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.
She's the one who remembers the lore nuggets explaining why we're doing the things we're doing.
With the Diamond Star in hand, the Magical Map will point us somewhere else.
Goombella sharing the excitement with Koops. Koops already kinda regretting joining this party.
Whichever party member you weren't using jumps in the pocket.
That's Koops's dad, Koopley. He seems kind of out of it. Are all Koopas space cadets? Then again, Koops is really with it... Maybe that's 'cause his dad is like this... Anyway, Koopley does worry about Koops a lot, so I guess he's a good dad after all.
Koopley's generic dialogue as the story goes on, as well as an email he'll send, show him to be very slightly insane, but I suspect that's got less to do with his nature and more to do with being stuck inside a dragon's stomach for ten years.
Koopie Koo continues to miss out on dialogue.
At least you had faith in Murphy.
The reactions to Koops. I was hoping for more. Oh well.
The President of the Luigi Fan Club talks about his love for Luigi! I wish I could get you introduced, Luigi would love to meet you.
...Well, maybe in the demo. (The demo disc lets you explore Hooktail's Castle, but I don't imagine Hooktail herself was on it.)
Yeah, sure. May need a bigger box.
At least he's got a badass reputation in town for it. Note the "it" pronoun. Another attempt at avoiding gendering Hooktail- they went to greater effort to use "it", the "him"s are the accidents.
...I... don't want what you are selling.
...I think this is actually his response to both options.
Spawning in this map is an excellent opportunity to seize the Mega Rush P (1 BP) Badge. This has actually been buffed in Atk power compared to 64, huh?
Reloading the map puts the Koops family back in their usual positions. I don't think they get new lines.
The gamer Toad has moved on from Paper Mario to the hot new system- the one that Nintendo was currently running! The GameCube truly was ahead of its time.
...And he's gotten started playing the very same game we are. It's not the most effective advertisement, since most people who have gotten this far probably own the game.
This Toad scoffed at our chances. Who's laughing now? (Also, the Toad seems aware of our status as paper individuals, or is picturing something very gruesome.)
Don't go in the pipe. It comes out in the sewers of a terrible place. Go explore somewhere else.
Meanwhile, the Peach fanboy comments on everything we've found.
...Well, thanks for telling us that now.
I swear, this Koopa is going to be the death of someone.
Crossing this curved bridge, suddenly had the thought. Interestingly, Koops will obey the laws of physics when performing Shell Toss on this surface- he will slide down the slope rather than travelling strictly horizontally, but when he comes back, he won't slide up it to finish the Shell Hold.
There is no reason to Shell Toss here, and I don't know if this weird physics object is ever in a room with enemies, but it can't hurt to know.
Peach's emails are mandatory to read, and they have a custom ringtone! This is the Super Mario World title screen music, and it's interesting that Mario's email recognises they're from Peach to give them the custom ringtone when she's using someone else's computer. Perhaps TEC is spoofing Peach's actual email in some way.
Something wrong, Mario? You're... um... shaking. Are you feeling all right?
Mario needs to turn down the vibration setting on his email.
Because Nintendo are the kings of product placement, Mario's email reader is a Game Boy Advance SP, and Goombella even comments on it having a backlight compared to the original model. Virtually any time characters need to be given a handheld technological gadget in a Mario game, it will usually closely resemble the currently available Nintendo handheld in every way but function. I don't think hackers have figured out how to make a GBA send/receive email yet, and I certainly doubt they've figured out how to make a GBC detect paranormal activity.
...We'll just brush over that "letter" part. I guess there's a reason that, despite the technology of the Mushroom Kingdom developing, Peach continues to send snail mail to Mario.
Peach: "Aside from the kidnapping, I'm fine." Business as usual.
Peach does not necessarily know Mario is aware of how valuable the map and the Stars are, but we are certainly unaware of who exactly these captors are.
Whoever they are, they should be denied what they seek.
We'll worry about what that is when we know a bit more about who they are and where we can find them.
Translation: "You are their target."
Mario can handle himself a lot better than Peach, thankfully, but we aren't strong enough to just "Yippee!" across their army and destroy the whole thing in one hammer.
Peach: "I'll be fine, do not do anything rash for my sake."
By now, I imagine she's aware of the possibility that Mario will choose her over something bigger, and she would like him not to. For now, finding the Crystal Stars and denying the X-Nauts is a more productive goal than continuing to seek out Peach's specific whereabouts. Meaning that, technically speaking, Mario's goal is not a means to an end to save Peach for the next few chapters. Eventually, Peach will be brought back into the plot, of course.
Being aware she is unharmed and her captors have no imminent interest in changing that fact is a huge load off our minds.
But we have replacement burdens.
Koops: Wow... You got mail from a princess. That's so cool! So, anyway, she's unhurt! That's good, at least... But I didn't like the sound of those kidnappers looking for the Crystal Stars as well...
You can reread any Peach email, same as the bonus ones, and they're even a different colour.
Back to Rogueport with us.
With Paper Mode, we can now visit this house in the background.
This is where Merlee has taken up residence in this game.
Much like in 64, Merlee's Charm has the same effect- +3 Atk, +3 Def, x2 Star Points, x2 Coins. All the buffs apply to Mario only.
