LARA'S ADVENTURE IN WONDERLAND: BIG CHAMBER

Level by Nagae Takanori (3ki3ro)

Walkthrough by Phil Lambeth and Stephen Eliott-Lockhart

A young pig-tailed Lara begins in front of a huge eye portal as an impatient Von Croy walks away as if to lead her down the short west corridor. Follow him around to the end of the winding passage and mind the knife that he's wielding. Step inside the threshold to the next large room while ominous music plays. As you walk through the courtyard, three mummies come out from their respective entrances in the facing walls. A couple of wild boars and a crocodile also come out to join the fun. Von Croy can take care of the wild boars with a couple of slashes with his knife, but he won't be able to protect you from the croc or the mummies.

For a modest pickup, go over to the east side of the pillar and climb up two levels to the top. Take a running jump over to the top of the central structure and vault up onto the topmost platform for a small medi-pack. Then safety drop to an area below not occupied by croc or mummies, and quickly take refuge by vaulting up onto the brick platform. Walk over to the north edge of the central hole and face south. Run off the edge and grab the rope on your way down. Slide to the bottom, but don't release. You're surrounded by the closed-in walls of the well shaft, but you can actually swing through them. Swing forward, at which point you'll probably become completely disoriented. Wait patiently for a couple of oscillations, then swing forward once more and jump off at the apex of Lara's swing.

You'll land on a ledge next to a skeleton. (If you miss and fall in the reddish but harmless water, you can climb out in the SE corner.) Pull up into the south opening, then step forward and pull up to the next level. You'll slide down a short distance. Step forward and pull up to yet one higher level, then run forward and allow Lara to slide down to a ledge while a familiar theme plays. You're standing high above an immense, colorful room that looks like a child's playground. Turn left (facing east) and hop back. Allow Lara to slide down several alternating ramps. As you approach the bottom of the final one (you'll first pause for a split second as you pass a fairly level spot), jump over the depression in the floor to avoid the spike trap.

In the lower regions of this giant area you'll find a pool with fountain at the NW corner. You can dive in if you like and shake fins with the crocodile, but there's really nothing else to do in there. Go over to the east support with the whale design on it. Stand against its easterly side (you'll be facing west) at the far right corner, and press the action key and the up arrow key simultaneously. Lara will jump up and grab the crack in the support. Shimmy to the left, around two corners, and pull up into the open space. Vault up onto the block ahead and take a running jump and grab to the crawlspace in the east wall.

Pull up into the crawlspace and lower Lara down the opening to the right. Release, slide very briefly and jump off the slope to avoid the spike trap below. Pick up the small medi-pack for your trouble, then turn around and jump up to grab the monkey bars. Swing forward to avoid the next spike trap ahead. As soon as you trigger it, swing forward five more times and then drop, for if you continue you'll trigger spikes that spring down from above. Step forward and vault up onto the highest block. Pick up the small medi-pack, then jump up to grab the monkey bars and swing forward the rest of the way as additional spike traps snap as you pass by.

When you reach the end, either drop to the safe tile below or simply turn to the right, release and grab the edge of the ledge. Pull up into another opening in the east wall of Lara's giant playroom. Take a running jump ahead and grab the break in the blue whale support. You'll be tempted to try a tricky curving jump to the west pink support decorated with radishes, but don't bother. Instead, turn to the right and locate the nearby rope. Jump to it and grab, and turn so that Lara is facing the pink support. Swing forward and jump over to the nearest pink ledge. There's a small medi-pack over on the north ledge, but when you jump over to it four mummies materialize, one on each ledge. They're fairly easy to avoid, but what to do next?

Go to the west ledge and face the blue whale support. Locate the opening and take a running jump to the lowermost left corner and hope you grab successfully. Assuming you do so, pull up into the opening and turn right to climb up onto a lateral beam. Turn to the right and take a running jump over to a higher ledge of the radish structure. No mummies here, thank heavens, but if you really want that large medi-pack over on the south ledge you'll have to deal with a quartet of crocodiles. Then take a running jump over to the east lateral beam of the blue whale support. Turn left and run to the north end. You'll see a crack in the vertical pillar, so hop back, grab the edge and use the crack by shimmying to your right to the other end.

Pull up and jump over to the north lateral beam, then run forward to the crawlspace. Crawl to the west end of the beam, and as you stand up you'll hear squeals behind you. It's an acrobic wild boar that somehow managed to get up here, so jump over to the west lateral beam to avoid it. Note the opening higher up in the west wall as you make your way over to the vertical column in the middle of the west lateral beam. There's a break in the left side of the column, and the slope above is too steep to stand on. Pull up in the middle section of the break area, then backflip off with a roll and grab the rope that has magically descended behind you. Look ahead to your right and note that the wild boar's mate has arrived, then turn to your left and face the opening in the west wall.

