Last Added: Chapter 4: For Pigs the Bell Tolls

--------------------------------
TABLE OF CONTENTS
--------------------------------

1. Table of Contents (You're reading it!)
2. Characters
3. The Basics
4. Partners
5. Walkthrough
  5.1- Prologue: A Rogue's Welcome
  5.2- Chapter 1: Castle and Dragon
  5.3- Chapter 2: The Great Boggly Tree
  5.4- Chapter 3: Of Glitz and Glory
  5.5- Chapter 4: For Pigs the Bell Tolls
  5.6- Chapter 5: The Key to Pirates
  5.7- Chapter 6: 3 Days of Excess
  5.8- Chapter 7: Mario Shoots the Moon
  5.9- Chapter 8: The Thousand-Year Door
6. Sidequests
7. Cooking
8. Star Pieces
9. Shine Sprites
10. Tattle Log
11. Badges
12. Shops
13. Special Moves

------------------------
CHARACTERS
------------------------

-*-*-*-*
Mario
-*-*-*-*

Mario is the main character in the game, and you will be controlling him throughout most of it. His basic weapons are jump and hammer. Can learn new abilities through the game.

*-*-*-*-
Luigi
*-*-*-*-

Luigi is Mario's brother. Every time you beat a chapter he will have some of his own stories. Some of them are pretty interesting! Besides that, he is a normal character.

*-*-*-*
Peach
*-*-*-*

Peach is the one who gets captured in the game (of course!) by Grodus. After each chapter you will get to control her for a while. She sometimes has to do some crazy things.

*-*-*-*-
Bowser
*-*-*-*-

Bowser is in this Paper Mario, but he isn't the one who captures Peach. He tries to capture her by stealing her from Grodus. After each chapter you will get to play as him shortly.

THERE ARE MORE CHARACTERS THAT COME LATER IN THE GAME.

------------------
THE BASICS
------------------

///Controls///

A Button: Jump, select, scroll through message
B Button: Hammer, cancel, get to end of message
Y Button: Use special moves (plane, boat)
X Button: Battle button
R and L Button: Use paper-thin move and other modes
Z Button: Swich partners, scroll message up
Analog Stick: Moving
Directional Buttons: Shortcuts to menu

///Paper Abillities///

Mario can be "cursed" four times in the game. Each curse will give you a new abillity.

PLANE MODE (Rogueport Sewers): Once you get this curse, whenever you stand on certain panels, press Y and you'll fold up into a paper airplane and fly foward. Hold the control stick to the left to gain altitude but lose speed. Hold it right and lose altitude and gain speed. Combine both together to level out and fly long distances.

PAPER MODE (Hooktail Castle): When you get this curse, whenever you press R you will turn sideways. (You only can do that with a curse?!) You can then go through small gaps.

TUBE MODE (Twilight Town): Hold R and rotate the control stick to turn into a tube so you can roll through low gaps. Press B to change back.

BOAT MODE (Pirates' Grotto): On wood panals shaped like a blowfish, press Y and you turn into a boat. You can then sail to new places. Press Y again on another wood panel to change back.

///The Combat System///

Paper Mario has a very cool combat system. With Action Commands, Supergaurd, and Guard available with a touch of a button at the right time, you can have a lot of fun with it. To do a Guard, press A right when the enemy hits you. To do a Supergaurd, just when the enemy hits you, hit B and you will block it and return 1 damage to your opponent! But with Superguard you have to have even better timing than with regular Guard.

///The Turn System///

In Paper Mario there is a turn system. It goes you, your partner, then the enemy. Mario has options for his attack and can choose from Jump, Hammer, Tactics, Items, and Special Moves. Tactics include swapping partners, appealing, defending, and running away. When you choose run away, all you have to do is tap A a lot to fill the meter and hope the OK will land on green.

///Basic Hammer Attacks///

Hammer: 2/4/6 damage to ground enemies only.

Action Command: Hold the control stick left until the star lights up.

Can be powered up by badges or items. Can only attack front ground enemy.

///Basic Jump Attacks///

Jump: 1+1/2+2/3+3

Action Command: Press A right before hitting the enemy

This attack can be deadly if used right.

///Advanced Attacks///

Super Hammer: 4/6 damage to first enemy, 1 damage to all enemies behind it. Use it when you have lots of enemies. 2FP.

Ultra Hammer: 6 damage to first enemy, 3 to other enemies behind it. Use when you have lots of enemies to battle and you WILL win faster. 4FP.

Spin Jump: 2+3/3+5. Press A as you get to the enemy to do a Spin Jump. This works if you want major damage. 2FP.

///After Mario's Turn///

Now it's your partners turn. Your partner only has attack, items, and tactics. Every partner has different attacks.

After you and your partner have gone its the enemies' turn. BE READY TO BLOCK!!! Also in this Paper Mario, enemies hold items too, which they can use at any time on their turn. Sleepy Sheep or Dizzy Dial can be deadly! Items like these can affect your stats by making you sleepy, dizzy, confused, burned, etc.

You can also get first strikes. A first strike is when you jump or hammer an enemy in field mode. Your foe can strike you first too, so be ready to block!

////The Stage////

The stage is an important part in the game. The stage includes the background, which can fall and cause damage to you and your enemy. The audience is a new thing in Paper Mario 2. The audience can hold 50 people and will get larger later in the game. Every time you successfully attack, the audience will cheer. Cheering will give you Star Power. Appealing will make the audience cheer, giving you Star Power. The audience will sometimes throw things at you. They can throw good things and bad things. If it is a bad thing, like a rock, you can press X to smash the offending audience member so he will run away. DO NOT ATTACK PEOPLE WHO GIVE YOU GOOD THINGS! Different people in the audience will give you diffrent things.

-----------------
PARTNERS
-----------------

You will get different partners during the game. Here they are.

===========
GOOMBELLA
===========

Goombella is Mario's first partner. She joins you when you get to Rogueport. She can tell you about the place you are in, people you meet, and other things. She can be very good in battle too! She has Headbonk and Tattle. Tattle will tell you about any enemy, which will add that enemy to the Tattle Log.

HP: 10/20/30

ABILITIES:

Headbonk- 1+1/2+2/3+3 damage to any non-spiked/fire enemy.
Action Command: Same as Jump.
Headbonk is Goombella's most bacic attack. Best for weaker enemies (NOT BOSSES!)

Tattle: Tattle tells you what the enemy's HP is. Then every time you meet that enemy again it will show its HP.
Action Command: Hit A when the cursor is over the enemy.
Now every time you meet that enemy it will show its HP. It is recomended that you Tattle on every enemy you see, but you could put the Peekaboo badge on instead.

Super Ability: Multibonk
Action Command: Hit A before you hit the enemy. Do this as many times as you can before you miss the Action Command.
Useful for bosses or high HP enemies.

Ultra Ability: Rally Wink
Action Command: Hit A or B when they apper on the screen to fill up the bar.
This attack lets Goombella give her attack to Mario, so he can go again. This is good if Mario is doing high damage.

========
KOOPS
========

Koops is the second partner you get in the game. You meet him when you are going to Hooktail Castle. When you get him, you can press X and his shell will shoot out to get an item or hit a switch. Hold X and he will shoot out and stay out. He will stay out there as long as you are pressing X. That gives you the chance to move and stand on something and then let go. He will then shoot back and hit a switch in back of him. He is VERY useful in Hooktail Castle.

HP: 10/15/25

ABILITIES:

Shell Toss: 2/3/5 to front ground enemy.
Action Command: As the line goes back and forth, when the line hits the star, press A.
This attack can be useful for weak and strong ground enemies. Since he has a shell on he can attack bombs! Even when they blow up it doesn't hurt him. Same thing with other affects (poison, burn).

Power Shell: (3FP) 2/3/5 damage to all ground enemies.
Action Command: Hold left, wait until the star lights up, and release.
This attack is good if you have a lot of ground, low HP enemies.

Super Ability: Shell Shield: (4FP) No damage.
Action Command: Press A when the needle lines up.
Koops makes a big shield for you and blocks any attack. Good if you are low on HP.

Ultra  Ability: Shell Slam: (6FP) 6 damage to all ground enemies.
Action Command: Flick the control stick to the left until the meter fills up.
This is just another version of Power Shell, but does more damage. I think the Action Command is very hard, so good luck doing it!

===========
FLURRIE
===========

Flurrie is a wind kind of person. You meet her in the Boggly Woods. She LOVES you and thinks you are cute. She can blow wind and reveal hidden things. She is very good in battle too.

HP: 15/25/35

ABILITIES:

Body Slam: 2/4/6 damage to non-spiked, -fire, -etc. enemies.
Action Command: Line up the two markers.
This is Flurrie's bacic attack. All she does is body slam enemies, even if they are on the ceiling.

Gale Force: (4FP) Blow some enemies away.
Action Command: Hold and release A in a pattern and fill up the meter.
Flurrie's Gale Force attack will sometimes blow the enemies away. Can't blow big enimies/bosses away.

Super Ability: Lip Lock (3FP) 4/6 damage to enemies and heals that much to Flurrie.
Action Command: Press A only when the star is lit up.
In this attack Flurrie gives a huge... wet kiss to the enemy and recovers her own HP. This is a harder attack than Gale Force because there is no pattern in Lip Lock.

Ultra Ability: Dodgy Fog (4FP)
Action Command: Tilt the control stick in the ways on the screen as they light up.
This attack will put fog around you, which will make you evade attacks. Pretty cool if you are low on HP. VERY HARD ACTION COMMAND!

======
YOSHI
======

YAY! You finaly get to have a Yoshi as a partner! This little dude hatches in Chapter 3. You also get to name him! His Ground Pound attack is very effective. His field skill is... riding him! SO COOL! I don't get it, though; you are twice his size and you can ride and jump short distances with him? Riding on him makes traveling faster.

HP: 10/20/30

ABILITIES:

Ground Pound: 1+1+1+1/1+1+1+1+1/1+1+1+1+1+1 damage to one non-spiked,-fire, -etc. enemy.
Action Command: Hit R until the meter fills up.
This is Yoshi's basic attack. Do your best on doing the Action Command!

Gulp: (6FP) 4/5/6 damage to first ground enemy and first enemy behind it.
Action Command: Hold R until the star lights up.
This attack is the only attack that can kill the Armored Harriers! It ignores any defense. It might cost a lot of FP but it's a cool move!

Super Ability: Mini-Egg: 1+1+1/1+1+1+1 damage to random enemies with a chance of shrinking any enemy.
Mini-Egg is another powerful attack. Use some badges and you can cause up to 12 damage!

Ultra Ability: Stampede: (6 FP) 1+1+1+1+1+1 damage to all ground enemies.
Action Command: Hit L and R until the meter fills up.
The powerful Stampede attack calls a herd of Yoshis to race across the stage and trample every ground enemy for heavy damage. Koops's Power Shell is probably better, though, unless you can boost Yoshi's attack power. If you do, the first hit of Stampede is fully boosted, and each consecutive hit does 1 less damage, making the move much stronger.

=======
VIVIAN
=======

Vivian is the youngest of the three Shadow Sirens, Grodus's ghostly femme fatales. She has a bit of an inferiority complex, probably because she's constantly pushed around and punished by her older sister Beldam and moaned at by her other sister Marilyn. She eventually gets fed up with this treatment and joins Mario when he shows her an act of kindness in Twilight Town. (Or course, the fact that his identity had been stolen so she had no idea who he was also helped.) In battle, Vivian is a master of fire and evasion moves. Her field skill will be recognizable to players of Paper Mario. It pulls Mario down into the shadows, where he's invisible and invincible. Things like enemies and spikes pass through him in this state.

HP: 15/20/30

ABILITIES:

Shade Fist: 3/4/5 damage, may burn enemies.
Action Command: Hit the button that is displayed
Shade Fist is a useful attack move that can hit any enemy for decent damage and do more over several turns by setting it on fire. The Action Command requires quick reflexes.

Veil: (1 FP) Protects Mario for one turn.
Action Command: Hit the buttons that are on the screen.
Not the most useful move because it makes you lose a turn. Use against high powered or charged enemies.

Super Ability: Fiery Jinx: (6 FP): 4/5 damage to all enemies, pierces defense, may set them on fire.
Action Command: Hit each button as it is displayed.
Same as Shade Fist except attacks all enemies.

Ultra Ability: Infatuate (4 FP): Attempts to confuse all enemies.
Action Command: Press A the instant a heart appears over an enemy.
This attack can confuse enemies and make them miss sometimes. Hard Action Command, but high damage.

=======
BOBBERY
=======

Bobbery is a cool partner because of his high HP and attack power. Mario can also thow him and Bobbery will explode and activate swiches. I LOVE THIS GUY!!!

HP: 20/30/40

ABILITIES:

Bomb: 4/5/6 damage to first ground enemy.
Action Command: Hold A until star lights up, then release.
Your average bomb attack. Easy peasy, not much to say!

Bomb Squad: 3+3+3 damage, depends on where you throw them.
Action Command: Hit A with perfect timing.
This weird move throws three time bombs at the enemies that explode at the end of the next round, damaging everything near them. Hit A to throw one when the targeting cursor is aligned how you want to adjust the distance. For some weird reason, Bomb Squad doesn't appear to get stronger as Bobbery levels up.

Super Ability: Hold Fast: (4 FP) Damage varies.
Action Command: Hit A as each star lights up.
This move makes Bobbery get red with rage will explode on a direct attack. I love this attack when against an enemy with high HP. It causes half the damage the enemy gave Bobbery.

Ultra Ability: Bob-ombast: (9 FP) 8 damage to all enemies, 1 extra on fire enemies.
Action Command: Hit A until the meter fills up.
I love this attack! It costs a lot of FP but it is worth it! It also has a very easy Action Command. Most of the time it will kill all of the enemies!

