The Official Lemmings Companion
(100% unless noted)
Fun 2: 79/80
Tricky 2: 73/80
Taxing 4: 79/80
Mayhem 3: 77/80
Here's a replay for 78/80 on Mayhem 3. :)
First lemming blocks at the edge, as close as possible (1 lost, there's no way to free him). 3rd and 4th lemmings become floaters at any point; 2nd lemming must become a floater just before he hits the ground. He builds into the slope to turn around, then builds back to make a safe landing. This takes 3 builders; the other 5 can be used to delay remaining members of the crowd; be sure not to build over the edge and make the fall longer. 3rd lemming, just after stepping onto the thin platform over the exit, make him a bomber (2 lost); if done right, this will set up a direct drop to the exit.
Just when you thought this thread was dead, I just achieved a new record in Lemmings 2:
Polar 8: 60/60 -- Be warned that this one requires glitches, and in terms of difficulty, it is one of the toughest 100% solutions in the game.
1: You can save a fencer by using the cannon-pause glitch to ensure that every lemming from the left entrance uses the cannon.
2: A thrower can place a stone that you can fence from to free the left group from their initial holding cell.
1: Make the first lemming from the left entrance (L1) a Thrower such that the stone lands at the top of the little slope on the right end of the holding cell. This should trigger the crawling trick when the lemmings get to the right wall.
2: Right after he turns left and immediately before he starts crawling, make L1 a Jumper. This will force him to turn around again and crawl out of the holding cell.
3: Make L1 jump over the gap to the trees on the right. He will eventually hit the first tree and walk back to the left.
4: Make the second lemming from the left entrance (L2) a Magno-Booter just before he hits the left wall of the holding cell.
5: Move the cannon all the way to the right (you'll need to use it later).
6: L1 should make his way to the far left edge of the level and turn back to the right. He needs to be made a Thrower at a pixel precise location, just a couple of pixels past where the steep part of the slope begins.
7: The Magno-Booter (L2) won't be able to negotiate the section underneath the holding cell, which will cause him to fall down, facing left. When he turns around and faces right, make him a Jumper from a precise spot such that he lands on the stone that L1 threw. Then quickly make him a fencer before he turns around. If everything was placed properly, this fencer will free the left group.
8: Use the cannon-pause glitch to ensure that every lemming from the left group uses the cannon. You can't miss any of them! While you're doing this, you also have to make L1 platform the two gaps to the exit. Make sure he starts close to the edges so that the others don't catch up before he's done (you have two extra jumpers just in case).
9: Use your last fencer to free the lemmings from the right entrance.
This leaves Classic 5 as the only non-100%-able level in Lemmings 2.
All right, I wasn't sure how much interest this would generate. Since there seems to be some demand, I'll provide a more detailed solution. Screenshots are attached.
1: The 50th lemming from the entrance bashes at the wall immediately before he turns around (screenshot 1).
2: Let the first lemming that turns in the basher's tunnel bash through the second pillar (screenshot 2).
3: A small contingent will press forward. Make the last of these lemmings bash through the third column (screenshot 3).
4: This lemming also bashes the fourth column. He needs to take five swipes instead of just 3, so that he ends up joining up with the main crowd (screenshot 4).
5: Several lemmings are trailing the main crowd by a few steps at this point. Make the first of these a miner one pixel back from the pillar (screenshot 5). His third swipe should just barely break through the pillar.
6: One lemming will step out of the miner's tunnel and go ahead. Make him a climber+floater. To conserve time, it is best to make him float just before he hits the ground.
7: The first four lemmings of the crowd need to be floaters. The first two should be easy to assign. The other two need to be done carefully in the miner's tunnel to ensure that they have selection priority. You should end up with something that looks like screenshot 6. At this point, all of the remaining stragglers except one should rejoin the crowd when everyone congregates in the bottom section.
8: The climber bashes, digs, and builds twice in the normal places. No pixel-precision of any kind is needed here.
9: Make a lemming from the crowd dig at a precise moment, very shortly after the back of the crowd steps off the steel block (screenshot 7). To be honest, I totally lucked out to have a lemming with selection priority in the right place at the right time. If done properly, the last lemming from the crowd will walk left from the digger's hole just before it gets too deep.
