How to Beat All Bosses and Get the True Ending in Kaze and the Wild Masks

Last Updated on 24 October, 2025

You just booted up Kaze and the Wild Masks, a brilliant love letter to the 90s platforming golden age. This game challenges you with pixel-perfect jumps, tough-as-nails enemies, and a mountain of shiny collectibles. A terrible curse has struck the Crystal Islands, and a mysterious vortex pulled your friend Hogo into a magical ring. Now, enraged vegetables terrorize the land, and only Kaze can set things right. This comprehensive guide prepares you for the journey ahead. We will walk you through every world, explain the powerful Wild Masks, detail every collectible, and provide strategies to defeat the giant bosses. You will learn everything you need to save Hogo and achieve 100% completion.

Quick Fact: While the game is a clear love letter to the Donkey Kong Country series, the developers at PixelHive also cited classics like Super Mario World as a major inspiration for the game’s feel and world-map design.

• Platforming 101: Kaze’s Core Abilities
• The Completionist’s Checklist: All Collectibles
• Harness the Ancients: The Four Wild Masks
• World 1: Forgotten Grove Walkthrough
• World 2: Frozen Mountains Walkthrough
• World 3: Toxic Tide Walkthrough
• World 4: Carrotland Walkthrough
• Boss Guide: How to Beat Every Boss
• The True Ending: How to Unlock the Final Secret
• Conclusion: Saving the Islands

Platforming 101: Kaze’s Core Abilities

Before you harness the masks, you must master Kaze’s basic moveset. Kaze controls with incredible precision.

1. Spin Attack: This is your main offensive move. Kaze spins her long ears in a circle to defeat most standard enemies.
2. Ear-Twirl (Hover): After jumping, you can press and hold the spin button to make Kaze twirl her ears like a helicopter. This ability slows your descent and lets you cross wide gaps. It is one of the most important skills in the game.
3. Head Stomp: Kaze defeats enemies by jumping directly on their heads. This move is essential for bouncing off enemies to reach higher platforms. You can also bounce off spiked enemies if you time your stomp correctly.
4. Ground Pound: While in the air, press down and the jump button to perform a fast ground pound. This move breaks special blocks, defeats certain shielded enemies, and reveals hidden items.

Heads-Up: For the “Oops!” achievement, you must complete a level without collecting a single purple crystal. Many players find Level 2-8 (“Pumpkin Pyre”) to be the easiest stage to accomplish this, as you can use the Lizard Mask to run and jump over most crystal paths.

The Completionist’s Checklist: All Collectibles

Every level in Kaze and the Wild Masks contains three types of collectibles. You must find all of them to unlock the game’s true ending.

1. Purple Crystals: These are the most common collectible. You must gather at least 100 purple crystals in every single stage. Always explore corners and ground-pound suspicious-looking floor patches.
2. K-A-Z-E Letters: Just like in classic Donkey Kong Country games, four large letters (K, A, Z, and E) hide in each level. Finding all four in a level unlocks a piece of concept art in the gallery. More importantly, collecting all K-A-Z-E letters within an entire world unlocks that world’s secret level.
3. Bonus Gems (Green Gems): Every level (except boss stages) hides two secret bonus stages, each behind a hidden portal. These portals often hide behind fake walls or require a tricky jump to reach. Completing the mini-game inside (like “collect all items” or “defeat all enemies”) rewards you with one green Bonus Gem. You need both Bonus Gems from a level for 100% completion.

Quick Reminder: You can change the difficulty at any time on the world map. “Original Mode” provides the intended challenge with two hits, while “Casual Mode” grants Kaze an extra heart (three hits) and adds more checkpoints to difficult levels.

Harness the Ancients: The Four Wild Masks

As Kaze explores the islands, she finds special altars that grant her the powers of the Wild Masks. These masks transform Kaze and give her new abilities, completely changing the gameplay for that level.

