Ahoy-hoy! Swimming in the sea means Bloopers, it sounds.
Just... randomly starting underwater today, no prelude on why we decided this was our best method of crossing the water. Environmentally, I think I have an idea, but still. Water level for water level's sake.
I don't think the Tile Pool theme is supposed to be a remix of anything specific.
Green Cheep Cheeps, like this one, have no real practical difference in combat. They tend to have behavioural differences in the main series (with the New games making green ones Deep Cheeps that can slightly home in on Mario), but I think the extent of any such differences in this game is that green ones won't turn around.
Counter-intuitively, Bowser's fire breath can be used underwater. Not only that, but it's actually the most effective combat tactic, as well as possibly the only one. Now that's how you make a new party member feel welcome!
Jumping does not work. Underwater, Cheep Cheeps deal damage through all contact, not just side-to-side.
While using Thoreau, you use the normal controls, although a lot slower than you would on land.
That's a Blooper. This squiddy foe happily bobs up and down in the ocean... Max HP is 1 and Attack is 2. It will try to eat you if it sees you... But I hear that it won't try to attack you if you stand on the bottom of the ocean.
And up there is the attacker of the sea, Blooper. Here, we can observe their evil attacking pattern in practice.
Or we can add roast kalamari to the menu. Bloopers weren't designed for this attack pattern!
Inky Sauce is a rare recipe item appearing only as a dropped item from Bloopers. You're going to need two of them to acquire all three recipes that need this as an ingredient (Inky Soup, the cooked from preparing it alone, can be used as a substitute ingredient for the other two). So, you know, do keep an eye out for it.
...Well, that was a bit of a bust. The coins do fall down as normal, but it just doesn't work so well underwater.
You can avoid that vortex by either button mashing out of it or going through this 3D passage with money in it.
As far as I can tell, this is the only mesh in the game that exists only in 3D. It feels like a puzzle element that should have been implemented more often, or at the very least explained here. Perhaps in an indie game that uses 3D flipping as its only mechanic.
Because Bowser don't care.
There are a series of six of these at the end of the room, and we're not doing anything with them.
But we are flipping into 3D and having a look at what lies down this pipe.
Can you see it in the background there? Shipwreck. This environmental clue, combined with potentially the Japanese name of something we see later, are the only real clues for why no ships cross this water other than "we needed a water level".
Those whirlpools up ahead are, in fact, dangerous. They'll try to suck you in, before dealing one damage and spitting you back in a recoil-type of direction.
And occasionally, you'll spot one of these tentacles poking out to try and slap you for a few points of damage. They're not hard to avoid, but it sucks and do try and keep it to a minimum.
(Tattling them, weirdly, gives you the Tattle of the squid they're attached to.)
Another secret passage, this time just as a shortcut.
Secret room! There's more to it I missed, and I'm not sure if I grab it on the way out...
Narrow passages, one with Spiked Goombas on land, the other with Bloopers underwater. Both have the same solution.
Second Inky Sauce. Now just to keep hold of it.
Since I'm Bowser, that's Atk +2. Boomer gives you double damage. And... so does everything else.
OK, I don't need that much Inky Sauce.
...Although it's going to try its hardest to give it to me.
Let's go around.
Here we enter a killbox, where we must defeat all five of these fishies to leave.
The fact the room is a little small makes it hard to find where you want to fire breath.
Ooh, big chest time! Another Pixl could be just what we need!
By the way, the new guy changes his dialogue based on who you bring, which is why I switched to Peach.
"Girth" typically means, specificially, the circumference of your waist. I don't think Peach has ever been depicted as subscribing to corsetry, although her waist has always been her narrowest part.
This theory of girth is... not that.
Peach absolutely has the prettiest eyes of the three. Although if you're looking at Bowser, you're in fire-blast range.
I'd joke Peach has the girthiest dress on account of consisting of about 35% of her body weight in metal frames and jewels, but no, he's commenting on the pink colour and not the sheer impracticality involved in swimming in it.
Right, what utterly tasteless joke are we making here-
Somehow, they pulled it off. There's a reason I went with Peach for this guy.
