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Items [4] Character Statistics [5] Bits of Advice [6] Walkthrough [6.1] Playtime is Over..................................(Peach's Castle, Past) [6.2] Back to the Future.............................(Peach's Castle, Present) [6.3] The Hunt Begins!..............................(Near Holli Jolli Village) [6.4] Survivors..............................................(Bowser's Castle) [7] The Vim Factory Siege!...........................(Peach's Castle, Present) [7.1] Freaky Foliage.........................................(Toadwood Forest) [7.2] Who Drank All the Vim?!....................................(Vim Factory) [8] Dino Wrangling............................................(Yoshi's Island) [8.1] Blazing Saddles!.................................(Yoshi's Island Cliffs) [8.2] Intestinal Distress................................(Inside Yoob's Belly) [9] Too Much SAND..............................................(Gritzy Desert) [9.1] And Our Special Guest is.....................................(Koopaseum) [9.2] Little Cave of Horrors....................................(Gritzy Caves) [10] Just like Old Times.............................(Peach's Castle, Present) [10.1] R0x0rz Your B0x0rz.....................................(Thwomp Volcano) [10.2] Battle of the Ages!....................................(Thwomp Caverns) [10.3] The Key to Failure..................................(Shroob Mothership) [10.4] Bad Day to Be a Toad........................................(Toad Town) [11] The Road to Stardom...........................................(Star Hill) [11.1] Dirty Secrets..............................(Star Shrine, Luigi's Trial) [11.2] Connect the Dots......................(Star Shrine, Outside the Palace) [11.3] A Plot Twist?..........................(Star Shrine, Inside the Palace) [12] Endgame....................................................(Preparations) [12.1] Assault on Shroob Castle!...............................(Shroob Castle) [12.2] Femme Fatale...............................................(Final Boss) [12.3] Back for More................................................(Surprise) [13] Frequently Asked Questions [14] Enemy Guide [15] Boss Guide [16] Credits and Special Thanks [17] Contact Info & Legal Stuff OOOOOOOOOOOOOO[1] Version History OOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Ver. 1.0: Walkthrough for entire story completed. Guide covers from beginning to end; searching for exact HP values and completing Item Drops. Now come the many inevitable grammatical edits or other tiny corrections... Ver. 1.5: HUGE update. Grammatical errors fixed, several enemy HP values rounded out (though still not positive of the exact in most cases), updated several enemy attack info, and got almost every enemy's item and rare item drops taken down. Some are still being really stingy no matter how many times I kill them with the B.Item/Treasure Badge combo; I'm starting to think that some really do have only one item. Ver. 1.6: Fixed error in table of contents. Added info to first and third segments of final boss. Ver. 1.7: Changed Contact Info & Legal Stuff around a bit. Ver. 2.0: New section, Credits & Special Thanks, for I have now included information that wasn't obtained myself. Also reworked the enemies and their own section to include weaknesses and resistances. New attack for final boss added. Final boss section edited a little bit. Ver. 2.1: Fixed a very ugly error I found in the Bros. Items. Ver. 2.2: Added a new site to the authorized list, and updated the Green Shell and Shroid enemy with some new info, thanks to a couple emails. Ver. 2.3: A bunch more little edits here and there thanks to some helpful readers. Thusly, a slew of names were added to Credits & Special Thanks. Ver. 2.4: Removed Cheat Code Central from the authorized websites list. ****ing jerkoffs went against my disclaimer and not only edited it, but removed GameFAQs from the authorized sites list. Ver. 2.5: Been a while since I've made any changes, but more emails came in. Changed Support Shroobs' HP, and fixed a gammatical error. OOOOOOOOOOOOOO[2] Introduction OOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, an RPG for the GBA reeking heavily of badassness, has finally been given a sequel. AlphaDream has served up Partners in Time for the DS, and while the gameplay and innovation stays true to its Advance counterpart, the two games are still vastly different. For one, you now control four characters instead of just two, and Bros. Attacks as well as a BP meter have been eliminated entirely. There also is no overworld, instead linking all areas together by one central port, by which I mean Princess Peach's Castle. One does not travel from one region to another; rather, you must warp. These are the biggest differences between the two, aside from the obvious storyline and character additions. It's too difficult to say which game is truly better; both are excellent. PiT has some(admittedly huge) flaws compared to SSS, but there are plenty of kickass things that SSS lacked, and enough to keep it interesting and enjoyable throughout the entire game. The game is deemed quite short by many if not most that play it, but what do you expect from a handheld, especially when people play the hell out of it? It bears mentioning that SSS was also significantly shorter. Anyways, it's up to you to decide which is the better game, but I can assure you it's definitely worth a play through. Keep in mind the level of sanity apparent in this game, and you won't be bothered by the fact that there are more plotholes and paradoxes than different strands of semen rampant in Paris Hilton's body. This guide will cover the entire story from beginning to end, providing a walkthrough for every puzzle, as well as a list of the items strewn throughout the area. And most importantly, all of the enemies, listed as you'll face them; I'll go over all of their attacks and the best way to avoid or counter them. I don't know of all the different items the creatures drop, nor do I know the max HP for each of them, but I'll be certain to list the ones I'm sure of. Their experience and coins, though, are a given. I have never used any EXP or coin-increasing methods or badges while obtaining the values of those stats, so I can assure you that they are exact. The only thing I won't be covering is a list of all armor and badges; I find it unnecessary for a guide focused towards the game itself. Any item I recommend finding, earning, or buying will be indicated as we go along, so having the most useful equipment at the time won't be an issue. Lastly, if any of you happen to read something I've explained or covered, and think along the lines of, "No ****, that couldn't have been more obvious... why is he bothering to explain that?.." Well, I've seen a great, great number of questions from people that are either unobservant, or basically have no ability to figure things out for themselves, or maybe even thought they tried something and didn't, so I wanted this guide to cater to everyone; I think anyone can beat the game or at least advance past what was troubling them after reading through it. Some things need to be spelled out for people, I guess. No offense to anyone, now. ;) Now, let's get this guide rolling! Starting with a few basics... OOOOOOOOOOOOOO[3] Proper Timing and Other Crap OOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Just like Superstar Saga, everything that goes on in battle depends on accurate timing; the proper execution of attacks as well as your survival are left up to how quickly you can press the appropriate button at the right time. While the timing for your standard attacks is rather easily mastered, and many enemy attacks can be avoided by putting good old common sense to use, as you progress through the game you'll find your reflexes tested much more harshly. Some attacks will leave you very little time to react; the attack itself will come a split second after the enemy indicates which member they're targeting, or which move they'll use. A few painful lessons are inevitable. Seeing as counters and evasion differ depending on what you're up against, that section is much better covered as we go along with the actual walkthrough, and see the enemies and their attacks themselves. [3.1] Attacks JUMPING: The most standard of all moves in any Mario game. In this case, you achieve the most damage, or rather, any hope of inflicting significant damage by pressing the particular character's button right as they're about to land on the enemy. Take care when stomping on enemies of varying heights; the taller baddies will generally have a much smaller window for pressing the button, since you'll be coming down on their heads right after reaching the zenith of your jump. Jumping on an enemy is an excellent way to begin a battle, as you'll get in a nice preemptive strike on every enemy present, even if their head is topped with spikes or engulfed in flames. Also, unlike the Paper Mario generation of RPGs, jumping on a Bob-omb's lit fuse will not give you damage. PIGGYBACK JUMPING: When Mario and Luigi are carrying the babies into battle, you can inflict much more damage, but the move is executed a bit differently. When in control of Mario and Baby Mario, as you come down on the enemy, you want to press the X button for BM (Woooo.. bowel movements! Ahem) when you would normally be pressing Mario's. If done correctly, the enemy will take damage and BM will land back where he was positioned, and Mario will launch into the air. As Mario comes back down, press his own, the A button, at the usual time and he'll get a jump in as well. The same goes for Luigi and BL and their respective buttons. Two things to note: while the combined damage is greater than any brother's single jump, the damage each bro deals is a little less than what they'd deal on their own. However, two attacks in one means you have the opportunity to land two Lucky hits. Also, if you jump while holding onto one of the babies and only press the button corresponding to the elder, you'll deal heavier damage than the elder would deal on his own. This is handy for mopping up enemies that can be defeated in a single, solid blow, rather than wasting your time pressing different buttons and waiting for the right moment. HAMMERS: Baby Mario and Baby Luigi acquire their own hammers shortly into the adventure, and you'll need them for dealing damage to enemies that are either on fire, or protected by spikes. Some enemies come in segments rather than an entire piece, enabling you to whack away sections of their body (usually vital, as it'll enable the babies to reach a point in which they can actually damage the foe). What's important to note is that adult Mario and Luigi will never have their own hammers, making those attacks out of the question when you've split up from the babies. Also, even with the dual-bro hammer attack, it's impossible to hit any airborne foe. They'll simply dart backwards. As a baby, when you approach the enemy and stop in front of it, you'll lift the hammer over your head. It'll begin to wobble a moment later; this is the time to press their respective button to whack 'em. If you take too long, the hammer head will fall off and you'll deliver a weak blow with the handle itself. Easy stuff, really. The hammer will always be a better alternative to the babies' standard jump. When the babies are alone, you can try to begin a battle by hitting it with your hammer; the hammer can inflict dizziness both as a preemptive strike and during battle. PIGGYBACK HAMMERS: This time, you'll have to press the older brother's button first, and then the command for the baby's attack. Once again, you'll approach the enemy and stop. The baby will be holding the hammer up and it'll wobble; press Mario or Luigi's button to rise to their feet, holding the baby much higher. A second later, the hammer head will wobble again; now is the time to have the baby swing. Enemies that normally required being knocked down to the babies' level can be damaged directly with this method. [3.2] Bros. Items Here is where your reflexes will really be tested. Bros. Items are easily the most powerful offense you've got, and you have quite a few in your arsenal. If you want to lay waste to your enemies in a single turn, or score huge damage against a boss, these are the way to go. The timing generally differs for each one, but a few focus on button mashing more than anything else. The timing is, for the most part, learned after only a couple uses, but those with slow fingers or slow reaction times are going to have a lot of trouble; things speed up pretty quickly. Note that damage inflicted with each item is affected largely by the attacking brother's power stat. Items that involve all four brothers jumping onto an enemy will show you some pretty diverse numbers. Another important note is that Bros. Items cannot be used if either side in your party is knocked down, dizzy, or burned. Also, certain items require all four brothers present to even be used. It's a given that all items save for the Fire/Ice Flower are significantly stronger if used when all four are present. Lastly, while you can buy all of these at shops throughout the game, there are more than enough inside treasure blocks to last you throughout, unless you feel the need to use them every turn of every battle.. which is pretty stupid. GREEN SHELLS Enemies: One Bonus: None Two: After either bro kicks the shell, it'll hit the enemy and bounce off, now ricocheting towards the other brother. You want to hit that character's respective button as the shell comes in front of them, to send it back at the enemy. Green Shells alternate back and forth between brothers, getting much faster after a few kicks, and leave the screen either once the target has been destroyed, or the shell has bounced around long enough; once the shell has struck the target 25 times, the attack is finished. Also, the shell can be used to knock away segments of enemies made up of multiple pieces. Mario and Luigi need this one to damage spiked enemies if they're apart from the babies. Four: Now, the adult will kick the shell, with the baby that they were carrying riding on top of it. You have an extra command to enter here- this time, as the shell is about to connect, you want to press the baby's button, too. They'll whack the enemy, and it'll be sent towards the opposite brother as usual. It's much stronger, but you'll have to be very quick with the pattern to keep the thing going. For some reason, my fingers had an easier time keeping up when Luigi initiated the attack, with BL riding as opposed to BM. Note that neither Green nor Red shells can target flying enemies. RED SHELLS Enemies: Successive Bonus: None What successive means is that you'll target only one enemy, but after you've destroyed it, the shell will be sent back to you, and it'll target another foe. Red Shells move a bit faster than the greenies, and have no set allotment of hits; it'll stay on the battlefield until you miss a command or kill all ground-based enemies. Otherwise, there's nothing else that separates them from greens. Use 'em the same exact way. BRO FLOWERS Enemies: All Bonus: Burn Two: Simply mash the button corresponding to either bro while they're holding the large fireball. The two will toss it back and forth, faster and faster, indicating whom is supposed to be mashing at the time by displaying their button. You have no control over which enemies you hit more than others; the volley of fireballs will target randomly, so some enemies are likely to take a lot more abuse than others. This one is capable of inflicting burns, not only damaging your enemies but making them lose their turn. Note that a lot of enemies have resistance to fire; if so, they'll only take 1 point of damage. On the other hand, some have a weakness to it, and will take obscene amounts of damage. You'll know you've nailed someone's weakness if the "Critical!" message appears along with their damage. Four: The only difference with this is that now you can launch fireballs at airborne foes. If you're trying to hit enemies in the air, press the babies' buttons instead, and they'll throw them much higher. That's all there is to it. ICE FLOWERS Enemies: All Bonus: Random Down Used exactly the same way as the Bro Flower in either situation. The only difference here besides the obvious ice element is that these babies can lower the attack, defense, or speed of the targets they hit. An even bigger plus is that bosses are just as vulnerable to this cut as much as the regular enemies. This makes a great opener to any boss battle, and serves to make your jump-based Bros. Items quite devastating. SMASH EGGS Enemies: All Bonus: Dizzy Two: You guys will be on opposite ends of the battlefield for this one. Someone will kick it at the enemy, and as it hits them, it'll ricochet off of their ugly face and into the air, arcing downwards towards the other bro. While this is going on, you want to be holding down the button of whomever the egg is coming towards, and as it gets overhead, release it to send the egg back into the enemy's skull, hopefully fracturing it. The idea is to go back and forth with the charged kicks until the enemy dies, at which point the egg can be kicked towards someone else. These things can also cause dizziness at random. Frankly, the timing for this is a little more difficult than it's worth, and it's not like the shells, where the damage racks up very quickly. I say don't bother with this one. Four: The difference here is that when the egg is coming down towards the bro that's supposed to kick it, pressing the button for the baby they're holding at the right time will make them smack it up into the air, so that when it comes down again, you can hold the charging button longer and kick it with more power. Meh. If you're able to keep a Smash Egg going long enough, it'll break and give you free items; these are usually pretty good, among them Mix Flowers, 1-Up Supers, and more. POCKET CHOMPS Enemies: All Bonus: None Two: This one is simple to use with only two brothers, but you won't see a lot of damage caused this way. Why? It's so damn simple, it only requires commands from the one character at a time. Simply press their jump button as they're about to land on the foe. Easy. The enemies targeted by this will be chosen at random, and as you go on, the Chomp will chase you much faster. Four: Here is where you can rack up some heavy damage, but the timing is much more difficult. Well, not so much difficult, but it takes the slightest error to really slim down your chances of shaving off a few hundred HP. Once again, press the button of the older bro as they're landing on the foe, but now there's a twist in that one baby will be riding atop the Chomp itself, and the other will be dragged along by the chain behind it. As the baby being dragged by passes the foe you're attacking, press their button to whack them with your hammer. Be careful! Pressing the other baby's button by accident will cause that baby to swing their own hammer, wailing the Chomp on its head and making it enraged. Doing this will cause the Chomp to increase its speed, thus bringing it closer to the elder it's pursuing, making an end to the attack that much more imminent. Basically, fudging a jump or hitting the Chomp puts less distance between the two of you, and you want as much as possible to keep your damage chain going. One nip in the butt, and you're done. Once in a while, you'll be chased by a female Chain Chomp; it wears a pink bow on its head, and barks differently. Heh. **The next few items can only be used when all four are present.** CANNONBALLERS Enemies: One Bonus: None The first Bros. Item you'll get that requires all four to participate. All four Bros. will hop into the cannon and be launched off of both screens, to come back down in a random order on the target you've chosen. Watch them as they fall back down through the top screen and press their button right as they're about to land on the enemy. That's all their is to it. Messing up a command won't ruin the rest of the attack, but you won't deal much, either. Pretty easy to get the hang of. You'll find that this is the first item you come across that'll let you inflict some really heavy damage. This one will see you through to the end of the game, too; as your Stache points increase, these things will become pretty damn cheap. What kind of a game has you shooting babies out of cannons? TRAMPOLINES Enemies: All Bonus: Dizzy Here to make the Cannonballer obsolete is the almighty Trampoline! With this baby, the attack will go on as long as there are still living enemies, but once you miss a single attack command, it will end once the other three Bros. land on the foe. Basically, the Bros. will fall at random from the top screen, and provided you entered the right command at the right time, they'll land on it and bounce off, back onto the trampoline, and back into the air. There's no pattern to follow here, and quite amusingly, it's possible that one of them will get an attack in three times before one of the others has gotten a single one in, usually one of the babies. They must take longer to fall than their future fatass selves. Anyways, just take care when the enemies are all different heights, so you won't screw up your timing. COPY FLOWERS Enemies: Successive Bonus: None I LOVE this one. It gets frantic very quickly, and you'll need to be extremely fast with it, but the damage potential is just insane. Basically, you and a horde of clones of your party stampede offscreen, then march in a completely random order onto the battlefield and jump at your enemy. Simply press the corresponding button of whomever is going to land on the foe next, but be quick about it. Things will speed up after a dozen or so hits and rise steadily from there; I've found it's best to not look at the enemy itself, as you'll get a feel for the right moment to land on them anyway, and just watch the oncoming stream so you know the right sequence of presses ahead of time. Soon you'll find pulling off 700-900 per flower a breeze. Save these for the bosses. MIX FLOWERS Enemies: All Bonus: Burn Like you'll ever get to witness a burn form in the first place. This is the meanest mother of them all when it comes to Bros. Items, due to the fact that it nukes everything in sight. Any time you're up against a group of three or more powerful enemies, unleash this baby and laugh as they all die instantly to the tune of 999 damage. How's this one work, you ask? It's like the Bro Flower, only kicked up a few notches. This time, you and the babies will be on opposite sides, much like the Smash Eggs. Begin by furiously mashing the button of whomever initiated the attack; Mario or Luigi. Now, after a good second or two, the fireball will be passed to one of the other three; begin mashing the hell out of THEIR button now. If you were paying attention to the top screen, which you really shouldn't be, you'd notice that you're feeding the fireball up there more and more ammo, making it increase its size. As it gets larger, it'll be attempting to drop onto the enemies below; but if you constantly, QUICKLY pump more and more fireballs into it, it'll rise back up again. Finally, usually when your fingers can't take any more of that, the fireball will plummet onto the bottom screen, and as the brothers dive out of the way, your unfortunate enemies will be incinerated in a nice li'l explosion. An added beauty is that there's still the possibility of landing a Lucky! hit on one or more enemies. These are your best friends late in the game and during the final boss; you'll see why. Otherwise, don't waste these guys on only one or two enemies, or even a boss. Copy Flowers are better for the single, meaty creatures. OOOOOOOOOOOOOO[4] Character Statistics OOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO As with any RPG, your characters all have a variety of stats that affect how well they perform in battle, or even certain things outside as well. In this game, which is pretty mellow as far as RPGs go, there is no wisdom, no will, intelligence, accuracy, anything like that. It's all pretty much self explanatory, but there is one stat that is pretty obscure, yet very important. HP: How much damage you can take before fainting. The Luigis generally have more health than their Mario counterpart. Power: Your strength. The higher, the more damage you can inflict. Marios are generally stronger. Defense: Along with your HP, good defense is necessary to withstand lots of abuse. Though that's if you suck at timing your dodges. Why am I explaining this? ...The Luigis also have better defense, too. Speed: Decides when your turn to attack will come in battle. If you are knocked down at the start of battle and there are enemies faster than you, then they'll take their turns while you're still immobilized, and chances are you'll take some damage. If you're faster, though, you'll rise to your feet and take your turn as if nothing had happened. On the whole, Mario is faster, and if his speed outruns an enemy's, but there are enemies that are faster than Luigi, Mario will take his turn, followed by the enemy. Once the man in green has had his turn, it will go right back to Mario. Note that there are some enemies that run circles around you in the speed department and will all go before either of you, even if you landed a preemptive strike. Stache: Here's the odd one. It has no visible effect on the actual strength of your attacks or your endurance, but the higher this number, the more likely you are to score a Lucky! on one of your attacks and double the damage. Also, higher stache increases the likelihood of getting item drops after battle. Outside of battle, the higher your stache points as a whole, the better the deals are inside shops. As you progress through the game you'll notice bigger and bigger discounts. This won't be too important in that regard, though, because clothing and badges are expensive enough as they are, and money will never be an issue provided you take the time to kill every enemy you come across and hit every treasure block you find. Many of them are really generous when it comes to payout. Every time one of your characters levels up, they will get a small increase in some if not all of their stats. In addition, Lakitu will swoop down and allow you to choose which of your stats you would like an additional boost given to; once selected, a slot wheel will spin quickly with a few numbers on it; whatever it lands on is what you get. Your increase can be anywhere from a lowly, boring 1 to a whopping, sexy 6. Choosing the same stat each time only ensures that you'll be given very crappy numbers to scroll through, so keep it varied, and don't neglect your Stache! OOOOOOOOOOOOOO[5] Bits of Advice OOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Some general tips that are really just common sense, but which some people will only follow if they actually read it someplace. -As you play, you'll notice Xs marked on the ground and various other areas, and you'll soon learn the technique needed to unearth them. Take the brief moment to dig these up, as you'll need them as currency for the very best, if not cheapest equipment in the game. There are two very expensive items I'll recommend you buy that can only be purchased with these, and there are instances in which if you pass up the opportunity to nab them, you won't have the chance again. -By the same token, take the time to explore every tree stump or cavity, and climb every slope or block to get the various treasure blocks scattered about. They'll give you all of the money, attack items and health replenishing shrooms you need, keeping you from having to backtrack to stock up. There are also powerful pieces of armor, or clothing I should say, which you won't find in stores. -If you're going to splurge your money on Bros. Items because you prefer them to your standard moves, stock up on Green Shells, Ice Flowers and Cannonballers. As they come available, buy Red Shells, Copy Flowers and Mix Flowers. You don't really need anything else, but by the same token most enemies don't even require the items to be laid waste to. Unless you're trying to do as little battling as possible. -Kill every enemy you come across. It's unnecessary to backtrack to earlier areas or leave and return to respawn the monsters there; merely battling every monster once will ensure that your stats increase on a steady basis, and you'll be able to survive any attack. Boss battles won't take forever, either. -Save every time you come across a save point. I'm not suggesting this because you never know when you'll meet your end, but there seems to be a widely found error in the game that will cause your game to just spontaneously freeze up and ignore all of your button commands and the control pad. The music will continue and characters will move in their battle stance, but nothing will register. A lot more people have gone through this than there should be, and it has happened to me, so I lost a good half-hour of progress. You've been warned. -Lastly, instead of taking the time to study every little detail about an enemy's behavior and movements to determine which brother they'll attack, jump with both at the same time and swing both of their hammers simultaneously. It's a really easy habit to get into, and it will save you a lot of confusion or frustration. If there are attacks in which jumping with both is likely to get one of them hurt, I'll point that out. It's quite rare. I think that covers all the basic junk you need to know, but will pick up just by playing the game and got thrown into the guide because it'll just look that much better. On with the walkthrough! OOOOOOOOOOOOOO[6] Walkthrough OOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Really, really long ago... way far out in space... in a dark, dark place shunned by starlight... there was this creepy planet floating alone... The beings of this world were... creepy. They spent their time staring creepily into space. Just creepy daydreamers, right? Wrong. They were searching. Searching for a new home. At last, they fixed their creepy gazes on a distant world, a land of beauty and peace... [6.1] Playtime is Over OOOOO Princess Peach's Castle OOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Items: None OOO Coins: None OOO Enemies: Baby Bowser OOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO We begin the game in the Mushroom Kingdom, in the past. Baby Mario and Baby Luigi have arrived at Princess Peach's Castle, where they're greeted by Toadsworth. He'll tell you to hurry in to see her, as she's impatient. Walk on up through the corridors and into the room, and... you'll find a bunch of Toad peons, collapsed on the floor, poor slaves that met their end after years of toil and abuse forced upon them by their human captor, the adorable tyke, Baby Peach... Ah, no. Turns out it was Baby Bowser, a little snot-nose even in his youth, already trying to kidnap Peach. He tries to tell you off, until Toadsworth interferes and gets his face burned off (I wish.). Now it's our turn to deal with the brat, so into battle we go. Toadsworth will try to educate you in the ways of timed attacks. Go ahead and listen if you're really that hopeless, but if you played SSS then things are exactly the same. Just take care to notice when BB is going to puke up a little fireball at ya. Finish this up. "Oh, NO!!" =P Baby Bowser collapses, and the brothers rejoice, but their laughter is cut short by a sudden explosion. Seconds later, rubble begins to rain down from the ceiling, and we look outside to see flying saucers firing shots onto the castle itself. They fly off with another group of UFOs, and then the clouds part to reveal an entire swarm of them... [6.2] Back to the Future OOOOO Princess Peach's Castle OOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Items: Mushroom (4) OOO Coins: 3 OOO Enemies: Junior Shrooboid (Boss) OOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO We immediately learn of E. Gadd's time machine, fueled by the mysterious and powerful Cobalt Star. People from all over are interested in the machine, particularly Peach, who promptly sets off on a voyage to the past, bringing a couple of Toads with her. With the news how over, we cut back to the present Toadsworth, who has gotten his panties in a bundle over the apparently un-guaranteed safety of the Princess. He faints himself at the thought of her tiny chance at being harmed, and now it's up to you to grab a Refreshroom from his quarters to bring him back to his feet again. Lakitu now unveils the handy top screen, which for the most part will be your map from now on. The shroom icon on the map indicates where you want to head; this would be a good time to explore the castle and