
6-7 "In Another Castle" (1 Puzzle Piece)
Last piece ever! Woot! Anyway... go up to where the key is. Place your ring
down, and wait. About 5-10 seconds ought to do it. Grab your ring and head over
to the cannon firing fireballs conveniently up the ladder you need to climb.
Place your ring just by the cannonball and wait for the next fireball. After
it goes, IMMEDIATELY go up the ladder, and do not stop to think about it. Up by
the door, do NOT hit the switch. Instead, stand on the small time-proof part
and rewind. You'll notice that, while you stand still, your ring doesn't. It
goes back to when you put it down by the key. Now, go back to "normal" time and
hit the switch. Now, hurry up and go back down (you probably should just jump
down, rather than risking it on the ladder). Stand on the left of the pit of
doom and... wait for it... jump! If you time it right, you should be able to
grab the key, and your ring, in midair. Now, finally, with key in hand, head up
the ladder (you'll have to put your time ring down again to slow down the
fireballs). Grab the final puzzle piece of the game.
Congratulations, you've beaten world 6!
Go ahead and assemble all the puzzles if you haven't already. As you may or may
not have guessed, this opens up a new area. ;) Head up the ladder to your right
and you'll come to an attic-type area. Get ready for world 1.
World 1 [BFw1]
At a cafe on a bright plaza, most customers sit back, feeling the warmth of the
sun, enjoying their cold drinks. But not Tim - he barely notices the sun,
doesn't really taste his coffee. For him this corner affords a good view of the
city, and in the teeterings of the passers-by, in the arc of a shop-girl's
hand as she displays tea to an interested gentleman, Tim hopes to see clues.
That night at the cinema, fictitious adventurers lunge implausibly across the
screen. The audience here is mixed. Some are patrons of the cafe, now sitting
excitedly in the plush chairs, eager for another new flavor, for distraction
from the boredom of their easy lives. Other seats hold fishermen and farm-
workers, hoping to forget their toils and rest their hands.
Tim is here too, but he is scrutinizing the gloss on the lips on the screen,
measuring the angle of the plume of a distant helicopter crash, he thinks he
discerns a message; when the cinema closes and most of the audience strolls
down the plaza to the South, Tim goes North.
People like Tim seem to live oppositely from the other residents of the city.
Tide and riptide, flowing against each other.
Tim wants, like nothing else, to find the Princess, to know her at last. For
Tim this would be momentous, sparking an intense light that embraces the world,
a light that reveals the secrets long kept from us, that illuminates - or
materializes! - a final palace where we can exist in peace.
But how would this be perceived by the other residents of the city, in the
world that flows contrariwise? The light would be intense and warm at the
beginning, but then flicker down to nothing, taking the castle with it; it
would be like burning down the place we've always called home, where we played
so innocently as children. Destroying all hope of safety, forever.
World 1-4
Note that this world goes in reverse. ;) Except for you, of course. Stand where
the monsters are spawning so that you wind up with one wandering around by
where you are. When it comes near the door, jump on it to get up there.
World 1-3
Again, get a monster to go on the bottom floor. Quickly climb up the ladder,
and hopefully you'll beat the monster up there. Now, standing on the same
platform as the cannon, time your jump perfectly so you bounce off the monster
and wind up on the same platform as the door. You can also rewind here if this
doesn't work the first time.
World 1-2
Almost the same as the level before, but different in a significant way. Go
ahead and get a monster down by you on the lower level, now follow it over so
that just as it jumps up, you jump on it. You'll have to essentially "ride"
the monster up, so you may have to adjust your angle a few times (and use
rewind). Now comes the tricky part. The monster will go up towards the cannon,
and this is when you want to jump back on it again. You want to get it high
enough so that you can jump over to the door, but not too high. This may
require repeated use of the rewind feature. Keep at it and eventually you'll
wind up by the door.
World 1-1 "Braid"
Aha! The Princess! And who has her? Is that your rival? She's been kidnapped?