All right. Let's start by checking that face of yours. Looks like you're sportin' a beefy 'stache, there. Solid! I give it 60 girth points.
All right, I gotta check the girthiness of those clothes of yours! Overalls?! Man, only the brawniest heroes wear those! That's worth 100 girth points!
Girth check on the body comin' up. That's where the real heavy comes from. Whoa, ho ho! You might be small, but you pack a punch of girth! Girth is a state of mind! You just got yourself another 10,000 girth points!
All right. Let's start by checking that face of yours. Dude has shaggy eyebrows! That's not even kinda girthy! You get 50 girth points.
All right, I gotta check the girthiness of those clothes of yours! What's more girthy than a giant spiky shell?! That's worth 100 girth points!
Girth check on the body comin' up. That's where the real heavy comes from. Look at this guy! Look him up in the dictionary, and he's the definition of girth! A superheavyweight right here! Bam... 10,000 girth points!
Mario also gets "small man, big spirit", but Bowser don't need it. Which is good, because Paper Bowser probably doesn't have that spirit. M&L Bowser would be fine.
By the way, small detail: Peach got two extra digits of girth points from the final girth check. Peach is the girthiest of girth.
Of the three Heroes, despite all evidence to the obvious, I think this sentence more accurately describes Peach than Bowser. Sure, Bowser talks like it, but Peach backs it up with results.
And thankfully, you'll be just the Pixl to help a girl throw her weight around.
Thudley will be the game's replacement for Spin Jump (using the same animation if Mario uses it), and when it lands, it does double damage compared to a normal jump. And yet, somehow he's not the best combat option (the delay he introduces is annoyingly long, and you do tend to have the problem of the enemy having moved by the time you land).
Thudley is also how Mario and Peach attack things underwater. Not that the game has many underwater segments with enemies in them outside this one.
Also, I feel like it's worth mentioning that Thudley is the key to one of the game's more busted movement techniques. Because of the way Thudley's ground pound activates, it is possible to jump, Thudley, flip into 3D, use the free jump you get from that, Thudley, flip into 2D, and so on to gain infinite height. I won't be doing that, obviously, but Thudley does make quite the unstoppable force if you want him to.
That's Thudley, the bulky, ground-pounding Pixl... He's been waiting at the bottom of the Tile Pool for a hero of girth to arrive... He's an ex-wrestler and an expert on all things girthy...
Wrestled foes all across the super-lightweight circuit before finally being disqualified for being unable to be grabbed by any of his opponents.
And, case in point, Thudley down this post to get the door open.
Peach, in contrast to Mario and Bowser, spins horizontally when she uses Thudley, keeping her dress pointed at the ground at all times. Graceful at all times, even when kicking ass.
These tentacles are completely immune to all attacks, including those of our new friend. It'll be a while before we get to see him in action.
The far end of this area has a pattern in the wall to memorise. You still have to come down here for Thudley, though, although you can avoid heading this deep.
If you flip into 3D in one of these alcoves, you can find a treasure chest with a Gold Bar in it. I think I only found this out because possessing a Gold Bar is a means of activating a speedrunning glitch (jumping into one while using Slim and flipping can push you out of bounds), and grabbing this one seems to be the fastest way to get one. I'll be back down here later for other goodies, and I'm fairly sure I've learned about it to grab it then. Probably for the best I keep it where it is, though, my inventory is full enough already.
As a quick proof of concept for these puzzles, Spin Jumping on a depressed stake will make it rise up. You won't need it to solve this puzzle- all stakes are in the raised position- but there is another puzzle later where you'll need to know this.
Copy the pattern into these stakes, and we may now proceed.
That fish is a Bittacuda. It's a carnivorous beast with vicelike jaws... Max HP is 10 and Attack is 2. It will try to eat anything that swims by... If you insist on fighting this fish, I would suggest flipping dimensions... I do hear these voracious sea beasts are quite tasty...
...That's your suggestion, Tippi? Bit of a terrible one. You can swim around these guys in 2D just as easily as you can in 3D.