become situated with the rooms. You'll find a few ? blocks in the corridors and two by the big staircases, all containing Mushrooms or a single coin. If you notice any X pock marks in the ground, they contain beans, which you can unearth later. If you find any large blue platforms, they can't be pressed down until you put the weight of four people on them. Once you've gotten the Refreshroom, head back to the room where you began and it'll take its effect on Toadsworth; but there's no time for anyone to react, for a second later there's a loud rumbling. A flash and a few stars, and the time machine comes crashing down into the castle, looking badly beaten up. Upon further inspection, the doors slide open, and we're met with the lovely stare of... ...an alien. A nice, chubby one at that. It proceeds to lunge out and scare the hell out of everyone, but Mario, being the manly man he is, jumps in to deal with it. BOSS: JUNIOR SHROOBOID HP: 13 EXP: 6 Coins: 0 While this is only a warm-up, if anything, we still have the standard boss theme, so I'm classing it as one. As if you've forgotten your timed attacks since you were a baby, Toadsworth will try to teach you how to fight. Again. Just jump on this guy; his only attack is spinning in a cyclone and making a pass at you. It moves pretty slow, so jumping over it and landing on him for counterattack damage is simple. Finishing this battle will automatically get you a level-up. After the battle, we find that Peach is nowhere to be found, but not to worry; she wasn't eaten or anything. E. Gadd whips out a little device and claims that she was merely sent back several years. But how does that explain the alien? E. Gadd summons everyone to the garden, and that means the two of you will go down there as well, lest you want to stay in there with the beast. Upon meeting him there, you see that he's staring into a crater in the ground, a crater in which there is a swirling void, which he claims to be a time hole. A doorway to the past, of sorts. The time machine ripped a bunch of holes in the space-time continuum, forming these things. Mario volunteers to use the time holes to travel back to the Mushroom Kingdom's past to try and rescue Peach, but before they can hammer out any concrete plan, Toadsworth comes rolling in on his stretcher and crashes into the side of the crater, knocking Luigi into the hole. We see everyone's shocked expressions as he swirls around and disappears into the past... Toadsworth asks a bunch of questions, but before another word is said, Mario dives in after him. [6.3] The Hunt Begins! OOOOO Near Holli Jolli Village OOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Items: Mushroom (8) OOO 1-Up Mushroom (2) OOO Mushroom Drop OOO Coins: 53 OOO Enemies: Shrooblet OOO Shroobs (Boss) OOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO ENEMY ATTACKS & STATS: Shrooblet- HP: 7 EXP: 2 Coins: 2 Drop: Mushroom Weak: None Resist: None All it does is stop between Mario and Luigi, and then raise one of its feet, indicating which Bro it'll attack. It then makes a spin towards them. Easy to dodge; jumping on it as it does this will deal damage. It is here that we meet Stuffwell, your newfound companion- an annoying talking suitcase that states the obvious and will interrupt you many times throughout your adventure to make astute observations and the like. He will be of use, however, seeing as he has a seemingly unlimited amount of space to house all of the crap you find and want to keep. Sit through his little explanation of how he works. BACK TO ADVENTURE! ...well, no. If you proceed into the next area, Stuffwell will pop out again, and remind you how to jump with two people. Humor him, and then he'll tell you how to jump across a string of ledges simultaneously. At the very least, you can pick up some coins and recovery items for your trouble. Once you've nabbed all of the coins from the L and M blocks, a stairway into the next area will open up. As you proceed, you'll only be able to go so far before a mushroomed individual lands on your head. A swarm of UFOs fly by, and proceed to blast the hell out of the wintry village we see on our map. Dark, purple mushrooms are behind this? Huh? Might as well get on over there. Cross the wooden ramps and navigate the little set-up of mushroom heads, taking out any Shrooblets in your way. Stuffwell interrupts you twice more during this trek, first to tell you about preemptive strikes and Luigi's own attacks (this is his first battle after all) and again to tell you about healing. Go AWAY already! The Bros. will reach level 3 once you've made it to the top. Head into Holli Jolli Village to witness an invasion taking place; craters fill the area as their shots blow everything apart. The residents themselves are stunned, then abducted. At the risk of anal probe, Mario and Luigi head in to investigate. The houses, from what you can see, are all empty, either abandoned or their residents taken hostage. A couple have blocks with coins or Mushrooms in them, as well as one or two outside. If you head inside the house in the upper-right corner, you'll hear a muffled voice. Walk towards the chimney, and he'll address you. Turns out he's the mayor of this town, and scrambled up the chimney once the Shroobs came and trashed the place. Jump underneath him to send him flying out of the chimney and onto the pavement outside. A fat little dude with a white beard and moustache, dressed in red, stuck in a chimney... now where have I seen that? Anyways. Before he can head back inside, the Shroobs return with a couple of UFOs, and a few of the little cretins surround our Santa-lookalike. He screams for help, so get out there and see what's up. No sooner than you step outside, he's being beamed up into one of the saucers! The Shroobs on the ground notice you, and after a little conversation you have no hopes of understanding ("What about these guys...?" "KILL THEM!" "KILL THEM!" "KILL THEM!") they attack you. GRRAAAAAH! BOSS: SHROOBS HP: 15 (each) EXP: 0 Coins: 0 This isn't a true boss of sorts, but once again we have our good 'ol boss theme, so I'll treat it as one. As soon as the battle starts, one of the aliens pulls out a little transmitter, and soon a UFO flies in with a timer attached to it. As soon as it reaches 0, you'll be blown apart, so just entertain these guys until then. You only have enough time to kill one of the three before the countdown reaches 0, so this battle will be a lost cause no matter what; just stomp one of them and dodge their laser shots. To do this, just wait until they spin or put a gleam in their eye, indicating who they'll shoot at- spin for Luigi, gleam for Mario. Then they whip out the gun and shoot; the shots don't move quickly and are easily jumped over. The timer reaches 0, and a huge shot from the UFO above takes you out. Cue the funny little laugh from our antagonists.. We now cut to the skies, where Baby Bowser's Koopa Cruiser is being chased and shot at by the UFOs. You now hear the most annoying sound in the game, which is Baby Peach's crying. Toadsworth comes in to calm her down, and BB orders all of his minions to get to the control deck. You're not one of his toadies, but you have control of the babies now, so why not? Yet again, we are taught how to jump. Collect the coins and mushrooms around the crates, even netting yourself a Drop, which heals all characters opposed to one, and another 1-Up. Save if you wish, then enter the control room. BB's ship will take out the UFOs hassling it, and they'll pass over our presently fallen heroes, the adults. Peach won't shut up until BB does something about it, so again the cannon is fired, this time at the aliens standing over the Bros. The ship will land, and Baby Mario and Luigi are dispatched to go pick them up. Head over to where they lay, and you'll be approached by the remaining Shroobs you fought earlier. Back into the boss battle! BOSS: SHROOBS HP: 15 (each) EXP: 21 Coins: 0 They're fought exactly the same way as before. Only now, you'll be given Bros. Items from Toadsworth to help you rack up some damage. That item is the Green Shell, which I have already explained how to use; Toadsworth will keep you supplied with them throughout the battle, so don't worry about wasting them. After they've been destroyed, Toadsworth will have you bring the adults onto Baby Bowser's ship. In this next scene, we see Toadsworth alone, telling of the mass destruction the Shroobs have brought to the Mushroom Kingdom. We re-witness the attack on the castle, and find that they were rescued by Kamek on the Cruiser by BB's orders; that's how they came to be on his ship. We cut back to the present moment, where Toadsworth is explaining all of this to our now revived Mario and Luigi. We fly over Princess Peach's castle, to see it already covered in fungus, having been infested by the aliens. Their new stronghold, it seems... Mario tells them that Peach is being held captive there, but Toadsworth finds the idea, especially Mario and Luigi being the babies' older selves, absurd. The Koopa Cruiser's alarm sounds again, bringing a transmission straight from Shroob Castle. Flick on the monitor, and... we receive a kind string of crazy gibberish from an alien in a pink gown, deemed to be Princess Shroob. She must be the one that orchestrated all of this! After a taunt of sorts, the alarm sounds again, this time alerting the BB to a missile fired at them from the castle. Cue the crash 'n burn. [6.4] Survivors OOOOO Bowser's Castle OOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Items: Mushroom (2) OOO Green Shell (16) OOO 1-Up Mushroom (4) OOO Mushroom Drop OOO Coins: 196 OOO Enemies: Goomba OOO Boo OOO Boom Guy OOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO ENEMY ATTACKS & STATS: Goomba- HP: 10 EXP: 3 Coins: 3 Drop: Mushroom, Super Mushroom Weak: None Resist: None As you would expect from such a simple enemy, these guys don't have anything crafty up their sleeve. They'll charge in front of one of you, stop for a second, then try to hit you; a jump after this little second wait is all it takes to dodge and counterattack them. Boo- HP: 15 Exp: 5 Coins: 4 Drop: Mushroom Weak: None Resist: None These guys are quick. Right before they disappear, they'll uncover an eye, indicating which bro they plan to attack, and then reappear behind them. Jump immediately and they'll pass underneath you. Nothing too crazy; they're pretty easy to hit while doing this, too. Boom Guy- HP: 18 Exp: 8 Coins: 5 Drop: Green Shell Weak: None Resist: None ShyGuys with Bullet Bill cannons on their heads. These guys will approach and stop in front of either brother, and either fire a BB without interruption, or misfire, emitting a puff of smoke... ...followed by a Bullet Bill. Sometimes your jumps will knock the cannon off; in which case, when the ShyGuy begins its turn, it will send out a call to its allies; a prompt delivery of a new cannon will be followed by its attack as normal; a "..." means it spends its turn doing nothing. How to predict a misfire? When it stops in front of you, if it points towards you, don't jump; wait for the smoke. When it holds onto the cannon with both hands, jump immediately. The Cruiser landed conveniently right inside Baby Bowser's castle, and it seems everyone else was thrown clear of the wreckage, leaving Mario and Luigi by themselves. Another astute observation from Stuffwell. Well, now we want to reunite with them, so time for some dungeon trekking with our Bros. Now we'll get to do some actual play instead of controlling someone for 5 minutes, then having to watch people talk. Head to the right from our save point, and we meet our first enemy with a completely scriptless battle- the Goomba. You'll get a ton of Green Shells from the block right at the entrance, but don't waste them on these guys. A total of 12, Jesus, 12 shells are in this first area alone, as well as two Mushrooms and even a 1-Up. The next area shows you a long, zigzagging catwalk spanning the length of the room. Kill the Goombas and their Boo cohorts if you wish, grab the Mushrooms and blue coin (each is worth 20) and head up to the catwalk. It's pretty straightforward, and if you're used to the controls or have played SSS, navigating this thing without falling is simple. Just stop to change your directions to avoid botching a turn and falling. You can't go far into the next room before the duo stops.. and Luigi is conked on the head by a spiked ball. We look up and find.. "BABIES!!!" Heheheh, I love it whenever Mario says that. Anyway, once you help the babies jump down, try to walk off and Stuffwell will tell you how to alternate between controlling the babies and adults, and then tell you how to carry them piggyback-style. With your new partners in tow, jump on the fat blue square further ahead. The combined weight of the four of you will push it down and open the doors; this is the only way to activate these when you come across them. In the next room, you'll find a ledge impossible for you to jump to, and no feasible way to climb up... that's where the babies come in. Pressing X or Y while in a piggyback will throw both babies overhead. This will let them explore a high area while the adults wait for them to find a switch to let them up, or... ...a block much like the one you see as soon as the babies are thrown onto the ledge. Anytime you're separated from the babies or vice versa, hitting the pipe-block will bring the other two right next to you. Do that here and compress the switch to continue onwards. More items in this next room. To get at the blocks behind the spikes, the babies will have to go solo. Nothing much to say for the items here; you've already seen them. You do get a nice stack of coins, though. The next room has you throwing babies up ledges again, and introduces you to a new block; the Purple Switch block. Hitting these ! blocks will cause some sort of change in the environment to take place, whether it be a bridge forming, or platform dropping to a height within reach. They're pretty much always necessary to hit to continue, and this is no exception. Once you enter the next area, you'll find Kamek searching for Baby Bowser. He'll notice you, and assuming you're up to no good, summon a Goomba and Boo to fight you. In this battle, you'll receive your first actual useful lesson; attacking while teamed up with a baby. Now your attacks can have a lot more force to them. Destroy the two of them, and Kamek summons another Goomba; now Stuffwell will tell you how to use your Green Shell with the babies. Good stuff. Killing the second Goomba brings on one more; now Stuffwell wants Luigi to use a Green Shell. Humor him, and then Kamek summons one final Boo. Stuffwell leaves at last, and we can now end this. Continuing on through the room, you'll find a lone Green Shell, as well as a Boo, bringing with it a new bastard; Boom Guys. After dealing with the other enemies here, you'll come across a large blue pipe; deal with it the same way you would the blue squares. Only four people can activate it. Two more Green Shells in the next room; to proceed here, throw the babies onto the ledge and head through the small opening to reach a hidden room; hit the ! block to create a bridge for you to cross. Same objective in the next room, though now there's more to it. After spawning the bridge and crossing it, you'll find a new switch block- a multicolored one that comes in pairs, requiring two people to activate it. Of course, Stuffwell is going to explain this, but you can tell him to F off, three times in fact, and he'll leave without giving a tutorial. Have Mario hit the block, and immediately have Luigi hit the second block afterwards, as it lights up. This will spawn a block that the babies can use to climb up to another set of ! blocks. The Goombas in this hidden room can be slain if you like, but they'll take a lot more jumps to defeat. Another 1-Up and 20 coins in here for ya. Hitting the switch blocks will lower a platform down on the adult's side. Reunite with them and make your way up the platforms. A Boom Guy will be firing at you from up there; being hit by one of the Bullet Bills will force you into battle, but won't give it a preemptive strike or knock you over or anything. At the end of the passage is a ledge you can throw the babies up to, in order to activate a third set of ! blocks, forming the last bridge you need to get out of there. You're almost done. In this next room, grab the coins, then head over to the left side of the room, where you'll find a fat red block and a ledge with an opening nearby. The sign basically says that hitting that block with the appropriate adult will spawn a block inside the hidden room behind it, which the babies can hit, filling the room with light for a period of time. When you actually send the babies in there, you'll see some pink platforms, and the rest shrouded in pitch darkness. So, hit the block as Mario, and hustle along the passage, stopping once it gets too dark. Whack the large block again with the brother corresponding to the color, and you can fill the room with light again. There are no branching pathways or treasures in here; just make it out on the other side. Hitting the treasure chest over the pedestal you come to get you not coins nor items, but.. a shiny fragment! This is a piece of the Cobalt Star that E. Gadd used to power his time machine. You definitely want to hold onto this. Not like you have a bloody choice. Saddle up with your older selves again and head into the next room. Take the pipe into the next room, save if you wish, and continue on until you reach the final door, which leads not to a boss, but another time hole. A little bit of squabbling with Toadsworth, and the three of you jump in. OOOOOOOOOOOOOO[7] The Vim Factory Siege! OOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO You're back in present-day Peach's castle, and right by the hole you hop out of are two last chests. Nab yourself another 1-Up and a whopping 10 coins. Head back to where E. Gadd is standing, and you'll explain the situation to him. You'll also find that the alien, being held in some sort of stasis chamber, reacts quite violently when you pull out the Cobalt Star shard and it gets near him. Mental wizard that he is, E. Gadd deduces that there's some sort of link between the Shroobs and the Cobalt Star. An even brighter Toad suggests that you can find a way to destroy the aliens if you collect more of them. The shard then abruptly flies off, and glancing up at the map, you notice it uncover yet another time hole. Before you leave to check it out, though, E. Gadd gives you a Salvage badge, which slightly increases the odds of collecting an item dropped after battle. Of course, this means yet another educational intervention from Stuffwell. Get it over with, then head to the Shop icon on your map. Now would be a good time to use all those coins you found to buy two pairs of Patched Slacks for the adults and two pairs of Starchy Jeans for the little ones. There aren't any badges for sale that will really make a difference right now, nor can you afford to buy multiples of them for your party. Ignore them and head over to the time hole when you're ready. As you jump in, you'll witness a struggle between Toadsworths... [7.1] Freaky Foliage OOOOO Toadwood Forest OOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Items: Mushroom (2) OOO Bro Flower (15) OOO Green Shell (7) OOO Mushroom Drop OOO Super Mushroom OOO 1-Up Mushroom (2) OOO 1-Up Super OOO Unarmed Jeans OOO Wild Trousers OOO Wallet Badge OOO Coins: 729 OOO Enemies: Koopeleon OOO Boo Guy OOO Elasto-Piranha OOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO ENEMY ATTACKS & STATS: Koopeleon- HP: 18 EXP: 6 Coins: 4 Drop: Green Shell Weak: None Resist: None These little guys will approach you, stop, and then make themselves invisible. This will take a second or two, and once they finish, they'll move in and try to bite you. Pretty slow-moving enemies, so they won't give you a lot of problems. Hitting one while it's invisible will bring its color back; otherwise it'll stay blended in. Boo Guy- HP: 17 EXP: 8 Coins: 5 Drop: Mushroom, Super Mushroom Weak: Fire Resist: None Little ShyGuy ghosts. They'll hover over and stop between the two of you and point with either hand, indicating who they're going to attack. Once they do that, they'll split into two, and charge forward. The bro being targeted should jump once the Boo Guy is in front of him, and he can be damaged; the fake Guy will simply vanish. Elasto-Piranha- HP: 27 EXP: 16 Coins: 6 Drop: Bro Flower, 1-Up Mushroom Weak: Ice Resist: Fire These pipe-dwelling plants rest at the bottom of tree trunks, an unpleasant surprise if you were hoping to find coins. These guys ARE unpleasant, too, because if you screw up an evasive jump, the babies will be nearly killed by just one of its fireballs. Take care when it stretches up and off the screen- the fireball will take longer to come down, so don't jump right away! Otherwise, jump once you see the fireball and you should be fine. If it emerges from the pipe with its head pointed straight up, the fireball will be spit onto Mario. Nice EXP for defeating these guys. Head to the right from the time hole, and right away you'll notice a few tree stumps- these are the first of many obstacles you'll come across as you play. They aren't obstructing you in any way, but they always house treasure blocks with coins (giant, 100-coin coins, at that), items, a switch you must press.. or enemies. Throw the babies into any holes you come across. In this case, they lead to a Mushroom Drop, 201 in coins, and a battle with some Koopeleons. Once you're finished here, head up and into the next area, and a very faint voice will speak to you. Get closer, and you'll find that it's a Toad named Toadiko, seemingly engulfed by the vines around a tree. It turns out that Toadiko was on the time machine with Peach; when he was abducted, the Shroobs brought him along with other captives to the forest, where they became ensnared by the plant life. The trees suck away their mushroom power, their life force; otherwise known as their "vim." The trees send the vim down through a network of roots into their factory, where it is mixed with chemicals and turned into fuel for their flying saucers. Toadiko is certain that Peach and a Cobalt Star shard can be found there... The conversation is ended abruptly as UFOs looming overhead spot the gang and fire upon them. The Bros. flee, but Toadiko is turned into a simple mushroom. The Bros. must now press onwards! The only other thing in this area is a stump with a Super Mushroom and a nice 100-coiner. Move on. Nab some Bro Flowers amidst a few enemies, then pillage the stumps for a few more Green Shells and a 100-coiner. The left stump has an enemy inside it, the Elasto-Piranha; while its attacks aren't difficult to dodge, they're way too strong for the babies at their current level and HP, so be especially careful. One hit will bring them down to critical status, if not kill them outright. Don't try out your new Bro Flowers on them, either; they'll do squat. Anyways, the pathway to the next area is on the right. Here you'll find your path leading to the factory obstructed by trees, but those will be dealt with very soon. Nab the 1-Up and exit via the lower-left, where several long tree trunks are arranged in a circle along with some mysterious clear, empty blocks. There's no way you can toss the babies into these, so head to the only trunk you CAN toss them into, in the lower-left corner. The adults can grab the coins on the right while the babies navigate the underground maze, making sure to hit every block with flame inside it. There are six total; there are also a few Elasto-Piranhas down here, so exterminate them if you'd like a boatload of EXP for the babies. Once done, you can hop back out and have the adults hit the blocks that now encase the flames, sending them into the large block in the center. Get all six, then hit the large block to send the fireball flying into the previous area, where it'll land on the trees and burn them to ashes, creating an opening for you to pass through. Once you've gone down through the pipe and emerged in the new area, save and head upwards. Notice the map up above is filled with spikes.. the left is entirely inaccessible at the moment, so don't even bother checking it out. Instead, scour the tree trunks for 100 coins and a pair of Unarmed Jeans. I wouldn't recommend equipping these, for the babies are going to be in a boss battle on their own very soon, and any hits they take will be fatal while wearing those. If you're confident in your dodging, though, then go ahead. I've found the enemies at this point and onwards start appearing in greater numbers, so you'll be getting a lot more EXP from here on. Anyways, to the north is the factory entrance, which is surrounded by a moat that we can't cross just yet. Upon further inspection, you'll find that the bridge to the entrance is submerged under water. Those shroob-like claws on either side look like they have something to do with it, don't they? You want to activate them, so leave to your right. Here we have a platform perched over the bed of spikes, but it won't move for you unless someone is controlling it, and that someone is either baby. Toss them into the tree trunk and you'll find a block with an arrow on it, changing directions every second or so. Have Mario and Luigi stand on the platform over the spikes, and get it moving by hitting the block once the arrow points to the right. The platform will move nonstop in the direction that was punched into the block until the baby hits it again, stopping it abruptly. Now, you can wait for the arrow to point to a new direction and hit it again. The idea is to bring the platform across the spikes and to the second pathway you come across, then stop it. The first path leads to an exit out of there and a Wallet Badge, which allows you to flee battle at less of a coin expense. You don't need it. Anyways, once in the next area, bring the babies over to your location and jump underneath the ! block while holding one of the babies. At the peak of your jump, press the baby's jump button and they'll be able to reach the block. This causes four blocks to spread out over the brothers, starting with Baby Luigi. The idea is to hit the first with BL, then quickly press the button for the next in line as his block lights up. You only have a second before you lose it and it reverts back to transparency. Hit all four, and the Shroob mechanism will power up and get some current flowing to the claw by the entrance. Now we have one more to go. Get the Green Shells, Bro Flowers and 100-coiner here, and you can be on your way. As you enter through the north, right away you'll notice a ! block over some spikes. This'll be your next objective. Clear away the enemies on the way to the tree trunk, then throw the tykes in and get the adults onto the platform. This time there'll be a yellow ramp along the way, which the platform can pass under, but the Bros. cannot; simply jumping onto it and hopping back onto the platform as it comes out from the other side is all you need to do. Hitting the ! block spurts up a block that'll grant you access to the next area. Ride the platform back over, grab the kids, and leave. The next Shroob mechanism is here, and is activated the same way- piggyback jump, then a quick sequence of jumps. With electricity flowing from the second claw, the bridge is set into place, allowing you to enter the factory! Grab the coins, Mushroom and 1-Up here, then exit via the south. More fun with platforms! Into the trunk the babies are thrown. There are Green Shells, Bro Flowers and coins inside treasure blocks over the spikes, among other things, including a 1-Up Super, an item that revives the fallen one with full HP. There's also a pair of Wild Trousers for the adults, which are basically the same as Unarmed Jeans, only with an even bigger cut in defense. Meh. Once you've gotten everything, have the babies pilot the platform down to the lower-right corner. You're now back where your started; a pipe block to summon the babies is near the bridge to the factory. Head across the bridge, and the doors will slide open for you... what dangers await our heroes inside this freaky place? [7.2] Who Drank all the Vim?! OOOOO Vim Factory OOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Items: Mushroom (7) OOO Green Shell (6) OOO Bro Flower (3) OOO Cannonballer (8) OOO Mushroom Drop (2) OOO Refreshing Herb (6) OOO 1-Up Mushroom OOO Unarmed Jeans OOO Coins: 17 OOO Enemies: Spiny Shroopa OOO Dr. Shroob OOO Lakitufo OOO Hammer Bros. (Boss) OOO Swiggler (Boss) OOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO ENEMY ATTACKS & STATS: Spiny Shroopa- HP: 18 EXP: 2 Coins: 2 Drop: Green Shell Weak: None Resist: None These guys will take a few whacks with the hammer once you face them for the first time, but they're not too gifted offensively. They'll hop in front of either brother, and sit still for a good two seconds, and then lunge. You should have your hammer ready as they're waiting to pounce, then release as soon as they do. You'll get a feel for the timing very quickly. Be warned that they sometimes will pause right after being counterattacked, and make a second lunge; have your hammer ready again in case they do. These guys also have the ability to poison you. Why such crappy EXP and coins? You'll soon meet an enemy that'll spawn these things over and over again. Can't give you TOO much per battle, can they? Dr. Shroob- HP: 29 EXP: 18 Coins: 10 Drop: Bro Flower, Mushroom Drop Weak: Ice Resist: None These doctors will attack you at first just like the Shroobs you faced earlier, but once they've taken their shot, they'll pull out one of two mushrooms and hold onto it; attacking them once they've done this will cause them to drop it. If a Dr. is holding a red mushroom, you definitely want him to lose it, or else he'll eat it come his turn and charge at you. Shroobs holding a poisoned shroom are much less of a threat, as they'll shrink and waddle towards you, making themselves easy pickings for your hammer. Their shots are very slow and easy to jump; their charging attacks are stopped with the hammer. Lakitufo- HP: 26 EXP: 16 Coins: 7 Drop: Cannonballer Weak: None Resist: None These guys can be annoying if not dealt with. They always come with Spiny Shroopas as cohorts, and if you kill one, there's a good chance it'll merely beam a fresh one down from its saucer. Otherwise, it attacks by beaming down a spiny egg, which will bounce at you; be ready to swing your hammer as soon as it materializes, since it will come at you very quickly. These guys also twirl around back and forth between Mario and Luigi, then swirl in front of either for a moment and hurl themselves off of their saucer and at your position. Give them a moment after they move in front of you, then jump. Lastly, the easiest attack to counter: Lakitu will hover over you and try to beam you up into his saucer. Have your hammer charging, and wail him once you get close to the top. These guys are total bastards; by all means get rid of them first. "AREA RESTRICTED. ALL NOOB INTRUDERS 2 B HAX0RED BY US L33T HAMMER BROZ.!" "WE R TEH SHROOB ALLIES. WE R0X0R U AND THEN ROFL. THEN U AM CRY." "WE RECEIVE ORDERS THRU ANTENNAS ON THESE L33T HELMETS. THEY R HOTNESS." "WE MUST OBEY ALL ORDERS. WE LIKE 2 PWN N00BS 4 TEH MASTER SHROOBZORS." "U = N00BS. BROZ. = L33T. PREPARE 4 TOTAL PWNAGE. W00T! W00T! W00T! W00T!" Heeeeeeeee... good 'ol netspeak. Enter the pipe and save, and as soon as you enter the next room, you'll be accosted by two Hammer Bros. that have apparently been brainwashed by the Shroobs into doing their bidding. After their taunts, a giant pair of nostrils will come down from the ceiling and suck the adults into each one. WTF? You'll see what that nose is a part of soon enough, but first you have to deal with our mindless turtle friends. "N00BZ STILL R NOT PWNED. CONTINUE PWNERSHIP UNTIL ALL N00BZ R PWNED." "TEH ESCAPE IS IMPOSSIBLE. WE R 2 L33T. WE OWNZ J00. "U WILL GET FLATZORED BY R L33T HAMMERS." BOSS: HAMMER BROS. HP: 100 (each) EXP: 80 Coins: 70 Win: Mushroom Drop These guys may have a huge amount of HP compared to the babies, but you'll be dealing counterattack damage to both of them every turn in addition to your standard attacks, so this battle won't take very long. You can't survive repeated hits from these guys, but the attacks are easy to avoid; as long as both of them are alive, they'll hit the other brother with their hammer to turn them into a ball of sorts, and then strike it again to send it flying towards you. Jump right after they hit it, and you should land on the HB just after it strikes where you would have been. Now, if the head of their hammer flies off before they hit their HB at you, do