Around this point, the Palace of Shadow's theme changes to a more intense mix, with the proviso that "more intense" than it already was doesn't mean that much.
Ah, there we go, some proper Dark Wizzerd fights.
...And something about my Badge setup has changed such I can no longer one-round these.
Thankfully, they do like to stick to just shooting those moderately powerful piercing lasers.
...OK, that one got 6x6ed, what's the difference between that and the 4x4?
Yow. Again, thankfully they don't tend to do that in numbers.
This is all the one guy. Although to find it...
Earth Tremor continues to have value.
That came from the Dark Wizzerd.
This was just another Thunder Rage to replace the one I dropped earlier.
Now then, multiple partner uses.
The gears in the back of this room started moving when we unlocked that planetarium... Listen, Mario... We're gonna have to rely on everything we've learned to get through this. Just think about what we've been through, and I'm sure you'll find a way, OK?
And a good-old fashioned Koops Hold puzzle in the gear room. There'll be a few similar puzzles to this with different solutions.
...I don't want this.
Right, an elevator puzzle. This one's a little weird to solve, from memory.
I'm not 100% sure what I just did, or what I want to do next.
Although clearly I will need an answer going forward.
I see you, Chompy.
Fortunately, we can Spring to the start of this puzzle room if we fall down.
...This seems as good a place as any to start?
Not making that jump.
That one, though? I can totally handle.
...Although that leaves me with this switch.
What you want to do with it is hit it so it's going up, jump down onto it, and disembark down here while it's going up.
And then Flutter over this gap, the ceiling is too low for a Jump.
Spring Jump over these gaps.
And then our second backstage area. This is full gameplay stuff.
Hi, Phantom Embers.
Don't mind me, just emptying my inventory.
And Power Shelling into a breakdance.
Shooting Star over on this far end.
And then there's this button. Can't Hold this one.
Solution is to Bomb it from above.
Chain Chomps may be immune to fire, but that doesn't mean they're immune to being Gulped and then spat into fire. As ridiculous as that circumstance is.
We're inside the Palace of Shadow. This place is all about kooky puzzles, huh? You see those ☆ marks in the middle of the corridor? They've GOTTA be important.
Now here's the memorisation puzzle. All we need to find is where to input the code.
Another key?
Despite all the moving parts, this carousel is not yet moving.
However, it is where we need to go. We have to pick up this key before the wheel starts turning. It may be tempting to think it's the other way around. It's not.
More stuff to squish into the bag.
This staircase's ceiling is so tight that you have to Paper Mode and press yourself into one stair before attempting to jump onto it. It's ridiculous.
This is where we input that star code from earlier.
...Once we get this guy out of our hair, of course.
That would be how we get the wheel spinning. I think the main point of it was the puzzle we did while it was stationary.
Life Shroom on top.
...Wasn't I supposed to use that in battle?
We're inside the Palace of Shadow. We must be WAY underground by now. I'm totally running out of advice at this point, sorry. I have advisor's block. Hey, but don't worry! Have faith in yourself and your friends, and we'll win!
Goombella: "I probably should've paced my generic advice better. I didn't realise there'd be four nondescript hallways in a row."
Underneath this Flurrie paper is the only other Big Stone Block in the game, outside the one covering the shortcut pipes to Keelhaul and Poshley.
Down we go, then.
...Nothing?
Excellent, I can combine it with the Repel Cape for a good item. If I was willing to head all the way back to Rogueport.
This is a puzzle I've seen a lot of RPGs of this era do.
It's very nerve-wracking doing this with an analog stick. With a D-Pad, it's a piece of cake. Perhaps why you only see it in games of this era: Before that, everything used a D-Pad, afterwards, keyboards were so prevalent people could probably find a D-Pad if they preferred.
The next room has some more Plane flights. We haven't had enough of those in here.
...Have we had any yet?
Dr. Agon really having a lot of fun with that Gulp of his.
Now then, the third puzzle. We can't use Hold, and we can't use Bomb.
The solution is Ride. Both previous solutions required we jump up stairs, which Dr. Agon can't do, but the only stairs here are gentle inclines Dr. Agon can handle.
There's a Life Shroom and Shooting Star on pedestals here, but I failed to grab them by Fluttering.
And now we get to a bit of an awkward part in proceedings where I forgot something crucial. I mean, I'll live, but... try not to fight these last few enemies.
Ideally, you want to leave this room with a level up charged.
I think I just went "ooh, must kill everything". Having a lot of fun playing the game.
Yes, that Dark Wizzerd at the back will revive if he gets killed with that Life Shroom.