Bowser makes short work of them no matter what angle he approaches from.
...Do try and land the hit, though. Nothing more embarrassing than this.
It is time for Squiddy to make his appearance!
The Bittacuda's body reacts faster than the mind.
Much like in TTYD, our Blooper boss is capable of sentience!
The appearance of Big Blooper is heralded by a remix of Super Mario Bros. 3's water theme that somehow managed to find an ominous key. It's a good song! It's just not a combination of melodies and moods you expect.
And, of course, can't forget the red tentacle.
Our new friend swims on screen while our hero sinks into position in the middle. This is our first opportunity to see something rather enjoyable: when Bowser is being shocked (the emotion, not the action), his eyes bug out and he spins his arms like a windmill at a rapid pace. This animation, affectionately named "BOWSER'S ARMS!!!", has spread further than the game. Feels kinda weird I skipped showing it, but there are mandatory appearances of it.
Weirdly, I think the game expects you to see it for the first time here.
The Blooper comes out a bit too far, and has to sit back down. Those tentacles at the bottom look weird on him. Probably to make him look more like a squid than just "generic cephalopod".
That's all we're getting out of the guy.
The fact we can get his Tattle from the tentacles is why it exists at all, although it's weird that we still get gameplay advice. There is a screenshot somewhere that shows us fighting Big Blooper while Tippi is in the formation (this screenshot is usually more infamous for showing a Pixl who isn't present in the rest of the game).That's Big Blooper, a titanic squid that lurks under the waves of the Tile Pool... Max HP is ??. Attack is 2. This many-tentacled sea beast clobbers its prey... But that red tentacle is its weak spot... Try attacking it...
Despite sharing a name with a common variety of Blooper, this creature of the deep is its own can of sushi in JP. There, it is known as the ダイオーゲッソー , "Daio Gesso" (Great King Blooper), while Big Blooper is 巨大ゲッソー and 64's Super Blooper is ビッグゲッソー.
Now then, for actually fighting him. He will poke one of his tentacles out at you, and you have to avoid them while searching for the red tentacle to bonk. It's a relatively simple fight, all told, with the swimming controls being a greater enemy than Squiddy.
The boss theme? A Powerful Enemy Emerges. The fact Big Blooper gets this theme tells us that, as designed, it was intended as a mini-boss theme, but there's actually so few mini-bosses that aren't members of Team Bleck with their own themes that Big Blooper is the only time it's actually used as a mini-boss theme. If Big Blooper got his own boss music, the remaining three appearances of A Powerful Enemy Emerges would make the theme see use for another purpose. Oh well. I like the theme, so another time hearing it doesn't go amiss.
Hitting Blooper in its tootsie gets it to speak up. Briefly.
Now then, there's a little exploit you can do- if you can see where Peach is right now. Blooper's tentacles, dancing around on the bottom of the screen, are all the very same tentacles that come lunging out. Which means the red tootsie's down there. If you follow it as it descends, you are allowed to continue attacking it while it is not raised.
Which makes the fight a lot quicker.
Much like in 64 and TTYD, Blooper doesn't have much to say when beat. He's just there, in the way.
Leaving us to go and finish the level.
Well, that was short.
Somehow, the heroes had beached the Big Blooper and crossed the Tile Pool. But before they could dry, they saw the imposing silhouette of Fort Francis. "It sure is getting dark," Peach said in a quiet voice. But when they looked up, they realized they were in the shadow of a huge tree. Mario, knowing in his gut this must be the way, set out toward the great tree...
We're supposed to climb the tree to cross a great chasm, but the lack of highlighting on this fact makes the whole "we're climbing a tree for some reason" feel more contrived than not. Also just brushing aside wanton murder.
We're back to the Bitlands theme, it's not a unique theme in every stage. But yes, we're going up, up a tree.
Down here is just another little door we're not entering and a massive as hell tree.
There's a few Paratroopas on the way up, but Bowser can make them wish they didn't bother.
In theory, this is a nice idea.
In practice, we're not making much headway with the benefits.