nothing, and it'll just fly overhead. You should have a plethora of Green Shells now, so how about using some? You can get some nice double-digit damage on these guys, as opposed to your pitifully weak jumps. Single one of the Hammer Bros. out until it's been defeated, and then get ready for a new attack- the hammers themselves. The remaining HB will jump when it's going to throw a hammer at BM, and the bulb on its helmet will glow when BL is the target. You don't have to study him for this, really- just jump when the hammer is about to make contact with the floor in front of you, and the attack will miss. He'll throw anywhere from two to five hammers at the babies in one turn. Since he'll already have taken a fair amount of damage every time you countered his duo attack, just use jumps to finish him off in a few turns. After the battle, the babies will have shattered the helmets, freeing them from their mental imprisonment. As gratitude, they'll give the babies their hammers. Nice. First, of course, they'll give you a tutorial on how to use them. At least they're actually teaching us something, unlike Stuffwell. Go through their little obstacle course until they're satisfied and let you on your way; they will show up again, however, once you get into a battle, to tell you how to use them against your enemies. You'll notice your HP was fully replenished after the fight; this little benefit not always found in RPGs will occur every time you defeat one. Go and save, and then you'll be ready to start searching for our unfortunate elders. The left room is inaccessible at the moment, as is the upper right, so do the only thing you can and press the yellow switch. A little obstacle course awaits you, much like what the Hammer Bros. put you through. Elementary crap here. The next room, however, has a nice little puzzle for you. You must tunnel under the gate in the upper-right and climb onto the wall arranged with machinery, then carefully walk down so you can drop into the room and hit the red switch there with your hammer. A coin and some Green Shells are here for you as well. Activating the switch will make a red block protrude from the wall; now you'll want to bring the blue one out as well. Hop back up onto the wall of machines and turn to the left as soon as you reach the top. Make the jump to the other side without falling, and you can activate that switch as well. Tunnel your way out of there and hop up your new staircase. Now you'll be in some sort of air duct. Some ailment-recovery Refreshing Herbs are in the treasure block nearby; also here is an unavoidable battle with some spike-topped creatures, called Spiny Shroopas. The Hammer Bros. will intervene here, and tell the babies about attacking and counterattacking with the hammer. Use this newfound knowledge to kill off all the remaining Shroopas in the duct and grab the other items you find. Once out of the duct, drop down and tunnel through the passage on the left. In the next room, amidst some Shroopas are some coins, herbs and another pair of Unarmed Jeans for the babies. Back out of there once you're finished and take the path to the right, and you'll find... Mario and Luigi! Seems those nostrils belonged to that hideous looking tree. They have no Vim to be sucked out, so what exactly is it sucking? ..I've already stopped caring. To bust the Bros. out, shatter the bulbs connected to the tree with your hammer, and you'll be reunited for the umpteenth time. "BABIES!" The mechanical nostrils will return to the room, however, this time popping out a couple of Shroopas for you to dispatch. And this scripted battle comes with... another Hammer Bros. tutorial. Now you'll learn how to use hammers while battling in piggyback, and the HBs will be out of your hair from this point on. Yay. Your hammers will also perform much better, now that you have the adults assisting them. After the battle, toss the babies up onto the ledge in the upper-right and pound the switch. Leave; now you can compress the blue switch in the main room and continue onwards. We meet a new enemy in this room, called Dr. Shroob. Their fighting style is the same as other Shroobs we fought- gleam in the eye or spin, then a laser shot. But afterwards, these guys will pull out either a mushroom or poison shroom, and hold onto it; hitting them will make them drop the shroom, but if they begin their next turn with it in their possession, they'll eat it and either grow or shrink in size, then charge. Obviously, allowing them to become huge is a no-no. The way you deal with these guys will play a large part in a battle soon to come, with a twist. You'll also meet the Lakitufo, an adorable and extremely annoying enemy with a wide variety of attacks. Kill these guys first, if you find yourself in a battle with one. Anyways, this room is devoid of puzzles- just some enemies for you to face, and a new Bros. Item- the Cannonballers. These things kick major ass for this early point in the game; don't waste 'em on measly enemies. Eliminate the hostile forces here, and proceed. A pipe will take you down to the next level, leading to a large room with a huge glass structure filled with green fluid. The junk swimming around in there resembles mushrooms... This must be where the Vim is processed and mixed with chemicals. All there is to do is to tunnel the babies under the gate and whack the switch, opening the doors to the right; a third Lakitufo resides in here to give you more problems. Make it SUFFER! >=( In the next room, we have two sealed doors, yet another Lakitufo, and a large laser barrier of some sort preventing us from crossing to the other side. Once you've gotten the enemies out of the way, throw the babies up to the ledge over the doors and enter the hidden room there. Pound the red switch, and the laser barrier will shut off. Now the adults can proceed to a set of ! blocks and hit them, creating a bridge in the hidden room for the babies to cross over the electric floor. Now, as the babies, tunnel under the gate you come across and hit the switch, removing the second barrier for the adults. Tunnel back out and move both groups to the right, where you'll find the two sets of ! blocks. You know how this goes. The babies must initiate it. Doing so will push up a block so the babies can climb onto the ledge surrounding the hidden room; walk over to the right and head downwards, out through an opening. Now they're on the other side of the room, up on the overhang; make your way across, smashing the crates, finally coming to the red switches that must be whacked. Both rooms are accessible now. Both of them lead to passages loaded with enemies; start on the left, as you'll be backtracking out of there anyway. The room this corridor connects to has a unique kind of coin block- hitting it will disband the four Bros. and spread them out into a square, placing a block with their designated button on it over their head. One of the blocks will light up; hit it for a single coin. The idea is to get many as you can, hitting the correct block as the time comes, keeping up with the speed until you take too long or make a couple errors. Taking the corridor on the right nets you four more Cannonballers, three Bro Flowers, and the first bean for the babies to tunnel down and retrieve. In the next room, throw the babies up into another hidden room and put the adults on the platform. This thing again. Stop it midway so the adults can hit a ! block to form a bridge for the babies to cross, then continue to the end. Along the way are blocks with a 1-Up, two Mushrooms, a measly three coins, and three Green Shells. Upon reaching the end, you'll see another set of ! blocks, which when activated will form another bridge for the babies. Now they can join up with you on the other side. Onwards! I definitely recommend you save here, because when you step on the switch and go through the door, you'll witness a little scene in which a creature drinks some of the green fluid we saw coursing through the factory tubes, then produces some energy, which it uses to power up a pair of flying saucers. Mario and Luigi make an exclamation, then turn to see... the babies knock over the creature's glass of fluid. Of course, it's now pissed. Ready to face its wrath? BOSS: SWIGGLER HP: 250 EXP: 196 Coins: 140 First things first, if you ever attack Swiggler while he's in his red and angry state, he'll counter with an earthquake that'll send two or more shockwaves across the ground at both of you; jump quickly in succession to avoid them all. Also, he takes very little damage, even from Cannonballers, in this state. Swiggler begins the battle with two Dr. Shroobs, which will remain with him permanently, and more will join the battle as the existing ones are destroyed. You'll notice Swiggler's drink; every time he drinks from it, he'll power up two UFOs, which will then fire their cannons at your party. When the Dr. Shroobs pull out their shrooms, any attack that hits them will cause them to drop it, and it'll bounce into Swiggler's glass and change the fluid. If a red mushroom is dropped into it, the fluid will become red, and his next drink will heal him for a substantial amount of HP. If a poison shroom is dropped in, he'll drink the gray fluid and be poisoned, thus ending his turn and making him susceptible to heavy damage without countering hits with a shockwave. As far as his attacks go, aside from making earthquakes and healing himself, he'll take a deep breath and spew a poison cloud at you; hit it with the hammer, then be ready to hit it again when it dissipates into a smaller cloud, or you'll be damaged and possibly poisoned. The Dr. Shroobs have no other attacks to add to the fray besides their existing moves, but never, ever hit one while it's holding a red mushroom. Once it's been poisoned, when its turn comes around it'll become pissed again and take another drink; you want to keep a constant supply of bad fluid coming, so it'll not only never heal itself, but also never attack or counter. You can't always guarantee a poison shroom coming up, though, so be prepared to deal with the UFO's cannon shots. Jump as soon as the shots are fired, and you should avoid them. As Swiggler's HP drops further downwards, he'll use his poison cloud attack 4-5 times in a row, so be ready for it. Now is an excellent time to use your Cannonballers; they'll shave off a large chunk of HP per turn, provided you never miss an action command. Three of them while he's in his green and weak state should do it. With Swiggler's destruction comes our next Cobalt Star shard! Kickass. ...Well, kickass until Baby Bowser jumps in and starts spinning around the party in circles, which for reasons I cannot comprehend for the life of me, makes both shards fly out from our possession and into BB's. Um, okay. Either way, he now has our fragments, and now we've got to chase the little bugger and get them back from him. You'll automatically be taken back to the present Peach's Castle. OOOOOOOOOOOOOO[8] Dino Wrangling OOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Head over to E. Gadd and explain your predicament. He'll tell you that time holes have been sprouting up all over the place recently, and point you towards one of them, saying it's been giving off strong Cobalt Star readings. Obviously that's where you're headed next, but first he wants you to check out the commotion in the castle garden. When you arrive, you'll find Baby Peach in her carriage, bawling her eyes out. The younger Toadsworth is standing atop the elder's head, and together they execute a spinning move they call the Toadsworth Twist. Look familiar? Yep. Mario and Luigi pester them, and so now you're going to be taught to do the move yourself. Much like the Hammer Bros. tutorial, complete their obstacle course as they instruct you to do so, and you can be on your way. Before you head to the time hole, though, go to the shop and buy two pairs of Branded Slacks and Preferred Pants. Now that your equipment is up to date, you can trudge to the second floor and into the library. Once inside, use the only platform you can reach to climb up onto the bookcases, and use your newly acquired spin to make it across to the treasure blocks above each case. The Training Badge is quite useless, but the rightmost block contains a Super Mushroom. When you're ready to warp, spin to the top of the screen from the bookcase conveniently marked with an arrow. Nab the 1-Up Super up there, then grab the babies and into the time hole! OOOOO Yoshi's Island OOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Items: Shroom Badge OOO Smash Egg (4) OOO Coins: 120 OOO Enemies: None OOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Catchy tune, eh? No? Well screw you, I like the nostalgic stuff. This place seems largely deserted as we first enter, and the area is littered with huge footprints. The first "house" you see contains a Shroom Badge and a save point; enter the next house you come across, and you'll meet a new face; Kylie Koopa, ace reporter or some crap. She came to the island after hearing about a massive egg being found there, and has suspicions that it's linked to the Shroobs in some way. She'll ask that the babies hop onto the spring inside the hut, and in humoring her you'll find... Yoshis! They're all huddled over, shaking with fear. At the sound of the babies, one of them begs them not to say anything. Who are these guys hiding from..? Of course, that will be answered momentarily. Cue the lumbering footsteps. The brothers come outside to the sound of a roar in Shroob-Gibberish, and watch as a huge creature resembling an enormous Yoshi, with red eyes and Shroob-like claws, rampages throughout the area and gulps down a bunch of Yoshis, and Kylie the ignoramus, to boot. Aw, raspberries! Say hello to Yoob, everybody! Well, Kylie gets herself spit up. A few more Yoshis are eaten, though, and Yoob even zings his tongue inside the hut the Bros. are hiding in, but comes out empty. The sound of his giant steps fade into the distance; he's had his fill and left. Once you leave the hut, you'll see Kylie, and she mentions something about an evil-looking Magikoopa looking around the place next door. Head inside, and you'll find Kamek mumbling to himself about his desperate need to find snacks, and pillaging a Yoshi Cookie. The Bros. march in to confront him about the stolen shards, and Kamek tells you off. Baby Bowser is on the cliff top, waiting for Kamek to return with some grub. Hopping on the spring will net you some Smash Eggs, my least favorite Bros. Item, and 20 coins. Back outside, we'll briefly see an encounter between Kamek and Yoob. Nothing important or very funny. He removes a door with his magic, though, making a path for us to continue. More Smash Eggs and a save point inside. The spring in the next area we come to leads to a cloud with a block suspended in the air, with a button atop it. Once Baby Mario hits it with his hammer, it'll drop to a level the adults can reach. It contains a nice 100-coiner. Not too shabby! When you finally come to a pipe, nab the two beans nearby and head down. Finally, we'll be doing some exploring instead of constantly walking into another conversation. [8.1] Blazing Saddles! OOOOO Yoshi's Island (Cliffs) OOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Items: Mushroom (2) OOO Super Mushroom (2) OOO Green Shell (5) OOO Smash Egg (21) OOO Cannonballer (3) OOO 1-Up Mushroom OOO 1-Up Super OOO Heart Pants OOO Coins: 128 OOO Enemies: Pidgit OOO Gnarantula OOO Coconutter OOO Kamek (Boss) OOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO ENEMY ATTACKS & STATS: Pidgit- HP: 24 EXP: 18 Coins: 6 Drop: Smash Egg, Mushroom Drop Weak: None Resist: None Remember them? They'll fly into the top screen, then quickly swoop down and make a pass at one of the Bros. If they hop before swooping, they'll stop in mid-air and make some psychotic sort of laugh before going through with the attack. Who will be attacked? If they pause while in front of the group, they'll swoop at Luigi. If they pause behind you, then they'll pass at Mario. They don't swoop towards you at blinding speed or anything, so jumping and countering the move is pretty easy. These guys sometimes carry a sack, and defeating them before they flee will net you 18 extra coins. Gnarantula- HP: 30 EXP: 15 Coins: 5 Drop: Smash Egg, 1-Up Mushroom Weak: Fire (green), Ice (red) Resist: None Don't jump on these guys! You never know if they have spikes under those puffs. Some of them do, some don't. The best way to face them is just by using your hammer. For attacks, they'll flutter towards you, and on the second flutter, simply come down on top of you. Be ready with your hammer to wail them as they come overhead; you'll get a feel for the timing. Once you expose their spikes or lack thereof, their jumps will be a little quicker. Coconutter- HP: 43 EXP: 20 Coins: 6 Drop: Green Shell, Ultra Mushroom Weak: None Resist: None These nuisances have the ability to summon rainstorms, which will heal 30 HP of damage to ALL enemies present. An upcoming storm is indicated by the use of their previous turn to merely raise their spear into the air, forcing you to resort to your hammer rather than jumps. Their actual attacks come from behind; they'll throw a spear into the air, out of their side of the screen, and it'll impale one of the Bros. unless you jump as soon as it's out of sight. They'll also appear from behind you and blow a dart into your backside; jump when you see the tube move closer to you after it initially shows up, and the dart should miss. Oh, and the eye that gleams tells you which brother is being targeted for the spear toss. We'll encounter Kamek one more time, and after a little standoff, he flies up to the top screen and uses his magic to start a bunch of fires throughout the place. He leaves you to deal with the flames, which we will get started with once Stuffwell tells us about shooting water. Toss the babies, and have BM stand in front of the fountain. As long as he's there, the water will cumulate inside him until he's got nine shots worth. BL can hit him with his hammer to make him spit the water forward; this is what we'll be using to put out those fires. Start with the flame directly across the bridge, then proceed. You'll be greeted by a possibly familiar face in the next area; Pidgit! Some of these guys carry a sack into battle, and if you can defeat them before they flee, you'll get some coins. The nearby blocks contain a coin and 8 Smash Eggs. Up in the clouds, you'll find some beans, coins, more crummy Smash Eggs, and a 1-Up Super. In the next area, you'll find that you can't reach any of the ledges by jumping or throwing babies, because they're just way too high. Transparent blocks sit by each one, offering a way up if one can make them solid. So, go to the right and toss the babies onto the spring you come across, sending them into the clouds. Things of interest here besides the fountain are the Heart Pants in the upper left; the babies can equip them and get a boost in both their HP and defense. Now, gulp down some water and align yourself with the pipe the arrow is pointing at. Spitting into it will shoot the water downwards and onto the flame below, extinguishing it, giving you access to a red ! block. Hitting this will solidify one of the blocks to the left, allowing you to climb onto one of the ledges. Mosey on over there. The block merely gives way to a bridge into the next area, where you now have two fires to put out. Grab the coins and mushrooms, then tunnel the babies under the gate by the holes in the wall. Take two gulps of water from the fountain, and shoot them into both hollowed-out trees. With the fires put out, Mario and Luigi can use their spin to travel, starting at the bridge, across the platforms and hit the green ! block. Another one solidified. Time to mosey again. Hopping up the green block will present two paths; one of which cannot be taken until you hit the third and final blue ! switch. So it's off to the right, where you'll eventually come to a room with four different pipes suspended in the air, three of which have an arrow, indicating that we can reposition it. Hit the blocks repeatedly until they're positioned in such a way that the water can flow down from above, into the blue pipe, then travel through the three yellow pipes and onto the flame, dousing it. Once again the babies must take to the clouds, but for once there are no beans or Gnarantulas up here; just a fountain. Fulfill your fireman duties and hit the block; now you can further ascend the cliffs. On your way into the next area, you can nab some Green Shells, and encounter a new, rather stupid looking, enemy. What happened to the Spear Guys?? I want my goddamn Spear Guys back! Not these.. these FREAKS! Taking the pipe down will bring up a new map that doesn't appear to be very intricate in design; however, there's another fire that must be dealt with. The next area has a few ledges with very large gaps in between them, making them impossible to jump across. But notice the whirlwind up there? Those privy to SSS will remember that these gaps are crossed by spinning as the adults into the whirlwind, which will build up your speed and greatly increase your flight distance. Leave the babies behind for now and spin across to the other side, catching a quick glimpse of Kamek as you do so. If you fall in this next area, you'll have to go all the way back and use the whirlwind again; you might as well jump down anyway, to get the Green Shells from the chest and to take out the enemies. Bring the babies over there and hop on the spring, taking you to a cloud for an alternate route for them. Have them wait on the cliff over there while the Bros. spin their way to them. Head up, then use the spin to gross the large gap and hit the purple ! block to move the ledge on the right down some, unveiling a gate to be tunneled under. Inside is a passage leading to a spring, taking you back to the surface, where a fountain awaits. Have a drink, then drop back down and position yourself on the narrow walkway so that BL can get a whack in, and put the flames out. Kill the birdies on their carpets for the EXP, nab the 1-Up, and press onwards. You're almost done... In the following area, you'll want to send the babies up into the clouds and through to the other side, as they can't do anything about the gap. The adult Bros. must time a spin so that they make it to the whirlwind as it comes near, and can then make the entire distance with the extra air time. Along the way, the babies can pick up some Super Mushrooms, more Smash Eggs, and three Cannonballers. Have you been digging up all of the beans up to this point? I've got 16 of them thus far, and soon you'll be happening upon a plethora of them. Make a habit of it... Once you cross the gap, step on the switch to open the doors, and before you take a step any farther, SAVE. Much to our disappointment, Baby Bowser narrowly avoids choking to death, and we get on Kamek's nerves for the last time. The babies scarf down a mountain of Yoshi Cookies in mere seconds; little fat plumbers already in the making. Now we've incurred Kamek's wrath, so he sics that Evil Cow of his on us. STINKY BABIES! BOSS: KAMEK HP: 450 EXP: 130 Coins: 50 Kamek's primary means of attack will be producing spiked balls with his wand and then raining them down on your party. As soon as his turn begins, he'll hop onto his broom, then start firing bursts of the transform-o magic his generation of baddies are known for. He'll fly directly in front of the Bros. he plans to hit, so there'll be no confusion as to where the balls will land once they come from the top screen. Hit them away with your hammer before they connect, and they'll sail into Kamek for some damage. He'll also produce mushrooms with his wand, too; if you spot one of these, don't swing your hammer at it; otherwise it'll heal him. Let them fall onto you and they'll replenish your own health! Following every one of his attacks, if he hasn't any in his possession already, he'll create four clones of himself; now, you can try and jump on two of them and see if they're the real deal; the fakes will simply vanish, but you can also use an all-hitting attack like the Bro Flower and rid of all of them at once. I prefer to keep them around, for all five Kameks will attack, meaning the real Magikoopa will suffer a lot of damage from repeated counterattacks, or you'll receive a lot of health recovery. Obviously, the counterattacks will give away the real Kamek, so wail away on him afterwards. If you knock him from his broom, he'll summon up a fireball to travel along the ground at you, starting up by Mario. Jump it with both brothers, then be prepared to swing your hammer- sometimes, the fireball will strike Kamek and set him on fire, rather than simply go offscreen. If this happens, Kamek will charge at you very quickly. You have no time to raise the hammer once he starts running, so be prepared the moment the fireball connects. He has no other attacks in his arsenal, and will climb back onto his broom once he's conjured up the fireball. Use your trusty Cannonballers once again when you're sure you're hitting the real Kamek; four of them, in addition to all the counterattack damage, should be enough to finish him off. Continue right past Kamek's fallen body, and soon you'll encounter BB again, having gotten himself into a dead end. He'll eat your Cobalt Star shards to spite you, but before you can force him to spit them back up, your best pal Yoob will show up again, trying to climb up the side of the cliffs to get at you. UFOs fly by and notice you, then give Yoob a hand by firing a growth ray at him and greatly increase his size. It's only a matter of time before he snatches you with that tongue of his, and since BB and your precious shards have now been swallowed, you don't have much of a choice. Once you land from your esophagus free-fall, Luigi will silence the babies with his last remaining Yoshi Cookies while Mario sleeps off his unconsciousness. He finally wakes up, and Stuffwell pops out to say something I've already forgotten as I was typing the previous sentences, so it won't be included here. Woo! Send the babies up the spring, and you'll be set to explore pink, squishy interior of our Yoshi devourer. [8.2] Intestinal Distress OOOOO Inside Yoob's Belly OOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Items: Super Mushroom (3) OOO Mushroom Drop OOO Super Drop (2) OOO Green Shell (4) OOO Ice Flower (9) OOO Smash Egg (3) OOO Cannonballer (10) OOO 1-Up Super OOO Puffy Trousers OOO Coins: 234 OOO Enemies: Bully OOO Dry Bones OOO RC Shroober OOO Sunnycide (Boss) OOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO ENEMY ATTACKS & STATS: Bully- HP: 46 EXP: 17 Coins: 6 Drop: Ice Flower, Green Pepper Weak: Ice Resist: None These will be fought mainly while the babies are exploring on their own. Their attack is a simple charge towards the babies, continuing off of the screen, and then charging again them from behind, back to their original position. The thing is, though, attacking them fills them with rage and boosts both their speed and attack. Attack them twice, and they'll be furious, hitting with great force and moving extremely fast. The best way to handle them is focusing on one and getting rid of it before it has a chance to move. If they do get into their pissed-off state, though, be ready to jump over them, and immediately jump again after you land, to avoid the second pass. Otherwise, wait a good second or so before jumping again, since they move rather slowly. Dry Bones- HP: 53 EXP: 32 Coins: 7 Drop: Super Mushroom, 1-Up Mushroom Weak: None Resist: None Their attacks work just like the hammers thrown by the Hammer Bros. you fought earlier- jump as the bones are hitting the ground in front of you, and they should simply bounce underneath you. If it makes a hop before throwing the bone, stand still, and the bone should sail over your head. They'll throw anywhere from 2-3 bones; spinning their head around before attacking means they'll go after Luigi. Chomping their jaws means they'll go after Mario. They won't throw at the same person twice in a row. RC Shroober- HP: 58 EXP: 26 Coins: 8 Drop: Cannonballer, Ultra Mushroom Weak: Ice Resist: None Shroobs that attack you not with lasers, but with remote-controlled toys of sorts. Their attack depends on the number of antennae that sprout from its head; two, and it'll send a UFO over your head, trying to beam you up into it. Charge up the hammer and whack it as you get close. Their second attack, indicated by a single antenna, is a bit trickier; a small robot will appear and rove quickly in circles around the Bros., making anywhere from 1-3 passes. When it begins to glow, it'll explode once it's finished making its pass. If the Shroober hops before summoning the robot, though, the bot will pause in place before zipping at you, so don't jump right away. If they face the screen upon sprouting their antennae, the attack will go for Mario, or Mario first in the case of the robot. First, take the time to tunnel and dig up the beans in this large room- there's an absolute plethora of them. Fifteen, to be exact. Right as you emerge from the hole, you'll find a Yoshi, trying to push a huge Chomp Rock, all by itself. Apparently, pushing a rock down into the hole will clear a way through Yoob's stomach, currently blocked. You won't be helping him, though- instead, you're going to get a bunch of Yoshis to provide some assistance. That means rescuing the lot of them from various plights inside this place. Bring the adults up with the nearby pipe, then go to the various arteries and toss the babies into them. Inside them are 100-coiners, a 1-Up Super, a meaty little psycho named Bully, and most importantly, a piece of fruit. The fruit is not for you to eat, but to give to the yellow Yoshi sprawled out at the top of the room. Feed it to him, and he'll join the other Yoshi behind the rock, providing a little more muscle. If you're injured in any battles here, there's an HP-replenishing block conveniently in this room. Save your Mushrooms. You'll notice there are five rooms branching off of this one; start with the one on the left, past the save point. Inside is a red Yoshi, cowering in fear while a Shroob torments it with a little robot. Have Mario jump on it, and the Shroob will attack you; defeat it, and the Yoshi can join the others in pushing the Chomp Rock. We'll hit these rooms clockwise, so next up is a room containing a blue Yoshi trapped in an enclosure, with something resembling a strand of DNA above it. To the right is a block with two Super Mushrooms and a pair of switches, which will activate once the babies match the colors of the two pegs nearby- blue, then yellow. Doing so opens up a hidden room for the babies to tunnel into, with two levels lined with switches. Positioning the adults in front of the chain of pegs so you can see, hammer the switches until every color is exactly as it appears on the strand. For those extremely stupid people, the two levels should look like this: Top: Blue, blue, yellow, yellow, red, blue, red, yellow. Bottom: Yellow, red, blue, red, yellow, yellow, blue, blue. Once you've completed the puzzle, head inside and talk to the Yoshi, and it'll join the others. Next room to the right- this one has no Yoshis, but a bunch of cows to be slain, and several treasure blocks to open. Of interest here are some new Ice Flowers, and a pair of Puffy Trousers for the adults, offering both an HP and attack increase. The next room on the right contains a large bed of spikes, with a lone pink Yoshi trapped on a block of tissue in the center of it. Tossing the babies onto the nearby springs will send you to a room filled with holes dropping down into the spiked area. Grab some more Ice Flowers up here, then drop down the third hole from the left. Hit the switch with your hammer, and a bridge of tissue will form; the Yoshi will leave automatically. If you want a bean, drop down the last hole on the right, but the adults will have to summon you back with the pipe. Once you're finished in there, you can enter the last room, on the far right, containing another RC Shroober terrorizing a light blue Yoshi, this time with a flying saucer. Tunnel the babies through into the hidden room, and have BM take a few gulps of water. The idea here is to fire droplets of water into the bottom screen through the opening in the tissue, timing them so that they hit the UFO buzzing about. Each shot amusingly startles the Shroob, and it'll take two hits to bring the saucer down. It'll crash into the wall, blowing open an entrance for you to get at both the Yoshi and the Shroob itself. Be sure to bring the babies back out before you head in there, as taking one step inside will alert the Shroober, and it'll attack you. Defeating it will calm the