We have yet another flower-related puzzle. Halfway through the stage, you'll find a bunch of flowers encased in ice blocks. Grab a Fire powerup (there are plenty to be had in this stage) and use it to thaw them out. You'll hear a tone when you've gotten the last one. Proceed to the end of the level and a large flower will give you the Star.

   

Grab one of these snowmen enemies from the start of the level to gain the Ice power (left screenshot). Do it quickly because an avalanche is right on your tail. When you reach the indoor lava cave area, look for three rooms with Metroids in them (as in the jellyfish creatures from Nintendo's famous space adventure game series).

   

Just like in the Metroid games, these guys can only be killed if you freeze them first. Freeze the Metroids with your Ice power and then break the blocks. You'll hear a tone when you get the last one. Proceed to the end of the level, and Samus Aran (without her helmet) will present the Star. (Note: If you want to see Samus with her helmet, complete the level without killing the Metroids.)

   

Another annoying guessing game, the good news is, it's the last one. I hope you have good hearing. The chef here will pound a spiked ball with his frying pan and it will make a sound. Then five more spiked balls will fall from the sky, each making a sound as it lands. You have to correctly identify which one made the same sound as the chef's. Get it right three times in a row and the chef will serve up the Star at the end of the level. Get it wrong even once, and you'll have to try all over again.

   

Allright, let's see if you can follow this one. When you reach this long vertical room full of dragons, eat one of them for the Fire powerup, then use it to break away the ice blocks on the lower left. You'll reveal a hidden door that leads to a room with Coo. Take Coo and continue through the level.

   

Eventually you'll reach a door from which you can see ice blocking off the passages behind it. Ignore the door and use Coo + the Fire ability to start cutting through the ice. Keep cutting through it until you come to another door below you (with a cattail on each side of it). Cut down through the ice and enter the door.

   

Cut all the way down through the ice in the next room until you find Chuchu at the bottom. Ditch Coo for now and take Chuchu. Use Chuchu + the Fire ability to cut vertically up through the next column of ice.

   

Ditch Chuchu for the moment, and run back to get Coo. Use Coo + Fire to cut vertically down through the next ice column. Then ditch Coo again, get Chuchu back again, and use Chuchu + Fire to cut vertically up through the final column of ice. Enter the door at the top.

   

As you fall down this shaft, look for a snail shell in a nook on the right wall. You might miss if you fall too fast, so fly back up to it if you do. When you reach the end of the stage, a snail will give you the Star. (He's probably really grateful to have that shell back considering the cold weather in this area.)

   

The goal of this stage is to get to the end with Nago. There are two problems with this: the first is that Nago cannot be found anywhere in the stage. You'll have to find him in an earlier stage and bring him here. The second problem is that since he can't be found in the stage, you can't afford to lose him, and therefore you must complete the whole thing in one life. This is easier said than done because the rooms of this level are simply designed to make you lose health. It's a lot easier if you also come into this level with a full life bar and the Fire powerup. I recommend getting all of these things (Nago, full health, Fire) by using the Popstar to go all the way back to Level 1-1. When you finally return here and make it to the end of the stage, the white cat will give up her Star for kitty love.

   

For the final level, you'll ascend a tower with a bunch of miniboss rooms. The idea here is to defeat each boss, then steal its special ability so that you can use it to collect a feather from the following room. Starting in the room full of spark enemies, grab one to get the Spark power. Then use it in the next room to break the blocks with the lightning bolt symbol and grab the feather.

   

Defeat the Block miniboss in the next room, take his power, and use it to destroy the blocks with the stone symbol in the next room. Grab the feather. As a precaution, you may want to ditch your special power before fighting each miniboss (or ditch it during the fight and use the star as a weapon against him.) This will ensure you won't accidentally grab your star and get the wrong powerup at the end of each fight, which might happen if you try to ditch it after the fight is over.

   

Defeat the Kasa Obake (umbrella) and use the Umbrella power in the next room to get the feather.

   

Defeat the Snowman boss and use the Freeze power for the next feather.

   

Next, you'll be in a room full of Sir Kibbles. Grab one and use the boomerang to get the feather in the next room.

   

Dust off the giant broom boss and sweep away the blocks in the next room for another feather.

   

You know the drill. Extinguish the living fireball and use his flames to clear the way to another feather.

   

And finally, defeat the spiked ball boss, take his spike power, and use it to get the final feather.

The angel at the end gets her wings, and you get your final Heart-Star. Congratulations! Now you can fight the true final boss and see the true ending to the game!