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.
If you platform across these, you can get to the secret underground city of Rogueport. The platforms shift under your weight, and I find it annoyingly difficult to make this jump every time. Sadly, it'll be a while before there is a more convenient way to get here.
Star Piece here.
Soft Stomp Badge (1 BP) down here. Fits right in next to Sleepy Stomp and its friends. You'd think I'd use it, but that may also require me to consider Soft chances. Besides, Soft only works on things that already have Defence.
This is where Dazzle was before he switched sides. He will only ever be standing over there now, though. So it'll be a bit before we start turning in our collection.
Despite this being a town of people who have no business being above ground because they are too wanted, this Squeek is actually just a visiting archaeologist.
...You know, considering how much time Mario spends in the sewers in both 64 and here in TTYD, it's weird no one jokes about him being a plumber. Of all the jobs he could be, he has the job of the person who has the most business in a sewer.
This Squeek seems to be an archaeologist...and she's here to research the underground. But it sounds like she lost her partner down here... I feel like, SO bad for her...
...Interestingly, Goombella's Tattle calls this guy "Eddie the Mask". Presumably they glare at each other over the spelling of his name.
Stylish Moves really never do get formally tutorialised, although this guy will be wiling to pull up the slack.
He will, of course, be happy to share a bunch of Stylish Commands as you progress. He teaches you Jump, Hammer, and the default moves for each of the six main Partners as you go, and in the postgame, tells you that FP moves may have their own timings before gladly leaving you on your own.
Every Stylish Command comes down to practice, although some are easier than others. I find Jump pretty hard, but I can usually manage Hammer, Headbonk and Shell Toss.
...He says this, but it's probably for the best people keep an eye on who shows up here. Who knows when the next guy to visit is going to be the guy who turns you in. Then again, it's not like Rogueport has a functioning police to turn in to.
"Sorry I called you a wanted criminal. Please don't turn me in!"
That's a subterranean Goomba. I think he just moved down here recently. Even so, he sure seems to know a lot about these ruins. What's he do for a living?
...Never mind, he seems like someone who's down here by choice. Still, though... wonder who is down here by necessity?
We won't be going in this door for... basically the entire game. It will unlock eventually, at least.
In the tavern, we can find a unique NPC design. Let's talk to everyone else first!
This Bob-omb Buddy is a very hilarious NPC.
He wants to be an NPC that gives useful hints, but he doesn't actually know anything useful, so he's stuck telling us things that don't actually mean anything.
Apparently, it takes him a long time to replace the line about the wind and the cradle.
This Bob-omb lives down here. That pink color's really cute... but I think this is a dude. He's got his own ambitions of being an info guy like Wonky, selling tips for cash... But his tips don't make even a tiny little bit of sense. Hello? Can you say "stupid"?
I wouldn't say "stupid", though. That seems a little excessive.
That's the cola bar owner, Herb T. He's a middle-aged guy with a wild mustache. He may look like just another glass-polisher, but he's an old-school cola bartender... He's hilarious, but I'm sure he's heard his share of super-depressing stuff, too.
Despite the Tattle, I don't think this NPC ever does anything more. SPM would make the guy running the tavern be the hint/rumour giving guy, but that's not his job in this game.
So yeah, let's talk about the hint NPC that does live in this room, Wonky.
Wonky is more or less the equivalent to Russ T. in that he will tell you miscellaneous things about the world that may be useful on your quest.
Downside? He charges cash. 5 coins, but do you see how poor I am? I genuinely think I might need this money for things I can't check the wiki or textdump for. The textdump seems to have an order, so let's see how that goes for us...
The Legend of Rogueport
You've heard about the legendary treasure hidden beneath Rogueport, right? Apparently it's the vast fortune of that ancient, forgotten civilization... Most people think that's just a silly old myth now, of course. But not Wonky! According to my sources, it's the real deal. Huh? Who are my sources? Well, I can't really say, can I? That, my friend, is what's called a trade secret!
Well, that's just adding another voice to the din. Is he correct? That's for Frankly to find out later, when it is least convenient for us, I'm sure.
