Yoku's Island Express Trophy Guide & Road Map

Yoku's Island Express
Yoku's Island Express Trophy Guide

Overview:

Estimated trophy difficulty: 3/10 (poll)
Offline trophies: 32 (15, 11, 5, 1)
Online trophies: None
Approximate amount of time to platinum: 10 hours (poll)
Minimum number of playthroughs: 1
Number of missable trophies: None
Glitched trophies: None
Does difficulty affect trophies?: N/A, no difficulty settings
Do trophies stack?: N/A
Do cheat codes disable trophies?: N/A, no cheat codes
Additional peripherals required?: None

Introduction:

Yoku's Island Express presents an unusual combination of genres - Pinball and 'Metroidvania' - while not exactly a typical pairing, the game pulls this off to superb effect. While not without its flaws - at times it's quite easy to feel a little lost, without a clear idea of where to go next, and a few of the pinball scenarios require high levels of precision - overall its such a joy to play that these detract little from the experience, one that I'd recommend to anyone.

In terms of trophies, nothing is missable - trophies come primarily from story progression, completion of sidequests and collection of a number of collectibles. A bit of pinball skill is required to pull this off, but ultimately nothing that's especially difficult.

Walkthrough:

Step 1: Complete the game once

The first step towards the platinum is simply to complete the main story. Alongside a number of story-related trophies, this will bring with it the majority of the important ability upgrades that will make obtaining the rest of the trophies as smooth as possible.

As you progress, keep an eye out for any collectibles that you might come across, but otherwise these can be collected post-completion.

Trophies earned in this step:

Lets get this party started!
Makin’ Friends
Tastes like Chicken
Honey, I'm home!
Under pressure
Gone Fishin'
How it all began
Coup de grace
Makin' more Friends
Cleaning out the Cobwebs
Kickback and Relax

Step 2: Clean up - collectibles and side quests

Once you've beaten the game once, now's the time to gather up any remaining collectibles and complete any remaining optional quests.

Collectibles comprise the following:

Post boxes: Fill these as you pass them for a reward of fruit (the game's currency).
Scarabs: Found in many of the pinball 'tables', typically towards the outside. You'll need to complete some form of skill challenge a number of times to activate the scarab, with a reward of bonus fruit.
Wickerlings: Small creatures hidden throughout the world, often requiring the use of your horn when nearby to reveal them.
Treasure chests
Wallet upgrades: Increasing the number of fruit that you can carry at once.
Ball customisations ("sprinkles"): Changing the colour and pattern of your ball into a range of different styles, a number of which have a use beyond just the cosmetic.
'Beeline' tracks: Acting as a form of fast travel.
Various ability unlocks, some of which are optional

Trophies earned in this step:

The mail always gets through
Perfectionist
WickerKing
How Wonderful
Spreading Spores
Treasure hunter
Moneybags
A ball for every occasion
That's a big backpack!
That’s Deep
Belly of the beast
Weeeee!
Busy Bee
Party Time!
All night long!
That's enough
Fancy Beetle
Life finds a way
The End
Jailor
Yoku's Island Express

[PST would like to thank Illusionary for this Roadmap]

Yoku's Island Express

Get every trophy
This is the platinum trophy - you'll earn this automatically once you've earned every other trophy.
Lets get this party started!

Blow the party horn
Shortly after the start of the game, you'll obtain a horn that can be used to activate a variety of elements within the world. You'll earn this trophy when you first use the horn.
The mail always gets through

Become the Post Master
This trophy has two key prerequisites - filling every postbox (30) in the world and completing all of the deliveries (3) that you'll find unfulfilled at the Post-office. Once you've done both of these, return to the Post-office and speak with the parrot there to be awarded with the Grand Postmaster badge and earn this trophy.
Perfectionist

Activate all Scarabs
(4)
Scarab beetles are found in many of the pinball 'tables', typically towards the outside. You'll need to complete some form of skill challenge a number of times (with progress indicated by a bar on the scarab's wings) to activate the scarab, triggering a reward of bonus fruit. With a fully patched version of the game, inactive scarabs are marked on the in-game map after you've found them, so you can use this to find any that you've missed. Note also that once activated, if you leave the area and return, any previously activated scarabs will disappear.
WickerKing

Collect all Wickerlings
Wickerlings are the game's most numerous collectible, with a total of 80 hidden throughout the world. Often they'll need to be activated with a blast of your horn. Four maps can be purchased in-game that will mark the location of all remaining Wickerlings in a given area on the in-game map, but IGN has put together a map that shows all Wickerling locations which I have reproduced below:
How Wonderful

Complete Willo's quest
Willo is a character who can be found to the right of the waterfall below the village, where he'll initially ask for help in dislodging some vines - you can use the passageways to the right of this area to get your ball to the height of the flippers to allow you to do this. After this first objective, he'll ask you to return to him in the village, where he'll task you with helping him find the remaining fragments of a statue. Once all of these are assembled, you'll complete this quest and earn the trophy.

