Ah, Thousand Year Door. Easily the most beloved of the original Paper Mario trilogy, and the measuring stick to which all Paper Mario games, past and future, are compared. This game, in many ways, takes the flaws of Paper Mario 64's systems and directly fixes them, although often suffers the issue of including new flaws in new systems or poorly considering how the fixes worked in practice. Narratively, it also represents a tone found nowhere else in the Mario brand, something that hinders it as much as it helps it.
Ultimately, I feel that this game set itself huge goals and rose admirably to meet them, but the reputation it developed in the fandom in the wake of Sticker Star's legacy caused fan expectations to rise even higher, leaving the game's myriad flaws to sting all the more. I came in with low expectations, due to having given up a previous playthrough in frustration, and I think I walked away from this run with a new appreciation for some of the game's strengths. But at the same time... those weaknesses that turned me away haven't disappeared.
Much like Paper Mario, the opening attract cutscene has exposition and story setup.
They mean the actual Door, not the title of the game. Although I'm sure that could get confusing if they made any jokes about it.
TTYD, unlike Paper Mario, takes place exclusively in a far-off land.
A kingdom of peace, prosperity, and existed a long time ago.
I don't think anyone needed to be too surprised.
An interesting thought occurs to me: While we do (eventually) learn what caused this cataclysm, we don't actually learn that much about the form it took.
All we know is that it was vicious, it was destructive...
And it was total.
No one left to even historically catalog the town. All we know is myth and rumour from what others found in its place from what remained.
Not, strictly speaking, true, although it is true that there is a new town on this site.
See? Although there's nothing that remains of the old city on the surface, the old city lives on, in ruins, beneath their feet.
And legends tell that there is more to the story than that.
The old city holds a secret. And we're going to find out what.
(Getting the impression that this isn't a Mario game yet? You could cut and paste this opening into Dragon Quest and it wouldn't feel out of place.)
Rogueport is our setting of the day. The town of Rogueport will be our hub town, and while the Chapters will be set elsewhere, I don't really think there's a collective name for the world map.
The legendary treasure and the Thousand-Year Door are intertwined. There is not one without the other.
We zoom into the last picture, and notice that Princess Peach was actually on it the whole time.
Since the release of the original Paper Mario, I think the only platformer we got was Super Mario Sunshine. While we're not seeing anything like Bowser Jr., there is new stuff from that game to add back into the world, chief among them being Peach's overly worried advisor Toadsworth.
And when we say the caretaker of a woman who gets kidnapped so regularly she treats it as her five o'clock is "overly worried", that gives you an impression.
I think it's later confirmed that Rogueport was not their intended destination, and we will quickly learn that, in this instance, Toadsworth's concern is fully justified. She may not be in danger from Bowser in this far-off kingdom, but this place has no shortage of alternatives.
This is not a place where a young woman wearing a small fortune in jewelry should be walking regardless of who she is. Although Peach is optimistic.
Peach is set upon by one of the locals.
Fortunately, for now, it's just a merchant- although who knows what lies beneath that hood.
"The functions of which will be left as an exercise for the buyer."
Peach is probably going to buy something. The only questions are "what?" and "how can I complete this transaction without looking like I can be scammed?". I think we're long since past that second part.
Peach's eyes light up on the thing that looks most obvious in use, and probably the most harmless.
This box is simultaneously the most important thing in the entire story and the most overlooked, probably because we only actually see it in this attract cutscene. Obviously, once we get the map inside it, the box itself is pretty useless.
This line is very interesting once you understand the various moving parts of the story, and the motives of this merchant. Obviously, there is more to this than it seems, but the fact this merchant is unable to open the box herself is the most interesting part.
It's possible she's doubting her ability, but let's be honest. It's Peach. Peach is the most pure-hearted soul in the entire Mario universe, and she knows this. She knows, if the merchant is truthful and a pure heart opens the box, she will be able to do it. And she's starting to get concerned about what comes next.
And this is very definitely a lie. Nobody has no use for a treasure map. And even fewer will willingly give one away with no strings attached. Peach is also too well dressed for any merchant worth their salt to allow to walk away without buying the things they take.
