Simogo’s Sayonara Wild Hearts is far and away one of the best game of 2019. Oozing with style, this latest title from the Year Walk and Device 6 developer oozes cool, fusing rhythmic arcade action with a sumptuous electro-pop soundtrack.
It’s a relatively short game to play from start to finish though there are additional modes to keep you coming back, as well as its Zodiac Riddles. These work in a similar way to achievements though they’re hidden behind cryptic clues that can be pretty hard to crack. There are 24 riddles in total (each of the 12 zodiac signs having an A side and a B side) and we have all the solutions right here.
For those playing the PlayStation 4 version of Sayonara Wild Hearts, this will also double up as a trophy guide.
Aries A – Achieved “No Rank” in “Clair De Lune”
This one’s real simple. All you need to do to solve this riddle is to finish the first stage of the game without achieving a rank. That means getting less than 5,000 points (bronze) which can be achieved by actively avoiding any hearts. A good tip is to stay on the right side of the track.
Aries B – Used skip cutscene in ten different songs in a row
For this Zodiac Riddle you simply need to boot up a level, skip the intro cutscene, quit, select a different stage, and repeat the process ten times. Don’t worry if you accidentally jump into a stage that doesn’t have an intro cutscene, this won’t break your streak!
Taurus A – Collected all square coins
Those small, square shaped coins you see during each stage are actually collectables. You’ll need to find all of them to solve this Zodiac Riddle. You can see which ones you have by going to the level select screen and looking in the bottom right corner (they will appear above your best score).
Taurus B – Paused the game twelves times quickly
Simples.
Gemini A – Used the Skip Magician three times in “Hearts & Swords”
If you’re pros like us then you probably haven’t seen much of Sayonara’s skip magician. They’ll appear if you happen to fail a particular section several times in a row. To solve this riddle, accept the skip at three different points in the “Hearts & Swords” stage. Deliberately crash out and ride into hazards to speed up this process.
Gemini B – Get ten “Risky!” in “Yolo Arcade”
“Yolo Arcade” unlocks after getting gold rank on each of Sayonara’s stages. This mode will have you playing through the entire game, track after track, but you only have one life. This riddle requires a bit of patience as you’ll need to wait until you reach the “Doki Doki Rush” stage in order to be able to pull off a “Risky!” move. We recommend going for this riddle straight after solving Cancer A.
Cancer A – Get 20 Risky! in “Doki Doki Rush” without failing
“Doki Doki Rush” is the first city level you’ll encounter. There’s plenty of obstacles to weave in and out of including trams, cars, ramps, and signposts. To solve this riddle you need to narrowly miss 20 of these hazards on the trot.
Cancer B – Passed through the left eye of the smiley shaped obstacle in “Reverie” four times
When you reach the final stretch in “Reverie” (the stage that takes place inside a VR headset) you’ll have to weave through walls that change pattern every few seconds. One of these looks like a smiley face. Successfully go through the left eye of this pattern then deliberately crash into the next week. Do this four times.
Leo A – Achieved gold rank in “Begin Again” 3 times in a row
It requires a little bit of grinding but there’s nothing brutally tough about this particular riddle. Luckily, “Begin Again” is one of Sayonara’s best tracks, so enjoy! Then again… then again. 60,000 points for the gold rank doesn’t require you to take too many risks so avoid hunting those hard to reach square coins unless necessary.
Leo B – Get 25 “Slide!” in “Transonic Gravity”
Sliding is another technique you might not have noticed during your initial playthrough. It can be done by moving between opposite sides of the screen so in order to do this 25 times in a single stage you need to find a groove and continually swing from side to side.
Virgo A – Dealt a KO! With only one button push
For this riddle, dive into one of Sayonara’s boss battle stages (the ones that have you playing along to a full-length song). There will be moments where the game wants you to mash the action button, then deliver a knockout punch. Ignore the prompt, making sure you only press the final input for the KO!