Slide down to the bottom of the rope, then hit the up arrow key once to bring Lara back up slightly. (This will keep her from banging her head against the ceiling when she jumps off.) Swing forward and wait for Lara to draw up her knees. Then swing again and jump off at the apex of the swing. Grab the edge of the crawlspace ahead and pull inside. Lower Lara down the other side and drop to the ground. You'll hear the retching sounds of a nearby mummy, but you need to run past it in a direction sloping downward until you reach a crawlspace. Duck down and crawl inside, and at the other end you'll find a Golden Skull for SECRET #1. Go back through the crawlspace and elude the mummy by running up the ramp until you reach an opening. Step forward to slide down a short slope and trigger a flyby featuring a quintet of penguins sipping on pina coladas or something.

If you go to your left, you'll come to a companion portal guarded by a pair of stone lions, but the door here is closed. So go back the other way, just past the portal where you entered this area, and turn back to your left. Note the floor lever in the shallow channel ahead, but let's leave that for a little later. For right now, go to the south side of this large platform and face the structure lined with hundreds of minnows and interior portraits of pandas. The minnow facing is climbable, so take a running jump over the railing to either the right or the left column, grab and climb up to the top. Pull up and run over to pick up the small medi-pack. Then hop back, grab the edge and climb all the way down to the pink platform below. There's another small medi-pack in the middle for you to pick up. Assuming you triggered the crocs below by getting the large medi-pack earlier, you can now hear them scurrying around frantically in their futile effort to get at you.

There's an opening in the west wall. Go to the west edge of the platform you're now on and jump up to grab the monkey bars. Monkey swing over and drop down into the passage lined with panda images. You can hear the regular pulses of a dart gun, so hop down into the hole to your right. Head west down the passage and turn left at the intersection. There's a very mean face, very unpanda-like, staring at you from the far wall. Go that way and enter a surrealistic room lined with similar visages. It's not a place where you feel like you want to stay for a lengthy visit, but you'll notice that some of the faces inside have sad expressions, while some on the ceiling have happy expressions. But they're all ugly, so climb up onto the large platform toward the SE and pick up the small medi-pack.

Now go to the other side of the room and climb up onto the blocks against the middle of the west wall. Turn around and take a standing jump and grab to the next higher block to the east. Turn slightly to the right and take a standing jump up to the larger block. Walk forward and pick up the Golden Skull for SECRET #2. Jump back to the previous block and safety drop to the ground. Leave this unsettling area via the north doorway.

Run down the tunnel and turn left at the first intersection. Turn right at the next intersection, left at the next one and go forward to the end for a small medi-pack. The other passages here lead to no productive end, so retrace your steps by turning around and running back to the T-intersection, then turn right, left, left and right until you reach the opening to your right. Pull up and use the nearby monkey bars to swing back to the large pink platform. Climb up one of the minnow columns to your right and backflip off when you reach the first flower pattern beside you.

Turn around, step forward and vault up onto the giant blue keyboard. However, avoid stepping on any of the actual letters right now. Note the five stone lions perched on a corresponding number of keys. The letters they're covering spell out a word. I'll make it easier for you; that word is "whale." Now, hop back down to the floor and go around to the left side of the keyboard, vault up into the channel with the floor lever and run forward to throw the lever. When you do so, the stone lions on the giant keyboard to your right vanish into thin air.

Hop forward over the lever and run down the channel to the other side of the keyboard. Next to the letter P is an arrow, known otherwise as the shift key. Vault up onto it to activate the keyboard. Then, without stepping on any other letter keys, go over and jump to the W-H-A-L-E keys in succession, hopping back or backflipping as necessary to the top of the keyboard to avoid the neighboring keys. When you've finished, hop to the "return" key, which is the one just below the shift key. What you've just done is open the door at the NW side of this platform, so go over there. To be on the safe side, save your game before entering.

Go inside, walk down a step, and turn to your right to locate the floor lever. The door closes behind you, so there can be no retreat. Quickly, before the three mummies have a chance to converge on you, throw the lever and run forward as a minor earthquake starts to rumble. Drop down the hole into the maze you recently explored, and exit by running forward to the T-intersection, take a left, a right, a left at the next T-intersection, a left at the one after that, a right at the next one, a left at the next one, a left at the next one, a right at the final one and you're back to the original opening into the maze. Turn to your right and pull up into the higher panda room. Use the monkey bars to swing back over to the pink platform, and release. Climb up one of the minnow columns and back flip to the higher blue platform as you did earlier.

Turn around, and you'll see that the earthquake has wrought some changes. Fires are burning beneath the giant monitor screen, and the five imbibing penguins have been replaced with a brown mural. Run forward across the keyboard, and you'll get an audible warning of something about to happen. However, no enemies approach, so go to the left of the fires and vault up onto the monitor/mural. There's actually a ledge there where you can stand, and a ramp leading up to your right. Follow it to the top of the giant screen and vault up to the blue surface. Locate the nearby hole in the ceiling, walk underneath it at the highest point of the sloped top, face south and jump up to grab the edge. Pull up into an area lit by wall torches.

