What is the fastest way to get 99 extra lives?
Solution 1:
After posting my question, I wondered if reloading a save file would reset the extra lives in Orient Express, since I couldn't recall an easier level that had that many extra lives laying around. It did.
That is, I followed these steps:
- Load up the game
- Run through Orient Express (stage 3, world 1)
- Save my file
- Load that same file
- Repeat steps 2-4
It took me roughly 45 minutes to get 99 lives this way.
After doing this, I decided to search and see if there had been a faster way to accomplish this and I came across PowerPyx's trophy guide and surprisingly enough, the prescribed life farming method described was exactly what I'd done:
It’s possible to farm lives by repeating the same level over and over again and collecting all apples & extra lives in it. A great place to farm is Level 3: Orient Express. You can get 5 lives per playthrough and it only takes 1 minute (pressing R2 makes you go faster). To make the lives respawn finish the level, create a manual save game (press L2 and Square to save), then press X to reload the manual save immediately. Now replay the level and repeat the manual save & reload trick.
Thus, it looks like the best place to farm lives is Orient Express.