Welcome to our Eastward Chapter 1 Coming Up For Air guide. This guide will detail everything you need to know about Chapter 1: Coming Up For Air, including Sam’s first day of school, tackling dungeons on Potcrock Isle, and more.
Eastward Chapter 1 Coming Up For Air Walkthrough
Coming Up For Air Walkthrough
It’s Sam’s first day of school! Head north back to the school entrance.
The Principal won’t let Sam into school without a reference letter. Time to make a visit to the Mayor. Head South back to the main area of Potcrock Isle. Then head east down the train tracks.
Before entering the Mayor’s house, head up the stairs and enter a secret path in the wall on the right to reach a Treasure Chest containing 3 Tokens. Now, enter the Mayor’s house. After speaking with the Mayor and getting the reference letter, head back to school to see a cutscene.
Back to Sunnyside Ranch
Once Sam is at school, you’ve got time to kill. Head east back to Sunnyside Ranch. Talk to Dmir at the bottom of the ranch to get some work.
It’s Sandrupe time! Use your Frying Pan charge attack to hit the Sandrupes into the giant hole in the middle of the area. Do your best to avoid the Crabs, because they will push the bags further from the hole if they run into them.
After the minigame, head back to school to check on Sam. After a brief cutscene with Sam’s friends inside the school, head into the bathroom. Once inside, enter the stall in the back right to get to the Underground Tunnel.
Dungeon – Underground Tunnel
This dungeon starts off fairly linearly. Follow the path until you reach a dead end, fighting off any enemies you encounter. Be sure to avoid the steam coming out of the pipes, as they do a Heart of damage if you get caught up in it.
Once at the end of the room, drag the box in the bottom right corner onto the switch to open the door. Head through the new entrance.
In the next room, the eastern path is blocked due to steam. So, head west. If you defeat the snakes on the north path, you will find a Treasure Chest containing a Heart Orb.
Now, head through the stairwell to find a wheel. Use it to turn off the steam. Now we can get through!
You’ll shortly run into another staircase blocked by steam. Drag the box above down to block the flow of steam. Head north to the room exit, carefully timing your movement through the next steam obstacle. This completes the dungeon.
Now, head back home to make some dinner.
Quest – The Forbidden Land – Eastward Chapter 1 Coming Up For Air
It’s open house at the school today, which means John can go, too. Head to the second room in school to talk to Miss Real.
Sam’s run to the Forbidden Land! Head back to the Dig Site to go after her.
Save at the Fridge and head north towards the Forbidden Land. Proceed by following the path to the northeast corner. Now, board the elevator to head upwards!
Dungeon – Ancient Ruins
Once you’ve gotten off the elevator, destroy the boxes to your left. Across the gap, you’ll see three barrel bombs and a circuit you need to rewire to open the door. Drop a bomb in front of you, and use your charge attack to hit it across the gap. Proceed into the next room.
Soon after, you’ll see a puzzle to open a door. Turn on the power source in the top right, and connect all four sets of wires to complete the circuit and open the door. Upon heading north, you’ll find an uncrossable gap. Push the nearby shelf to the right to reveal the bathroom door. Enter it and fight your way past the snakes to find the entrance to the next room.
Here, you’ll see a descending staircase and a set of double doors. Take the staircase to get to the next floor of the Ancient Ruins.
This is where the dungeon starts to open up. You’ll have three choices: head down another set of stairs to a lower floor, explore this floor to the east, or the floor to the north. The floor to the north is blocked off, so let’s go east.
If you head east, you’ll find a hallway with Snakes and Slugs. Fight your way through until you reach a door at the south end of the hallway. Enter the room, and you’ll find the Earth Born Manga Quest Item on the bottom bookshelf.
Ancient Ruins – Down the Stairs
When you head down the stairs, you’ll enter a large room with enemies that fall from the ceiling. On the right side of the room, there are two bookshelves behind a desk. Drag them both to the right to reveal a hidden room with a Treasure Chest inside. Open the chest to find three Tokens.
Head north. In this room, there’s a door on the right with a Treasure Chest inside containing Sandrupe. You’ll also be blocked by a bookcase you can’t move from this angle. Head further north through this room until you find a locker containing a Key.
