Overview
Estimated Achievement Difficulty: 6/10
Offline: 12 (200)
Online: 0
Approximate amount of time to 200: 4+ hours
Minimum number of playthroughs needed: 1 (though most levels will require at least 2 playthroughs)
Missable Achievements: None
Do cheats disable achievements: No Cheats
Does difficulty affect achievements?: Only one difficulty level
Glitchy Achievements: None
Unobtainable Achievements: None
Extra Equipment Needed: None

Introduction:
Welcome to Carneyvale: Showtime, a vertical platformer style game with simple controls, requiring tight timing. The game can be frustrating at times, though many achievements can be made far easier by knowing a few tricks. There are only 18 levels in the game, each with 5 mission criteria or stars (collecting all balloons, finding the secret star, finishing under time, finishing without losing a life and finishing the level). Finishing mission criteria will unlock bonus levels, each with a hidden item allowing you to take a few hits before you lose a life (invaluable in later levels). Knowing this, you can jump right in.

Step One: Main playthrough
For the most part, the achievements are straight forward, and just knowing what you need to do will allow you to do it by focussing. There is even a wonderful achievement tracker in the main menu to tell you exactly what you have left to unlock each achievement. If you ever get stuck, refer to that or the achievement guide below. It is a good idea to keep track of the life ups that you are collecting, though, just to save you from having to run through each level again to find the ones you missed. A full list of how many life-ups can be found in each level is in the achievement guide below. It would be ridiculous to post the location of every balloon, star and life up in the game, but none of them are well hidden, so just explore and you will find them.

Step 2: Mop Up/unlocking bonus levels
A few of the achievements will require some special attention. Passing the final 3 levels without losing a life will be difficult without hit protection, so go back and do every mission criteria that you may have missed in order to unlock the final two bonus levels, since they will provide you with 7 and 9 hit protection (ie. you can get hit 9 times before you lose a life). Unfortunately, the bonus is not permenant, so you will need to recollect the item to refill your protection. To unlock the final bonus level, you will need 100 stars total, with only 110 appearing in the game (5 of them on the bonus level you want to unlock). That may seem daunting, but you can get them all on separate runs if needed. You will also need to create a custom level, which is simple enough. After that, it is just a matter of practice and skill to get the final few level requirements.

Conclusion
The game has challenging moments (particularly passing level 3 with all balloons and the star in under a minute), but it is simply down to practice. And the game is enjoyable enough to mitigate any frustration you may encounter.

[x360a would like to thank Capn Doug for this Roadmap]

CarneyVale: Showtime Achievement Guide

Printable Guide
Show completed achievements
Show secret achievements

There are 12 achievements with a total of 200 points

  • Complete 5 objectives at one go in Levels 16, 17 & 18.

     

    There are only five objectives in each level (passing the level, collecting all balloons, collecting the hidden star, finishing under the par time and finishing without losing a life), so you will need to do all five in a single run. This may seem hard when you first get to these levels, but if you have unlocked bonus levels, you can get some protection. Each bonus level has a hidden item giving you protection from losing a life. The first level gives you three hit protection, the second gives five, the third gives seven and the fourth gives nine. If you haven’t unlocked at least the third bonus level, I would recommend going back and getting more level stars, since there are a lot of hazards that require precise avoidance on these levels. Plus, having the freedom to screw up a few times allows you to get through the levels a lot faster.

  • Collect the Secret Star with special conditions in Levels 7, 8 & 9.

     

    Each level has its own special criteria.

    Level 7: Collect the star without hitting a blue brick. You will need to understand the drop technique for this one. Get to the grabber above the star and press up so that you have no side to side momentum and just release down to the star. If you hit a brick at any point, you can use the run as practice or just hit restart level.
    Level 8: Collect the star without losing a life. You are probably going to want to do this anyway to help with other achievements, but if you are having trouble, take it slow and avoid all hazards. Don’t worry about finishing under time, or collecting balloons, just focus on getting the star and staying alive. You may have also unlocked the first bonus level, so you can head over there and collect the hidden item for a three hit protection.
    Level 9: Collect the star without using a grabber. You can use grabbers after you collect the star, but before that you must avoid them. At the start of the level look at the accelerator to the left. When it takes you away from the cannon, it will shoot you right at the star. Then complete the level, though you are likely to lose a life doing that maneuver.

     

  • Collect all specified collectables without losing a life in Levels 10, 11, 12.

