Rushing Toward the Gold! Shenkuu River Rush!

Before you start the game most of you will need to download the 3D life plugin. Follow the link Neopets gives you on the game page! For some computers this may cause a problem. Make sure if you have popup blocker that you allow popups on the site that TNT links you to so it will actually let you download it. Because of this plugin the game tends to be laggy. I STRONGLY suggest that you close out any messengers and any excess screens open. I would recommend only having 2 screens open; the screen that has the game page/opens the game and the game itself. That is probably the only advice I can give on the situation.

Now let's move on to the basics of the game!

Controls

There are 3 different places your fingers will need to be when playing this game basically; they will need to be on the arrow keys, shift key, and the space bar. I personally use the right hand for the arrow keys only and the left hand for the shift key on the far left and the spacebar. I guess it's all personal preference, but you will need to devote much of your finger movements on the arrows... so yeah.

(While on Ground) Arrow Keys - control either Cassile or Bowe, whichever one you choose. Pretty simple, left goes left; right goes right, up speeds you up and down will slow you down.

(Airborne) Arrow Keys - along with combining them with the all important shift key, they allow you to do tricks

(While on Ground) Space bar - pretty simple, allows you to jump. There are 3 types of jumps:

1. The basic jump, which is what you have from the beginning, is just a simple tap of the space bar.

2. Upon entering the third level a double jump becomes 'unlocked' and you can hit the space bar twice to do a double jump.

3. Upon entering the 4th level a long jump becomes available. You do this by holding the up arrow and jumping with the space bar.

(Airborne) Space bar - this stops any queued or built up tricks you may have and allows for a safe landing assuming you aren't heading straight for a rock.

Now, this next key is one that many people seem to neglect, it is the shift key which while you're on the ground does nothing.

(Airborne) Shift Key - now you need to HOLD this in and combine it with the arrow keys to do tricks which I will go more in-depth in later in the guide. This is the main way of scoring points.

Powerups

Now there are 2 different types of powerups, one might say; there are the powerups in the game and the powerups that are actually items on Neopets! I'll start with the in-game powerups first. Activating these powerups is easy; just run into them and you get 1 point for each one you hit!

Speed Boost - pretty self explanatory; gives you a boost of speed and usually comes with a bunch of other speed boosts so you can make a long chain out of it. These are the electrified, blue orbs. They should be easy to notice considering they're the only powerup that appears by the masses.

Invulnerability - once again self explanatory; allows your player to get a shield around them that will protect them should they crash into a rock or tree, or land on dry land. Once the rock is hit the shield will go away until another one is gotten. This will NOT protect you from losing a life if you fail to land a trick safely. These are the Black/Greyish orbs.

Super Jump - This is probably the most important powerup of them all. This allows your character to do a 'super jump' upon hitting the powerup. Doing tricks during these is one of the best way to get points since you leap so high. This is a light blue cloudy orb.

Now for the much talked about Shenkuu River Rush Items! These items come from the wondrous Weaponry shop in Shenkuu. In order to get them working in the game, just have them in your inventory. You can get these items by restocking them or buying them off of other Neopian users.

Speed Beads - Increases your speed. Helps you by getting you down the river faster, which allows for a better time bonus.

Boots of Leaping - makes your jump height higher which also allows for more tricks in the air.

Pack of Holding - along with giving you an extra life if you need one; the pack will also give you some bonus points upon entering a new level.

Bracers of Fury - I have been told this helps you land your tricks easier. This information could be wrong; needs more testing. (Information not given in the instructions).

Helm of Recovery - This is a complete guess but I'm thinking this helps you when you lose a life by helping you recover faster and lose less time. COMPLETE SPECULATION. The rarest of the items so very few, if any are out yet. (Information not given in the instructions).

Now the most important aspect of the game, Scoring!

There are 4 ways to get points really. I'll list them from smallest to largest.

Pack of Holding - gives minor bonus points when entering a new level, but they add up.