No matter. Wait until the huge wall of fire starts coming towards you and jump
on the platform that fell down (don't worry, it won't hurt you). Quickly as you
can, go to the right. The Princess will open up the barriers for you. For some
of this, you'll have to get uncomfortably close to the wall of fire. Just
remember to rewind if things go wrong. Hopefully, you're quick enough to get
past the plant BEFORE it pops back up. If it pops up, you weren't quick enough
and you should rewind a bit and try to be quicker. Get past the plant, and wait
for the bridge to lower so you can cross it (your instincts will tell you to
try to move sooner than you actually have to - ignore them). Now, wait at the
edge of the fiery pit of doom and, just before the wall of fire toasts you,
jump. Don't worry, the Princess will activate the platform just in time for
you to avoid an unpleasant death. Run like the wind and you'll wind up at the
first switch you need to activate (you'll have to play dodgeball with fireballs
here, so be ready). Flip that switch, and continue on to your right. Get
through that maze of latticework as quickly as possible, and continue past the
pit of doom. Hopefully, you're just in time to jump on the monster that just
came out of the pit. If not, consider rewinding and trying to speed up your
run of this level. At any rate, you want to wind up on the same platform as
the switch as quickly as possible. You can achieve this by "riding" the monster
up as on the previous level. Get that switch activated and jump down. If you
time it perfectly, you can miss (simultaneously) the monster coming to the
left and the monster going to the right. Ideally, the monster already in the
passageway below and to the right will pop up and go into the newly opened
hole. If this doesn't happen, you'll have to rewind (I know I did, several
times). Eventually, you should be able to get the timing just so. When you're
finally past that part, it's just a matter of waiting for the Princess to
remove the remaining impediments to your progress. There's also plants in your
way, but these should eventually retract, allowing you to progress to the
ending... To actually "end" the game, you need to climb up the latticework to
the house, and hop on what looks suspiciously like a time-proof platform.
Here's where it gets slightly weird. You can't seem to touch or otherwise
bother the Princess, who is sleeping. Also, you can't seem to move normally.
Since it's not compellingly obvious, I'll just tell you what to do. Hit rewind.
This will take you backwards through the level, but it won't undo your
progress, so don't worry. Note that the Princess is also going backwards...
EXTREMELY MASSIVE SPOILER AHEAD! READ ONLY IF YOU WANT THIS GAME RUINED FOR
YOU!
Seriously, you have been warned.
There's always time to put away the FAQ and stop reading.
Alright, but don't send me hate mail because I "gave away" the ending...
...Or is it really backwards?
Take note of what you have learned so far: Tim seems more like a stalker, and
the Princess is someone whom he desires to be with, but never can have due to
whatever reason. As you return to the beginning of this level, you also get
the sense that the guy who you thought was kidnapping the Princess is actually
here to rescue her.
Yes, that's right, kids. Tim is the bad guy.
Make of that what you will.
Once you're done wrapping your mind around this whole experience, go through
the door. You'll wind up in a place called "Epilogue." You can play around
here if you like. Note that there are red and green books. The red books are
affected by time, while the green books aren't. This is a hint. ;) Sometimes,
there will be spots you have to stand in to reveal hidden text. This is also
a hint, albeit a larger one. ;) At any rate, here's "just the facts" on what
you'll eventually discover.
Ending Screen 1:
Normal:
The boy called for the girl to follow him, and he took her hand. He would
protect her; they would make their way through this oppressive castle, fighting
off the creatures made of smoke and doubt, escaping to a life of freedom.
The boy wanted to protect the girl. He held her hand, or put his arm around her
shoulders in a walking embrace, to help her feel supported and close to him
amid the impersonal throngs of Manhattan. They turned and made their way toward
the Canal St. subway station, and he picked a path through the jostling crowd.
Hidden:
His arm weighed upon her shoulders, felt constrictive around her neck. "You're
burdening me with your ridiculous need," she said. Or, she said: "You're going
the wrong way and you're pulling me with you." In another time, another place,
she said: "Stop yanking on my arm; you're hurting me!"
Ending Screen 2:
Normal:
He worked his ruler and his compass. He inferred. He deduced. He scrutinized
the fall of an apple, the twisting of metal orbs hanging from a thread. He was
searching for the Princess, and he would not stop until he found her, for he
was hungry. He cut rats into pieces to examine their brains, implanted tungsten
posts into the skulls of water-starved monkeys.