Yoshi down, and it'll provide the muscle needed to finally push the Chomp Rock down the hole, where the intestines or whichever region this is gets painfully stretched open. See Yoob's reaction? Heheheh. The new passage contains some Cannonballers, a 1-Up and some Smash Eggs, as well as some Dry Bones and RC Shroobers. At the end is a pipe, leading into the next area. In this large room, you'll witness a Yoshi being pulled into some sort of machine full of suds, then churned out onto a conveyor belt into an egg. Apparently this is a factory for turning Yoshis into eggs, but for what? To eventually hatch into Yoobs? For some other creature's nourishment? Either way, there are a lot of RC Shroobers here to be destroyed, as well as some more Bros. Items and a Mushroom Drop. Unlike the stomach, these rooms don't branch out all over the place; the exit is in the lower left, bringing you to a room full of shattered eggshells, and four Yoshis already working on another Chomp Rock. Send the babies onto the spring, then take a few gulps of water from the fountain. Now, using the adults, smack the eggs inside the blocks from underneath to send them up to the babies, and be ready to blast them with water so that they break open on the gray dangly-thing. Position the babies up against the wall to have the best shot at them. I've found that waiting until the eggs are about to drop back down the best time to fire. Cracking both release two Yoshis, and they'll both immediately run over to help push the egg away from the opening. The blocks to the right contain 50 coins and some more Super Mushrooms. The next room has no puzzles; only enemies and treasures, the only new one being two Super Drops, down in an artery. Can't complain with the Bros. Items, though. The downward path leads only to a safe haven for the Yoshis, two beans, and another 4-Bros. coin block, like the one in Vim Factory. Stand on the blue switch to access the next room, where we find Toadbert, one of the Toads that was with Princess Peach the elder, and was attacked by the Shroobs when the time machine had landed. Toadbert seems to have suffered a bad case of memory loss due to the attack, as he doesn't know his name, and has no recollection of the events that took place. He does, however, have a very faint recollection of something, which he drew a picture of. The drawing itself is horrible, resembling Peach holding a star above her head, and an ugly villainous type in a single piece of clothing and what looks like a cross between a crown and a hat. It's also badly smudged in dirt, or.. something. All Toadbert knows is that he woke up on Yoshi's Island, and was soon eaten by Yoob. He's now trying to rescue the Yoshis trapped inside the eggs, thinking they'll be reborn as monsters if something isn't done quickly enough. Problem is, there's a monster in the back, guarding the exit. Exit he says.. great. So, now Mario boldly volunteers to take this thing out, so the gang and the Yoshis can squeeze out the poopchute. Show your moves off to Toadbert, and be on your way. Take the opportunity to save, then enter the next room, where you'll confront an egg-like creature speaking in Shroob. Luigi's attempts to take the pussy way out fail, twice, thanks to an egg- beaning. And whaddya know... the egg contains none other than BB, demanding your help. If you don't, there won't be any adult Bowser to harass you in the future- oh, wait. This game is one huge time-paradox in itself. So, who cares about him? Either way, this guy will attack you regardless, so prepare to deliver a beating.. or should I say scrambling? =P BOSS: SUNNYCIDE HP: 500 Weak: Fire EXP: 260 Coins: 150 Win: Super Drop Your first goal is to break open a total of five eggs, which will each release Yoshis, who will climb up to the top screen and try to push a Chomp Rock onto Sunnycide. You can't do anything to him now, so just concentrate on attacking the eggs. While you're doing this, Sunnycide will either grab eggs and lob them at either brother, which can be avoided by jumping as soon as his tentacle lashes at one, or by inhaling one of the Bros. into his mouth. Have your hammer ready, and release when you're close, but not close enough to strike his bandaged uvula (or whatever the hell that thing is). Why? The pull of his inhalation will make up the distance needed to be within striking range; get too close, and you'll be sucked in and lose some HP in order to replenish his. Don't worry if he uses up all his eggs; he'll constantly refresh his supply as they run out. Once the Yoshis nail him with the rock, he'll be knocked onto his side and susceptible to big damage. Here's where you need to be careful, though- a chain will drop down to him, and as soon as he yanks it, a hole will open up and that bro will fall down it. This causes dizziness, so avoid it by jumping as soon as he pulls on the chain; you have about a split second to react after he does so. The area around the targeted bro will throb before opening up; you can tell who will be swallowed up by the tentacle he uses to pull the chain. Otherwise, he'll attack by turning the room dark and sending Boos after you; have your hammer ready and wail them once they're in front of you. Sunnycide has a weakness to fire, but you'll still obtain bigger damage by wailing on him with your Cannonballers. After two turns of wailing on him, he'll jump back to his feet and you'll have to repeat the egg-cracking process. I took him out in 5 Cannonballers and one Fire Flower, though the last CB might've overdone it. After the battle, a bunch of eggs and Baby Bowser will drop through the colon, and a horde of Yoshis will jog in and do the same. There's nothing left for you to do, so out his anus you go, too. They even show the great escape on the top screen, in case you weren't aware of your choice of exit, too. Nice of them, wasn't it? Stuffwell appears, and we look up to see Yoob doze off, still clinging to the side of the cliffs. Awwwwwwww. Back in the village, we find Baby Bowser spreading a false rumor, in which HE saved all of the Yoshis. They begin to hail him, as he scarfs down a mountain of Yoshi Cookies.. and then our heroes show up, and BB quickly gobbles down the remaining cookies before spitting up the Cobalt Shards.. and being punted into the stratosphere by them. Gotta love Yoshis, but they're.. idiots. Toadbert sets them straight for you. "Yay!" Without much of a choice or even a goodbye, you're hurtled back through time and into the castle. Have a quick chat with E. Gadd and explain things to him, and you'll learn of a new time hole, one which leads to the Shroob Castle, which we can't enter due to the place being heavily guarded. Now why did they waste our time to bring it up, then? Eh, whatever. You'll notice the Toadsworth icons on the map, meaning we have a new skill to learn, but first head to the shop, as it's closer. Buy two pairs of Shell Slacks and Egg Pants, and you're good to go. You should have a lot of excess crap in your inventory, now, so it'd be a good time to sell it. Particularly all those pairs of pants, and the Smash Eggs. Also, I'd recommend buying two Big-POW badges and equipping them on the adults. Until the shop stocks something better, you can receive a very nice attack boost lasting several turns just by scoring an easy "Great!" during any use of a Bros. Item. They'll help you make even shorter work of the bosses, so go ahead. Once you're finished your transactions, head to the gardens and learn to do the Bros. Ball. Not only will this allow you to reach the next time hole, but you can now spin the cog indicated by the ? on the left of the map. Doing so will lead to the sewers underground, housing a large number of 100-coiners (gotten via tunneling of course) and Goombas, as well as some pretty powerful healing items you won't have a need for just yet. You'll also find a mysterious figure down here for the first time, and those of you that know who he is will want to track him down... You won't NEED to pay a visit to this guy until much later in the game, though. Head to the sewers if you want to get this out of the way first. To proceed with the story, now, take the staircase on the left side of the map, up into the second floor. See that big, cris-crossing staircase in the middle? Head there. Ditch the babies, then hit the purple ! block, and be ready to curl into a ball and roll up the stairs. You have more than enough time to make this trip; it isn't the slightest bit difficult. Hitting the block at the end will drop the gate, making way to the next time hole. Hop in, and it looks like our next target is.. ..Gritzy Desert. OOOOOOOOOOOOOO[9] Too Much SAND OOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOO Gritzy Desert OOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Items: Super Mushroom (4) OOO Ultra Mushroom (2) OOO Max Mushroom (2) OOO Super Drop (4) OOO Ultra Drop (3) OOO Refreshing Herb OOO 1-Up Mushroom (2) OOO 1-Up Super (2) OOO Red Peppers (2) OOO Green Shell (6) OOO Ice Flower (15) OOO Pocket Chomp (17) OOO Secret Jeans OOO Big-POW Badge OOO Cash-Back Badge OOO Risk Badge OOO Coins: 527 OOO Enemies: Shrooba Diver OOO Pokey OOO Bob-omb OOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO ENEMY ATTACKS & STATS: Shrooba Diver- HP: 70 EXP: 32 Coins: 8 Drop: Super Mushroom, Blue Pepper Weak: Ice Resist: None These guys have a bunch of different attacks, all of which are easy to avoid, once you recognize them and get a feel for the timing. First are its attacks which you can actually counter- swimming towards the brothers quickly, looping around so that it makes a pass under each one; simply jump once it gets close. The other is diving out of the sand and into the air, coming back down on either bro; have your hammer charged and ready as it's shooting up, then swing as it comes down. The other two involve pulling objects out of the sand and throwing them at you quickly. If it brings up a spiked ball, leap when it throws it, and it'll bounce underneath you. If it pulls out a Cheep-Cheep, stand still, as it always bounces overhead. With its swimming attacks, they're always preceded by diving under and are executed quickly; look at what the intended means of dodging are (either the jump or hammer command) to figure out what's coming. Pokey- HP: 55 EXP: 36 Coins: 10 Drop: Green Shell, 1-Up Super Weak: None Resist: None Unlike other Pokeys, these can be leapt onto and damaged. Their attacks are pretty annoying at first, at least when you haven't learned the timing or what they're capable of. If Pokey spins its lower segments around, you'll be targeted with a rapid-fire needle attack for however many parts that remain; three needles per segment. They're fired in quick succession, and avoided by jumping as soon as the first needle is fired, then again as soon as you land until all shots have missed. An easier attack to deal with is when it bounces all of its parts towards you; they're fired one at a time and overhead, for you to whack away with your hammer. Provided you don't fudge the hammer timing, these are easy to deal with. Their last attack is impossible to avoid if their bodies are complete- a simple charging towards you. You can knock parts of their body away with the Green Shell, or the babies' hammers when they're alone. Bob-omb- HP: 35 EXP: 30 Coins: 5 Drop: Pocket Chomp Weak: None Resist: Fire, Ice, Mix These little guys have only two attacks: tackling and exploding. When they run towards you, take a tiny hop, stop, then run again; jump a second after they hop, and they'll run underneath you and be stomped on. If they turn their bodies a little after stopping, though, they'll run towards the other character; I rarely see this, but be ready for it. Now, if they light their fuse before charging, they'll move more quickly and simply explode when they get underneath you. This time, though, you want to jump as they're moving into you, because unless you're at the peak of your jump when they detonate, you'll be hurt. They have another method of exploding on you- moving up and down in front of the Bros., then running in and blowing up. You counter this by having your hammers ready, and whacking it once it's passing in front of you. Don't hesitate, because it won't move that way for long. As you first enter the desert, you'll find a stone pillar with an Ultra Shroom, accessible via baby toss, and a blue switch in front of some sort of stadium.. a koopa complex of sorts, judging by the headmount and the shell-pillars. Anyways, standing on the switch will swing the doors open, and alert a swarm of Shroobs, who will come stampeding out in legions after you. Our heroes run and hide, losing them for a second, but the babies dumbly leave the hiding place, and as Luigi goes out to grab them, they're spotted by a lone Shroob and he gives chase. Kylie pops out from a pillar of sand and has a chat with Mario; apparently the Shroobs are having a gathering in that stadium we opened, a celebration of the overtaking of the Mushroom Kingdom. Not only that, but Princess Shroob is supposed to be at the head of this celebration, as well as an appearance from another princess. One believed to be of royalty.. and wears pink. Now who could that be? Mario explains the bit about Peach's abduction, and Kylie thinks his story doesn't hold water, but whatever. She'll leave us, mentioning something about the crystal shell in the area we began, saying the four turtle heads are linked to it somehow. Now, before you go wandering around looking to solve puzzles, let me mention that they'll requiring not only splitting from the babies, but wandering far from them as well. On that note, I like exploring the areas first, to clear out all the enemies and grab whatever items and beans I can. This is so the party stays relatively close together in experience, and the babies won't get into any battles in which they're biting off more than they can chew. Not that the enemies here pose a particularly serious threat, but anyways. Your immediate location, where you spoke with Kylie, contains a few treasure blocks with Herbs, 1-Ups, and 50 coins, gotten via the adults' spin. The next has a large number of enemies, most of them Pokey, and also a plethora of items, primarily Drops and Bros. Items. You'll find some of the blocks are positioned above pillars you have no way of reaching; these can be nabbed later in the game, if you return with a certain Bros. skill. The script itself won't call for you to return here, so it's up to you to remember. Anyways, the next room downwards has a contraption for you to familiarize yourself with- the cannon. Mario and Luigi must roll themselves into a ball, and then roll into the yellow cannon on the side. The cannon is fired by hitting a switch with the hammer; but where is that switch? You'll find it by throwing the babies into the nearby pipe beforehand. That switch will light up only once the adults are inside the cannon. Don't fire them to the other side just yet, though. Head back the way you came, then up into the next area, the upper-left corner. More goodies that must be spun to, and an ever-increasing number of divers and Pokeys that we must tear apart. In the pipe is a pair of Secret Jeans, equippable by the babies; it lowers defense in exchange for more speed and stache. Equip them if you don't mind the little cut. The next area on the right has another Bros. Ball challenge; the adults must roll along through the walls of cactus and make it to the purple ! block in time. Not a difficult feat at all, and you'll pass by some bean spots for the babies to dig up, so have them walk the distance to the adults once you've finished and pick them up. The next area has a lot of Bob-ombs, hyperactive little things that will appear in groups of four, or three with another Shrooba Diver. There's a Big- POW Badge in the pipe in the lower left, as well as our first batch of Pocket Chomps, in one of the treasure blocks scattered about. Eradicated everything here? Good; just one more area to go. Head down and deal with the Bob-ombs, grab the items you wish, and now you're ready to take out that crystal by the entrance to the stadium! Abandon the babies in the lower- right area of the desert, by the Dry Bones statue. With the adults, make the long yet necessary trek back to the upper-left, where there's a Dry Bones directly across from it. Use the Bros. Ball; it makes the trip much faster. Once there, initiate the ! block sequence with Mario, and once Luigi hits his block, the other block, all the way on the other side, will light up; you have a generous 9 seconds to bring the babies up on your screen and hit the blocks they're standing underneath. Once you've done this, the two Dry Bones will concentrate a beam onto the crystal. With those out of the way, you have one more to take care of, so head down with the adults and up with the babies into their respective areas and do the same thing with the other two Dry Bones statues. Now you've shattered the crystal, exposing a purple ! block! With the adults, head back to the area with the stadium and use the pipe there to summon the babies, and throw them up onto the pillar. Once they hit the block, a corner of the stadium will drop down, which you can use to climb up onto the roof. A few items worth nabbing here.. once you're ready, climb to the top and enter the opening. Take the pipe down to a save point and a switch; compressing the switch lets you into what appears to be a spectator's floor, with windows arrayed here and there. Kylie seems to have found her way in as well, and informs us that Pricess Shroob will be arriving any minute. She suggests you all take a peek through one of the windows... [9.1] And our Special Guest is... OOOOO Koopaseum OOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Items: Ultra Mushroom OOO Refreshing Herb (2) OOO Cannonballer (3) OOO Adult Trousers OOO Pep Badge OOO Coins: 70 OOO Enemies: Shrooboid Brat (Boss) OOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Before you is a crowd of hundreds, THOUSANDS of Shroobs, all of them abuzz, anxiously awaiting the arrival of their leader, Princess Shroob. One of the four Shroobs onstage steps forward and addresses the crowd; a cheer breaks out amongst them. Then, as the lights dim and the stagelights turn on, the Shroob's Mothership slowly descends over the stadium, and in a beam of light, Princess Shroob is lowered to the stage amidst thunderous applause and cheers. The lights turn back on, and Princess Shroob begins to speak; each sentence is followed by a roar from the crowd. She screams and raises her arms, getting a rise out of them; moments later, a lone voice screams out over the audience.. ..in English. A lone UFO flies high above the crowd, carrying Princess Peach underneath it! It hovers over a pipe before the audience, and as the audience chants, a familiar beast emerges from the pipe, hungrily snapping its jaws. One final chant, and the UFO releases Peach, her body falling only a foot before being eaten alive by.. Petey Piranha. The crowd is in an uproar, and Princess Shroob cackles evilly with them... Mario and Luigi are shocked by what they just witnessed, and turn to see Kylie to the left of them, bound up by Shroobs! Woo, she won't be getting in our way for a while! Our heroes are now left alone to explore. To the far right is a room with a 4-man coin block; to the left is a room with a purple ! block, which when activated drops the ledges down to a height we can reach. While the opening is small, it's not meant for the babies- roll the adults into a ball and go underneath, then stop as soon as you've cleared the opening. Now, spin across the spikes and roll all the way down through the obstacle course (it doesn't matter if you fall between the pegs, though you really have to be doing something wrong in order to), and hit the pipe in the next room to bring the babies down with you. There's 50 coins in that block if you want 'em, and some Cannonballers and Refreshing Herbs in the next room, as is our next puzzle- another maze in pitch darkness, aided by the huge shine block. The pathways get really, really narrow here, so walk carefully. Keep in mind there are two different locations where you must jump across the spikes, from one path to the next. Also in this room are 20 coins, an Ultra Shroom, a Pep Badge, and a pair of Adult Trousers. The Pep Badge is definitely worth getting, making the wearer immune to status ailments, and the trousers are the adult version of the Secret Jeans you got earlier. Anyways, once on the other side, pound the switch with the hammer, and you'll open the door into the next room. Head up and save, then step onto the platform and you'll be taken up... ...up onto the stage, surrounded by thousands of Shroobs, not to mention the Princess herself. The Shroobs onstage open fire, but the Bros. are quick to act; Mario and BM take out the first pair, while Luigi and BL.. well, Luigi is of course thrown about, as the developers seem to enjoy harming him physically whenever the opportunity arises. Suddenly, one large freak of a Shroob swings over the crowd on a rope. The audience of Shroobs go crazy, and Princess Shroob barks something in her adorable gibberish at the freak. The little ones have since dragged the man in green back to the center stage, just in time to attacked by a lollipop. Of all things. "BABIES!" BOSS: SHROOBOID BRAT HP: 900 EXP: 180 Coins: 100 This guy has a lot of HP, but if you've gotten the Big-POW badges I told you to, then this will only take a few turns. Open right away with an Ice Flower, and use it until you get a defense-down on him, then wail away with either Pocket Chomps or Cannonballers. You can rack up more damage with the Chomps, provided you've got quick fingers and don't make any mistakes. Otherwise, just wail away to the tune of 180-200 damage a pop with the cannon. If his def-cut wears off, don't worry about using another Ice Flower, since you've still got your strength boost, and he should be at less than half HP by now. Now, his attacks- their targets will always be chosen by the audience of Shroobs, holding up signs with either an M or an L. The initial, NOT the color, will determine who is attacked, as midway through the Shroobs will change their signs to try and confuse you. To avoid his lollipop, which packs a nice wallop, jump as soon as he rears it back to throw. His other attacks involve eating items tossed by the crowd and spitting them out at you- deflect them with the hammer; their timing won't differ per item, so this is easy. If he eats a regular Mushroom, he'll spit out a poisoned one, but if he eats a poison shroom, he'll spit out a normal one. Let these hit you to replenish some HP. These attacks will often inflict the ailments paired with them, so don't screw up with the hammer. Without the loss in defense, your perfect Cannonballers will only deal around 120-150, so the Ice Flowers do make a difference. 3-4 turns of this, and the Shrooboid brat is a goner. The Shrooboid has been humiliated in front of thousands of its kind, but the Bros. have merely leapt out of the frying pan and into the fire, as they're still surrounded by their enemies. Rather than kill them on the spot, though, the Princess merely calls a group of them to surround them, and on her word, pull out friggin' HAMMERS; yes, aliens commonly come equipped with hammers, which they use to smash a hole in the floor underneath the heroes, sending them into the depths from whence Petey Piranha came. Watch the somewhat amusing scene with Luigi and the babies, then press on... [9.2] Little Cave of Horrors OOOOO Gritzy Caves OOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Items: Ultra Mushroom OOO Super Drop (2) OOO Ultra Drop (2) OOO Green Shell (6) OOO Bro Flower (12) OOO Cannonballer (3) OOO Smash Egg (3) OOO Pocket Chomp (3) OOO Trampoline (13) OOO Red Pepper (1) OOO Green Pepper (2) OOO Dire-Free Badge OOO Big-DEF Badge OOO Big-POW Badge OOO Coins: 628 OOO Enemies: Dark Boo OOO Snifaro OOO Bob-omb OOO Elite Boom Guy OOO Petey Piranha (Boss) OOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO ENEMY ATTACKS & STATS: Dark Boo- HP: 63 EXP: 20 Coins: 6 Drop: Trampoline, 1-Up Mushroom Weak: Resist: Fire, Ice, Mix These guys fight exactly the same way as the original Boo enemies found earlier in the game, only they're now much faster. In addition, when they attack from behind, if you fail to avoid them, they'll steal one of your items, whether it be healing, Bros. or so on. Jump as soon as they appear. Not much else to say about them, though you'll get your item back if you kill, er, exorcise them once they have it. Snifaro- HP: 90 EXP: 50 Coins: 10 Drop: Trampoline, 1-Up Mushroom Weak: None Resist: None More interesting variants of Snifits are back! This time, the sarcophagus dwelling Snifit attacks by sliding open its door and firing two shots, one from its headpiece, and another from the Snifit inside. The order of the shots depends on the way the sarcophagus door slides open; if the door slides right, don't move, and the shot will fly past, then jump; if the door slides left, jump over the shot and you'll avoid the second. These guys also attack by leaping onto the sarcophagus itself and riding it like a rocket, up into the top screen and then looping around to charge at either brother. Jump onto them as they pass under, and they'll take damage. Bob-omb- HP: 35 EXP: 30 Coins: 5 Drop: Pocket Chomp Weak: None Resist: Fire, Ice, Mix These little guys have only two attacks: tackling and exploding. When they run towards you, take a tiny hop, stop, then run again; jump a second after they hop, and they'll run underneath you and be stomped on. If they turn their bodies a little after stopping, though, they'll run towards the other character; I rarely see this, but be ready for it. Now, if they light their fuse before charging, they'll move more quickly and simply explode when they get underneath you. This time, though, you want to jump as they're moving into you, because unless you're at the peak of your jump when they detonate, you'll be hurt. They have another method of exploding on you- moving up and down in front of the Bros., then running in and blowing up. You counter this by having your hammers ready, and whacking it once it's passing in front of you. Don't hesitate, because it won't move that way for long. Elite Boom Guy- HP: 80 EXP: 40 Coins: 8 Drop: Bro Flower, Blue Pepper Weak: Fire, Mix Resist: Ice Again, these are exactly the same as their weaker version in BB's castle, with the obvious increase in speed and attack. The signal for which kind of shot they'll fire is also the same- both hands up for an immediate shot; one hand pointing for a puff of smoke, then a bullet. Immediately you'll see a fountain and a fire nearby; extinguishing it and smashing the rock wall at the end of the small corridor will bring you to a shop run by Monty Moles; the new Bros. Item, the Trampoline, is sold here; I wouldn't buy any, though, because you'll be finding plenty inside the treasure blocks, and the Dark Boo enemies will drop more. On the clothing and badges side are some interesting pieces- The Muscle Slacks and Thrilling Slacks feature a disgusting drop in defense in order to raise attack, and the Svelte Slacks and Tissue Pants also drop defense horribly, in order to raise HP, speed, and stache. As for badges, we have the POW-Peak Badge, which gives a tremendous boost in attack, but each battle, a countdown starting at three ticks down each of your turns, and once it hits 0, you faint. Now, the badges alone will enable you to kill everything, even in groups of five, in the three turns given to you, and along with the Muscle Slacks, the Bros. will be freakishly strong. If you're confident in your dodging/counter ability, by all means splurge on these, as you'll be wrecking everything in sight. Otherwise, don't touch this crap with a ten-foot pole. Once you're done here, proceed to the right. On the far right of this room is a slope with a purple ! block atop it. No crafty skills are needed to climb up to it or anything; once you hit it, the ledge in the upper left will drop down and form steps, leading to a path the adults must take by themselves, for it requires the Bros. Ball. As for the babies, tunneling under the gate to the north will get you some peppers, both red and green, which increase your attack and defense, respectively. I don't particularly care for these, but there are people that swear by their usefulness (well, the red ones at least), so it's up to you. There's nothing else the tykes can do until the adults summon them, so just sit tight. Once the Bros. roll their way into the next room, you'll hear a scream, and once again bear witness to the consumption of Kylie.. this time by good 'ol Petey. Guess the Bros. don't care about ya, Ky. Anyways, the pipe for the babies is just to the right of Petey's little digging hole, so bring 'em up. No puzzles or even enemies here, so grab what junk there is laying around, and be on your way. Two routes here, now- the one on the bottom leads to a dead end containing a 4-man coin block; go after it if you like. Otherwise, simply deal with the enemies here and exit via the left. In this next room, you'll want to tunnel the babies under the gate, bringing you to a fountain and a Monty Mole, who wants you to spit water at targets as they pass by, matching whichever is scrolling by on the bottom. Take several gulps of water and start the wheel spinning in the previous room using the Bros. Ball. It starts off quite simply, with both targets moving very slowly; simply stand by the right side and whack BM once a match is scrolling by. For the second, the bottom runs the opposite way, and the speed picks up slightly; for the third, the bottom will scroll by very quickly, and you'll have to figure out which it was before firing at the target, which moves somewhat quickly itself. Get three matches, and a bridge will form at the bottom of the previous room. Crossing it will bring you to another course for the Bros. Ball to trek over; hitting the purple ! block on the pedestal will sprout a peg necessary for you to make it to the other side. You don't need it to get to the other side, as you can just drop to the bottom of the room, but in order to climb back up and continue, you'll need to use it. The baby tunnel down here leads to a Dire-Free badge, giving the wearer unlimited Bros. Items when at less than 1/4 HP. On the far left, you'll come to a room with a pipe, bringing you back up to the Gritzy Desert; Luigi will automatically hit the purple ! block there and lower the blocks down to a reachable height, making for easy access to and from the caves. The northwestern exit leads back to the save point where you started. Hopefully you hit the switch block before jumping down here, because otherwise you'll have to walk back around through each room up to this point. Once you're done here, roll across the chasm and take the lower-right exit. This brings you to a pipe for the babies, as well as a pipe into the next section of the caves. Onto the next room... Here you'll find the path blocked by giant stone pillars, and the only thing for you to do is to throw the babies up to the hidden passage. At the end of this corridor is another Monty with a ! block; it's another Bros. Ball course in which you are timed, and much like the desert course, it is very easy. Just stop once you get to the slope across from the platform with the second switch block, and jump; use a spin if you don't think you can make it. Noticed those blocks on the walkway above you as you rolled by? The blocks there contain 60 coins and a Big-DEF Badge. Don't bother backtracking for the little ones; the walk is annoyingly long if one is just walking. As you enter the next room, you'll immediately find a pipe that you can bring them back with, anyway. For such an extremely large room, it doesn't have much; a few enemies here and there, and two pipes for the babies to be hurled into, netting you a couple 100-coiners. Exit's in the lower left. Here we meet a powerful new enemy, the Elite Boom Guy! Eliminate these bastards first, as they're the most powerful enemies in here. To proceed, the babies must use their hammer to pound the switch, lowering one of the blocks to a height the adults can reach. Taking the Bros. Ball route from the entrance will nab you some goodies, among them another Big-POW Badge; the stuff opposite those treasures can be gotten on the other side, with a spin. The next room is once again huge and devoid of puzzles; only the pipe in the upper-left contains a 100-coin piece. Kill the nasty Elites and pharaohs, and continue on to the right, where you'll find another cog wheel to spin, and a hidden passage before it; throw the babies up here, and you'll find a bunch of platforms like the ones we used in Toadwood Forest. By spinning the cog