Bethany Plays: TTYD Chapter 6 Day 2: Little Grey Cells

A new day, a new set of mysteries to unfurl.

Heff T. is now friends with Shimi. I guess things work out.

Now that we've met Ghost T., he will be an NPC in this room for the rest of the game regardless of time of day. He only takes a mild interest in goings on around the train, though.

Huh, who now?

Oh.

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RDM Issue 5
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ROGUEPORT TODAY
Local mystic Merluvlee (age 25) was taken to the hospital today, followed quickly by hordes of concerned fans. Luckily, according to a spokesperson for the hospital, Merluvlee suffered from nothing more than a severe case of indigestion caused by a wild binge on eight Shroom Steaks. The divine diviner exclaimed that her "aura was brimming with the power of steak," but this reporter can't help but wonder why she failed to predict the gastrointestinal adventure in the first place...

SHOP REPORTER GO!
This time, let's head to Keelhaul Galleria!

We are proud to toast the entrepreneurial spirit shown by the managerial team who brought free commerce to this deserted island! "I really wanted to do something that had never been done," gushed the unsinkable proprietor and former fight fan. "So call me 'The Invincible Shopmaster' from now on. I'm 100% serious. Print that." We wish him all the success that he can grab with two hands and wrestle to the mat!

COOKING FOR ROOKIES
Listen up, rookies, because here's another intermediate-level recipe! Today's dish is the single-serving Peach Tart! Take a Peachy Peach, add Cake Mix, stir, and bake! Try that at teatime, rookies...

EDITOR'S NOTE
Thanks for reading the best rag in the land! See you next issue!

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Published by Rogueport
Restoration Committee
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Rogueport Today: I can only imagine what visions brought about that weird choice. Shroom Steaks aren't exactly lying around the supermarket, preparing eight of them was a conscious choice.

Shop Reporter: Thriff T. is really gunning it for a shop that nobody is really able to visit. I'm assuming Cortez doesn't sail anyone other than us.

Cooking for Rookies: Well... it's not wrong, but "use a Cake Mix" isn't really the most enlightening of recipes, and that's making a huge assumption you know where the Peachy Peaches are. It would be nice to mention that somewhere. I don't think anything in the game points you there.

The former wrestling champ gave this kid a better present than his parents. This can only end hilariously.

Especially since Sylvia hasn't noticed what he's gotten.

Goldbob has a more interesting reflection on the previous day's events. Namely, he regrets anyone came over to see that.

The conductor and engineer talk about the planned stop at Riverside.

The Ratooey businessman is not in his own cabin: We can find him in Pennington's, for our mystery of the day.

...Well, looks like his job is in peril.

Mario: "Trust me, this is how your case is going to be solved."

Importantly, he definitely had this briefcase earlier.

And its absence is such a big deal that the Ratooey has every right to be panicking. He didn't mention the briefcase explicitly, although for something this serious, some opsec was probably the right call.

Pennington does something useful and tells the Ratooey to be quite particular about what we are about to hear.

The product prototype is Nitro Honey Syrup. This is either an attempt at making a Life Shroom in syrup form or something that isn't going to live up to the hype, if it ever comes out at all.

Unfortunately, right now, the product is in no state to be shipped to consumers. Mixed with two common, if not necessarily household, items, it becomes a terrorist weapon.

...A sticky, yummy explosion. Looks like we've found our threatener.

Mario: "Oh great, Pennington is going to be working through the facts. Anyone want to go out for a walk?"

The thief is still on the train... and, you know, intends to use that explosion on the train to get to me.

Pennington: "Why is nobody gasping in horror?"

And then the penny drops.

This is the point in the story that the waitress and Toodles' lost items become plot-relevant.

Calcium of a seashell and gold...

Someone on this train has a bomb.