Hidden:
Ghostly, she stood in front of him and looked into his eyes. "I am here," she
said. "I am here. I want to touch you." She pleaded: "Look at me!" But he would
not see her; he only knew how to look at the outsides of things.
Ending Screen 3:
Normal:
He scrutinized the fall of an apple, the twisting of metal orbs hanging from a
thread. Through these clues he would find the Princess, see her face. After an
especially fervent night of tinkering, he kneeled behind a bunker in the
desert; he held a piece of welder's glass up to his eyes and waited.
On that moment hung eternity. Time stood still. Space contracted to a pinpoint.
It was as though the earth had opened and the skies split. One felt as though
he had been privileged to witness the Birth of the World...
Someone near him said: "It worked."
Someone else said: "Now we are all sons of *******."
Hidden: She stood tall and majestic. She radiated fury. She shouted: "Who has
disturbed me?" But then, anger expelled, she felt the sadness beneath; she let
her breath fall softly, like a sigh, like ashes floating gently on the wind.
She couldn't understand why he chose to flirt so closely with the death of the
world.
Ending Screen 4:
Normal:
The candy store. Everything he wanted was on the opposite side of that pane of
glass. The store was decorated in bright colors, and the scents wafting out
drove him crazy. He tried to rush for the door, or just get closer to the
glass, but he couldn't. She held him back with great strength. Why would she
hold him back? How might he break free of her grasp? He considered violence.
Hidden:
They had been here before on their daily walks. She didn't mind his screams and
his shrieks, or the way he yanked painfully on her braid to make her stop. He
was too little to know better.
She picked him up and hugged him: "No, baby," she said. He was shaking. She
followed his gaze toward the treats sitting on pillows behind the glass: the
chocolate bar and the magnetic monopole, the It-From-Bit and the Ethical
Calculus; and so many other things, deeper inside. "Maybe when you're older,
baby," she whispered, setting him back on his feet and leading him home, "Maybe
when you're older."
Every day thereafter, as before, she always walked him on a route that passed
in front of the candy store.
Ending Screen 5:
Book 1:
He cannot say he has understood all of this. Possibly he's more confused now
than ever. But all these moments he's contemplated - something has occurred.
The moments feel substantial in his mind, like stones. Kneeling, reaching down
toward the closest one, running his hand across it, he finds it smooth, and
slightly cold.
Book 2:
He tests the stone's weight; he finds he can lift it, and the others too. He
can fit them together to create a foundation, and embankment, a castle.
Book 3:
To build a castle of appropriate size, he will need a great many stones. But
what he's got now, feels like an acceptable start.
Secrets! [BFsec]
In this section, I detail how to obtain the eight stars you need to achieve the
"alternate" ending. Note that you do not get any sort of achievements for this.
WARNING: Do NOT assemble the puzzle pieces for World 3 until you read this
walkthrough. You have been warned again.
World 2-2
This one... requires... a lot... of... patience... and... waiting... :P
Seriously. Anyway... go to the right and you'll notice what looks like a
stationary cloud. Believe it or not, it's actually moving to the left VERY
slowly. It takes a good 2 hours for it to complete its journey to the left.
You'll actually want to jump on it at about 1 1/2 hours into its journey. It
should be just above the first door next to the cannon. This is where you want
to park Tim, waiting for the cloud. You can't do anything to speed up the time,
so I suggest you have a controller that doesn't turn off automatically for this
to work (otherwise, the game will keep pausing when your controller goes off).
At any rate... once you're on that cloud you've still got about 30 minutes left
to wait. After it finally reaches the left-hand side, you can jump up and onto
a ledge just above you and to your left. Notice that a new part of the level
is revealed. You can now nab that star you waited so long for. Congrats!
World 4-5
So this one is a tad easier, at least in terms of being able to get in a
reasonable amount of time. At any rate, go over to the right as though you
were going to get the puzzle piece near the three plants and the time-proof
monsters. Essentially, what you need to do is wind up where the plants are.