If everything was done properly, everyone should make it to the exit, with nobody going left and falling off the screen (screenshot 8). Note that the four floaters assigned earlier are near the front of the crowd, and imagine what would happen if they weren't delayed ever so slightly. The last lemming makes it to the exit with about 7 seconds to spare.
Another L3D improvement:
Level 35 (Chocolate Drop): 76/80 -- Basically this is the same backroute as the 75/80 solution, but with some precise maneuvers and a release rate change to get the lemmings spaced optimally. Be warned that the timing on this is incredibly tight, and a couple of assignments need to be done at precise moments.
1: Make the first lemming a Right Turner to direct the lemmings to the five pieces of chocolate directly above the exit.
2: As soon as the fifth lemming comes out, increase the release rate to 80. When the sixth lemming comes out, drop it back to 50.
3: The first lemming that falls on the chocolate blocks (#2) digs through the second block.
4: The second lemming that falls on the chocolate blocks (#3) digs on the first block. Note that he must be assigned almost immediately after he recovers from the fall.
5: Make the second digger (#3) mine immediately after he finishes digging two chunks of the block. He needs to mine the same block that #2 is currently digging, which means he must start mining before #2 finishes.
6: Now for the hard part: The first digger (#2) drops down and lands on top of the exit, stunned. When he recovers, he must be made a Right Turner immediately - any delay whatsoever and he will walk past the edge of the block and be lost. Since two clicks are required to activate the skill, this step is particularly nasty.
7: Make the first lemming that turns off of this turner (#5) a Builder. #3 and #6 should be very close together, and both should fall off of the builder's fourth brick. They will not be stunned by the fall, but later lemmings will be, giving you time to complete the final bridge.
8: Block and build to reach the exit.
3D Lemmings: Fun 10 has been improved to 20/20 (100%). I have uploaded a video of the solution here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMmQls1LTw0), and an explanation below.
There is a giant portcullis and gate between the Lemmings and the exit, but it is a fake. The collision is provided by invisible blocks, but it doesn't do enough to completely block the lemmings away. There is a gap at the very top.
(https://i.imgur.com/7RlZy0d.png)
However, you can't just simply build up to it. The optimal building spot is denied by the slope going down too early. You need to remedy this by building up the ramp to "level it off". From there, you can finally reach the gap and save the lemmings.
3D Lemmings: Taxing 06 (Level 46: Ricochet) has been improved to 37/40. Here's a video of the solution (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HST1T2JEBo).
Crank the release rate to 99 before the 3rd lemming comes out. This way, only two lemmings will walk towards the exit after using the spring. The first lemming becomes a blocker next to the metal block*, and the second one digs beneath its feet. The blocker lemming will turn around on the way down, allowing you to build the single step you need to break the other lemmings' fall.
* The "metal block" is not really metal. It can be destroyed like any other terrain.
3D Lemmings: Taxing 18 (Level 58: Snake) has been improved to 56/80.
Deploy the final turner before using the final bomber. Use the bomber on this turner after all the top lemmings have been redirected.
Pooty's improvement to L3D Level 58 (Snake) inspired me to take another look at that level. A bit of lateral thinking ended up yielding another solution that saves 60/80.
After using the first bomber at the intersection closest to the entrances, make one of the lemmings from the middle path a Turner so that everyone follows the "Snake" path (Screenshot A). Follow the "Snake" path until the second-last intersection -- you should have two turners left at this point. The first lemming turns in the normal place, and the fourth lemming turns a block earlier, directing the crowd back to the middle path. The second and third lemmings are both bombed so as to take out a chunk of the adjacent block that is holding back the crowd (Screenshot B).
L3D Level 72 (Raiders of the Lost Lemming) has been improved to 35/40 (previously 33/40).
1: Make the first two lemmings climbers.
2: Make the third lemming a left turner after he hits the wall and turns around
3: Make one of the climbers a miner so that he chips away the last two blocks of the stone building.
4: Make a lemming from the crowd a left turner at the next wall so everyone continues up the corridor.
5: When the climbers ascend the rear wall, make the first one a right turner.
6: Make the second climber a miner immediately after he turns. He will eventually hit steel and turn around.