as the adults, the platforms will move back and forth, allowing the babies to cross. Move the ball into the cog, but stop as soon as it begins to turn; if you move into it full force, the cog will turn much faster, as will the platforms, making them much too difficult to jump onto. Anyways, as you cross, you'll find two blocks along the way; hit them and you'll receive a measly amount of coins, but a set of numbers will appear. Once you make it to the other side, you'll find a third block at the top of the little mountain of rock, ticking the numbers down to 0 and lowering a pillar for the adults to cross. Leave the babies in their current position and spin across the bed of thorns, then summon the tykes with the pipe. Onwards! The next room is another big 'un, with nothing but a few blocks containing crap for items and some lethal Elites. The room connected via the lower-right however, houses a lone Elite and two Super Drops, plus a single Ultra Drop. Handy. All that's left to do now is to back out and take the lower-left exit of the previous room, bringing you to a pipe. The following room has four different Bros. Items, and a save point; compressing the blue switch will release the bar on the huge, black door in front of you... ...opening up a door that the bars weren't even barricading. Um, okay. The next room is quite large, but all there is for you to do is to have a baby jump from a piggyback and hit the block in the center. All that was inside the block was a single coin, but the noise got the attention of Petey, who springs up from his hidey-hole. More stupidly amusing things to watch, namely the near-death experience of Baby Luigi, saved only by a baby being thrown into the back of the beast's head. Next time I'm in danger, I'll see if I can use any infants to my advantage. Anyways, seeing as these guys can run for their lives without someone screwing it up for everyone else, we're going to have to fight this guy. BOSS: PETEY PIRANHA HP: 1300 Weak: Fire EXP: 360 Coins: 250 I utterly destroyed this guy with only four Trampolines, thus avoiding his somewhat annoying second phase, but I had my Bros. equipped with the Muscle Slacks and POW-Peak badges, so things went a little more quickly for me. His attacks don't vary at all while he's flying, but your means of dodging them do. Petey will leap up to the top screen and dive off of blocks onto the ground below, sending a seed flying at each of your heroes. Depending on how he dives, you'll either jump with one before the other, or at the same time; a forward dive means Mario should jump first and Luigi soon afterwards; a flip (spiraling repeatedly) means both should jump at the same time; and a backwards dive (mouth facing the Bros.) means Luigi should jump first, followed by Mario. As soon as Petey's body makes impact with the ground, the seeds will fly, so that is the time to jump. Eventually, if you haven't killed him yet, Petey will burrow underground, with only his head poking out; He cannot be jumped on in this state. He now uses two different attacks; the first consists of sending a pendulum dangling from a block whipping towards you, which is countered with the hammer, sending it back to the other brother (several times in a row); for the second, he'll burrow completely and attempt to pull the Bros. down with him into a sinkhole. Jump CONSTANTLY, as fast as you can, over and over, and you should avoid this one. That's all there is to Petey. Not a large arsenal, but he likes to attack three times in a row, so be ready for them. Lastly, he has a weakness to Fire, but you're better off saving your Fire Flowers for the times he's burrowed. If he's susceptible to jumps, take advantage of the opportunity and pelt him with Cannonballers or the Trampolines. Destroying this fugly disgrace to all Piranha Plants everywhere will present us the contents of his stomach- Kylie, still in one piece, and another Cobalt Star shard! Kylie takes a good, long look at it, and insists that someone was looking back at her, but quickly diminishes the thought to her own likely stupidity. However, she managed to get her hands on a very large key, which she claims to have stolen from the Shroobs. Wonder what it unlocks? She suspects it's something inside their mothership, but who knows. Say... what happened to Peach? Wasn't she eaten by Petey as well? Apparently she was spit out during the consumption of Kylie.. huh. She must be held captive elsewhere, then. To get out of this room, shatter the wall where Petey had already damaged it with his block. In the next area, tunnel under the gate, and as you're about to pound the switch, a familiar voice calls out. Could it be? Yes! We've finally gotten to Peach! Seconds later, though, we hear a scream... dig back out and run inside the cell, where we find the Princess... ...with a hideous shroom on her face. So much for our kiss of reward. OOOOOOOOOOOOOO[10] Just like Old Times... OOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO With the shroomified Peach returned to the castle, it seems the only thing anyone is concerned with is the restoration of Peach, not the still- looming problem of the Shroobs, tearing up the past as they please. Mario and Luigi are left to go about without any more tasks, so head back down to the first floor and visit the garden, where the Toadsworths had brought the crying Peach. It is here you'll learn, without a real need for it at the moment, the Baby Spin, allowing you to launch the babies into the air and gliding gently down by spinning into them. You'll need this to send them onto ledges you can't reach by throwing them. You'll also learn to flatten the babies by rolling over them with the Bros. Ball, allowing them to enter tiny crevices. As the lesson finishes, Baby Peach is blown into a hidden passage nearby, so now is your chance to put your new skills to use. Spin into the babies to get them into the enclosure, then activate the switch. Spin into them again to bring them up to the entrance, and they'll find Peach way in the back, atop a ledge accessible only by jumping repeatedly. Now how in the hell did she get up there?! =P The Toadsworths take Peach away for a nap, and once you head back inside the castle, there'll be a loud rumbling; a Toad runs by screaming about someone coming back. A "he" in fact.. now who might that be? Go to Peach's bedroom, and you'll find that the villain in question is indeed, Bowser. After making off with the Princess, he's confronted by Toadsworth, whom he avoids with a mighty leap- however, his weight shatters the bridge once he lands, and Bowser falls directly into a time hole below, followed afterwards by the Princess. There's only one thing to do- after them! The time hole is in the upper left of the first floor, and accessed by sending the babies across the large gap using the spin.. taking it will bring you to the base of a mountain, known as Thwomp Volcano. [10.1] R0x0rz your B0x0rz OOOOO Thwomp Volcano OOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Items: Super Mushroom (7) OOO Ultra Mushroom OOO Ultra Drop (4) OOO 1-Up Mushroom (2) OOO 1-Up Super OOO Red Pepper (2) OOO Green Shell (5) OOO Bro Flower (2) OOO Ice Flower (14) OOO Cannonballer (3) OOO Trampoline (2) OOO Block Trousers OOO Counter Badge OOO Coins: 257 OOO Enemies: Tanoomba OOO Thwack OOO Red Coconutter OOO Mrs. Thwomp (Boss) OOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO ENEMY ATTACKS & STATS: Thwack- HP: 54 EXP: 20 Coins: 2 Drop: Super Mushroom, Block Trousers Weak: None Resist: None I LOVE these guys for gaining EXP! All throughout the battle with these things, if they have any allies that have been killed, or any vacant positions, they'll pound the ground and summon more of them. Any summoned Thwack is still given a turn to move, so they are likely to summon even more, if possible. Otherwise, Thwacks have very quick, straightforward attacks; either lifting up and hurtling at either brother quickly, or lifting higher and flying overhead to come down from above. Jump as soon as the Thwack begins to move towards you, and swing your hammer as soon as they're overhead, and they'll be stopped. Their color indicates who they'll be attacking; bear in mind that Thwacks will only stay in battle for so long before turning gold and exploding into boulders, which will roll towards the heroes. Jump the moment they burst apart to clear the rocks. Tanoomba- HP: 90 EXP: 82 Coins: 9 Drop: Pocket Chomp, Green Pepper Weak: Fire, Mix Resist: None The morphing Goombas are back from SSS, this time with three new attacks up their sleeves. Their first and most common involves morphing into a spiny shell and circling around the Bros.; jump with both as the attack begins, then with each person as the shell comes near. It may make anywhere from 1-3 passes before retreating. Its second and third attacks involve jumping into the top screen and morphing into one of two objects- a Thwomp, which falls very quickly, and a balloon, which floats down much more slowly. Have your hammer ready immediately to deal with the Thwomp, as it's a lot harder to dodge, and you can tell whom is about to be squashed or bopped by the manner in which the Tanoomba jumps; straight upright for Mario, and flipping around for Luigi. Red Coconutter- HP: 85 EXP: 70 Coins: 7 Drop: Red Pepper, Ultra Mushroom Weak: Ice Resist: None These freaks battle exactly the same as their weaker versions, with only one minor tweak to one of their attacks- they now fire their blow guns multiple times from behind the Bros. Jump each time the tube moves towards you, and the darts should miss. Kill these idiots first, as they like to heal everyone with rain. Head up from the save point and, ignoring the Toads (X-TREEEEEEEEEEEME!) spin into the babies to send them up to the purple ! block, which will open up a path once hit. If you want an Ultra Mushroom, roll over the babies with your Bros. Ball and send them up the tiny passage. You'll be doing a lot of this stuff while you ascend the mountain. Next, cross the bridge and greet your best friend for leveling up right now, the Thwacks. These guys love to constantly bring more Thwacks into the fray, giving you gross amounts of EXP once you're finished. If you happen to win a pair of Block Trousers from these, put 'em on, as they offer a nice boost in defense. If you're wearing Muscle Slacks, though (as I am), don't bother, as you'll lose your Plumber-on-Steroids powers. Anyways, it's a long climb up, and you'll pass a few goodies accessible via the Baby Spin, and eventually come to a platform above a bed of spikes; instead of taking the Bros. Ball only route, use the Baby Spin again and send the tots across the platform to nab the items, then simply use the pipe on the other side to bring the adults over. Don't drop down the ledge you see on the other side, for it doesn't lead to any bean or alcove of any sort; it's just a long way down to the beginning of the climb. Proceed upwards. More fun with Thwacks. This room is devoid of puzzles, so just demolish the emotional rocks and continue north. This next room presents a new puzzle you'll see a lot more of, so learn to love it- it involves rolling over the babies to squash them, then sending them inside the tiny opening- the slot, not the one on the far right, where you'll find a fan; the wind produced by the propeller will send the babies while they're still thin up to the higher ledge, where they can find a spring which will send them to the top of the cliff. All the way over to the left is another switch block with a button atop it, meaning you must pound it down to the adults. Don't jump down, though; just send the adults to the right, then cross the bridge all the way over to the left, where they can hit the block, opening up a path for the babies to continue through. The adults have no way of joining us at the moment, so leave them behind and head up, where you'll find two pipes; one for the adults to join you, and another to continue further up the mountain. Save if you please, then cross the bridge and have your first encounter with the mildly irritating baddie, Tanoomba. Their Thwomp attack takes some getting used to before you can counter it with ease, so be prepared for a few lumps here and there. To cross the bed of spikes, send the babies over first with the Baby Spin (the bean atop the Thwomp is gotten the same way), then send the Bros. over with their regular spin. Proceed left. There's another fan inside the hidden passage you'll come to in this room, or rather, a few fans. The babies can climb them in pancake form and reach the purple ! block at the top, which will move the yellow blocks back a few steps, so the adults can climb up. At the top is a blue switch; compress it to open the door, er, mouth, and move on. In this room, you can't do anything but ascend; however, there's a Counter Badge on the far left for you to nab; climb to the top, and positioning the babies in front of the yellow ramp, spin into them and let them glide across the pit. A Red Coconutter will probably attack you, so deal with it, then nab the badge. Good one for the babies while they're apart from the adults. Either way, all there is to do is to head north. Another fan in this next area, only now you must use the adults' spin on the cog outside to get the propeller turning quickly enough to send the babies up to the top. Noticed a bunch of blocks along the way? The highest one on the right is a purple ! block, which will create a bridge for the party to cross into the next area. Grab the other treasures here and head upwards. Don't be confused by the huge slots in the next area; the babies can neither tunnel nor walk under them while squished. Simply climb up this tall section of the mountain, using the Baby Spin and Bros. Ball to cross the large gap at the top once you come to it. If you don't yet have a pair of Block Trousers and would like some, hop off of the yellow ramp at the top and hold Up so that you fall inwards and land in the small alcove. The block there contains measly coins, but going right from there brings you to a small secret area with an M block, holding the trousers. You'll have to climb all the way back up if you do this, though. Once at the top, exit to the right and you'll find a pipe. Onwards! Use the save point in this next area if you wish, then leave via the right. Yet another hidden-propeller obstacle course here, in which you must spin the cog again, giving the babies the gust they need to climb higher, but then you must wait for a cloud to move in underneath you; ride this cloud to the right, then carefully hop over the other clouds and hit the purple ! block once the babies reach their normal height again. This will drop the huge yellow block on the right, revealing a path to continue. Nothing but enemies here; kill them all merely for existing, then head north, to the volcanic crater. It is here you'll find Princess Peach's crown, just sitting there on the grass; it must've been dropped when Bowser carried her down into the volcano. Stuffwell pops out to ponder the same thing I just said, when suddenly, a huge column of lava and rock bursts from the crater! A volcanic eruption! ...wait. If Peach is down there, then.. she'd be long since dead, following all laws of logic and physics, but Stuffwell decides we must put a stop to the eruption, and this game has already long since violated any rules that apply to a good storyline, so let's go. MIND THE EXPLOSIFICATION! Continue down the other side of the mountain, destroying and collecting as you see fit along the way, and soon you'll reach the attractive lab of E. Gadd's younger self. Spin the cog to the left of the door with the Bros., and it will open. Head inside, and he'll ignore all of your attempts to get his attention until Baby Mario pulls out his trusty hammer. He's studying the volcano here, and he won't believe the thing is erupting until the flaming rocks start busting through his roof and destroying his equipment. Soon an enormous Thwomp engulfed in flames crashes through, and will explode unless you do something about it! Make like a fireman and spin the faucet handle in the upper-left, then gulp 'n blow the flames out; it'll take a full 9 squirts to extinguish the flames entirely. Witness an inexplicable transfer of thoughts from younger brain to elder brain, and an even more bizarre act as the elder E. Gadd sends a torrent of water through a time hole and into the volcano's era, where it ceases the eruption. And I don't think he was even aware that the thing was erupting.. Um, okay. Anyways, we can now enter the crater and look for the SHOULD BE dead Peach. Before you you do anything else, though, go to the lower-right of E. Gadd's lab and enter the pipe, then hit the purple ! block you find; this will create a bridge at the base of the mountain, so you can climb to the top easily later on. I highly recommend saving now, then heading back to the top of the mountain. The enemies are still slain, so you'll have no opposition as you climb; at the top, witness a conversation between two thwomps; a round, caring wife, and her hubby, who hasn't yet discovered the beauty of proper English. He's angry because the eruption has ceased, and she's angry with us because she thinks we did it (what excellent reasoning, too). Now we go SQUISH! BOSS: MRS. THWOMP HP: 500 EXP: 400 Coins: 0 First things first, damage Mrs. Thwomp takes in her large form does NOT count towards her max HP; only damage dealt while she is split up will deplete her actual health. That said, it takes 150 HP worth of damage to shatter her into four different Thwomps; three are of course fake, with one being real. How to tell the difference? The real madam has perfect teeth (as in none sharp or missing) and no chips or cracks. While she's large, she'll roll several boulders at you very quickly; constantly have your hammer armed and ready to whack them out of the way. Or, she'll hurl herself into the air and come down with a shockwave; depending on how many times she spins while on the top screen, you'll have to jump with one bro before the other, or both at the same time. Three spins, and she'll land between the two of you; jump at the same time. Six spins, and she'll land by Mario, so jump with him and then quickly afterwards with Luigi. A whopping nine spins, and she'll land towards Luigi, so he'll have to make the first jump. She'll soon bust into smaller pieces, as 150 HP is eaten up pretty quickly at this point. While she's broken up, she and her clones will raise an eyebrow and then hurl themselves at either brother; have your hammer ready to whack them away. This attack moves much slower, so you shouldn't have any trouble dealing with it. Trampolines attack every enemy, so don't bother with them; instead, use your good 'ol Cannonballers. Three or four of them to the correct Thwomp while she's divided up should destroy her. If you don't demolish her quickly enough, she'll reform into a large boulder again, and you'll have to repeat the process. This is a pretty easy battle; I recommend opening with a single Trampoline, as that should be enough to bust her apart. Provided that you don't suck with Trampolines... ;) Hubby's soon-to-be insulted wife will "help" us into the crater, where we'll watch a short scene in which Bowser, pleased with his surroundings, is all set to go about his evil ways until is snot-nosed younger self shows up. A little bit of trashtalking between these two, as it seems the whole time- travelling bit hasn't dawned on them at all... The heroes are explaining things to the male Thwomp as this goes on, and then we're ready to delve deep into the volcano. If you want to get out of here at any point, just talk to the hubby, however scared he is of his fuming wife. JERK! [10.2] Battle of the Ages! OOOOO Thwomp Caverns OOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Items: Mushroom (2) OOO Super Mushroom (2) OOO Ultra Mushroom (5) OOO Max Mushroom OOO Ultra Drop OOO 1-Up Mushroom OOO 1-Up Super (3) OOO Red Pepper (4) OOO Ice Flower (13) OOO Pocket Chomp (6) OOO Trampoline (3) OOO Copy Flower (18) OOO Golden Pants OOO Lucky Badge OOO POW-Peak Badge OOO Dynamic Badge OOO Coins: 218 OOO Enemies: Gold Koopeleon OOO Thwack Totem OOO Blazing Shroob OOO Bowser (Boss) OOO Baby Bowser (Boss) OOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO ENEMY ATTACKS & STATS: Gold Koopeleon- HP: 10 EXP: 84 Coins: 100 Drop: Ultra Mushroom, Golden Pants Weak: None Resist: None These guys would rather flee than fight, but a few will still take a shot at you before doing so. These guys use the standard approach, fade, then charge, but they also may take a lash or two with their tongues. Both of these kinda hurt, so do your best to avoid them; the standard charge is simple but much faster, and the tongue is dodged by jumping immediately once you see their cheeks throb. Their HP is so low, but your attacks will only be dealing 1-2 apiece to them. If you actually manage to kill one, you'll be nicely rewarded. Thwack Totem- HP: 152 EXP: 60 Coins: 10 Drop: Super Drop, 1-Up Super Weak: None Resist: None Battles with these will always start at four Thwacks; they'll immediately combine into a single unit, though. They'll attack by either spinning each segment and firing at you, which is deflected by the hammer, or rocketing into the air, then dropping each block onto the ground, forming a shockwave that targets a brother depending on the color of the block that landed. Jump as they land, and you should avoid it. These guys are found at the bottom of holes, for the babies to face alone. Blazing Shroob- HP: 100 EXP: 90 Coins: 10 Drop: Copy Flower, Red Pepper Weak: Ice Resist: None Oooh, these guys are NASTY. Once you enter a battle with one of these, if you don't end it right then and there, a UFO will fly in and begin attacking in addition to the Shroobs; you'll also bring forth a counterattack every time you attack one of them, in which the UFO shoots 3-5 shots down onto you; you can jump them, but the saucer fires them off quite rapidly, so you'll need to have jumped immediately, and continue jumping again as soon as you land. You have no room for error. To get rid of the UFO, jump on the Shroob; you'll take damage, but you'll also fly onto the top screen and send the annoying saucer packing. Anyways, their standard attacks involve lobbing fireballs at either brother at a pretty fast rate, and charging into you at high speeds. The former is avoided by jumping immediately as the Shroob tosses the fireball; the latter is dodged by nailing him with the hammer as soon as he approaches. It's much like the attack Kamek used during your battle with him; he moves very quickly, so release the hammer a little early. Lastly, your best way to kill these menaces is to use Ice Flowers, their weakness. If there's only one of them, a Green Shell will suffice. Every attack, including the UFO's shots, can inflict burns, so be careful. Better yet, kill these bastards right off the bat with extreme prejudice. ***Minor Note: The coins listed in the little window up there are only indicating the amount found throughout the treasure blocks and holes, and excludes the plethora of coins you can earn while the babies are spinning down the various chasms.*** Proceed to the right, as the left exit leads only to warp pipes we can't even access yet. You'll come to a whirlwind over a bed of spikes; you want to use the Baby Spin and send the tots flying into it; this will allow them to coast down the chasm full of coins. Pick up as many as you can, especially the 10 and 20-coin pieces. Once you've hit the bottom (the chest on the left contains Red Peppers, by the way), exit and follow the wall of this large room upwards, and you'll find the pipe you need to bring the adults to you. This room has a bunch of Gold Koopeleons; chase one down and try to kill at least one of them for a bountiful prize of EXP and coins. This room also contains a block with your first batch of the almighty Copy Flower. Grab these, but don't waste them on insignificant battles with normal enemies. You'll notice the holes are back again for this level, but none of those contain any 100-coiners. In the next room on the right, you'll have nothing to do but to send the babies into the tiny space right by the entrance. This will lead you to a Thwomp that wants you to play a gem-grabbing game with the Bros. Ball; read his instructions and follow them carefully; I'm not going to outline it here. All I will say is that this is a very easy and very effective way of increasing your bean count, and that lining up three stars on the slots will become second nature once you spend a moment learning the patterns on the wheels. Humor the Thwomp and do as he says, and he will let you pass. If you want to stay and play a while, to at least gather up to 90 beans, now is a great time to do so, since you won't have the opportunity again for quite a while once you've beaten this level. The 100-coin fee is nothing, as you should have a few thousand right now. Anyways, finish up here and continue on past the bridge he'll create for you upon completion. Straightforward room immediately afterwards; no puzzles, enemies, nada. The next room, however, introduces you to a new bastard, the Blazing Shroob. These guys have a pretty vicious counterattack to your hammer, so use the Ice Flower instead; they're weak to it, anyway. Other than that, there are just a few Gold Koopeleons and some pretty kickass items. Proceed once the usual dose of beatings have been administered. This next room has a Thwomp which serves as an elevator, much like the one we used to enter, but before you head down, exit to the left and hop into the pipe there. You'll come to a purple ! block, which will form a bridge for easy access to and from this floor from now on. Once you've done that, go back and stand on the Thwomp with the entire party assembled. You'll descend into the next section of the volcano, but your fall will be halted by a large, green switch block. To continue, you'll have to deactivate it. If you want to grab some items and EXP first, though, head to the large room on the right, first. Some more Blazing Shroobs here, as well as a Badge you'd do well to equip on one of the babies from now on- the Lucky Badge, on the far right ledge, accessed via the Baby Spin. I need not explain what this badge does, but I would like to mention that the coolest thing about luck is that Bros. Items like the Copy Flower and Trampoline offer an opportunity to land a Lucky! hit every time someone lands, and this badge increases the likelihood of the babies doing just that. They're generally dealing pitiful damage during those attacks, so this will hopefully put some more oomf into them. The switch block up there with this badge will lower the spikes above you, allowing you passage into the adjoining room. In there, you'll find a 4-man coin block; knock yourself out, then backtrack to the Thwompovator room... Once there, head left. Don't bother with the left exit, now- you can't do anything there. Instead, throw the babies into the nearby hole and situate the adults on the platform over the lava- yep, another one of these. Take the time to nab all of the treasures along the way, as some of them are pretty good. Taking the exit in the left-center of this lava pit will bring you to a room with more enemies and a POW-Peak Badge, as well as two Ultra Mushrooms. Nab 'em because you can, then leave through the upper-right. You'll have to cross the lava again, so do so, then summon the babies through the pipe on the right. The left is, again, inaccessible, so just exit through the right. Another coin-gliding chasm, here. The block on the left, the Luigi-only block, contains a pair of Golden Pants for the babies. The Koopeleons will also drop them on rare occasions. Nab these if you like; the other two blocks across from it contain a 1-Up Mushroom and 20 coins, respectively. Once you've reached the bottom, you can head left for some coins and a purple ! block (that's what the green pipe leads to) for another bridge to make return trips easier; otherwise, proceed to the right and slay the many enemies here, grab some more Bros. Items, then exit left. You'll happen upon the green switch block; hit it, and the Thwomp will come down from above. Now you can descend even further, at least until you're stopped by another block, this being a red one. Right is the right way to go, but the left path leads to not one but THREE switch blocks; taking the pipes will bring you to each one. These are all just for backtracking, but on the way you'll pass a few beans and some good Bros. Items, so take the time to nab 'em. Once you've set the switches off, backtrack and leave the Thwomp room from the right. Here, you'll be forced to play a gem-nabbing game, this time using the babies to glide the entire way down. The thwomp expects you to collect more than 30 of them, which is quite easy; simply glide back and forth in a zigzag, much like their layout. The grab detection is pretty lenient, so don't worry about sailing right through it. Just don't hit one of the babies' buttons by accident, or you'll jump out of your spin and simply fall to the bottom. Once you've collected enough, the Thwomp will allow you to hit the red switch block. You can return here and play again, but it's much, much harder; there will be 50 gems, and you must collect ALL 50 in order to win. If you succeed, though, you'll win the Simple Badge; this badge drastically increases the strength of Bros. Items the less of them you have. Kickass in one regard, but you're always going to have plenty of items, and it won't work in conjunction with the Ulti-Free badge (more on that later), so go for this only if you're a perfectionist and want one of everything in this game. Anyways, when you're ready, return to the Thwomp and ride him down another level. Now, there's no more enemies or puzzles left to complete, so make sure you save, then head left and activate the last switch block, and then, finally, hit the blue switch and ride the Thwomp down to the bottom of the volcano. Thwomp crashes right through the floor, leaving the four of you standing there... before Princess Peach! The babies toddle ahead of you, but before you can approach her yourself, the babies are sent reeling backwards by the little brat, Baby Bowser. "BABIES!" Seems he's always in our hair one way or another, eh? You don't get to lay a finger on him, though, before the King Koopa himself appears and puts the Bros. in their place. The two of them seem to have patched up their differences, and now they're going to team up to try and destroy the plumbers once and for all. Both children and adults going at it simultaneously... this should be good! BOSS: BOWSER & BABY BOWSER HP: 1200 (Bowser), 700 (Baby Bowser) Weak: Ice (Bowser) EXP: 820 Coins: 350 Win: Max Mushroom, Ultra Drop, Dynamic Badge (rare) There is an "intended" way to do this, and then there's my way, which was not only extremely fast, but extremely necessary because I was working off of POW- Peak Badges the entire time, so I only had three turns to do these guys in. First, I'll give the intended and easier way for newbies to this game: You'll want to off Baby Bowser first. Why? Because he'll be healing Bowser after every turn, as well as giving him more opportunities to attack. However, while he's riding on Bowser's back, he's not even a target for attacking, so you'll need to get him by himself. How to do this? Go after Bowser for a few turns while avoiding his attacks; soon, BB will pull out a hammer and Bowser will recede into his shell. BB whacks him at you, and you must whack him back and forth while he builds up speed until he plows through BB and off the screen. He'll stay off for a while, so now is the time to go all-out on Baby Bowser. He's got no weaknesses, but he's not tankish like Bowser, so it won't take more than one or two Copy Flowers, provided you can keep the damage chain going really long. Once he's been defeated, the adult will return, and with a weakness that BB didn't possess: Ice. Use your Ice Flowers on this guy without mercy until he suffers a drop in defense; then, depending on what you're comfortable with, go crazy with Cannonballers, Trampolines, or Copy Flowers. Copy Flowers should get you the most damage and IMO are easier to use than Trampolines, but you'll need very quick fingers to achieve really painful blows with them. If your reflexes are up to par, just use a Copy Flower or two and Bowser's 1200 HP will be gone in no time. Now for their attacks: Bowser may jump up and produce a shockwave upon landing; jump it with both Bros., but be ready with your hammers, because this move often causes Thwacks to fall from the ceiling; red ones will target Mario, and green Luigi, obviously. He'll also take a deep breath and spew flames at you; jump immediately after the