PM Post-Prologue: Thank my Lucky Stars!

After beating a chapter, the Peach interludes begin with this screen and this theme. The complete and utter dissonance is hilarious.

As alluded to previously, Peach is going to take on a major role in the story following every chapter. This one's just a visit.

Peach is particularly emotionally attuned to her environment, and is prone to bouts of depressiveness in dire situations. Which is "most situations, when story is involved". Peach manages to be bubbly and enthusiastic in brighter times, but we're going to see very little of that side of her in the Paper Mario trilogy. It's more of a thing in the sports games.

Even Peach seems to think Bowser's going to be going for this.

Peach is right about one thing: She's not doing anything on her own from this room.

Well, she can talk to Bowser, but no guarantees that does anything.

Trying desperately to pretend this is anything of the sort.

The game has not answered the question of how exactly we're planning on accomplishing that. The RPGs like putting Bowser's Castle in the sky, and leave the details on how exactly Mario is going to reach it to later. Mario is so full of flying things that something'll work if we think hard enough.

Bowser's massive ego means that he likes to gloat about how great he is to everyone who will listen: and more frequently, the people who have no choice but to listen. This goes for his own men as much as, if not moreso than, his literal captive audience.

This was a big thing in SMRPG, but less so in Paper Mario- now that the power of wishes has been disrupted, new wishes aren't being granted. Geno posited that the inability of the Stars to grant wishes would cause a complete absence of anything getting done, although fans certainly like to smack him upside the head on that argument (free will, chumps!). Paper Mario takes a more realistic approach that, while this is probably making life harder for the people of Toad Town, they can get by just fine with hard work.

Kammy suggests Bowser's aggression is motivated by revenge for prior mistreatment of the Koopa Troop. This is a softly recurring theme as the series progressed, but these days, it's usually pretty standard that Bowser drew first blood, and shunning them is more a matter of "...you try to kidnap me on a regular basis, you think we can let bygones be bygones?". This early on, they could let imagination fill the blanks, although it's certainly hard to sympathise with them when the next major town we visit will be home to friendly Koopa Troopas who resent the local presence of Bowser's minions.

Bowser makes a genuine effort to reach out to Peach and offers to use the Star Rod for anything she desires.

Of course, no wishes that Bowser wouldn't like- ie any wish Peach might want to make, but an effort was made. A singular effort, as it were.

Bowser has never treated Peach particularly badly while she's been in captivity (OK, she has spent the odd game in a dangling cage, let's not get too crazy), but the games are usually fairly solidly in the "Peach isn't fond of it" portrayal. It is a kidnapping, as much as it's the Mario equivalent of Tuesday.

Says the people who have done a hostile takeover of Peach's own place of residence.

And off they go to cause mischief elsewhere.

Peach repeats her earlier remark. I kinda feel like this should have been phrased a little differently.

You see, Peach has a visitor.

A cute little star has made its way to Peach's room in the stars. ...Sounds less impressive when I say it like that.

The Star Kid's theme. (Warning: is a pretty loud song.)

That is a name that probably sounded better in 2000 than it does today. Probably. I'm not sure when "twink" as a name-call came into fashion, but it sounds like it might've existed even back then.

He flew. But seriously, what is the anti-air security on this castle? Bowser has winged minions, although it's probably pretty likely he's not deployed any because he doesn't think Mario's going to be flying up anytime soon.

This is why I think Peach's earlier comment was a little off. I feel like Peach should've said something closer to "I wish someone could help me", to make it more explicit Twink's arrival is connected to that vague desire for help, even if it's pretty explicit Peach didn't genuinely expect her wish to be granted either way.

(Also, how funny Peach gets a wish granted after Bowser taunted her with the promise.)

Right, now Peach has a way to get her own wishes granted! Surely that'll change the game in a significant way!

The first attempt is the obvious one. Sadly, if this wish were possible, someone would've already done it by now.

I think there are Star Kids and Stars beneath Star Spirits, so Twink is definitely on the lower end of the "skill" spectrum.

The Star Spirits wish they could grant that wish.

All right, something less challenging...

That is a lot more reasonable a request. And also something that would change the game significantly without taking Mario's job away.

Could you imagine this Twink carrying Peach around?

And yet Twink was the Star that chose to answer Peach's wish. Either the rest of the Stars have more important things to do or Twink might just have something they don't.

At the very least, we can always wait for Mario.

Peach gets an idea on how she can contribute to the story after all.

Peach has something that Mario might find useful, and Twink will probably be able to deliver that.

Hell. Yes.

That's something Twink can do!

Peach also quickly asks Twink to reassure Mario that Peach is doing just fine. Well, physically. Mentally, could be worse, but she can keep calm under pressure.

