PM Post-Chapter 1 Part 1: Being Unkind

Time to have another look in on what Peach is up to.

This might seem a bit unreasonable, but honestly, 95% of Marios die in the first world. I wonder if Peach is aware of how many rookie gamers play Mario games.

This very instant! I think. Not that what time this is matters.

That sets Peach's spirits at ease.

Now then... how do you prison break from your own bedroom?

Well, impossible for a normal person to escape through the window. I would not be surprised if Peach's parasol worked. The real problem would be avoiding any Magikoopas that notice her on the way down.

Also, escaping out the window would be good for her, but it wouldn't do very much for anyone else. If she finds anyone, Bowser can just hunt her down (or even wish her back), while staying in the castle potentially allows her to get everyone else out of trouble.

Fortunately, like any good princess, there's a secret path out of her bedroom.

Less good, she doesn't know where it is.

And with that, we can now play as Princess Peach. The Peach intermissions may be an excuse to dump some more Peach and Bowser lore on us, but they're not just text dumps.

You can also walk around Peach's room and see her own reactions to her possessions, as opposed to Mario's. I wonder if Peach actually has a bunch of minor design differences between games this is covering. They all look like her Paper Mario dress here.

If you go to the vanity, she actually does apply a little more foundation.

Nothing that great for the bed.

I'd comment on his age, but does he even have a nose?

I'd say this is a tease, but no, it really isn't. Everyone can see it.

Wow, that fireplace is almost big enough to swallow her.

...We're in the cold vacuum of space. Can you blame a girl for stoking her fireplace, kiddo?

That weird read on the fireplace is your clue that it's your way out.

The fire may also be artificial. But apparently they have electrical fireplaces now.

It's a start. We've got a long way to go to freedom, but now we have options.

And through the hallway to come out...

...In a side room. Maybe this wasn't as cunning as expected.

And it doesn't look like we'll be doing much. Escape one room and get locked in another.

But that doesn't mean there's nothing we can do!

Hey, the room is locked, it's not that bad!

...I mean, it's not ours, and pretty much everyone who's allowed to run around here is hostile. They get to invade my home, I get to invade their privacy.

The calendar system of the Mushroom Kingdom makes no sense and any attempts to argue otherwise are a waste of time and effort.

Today I went to Star Haven and stole the Star Rod! Now I'm invincible! Cool! I also captured those seven Star Spirits, so they won't annoy me anymore. It was a hard day's work and I'm feeling pretty bushed. Dinner was nice but a bit bland.

...Were the Star Spirits actually doing something to Bowser? Because from their side of the story, all they've been doing to him is... nothing. Sure, they've been intentionally snubbing him, but would it really be "annoying him"? Dude's either pettier than I thought or the Star Spirits aren't telling the whole story.

Really, Twink? "Oh, I stole the Star Rod!" How many guys do you know have done that? Is this a common issue?

Today was great, diary! I used my castle to lift Princess Peach's Castle way up into the sky! Then I barged into Peach's Castle and beat up Mario! Yeah! Unbelievable, I know! So fun! And there's more! After that, I kidnapped Princess Peach! I couldn't be happier, diary! I hope she likes me...

Would you believe me if I told you the Peach/Bowser dynamic was first established in this game? I won't stand behind that argument under total scrutiny (Mario is a massive franchise and there's fifteen years of obscure computer games to sift through), but before now, Bowser's been kidnapping Peach for either magic reasons, no reason, or not at all. Granted, this is an off-hand mention at best, but the dorky "Bowser likes Peach" aspect of his character became one of the defining elements of the Mario/Bowser rivalry in years to come, and it will be important come Super Paper Mario. Usually it's a joke with Bowser as the punchline, though.

The horror! I'm sure Peach really didn't need to read about how Bowser's crush. Hopefully it doesn't go into any more detail...

Now we're considering the possibility of respecting his privacy? Or perhaps we just don't want to read about how Bowser hates the fact Peach isn't responding to his advances.