1. Eagle Mask: This mask lets Kaze fly. You can repeatedly tap the jump button to gain altitude and soar freely through the air. Kaze can also shoot feather projectiles, which destroy obstacles and enemies from a safe distance.
2. Tiger Mask: This mask grants Kaze feline agility. She can pounce from wall to wall, effectively performing a wall jump. The Tiger Mask also gives Kaze a powerful, fast mid-air dash to cross gaps or break through specific barriers.
3. Shark Mask: When Kaze dons the Shark Mask, she gains complete control underwater. She can swim freely in any direction without needing air. She also gains a powerful underwater charge attack that breaks obstacles and defeats aquatic enemies.
4. Lizard Mask: The Lizard Mask transforms levels into high-speed auto-runners. Kaze runs forward automatically and becomes invincible. Her abilities change to a double jump and a diving ground-pound dash, which you must use to navigate complex, fast-paced obstacle courses.

Practical Tip: Kaze’s ground pound (Down + Jump in mid-air) is not just for breaking blocks. You can use it as a fast-descending dodge, and it is also the only way to flip over certain shielded enemies.

World 1: Forgotten Grove Walkthrough

The Forgotten Grove serves as your introduction to the Crystal Islands. It focuses on Kaze’s core mechanics and introduces you to basic enemies like hopping carrots and bean pods.

1. Levels: Cranky Carrots, Jelly Jungle, Thorny Tree, Vine Climb, Lights On Lights Off, Bean Bay.
2. Bonus Level: Oh, My Veggies! (A classic auto-scroller chase level).
3. Secret Level: Watch Your Steps (Unlocked by finding all K-A-Z-E letters in this world).
4. Boss: Mother Mona.

Your goal in this world is simple: mastery. Practice using Kaze’s ear-twirl to find hidden paths and K-A-Z-E letters. In “Lights On Lights Off,” you must hit switches to illuminate platforms. Use the light to spot bonus portals. In “Vine Climb,” time your jumps carefully as you ascend. The chase level, “Oh, My Veggies!”, requires you to run from a giant, angry vegetable. Do not stop and keep your momentum.

Resource Note: Purple crystals are used on the world map to unlock special bonus levels (marked with a “B”). These are different from the two hidden bonus portals found within each main level.

World 2: Frozen Mountains Walkthrough

This frosty world introduces more complex platforming with slippery ice physics and strong gusts of wind. Here, you will find the Eagle and Tiger masks.

1. Levels: Sliding Salads, Slingshot Ride, Tiger Popsicle, Ropes of Hope, Arctic Blizzard, Forgotten Mask, Pumpkin Pyre, Beets and Bounces.
2. Bonus Level: Oh, My Veggies!
3. Secret Level: (Unlocked by finding all K-A-Z-E letters in this world).
4. Boss: Buck’s Brigade.

In “Sliding Salads,” you navigate icy slopes where Kaze slides automatically. “Tiger Popsicle” introduces the Tiger Mask, forcing you to master the wall-pounce and air-dash to climb vertical shafts. “Slingshot Ride” uses cannon-like plants to launch Kaze across huge distances. “Arctic Blizzard” features the Eagle Mask. You will fly through canyons, dodging projectiles and shooting feather-blockades. The level “Forgotten Mask” is a notoriously difficult auto-runner stage using the Lizard Mask, so prepare for a challenge.

Quest Tip: When hunting for the K-A-Z-E letters, listen for a specific shimmering sound. This audio cue plays when a letter is nearby, even if it is hidden off-screen or behind a false wall.

World 3: Toxic Tide Walkthrough

The theme of this world is poison and water. Rising tides of purple goop and dangerous underwater sections define these levels. This world is where you will first use the Shark Mask.

1. Levels: Gusty Cliffs, Toxic Lake, plus several others.
2. Bonus Level: Oh, My Veggies!
3. Secret Level: (Unlocked by finding all K-A-Z-E letters in this world).
4. Boss: Olaf.

“Toxic Lake” is a signature level that perfectly demonstrates this world’s gimmick. It is heavily inspired by classic Donkey Kong Country 2 levels, featuring a rising tide of toxic liquid that forces you to climb upward quickly and precisely. Other levels introduce the Shark Mask, requiring you to navigate underwater mazes. You must use the shark’s charge attack to break barriers and fight off piranhas and other aquatic foes. “Gusty Cliffs” will test your Eagle Mask skills once again with intense wind-based platforming sections.