That's a Poison Cherbil. It's a nasty gasbag that spews a plume of poison gas... Max HP is 5. Attack is 2. That gas will poison you, so don't go sniffing it... Some say the gas comes from their mouths. Some say it comes from elsewhere... Oh, dear...
Poison Cherbil is our first introduction to the poison status, and so we must now ask ourselves "why does every healing item except the Long-Last Shake cure it?" The answer? This does around 9 ticks of damage, with each tick inflicting knockback. This may be one of the most dangerous poison statuses in all of video gaming, accompanied by Pokemon's Toxic and a few games where it reduces Defence.
You usually get Dried Shrooms to drop from things that poison you, just in case.
I needed a proper heal.
That's a Tileoid B. It is a mysterious creature that's made of many small parts... Max HP is 10 and Attack is 1. It can also crawl along walls and ceilings... Tileoids vary in color and ability. This blue Tileoid is known for its curses...
Tileoid B crawls along the walls, turning whenever it meets any kind of corner. The blue one has enough HP to take two or three bonks, moving slowly along its paths.
That should be "slowness", not "curses" at the end. This is a victim of a translation mistake that I'm surprised isn't more common: there is a Japanese word that means both "curse" and "slow". You might remember this from the move "Curse" in Pokemon, which functions differently depending on what Pokemon is using it, and it is also used as a pun in this game- the Cursyas that inflict the Slow status do not have an adjective, since "Cursya" covers it.
This can only end well.
It's worth noting that, if you fall, you will land harmlessly on the ground.
And have to climb all the way back up.
At any rate, flipping into 3D isn't a way up this part of the tree. We'll need to search elsewhere.
The answer is still in 3D, though.
Which is annoying, when Peach is so useful in this sort of platforming challenge.
...Perhaps too useful. You can't land on that sign in the background, it's just decoration.
Thudley pounding this post causes a screen to drop, revealing a moving platform.
That's a Tileoid G. It is a mysterious creature that's made of many small parts... Max HP is 5 and Attack is 1. It can also crawl along walls and ceilings... Tileoids vary in color and ability. This green Tileoid is known for its speed...
Tileoid B's brother, Tileoid G is designed to take one bonk, but move faster. It'll probably take 2 for now, until the next Atk up. Each Tileoid colour is a different enemy mechanically, although they're basically the same functionally.
Yay, extra healing! I think these cover you for Poison too.
Now they're starting to get cheeky with these formations. Now you're expected to have a plan.
And sometimes that just doesn't happen.
Sacagewea!
Partway up the tree is this golden pipe for goodies. It sticks out a short ways down, but it's not exactly the greatest for just catching your fall if you're not trying to land on it. If you fall to the right of it, you miss it and land at the roots.
Just money in this one. Don't forget to flip for extras.
This is an... overall weird puzzle. The obvious solution is, of course, the correct one.
Don't ask my how we didn't set the rest of the tree on fire. The logic only extends so far. The real question is what this is teaching us- I don't think using Bowser to set fire to the environment is a regular obstacle that the player will later be tasked with identifying themselves. Then again, I didn't exactly look the closest.
The door represents a "checkpoint" up the climb. No matter from what height and position we fall, we now always land as low as this, and not at the roots.
The first thing we see is a golden pipe that has... some special qualities.
It scrolls all the way up and lets you to the top of the tree. There's a Save Block and a button here.
This is a Crazee Dayzee. It's a curious little flower that won't stop humming... Max HP is 10 and Attack is 2. Watch out, that little song it hums can put you right to sleep...
Also one of these guys in 3D. Crazee Dayzees have found themselves a rather annoying niche here in SPM- their singing projectiles are aimed directly at you, pass through walls and put you to sleep where you stand.
In a gigantic vertical level.
The worst part is the spamming of that little "do-do-doo-du-do-du-doo" song, by the way.
...Well, that was a completely fortuitous drop. Dayzee Tears cook into an awesome cooking item, and they're pretty rare at that.
...Throwing that Turtley Leaf to eat a Dried Shroom is... a choice...
Anyway, hit the button, and nothing happens up here.
It does turn red, though.