Right now, I am too poor to take this offer. I'll need this money, and a lot more of it, for everything I want to find here in town.
...Stupid slightly-off background physics.
Paper Mode also speeds up getting down to the Thousand Year Door.
Don't bother with this room. It's an exact copy of a room in Tubba Blubba's Castle, and we do not have the ability that allowed us to pass it yet.
Nor do we have the Spin Dash to skip the puzzle and get the treasure at the end through skill.
Oh yeah, what's in this place the ant ran into?
...Nothing we can do anything about now, but that Damage Dodge up there does call to us.
For now, we still have to use the Plane Ability to get to the door.
But now, there's something else we can do in this room!
Wheee! I always feel weird passing by the Door as a paper plane.
So what's in this room?
...Intimidating. I'm fairly sure those spikes were used for grisly tortures in the real world, but I am unclear on what those tortures are and am concerned looking it up will get me example images.
That's the entrance to the Pit of 100 Trials. No one knows how far down that pipe goes, but... it keeps me awake at night.
Star Piece back here, though.
Down below is the bonus dungeon of TTYD, the Pit of 100 Trials. The name is a bit of a misnomer- while the idea is that there is a battle on every floor, every tenth one has treasure and no battle, so there are in fact 91 Trials. While it is possible to challenge the Pit as early as acquiring the Paper Ability (there is an entire speedrun category dedicated to beating the Pit before fighting Hooktail), the enemies on each floor are balanced to various points in the game, and in addition to worrying about my ability to beat, or even partially beat, the place, I'm worried what it'll do to my EXP.
This sign is a small substitute for the chalkboard in Mario's house, telling us how many Star Pieces we've found total, the record Power Bounces (this time not hiding it if we haven't equipped the Badge and set a record) and also how far we've gotten through the Pit. One thing TTYD does well with the Pit is that, since each 10th floor has a treasure and an escape pipe, it is possible to do only the earlier floors if all you want is one of these partial prizes. Floors 30 and 50 have some good stuff, and I will be doing partial clears for both before the main story is up. Floor 100 will wait until after the game is over, though.
If you bounce up to the Plane Panel on the other side, you can get a Shine Sprite. It'll be a bit until we get enough friends for the other upgrade, though.
The Plane panel's path goes over the pedestal, and one thing I find kinda neat is trying to land on it.
You are required to do this turn-in every time, and while it's a little annoying to remember to do it, the game's rather pleasant about how far a walk it is to the Door from the end of many chapters.
The Star you are showing appears in one of the positions surrounding Mario here.
So where will this adventure take us next?
A black and white forest, not far from Rogueport, all told. Hooktail's Castle has been permanently added to the map, as you can see in the background, but it is much smaller than it was when the Crystal Star appeared.
All the locations that appear are confusing to our partners. I guess no one we get really has the worldliness necessary to recognise all these locales.
This is an excuse to warp us to visit Frankly for some relevant exposition. Sometimes, we also comment on the fact that Frankly should probably be made aware of other, plot-relevant information, with the Magical Map taking side-stage.
Fortunately, Frankly is never unable to tell us where to go.
Boggly Woods?
...Wait, wasn't that where Grodus sent Crump to find the Crystal Star they knew the whereabouts of?
That's pretty much what we need to know to get the trigger to access it available.
Anyway, while we're here, you should at least know we're in contact with Peach. You did express interest and awareness enough in those goings on.
Especially her captors.
That'll be a problem for rescuing her.
Frankly is highly concerned about the fact a suspicious and hostile organisation is after the same thing we are. What is the treasure they hope to get? Perhaps more importantly, what do they think the treasure is? And what goals do they have that require possessing it?
It will be Frankly's job to care more about those details, we'll do the heavy lifting.
Frankly: "Do whatever you can to stay on top of the X-Nauts, but make sure you actually win." If, at any point, we lose, the X-Nauts get the Magical Map and any Crystal Stars we happen to possess. Mario can handle the X-Nauts. But losing is worst-case scenario.
Hopefully, Frankly can figure out enough that we have a game plan when we hit the wincon.
Trash can update: After Chapter 1, you can find the Tattles for Blooper, Bald Cleft, Gold Fuzzy, Red Bones and Hooktail. Strangely, Red Bones is actually in error- it is intended to be a mini-boss and we'll never find them as normal enemies, but there is a rematch later in the game with one.
Come outside, and this NPC talks about upgrading partners. Now might be a good time to do so, since, well, we can.
But first, nothing is more important than our little bro!
Who's this guy? ...Come on, you really need to ask me that? Gimme a break! That's your brother, Luigi! But... I wonder why he's here? I'm sure he'll tell you if you ask him.
Goombella is harshly judging us for Tattling him.
Luigi is off on his own adventure, parallel to ours. So who's watching the house?
This is probably not the time to mention it, but the Chestnut King in question is a mistranslation, and English is the only language to fall victim to it. In JP, the Chestnut King is クリã‚ング, known roughly as the "Kuribo King".
Luigi is fighting the Goomba King, king of the Chestnut People.
Luigi stops by Rogueport after every part of his adventure, and will be happy to regale his experiences.
You can also re-hear any part of the story at any point, but right now, we only have the first one.