Virgo B – Listened to the entire song on the title screen and then played “Hearts & Swords”
Another straightforward riddle though one you may not have been able to decipher from the original clue.
Libra A – Did not collect any small hearts in “Parallel Universes”
This stage can be pretty frustrating if you’re not paying attention. Every time one of the twins snaps their fingers, the layout will shift from one dimension into another. This means that the way coins are spaced out also changes. The only way to solve this riddle is through repeating this stage over until you find the perfect route.
Libra B – Spun the zodiac wheel backwards ten cycles
At the Zodiac Riddles menu, spin the dial anticlockwise for ten full cycles (one for each year the riddle refers to).
Scorpius A – Get no point in “Night Drift”
This is the only stage in the came that utilises the drift mechanic. You’ll earn points by drifting in your car so make sure you’re not turning too hard while actively attempting to avoid any coins. This can be a very tricky riddle to solve so make sure you are on the inside of every turn and don’t be afraid of going off-road. Learn the layout of hazards and don’t get too close or else you’ll accidentally pick up points by performing “Risky! moves.
Scorpius B – Get only “Good!” on the prompts in “Fighting Hearts”
During this boss stage prompts will occasionally appear on screen. As long as your timing is slightly off when hitting these, you’ll have no problem solving this riddle.
Sagittarius A – Get a gold in “Inside”, then a silver in “Heartbreak V”, then a bronze in “Heartbreak III”
Another riddle that involves hitting a certain score across multiple levels. This one can easily be achieved as long as you’re paying attention to your scores. “Inside” requires 100,000 for gold, “Heartbreak V” requires 15,000 for silver and “Heartbreak III” requires just 2,500 for bronze.
Sagittarius B – Got three “Spinny!” in “Inside”
A “Spinny!” is a trick that involves pulling a full 360’ when inside a tunnel section. After the initial chase in the “Inside” stage, there’s a tunnel in which you’ll need to avoid electric gates. As soon as you enter this tunnel you can perform three “Spinny!” tricks straight away to solve this riddle.
Capricornus A – Get a perfect on every prompt in “Forest Ghost”
Prompts are timed button inputs that appear on screen for a brief time during a lot of the stages you encounter. Although they are synced up with the game’s music, we recommend watching the prompts as they come into focus and using that to tell when to press the action button with perfect timing. Focus purely on this instead of grabbing coins.
Capricornus B – Get more than half of the square coins in Album Arcade
While not exactly brutal, this riddle requires either rapid reflexes or a good memory of each stage layout. There are around 60 square coins in total with stages having between two to four square coins each (the finale having five). A good tip is to keep note of your coin and deliberately crash out if you miss one. Hopefully your respawn position won’t be too far away.
Aquarius A – “Warp” 40 times in “Heartbreak IV”
After the first section of this stage you’ll see a short cutscene before gaining the power to teleport. You can now move all the way left of the screen, emerging from the right side and vice versa. Doing this 40 times is a cinch as long as you stay close to the edge of the screen and keep spamming teleports.
Aquarius B – Achieved any rank in “Yolo Arcade”
Don’t worry, you don’t have to beat the entire game without dying once. You only need to earn 250,000 points which isn’t massive though you primary focus here is staying alive. Don’t risk aiming for square coins though make sure you’re earning enough points to hit that bronze rank. You should be able to hit that first milestone at the 7th or 8th stage.
Pisces A: Squeezed between two spaceship bullets four times in “The World We Knew”
This awesome boss stage takes place within a virtual reality helmet. One section will have you flying through a sci-fi shoot ’em up – instead of actively trying to avoid the spaceship projectiles, line yourself up so that you fly between them. Don’t bother trying to do this for the spaceships that are shooting horizontally across the screen, wait until you see the three ships that are firing directly downwards as these are much easier to fly through.
Pisces B – Got all square coins in one run of “Wild Hearts Never Die”
Boot up the final stage of the game and look out for its five square collectable coins. You’ll need to collect all of them in a single go. It’s much easier than it sounds and you can crash out as many times as you like.