Although this time, he elected to use it.
Springing back up.
And grabbing this, to be sure.
What is THIS weird room? It's quiet... A little TOO... Well, let's just say it's quiet. There's a Save Block over there, and I'm thinking it would be smart to use it.
Once you're here, you know you're done with the puzzle-solving portion of the tour of the Palace of Shadow.
Heart and Save Blocks. You know what that means.
Here's my Badge setup. I'm fairly sure Spike Shield is necessary for what I have in mind for it.
This must be the main hall or something. It sure is a humongous space... This must've been where the most important person in the palace stayed... But standing here makes me totally uneasy... Why is that?
Because right now, it's been repurposed into a boss chamber.
Koops: Ummm... This room gives me the willies, big-time. What IS this chamber?
Flurrie: Oh, my... This room makes me feel simply awful, sugar. What IS this chamber?
Dr. Agon: Ugh... This room creeps me out, man. It's just... wrong. What IS this chamber?
Vivian: This room makes me feel... bad. ...But it seems familiar. What IS this chamber?
Bobbery: This room gives me a rather foul feeling in my belly... What IS this chamber?
Ms. Mowz: This room gives me a very bad feeling, dearie. What IS this chamber?
Vivian kinda recognises it. This comes from before her time in the X-Nauts, Beldam would probably explain better than I.
Befitting Mario and Grodus finally coming face-to-face, we get the second instance of Grodus's intimidating field theme.
Grodus expressing absolutely no hesitation. He's... not scared at all.
Koops: So, this guy is the leader of those X-Nauts?
Flurrie: So, this gentleman is the leader of those X-Nauts?
Dr. Agon: So, this loser is the leader of those X-Nauts?
Vivian: Gro... Grodus...
Bobbery: So, this lout is the leader of those X-Nauts?
Ms. Mowz: So, this fellow is the leader of those X-Nauts?
Everyone is not impressed by how completely ridiculous he looks, except Vivian. Who has met him before. And is absolutely terrified. Granted, she's the one that defected, but still.
I mean, look at him. Are you getting terrified of him?
He does have a trick that can actually throw us off, however. He can thank us.
Also, he can show off how he walks down stairs- he can do a dramatic walk if the camera has swivelled such that the long edge is parallel to his cape. He absolutely nails the walk.
Nope. But you seem excited to explain.
"I thought the Door would only open for all seven Crystal Stars". Correct.
Koops: No! So the last Crystal Star we found on the moon... They wanted us to get it!
Flurrie: No! So the last Crystal Star we found on the moon... What have we done?
Dr. Agon: No! So the last Crystal Star we found on the moon... We're IDIOTS!
Vivian: No! So the last Crystal Star we found on the moon... We've played into their hand!
Bobbery: No! So the last Crystal Star we found on the moon... We're fools!
Ms. Mowz: No! So the last Crystal Star we found on the moon... We were so blind!
It never opened before we did it.
"I thought meeting Beldam would've explained this part".
Sometime around, let's say after Keelhaul Key, Grodus realised that he had no chance of beating us to the Crystal Stars, and so set up a backup plan that involved us opening the door and him winning anyway. How fortuitous that the Shadow Sirens found a shapeshifter to help. Doopliss was a spanner in the works the likes of which he doesn't understand.
An interesting element of this is that the whole "the seal on the door
is breaking!" story doesn't seem to have been much of a factor at all.
If Grodus could just... wait for the door to open on its own, he had no need to go looking for the Crystal Stars. Since he wants to extort them from us here, there must be more to them than just getting to this point.
Yeah, Grodus kinda wrote Crump off. Not that he didn't deserve it, but he won't be missed.
The only plans you trust to idiots like Crump are plans that don't need to succeed to benefit you.
With that said, the Shadow Sirens- who have been comic relief but otherwise competent- were also little more than speedbumps. That is irritating.
Then again, Grodus will be perfectly happy to deal with us himself and show his minions what they're screwing up.
Koops: Watch yourself, Mario! This guy looks pretty tough!
Flurrie: Do be careful, dear! This fellow looks like he means business!
Dr. Agon: Watch it, Gonzales! This dude looks serious!
Vivian: Be careful, Mario!
Bobbery: Watch your back, old boy! This burly fellow looks rather robust!
Ms. Mowz: Be careful, dearie! He looks tough!
Once again, Vivian is a lot more alarmed by Grodus than anyone else is.
Although he's gone into megalomania mode. Hold on...
I feel like the fight could've started a textbox or two earlier, just saying.
There we go.
Grodus's battle theme is, what else, high-intensity low-tempo techno.