My big brother- that's you, Bro- got a letter from Princess Peach and took off. Left behind as usual, I was cooking a snack at home when another letter arrived. We don't get so much mail, so I was thinking: "Huh?" This is what the letter said:
"Sirs! My name is Crepe. I am a cabinet minister in the far-off Waffle Kingdom. Our land has been attacked by the Chestnut King, who took our Princess Eclair. I ask, nay, BEG for your assistance! The Waffle Kingdom needs your skills. I humbly request your prompt response, sirs.
Sincerely, Crepe"
...Well, I don't remember it exactly, but I think it went something like that. With Mario- that's you, Bro- gone, it fell to me to answer this plea! Hesitating only a teensy bit, I headed to the Waffle Kingdom to investigate. Oh, no, first I wrote a note to myself about what I was cooking. Then I left.
Once I reached the Waffle Kingdom, I met Minister Crepe, who filled me in. The Chestnut King had kidnapped Princess Eclair and vanished. Apparently, though, some oracle said a Marvelous Compass could locate her. This Marvelous Compass had been broken into seven parts by an ancient curse... and those parts had been scattered across the land. Can you believe it, Bro? Each part of the Marvelous Compass was said to point to the next. And since one of the parts was embedded in the tiara worn by the princess... I surmised that once I collected all the parts, I'd find her! Smart, huh? The minister gave me the compass base spoken of in Waffler fables... When it activated, the entire thing lit right up, indicating the deep south... It was pointing me toward Rumblebump Volcano on the Pudding Continent! So yeah, here I am! I'm sailing out of Rogueport for Rumblebump Volcano. It's probably gonna be pretty dangerous, but... I gotta rescue that princess!
"Waffle Kingdom" is right. Luigi spared no detail, except maybe the ones unflattering to him. I suspect the letter was actually addressed to Mario and Mario alone, and Luigi's just taking it because he knows we're busy and reckons he can handle it. I say let's leave him to it, it sounds like he's going to do a decent enough job.
It may be greyed out, but we can reread it. The greyed out bit is just to remind us we have read it before.
There's one more bit about the Luigi stories I should mention...
You are the worst big brother, Mario. I'm amazed I got the yawn on the textbox where he admitted the letter probably wasn't his.
Like Bowser, TTYD doesn't treat Luigi all that great. Unlike Bowser, this has less to do with the Mario franchise being in its rebellious teenage years of disliking Bowser and more to do with Luigi just being the butt of the joke almost from the outset. Like Bowser, it took a well-written Mario & Luigi game to give Luigi a characterisation that allowed him to be serious, sympathetic and funny without compromising his dignity- this time it was Dream Team Bros. Alpha Dream single-handedly cleaning up Paper Mario's messes on the iconic characters.
In seriousness, I have the slightest suspicion that Mario & Luigi having the most lovable characters in the story being the ones originally from the Mario IP- while Paper Mario's most beloved characters are original- is part of the reason for the current mandate that defines the Paper Mario IP. With Alpha Dream dead, though, it is anyone's guess where all the people that rebuilt Bowser and Luigi went.
Right, upgrading.
- Goombella will be upgraded to 20 HP, and her Headbonk will do 2+2 damage. She skips Charge to learn Multibonk, doing 2 damage on the first bonk and decreasing in power until it's nothing but 1s (or 0s, if the first hit didn't do anything). Costs 3 FP.
- Koops will be upgraded to 15 HP, and both Shell Toss and Power Shell will do 3 damage. Instead of Dizzy Shell, his Super ability is Shell Shield, which will summon a shield that will protect Mario from damage. Depending on your timing on the Action Command, this shield is rated from 2-8 HP, and the only way to know the exact number you possess is to use the Peekaboo Badge- although the shield visibly cracks the more damage it has taken. I believe overkill damage doesn't land on Mario. This costs 4 FP.
I went with Goombella. The standard strat is to use Koops, but for reasons we'll see later, Goombella has a few key uses. There's a part of me that wonders if some of the plans I'm using made more sense to pick Koops, but I do think he can't do Goombella's job. Probably a sign of a good diverse pair of options, if both of them are making me feel like I'd find the other one handy.
Anyway, time for the partner upgrade animation.
It is slightly ridiculous, and earns every second. Although perhaps a bulk option would be nice?
If you do not possess enough Shine Sprites to do any more upgrades, Merlon curtly dismisses you.
First order of business: Something that really wishes I picked Koops instead immediately.
That's Gus. He's super-annoying and tries to take tolls from everyone. Max HP is 20, Attack is 3, and Defense is 0. All in all, he's pretty tough. Oh, and I've told you a million times… that pointy spear of his hurts if you stomp on it. I wonder if this guy watches people pass 365 days a year. Talk about a workaholic.
Gus is a member of the Robbos, and the only fightable Craw in the game. You can totally continue to pay him if you want to visit super-east Rogueport, but considering how many times you'll have to do so... besides, it's extortion, plain and simple.
Four damage a hit from Power Smash, 5 should do him in. Unlike when we were here in Prologue, we can do it without healing items or techniques. Also we have Koops.
As Goombella has pointed out, his spear is enough to count him as Spiky, so Headbonk is useless. Gus can either throw his spear or charge at you- both do 3 damage, and only the former can hit the rear character.
Rude! Fortunately, nothing I can do that does contact damage can hurt a spiky enemy right now.