=========
MS. MOWZ
=========

Ms. Mowz is the weirdest partner in the game. She starts out as a badge hunter, but then later in the game you can complete a trouble in the Trouble Center and she will become your partner! I like her field move. She sniffs the air and tells you if there is treasure nearby. I love this partner.

Slap: 2/3/4 damage.
Action Command: Rapidly flick the control stick left and right.
This attack is good because it ignores defense. But don't use this attack on anyone else.

Kiss Thief: (2 FP) Steals item from target.
Action Command: Hit A when the meter passes OK, but don't let it overflow.
This attack is good if the enemy has a really good item and you want it.

Super Ability: Tease: (3 P) Attempts to make enemies dizzy
Action Command: Hold A to fill up the meter, but don't let it overflow!
Ms. Mowz turns into four of herself, then attacks the enemy to attempt to make it dizzy.

Ultra Ability: Smooch: (10 FP): Heals Mario's 10 HP.
Action Command: Hit A and B until the meter fills up
This move is the only healing ability in the game that uses FP, and is a good alternative to Special Moves and items. It takes more HP than any other move, but gives Mario a huge HP boost. For the Action Command, it's best to use both thumbs to tap A and B.

-------------------------
WALKTHROUGH
-------------------------

PROLOGUE: A ROGUE'S WELCOME
Enemies in Chapter: Lord Crump, Goomba, Paragoomba, Spiky Goomba, Spinia, Blooper

***Mario's House***

The game opens up at Mario's house, with Parakarry delivering a letter to Mario and Luigi. Luigi comes outside and takes the letter in to read to Mario. The letter says...

Hello there, Mario!

I am now on holiday, traveling in the Mushroom Kingdom. In my travels, I came into possession of a mystical map... a treasure map, actually. I thought you could help me hunt for it! You will, of course, won't you? I'll meet you at Rogueport. (That means you MUST come!)

Peach

Mario and Luigi both look into the package and there is indeed a map. The map shows a new land. The title screen then shows.

***Rogueport***

A colorful boat is sailing peacefully on the water. You then pull into Rogueport, a dirty-looking town. Then a shipmate awakens you and warns you of Rogueport and its dangers. Forget him. Get off the boat. You're in your first free-roaming area in the game. Talk to everyone you see, they could give you some good advice. Try the Save Block too! When you are done talking and doing other things (if there is anything), go up and to the right, and cutscene will happen.

Some weird purple things with horns are attacking a little Goomba girl. They seem to be asking her about something called the "Crystal Stars". She says she knows nothing about them, so the leader of purple dudes tells his minions to take her to base. You then regain control of Mario. Run up to where they are fighting. The Goomba girl then hides behind you. The purple dude, whose name is soon to be learned, is going to fight you. Prepare for your first fight of the game!

MINI-BOSS: LORD CRUMP

HP: 6
Attack: 1
Defense: 0

This dude should be pretty easy; a few attacks should finish the guy off. This battle could be used to practice fighting. The Goomba girl will guide you through this battle.

So, after you beat the stuffings out of Lord Crump, he sends about 100 of his minions after you. Good thing this time you don't have to fight them! They start to attack where you were, but by the time they have reached you, you and the Goomba girl get out. She tells you to get out of the place. By the time you leave, Lord Crump just notices that you are gone!

You and the Goomba girl are now in Rogueport. Well, like I told you, Rogueport is dirty. The Goomba girl gives you a kiss. (WOW!) She then introduces herself as Goombella. She has come to Rogueport to find the same treasure that your map leads to. Then a great shout is heard. It is Toadsworth. You ask him where the princess is and he doesn't know! (OH NO! NOT AGAIN!) He then advises you to stay at the nearby inn (the place with the sign of a bed). He starts to walk off and then turns back and warns you about Rogueport. (How many people do that?!) Goombella then joins your party! (NOTE: Look at Goombella's abilities in the partners section.) She then says you should find a guy named Professor Frankly.

After Goombella joins your party, you can roam Rogueport freely! Well... not all freely. When you try to go to West Rogueport you'll see a gray-haired woman. She claims she lost her contact lens, and orders you not to move. She never finds them, so when you move you step on her contact lens. Now she won't let you pass until you buy a new contact lens for her, which you can't do until later.

Find the shop with the flower sign, and go in it. It has some good items to buy.

##################
TOAD BROS. BAZZAR       $=coins
##################

Fire Flower: 10$
Fright Mask: 5$
Honey Syrup: 5$
Mushroom: 5$
Sleepy Sheep: 8$
Tasty Tonic: 3$

After you are finished, go into the back alley behind the inn and shop. Once you are back there go to the left, go into the house, and look behind a mattress to get a Star Piece. These shiney things can be traded for badges later in the game. There is not much more to do here so get out of there.

If you go into the inn, the first floor is just a bar. The second floor is the actual inn. Unlike the first Paper Mario, you have to pay 5 coins for this inn. (The price goes up at other inns too.) The crazy Toadsworth is here too. The second floor contains a door that leads to a ledge. Then there is another building. This is the Lovely Howz of Badges. You can't go there right now though.

Go to East Rogueport. Once you enter a Bandit comes and runs past you. At first you think he just ran past you, but then Goombella notices that he stole half of your coins! Now chase him down! Run to the house you got the Star Piece in and talk to him. He admits his crime and gives you back your coins. Now, go back to East Rogueport.

You are now in East Rogueport. The buildings here need to be checked out. Go inside the building with the Shine Sprite. This is Merlon, he can upgrade your partners for three Shine Sprites. Well, you don't have any so go away! Next to that house is Frankly's. We will get to that later. Next to that is a wall, find the guy guarding the entrance into the wall. This guy is Gus. You can pay him or you can choose to fight him. If you choose to pay it will cost you 10 coins. You really shouldn't fight him right now. Now if you go south from right there, you can see a warp pipe. It doesn't look like you can get past right now. After that, look at the wall next to Merlon's. It looks like a regular wall, but it's not. The wall is separated into three parts with the middle pushed back, which lets you to slip through. You are now in a little alley. Go to the back and climb the crates for a Star Piece.

If you are ready, go into Frankly's house. Goombella and Frankly notice each other and say the school chant ("GOOOOO GOOMBAS!!"). Frankly then notices you and asks who you are. (How can he not know you?!) Frankly then asks why you have come. Goombella says that they are looking for the legendary treasure that hides behind the Thousand-Year Door. Frankly doesn't even know what it is. All he really knows is that you need the Crystal Stars to open the door, and you need the map to find the Crystal Stars. Goombella then tells Frankly that they DO have the treasure map, and Frankly is super happy, and says you should go to the door at once!

You all exit the building and Frankly kicks the fence down to open the path to the warp pipe! Before entering the pipe he tells you about the Action Command for Jump, Hammer, Guard, and Supergaurd. He also tells you how to go down a pipe. Go down the pipe.

***Rogueport Sewers***

Down here is pretty cool, to the left is a underground city. You can't go much of anywhere because of the fallen pillar. All you can do is go into the house, where the lady will tell you your "future". There is also a person named Dazzle. You can trade your Star Pieces for badges here. Get out of there now. When you are back in the sewers, go to the right until you meet a couple of Goombas. They start to pick on Goombella. Then they start to get mad and fight you. Frankly is telling you what to do, so go by his advice and beat the stuff out of them. The Goombas run away. Now go up the stairs and look towards the back of the screen. Then go to the left. Catch the moving platform and get to the other side. Then go down the pipe. This leads you to a pathway. Go down the pathway and down the stairs. Then go down the other pipe. This leads you to a big room with a big block in the middle. You can't do anything with the block right now. Now go to the right and you will see a new type of enemies. They are Spinias. These guys have only one more HP than the Goombas, so just beat them up. As you keep going right, you'll see a gray creature crawl into a little hole you can't fit in. Don't bother with him now. See the peeling wallpaper? You can't do anything about it now, but it will be important later. Now climb the stairs and enter the room. All there is here is a big black treasure chest. When you talk to it, it says it needs a key to open. Frankly says it's a very odd chest. Forget him. Now go set out and find the key.

The key is accually really close by. Right when you exit go stright to the left. You will see a panel that has a picture of a paper airplane. You can't do anything about it now. In between the panel and the wall, jump down. You will see the key. Now go back up the stairs and back into the room with the black chest. Give the chest the key. It then pops out and calls you a fool. Then it says you are going to be "cursed". The "curse" is that when you stand on a panel with a picture of a paper airplane and press Y, you'll fold up into a paper airplane and be able to fly across stuff. When you hit a wall or press B you'll turn back into normal. See the Basics section for more information. Goombella is now just as surprised as you.

Now return to the room you were just in. Step on the plane panel and press Y. You'll turn into a paper airplane and start flying. Just follow the instructions in the Basics section. Fly over the Yellow Block and land. Walk through the doorway.

You'll enter this big room. This room is the Thousand-Year Door room. Professor Frankly goes crazy about it and Goombella is wondering about the strange pedestal in the middle of the room. Go up to it and jump on it. Blue cricles surround you. The map you have then rises into the air! On it a castle and some grassy fields appear. It looks to be northeast of Rogueport and it shows the Diamond Star! You then learn your first Special Move, Sweet Treat! Professer Frankly brings you back to his house to explain.

***Rogueport***

Once you are back in Rogueport, Frankly explains Sweet Treat, the Star Meter, the roulette, and the audience. After that you go inside to discuss the Diamond Star. He tells you it's in Petal Meadows. He also wonders if Peach is there looking for the treasure on her own. Goombella tells Frankly about the weird people who were looking for the Crystal Stars. (Remember Crump and his minions?) Frankly then tells you he will stay there while you and Goombella go look for the Crystal Star and Peach. (What a wimp!) As you leave he gives you one last thing, your first badge, Power Smash! He teaches you how to use badges and the start menu. You then can leave his house.

Before you start off for Petal Meadows, you might want to check out some things. Check the inn if you need health. Check the shop if you need some items. Also check the Howz of Badges for some very helpful badges. I think you should get the Power Jump badge and if you want to, Super Appeal. If you want you can train by fighting Goombas and other little enemies so you can level up and get more coins to make Petal Meadows much easier.

***Rogueport Sewers***

If you are done fighting enemies and are ready to advance the storyline, move to the right past the moving platform, there is a plane panel here. Use it to fly to the other side and enter the doorway.

There is a tentacle coming out of the water here, hit it with your hammer. A giant Blooper comes out and attacks you!

MINI-BOSS: BLOOPER

HP: 12
Attack: 1
Defense: 0
Status: Flying

This giant squid shouldn't be that hard. Just use jump on his tentacles or himself. This should be even easier with Power Jump! If you attack its tentacles and destroy them then he will fall and you can use Power Smash on him. Use Sweeet Treat if you need HP and FP.

After you beat the Blooper two platforms rise out of the water. Jump on them and slide down the pipe...

=-=-=-=-=-=-
CHAPTER 1: Castle and Dragon
Enemies in chapter: Goomba, Paragoomba, Spiky Goomba, Koopa Troopa, Bald Cleft, Bristle, Fuzzy, Gold Fuzzy, Paratroopa, Dull Bones, Red Bones, Hooktail

***PETAL MEADOWS***

Ah yes, Petal Meadows. A very peaceful place where you can relax and enjoy the flowers. This first Crystal Star is going to be so easy to get! First let's find some Star Pieces! There is one in a tree behind the pipe. The other tree has a Mushroom. Hit them both with your hammer and there you go! Now save at the Save Block. Now keep going right. You don't get very far when a giant dragon flies above you, heading for the castle in the backround. Wait, that castle, it's the one you saw on the map! Maybe the Crystal Star is there! I guess Petal Meadows isn't going to be as easy as you thought it would be. As you keep going, you see a strange rock formation: six rocks- one that looks like a pipe, two with wierd shapes in them, and four other normal rocks. You can't do anything about it so leave it alone. In the next area you will fight Goombas, nothing new. Now that big pipe and the little pipe, you can't do anything about it now.

In the next area there are some more Goombas. These guys have four Goombas in each pack. After you beat those guys, look at the two bushes. When you examine it they separate and you can see a warp pipe! Go in the warp pipe and you'll come out into... the backround! Go to the right and hit the switch, and there will be a scene shoeing a bridge being built over the river. After the bridge gets built keep going right. Go into the wooden arches.

***PETALBURG***

You have arrived in Petalburg, the village of the Koopas. The Koopa in front will greet you and tell you that you should talk to the mayor to get information about the Crystal Stars. When you can move again, you can visit the inn to get some rest if you need it. Next go and visit the shop and buy things!

#############
NIFF T'S SHOP                     $= Coins
#############

Courage Shell: 5$
Fire Flower: 8$
Honey Syrup: 5$
Mr. Softener: 8$
Mushroom: 5$
POW Block: 5$

I think you should buy 2 POW blocks, but you don't have to. There is not much else to do here but visit houses. Go in the next area. If you keep going right you will come to a gate, you can't get by it yet. If you search the bushes you can find Turtley Leafs. They are good for cooking. Now go in the ugly pink house. This is the mayor's house. When you tell him you are Mario, you will ask about the Crystal Stars. He will tell you that the dragon you saw, Hooktail, has it. He asks you if you are going to go kill Hooktail and if you will accept the reward. It doesn't matter what you say, he won't give you a reward. (Darn!) He then tells you there is a pipe that will lead you to Hooktail's castle, but you will need the Sun Stone and the Moon Stone to get there. He says these are in Shhwonk Fortress. He gives you primission to go. Now leave before he makes you go crazy!

Now you can talk to the gaurd at the gate and he will let you through. Right before you leave, a Koopa walks up to you and tries to say something, but then runs off. Now you can go through the gate.

***SHHWONK FORTRESS***

You will meet some new enemies here: Koopa Troopas. These guys have high defense and 4 HP, so jump or Headbonk them to flip them over and their defense will go to zero. They are then helpless, so attack them until they die. Look in the bushes and you will find a Star Piece. Hit the ? Block and you get a POW Block. (You will need this!) Go into the big building.