Well, the Koopa Bros. got beaten by Mario, diary. He even set free that stupid Star Spirit I kept there. I'm so mad I can barely write! "Ooh, I'm Mario, I'm so big and strong and good and helpful..." I hate him! But I'm not worried. There's no way Mario can save the Star Spirit being held in Dry Dry Ruins. To do that, he'd have to solve the mystery of the sands and then find Dry Dry Ruins in Dry Dry Desert. How would he even know to go to the desert, anyway? So I'm not worried at all! In fact, I'm so calm I'm gonna go to bed now.

You know, I want to know why Bowser thought to put a Star Spirit there. All six Star Spirits other than Eldstar are guarded by something clever, even if the game is pretty blatant about railroading us in the direction it chooses through mechanical means rather than narrative ones like this. "Why would Mario even know to go to the desert?" Because the second world is always a desert level Because there's nowhere else to go!

So now Peach knows where Mario needs to go next.

Time to let Mario in on the secret.

Again, Bowser, this room was locked when you left it. As far as you know, it's impossible for anyone to have found it.

Bowser doesn't notice Peach has somehow got in here until he's right in front of her. Still in need of those spectacles, eh, old boy?

You're certainly not going to get Peach to like you if that's how you talk to her face. Although there's a good chance there's something really embarrassing in there...

That is a valid reaction to the Koopatrols, though. You had one job.

They will go back to doing their jobs the only way they know how.

You're all collectively terrible at this, despite having fifteen years of experience. Admittedly, the Koopatrols are new enemies to Paper Mario.

Twink nervously follows Peach out of the room. As far as I can tell, no one ever notices Peach's Star Kid friend until much later. He does do a decent job of hiding when the bad guys are out, though.

Now back to our regularly scheduled Mario story.

We just rescued one of the Star Spirits, and in thanks, he's teleported us out of the Koopa Bros. Fortress. Not that it would've been a long backtrack, but most of the Star Spirits will follow suit. Tightens up the pace a bit.

Leaving the card isn't something he can just walk off, but he does have some power to draw upon, and draw upon it he will.

And that's something he bestows upon us. Star Power is one of those major mechanics I alluded to that we didn't quite have access to yet.

Although I'm not interested in doing the tutorial, I can handle it on my own. Seriously, we only need one deny box.

Huh, Eldstar comes right out and says what we need to counteract the Star Rod.

Star Beam is a Star Power, and while the plot makes a big deal about it being our counter to the Star Rod, that's not its only purpose. It's a very important purpose, though.

The Star Spirits aren't going to be following us. They can teleport to our side whenever they wish for Star Powers, but they have a home.

On my way!

First stop, picking this up on the way back.

An FP Plus (3 BP) Badge to match our HP Plus! This might be more useful than the HP Plus, come to think of it- extra FP is useful at some times and not at others, while extra HP never goes amiss.

...Ew.

All that and we only get four Star Points. Honestly, I'm surprised I didn't get zero yet. These guys are only level 6, so I think we'll have them zeroed out after the next level up.

OK, you keep your judgements about Peach to yourself, mister.

The Bob-ombs have migrated to Koopa Village, and nobody seems... perturbed, at all. I don't even think anyone mentions it.

At least Bombette seems to be... mostly familiar with this lot.

The Bob-ombs offer an explosive salute. The Bob-ombs in the games where blowing up is permanent look on in horror.

I can certainly agree with that.

With any luck, they'll figure that out.

...I was wondering when you were going to show up. This guy's supposed to be able to appear as early as having visited Shooting Star Summit.

He's Chuck Quizmo. He tries to quiz anybody who speaks to him. He pops up in various towns and villages, but that doesn't mean he's easy to find. What do you think his deal is? Personally, I'm a little more interested in his assistant. She's cute!

Every time you find him, he introduces himself with that triumphant little "Kaaa-wiiiizzz!"

He has a longer spiel the first time, though.

He has 64 questions and 64 Star Pieces to award. Fortunately for the balance of Merlon's shop, not all at once.

Every time you find him, you want to say yes.

Don't worry, we're not being teleported anywhere. Well, we're getting teleported right back. We can see Luigi and an assortment of familiar characters in the audience, ready to show up each time we get asked a question.

Chuck's questions are always the same, across all playthoughs, being delivered in the same order and with the same answer set. So fortunately, you don't need to think too hard about your answers. There's a ticking sound effect when the answer sheet is up, but I don't know if there's an actual timer mechanic.