Hoping for a Superguard, but you need multiple to shave a turn.
Especially when Koops is removed from contributing.
At least this one hit.
I get Dizzied, he gets Electrified. How is that fair?
There we go, I can use a Hammer instead of a Power Smash. But seriously, Koops, I could've finished a turn early.
Still a pretty healthy chunk of Star Points.
I mean, it solved this! You won't be extorting anyone else on this road!
He never comes back. You will be required to go this direction to beat the game- I believe after Chapter 4 is the first outright mandatory instance. By then, Gus will be child's play.
The Robbo gang controls these streets, and their base is somewhere around here.
Between the Piantas and the Robbos, the Piantas are the better group in terms of "the trains run on time" metrics. The game doesn't take the time to comment on which group has the more ethical policies, but we do wind up ultimately thinking better of the Piantas.
You can make any problem go away if you just glare it into submission.
That's Arfur. He's always hanging around here. He looks totally suspicious, but apparently he lives by some super-stern moral code.
That's Swindell, the bandit. At least, I HEAR he's a thief, but I've never seen him steal. He's always whispering to Arfur about something.
These two, Arfur (Doogan) and Swindell (Bandit), seem to be better than they appear, but don't really do much in the way of proving it.
This door is locked. It is never unlocked for story purposes, and you can beat the game 100% by the speedrunning definition without opening it.
This door, though, is unlocked in the story.
This is the only door you can enter before doing Chapter 1.
Welcome... to the Trouble Centre.
You must get the explanation before you accept any Troubles, unfortunately.
Then listen and listen good!
This Trouble Center is where people come with troubles. That's why it's named that. If you want to see what kind of troubles people have, check that bulletin board. If you're a nice guy, you'll choose someone and try to help them out. If not, not. Help someone out and they'll give you a reward, probably. Not a bad deal, eh? But remember! If you decide
not to solve a trouble, you have to pay to cancel. You got that? Well, good. Then go help someone out!
The Trouble Centre seems to be some profiteering racket, judging by the "one good deed at a time, pay to cancel, and there's a toll just outside", but just finish what you start and you get to reap the rewards without giving anything to the Robbos.
The first six Troubles can be completed as soon as you get here, however you do so, while the last three require having beat Chapter 1. Mechanically, this is considered the equivalent to Koopa Koot for TTYD, although with two signficant upgrades. One, most of these favours give more than one coin. Two, you only have to do the favours you want the rewards of. Most people only pick up two, and I think you're well within your rights to just do those two. I'm going to do all of them, and I am going to regret it heavily.
As a demonstration, mostly because it is near where I want to go next, we are going to start with Mousimilian.
Mousimilian here. I need some help jogging my memory. Meet me in Rogueport Square in front of the shop.
We get a short description of the Trouble before we accept it. It will usually give you the gist of what you are expected to do. You will never find out what the reward will be until you get it.
If nothing else, they seem to encourage actually solving the troubles to the best of your ability.
This is Mousimilian. That Doogan chose an excellent time to walk over.
You are the greatest conman.
Yeah, uh, I don't think you are getting very far with your ingenious plan.
I advise you to visit an actual brain expert.
You have to hit him over and over until he remembers. "Until he remembers" is a bit of a weird one.
...At this point, I'm not doing it to help you, I'm doing it because you are just that much of an idiot.
Eventually, his memory is successfully jogged enough that he remembers what he's after.
...I should continue to bonk you on the head until you remember a better money-finding technique. I am sure that's not what you figured out. This particular selling interaction is good if you happen to be going to Petalburg in the first place, and loses value very quickly otherwise.
Once you've got this message, you're fit to go get your next trouble. You can be in a state of "solving a trouble" it as long as you like without penalty, I believe. Just as long as you don't ask the Robbos to cancel.
Anyway, while we're here, Chapter 1 is clear, so we can grab the Contact Lens to get to West Rogueport.
It replaces the Mushroom for sale here, although you can only buy one.
Interestingly, this also means all shops from Chapter 3 onwards cannot be your first time buying an item, because this counts to your Shop Points. Each shop has dialogue ready for being your first shop, just in case.
This guy has spawned now, although I'm not sure when. He certainly wasn't here when we first got here. His name is Charlieton, and he inherited all the shady business stuff from Rip Cheato (who is not in this game) and Rowf.
He sells rare and sometimes really powerful items. Every single item he can possibly give you is available when he first appears, and while he's got some terrible stuff for sale, he also has some amazing stuff, as well as stuff only he can give you in both varieties. He will sell you a random selection of four items, which refreshes whenever you leave Rogueport. There will be an easy way of doing so in a sec.
- Dried Shroom (2 coins): Inventory filler.
- Slow Go (12 coins): For 0 BP, Mario will be forced to walk at a slow speed. Still, though, it's on the Badge menu.
- Earth Quake (18 coins): Doesn't seem to be reliably acquired in shops or the like.
- Repel Cape (18 coins): Makes Mario Dodgy for a few turns. First available in Chapter 3's shop.
- Stop Watch (24 coins): First available in Chapter 4's shop for higher than this price, and also in Chapter 7 for cheaper.
- Boo's Sheet (24 coins): The replacement for 64's Repel Gel, and while not quite as useful, is still amazing in a pinch. First available in Chapter 6's shop, and that's not exactly easy to get to.