Powerups - along with their powerup-ness... they also give 1 point per powerup gained.

Time Bonus - upon finishing the game a time bonus is given. It's fairly big so try not to waste time crashing into rocks? K. K. =D

Tricks - most important. These tricks are vital to your winning score in the game. Just remember hold the shift bar and jam the arrow keys, sort of... hah. A complete list of how to do each trick is listed in the instructions menu. I won't bother going over all of them so be sure to read up on the instructions! The 2 most important ones in my opinion are the Whirling Kazeriu (right, left) and the Tomamu Tail Flare (down, down). These are worth the least amount of points but they take the least time to execute. They are the easiest to remember and you get a good sense of when to stop the tricks and land before you crash land. I would recommend only doing these tricks when you are going off of a ramp, waterfall or super jump.

That’s the gist of how scoring works in he game. That’s basically the whole game for ya actually. Well, while that may be the whole game... I have some special tips for you to help you score even higher than you would normally.

1. An easy way to get points would be to get the Shenkuu River Rush items. That way you're ahead before you even start. They are kind of pricey but they will deflate eventually. Also you could try restocking them in the Wondrous Weaponry Shop in Shenkuu. That is probably the cheapest way to get them.

2. Try out both characters and pick the one you are best with. While executing the tricks may be the same for both of them, they both pull them off in different ways. Personally I play with Cassile constantly and when I tried playing with Bowe I didn't do nearly as well because I was used to Cassile's tricks. So alternating will only put you behind.

3. HOLD THE SHIFT KEY. Thanks. Remember to hold it. It's what a lot of people forget to do and end up scoring low, so, um, restated x1000 for emphasis.

4. Stick with the tricks the Whirling Kazeriu (right, left) and the Tomamu Tail Flare (down, down). Get as many in as possible. While the other tricks may be worth more, they take longer so it all evens out.

5. Try to alternate between tricks. Doing the same trick over and over again gets you more points, but to get even more points than that, alternate between tricks because you will get even more points than you would normally. It's only a point or so extra but if you alternate and get 5 or more points extra per jump it adds up. Keep in mind every little thing will add up because the river is probably on average close to a 6-minute trip.

6. My final tricks related tip! Try to keep track of the tricks you are doing since they may throw you for a loop if you are expecting a whirl and get a Tail Flare. Also, try not to do any big tricks when you are near the ground cause once a trick has been started, you cannot stop halfway. But pushing the space bar will stop any queued tricks and allow for a safe landing so be sure to know when to quit! Getting the timing just right is the part of the game that needs to be practiced a lot!

7. There is a secret passage. If you've ever heard of it then just forget you heard anything. Going the normal route gives you more jumps, which equates to more points. Never heard of it? Then forget I said anything, haha. =) Really... you're better off that way!

8. The time bonus is a tricky one. It gives you a lot of points if you can get down there quickly. Now theoretically the quickest way down the river would be to avoid any long, super or high jumps and just speed on down the river, but that means no tricks which would give you less points. There is one thing that can be controlled that slows you down though, crashing! Crashing will either lose you a life, which adds time to the clock, or will have you run into a rock and just waste time. Losing a life here and there is inevitable but it's something you can prevent that will only help you.

9. On that other time bonus notice. You at the very least want to get that. So don't lose all 3 lives! In this game finishing counts for something! I would try and get under 6 minutes if you are doing all of your tricks. It’s something to practice at.

10. My final tip! Try making the most of your jumps. Try jumping into super jumps to possibly get a higher jump height and more tricks, but be sure not to miss them. You can also hold the up arrow in midair to get more distance, which could help you in some situations. The down arrow can also be used to shorten the jump's length, which I would only recommend using if it would keep you from dying by avoiding a rock or something. It's something to keep an eye out for!

And that, my friends, is my guide! I hope this helps you all in understanding the game and maybe it will land you on the High Score Table with practice! Best of luck to all of you!