The start of THIS VIDEO from YouTube user xWinG demonstrates this quest and trophy.
Spreading Spores

Complete Rinri's quest
Rinri can be found high up in the village and will task you with spreading mushroom spores to a variety of areas of the map, each identified with a rough description of the environmental conditions of the area - you'll find a special area of ground at each location, which have to be visited in the right order. Once you deliver the final set of spores, return to Rinri to complete the quest and earn this trophy.

The start of THIS VIDEO from YouTube user xWinG demonstrates this quest and trophy.
Treasure hunter

Unlock all treasure chests
Throughout the world you'll find a number of treasure chests, the majority of which will reward you with fruit when opened - for this trophy, you need to open every chest. IGN made a map showing the chest locations which I've reproduced below; you can also buy a map upgrade that will highlight unopened chests on the map in-game:
Moneybags

Get the biggest wallet
There are a total of 10 wallet upgrades to collect, each increasing the number of fruit that you can carry at once by 50. You can collect these 10 upgrades in any order, and upon collecting the final one you'll earn this trophy.

Here's a list of the locations, the majority of which are within treasure chests:
1. At the top of Tall Totem Tower.
2. To the left of Tweeper’s nest in Gorilla Woods.
3. To the right of the waterfall, under the Hot Springs Area.
4. Requires the Divefish: From the lake beneath the Church of the Space Monks, collect eight sets of tadpoles and take them to the pond to the right side of this area. Here, capture 8 sets of Tadpoles.
5. Requires the Slug Vacuum: Cross the lava at Peak Beanstalk using a slug.
6. In Gorilla Woods, talk to Skeepers. If you don't have enough fruit, you can still get the upgrade, making a commitment to make good on the cost later (though the game doesn't actually require you to do so).
7. In the upper area above the East Bay Cove at the far right of the map.
8. Requires Sootling Leash: Grapple up the right-hand side of the Tall Totem Tower - this will cause a crystal to drop, which breaks to reveal another upgrade.
9. Requires the Divefish, Sootling Leash and Poison Mushroom: Go to Fosfor's Pond, just below the starting area, swim to the far left and give the mushroom to Fosfor.
10. Requires the Bee Ball paint style (Creepy Sprinkle + Sweet Sprinkle): Deliver Quinbe's package, picked up from the Post-office (after filling 10 post boxes), to Quinbe at the right-hand side of the map.
A ball for every occasion

Try every ball style
In an underground area below Mokumana's Village, you'll find an area where you can apply five different colour styles ('sprinkles') to your ball, after collecting them from various locations across the world. You can apply one or two sprinkles at once to give different effects (three or more will always give the 'Dung Ball' style), and to earn this trophy you need to apply every different style at least once. You can use the water to the left of this area to clear any applied styles.

There are a total of five sprinkles to collect, as follows:
1. Sweet Sprinkle: Located on the far right of the Cove Mushroom at Mushroom Beach Location, you must have attained the grapple hook to enter this location to climb and reach the treasure chest.
2. Deadly Sprinkle: Underwater shortly before the Skull gang hideout - you need to active a series of switches to allow a falling boulder to reach the floor.
3. Crimson Sprinkle: Take the surviving Egg back to Dipperloaf at White Cliff (see Life finds a way); wait a little while, return to the area and you'll find that the egg has hatched, with Dipperloaf gifting this sprinkle to you in return.
4. Creepy Sprinkle: Bought for 200 fruit from the Cave Temple Treasury.
5. Bling Sprinkle: In a treasure chest in the caves between the waterfall and the Cave Temple; you'll need to use a slug explosion to propel yourself up to reach this chest.
That's a big backpack!

Collect every ability upgrade
As well as a number of required abilities, earning this trophy requires you to collect several optional upgrades. To earn this trophy, you'll need to acquire the following:
1. The noisemaker (mandatory)
2. Kickback (mandatory, but you'll lose him towards the end of the game; after beating the game, he can be found again in a small cave in the snowy area)
3. Sootling on a leash (mandatory - this is the 'grappling hook')
4. Slug Vacuum (mandatory)
5. Divefish (mandatory)
6. Slug Vacuum Deluxe (see Spreading Spores)
7. Boon of Plenty (see Jailor)
8. Fast Divefish (see How Wonderful)
9. Skvader and Fat Skvader (from a breakable crystal or treasure chest; you'll likely obtain this while working towards Treasure Hunter)
10. Grand Postmaster badge (see The mail always gets through)

Makin’ Friends

Free Kickback
Story-related and unmissable.

You'll earn this trophy upon meeting Kickback, a bumble bee that can act as a stopper to prevent a single instance of the ball falling into the drain of a pinball table.
Tastes like Chicken

Suck up a slug with the Slug Vacuum
Story-related and unmissable.

One of the earlier upgrades that you'll collect is the Slug Vacuum, allowing slugs to be sucked up and used to create explosions. You'll earn this trophy when you first use the Vacuum.
Honey, I'm home!

Find the Post-office
Story-related and unmissable.

You'll earn this trophy when you first arrive at the Post-office in Mokumana's Village.
Under pressure

Save Spina
Story-related and unmissable.

When you arrive at the Skull Gang hideout, you'll be sent to the area below the hideout to locate Spina, their leader. After locating him, you'll then have to tackle a scenario where you relieve the water pressure that he's blocking off - after completing this, you'll earn this trophy.