After you get the Key, head back south. Stop just before you run into the first set of shelves. Turn directly to your left to discover a secret hallway. You’ll find a Treasure Chest containing three Tokens.
Head back to the stairs we used to get to this room. Now head southwest.
In the southwestern corner of this room of this floor, you’ll come across a room that needs a key. Luckily, you should have the key we just found at the top of this room. Head inside and push the bookshelf you see in front of you to the left. Enter this room to find a Treasure Chest containing a Heart Orb. Now, head into the room on the far right end of the hallway, and use the ladder to head further down.
Ancient Ruins – Down Another Floor
You’ll enter a room filled with blowing fans that will push you in the direction they’re blowing. Once you reach the second fan, place a bomb on the ground so it gets sucked in by the fan, destroying it. Continue through the hallway, destroying fans as needed using this method.
You’ll reach a switch that allows you to change the direction of the fan. Across the gap, there are two enemies firing projectiles. If you want them out of the way, you can hit a bomb across the gap at them. Flip the switch to the Red side and continue.
The next room is a locked combat. Take out the enemies as they appear to unlock the next door. In the next room, place a bomb by the barrel bombs to create a pathway with a collapsed pillar.
Move on to find your progress impeded by a fan blowing in front of a hallway. Enter the door on the far right of the room and knock a bomb across the gap with a charge attack to knock down the pillar and create a pathway. Flip the bomb switch to red to change the direction of the fan blowing outside. Now you can make your way through the hallway.
Eventually, you’ll reach a pillar that needs to be blown up. Before moving on, don’t miss the Treasure Chest in a slightly hidden room directly to the south of the pillar. Enter through the door, fight the enemies, and open the chest to get a Gear Part. Now, blow up the pillar, creating a path forward.
Ancient Ruins – Back Upstairs – Eastward Chapter 1 Coming Up For Air
You’ve now made it back to the room with the bookcase we couldn’t move before. Push it aside, and climb up the ladder. You’re now in the northern area of the main floor that was inaccessible before.
Turn on the power generator to unlock the door. Now we’re reached another circuitry puzzle. First, line the circuits up to open up the door on the right. Enter the room, and connect the plug you find inside.
Now, connect the circuits to open the door at the top of the room. Enter the door, and you’ll find an impassable garbage pile with a circuit in front of it. Connect it, and head back down. Reroute the electricity so it passes through the room on the right, blowing up the garbage pile and opening the path forward.
In the next room, continue north until you reach a fork at the top of the room. First, go left. Bomb the barrel bombs to reveal a section with a Treasure Chest containing a Gear Part. Now, head right and fight your way through the Snakes to get to the next room.
Ancient Ruins – Back Upstairs
In this room, it’s another circuit puzzle. Turn on the power at the far left of the room to get started. Then, clear the boxes out of the room using bombs.
Disconnect the cables in the bottom left of the puzzle, and reconnect it to the loose cable sitting next to it. Then, connect the wire in the top left to open the left-most door. Head inside for a refill of Bombs.
Now, we need to open the door on the right to move on. Connect the first pair of cables to the one on the left, the second pair to the one on the bottom, and the third pair to the one on the right. This opens the path forward. Head down the ladder.
In this room, there’s a Treasure Chest with three Potatoes inside. Continue down.
Now we’ve reached another fan puzzle. Head south and destroy the crates to enter the room where you can switch the fan’s direction. Flip it to Red. Head back up and hit a bomb across the gap using your charge attack. This will cause the pillar at the bottom of the room to collapse, creating a path forward. You can now head up the ladder on the far right end of the room.
Now, you’ve arrived at a save point. Use the Fridge to save your progress. A boss fight is coming up, so make sure you’re fully healed as well.
Ancient Ruins Boss Fight – Eastward Chapter 1 Coming Up For Air
Sam has found the Forbidden Land! But before you can meet up with her, you’ve got an angry, giant robot to deal with.
This giant robot will chase you down the hallway pretty much endlessly, so it’s a good idea to keep your distance.