- Shooting Star (36 coins): 6 damage on everything is nothing to sneeze at.
- Double Pain (36 coins): For 0 BP, doubles the damage Mario takes from enemies, items, and getting a Poison Mushroom on Bingo!. Useful for Danger strats or if you want to give yourself a challenge.
- Mega Rush (60 coins): This is where you get Mario's copy without hunting for more.
- Ultra Shroom (120 coins): Yes, you can get these infinitely now, but at a higher price than this.
- Jammin' Jelly (120 coins)
- Attack FX G (120 coins): No Attack FX Badges have any effects other than R on Hooktail. This is just for fun.
- Timing Tutor (120 coins): I believe what this is does is that it adds an "!" icon over your head when you should press the A Button to perform a Stylish Action Command. Costs 1 BP, unfortunately, but this is a purely beneficial Badge and Stylishes do give a huge benefit, so I can see it.
- Jumpman (180 coins): This one's a big one. For 2 BP, this gives you +1 Atk for Jump attacks and renders Hammer unusable. This will be a keystone of our lategame build, but this early...
- Hammerman (180 coins): For 2 BP, does the same thing in reverse. Wearing both leaves Mario unable to perform either Jump or Hammer. Whoops.
- W Emblem (360 coins): For 0 BP, changes Mario's red hat and shirt to yellow and his blue overalls to purple, making him resemble Wario. The M on his hat will always be an M, but this makes a nice change of pace.
I have no idea why I took this. Well, OK, I know full well why I bought this: This is the best utility item in Charlieton's stock, and I don't know when the next time I'll see it is. But I can grind for it when I really want it, it's not that helpful for the next chapter, and with Goombella upgraded, I really want Mario to have the option of using the Hammer. From playing Chapter 2, I will say this: If you pick up Jumpman from Charlieton, you absolutely should upgrade Koops. And even then, I don't think it helps that much...
BP notice. Again, nice and naturally phrased.
In addition to now possessing a Badge of questionable value at this point in the story (sometime around Chapter 3-5, we'll be glad we have it at all, though), we are now dirt poor.
This line is so funny when you remember what one refresh technique is.
Here you go, Miss Private Extortion. You know there's a guy doing exactly what you're doing on the other side of town I beat up instead of paying 10 coins to pass, right?
Thankfully, we also had her contact lens prescription. Somehow I doubt the developers wrote this line aware of the fact that contact lenses are not a one-size-fits-all arrangement. Or at the very least felt acknowledging it stuffed up the scenario too much.
Now, we can access West Rogueport! But first, let's go check in on her.
You may recognise those weird curls in her hair. This is our cooking NPC, and no, she never lets that go.
Fortunately, her annoyance with us does not extend to charging or otherwise denying us access to her services, so we can treat her the same as we did Tayce T. mechanically.
For now, we can cook:
- Shroom Fry (6 HP, 2 FP) out of a Mushroom.
- Fresh Juice (5 FP, cures poison) out of Honey Syrup, replaces Super Soda.
- Koopa Tea (7 FP) out of a Turtley Leaf.
- Spicy Soup (4 HP, 4 FP) out of a Fire Flower.
- And two more recipes out of items we do not yet have, but currently have access to.
Volt Shroom -> Hot Shroom has been removed- Volt Shrooms cook into Shroom Fries now- but one of the mystery recipes is of equal value. I was so worried when I noticed the former until I noticed the latter.
Shroom Fry is still decent utility.
Despite only have one-ingredient cooking, she still mentions this like she's doing two.
In the style of TTYD being a little more cinematic than 64 about things, Zess T. stops at three parts of her bench, before an animation plays over the stove. There'll be a fire, usually, but sometimes it's an explosion (usually happens if you cook a Mistake or otherwise "low value" recipe, but sometimes also if you cook something explosive) and also a shiny animation when you cook one of the rare Zess special recipes.
Times like this I wish Mario could alchemise his ingredients himself. Or at least work in bulk.
Told you she's not going to let this go. You deal with this every cooking session.
At least she's letting me do it.
Also made this. I do wind up actually filling out the cookbook this time around. Became strangely addicting, in a way. Not sure why I did this one and not 64's- maybe it's because of how out-of-the-way Cake Mixes are in 64?
I need the money.
This NPC casually mentioning an important mechanic I never acknowledge- Inns do heal Star Power, Heart Blocks don't, and usually my ignorance with dealing with this is not in my favour.
There's a Trouble about this, of course.
...I think you might benefit from visiting the Trouble Centre.
Rogueport notice board messages:
Hooktail of Petal Meadows defeated by brave hero! Must've been a tough guy!
Glad I'm not missing much.
While looking for badges in Hooktail's castle, I ran into a spiffy mustached fellow...
-The Heart-Stealing Thief
Ms. Mowz seeking alternative employment with the Phantom Thieves.
Shoutouts to the following notices:
Pickpocketing on the rise! Watch your wallet! And hey, pickpocketers... try not to get caught!
This is on the front of the noticeboard. The back implies this comes around the time Larson picks your wallet.
Hooktail terrorizing Petal Meadows! If it sees you, pretend to be a cricket! Or something!
Just admit you have no idea and escape culpability.