The Z Button
Hey, ol' Wonky just heard something kind of helpful. If you press the Z Button when you're talking to someone, you go back to what they said last. I'm sure that could be handy in a pinch!
Still limited across textbox redraws in this game, but still a feature that should be in more games.
The incident I saw
So I saw this really cute girl in a pink dress walking around town a while back. She was pretty enough to be a princess, I tell ya! She hung around town for a little while after buying something from that old lady. Then she got nabbed in a back alley by a bunch of suspicious guys in white suits! I'm pretty sure I'm the only person who saw that, though. Ol' Wonky was scared! Well... I guess it's neither here nor there... People get kidnapped, whatever. Still, just knowing what's going on in the streets can be helpful sometimes.
Some more detail on Peach's kidnapping, not that we really didn't have this detail before now. The interesting notes are that Beldam is "that old lady" (as opposed to "an old lady"), and the people who kidnapped her were the X-Nauts directly.
Battle techniques
I hear the best way to fill your battle crowd up is to succeed at Action Commands. Especially when you succeed at several in a row. Hoo! I hear THAT'S great! Also, beating enemies quickly and striking first can build your crowd, too. That might be good to remember.
...I'm not 100% sure if I know whether all of these are describing actual multipliers you can get on your Star Power restoration or just tips for "being good at the game", and I feel a little weird that I don't actually know if anyone has figured this out yet.
What's behind the sign
There's a billboard in front of the shop in town with all kinds of stuff written on it... Well, some folks like to write graffiti on the back of the message board, you know. There's all kinds of good stuff there, especially for an info guy like ol' Wonky. You should give it a gander next time.
...Good to know. I want my money back.
What's hidden below
Ol' Wonky just got this juicy bit of info recently... You know that small hole down here that only a little critter can get through? Well, you just head out away from the wall there... And when you can't go any further, jump to get something good. If you see that hole, you should give it a try...
Ah, that's how you find the Pretty Lucky Badge.
The big door
Well, you know, there's a really big door down here. I've only seen it once myself, but... If there really is some legendary treasure down here, it's behind that door... Yeah, when I saw it, I got the feeling there was bad stuff going down in there... In fact, I've been too heebie-jeebied to get near that door ever since...
...A reasonable reaction to the Thousand-Year Door. That thing is intense.
(Yes, I am talking about the Door, what did you think I was talking about?)
The charmer
You know, there's a charmer named Merlee down here somewhere... If you get her to charm you, you'll get good stuff in battle. Not only that, but she's a total babe... Ol' Wonky would LOVE to get a date with her! I'm serious. You have to check her out sometime.
Of course we're still freaking out about how cute the girl sages are.
The mysterious troops
I've gotten word of a strange group skulking about Rogueport recently. They wear masks and weird costumes with an "X" on the front... Talk about kooky. And they're always huddled together mumbling about some treasure. I've even heard that they unearthed some shiny stone down here! Weird...
Well, we know about the X-Nauts. One thing that we sorta learn here is that the X-Nauts have a Crystal Star in their possession. This will be repeated later on, we're not going to be taken by surprise when that becomes our problem, but they do, in fact, have a Star themselves.
The Trouble Centre
There's a place called the Trouble Center on the east side of Rogueport. People who need help write little notes on the board in there... And if you help them out, they give you a reward of some sort. Ol' Wonky hears that some of those rewards are pretty tasty, my friend!
Some... Some...
Horsetails
You've been to Petal Meadows, haven't you? Well, they have those blue- and grey-striped poles called Candy Pops all over, right? I heard that one of those will give you a Horsetail if you hit it ten times... You should go try that out sometime.
And that's where we get that hint.
Let's see if I remember to keep up with this guy later.
As you may or may not be able to tell by the dislodged item shop sign, this building is in fact an Item Shop.
- Slow Shrooms give you a buff that heals you for 2HP a turn for several turns. It's also the item that cooks into the Hot Shroom equivalent! Little out of the way, but this is nice healing.
- Gradual Syrups, meanwhile, aren't as immediately useful for cooking. I think there's the odd recipe that requires them, but it's not as important.