You will see two rocky enemies. These are Bald Clefts. Examine the pedestals they are sitting on. They come down and fight you! These guys have 2 HP like a Goomba, and 2 defense. Use a POW Block to destroy them, or if you want to, you can use some Power Smashes, but I think you are better off with the POW Block. The gate then opens up and you can go through.

There are some more Koopa Troopas and Goombas here. If you ran out of POW Blocks, search the last patch of bushes to get one. Enter the different-colored castle.

These new guys are called Bristles. Not only do these guys have high defense, they have spikes all over so you can't even get near them! They are also immune to fire. The only way to kill these guys now is to use a POW Block. When you finish these guys, the gate opens again and you can go through.

In the final outdoor area, there are more enemies. In the block is a Fire Flower and there is a Inn Coupon behind the wall near the center of the area. Enter the next door.

In this place there is a Thwomp. He is the guard of the Sun and Moon Stones. First save your game and then talk to him. He will challenge you to a gameshow! When the scene changes to a flashy gameshow set, he will explain the rules. There is a total of 7 questions, and if you get 3 wrong, he will send some Bald Clefts after you. If you really need them, here are the answers:

1. Stone Keys
2. 12 Coins
3. Kroop
4. Hooktail Castle
5. Go through a pipe
6. Koopa Troopas
7. Question 7 (He's asking you what question this is.)

The Thwomp gets mad but still lets you through. He reveals a warp pipe. Enter it to go down in the nasty waters of the tunnels under the fortress.

Down here, hit the red block for the Multibounce badge. This place has two tunnels, each leading to a Stone Key. Each tunnel also has two groups of Fuzzies with two Fuzzies in every group. After you grab a stone you will be assaulted by four Fuzzies. A Fire Flower or a POW block helps. After you get both Stone Keys, a Gold Fuzzy attacks you! This Fuzzy is like any Fuzzy, only with three times as much HP. Use Power Smash to make the battle quick. When he gets to 5 HP or lower he sends a Fuzzy horde to attack you. Try to focus on the Gold Fuzzy still. When you have beaten the Gold Fuzzy, they will all retreat. Now you can leave. Now make your way back to the village.

***PETALBURG***

Heal, restock items, and save back at Petalburg. When you are ready, go west out of the village.

***PETAL MEADOWS***

The same Koopa from before comes up to you again. You will soon learn that his name is Koops. He says what he wanted to say before; he wants to do what his father failed to do, storm Hooktail Castle and prove his strength in the village. He then joins your party! See the Characters section for details about Koops.

After he joins you, Koops's girlfriend, Koopie Koo, comes out. She wants Koops to stay and not risk his life in Hooktail Castle. Koops says no, and Koopie Koo will attack you by spinning her shell at you. She then storms off.

In the middle area of Petal Meadows, go in the short pipe and you will come out on top of a very tall pipe. Use Koops's ability to get the Happy Heart badge.

Back in the first area, you can go back to Rogueport to buy badges or something. When you are ready, insert the Sun and Moon Stones into the rocks and two switches that must be hit at the same time will appear. To do this, stand next to one switch with your back to it and use Koops's field skill. Continue to hold X to make him stay there. Head over to the other switch and let go of X. Then immediately hit the other one with your hammer. If this works, the middle stone will break and a warp pipe will emerge. Jump in and go in the backround. Enter Hooktail Castle.

***HOOKTAIL CASTLE***

You are now in your first real castle. You start out in this gate house place. Keep going right and don't use the springboard. Go through the ground floor door.

The bridge spanning the moat is out, but you'll get past that soon. For now, drop down the stairs and jump across some rocks. When you're on the final rock, you'll be close enough to retrieve the useful HP Plus badge from the other side of the moat with Koops. Now, return to the gate house.

Now you can use the springboard and get to the top. Use the Heart Block if you need to and be sure to save. Now exit through the top door.

Back in the moat, use the plane panel to glide accross the broken bridge. Enter the double doors to enter the actual castle.

This castle is filled with bones of past Koopas. There are Koopa Troopas and Paratroopas here. Paratroopas are winged Koopas, and they are flying. Use Jump or Headbonk to turn these guys into regular Koopa Troopas. The other staircase only leads to another plane panel to exit the castle. Hit the red block to get a Power Bounce badge. Enter the next room.

This place has even more bones. Halfway through Koops runs to a pile of bones. It's his poor father! Koops spots a note in his hands and reads it. It seems like his father failed defeating Hooktail and wants to tell you what Hooktail's weakness is: Crickets. It also says that there is an item in the castle that is cricket-related. It tells you not to fall for any of Hooktail's tricks. It closes with a greeting to... Kolorado! It isn't Koops's father after all! Now keep going right until you reach a red pile of bones. Examine it, and it comes alive and attacks you! It sends a whole bunch of Dull Bones. They will try to push you back. Hit them with your hammer and make your way to the Red Bones and engage it into an attack!

This fight shouldn't be too hard. Use Koops's Power Shell to kill all the Dull Bones because they only have 1 HP, 2 Attack, and 1 Defense. Now you can use Power Smash to do some damage to the Red Bones, who has 5 HP and 3 Attack. It will make some more Dull Bones, but you can still take them out. After you win you can enter the door it was guarding.

You'll come into a very tall room. Go right and up the stairs, grabbing the Shine Sprite along the way. These objects are used to level up your partners, but you will need three to do that. Now whack the purple block to make another purple block come down. You can use that purple block to get on the stone block. Jump across the stone blocks and smash the yellow block to free another block that has an up arrow. Now go back down and hit the small yellow up arrow block. This makes the big up arrow block go up. Hit the red switch with Koops to reverse the stairs! Climb them in their new place, and use Koops again to get the Castle Key to unlock the locked door. Hit the red switch again to bring the stairs back to their original place. Now, unlock the door and enter.

There is a giant green block here that you can ride, but there is a locked door at the top. Save, then go through the east door.

This is a dungeon-like room with an Attack FX badge that you can't get yet. Then there is a red switch, a fence, and a gate blocking the exit to the next room. Face your back to the red switch and use Koops and hold him there. Now run to the gate and release Koops. He will hit the switch, making the gate rise up so you can go through. Don't worry about Koops, he somehow comes back to you. Go into the next room.

The only thing different about this room is that there is another black chest! Don't worry about it begging you to be free and pretending not to know anything about a curse, since the other chest had a "curse" that was more like an ability. You should go find the key for it. Look for it by going into the next room.

Note the strange holes in the floor in this room. Try reaching the chest in the center without going over them; you'll need practice for later. Once you open the treasure chest and get the Black Key, spikes come out of the holes, and the spiked ceiling begins to lower! Luckily, if you have any idea at all where you're going, you'll have plenty of time to escape.

Back in the other room, open the chest to release the "curse". This "curse" lets you turn thin like paper by pressing R so you can slip into narrow spaces. After the the freaky guy finishes his terrible speech, return to the room with the jail cells.

You can now slip through the jail bars by using your new ability. Cool, huh? Before leaving, slip into the jail cell with the Attack FX badge. This badge makes your hammer sound like a cricket. This is the key to Hooktail's weakness! Exit the room going west.

Make sure to save in here, then keep going west.

Keep going west until you reach the room where you faught the Red Bones.

Now that you're finally here, look for the cell that you can slip through, and get the castle key. Now go east until you reach the room with the save block.

Save again if you wish, then climb the stairs and use Koops on the small green block while standing on the big green block. After you are done riding the green block, clinb the stairs, and go through the locked door.

If you are hurt, heal at the Heart Block. There is a gap up ahead, so you will need to use Koops to hit the switch to fill the gap in. Do it again at the next gap. When you get to the third gap, there is no switch, so jump through the open window and go left to the other open window and jump back in.

Fight some more Dull Bones in the next room. Hit the green block to lower a big green block. Use Koops's ability to hit the green block again while you are standing on the big green block. Ride to the top and go through the left door.

Here is what looks like a room full of weapons and treasure. You meet a famous thief named Ms. Mowz here. She says she has come to the castle looking for a rare badge. She doen't seem to care about the Crystal Stars. As she leaves she kisses Mario. (Does Mario get a kiss by everyone these days?) She also tells you about a badge that will defeat Hooktail. You should already have that. After Ms. Mowz leaves you can look at all the treasure. You can get a second Shine Sprite. In the treasure cheasts there is a Mushroom, Honey Syrup, and a Castle Key. After getting everything, exit the room.

Run across the walkway and unlock the door.

The next room has an unreachable ledge. Or does it? Whack the yellow block to lower another yellow block. Use Koops's abillity to raise it while you stand on it. You emerge on a narrow rafter. Make your way to the plane panel and slip through the bars. Use the plane panel to glide across to the platform. Go through the door.

Climb a flight of stairs and then another until you find a yellow block. Hit it to lower the big yellow block out of the way. Use Koops's ability to get the castle key. Now unlock the door and go through.

You emerge on a high bridge far above the ground leading to the tower where Hooktail lives. Avoid or fight the Paratroopas up here and climb the long staircase leading up the tower. A Spiky Goomba is impossible to avoid, but it should be easy to fight. Once you reach the top, save and heal if necessary, make sure you have the Attack FX R Badge equipped (and some attack badges like Power Smash), then go through the giant double doors.

You'll enter a huge chamber with Hooktail standing right above you. She decides how she is going to eat you, then attacks you!

BOSS: HOOKTAIL

HP: 20
Attack: 5
Defense: 1

Hooktail is the youngest of the three dragons. She is very powerful, but hates crickets, after a... not very pleasent experience. Wearing the Attack FX badge weakens her, making her attacks weaker and weaker. When that does happen, she shouldn't be too hard. She will try to trick you with rewards, feet smelling, etc. She has her Claw Slam and Fire Breath, which hurts both of you. When she gets low on health, she eats up half the audience for 10 HP! Just give her your strongest attacks and use Sweet Treat if you need HP and FP to finish her off for good!

After you beat Hooktail, you start looking for the Diamond Star. Hooktail then coughs up an old Koopa. Koops notices that the Koopa is his dad! You ask him about the Diamond Star and he says he found something like it in Hooktail's belly! It turns out that it is the Diamond Star, and he gladly hands it over. You have just got your first Crystal Star. Now you can learn Earth Tremor!

END OF CHAPTER 1

The screen will ask you if you want to save. Then the screen fills and then empties with Mario faces.

***???***

A cutscene is taking place in a hi-tech room. Some of those purple-horned freaks that you saw in Rogueport are taking Princess Peach into the room. They are the ones who stole her! They approach their leader, whose minions call him Grodus. I guess he is the main villian in the game! He demands Peach tell him where the map is, but Peach denies that she has it. As he is yelling at her, one of his minions comes up to him and tells him that the Crystal Star guarded by Hooktail has been taken. When Peach says your name, which reveals that she knows about you, Grodus sends Peach into your room for questions. Grodus tells Lord Crump to guard the Crystal Star in Boggly Woods. After he sends Crump off, Grodus summons the Shadow Sirens. Three ghostly women emerge from the shadows. They talk and decide that they will try to steal the map from you. They then leave the room.

The scene switches to Princess Peach again. Just like in the first Paper Mario, you can control Peach for a short while after every chapter. The door on the right is locked, and there are no secret passages or anything like that, so go in the left door.

In this room Peach has a bathtub with a shower in it. While you are next to it press A to take a shower and set a record for the fastest shower ever! Now return to the bedroom. The door that was locked before now opens by itself now. Go through it.

The glass door won't open in this room so keep going right until the far right door opens by itself also. Go through it to the next room.

This room has a massive computer. A voice starts speaking to Peach, and turns out to be the computer that is talking to you. It's name is TEC-XX, but lets Peach call it TEC. It was created by Grodus and claims to be the perfect computer. When Peach asks it why it led her here, it responds by saying it felt a "glitch" when it saw Peach earlier. Peach tries to tell it that it might be in love with her. The computer gets confused when she tries to explain it, and lets her send a message to anyone she wants, in return for her telling it about love. TEC then asks Peach to go back to her room. The game then asks you if you want to save, and then the screen fills and empties with Peach faces.

****BOWSER'S CASTLE****

Wow, Bowser's Castle. Scary place. When the scene starts, two Koopa guards open a door to let Bowser in. His guards tell him to wait in the back of the room until Kammy Koopa gets there. Now you get to control Bowser! Keep walking towards the back, or while you are walking, talk to some of the other guards, they say some funny things!

When you are at the back of the room, the scene switches to Kammy entering the same room. When she reaches you, she starts to tell you that Mario has set out on another adventure, when Bowser says he doesn't want to know everything that Mario does. Then Kammy says that he is looking for a treasure. Bowser gets amazed and he wants the treasure too. Kammy then tells him some other news... some guys have captured Peach! (We already knew that!) Bowser then gets so mad, he starts stomping on the floor yelling. Kammy tries to calm him down by asking if he likes fried eggs. You can answer however you like, either one is funny. After that Bowser walks off and gets his Clown Copter and flies off to re-kidnap Peach, Kammy following him. You are then asked if you want to save again, then the screen fills and empties with Bowser faces.

****PETALBURG****

The scene switches back to Mario in Petalburg. Koops decides to join your party permanently and become stronger. He then says goodbye to his father and girlfriend. Before you leave look next to the mayor's house, use Paper Mode to slip into it, and get the Mega Rush badge. Stock up on items you want and then leave.

****PETAL MEADOWS****

After you leave you get an Email on your Mailbox SP. It's the message Peach sent saying she is safe, but doesn't know where she is. She also tells you that there are other guys looking for the Crystal Stars and the magic map. When the maeeage is done head back to Rogueport Sewers.

****ROGUEPORT SEWERS****

Head back across the platforms and enter the next room. Instead of riding the platform, you can slip through the bars using Paper Mode and get there faster. Get back to the Thousand-Year Door room and step on the platform. This will now reveal the next location of the next Crystal Star. It looks like it's hidden in a giant tree or something like that. You are then taken to Frankly's house.

