Cage Strategy Guide: Picture City

Eraser Plains

Image Level 1

There are 2 Electoon cages on this level.

Before jumping on the pencils, knock down the yin-yang. Jump on it and get the power-up that is above the entrance sign. A pencil sharpener platform appears to the right.
Use the yin-yang to give you extra height and jump up on the pencil sharpener to reach the eraser platforms above.
(1) Just below, you will see a pile of tings guarded by spikes. Get the tings and a cage appears to your left.
Continue going right on the upper platforms until you reach the power-up. A free life will appear to the right, but you will not be able to reach it at this point.
Retrace your steps back to the entrance.
Use a lot of patience when jumping on the pencils in the sea of ink. The helicopter power helps to slow your jumps when your timing is a little off. And no, you are not going crazy! The colors of the pencils change every time you see them.
While on the first pencil after the photographer, jump up to get the ting above you. You are rewarded with a power-up to your left.
After the photographer, watch for a pencil sharpener that gives access to the upper platforms and that free life that you saw before but could not reach.
(2) While you are standing on the last moving pencil in the sea of ink, jump up to get the golden glove. A pencil sharpener platform will appear to the right. Jump on it and then left onto the eraser. Use your running power to get the ting that is hanging in the air to the right. The second cage will appear back to the left on the eraser.
There is a another free life over the exit sign which you can get by throwing your fist while jumping.

Image Level 2

There is 1 Electoon cage on this level.

Jump on top of the first row of pencils for a free life.
Near the entrance you will see a life, but you will not be able to reach it. If you jump on top of the second row of pencils and collect all of the blue tings, an elf will appear to shrink you. You will now be able to crawl between the erasers and reach the life.
(1) After the second row of pencils, watch for an arrow made of tings pointing down. Hang off the edge of the pink eraser. A rising pencil sharpener platform appears. Use it to reach the flying ring which will lead you to a ting. When you touch the ting, the cage appears below.
There are tings and a power-up above the third row of pencils.
There is another free life at the exit.

Image Level 3

There are 3 Electoon cages on this level. There is a magician on this level.

(1) When you see the first elf, don't touch it. Go above to the yin-yangs and punch away the spiked ones. Jump on the normal one and pencil sharpener platforms will take you to a bonus power-up. Another elf will appear allowing you to become small and access more bonuses and a cage that appeared below at the entrance.
Retrace your steps to the first elf you saw near the spiked yin-yangs. Become normal sized again to reach the next cage.
(2) There is a square bouncing eraser just above the jumping Antitoon. Jump onto it and then jump over to the moving pencil sharpener platform that appeared to the right. From this platform you can wind up and punch the yin-yang to the left. Go back to the bouncing eraser, jump on top of the yin-yang, and you can now punch the cage.
Get back on the moving platform and jump to the right for a free life.
The second half of this level must be done twice: the first time normal sized to get the bonuses, and then small to get out through the narrow maze.
Slide down the slick ink hill and drop down into the passageway at the bottom. Go left for a magician.
If you get the power-up after the slick hill, a free life will appear back to the left.
(3) When you arrive at the very end of the level, grab the flying ring and get the ting above the pencil. A cage appears below. Be careful not to touch the elf to get small until you get the cage!
You can reach the exit if you use the elf to become small.

Image Level 4

There are no Electoon cages on this level.

Here's your first chance to fight Space Mama. But first, you have to get past a couple of her pirate guards.
The secret to getting past the first pirate is to move to the right of the screen and punch him in the corner. This way you won't have to dodge the second pirate's bombs, and the first pirate won't be able to duck underneath your punches.
Once you've gotten rid of the first pirate, jump up and knock the second pirate out of the ship. Move to the left side of the screen this time so that you can see his bombs coming. It takes 3 hits to knock him out of the ship.
Space Mama can only be hit by jumping on top of her knives once they get stuck in the floor, and then hitting her head while she is in the air.
Make sure that you use your running power to avoid the knives that come darting at you from above, and duck underneath the spinning knives that are low to the ground.

Pencil Pentathlon

Image Level 5

There are 2 Electoon cages on this level.