- Yep, this is the place to get permanent Ultra Shrooms and Jammin' Jellies.
- Gold Bars and Gold Bars x3s seem to be a means to storing money. They sell for 100 and 300 coins, respectively, and seem useful when coins are plentiful and the inventory is empty. We are more accurately described as being in the opposite situation.
Backtracking to this room, there are reasons to fall down, including this Star Piece. Despite being a negative outcome if you want to go to the town, this is also the only way to visit this bottom area.
These fights happened before I got the Star Piece, I just got First Struck. A lot.
That's a Spania. A Spinia with spikes on its head. It looks meaner, too. Max HP is 3, Attack is 1, and Defense is 0. So, sorta the same as a Spinia. You oughta watch out for the spikes on its head, but otherwise, just whale on it. I gotta be honest, though, the way that thing spins makes me wanna yack.
Spania is an upgrade on Spinia, but all that got him was spikes on the head. No upgrades in HP or Atk or anything- they're even only level 8 to the Spinia's level 7. You may notice that I am not prepared for spiked enemies. Yeah, this might become an issue.
Spania is the only member of the Spinia family to reappear in the series. Strange it's the middle child, especially since SPM would have use for Spinia too.
Luckily, I haven't equipped Jumpman yet, so let's get rid of that one with the Sleepy Sheep.
Superguards, too.
...Might actually have rathered I got the chance to Superguard on this one.
(It's so cool if you have upgraded Koops for these guys.)
There is a pipe down, and we can see the opposite side of the sewers acting as a mirror.
There's not much here but more Spanias, although this entrance looks weirdly covered up.
Slow Shroom and Gradual Syrup occupy these blocks.
...I never got rid of the Dried Shroom and Dizzy Dial. Whoops.
Ow. But I guess that's a good showcase of something unfortunate that you can get whacked by- we just got hit after we finished the fight. So, if you're playing in Peril, watch out for that.
There is nothing beyond the Slow Shroom and Gradual Syrup, sadly. Well, for now. So out here we must proceed.
OK, it's not a Hot Shroom, it's a Shroom Roast, but it heals the same amount of HP and FP. I am going to want one of these for a while.
They call me Garf. I have lost my key and, thus, cannot get into my house. It should be somewhere in Rogueport. I just need someone to find it! I'll be waiting for you at the house at the very back end of east Rogueport.
Time to begin doing the Troubles. Beginning at the top of the list this time, let's introduce ourselves to Garf and his locked house.
It's this very house, in fact. Funny how easy it would be to unlock if you actually just did the Troubles.
All we need to do is look around Rogueport and find the key. All the early Troubles will keep us in the city.
The key only spawns once you start the trouble. It's up here.
Pretty much exactly what you'd expect from the Trouble Centre, anyway.
And a nice, healthy pay packet as a reward.
And also this door is now unlocked.
There's nothing in it, but it's nice to not have that lock plonked in front of us.
That's Garf, part of the Robbo gang. I'm pretty sure he's related to Gus. He looks pretty gnarly, but he's actually pretty cool. Don't judge folks on looks!
If you remember from the opening, the two Craws in the mob war were brothers ("Stay down, bro!"), and presumably, those are Gus and Garf here. Garf seems a lot more friendly than Gus.
Speaking of the opening, this is the first time I've wandered back to port. There's one major reason for doing so, and it's a continued blight on my finances.
Also NPCs that want to go places. As you'd expect to find in a port town.
And an NPC that feels right at home in the first room we visited.
This Toad is hoping his brother comes back OK from wherever he sailed off to. We'll find the answer to that, thankfully.
There aren't many ships in port for us, but these guys are hard at work unloading unimportant ships just off-screen.
...
We need to find you a goal to work towards. I'm sure something will come up overseas during this quest.
This Bob-omb with a unique design doesn't seem too interested in establishing why. I guess that's extra proof this guy will be important later, and by extension, that the port does actually go somewhere.
That's Pa-Patch the Bob-omb. He's a real salty sailor type. Totally active guy, huh? Yeah, he looks pretty burly, too. Gotta love strong go-getters, huh?
His name is Pa-Patch, incidentally.
