Old King Coal

Reaching Old King Coal first requires opening Glitter Gulch Mine through Jiggywiggy’s second challenge, which requires four Jiggies, and entering the mineshaft on the Isle O’ Hags’ Plateau. Inside the world, Chuffy lies on its side in the Train Station, preventing normal access to the engine. Attempts to use the railway elsewhere can receive Coal’s announcement that the train is derailed in Glitter Gulch Mine. Mumbo Jumbo must put it upright before Banjo and Kazooie can approach the boss. A Glowbo can be collected on the raised ground near the world entrance and taken to the shaman’s skull to obtain his help. Controlling Mumbo, enter the Train Station and activate the Mumbo Pad beside the tracks. His Levitate spell lifts the overturned locomotive and places it back on its wheels. This repairs the obstruction, but neither the spell nor the newly accessible cab grants permission to drive. Return Mumbo to his chair, resume control of Banjo and Kazooie and go back to the station. The ladder on the side of the locomotive leads up to the driver’s cab, where the green GO control pad prompts Coal to demand a battle before taking them anywhere. The route to him is the firebox opening inside the cab: jump through its flames to enter the much larger boiler arena. Collect health and an adequate supply of eggs before doing so, since the encounter takes place inside this enclosed room. Coal initially appears as an unassuming heap, prompting the pair to wonder whether something valuable lies underneath. Approaching it makes him stand up and demand to know who has entered his boiler. Their request to use Chuffy leads directly to his challenge, rather than to a fare, an escort mission or a separate search for the train’s driver.

Old King Coal begins with fifty health points and walks around the boiler trying to collide with Banjo and Kazooie. His coal body can be damaged directly, so there is no small marked weak point to expose or wait for. Ordinary Blue Eggs are sufficient, and firing from a raised piece of metal debris gives a clear view while keeping the pair above his walking route. Fire Eggs do not damage him. Ice Eggs exploit his weakness and shorten a return visit, but they are learned later on the Isle O’ Hags’ Cliff Top and are not required to clear this early-world fight. Close attacks are also possible, though they involve leaving the protection of the platforms. Continued damage first breaks off one arm, then the other, and eventually removes his entire upper body. Each reduction makes the remaining coal move faster, so aim at his current position rather than continuing to fire at the space his head occupied. His reactions follow the damage: losing one arm is supposedly no great loss, losing both still fails to shake his confidence, and losing his torso finally makes him suggest sitting down to talk. The boiler’s heat is a separate danger. After the first arm is lost, Coal heats the room intermittently, turning the floor hazardous and causing the air meter to drain in the smoke. Standing on debris protects against the hot floor and his contact attack, but does not stop that loss of air. Use cooler intervals to move if necessary and keep attacking from a safe platform. A 150-second countdown measures the approach to maximum boiler temperature. Reaching zero leaves the room permanently heated, making the remaining air supply the final limit rather than ending the fight at that instant. Finish the faster-moving lower body promptly before suffocation becomes a problem. At zero health, Coal concedes, his remaining body breaks apart and the Jiggy and recovery honeycombs appear. His agreement is permission to use the train, accompanied by a warning not to hit anything because he has only just polished it.

After the battle, Coal remains the railway’s voice and driver. Chuffy’s cab control pad lists available destinations, while the corresponding pads at other stations let the pair call the train to them. Coal explains where he and Chuffy currently are and asks whether they would like a pickup. His reports change with the location, describing ore loading in Glitter Gulch Mine, the attractions of Witchyworld, the Isle O’ Hags’ coast, Terrydactyland’s cave paintings, freight service in Grunty Industries and the temperatures on either side of Hailfire Peaks. The complete network has seven stations: those first five destinations and separate Lava Side and Icy Side stops in Hailfire Peaks. Their station switches must be opened individually; defeating Coal does not make every stop immediately available. The train becomes essential for entering Grunty Industries through its station after opening the exterior train switch, and it carries members of Scrotty’s family during the Styracosaurus reunion and healing tasks. The Icy Side journey introduces an additional restriction even after the relevant station is open. Coal refuses to take a hot boiler straight into the cold, explaining that the sudden temperature change would crack it. This requires help from Gobi, the camel first freed from his cage in Witchyworld’s Cave of Horrors. He later waits on the upper platform above the Lava Side Train Station. Bring Chuffy to that station, reach Gobi through the upper entrance and Beak Bust his hump so that he spits his stored water into the locomotive’s funnel. Coal announces that the boiler has cooled enough and now permits the trip to the Icy Side. Return to the cab, choose that destination and leave the train on arrival to collect the Jiggy in the icy station. The cooling scene changes the railway’s permitted route; it does not require another fight with Coal or transfer ownership of Chuffy to the heroes.