This boss telegraphs its moves with a multicolored spotlight it shines on the ground. The spotlight is blue, it means it’s going to use a vacuum to try and suck you up. When that happens, drop a Bomb on the ground to damage the boss.
The robot’s flashing light is red, you need to be ready to avoid a projectile it’s about to launch. Then the flight is flashing, it’s going to execute a ground attack, so make sure you’re far away from it.
If it successfully sucks up the bomb, it’s your time to strike! Wail on it with your Frying Pan until it gets back up. Repeat this sequence until the boss goes down.
Congratulations! Your Max Hearts have now gone up by one.
Find the Exit
After fighting the boss, John is down for the count, and Sam needs to find the exit. Luckily, we have use of Sam’s Energy Bubble attack, which can be charged by holding the attack button.
Head south from John until you find an exit on your right. In this room, you can use Sam’s Energy Bubble to light the way by striking the mushrooms. Just keep an eye on the energy meter in the bottom right of the screen.
Head north and turn right, making your way to the center of the room, lighting the way and stunning enemies with your energy bubble. Here, you’ll find a Treasure Chest with a Heart Orb. Return to the room entrance and head south. Weave your way through the corridor until you make it to the next area.
After a brief cutscene, Sam finds herself on a railway. Head east.
Get the Gel for John – Eastward Chapter 1 Coming Up For Air
John is back home safe, but he needs Gel to heal from his wounds. Boguta at the bar might have some. Head that way in town, after saving at the Fridge outside John’s home.
Talk to the bartender. Boguta isn’t there, so he tells us to go check the mine. Head to the Dig Site.
For a Treasure Chest, head north towards the entrance to the Forbidden Land. At the fork, go left. Sam can destroy the plants blocking your path with her Energy Bubble. Follow the path to find a Treasure Chest with three Tokens. Now, head back towards the elevator to the Forbidden Land in the northeast corner of the map to speak with Boguta.
After Boguta hands you the Gel, head back to John. Now it’s time for a lengthy cutscene.
Break Out – Eastward Chapter 1 Coming Up For Air
You’ll quickly notice there’s not much you can do inside of the prison besides talk to a silent John and rest in the bed. Walk to the red poster at the top of the room to trigger the next story beat.
After the cutscene, there’s light poking through the poster in the wall. Walk up to it and rip it off.
Dungeon – Underground Tunnel Prison Break
Save at the Fridge and cook if you need to. Proceed down the stairs.
You’ll come to a broken pipe leaking steam in two places. Push the stack of crates to block the flow of steam so you can pass unharmed.
Now, you get to switch between John and Sam at will with ZL or ZR! Swap to Sam and take out the plants in your way. It’s best to swap back to John for combat, since Sam can only stun enemies. You can even stun them as Sam, and then swap to John to take them out uncontested.
In this area, there’s a staircase blocked by steam and a locked door. We’ll have to come back. Head south. Turn the wheel to change the direction of the steam. Now, push the crate to block the flow of steam, so you can turn the wheel again to create the path forward. Ahead, you’ll find the Key. Go back and unlock the door. Now we can push the crate to block the steam and head down the stairs into the next room.
Fight your way through this room until you reach the rotating steam obstacle. The door to the right is locked, so make your way up.
In the next room, kill the Snakes on the left and walk down the hallway to find a Treasure Chest with 50 Salt. Now, you’ll see a closed door and a crank. Hit it two or three times with John’s Frying Pan, and the door will open for a few seconds before slamming shut.
The next room’s puzzle requires you to be quick on your feet. After clearing the plants with Sam, you’ll need to launch a bomb across the gap to turn this door’s crank. Then, hurry back to the door to walk through while it’s still open. Open the locker for a Key and make your way back to the locked door and head down the stairs.
Dungeon – Underground Tunnel Prison Break
In the next room, you’ll see two steam generators and buttons that allow you to rotate the direction the steam is coming out. The top left of the room has a locked door, so let’s head to the bottom left. The button on the right side of the room controls the top steam generator, while the left button controls the one on the bottom.
Change the steam on the top so you can get to the left side. Then, hit the button on the left so the path to the bottom left corner of the room is clear. Move back and hit the button on the right two times so you can move to the bottom left corner of the room.