The first question, amazingly, is one of the more interesting ones. In JP, the first distractor is クリスチーヌ (Kurisuchīnu, a Goomba pun on "Christine"), and this name would latter be used for a Goomba character in TTYD. This does not apply to the translation. With that said, 13 years later, "Goombette" appeared in Super Mario Odyssey, meaning that in both languages, the first distractor is a real Goomba name in a future game.

I'm sure Goombario would have words with us if we answered incorrectly with him standing right there.

One down, 63 to go.

Thankfully, Quizmo tells you as much after each question. You can also check your progress with Quizmo at Mario's House.

And he disappears into his hat.

Chuck Quizmo has a number of spawns across the game's various towns. He has one spawn in Goomba Village, two spawns in each map of Koopa Village, and three spawns dotted around Toad Town, (although only one is available before the wreckage gets cleared). Every time you enter a map he can appear on, he rolls his chance. Once you answer a question, he cannot appear in the town you found him in until you visit a new town.

The 64 questions are not available immediately. Various questions will address topics encountered in later chapters, and thus Quizmo will stop appearing until you've done new chapters and seen the content he's quizzing you on. I haven't found information on when exactly the cut-off points are, but I will share the first questions that are explicitly about each new chapter:

• Question 12 is the first Chapter 1 question.
• Question 22 is the first Chapter 2 question, although they don't pick up again until 27.
• Question 32 is the first Chapter 3 question.
• Questions 38, 41 and 44 all appear to be potential candidates for Chapter 4's first question.
• Question 47 is Chapter 5's first question.
• Question 55 is Chapter 6's first question.
• Question 61 is Chapter 7's first question.

Grinding Quizmo encounters gets immensely less irritating after Chapter 2, so I'll save doing it myself until then.

Meanwhile, a Chapter clear means there's more we can do for old Koopa Koot.

He wants us to go back to Goomba Village and pick up an old tape. DVDs wouldn't formally obsolete tapes for another few years, although that day is still on the horizon...

...I don't think I want to know, and suspect we shouldn't be telling Goombario.

On the way back, I got into this fight, and notice my current HP/FP reserves are setting up a good example to show off our Star Power. This occupies its own spot in the list.

Any used up Star Energy will recharge at a slow rate as turns pass. Focus is an option you can use to consume Mario's turn in exchange for a larger portion of Star Energy.

Refresh, meanwhile, is the only power we have that uses Star Energy, for now. It will use up one point (our whole supply at this point), heals 5 HP/FP, and cures status ailments. I believe the two listed may be the only negative ailments that still allow you to move- like Panaceas, using this for statuses is tricky because the bad statuses won't let you do anything about them.

Thank you, Eldstar!

Moving along. Thanks for dealing with the enemy, Goombario.

Picking this up on the way back...

And here's Focus in action.

Fills about that much of the gauge. A normal turn gets you about a pixel, in comparison. Star Energy management is something it's possible to get good at, but when we only have one point, it's a little tricker.

Before we make it to town, we are stopped. This map usually has enemies on it, but for this encounter, they're all gone, which might get your senses on edge before it happens.

Told you he'd be back.

To underscore how pathetic this whole thing is, he misses his "impressive" attack. Look, we already had the Koopa Bros. for comic relief.

Fortunately, while Mario cannot swim, it is allowed in the world's rules without going all soggy. I mean, all these papercraft worlds are sitting on the water, I should hope so.

Of course it will, it will have Action Commands!

Ow wow, Goombario recognises him!

Kooper: Who is this crazed guy? What a nut...
Bombette: Who's this kid...? Let me get this straight... He wants to challenge you? He's got to be kidding!

Kooper and Bombette have no reason to know him and less reason to care.

Let's see, a Koopa who seems to think it has a chance against Mario...

I fight a lot of those.

Time for our first rematch with Jr. Troopa!

Oh wow, he actually has picked up something worth bragging about!

...Never mind.

Truthfully, no I haven't. We think of eggs as fragile things, but they are supposed to protect the unborn from the outside world. Normally because the unborn couldn't do anything on their own.

We'll see about that.

Goombario understands exactly why it's funny to forget his name, and gets in on the joke in his Tattle.

