TTYD Post-Chapter 1 Part 2: Trouble-Maker

Head to the north, and we can enter the train station area. This map is inherently interesting because entering it is the fastest way to reload Charlieton's stock. Good to keep in mind, if you really need something or other.

I really could've used this for Jumpman.

There are two methods of transit from this map. Over here, we can see the blimpport, for Glitzville.

We'll need a ticket. No paying with cash for us! Thank goodness, though, we told off Gus for cash-gating us.

That's Stewart, the blimp conductor. His job is to check blimp passengers' tickets. I hear he loved the sea even as a child and wanted to become a sailor... But now he's sailing the skies instead... I guess his dream sorta came true, huh? He's like an air sailor, or something...

Imagine being a Cheep Cheep and failing at being a sailor, so you reclassed into being a pilot.

...Probably a jumping Cheep.

The train will only be taking us to Poshley Heights. And it definitely looks far more expensive, too.

That... well, the train was free in 64, so I can see this being a commentary on why you might need a ticket in a world with few fare costs. Besides, this train is a sign of prestige.

That's Porter, the station manager here in Rogueport. He checks train tickets. I hear he loves trains so much that he has like, a billion model trains at home. Maybe he's just using his adulthood to buy all the things he wanted as a kid...

Valid. I'm waiting for that point.

...I'm just imagining a couple doing the dramatic train goodbye, and then the one on the platform turns and glares at this girl, who has gotten out her popcorn.

And over here we have the other person who enjoys looking at trains more than they do riding them.

These tickets can get expensive. Fortunately, we'll have our ways when we need to board.

The Toad mentioned the ability to fall in the grate?

Yup.

I don't think you need to specifically stand on a hole, just Paper Mode anywhere on the grate.

TTYD Post-Chapter 1 Part 1: Prowling the Town

With the plot done, Koops is going to sort out his affairs with the Petalburg characters.

Koops may have battled his personal demons, but he thinks there's more he can learn from being in Mario's presence, and decides he's going to become a permanent member of the party.

His reasoning is his own, and I'm sure we'll show him the meaning of that somewhere.

I imagine what he wants to say here is "you will always be my son, no matter how successful you find yourself".

Koopie Koo's going to be waiting patiently, too. Kinda wish she got a little more to say. I also kinda wish she was the one who joined the party, so I may not be the fairest judge.

It's also not helping Kroop gets to pitch in, despite the two never interacting before now. At the very end of the game, Koops expresses an interest in taking his job once he's done with it, which makes me wonder if his presence here is supposed to be foreshadowing that, but Koopie really could've used one or both of his lines for herself.

Koops is ready to leave.

Goombella gets to speak regardless of which partner you have out before this scene.

TTYD Post-Chapter 1 Intermissions: Royal Pains

When Mario's time is over, a series of panels appears over the screen, shows Mario's face for a few seconds, and then the panels wipe in reverse order. Sometimes the Marios blink. It is terrifying.

To the surprise of absolutely nobody, Peach got kidnapped. To the surprise of the in-universe characters (although perhaps not to the player), the culprits this time are these mysterious soldiers. Yes, they have a salute.

To note, do not adjust the picture, we are seeing this scene occur through a monitor. This will be relevant later, I would like to draw attention to it now.

"The Princess Peach you ordered". That's certainly a choice of words.

This transition is probably the most important image in this entire update. I will be revisiting this shot later, but suffice it to say the story we are about to be told needs this image.

After this electrical short, we watch the remainder of this interrogation through conventional means.

They are really writing this game like a Fire Emblem game, aren't they?

Anyway, say hello to the commander of this mysterious army. What the hell is he? I don't know either. The lack of detail on what the hell the deal is with this lot enhances their mystique among the Mario RPG's non-Koopa Troop villainous teams. They are probably the most popular of the bunch, and it's hard to argue.

Thousand Year Door Chapter 1: Castle and Dragon

The game has been so eager to send players to the gameplay this time around, Chapter 1 of TTYD has picked up a few extra burdens from the Prologue of 64, although they've done their best to keep it to a minimum.

The first "half" of the Chapter is about going to Petalburg, finding out what's been afflicting the town, and progressing on a quick fetch quest to go pick up the keys to the dungeon. Shhwonk Fortress, like the Fuzzy invasion of 64, has no relevance to anything and could've been excised from the story entirely without losing anything. In a more traditional RPG, the story of this chapter would have been a satisfying self-contained Town Story with Kroop giving you the keys to Hooktail's Castle directly, Koops joining immediately, and then straight to Hooktail. TTYD wants a little more substance to the Chapter, though, and adds some archaeology for Goombella to geek out over (exclusively in Tattles), a funny setpiece with the Thwomp quizmaster, and a visit to some Fuzzies. Good for padding and a level or two, mostly. Did we have to fight two monsters weak to POW Blocks on the way?

