Pizza Tower is heavily inspired by the classic Wario Land games released in the late 90s, early 2000s. Now, considering it’s been well over 20 years since those games came out, odds are good that more than a few of you have never played a game quite like this before. Not to worry, I’m old enough to have actually owned a Game Boy. Here are some beginner’s tips and tricks for Pizza Tower.
Pizza Tower Beginner’s Tips and Tricks
While Pizza Tower does feature a tutorial level to get you acquainted with some of its basic mechanics, there are a few elements you could use a more detailed explanation on. The stuff we’d like to clue you in on includes:
- Scoring and Combos
- Transformations
- Taunts
- Toppins, Secrets, and Gerome
- Pizza Time
Related: All Available Platforms for Pizza Tower
Scoring and Combos
While just progressing through the game isn’t the hardest thing, the real fun of Pizza Tower comes from scoring and speedrunning. Your tallied score and the speed at which you clear a level will determine your ultimate ranking at the end, and if you’re anything like me, you won’t be satisfied with a C rank.
The key to high scores is to keep up your momentum. Break stuff, defeat enemies, pick up items, and just generally don’t stop moving unless you really need to. The game’s combo meter is fairly generous, so unless you stop dead for more than a few moments, it’ll keep adding to your combo, eventually depositing a big honkin’ sum into your score meter. The letter next to the score will show you what rank you’re currently at, so aim high!
Transformations
Peppino doesn’t have a health meter, so he can’t be injured or killed in regular levels. You can take damage or fall into a pit, but that’ll just give you a small score penalty and reset your position, respectively. However, that doesn’t mean getting bopped around by the environment doesn’t do anything.
Touching certain hazards, interacting with certain enemies, and picking certain items up can trigger various transformations in Peppino, which temporarily change your controls and abilities. For instance, picking up a Knight Sword turns Peppino into a knight, removing his ability to dash, but allowing him to slide down inclines and knock obstacles out of the way. If you get kicked by a Pepperoni Goblin, Peppino will turn into a ball, rolling automatically in the direction he was kicked and bowling things over. Basically, expect the unexpected and be ready to adjust your playstyle on the fly.
Taunts
Pressing Y on your controller will make Peppino perform a taunt. This may seem like an admittedly amusing waste of time, but it’s also a combat tactic. If you perform a taunt right when an enemy is about to attack you, you’ll knock them away and damage them. Since taunts don’t kill your momentum, this is a great way to get enemies out of your way without stopping.
Additionally, as you run and smash stuff, you may notice white sparks start to surround Peppino. If you hold up and press the taunt button, you’ll perform a Super Taunt, instantly defeating all enemies on the screen.
Toppins, Secrets, and Gerome
Every level of Pizza Tower is chock full of collectibles, and some of the most important ones are the Toppins, the Secrets, and Gerome the Janitor. The Toppins are little walking food dudes that you can free from cages scattered around the level. At the end of a level, you’ll receive money for every Toppin you successfully rescue, which you need to pay Mr. Stick to open that floor’s boss gate.
There are many hidden paths and false walls around the levels. If anything looks suspicious, try to break into it. If you’re lucky, you might find a floating eyeball, which warps you into a secret area where you can earn some bonus points. You can see how many secrets are in a level by checking the floating eyes outside a level gate.
Finally, keep an eye out for Gerome the Janitor, a little purple brick guy in blue overalls. If you find him, he’ll follow you around like the Toppins. If you can find his secret door and lead him to it, he’ll open the way, allowing you to claim the special Tower Treasure for that level.
Pizza Time
At the end of every level is a large purple pillar aptly named Pillar John. If you destroy Pillar John, the level will begin to crumble around you, necessitating a swift exit. Ladies and gentlemen… it’s Pizza Time.
When Pizza Time begins, you’ll only have a couple of minutes to make a mad dash all the way back to the level entrance. You may have noticed the various blocks with eyes on them while you were going through the level, both solid and see-through; these are John Blocks, and they’ll flip states when Pizza Time starts. This both opens up shortcuts you couldn’t access before and seals off paths you previously used. Additionally, the clock and bell collectibles will solidify as well, allowing you to collect them for points.
If the timer runs out, Pizzaface will awaken and come after you, flying through the air and trying to tag you. You can avoid him a few times if you’re quick, but the longer Pizzaface is awake, the faster he’ll become. If he tags you, it’s an instant game over.
If you’re playing a level you’ve already beaten again and make it back to the level entrance with time to spare, look around nearby to find a Pizza Portal. If you enter the Pizza Portal, you’ll be warped back to the spot where Pillar John was, allowing you to go for another lap and increase your score. Only try this if you’re absolutely sure you know the level well enough to run through the whole thing again.
Pizza Tower may seem like a simple game, but if you’re into high scores and high speeds, there are some surprising depths to uncover. It’s a veritable deep-dish pizza.
For more fun with indie platformer games, check out our guides for Freedom Planet 2, including how to use potions and how to get the true ending. Visit our Facebook page as well for more guides and news.