Anyway, this is the most important NPC for the time being. His name is Lumpy, and he is a member of a brand new species to TTYD, Ratooey. They are big mice, and there are two of them in the whole game.
Lumpy recognises us. He seems to be associated with the Mushroom Kingdom characters, or at least wants to visit the Mushroom Kingdom.
"Good evening sir or madam, I have an exciting business proposition for you!"
He's an aspiring oil tycoon, hoping to find black gold in the depths of the Dry Dry Desert- the very same one from the original Paper Mario.
So then, we get asked to invest in this probably extremely unpleasant suggestion.
Lumpy will pay you back on this investment, making it incredibly valuable to pay him. He asks for 300 coins total, which you can pay in either 100, 200 or 300 coins total. I believe you have until clearing Chapter 4 to give him all the coins you can.
I dunno, boss, kinda feel like I'm regretting it already.
That's Lumpy, a Ratooey. His dream is to strike it rich by finding oil. Gotta admire the dedication! Guys like this make me want to chase my dreams harder! Still... When I talk to him, it seems more like he's just up for whatever, you know?
Another interlude before we're back to the Trouble Centre- this crack in the wall needs inspecting.
It comes out in this area.
With a Star Piece, what else.
...I don't think I agree with that assessment, but whatever floats your boat.
That's Pierre. He sure does seem to have a lot of free time, doesn't he? Word is, he's been busting his tail lately to catch the eye of the crime boss, Ishnail.
It turns out Pierre has a bit of an amusing story if you talk to him elsewhen, but it seems that hasn't come up yet. He's a geologist who turned to crime because it pays better, on Ishnail's suggestion.
Speaking of, here's Ishnail.
This is Garf, and apparently, having unlocked his house has made his dialogue feel less fitting to the situation.
Gus is still sitting here, feeling really bitter about how we beat him out of setting up his toll road. And calling us out for crying had we theoretically lost instead.
Loser.
Ishnaril has nothing to say, much like Don Pianta. You can beat the game without seeing Ishnail at all, but his purpose is to clue you in to the solution to a puzzle.
That's Ishnail, leader of the thief band called the Robbos. He REALLY hates Don Pianta. I guess that's to be expected, since they're bitter rivals and everything. He's got some issues about money, but he's OK otherwise. Who knew?
What is he? He's a snail of some kind, but beyond that, shrug. Personality-wise, he sounds exactly what you'd expect the less successful rival of Don Pianta to sound like: Far, far less cool, and desperately wishing he had something to work with to give him an edge.
Back to our Troubles.
This is McGoomba, and I have a simple task: I need to have something delivered. Unfortunately, for reasons I won't mention, I can't be seen walking around Rogueport. Meet me behind Zess T.'s house on Rogueport Plaza.
...So how did you get this on the Trouble Centre board? I assume you have your ways, this is a town that would appreciate that.
This is McGoomba, and yes, he is that curt.
...This guy was totally on the way to the Trouble Centre. What, was he in the bathroom when you put up the notice?
Much like the Package from Koopa Koot, we have no idea what's in this box.
Goomfrey seems to know what it is by sight, though.
...Uh...
Why do I get the feeling Mario is now an accessory to a crime? Of all the things to throw in Rogueport, this was definitely one of them.
The Trouble is not over until you get the "You solved the Trouble" textbox, and Goomfrey is mostly reminding us of such.
I... don't think I want to know.
We'll just take this blood money and hope the next Trouble is a bit more victimless a crime.
...Anyone else suspect the people tasked with judging this game's content might not have seen this sidequest? No? Just me?
This is Arfur. I want to open a new shop, but I need help setting my prices. But since I can't go into a competitor's shop, I need some research done. I need the price of Fire Flowers, Sleepy Sheep, and Tasty Tonics in Rogueport. I'll meet you in front of this building to make the exchange.
Yeah, this sounds exactly the right amount of shady for me.
...Ah. I was supposed to check first. Oh well, I can make do.
Fortunately, the prices aren't that hard to guess.
He seems very intrigued by that answer.
Those seem a bit closer, but it's definitely 8.
What kind of prices are that?