We are tasked with finding the culprit, and this is the point in the "whodunnit" part of the mystery where we have all the clues and are making the formal accusation. Now then, let's step back and look at the logic of a whodunnit:

There are two major types of whodunnit, in terms of what the solver is expected to do:

Elimintation methods, where the solver is given a list of suspects, runs through them, and eliminates them from suspicion until one remains.
Connection methods, where the solver is tasked with finding clues, linking them together to form a picture of how the crime was conducted, and accuse the person who best fits the situation.

Elimination whodunnits, overall, are the easier variety, and are most popular in film and anything aimed at children for similar reasons: It's easier for the audience to keep track of what they know. You ask the audience to remember one list, and remove items from the list as their relevance to the case is proved false. Connection whodunnits are richer, and more closely resemble actual investigative work, but they require mediums like books and video games, where they can be completed at a pace the consumer sets. Each new piece of evidence in a connection whodunnit introduced requires the solver to sit down and consider its connections to all the evidence that came before, and most films do not have the time to slow down and allow the viewer to gather their bearings. Films can do connection whodunnits (I'm going to throw a curveball and point out that technically, Blue's Clues is a connection mystery show), but many that do have the solver be the in-universe character and place less expectation the viewer will get there- astute viewers might be able to keep up, but many will require multiple viewings and hindsight.

TTYD, as a Mario game aimed at children (despite, you know, everything), sets the whodunnit up as an elimination method. Every person on the train has appeared as either culprit or victim in one of Day 1's mysteries, or is one of the three people who have been robbed today. Except two. The Sales Stall Toad has not been involved in any mysteries, and he will continue to be a non-character, so he can be safely eliminated despite being a living, breathing character, leaving only one candidate for the thief.

These two don't point you in the correct direction. You must solve the case on your own.

Now, before you scroll down to the next images (which will reveal the culprit), I want to highlight something about TTYD that I can't explain in full detail until we learn something new about them: The game does have clues pointing to the culprit. It is not a full connection mystery nestled into the elimination method, but if you know which NPC is the culprit and their motives, you can observe them being suspicious before the time comes for the reveal.

So, has everyone who wants to solve the puzzle for themselves figured it out?

If you checked Zip Toad's cabin earlier in Day 2, you would have found it was empty.

Waitress: Did you see that Zip Toad came to last night's dinner? But I really have to say... he's like, waaaaaaaaay cuter on the big screen... Maybe they all are? ☆

Although he was definitely on the train earlier...

If you go to Zip Toad's cabin now, you will be rewarded for correctly identifying the culprit by finding a Vital Paper, a key item with no use other than to be shown to Pennington and the businessman to decisively connect Zip Toad to the stolen briefcase.

Mostly because we have absolutely no idea what it says ourselves.

Neither does Pennington.

The paper was inside the briefcase, and the fact it was found in Zip Toad's room means the briefcase was in that room.

Now that we know whodunnit, all that's left to do is howcatchum.

He's hiding somewhere on the train, meaning all we have to do is find him.

This case, however, is a little more difficult than the last, and one that isn't entirely hinted at. This isn't actually a whodunnit or a howcatchum, this is just the game being bad at communicating Event Flags.

As hilarious as that is.

Remember, he wants to bomb us.

Once you've tracked him down to our room, you must use Vivian's Veil. You can do so from anywhere in the room, I have chosen to do so on the seam of the couch cushions for one very specific reason.

Eventually, Zip Toad will slide out from under your bed. This is your cue to un-Veil.

At which point he starts jumping around like the Yoshi Egg (complete with a reappearance of that goofy theme).

However, he always bounces to the same place the first time. That place happens to be the seam on the couch cushions. It is not necessary to ambush him like this, but man if it isn't satisfying.

He's not actually the real Zip Toad. Zip Toad thus far has been talking like an aloof celebrity, which is something you might have expected him to be, but read a little closer. He doesn't give autographs to Goombella or Vivian. He commiserates about being falsely accused with us. He takes a long pause to connect the dots that us asking about Bub is about his autograph. His room is filled with magazines about himself. The waitress and Goombella talk about the mismatch between their expectations of him and how he actually behaves.