gusts of air cease, but if he grins instead, there will be a nice delay before the flames actually come, so don't jump just yet. He'll do this anywhere from 2-5 times in a row. He might toss BB into the air, and upon BB's landing, launch a fireball at either bro; BB will spin counter-clockwise when targeting Mario and clockwise for Luigi, and fly off the screen completely when the fireball will be launched at both. Baby Bowser simply heals Bowser for 100+ HP, whacks his shell back and forth with the Bros., or initiates the BB toss I described above. While he's by himself, he'll simply whack or spit fireballs towards you; hit them back or jump as needed. Bowser is really the only one you have to worry about, here. Now, what did I do during my fight with these two? I still had my Muscle Slacks and POW-Peak badges equipped, so I not only couldn't take more than one or two hits, but had only three turns to reign them in before the adults collapsed and left things to the babies.. and I don't want them to miss out on the great EXP from this battle. So, my first turn with Mario, I used an Ice Flower; it did 140, but no cut in defense. So, Luigi does the same thing, lands 242 in damage AND gets the def cut. I avoid their fire breath, then Mario unleashes a Copy Flower and Bowser is slain to the tune of 798 in damage. Whee. Baby is by himself, now. Mario gets one more turn before he's kaput, so I can't blow this. Fortunately, during Luigi's turn I use another Copy Flower, and manage to kill him then. Three cheers for reckless badges! After the battle, the lava beneath the Thwomp, not to mention the Bowser duo's fallen bodies, erupts and sends it sky-high; a UFO flies by and knocks Bowser off his perch, and the two reptiles offer some words of encouragement to each other before Bowser falls out of the scene and into a time hole. BB, on the other hand, lands with the Thomp on the top of the Shroob's mothership! The mothership blows open a hole in the mountain and sends in a device to beam Peach up into it. The Bros. run into the path of the beam and are sent up with her... [10.3] The Key to Failure OOOOO Shroob Mothership OOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Items: Super Mushroom (2) OOO Max Mushroom OOO Super Drop OOO Ultra Drop (2) OOO 1-Up Super OOO Copy Flower (2) OOO Coins: 131 OOO Enemies: Guardian Shroob OOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO ENEMY ATTACKS & STATS: Guardian Shroob- HP: 81 EXP: 90 Coins: 9 Drop: ? Weak: Ice Resist: None These guys are pretty annoying. They'll appear in large groups, and either shoot at one of the Bros., using the telltale signs as always, OR they'll signal one of their allies to team up with them; if they do, the two of them will stop in front of one bro each, then raise their guns up and fire them in unison. Problem is, there's often a delay in the time they fire, so you may jump too early and be shot. Try to spot exactly when they're about to lower the guns, then jump. The shots are fired very quickly, so you have little time to react. I generally use a Trampoline on these guys the first chance I get; that way I can kill all of them before any can take a shot. This level is relatively short, and only has one enemy for you to face. There are still a few puzzles, though, and the Guardian Shroobs are plenty in number, so.. uh.. I dunno. Anyways, the room you're shot up into has a few beans for you, as well as a Max Mushroom near the top. Save if you like, then proceed through the exit at the bottom. To get the green treasure block on the top ledge in here, first spin the babies onto the ledge in the upper left, then bring the Bros. over to them by spinning across the gap in the middle, then spinning again (that ledge looks like it's above you, but it isn't.) to make it to the babies. Spin the babies up once more, and you'll have yourself two Ultra Drops. Exit to the right. Now you'll be on a very long, straightforward walkway, perched high above a pool of slime, which the Shroobs appear to be relaxing in. Looks very relaxing, doesn't it? You'll meet your first Guardian Shroob here; these guys are capable of racking up some very heavy damage if you're shot repeatedly, and their co-op attack is difficult to predict, so use a Trampoline and get rid of all of them instantly. There are some coins and Copy Flowers here, so grab what you wish and continue on through the right. An interesting puzzle here; hit the purple switch block, and not only will the wall lower itself, but the block will sprout wings and take off! You'll also find that the area the block fled to is silhouetted in darkness. The block cannot be hit like this, so send the babies up to the higher level via the spring, and then try to match their location with the Bros. See all those red switches? Hitting them with the hammer will turn on a light down in the Bros. area, exposing the block. Hit the switch pertaining to the light the box is currently hovering around in, then smack it with an adult, thereby making it flee to another area, shrouded in darkness. Find the block again, then hit the appropriate light, and punch it using the Bros. Do this three times, and then a bridge will form over some spikes on the right; the block will then flee to this area. Hit the switch over that area, which I believe is the second or third from the right, and you'll expose the block; hitting it then will lower the second wall in your way. Noticed the Shroobs getting some sort of head massage? Heheheh. Continue on to the right, where you'll find another switch block, and a blue door switch; hitting the ! block will move the wall and form a bridge to the save point; save if you wish, then compress the blue pad. More beans and coins in this room... baby spin to get them, once again. Blue pad. Compress. You'll enter a room with Princess Peach in the center, her back turned to you. Approach her, though, and she turns into a hologram and fades.. it is then that a swarm of Shroobs pour into the room and surround you, taking aim with their weapons; they don't shoot, however, because the shroomified Peach enters the room shortly afterwards.. ..and pulls the fungus off, revealing her true self- it was Princess Shroob all along, having disguised herself! Not only that, you can now understand her language as she speaks; she introduces herself and threatens that you'll all be consumed.. I love that cackle of hers. Anyways, before you can be dragged off to wherever they plan to execute you, one of the Shroobs breaks from the pack and starts shooting everyone in sight, snapping a bunch of photos as it does so. Once all of the Shroobs are gone, it reveals itself to be.. Kylie! She's come to your rescue in return for freeing her from Petey's stomach. Sweet. Taking the elevator, you'll have a chat with Kylie, and deduce that Princess Shroob disguised herself in an attempt to conquer the future as well. (If that were so, then she'd have to do thousands of warps to different eras, seeing as the past and present are completely unrelated in this game; she'd have only conquered ONE part of the Mushroom Kingdom in two different periods. God this game has such a poorly written storyline. Anyways.) Fortunately, Bowser's antics threw a wrench into that scheme, so the future is safe for the time being. We reach the top of the elevator shaft, and Kylie then pulls out the huge key she had swiped earlier; ready to find out what it fits into? A 1-Up Super and a save point. Do what you will with either of them, then head through. A huge, glass structure sits before you, with a Shroob attached to different tubes nestled inside. WTF is that supposed to be? Either way, it has a giant keyhole, and Kylie sticks her pilfered key inside and turns it. A slow, loud rumbling.. the shroom inside the chamber begins to glow.. and.. all that buildup for nothing. A chute merely opens up underneath the gang and they fall through; Kylie clings to the key for dear life until the Shroobs knock her off as well. Cut to Baby Bowser, stomping his way through the roof of the mothership and hiding to escape detection; Kylie meanwhile lands on Yoshi's Island, conveniently landing on top of Toadbert, thereby jogging his memory of the abduction of Peach. As for the Bros., they plummet down into a town completely in ruin; it turns out that this was Toad Town, before it was completely ravaged by Shroobs and its inhabitants brought to the Vim Factory. Either way, you need to get back to the castle, so let's do some exploring and find our way out of this dump. [10.4] Bad Day to Be a Toad OOOOO Toad Town OOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Items: Mushroom (4) OOO Ultra Mushroom OOO Max Mushroom (2) OOO Super Drop OOO Ultra Drop OOO 1-Up Mushroom OOO 1-Up Super OOO Green Shell (6) OOO Red Shell (17) OOO Smash Egg (8) OOO Para Slacks OOO Dire-POW Badge OOO Dynamic Badge A OOO Coins: 872 OOO Enemies: Shroid OOO Skellokey OOO Love Bubble OOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO ENEMY ATTACKS & STATS: Shroid: HP: 120 EXP: 140 Coins: 15 Drop: Ultra Drop Weak: None Resist: None Another pretty nasty enemy. The Shroids are tankish defensively, so it'll take more than one attack to destroy these guys. Their moves are unlike what any other Shroob has used against you thus far, and are pretty painful; it'll catch a spiked ball dropped from the top screen with an initial on it, indicating the target, and then throw it; quickly have your hammer ready and whack it back at him. Secondly, it'll encase both Mario and Luigi inside crystals, then rove up and down with a large laser gun; jump repeatedly as fast as possible with both characters and break out of the crystals, then be ready to jump the laser. You'll know it's about to fire when the two rays of energy close around it; jump at this point. Lastly, and most difficult to dodge, the Shroid will hold up one or two flags, red and green in color; this is NOT indicating the target, but instead telling you to JUMP with that particular character. Do so, and it will hold up another set of flags; keep this up for 3-7 turns, and the Shroid will back off. Fail, and the brother that erred will be hit with any flags the Shroid was holding. Be warned that it does try to fake you out by lowering a flag as soon as it's raised. The babies will never have to fight these guys on their own. ***If you counter the Shroid's spiked ball and haven't destroyed it completely before its next turn, you'll notice it's in a damage state. Its attacks will now mislead you by targetting the opposite of what they indicate- a spiked ball labelled with an M will now be thrown at Luigi. Even more confusing is its flag attack- jump with Luigi when a red flag is raised, and with Mario when the flag is green. If it holds both of them up, just stay still. Kill them before they attack in this state!*** Skellokey- HP: 84 EXP: 100 Coins: 10 Drop: Red Shell Weak: None Resist: None An enemy just for the babies! Skellokeys won't fire spines at you, but they do breathe fire (from 1-5 times), which will coast along the ground quickly at either baby, or split between them and target both; jump the flame as it comes towards you, and you'll dodge it easily. These guys also toss three of their segments towards you, much like regular Pokeys did. Have your hammer ready quickly for each one, and whack it away once it comes. Lastly, it will roll its parts along the ground at you; simply jump as they come near and they'll be dodged easily. These two attacks are always preceded by the restoration of its parts. Your hammer isn't the weapon of choice, here; the Green Shells are. Knock out those segments and bean it in its head until it crumbles! Love Bubble- HP: 95 EXP: 130 Coins: 10 Drop: Smash Egg, Max Mushroom Weak: Fire, Mix Resist: None These little turds have the ability to heal their allies, so get rid of them first. Otherwise, their attacks are easy to spot and easier to dodge- it may fly onto the top screen and poke one of its feet out; when it does this, jump as soon as you hear the little whistle, for it will dive-bomb your location extremely quickly. It will also fly between the two Bros. and poke one of its feet out; if the bubble is low to the ground, jump with the brother it targeted, then jump quickly again with the other, as it will pass through you both in a circle. If it does this but is flying much higher, jump ONLY with the brother it targeted, as it will make a low sweep, then immediately fly above the other. Lastly, it will swirl around the two Bros., picking up speed, then eventually crashing into one of them; simply swat it with the hammer as it passes in front, and the attack will stop. Start by heading inside the shop right where you landed, and you'll find that two elderly Toadettes are still alive and well; not only that, they have some great stuff in stock for you to buy. Specifically, Star Trousers and Stardust Pants; they offer boosts in both strength and defense. Nothing I'd really recommend on the badge side of things... If you take a look at the Bros. Items, you'll notice that Red Shells and Mix Flowers are in stock; don't spend your money on these, however, because you'll be picking up a large amount of them soon enough, via treasure blocks and enemy drops. If you don't have any Green Shells left, though, buy a few, because the babies will be encountering an enemy by themselves that is impossible to hit without them. Once you've bought everything you'd like, you can start by looting all these battered, vacant houses. Keep a lookout for the X marks in the dark areas for beans, and ignore the house on the top-right at the moment, as it leads to the area for the babies to explore, and you need them to get the crap sitting around in the various treasure blocks. Among these goodies are almost 400 in coins, a Dire-POW Badge, an Ultra Shroom, 1-Up Super, and six shiny new Red Shells. If you liked using the Green Shell often, you'll love these babies. Anyways, once you've pillaged everything, head to that house on the upper-right and send the babies in. Climb the stairs and cross the wooden bridge into the house across from it, which is on the side of Toad Town that the adults have no way of entering. From here on, the adults and babies will have to explore on their own, but will need each other to continue further through the ruins. Since we're still in control of them, I'll start with the babies' first section. Either drop off of the wooden bridge on this side, or enter the house for some goodies and tunnel out through the gate. You'll find an enemy here, the Skellokey, an enemy that'll give the babies some problems if they don't deal with it quickly. Use your Green Shells on these guys, as you must remove all of their segments in order to swing at their heads; hammers take too long, and the bastards are likely to respawn all of their parts back after a couple turns, anyway. There's one Skellokey and a treasure block in this little enclosure; a gate to tunnel under is on the lower-right. You'll find another Skellokey and a new enemy; the Love Bubble. Some more coins and some Smash Eggs... not much else to say here. Proceeding downwards will bring you to a set of multicolored switch blocks; time to switch to the adults so they can handle the other side. The adults need only to walk down from their area, as there is no opposition or puzzles left (unless you didn't kill every Shroid already). Once on the opposite side of the wall from the babies, either baby may initiate the switch block sequence; completing it will lower both gates and the groups may continue. Stuffwell mentions that the Cobalt Star is behaving strangely, mostly due to the fact that we are very close to star hill, which is connected to the star in some way. I'll resume with the babies. More enemies and items in this next area; no puzzles at all. There are two gates you must tunnel underneath before being able to reach the next area; once there, check out the right side for an easily-missed bean in the dirt. Switch to the Bros. once you're all set. The adults have all the fun stuff to deal with... Shroids, Shroid, and more Shroids. Here is where I'd recommend just unloading Bros. Item after Bros. Item on these SOBs. You'll notice houses that only the babies can enter; once you reunite at the bottom of the ruins, you can come back and raid them. Other than that, these areas are all simply killing zones with a few items for you to nab here and there. That said, there are a lot of treasures in the two areas you'll trek through, which must be gotten by climbing into the toadstools and spinning your way across the gaps to each toadstool with an item on it. Once you reach the second area with the adults, you'll find that on the left is a dead end, but a few enemies and an AWESOME pair of pants can be found here; the Para Slacks. Para Slacks increase the wearer's speed by a disgusting amount, and basically ensure that you'll go first in every battle. Once we finish with Toad Town, I'll send you off to get a badge that will complement these very nicely. You'll be quite evil in combat. Anyways, definitely grab those pants and exit, then exit again to the right. Another switch block sequence, this time initiated by the adults. Complete it, and the next set of gates will be lowered; both the adults and babies can continue onward with no interference. You'll be able to join together again here and save; the switch block on the left lowers the gates and leads to a time hole bringing you to the present Peach's Castle sewers; the pipe on the right will bring you to Star Hill. But first, take the babies to the houses you couldn't enter earlier with the adults. In them you'll find a lot of coins, some Max Mushrooms, and a Dynamic Badge A. Then, hit the purple ! block down by the save point and enter the time hole; you'll wind up in the sewers. Enter the room on the right, and trek to the lower right corner, where you'll find a gate over the end of one of the pipes. You can tunnel with the babies into this thing, and from there, head up, left, up, left, up, right, and then up, and you'll be inside a badge shop.. run by none other than Fawful, the psychotic engrish-speaking rodent that tried to give us problems in SSS. He's still wearing his Elvis suit from the climactic clash the adult Bros. had with him; if you haven't already, listen to his tale, then take a look at his wares. Now, have you been searching every room for bean marks and digging them up? Without having played the Thwomp Volcano mini-game (which can net you beans every time you play), I have 102 beans in my possession. That's more than enough to buy the Ulti-Free Badge, which gives the wearer infinite Bros. Items. Equipping Mario with this and my Para Slacks will not only let him go first, but enable him to destroy anything I come across instantly with my best items. The Ulti-Free badge costs 90 beans, which will pretty much wipe your supply out, but you can later return to the volcano and play the gem/slots game, and win a constant supply of beans if you're persistent enough. I'll recommend you go bean-hunting and buy the Treasure Badge from Fawful before the final level, also. Anyways, get the badge, then backtrack all the way back to the time hole you took from Toad Town, then enter the blue pipe that was sitting next to the save point. This will take you to Star Hill. OOOOOOOOOOOOOO[11] The Road to Stardom OOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOO Star Hill OOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Items: Ultra Drops (3) OOO 1-Up Super (2) OOO Red Shell (3) OOO Copy Flower (5) OOO Mix Flower (14) OOO Coins: 350 OOO Enemies: Handfake OOO Love Bubble OOO Fly Guy OOO Commander Shroob (Boss) OOO Support Shroob (Boss) OOO Shroob-omb (Boss) OOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO ENEMY ATTACKS & STATS: 155 15 Handfake- HP: 130 EXP: 155 Coins: 15 Drop: Mix Flower Weak: Fire, Mix Resist: None These guys can be total bastards, so get rid of them ASAP. Their attacks all consist of holding up a cardboard cut-out of a particular Mario- related enemy, then performing some sort of attack with it. Goombas, it'll throw it from behind; jump as soon as it leaves the screen and it should roll underneath you. This one may be done multiple times. Paratroopas will spin anywhere from 1-3 times preceding the attack, then approach; once it stops in front of you, depending on how many spins, it'll rear the cut-out back that number of times, then sweep downwards with it. Jump as soon as it rears back for the final time. If it produces a Bob-omb, it'll throw it in the air; upside-down, it's aimed for Luigi, and straight up, it's aimed at Mario; hit it with the hammer, and it'll fall again, either onto the same person or to the other, depending on how it comes down from the top screen. Hit it back and forth several times, and it'll be destroyed. And lastly is a HUGE cut-out of Bowser, whose attack is a cut-out of a flame flying onto the screen and then towards one of the Bros. extremely quickly. Jump immediately with both Bros. as soon as it passes the Handfake. These attacks all pack a surprising punch, so kill the Handfakes ASAP. Love Bubble- HP: 95 EXP: 130 Coins: 10 Drop: Smash Egg, Max Mushroom Weak: Fire, Mix Resist: None These little turds have the ability to heal their allies, so get rid of them first. Otherwise, their attacks are easy to spot and easier to dodge- it may fly onto the top screen and poke one of its feet out; when it does this, jump as soon as you hear the little whistle, for it will dive-bomb your location extremely quickly. It will also fly between the two Bros. and poke one of its feet out; if the bubble is low to the ground, jump with the brother it targeted, then jump quickly again with the other, as it will pass through you both in a circle. If it does this but is flying much higher, jump ONLY with the brother it targeted, as it will make a low sweep, then immediately fly above the other. Lastly, it will swirl around the two Bros., picking up speed, then eventually crashing into one of them; simply swat it with the hammer as it passes in front, and the attack will stop. Fly Guy- HP: 120 EXP: 150 Coins: 10 Drop: Red Shell, Red Pepper Weak: None Resist: None Another menace. These guys carry time bombs with them, and depending on the number, being hit with one can be very painful. Fly Guys attack two ways; from above, and where they hover. If the attack is from above, the Guy will fly onto the top screen and drop the bomb; you must hit it back with your hammer, and the Fly Guy itself will take damage; when it attacks from the bottom screen, it will swing back and forth multiple times before hurling the bomb at you; jump it immediately upon its release. After every attack, the timers will tick down one number, or a fresh bomb will be grabbed if theirs have already exploded. Obviously, Fly Guys with a timer of "1" are far more dangerous than those with 2 or 3, so kill them first. Better yet, get rid of all of them at once with a Mix Flower. As you emerge from the pipe, Stuffwell will remark that the Cobalt Star is becoming very agitated; he can barely keep it under control inside his storage. He presses you to ascend the hill as quickly as possible. It's not a particularly long level, so that won't be a problem. Right off the bat, hit that M chest to the right for half a dozen Mix Flowers. If you've gotten that Ulti-Free badge, this mother-of-all-weapons won't run out anytime soon, so unleash them on the nasty array of enemies you'll be confronting on the hill! As you make your rampage up the hill, you'll soon come to a tiny slot in the ground for the babies, and a cog to be spun by the adults; you know the drill- flatten the babies, send them in to ride the wind, Bros. spin the propeller to bring them all the way to the top. If you want a few treasures and some extra EXP for the babies, take the first ledge on your left and head through the opening for a couple Handfakes, some Mix Flowers, and 150 coins. Otherwise, there are no treasures in here, so just take the highest ledge on the left and tunnel through the gate. A pipe is nearby to summon the adults. A lot of Fly Guys around here... Give them a taste of Mix Flower. At this level, the damage may not be insane, but mine are dealing about 256-286 to the Guys and double to the Handfakes, given their weakness. As you level up, you'll notice the damage drastically increase. Anyways, you'll soon reach the entrance to the next portion of the hill; there's nothing here besides several treasure blocks with excellent stuff in them, and a save point, which I definitely recommend you use, for a few steps further onwards will get you into a battle with... BOSS: COMMANDER SHROOB, SUPPORT SHROOB, SHROOB-OMB HP: 1600 (Comm), 170 (Support) --(Bomb) Weak: Ice (Comm and Supports) EXP: 810 Coins: 180 At the start of the battle, Commander Shroob will guide three Support Shroobs to the battlefield, carrying a massive, purple Bob-omb, and then leave. He's the one you want to destroy in order to win this battle, so how do you get him to stay and fight? Easy: take out the middle and rear Support Shroobs, and the front will fall under the weight of the bomb, dropping it so that it rolls back and explodes, bringing out the Commander. Until then, if the Supports are left to attack, they'll throw the Shroob-omb at one or both of the Bros; whack it back to them with the hammer, and they'll toss it right back. Keep this up until it explodes on the Shroobs themselves. Make sure you constantly charge up both hammers, as when it's thrown between you, you'll both need to hit it back or it will explode. They'll also hurl the bomb up, and while it's in mid-air, rush you one at a time; simply jump as they get close, and you can land on them to deliver some damage. Try not to get hit by the explosion, because it often inflicts dizziness, which is an especially bad thing to have in this battle, as counters require both to participate. After the Commander has been brought out, he uses one of two attacks; the standard laser gun, which I pray you've learned how to avoid by now, and by grabbing onto his Supports and spinning or throwing them through the air at you. Avoid these by wailing with the hammer; neither come at you very quickly, so this isn't too hard. While the Commander is present, begin by using Ice Flowers, as it can not only chop his defenses, but he's also weak to ice attacks. Once you get a defense cut, go all out on him with Copy Flowers. After three turns, he'll leave and the Supports will return, so you'll have to repeat the process of destroying the middle and rear. This shouldn't be too difficult. After the battle, you can proceed to the room ahead, and Stuffwell will inform you that he's picking up tremendous Cobalt Star readings. Upon releasing the star, it will temporarily complete itself and the spirit will tap into the power of the hill so that it can share a little more info regarding the star itself and what you must do, and basically tell you to hurry the hell up. It then tells you that one of the shards is being kept within the Star Shrine ahead, so that's where we're going. Proceed to the right and ditch the babies for a moment, then roll over the unnecessarily long, curvy trail of stars. Once you reach the exit, there'll be a pipe right there to summon the babies. [11.1] Dirty Secrets OOOOO Star Shrine (Luigi's Trial) OOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Items: Max Mushroom (2) OOO Ultra Drop (3) OOO 1-Up Mushroom OOO Trampoline (2) OOO Ice Flower (2) OOO Red Shell (4) OOO Mix Flower (4) OOO Shroom Badge A OOO Coins: 300 OOO Enemies: Handfake OOO Love Bubble OOO Fly Guy OOO Piranha Planet OOO Wonder Thwack OOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO ENEMY ATTACKS & STATS: Handfake- HP: 130 EXP: 155 Coins: 15 Drop: Mix Flower Weak: Fire, Mix Resist: None These guys can be total bastards, so get rid of them ASAP. Their attacks all consist of holding up a cardboard cut-out of a particular Mario- related enemy, then performing some sort of attack with it. Goombas, it'll throw it from behind; jump as soon as it leaves the screen and it should roll underneath you. This one may be done multiple times. Paratroopas will spin anywhere from 1-3 times preceding the attack, then approach; once it stops in front of you, depending on how many spins, it'll rear the cut-out back that number of times, then sweep downwards with it. Jump as soon as it rears back for the final time. If it produces a Bob-omb, it'll throw it in the air; upside-down, it's aimed for Luigi, and straight up, it's aimed at Mario; hit it with the hammer, and it'll fall again, either onto the same person or to the other, depending on how it comes down from the top screen. Hit it back and forth several times, and it'll be destroyed. And lastly is a HUGE cut-out of Bowser, whose attack is a cut-out of a flame flying onto the screen and then towards one of the Bros. extremely quickly. Jump immediately with both Bros. as soon as it passes the Handfake. These attacks all pack a surprising punch, so kill the Handfakes ASAP. Love Bubble- HP: 95 EXP: 130 Coins: 10 Drop: Smash Egg, Max Mushroom Weak: Fire, Mix Resist: None These little turds have the ability to heal their allies, so get rid of them first. Otherwise, their attacks are easy to spot and easier to dodge- it may fly onto the top screen and poke one of its feet out; when it does this, jump as soon as you hear the little whistle, for it will dive-bomb your location extremely quickly. It will also fly between the two Bros. and poke one of its feet out; if the bubble is low to the ground, jump with the brother it targeted, then jump quickly again with the other, as it will pass through you both in a circle. If it does this but is flying much higher, jump ONLY with the brother it targeted, as it will make a low sweep, then immediately fly above the other. Lastly, it will swirl around the two Bros., picking up speed, then eventually crashing into one of them; simply swat it with the hammer as it passes in front, and the attack will stop. Fly Guy- HP: 120 EXP: 150 Coins: 10 Drop: Red Shell, Red Pepper Weak: None Resist: None Another menace. These guys carry time bombs with them, and depending on the number, being hit with one can be very painful. Fly Guys attack two ways; from above, and where they hover. If the attack is from above, the Guy will fly onto the top screen and drop the bomb; you must hit it back with your hammer, and the Fly Guy itself will take damage; when it attacks from the bottom screen, it will swing back and forth multiple times before hurling the bomb at you; jump it immediately upon its release. After every attack, the timers will tick down one number, or a fresh bomb will be grabbed if theirs have already exploded. Obviously, Fly Guys with a timer of "1" are far more dangerous than those with 2 or 3, so kill them first. Better yet, get rid of all of them at once with a Mix Flower. Piranha Planet- HP: 140 EXP: 170 Coins: 20 Drop: Copy Flower, Ultra Drop Weak: None Resist: None These guys are not only cool-looking, but they're one of the meanest enemies in the game, as their attacks are quite painful. For one, it may teleport to the top screen, and then drop onto one of the Bros.; take note of how it spins and ready that brother's hammer, then be prepared to hit it back AGAIN, as it will fall back onto you twice more. Second, it will draw a laser from either its top or bottom, then fire; sprouting from the top, it'll shoot at Mario, and from the bottom, Luigi. However, give it a good second or two after the gun is drawn, for there's a pretty good delay between the time it pulls it out and when it fires. Be warned that it may shoot a sweeping beam, as well; simply be ready to jump with the opposite bro if necessary. Lastly, it will sprout 8, count 'em, 8 different Piranha heads from the various pipe-craters and spin, launching all of them at either one, depending on their color; once the first has been fired, they'll all be about one second apart; jump with both of them simultaneously, so you need not worry about who's being targeted next. Wonder Thwack- HP: 100 EXP: 30 Coins: 4 Drop: 1-Up Mushroom, 1-Up Super Weak: Fire, Mix (green), Ice (reds) Resist: Ice (green) Fire, Mix (red) The standard Thwack, only now glowing with energy. Their attacks remain the same, only they are MUCH faster, and will summon much more of them if they decide to do so. Be warned that their overhead attack cannot be countered immediately once they stop; they'll be too high. Wait the briefest of moments before swinging, and you'll wail them on their descent. Keep in mind they'll still explode if you haven't finished the battle after some time. Reds are weak to ice; greens are weak to fire. Once you approach the Star Shrine, an entity will appear in the door and refuse to allow you to pass until he's gotten to appraise your character. Mario will get a glowing review, though told he's getting too fat, and then Luigi... well, Luigi has some personal demons that desperately need slaying, and some apparently disturbing secrets that prevent him from being able to enter the shrine. He can prove himself worthy, though, by finding the Aurora Block elsewhere in the area. Despite what seem to be protests, Luigi agrees to set off with you in finding this thing. First, let me explain something about this area- look up at the map; notice the four corners, connected via the star path? It's really quite irrelevant which way you go from here, because those rooms contain nothing but enemies and a ton of blocks in various sizes arranged about. All you need to know is that the Aurora Block is in the topmost area, in that odd-looking device. See it? To get up there, though, you'll have to use the Bros. spin in either the northwest or northeast corners; you'll find a tower of blocks with pegs poking out of them; climb up to the top, where you'll find blue octagonal blocks with stars on them, with little trails of stars "connecting" them together; the adults must spin across these until they can spin onto the large, triangular ledges you see in the corners on the map. From there, you can head up and into the area with the Aurora Block. I'll tell you how to get it, but first, for the hell of it, I'll let you know what's inside the treasure blocks in each area. ***If you need to summon the babies, there's a pipe in the area directly below that of the aurora block. Once you enter from the northwest or northeast, you can't miss it.