7: Assign a left turner to direct the crowd up the miner's staircase.
8: Make the climber a left turner on the same block as his companion.
9: (This is the tough part) The first lemming from the crowd must build immediately as he hits the last turner (i.e. a frame-perfect assignment). He should make his way to the top of the stone building.
10: Make this lemming a digger to reach the exit. Any lemmings that overtake the digger while he's digging will hit the first turner and cycle around the level again.
Note: Due to the near-symmetry of the level, this solution should also work if you reverse the direction of all five turners.
3D Lemmings: Taxing 18 (Level 58: Snake) has been improved to 67/80.
After you use the first turner and the blocker, bomb the first obstacle. Get the lower lemmings to merge with the upper lemmings with a turner. Work your way to the second obstacle, then set up two turners so that all the remaining lemmings will merge into one group.
(https://i.imgur.com/tAvBGvv.png)
Bomb the first of the two turners (indicated in the image above by the highlighter), then use the freed turner to bomb the next obstacle. You have to time it perfectly so that the other lemmings will hop onto the next platform and not fall off. Keep bombing your way through the obstacles to free the lemmings.
Improved to save 68 save 69. For the purpose of the skills you can't live without, this also improves to 4 turners.
In the middle: After the first lemming turns around, make him a turner immediately (doesn't matter which direction). When the second lemming bounces off him, make him a turner too, pointing back towards the block.
On the side: First lemming turns as usual. On top of the obstacle, second lemming turns to join the crowd up with the middle. At this point, RR 99. The last lemming, after turning towards the crowd but before falling off the obstacle, becomes a blocker.
All lemmings are now compressed in one spot as needed. Bomb the turner on top of the obstacle. From here on, it's those perfectly-timed bombers all the way to the exit - the blocker will be a bit behind the crowd, he must become the first of these bombers. (My earlier claim of save 68 was based on not realising you could do this with the blocker, and that he'd be lost no matter what.)
Replay attached. Note that in the replay I fiddle with the RR a bit at the start - this is a leftover relic from something else I was trying, and is not important to the save-69 solution in its final form.
This is just a variation on my 2-turners, no-bashers, no-diggers solution from the skills you can't live without challenge (https://www.lemmingsforums.net/index.php?topic=1084.msg76357#msg76357), that replaces a bomber with a very well-timed digger to save an extra lemming. I've added details on how to achieve save-35 with this solution, to that post; or alternatively, replay attached.
EDIT: And now 36, although Pooty beat me to it by a few minutes (as mentioned on Discord).
This is done by turning before the wall, instead of after it. You use a third turner to compress the crowd, and timing to sort everything else out. The last part of the puzzle is saving the climber who builds the splatform - this is done by bashing into the end of the yellow brick road.
3D Lemmings: Tricky 7 (Level 27: Follow the Yellow Brick Road) improved to 36/40. The solution is complex, so a replay is attached.
Get the first 4 lemmings out as quickly as you can. First two lemmings turn right then left so that they are aligned with the exit. The next 2 lemmings are to be assigned climbers, and the two after that to be athletes. Get the 2nd athlete to start building up to the top with exactly 3 builders, making sure to take as much time as possible. As that is happening, make the next lemming turn towards the 2nd turner so that all the other lemmings group up into one bunch. As soon as the builder has completed the first bridge, bomb the turner that's keeping the other lemmings contained. When the builder has completed the bridge, use a digger to get the other lemmings to jump-glitch to the top.
Meanwhile, make the first 2 lemmings floaters as soon as they are close to falling to their deaths. The first lemming blocks so that the second one can build a safety bridge of 5 steps. If everything is timed right, all of the lemmings will land safely. Bash through the end of the yellow brick road to save the lemming that made the safety bridge, and bomb the blocker.
Lemmings Revolution Level 9-2 (Can't Get There from Here) 100% is now confirmed (the previous record was 49/50).
Sadly, I can't take the credit for this one. I found the solution on the Lemmings Fandom wiki (https://lemmings.fandom.com/wiki/Can%27t_Get_There_From_Here). It exploits a glitch that I was previously unaware of:
You can make a lemming pass through a thin steel wall by attempting to bash through it multiple times in rapid succession.