Peach decides she's going to open the box. After all, it's probably safer in her hands than in the hands of some other pure-hearted soul who doesn't have an unstoppable plumber on no-questions-asked rescue call.
And, of course, Peach is able to open the box.
We do not see what happens following, because the game is eager to hide the details. But suffice it to say that Princess Peach now has access to a legendary treasure map, and more questions than merely "what is the treasure".
Like Paper Mario, you can name your file. Like Paper Mario, there's no in-story impact to what name you pick. Unlike Paper Mario, though, we're going to get to use this screen again.
Let's just get started.
We start, where else, with Mario's house. This will be one of two times we visit the place, and both in cutscenes alone.
Parakarry! All eight Paper Mario partners have been redesigned for the Gamecube... and only two of them got used in the final game. Parakarry's just here to reprise his role as the Mushroom Kingdom's mailman, appearing only here. I would like to take a moment, while we've got him, to appreciate his unusual sky-blue shell colour, much easier to pick out in his TTYD sprite than his old one.
Luigi, of course, gets the mail.
And then reads it. Mario can read his own mail, bro.
...Is Rogueport a part of the Mushroom Kingdom, then? We know Peach is a princess of a large kingdom, but we don't actually spend much time learning which lands we're visiting bend the knee to her. It's often joked that Peach is a foreign dignitary in Isle Delfino... if Rogueport is in her domain, perhaps Isle Delfino is too? I think that just speaks to how little politics plays into Peach's day job. As if we ever actually see her do it anyway.
She mentions the box in the letter, odd. Mario doesn't pay this a second thought, and the subject of the box is never mentioned again- none of the parties who know about it think it's important enough to think twice about, and even if they did, there doesn't seem to be any productive avenues of discussion in figuring out what the deal with that box is. The story itself doesn't seem too concerned, so maybe that's as much on the writers, but it is something to keep on the back of our minds.
This letter, ultimately, saves the day. Adding Mario to this story was the most useful thing Peach could've done on her own, and since she managed to escape the merchant with the map, she figured it should be the first thing she should do.
And ultimately, the most important part of the letter is this part. Peach knows she will not be allowed to keep the map if she and she alone is responsible for it, so she includes it in the letter to ensure Mario will possess it. She knows where this story is going, and is taking suitable precautions.
Nothing is going to dissuade her from pursuing it, and there's something to be said about Mario having the potentially story-breaking power to just say "no thanks". Mario never seriously considers saying no to adventure, but it is definitely in everyone's interest if he accepts this one.
The European instruction manual's version of this letter ends with the far more pleasant but still insistent "Don't let me down, will you?". Kinda wish they went with that in the actual game.
Mario now possesses the treasure map. This also doubles as the world map, I believe, and we will never be robbed of it.
It's... a conventional map, all right. Although there's a lot of empty space in the top-right. Its mysteries won't be revealed that easily. One of these days it will be a TV map that is topologically accurate, but with a dashed line leading to a big red X.
TTYD is a lot more liberal with paper-themed transitions, or indeed any interesting transitions. Mostly it's just extra flavour over 64, which made next to no use of its aesthetic.
The in-story title card. They always have a big moment with one, and while the cinematic significance is understood by audiences, it's kinda weird to explain.
The Chapter opening cards have this curtain unfurl on this spinning coin with four designs- Mario, Peach, Bowser, and an as-yet unknown but important insignia- the chapter number spin into view, and then the chapter title appears around the lip of the coin. You usually have to wait for two laps of these patterns for pressing "A" to advance to the game, but the main reason I mention it (other than the fact Bowser is represented on the coin) is to make it clear that any differences between the coin and title card I show is just timing and not actually relevant.
...Maybe I ought to have waited until the title was on the top of the coin. I get in the habit of it after seeing this, but still. The title prints from the top of the coin and revolves around it anti-clockwise- it's not too difficult to read when in motion, but there's virtually no screenshot that really feels nice except maybe directly-on-top.