You stopped being scary the minute you stepped on my stage.
...OK, that is somewhat concerning.
That's Grodus! He's the head of the X-Nauts who kidnapped Peach. Max HP is 50, Attack is 7, and Defense is 1. But… when he has Grodus Xs surrounding him, his Defense will go up by that number. He may also use electricity, fire, and time-stopping magic. That doesn't sound good! Still, he's a totally weird guy. Why's he so intense and serious all the time? I guess we don't have time to worry about that. Let's beat him and find Peach!
Grodus has all sorts of nasty magic spells to justify his status as the head honcho of the X-Nauts, sciency group of all sorts of potions and gizmos. He can drop a thunderbolt for 7 damage, a flamethrower for 6 + Burn, or an ice blast for 5 + Frozen (hey, just like Pokemon!). He can also attempt to apply Stop (no attached damage), apply the Spite Pouch effect or Dodgy to himself, and, under certain circumstances, his staff will turn out useless.
That's a Grodus X. It protects Grodus. Max HP is 3, Attack is 4, and Defense is 0. This guy is no problem on its own, but Grodus's Defense goes up for each of them. When he has four surrounding him, we won't be able to damage him at all. So let's dish out some hurt to them while we pound on Grodus. Got it?
Grodus X, the culmination of Yux research (I can only assume), will be summoned at a rate of 2 a turn. They can ping us for 4 damage a hit, but mostly they're just to be annoying when dealing with Grodus.
A Multibounce will dink off Grodus, but is necessary to get rid of the shield.
Thunderbolt. Also showing he's hitting both of us. Basically everything's doing that in boss fights.
And there are his two friends. I'll need to spend another turn Tattling.
The Stopwatch was... not as good an idea as it seemed in my head.
Let's see how that works out for you.
And yes, the Grodus Xs can attack as well as us.
So much for that Time Out plan. Grodus is the one who's controlling the shield bit.
Unfortunately, that Spite Pouch effect does come back to bite me: I can't Multibounce through the Xes, since the third bounce lands on his head and the Spite Pouch interrupts the attack.
...That's a funny place for an arrow to be drawn. Put a pin in it.
If I don't kill this, I'm never doing damage.
Looks like he went for the ice bolt that time.
Did you notice the whole audience is X-Nauts? They will be content to cheer us on when they're not throwing rocks at us.
Clearing away the Grodus Xes with an invisible Diamond Star.
Anyway, what's the deal with this target, then?
Noted.
And Grodus didn't do any damage to me. This is an element of the Grodus battle I never knew about and was admittedly experimenting with here.
Taking damage from the Spite Pouch effect has triggered the X-Naut's wrath. This is only going to do about 3 damage to me if I let it hit me, but why would I do that?
Anyway, foreshadowing, take notice of how much HP Grodus has right now.
Mario finally gets around to that Power Lift.
And Goombella goes for the staff again.
Better shot of Grodus being a complete clown and not hitting us with his laser.
Fortunately, it didn't take me as long as I remember for me to realise just how stupid attacking the staff is in practice: You don't actually deal damage to Grodus if you do. It's not really possible to get around this, and because Grodus keeps growing Xes, you can't dedicate one action to shutting him down, really. Well, you can, if you can spam Fiery Jinx or something, but should you?
Time to bonk the head.
Grodus chuckles, realising we have finally made headway in shattering that glass dome of a head of his.
He's got just the thing for us:
Time freeze.
Right, Multibounce those out of the way.
...Uh... I have questions.
Also horrible pain.
Vivian comes out to watch as I screw up the Spring Jump again.
Fiery Jinx really is a more effective way to deal with these Xes.
...What attacks does he have left to throw out?
Fire blast. Sure.
Everyone is on fire!
Moving right along.
If you level up here, you're set. To help you in that endeavour, Grodus is actually the highest levelled thing in the game.
Grodus does not owe apologies to Crump or the Sirens, that's not his style.
Besides, he had a plan for that. So when are you going to admit defeat?
...Huh. Never mind. He did have a plan for that. Granted, this plan might just be "plan for if I win" being adapted on the fly, but it... works.
The first point in the entire story Mario and Peach have met. Peach needs to get that old "scream Mario's name" bone stretched.
"It's cliche, it's tacky, and it's counter-productive, but it's effective, and right now, that's what I need."
I mean... he wouldn't. We don't exactly know that he needs her alive, but...
Grodus is happy to start zapping us on the field.
And have a lot of fun doing it. He may be cold and calculating, but he has a lot of fun when he's got the power.
Although for us, things are less fun. Don't worry, this isn't actually doing any mechanical damage.
