Any2-7

This level has a few route options, and features another cool usage of Hue as a Yoshi (Hueshi).

Optimal

Be mindful at the start - you will often collide with the pip, generating a few freeze frames and potentially messing up your alignment for the jump to the falling platform.

As you quad jump up to the first barrel, drift left as far as you can. This spawns in the leftmost sword bee (under the O) earlier so you can clear it. If you don't spawn it in early enough you will bounce off it, miss the cannon and lose time.

The semisolid groundpound into piggyback and cawbie bounce is fairly precise and inconsistent. The alternative strat shown below is recommended.

It helps to briefly release left when jumping between the bees at 0:12.8 in order to land between them on the upper platform. If you're fast enough you can land on the lower platform in front of the cannonball.

Using Hue's special ability to turn into a painting at the top of the platform brings you instantly to the ground and saves waiting to fall. Since you have to wait for the ability to end, this only saves about 0.3 seconds. You can trigger this ability by simply holding swap while rising.

It's easy to get hit by the bees guarding the barrel. Take note that there is a buddy bubble right beneath you. Dropping Hue to the left to land on the platform makes the backup faster. If you lose Hue and need to recover, move towards the middle of the stage and do the alternate strat demonstrated below.

Watch out for the two pips on the wooden platform at 0:21, especially the one on the left. Their spawn times vary based on how you ascend, likely dependending on camera movement.

When squeezing past the pip cannon, try not to collide with the wall. If you pass without slowing down you can save a few frames.

Safe

The piggyback into taptap bounce is much easier and not much slower. This strat is recommended.

Traveling left out of the cannon and dropdashing right is slightly slower but easier to input.

The central route with Hue is only about 1 second slower and has the advantage of collecting the checkpoint.

Launching the cannon into the shield bee isn't necessary. If you aren't fast enough, wait for the bee to move out of the way. If you hit the bee while it's facing right you will take damage.

Damage boosting at the end is slower and is only shown for reference. Due to the differing hitboxes, only Marbles can squeeze past the pip cannon - Checkers will take damage. The damage boost loses 0.8 seconds, as damage + buddy bubble (in the next stage) is 0.8 + 0.5, while swapping is just 0.5.

Any time of 34 or better is good on this stage, but 31 is achievable with clean execution, even with the swap at the start.

Bubble/Alternate Route

This is a viable route on its own, being close to equal with the standard route if you start with both buddies. If you take damage in 2-7 and need a bubble, this route loses slightly less time than going back to 2-4 or 1-B to get one.

If you go for this route with both buddies you can do a semisolid groundpound on the platform below the bubble to begin the quad jump immediately.

The bounce off the snake is quite tricky. You need to jump at an angle to reach its head before it jumps. Alternatively you can jump once to trigger the snake, then jump again to get over it. Bouncing off the snake when it's grounded won't give you enough height to reach the barrel, so you can do some failed dropdashes or bounce off the taptap instead. If you take damage, there is a bubble immediately to your left.