Hooktail Castle is a far stronger element to the story, but that's a matter of course. Kooper was very vague about his reasons for joining, and his story is relevant later on. Koops gets to be more directly focused on Hooktail herself, with a reason for joining and a character based entirely around that reason- his trauma from losing his father has suppressed his drive to do, and he wants closure on this chapter of his life before he can become a Koopa in his own right. Within the castle itself, we see him react to his father's legacy (before realising it's actually someone else's) and... blush at a cat burglar. TTYD has some concepts for amazing stories, but without Party Chat and a limited interest in giving dialogue to a single relevant party member, the game must use the start and the end of its stories for all the development and trust the reader to fill in the blanks with the gameplay. Not an unreasonable expectation- especially for a Mario game- but it does betray the essence of the genre and the expectations TTYD itself has cultivated, just a smidge.

On a related note, Hooktail herself is a very underdeveloped antagonist. She only appears in dragon at the very end of the journey, characterises herself exclusively as a glutton (down to her weakness being based on a particularly unpleasant experience with food poisoning), and her trickster nature is thrown in so late that they had to squeeze a mention of it in Mr. Jones's letter to make it feel the slightest bit foreshadowed. We have a trickster dragon, terrorising the people of multiple villages, the murderer of Koops's father and master of undead hordes, resident of a castle full of tricks and traps... and Hooktail is just hungry. We barely even know if the castle was built for her or if she became a resident after the fact- and if the latter, when! Part of this may be in service of her gender reveal: they don't want to use too much of her because they don't want to have to be forced to gender her early so it can be surprise when, much later, it turns out she was a girl. That may be the best counterargument for the existence of that joke I could make, beyond any sort of commentary on how that impacts trans, non-binary, and just women in general. Yes, that stuff is important, but look at how badly Hooktail herself got short-changed just so they could tell the joke at all!

Mechanically, this is an excellent showcase of TTYD's strengths as a game- it re-establishes all the old stuff to people who skipped 64, shows off some neat puzzles and strategic depth, and makes sure the player is thinking about all the systems the game has in place early. Combined with the shorter Prologue allowing players to get to this point far quicker, and TTYD's opening is better than 64's by a long shot. The weaknesses of the chapter, aside from perhaps the dull music that this game kinda has a general issue with, are that it is also getting the player ready to deal with all the bad mechanics TTYD introduced. Stage drops, audience heckling, enemies holding and using items, enemies ignoring the leader and dealing a large amount of proportional damage to a wounded rear line... the worst the game has to offer won't come into play yet, and that may just be what saves the game in the end. The game gets far more irritating later, after some more interesting story nuggets have been introduced. This is definitely not intentional- the devs either thought you'd enjoy or be amused by the stage's many faults- but it would filter out people who are less invested in the story.

TTYD Chapter 1 Part 3: Badge of Courage

Well, if that isn't an excellent first impression. Hooktail's Castle is filled with, what else, the bones that she is unable to swallow from her many, many, many victims.

And the occasional, still living, Koopa Troopa. Are they her guards or her lunch? I'm going to assume the former, because I would rather not be party to the latter.

That's a Koopa Paratroopa. Well, umm… It's basically a Koopa Troopa with wings. Max HP is 4, Attack is 2, and Defense is 1. I kinda hate that this guy gets to fly. Of course, you can stomp on him and he'll plunge down and be a plain Koopa Troopa. Yeah, do that, and he's ours! Stomp again to flip him, and his arms and legs are useless! Oops! Sorry, that's not true. It looks like he can still wiggle them around a bit…

Goombella is great. Koopa Paratroopa is far more likely to hit your guy in the back, and with the 2 Attack and relatively fast Sky Dive, this guy is going to keep you honest.

As demonstrated. It would be nice if I could get them flipped over. Especially the Mushroom one.

That Multibounce got it.

Finally, some FP. Multibounce and Power Shell are going to be our friends.

TTYD Chapter 1 Part 2: Fuzzy Feelings

...The ancient treasures are kept in the sewer system. Anyone suspect we might have been able to get down here from the outside?

Ah, Multibounce. Same as in Paper Mario, lets you jump on enemies in a line, but they've given a copy to us before we fight a bunch of Koopa enemies. Very polite of them.

That's a Fuzzy. What a hyper little guy, huh? Cut back on the caffeine! Max HP is 3, Attack is 1, and Defense is 0. Those things suck up your HP and use it to replenish their own! Isn't that the worst? I mean, EW! Doesn't that just sound totally gross? Anyway, guard against them by pressing the A Button the MOMENT they release you. The timing is pretty hard to master, so, uh, practice up! These things really suck… HP.

This is the return of Fuzzy- Paper Mario also had us fighting a bunch in Chapter 1, and I suppose it's intended as a tutorial for healing enemies? I'm not entirely sure what the commonality is, but Fuzzies make more sense as the equivalent of sewer rats in an abandoned fortress than mischievous thieves around Koopa Village.

And hey, sometimes they just miss.

TTYD Chapter 1 Part 1: Stop and Smell the Petalburg

That's a little neater of a title position, isn't it? Trying to screenshot these is an exercise in just waiting until the face of the coin I want to see is facing front at the same time the title is in the top half. Thankfully, the coin flipping and the title looping are offset. But I've never lingered on this screen longer than it takes to accept the A input.

Welcome to the first level- the grassy fields one traditionally sees at the start of Mario games. And hey, that's the castle marked on the map right there in the background!

And we spawn right next to it. That pipe isn't working right now, though.

The time to starting Chapter 1 is so much quicker than in 64, it's lovely!