Mario has taken a ship to Rogueport, and is currently sleeping through the boring part. Which means that this game sorta has the RPG tradition of waking up the protagonist?
Rogueport ahead!
Interestingly, the town shown here is pretty strongly based on its appearance. The view of the port we have here includes a secret area we won't have access to until after Chapter 5. I think you can kinda see it in gameplay, but it's really hard and probably not unless you know it's there.
Here's our shabby little start.
We appear to be the only person on board travelling to this town. Whether we are the only person at all is another question- I usually assumed this was a public ship, but it may actually be a personal ride.
The lack of other people coming to Rogueport is because, unless you're into legendary treasure hunts or looking to prey on those idiots, there's really no reason to go and several reasons not to.
You know, for kids!
This kinda reduces the chances this is a private boat in Peach's name. If it was, the ship captain would know who both Peach and Mario are. After that, I mostly doubt any private ship services exist on the scale that the Mushroom Kingdom and Rogueport are implied to be- I doubt this is a ferry.
Of course I will, sir.
After dropping us off, the ship gets up, flips over, and sails the other direction. For the most part, you can assume such actions are quirky portrayals of more realistic actions, because we're in a game made of paper and not in a real world made out of paper.
Welcome to Rogueport. Right away, one of 64's biggest flaws- the overly long opening setup- is cut down significantly.
Not only do we start with the Hammer, but we also start with the Lucky Star. There's an Action Command tutorial later, but if you know how to do them, the game will let you do them. We have been dropped back to level 1, with basic boots and hammer, though. We start with a free packet of 100 coins, mostly for one scene in particular, and that helps you get started on exploring some of your options with shops. We can also see, in addition to the return of Star Pieces (which will be spent as currency in exchange for rare Badges), a new currency in Shine Sprites. These have a key usage, but we will not have the ability to possess enough to use them until after Chapter 1.
We don't start with any inventory items, but we do start with a key item- the Mailbox SP. Watch out, Parakarry- Mario has email now! This pretty much replaces all the mail from Paper Mario, and unfortunately, this does mean the partners don't get mail, but it's a small price to pay.
The Journal will have a few options later on, but for now it's just our map. As mentioned, we see the locations we visit on the treasure map itself.
Enjoying starting with the hammer!
Unlike Paper Mario, it is possible to jump into the water.
Mario is unable to swim, and upon entering any body of water, he is set upon by Nibbles, an enemy appearing only in this game whose job it is to chase you back to land with -1 HP to your name. I don't remember if Nibbles can kill you, but I think the main point of him is allowing Mario to jump over water.
...Come to think of it, I can't name an iconic Mario enemy that fulfills the role of the piranha in being something that will bite you if you go in the water. I guess the platformers don't need more than Cheep Cheep, if all enemies have contact damage.
Even the people that live here commend our bravery just for choosing to come here.
Of course, we save with Save Blocks. Standard tutorial, and he's nice and flavourful doing it.
The Toad's more about the lore. In Paper Mario, I made a lot of jokes at the expense of the cowardice of Toads, but that doesn't seem relevant to the ones that live in Rogueport. The Mushroom Kingdom Toads would be eaten alive here.
The kinds of reasons a citizen of Rogueport expect when someone is looking for someone else. We've been in town five seconds and already we're clearly not in the Mushroom Kingdom anymore.
When you step too far up, you enter a cutscene trigger, and we're introduced to some greater conflict.
This is just an insult. Our Goomba girl is far more intelligent than this guy and all his minions combined.
These guys are interested in the Crystal Stars. No idea what those are yet, but I'm sure we'll be looking for them too eventually.
The Goomba is having no part of this. You can tell from design alone that these are not people to trust.
The comic relief villain casually suggesting the possibility of murder.
This is a Mario game.
I don't think they have any actual torture methods, so this is more in line with Mario's tone. Still very terrifying for a girl of her age.
Although this character is called "Lord", I don't think he's actually the Lord of anything. This seems to be a self-proclaimed cool title.
Time for somebody to step in!
This guy pays no attention to the comings and goings. His unique turnkey and design tell us he'll become a character later, but for now he's just a generic NPC running around.