****ROGUEPORT****

Frankly says the next Crystal Star, the Emerald Star, is hidden in the Great Tree in Boggly Woods. He shows you what one of the guys there looks like. It's a tiny creature named a Puni. Wait, you have seen one of these guys before! Remember when you were in the room where the first black key was? He then tells you that there is a pipe that leads to Boggly Woods and you have to find it.

Exit Frankly's house and go down to Rogueport Sewers.

****ROGUEPORT SEWERS****

When you are here go to the room where you found the black key. There is a doorway to where you need to go, but it's blocked by some bars. You can get past these by using Paper Mode.

When you are in the next room, you'll see a Puni skitter to a corner and hide. Walk up to it and it will ask you if you are going to eat him. Say no and your partner will ask why he's not in Boggly Woods. He says you must be an X-Naut if you know where he lives- wait, didn't you hear that name in the Peach scene? They must be the ones storming Boggly Woods in search of the Emerald Star! You and your partner decide to go with him to get the Emerald Star before the X-Nauts do. Now knowing you are not an X-Naut, he introduces himself as Punio. He walks through a hole and tells you to follow him. Use Paper Mode and get through the bars to meet up with him. In this room he tells you to wait while he goes and activates a switch on the other side. A long hallway comes up. Go to the left and get the Damage Dodge badge. Now continue right until you get to the other side. Go into the pipe while Punio follows you and come into Chapter 2.

=-=-=-=-=-
CHAPTER 2: The Great Boggly Tree
Enemies in chapter: Dark Puff, Pale Piranha, Cleft, Vivian, Marilyn, Beldam, X-Naut, Pider, Yux, Mini-Yux, Magnus Von Grapple

Wow, this place sure looks weird! It has black trees with white leaves and rainbow colored ground with white flowers. Anyway, you are now in the second chapter. Let's get moving. Punio is following you like he is your partner, but he can't fight. Now go into the next area like he said you should. Save if you want.

When you enter the next area, you'll see the minions of Grodus you saw in Peach's scene: the Shadow Sirens! The oldest one (Beldam) reminds the youngest one (Vivian) of their mission: to steal the map from Mario. Beldam then asks Vivian where she got her necklace. Vivian says she found it. Beldam tells her she's wasting time. Beldam asks her where the picture of Mario is. Vivian says she doesn't have it and that Beldam does because Beldam said that she couldn't be trusted with it. Now they don't have the picture and don't know what you look like, so when you walk by them they don't know who you are. When they get back to the fight about the picture, Beldam takes the necklace away from Vivian as punishment. Now you are free to talk to them even though they don't say anything good.

Keep going right into the next area. The enemies here match with the colors of the rest of the place. The Dark Puffs are pretty easy until they charge up with electricity in the air. You can only hurt them then with Earth Tremor or a Fire Flower. Be careful not to jump on the Pale Piranha, they have sharp teeth that will hurt you if you jump on them. Use powerful attacks to beat the Clefts. (Koops will work if you upgraded him with three Shine Sprites.) Hit the leftmost tree to get a Sleepy Sheep, and the rightmost ring of flowers for a Honey Syrup. Then continue to the next area.

As you start going right in the next area, Punio points out the Great Tree in the backround. Follow him into the pipe and into the tree.

****THE GREAT TREE****

You'll find Punio waiting in front of the massive tree, in front of a hi-tech door. He says that the door wasn't there before, and that he can't open it. Then he remembers what the elder told him, that there was a hidden entrance in the tree. He runs up a root of a tree. Follow him and talk to him again. He says he needs a wind-powered woman named Madame Flurrie to find it. Set off for her house.

****FLURRIE'S HOUSE****

The scene now switches to a huge pink house. A partially unseen figure is in the room; it must be Madame Flurrie. She is about to make her appearance, but before she can do that she needs to put on one more thing, but wait, she can't find it!!!

****BOGGLY WOODS****

After that the scene switches over to Mario. Go through the pipe in the background to return to the foreground. Now go the way Punio tells you to. You can search the first patch of flowers you see for an Inn Coupon. These can be used for a free stay at an inn.

This next area is in front of lined-up trees. There are some more weird-looking enemies here too, but they should be easy. You can enter the vertical pipe at the entrance, which takes you to a Plane Panel. The panel is useless for now. Keep going right until you reach the wall. Now where you see a shiny part of the vines on the wall, jump towards it. You will jump right through it! Once you are in, go right until you can go up. Go up until you reach the top, then go left. Keep going left until you reach a ! switch. Hit the switch and the pipe and the Plane Panel will rise, making it high enough to glide to the ledge. Now go up the pipe again, but before you go, look left of the Plane Panel. You'll see a Shine Sprite. Use Koops to get it. Now you can glide to the ledge. Hit the red block for a Quake Hammer Badge and continue to the next area.

This next area has Madame Flurrie's house in the backround. Whack the first tree in the area for a Star Piece, then keep going left. Use the Heart Block if you need to, then slip through the fence with Paper Mode. Before you go through the pipe, stay along the fence for a Star Piece. Now, go down the pipe. You are in the backround, so enter Madame Flurrie's house.

****FLURRIE'S HOUSE****

Once you're in, Punio calls for Madame Flurrie, but there is no response. When you try to open the door at the other side of the room, suddenly Flurrie tells you not to come in. Puni tells Flurrie his problem. She says she wants to come out but she CAN NOT be seen without her favorite necklace! (That's what she's missing!) Wait, didn't Vivian find a necklace? Hurry and get to the Shadow Sirens!

****BOGGLY WOODS****

Once you exit Flurrie's house, the scene switches straight to the Shadow Sirens. How convenient! Vivian finally notices that she had the picture of Mario the whole time! Then Beldam says that the same guy in the picture walked by earlier! Now she decides to punish Vivian some more when they get back.

Once the scene switches back to you, you can make your way back through Boggly Woods. Make sure you use the Heart Block to get to full health! When you get to the spot where you saw the Shadow Sirens, they demand you give them the map. Your partner asks who they are, and they tell you who they are, and now they want a battle!

MINI-BOSSES: BELDAM, MARILYN, AND VIVIAN

HP: 9/12/10
Attack: 1/2/1
Defense: 0

All three of the Shadow Sirens should be fairly easy. When you start off this battle, use Earth Tremor to lower their HP. Then focus your attacks only on Marilyn (the middle one), because she can do a lot of damage after she raises her attack and she also has the most HP. After she's gone you should fight Beldam (the back one) to stop her ice attacks and size-changing abilities. You should take Vivian out last because all she does is fire attacks.

After you beat the Shadow Sirens, Beldam once again blames the rest of them and has them all flee. What's really amazing is that they drop the necklace while running! Take the necklace back to Flurrie's house. She has you leave it by the door, and after she puts it on she finally makes her flashy appearance by turning the chandelier into a disco ball. She recognizes you as Mario and thanks you for getting her necklace. She gives you a huge kiss. (Mario must be popular just by how many kisses he has got!!) While she admires your mustache, she decides to join you in looking for the Crystal Stars! You just got a new partner! (See Partners section for Flurrie's abilities.)

After this Punio asks Flurrie to uncover the entrance to the Great Tree for him. Make your way back to the Great Tree and climb up the same root as you did before. Use Flurrie's ability to the right to blow away some wallpaper so that you can reveal the really not so secret anymore entrance. Punio jumps in the small hole while Flurrie talks to you about her former acting career. Punio then opens the door and invites you inside.

****THE GREAT TREE****

If you played the first Paper Mario, this level is way harder than the big tree in PM1. This giant tree is one big confusing maze, so stay alert! It's strangly empty in this first area. Usually there are a whole bunch of Punies here. All of a sudden two X-Nauts walk in. They quickly decide to get you. The X-Nauts are a little bit stronger than the Boggly Woods enemies, but they should be pretty easy to beat. After you beat them they go running away to tell Lord Crump what happened. Aftter Punio thanks you, another Puni comes out from hiding. Its first thoughts are if you're going to eat him. More Punies come out from hiding and Punio assures them that you won't eat them. A fat Puni, Puniper, comes out next and still distrusts you. He tells you the X-Nauts locked up the rest of the Punis, including the elder and Punio's sister. Most of the Punis are on your side, but Puniper is not, still thinking you are a bad guy. Anyway use the Heart Block and the Save Block if you want to and go up the pipe, even though there is a door, but it's locked.

In this room there is a thing that counts your Punis. You can't do anything with it now, so go in the pipe.

You can find a Power Punch in the bush directly south of the pipe. Take the next pipe up to the top level of this room. You will fight enemies here, but they are not Clefts or Dark Puffs, they are called Piders. They are pretty easy to beat, just jump on them or use Flurrie's Body Slam on them. Their attack is really easy to block, too. Now, get yourself to the next area.

Before you enter the next room a short cutscene plays. As an X-Naut in a storeroom complains to himself about his job, a very familiar mouse comes up behind him and hits him. It must be Ms. Mowz!

This room you are in has a red and a blue jail cell. The red one has the Puni Elder in it. The blue one has 90 more Punis, including Punio's sister. You can enter the cell with Paper Mode, but you can't get the Punis out. You need the Cell Key to do that, so just go into the next room.

This looks like the storeroom the cutscene took place in, and sure enough Ms. Mowz is waiting right there. After Ms. Mowz makes Flurrie jealous (if she is your active partner) by flirting with you, Ms. Mowz jumps in the window and tells you a clue about the Crystal Star; it's located in the lower part of the tree. After she leaves, the X-Naut that she knocked out wakes up and thinks you were the one who knocked him out. He then attacks you! Defeat the little weakling and take the Red Key he drops. There is also an Ultra Shroom in one of the chests.

Return to the jail cell and unlock the Puni Elder's cell. She will get mad at you for saving her first. She will call Punio over and give him a big long speech about his mistake. After it is all finished, return to the entry room.

Talk to Puniper; the jerk is suprised you managed to rescue the elder. The elder then scolds him. (Hahahaha!) After another speech by the elder, the ten Punis who were in the entry hall join you, giving you 11 Punis total! Your partner then asks the elder about the Crystal Star. The elder says that it is in the bottom of the tree. She also says that you need to unite the Punies to get to the Star. The elder gives you the Puni Orb. When the Puni Orb is placed on something like a pedestal, all the Punies will gather in front of it. As you start leaving the elder says one more thing: if you loose any of the Punies, come to her, she will call them back. Now, take the pipe up from this room.

Wow! How convenient! There is a pedestal for the Puni Orb in this room! Insert the orb; your group of Punies gather on the little square, while another machine counts them. Also, another pipe emerges from the ground nearby. Enter it to go to the next room. (Make sure you take the Puni Orb, or the Punies won't follow you.)

This room is on the other side of the door in the entry room. Use the control panel next to it to unlock it. In this room there are two pedestals on each side of a weird piller which sits in a pool of... bubble liquid. Maybe you can use this to get your Punies across the pit! In fact, you can! Use the Puni Orb on the left side, then just stand to the left of them and use Flurrie's field skill to blow them into the goo. Keep blowing as they float up in bubbles to blow them across. Remove the Puni Orb, then jump accross and enter the pipe with all the Punies.

There are more enemies in this two-level room, but nothing that interesting, at least at first. Use Koops' field skill to attack the Pider before it scares the Punies off the ledge. Now enter the warp pipe on the top-right side of the lower level.

This room also has two levels; the top one winds between the two sides of the room, with some Piders in the gaps. Once again take them out by attacking with Koops, and pick up any Punies that fell off. The other thing on the top floor is a red ? block. It looks like you won't be able to reach it, but you can reveal a coin block under it by using Koops' field skill. Jump on to it and hit the red block to make a Damage Dodge P badge pop out. Now drop to the lower floor. Search the leftmost bush for a Star Piece and save with the Save Block. There is another X-Naut door on the right-hand side, but it is locked as usual. There is also a hidden door on the left side that Flurrie can reveal. It leads to a handy shop selling many exclusive items.

#################
PUNGENT'S SHOP                                 $=Coins
#################

Honey Syrup- 5$
HP Drain- 10$
Ice Storm- 15$
Mini Mr. Mini- 8$
Mushroom- 3$
Mystery- 3$

Buy whatever items you want (the HP Drain and the Ice Storm are really good and can't be bought anywhere else) and then return to the top level of the previous room.

Both of the doors on the top level lead to hives of the Jabbies, the Punies' enemies. There are 100 Jabbies to the left and only 10 Jabbies to the right, enough for your Punies to take on.

After the Jabbi army enters and gets into ranks in the right-hand room, lead your Punies against them! For some reason Mario and his partners can't hurt the Jabbies, so it is up to your Punies! All you can do is have Flurrie blow the Jabbies around so the Punies can attack them more easily. Lead them right up to the Jabbies to have them start fighting. Try not to let the Jabbies seperate your army and take them out one by one. If all your Punies are beaten, you have to try again until you beat them. When you do, your Punies will storm the hive and destroy it, allowing you to enter the door behind it.

This room has a weird formation of pillars in it. You can't do anything with it now, except open the chest to get the Blue Key! After a slighty touching scene with Punio's sister, get back to the jail room to free your buddies!

In the jail room, use the key to open the blue cell and free the 90 Punies in it! Now Mario has 101 Punies! Punio's sister gives her brother a nasty Mushroom she was saving. Yay! Now return to the room before the 10-Jabbi room.

This time go to the left, with the army of 100 Jabbies!

This battle should go just like the other one execpt bigger. Use the same tactic as last time to win and gain entry to the next room.

There is another pedestal for the Puni Orb here. Use it to reveal another pipe leading downwards.

As soon as you emerge, check behind the pipe you came out of for a Star Piece. Go around the large tree stump (there are trees in the Great Tree?) and into the next room.

It's another pedestal! What will happen this time? As you put the Puni Orb in it, a pipe emerges and a cage lowers on Mario and the Punies! Lord Crump walks up and brags about his easy victory over you, then leaves. Luckliy, he's even dumber than he thinks you are. Use Paper Mode and easily escape the cage. Go down the pipe that emerged.