Turn around, jump over the hole, go up the stairs to the north, and at the top zig around to the left and continue north. (The ramp to your right leads to a ledge overlooking the outside courtyard where you began this level.) You'll see a hole down to your left and a dark passage beyond it. Slide down the slope and jump over the hole. The passage is guarded by a mummy, so run around it to the end for SECRET #3 and another Golden Skull. Reverse roll and squeeze by the mummy once more. Take a running jump across the hole to the previous passage. Turn left and vault up onto the gray ramp. Run up to the top and turn left. You can see an unlit torch ahead, but little else. Walk forward carefully and the torch will be lit, but unfortunately you still can't see much.

When you can walk no farther, turn around, hop back to start sliding downward, and grab the edge of an unseen hole. More torches then ignite beneath you so you can better see what you're doing. Pull up, take a rolling back flip and grab when you slide down to the end of the facing slope. Climb down the ladder to the bottom of the shaft. Turn to your left and vault up onto the flame-free platforms. Note the author's "Kilroy was here" graffiti on the wall, then use the south crawlspace to access a ledge running along the north wall of the Big Chamber.

Run toward the stone lion at the east end of the ledge and note the crawlspace up in the wall to your left. Just for fun, save your game here and pull up into the crawlspace. Lower Lara down the other side, whereupon a number of fires erupt on the floor below. To your surprise you turn around and find Von Croy trapped down here. He's not very happy to see you, either; if you step away from the wall to give him a nice bear hug, he'll merely push you into one of the surrounding flames and set you ablaze. (Funny, Von Croy himself seems to be impervious to the flames.) Assuming you escape this fate and therefore don't have to reload, jump back up to the crawlspace and return to the ledge.

Head back west to the middle of the ledge. Jump up to grab the monkey bars, and monkey swing all the way across to the south side of the Big Chamber, zigzagging either to the right or the left around the obstruction directly over the giant monitor screen in the middle of the chamber. You'll see a floor lever ahead and to your right. Release at the point where the monkey bars turn upward, and turn to the right and throw the floor lever. You'll note that two of the three stone lions formerly guarding the SE and SW ledges suddenly disappear. So does the large stone face in the south wall, giving you access to the opening there. You could take a running jump and grab to the ledge in front of the opening, pull up and go inside. You could then note the fire sprites on the wall and run to the end of the passage for a small medi-pack. However, it would be a most expensive trip, because there's no way back from here unless you want to take an inordinate amount of time backtracking down the minnow ladder and up the monitor ramp through the hole in the ceiling.

Assuming the small medi-pack simply isn't worth all that to you, jump back up to the monkey bars and swing forward and take a left at the intersection. Drop down at the end onto the ledge and turn right to locate the crawlspace high up in the wall. Pull up into it and lower Lara down the other side into a star-spangled room. Throw the floor lever for a brief cut scene of the eye portal opening in the area where you began this level, as Lara's theme music plays.

Return to the SE ledge in the Big Chamber. There's a companion crawlspace over near the SW ledge, so monkey swing over to it and pull up inside. In the next room, face the north wall in the NW corner. Using only the action and up arrow keys, make Lara jump up to grab an invisible crack in the wall. Shimmy to your left until you reach the crawlspace, then pull up inside and lower Lara down the other side. Pick up the Golden Skull for SECRET #4.

Return to the SW ledge and use the monkey bars to swing back to the east until you're over the ledge in front of the fire sprite passage, then turn left and continue north until you're over the giant monitor screen. Release and climb back up through the hole in the ceiling. Go back up the stairs to the north, and this time go up the ramp to your right. Turn left at the stone lion, and right at the next stone lion. Turn left and vault up into a passage leading to the golden sunshine of the outside courtyard where you began this adventure.

Van Croy, or his twin, is still standing down below, along with the mummies and croc. Go along the ledge until you reach the middle portion along the north wall, and pick up the small medi-pack. Safety drop from here to the ground below and run into the north passage. Follow until you reach the point where the level began, and where the huge eye portal has rolled away to reveal a new passage.

Step inside and turn to your right to peer into the penguin pina colada room. Stand up next to the entrance slope, take one step back and then hop back once. Take a running jump into the portal of the new room and note the spike traps in the west ceiling, with more stationary spikes jutting out from the wall to your right. Turn right and pull up onto the block. Turn around and face SW, then take a standing jump to the far slope, slide down toward the ceiling spikes and jump forward to grab the ledge in front of them. Shimmy to the left and around the corner, and pull up onto the safe ledge. Turn to your left and pull up into the narrow crawlspace. Crawl forward until you can stand. You'll hear the chimes of SECRET #5 as you pick up the Golden Skull. To get back, simply turn to your right and lower Lara down the north edge of the ledge. Release to slide safely back to the entrance of this room.

Hop down the large block steps toward the raging water and turn to your left. Vault up onto the ledge next to the waterfalls and note the crawlspace in the NE corner. Crawl inside, pull up into the ramp and note the small medi-pack in front of you. Pick it up quickly and hop back before the spike ball rumbles down into the passage and kills you. Go back through the crawlspace and go down the block steps until you reach the lowest one. Facing south between the two channels, step forward and slide down the slope into the darkness as the level ends.