What was his name? Jr. Troopa? I don't remember exactly... ...Just joking, kid! Max HP: 15, Attack Power: 2, Defense Power: 1. He looks so adorable hiding in his egg, doesn't he? So cute! It should be a snap to beat him now. ...I think.

Jr. Troopa (Lv. 44) has learned from his past defeat- this form would have been impossible for us to defeat had we fought him in the Prologue, since without the Lucky Star, Hammer doesn't even pierce Defence. Luckily we have options now.

He gets the first blow, since I switched to Bombette.

Bomb is a huge help.

As is Power Jump.

...It's kinda what I'm famous for, kid.

Yeah, I think it is.

Come back when you're a bit bigger.

After beating Jr. Troopa this time, he sticks around for a while, screaming in horrible pain. For, uh... some reason.

I was actually trying to switch to Goombario so I could Tattle him, but sure, let's show off that the game lets you use Bombette to make it worse. No wonder he's so eager to come back and get revenge. He's a kid, for crying out loud!

That's Jr. Troopa. He used to boot us out of the forest near Goomba Village. He thinks he's pretty tough. As far as I can tell, he goes around picking fights with people who are stronger than he is. Talk about dumb! His hobbies are working out and ordering stuff by mail.

I think that second part was a funnier joke back before online shopping made mail-order goods more common than retail. Does this look like a kid who's going to do pen-and-paper mail-order?

After getting back to Toad Town, Twink shows up to say hey.

This time, you don't get a dialogue option to claim ignorance. Twink is too good for that sort of thing.

Anything that makes Bowser angry can only be a good thing, so long as he's not taking that out on any Toads. He'd never hurt Peach, though, as much as his social game could use work.

Mario even coughs modestly.

Twink is here to direct us to the next Star Spirit. He doesn't actually do this as often as people remember, though- the biggest issue seems to be finding opportunities like this one to slam the player with an unaviodable trigger for him to soar down from the sky.

...Look, I'm sure the latter may be technically true, but when you're blatantly obvious about the former, it doesn't sound nearly as impressive as you want it to sound.

Well, we know we need to go to the desert. Now all to find out is how.

Huh, Parakarry's off on delivery. Oh well.

Only one letter, from... Kolorado's wife? Kooper may idolise the man, but it's not like he's at arm's length.

Kooper, how are you doing?
Your mother dropped by for a visit the other day. We had a really nice talk over some Koopa Tea. She did seem a touch disappointed that you were still on the road. She said that she's going to cook a delicious dinner when you come back, so you have something to look forward to. Oh yes! If you happen to see my wayward husband, please tell him to come home more often. Take care.
   Kolorado's wife

I don't believe Kooper's mother is a character we ever meet even if we tried. As a matter of fact, the Bob-ombs have taken advantage of Kooper being on the road to inhabit his house. It doesn't sound like Kolorado is all that popular with the missus, though.

Most NPCs have new dialogue for a new chapter, if you're into that sort of thing.

The Doogan brothers have opened up their shop now that Chapter 1 is complete.

They have four Badges for sale, and three new ones are added every chapter until Chapter 5. Funnily enough, this means 20% of the game's Badges are held in Rowf's wares. He will only sell three at a time, randomly selected from the pool of Badges currently unsold, and rerolling whenever you go two screens away. (Most things in this game "reset" from two screens away.)

Their first four Badges are:

• Multibounce (1 BP): Performs a single Jump on all enemies in order, for 2 FP. A fairly decent multi-targeting attack, depending on your Jump's power, but do note that the attack will be interrupted if Mario takes contact damage from any enemy in the line or fails the Action Command. If you're bad at the Jump Command, I'd pass on this one.
• D-Down Pound (2 BP): Performs a Hammer strike that ignores all enemy Defence, for 2 FP. This sounds good, but it only really applies when the enemy's Defence value is so high that it's better to negate it instead of building your damage higher. Very few enemies have that much Defence. However, it is going to be a keystone Badge in the next area.
• Speedy Spin (1 BP): The Spin Dash travels further with each use. In addition to making it easier to evade enemies and hit them with Dizzy Attack, it's just good for travelling across the world map.
• First Attack (1 BP): If you land a First Strike on an enemy that no longer awards Star Points (at our level, I think Goombas are that weak now), it is defeated on the world map with no need for a battle. The "Lv." I show next to enemies should show you the level Mario has to be for First Attack to happen.
  