Survival Tip: Do not worry about failing the hidden bonus stages. Unlike the games that inspired it, the game lets you immediately retry a bonus stage as many times as you need without forcing you to restart the entire level.

World 4: Carrotland Walkthrough

The final world is a perilous, lava-filled landscape full of advanced challenges. Carrotland demands mastery of all masks and mechanics. The Lizard Mask appears frequently here for some of the game’s toughest speedrun stages.

1. Levels: Volcanic Star, Hurry Hurricane, Jelly Dungeon, Ziplizard, Haunted Lake, Circuit Capers, Scalding Gears.
2. Secret Level: Bulletvator (Unlocked by finding all K-A-Z-E letters in this world).
3. Boss: Typhoon’s Tussle.

“Ziplizard” is a pure test of your reflexes, combining the high-speed auto-running of the Lizard Mask with ziplines. “Hurry Hurricane” is another chase level, but this time you flee from a deadly tornado. “Scalding Gears” features intricate platforming around moving cogs and lava pits. The secret level, “Bulletvator,” is an intense challenge where you ride a small platform while dodging screens full of projectiles. This world throws everything at you before the final confrontation.

Pro Tip: After you beat a level, you unlock its Time Trial mode. In this mode, you start with a single heart. This means you can actually take one hit and still successfully complete the run, so a single mistake is not an automatic failure.

Boss Guide: How to Beat Every Boss

Each of the four worlds ends in a creative, multi-phase boss battle.

1. Mother Mona (World 1 Boss): This giant, angry carrot follows a simple pattern. First, she slams the ground, which you must jump over. Then, she spits out smaller carrot enemies. Stomp on the smaller carrots, pick them up, and throw them at Mother Mona’s head. Repeat this process three times.
2. Buck’s Brigade (World 2 Boss): This fight requires the Eagle Mask. You fly in the air as a giant bird, Buck, attacks you. You must dodge his charges and the flaming pumpkins he throws. After he attacks, he becomes tired. Seize this opportunity to fly in and hit him.
3. Olaf (World 3 Boss): This icy golem battle requires the Tiger Mask. Olaf attacks by slamming the ground and creating ice hazards. You must use the Tiger Mask’s wall-pounce to climb the walls of the arena. Pounce onto the hanging icicles to make them fall onto Olaf’s head.
4. Typhoon’s Tussle (World 4 Boss): This is the main antagonist of the game. The fight has multiple phases. You must dodge his projectile attacks and ground slams. The game will provide you with masks during the fight. You will use the Eagle Mask to attack him in the air and the Tiger Mask to climb platforms and launch attacks. Stay patient and learn his patterns to claim victory.

Combat Tip: Shielded enemies like the Corn or Watermelon cannot be damaged from the front. You must either jump on top of the Corn or get behind the Watermelon to defeat them with your spin attack.

The True Ending: How to Unlock the Final Secret

Defeating Typhoon provides the standard ending, but a true conclusion awaits skilled players. To unlock the true final boss and see the 100% ending, you must complete the following tasks:

1. Collect all 100+ Purple Crystals in every level.
2. Find both hidden Bonus Gems in every level.
3. Collect all K-A-Z-E letters in all four worlds.
4. Beat all four secret levels (like “Watch Your Steps” and “Bulletvator”) that you unlock from the K-A-Z-E letters.

Once you achieve 100% completion, you can challenge the true final boss after defeating Typhoon. This secret battle is the game’s ultimate challenge and provides the canonical, happy ending for Kaze and Hogo.

Boss Tip: To unlock the true final boss and get the “My Best Friend” achievement, you must achieve 100% completion. This fight is a difficult endurance test that relies on pattern recognition, so focus on dodging its “bullet hell” attacks and only strike when it is safe.

Conclusion: Saving the Islands

Kaze and the Wild Masks is a challenging and rewarding adventure that honors the best parts of 90s platformers. It demands precision, exploration, and perseverance. By mastering Kaze’s moves, hunting down every collectible, and harnessing the power of the Wild Masks, you can overcome every obstacle. You now have the knowledge to face the enraged vegetables, conquer the tricky levels of Carrotland, and save Hogo. Go get those gems, find those letters, and show that curse who is boss! Good luck.