You know Koopie Koo? The famously headstrong Koopa? I saw her crying!
-A traveling Toad
...I'm having second thoughts about inviting Koops on this adventure. Too late to switch to Koopley?
Funnily enough, two of the three new Badges appear on the shelf on this load.
- Sleepy Stomp (75 coins) (1 BP) will attempt to inflict an enemy with Sleep. Sleep has been buffed to have an insane number of turns, but getting hit has a chance of waking the sleeper up. Apparently Guards still work on tighter timings- and thank goodness, because later on this gets dire when we're the ones dozing off. There's a freebie copy elsewhere.
- Close Call (100 coins) (1 BP): We already have a copy.
- Close Call P (100 coins) (1 BP): There's a freebie all the way in Chapter 6. You want to get in on the Danger Partner strats, buy in here.
I sold the extra Happy Heart, in the end. I need the money.
Anyway, West Rogueport.
This is Rogueport's west side. This is totally the friendlier face of Rogueport. Not that it's, y'know, a great place to raise a family, but it's good for Rogueport. The corner with the fountain is definitely the most restful spot in Rogueport. This area is controlled by Don Pianta, head of the Pianta syndicate... Yeah. The shop and parlor here are totally fronts for his "business."
The most pleasant part of town is the part where all the crime is organised. Makes sense when I phrase it like that, but this does paint exactly the sort of picture you'd expect, and Mario is not touching the issue of exploring that in any detail because it's Mario. Frankly, the idea of visiting a town that has heard of the word "mafia" is pushing the envelope extremely far.
Star Piece behind this wall.
Apparently this Goomba likes eating flowers. He's definitely here in west Rogueport to have a relaxing time.
Star Piece behind this tall pipe. This is purely an out pipe. It's honestly a bit of a terrible pipe to go in anyway.
You know, this is a pretty good reason for a mob front to be a legitimate business and not simply "legitimate business". You want customers to be coming to your shop and giving you money no matter what your shop is actually for.
The best son.
I think this kid lives here. He's afraid to go outside, so he spends all day in here. He's got some family issues, I think, but it's not our place to stick our noses in. Kids this age tend to overdramatize their problems anyway, know what I mean?
...I'd rather not, in this town. Who knows what's going on upstairs.
Although it seems his father has bigger problems.
I have no idea why, I love this NPC.
That Koopa lives here. He must've been born lucky, 'cause he ALWAYS succeeds. He has all the money he'll ever need, but I think he's still unfulfilled somehow. Hmm... Then again, that doesn't surprise me, since he spends all day in bed. It just goes to show, you can't buy happiness, and you should occasionally leave bed.
He is the very definition of "idle rich". It turns out this NPC does something in the postgame, but I feel he would've been just as funny if he never did anything, either.
That's Rocko, of the Piantas. He's the muscle that keeps the parlor moving smoothly. He's new to the Pianta syndicate. I think he's still low man on the totem pole.
You can safely ignore this NPC, as threatening as he tries to appear.
Welcome to the Pianta Parlor. Yes, the token exchange has Don Pianta's friendly mug plastered on it. Also a Game Boy on the wall.
Home of some ramblin', gamblin' dudes.
He gives us a tip. Like the Playroom in 64, we will need specialty Cards in order to play special minigames. They have another purpose, which we will see when we get one.
Well, aren't you enjoying yourself?
...
Judging harshly.
That's a parlor customer. I think she leaves her hubbie home with the kids so she can play here all day long. Yeah, that's healthy.
Goombella joining us in a round of judging harshly.
...Uh... that is a thing. Tube Mode was listed in the manual, and strangely, it had the notice "there are other abilites Mario can learn" even though there are only four Black Chest Demons. Strangely, the game doesn't give us Tube Game or Boat Game for a long while after getting the actual curses.
10 piantas for 30 coins is a... decent exchange. Too expensive to really use coins to buy Pianta prizes, but not so expensive that you can't resort to it if you really need.
That first thought seems disconnected from the latter two.
That's a parlor customer. She's a Squeek, it looks like. Good to see a girl in here. It's a good sign if this place is safe enough for regular folks to go to.
...That's not entirely the thought I was expecting. I guess it... makes sense? Then again, the mother is also a woman...
The parlour is staffed by a Boo with a bow, button-up cuffs and... kitten ears. In the Japanese version, they were bunny ears, but someone told the American staff that the Playboy Bunny design was trademarked. That was not the reason I expected.
...Mildly concerning, considering your boss is a mafia don.
Although that may just be our fame. Lahla here is surprisingly keen on reminding us "hey, I know the minigames are fun and it's my job to extort you of your cash, but do remember you have a cute girl to save". How polite! I decide when I've done enough minigames.
That's Lahla, a Boo cutie. She works the desk at the Pianta Parlor. Her sister's Peeka, the Boo who works in the shop. I hear they both used to be models.I suspect they still are, but not in an official capacity.
For now, her only function is allowing us to trade Piantas for fabulous prizes. She will allow us to play the curse games once we get them.
Unfortunately, somewhat true. There's one important thing on that list, though.
- Cake Mix: Must have. 18 coins, this is pretty worth it even buying it raw. It cooks into Mousse Cake (15 FP) on its own, and is required for at least 11 more recipes.