This room has four pillars just like the room with the Blue Key. Check behind the entry pipe for another Star Piece! Hit the ! Block to trigger something. I bet you know what it means; return to the room where the Blue Key was. (Also write down the pattern of images on the pillars in here.)

Well, something did happen! There are now four white switches in here! Hit them to switch the images on the large pillars to match the those you saw earlier. The pillars are then moved away to reaveal a door behind them!

There's a super-sized treasure chest in the small room you enter! Open it to get... the Super Boots! You're taken to a tutorial screen much like the one when you get new partners. Next, a Toad girl named Toadette walks up on the screen and starts telling you how to use the Super Boots. These new weapons increase the damage of Mario's jump and lets him do a Spin Jump. To do one, jump, then press A while you are in the air. The Spin Jump can do extra damage in battle and can smash things out of battle. After you're ready, leave the room.

Wait, now that the pillars are lowered you can't get out! Now it's time to use your new ability! Use Spin Jump on the wooden boards in the middle of the room to break them and fall to a sublevel. A pipe in this room leads to the entrance, but first get the treasure in this room. Jump accross the pillars to get to a Shine Sprite and a spot where you can use Koops to get the Charge Badge. After getting this stuff, use the pipe and get out and return to your trapped Punies!

Slip back in the cage and smash the boards to the left of the center with a Spin Jump. Use the pipe to go back up and place the Puni Orb back in the pedestal. Use Flurrie to blow the Punies down the hole you made. Once they're all down, get the Puni Orb and follow them through.

Before going further in the tree, you should use your Spin Jump for a few other things now that your Punies are together again. First, go to the room right above the entry hall. In here, Spin Jump around the right-hand side of the room. (Use the pedestal to get the Punies out of the way if you need to.) You should be able to see a panel "hop" off the floor when you do. This time stand right next to it (but not on it) so a Spin Jump will flip it, revealing a Star Piece! Now go up to the blue Puni jail to get another Star Piece. Now head back through the left-hand Jabbi room.

In the room where you used the pedestal to make a pipe appear, place the Puni Orb, and Spin Jump the wooden boards. You will land on a huge tree stump with a pipe, but don't go down it now! First go back up and have Flurrie blow all the Punies down the hole. Next, remove the Orb and follow them, then enter the pipe on the stump.

This room is not that interesting, so go down the two pipes to the next.

In this room there is a large pool of water. Go down the pipe to the lower level of the room. Leave the Punies behind and jump across the pillars, then go up the vertical pipe to reach the other side of the top level. You can hit the blue ! switch to drain the water, but when you get in range to use Koops to hit it, you can't help but stand on a floor panel which makes the switch go in the water. The only solution to this problem is to use Koops, but hold him, so he is on top of the switch. Walk off the panel and the switch will come up right below Koops, activating the switch, triggering a big flush. After the water is gone, drop down into the hole and open the chest for a Shrink Stomp badge. There is also a Dizzy Dial behind the stairs.) After you get these things, climb the stairs and go back down the pipe to your Punies. The water from above has drained in here, creating a new pool. You can now lead them across on some lilypads that have come up. Before you go down the pipe, get the Shine Sprite on the lilypads. Careful not to fall in the water because it is, of course, filled with piranhas. Now you can go down the pipe.

In this room, there is another pedestal and a huge Puni platform here. Make sure you have every Puni, then insert the orb. The huge platform lowers like a elevator to the room below. You must be getting near the end. Heart and Save Blocks can be found in this here. (There is also a Mushroom behind the left bush.) When you are ready, enter the next room.

This room is a huge, octagonal, and lined with Puni statues. There are stairs that lead down to a Puni Orb pedestal and a large platform. Make sure you have all 101 Punies and put the Orb in the pedestal. This causes the Emerald Star to appear right behind you! You have your second Crystal Star... or do you? Before you can get the Star, Lord Crump runs by and takes it! After he brags about his victory, he sets a timer for five minutes. When that five minutes are up the Great Tree will be destroyed by a bomb! But don't worry, if you go fast enough, it's way more than enough time! Quick, follow him and get out of here! Don't forget to take the Puni Orb with you.

In this next room, quickly defeat some X-Nauts that attack you. The timer still counts even in battles and dialogue. Before unlocking the door and leaving, check the bottom-right bush for a Star Piece.

When you go through the door, you'll emerge on the lower part of the room with the winding path. Quickly take the pipe back up (and watch the timer still tick) and leave the room the way you first entered.

Hurry back through this two-level room.

You end up back in the bubble room. Blow your Punies accross as you did before, then cross over yourself. Use the X-Naut door on the other side to get back to the entry room.

The Puni Elder is blocking Lord Crump's escape as Mario and Co. come in. Punio demands for Crump to give the Crystal Star back and leave forever. Seeing that he is trapped, Crump stops the timer and attacks you in a giant red robot!

BOSS: MAGNUS VON GRAPPLE

HP: 30
Attack: 2
Defense: 1

It looks like Lord Crump is attacking you in a large red and white robot. Luckliy this dude isn't too hard to beat. The hard part is that you need to use your strongest attacks to damage him. I recomend the Power Jump, now that your jump is powered up. Magnus's main attack is a stomp that can be hard to block, but isn't too powerful. The only other trick to defeat the robot is to detach its rocket arms. These arms can do major damage, but they only have 2 HP, so take them out before they can attack! Flurrie's Gale Force works real well if you can do the Action Command.

After you defeat Magnus Von Grapple, Lord Crump and the rest of the X-Nauts leave and the Emerald Star is yours! It comes with a new Star Power, Clock Out!

END OF CHAPTER 2

After saving, watch the Mario heads and prepare for another Peach scene.

****???****
Grodus is receiving a report about what happened in the Great Tree. He says that there are four left plus the one they have from Rogueport! After this slightly shocking news, we see Peach again.

After Peach says something about her situation, the door opens up again. Time to pay TEC a visit again. (Take a shower if you want to.)

When Peach visits TEC again, it says that it heard her say something about dancing at the ball again. TEC doesn’t know why but it wants to dance with Peach. Before you have a chance to laugh at the idea of Peach dancing with a 10-ton computer, TEC makes a holographic image of Peach to dance with! You start in a dancing minigame! Just hit the buttons that appear on the screen. After you complete it, if you did well enough, TEC lets you use its Email again to send a message to Mario. Soon after, the scene ends and you can save again.

****PETAL MEADOWS****
Time for Bowser’s scene! The Koopa King is one step behind you tracking down Peach in Petalburg, where someone has seen her. To get there you will have to play… Super Koopa Bros? In this funny minigame, Bowser replaces Mario in some classic action. Playing as Bowser, you have to go through the level destroying everything! Use your fire breath to destroy everything and collect meat to make you bigger until you fill up the whole screen and become invincible! Unfortunately, the level doesn’t last long.

After the level ends, you’ll be in Petalburg. After he scares off all the locals, he sees Peach in a nearby window! This will be easy! As soon as the Koopa King gets to the window a nearby local comes out and takes his life-sized Peach poster down. Now Bowser is the guy who talks to posters! After this, the scene ends and you get to save again and switch back to Mario.

****BOGGLY WOODS****
After some final goodbyes with the Punies, leave the Great Tree. As you emerge into Boggly Woods, you get Peach’s Email. She is still safe and still trying to find who her kidnappers are. Now, return to Flurrie’s house. Enter Flurrie’s bedroom and open the chest for a very useful Super Appeal P badge! Also use Spin Jump in front of Flurrie’s bed to get a Star Piece! Now after you get these, return to Rogueport Sewers.

****ROGUEPORT SEWERS****
As soon as you exit the pipe in the sewers, Spin Jump around the area to find another hidden panel with a Star Piece! Now go back through the tunnel Punio showed you.

Slip back through the bars and go right. On the way, test out your new Star Power, Clock Out, on some enemies. It’s not exactly the strongest Star Power. Now that you have Flurrie, you can do something about that peeling wallpaper. Go up to it and use Flurrie’s field skill to blow it away and reveal a Happy Heart P badge. Now climb the stairs and return to the room with the black chest. Spin Jump on the pedestal with the chest for another Star Piece! Do not return to The Thousand-Year Door yet, first go to the area where you fought the pack of Goombas. Spin Jump there for yet another Star Piece (Isn’t Spin Jump useful?) Now you can go to the Thousand-Year Door room. Before revealing the next Crystal Star, find one more Star Piece by Spin Jumping at the southern end of the room. Now you can step on the pedestal. After the usual cutscene the map reveals the location of the Gold Star. It’s on a… floating machine in the sky? Is this map messed up or something? Well, better go talk to Frankly about it.

****ROGUEPORT****
Back at the professor’s place, he says you will need all seven Crystal Stars to break the 1,000-year seal on the city behind the door. He then explains why the Gold Star is in the sky. It’s hidden in Glitzville, a city in the sky where the main attraction is a giant fight arena where people come and bet on fights. The only way to get to Glitzville is a blimp in West Rogueport, but a ticket is very hard to get. The only person who will give you one is Don Pianta, the mob boss who runs the Pianta Parlor. After this, leave Frankly’s house for some more side questing.

First of all, if you didn’t beat Gus I suggest you should. If you already have, go behind and see if there are some troubles for you to do. You should also order the Contact Lens and give it to Zess T. to gain access to the west side of Rogueport. Next it’s time to Spin Jump to get more Star Pieces in all of the places you have been so far.

-Rogueport Square- In front of the gallows
-Rogueport Square- In the back alley, behind Zess T’s house
-East Rogueport- In front of Frankly’s house.
-West Rogueport- In front of the Pianta Parlor
-Rogueport Harbor- At the left of the bottom of the stairs
-Rogueport Train/Blimp Station- At the left end of the train station
-Petalburg- Near Bub-Ulber on the island in the left side of the village
-Petalburg- On the patch of flowers next to the gate to Shhwonk Fortress.
-Hooktail Castle- On the left end of the long jail cell where you get the Castle Key, reachable with Paper Mode

After getting all these Star Pieces, consider paying Dazzle a visit and getting great badges. (I advise you to get the Power Plus Badge as it will make the game much easier.) Next it is time to check on your brother. He is back from Rumplebump Volcano. He tells you his long story about his epic journey through the volcano. His partner Blooey is not so happy with him for deep-frying him in lava.

Next, you should upgrade one of your partners with all the new Shine Sprites you got. Once you are done side questing, it’s time to find Don Pianta. Unfortunately he is well hidden and you can’t contact him. Now return to East Rogueport and use Paper Mode to slip between the Trouble Center and the building next to it. Enter the building back there.

Talk to Ishnail, the snail-looking guy in here. He is shocked that you want to know where his hated enemy, Don Pianta, is, but he will tell you for 64 coins. This is a high price but since Lemmy is nice enough for me to have this guide, you don’t have to pay. Ishnail’s instructions go like this: First, buy a Dried Shroom and then a Dizzy Dial from the Westside Goods shop. The clerk will then ask you for your favorite color; answer yellow. This will allow you to see Don Pianta. If Ishnail was actually telling you this, restart to keep your coins and do as he said.

Don Pianta at first seems to refuse your request, but decides to give you the Blimp Ticket after you mention Peach, in exchange for your help. He wants you to find his daughter Francesca, who is with another Pianta named Frankie. He says you either bring them back or tell him where they are. He shows you what they look like and he sends you off. Head over to the pier, where the two lovers are.

When you talk to both of them Frankie thinks he should turn himself in, while Francesca wants to leave on a boat and leave her daddy forever. She makes you promise not to tell her father.

Now return to Don Pianta and tell him you found them. He prepares to send some of his men to go retrieve them, but at that second Francesca and Frankie come into his office. They both try to apologize to him, but he tells them to do whatever they want. After the two leave, talk to Don Pianta again. He gives you a blimp ticket as he promised, and commands you to leave. Go to West Rogueport and head to the train/blimp station. Talk to the Cheep Cheep conductor and show him your ticket. He lets you on the blimp. Before entering the pipe to the background, go behind the pipe for a Star Piece! Now stand on the blimp’s platform and press A to go up. Now you are riding the skies on your way to Glitzville!

=-=-=-=-=-CHAPTER 3: Of Glitz and Glory

Enemies in Chapter: Goomba, Pokey, K.P. Koopa, Red Spike Buzzy, Dry Bones, Dark Puff, Pale Piranha, Cleft, Bob-omb, Bandit, Big Bandit, Hyper Bald Cleft, Iron Cleft, Lakitu, Spiny, Bristle, Shady Koopa, Fuzzy, Green Fuzzy, Flower Fuzzy, Red Magikoopa, Green Magikoopa, White Magikoopa, Bowser, Dark Claw, Red Chomp, Hammer Bros., Boomerang Bros., Fire Bros., Dark Koopatrol, Rawk Hawk, Macho Grubba

****GLITZVILLE****
After your peaceful voyage through the sky, the blimp lowers you down to the ground. The colorful city is loaded with attractions, like an item shop, juice bar, and a hot dog vendor, but the biggest attraction is the Glitz Pit, which takes up most of the space of the square.

