I used help for the jumping potion. I had no clue how to get that key otherwise. I stumbled upon the shark potion by myself and managed to figure out all the rest without help. I didn't come to the forums until I'd done all I could, as I knew I'd "cheat" and read spoilers if I did. Took me a while with some. Especially the pearl swapping, but I was happier doing what I could on my own.
I used spoilers on VV2 all the way through and when I finished I felt like I'd not really played at all, just followed instructions.