- Super Shroom: We can literally buy this next door for cheaper. Maybe if you're good enough at the minigames, but still not really worth it.
- Super Appeal: It's this or the Lovely Howz. I'd go with Lovely Howz, it is cheaper there. And it gets rid of it in the rotation.
- Refund: This is the only place to get Refund outside drops. It gives 75% of the sale price of an item when used, and stacking it gives an extra 5% per Badge. Costs 1 BP to equip.
Down here, we have the biggest scam in this entire city.
Happy Lucky Lottery is so special! You pick numbers! They might win each day! Just buy your numbers here! One at a time! Buy another if you change your mind! Then check back later on this board to see if your number has come in! If your number matches the day's draw, you get a super Happy Lucky prize! The day's number is drawn each night at midnight! If you play and check the board every day, your number is sure to come in eventually! And when I say midnight, I mean according to your Nintendo GameCube clock! So go ahead! Buy a number! Only 10 coins for new customers!
So, this game works on the real-time clock, and every day of playing gives you a new number. So you'd think you'd have random chance of getting each prize, right? Wrong. The prize is awarded after a number of days- in a range, of course, so you can't just move time forward to the right day.
- If you don't have a match, you get a Mushroom as a consolation prize. Considering the limited inventory, probably worse than nothing.
- Fourth prize is a Life Shroom, acquired within 4-10 days of buying your ticket. You might get this in a casual run, depending on your time.
- Third prize is an Ultra Shroom, acquired within 25-35 days of buying your ticket. You're probably really casual if you get this one.
- Second prize is a Lucky Day Badge (7 BP), acquired with 85-115 days. We can acquire this elsewhere, and despite that elsewhere being the worst place to find it in the game, it's still probably better than this.
- First prize is a Power Plus Badge, acquired within 335-395 days. We'll get two of these from better places, you're probably not playing this game for a year.
If you've already got the Badge rewards, second prize is a Zess Special (20 HP/FP), first prize is a Zess Dynamite (AoE damaging item). You're not getting these rewards twice. Although with that said, the Zess Special if you rebuy a ticket after getting Lucky Day is less time than getting Power Plus.
Not touching this.
Maybe if I was planning on playing this game for a year.
A new day, a new chance! That's Lucky, who runs the Happy Lucky Lottery. He's a real stickler for the rules, so if he catches you cheating... Well, just be careful, Mario!
Lucky is able to detect if you tamper with the clock. He only checks going back in time, though- although he doesn't care if you're observing Daylight Savings Time unless you let an hour pass after changing the time, but before booting TTYD. The way he detects tampering involves remembering the time you played the game, and if you play the game at an earlier time, he raises an eyebrow. Yes, this could happen by playing the memory card on a different system that happens to be set at an earlier time.
*Notice*
The Happy Lucky Lottery for today has been suspended. See Lucky for more details.
So what happens if we do?
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...Something very unhappy has happened. You wouldn't happen to know what that is, would you?
Mario response: "Not at all", "Maybe... sorta".
...I see. Well, it's happened, and that's what matters. A very unhappy thing. There has been foul play in the Happy Lucky Lottery. The clock was tampered with. ...It makes me unhappy to have to ask about this at all, but I'm afraid I have to...
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So please, just answer me honestly. Did you tamper with the clock?
Mario response: "Yes, I did it", "Don't be ridiculous!"
Happy Lucky Lottery is only happy and lucky because the players are happy and lucky. And they don't ever cheat... I mean... changing the clock... I can't even...
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You REALLY didn't change the clock? REALLY?
Mario response: "OK, yeah, I did." "Nope, wasn't me!"
I had to tell little Toadette that she couldn't play today, and she burst into tears... It just breaks my heart...
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Are you SURE you didn't change the clock?
Mario response: "I DID IT! IT WAS ME!" "No way, man!"
...Really? You really didn't? Just tell me the truth and I'll forgive you.
Mario response: "I swear I didn't!" "All right, fine, I did!"
OK... I understand. Let's just call this one a mistake, then. ...But I just don't know how it could have happened, bom. How unlucky... and unhappy. To get it going again, everyone will have to buy new numbers for 500 coins. Do you want a new number for 500 coins?
I should have the lottery system up and running again by tomorrow... And we'll have happy, lucky days again, I promise. I just hope that nothing like this ever happens again...
...You overdramatic little shit, changing the clock backwards doesn't even hurt your business! This, of course, happens if you deny being the culprit every time. As you may have noticed, the "deny" option changes whether it is top or bottom every time.
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OhgoshBOMgoshBOMgoshBOOM!
OhgoshBOMgoshBOMgoshBOOM!
OhgoshBOMgoshBOMgoshBOOM!
OhgoshBOMgoshBOMgoshBOOM!
OhgoshBOMgoshBOMgoshBOOM!
OhgoshBOMgoshBOMgoshBOOM!
OhgoshBOMgoshBOMgoshBOOM!
OhgoshBOMgoshBOMgoshBOOM!
OhgoshBOMgoshBOMgoshBOOM!
UnluckyunluckyunluckyBOOM!
UnluckyunluckyunluckyBOOM!
UnluckyunluckyunluckyBOOM!
Nothappynothappynothappy!
Nothappynothappynothappy!
Nothappynothappynothappy!
Can'ttakethiscan'ttakethisno!