*** Southeast: Red Shells, Mix Flower, 150 coins Northeast: Trampolines, 1-Up Mushroom, Ultra Drops, Shroom Badge A Northwest: Mix Flowers, Ice Flowers, 100 coins, Ultra Drop Southwest: Red Shells, Mix Flowers, Max Mushrooms, 50 coins There are plenty of enemies throughout these four areas to give you some exercise. Once you've summoned the babies and reached the top area with the Aurora Block, you'll notice the structure that holds it has a cog on the front, and the two springs on either side; send the babies up on the left spring, as the right leads to nothing, and drink a few gulps of water from the fountain with BM. Position him on the arrow pointing at the hole dividing the two sides, and then spin the cog with the adults; the idea is to blow the Aurora Block into the higher area, where it will ride the wind for a few seconds, and then as it plummets, very quickly spit a glob of water onto it and it will move over to the right side, where the babies can spring up and hit it. It will then move down, in front of the structure that held it; use a piggyback jump and hit it one last time, sending it down to the Star Shrine keeper. Return to him via any route you wish. The keeper will speak to you again, and wants to witness Luigi striking the block in order to deem him worthy of entering. He tries, but to no avail, as the block moves out of the way each time; cue the long conversation.. blah blah liars blah blah testing you aaaaand so on. I'm not summarizing all of that here. Anyways, the doors will be opened for you, and you may then proceed to the pipe at the end of the starry path, bringing you to... [11.2] Connect the Dots OOOOO Star Shrine (Outside the Palace) OOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Items: Bro Flower (2) OOO Ice Flower (2) OOO Red Shell (2) OOO Stache Jeans OOO Coins: 277 OOO Enemies: Wonder Thwack OOO Piranha Planet OOO Skellokey OOO Love Bubble OOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO ENEMY ATTACKS & STATS: Wonder Thwack- HP: 100 EXP: 30 Coins: 4 Drop: 1-Up Mushroom, 1-Up Super Weak: Fire, Mix (green), Ice (reds) Resist: Ice (green) Fire, Mix (red) The standard Thwack, only now glowing with energy. Their attacks remain the same, only they are MUCH faster, and will summon much more of them if they decide to do so. Be warned that their overhead attack cannot be countered immediately once they stop; they'll be too high. Wait the briefest of moments before swinging, and you'll wail them on their descent. Keep in mind they'll still explode if you haven't finished the battle after some time. Reds are weak to ice; greens are weak to fire. Piranha Planet- HP: 140 EXP: 170 Coins: 20 Drop: Copy Flower, Ultra Drop Weak: None Resist: None These guys are not only cool-looking, but they're one of the meanest enemies in the game, as their attacks are quite painful. For one, it may teleport to the top screen, and then drop onto one of the Bros.; take note of how it spins and ready that brother's hammer, then be prepared to hit it back AGAIN, as it will fall back onto you twice more. Second, it will draw a laser from either its top or bottom, then fire; sprouting from the top, it'll shoot at Mario, and from the bottom, Luigi. However, give it a good second or two after the gun is drawn, for there's a pretty good delay between the time it pulls it out and when it fires. Be warned that it may shoot a sweeping beam, as well; simply be ready to jump with the opposite bro if necessary. Lastly, it will sprout 8, count 'em, 8 different Piranha heads from the various pipe-craters and spin, launching all of them at either one, depending on their color; once the first has been fired, they'll all be about one second apart; jump with both of them simultaneously, so you need not worry about who's being targeted next. Skellokey- HP: 84 EXP: 100 Coins: 10 Drop: Red Shell Weak: None Resist: None An enemy just for the babies! Skellokeys won't fire spines at you, but they do breathe fire (from 1-5 times), which will coast along the ground quickly at either baby, or split between them and target both; jump the flame as it comes towards you, and you'll dodge it easily. These guys also fire three of their segments towards you, much like regular Pokeys did. Have your hammer ready quickly for each one, and whack it away once it comes. Lastly, it will roll its parts along the ground at you; simply jump as they come near and they'll be dodged easily. These two attacks are always preceded by the restoration of its parts. Your hammer isn't the weapon of choice, here; the Green Shells are. Knock out those segments and bean it in its head until it crumbles! Love Bubble- HP: 95 EXP: 130 Coins: 10 Drop: Smash Egg, Max Mushroom Weak: None Resist: None These little turds have the ability to heal their allies, so get rid of them first. Otherwise, their attacks are easy to spot and easier to dodge- it may fly onto the top screen and poke one of its feet out; when it does this, jump as soon as you hear the little whistle, for it will dive-bomb your location extremely quickly. It will also fly between the two Bros. and poke one of its feet out; if the bubble is low to the ground, jump with the brother it targeted, then jump quickly again with the other, as it will pass through you both in a circle. If it does this but is flying much higher, jump ONLY with the brother it targeted, as it will make a low sweep, then immediately fly above the other. Lastly, it will swirl around the two Bros., picking up speed, then eventually crashing into one of them; simply swat it with the hammer as it passes in front, and the attack will stop. Once again, I'd like to begin by explaining the map; the stars are all arranged to form a pentagon, and as you enter each area, you'll find a block marked with a star hovering high above a pedestal. Once you hit it using a piggyback jump, two beams of light will fire out into the empty space in the middle, stopping about halfway; notice how every beam points in a different direction, directly towards one of the other stars? When you hit the block directly opposite a beam of light that's pointing towards it, the beam will become solid. What also happens is that the other beam of light, the one that was forming a "V" with the beam you just connected to will vanish; the idea is to connect two beams of light, then travel to the star pad containing the block that will connect the other beam, and form two solid beams for every single star. That means a lot of walking, as you can only have one "stray" beam of light present; hitting any block will produce light from that one, and overwrite any existing rays of light. It might sound a little confusing, but as you play through you'll discover how simple it is. I'll even explain where I'm heading with a little diagram of the map, indicating which star I'm telling you to travel to, for the very simple-minded. =P 1 2 5 3 4 That's easy enough to process, eh? The fuses of your brain haven't blown yet, have they? Good. ;) Note that we automatically begin on star #2. So, after you've dealt with the enemies both in and outside the pipe, hit the block over the pedestal, forming a red and a purple beam. We'll be heading to star #4 next. Pass through #3; don't even bother exploring the hidden passage. Once at #4, deal with the enemies (Jesus Christ, is there anywhere Love Bubbles DON'T show up?!) and then hit the block, connecting the two purple beams. The other two beams, the red and blue, will disappear, so hit that block again to bring the light blue one back. Then, head to star #1. Crush the Wonder Thwacks, then hit the block to make the connection between light blues solid. Hit it once more, and you'll create a green beam. This time, head to star #3. There's that huge shine block again, so you know what that means. Toss the babies up to the hidden passage, then position the adults under the block, and navigate the maze. It's not all about walking along a thin passage this time, as all of the platforms are huge, but you'll have to do a bit of jumping between them. In the far lower-right is a block containing the Stache Jeans; they'll raise a baby's defense slightly, and raise their Stache by 40. Equip it if you like, then head towards the exit to the maze, which is somewhere in the bottom/middle. You'll be on a much higher ledge, along with the block; hit it, and it'll move down to the pedestal, within reach of a piggyback jump. This solidifies the green beam, and produces a yellow one. Hit the block again, then trek to star # 5. Once there, you'll notice a ledge for the babies, and a purple ! block; hitting it will light up a pattern of stars on the large yellow star you're standing on for a moment. Upon sending the babies inside the hidden room up there, you'll find 12 blocks positioned exactly the same as the stars on the yellow ground; the idea is to hit the purple block with the adults, revealing the pattern, and then create the same pattern inside the hidden room with the babies, by hitting the corresponding block with the correct color; red for BM and green for BL, obviously. I can't tell you what the pattern is, because I have a different one since the first file I played, so there's no telling what pattern you'll have to create. Just keep hitting the purple block to refresh your memory. If you hit a block with the wrong baby, don't worry; just correct the mistake, as it won't reset them all. Once you've done it correctly, the star block will move out over the pedestal. Hit it from a piggyback jump, and you'll complete the yellow beam. Hit it once more to spawn a red beam, then head to star #2. Hitting the block there will form the read beam and complete the puzzle; now a blue pipe will appear in the center of the pentagon, with a starry path leading to it from star #1. Head over there, then enter the pipe, and you'll finally have reached the inside of the palace. [11.3] A Plot Twist? OOOOO Star Shrine (Inside the Palace) OOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Items: Ultra Mushroom (2) OOO Ultra Drop (2) OOO 1-Up Super OOO Refreshing Herb (2) OOO Red Pepper (2) OOO Pocket Chomp (2) OOO Ice Flower (4) OOO Copy Flower (4) OOO Hit-Free Badge OOO Coins: 77 OOO Enemies: Piranha Planet OOO Love Bubble OOO Wonder Thwack OOO Elder Shrooboid (Boss) OOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO ENEMY ATTACKS & STATS: Piranha Planet- HP: 140 EXP: 170 Coins: 20 Drop: Copy Flower, Ultra Drop Weak: None Resist: None These guys are not only cool-looking, but they're one of the meanest enemies in the game, as their attacks are quite painful. For one, it may teleport to the top screen, and then drop onto one of the Bros.; take note of how it spins and ready that brother's hammer, then be prepared to hit it back AGAIN, as it will fall back onto you twice more. Second, it will draw a laser from either its top or bottom, then fire; sprouting from the top, it'll shoot at Mario, and from the bottom, Luigi. However, give it a good second or two after the gun is drawn, for there's a pretty good delay between the time it pulls it out and when it fires. Be warned that it may shoot a sweeping beam, as well; simply be ready to jump with the opposite bro if necessary. Lastly, it will sprout 8, count 'em, 8 different Piranha heads from the various pipe-craters and spin, launching all of them at either one, depending on their color; once the first has been fired, they'll all be about one second apart; jump with both of them simultaneously, so you need not worry about who's being targeted next. Love Bubble- HP: 95 EXP: 130 Coins: 10 Drop: Smash Egg, Max Mushroom Weak: Fire, Mix Resist: None These little turds have the ability to heal their allies, so get rid of them first. Otherwise, their attacks are easy to spot and easier to dodge- it may fly onto the top screen and poke one of its feet out; when it does this, jump as soon as you hear the little whistle, for it will dive-bomb your location extremely quickly. It will also fly between the two Bros. and poke one of its feet out; if the bubble is low to the ground, jump with the brother it targeted, then jump quickly again with the other, as it will pass through you both in a circle. If it does this but is flying much higher, jump ONLY with the brother it targeted, as it will make a low sweep, then immediately fly above the other. Lastly, it will swirl around the two Bros., picking up speed, then eventually crashing into one of them; simply swat it with the hammer as it passes in front, and the attack will stop. Wonder Thwack- HP: 100 EXP: 30 Coins: 4 Drop: 1-Up Mushroom, 1-Up Super Weak: Fire, Mix (green), Ice (reds) Resist: Ice (green) Fire, Mix (red) The standard Thwack, only now glowing with energy. Their attacks remain the same, only they are MUCH faster, and will summon much more of them if they decide to do so. Be warned that their overhead attack cannot be countered immediately once they stop; they'll be too high. Wait the briefest of moments before swinging, and you'll wail them on their descent. Keep in mind they'll still explode if you haven't finished the battle after some time. Reds are weak to ice; greens are weak to fire. You'll notice a bunch of blue paths going every which-way, leading all over the place, eventually connecting to one of the rooms; you don't actually traverse these yourself. Rather when you enter a doorway you'll be whisked off to wherever that particular door lead. That said, save your progress, then head through the door right in front of you. You'll be greeted by a Piranha Planet; destroy it and continue through the next door. Upon entering, you'll find a Cobalt Star shard encased in glass over on the wall, with a blue pad in front of it; compress it, and it'll break free for your retrieval. At that moment, a Lakitu will fly in with Toadbert and Kylie, and the two of them bear big news. For one, Toadbert was holding a star shard all along and didn't realize it, but then tell you that restoring the star will still make defeat of the Shroobs impossible. Why? The rest of the Cobalt Star is brought out, and Toadbert screams for them not to come near him; he then flees the room in a hurry. What's gotten into him? Kylie runs after him, and the star tries communicating again; something about a stronger power being closeby. BACK TO ADVENTURE! Through the door and into the next room, there'll be a long row of red blocks to the right, gradually climbing higher; ignore these for the time being and head to the left, where you'll find some fans and a maze of tiny crevices; you know what to do here. Flatten the babies and send them in, working your way to the hidden passage blocked by a gate at the top. From the area you start at the bottom, head right, then left at the first fan, then right at the next fan, yet another right at the fan soon afterwards, then left at the following fan, then finally, a right at the fan after that one, and you'll be at the gate. Tunnel inside, and you'll find a switch to be whacked; activating it will spring a block from the wall, which you'll need as a stepping stone. There are three treasure blocks in this maze as well, one of which containing the Hit-Free Badge; this gives unlimited Bros. Items to the wearer until he takes damage. If you like, equip in on whomever isn't wearing the Ulti-Free badge. Anyways, once you've activated the switch, you can climb the tower of pink blocks, using the spin and baby spin when necessary to bring everyone to the top. On the final ledge, be sure to head straight up, lest you want to fall all the way to the bottom and start over. Deal with the enemies up here, then head on through to a save point; I recommend using it. Compressing the pad at the top of this item-strewn passage will bring you to a room with the fallen bodies of Toadbert and Kylie; Toadbert hands you the horrible sketch he drew earlier and tells you to rub the dirt away, and it'll reveal "the truth." For the first time in this game, you get to use the stylus! Make sure you do as thorough a job as possible, because if even the tiniest fleck of dirt is left on the sketch, you won't be able to proceed to the next point. Stupid, I know. As you clean it off, you'll reveal a creature similar to the one we already saw, confronting Peach. But before Toadbert can explain the drawing to you, a huge alien bursts into the room, turning both Toadbert and Kylie into shrooms. Rather than shroomify us, however, he wants to give us an opportunity to kick his ass. Let's take it! BOSS: ELDER SHROOBOID HP: 950, then 1150 Weak: Ice EXP: 1500 Coins: 400 Win: Ultra Drop A few things up front: -He can't be jumped on, due to the spikes, obviously, but he'll soon fall over, exposing himself to them. -The HP up there is for his first stage, and then his second, when he increases in size. This guy likes to attack with fireballs, spiked balls, and ball 'n chains. For the ball 'n chain, he'll first trap the two of you inside crystals, then come in swinging the thing; jump constantly as fast as possible to release yourself from the crystals, then be ready as he smacks the ball towards the brother that was indicated by the initial; then, be ready to jump again as he hurls himself towards the opposite brother soon afterwards. He'll blow some steam before smacking the thing, not to mention fall over, so let him finish; this is to give you enough time to break out of the crystals. He'll also approach one of the Bros. and pause for a few moments before twirling through him; constantly wail on him with the hammer until he backs off. This attack, as well as his spiked ball attacks will often make you dizzy, so be careful. The spiked balls he throws will circle around you slowly, much like the Love Bubble's attack; hit it with your hammer to send it flying. For his fireballs, simply jump as they bounce towards you; the target is indicated by the claw he throws them with. After a few turns of bombarding him with Ice Flowers, his weakness, he'll use the spiked ball attack and fall over afterwards; now is the time to bombard him with Copy Flowers. Don't ever hit him with any fire attacks. Once he's taken heavy damage, he'll stand up and double in size, as well as spit out a UFO, which produces a timer. If this timer ticks down to zero, you'll be shot to hell and die instantly, so you can't allow that to happen. How to avoid this? The spiked balls the Elder throws can be deflected with the hammer, where they'll fly onto the top screen; if they hit the UFO buzzing around up there, the timer will reset itself. One thing to remember: Luigi hits the ball straight up, while Mario will send it at an angle. Keep this in mind if trying to hit the UFO. Any drops he sustained from your Ice Flowers will be gone upon the increase, so unleash them against him once more until he falls over again; then, it's back to the Copy Flower treatment. His attacks don't change from this point, though they are now more powerful. Every time he uses the spiked ball attack, he'll fall afterwards, so look forward to it. Once he's been destroyed, he'll drop the shard that he took from Toadbert, so you can now claim it as your own. The rest of the Cobalt Star will return to you, too, which means you can now enter Shroob Castle! Leave the shroomified ones where they lay; there's nothing you can do for them. Instead, proceed to the top of the room and simply walk towards the star door, and it will open; hop into the time hole before you. You'll end up in the sewers underneath the castle, so make your way back up to the surface, and you can begin your preparations for the final level. OOOOOOOOOOOOOO[12] Endgame OOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOO Princess Peach's Castle OOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO First, go over to E. Gadd and have a quick word with him. He'll remind you that the time hole to Shroob Castle is on the third floor, and we'll be heading there in a little while. Now, not only are we going to try to get the best clothing in the game, but you'll soon find better clothing in the Shroob Castle, so don't bother spending your money on the Royal Trousers or Pants at the shop. I will, however, recommend you buy a Lucky Badge and equip it on one of the babies. You should have two, now. Some like to equip Mario and Luigi with the Drain and Cure badges at this point, but I'm going to hold onto my Ulti-Free and Hit-Frees, so if you think that's a better option at this point, then go ahead. As for Bros. Items, you won't need to invest in any more assuming you've got the Ulti-Free badge, but otherwise, you'd do well to buy a lot of Mix Flowers. Now, I currently have 21 beans, and I need 39 more to buy the Treasure Badge from Fawful's shop in the sewers. What does it do, you ask? Any time you defeat enemies using Bros. Items, you "win the items they were using," which basically guarantees you item drops. Not only that, it significantly increases your odds of scoring the much rarer items drops. Any time you use this badge and kill off the enemies using a Bros. Item, the drops that are preceded by a trail of stars are items you won thanks to the badge. With this, you have a much better chance of winning the best piece of clothing for each of your party members, which are both rare drops from powerful enemies found on the last level. The best place to get more beans, as I mentioned earlier, is inside the volcano, Thwomp Caverns; remember where you played the gem-grabbing game, followed by the slot machine? That's where you want to go; at this point, "Extra-Burly Mode" will be available, and while the course is a little tougher and the slots move much faster, it's still easy to get the timing down for three stars, and win yourself 5 beans. You can do this for every gem you grab, so in the end you can score a ton of 'em. I'm going to be doing this myself, and these pieces of clothing make the otherwise "best" you can find look like badly torn, badly soiled panties, so it's in your best interest (and not really that much more time consuming) to take the time to get the beans, buy the badge, and battle the enemies until you win the clothing. Twice. ...For a little help remembering where to go, just take the time hole on the first floor, upper-left, take the pipe across the bridge at the base of the mountain up, climb to the crater and enter the volcano, and then just follow the first floor all the way to the right. You'll have to drop down the coin chasm with the babies, then pass a room full of Gold Koopeleons, and then there you are. If Extra-Burly is too tough, you can still play normal mode, though it's far more tedious. And lastly, when you use the Treasure Badge, make sure it's on the faster character, much like the Ulti-Free badge; it won't take effect unless the WEARER kills the enemies with a Bros. Item. Once you're ready, take the staircase on the left or right side of the first floor, then the second staircase on the left side of the second floor, and the time hole is in the center of all those Peach statues, indicated by the hand. As you emerge from the time hole, Stuffwell will pop out, saying the Cobalt Star is extremely agitated. Without a word from anyone else, the star destroys the barrier in front of the doors, and pulls them open. You get one more look at Luigi's cowardice, and then... into the castle! [12.1] Assault on Shroob Castle! OOOOO Shroob Castle OOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Items: Mushroom (13) OOO Super Mushroom (14) OOO Ultra Mushroom (10) OOO Max Mushroom (5) OOO Super Drop (2) OOO Ultra Drop (7) OOO 1-Up Mushroom (4) OOO 1-Up Super (8) OOO Refreshing Herb (9) OOO Red Pepper (11) OOO Green Pepper (7) OOO Green Shell (3) OOO Bro Flower (6) OOO Ice Flower (6) OOO Red Shell (17) OOO Cannonballer (3) OOO Smash Egg (6) OOO Pocket Chomp (10) OOO Trampoline (6) OOO Copy Flower (6) OOO Mix Flower (11) OOO Space Trousers (2) OOO Rocket Jeans (2) OOO Dire-Free Badge OOO Lucky A Badge OOO Coins: 1987 OOO Enemies: Tashrooba OOO Snoozorb OOO Soul Bubble OOO Shroob Rex OOO Shroobsworth OOO Shroob Intern OOO Lethal Bob-omb OOO Ghoul Guy OOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO ENEMY ATTACKS & STATS: Tashrooba- HP: 125 EXP: 150 Coins: 10 Drop: Ultra Drop, Max Mushroom Weak: None Resist: None Faster, stronger, much more evil relative of the Tanoomba. Their shell and Thwomp attacks are much faster and stronger, so react to the warning signs immediately. In case you forgot: hop means the shell spins towards Mario first, flip means Luigi; hopping straight up into the air means it'll come down on Mario, while flipping means it'll go for Luigi. Snoozorb- HP: 150 EXP: 170 Coins: 15 Drop: Red Shell Weak: None Resist: None These guys will sleep soundly until you wake them up. They're defensive tanks and pretty powerful, so try to destroy them in one blow. Before any attack, it will blow steam from its head compartment; if the steam flows to the left, it'll target Mario, and right, it'll target Luigi. It may curl itself into a sphere and roll towards someone; hit it away with your hammer, and be prepared to hit it again, as it may try to plow through you twice more. That's the simple one; these guys have a meaner laser attack, which can fire either above or directly at you, depending on how it charges its energy. If the energy lines swirl around it, the beam will be fired over your head, so don't move. If the lines are straight, be ready to jump. There's no way of telling when it will decide to sweep across the floor with the beam after it's fired, so be ready to jump with the other character. Mix Flower these guys, as your jumps will deal insufficient damage. Soul Bubble- HP: 100 EXP: 175 Coins: 15 Drop: 1-Up Mushroom, 1-Up Super Weak: None Resist: None Not only are these things so much faster than Love Bubbles, but if you attack them and fail to kill them, they'll retaliate by healing or even resurrecting one of its dead allies, if you've destroyed anyone, yet. While this opens the way for more EXP, these guys almost always bring Shroob Rexes with them, and since you used your turn already, you won't be able to do anything if the Rex decides to charge you. Unavoidable pain really sucks, so when you attack these things, make sure it's going to do the job in a single blow. Generally you're best off Mix Flowering these jerks along with their dino cohorts. Shroob Rex- HP: 200 EXP: 185 Coins: 12 Drop: Mix Flower, 100-Point Pants Weak: None Resist: None These enemies will never appear on the level layout itself, but they show up in many if not almost all battles with Soul Bubbles, Shroobsworths, and Ghoul Guys, which are quite plentiful and DO show up on the map. Now, Rexes have two different attacks- charging and spitting flaming rocks. The charge is a simple stop in front of the target, then run through them offscreen, then make a return pass; but, when they come back around, they might charge through either of the Bros., so be sure to jump with both. Give them a good two seconds between each charge, and also once they stop in front of you in mid-flight. ***It is impossible to avoid a Rex if it is at its FULL height when it charges. Make sure their head is scrunched down at least one level beforehand; Rexes can be squished at least twice.