At the beginning, jump carefully from eraser to eraser. It may be easier to jump and land so that you are hanging off the edge of the eraser to avoid sliding off the end.
At the last eraser, hang off the right side and get the ting. A cloud to the right.
Ignore the cloud and the obvious path to the right for now. You must first go up and trigger the appearance of the cage, or you will find yourself repeating a very tricky section of the level.
When you find the flying red ring in the passage guarded by spiked yin-yangs, grab the ring and let yourself swing and float down in the passage. This triggers the cage which appears to the left. You will not be able to reach it at this point.
Retrace your steps back to the slippery erasers.
(1) Go right this time on the cloud and bounce from pen to pen. The cage is on a platform above the last pen.
After the cage, drop down to the right, following the tings. There is a free life protected by a sharp pen. If you throw your punch and let it return to you, it will hit the life en route.
You must now return to the slippery erasers. Go back first to the platform where you found the cage. Then use your running power to run and jump left. Go up and return to the passage with the red ring.
Take the path under the first hunter for a free life.
When you reach the second set of bouncy pens, drop down between the last two pens and grab the ring at its tip. Use the ring to swing over to the pencil sharpener platforms.
The pencil sharpener platform going right leads to an elf and a free life.
Go up on the other pencil sharpener platform.
(2) Use the yin-yang above the second hunter to jump to the left for flying rings which will lead to the second cage.
Make your way back to the yin-yang. Knock it down to the right and use it to escape by jumping on it and grabbing the edge of the platform on the right.
There is another free life that can be reached by dropping under the second set of moving pencil sharpener platforms.
When you reach the slick hill, run and get enough speed to reach the top platform. There you will find another free life.

Image Level 6

There is 1 Electoon cage on this level.

On this level, you get the super helicopter power once again.
A free life is above and to the left of the first series of colored pencils.
To get past the spikes pointing down, it helps to use the helicopter power to slow your bounce.
(1) Jump over the exit sign at the end of this level, but don't touch it. A cage will appear beneath you.

Image Level 7

There are 3 Electoon cages on this level.

The erasers at the beginning of this level are tricky to navigate. One bad move and you find yourself bouncing helplessly back to the top. The secret to getting through the bouncing erasers is to follow the trail of blue tings and to use the helicopter power to coast between the gaps in the erasers. (1) The cage is at the bottom left side of the bouncing erasers.

After the photographer, to get past the two rows of pencils, continually press the RIGHT ARROW key to fall down the oily hill and you should be able to get past everything without having to jump or fly.
Once you've catapulted past the rows of pencils, grab the power-up, which makes the pencil sharpener platforms appear.
Don't go up yet. Fall down in the last hole below the pencil sharpeners. Another pencil sharpener platform will appear to catch you.
(2) Ride the pencil sharpener to to the left, but don't get off. Stay on it until it moves back to the right. The cage will be right above you.
After punching the cage, get back on the pencil sharpener platform and go left. This time, jump on the other pencil sharpener platform and go up.
(3) Go left along the top of the pencils until you reach the Electoon cage that was hidden on top of the pencils. After punching the cage, jump off the left side of the eraser platform to return to the photographer.
When you slide down the oil slick, a running jump will take you to the highest level of erasers where you can get a free life.

Space Mama's Crater

Image Level 8

There are 2 Electoon cages on this level.

At the beginning of this level, if, instead of continuing right past the pointed bird head, you go up and to the left, you will find a free life.
Go down under the first moving pencil for another free life.
Look for a gap in the spikes beneath the second set of pink rings. Go down for bonuses.
(1) After you pass the photographer, go up on the pencil sharpener platforms for the first cage. To punch the cage behind the yin-yangs with spikes, you have to jump off the flying hook, punch the yin-yang while in the air, turn around quickly and grab the hook once more.
There are two exits to this level. If you follow the flying rings to the exit at the top left of the level, you will miss the second cage. After getting the first cage, continue back to the right side of the level and drop down under the pencil sharpener platforms.
After the three moving pencils, do not follow the trail of tings. Be ready to jump up and grab the ring that appears for a life and other bonuses.
(2) The exit is at the bottom left of the level. Just before the exit you will find a yin-yang suspended in mid-air. Jump on it and get the power-up to the left. This will trigger the appearance of the second cage.

