Paper Mario Chapter 4: Trials in the Toy Box

Chapter 4 is the first test of the player's skills- friendly enough in environmental tone and allowing regular returns to Toad Town, but this should be taken as a warning- future chapters will not be so forgiving.

The first three Stations of the Toy Box all have the same theme- find the lost items from Toad Town, return them to their rightful owners, and they'll help you figure out how to progress to the next. In addition to allowing the hub town of Toad Town feel more alive, this also encourages players that might've ignored each service, or taken it for granted, to reconsider their presence. This works most strongly for Tayce T., though, who also gets a tangible upgrade in the Cookbook. Harry's shop is no more or less valuable to you than it was already, while Russ T. can be replaced (and often is, without the player realising) by the average guide. Even the fact that the Toy Box itself gives you the clue he is supposed to provide seems to acknowledge that.

Bowser's attempts to exploit Mario's "fears" are purely there for comedy. Choosing the "correct" answers (although I question if Mario is genuinely afraid of Clubbas or they're just the scariest option on the list) gets you more Star Points and the opportunity to get freebie Tattles before you have to take the fights seriously once you arrive at Bowser's Castle, the joke enemies answers are only funny with poor Goomba, and the items are barely worth receiving. The Thunder Rage is decent in a utilitarian way, but Harry sells them at a reasonable-ish price. The worst part is, Bowser doesn't get to have a childish tantrum about how Mario managed to surpass his weaknesses, but I guess they can't make him still scary if he doesn't resolve to do something about it, and the next chapter has no room for any such activities. Could he be more involved? Maybe. But Bowser is also supposed to be pathetic, at least in the context of this game. He can be scary, but Paper Mario isn't leaning into the qualities he'd come to possess when he is.

Red Station packs the two major unique points of the chapter: the partner and the boss. Watt is held captive by a lantern-carrying boss, in a fight that seems written in regards to Watt first and Chapter 4 second. Especially since Watt appears so late in the chapter- there's only one enemy left before General Guy, and that's only if you didn't go right first and take him out early. Watt is a boss-killer, though, and General Guy is an excellent showcase. The General himself, meanwhile, is not exactly tonally cognizant with the Box either. While the boss of the Guys being an army general doesn't fit the playful prankster theme of the Box, what does fit is how generally (pardon the pun) pathetic he is. He's not the general he presents himself as, although I stand by the fact he outranks Sergeant Guy (He keeps company with a Paratroopa with a bucket on his head and a Goomba in pyjamas, can you be surprised?) Presumably, General Guy's military ambitions were satisfied by Bowser's Star Rod, although what he was before the wish and how this wish emboldened him to instigate the thefts in Toad Town is never elaborated on, not even through environmental storytelling. The closest thing you get is him joining his minions in running around and screaming after you beat him, which almost implies he, and all the Shy Guys, are literal children and don't just have the minds of such. ...Perhaps that's why they don't answer the question one way or the other.

Mechanically, the Toy Box is a chapter about backtracking. It's a relatively harmless example, especially since the most frustrating example of such is skippable on a repeat playthrough- the only times you explicitly need to leave the Toy Box are to get the Toy Train from Harry and get the Cake from Tayce T., only the latter of which is done beyond Blue Station. The Toy Box stands in the shadow of TTYD's Chapter 4 in this regard. However, the Toy Box stands out since no other Chapter in the original requires crossing back and forth between different areas on such a grand scale... well, apart from Chapter 6. I rather enjoy the Toy Box for what it is, especially with Anti Guy to pose an interesting challenge and each Shy Guy having their own twist on how you need to approach them, showing off various elements of the battle system and keeping you on your toes while being similar enough that the major element you need to consider when fighting them is prioritisation. What is your least favourite thing enemies can do? There is one type of Shy Guy that can do that, and when you are given formations with multiple different types, you are asked "which one do you want to get rid of first?"

PM Chapter 4 Part 2: March of the Minis

Green Station's roadblock is fairly simple. Well, simple in concept. How exactly one goes about hiding the train tracks is another matter.

That'd be Russ T.'s Dictionary! For, uh... some reason, Russ is the key NPC to solving this station.

I don't think that part will be too hard.

Here, we can see the missing railway, and also four giant blocks.

Hammer all four, and Shy Guys appear. I believe there's a combination that gives you money, but obviously, the key will be to input a combination that will make the train tracks appear. Russ will tell us what it is, but like with Moustafa's purchase code, the correct solution will work if you know it ahead of time.

PM Chapter 4 Part 1: Giving Back to the Community

Those guys are definitely Shy Guys. Although they don't look all that scary in silhouette. I'm sure they'll have something.

Welcome to the Toy Box. Prepare to this theme for a long time.

Right away, we see our first Star Panel. In this chapter, they're all pretty easy to come by, thankfully.

...You know, it's never explained why the train system has full infrastructure but no actual engine. Presumably, the Koopa Troop is somehow responsible, but this is never explained.

We'll have to find the train. And yes, they are called Blue, Green, Pink and Red Stations. Each Station has one major objective to complete.

There are two exits from this map, and this one is completely optional.

This is a Shy Guy. They're ne'er-do-wells. Big time rascals. No good... Max HP: 7, Attack Power: 2, Defense Power: 0. They occasionally do acrobatic attacks that have an attack power of 3. Who knows what lies in the hearts of these troublemakers? I guess they're dangerous, but they're pretty small time.