The green Toad back here is cowardly, but that's his character and not a rule. He probably has sensible judgement on not sticking his nose in other people's messes.
Meanwhile, this guy is excited to see a fight scene.
...
First of all, no, second of all, NO? Clearly there's no one trustworthy living here.
Get close enough, and the Goomba decides "yep, you're saving me."
In addition to being the game doing a plot trigger, this is an established character trait of this Goomba girl, and she does it again later. Sometimes it's demeaning to women to depend on it. In a town like Rogueport, it's too smart a plan to pass up.
I live for this.
Mario actually jumps and looks around, perhaps not realising the Goomba has involved him in the situation.
"Crump's plans go horribly awry" seem to be a day in the life of Crump.
We've been in town thirty seconds and already we're picking a fight.
Fights in TTYD open with curtains to reveal a stage. In addition to being a cool way of showing a fight, the stage actually has gameplay relevance. It is by far my least favourite part of the game. Why this is so won't be apparent in this opening fight, at least.
This fight is just here to introduce you to the rules of combat- think of it as the Bowser fight at the start of Paper Mario.
We open with the ability to use Jump, Hammer, Items and Strategies. Instead of the projector reel from 64, it's instead a wheel over our head, so we can loop around in either direction.
Prepare to never see this screen again.
Of course, we do not have the option to flee, but our "Do Nothing" action has been replaces with a traditional RPG command "Defend". In most RPGs, it's basically "pass turn" and is rarely useful unless you have a reason to pass turns, which is usually because you're doing some sort of exploit. It's pretty similar in this game, but at least we get +1 Def out of it, and the game is low-numbers enough that +1 Def means something.
Right, let's do a Jump! Two bounces for 1+1 damage, same as usual.
The Goomba pipes up with encouragement, but she is not actually helping us.
Lord Crump attempts to attack us with a butt stomp that does 1 damage. It's easy to block, and if you use the Defend Command, he can't hurt you.
It's impossible to lose this fight- even if you jump in the water enough for Nibbles to reduce you to critical HP, you're refilled to 5 and there's no way to lose that much HP without killing him.
Hammer has the same action command as before, too.
Except that's new! If you press the A Button at the right point during an attack, you perform a Stylish Command, new to TTYD. Stylish Commands have no purpose for now, but it's worth noting that the correct time to Stylish on Hammer is to press A as soon as you hit the ground, and then hit A again after the backflip to pose. I think the correct time to Stylish on Jump is while you're in the air after landing a hit.
I love this girl.
Also new to TTYD is the Superguard, where instead of pressing the A Button to block an attack, you instead press B. The timing window to land a Superguard is less generous than a normal Guard (I believe the difference is 0.75 seconds to 0.25 seconds), but if you can land one, all damage is nullified and, if the enemy does contact damage, you do 1 damage to them. The risk/reward is cool, but it does kinda feel like it just makes the game Mario & Luigi, but less interesting attack patterns.
Lord Crump's 5 HP has been taken out with that extra point of damage on the Superguard, and we have defeated him.
Why does this line remind me of Dora the Explorer, of all things?
As seen before, Star Points are 100 for a level, with enemies giving less the stronger you are.
Unlike Paper Mario, the EXP formula has been... complicated. You receive Star Points according to the following formula:
(Enemy level - Mario level) x Battle Multiplier + Base EXP, rounded down.
The Battle multiplier is a number that depends on how many enemies are present in the battle you're in- 0.5x for one or two enemies, 0.55x for three, 0.65x for four, and 0.75x for the brand new five enemy formations. The enemy cap is five this time around, enemies that can spawn reinforcements won't break that. The Base EXP constant only appears in one lategame area we won't be having much experience with.
Usually, this means enemies give more Star Points than 64's enemies gave, but are quicker to start taking Star Point rewards away. I think it also means that, rather than stopping giving Star Points when their level matches yours, they stop a few levels beforehand. In practice, I don't think one system is worse than the other, but it makes Star Point math more frustrating to do here and I think I won't be covering it.