Image Level 9

There are 2 Electoon cages on this level. There is a magician on this level.

(1) Go right on the rings, and then all the way to the left. The cage is above the entrance.
(2) After the photographer, drop down through the two disappearing clouds. You will eventually run into a space pirate. Duck under the space pirate, then hang over the edge to get the ting. A pencil sharpener platform appears, giving you access to a glove. Get the glove, and the cage appears above you. You will not be able to reach the cage at this point.
Continue to your right for the magician. If you do not have enough tings for the magician, you can retrace your steps and continue a little further to collect enough tings and then return to visit the magician.
Return to the two disappearing clouds and go to the right for the cage that you saw above you, but could not reach.
After a glove, but before you arrive at the bouncing erasers, there is a narrow passage going down, which, after you grab the red flying hook, will lead to a power-up.
Towards the end of this level, you will see a slick V shaped hill, will a narrow passage full of tings at the bottom of this V. Don't fall down it yet or you will not be able to get back up and find a life. Instead, go to the right side of the V, run down and then up the left side of the V and then jump. If you have gathered enough speed you will jump up to the next platform which gives access to a life.
To find the exit, follow the tings down the middle of the V shaped hill. First go left up the slippery hill for a free life, then right for the exit.

Image Level 10

There are 2 Electoon cages on this level.

Warning: this level has been known to send Rayman owners into fits of passion and destroy their game machines! Dexterity and a lot of patience is the key to getting through this one. The obstacles are pretty straight forward, you just have to be really quick with your hand movements.
Once you've made it past the two photographers and onto the wood colored platform (just past the yin-yang balls you had to knock out of your way), well then congratulate yourself and get ready for the hard part.
First, go to the right edge of the platform, jump on the pencil sharpener platform (get ready because it moves to the right!), jump over the spikes and land back onto the pencil sharpener. You will then hear that wonderful sound that tells you something has just appeared. Immediately, jump back left over the spikes and coast onto the photographer's wood colored platform you just left. You should now see a flying hook.
(1) Grab the hook, jump over the spike and onto the cloud. Jump up to the moving pencil sharpener. Jump right onto the clouds and they will lead you up to some tings. Once you grab the tings an Electoon cage will appear on the other side of the wall. You must now retrace your steps and the moving pencil sharpener will take you to a disappearing cloud which will then lead to this cage.
There is also a free life just a little further left if you use the other moving pencil sharpener that suddenly appeared.
Go back to the photographer's platform and return to the pencil sharpener that you thought you had gotten rid of. Use it to go to the right. The key to getting past this section is to avoid using your running or helicopter powers until the very last jump. You will be tempted to try to helicopter over some of the spikes, but more often than not it will slow you down enough to miss the pencil sharpener. You can make it over these obstacles with normal jumps and then by ducking rapidly once you've landed on the girder.
On the last jump, you can use the helicopter power to coast to the platform with the exit sign, but don't touch the exit sign or you'll miss the last cage! Instead, jump over the sign and onto the pink eraser. Once again, you'll hear the sound of something appearing. Guess what, it's time to get back on the pencil sharpener again! This time you won't have to ride it as far though.
(2) Once you jump over the first row of spikes and then duck under the next obstacle, a new pencil sharpener will have appeared for you to jump up on. This path will lead to a couple of flying hooks and the last Electoon cage.

Image Level 11

There are no Electoon cages on this level.

In this level you get another chance to fight Space Mama.
The secret to beating her is to hit her in the head, but throw your fist carefully because she can block punches with her rolling pin.
When she first appears, it may seem like she is trying to corner you. But if you hit her in the head and then duck as she fires her laser, after 3 or 4 hits she'll let you out of the corner.
Duck, crawl or use the running power to avoid the various objects that come flying at you.
When Space Mama hides behind the washing machine, jump over her laser shots and keep punching the machine until she throws it away. You can see how many hits its takes by looking at the dial on the washing machine.
After Space Mama abandons the washing machine, start aiming for her head once more.