He says this spiel about all of them, but Speedy Spin is a really good Badge to set and forget. At 1 BP, it's even unlikely you've got something better for boss fights, if you're that lazy about switching Badges around. Here's a tip: Most bosses only need one, maybe two special moves in your Badge slots.

Rowf has these very awkwardly phrased lines of dialogue about purchasing Badges. The first one, I'll forgive (it's not how I would have said that, but it's reasonable-ish), but the second one is just... eurgh. TTYD switched to the far more natural "You need X BP to equip this Badge", and I wonder what's going on in the N64's system that made it necessary to end the sentence with the number of BP required.

(Incidentally, this comes before your final purchase prompt, as if the number of BP required to use the Badge is a deal-breaker in the haggling phase.)

Rowf reminds you that his inventory might change next time you show up.

I also pick up Multibounce, although I'm not 100% certain what the use case will be in the near future. Mostly, I want D-Down Pound and I can afford this too.

Joy cookies!

Our hero, Mario, has vanquished the Koopa Bros. who lived in the great fortress to the east. The Koopa Bros., longtime underlings of Bowser, had been left to guard one of the kidnapped Star Spirits. That Star Spirit has returned to Star Haven, all thanks to our hero.
Huzzahs for Mario!

Huzzah huzzah! I'm told, perhaps if you revisit Toad Town before finishing Chapter 1, that you can find a bulletin board message advertising that Kolorado has gone to the desert in search of the legendary ruins. He has yet to find a single clue, but morale remains high!

The train parked at the station at the south of town is pretty spiffy, isn't it? It's called K64. Unfortunately, a huge boulder has fallen on the track and the train can't go anywhere. Talk about a crying shame!
A railroad lover

I'm amazed the train has a name. I'm not sure where the name "K64" comes from, though. Well, the "64" part is obvious, but do trains normally get initialed like this?

The Dojo opened up before Chapter 1, as it happens, I just didn't wander this direction.

These Toads are talking about three maids going on a trip.

...If I were them, I'd want to think about literally anything else too.

Judgmental, aren't you?

...Although I don't think you agree with the other two.

The Master is satisfied with the results of his training.

Into the Dojo, then. Very nice floors.

He's The Master of the Dojo. He's been training students at the Dojo for years. My grandpa told me he's incredibly strong. He doesn't look like it, though. I think he just got back from a long journey where he trained with fighters stronger than he is. What dedication!

I assure you, he is incredibly powerful.

I'm not sure if this is an act or if he's just really got a bout of old age and exposure to the elements. If it's the latter, I'm sure that's why he's leaving things to Mario rather than pitching in himself.

This is home to the game's superboss challenge.

There is no reward other than pride, accomplishment, and a shiny Diploma. It's just like in Pokemon!

There are five fights to complete, in order. Each fight is more challenging than the one that preceded it, and there is no reason not to come here early and try to win the first few fights while they're actually challenging.

The first two fights don't have unique music.

This is Chan, of the Dojo. He's training under The Master and is happy to fight us. Max HP: 15, Attack Power: 2, Defense Power: 2. Hammer attacks don't work well, but you can turn him over with Jump attacks. Once he's flipped over, he's easy. No mercy, Mario!

Well, I say that the first fight is hard if you do it early, but Chan (Lv. 1) is never hard. As a Buzzy Beetle, he immediately rights himself at the end of every turn, but he won't attack after righting himself. You could trivialise this fight if you were able to fight him before getting the Lucky Star.

This won't be difficult. I wonder if this is an intentional part of the Dojo on the Master's part, or if this is just because Mario is so good at Jumping he just happens to have an elemental advantage over Chan.

Sorry, I don't really have anything for dealing with 2 Def yet.

If Goombario does the flip, I can Power Jump to finish faster.

The end. No Star Points are awarded for Dojo fights.

Sorry, Chan, but I don't think there's ever a fair fight between you and Mario. Buzzy Beetles always win by attacking in numbers.