In consolation, if nothing in the fight drops Star Points and you complete the fight, you get a single Star Point for the whole fight. This is in comparison to 64, which gave zero for the same situation.
You got zero.
Crump decides he's going to try harder to secure victory.
CALL REINFORCEMENTS!
And all the goons starting jumping on us.
The Goomba walks away.
They... don't seem to be paying much attention to the people they're attacking. These guys are dangerous, but Crump is not.
You can even walk into it and they won't pay you any mind.
Anyway, let's leave them to it.
Crump eventually realises his minions are no longer beating up his victims.
They cleanly go back into formation.
And Crump starts looking around for where they could've gone. I like to imagine every goon that is currently throwing up a ? bubble is named Johnson.
"This is not going to make me look good to my boss..."
That felt a little more in line with Mario's tone.
All in a day's work.
I don't really know why, but TTYD also ramped up the "sexiness", too. Every female party member kisses Mario, and it kinda bothers me, especially since Mario is clearly here for Peach anyway. Let's just focus on the rest of her character.
Say hello to Goombella, second-year university student, 150% sass, and the best girl of TTYD's cast.
Mario talking is now animated in this game when he has something to say. He's still as mute as ever in the script, though.
Although Rogueport is a long way away, Mario is not unknown, and many characters recognise him when prompted. I don't think Mario is ever recognised on sight, though.
Goombella is also not a local of this place. Perhaps that means she's more exposed to Mario in her hometown- I think a lot of the people who come to recognise Mario are also not locals too.
To be fair, the people she was accosted by are not locals either. Not that the locals are any better.
What a coincidence!
Also, if you'll look to the background, you'll notice some Piantas in suits. Yes, they are exactly who you think they are. No, they're not interested in us.
Mario decides to show Goombella the Magical Map. I think we can trust her, but I wouldn't get in the habit.
...This is a long story, we're going to have to figure out where we need to start from.
Hello, it's Toadsworth! Also, we can see the Piantas beating up some Robbos in the background.
Toadsworth was not expecting to see us. That seems surprising.
The background event with the Piantas and the Robbos has expanded to include dialogue. This exchange is automatic and not at all influenced by how we proceed through Toadsworth's dialogue- in fact, it's the opposite.
Da boss sends his greetin's!
I don't think we can ever ask what's going on to have caused this- and frankly, I don't think I want to know- but the establishment of the war between the Piantas and the Robbos is relevant once later. Just once.
The Robbo that got beaten to the ground gets up, shakes off his injuries, vows revenge and walks off. That never comes up again.
Anyway, ignoring them completely, let's get back to Toadsworth, who was completely and utterly unaware of both the exchange Peach had with the mystery merchant and the treasure map she walked away with. And did not notice Peach sending said map and mail back to Mario, or if he noticed the letter, didn't think it important to ask what she was sending. You talk a big game of being concerned about the princess, but you could be doing so much more to manage her security.
"It's 3 PM. Do you know where the person you are responsible for is?" The battle between Bowser and Toad is a battle with no winners, only idiots.
...Wait, have you not seen her at all after she left to meet the mystery merchant? Wow, the timeframes in question are narrower than I thought. Peach practically had to write the letter to Mario on the gallows before sending it immediately before going missing.
Mario jumps in shock.
If you mash your way through Toadsworth's dialogue, he will stop talking here. The game must make absolutely sure that the Pianta/Robbo mob war in the background has stopped before Toadsworth is done talking, because he needs to walk away and use that door they're in front of. This exact moment happens to be the time they've chosen to force you to stop and let the event finish.
...In this town?
On the other hand, you are way too defeatist.
...I'd rather not consider the possibility that you are correct, if at all possible.
Toadsworth can rest easier knowing someone is actively working to save her.
And he is in no position to do anything himself. Maybe if he were twenty-to-thirty years younger.
Inns replace Toad Houses, healing your HP and FP to full.
Between not refuelling and stopping here, bit of a tough choice. Maybe next time you'll try the "not refuelling" one. And probably have the expected bad outcome happen there, too.
Princess Peach, famous for being kidnapped.
