Platinum Relics Mini Guide
Platinum Relics are the lowest times on a track, and often the hardest, requiring precise driving and skills, along with knowledge of the game and it's mechanics. Think you have what it takes? Well, even if you don't, I'm here to try to help you out just a little bit with a small mini guide through each of the 18 tracks, so you too can flex online in style with that sweet Platinum Paint Job.
This guide assumes you know the inner mechanics of the game, such as power sliding, boosting, Sacred Fire, Blue Fire and course shortcuts. If you need explanations of those, you may not ready to tackle these just yet. I don't mind answering questions about them if you need something cleared up, however.
Collecting all the Boxes takes 10 seconds off your final time. What I mean by 'yes' or 'no' here is if it's recommended or not, or whether or not I think it's worth it or the effort. If it says 'no', then it's still possible to get the relic without them, if it says 'yes', it's because it's easy enough to do without driving you nuts or because it's absolutely necessary (looking at you N.Gin Labs and Papu's Pyramid).
Recommended Character Type is a suggestion based on the track selected. You don't have to follow it, I just chose what I believed was easiest (as you see I did all of my with Accel and Beginner characters, Advanced isn't necessary at all). Pick what feels comfortable to you!
Anyways, let's get started! Good luck, and drive fast!
Crash Cove Platinum Time to Beat: 52:00 Collect All Boxes?: No Recommended Character Type: Advanced
Not gonna lie, the first one can be a bit of a doozy to Plat. There's not a lot of room for error here, and the only thing I can tell you to do is get Sacred Fire and floor it. If you lose Sacred Fire, you might as well kiss the Platinum goodbye. While I achieved my Plat with Coco, I recommend Advanced characters as Crash Cove is pretty basic and the extra speed can help. While you can collect all the boxes, I don't recommend it, since some are in pretty awkward spots that are off the course pretty hard.
My Time: 51:75 - Coco
Roo's Tubes Platinum Time to Beat: 55:00 Collect All Boxes?: No Recommended Character Type: Advanced
Just as tough as Crash Cove, but with a little bit more of error room. You don't have to get all the boxes here to get the Platinum, but if you can keep a good race line, you could, so it's an option. Even if you have to take a few seconds more to grab all the boxes after the final Turbo Pad to grab them all (if that's your way of doing it), do it. 10 seconds off is a lot. Other than that, you know the deal. Sacred Fire and floor it. If you can consistently keep it and take the shortcut, this should be cake.
My Time: 54:49 - Pinstripe
Mystery Caves Platinum Time to Beat: 1:32:00 Collect All Boxes?: No Recommended Character Type: Accel
Mystery Cave is full of ways to ruin your day. The turtles are a big one. They are so inconsistent when bouncing, it will drive you up a wall (sometimes LITERALLY). The corners are a bit tight to navigate at times. You can easily collect all the boxes in a 3 lap go if you plan your driving lanes beforehand, so if you want to go that route, go for it. I don't think this one is too bad as long as you can keep a good line of driving, and of course, Sacred Fire. If I can do it as I just woke up and started writing this guide on the first try, then you can, too.
My Time: 1:31:38 - Pinstripe 1:28:14 - Coco
Sewer Speedway Platinum Time to Beat: 0:37:00 Collect All Boxes?: Yes Recommend Character Type: Accel
Ah, here it is, the biggest bastard of Hub 1. Sewer Speedway is a pain to drive on in Nitro Fueled, combined with one of the lowest Platinum Times ever and a shortcut that's inconsistent, you're in for a bad time. I believe I got all the box for my Platinum Relic, which is why I'm recommending it, but heed this warning: for that, you need to take the shortcut (the full thing) at least once. Heed this advice though: Take it first lap and get it out the way. If you fail it, you've lost nothing. If you succeed, continue with the run and see what happens. My recommended path says go right twice at the beginning, then left, then right, left to get all the boxes. How you get the rest of the boxes in the track after that is up to your driving lines and your choice. Also, if you get crushed, you fail instantly. Just restart.
My Time: 34:47 - Pinstripe
Hub 1 Complete! Getting tired yet? Come on! We've just barely started!
Coco Park Platinum Time to Beat: 0:49:00 Collect All Boxes?: Yes Recommended Character Type: Advanced
Do yourself a favor and just collect all the boxes here. I've no god given clue how Komodo Joe burned around this course in 49 seconds, but I can tell you it's not possible by a human, and until proven otherwise, that's my opinion and I'm sticking with it. Keep a good racing line, get the outside (wide lane) boxes on the first lap and work your way inwards. There's a 2 box right before the beginning of the tunnel on the left in the grass, and a 3(?) right as you leave on the right. There's also two boxes a piece you have to jump for at the end from the grassy hills, so make sure you get Sacred Fire to get them. The 10 seconds off is well worth getting all the boxes for.