Each fight has a Card to go along with it. The only purpose of the Cards, and indeed even the Diploma, is to brag to three specific NPCs.

I'd rather save Lee for a little bit longer, if you don't mind.

This is one of the NPCs you can brag to. The other two live in the Chapter 2 town and the Chapter 7 town. Of course, if your Card is equal to or lesser than the one they possess, they're the ones doing the bragging.

You know, you're welcome to join the party at any time, Toad.

Correct: There are two shops in Toad Town, the other one open south of the roadblock. There's another purpose to this secondary shop, but otherwise, the two are fairly similar, since they're operating in the same location.

...That might be a little overblown.

Yeah, I think we know how we're dealing with that roadblock.

Happy Wife Appreciation day! I'm not sure what day it'll be when you see this, but whenever it is, it is Wife Appreciation day.

There's even a bulletin board about this, although it's supposed to trigger sometime during or after Chapter 3. I love that bulletin message and I'll see if I can't squeeze it in somehow. I wish I knew what the triggers were on it.

Good question. Although somehow I doubt you were getting far on that. Toadette's still three years away* and about fourteen from becoming weirdly badass. I don't have many hopes for a new Paper Mario in the classic style, but one of my big ones is that Toadette's one of the partners.

Russ T.'s got lots of new information, outdated and relevant alike!

Have you seen any Candy Canes? They're those striped objects growing beside Pleasant Path. They're mysterious objects. Nobody knows anything about them. Even I don't! There are rumors, though... Many believe that if you do something for the Candy Canes, you'll be rewarded later. Why don't you investigate?

This is, I believe, just pointing at the Candy Cane that throws out hearts and the Starman theme when circled.

In Koopa Village, there lives a selfish village senior named Koopa Koot. This old Koopa Koot stops passers-by and asks them for favors. Or so I've heard, anyway. And yet, they say that even if you meet his requests, he gives you only one coin. But it's been rumored that every once in a while, he gives out something good. Who knows what he might have...

So far, a Silver Credit. Not that we've found out what that does.

I remember reading something interesting in a book recently. It seems there are three blocks laid on the ground somewhere on Pleasant Path. And then...what was it? Ah! When you do something to the blocks, supposedly you can receive something good. Unfortunately, the book was quite vague on what to do.

You're supposed to tell me the order! I'm still not sure, although I've got the "hit the one furthest away from Koopa Village first" memorised.

Do you know about Fire Bars? You know, those flaming obstacles that spin round and round? They're terribly dangerous and you'll be burned if you touch one. According to a brilliant book I read some time ago, there's a way to beat them. But if you can't touch them, how do you beat them? Maybe the book wasn't so brilliant...

Hinting at the "jump-rope" trick. Outside Mario 64 and the odd Mario Party, jumping over Fire Bars hasn't really been an option. In 2D, you must play by their rules.

In our fair land, there are several radio stations to listen to. If you occasionally check the radio, you might just hear some useful information. I've heard that someone in Koopa Village has a radio, so why don't you ask if you could have a listen? Actually, one of the radio stations, FM Shroom, will soon be celebrating its 10th anniversary. Sounds exciting!

This is talking about a radio giveaway minigame you can do. I'm not really that interested in dealing with it, but the Koopa you need to talk to lives on the entrance screen, in the blue-roofed house (the other two houses are the Toad House and the Shop.)

Have you seen that Chet Rippo character around Toad Town? I've heard rumors that if you talk to him, he will increase one of your point levels. But be careful, because when he increases one of the point levels, the other two levels will go down a wee bit. So I would suggest giving the matter a lot of thought before committing to the deal.

Chet Rippo is a man who sits next to the second shop in Toad Town (and thus can't be accessed until now). For 39 coins, he will give you two level ups in HP, FP or BP, but in exchange, he will take away one level of the other two. Using this, it is possible to acquire a cap of 5 HP, putting Mario in permanent Danger status. This is the main way to take advantage of the Danger status outside careful HP management. I doubt I'll have need of his services, at any rate. His name is supposed to sound like "Cheat" and "Ripoff", although I don't really feel like his services warrant such judgement.