...Those weren't here earlier, were they?
This gimmick on the inside, of the platforms appearing and disappearing as the colour of the switch changes, is another part of the reason a fall can be dangerous. Land on the wrong point, and you may have to give up even more height just to put the colour in the correct alignment to progress. No matter where you are in the tree, only one of red/blue is out at a time- changing the alignment changes it everywhere.
There's a few moving platform challenges coming up. Peach is so nice for adjusting so you can make a cycle you probably missed.
Case in point, I have to go all the way back up for this switch because I dropped down just a bit too far.
Take that, Tileoid! There's a lot of Tileoids doing full laps of the tree, you might wind up going through a lot of them.
I think this is the same set.
...How hard was this jump? It doesn't look that tricky, although I suppose that platform doesn't go too high.
Finally, a shortcut up here.
It's also so we can switch the platforms to make the next jump. It's nice the shortcut is mandatory.
...How did that Tileoid land on the platform? I think it got swept by from the ladder, it gets close enough.
See?
...Ooh, another one.
I... I'll see if I can keep it.
Of all places to fall asleep, this one isn't awful.
Although the bonk does kinda send me tumbling.
Secret pipe behind these blocks. ...Do kinda feel like the room is a little too large here, though.
A room full of spikes, even in 3D.
The solution in here is Slim, nothing else can get you out of range.
I am not good at it. If you're moving, you get poked.
There's rooms in here you don't need to visit, but sadly, this one was one we did.
Let's try not to fall down from here.
Although this guy is doing his best effort at trying to make us.
Nononono...
...
Making it back up, it turns out Slim is a good solution here, even if my failure to employ him earlier suggested otherwise.
To hit this button, you need to place Boomer in between these two blocks. That can be a bit of a tall ask, but thankfully they're really forgiving and sometimes Boomer can do just fine on top.
I really should've dealt with that guy, but I'm safer from this side.
Up here... we don't have much to work with.
Flipping into 3D directly tells us the solution we're working with: We need to use that switch twice in order to get to higher ground.
Now this one's an optional pipe.
That snarling, tethered iron ball is a Chain Chomp... Max HP is 4, Attack is 1, Defense is 4. Even flames can't hurt this beast... Its strong Defense protects it from most attacks. Try using items and Pixls...
Chain Chomp's Defence is enough that Mario and Peach are helpless against it with normal bounces.
And, as pointed out, Bowser's flames aren't much help.
His Thudley bounces, though? I think Bowser could've oneshot without, but...
Peach is looking fabulous in her white wedding gown! It was conjured with magic, but who designed it?
The reward for clearing this side room is a bit of an interesting one: a Catch Card of Peach in her wedding gown. And yes, there'll be a Peach (1) somewhere. There's a Bowser (2) card later for him in his tux, but as far as I'm aware, no Mario (2) card.
These ones have no mechanical functionality, purely for collection.
...Huh. Different pipe. The angle seemed wrong, but...
This room is a little more mandatory.
There are Tileoids crawling around, but these spikes seem to prove a mite confusing for them. They like to get stuck on them, not sliding along that edge like one might expect.
For... no adequately explained reason, the solution to this puzzle is to use Slim. Yes, this passes us through obstacles, but... that was not an obstacle, that was a wall.
Oh, same to you too, tiny piece of wall.
As I step onto the switch, I notice the Tileoid has been caught on the platform. Just... let the game do what it wants.
This looks like another job for Boomer.
...And while I have Boomer out...
Stop being stuck.
...Oi! No spawncamping!
Make sure not to fall here. That would be super embarassing.
...I don't think this actually opens that box?
The switch opens a door... all the way at the "bottom". I feel like the victim of a punchline.
Speedrunners have the last laugh, you can clip Boomer down from up there and hit the switch way early. Let's pretend I did that.
Thudley gets us this Super Shroom.
Annoyingly, we keep getting caught on platforms on the way down.
...Too low, too low!
That's us ready to move on to the third part of the tree.
...I was about to say the same thing.
Dimentio. Then again, he's the only one to have interfered with our quest when it wasn't his turn.