Shy Guys (Lv. 14) are the rank and file of Chapter 4, the basis from which all other enemies are made. They are pretty basic, as Goombario summarises, but there's an interesting note to make here. All regular enemies in this chapter have 7 HP, which is a very inconvenient number for most attacks we have available. There are multiple tactics you can use to make this number work for you, depending on your Badge setup or favourite attacks, and the game is going to expect you to figure one out. If a fight is going south, note that Star Storm does 7 damage.

PM Post-Chapter 3 Part 2: Under the Panels

Now then. Let's get started with going around Toad Town and finding all these Star Panels.

There are a lot of them. It's almost kind of obscene. I wonder how many Star Pieces you were supposed to find on your own.

PM Post-Chapter 3 Part 1: Invaders from Playtime

Short Peach intermission today.

These two have no way of judging Mario's progress if Bowser doesn't come to... well, he's not gloating if he's mentioning he's taking a loss, is he? It'd also help if Twink actually came downstairs.

Twink suggests they try the sneaky trick.

Not just mad- scared. There's more than one giant old reptile who's boasting about being invincible.

So, where does Mario need to go next?

Sneak through the passage again, and...

Oh hey, Bowser got the news.

...

Wait a second.

Paper Mario Chapter 3: The "Invincible" Tubba Blubba

Chapter 3 is when Mario gets two awesome tools to tackle the game- Super Boots, for Star Panels and extra Jump power, and Lady Bow, for Smack and Outta Sight. It is also when the game starts to get that Paper Mario story that makes these games so beloved.

Forever Forest and Boo's Mansion are a very tricky opening segment, more puzzle than combat. The Forever Forest can be nigh-trivialised with Zap Tap, and Boo's Mansion has no combat. Bow testing our puzzle-solving skill is a pretty good plan considering we have to "solve the mystery" of Tubba Blubba's secret, and it's also the part of Mario's reputation he doesn't talk about much, if at all. In practice, puzzle-solving wasn't a big part of Tubba Blubba's Castle, and solving the secret was much more about stealth- something Mario needed Bow's help with.

Gusty Gulch is a ghost town, an antepiece to Tubba Blubba's threat. Tubba Blubba is a character vastly recontextualised by his twist reveal. The story as the chapter is played focuses on the fact that he is Invincible and we must find out his secret, which is a very important thing to consider, but by backloading the interesting factor, there's no time to actually reflect on the matter at all. Tubba Blubba never gets to talk about how it feels to inspire so much fear in his former tormentors, nor do Bow or the Boos appreciate the irony of fearing someone they used to enjoy scaring. It is simply another thing Bow does that adds a layer of mischief to her character.

Bow, for her part, is the most developed party member so far. She not only gets her opening trick in forcing Mario to tackle Tubba Blubba for good rather than saving the Star Spirit and running, but she also gets to grapple- shortly- with the morality of scaring him so often that he was brought to this extreme. As a character, Bow gets a level of involvement in the plot that most RPGs would call "normal"- in fact, since Bow is going to drop out of the spotlight for the rest of the game, the usual RPG standard would consider her somewhat underdeveloped. Unfortunately, she is the most fleshed out party member in this game. TTYD does slightly better, but most party members in this game are here to help and not much else.

Mechanically, Bow represents the game feeling more comfortable with pitting you against actually dangerous encounters. Hyper enemies won't be very common- enemies can vary their Atk power, but they won't broadcast it like Hypers can- but the Clubbas represent a pattern for the rest of the game. Oneshotting enemies in a single normal attack is not normal unless you lean hard into a Badge setup that makes it normal. You must consider how the combination of herd-hitting attacks and attacking key targets will set up an enemy phase with few enemy attacks. This, and managing your HP and FP such that you can do the attacks you want when you need them is the backbone of Paper Mario's main gameplay loop, and now that we have plenty of options in Badges and a party member that can bail us out of damage if we really need it, the game is prepared to bite back.

PM Chapter 3 Part 2: The Heartless Giant's Torment

Just past the windmill is the literal ghost town of Gusty Gulch.

It's desolate and uninhabited by all but a few ghosts, and the only reason that's unusual is because it's less ghosts than usual.

...Wow, Bow is ready. About the reaction one expects from someone who's main attack is slapping the enemy silly.

He has a place of residence. This question doesn't seem to have much relevance for us catching the guy. Maybe it takes him time to come down here, but it doesn't take us long to walk there.

It's worse when they have names. Even if we've literally never met Herbert before in our lives. Still, though. Hubie will be missed.

Bow doesn't want anyone else to... pass on, and promises the Boos that her secret weapon will succeed.

PM Chapter 3 Part 1: The Enigmatic Mansion

So, do we just grab a Starman and have a fight where both of us are invincible?

We've been in Forever Forest before, and I believe we're acquainted with Piranha Plants.

Boy... The forest is really dark and spooky. People say that if you don't choose exactly the right path, you'll get totally lost. I can believe it. This looks like the type of place where you get lost and then monsters come out of the grass and... Hey! Did you notice that grass over there rustling? I swear I saw it move!

Goombario's Tattle. Goombario's Tattles are incredibly useful here, for reasons that'll make more sense in a bit.

For now, I'm showing off that Piranha Plants will take damage from Zap Tap. This is not the reason I brought it with me, but it's a huge help.

With Power Plus, I oneshot these guys anyway.

To get further into Forever Forest, you have to enter the path next to the shifting flowers.

Oaklie's back, and he's going to continue to try and keep us out of the forest.

All we need to do is have the Boos invite us over, and Oaklie takes us at our word. Early in development, Oaklie would have inspected you for an actual passport, but honestly, it's way funnier that he just smiles and nods.