Now, you’ll need to manipulate the steam to get to the next room. Rotate the bottom wheel, the top wheel, the bottom wheel, and the top wheel again in that order to advance and get the key. To get out, turn the top wheel to clear the path out of the room.
Return to the room with the two steam generators. Hit the button on the right once to gain access to the locked door.
In the dark room, light the way with Sam and fight off the enemies with John. These enemies can really swarm you, so you might want to stun them first with Sam. Next to the two white posters on the wall is a dark, hidden pathway that leads to a Treasure Chest with 3 Tokens.
The scorpion-like enemies are hatching from the eggs all over the room. You can destroy the eggs with John’s Frying Pan before they hatch. In the top left corner you can find 3 Potatoes. Keep heading left to advance to the next room.
On the right side of the room is a Heart Orb in a Treasure Chest. On the left side is another crank switch. Place a bomb, and run to the closed door to be ready when it opens. Head down the stairs.
Underground Tunnel – John and Sam Separated – Eastward Chapter 1 Coming Up For Air
John has been separated from Sam. Make your way to the left. In this segment of the Underground Tunnel dungeon, you’ll have to swap between John and Sam to solve puzzles to progress.
As Sam, hit the first and third buttons to clear the path for John. For a Treasure Chest containing a Gear Part, hit the third switch again as Sam after John walks through. Then, head down the pathway you revealed to open the chest.
You’ll come across a wheel as Sam that manipulates the steam blocking John. Turn the wheel once, move John between the two steam holes, and turn the wheel again. Then, as John, push the stack of crates to clear the way for Sam to move forward.
In the next area, step on the switch as Sam that opens the door for John. Sam will then be blocked by boxes that need to be bombed. Launch a bomb across the gap as John to clear the path. Make your way through the intermittent steam as Sam to turn the wheel.
In the next room, line Sam up outside of the locked door, and move John to the crank. Hit the crank to help Sam through the door. Upon going through the door, take an immediate left through the two blue mushrooms to find a Treasure Chest containing 3 Tokens. Go back, step on the switch, and swap to John. Fight through the enemies and swap back to Sam. Clear the plants on the path for John, and quickly move through the opened path as John, since the plants come back after a short time.
Wipe out the snakes as John to help Sam through. As John, make your way north to find a Treasure Chest containing a gear part. Head south. Sam can walk through a tunnel to step on a switch for John. Make your way through the intermittent steam and the snakes until you get to a crank on John’s side. Open it for Sam, and she can step on a switch to finally reunite the two characters!
Underground Tunnel – Raising the Water Level
In the next room, you need to raise the water level with Bombs. Launch Bombs with the Frying Pan to destroy the three X’s in the area below. When all three are destroyed, you can cross the bridge and climb the ladder.
Time to get out of here. Stop in the first room to grab a Heart Orb. Then head up the ladder at the end of the room.
Mayor’s Estate – Eastward Chapter 1 Coming Up For Air
Pull the lever next to the photo of the Mayor to reveal a secret exit. Pull the bookshelf down to fully reveal it, and exit the room.
In the Mayor’s Estate, you need to examine the photo on the wall in the first room. Beware once you do, you won’t be able to explore the rest of the house.
Once the cutscene ends, head north until you reach the Fridge. Save, cook if you need to, and prepare for a fight!
Mayor’s Estate Boss Fight – Pot Crab
It’s time to fight the Pot Crab living in the Mayor’s Estate. In the arena, you’ll see four cranks you can activate with John’s Frying Pan. The key here is to activate all four cranks when the Crab is hiding off-screen in the tunnels. If you time it right, it will stun the Pot Crab, allowing you to attack with your Frying Pan. Repeat this enough times and the boss will go down!
Here, you need to avoid the Crab’s charge attacks. The best way to do this is to not worry about the cranks while the Crab is on-screen, and instead focus on running around the arena. The boss will also eventually launch its henchmen at you. You don’t need to defeat them to win the boss fight, but it can help to clear your screen.
After you defeat the boss, combine your newly-acquired lever with the unfinished machine you found on the way in to trigger a long cutscene that wraps up Chapter 1!