On your first playthrough, you might reasonably assume Zip Toad is a fully functional NPC with an easily understandable personality. In hindsight, however, him being a fake didn't come out of nowhere.

Although Pennington will happily claim it was a nostril hair. Toads have noses? News to me. I guess it's the only way his shades work.

Zip Toad: "Who's Luigi?"

Presumably, this bomb was set to go off after the train left Riverside in some way.

And his plan totally would've worked. If the first Day hadn't allowed us to rule out everyone else on the train as the suspect.

He says that.

We get back everything that was stolen- the briefcase, the ring and the earrings.

And immediately turn the briefcase over. That is still a potential bomb, and probably should not have been on a public train in the first place.

Or die. Or was it "be alive forever inside honey?"

...I know you like the word "rudimentary", but saying it like that makes it sound unimpressive.

Anyway, time for us to go to Riverside Station.

I am told that, despite that clock almost never being on screen, it is programmed to tell the system time. I do not think I was playing this scene at 11:47. I suspect it's all the save states and emulation pausing I've been doing confusing my emulated Gamecube's sense of time.

We're going to spend most of our time with the camera at this angle.

Zip Toad is escorted out of the train in the company of one of the crew and Pennington.

Only for Zip Toad to declare no mere NPCs can keep him.

So much for "no one escapes the Improbably Large Brain".

Yup. Doopliss has replaced Vivian as the third Shadow Siren, and to be honest, it was probably the best decision Beldam ever made. Beldam's greatest weapon has been her ability to cause terror through her Veil technique, but her greatest weakness is how difficult it is for her to influence the world to her liking. Doopliss... by premise, his greatest strength is doing exactly that. He can't literally identity theft anymore (and is making no attempt to hide his name as a result), but as long you have some way to prevent the real deal from interfering, mere disguise isn't that far off.

Fortunately for Doopliss, Beldam has a Plan B.

Also Doopliss has a "villain exit stage left" card. It's known as "why did we leave him guarded by a Toad and Pennington?"

We leave from Room 5 at dusk when we arrive at Riverside Station. The Excess Express's usual Dusk theme has been replaced with the ambient theme for Riverside Station, another rather nice, serene track.

And at this point, we are now allowed to return the Shell Earrings and Gold Ring. Like the Galley Pot, we have no time limit to return these.

Star Piece from the waitress.

Considering the reputation of such people, shallow competition.

As mentioned, the waitress saw through Zip Toad's disguise, although she wasn't quite confident enough to know that's what she was catching onto.

And also you would be encased in honey forever. That feels like a problem too.

No clue. None whatsoever. But at least his parents are now able to provide him things that he will enjoy on these lines.

We will have to go into Riverside Station at some point, won't we?

Yup. Here you go.

Although we don't have a reputation as Champion of the Glitz Pit anymore, our newfound reputation as a detective has gotten us back in Toodles' good books. While the Goldbobbingtons still think of us as Gonzales, Toodles is more a fan of Mario.

Unlike the Excess Express staff, Toodles merely gives us 30 coins. Plenty enough to be appreciative, but not enough to really buy anything significant. Every little bit helps, though.

Ma'am.

The engineer, too, tells us to go take a walk.

Bub goes to geek out about the train some now that his parents know he enjoys the experience.

He means an actual, on rails, train. He can afford it, he just needs to find a seller.

That's a Riverside worker. He stands here all day to ensure the train's safety. Wow, I would hate having to work in a place like this. There's nothing around here!

We have some... problems to deal with.

This is Riverside Station. It's one of the places where the Excess Express stops. This place is famous for its scenic beauty... It's the sunsets, you know. Just one more of the many pleasures Excess Express passengers get to enjoy.

Although this excellent sunset is enjoyable in the meantime.