To do this, you need to climb up to the platform under the puzzle piece (I'm
assuming you haven't gotten it yet; if you have, there should still be an
outline of it for reference purposes). Make sure the leftmost plant is down.
Stand there for a few seconds, go down and to the right so that the middle
plant is down. Stand there for a few seconds, and go to the right so the last
plant is down. Once you've got a monster safely across the first plant, rewind
CAREFULLY so that you guide it across all three plants. Ideally, you should
end up on the platform below the puzzle piece (or phantom puzzle piece) before
the monster does. Now, jump on the monster when it hops down and you'll wind up
just below a smaller platform above you. To the right and just conveniently
out of jumping range is the platform with the plants and monsters. Time to
essentially repeat what you just did to get up where you are now. This step,
you'll actually wind up on that small platform above you. You'll obviously
have to jump on the monster while it's on the platform with the puzzle piece
(or phantom piece). Once you're above where you were - you'll notice that a
new section of the level is revealed again here. Now, you'd like to be able to
jump down to the platform with the plants, but... you can't. Not yet, at least.
Repeat the trick you did above to get up to the first and second platforms, and
just as you get the monster past the last plant, jump on it and vault OVER the
first plant. You should be safe. To clarify, you want to be on the topmost
platform when you jump on the monster. The monster should be just below you as
you jump on it. This may require several tries. Be careful not to rewind too
far! Once you're on the plant platform, it's a matter of getting past that
second plant. This one is a bit tricky, as you'll probably need to jump over to
the right to get the monster to where you need it to be. During this process,
you'll die several times, but not really because you have rewind. ;) Once you
have a monster in the right place, you should be able to IMMEDIATELY jump on it
(remember, rewinding doesn't affect the time-proof monsters, so if you rewind
the correct amount, you'll actually jump ON the monster), and over the second
plant. The third plant is almost the same thing, but you don't have to die.
Just be careful going right, and jump on that monster to get over the last
plant. Now jump onto the cannon and grab that star. Congrats!
World 4-7
It's best to do this one either after or before you get the puzzle pieces here.
At any rate, I'll just assume you already got the puzzle pieces this time.
You will need the key, so go ahead and grab it. Climb up the first ladder and
go stand by the cannon a few seconds. Jump down and eliminate the monster
that's probably wandering down there. Once you get it, IMMEDIATELY rewind so
that you're standing back on the cannon. Timing is critical on this one, so
get ready to use rewind. Just before the next monster pops out of the cannon
(pay attention to the fuse), jump, and pray. You want to wind up essentially
jumping on its head and this should knock you higher than you'd normally jump.
If it doesn't work, the monster will probably wind up back down below, and
you'll have to start the process over. Once you manage to get the timing just
right at the cannon, CAREFULLY and briefly tap (do NOT hold) the rewind button
so that you're essentially suspended midair. For this to work, you'll want to
be pretty much off the screen and just to the right and above the cannon. Now,
when the next creature pops out, you'll want to jump on it to get even higher.
This requires precise timing and it doesn't always work perfectly. Try it again
and experiment with positioning if it doesn't work for you. Anyway, what will
eventually happen (it does, trust me) is that you'll wind up on a previously
unseen part of the level above you. You'll see a series of platforms, a couple
doors, and a barrier. However, you won't have your key. We'll remedy that in a
moment. Go stand to the right side of the platform you're on (you should be
ABOVE the cannon), and wait. You'll want to wait a good 10 seconds, if not more
for the sake of safety. You'll see why in a moment. Time for a little secret:
the monsters, as you may know, are time-proof. This has a little bit to do with
why they can carry that key anywhere they want, and why it doesn't pop out of
their mouths despite your movement in the level. You can, however, get the key
by standing in the right spot WITHOUT jumping on and eliminating the monster.
