Found a hidden way to skip the whole first level in 'Gex: Enter the Gecko'

I was playing the old PS1 game Gex: Enter the Gecko last week, trying to get through the first jungle level for the hundredth time. I always got stuck on a part where you have to swing on these vines over a bottomless pit. After three tries, I got mad and just held down the circle button while jumping. Gex did this weird tail spin move and shot way past the gap, landing on a platform I never saw before. It turned out that move, if you timed it right from the very start of the level, could launch you over a wall and straight to the end boss door. I'd been playing that game wrong since 1998, just following the obvious path. Has anyone else found a weird skip like that in an old platformer?

3 comments

3 Comments

wren9761mo ago

Lol funny timing, I literally just found a skip in Rayman 2 for the N64 last weekend. There's this part in the Canopy world where you're supposed to jump on a sequence of moving clouds to reach a higher platform, but if you mash the jump button and strafe left at the same time, your character clips through the cloud and lands on an invisible floor above it. Accidentally skipped like half the level and got some weird bonus lums. Makes me wonder how many of these glitches we missed as kids because we just played through games normally.

williams.amy2mo ago

That's actually the hover move from the later games. The original Gex on PS1 didn't have that tail spin ability. You might be remembering the sequel, Gex 3: Deep Cover Gecko, which added it. Those vine sections were always tough without it.

tessa1772mo ago

Wait, are you sure? I could have sworn the tail spin was in the first game too, at least on some levels. I remember using it to get past those swinging ropes in the jungle world. Maybe it was a move you unlocked later?