It sounds as though Beldam is the one who's flipping the switch, although that does mean this guy is using masculine pronouns to describe her.

This is absolutely hilarious if you know how Riverside is laid out.

"I wouldn't ask if this was any different, but... rather you than literally anything else."

~~Also, it's kinda our fault anyway...~~

Super Mario, to the rescue!

We did need to have this conversation to be allowed access.

Good idea. It's also kinda interesting seeing Heff T. walking around outside here.

You're allowed to be surprised, you know. You don't have to have predicted everything.

Doesn't sound like he would've shared. It's Doopliss. He wouldn't even tell me his own name.

That's Pennington, a train passenger. He SAYS he's a detective, but I don't know... Not to be, y'know, totally catty, but what kind of detective LOSES a suspect?

Lots of them. They're here to find criminals, not detain them.

That's a Riverside Station worker. This is where they refuel the Excess Express. I wonder what it uses for fuel, anyway? Probably golden oil or something.

I'd say it's the most decadent substance we've got, but regular oil is pretty decadent now.

That's a neat detail for why the drawbridge is so disused. It just... doesn't ever need to be in the up position anymore.

We're inside Riverside Station. It's an old brick building with natural warmth. Its antique elevator is totally charming, too. I am in LOVE with that thing! You think it works, though? I'm not that fond of getting trapped in elevators...

Riverside Station is a small dungeon to add some enemies to Chapter 6- this is the only place we can find regular encounters in the chapter.

There is no music at all, other than some vague ambient sounds, inside Riverside Station. There is an unused track whose filename suggests it was intended for Riverside, and presumably it would be used inside the building. I think the song suits the area as a gameplay idea, but it doesn't fit in at all next to the serene outdoor theme or the narrative ambience of the level, which is probably why it was scrapped. Presumably, the song would've been polished if it made it to the final game, but it doesn't really sound that much worse than some map themes lying around.

Now, here's the way the dungeon is laid out: The switch to flip the drawbridge is past this elevator. They couldn't miss it if they checked. However, the elevator key is deep within the dungeon, and only we could get our hands on it.

There's an unused note that the key to the elevator is in the old office, and I'm not sure why they took it out. It would've fit just fine.

We're inside Riverside Station. This place has been out of use for a while, I think. I love those solitary lightbulbs hanging from the ceiling. It's so shabby chic.

Our first order of business is to Tube Mode. Another instance of "this is something the professionals couldn't do". Man, this place is in disrepair.

It's to hit a switch to create some clearly non-matching stairs up in this direction. This dungeon is full of these, and part of me wonders if, diagetically, these stairs don't actually exist and are just for the player's benefit.

This is the other side of the big clock. Lots of endlessly moving gears... A lonely clock, counting out the endless progression of hours, heard by no one...

The top of this area leads to a clockwork area with lots of platforming puzzles Mario loves getting involved with, and also an enemy that was in Chapter 6 of 64, too.

This is a Ruff Puff. Don't confuse them with Dark Puffs... Although I don't think the world would end if you DID confuse them, but anyway... Max HP is 7, Attack is 4, and Defense is 0. They swoop at you or charge themselves with electricity before unleashing lightning. Oh, and if you touch them while they're charged, you'll get a shock!

Ruff Puffs are weaker than they were in 64 (same Atk, three less HP, although this Jump would've finished a 64 Ruff Puff off), but they have exchanged that for their ability to charge up electricity and spit out a double-targeting electric attack on both characters for 4 piercing damage. I always think the Ruff Puffs can do this in 64, too.

They can also fly in range of Hammer/Bomb, for some reason. More's the pity for them.

Shame, but I don't think any Bingo! would've helped. Maybe Mushrooms.

Cannonball!

Ooh, Mr. Softener! Won't actually help for the boss, though.

Now then, these cogs. They will rotate either 90, 180 or 270 degrees before stopping, and you can't really stand on a gear that is rotating. They don't rotate in sync, so this is far, far harder than it looks, and I don't think Mario can skip a gear.