The text dump doesn't seem to have different dialogue if you incorrectly answered the highest prices on the list. Which says a lot about Arfur's ability to judge a decent price.
Poor Arfur. I guess that's what happens when you live in Ishnail's turf. Greedyguts.
We did tell him useful information. Disappointing information, but information nonetheless. He won't waste time with this if he knows it's foolish.
Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! My name is Goomther. Please find the guy that pulled off credit card fraud on me. I'll be in Rogueport Plaza, so come talk to me!
Finally, we can get him to stop talking about it. At least someone on this board wants us to solve crime rather than commit it.
He keeps seeing it was credit card fraud, but "took my dough" implies there might've been some conventional theft done along the way. I'm not sure what "credit card fraud" is usually assumed to mean, and what methods one might use to commit it.
...Perhaps I was a little too quick to say we weren't committing crimes.
...That's all the advice we're getting for finding him? I guess it is nice to narrow him down to the actual Bandit species.
...It's not this one? Huh. I would've expected it.
It's this one. Yep, we are the fraud police. The only police in this city, apparently.
It turns out we need to find him multiple times- he's run off after that first encounter.
Is it obvious I have never done this Trouble myself before?
You just need to chase him down three times total, culminating in, ironically, just outside the place where the guy who robbed us lives.
At least he turns himself in easily enough when he realises running is not an option.
Thank you. This has turned rather profitable, and I am not worried about being poor!
...Yeah, I'm feeling like what Goomfrey is about to do is illegal.
...
I'm the fraud police, not the assault and battery police.
Well, this has been a fairly dark set of sidequests.
This is Bomberto, an' I need you to do some shoppin'. Please come right quick, 'cause I'm starvin'! Meet me in Rogueport, out at the docks.
This one sounds less likely to end in a crime being committed.
This feels like a Trouble that has a pretty good chance of being solved by asking at a time when your wife gave you actual lunch. Maybe the Trouble Centre was intended to be digital at some point? A few of these read like the writers forgot that the people asking had to actually go and visit the Trouble Centre to submit them.
Well, that seems easy. I'm not entirely certain what does or does not count as "food" for his request.
...Mushroom and Fresh Juice, probably.
(Actually, it might be that the game actually does only display the food items in your inventory on this screen.)
11 coins for something like a Mushroom you didn't need anymore, that was very productive. Not sure why 11 and not 20 like everything else, though.
It was a far more pleasant one, though, so I am incredibly grateful for that.
...That is probably the most expensive I have ever seen Charlieton be in one go. Worst time for it, though.
Oh boy, who let him have Pretty Lucky P? That's only going to be awful.
...It would've been nice if you dropped that, y'know. Just saying.
Anyway, with all this money I've been getting, I think I'm going to need something to pick up for the road. Piercing Blow will have a key use... never. For the situation I have in mind for it, it is equal in power to Power Smash. It made sense to pick up in 64, since you didn't have Power Smash yet, but here in TTYD, it's honestly pretty useless.
I am clearly not the most fiscally responsible of players.
While checking my Star Piece counts, turns out I missed this one.
I continue to be astounded by the short-sightedness of my past self. Or possibly just suffering from the plight of hindsight's cruel mercy. Power Plus is certainly a choice to add to the collection, but since we're rich enough to afford one, might as well.
It turns out you can get 6 and 15 Star Pieces from Prologue and Chapter 1 respectively, counting this small bounty in West Rogueport. This means it's fine to get Heart Finder before Chapter 1 and get that extra safety when you need it, and still pick up one of the Power Pluses now. With that in mind, I kinda think the optimal play is to upgrade Koops and combine it with a Power Plus P. Power Plus P makes Goombella have her upgraded 2+2 bonk when she needs it, while simultaneously giving Koops a key power in 4 damage a hit. 4 damage Koops sounds so nice for Chapter 2, I can't recommend the idea less. I haven't actually tried it, but the theory seems sound.
I am excited to mention this game has BP Sorting, which is so nice for making sure you're checking all your options in the same Bp bracket. Annoyingly, I don't seem to have shown my new Power Plus (Mario) and Heart Finder. But hey, that is an excellent showcase of my Piercing Blow and Jumpman.