This is important, so take note of it. At any rate, jump back down to the
platform directly across from the cannon. Make sure you retrieve your key if
you don't already have it. Stand here for a few seconds and then eliminate the
monster wandering around below you. Rewind IMMEDIATELY so that you're back
across from the cannon. Now comes the fun part. ;) You'll have to essentially
experiment with this, but the goal is to get the monster WITH the key up to
where you were a moment ago. It requires timing and a bit of trial-and-error,
but what you need to do is this: as soon as that fuse on that cannon wears oh
about halfway down, jump to the left towards the cannon and pause yourself in
midair by tapping rewind. Ideally, the key should be just above you, and maybe
a smidge to the left. In a perfect world, what should happen here is the
monster will pop out, grab the key at the SAME TIME as you hit rewind (thus
"bumping" it up)... but don't stop there! Keep rewinding so the monster bounces
off you AGAIN and winds up on that platform above you. Don't worry, you should
still be alive. What happens in reality is you'll probably have to play around
with the physics here, the angle of your jump, the timing on the rewind versus
real time, and chasing down the errant monsters that happen to get away (and
sometimes, with your key). Note that you want the monster AND the key to get
up to the platform above the cannon TOGETHER. If either one gets up by itself,
you probably are going to have to restart the entire process. Anyway, once
you have that monster and the key up on the proper platform, hit rewind allll
the way to when you were standing on the platform, contemplating life. Don't
rewind too far. :P Now comes the extra super tricky part. Recall that the
monster is time-proof. Unfortunately, it's not death-proof, and will die if you
so much as step on it. This is BAD. You do not want the monster to die. So be
nice. Jump over it, and wait by the ladder. As soon as the monster walks over,
you need to climb up (so you don't die). You should now be in possession of the
key. You can now unlock the door. Be sure to flip the switch and wait a second
or two. You're not done yet. Go back down to where the monster is, and you
should have the key back. The door above you will close itself, and the barrier
will also close. Not to worry. Give the key back to the monster, and then hit
rewind. You won't have the key but the door will open itself (weird, huh) and
you'll wind up opening the barrier. Wait until the monster is past the barrier
and go to the left. Again, don't hit the monster. Simply stand by the second
ladder here and, once you have the key, go up and unlock the final door. Go
over to the right and you'll find the star waiting for you there. Congrats!
World 5-4
You can do this at the same time as you get the puzzle pieces for this level;
it doesn't really matter though. At any rate, climb up to the switch across
from the cannon and activate the switch. Now, wait a moment. Jump down just as
the monster is going to the left so that you eliminate it. Rewind to when you
were standing by the switch (after you activated it), and your shadow should do
the job for you. Quickly jump down to just to the left of the switch (there's
a small platform just below it that sticks out a bit to the left as well), and
just as the monster drops down on you, jump up to "bump" it to the right (so
it doesn't fall down). IMMEDIATELY rewind so your shadow does the same thing
you just did, and the monster should bounce over to you by the switch. Now,
repeat the process - do NOT let the monster land on the platform! - of "bump"-
ing the monster up and over, first with Tim and then with his shadow. What you
want to do here is get the monster going LEFT instead of right. This requires
precise timing and positioning, as you don't want the monster to bounce too
high or too low. Ideally, it should bounce off the barrier near the rug, and
then head to the left. Now, you'll have to do the same "bump" and rewind trick
with your shadow helping out. The overall goal is to get the monster on the
same platform as the puzzle piece: the small one with two convenient barriers
so it doesn't wander off. A new monster will come out of the cannon, so don't
worry about that. Instead, worry about jumping on the new monster's head to get
up to the platform where the puzzle piece and monster you trapped earlier are.
Now, carefully jump on the trapped monster to vault up to a previously unseen
platform above you. Finally, you should be able to jump up with no problems to
grab the star up there. Congrats!
World 6-5
You'll want to get this one after you get all the puzzle pieces in this level.
Refer to the main walkthrough for more information on how to obtain those. At
any rate, use the easier method I mentioned before for getting the second
puzzle piece (freezing time just as all the plants are down to let a lot of
monsters across them). You'll want to let at least 3 across, if not more. Now
comes the tricky part. ;) You'll need to time your jump just right so that you
actually jump on two separate monsters and wind up on a platform above where
the second puzzle piece was. This is all good in theory, but in practice it
does oftentimes end up not working. Experiment with it, but avoid using your
time ring as you'll actually need it for the next step. Once you get on the
higher platform and reveal the hidden part of the level, go over to the left
and you'll see that star below you, with no apparent way to reach it. Except
for the platform below you. The easier way to end up there is to place your
time ring down on the top platform, to the right of the cannon below you. Now,
jump down onto the cannon, and get ready for some tricky timing. You'll need
to jump on two monsters to get up to that platform so you can get the star.
