Walkthrough: How to Get Everything in Yo! Noid

Doing walkthroughs is definitely not one of the reasons why I started this blog. This is a special case for two reasons: 1) I was a bit obsessed about this game back in the good old 8-bit days, and as such spent a LOT of time trying to find everything, and 2) there is simply no thorough online guide that teaches you how to get every last secret as of November, 2014 - and definitely not one filled with pictures to provide better guidance. Let's fix that!


If you never had the pleasure of experiencing this quirky little platformer, I recently wrote about it in my Virtual Console Wishlist post, which you can find here.

There are two kinds of secrets to uncover in Yo! Noid:

• Hidden items: these are cards that you can use during the pizza-eating contest boss fights. There are a few of these naturally featured on the screen, but many of them are hidden, meaning you need to shoot your yo-yo at their specific locations to reveal them.
• Shortcuts: these transport you to a round of whack-a-mole. If you win, you get to skip the rest of the stage, AND get an extra continue (pretty important, because the game can get quite hard). Otherwise, you lose a life and go back to the beginning of the stage. To find these, you have to jump into some specific places. As far as I know, there are four of these hidden throughout the game.

Stage #1: The Waterfront

Hidden item: Shoot here to get a salt card for the pizza-eating contest.

Hidden item: Shoot here to get a 2x multiplier. 

Stage #2: The Ice-Skating Ring

Hidden item: Right before this moving platform, there's a hidden 3x multiplier.

Shortcut #1: From this first upper ice platform, jump left to find a shortcut. Be careful, because the platform melts after you stand on it for too long.

Stage #3: Central Park

Like every "special vehicle" stage, the Central Park doesn't allow you to shoot your yo-yo - just ride your skateboard like a bunny-eared pro. This means there are no secrets here.

Stage #4: The Rooftops

Hidden item: Shoot this green roof to get a 2x multiplier early on.

Hidden item: Another 2x multiplier right before this rockabilly-inclined plumber.

Hidden item: Another multiplier, this time a sweet 3x.

Hidden item: Finally, shoot here to uncover a salt card.

Stage #5: The Sewers

Hidden item: Both items I found on this stage are near the beginning. Right before the first mouse bucket, there's this hot pepper card.

Hidden item: Here's a 2x multiplier. Another hint - the scroll just below can be shot to reveal a pinwheel, the game's temporary invincibility item, which is somewhat rare.

 Stage #6: The Harbor

Hidden item: To be safe while getting this 2x multiplier, be sure to shoot before you make the jump over to the next plataform. That's because when you jump, a fish will jump out of the water at you; when you try to shoot it, you may accidentally shoot the hidden item instead, letting the fish get you before you get a chance to shoot again.

Hidden item: Shoot here for a hot pepper card.

Shortcut #2: When you reach this yacht (which is apparently named after our hero), go to the upper platform and jump left for a shortcut. This is gonna be harder than the first shortcut, but still quite doable.

 Stage #7: The Circus

Hidden item: Loads of stuff on this one. Start by jumping on this horse and shooting your yo-yo to find a 3x multiplier.

Hidden item: There's a hot pepper card right before this horse.

Hidden item: Shoot here for a 2x multiplier, right before this skull.

Shortcut #3: Jump here for more whack-a-mole action. This one is interesting because, unlike other shortcuts, it's located on a stage where there's a boss at the end. This means that taking the shortcut here will let you skip the boss, saving your pizza-eating contest cards to make the next fight a lot easier (and remember, whenever you beat a boss without allowing him to fill even one pizza on their meter, you'll get an extra continue).

Hidden item: If you decide not to take the shortcut, you can find this 2x multiplier later on the stage.

 Stage #8: The Sky over the Sea

After a packed stage #7, this is another no-secret level. However, this one is definitely not going to be a walk in the park. Make sure you get an ice scroll (like the one pictured above) and use it by pressing down + B whenever you need to clear the screen of enemies and moving spikes.

  Stage #9: The Haunted House

Hidden item: Shoot to uncover this 2x multiplier near the beginning.

Shortcut #4: The final shortcut is located right here. Jump on this platform and then jump left. Be warned, tough: this is gonna be incredibly hard to beat. If you're low on lives, it might be wiser to just finish the stage the old fashioned way.

Stage #10: The Slums

Hidden item: Jump and shoot here for a salt card.

Hidden item: When you jump over this trashcan, shoot to reveal a 2x multiplier.

Hidden item: There's a hot pepper card hidden right before this bottle-throwing dude.

Stage #11: The Factory Entrance

Hidden item: First things first: turn your volume up, because this theme, used for stages #11 and #12, is absolutely awesome. Done? Right! Now you can shoot this spot, right after the point where the first boxes start to fall from the sky, to find a hidden 3x multiplier.

Hidden item: Shoot here fora 2x multiplier.

Hidden item: Another 2x multiplier here.

Hidden item: Shoot this danger sign for a hot pepper card.

Hidden item: Shoot here for yet another 2x multiplier...

Hidden item: ...here for a salt card...

Hidden item: ...and here for YET another 2x multiplier. Phew! Poor boss, right?

Stage #12: Inside The Factory

Hidden item: Another stage with an abnormally large number of 2x multipliers. Maybe that's what they actually make on this factory? Anyway, here's the first one.

Hidden item: Another one here.

 

Hidden item: Yet another one here.

Hidden item: You guessed it: yet another one here, this time the fourth and final one.

Stage #13: The Skyscraper

Hidden item: Remember how you turned the volume up for the soundtrack of the last couple of stages? Well, be prepared to do that again, because the music here is even better! While you delight yourself on this heathy dose of chiptune goodness, avoid the first falling vase and shoot here to find this 2x multiplier.

Hidden item: Another 2x multiplier, this time below the staircase with this crazed cop. Protip: make sure you're able to use an ice scroll here, otherwise you'll probably die to the relentless barrage of barrels.

Hidden item: Shoot here to uncover a hot pepper card.

Hidden item: Before jumping on this moving platform, be sure to get this all-important 3x multiplier.

Stage #14: The Sky over New York City

The ornithopter is back, meaning there are no hidden items in this last stage. Like stage #8, this one is quite tricky, with loads of hazards on the screen at all times, and the added liability of having to keep the Noid afloat. At the end, you'll finally face Mr. X, who, like the game's original cover suggests, is a green color swap of the Noid. Good luck!