...I mean, it's not wrong, but the reputation of the Mushroom Kingdom is in the pits. Why is Bowser the only person who makes any bids on conquering the place?
Goombella starting to piece together a few key details. Peach, the last person to own this treasure map before us, has gone missing. There are several conclusions one can draw, none of them good.
Let's hope it's just that. It doesn't sound like her, though.
Goombella decides to recruit Mario into her treasure-grabbing scheme.
Mario doesn't know nearly enough about Rogueport to make a start on deciphering this map, and we need to find all the pieces of the puzzle currently available to us before we can make any real strides on solving it. Pool our resources, and so forth.
And with that, we officially have Goombella on the team. We had a gigantic stretch of tutorial gameplay before we got our first partner in Paper Mario- we barely got to explore one room and got into one fight in this game.
No watercolour art this time, though.
Goombella, like Goombario, has the Tattle field move.
The tutorial also shows examples of how partners work when they use their ability.
Sometimes, they also use practical demonstrations. They could stand to do this a little more, but it also makes them run a little longer. Keep in mind that these tutorials (...and only these tutorials) do not make the player try out the partner ability themselves.
Goombario was pretty awful about this, but Goombella squeezes in plenty of hints to her sass as she goes. If you're stuck in a room, nine times out of ten, Goombella's Tattle of the room will point you in the direction of the solution of the puzzle.
Goombella's initial abilities are identical to Goombario's- Headbonk for an extra Jump option, and Tattle to reveal enemy HP. They've retooled Tattle's functionality, but it has the same outcome in the end.
Rest assured, Goombella's upgraded abilities are not the same as Goombario's. And also, TTYD was very kind to her.
At least we end with an appeal.
It shouldn't be too hard to find him, though. It turns out he lives in the only street-facing house we have immediate access to that isn't a place of business.
We get put into the gameplay and the status bar pops up to inform us that Goombella has HP now. Partners have been greatly expanded in function, and can now take hits in addition to, or instead of, Mario. This is a cool mechanic, but the way they implemented it means there's virtually no strategy to it. A shame, but we will have to bear it in mind.
Oh yeah, elephant in the room. There is a gallows in the centre of town. The pavement around it is also tinged with reddish mystery splotches that the censors tell me I do not recognise. I ask them where they were when the map designers put them there in the first place.
This is a Mario game.
Thankfully, this means that nobody will be hanged from this during the story (...most of the character designs running around don't have necks), but it does have one story-significant role much later. Not for what it is, but where it is, but close enough I can't say it goes completely uncommented on.
Befitting their status as NPCs in the hub town, these guys can give you basic tips. As crooks, they're also super rude about it.
Star Piece behind this crate. There are 100 Star Pieces total in this game, and while that sounds like less than Paper Mario's 160, this game has no equivalent to Chuck Quizmo or the mailman delivery, meaning that there's a lot more Star Pieces hiding out in the overworld. After seeing how many there are in TTYD, Paper Mario almost seems ludicrously conservative in hindsight.
Beyond the obvious tone things, I'm kinda shocked that credit cards exist in a Mario game made in 2004, let alone that someone might be defrauded with them.
How surprisingly helpful, Mr. Doogan.
...Ah. Well, maybe Goombella's got some student loans in his name, but she doesn't seem too hung up over it.
I think what he's talking about comes up later- as in, you could go do it now, but we're going to wait until after Chapter 1 because we're sane.
That guy's Mousimilian. He sniffs out propositions that might make him loot. With his nose for opportunity, he could really do well in the straight business world... But I guess no one in Rogueport is really cut out for the suit-and-tie life...
I love the idea of a Mouser in a suit and tie.
This noticeboard is the equivalent to Toad Town News. I did not notice this until Chapter 3. As such, I missed the back.
I just saw the most beautiful, elegant princess in Rogueport. I think I'm smitten...
-Podley's best customer
I was fine not knowing.
Even the Toad girls are rougher here.
...Oh, never mind. She was the victim in this scenario.
...Well, logically, if we just retrace our steps, we can sneak away just fine and leave her to it...