Twink is going to stick around with Peach after granting this particular wish. He must've taken not being able to grant the helpful ones badly.

And off he goes like the hyperactive little ball of starshine he is.

There's a short ending to this segment with a very remote piano song I couldn't track down. I kinda feel like it only plays here, which doesn't help. It's a very quiet moment, and maybe it would've sold the Mario/Peach dynamic pretty well if Mario/Peach needed any help selling itself beyond what it has through sheer repetition.

We transition back to Mario at the bottom of Shooting Star Summit-

And barely cross the bridge to Toad Town before Twink has finally gotten to us.

Twink briefly confuses Mario with someone else, before excitedly realising he's got the right guy.

And I do mean excitedly, he runs in circles happy to find us. It's impossible not to smile at this kid.

As promised, Twink has delivered us a present from Princess Peach.

The defining element of the Mario RPG.

Action commands are literally tied to this key item, but rest assured it is impossible to lose it once you get it. I've heard rumblings that it's possible to skip the trigger that gets you this in speedruns, but they haven't yet implemented it in the TAS, let alone actual runs, because they haven't figured out how you beat the final boss without using action commands.

(Also, shoutouts to Twink's happy little smile.)

Twink offers to teach us Action Commands, and of all the game's tutorials, this is the most interesting one. Not because the tutorial is any good (as a matter of fact, it's almost kind of bad in context), but because there's something I want to show off.

The tutorial fight is Mario against Goombario, and this is the Guard tutorial. What I'm really showing off is Twink's battle sprite. This only appears twice in the game, and he's one angy little boy.

Amazing I went to the trouble of save-stating out of actually committing to the tutorial when I went that far in.

The Action Command will be our lifeblood.

After the tutorial on Action Commands, a Magikoopa appears out of nowhere for the sole purpose of having a fight here. I suspect his job is to be an Action Command tutorial for the people who skipped Twink's, but he shows up regardless. So, you know, why bother with the Goombario sparring match when you could've just shoved all the tutorials in this one?

The Magikoopa was, in fact, some manner of anti-air defence on Bowser's castle.

And he thought ahead! Sure, killing Twink is one thing, but following Twink to find Mario? That's even better! Well, in the theoretical world where this Magikoopa is beating us.

Now, see, since this is a single blue-robed Magikoopa with a speaking part, it's tempting to call him Kamek. I highly doubt it, this sort of thing screams "this guy is a junior." With that said, Kamek has a tough job being both Bowser and Bowser Jr.'s babysitter, that man is long overdue for a raise.

Right, let's see if you can beat Mario now that his arm is no longer tied behind his back.

This is a Magikoopa. Magikoopas use magical rods. Max HP: 8, Attack Power: 3, Defense Power: 0. Magic attacks are no joke, Mario. You'd better take these guys seriously. 

Magikoopa (Lv. 32) first appeared in Super Mario World, before being semi-recurring elite members of the Koopa Troop following. Unsurprisingly, the RPGs had a lot more use for them than the sports and party games, although their main-game record isn't too bad (mostly 3D stuff rather than their 2D roots, though).

Blue-robed Magikoopas do appear as regular enemies later, but with different (higher) stats... and a lower level. Granted, this guy is a miniboss and the later guys are regular enemies, but would it really have been so weird if we got given the regular enemy version here as a boss?

First off, in this game, Tattle has no Action Command at all. TTYD gave it one, but it's not that necessary.

Now that we have Action Commands, Jump and Hammer are actually meaningfully different orders. If you press "A" right as you're about to land on an enemy's head, Mario will land a second jump, dealing 1+1 damage in total.

Like with Paragoombas, that knocks him off his broom, although that's not an Action Command thing.

The Magikoopa has only one attack, to shoot the Magikoopa's trademark magic blast.

If you press "A" at just the right time during an enemy attack, you'll Guard and take one less point of damage than the enemy was otherwise entitled. This can be enhanced as the game progresses, but this is the only defensive option Mario gets in this game. Mario & Luigi prefer complex minigames to dodge the attacks- which suits the the way stats work in those games. TTYD adds another defensive option, but I kinda like the simplicity of the original Paper Mario. Paper Mario is a low-numbers game, and the fact that taking one less point of damage actually means something is one of the game's biggest draws.

When I say "Goombario's Headbonk is literally Jump", I mean this explicitly, down to the Action Command. Later Partners have an attack that involves leaping and landing on an enemy's head, but they perform the attack differently and land only once.