My Time: 46:89 - Pinstripe
Papu's Pyramid Platinum Time to Beat: 0:42:00 Collect All Boxes?: YES Recommended Character Type: Beginner
Whereas this Platinum was probably a joke in OG, it's NO joke in NF. There's no massive unfair skip in this game, which means you gotta play this by the book. As long as you can keep your driving lane good and collect a box per lap, you should be okay. I recommend getting the drop off for the 4 3 boxes first lap, that way you don't need to worry about it. Likewise, try to go to the outside turn down the stairs and get the 2 boxes on them (and the 1 hanging over the void), plus the 2 by the plants. The final turn you'll have to take twice to keep a good time, I grabbed the box in the grass first lap, along with the 2 closest to the inside of the turn and also the box leading to the 3 hanging over the gap (even if you have to fall off to get it). If you want a tentative picture of how I feel about this relic, here you go.
My Time: 37:69 - Pura
Tiger Temple Platinum Time to Beat: 0:43:00 Collect All Boxes?: Yes Recommended Character Type: Advanced
Not difficult at all. Collecting all the boxes is easy once you know where they all are, and they aren't in difficult places, either. You just need to keep your speed up to make sure you make it to the ones that require jumps. How you go from everything from there is up to you. As always, Sacred Fire and blaze it. Do watch how you land on the hills though, they can eat your speed. As someone that played this track a ton on the demo, this Relic took me 3 tries, tops.
My Time: 42:06 - Pinstripe
Dingo Canyon Platinum Time to Beat: 0:53:00 Collect All Boxes?: Yes Recommended Character Type: Accel
Not hard. Collect all the boxes, it's simple and even helps keep your driving line focused. Collect outside lane boxes first, it just helps later on when you're trying to save more time. Even though it's easy, you still need to have a good handle on driving correctly.
My Time: 52:11 - Pinstripe
Hub World 2 down! Wasn't too bad, right? Not with all the boxes collected in every map. Let's move on. Good news and bad news. Good news is, half this next hub is easy as hell. The bad news is, the other half isn't.
Blizzard Bluff Platinum Time to Beat: 0:45:00 Collect All Boxes?: No Recommended Character Type: Advanced
Believe me when I say this is HARD. I don't know how Pura burned around this track in 45 seconds, but good god. I couldn't find a good way to get all the boxes either, so that's out (the 2 in the ditch after the rolling boulder basically make you come to grinding halt to get them and not jump over them, which just isn't worth 1 frozen second a piece, even if you managed to get all the boxes). Worst yet, without getting all the boxes, you're going to have to take the infamous fence shortcut on the final turn ALL THREE LAPS, a shortcut so hard that not even Oxide's ghost takes it on this track anymore. I barely made this one, so my only real advice is to not get discouraged, keep trying and practicing until you get your ideal driving line for the win.
My Time: 44:01 - Pinstripe
Dragon Mines Platinum Time to Beat: 0:54:00 Collect All Boxes?: Yes Recommended Character Type: All-Around, Accel
This one is just as bad as Blizzard Bluff. It has the infamous "spiral" turn that no one likes taking in this game, and just lots of sections that slow you down for absolutely no reason at all. Fortunately, the boxes are in places that aren't terrible, outside of the three 3 boxes on the minecart tracks in the tunnel. You basically have to turn into that tunnel right after the minecart goes in so you don't get crushed by the next one after it. Get the three 3 boxes by jumping off the spiral in that same lap. Finally, after the spiral, there's a bunch of boxes in between the pillars. If you start on the left side of them, you can weave through them all and end up on the right side at the end so you can get on the turbo pad. Get these problematic boxes in the first lap and then take your best driving into the next 2 laps to get this Platinum. Also, don't ask me how Pura did this in 43 seconds or Crash did it in 49:70. I don't know.
My Time: 51:83 - Coco
Polar Pass Platinum Time to Beat: 2:05:00 Collect All Boxes?: No Recommended Character Type: Beginner, Accel
I did this one without even trying. It's rare that you'll get a Platinum Relic on your first try (unless you're that good at the game), but this one seriously is super easy, so long as you understand the mechanics of Blue Fire. If you can keep that (and it's possible, which is why I recommended a Beginner character class), you can obliterate this Platinum by a good 10 seconds. As the guy that has made the infamous Polar Pass 2 lap Blue Fire video on YouTube from the Demo, trust me when I say this is easy. I've had lots of practice on this map, but once you get the hang of it, it's simple. As I'm writing this, I achieved the Platinum again, even.