Made it. From here, it's Tube Mode.

That's our target, but we still have more gearhead stuff to do before we can get there.

Down here's a Star Piece.

You Shell Toss to the key while this is up. I don't think you're penalised if Koops grabs the key and bonks on the thing on the way back.

(Also, I skipped over climbing some moving gears to get onto this platform. For... some reason.)

We're on the outer stairs. A door at the bottom leads to an underground office. But listen, Mario... Don't spend time worrying about posters that blow away in the wind... Let's just take in this killer sunset for a while before our next bad-guy appointment!

Using the key takes us to the room with the most killer sunset view in the whole Riverside Station area. It's also the only outdoor map here in Riverside. Incidentally, it does play the outdoor theme.

That's a Poison Pokey. As you probably guessed, it's a poisonous Pokey. Max HP is 8, Attack is 4, and Defense is 0. If you get poisoned, your HP will slowly drain, so you may want to avoid that. I'm sure you can see this, but they have spines all over, so DON'T touch them. They may be smiling, but that doesn't mean they're happy to see you!

Poison Pokeys are technically new enemies to TTYD- you might remember blue, poisonous Pokeys from 64, but those were Pokey Mummies. This was in the Japanese version, too. Poison Pokeys have the same tricks as Pokeys and Pokey Mummies, and all attacks can poison. Their "hit you on the head" attack apparently does 3 damage rather than 4, though. Unlike Pokey Mummies but like Pokeys, they can also call for help.

This screenshot is so you can admire the view. And also to talk about that block. In the Japanese version, that was a Brick Block, and if you smashed it, it didn't come back until you left Riverside Station entirely. The localisers were nice enough to change it to a Used Block, although it does kinda spoil that it's actually useful.

There's a Thunder Rage on top of it you can only grab now if the block is there. Technically, you can grab this later with the smashed Brick Block, but good luck finding it, even with Ms. Mowz.

If we Tube Mode under the stairs, we can find, at long last, the second freebie HP Plus for Mario. 64 gave both before Chapter 3 began in earnest.

Goombella's Tattle mentioned "blowing in the wind", and that's because the doorway past here is hidden behind a bunch of flyers that have been carelessly hung on this wall. Presumably, all reading "DANGEROUS NO ENTRY".

They're so covered that it takes three blasts to send them all flying. This is also one of the laggiest parts of the game, and I'm not sure why this in particular is so intense.

That's a Spiky Parabuzzy. It's a Buzzy with a spike and wings. Max HP is 5, Attack is 3, and Defense is 4. Hey! The same stats as a normal Buzzy! Fire and explosions don't work on Buzzies, in case you've forgotten. …And this one flies in the air AND has a spike. What a total pain. So…you'd better use an item or a special move.

Parabuzzies are formally introduced here, and as Goombella points out, we've got nothing for it but items, Earth Tremor/Art Attack and Spike Shield. It first appears here in TTYD, and it wouldn't be until Super Mario Maker that the devs thought these enemies would work in the platformers. Parabuzzies are usually used as platforms in the main series, with levels that take place in the sky requiring you to hop from Buzzy to Buzzy, and having Spiky ones to throw off your plans would be perfectly fitting. Oh well, guess we can make those levels now.

Oh hey, a Slow Shroom from his pockets.

I don't think I've shown it yet until now, and even this is a bit of a poor view, but Love Slap has the easiest Stylish timing in the whole game. You can press A at any point after the slap happens but before she gets back to her initial position to strike a pose mid-stride.

One last double Star Points, and it had to wear out eventually. I was getting sick of it.

This is the Riverside Station garbage dump. Talk about an annoying place to navigate! And it smells like rotting Goomnuts... It's amazing how much people throw away. There should be a door to the underground office somewhere down here.

Anyway, the point of this room is something you might see in Metroid.

A Tube Mode maze.

Don't go left, it's a return shaft. And an annoying one to ascend.