It's me, Koopook, the wandering hide-and-seek champion. I'm hiding somewhere in Hooktail Castle right now. Hiding like you read about! If you find me, I'll give you something good. Think you can do it? Reeeeeeally?
In the Chapter 1 Troubles, Koopook wants us to just find him. He tells us "somewhere in Hooktail Castle."
(Incidentally, for reasons not unrelated to my coin problems, I won't be dealing with the other two Troubles this time. I'll save them for when I have a bit more cash to spend.)
He isn't hiding well. He's just on that ledge. It does mean heading halfway through Hooktail Castle, of course...
You're supposed to hide from my eyes, not my platforming skills.
I can't deny you take this craft seriously.
Koops jumps out of our pocket to say hi to someone he apparently knows.
Pretty neat addition, all told.
Especially since this lets Koops see Koopook as fallible at last.
...Sounds right depressing, seeking out places to hide because you're just that good.
"That was certainly a Tuesday."
At any rate, onto other areas of conversation. The Trouble Centre is the way you acquire more Cards for the Pianta Parlor. Honestly, many don't wind up picking these up unless they really want the prizes, and I can't exactly say I blame you if you didn't bother. In addition to giving us access to the Plane game, we also get an additional four items for sale.
...Which poor sap dropped it? I feel bad for them. Probably paid an arm and a leg for a replacement.
We'll never wind up finding him again.
And despite his rather needling tone, that has less to do with his skill as it does his choice in hiding place.
...Stretching the definition of "Trouble" here a bit, I think.
Yes, yes, I know I'm sidequesting, I bet that's frustrating, but throwing rocks at me is only going to make it take longer.
This extra power on Goombella and Mario is very good for dealing with Koopa Troopas.
And hey, while I was dealing with them, I got a Bingo!
That extra healing is greatly appreciated.
...Aye...
Well, that was an amusing drop from that fight.
Going back to visit the Pianta Parlor, it suddenly occurs to me... hey wait, I can walk through bars.
This is also how you get Lahla's Tattle, but there is actual dialogue to be found back here.
Mario has a... bit of an issue with personal space when it comes to Lahla, apparently. Thankfully, the creepiness on Mario's side seems entirely confined to her, but between this and the female partners, I can't help but wonder if this is the fingerprint of the FE devs responsible for some of the more... questionable decisions in those games. Being made by the same devs doesn't necessarily mean their relationship is entirely positive.
Shoutouts to Lahla for doing a really good job deflecting, by the way. I can only imagine she's had good reason for learning these tricks, though.
The rest is none of Mario's damn business. I was happier not knowing she was eighteen. FE has a lot of garbage I was hoping Paper Mario could escape because of the Mario branding.
And yes, we are being explicitly rewarded for good play with getting to hear more private information from a barely-legal show bunny kitty. Well done, Mario. I thought you couldn't get worse than how you treated Luigi in 64.
When I mentioned that I suspect Nintendo doesn't like Paper Mario for how they treat Bowser and Luigi as punchlines, I wonder if Mario's vaguely jerkish attitudes also counts against them. They're largely confined to optional dialogues like this, but I'm fairly sure nobody at Nintendo is entirely pleased to see Mario involved in this.
Anyway, back onto more pleasant areas of conversation, let's turn in our first Member's Card.
So then, how do we play the Plane Game?
...With Piantas. Should have expected that.
Lucky I had exactly the correct amount of coins!
All minigames happen underneath this pipe, and you can never have control of Mario while the pipe is raised. It's not like 64 where the pipes are permanent. I assume it's because of how fancy the minigame rooms are.
Look at this.
When the "Start" displays, you are immediately turned into a paper plane and must begin wiggling the control stick immediately. Let's have a peek at the rules.
In this game, you turn into a paper airplane and compete to see how far you can fly. The farther you fly, the more piantas you win! And, if you land on one of the moving platforms, you'll get a bonus! If you land on a penalty platform, you'll lose piantas, so be careful when landing. The best way to boost your winnings is to collect lots of piantas while flying! Good luck!