#################
SOUVENIR SHOP             $=coins
#################

Earth Quake: 15$
Point Swap: 5$
Power Punch: 15$
Repel Cape: 15$
Super Shroom: 15$
Thunder Bolt: 12$

################
HOT DOG STAND            $=coins
################
Hot Dog: 10$

After checking out the shops, it’s time to get some more Star Pieces! First Spin Jump right under where you landed to uncover a hidden panel. Next, look behind the phonebooth for another Star Piece. (Try using the phone for some funny conversations.) The next piece is behind a potted plant on the right-hand side of the fancy steps leading to the Glitz Pit. Going clockwise, the fourth Star Piece is behind the counter in the Juice Bar. To get the last Star Piece you will have to get on top of the juice bar. Use the crates southeast of the juice bar to get to a huge ! switch. Spin Jump it to reveal some stairs that lead to the top of the juice bar. Stand next to the billboard with the big yellow guy on it, and use Koops to retrieve the final Star Piece behind it. Also, open the chest for a Power Plus P badge, which should be equipped at once. Finally look to the left of the juice bar for a Shine Sprite. It seems to be out of reach, but you can use your hammer to reveal a coin block underneath that allows you to reach it. Now you can enter the Glitz Pit building.
There are more posters of that big yellow bird guy on the wall here. Spin Jump in front of the Bob-omb poster for a Star Piece. Now enter the double doors right across from the entrance. These doors lead to the seats of the Glitz Pit. It looks like the yellow bird guy is the current champion of the Glitz Pit, Rawk Hawk. You’re just in time to see the guy finishing off an opponent. After his victory, the Clubba announcer interviews him. Uh ohm time for some more trash-talking by Rawk Hawk. After this he holds up his championship belt. Wait… is that the Gold Star on it?! You’re given a choice by your partner to steal it, but either way you’re going to have to fight your way to the top to get the belt and the Crystal Star. Now go back to the lobby.

Go past the stairs to the right and talk to the secret service agent that is guarding the door. When he learns that you want to fight in the Glitz Pit, he sends you to the office of the announcer, Grubba. He steps aside and lets you through the door.

Now you are in the back hallway of the Glitz Pit. It isn’t as fancy here, is it? Just keep walking to reach Grubba’s office in the back. (It’s the only one where the secret service agent will let you in.) On the way, jump on some coiled wire and into the box right before the big blue double doors to get a Last Stand badge. Now go into Grubba’s office. After he confirms that you want to fight, he goes into a childhood story about him as a fighter. After his speech, he leads you down the hall to another room. This, he says, is the champion’s room and you can have it if you become the champion. Then Grubba takes you to another slightly worse room. This is where all the rest of the fighters stay. He takes you back to his office to sign a fighter’s contract. After you do this, he decides to give you a new name. He says your name will be… The Great Gonzales! After this he calls his assistant over, Jolene, to take you to your room. As she does she starts explaining the rules.

You arrive in the… less than perfect… Minor League room. You can use the GBA-like computer on the wall to view your rankings or to schedule a fight. Try it out now to contact Grubba and schedule a fight against the 19th-ranked fighters, the Goomba Bros! To make the fights harder and more crowd-pleasing, Grubba makes a random restriction on your fighting that you must follow if you want to advance. These include things like:

-Appealing a certain amount of times
-Not being able to use your jump, hammer, items, or Star Powers
-Not being able to attack at all, only your partner can
-Not being able to have your partner attack
-Having to use at least one Star Power
-Having to take a certain amount of damage
-Having to wait a certain amount of turns before you can attack
-Not being able to switch partners

Your victory will be null if you don’t follow Grubba’s instructions. Luckily, most of them are not that bad. You can always restart and try again if you really don’t like your restriction.

After you make the fight, wait a few seconds, and a secret service agent will come in and take you to your fight. Soon you’ll be in the Glitz Pit. Grubba introduces you to your opponents, the Goomba Bros. After some Goomba trash-talk, Grubba is about to explain the rules further, when the Goomba Bros. go for a first strike! Be ready to block it if you can! The Goomba Bros. consists of five Goombas, so they should be super easy to beat, especially if you can block their attacks. After the battle, Grubba interviews you and makes the crowd go wild.

Back in the locker room, Grubba gives you his congratulations and Jolene gives you your prize money. You are then free to do whatever you want until you schedule your next match. Be sure to use the bed to rest and the save block outside. After all that is over a K.P. Koopa who likes to go by King K. walks up to you and befriends you. He introduces you to his buddies: Master Crash the Bob-omb, Bandy Andy the Bandit, and Cleftor the Cleft.

The challenge you face is that you have to fight your way to the top, fight Rawk Hawk to win the championship belt. Here are all the matches you have to go through. I don’t know if they are in exact order:

Goomba Bros. (Goomba x 5): You just beat this guys!

The K.P. Koopas (K.P. Koopa x 2, K.P Paratroopa): This fight is against K.P. Koopa and his buddies. You and Goombella should finish them off fast.

Spike Storm (Red Spike Buzzy x 2): These guys are flippable but they have spikes on them. Use damaging items or Earth Tremor to beat them.

The Dead Bones (Dull Bones x 3): You have already faced many of these guys, so they should be easy. Use Koops’s Power Shell for a fast victory.

The Mind-Bogglers (Dark Puff, Pider, Pale Piranha): More old enemies, just beat them like you did in Boggly Woods.

The Bob-omb Squad (Bob-omb x 4): Focus your attacks on one Bob-omb at a time to keep them from exploding.

The Hand-it-Overs (Bandit x 2, Big Bandit x 2): I don’t like these guys at all! Be sure to take them out ASAP!

The Punk Rocks (Hyper Bald Cleft x 3): These guys are like regular Bald Clefts, except they are stronger and can charge their attack by 6! Take these guys out with damaging items or Earth Tremor before they do incredible damage to you!

The Armored Harriers (Iron Cleft x 2): These guys seem to be invincible at first, but when you get Yoshi’s gulp, you can beat them.

The Tiny Spinies (Lakitu x 2): These guys are pretty easy, but they throw out Spiny eggs that hatch into Spinies. Focus on one Lakitu at a time and not the Spinies.

The Poker Faces (Bristle x 2): You can use a POW Block on these guys like you did in Shhwonk Fortress, or you can just use Earth Tremor.

The Shellshockers (Shady Koopa x 2, Shady Paratroopa x 2): These are tougher  Koopas with all-around better stats, except for defense. Your strategy for them is mostly the same, but be aware that these cheapos are actually stronger while flipped! They can use a powerful tackle that hurts both your party members, so take them out ASAP if you flip them!

The Fuzz (Fuzzy, Green Fuzzy, Flower Fuzzy): This group is pretty annoying. Focus on the Green Fuzzy first because he can multiply, then beat the Flower Fuzzy as it can use your FP for powerful attacks.

The Magikoopa Masters (Red Magikoopa, Green Magikoopa, White Magikoopa): These guys not only have powerful attacks, but they can also cast spells on themselves. Beat the green one first, then the white one, and finally red.

Craw Daddy (Dark Craw): This is the first of the "mini-boss" enemies you'll face. This guy is a stronger version of Gus. Use your strongest attacks on it, but don't jump on it when its spear is up!

Chomp Country (Red Chomp x 3): These guys have extremely high stats. Defense piercing blows, items, or Earth Tremor are the only ways to beat them.

Hamma, Bamma, and Flare (Hammer Bro, Boomerang Bro, Fire Bro): This crash helmet-wearing team is extremely tough. Each one uses powerful attacks, especially the Boomerang Bro, which should be taken down first.

The Koopinator (Dark Koopatrol): This is the guy you saw Rawk Hawk beating as you entered the Glitz Pit. Even though he is not the champion, he is pretty strong. He can be flipped like normal Koopas but his spiked helmet prevents that. Use Yoshi’s gulp or your anti-defense set of moves to take him down.

Rawk Hawk: A boss strategy for the champion of the Glitz Pit will come later in the chapter.

When you claim 17th place, Jolene leads Bandy Andy into the room. It looks like he has been “sneaking” around and got caught. When Jolene leaves the room again Bandy leaves too. That Andy never learns…

After advancing to rank 16, you hear some panicked voices outside the room. Some guy is getting rushed to the hospital. King K. says it happens all the time.

When you get to 15th place, King K. comes up to you again. It seems like Mr. Hoggle, the hot dog vendor, is using a new egg from an exotic island south of Rogueport in his hot dogs. As disgusting as an egg hot dog sounds, he says you should try one. If you haven’t seen him already, Mr. Hoggle is just left of the Glitz Pit in the Glitzville square. It looks like Mr. Hoggle is chasing an egg outside his stand! The egg then jumps on top of the hot dog stand, which is out of reach… but not for Mario! Return to the roof of the juice bar and use the springboard to get to a Plane Panel on top of the Rawk Hawk poster. It’s kind of hard, but you can use it to reach the top of the hot dog stand. When you examine the egg you have to decide what to do with it. (Choosing the second decision won’t change anything though.) After this, the egg follows you as a second partner. Whoop-de-doo. Anyway, return to the Glitz Pit.

When you reach 13th place, King K. says he is retiring! It will sure be lonely without him…

When you reach 11th place Jolene leads a new fighter into the room. It’s a Swooper. She is giving him the same speech as she gave you. If you want to see something pretty cool, exit your room and go right. A cutscene is happening about someone sneaking into the storage room. Watch it if you want to. Now go and enter the 10th place fight.

No matter what, this fight will be against the Armored Harriers. When you enter the battle you will notice something different, these guys are invincible! Absolutely nothing can pierce their iron armor. Save yourself from getting wasted by just running away. (You did know you could do that, right?) When you exit and return to the locker room, the egg is gone! Suddenly a small Yoshi walks up to you. He has hatched from his egg! It appears that he could hear everything while he was in that egg, and knows your story to get the Gold Star. One bad thing is that he calls you Great Gonzales. He decides to thank you for raising him by fighting alongside you! He is about to introduce himself, when he notices that he doesn’t have a name! Name him anything you want. (I named mine Bob.) You can also get a different color for your Yoshi. Something about leaving him out longer or something… I don’t know. You now have a new partner! (See Yoshi’s character guide in the Characters section.)

Yoshi’s gulp attack can beat the Armored Harriers! How convenient! Sign up for the battle again and get ready to kick some iron rear! The tables have turned from the last fight; Yoshi’s Gulp can hurt both Armored Harriers at the same time! You will be able to beat these guys easily!

After you beat the Armored Harriers, you rise up to 10th place! You are now in the Major Leagues! Jolene asks you to talk to Grubba about it. After he gives you 30 coins, Jolene takes you to the Major League locker room. This room is a cleaner version of the Minor League room. When you get in Rawk Hawk comes in and congratulates you for ranking up so fast. Just then your partner notices the Gold Star on his belt is a fake! As Rawk Hawk leaves you wonder where the real one is. Luckily you quickly get some answers. Someone calling themselves X sends you a strange Email saying to follow his instructions to get the Star. After the cutscene, you can check the left corner for an Ice Storm.

Now that you have a new partner, you may want to return to Rogueport to do some side quests. There are a few things you can now get over there. You did know you can leave, didn’t you?

****ROGUEPORT****
First, head to East Rogueport, to the waterway next to the Trouble Center. Now that you have Yoshi, you can cross it using his field skill. Once you are across, climb the crates to the roof of the eastmost building. You can do a Spin Jump up here to get a Star Piece. Now cross the gaps between rooftops with Yoshi. You will see a Shine Sprite in the back of the area. Go get it. Then look behind the chimney for a star piece. If you keep going left across the rooftops you will see a man under an umbrella. This man, for a small fee of five coins, will tell you a story of 1m000 years ago, the time of the 1,000-Year Door. Once you’ve paid for a story, you can listen to it anytime for free. More stories become available as you progress through the game. Once you are done, go to the first rooftop and drop behind it by squeezing through some crates with Paper Mode. There is another Shine Sprite back here. Now use Yoshi to return to the other side of the waterway and go to West Rogueport. Slip through the grate in West Rogueport and enter Rogueport Sewers.

****ROUGEPORT SEWERS****
Using Yoshi’s field skill, cross the gap to the left and get the Shine Sprite, then enter the pipe. You appear in the background, next cross a few moving platforms to get a Star Piece. Now, return to Rogueport.

****ROGUEPORT****
You will probably want to upgrade a partner, with all the Shine Sprites you have. I recommend Yoshi because he is very strong. Now you can return to the Glitz Pit.

****GLITZVILLE****
Now continue fighting until you get to 8th place. You will get an Email from X saying to go to the “watering hole”. (Watering hole is juice bar for those people who don’t know slang.) Talk to the manager of the “watering hole” to get a package… the Super Hammer!

As with the Super Boots, for the Super Hammer, you will again be taken to a new screen where Toadette explains how to use it. The Super Hammer increases your attack when using it, and allows you a new move that lets you attack the enemy in back of the enemy you were attacking, thus doing one damage to the opponent in back, AND the usual damage to the enemy you originally set to attack. With the Super Hammer you also learn a new field move. You can now hold B to twist up and let go to smash the big yellow blocks. Wait a second… where have you seen this block before? Oh yeah, the Minor League locker room! After the explanation you get another Email from X telling you to smash the big block.

For some weird reason, the secret agent guy guarding the Minor League locker room strangely lets you in. Now use your new ability to smash the huge yellow block. Enter the room behind it, climb some boxes, and use Yoshi to get to a paper containing information about the Crystal Stars! When you leave the secret room, Jolene comes in, says you shouldn’t be in there, and takes the paper from you! Hmmm… The plot thickens.

Try to conserve FP for the 7th place team, because when you beat them, the Armored Harriers enter again! Use Yoshi to beat the stuffing out of them and move on.

After you return to the locker room, you receive another Email. Judging from the letters, this one isn’t from X. It’s telling you to stop snooping around.

Once you beat the #6 team, the Koopinator points out a slice of cake on the pedestal. A fan must have given it to Jolene to give to you. Make sure to save before advancing to 5th place.

After you beat the 5th place team, a familiar voice comes from the crowd. It’s Bowser and he’s coming for payback!

BOSS: BOWSER
HP: 30
Attack: 3
Defense: 1
Lucky for you, Bowser is weaker than he was when you fought him in the previous game (if you played it)/ His attacks include a claw attack, a poisonous bite, a stomp attack that disables Mario’s hammer, jump, or items for a few turns, and a hard to dodge fire breath. The bite and stomp attacks can be blocked. To win this battle you will have to use powerful attacks. Power Smash works well now that you have the Super Hammer. Use Yoshi’s gulp to pierce his defense. He shouldn’t be too hard… this time.