This happens no matter what you do. Well, you can stay still forever, but she'll never find it.
I tried jumping away. It kinda locks Mario if you try to make sure you land and get that Squitch!. Hammer is also fun.
Well, nothing we can do about that.
When she says "compensate me", each syllable prints one after another.
Mario shakes his head. This really isn't something we can reasonably say is our responsibility... I think. I don't exactly use contact lenses myself.
Well, we're not going over there anytime soon, then.
She's not kidding, by the way. She waddles up and down either side and makes sure we can't sneak by. Guess we need to find a contact lens.
Shop inventory of Rogueport. Everything is familiar to us from Paper Mario, but the two items at the far end have some new designs. The fifth one is a Sleepy Sheep, now actually looking like a sheep, while the one at the far end is a Fright Mask, a recoloured Fright Jar.
Anyway, we need to have a chinwag with the mustachioed proprietor of the store.
When Zess T. said we need to buy her a new contact lens, she meant it. We also need to find one first.
Well, we can see that.
The Contact Lens will be available for purchase after Chapter 1. If you wait until after Chapter 1 to order it, you have to rest at an inn, I believe. You really should do this at the earliest opportunity, going to the west side of Rogueport is required to get to Chapter 3.
Meanwhile, the tavern. Because alcohol is child's play compared to what else we've seen in town.
I'm just kidding. It's cola.
"Reformed" probably doesn't mean much if you're hanging around in here.
Well, can't say I expected less.
Over here, we find a rich-looking fellow singing a shanty to himself in a small textbox.
Theee skull captain caasts his gaaaaaze ♪
Theeee red jewellll shiiiiines and plaaays ♪
It's a booom bassa boom festivaaal! ♪
Theee 'Stache brooothers, besssssst of frieeeeends ♪
Threeee times Red 'Stache lands onnnnn his ennnnd ♪
Blue Stache's bellllllly four times is whacked ♪
Now all the fiiiireworks booooom and craaaaack ♪
It's a boom bassa boom festivallll! ♪
This is a pretty neat detail as the story progresses: This song is a gameplay clue to solve a single puzzle in Chapter 5, and later on when this puzzle becomes relevant, this character will mention "This song was passed down through my family, but I never understood what it meant". Unlike usual examples of such songs and legends, he actually does treat it as a song he knows well and enjoys, singing it multiple times before it is needed for its designated puzzle.
He's also not the most attentive sort, is he?
Flavio is clearly important, but he'll just stick around the tavern, content to sing to himself, until he is needed.
That's the entrepreneur, Flavio. He's like, super-rich, and he owns lots of ships. What's he doing in here so early in the day, though? Think he's doing OK?
Who knows?
...Later on it is known as the Skull Gem. Huh. One-off error. But yeah, despite looking like an item, we can't take it. Which presumably means we'll take it later.
The barkeep is a Beanish person, a species introduced in Superstar Saga as living in the bean-themed kingdom next door to the Mushroom Kingdom, Beanbean Kingdom. Which is probably another clue we really aren't in the Mushroom Kingdom's domain.
Yeah, we were promised an inn, right? In this town, we have to go upstairs for that.
Welcome to the inn, home of Toadsworth and a leaky roof. Can't have everything.
Nerf to Toad Houses: They cost money now. It's a static price based on which Inn it is: Rogueport's Inn always charges 5 coins. I guess I'll keep that 1 HP of demonstrating-Nibbles damage, then.
Toadsworth is going to stay here and complain for the rest of the game. I'd joke about underusing him, but this is literally his job. Partners in Time was the odd game out in making him actually cool.
That's Toadsworth, steward of Princess Peach's castle. He's an active senior! He's been really worried since Peach went missing... I hope we can mellow him out.
Nothing but finding her is going to accomplish that.
There's a door on the top that opens to another business. Also some laundry being done on the top of the roofs.
I swear to the goddess this was not intentional, but I checked this notice at 11:02 AM in real time. This isn't actually a real time check (although this is a Gamecube game and it does have the technology to check), but a progression check. We won't be able to visit this store until later on in the prologue.