The Hammer, in contrast to the Jump, has a far simpler Action Command (hold the Control Stick left for the length of time indicated and no longer), and lands two points of damage in a single blow. If an enemy has Defence, Mario's Jump will do much less damage, but the Hammer will be comparatively more effective. The fact that Jump and Hammer function so wildly differently is the reason they're separate Actions, even moreso than "flying enemies are immune to Hammer and spiky enemies counter your Jumps", and the absence of Action Commands obfuscates this far too much.

Power Jump also has an Action Command! I actually messed it up- it's the same as Jump's, and should do 4 damage on contact. Most Badges have the same Action Commands as the attacks they are based on- Jump Badges still require you to press A on the enemy's head, Hammer Badges (like Hammer Throw) require you to hold left on the stick.

A rewarding tutorial battle. It is actually possible to defeat this Magikoopa without using Action Commands- both sides win in four turns. I haven't done it myself, but I wonder if anyone comments on it- it's hard to argue you understand Action Commands if you play it that way.

The Magikoopa does not get to report his failure to his boss.

Not with attacks that deal 2 damage, but I'm much closer! The whole "his fire breath does as much damage as I have health" thing doesn't help either.

Twink is such a good boy.

Twink flies off, before returning when he suddenly remembers he's forgotten something.

Peach also asked to deliver a message. Twink is going to do a lot of message delivery between Peach and Mario, which, while very important to them, does cause us problems of seeing the same message multiple times.

Aw. You're a big help, Twink!

And now he's off for good.

Even Goombario's got a kind word for the kid.

As soon as you get back to Toad Town, the game remembers you haven't been given a path forward, and drops a Toad in the way.

Merlon has decided to leave his hermit behaviour behind and lend a hand!

Proof of concept: The Toad House slogan is "Refresh your Body and Soul" in non-Goomba Village Houses. I dunno, I like both.

The Black Toads have slightly changed their message. It's a required event flag that you talk to them now.

You have to talk to them so you get this idea that Merlon may be able to help move them out of the path.

Despite having sent for us, Merlon is still rigidly keeping to keeping people out, not even bothering to check if his guest has arrived.

If Merlon is expecting company, he comes out to check eventually, knocking Mario to the ground in the process.

Fortunately, he remembers he was expecting someone.

...I did. Also, says the man who considers future information in his estimation.

I'm sorry, I can't take that line seriously.

Merlon realised he needed to lend a hand here, and has forcefully included himself in this story.

But first...

Something something boring exposition into what the hell the Merlon family is and what have you. In a game where you can skip dialogue cheaply by holding the B Button and already suffering from some of the weaknesses of a boring opening, the punchline being aimed squarely at boring RPG openings is nodded politely at. Normally, exposition of this nature is supposed to be relevant, but when it comes to Merlon, there is no earthly conclusion about why this story has anything to do with anything, including itself.

It goes on for so long, Mario falls asleep.

Presumably, he has explained the ultimate question to life, the universe and everything. Goombario, were you paying any more attention?

Mario jumps and nods. He may be a hero, but he's also kind of a jerk.

Long story short, Merlon is a hint man.

I feel like the message of this joke is "what Merlon is doesn't matter to us, and it shouldn't matter to you". A fairly benign message on its own, but considering the direction the Paper Mario series took as a whole when it came to original and semi-original characters, one that looks far harsher from this side of history.

For 5 coins, he will tell us the next objective. He's surprisingly thorough on clues, but he has the downside of being all the way here in Toad Town. It is (usually) possible to come back, but it's rarely recommended.

Merlon has the important job of giving Mario the essential information that Koopa Bros.' Fortress has the first Star Spirit. Someone had to do it, even though we, the player, know.

This is the road blocked by the Black Toads.

And, if you've been told not to bring Merlon to them, Merlon will then react.

He'll gladly lend a hand.

Merlon comes out of his house to help! Really, this is kinda significant, even if we haven't really grown attached enough to Merlon yet to recognise it on sight.

The Toads try their best to continue the bluff.

Merlon recognises something's off here.

Yeah, you're not kidding anyone and you never were.

One has to admire the fact the Koopa Bros. did have the ability to pull this off.

...So can we beat them now? (Serious answer, no we can't. They would wipe the floor with us.)

Aside from the black cap thing, yeah, they were.

Fortunately for us, they do retreat like the cowards they are.

Don't worry, we'll do something about that "unable to beat them" yet.

This clue is explicitly just about getting to the Fortress, but it applies far further afield than that.

Excellent suggestion.

And we're stopping here, in a bit of an oversight on my part. I didn't actually realise that Russ T. (and possibly some of the other stops around town) updated now. This is a very unusual bit, because we clearly have had a chapter update while we were on the Summit, but at the same time, it hasn't been too long since we've been in Toad Town that we think to look for such things. There's also some other things I could've shown off, but I guess it fits we'll save them to later.

Next time: Chapter 1 begins.