After you beat him, he walks away disappointed… what a sore loser… Anyway, continue fighting until you get to the 4th place opponent. You will get another Email from X telling you to go to the phonebooth in Glitzville square. You stop by Rawk Hawk in the hallway and he tells you that you shouldn’t challenge him. Did he write the threatening Email? Well, forget him right now, make your way to the phonebooth, you will find the key to the storage room in it. Next, X tells you to go open the storage room.

When you enter the storage room, Ms. Mowz is waiting inside for you! Your partner asks if she was the one making the strange noises in there earlier. She denies it and leaves (kissing Mario first). After she leaves, X tells you to find the switch for the stairs. Before doing so, Spin Jump in the middle of the hallway to get a Star Piece. Unfortunately, the switch is nearly as easy to find. What you DON’T know is that the metal on the blocks in the room is just a slip cover! Have Flurrie blow the metal plating off, revealing normal blocks. Smash them with your hammer to reveal the switch and a Charge P badge! Hit the switch to reveal the stairs to the second floor.

The door to the right is locked, so get the Shine Sprite, and then up on the crates behind the stairs. Use Yoshi to cross the gap to more crates and smash the big yellow block. This reveals a hole you can drop in and a Heart Plus P badge you can reach with Yoshi. After getting it drop into the hole and enter the narrow space between floors.

In this crawlspace, go right, past the vent, and to a tiny hole right above Grubba's room. From here, you can listen to a conversation between him and Jolene. They seem to be talking about people trespassing in the storage room. What’s the big deal about it? There doesn't seem to be anything suspicious... Whatever is in there, it isn't the "most important thing" anyway. What could he mean? They then discuss the disappearance of King K. after Jolene retired him... what?! Apparently, he isn't even the first to disappear! Grubba asks Jolene a few other suspicious questions and sends her off. As your partner comments on the disappearances, Grubba hears you! Quick, make a random animal sound to get rid of his attention! (The last choice is especially hilarious; there must be "Burping Beetles" wherever Grubba comes from.) After you've finished eavesdropping, go back and slip through the vent to return to the storage room.

Anyway, register for and win the fight for 3rd place. Mario gets another threatening Email. Whoever is sending them must know about the Crystal Star and missing fighter! As you’re preparing for the next fight, Jolene brings in some more cake. Don’t eat it this time! It’s poisoned! If you do eat it, your partner won’t be able to fight for the whole match. After you win, you see that someone else has stupidly eaten it. That was lucky.

Now fight the Koopinator for first place! You’re almost there! After winning the battle, X tells you to remove the posters of yourself in the lobby. I know, it’s hard taking down your fame, but you have to. Go to the second floor and blow off all the posters of yourself. Another storage key can be found under one of them. X then Emails you again, and obviously, you need to open the locked door in the storage room. So, go through the locked door, use Yoshi to get to the big yellow block, and then smash it. It’s King K. and Bandy Andy! They are both hurt bad and
Bandy Andy says it happened when he was approaching the ring! What is goingon?!

Get the Star Piece and leave the room.

Back in your locker room, register for the champion fight. The secret service guy takes you to a dingy Minor League locker room instead of the arena! This has to be Rawk Hawk’s doing! Meanwhile in the ring, Grubba is getting the crowd ready for the match and announces the big fight, having no apparent idea what’s going on with Mario. He also mentions that you ranked up faster even the Rawk Hawk did! Back in the locker room, your partner notices that the door is locked… this is really bad. The crowd is starting to notice that you are late to the arena.

Now it’s time to escape! Look in the back right corner of the room where there is a Peach poster. Use Flurrie to blow it away to reveal a hidden door! It looks like a secret poker room. Enter the door on the other side of the poker room, you then emerge from a locker into the Major League’s locker room. Go to your right and enter the bathroom. Now it’s time to put those plumbing skills to the test! Jump on the toilet, and use it like a pipe to reach the bathroom in your locker room. This room isn’t locked! Be sure to save, heal, or change badges if you need to. It’s time to face Rawk Hawk!

MINI-BOSS: RAWK HAWK
HP: 40
Attack: 3
Defense: 0
Rawk Hawk’s main attack is a low sliding move that is fairly easy to block. When his HP is lower, he will jump in the air and do a superman attack that does 4 damage, but it’s still easy to block. When his HP is really low, he will bring a girder down, grab on to it, and shake it, causing it to make debris fall on you and your partner. The attack hits many times, so it’s hard to block. Use Flurrie or Quake Hammer to dislodge him and make him fall. Finish him off quick and end the battle!

You win! You are the champion of the Glitz Pit!

Back in the locker room, Grubba congratulates you and gives you the champion belt. Jolene then leads you to the champion’s room. Sweet… Wait, isn’t there something missing? Where’s the Crystal Star? Before you can ponder too long, your partner hears a strange voice. If you listened to Bandy Andy’s stories, you know that it’s the ghost of the champion’s room! Jump on the box to the left, then use Yoshi to get on top of the door frame, then go the high shelf on the right. The metal door won’t open so “open” it with a Super Hammer. Go through the doorway now.

You are now in the air vent you saw in the storage room. If you know where you are going, you will realize that you are headed towards Grubba’s office. As you reach the end, you overhear Grubba talking to himself. He obviously knows about the missing fighters and why they disappeared! Even more, he is starting to think you and Jolene know too much and is planning to get rid of both of you, just like he did with the other fighters! Smash the vent door and go through. As you heard Grubba say, he put some papers regarding the mystery in his left desk drawer! Before you open it, get the Star Piece behind the potted plant and the one in the right desk drawer. Now open the left drawer. According to the paper, the secret is a giant machine hidden under the ring powered by the real Gold Star that sucks people’s power out! Suddenly Grubba busts in and tries to get you to leave. After your partner accuses him of the missing fighters, he runs off to the ring. Before following him, rest, save, and switch badges if you need to. It’s time for the real chapter boss!

The arena is completely empty when you enter, as no match was set for you. As you approach the center Grubba is there waiting for you. Now that you know his secret to staying young, the disappearance of the fighters, and the location of the Crystal Stars, it’s time for him to TAKE. YOU. DOWN. He then stands in a giant machine that rises from the ring with the Gold Star on top and uses it to use the power of the missing fighters to make himself huge!

BOSS: MACHO GRUBBA
HP: 60
Attack: 4
Defense: 0
Grubba will always start the battle by giving himself the ability to attack twice per turn. He uses his extra turn to either raise his attack, defense, or evasion for one turn, then attacks you! When he boosts his defense, don’t attack, use that time to heal or appeal to raise Star Power. When he raises his attack, try healing or attack him like crazy when you get the chance. If he boosts evasion, try to stall him and don’t use costly attacks. Luckily, the double action bonus only lasts three turns, so he always has to recast it on himself, leaving time to attack. He gets bigger when his HP is low, so use your strongest moves to finish him off!

After you defeat Macho Grubba, he collapses and reverts to normal. Jolene then runs in and explains everything. She was the manager there to find out why her brother went missing while fighting to support them. She then reveals that she was X! Also, her brother was the first champion of the Glitz Pit, a disappeared fighter, Prince Mush! As you are mourning over Prince Mush, he pops out of the machine along with the Gold Star! They thank you and give you, your third Crystal Star! (Along with a ultra-powerful star move, Power Lift!)

END OF CHAPTER 3

END OF CHAPTER 3

Well. One of the best chapters (in my opinion) in the game has ended. Time for another Peach scene.
 
****???****
 
Grodus is speaking with the Shadow Sirens again. They still haven’t succeeded in their mission yet, but they tell Grodus they have a secret weapon.
 
Back in Peach’s room, the door opens again. Time to visit TEC again.
 
This time this crazy computer wants you to go ask Grodus about some incomplete information that he has. Wait a second... Ask Grodus?! Is this computer mad? Luckily not. TEC is having you go in disguise in an X-Naut uniform. Leave to the elevator, and go to the only available floor.
 
TEC brings you to a locker room. Enter one of the stalls, and you will put on the uniform. (Amazing she can fit in it, as the uniform is 2 feet shorter than her. Better hurry before you get spinal injuries.) Leave the room and head to the throne room. (If you want, you can talk to the other X-Nauts on the way.)
 
Once you enter the throne room, you ask Grodus about... yourself. He quickly dismisses the question and tells you to concentrate on some treasure and world domination... He must mean the treasure behind the Thousand-Year Door.
 
Return to the changing room. You wonder if world domination has anything to do with the Crystal Stars. Anyway change back into the dress and head back to TEC. (Surprising you didn’t get spinal fracture.)
 
Back in TEC’s room, you ask him if he was made for world domination, and what the Crystal Stars have to do with it. He refuses to answer, but still lets you Email Mario.
 
After saving and watching the Peach heads, prepare for another Bowser scene.
 
****THE GREAT TREE****
 
Bowser arrives among terrified Punies. Kamy suggests interrogating some Punies for information about Mario and the Crystal Stars. You soon meet the Puni Elder, who enlarges herself. She admits that Mario has the Crystal Star and is going to save Peach. Bower decides to defeat Mario and steal the Crystal Stars, Peach, and the treasure.
 
****GLITZVILLE****
 
You are now back in the lobby of the Glitz Pit. Everyone you met there is seeing you off. Rawk Hawk is going to clean up and fight fair, King K is back in the arena, and Jolene is running the place. After all the goodbyes, board the blimp and head back to Rogueport.
 
****ROGUEPORT****
 
Now, time for the usual sidequests! First, answer the Email from Peach. After that comes the Trouble Center, Lovely Howz of Badges, etc. Luigi is hanging out with his new partner, like usual. Plus, now that you have the Super Hammer, it’s time for you to get some more Shine Sprites and Star Pieces! Enter Rogueport Sewers from East Rogueport.
 
***ROGUEPORT SEWERS****
 
Return to the long room with the stairs in it just below the one you enter in. Don't take the pipe you normally use; instead, exit left.
 
Now that you have the Super Hammer, it’s time to activate some shortcuts. Smash the giant block in this room. Use the elevator and get the Shine Sprite. Now Spin Jump each ! Switch. Each one brings up a blue pipe! The left one leads to the Great Tree, and the other leads to Petalburg! How convenient! Now go down the pipe and to the next doorway.
 
Remember you had to use that airplane panel to get to the Thousand-Year Door? Well now you don’t! Smash the giant block in the room to reveal a springboard for easy access to the Door! Spring up and walk though.
 
After the usual lights and cinematic, the map reveals the next Star to be in some creepy woods in the west. Man! I wanted the island to the south!
 
****ROGUEPORT****
 
It’s professor time! Professor Frankly is shocked to know that the X-Nauts want to takeover the world! But what’s really shocking, is that behind the Door is a 1,000-year-old evil that destroyed the old city! The X-Nauts want to use it to takeover the world! That’s not good! After that, Frankly explains that the next Crystal Star is in Twilight Town. A pipe to it can be found under Rogueport. If you have already found the pipe you know that it just spits you out again. If you haven’t, the pipe is under the grate in West Rogueport, across the gap to the left using Yoshi and through the green door. The professor says you should visit a person from Twilight Town named Darkley. He lives in the dark ally behind Frankley’s house. You should know how to reach this. If not, try to walk into the center of the brick wall next to Merlon's house.
 
When you talk to Darkley, he says you need to have your name written on you to get through the pipe. Ummmm, oookkk. Kinda creepy. But anyways, he writes your name on your overalls and your partner’s name as well. Now, return to the pipe and enter Twilight Town (aka Chapter 4)!
 
=-=-=-=-=-=
CHAPTER 4: For Pigs the Bell Tolls
 
Enemies in Chapter: Hyper Goomba, Hyper Paragoomba, Hyper Spiky Goomba, Crazee Dayzee, Amazy Dayzee, Hyper Cleft, Boo, Swooper, Atomic Boo, ???, Buzzy Beetle, Spike Top, Doopliss
 
****TWILIGHT TOWN****
 
As Chapter 4 begins, you can tell how it got its name! The town always lives in twilight (neither dark nor light) with a full moon in the background and spooky trees. An NPC comments that you look like an adventurer and that Twilight Town needs one now. Before you can ponder what he’s talking about, the town bell rings and he turns into a PIG! That answers it for you right there. Soon, a hairy man comes and comments on the first man. Apparently, this isn’t the first time someone got turned into a pig! He introduces himself as Dour, the mayor of Twilight Town. He takes you to his house to explain things.
 
It seems the village has been cursed by a monster in Creepy Steeple, and people have been turning into pigs every time it rings the bell. He says to leave before it happens to you, but your partner says you won’t until you get the Crystal Star! Dour mentions a red stone in Creepy Steeple, and your partner decides to get it. It’s time for some exploring!
 
First, look to the left of Dour's house, between it and the next one, for a Star Piece. Search the bushes at the bottom of the screen; one near the middle contains a second Star Piece. Now, head to the east side of Twilight Town. (Check out the Inn if you want, you get a free Peachy Peach for staying there).
 
On this side, look behind some barrels next to the tree at the southeast side of the area for the third and final Star Piece. Next, take a look at the shop here. It's the best place to find Life Shrooms, and the only one for Spite Pouches and powerful Stop Watches. Unfortunately, it's closed at the moment because the shopkeeper’s husband was turned into a pig and dropped the key to the store room in the forest. There is a fairly useless Inn Coupon behind the prize sign.
 
################
TWILIGHT SHOP               $=coins
################
 
Life Shroom: 40$
Maple Syrup: 20$
Sprite Pouch: 10$
Stop Watch: 30$
Super Shroom: 15$
Thunder Rage: 20$
 
Now try to leave through the east gate. The gatekeeper says you need the mayor’s permission to go through. That shouldn’t be too hard! On your way back, the bell rings again.
 
When you arrive, the mayor is a pig! Uh oh, how are you going to get out? Let’s try to work it out with the gatekeeper!
 
When you arrive back with the gatekeeper, the bell rings again, and HE turns into a pig too! Well, with no one guarding, onto the trail we go!
 