My Time: 1:53:29 - Coco 2:02:90 - Coco
Tiny Arena Platinum Time to Beat: 2:58:00 Collect All Boxes?: No Recommended Character Type: Accel
I did this one without trying, too. This is another one where if you understand the basic mechanics of the game, you'll mop the floor with the times. 2:58 is generous enough to even make a few mistakes as long as you're getting enough boxes. Sacred Fire the parts you can, round corners well enough, collect the boxes in your path, stay out of the mud, jump off the hills and this Platinum is yours. I even just beat my old time playing through it again. You got this.
My Time: 2:41:21 - Coco 2:45:68 - Coco
Hub 3 is done. I told you half were easy and the other half were hard. Unfortunately, that trend continues with 2 more hard courses going into Hub 4. However, after those, you're sitting on easy street as long as you keep up your good driving.
N. Gin Labs Platinum Time to Beat: 0:53:00 Collect All Boxes?: Yes Recommended Character Type: Accel, Beginner
Hold it right there! Don't even think about turboing off this start line. Reverse and get all 12 of the 3 boxes at the beginning. You can get 3 of them just by holding reverse, then get the rest in a timely fashion by driving carefully. After that, Lap 1 needs to be spent getting boxes that you deem problematic for speed later on. Such boxes for me are the 2 in the alcove right before the barrel drop, and the ones hovering over the edges of the platforms of the 90 degree angle turns right after the barrel drops. This stage also requires you to at least understand Blue Fire and maintain it while keeping the best line possible, grabbing the boxes at high speed. I spent a good 2 hours here, and still barely made it. This one's tough.
My Time: 50:30 - Coco
Cortex Castle Platinum Time to Beat: 1:32:00 Collect All Boxes?: No Recommended Character Type: Accel
This one is annoyingly difficult, as well. 1:32 is not a comfortable enough time to mess around with, so you've got to floor your speed. Sacred Fire the places you can. This stage also mandates what I like to call "Jetshotting", which is rounding a corner sharply, then continuing your momentum in the new direction. It's done by jumping from a hill, releasing the Acceleration button, braking and choosing your new direction, and before landing, releasing brake and Accelerating again. It's not hard to do, in fact, you may have even done it before on accident. But this stage mandates it because of the courtyard hill into the castle. There's no other way to take that corner effectively without losing speed. Other than that, I'd save the shortcut for the final lap, and get the boxes on the normal path on the first two laps. In that same vein, keep the box in the air after the Super Turbo Pad there for the final lap so you have some cushion while you fall and bend that last corner before the finish line. Good luck, this is the last hard one!
My Time: 1:27:78 - Coco
Hot Air Skyway Platinum Time to Beat: 2:02:00 Collect All Boxes?: No Recommended Character Type: Beginner
I'll be completely honest with you: the minute I saw this track, I was already fearing the Relic. But I didn't realize how easy it would've been if one could just keep Blue Fire. Once I put that idea into my mind, this track instantly became easier. Explaining it is hard, but I have a video of it because I thought it was cool, so just use that.
My Time: 1:57:64 - Pura
Oxide Station Platinum Time to Beat: 2:34:00 Collect All Boxes?: Yes Recommended Character Type: Accel
This one isn't too bad. All the boxes are in a pretty easy place, and they all can be gotten within 3 laps. As long as you drive correctly and boost right, this should be a breeze, especially after N. Gin Labs and Cortex Castle (not to mention Blizzard Bluff). If you can do those 3 tracks, this one shouldn't bother you any. In fact, I would've done this one on my first try if I hadn't missed one box. Go figure. Beat it the 2nd try, though!
My Time: 2:27:83 - Coco
Slide Coliseum Platinum Time to Beat: 1:40:00 Collect All Boxes?: No Recommended Character Type: Accel, Advanced
This one is a freaking cake walk. I don't know who set this Platinum Time, but it's a joke. You can easily beat this time without breaking all the time crates, but if you do, it's just adding insult to injury, and it's not like it's hard anyways. As long as you know how to drift, this isn't anything special. I even just beat it again playing through it for this guide.
My Time: 1:12:05 - Coco 1:14:48 - Coco (this is my time WITHOUT all the crates)
Turbo Track Platinum Time to Beat: 1:19:00 Collect All Boxes?: No Recommended Character Type: Accel, All-Around
This final one is easy too. You don't need to get all the boxes, but if you want, it makes it even easier. The Super Turbo Pads here just give you so much speed that it makes it hard to not get this Platinum on the first try. The only thing this stage mandates is that you know how to Brake Slide for hairpin turns, but other than that, this is simple!
My Time: 52:94 - Coco (with all time crates) 1:13:17 - Coco (without all time crates)
And that's everything! Just relax and practice and you'll be able to pull this off. I believe in you! If you have any questions, feel free to bother me over at my Twitter @JetspeedGaming, and check out my YouTube channel over at KuroJet!
