The cave’s crumbling! Tobe! Quick! Nab that hookshot and get out! The rumbling ceiling far above your head is sending everything in a stir, and as a tiny little guy with the ability to jump and a fantastic grappling hook, you must swing your way ever upwards if you hope to survive. Tobe’s Hookshot Escape, by Secret Base, is a climbing-style arcade game you won’t soon forget.
Collect gems during your ascent while avoiding enemies, rescuing baby chicks, and scoring a few sweet power-ups. With our strategy guide for Tobe’s Hookshot Escape, you’ll be resting comfortably on top of the high score chart in no time!
General Strategies
- Move with the arrow keys, jump with Z or the up arrow, and fire the hookshot with X.
- You can hookshot directly above you a few squares, latching on to solid blocks and pulling you up and through them.
- The hookshot can grapple onto the side of some blocks if you’re falling towards them. Use this to pull yourself up before you fall too far below the platform.
- Power-ups appear in the form of small rectangles resting on top of blocks. You can grab them to gain an air jump, get a rocket boost, or extend the hookshot’s range.
- Treasure chests can be opened by bouncing on them three times. Once open, they’ll disgorge their delicious innards in the form of gems!
- Enemies can also be taken out by hopping on top of them. Be careful, though, as one miss and you’ll take quite a bit of damage.
- Tobe’s health isn’t unlimited, so be careful of spikes and roaming baddies. Pick up chicks to restore some HP.
- The goal is, naturally, to move as high as you can, collecting gems along the way. Make one or other a priority, though, as there are achievements available for both height and diamonds gained.
- Don’t be afraid to take chances, but at the same time, don’t be stupid. Learn the length of Tobe’s hookshot early on, and dive off platforms for a mid-air grapple only when you’re sure you’ll make it. One mishap and you have to start all over!
- Some floors crumble below your feet. Watch for borderless blocks of dirt and don’t linger too long on them.
- Some blocks have small springs hidden in them. Look for lone blocks with towers of diamonds above them.
- Unless you’re going for an achievement, avoid enemies instead of trying to kill them. It’s far too easy to mis-time your jump and take damage.
- Skulls show previous heights you reached and perished. They don’t serve another purpose, just a grim reminder and a bit of inspiration!
Tobe’s Achievements
Can’t live until you’ve scored every achievement Tobe has to offer? Fear not! We’ve got the entire list of achievements you can grab with tips on how to get them.
Insert Coin – Play ten games. Easy, especially when you first start out, as you’ll probably fall quite often!
Giant Wallet – Collect 200 diamonds. Make a few runs where you focus on nabbing gems instead of gaining height.
ATM – Collect 400 diamonds.
Treasure Hunter – Open ten chests. Chests can often be found every few meters, but you have to keep your eyes peeled for them. Three bounces
Crossing Animals – Save ten chicks. The little guys wait motionless for you to save them, so this won’t be much of a problem.
Backpack – Collect all three power-ups. One for rockets, one for the air jump, and one for hookshot extension.
Pea – Knock out three pea boys. Those round enemies with propellor heads are called pea boys, and you’ll encounter them early on in your journey. Give them a quick stomp to send them packing.
Meat – Knock out five boar. Boars won’t appear until you gain some height, but they can be taken out just like any other critter.
Dark Knight – Knock out five bats. Bats flutter down from the ceiling and head straight for you. Get above them quickly and you can take them out with ease.
Catch Them All – Kill 30 monsters.
Rocket Knight – Use three rockets.
Match 3 – Collect three of the same power-up.
Bubble Puzzle – Pop 15 bubbles. Bubbles serve as one-time platforms that automatically bump you up like a spring. They regenerate after a moment, but you won’t have time to hang around to farm bubble pops.
Raccoon Tail – Stay in the air for 15 seconds. Pull this off by hooking onto another ledge before you settle on the previous block.
Over Expose – Travel beyond camera speed. Book it as high as you can as fast as you can! Wait for crowded, block-filled areas to give this one a shot.
Explorer – Reach 200m.
Vertical Adventure – Reach 400m.
Hero – Complete ten challenges.
Game Clear – Complete all challenges.
