Gustavo Movement

While Gustavo and Brick can do most of the things Peppino can do, they often go about it in a very different way. This results in a very different control scheme and playstyle that must be mastered mostly from scratch. While these differences give the duo several unique tricks and advantages, unfortunately they are still somewhat slower overall than the main protagonist.

Mounted

Gustavo and Brick's most distinct feature is the fact that they're two characters that can split up. Gustavo will start mounted on Brick, and have access to his full moveset. While separated from Brick, Gustavo will become dismounted and lose access to most moves, but his speed and other properties are otherwise unchanged. Gustavo cannot exit a room while dismounted. Performing certain actions will cause Gustavo to dismount and separate from Brick:

• Crawling
• Stomping
• Spin Attack
• Rat Kick

Whenever Brick is separated from Gustavo, performing any of the actions listed above will also cause Brick to stay still. Otherwise, he will fly back to Gustavo until the two rejoin, putting Gustavo back in his mounted state and restoring access to his full moveset.

Hamcuff enemies in The Pig City can also arrest and forcibly separate Brick from Gustavo until the enemy is defeated.

Mach Dash

Gustavo’s mach dash is similar to Peppino’s in a few aspects:

• You build up speed as long as you’re dashing and on the ground.
• Mach 3 (12 speed) allows you to break metal blocks, as well as kill and scare enemies.
• Speed from other actions (such as the spin attack) can be carried over into a dash.

However, it also has crucial differences:

• Gustavo cannot climb walls or Superjump.
• Gustavo’s max speed is 12 rather than 20. Holding the same direction you’re moving in does not change this.
  • Furthermore, this speed cap cannot be exceeded using boost pads, unlike with Peppino.
• Gustavo cannot turn during a Mach Dash while retaining his speed.
• It is possible to release DASH for a moment to slow down slightly while maintaining Mach 3. This can be used to adjust your speed for more delicate movement.

Spin Attack

Pressing GRAB causes Gustavo to perform a spin attack, dismounting Brick and gaining a brief burst of horizontal speed. This move can break marble blocks and kill enemies on contact for its duration. The Spin Attack can be held indefinitely, though this is impractical since Gustavo will quickly slow down to a crawl.

Other than for combat, this move can be useful to gain a quick burst of movement from a standstill or when changing directions. It is also possible to carry most of the speed from this move into a Mach Dash. Spamming the Spin Attack is not faster than Mach Dashing.

Rat Kick

While mounted, pressing UP and GRAB will prompt Gustavo to kick Brick forward as a projectile. This causes Gustavo to become dismounted, while Brick rolls forward destroying marble blocks and killing enemies on contact. Brick cannot be hurt, and will only stop after colliding with a wall or going offscreen, after which he will quickly fly back to Gustavo.

Stomp

While midair, pressing DOWN will cause Gustavo become dismounted and very quickly start falling, breaking marble blocks and killing enemies on contact. This move cannot break metal blocks. Similar to Peppino, stomping into a slope allows the move to be linked into a Mach Dash, giving it great potential as a movement tool.

Double Jump

While mounted, Gustavo is able to jump once while in the air. Falling onto a metal block will cause it to break, regardless of from how high Gustavo and Brick fell. Kills enemies on contact.

Wall Jump

While double jumping, holding JUMP and the direction facing into the wall (LEFT or RIGHT) will cause Gustavo and Brick to bounce off. This will cause the duo to get propelled away from the wall and gain a bit of height. They will also remain in the Double Jump state, allowing additional wall jumps to be performed or breaking blocks below afterward.

Releasing JUMP at a precise time in the Wall Jump animation allows you to refresh your double jump.

Goomba Stomp

Jumping on top of an enemy as Gustavo, mounted or not, will kill the enemy on contact.