You want to jump over the chute and head down here.

And ideally, jump over that chute to finally grab the free copy of Mario's P-Up D-Down (2 BP). At least we got the Mario version first.

Falling down chutes tends to put you in dumpsters, once you reach the bottom of the maze.

One of those dumpsters is on a higher ledge, and that's our target.

OK, these guys are doing more than I was counting on.

Ball return time!

The chute with the P-Up D-Down ends with this point, and you want to land on the left side to get to the top of the ledge.

There's a Dried Shroom consumable item in this one. Free healing?

Aw, shoot.

Seemed as good a time as any to show off Rally Wink. Goombella can't do anything but Appeal, and Mario's in a lot of danger from those Parabuzzies.

The nerve of these Buzzies...

This is the Riverside Station office... but there doesn't seem to be anyone here. Hey, and now that I think of it, why would they put an office down here anyway? ...Or was I not supposed to bring that up?

Presumably, during normal operation, this office was in a more desirable location. At this point, it's complete disrepair, though. That's the key we're after up there.

This is the Riverside Station records room. They file all station business here. ...Or at least I think they do. Yup, these are probably files. Not to change the subject... But did you know you have to hit some switches a certain number of times? Yeah, that kind of came out of left field, but I was just wondering if you knew that...

This room is one of the strangest in the entire game. I have no idea why the switches are guarded by ordinary Goombas.

You can even First Attack them. Riverside has a lot of evidence of a bit of a rushed job, with some corners that still need sanding off, but I have no idea what exactly might have been intended instead here. Perhaps a boss fight with the Shadow Sirens?

Destroying all three gives you these numbered switches.

And you have to hit each one the number of times printed. Although it seems that bomb didn't work right.

It does work, but only when I'm not using it to cover for me while hitting other switches, apparently.

Another staircase that doesn't belong to go up.

Don't forget that on the way...

Ah. It's about time we got ourselves a new upgrade.

They did change the article from "a" to "an", to suit the difference between "Super" and "Ultra", but it continues to not suit the noun involved. Still, though, I won't say no to an extra point of attack with the Ultra Boots.

Remember Toadette? It's been a while.

The Ultra Boots were well worth coming to Riverside for.

She's not kidding about the difficulty of the Spring Jump, by the way.

Nor is she kidding about this. Spring Jump is the most complex of the three "rotate control stick" moves, for one simple reason.

You must be stationary before the game will accept rotational inputs. When using the Super Hammer, you will naturally be stationary because the Hammer is a more rigid attack, while Tube Mode doesn't even require being stationary. Ultra Boots is a little more finicky getting Mario to ready himself- partially because the game is rather flexible about A inputs as a platformer- and most use cases for Spring Jump require precise positioning.

Mario will wind himself up three stages. Unlike the Super Hammer, where a partial windup will only affect the speed of the release, Spring Jump is only successful if Mario is fully wound up first.

Once you release Spring Jump, the usual use case is to crawl along ceiling pipes. Eat your heart out, Tornado Jump! Do note that we can't make it past those gold caps either side of us.

The Ultra Boots is the last true new movement technique: We still have the Ultra Hammer, but that won't change our abilities.

We can also use it to hit blocks way too high above our heads, a use case that only comes up a handful of times. And is somehow really annoying when it does.

The Spring Jump costs 4 FP, and I am told the base attack power of the move is 6+6. I always get the second jump doing one less damage than the first, though. Maybe you need to hit the second Action Command? Interestingly, if there's a currently active ceiling in the battle, Spring Jump will fail because Mario bonks his head on it.

So long, Toadette!

Now then, where are we?

Funnily enough, that room does use the Tattle of the office.

To knock down the key, you hit the ledge it's own from underneath. Hitting a ceiling with Spring Jump will cause Mario to flatten himself, drift down slowly for three drifts, before returning to normal.

6 damage at base with all my Atk badges on. Rockin'.