Well, that wasn't an answer to the question.
Dimentio: At last, the hero... I know you from the festival of hair that dances upon your lip!
Bowser: Who are you supposed to be, Mr. Frillypants? You going to tie me a balloon animal?
Dimentio: You must be Bowser. I knew the moment I saw the flailing nubbins you call arms.
He's at least equally not helpful to all three, but we have reference to something unusual: "Flailing nubbins you call arms?" Sound like the game did expect us to go see Bowser's Arms!!! in 3-2, because Dimentio likes to refer to Bowser by this comedic animation. At least the devs knew it was comedic.
Oh, Dimentio. You crowd pleaser, you.
Bowser: Dimenti-who?
Shoutouts to Bowser giving absolutely no fucks.
Well, he says this, but he encountered Mario in 1-4. Like... he was very clearly aware we were there.
And if Dimentio's calling it special, that's how you know things are going to get twisty.
...It's very... green.
...Well, that's a bit of a problem. 256 times? I don't think our HP can get high enough to block an attack...
Doesn't sound like much of a duel. Sounds like a raise of an eyebrow.
That's Dimentio. He's a weird dimensional magician who works for Count Bleck... Max HP is 30 and Attack is 2. Dimentio can flip between dimensions... He can also clone himself. Attacking his double won't do anything to him... Hit the real one, and the double will disappear. Then, he can't clone again for a while...
For, er... some reason, Dimentio is never actually battled while Tippi is available, so his Tattle, while existent, is completely unused. The weird edge cases this chapter makes me detail... So yeah, Dimentio can go visit the third dimension, clone himself, and in general teleport and spam projectiles like he's some kind of Kirby boss. Maybe he got lost on the way? He kinda looks like Beam Kirby and Poppy Jr.'s weird child.
Dimentio's boss theme is the highly playful and somewhat mystic It's Showtime. Honestly, probably my least favourite of the Team Bleck themes- the instrumentation isn't the most pleasant and the melody falls a little short of some toe-tapping boss themes.
This is just a thing he says pretty quickly after starting the battle. I had time to switch to Mario- I think Mario is the right character to battle Dimentio.
Ah, that is the illusion. One of these Dimentios is a fake. I'm fairly sure he's intangible, although the magical projectiles he throws are as deadly as the real ones.
Just because he can flip into 3D doesn't mean that he is 3D, like Mimi: While he's in 3D, he's completely nonexistent.
Oop, he's coming in...
I think, all other things being equal, I prefer being in 2D. One of those things Mario's just had to deal with over the years is that it's much harder to jump on top of something in 3D compared to 2D: The different approaches of 2D vs 3D games almost entirely come down to this.
One of Dimentio's attacks is to summon an "invisible box". He'll draw a few of these, and if you get caught in one, it blows up multiple times, dealing damage. I think it sucks extra if he draws overlapping boxes and you get caught in both.
Wow, this is starting to get cramped.
Sure, showmanship helps.
The finishing blow landed while he was drawing boxes.
...You know, usually you don't see the score for downing mini-bosses, although the game does award you points. Seeing "1000 points" kinda feels... weak. I mean, that's around the same as picking up a pickup item like a Mushroom or Pal Pills.
Dimentio wonders how exactly we managed to lay the pain on him when this whole place should be about the opposite of that.
Peach: Well... Since both of us are in here, aren't we both more powerful?
Bowser: Bwahah! You're such an idiot! This place makes me stronger, too!
The Heroes all individually come to the conclusion that Dimension D, if it works as advertised, works on all parties, not just Dimentio. Note that Dimentio only parrots the thought if Mario is the active Hero: Peach and Bowser's responses speak aloud for them.
It's worth mentioning that, whether or not this is narratively true, the pause screen does not reflect the fact that our Atk should be 1024/2048. Presumably because that's not how Defence works in Paper Mario. A game that uses Atk/Def could probably get away with this.
...I think.
Dimentio tries his best to pretend that he meant to do that. I think there's an argument to be made that he did know going in that this wasn't going to work, but that combination of reactions does sound a lot more like someone who got caught with his pantaloons down.