This is where the time ring comes into play. It slows you down just enough to
let you jump on the second monster. If you find that this doesn't work for you,
you can also try grabbing the ring just before the second monster comes flying
out of the cannon. They come flying pretty fast, so I hope you feel lucky.
Once you're on that lower platform (the shorter one attached to the longer one
above), you can simply go over to grab the star there. Congrats!
World 6-6
You'll probably want to get this one after you get all the puzzle pieces in
this level. Refer to the main walkthrough for more information on how to obtain
those. Anyway, remember the switch and the bunny that chased you over there?
You'll want to keep that bunny alive, somehow, as doing that is the only way
to get to this star. Climb up through the fireballs as before and go over to
where the switch and the bunny are. Wait for the bunny to spawn and hit the
switch. Jump onto the platform, and play leapfrog with the bunny as the
plaform goes up. Realistically, you'll probably have to rewind, move, and jump
like never before to get the bunny up above to where you need it. Once you
finally do this, you'll get to play with rewind some more. And your time ring.
Set the time ring down about midway between the two ladders below you, but on
the top platform where you are. Coax the bunny to the right, and stand to the
left just outside the influence of your time ring. The bunny will come back,
and hopefully lunge at you from the right side of your time ring. At this EXACT
moment, jump up and hopefully you'll bounce off the bunny and go up even more.
You may have to rewind just a tad and jump on the bunny again, but either way
you'll be doing most of this blindly. Ideally, you'll wind up on a previously
hidden platform above you. Note the time-proof portion of this platform. Stand
here and rewind to when the bunny was jumping to the left. Now, jump down and
on the bunny again, so you're going left. Immediately rewind just enough so
that the bunny doesn't die (it's a bit tricky to pinpoint the exact moment in
time, so feel free to experiment). It will continue jumping to the left so that
you can jump on it again, and HOPEFULLY wind up on that platform under the
star. If it doesn't work, rewind and try again. Once you're on that platform,
simply grab the star and you're done here. Congrats!
The House Star
To get this star, you need to get two specific pieces from World 3. The ones
you need are from "Phase" and "Irreversible" - they have what should be obvious
parts of a star on the edges. Once you have these pieces, you'll need to
assemble the pieces from World 2 first (you'll see why in a moment). Now, go
to the world 3 puzzle box when you're in the house and flip the two star part
pieces around so that when you put them together, they form the bottom half of
a star. Now, adjust the pieces so that they're at the top left of the puzzle
box. Now, exit back to the house. If you did it right, the star should appear.
If not, you'll have to go back and adjust the pieces. It may or may not help
you to look for what looks like a very dim piece of a star in the house itself.
Make sure when you're in the puzzle mode that the pieces don't overlap each
other, and that they're not too far to the left or too far up. You'll want both
pieces in the box itself, but as close as possible to the top left corner.
Play around with it and make sure the pieces are together. You'll get the star
to appear in the house itself eventually. Now comes the fun/tricky part. ;) Go
over to where the world 2 puzzle is and jump up. Immediately hit the B button
(B) to enter puzzle edit mode and "adjust" the entire puzzle so the table part
is about the same height as your jump. If this doesn't work, lower it some
more and jump up again. You'll wind up standing on the table. Weird, huh? Now,
jump up again and repeat the adjusting part. Don't go too high with the table
or you'll fall down. Once you have yourself about level with the cubbyhole
type thing with a speaker type thing on it, jump over and you should be able
to get the star. Congrats!
World 1-1
To get this star you'll have to run through this level as quick as possible.