There are tales of long ago, when thieves ruled the far-off land of Dry Dry Desert. These robbers collected things from all over the desert and hid them in various places. I've heard of one of these hiding places, a block lying somewhere in Dry Dry Desert. When you hit the block once, a ? Block appears. But that's not all. Oh no! When you hit it ten times, another ? Block shows up! This is but one of the rumors about hidden loot in the desert. Thieves thrived there, and I bet they had many hiding places. If you find yourself in Dry Dry Desert, I would suggest that you take the time to look around for treasures.

Dry Dry Desert has loads of secrets. This one in particular causes an exciting glitch if you've got a few years to kill. It's also the most esoteric of the bunch, which is why Russ T. points you to it.

At the edge of Dry Dry Desert, there's a dusty old town called Dry Dry Outpost. Somewhere in this Dry Dry Outpost, there's supposedly a female wizard. If she casts a spell on you, something good may happen during battles. Why don't you give it a try? By the way, this wizard is said to be the twin sister of Merluvlee, the fortune-teller from Shooting Star Summit.

Another member of Merlon's family lives somewhere in Dry Dry Outpost- if you don't know she's there, you may very well miss her. Her spell has a gameplay effect, and an interesting one at that. We'll keep an eye out.

The next Russ T. clue refers to something in Chapter 2, but he didn't give it to me until next Chapter, for some reason. Weird. Anyway, moving on.

Hi, Luigi!

...

I said hi, Luigi!

Next year, in fact. He'll be the launch title for the Gamecube. It'll be a scream!

Helpful. Making sure we get that hint.

I am starting to dislike Mario. Beats up a kid, exploits a Buzzy Beetle's weakness, and won't even let his brother come on the journey.

Checking our board. 15% of the Badges, but our Star Piece count is way behind. It'll be with Chuck Quizmo and a later upgrade that we really start rocketing up with that. (Incidentally, Chuck Quizmo is listed as "number of finished quizzes"/"number of attempted quizzes". Every failed question is marked permanenently on the board.)

The two mystery spaces are available to us now. The bottom one is "Most Power Bounces landed in a single go", and by sticking to my "no Power Bounce" rule, I'm going to keep that one ???. The other one just involves a Toad Town facility I have yet to visit.

Mario's finally gathered some mail!

Dear Mario,
How do you do? I'm Little T. I'm just a little Toad. I live in Toad Town. I've been training at the Dojo so I can save Princess Peach! I'll write to you again later.
Bye!

He's got a red cap in the picture, but I wonder if he's the kid we bumped into in the nuclear family house. Also, aww.

Hello, Mario.
I'm Vanna T., Chuck Quizmo's lovely assistant. Thanks for participating in our quiz show. Our ratings are through the roof! Are those Star Pieces helping you? Please keep coming back until you answer the last question! I'll cheer you on!
Vanna T.

This is the second letter in our mailbox, but since it's set for "beating Chuck Quizmo's first quiz" (and Little T.'s apparently being post-Kooper), it could appear anywhere in your lineup. In the coding, it wants to be second.

Vanna T.'s name is actually particularly interesting, in the context of an earlier remark. Obviously, in the English version, her name is a Toad pun on "vanity" while also referencing the lovely assistant on Wheel of Fortune, Vanna White. In the JP version, her name is "Kinopiko", a basic, "Toad girl" name. As such, it eventually became the JP name of Toadette! Aside from the pigtails, Vanna T. shares no similarities with Toadette (Toadette has a pink cap with white, round spots, and her pigtails are made of mushrooms rather than hair), but it'd be interesting if this was intended to be the Toadette and not just a Toadette. Since the Toadette didn't appear again until 2003 and Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, I'm leaning "it's a coincidence in JP, too", although since Toadette appears in TTYD, two European languages got confused and called her Vanna T.. So, you know, could be either way.

You rat, Mario!
How dare you embarrass us! I'll never forget what you did!
Red

Hey! Watch your back when you walk at night!
Black

I'm gonna make you cry!
Green

You'd better sleep with one eye open, pal!
Yellow

We shall return!!
Koopa Bros.

...Yes, they did get out of the jail somehow. They left Bowser??? behind, though. And also the boarded up crack is still boarded up. I'm sure this won't amount to anything.

...Yes, I had to spit the exploration of Toad Town in two.