Koops: Ummm... What should we do? I mean, we're finished if we don't attack him...
Flurrie: Whatever should we do? I daresay we're done for if we don't attack him...
Dr. Agon: What's our move, Gonzales? We're toast if we don't attack him...
Vivian: What should we do, Mario? We won't make it if we don't attack him...
Bobbery: What should we do, old boy? We're doomed if we don't attack him...
Ms. Mowz: What do we do, Mario? I don't like our chances if we don't attack him...
Now then, we have the ultimate in pointless options. You may assume that the plot will progress identically regardless of which option we choose. You would be correct. The options are so cosmetic, in fact, that the English translation screwed them up.
If you choose "Attack!", you are given this dialogue.
If you choose "Don't attack.", you are given this dialogue instead.
And it's not even a matter of dialogue options, either. When Grodus raises his staff one last time, he will face Mario if he hears you surrender and Peach if he hears you rally. I have no idea how exactly a mistake this massive happens, but I remember hearing that the dialogue options in the Japanese version are listed with "Don't attack" on top, which explains the gist.
Regardless of which option you choose, he will pause his next thunderbolt to look around curiously at what's making that strange noise.
Pictured: The one time Bowser contributes to the story in a meaningful way.
He's as amazed as anyone else is.
If you want an idea how the Shadow Palace fits together, Bowser has (somehow) made it to Gloomtail's secret treasure hoard and fallen through there.
No, seriously- after this point, if you use glitches or cheats to place yourself in Gloomtail's room again after this cutscene, there is now a giant hole in that area that Mario can jump into and find a loading zone taking him here. You can get a (very brief) look at the balcony above the throne too as you're falling.
Come on, Kammy, he's feeling sensitive about his weight, please don't call him that.
Mario is currently experiencing a bit too many intense emotions to process what is happening right now, come back later.
...Didn't you come here because you knew we were here?
...If you're not here for either of us, why are you here? I can only assume there is a reality where the Bowser intermissions didn't happen, Bowser literally dropped in out of nowhere, and this was never questioned. I imagine the Bowser intermissions came when IS realised Mario wasn't quite a silly enough game to allow the audience to let that slide.
Bowser's just going to do what comes naturally and sort everything else out later.
Can he do this? Normally, no.
But if he attacks us before we have the opportunity to go back to the Heart Block...
He may finally get his day at last.
Unlike in the Glitz Pit, Bowser actually has a proper boss theme this time. Fittingly for his role in this game, it's kinda his worst battle theme in the Paper Mario trilogy. It's still a Bowser theme, it's probably in the top half of battle themes in this game, but yeah, he's working with a stacked deck.
Bowser is possibly here only because someone in the development pipeline asked him to be important to the final encounters somehow: In every Mario RPG game, there's always a fight with Bowser on at least one side in the final moments, and TTYD is absolutely shoehorning one in here. I'm not sure if this is an actual mandate or the writers being sloppy, but shoring up Grodus's fight by adding an impromptu second phase (that is still progressing the plot, even if Bowser in particular was not necessary to do so) isn't the worst way to do it.
Kammy Koopa didn't get a proper boss fight in 64, and there was a non-zero fanbase of people very disappointed with that fact, so she's here to rectify that. And also make this fight even more terrifying that it already is.
Look at my reserves.
Fortunately, Bowser's still Tattled from Glitzville.
That's Bowser, genius. You've only fought this guy like, a bazillion times. He'll keep kidnapping Peach, and you'll keep fighting him, until the end of time, I think. Max HP is 70, Attack is 7, and Defense is 2. In addition to his fire breath, he jumps on you and bites. If you get jumped on, you'll be unable to use a command for a little while. Oh, and his bite sometimes poisons you as well. I don't know what Bowser's doing here, but we gotta defeat him quick!
Bowser is mostly identical to the Glitz Pit encounter except for being scaled up. His bite still poisons, his butt stomp still robs you of options, and his fire breath still hits both characters ignoring Defence. They just do 7 damage each now. He has also seen all of his status resistances increased... except one.
That's Kammy Koopa. She's an evil old witch who's always helping Bowser out. Max HP is 50, Attack is 5, and Defense is 0. She uses magic to raise her Attack and Defense or get electrified or invisible. When her HP gets low, she may also use magic to restore HP. Her magic is totally annoying, so take her out before you focus on Bowser. Still, you gotta feel for her, having to hang out with Bowser all the time… Or do you think Bowser has a harder time enduring her?
