I got about to where the sand pit was before I became a little too frustrated.
Most of the obstacles (In particular, the mine)
were more about randomness, luck, or memorization by failing it a lot of times.
That and my screen changing about 5 times a second was rather annoying. The beginning though was very good.
I beat Death (the eyes and evil torches boss at the end of the Apocalypse Trail), but only by cheating. As I said above, I have reliable strategies for the first three rooms and a passable one for the fourth. I now have a reliable strategy for the last room, too, but I had to use the save-while-glowing feature of god mode to get a chance to develop one.
Strategies:
Remember that fireball timing and aiming is slightly random. These paths are highly effective ways to get through the rooms, but you'll still die a bunch.
0. Drop off the ledge and fall in the middle of the gap.
1. As soon as you reach the middle, start moving left again. Don't stop holding left until you clear the room. Jump a little after you hit the ground; the aim is to jump from about an eye-width in front of the eye on the ground to a little beyond it. This will cause all the fireballs to go too high. Climb the left wall as fast as you can; you should just make it past the flying robot.
2. Drop to the middle of the space in front of you and wait until the eyes are close to firing. Double jump up to the right wall, then jump over the fireballs and run left, jumping over the laser. Pause just to the left of the laser for a moment, then run left to the next laser and jump over; you should easily dodge all the fireballs and the sweeping laser. The jump is very, very high, right at the limit of Juni's ability, and was the cause of a huge number of deaths before my previous comment.
3. Wait a bit on the lefthand wall, then drop (don't jump) and air jump just high enough to dodge the spike beast. Jump over the second one and run out of the room.
4. Move right a little, then get up the lefthand wall as fast as you can. Double jump right and try to jump over or run under the spray. I have terrible timing so this isn't something I can help with much.
5. This room features many of the red-eyed tentacle-women that appear only when you face them. Run right and turn to face left for a moment, the repeat; double jump to clear the fireballs. Repeat this, but be aware that the time to jump to avoid the second set is slightly sooner. Do not jump for any reason other than to avoid the projectiles. After this it's just a matter of dodging the alternating lasers protecting the clock (sides, then top and bottom); don't try to reach it as you fall from your jump.
I went to the moon and got as far as the tower to the stars, but decided against going up (as there's no way back). You see, one of the scientists in the museum said that it's possible to beat the Apocalypse Trail without the hologram...
It's surprisingly easy, by which I mean "HOLY COW, when did I get this good at KS?" I breezed through Pestilence and half of War. (Still can't make progress in Dark Sea II.) I'll update you all if I get further (because you're on the edges of your seats, I'm sure). Anyone willing to take on the challenge?
In news of interest to people who don't enjoy Lunatic difficulty, this level inspired me to write a story about Juni. (Aaagh, the plot bunnies, how they plague me!) It's mostly finished, but I've been stuck on the last bit for months. I'll put it in the Development Showcase board when it's done.
Note to moderators: there's nothing in the rules about double-posting and in this case I think it aids readability.
I've finished War and all but the last two screens of Death! Here are some guides to rooms made much harder by not using the hologram:
x1021y993, the War room with twelve fireball-spewing torches.
0. Activate god mode (ask Youtube if you don't know how) and press Space+Down at the right-hand edge of the room with the savepoint in. This will save you a significant amount of time, given how many attempts you're going to take.
1. Run in and stop in the gap between the second laser and the edge of the platform. Double jump over the fireballs and come down on the left square platform at the bottom. Jump and drop into the gap, opening the umbrella only once you are between the two small platforms. Use your double jump to get back into the gap and cling to the wall. Repeat the drop-and-rise trick to dodge the next wave, but follow by jumping out to the right, hanging with the umbrella. The other laser will switch off and you can run for safety.
2. Be thankful it wasn't you who spent a twenty minutes trying different methods.
x1032y993, the Death room with the many ghost fliers.
1. Wait on the left side, jumping over the lowest fliers in each pack; ideally the two low ones together will be the first to come to you. Use your umbrella to jump to the side of the ledge next to the chompy ghost, then go over the barrier and make a dash for it. Not too tricky, all told.
There is an invisible save point in x1036y996. Use it.
x1051y996, the Death room with the updraught and the many round blue enemies.
0. Again, move the save point closer, but not too close; I died repeatedly by running into the chomper. Give yourself room for two paces before you need to jump. Enter the next room at ceiling level.
1. Surprisingly enough, this is most easily done in a single pass; I don't think I released the Right key at all. Close your umbrella and swoop low; you'll need to be close to the ground to avoid being killed by the second blast-shooter. Rise up higher as you move beyond the laser and close the umbrella to gain speed, using your second jump if need be.
E.T.A.:
x1054y993, the Death room with twenty-four fireball torches.
0. Again, save close to the edge of the screen. Right in front of the left window of the house seems ideal. Open your umbrella and jump into the next screen.
1.a. Use your double jump to land on the left surface of the second block. Jump from here to the left surface of the third block and weather the storm of fireballs. Jump to the left surface of the last block before the laser cuts you off. Wait out about half the fireballs, deactivate your umbrella and drop. Run to the key, then run back and hide on the third block again, opening your umbrella when you land. Assuming you're willing to cheat on the conditions, you can now use a cheat-save or go left and use the hologram to use the real save point.
1.b. I haven't managed to complete this part, but I'm fairly sure I know how. Repeat up until it comes time to jump from the third block to the fourth, but wait a moment longer. As the lasers switch, close the umbrella, drop below the fourth platform and jump back up. You need to get past the vertical laser on the fourth block before it comes on; this is the part I can't reliably do. After the lasers switch, jump up and you're home free.