Seems simple enough. With that said, however, it turns out that Lahla is wrong about the optimal play. It turns out what you really want to do is gain as much distance as possible. Crossing the 400 barrier tends to prove more profitable than taking the intended path down to around ~300, picking up Piantas as you go.
The x2 platforms move around, and annoyingly, both the platforms in the 300 and 400 range (ie the ones you want to land on for a high Pianta payout) move in square patterns around your flight path. You don't have to worry about up/down precision as Mario- you will always land in the same vertical area- but this vertical movement by the bonuses means you have to precisely time your flights if you want to make it onto them. I'd say don't bother unless you're really close.
See? Crossing 300 only got us enough Piantas to make our fee back, meaning our only profit is what we pick up.
With that said, all these scores on the scoreboard are painting this as not the most profitable of ways to acquire Piantas. Sadly, the games just aren't that good, and since they're skill-based, this can't be made up with save states. Just keep plonking away at it until you get the Piantas you need.
If you land on a x2, you get some serious profit, and also Mario will do a different pose.
I may have mostly been going for profit over score. Eventually, though, my curiosity (and desire to finish off textboxes) drives me to get the high score in all four games.
...I wish the reward for high scores was more Piantas.
At least she has her fun poking back.
New prizes for the Special Card:
- Power Jump is better acquired from the Lovely Howz, and while this is probably intended to become a boss killer with a lot of Power Jumps equipped at once, you're really better off using combo attacks with extra power stacks in this game.
- Maple Syrup is not purchaseable until Chapter 4, but at 42 coins, it's a bit of a tall ask when Cake Mix gives you 15 FP recovery for 18. You don't even get the ability to cook combo recipes until you get to the Chapter 4 shop anyway.
- HP Plus and FP Plus are... decent ways to get some extra HP and FP, although really, I'd just do normal upgrades and use your BP for something else. Especially at 300 coins per purchase.
While we're talking about Piantas, these slot machines are also playable.
One coin a spin, and just as you'd expect slot machines to play.
Three Don Pianta Icons gives three Piantas, three Stars gives 15, and three 7s give 100. I'm told the slot machines are rigged to give a 20 Pianta profit over 100 plays, or at least that's what the statistics say. Whether you choose to believe it is your call, I'm going to stick to the skill games. At least they're fun.
I'll be back with more Cards.
You can check your scores anytime on the GBC, not that you can pick out yours from the list.
You cannot leave the Parlor with your Piantas, for some reason, and Lahla will teleport to you when you go to the door to take them away once you try. I'm not sure if this is a technical reason or an attempt to mimic real Japanese gambling parlours (I have never visited a gambling parlour in any country, so I can only tell you the rules as I learned them from various gambling parlours in video games like Pokemon.)
Once you've visited the Thousand-Year Door and learned your next destination is Boggly Woods, this little guy comes back.
Now we have Paper Mode, we can now follow him and ask for his help.
...Well, once we have convinced him we are not hostile.
...While this dialogue option does lead to the same outcome, I have to show the extra dialogue you get if you have Mario actually claim to be a bully.
Puni: Noooooooo! Leave me alone, you big meanies!
Goombella: Mario! How could you?!? Don't you say that to him! ...That wasn't very mature. Hey, don't worry! Really! We're not here to be mean to you, honest.
Koops: Um... Mario, that was uncool. Don't say stuff like that. I thought you were... nicer. Relax, relax, little guy. We're not bullies, I swear.
I am learning a lot about TTYD's writers from this, honestly. I mean, this is an "edgier" take on the Mario formula by setting the place in Rogueport, but I wasn't expecting Mario's personality to swirl down the drain to match.
Fortunately, this awkward mess is averted regardless of how aggressive you make Mario.
So then, we need to go to Boggly Woods, and here one of its residents is. What a coincidence! What's the cause?
And the Puni promptly gets back into anxiety mode, although this time it looks like a perfectly reasonable defense mechanism in response to the X-Naut Army.
Although Mario and Goombella know the X-Nauts by reputation (and having met Crump in the docks), we have not yet learned their name, their scope, or really anything about them other than they are the suspicious group that kidnapped Peach and plans to stop us from accomplishing our goals.