Can'ttakethiscan'ttakethisno!
Can'ttakethiscan'ttakethisno!
Never trust another person...
Never trust another person...
Never trust another person...
Never trust another person...
Never trust another person...
Never trust another person...
Never trust another person...
Never trust another person...
Never trust another person...
Just leave me alone BOOM...
Just leave me alone BOOM...
Just leave me alone BOOM...
Just leave me alone BOOM...
Just leave me alone BOOM...
Just leave me alone BOOM...
Just leave me alone BOOM...
Just leave me alone BOOM...
Just leave me alone BOOM...
THAT'S IT! NO MORE HAPPY LUCKY LOTTERY EVER, BOOM!
Admit it, and Lucky throws a tantrum.
...I mean...if you EVER do that again, I will end this game. Promise you'll never do it!
Mario response: "I will never do it again." "I might..."
...Now swear on all that is happy and lucky that you'll never do it again.
Mario response: "I swear on all that stuff." "I really might do it again..."
He outright threatens to destroy your save file over it. If you suck up to him, he'll setup the game again, also at 500 coins.
This guy isn't aware of the scam, and is happily plodding along hoping for a win. Probably beats trying to cheat him.
Apparently, despite Paper Mode being a curse, people in Rogueport have the potential to fall down sewer drains anyway.
Star Piece behind this trash can.
Told you there was a Super Shroom in this shop. Also a Dried Shroom, that's curious.
That's Peeka, a Boo that works at Westside Goods. She's so pretty... for a Boo. I think her sister's Lahla, the Boo who works at the Pianta Parlor.
Clearer look at the design of the catgirl Boos, too.
- Thunder Bolt isn't really a thing you're going to want. There are better ways of dealing 5 damage to one enemy.
- Dizzy Dials, since Dizzy only makes an enemy miss sometimes, are so pathetic now.
- Life Shrooms are slightly cheaper in Chapter 4, but there don't seem to be any good recipes for them at all in international versions. The Japanese version had a pretty good one in Mushroom + Turtley Leaf, but nothing works at all here.
- This is the only place to buy Volt Shrooms. Without Hot Shrooms, though, they're pretty terrible in this game, and their intended use is so much weaker, too.
- Super Shrooms can be found at 12 coins in Chapter 5, but 20 is not unreasonable.
Hm... Last time there was a Dried Shroom for sale, it had a purpose.
And the same is true in this game. I'll be showing how to get the hint for this, but there's a reason I want to do it early, too.
The second purchase is the Dizzy Dial, of course. It had to be the thing you probably wouldn't buy on its own merits.
...Duh?
She is correct. Your answer to this question does not need to be correct- all responses return "...the hell did I just ask?" from Peeka.
This is the key question.
And there is a correct answer. Mario's guess of "Red" was not it, though, and Peeka tries to brush off the question.
In addition to being the answer to the question, Yellow is genuinely my personal favourite colour.
Which makes it funny when I use that fact to sneak in to a place I have no business being.
...So wait, anyone who has business with Don Pianta has to go to his shop and buy something? The racketeering game is strong with this one.
Yo.
Fortunately, this door will remain open for the rest of the game, regardless of the number and purpose of our visits. Which probably means it's not that profitable, but it's still something.
Say hello to the Pianta Syndicate's head honcho and four of his favourite associates.
Vinny and Tony, the Don's bodyguards and resident yes-men, take umbrage with our presence.
That's Vinny, of the Piantas. That guy there's his brother, Tony. They're super-tight. They live for their boss, seriously. They'd put their lives on the line for him.
That's Tony, of the Piantas. That guy there's his brother, Vinny. They're super-tight. Tony's a wise guy who doesn't mind mixing it up a bit, if you know what I mean...
Feel free to not consider these two characters.
Fortunately, they'll never lose their patience with us, although it is gutsy as hell to walk into the Pianta Syndicate headquarters with no business.
For some reason, despite Don Pianta's textbox being available from across the desk, Goombella's Tattle is only available if you're standing next to him.
That's the boss, Don Pianta. It's true what they say about power: this guy's got POISE. But he's got a mean streak a mile wide... They call him "The Don of Untimely Death." Still, he's got a really soft spot for his daughter, Francesca...
"The Don of Untimely Death", huh? This title appears in the main story, too. The censors having several fits at what this game got away with. I think the more kid-friendly title might be "The Don of Ended Games" or "The Don of No Continues".
These two are Francesca, the Don's lovely daughter, and Frankie, the Don's favourite minion. They're the important ones.
That's Don Pianta's daughter, Francesca. She's head-over-heels for Frankie. Seems like she's got Frankie on a pretty short leash, but... Hey, they're happy, right?
That's Frankie, a member of the Pianta syndicate. He's a MONSTER when he's angry. Everybody in Rogueport talks about his and Francesca's public displays of affection.
This appearance by Frankie and Francesca is, of sorts, a cameo appearance. Because of the way Tattles work, these Tattles have technically been written for a later point in the story- we won't see Frankie and Francesca as free-standing NPCs in this map again for a long time. When we are required to visit Don Pianta for the first time, they will have left, which is also why I came to visit this area early- to show this happens at all.
Next time: More minor areas to explore, Troubles to solve, and entering Chapter 2.
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