Here's a trick to keep in mind: assuming you have 7 of the 8 stars so far AND
you've assembled all the puzzles, which I hope you have done or this won't
work, the switches on your half of this level should be time-proof. This means
you can rewind without them resetting. This will help you out immensely, as
you'll probably be rewinding and trying to speed up your run of this level as
much as possible. Essentially, you'll want to do the same thing as you do to
get through this level normally, except that when you get to the part with the
plants at the top of the stairs, you actually want to be able to jump over the
first plant safely. This is where speed is critical. Judge yourself by how far
ahead you are of the wall of fire. If you can't see it behind you, you're most
likely fine. If you can, consider rewinding and trying to speed things up.
The key here is to get as ahead of the Princess as possible, so that when you
are stuck at the second plant at the top of the stairs, it retracts before she
reaches the part with the broken chandelier. Now comes the tricky part. :P
Wait for the chandelier to start reassembling itself, and just at it does this,
jump up. You'll want to wind up on it somehow, so you may or may not have to
rewind and jump up again. Once you're on it, and this is VERY important as it
took me a while to figure it out, press jump again while the screen goes white.
You'll want to wind up clinging to the latticework above the chandelier, where
the broken ladders are. If you don't wind up here, then... sorry but you have
to go back and try this level again from the beginning. At any rate, once you
have succeeded in usurping fate, climb up and enter the Princess' house. The
final star is there, waiting for you. Congrats!
Note that, as far as I know, collecting all these stars only reveals the
constellation before the house. If there are other secrets to this game, I have
no idea what they are as I've since grown tired of trying to look for them. :P
If you happen to know of anything I could discover, please feel free to e-mail
me. Thank you.
Achievements [BFach]
The following are achievements you can get by playing through the game. As
should be obvious, these are for the XBox 360 only. Source: Guard Master, via
GameFaqs.
Traversed World 2 (10 points)
Travel all the way across World 2.
Solved World 2 (15 points)
Fit together all the world 2 puzzle pieces and align the puzzle in its frame.
Traversed World 3 (10 points)
Travel all the way across World 3.
Solved World 3 (15 points)
Fit together all the world 3 puzzle pieces and align the puzzle in its frame.
Traversed World 4 (10 points)
Travel all the way across World 4.
Solved World 4 (15 points)
Fit together all the world 4 puzzle pieces and align the puzzle in its frame.
Traversed World 5 (10 points)
Travel all the way across World 5.
Solved World 5 (15 points)
Fit together all the world 5 puzzle pieces and align the puzzle in its frame.
Traversed World 6 (10 points)
Travel all the way across World 6.
Solved World 6 (15 points)
Fit together all the world 6 puzzle pieces and align the puzzle in its frame.
Closure (60 points)
Complete the game (beat World 1).
Speed Run (15 points)
Complete a full speed run of the entire game in less than 45 minutes.
Acknowledgments [BFack]
Jonathan Blow for developing this game.
Gamefaqs for hosting this guide.
Youtube user "EatMoreHippo" for posting video guides that helped me remember
things when my memory got fuzzy.
The GameFaqs message board for being funny.
All in-game text is copyright Jonathan Blow (if it suddenly disappears, it's
probably because I didn't get permission to reprint it).
History/Legal [BFleg]
Version 1.0 - Hot off the presses
+ Walkthrough of worlds 2-6, including all puzzle pieces.
+ In game text provided for reference.
Version 1.5 - Additional data
+ Added walkthrough for world 1
+ In game text provided for reference.
+ Corrected typos, and cleaned up the grammar in some places.
+ Added additional info and cleared up some vague parts.
Version 2.0 - More information
+ Added Special Notes, Secrets, and Achievements sections.
+ Included walkthrough on how to get the stars.
+ Detailed each XBox 360 Achievement.
+ Expanded the FAQ a bit.
This guide is provided as-is with no warranty. I would prefer the guide to be
limited to GameFaqs. You're free to use this guide as you see fit, but please
give credit where it is due.
You can submit additions, corrections, advice, love letters, hate mail, and
general critique to niceguy_craig at hotmail dot com. Include the words "Braid
FAQ" in the subject, or I might ignore it.
Note that this guide is essentially "done" as far as I'm concerned. I will
submit future updates if I get enough suggestions and/or corrections.
The End. Or, is it the beginning?
Explore the galaxy in the franchise's first open-world game.