O'Chunks said the same thing, and look what Nastasia's got him doing.
Dimentio is kind enough to return us to the Dotwood Tree. We will later see that Dimension D does not require Dimentio's presence to exist, and we don't really see any reason to assume that entering and leaving Dimension D can be done without Dimentio's bidding. Which does kind of raise the question of why Dimentio never deals with problems by just sticking them in there.
Dimentio has to go now. He's going to leave us to the chameleon nerd.
And Mario starts thinking about what his deal is.
Dimentio: Sadly, fair princess, I must now say... Ciao!
Peach: So that's Dimentio? Something about him seems familiar...
Dimentio: And with that, my diminutive-limbed foe, I must say... Ciao!
Bowser: Dimentio? Gimme a break! That's the lamest villain ever!
Peach, like Tippi, expresses familiarity with Dimentio despite a general lack of any good reason for this. We have kept track of Peach during most of her time spent conscious since meeting Count Bleck, so we can be fairly sure we know when, exactly, she is likely to have met Dimentio (there are a few candidate moments in time), although I think the far more likely assumption is that both dialogue lines are mistranslated. The fact both of them express familiarity suggests to me that there is something the two have in common in JP, although I have no idea what that key word could be and how it got turned into "familiarity".
Anyway, speaking of "what the hell is Dimentio's deal", Dimentio appears in the skies above the Dotwood Tree to have a soliloquy that is aimed squarely at people who've played the game before.
Although the subtlety dial has perhaps been tuned a little too low on this one. We do, however, still have questions to ask: Why?
No, the game gave away far too much, we're not getting more.
That's a Spiny... As its name suggests, it is covered with unpleasant, pointy ends... Max HP is 4, Attack is 2, and Defense is 3. Don't bother trying to stomp it... Whatever you do, don't get surrounded by these beasts... Before they hit the ground, they roll into balls. They must train for midair deployment...
Anyway, while I was off dealing with the business end of setup, I found myself getting pelted by these guys when I came back. Spinies are just as annoying to deal with as ever, if not moreso for the lack of a dedicated Hammer button (our only real ways of dealing with them are Boomer and Fire Breath), and these ones are being pelted at us by a Lakitu.
Cutting it real fine.
Because those Spinies come from every which way, especially places I need to land on.
One thing to mention is that apparently, these screens in the background have Japanese text with encouraging phrases in JP. I'm not 100% sure what this one's supposed to be in the West, though. Balloons or something, probably.
That's a Lakitu. They're odd creatures that drive around in clouds... Max HP is 4 and Attack is 1. It'll throw Spinys at you, so keep moving... It doesn't change altitude, so if you sneak up on it while dodging Spinys... You can stomp it, hop in the cloud and find out where it keeps all those Spinys...
There's the annoying little pest. Lakitu can't hold Spinies over their heads, so they're less annoying, but still. They move fast and they throw often.
That's a lot of red wind.
I got caught on something and wound up picking up this from the Lakitu. No matter, more time to set myself up.
...And just wait for some more red wind. You have to catch red wind, which is randomly generated.
Red winds are solid terrain, and can be used to cross this gap. Don't worry about the wind failing to carry you for any reason, although apparently some gusts move faster than others.
If you notice this, you have no real reason to talk to Barry for clues, and this is just weird enough I don't expect the majority to notice it without being told there's a pattern.
For some reason, there's also wind going back from this pipe.
At some point, the screen doesn't even show you falling all the way to the bottom of the map if you fall off- the map is shaped like an upside-down "L" in that way.
Anyway, with that done, let's just finish up outside Fort Francis here.
(That block was a Coin Block.)
Mario, Peach, and Bowser had scaled the tree and defeated Dimentio. The exhausted heroes were relieved to finally see the ivory towers of Fort Francis. Was Tippi safe? Was the next Pure Heart really waiting for them ahead? Their only answers were the strange voices carried on the wind from inside the fort...
...Creepy. Although not for the usual reasons.
Next time: Dungeons and dragons reptiles. Also cat robots.
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