Border Village
| Game | Keen 4 |
|---|---|
| Level number | 1 |
| Location | Forests of the Shadowlands |
| Collectibles | None |
| Dimensions | 112 x 63 tiles |
| Total points | 8,600 |
| Total ammo | 3 Neural Stunners3 ammopack <br />3 VorticonHyperPistol <br />3 Pistol <br />3 SuperFlowerPower <br />3 Raygun <br /> |
| Extra lives | 7 |
| Song | Welcome to a Kick In Yore Pants In Good Ole Hillville! |
| Required? | Yes |
Border Village is the first level in Keen 4. It consists of a small village of four stone houses, in a clearing in the woods. It is only inhabited by Poison Slugs and Bounders, although Licks are also present in hard mode.
An interesting landmark is a sizeable cave below the village, accesible through two of the houses. The cave contains some kind of shrine with a large statue of a Slug with a crown. This could indicate that the village and shrine were built by Slugs, but there is no indication as to how. The shrine may have also been built by some Gnosticene civilization that had some sort of religion around Poison Slugs. It is also interesting to note that there are no sleeping slugs in this level, which can be found in Slug Village.
Walkthrough
This is a very straightforward level. You start at the far right of the map. Run left over the small hill. You can pogo up to get the goodies and the drops. You will encounter two buildings. The first one will have four bottles inside. Grab these bottles, and then go back out. Look out for the slug here.
The second building has two stunners and some points. In addition, there is a pole that goes down. You can either descend this pole, or go back out. Since there is more down the pole, it is recommended that you go that way.
Run down the passage until you reach the chamber with the giant slug shrine. There are two acid pools you must jump over. It is a little tricky, but not too tough.
After leaping over both vats and collecting the points, keep running left down the corridor. You will find another pole; go up it. This takes you to a second building, this one with more points inside.
Go out the door. There will be more slugs here, and, if playing in hard mode, some licks. You can go left to the exit now, but there is a bit more to the right. In particular, there is a house with a single stunner inside.
Hidden exit
Down in the slug shrine, there is a secret room that can be accessed by careful pogoing. If you stand on the side left-hand side of the left-hand acid pool, you can pogo up and to the left and Keen's head will disappear inside a hidden passage. If you switch off the pogo stick in time, Keen will grab onto the ledge and pull himself up. (You may find it easier to use the Jump Cheat first to find precisely where you are supposed to pogo to.) You can also stand directly below the gap and Impossible Pogo straight up and grab onto the ledge — this is the easiest method if you have mastered the Impossible Pogo Trick.
When you pull yourself up, you will be inside the wall. You now can pogo up onto a floating platform. If you spring off of that, there are seven extra lives. Once you grab those, go to your right until you find a door marked "EXIT" in SGA. NOTE: the floating platform will sink down if you do not get out of it quickly.
Miscellaneous info
There are 8,600 points in the very first level: 16 Shikadi Sodas, 10 Three-Tooth Gums, 2 Shikkers Candy Bars and 4 Jawbreakers (1,600 + 2,000 + 1,000 + 4,000 = 8,600). The number of drops is 30. One should not forget about the seven Lifewater Flasks at the hidden exit.
See also List of Keen 4 levels.