     

    Level 10: Collect all arrows without losing a life. This is the only level where the arrows will disappear as you pass over them. Without fail, they are leading you to danger, so take it slow and don’t over throw your character. The three hit protection from the first bonus level will help if you are struggling with a few of them.

    Level 11 & 12: Collect all Balloons without losing a life. You probably would have done this anyway, but like with all other don’t die achievement, take it slow and use hit protection if you have to (you may have unlocked the second bonus level by now for five hit protection). Make sure you explore every path to ensure you get everything.

  • Complete Levels 13, 14 & 15 with minimal Monkeycopter use.

    Each level has its own requirement.

    Level 13: Use only two Monkeycopters and no grabbers. If you are focussing on this achievement, it isn’t hard. Just run through the level quickly, ignoring any other objective and be careful not to hit your monkeycopter on anything (including the edge of the ring of fire). Don’t switch copters until you absolutely need and mop up the other objectives on a separate playthrough.
    Level 14: Use only three monkey copters and no grabbers. The same advice from level 13 applies, avoid everything and just focus on passing the level.
    Level 15: Use only two Monkey Copters and two grabbers. Same advice as level 13, though this level is a little trickier.

  • Collect all Life-Ups without losing a life in Levels 4, 5 & 6.

     

    You won’t have unlocked the first bonus level at this point, but the levels are not hard. Just take the level slow to avoid hazards and be sure to look around for life ups (a clown’s head with “+1” under it). Levels four and five have four life ups each and level six has five life ups. If you are struggling, come back to the difficult level after you have unlocked the first bonus level and the three hit protection.

  • Design and save 1 level in the Map Editor.

    This one is simple. Just go to the map editor and create a custom level. You can create a simple level with a grabber and a ring and that will suffice. Once you save, the achievement will unlock.

  • Collect the Secret Star in 10 different levels.

     

    You will probably get this naturally over the course of the game, especially since the other achievements require 9 stars and there are 22 between the main and bonus levels. If you are ever struggling to find the star on the level, there will be a sparkling trail leading you right to it (or near it in the case of level 10).

  • Earn Perfect Run from 10 different levels.

    This will likely come naturally over the course of the game, with 14 perfect runs (Pass the level without losing a life) being required for other achievements. If you are struggling, just take it slow and focus on passing the level. You can also use the hit protection items from any of the bonus levels to help you.

  • Enter the Ring of Fire from the top.

    This is fairly simple to accomplish, but can’t be done on every level. The first opportunity is on level 2. Just over shoot the ring to the left or right and use left or right  to steer Slinky toward the ring from above.

  • Save 300 seconds worth of time.

    To unlock this achievement you will need to collect 100 of the little clock items that you start seeing in level 15. The achievement is cumulative, though, and you will likely pick up way more than 100 over the course of the game, since there are dozens on both of the last two levels and a few on the fourth bonus level on the path to the nine hit protection item. Level 15 is quick and has a few easy to find ones, if you just want to get this out of the way.

  • Collect all Life-Ups in Adventure Mode.

     

    There are 78 life ups (clown head with “+1” under it) in the game, and most are easy to find. Keep track of the ones that you have and haven’t found, though, so you know if you need to repeat a level. This will unlock once you pass the level having collected the final ones. Each level has the following number of Life Ups:
    Level 1: 0
    Level 2: 0
    Level 3: 0
    Level 4: 4
    Level 5: 4
    Level 6: 5
    Level 7: 2
    Level 8: 4
    Level 9: 4
    Level 10: 6
    Level 11: 5
    Level 12: 6
    Level 13: 0
    Level 14: 2
    Level 15: 4
    Level 16: 5
    Level 17: 15
    Level 18: 12

  • Complete 5 objectives within 1 minute each in Levels 1, 2 & 3.

     

    This is actually the hardest achievement in the game, since there is no real way to give yourself an advantage. You need to pass the level without losing a life, collecting all balloons and getting the secret star and finishing in under a minute. Levels one and two are easy to pull off, but level three is a real pain. A mistake free run will take about 50-55 seconds, so you don’t have much margin for error. Avoid doing an extra circle of the grabber, avoid back tracking, and if you are moving to a grabber below you or moving down a ramp, use the left or right arrow keys to move faster. You might even find it best to reverse the grabber rotation and release, using the arrow keys alone for movement in some cases. This will come down more to practice (or luck) than anything.

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