Especially with Spike Shield and Zap Tap. This dungeon sure would suck if you lacked one or both.

Excellent. Not that I needed it, but it was splendiferous timing.

Shine Sprite down here, in the killer sunset room we were in before. It's just more convenient to grab it now rather than on the way down, since the HP Plus Badge can only be gotten on the way down.

For JP players who broke the Brick Block, Spring Jump will let you get the Thunder Rage now. If you can stand underneath it while it's invisible.

Right at the start of the Station was this Close Call P. We had access to it in the Lovely Howz for ages by now, but this is the freebie.

...Oh, they do mention the office in the final version. It was more of a "Hal, I left the key in the office" kinda note in the unused copy.

Going down.

Despite, you know, the elevator indicator above the elevator pointing to the lower floors of the building. It's not like this place is that tall.

For some reason, my emulator chugged whenever it had to think about elevators. I assume it's because of the way rooms load- the bottom of the station is considered the same room as the one above as far as Tattles are concerned.

Also there's a bunch of sprites down here.

Koops: Mario! What the heck are these weird things?
Flurrie: Mario, darling! What on earth are THESE hopping creatures?
Dr. Agon: Whoa, Gonzales! What in the world are these little monsters?
Vivian: Uh... Mario? Have you ever seen beasts like these before?
Bobbery: Mario, old boy! What are these squidgy fellows doing here?
Ms. Mowz: Mario, dearie! What are THESE things?!?

These things are Smorgs, and what the heck are they doing here? This is the biggest remnant of unused content: There is an unused battle set for Beldam and Marilyn in Chapter 6 (strangely, I don't think there's one for Doopliss), and while there doesn't seem to be any associated text, context points to the Sirens having set the Smorgs as a trap for Mario. The Sirens have legitimately disappeared on us, though, and while they do still have an appearance left in the chapter, they will never be found in reference to the Smorgs.

Smorgs appear only in TTYD.

Koops: Do you think these little monsters flipped the switch? Let's hurry up and find it so we can switch it back!
Flurrie: Perhaps these things are responsible for flipping that switch! We must hurry up and find it so we can switch it back!
Dr. Agon: You think these weirdos flipped the switch? Let's hurry up and find it so we can switch it back!
Vivian: Do you think these things flipped the switch, perhaps? We'd best find it quickly and switch it back!
Bobbery: I should think they are the perpetrators behind the drawbridge debacle! Let's make haste, find the switch, and switch it back!
Ms. Mowz: Do you think these little beasts flipped the switch? Let's hurry up and find it so we can switch it back!

They are not technically enemies, so you can Hammer/Flurrie them to chase them away.

After smashing a few, the rest run off.

We then throw the switch dramatically...

Only for another non-diagetic one of these things to show up with a gameplay button to push.

I suspect the reason all these blue/red diamond shapes appear and are so blatantly player-focused is to justify this moment here. Obviously, in-universe, throwing the switch was intended to lower the drawbridge, with the Riverside team able to raise it again if they wanted by throwing it back. However, there is no reason to raise the drawbridge again- and so the developers make it impossible by mechanically tying the drawbridge to this button instead.

The cool part of this shot, other than the drawbridge going down (and apparently it took me under half an hour to clear that dungeon), is seeing the sunset room in the background. You can't really get a good look at it from outside.

Whoo whoo!

...Another email?

Yo, G-money! It's me, King K! Your homey from the Glitz Pit!
I KNOW you remember me, dog! How you doin'? What, you off KO'in' fools left an' right somewhere else?
I'm still livin' large in the minor league, but I'm keepin' busy, you know how it is. I gotta thank you again for convincin' me to stay, dog. You fired me up good!
So, are we ever gonna chill again, or what? Or are we just gonna meet in the ring? Careful, dog: next time you front on the King K, I'm gonna be way, way, way, way, way, way, way, WAYYYY BETTER!
Keep it real, King K