Koops's line here has fuelled a lot of debates on a particularly thorny problem regarding older games like this one: Pronounciation. Intuitively, the X-Nauts are pronounced "Ex"-Naut, as in the letter. However, a lategame Tattle claims that the correct pronounciation of an X-Naut affiliated enemy (not an X-Naut itself) is "Cross", implying that the X-Naut Army is, in fact, known as the "Cross"-Nauts.
The French and German translations leaned in to the Cross-Naut interpretation, giving both the X-Nauts and Grodus himself names with "cross" puns. I am a little less clear if Japanese matches these languages, but they use the terms 罰点 and バツガルフ, respectively, which seem to lean closer to the shape than the letter (of which they don't even have in their alphabet anyway). For these reasons and the opportunity to make a spectacular pun much later, I personally prefer "Cross-Naut" as the pronounciation. This Koops line (and a few errant "an X-Naut" instead of "a X-Naut" appearances) are the major evidences for the existence, at least in-universe, of "Ex-Naut" as an alternative pronounciation. I would say I am going to proceed with using the name "Cross-Naut", but I am of couse going to be communicating entirely in text, so the ambiguous "X-Naut" it is!
...Honestly, I don't even see why "Cross-Naut" sounds less like "tissues to the extreme" than "Ex-Naut".
The X-Nauts have gone to the Boggly Tree and began searching for the Crystal Star within. Their methods for doing so have done great damage to the tree and the ecosystems living within.
This Puni managed to get away in the confusion, and is now looking for someone who is able to do something about them. The X-Nauts, you might understand, are quite a bit bigger than the Punies in addition to being more technologically advanced and ruthless.
Not that the Punies are aware of the X-Naut objective. That also means they are unable to submit to X-Naut demands: They are just as clueless as the X-Nauts doing the interrogating.
This Puni promises that we can receive the Crystal Star as a reward for driving off the forces seeking to claim it for themselves. Since they don't realise the value of the item, they have no real desire to keep it, and it is probably a perfectly logical conclusion to draw after they were attacked and ravaged by someone looking for it- no matter how valuable it is, it is far safer in someone else's hands than their own.
Colonial vibes? Little bit. But at the same time, the Punies were given this by the people of Rogueport a long time ago and were just safeguarding it for a situation like this to begin with. It's not like the X-Nauts are searching for something that naturally occurs within the Tree, as real colonial stories tend to go.
The opportunity for adding a Crystal Star to our collection and the ability to give the X-Nauts a bloody nose? I will gladly take it.
That put him in good spirits.
Goombella: I guess... I mean, we can't just ignore them, right? And we do need to find the Crystal Star before those X-whatever guys do.
Koops: Um... I guess we should... I'd feel pretty bad if we didn't do anything. Plus, we do need to get the Crystal Stars before those X-guys do.
For whatever reason, Goombella and Koops take a more "...well, I guess we might as well" approach.
Punio is going to be our main in to the Puni tribe, and he's practically going to be in our party the whole chapter, but he will not be the Chapter 2 partner character. With that said, he's the equivalent of, say, Koops in that the Chapter 2 story will be more concerned with his character arc and relationship to the conflict than the character who will be joining our party.
Among other things, he will be necessary to grant us access to Boggly Woods.
Punio can access the Boggly Woods easily by slipping through these tiny cracks, but we're going to need a passage a bit larger.
That'll do.
By the way, don't forget to pitch left for Damage Dodge (2 BP). It got buffed in this game, although Superguards do plenty to make it a little less worth it as well. If you're playing without, you're going to want this, piercing damage to go through conventional Defence is more common, and Guards still mitigate piercing damage.
The pipes around Boggly Woods are wooden in shape. In addition to fitting the "untouched by human hands" aesthetic the Woods are going for, Punio is unable to use conventional Warp Pipes, and these wooden ones have accomodations for him. You can't really tell horizontally (although the lip is closer to the ground), but vertical ones make it obvious.
Next time: We explore the Boggly Woods and meet some new friends.
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