****TWILIGHT TRAIL****
 
As soon as you enter the scary trail, enter the rundown shed here and grab the Black Key to your left. Hmmm, another Black Chest coming up?
 
The next area contains a new enemy, the Hyper Goomba! These guys come in all the varieties the regular ones do, but are stronger and have more HP. Even worse, they have the ability to charge up their attack by 6 and cause massive damage. These guys usually come in trios and like to charge and cause major damage. The trick is to kill these guys as fast as you can. If you want to avoid them, you can just run along the bottom of the screen. Otherwise you can hit all the coin blocks here. Also, stand on the yellow ? Block and jump to find a well hidden Super Shroom. Anyways, continue on to the next area.
 
A large tree blocks the path here, and you can see a storage key on the other side. You can’t reach it, but Koops can! Use him to get the key, and return to Twilight Town.
 
****TWILIGHT TOWN****
 
Return the Storage Key to the shopkeeper. She is grateful and lets you take anything you want from her storeroom. Take all you can, because there are some pretty good things. Wait... What else is this? Another black chest? Open it up and prepare for another “curse”.
 
This time the “curse” is so “bad” that when you hold R and rapidly rotate the analog stick, you turn into a tube and can roll under small gaps like the fallen tree you saw!

Be sure you stock up on healing items because of the stupid Hyper Goombas.
 
****TWILIGHT TRAIL****
 
That’s right, use your new ability to roll under the tree. Grab the Star Piece behind the roots and head right. Oh no! It’s a haystack! What will you do?! Oh yeah, that’s right. Use your common sense and use Flurrie to blow it away... This will reveal a warp pipe that leads into the background. Before you do that, grab the Star Piece behind the pipe, then enter the pipe. Once you’re in the background, head left into the forest.
 
****TWILIGHT FOREST****
 
You will encounter new enemies here. Hyper Clefts will charge up their defense, so defense piercing attacks work well, like Earth Tremor. There are also Crazee Dayzees in the forest. They look cute, but they attack with a song that can put Mario to sleep unless he blocks! To block, hit A at the last note of their song. (It takes practice to know when this is.) Luckily, they also run away from battle instead of attack if their HP is low. Crazee Dayzees you encounter have a small chance of being Amazee Dayzees, which have the strongest attack in the game! (20 damage, enough to severely weaken or KO Mario.) Luckily, they'll virtually always run from battle, even if their HP is high. If you can take one out on your first turn, you gain massive amounts of experience! Sadly, there is no way to do this yet.
 
With that finished, you can hit the coin block if you like and use Paper Mode on the gap in the grass between two trees. An Earth Quake is waiting for you behind the tree if you want. After this head left into the next area.
 
The red block in this area contains a very useful Hammer Throw badge. Get it and go up in the tree. It’s a dead end! Or a really good wallpaper! Use Flurrie to blow it away to reveal a hole. Go in it, appear in the background, and head right into a deeper part of the forest.
 
Go left to a small clearing with a dark spot. Have Flurrie blow on this spot to reveal some boards. Spin Jump them to smash through and emerge from some rocks in the background. Go right and push the huge rock to also move the one in the foreground (superhuman strength right there). Go back to the foreground and jump into the hole you uncovered to instantly emerge from one on the other side of the rock. Keep going left and defeat the group of enemies. Check behind the last tree for a Shine Sprite and keep going right to the next area.
 
****CREEPY STEEPLE****
 
You are now in the haunted courtyard of the Creepy Steeple. Heal and save, then get to opening the gate… What? You can’t open it? I didn’t tell you? Oh, just roll under the hole in the wall near the old well. (I hope you weren’t still trying to open it.) Open the gate and look behind the fence to the left of it for another Star Piece. Then climb the steps and go into the Steeple.
 
Once you’re in the main hall, look on the north side of it for another hole you can fit through with tube mode.
 
This hole leads to a treasure room. The two chests contain an Ice Smash Badge and a Cookbook (which will be useful later). There is a Shine Sprite in here, and a Star Piece behind the couch. Once you’ve collected your loot, head back into the main hall.
 
Since the side doors don’t work, go to the right up some steps to a statue of a Crystal Star. Push it back to reveal a hole. Where, you ask? Right under you.
 
Once you arrive in the secret basement, note the discolored wall behind you. Use Flurrie to blow the wallpaper off. Head right into the darkness for a bit until you reach the Flower Saver Badge! Get it and go through the door to the left of the springboard.
 
There’s a strange cube in here. Since you have no idea what it does, open it. Suddenly, a bunch of Boos come flying out. Quick! Get Luigi in here! Oh wait, wrong game. After all the Boos fly off, one remains and asks you how many flew out. The answer is 200, and if you answer correctly you get an Ultra Shroom! Now, return to the main hall via the springboard.
 
Talk to the Boo floating around in here. Unless you want to miss a cool badge, say you won’t be mean to him and his friends. After you do, many Boos fill the hallway. The side doors also unlock. If you want, stay in the main hall and stand still. (Consider saving first, since you're about to fight a mini-boss) The Boos will swarm around you and try to remove you from the Steeple. If you use a spin attack with the Super Hammer, they get mad and merge to form a huge Boo!
 
MINI-BOSS: ATOMIC BOO
HP: 40
Attack: 4
Defense: 0
This gigantic boo is formed from 200 smaller ones. It isn’t too tough, and requires little strategy to defeat it. It even gives you the Lucky Start badge if you beat it!
 
Anyways, after that battle, pick up the badge, and take the bottom door along the side of the main hall.
 
You are now on an outdoor walkway on the side of the Creepy Steeple. Swoopers are along the roof here. Try to get first strikes on them. When you get to the end hit the red ! Switch to trigger some rumbling. Where could that be? Enter the door just before the switch.
 
You're in a tall hallway with some stairs at the south end, leading up to a doorway. Strangely enough, there are also two unreachable doors! Spin Jump around the center-right part of the room to find another hidden panel and Star Piece. Then climb the stairs and enter the door at the top.
 
You're now on a walkway on the second floor of the Steeple's main hall. Jump the gap ahead or use Yoshi and keep going. The gap near the left side of the hall is too wide to cross; use Koops to get the Steeple Key across it and return to the previous room.
 
Go down the stairs and out the top door.
 
There's another red ! Switch in this walkway. Hit it twice to cause more rumbling. Go back to the stair hall. (Just so you know, you can slip through the fence to the left with Paper Mode and go past the ! Switch to find a tree you can whack to get a Golden Leaf, a useful cooking item.)
 
Woah! The stairs have moved to the top of the room! That explains the rumbling! Climb them and go through the north door.
 
You’re now on another walkway in the main hall. Go to the left again and carefully jump the gap at the end. Use the save block, and use your key on the locked door.
 
This room has a giant spiral staircase; it must lead to the top of the Steeple. Use the Heart Block if you need it and use the springboard to emerge into...
 
Wait? What? A bell room with a couch, TV, and refrigerator? And a ghost with a party hat on? Strange. He soon notices his new guests and tries to send you away, admitting that he's been turning people into pigs for entertainment. Whoever this weirdo is, he's going down!
 
BOSS: ???
HP: 40
Attack: 4
Defense: 0
This ghost is a fairly straightforward foe; pretty much anything works well on him. You'd better be used to blocking your own attacks for when he transforms into a shadow version of you after losing some HP, though. Just use your strongest attacks on him and you should win easily.
 
This chapter boss is the easiest yet! Victory should not be a problem. After you win, Shadow Mario collapses, and you slightly anticlimactically get the Ruby Star!
 
END OF CHAPTER 4
 
After you save it’s time for a Peach scene. Wait... no? What’s happening? You skip past Peach and Bowser and immediately return to the Creepy Steeple, where Mario and Co. leave while commenting on how weak the boss was. Instead of switching to Mario, you continue to watch the fallen Shadow Mario. After a while... you... gain control of him? No, the game isn’t glitched. The ghost must have switched bodies with you while you had the Ruby Star! He even took all your gullible partners with him! Time to get to the bottom of this. Press A to get up, and head back down Creepy Steeple.
 
Save with the save block and drop down to bottom floor. Avoid battle at all costs, as you have no partners! Once you leave the Steeple, the scene switches to the Shadow Sirens.
 
****TWILIGHT TOWN****
 
Beldam is gloating over her assured victory with her new weapon, the Superbombomb- sounds painful! But, as always, Vivian is blamed for losing it. Although Beldam probably had it, she blames Vivian as always. She threatens Vivian and tells her to look for it, while Beldam and Marilyn leave.
 
****CREEPY STEEPLE****
 
As Shadow Mario, head back to Twilight Town. Remember, try to avoid all battles, and run from them if you have to. Be extra careful with Hyper Enemies, although these are sometimes easy to dodge.
 
****TWILIGHT TRAIL****
 
Once you get in front of the old shed, you run into imposter Mario. What’s more is, he can talk! (How can the partners not notice that?) He restates the obvious, he stole your body and name and he’s planning to get rid of you!  He then asks you to guess his name. When the letters pop up, notice the “p” is missing! Coincidentally, his name has a “p” in it, so you couldn’t guess it anyways. Put in anything you want, and run away from his battle. Return to Twilight Town.
 
****TWILIGHT TOWN****
 
After healing and restocking items if you have to, return to the first area of Twilight Town. Vivian is searching the bushes for the Superbombomb that she supposedly lost. She can’t tell you’re Mario, because you are only Shadow Mario. Search the bushes to the left to receive the Superbombomb and return it. She thanks you for returning it, but notices that it’s broken. When she asks your name, you end up explaining all that has happened about your body getting stolen and all. She decides to repay you by helping you get your name back, and so she can escape her sisters. She also kisses you! That’s four women now! Mario is on fire! Anyways, you just got a new partner!
 
(NOTE: See Vivan’s abilities in the “Partners” Section)
 
Vivian tells you that you can use her ability to listen to the talking birds around town. (Birds can talk?) Some of the birds say random things, but the crows on the southeast side of the second area say that there is only one person who knows the ghost’s name, but he is locked under Creepy Steeple. Looks like it’s time to do some exploring!
 
****TWILIGHT TRAIL****
 
Fake Mario appears in front of you again on your way to Creepy Steeple. Lucky enough for you, Vivian doesn’t notice it’s Mario. The letter “p” is still missing so you cannot name him. Pick any name, run, and keep heading along the trail.
 
Now that you actually have a partner to help you, it’s much better to use Vivian’s field skill to turn invisible and make it so the enemies cannot see you, allowing you to evade enemies more easily. It’s great against Hyper Enemies. Keep going through the trail and forest until you get to Creepy Steeple.
 
****CREEPY STEEPLE*****
 
Save and heal out front as usual. There are no more doors to explore in Creepy Steeple, so what do we do? Go in the well, stupid. DUH. Just kidding. But seriously, go into the well. You fall into a rocky cavern under the well. Get the Shine Sprite and be prepared for many, many battles when you go to the next cave.
 
This crazy place is filled with Buzzy Beetles and even Spike Tops. These enemies have shells and can be flipped, but get back up after one turn unlike Koopas. Flip them with Mario, then have Vivian finish them one by one. Get first strikes whenever possible, and use Earth Tremor, a POW Block, or Piercing Blow on the Spike Tops. Once the room is FINALLY cleared, grab the Tornado Jump Badge and check out the tunnel to the left. There's a door-shaped barrier that you can push up the incline here, but there's no way to remove it. To get past, push it up a ways, and then use Vivian's field skill to let it pass over you. Once it slides back to the beginning, emerge and continue on.
 
Use the save block here and collect the Shine Sprite. Go into Tube Mode and roll through the tiny tunnel. Spin Jump the boards at the end to drop down to the background of the room you released the Boos in. Look behind a pillar to the right separating two windows for a Star Piece. Enter Tube Mode again and roll through a tiny hole on the left side of the backdrop.
 
You roll into a room to the left of the Boo box room. It's filled with treasure, and a parrot. If crows can talk in this game, parrots sure can! Use Vivian's field skill to listen in. As he complains about his life and hunger, he reveals the ghost's true name: Doopliss! (You're lucky that a talking animal knew his name.) After getting this valuable information, plunder the room. Spin Jump near the door for a Star Piece. The two normal chests contain another Power Plus Badge and a Mr. Softener. The weird boxes have a Steeple Key and the Letter "p". Wait, what? This strange item open up the letter p in the name thing, allowing you to enter "Doopliss". Use the Steeple Key to exit the room and return to Twilight Town. AGAIN.
 
****TWILIGHT TRAIL****
 
As usual Doopliss appears in front of the shed. When you enter his name, he freaks out and runs to Creepy Steeple. Head there, AGAIN. (Last time, don’t worry)
 
****CREEPY STEEPLE****
 
Return to the lounge where you first fought Doopliss. When you arrive, he talks to all your partners. *BOOM* They're completely fooled by his disguise, even though he's talking, and eagerly help him defeat you. Also, one of them mentions your name. Vivian figures out that she's actually been helping Mario and is slightly stunned. Time for a rematch with Doopliss!
 
BOSS: DOOPLISS
HP: 40
Attack: 4
Defense: 0
This time, Doopliss impersonates you for the duration of the battle and has your partners *BOOM* to help him. Unless you have something against them *coughflurriecough*, don't attack them but focus on Doopliss instead. As with before, he uses all of your attacks, which are surprisingly hard to block.
Since Vivian just realized you're Mario, she stays out of the battle for the first few turns. After a while, she decides to help you and joins. Make use of your Star Powers and strongest attacks to beat this still-easy boss for the final time!
 
After you re-defeat Doopliss, you both revert to normal and you get the Ruby Star! (And the Star Power Art Attack!) Your partners realize they've been fooled pathetically and apologize, and Vivian decides to join you permanently. It's finally the end of the chapter!
 
THE REAL END OF CHAPTER 4

Do you want to help other gamers? Email me!
Go back to Lemmy's Game Guides.
Go back to my main page.