The following video from YouTube user Zebra Gaming demonstrates this encounter (from 24:30 onwards):
Gone Fishin'

Collect the Divefish
Story-related and unmissable.

You'll earn this trophy when you obtain the Divefish upgrade, below the Church of the Space Monks, allowing you to swim underwater.
How it all began

Complete the temple trials
Story-related and unmissable.

You'll earn this trophy after making your way through the temple before facing the boss battle with Screetch.
Coup de grace

Defeat Screetch
Story-related and unmissable.

You'll earn this after defeating Screetch, one of the game's bosses.

The following video from YouTube user Wracks Ken demonstrates how to beat this boss (from 12:30 onwards):
Makin' more Friends

Befriend a Sootling
Story-related and unmissable.

Fairly late in the game, you'll obtain the Sootling Leash - your next objective will then be to find a 'Sootling' creature with which you can use the leash (which then grants a grappling hook-style ability). Upon locating the Sootling, you'll earn this trophy.
Cleaning out the Cobwebs

Defeat the Spider
Story-related and unmissable.

You'll earn this after defeating the spider boss.

The following video from YouTube user Wracks Ken demonstrates how to beat this boss:
Kickback and Relax

Complete the story
Story-related and unmissable.

You'll earn this after defeating the game's final boss and completing the main story.

The following video from YouTube user Rodrigo Pscheidt demonstrates how to beat this boss (from 04:08 onwards):
That’s Deep

Discover the heart cluster at the bottom of the sea
At the far right-hand site of the map there's a body of water. For this trophy, you need to swim down here, where you'll find a group of fruit arranged in a heart pattern - collecting these will earn you the trophy.
Belly of the beast

Discover Fosfor’s Lair
Fosfor's Lair is located underground, pretty much immediately below the starting location - you'll see it on the map included for WickerKing above. You'll need the Divefish upgrade before you can actually reach this area, but once you arrive here, you should then earn the trophy.
Weeeee!

Ride the Beeline
See Busy Bee. You'll earn this trophy when first using any one of the Beelines.
Busy Bee

Unlock all the Beelines
The Beeline is a form of fast travel, in the form of a chain of miniature beehives that can fire the ball between each other. There are four such Beelines to unlock in the game, marked as dashed lines on the map, each of which requires the investment of fruit at one end of the line to unlock. You'll earn this trophy once you unlock the final Beeline for use.
Party Time!

Deliver the cake to the inventors house
After filling 10 postboxes, when you return to the Post-office you'll find a number of packages that you'll be tasked to deliver, one of which is for an inventor, Sin. Sin can be found in a house on the floating islands towards the left-hand side of the map, but once you arrive here you'll find that he won't let you in. However, you may spot a ledge on the other side of the house - this is the key to gaining entry to deliver the package. If you drop down to the small islands below the house, you'll find an angled platform that will launch your ball into a passage leading to the ledge, as demonstrated in THIS VIDEO from YouTube user TheMightyImp2.
All night long!

Toot the party horn 100 times
This trophy is earned by using your horn a cumulative total of 100 times during the game, which will inevitably come naturally as you play through the story.
That's enough

Toot the party horn 1000 times
This trophy is earned by using your horn a cumulative total of 1,000 times during the game. You'll get a fair way towards this and may reach this total naturally as you play through the story, but if not, simply use the horn repeatedly at any time to make up your total usage to the required 1,000 and earn this trophy.
Fancy Beetle

Customise Yoku’s Ball
See A ball for every occasion - this trophy is earned for applying any of the available 'sprinkles' to the ball.
Life finds a way

Take the surviving egg to Dipperloaf
Dipperloaf is a large, talking tree, found towards the top-left of the map. Exploring the surrounding passageways, you'll find an unhatched egg - return it to Dipperloaf and you'll earn this trophy. See also A ball for every occasion, for which this is a prerequisite.
The End

Hatch the God Egg
This is an alternative ending to the game, requiring as a prerequisite that you collect every Wickerling (80). Once you've done so, you'll need to visit eight torches scattered throughout the world (each marked on the map as you find it) and activate them with 10 Wickerlings - each will then activate one of eight lights around the large egg that's found in the Underdark towards the bottom of the map. Once you've lit all eight torches, you'll then need to visit the egg, which can now be hatched - awakening a new God and ending the game (you can of course still reload the game after the end sequence).
Jailor

Complete Thorn quest
This quest becomes available after falling through the thorns in the drain of the pinball tables a certain cumulative number of times - I believe that this is 50, and you'll see a brief cutscene with a counter as you reach various thresholds. Once you reach this total, go to the area below the village where different colour styles can be applied to the ball (see A ball for every occasion above) and apply the Crimson Sprinkle, giving a red ball. Now, you need to find the area seen in the cutscene, which is hidden to the bottom-right of the waterfall below the village. Here, you'll be given a quest to complete, the completion of which will earn this trophy, as well as the Boon of Plenty upgrade.

THIS VIDEO from YouTube user Sucha Gra demonstrates this quest (ignore the first three minutes).