We can also stand on top of this house. If we wanted.
There's a Star Piece here.
We could have jumped back up, but sure, why not explore back here?
I'm sure everyone in this town is wanted in some county.
Where crime is unenforcable by dint of everyone being a criminal, I take it.
...Yeah, uh... pro tip. Don't tell people you're a criminal. That makes you more likely to be caught. You learned that today.
Yes, this game has a gambling minigame, and yes, we can play it. We're less likely to come back as badly as this guy, but not by much.
That's a suspicious Doogan. He craves that one big score, but I doubt it'll happen. I mean, even if he did make some money, he'd just blow it. He depresses me...
Have a little more faith! He might walk out with the same money he started with!
...Ah, who am I kidding.
That alleyway is found past this point. The camera swivels around once you get far enough in, and this can mess with your direction. I think they have a grace period so you can adjust before getting stuck in a loop, but still, I hate these direction changes.
There's a giant chest on top of that platform. We won't be opening that for a long time, but it is going to exist up there. Taunting us.
If you have saved, this line doesn't happen.
This guy goes past so fast you're not going to see he's a Bandit clearly.
Goombella would fit right in to a pulp movie.
...He what?
Yup. That actually happened.
(He always steals half- if you spent money at the shop or Inn to change your amount, it will steal less appropriately.
Fortunately, Goombella, I have an advantage.
He lives in this back alley house. It's just past the gambling Doogan.
Clearly was not expecting that one.
He gives up his loot without a fight. I don't think TTYD actually has fightable blue Bandits.
Star Piece back behind this mattress...
I have a plan in mind. And that plan is a hammer.
On a completely unrelated note, a topic of censorship that the localisers had to add: This room had a chalk outline of a Toad with a bunch of red splotches all over it in the Japanese version. You really showed that one grim joke, guys. OK, they also covered the alcohol. Nothing else we've seen in this update alone was tonally dissonant with Mario and its target audience.
...
/s
Anyway, back on the east side.
...Another fellow criticising the habit of talking to NPCs in a town full of pickpockets and worse. Maybe one day I'll take his advice.
That's Goomfrey the Goomba. He looks kind of shady, I guess, but he's cool. People call him a "fixer." Y'know, a guy that can make any problem... just go away.
Don't ask questions you don't want to know the answer to.
Incidentally, the middle part of this wall was built further back. The optical illusion works better on us, but I assume it still can trick the occasional passerby.
...Fake magic card trick, or fake credit card trick? I could believe both.
Not if I bonk you first!
Mood. This guy's doesn't really stand out that much, but he is in fact a unique design you should take a note of for later.
Star Piece on these boxes back here.
Playing the Kent C. Koopa game early, I see. The Robbo gang is strong out here.
You can, of course, Pay or Fight. Paying does have a benefit this early, but you really should wait until later, when you can fight him.
Why can't we fight him now? He'd cream us right now. It's a little easier once we get a few additional tools, but that spear counts as a Spiky enemy this time, so Goombella is useless.
That's Gus. He's part of that band of thieves who call themselves the Robbos. He looks like a total maniac, but he's actually a nice guy. Don't judge books by covers!
He's running an extortion racket, Goombella, he's not a nice guy.
This is the house with the Shine Sprites on the top. So what's on offer?
...Ah.
This is also the job of TTYD's Merlon. He is no longer responsible for giving out hints to your next destination- they haven't removed that, but it's no longer Merlon's job. Merlon is also not plot-relevant at all, something only true here in TTYD.
Upgrades work similarly to Paper Mario- they also boost Partner HP. The only way to upgrade a party member is to give Shine Sprites to Merlon. This fixes the problem with partner upgrades Paper Mario had with Super Blocks- that one Super Block in the sewers we found after Chapter 3 but couldn't use until after Chapter 5? That's been solved.
He is quick to notice we don't actually have enough Shine Sprites to do any upgrading, and sends us away. Much like in Paper Mario, there are exactly enough Shine Sprites to fully upgrade every party member.
Next time: We meet Goombella's professor.
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