Kammy Koopa has an assortment of status ailments to befit her status as a member of the Magikoopa Clan. In addition to her magic blast doing piercing damage, she can apply Huge, +Def, 8 HP Heal, and status cures to herself and Bowser, as well as a few extra attacks that my resources are not 100% clear on their function.
Goombella will need to spend a turn Tattling Kammy, but I think we can work with that.
Anyway, if you're feeling bold, the game has quietly slipped you an out, but this is so ridiculous (and so unlikely) that most players, myself included, aren't going to try it even if they do know it's there: Both Bowser and Kammy actually have a 5% weakness to Showstopper. I'd love if the odds were high enough you could hit both of them just for the story impact, but a proper boss fight is good too.
We start with a cookie.
And good thing, too.
Thankfully, there's enough Star Power for a Power Lift.
5+4+3+2+1+1. Purely numerically, the Doctor is the way to go. Goombella will just push past Bowser's defences easier. If he's not Spiked.
Jumping on Kammy also knocks her off her broom, for what that's worth.
...Not poisoned yet.
Although I certainly could've been.
At least someone's got positive feelings about their odds in this fight.
...That is concerning. Also, how am I supposed to jump on that? Grab a stepladder?
...Well, I think we can handle the damage if we deal with Kammy.
Keyword: If.
Well, that's potentially problematic.
Dr. Agon goes rifling through the inventory and finds a Courage Meal I have no idea why I have. Might as well throw it at the enemy.
4 damage. What an item.
Should've thrown it at Bowser.
Now to deal with Bowser.
Who is now fortunately back in fun size.
Bobbery sees if Hold Fast won't do him any favours.
...Eh, not that helpful.
Now, see, the problem with Hold Fast is that I should probably have not used Power Lift.
It reduces the damage Bowser is taking.
But now it's time to focus fire down Bowser's 70 HP.
...I mean, let's savage Hold Fast: If I didn't do Power Lift, Bowser would be doing 5 damage, and Hold Fast would only be doing 2 back. I'm only losing a single point of damage here. If that's not saying volumes...
Oi. Whatever you are.
I... really could've used that.
We'll have to make it up as we go.
Really bring it down to the wire. This is why you have that level up saved.
A valiant effort, Shy Guy, but he's a bit too big for that.
Mario just really needs to not be here next turn.
Not that Mario was taking damage anyway, but safety first.
It's close enough anyway.
Not even the fog machines can keep you safe from me, Koopa King!
Graaaaaaaaaaaagh! No more! Kammy! Take care of this, you burly hag, you...
If Bowser dies before Kammy.
If you don't have a level cued for Grodus, a level cued for after Bowser is good too. There's a Heart Block coming up, but no way to heal Star Power.
Bowser, you've been at this for twenty years. Although if you used Show Stopper, perhaps that would warrant shocked disbelief.
Goombella: Phew... That was hairy. At least we settled THAT nut's hash. Now let's save Peach, OK, Mario?
Koops: Whew... That was close. At least we've got Bowser taken care of, huh, Mario? Now, let's save the princess!
Flurrie: Phew... That was rather close. At least we settled our accounts with Bowser, hm? Now, let's save Peach!
Dr. Agon: Hoooo... That was a doozy. At least we rocked that guy's world, am I right? Now, let's save Peach!
Bobbery: Whew... Rather close, hm? At least we've settled that burly bloke's account, old boy. Now, let's save Peach!
Ms. Mowz: Phew... That was too close. At least we've got that thorn pulled out of our sides. Now... let's save Peach!
Now that we have no danger of Bowser messing up this final battle for either side...
...Yeah. Just because Bowser flattened him doesn't mean the plot has no more use for him. He can still do things flat as paper. Rawk Hawk's still alive, after all.
And we really should make sure we know what happens to the corpse.
Too late.
Grodus goes for Plan F: Grab Peach and bolt.
That's Bowser. He came to the Palace of Shadow for Peach and that treasure. You gotta give him credit for coming this far, really. I almost respect him, actually. ...But no time for all that! We have to go after Grodus and Peach! C'mon!
That's Kammy Koopa. She's the old witch that serves as Bowser's advisor. But what do you care? Let's stop worrying about her and go save Peach!
Bowser and Kammy will be lying here while an ominous "something big is going on" theme plays. This will keep going until, I assume, we reset the room.
There's a long, long staircase leading down. And I get a REALLY nasty feeling about what's waiting down there. But we've come this far, so we gotta soldier on. Let's go, Mario.
Not that I'm going to.
One last Ultra Shroom at the top of the stairs, along with a Heart Block at last.
As well as a Jammin' Jelly at the bottom with a Save Block.
Next time: The real final boss.
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