*** Its flaming rock attack is far more easy to dodge; have both hammers ready, as the rock will either roll towards one bro, then travel towards the other one upon whacking it; or, the rock will split into two and roll towards both, then crumble once hit. This attack not only really hurts, but also burns, so take care not to get hit with it. Lastly, Rex may fly between or near one the two Bros., then flip and do a ground pound, sending out a shockwave at the two of you; jump as soon as he lands, and you should avoid it (jumping with one bro first and then the other when he's making the quake from the top or bottom instead). I'm not sure if he'll produce more than one shockwave; if he does, I've never been on the receiving end of it. These SOBs will do a number on your health if you don't get rid of them immediately, so use a mighty Mix Flower and off them at the start. Shroobsworth- HP: 160 EXP: 0 Coins: Drop: None Weak: None Resist: None Right up there with Rex as an enemy that is best not allowed to ever get an attack in. Shroobsworths carry a little guy on their backs, the Shroob Intern, and work together to pull off some pretty powerful attacks. If he throws the Intern onto the top screen, you'll be shot at by the Intern; jump quickly with both to avoid it. Once Shroobsworth catches the Intern, it'll throw it up again for a 2nd-3rd shot. Now, if the Intern goes offscreen, the Shroobsworth will hold its arm and cane out for a couple seconds, then dash in and slash at both Bros. with it. It's easy enough to catch him as he dashes and jump before he slashes with the cane, so don't let him get a hit in. Lastly, the Intern will produce a large meteorite, and either the Intern or Shroobsworth will hit it at you; if the Intern hits it, it'll launch towards Mario; if Shroobsworth hits it, it'll be launched at Luigi. Once you hit it, though, either one of the pair will hit it back, and it'll go on for several turns picking up speed until you get hit, or the duo does. While the Intern is riding on his back, only Shroobsworth will take damage. Kill him, and the Intern will spin-swat him away, leaving... Shroob Intern- HP: 130 EXP: 180 Coins: 20 Drop: Copy Flower, Supreme Slacks Weak: None Resist: None The Intern will sit still for one turn after Shroobsworth has been slain, and if you fail to kill him then, he'll fully revive the Shroobsworth and you'll have to off the old dude again. Note you receive no EXP for defeating the Shroobsworth; allowing him to be revived over and over will NOT get you more experience or coins. Only the Intern coughs up any spoils. Lethal Bob-omb- HP: 60 EXP: 70 Coins: 10 Drop: Refreshing Herb Weak: None Resist: Fire, Ice, Mix These little guys do one thing and one thing only: explode! No standard charge attack; their fuses are already lit once the battle begins. That said, the only thing to do if you haven't destroyed them all is to have your hammer ready and IMMEDIATELY hit them away when they pass up and down in front of you. If you don't get rid of them right away, you won't be killed outright, but you're in for serious damage. Only the babies will find themselves in battles with these, either in groups or as a cohort to Ghoul Guy. Ghoul Guy- HP: 160 EXP: 100 Coins: 10 Drop: Max Mushroom, Red Pepper Weak: None Resist: None Remember the Boo Guy from Toadwood Forest? This is the upgrade. Again, jump as soon as they split into two and are in front of the Bros.; the target is determined by who the Ghoul Guy points at before attacking. However, if these are in a battle with any enemies besides other Ghoul Guys, they'll sacrifice themselves in order to raise the attack, defense and speed of whomever they possess. You'll still get experience for the Guy that sacrificed itself, but it's best to kill any other enemies first, as a stat upgrade makes Shroobsworths really tough to take down. In a battle where the Shroobsworths outnumber the Guys, get rid of the Guys first... that is, if you aren't using a Mix Flower. Fry everyone with this baby. =P Take a look at this first room as you enter; notice the huge statue in the center, the pipes on the left, and the gap to the right; you can't do anything about either the left or right at the moment, so the only thing to do is to check out the statue of Princess Shroob. As you walk up to it, notice the purple ! block in her pelvic region. We want to extract it from there, so toss the babies up to the ledge on the left and bring the adults under the huge shine block. One last maze in pitch-darkness for ya. The maze is fairly straightforward, and if you simply follow every path as it is, you'll find switch blocks needed to move other platforms into jumping range, as well as other pieces of treasure. Take note that midway through, you'll have to jump on a moving platform and ride it across, where the lights will likely be off.. take care, and if you have to turn the lights on while you're riding over the spikes, wait until the platform is on the right side before hitting the switch, so you can hop off and be able to see where you're going. Also keep in mind that there are several places you'll need to jump, especially if you want to collect the items inside. Once you've reached the other side, you'll see a red switch; activating it will remove the block from Princess Shroob's uninviting crotch, allowing you to hit it. This forms a bridge of shrooms across the gap on the lower right; take it, and then fight your way through some Tashroobas and a Snoozorb until you reach a gate; tunnel under it with the babies and hammer the switch on the wall to drop it. Enter the pipe, bringing you to the largest and most infested floor in the castle. You'll find your first save point upon exiting the pipe. Notice the four devices in the far corners of the map, arranged to form an X once their beams are fired? Our goal is to set those beams off and get rid of the crystal shroom that's encasing the purple switch block atop the pedestal in our current room. To do that, it'll involve the multicolored switch sequences you've done before, meaning the adults will have to split from the babies; since this place is crawling with tough enemies, though, you'd be very wise to clean the place out first. I like to start from the left side and sweep down, then across the bottom to the right, and back up that side. I'll get every enemy that way (except for the Ghoul Guys floating along on the ledges) and be all set to separate without getting into a battle. If you want to use the Ulti-Free badge paired with the Para Slacks to smoke everything as soon as the battle starts, that's fine, but if you're trying to get the Supreme Slacks and 100-Point pants, I suggest using the Treasure Badge on the Para Slacks wearer and using your Mix Flowers. Don't worry about running out, as the common encounter Rex drops a Mix Flower for every one you destroy. For Snoozorbs, use a Red Shell and it'll drop one after the battle, keeping your supply fresh. Anyways, clear this place out, and then I'll start on the switches. Gotten rid of everything? Good. I'll start with the adults in the upper- left corner, with the babies opposite them, in the lower-right. You know the drill; either party can initiate, and a generous nine seconds to complete it. Once you've done that beam, send the adults down and the babies up, to the adjacent corner. You can use the pipe by the adults to summon the babies back once you've finished. With the crystal shattered, you can now hit that switch block. So, trek back to the room with the pipe and use the Baby Spin to get them up onto the pedestal; hitting the block will open the door up ahead, which leads to a pipe. Ignore the above room for now, as there's nothing you can do, and hop down the pipe. Now that you're on the second floor, head into the now-ravaged library, which is the wooded area in the bottom-center. Head through the large hole busted in the wall, and you'll be underneath some sort of canopy, covered in shrooms; walk through into the next room WITHOUT veering out from underneath the canopy; otherwise, UFOs will spot you and shoot you out of the area. So, once you've reached the darkened room with the huge staircases, dump the babies and hit the switch block, and get ready for another timed Bros. Ball course. This one isn't any harder than the one you performed in the present Peach's Castle, but there are various blocks on the sides that will get in your way. Simply weave around them, and quickly hit the block at the top once you arrive. Lowering the gate grants you access into the next room, which is where the Shroob Mothership has been parked. Wanna take a peek inside? Of course you do. Compress the blue switch, and the gang heads inside, only to find the ship just take off into space with them on it! Stuffwell pops out, and Luigi suggests they take control of the ship, and use it to blow the flying saucers patrolling the second floor into oblivion. And you'll do just that, once Stuffwell explains the controls. Basically, the higher the bar is for each brother, the higher the ship will rise once you hit the block. You can fire the laser at any point, even without having risen at all, but any time you take a shot, the ship will drop back down to its lowest height. The saucers you destroy here are a simple workout to familiarize yourself with the controls.. you'll face a much harder challenge with this thing later on, I assure you. Anyways, follow Stuffwell's instructions to a tee, and you'll send those saucers packing, allowing you to cross the bridge and into the left and right areas you initially couldn't. Now would be a good time to save, and then head back downstairs. I'll head to the left, first. If you take that route, then head up the steps, up the ramp, and take the pipe on the right, you'll be able to hit a switch block to form a bridge and allow easy access to this floor, should you wish to return. Back into the pipe, and then take the left pipe, which you just passed. You'll be on the third floor, now, and should head to the right, then down past the multicolored blocks and into the southern room. Here, you want to use the Baby Spin to send the babies onto the overhang above the doorways. Once up there, hit the lower switch with your hammer, which raises a block for the adults; now, control the adults and hop onto the block on the far right, then use your spin to cross across the gaps and to the switch block on the other side. Hit it, and you'll spurt up a step for the babies to use to reach that second red switch; whacking THAT will lower the block that the multicolored switch blocks hovered over in the previous room. Head back out there and toss the babies onto it; then, use them to initiate the sequence and hit all four of them, which will remove the bars on the gray door just up ahead. Proceed through there... And you'll be in front of some sort of control panel, with a large monitor showing the captive Princess Peach patrolling around in her holding cell, or wherever the Shroobs are keeping her. She can't hear us, but once Baby Mario starts whacking everything with his hammer, he somehow activates a communicator, enabling Peach to hear what Mario is saying. She tells you she's locked up at the top of the Princess Shroob statue, but before she can say much else, the monitor abruptly shuts off. Apparently, BM damaged the circuitry with his hammer, and it was functional for only a short time.. good going, little turd! However, there's a pipe in the left corner that we can take to continue on with things. BACK TO ADVENTURE! While you're travelling down through the pipe, a pesky Chomp swimming around in the sewer waters will ram it, sending you off course. Now you must patrol the sewers and somehow find a way out. Before you do, though, head to the left and hit the second switch block as you emerge from the pipe there; this will allow you to backtrack easily. Now, head to the right, and after dealing with the little hostilities there, head up against the wall in front in front of you. This is another fan obstacle course, so flatten the babies and send them in, and then float along each pillar of wind until the babies are on the farthest one to the left. Now you can spin the cog and send them higher. Now, bring them along across the fans until they're on the right, by a spring, then send them up. But first, if you didn't feel like getting the Treasure Badge for the aid in finding the best armor, you can grab a pair of Space Trousers for the adults in this room- once the babies have crossed to the right side, you can drop down off of the left side of the fan closest to the ledge you stopped on; once you drop down, hang to the right and you should land on a platform with two blocks: 80 coins and the Space Trousers. Repeat the whole thing to get back up to the spring once you've nabbed 'em. At the top, hit the red switch with your hammer, and you'll lower the ledge to the right of you down so that the adults can climb up. Now, proceed to the left and through the doorway there, to be in another coin chamber, which you must send the babies through, using the Bros. spin. Once you reach the bottom, you can hit a switch block nearby to lower a drawbridge, allowing the adults to join you down there. They'll have to back out of the room they're in and jump down to do so. FYI, the treasure blocks in that passage contain only coins and Red Shells, so don't bother with them unless you want to. With the adults and babies reunited and in the next area, you can lower the drawbridges across the beds of spikes on the left. To get the first one, you must fire the Bros. over with the cannon on the right; start by throwing the babies into the stump against the wall, then rolling into the Bros. Ball and into the cannon. Now, once they're in the cannon, the babies can walk to the end of the passage inside the stump and whack the switch with their hammer, which will fire the adults across two rows of spikes. A pipe to bring the babies over to you is in the left corner, but you might have to fight a battle or two to reach it. With the babies over there, now, use the Baby Spin while they're perched at the right edge of the spike bed, and send them over to the middle platform. Another 4-man switch block sequence here, to be initiated by the adults; you'll have to jump immediately with the baby that's under the third block, as the screen won't transfer over to you, nor is there a countdown. This lowers the two drawbridges; now you can compress the blue pad and enter the next section of the sewers. A pipe inside will bring you there. The first room you'll come to, on the right, has a boatload of items, one of which you definitely want to grab. The drawbridge at the lower part of the room is still up, so start by sending the babies to tunnel under the gate covering the pipes. These pipes are crawling with Lethal Bob-ombs, so be very careful if you get into battle with some. Also in these pipes is a pair of Rocket Jeans, for those that don't want to bother trying to win a pair of 100-Point pants, and an absolute payload of coins. This castle is the first level to push you over the 1000-mark in terms of coins. Anyways, you want to make your way through the pipes to the lower right, where you'll find a lone gate; tunnel through it and you'll be across the moat, and on the other side of the drawbridge. The switch block to lower that bridge is on the left side, and now you can grab the goods, among them a Lucky Badge A. This badge kicks major ass, as it'll land you a TON of lucky hits. Perfect for one of the babies. With all this stuff grabbed, now you can move on to the next room, which has 4 new paths open to you; the one in the lower-right, leading downwards, brings you to a pair of treasure blocks; the northwest/east and southwest/east paths lead to rooms with pedestals, much like the one in the center of the room you're in now, which will soon have blocks over them; but how to make those blocks appear? Take the southeast pipeline, and walk down past the layer of spikes to a purple ! block, over a pedestal. Hitting it with a piggyback jump will lower the drawbridge; cross it, but before you can even jump towards the switch block there, the same Chomp will dive out of the water and snatch it from you! Bastard! It'll flee to one of the pipes on the top part of the top screen, and shortly afterwards, four blocks will appear over the four pedestals I mentioned earlier. Those blocks will let you fry that hungry piece of metal, and get your switch block back. What do the blocks do, exactly? Hitting any two blocks will fire a laser in the direction the two of them point in when lined up. You'll notice that this allows you to fire into any of the five pipes on that top screen. The Chomp is in the middle pipe right now, but I'm not sure if the pattern will always be the same per game file, so let me just tell you which blocks must be hit in order to fire a laser into that particular pipe, numbered from 1 to 5, as seen from left to right: #1: West and South blocks #2: North and East blocks #3: North and South blocks #4: North and West blocks #5: East and South blocks Notice the heart gauge on the top screen; you must continuously blast the Chomp and deplete it in order to continue. For the fourth and final Chomp, there will be one in every pipe, and only one of them is real. Fire the lasers at the one that gnashes its teeth the fastest; that's your clue as to which is the bonafide Chomp. With it gone, it'll relinquish the switch block, so return to the southeast and piggyback jump to hit the block; this will lower the spikes. A pipe sits at the end of this path, so enter it to be brought back to the main floor of the castle. You'll be heading off to the left, but if you want a second pair of Rocket Jeans for the other baby, turn the tots into pancakes and send them underneath the little crevice in the lower-right. At this point, I've already won two pairs of 100-Point pants for the babies, but I have yet to win myself some Supreme Slacks. Oh well, I haven't killed every Shroobsworth just yet, so there's still a couple opportunities. Anyways, once you've gotten your jeans, exit left, and you'll find another one of those crystals, this time encasing a pipe. Hit the purple ! block nearby and you'll not only lower the gate in the front, but open up a hole in the wall to tunnel underneath. We'll have to abandon the adults for a while, so leave 'em and head inside. Once you're in, head up the steps there, and out the opening at the top, and... you're on the overhang! This ledge wraps around almost the entire floor of this castle. What you need to do is to not only remove the gate blocking the adults from a pair of the multicolored switches, which are in the upper-left corner. In the upper-right is a room secluded from the rest of the castle, and has no openings; only the babies can enter it, as they must be walking the overhang in order to do so. They'll participate in the sequence from there. To make following my guide easier, I'll simply state the directions I take as I reach forks, or when entering a new area. If the babies ever fall, there's a pipe where the adults are standing that will summon them back, and you can climb back onto the ledge from there. The rooms are all separated by semicolons, by which I mean any time I enter a new room, the sentence before it will end with one. Start by heading all the way down and into the next screen. Ignore the crate on the right and head left and all the way down; now ignore the right side and head down and left; now, up and left, dealing with a Ghoul Guy along the way; up and left, smashing the crate, then going up through the doorway; head up and then drop into this room, hitting the switch on the wall with your hammer. Now the adults can enter the room and get at the laser. To climb back up, there's another gate along the wall, to the right of the switch. Once back in this room, head down, and then all the way down again. You'll be next to a slope on the right, and a Ghoul Guy on the left. Up that slope are some items; from the doorway, take a left and head down; down again into the next room; then right, dealing with another Ghoul Guy, down, and right again; up a ways, smashing the crate in the way, then down and right; up a long ways, deal with not one but two Ghoul Guys, and up into the hidden room if you'd like another pair of Space Trousers.. Otherwise, continue all the way down and right; up and right, smashing the crate (and the GG) in the way, then up through the doorway; up, right, and up through the doorway (down for some Max Mushrooms); up and left, kill a Ghoul Guy and head up the left slope for some goodies, then up through the doorway; all the way up and through yet another doorway; and here we are. The second laser. Initiate the sequence with whomever you please, but not before sending the adults over to the other side, as they should still be standing by the gate we started with. Once you've completed the sequence and shattered the crystal over the pipe, you can now head down it, so reunite the two groups and trek back to the pipe. A pipe to summon either group over is right by the pipe you want to take, by the way. That pipe will bring you back to the second floor, now on the right side; exit left, destroy the enemies here if you wish, then continue on to the left (it is here that I got my first pair of Supreme Slacks off of that damn Shroobsworth. Finally!), where you'll be in a secluded part of the library; hitting the purple ! block towards the bottom of the room will lower the ledge to the left, allowing you to cross from either side. To get the items up there, you'll have to Baby Spin the tots onto the bookcase, starting with them perched on the ledge partially raised from the ground. Once you've gotten everything you care to, exit to the right and then take the northern route up to the pipe. Hop in, and you'll be back on the third floor. Before taking the upper path on the metallic platforms, head left and hit the switch there to remove one last gate. Then, begin your climb, grabbing an assload of Bros. Items along the way (to get the ones on the ledge high over the long slope, toss the babies so they're about even with the ledge while standing on the slope, then Baby Spin them.); you'll soon come to a blue pad that must be compressed. Inside the following room is a save point and one last pipe, leading back down to the entrance, completing the trio of shortcuts. Hop back in once you've hit the switch and enter the next room, ascending the trio of staircases; as you enter the next room, Stuffwell will interrupt you, once again with the Cobalt Star trying to get out of his storage; upon releasing it, it thanks you for everything you've done and tells you to continue searching for Peach. It flies off. Once you reach the end of the room, you'll find a save block and a blue door switch, but before you can move any further, Stuffwell will interrupt again, finally with something pretty important; you are about to enter a point of no return. Once you pass through the door, there's no going back, unless you want to reset the entire turn of events you are about to unfold. So, grab the item nearby, heal yourself with the block and save, then compress the switch... You'll find Peach inside her holding cell, and after a little chat and introduction to the babies, she'll ask how you managed to even make it this far, and you'll tell her about the nearly completed Cobalt Star, and that it's here in the castle. Peach suddenly becomes anxious, and begins trying to tell Mario something urgent, when suddenly a storm of lasers begins pelting the statue from outside! You'll see the Shroob Mothership, buzzing back and forth, raining hell down on the castle. Princess Shroob is at the helm, barking something in her cute accent. You have to stop her from destroying the place, and there just so happens to be another flying saucer at the top of this statue. So, take the exit on the left, and save again to avoid having to repeat this conversation (Stuffwell will tell you he CAN reset the events and bring you back in time, but don't bother with this and just save), then compress the switch at the top and enter. You'll automatically take off in the saucer, and the Mothership will fly over to you... once you hit that block from a piggyback, you're going to start a little UFO battle, so read my advice, first: The Mothership will continuously bring more UFOs onto the battlefield, and you must avoid contact with them at all costs. Your lasers will do nothing to the Mothership itself; instead, you must shoot the UFOs it releases, so that they fly into the ship and damage it that way. The Mothership has set patterns in which it not only releases the saucers, but in the way they fly as well, and as you inflict more damage on the Mothership, the saucers will move that much faster. Two bits of general but very important advice: first off, your best position to be in is the middle height, NOT the highest. Also, if you can't hit the Mothership, you must be able to have the bottom level with your ship clear of UFOs; otherwise they'll hit you. The safest position is the very bottom, because you can shoot almost all the UFOs that will be in range, or be able to collide with your own saucer. So, bring the saucer up to middle/high height and wait for the Mothership to release its UFOs, and fire your laser when you'll be able to hit it. If you miss and drop back down, your next priority is to shoot down any saucer that will be able to collide with yours once it begins moving to the left. Once you've made it safe to dwell on the bottom, let the other saucers leave the screen before shooting back up again. Any time you hit the Mothership with a saucer, the others will fly offscreen, so don't worry about them. You have four units of life, so to speak, and the Mothership has four as well; you must deplete them before your own saucer explodes, and then the Mothership will crash into the side of the statue. Head back out, save AGAIN so you don't have to repeat this evil mini-game should you die, then enter the room with Peach... [12.2] Femme Fatale You'll find the barrier around Peach has since faded, apparently having been knocked out when the Mothership crashed into the side of the castle. You won't get to exchange much in the way of words, however, for the hatch to the Mothership will open; after some pestering, Mario will slowly walk underneath the entrance hatch.. ..and leap back in fear, for Princess Shroob finally confronts them! Her ship is badly damaged... Countless minions have been slain... Nearly everything the Shroobs have worked to accomplish has been mettled with in some way by the Bros. It's high time they were punished for their deeds, wouldn't you say? BOSS: PRINCESS SHROOB HP: 3000 EXP: 0 Coins: 0 Despite what several gamers and Nintendo Power might say, that is not an error; her HP is definitely 3000. But before you can hack away at that, you must first put her throne (temporarily, unfortunately) out of commission. To do this, you must repeatedly attack her shield, to the point the throne can no longer take it, and will crash to the floor. Until then, the throne attacks three different ways: -Lasers Two cannons will appear, and toggle up and down for a few seconds; when they stop, they'll fire a beam in the direction they point. You only have a second to react, so pay close attention and jump with whomever needs to, to avoid taking a hit. The beams will never sweep, so that isn't a problem. She'll fire them 5 times per attack. -Energy Rings The throne will leave the battlefield and return as a walker; once it hops over your party, it will fire rings down at you, which close in once they hit the ground. To make this as easy as possible, jump with both characters as the rings get close to the ground. They trip you, so take care. She'll fire off many of them before finishing with... -Crush Once her ring attack is finished, her walker will get ready to lower itself on top of you. Both Bros. must ready their hammers and release them at the same time once she gets closer. Swing before she'll actually be right above you to ensure a counter. If she cackles, she'll pause mid-way, then come down fast. This attack tends to make you dizzy when it hits. The best way to disable her shield is with a multi-hitting attack, particularly Copy Flowers, as they start off slow and with really easy timing. Try to do this before she even has a chance to attack you with it. Once she's out of the walker, she'll attack one of four ways, but may use them several times in a row; If she produces a star, she'll send it towards you, and if you fail to jump on it (removing it), it will continue past and loop around for another pass. It'll increase in speed each time you dodge it until it hits either of you, or gets stomped out. Obviously, you want to get rid of it as soon as it's launched. Otherwise, she just launches balls of energy three different ways; a single shot in front of you, a single shot from above, or a spread shot between you. The first two are avoided by jumping and using the hammer, respectively (the overhead shots will be fired at Mario from her left hand and Luigi from her right); the spread shot is best dodged by jumping with the brother it will hit first, then the other. If you land on top of the ball, you'll stomp it without taking damage, so that's all right. Nothing else to say about these attacks, though it bears mentioning that they can cause poisoning, and the star attack can reduce your stats. You have three rounds to beat her up before her throne will be back in business, so it'd be best to kill her now. Copy Flowers are your best friend; use them relentlessly. Once you've inflicted over 1500 worth of damage, she'll charge herself with energy and go into what I like to call Psycho ***** Mode. Basically, she'll now launch a good 20 attacks at you in a row, one after the other, always beginning with her star. If she gets back into her walker, she'll pull off a good 5 attacks with that, too. Her damage really adds up, so end this as quickly as possible. If you know you won't be able to kill her in the last turn before she is able to move again, heal whomever needs it to have the best chances of surviving her barrage. Her walker's attacks will give you far more problems as far as dodging goes, so you shouldn't get your ass handed to you. You'll receive a full health replenishment once you've won. I'll try to keep this last bit spoiler free, at least for those reading ahead, and just say that Baby Bowser screws it all up for us yet again. Though I'm not sure I remember when he screwed it up the first time. We go into battle, with Peach offering her assistance when she can... BOSS: ELDER PRINCESS SHROOB HP: 3500 EXP: 0 Coins: 0 Once again, I assure you that this form has 3500 HP. Her attacks also have far more variety than seen in the first battle; they basically all rely on the UFOs that fly onto the scene to be executed; the less she has, the less her repertoire can have. How do you decrease the number of UFOs? Peach will toss you a star once per round; use the cursor that appears to aim and take out as many as you can in one shot. Note that there is a tiny delay between when you press the button to fire and when the cursor stops, so take that into account. Occasionally, Peach may toss you a mushroom and replenish some of your HP, instead. I'll list her attacks by the number of flying saucers she requires to use it: 0 UFOs: -Shoulder Ram She'll get into a charging position and then quickly run at one of the Bros.; Have your hammer ready, quickly, and swing once she's near. Be warned, though, that she may pause in front of you before charging again, or may jump back upon being struck, then charge again. 1 UFO: -Chain Chomp She'll leave and return with a Chomp, and a UFO will fly down to it, and proceed to fly in circles around the Bros., leaving you in the path of the Chomp. Try and jump onto the Chomp as it first passes underneath you; it will make several trips, quickly, and you're likely to take a lot of damage as it comes back around from behind. Hopping on it once ceases the attack. Note that this attack can inflict poisoning. -Energy Drink Much like what Swiggler drank, a UFO will bring her a glass of fluid. She gulps it down and recovers 120 HP, then graciously swats the saucer away. Nothing else to say about this one. 2 UFOs: -Lasers & Quake She'll hop onto two UFOs and take off to the top screen, then fire several shots at either bro, much like the other saucers do. Just jump them all as quickly as possible. Then, she'll retreat to the background and fire shots from there; if the saucers are flying low, about level with Mario, jump them as they come by, beginning with Mario and Luigi immediately after; if the saucers are flying higher than that, stay still and they'll pass overhead. Once she's finished, she'll leap off of the saucers and land back onto the stage, creating a shockwave a second later; jump it with both. 3 UFOs: -Meteorite Funny that the most costly attack is also the most simple to avoid. Her peons will bring her a huge Meteorite, and she'll slowly lumber towards one of the Bros. to flatten with it; as she comes within hammer-hitting range, simply wail on her as many times as you can, and she'll drop it. Very easy. In my opinion, her shoulder ram is the most troublesome, as I hate any attack with spontaneous lag; her Chomp attack can be a real pain as well, if you don't get rid of it the second it begins chasing the UFO. Still, this should be an easy battle, as there are no shields to bust and no special circumstances to meet before pummeling her. As with the first Princess Shroob, Copy Flowers are the way to go. Don't worry about how many UFOs are buzzing around the skies as much as perfecting the timing on your Bros. Items to inflict the most severe damage possible. If you land any blows over 1000, you did pretty good; if you can nail her for a good 2k and up, you're doing great. As her health drops lower, she'll begin using more attacks during her turn, UFOs providing. Once you finish this lady off, she'll go straight into her ultimate form. You won't recieve a free healing after this one, either. BOSS: ELDER PRINCESS SHROOB HP: 3000(head), 496(Feet), 248(Tentacles, each), 200(Crown) EXP: 0 Coins: 0 Yes, this form has less HP than her previous, but you also have so much more to deal with. First and most important to remember, is that as long as her crown is active, her head will only take 1 point in damage, no matter what you throw at it. And in order to get at the crown, you must first put her foot tentacles out of commission, if only for a short while. Her body parts all have at least one attack they can perform, and the crown does nothing but protect her. Her attacks are as follows: Feet: -Tentacle Cycle Either two, or worse, four tentacles will extend out from underneath the Princess and begin rotating clockwise or counter-clockwise; you must jump over each of them individually as they sweep by. They gradually pick up speed. It pretty much comes down to how quickly you can alternate between jumps with the Bros. If she begins this attack with one of them dizzy or knocked down, that person is basically screwed. Arm Tentacles: -Stab The point on one of the tentacles will glisten, then quickly squirm in and take a stab at one of the Bros. You must jump immediately if this is a tentacle closer to the Bros., as the window to react is very short. If a farther tentacle is going in, you have a sliver of more time to move. These things tend to poison you as a result. Her chin will be quivering rapidly while she's doing this attack, and until she ceases, you can expect more stabbing attempts; also, prior to every stab you'll notice a particular tentacle rear back. Use this as a means of prediction rather than waiting for the tentacle to glisten. -Grab The tentacles will move in and try to grab hold of the Bros. Have your hammer ready, and whack them once they get close. If you happen to be grabbed, you'll be thrown back to your position and possibly made dizzy. Head: -Crash 'n Burn Anywhere from 4 to 6 UFOs will fly onto the top screen, and the Princess will launch a ball of energy at them, hitting each one and damaging it badly. Then, they'll come plummeting down onto either Bro. UFOs in flames will land on Mario; those giving off sparks will land on Luigi. Pay attention to the order they fall, and most importantly which person they're targeting, and have your hammer ready to hit them away. They'll go flying into the Princess for some nice damage, or if they hit you, possibly make you dizzy. Expect this move almost every single turn. -Huge Energy Ball She'll fire a ball of energy above her head, and a number of smaller shots will be launched into it; pay attention to which shots are greater in number; more reds mean it will come down onto Mario, and it will target Luigi if there were more greens. Have your hammer ready to hit it away; then, have the other Bros. hammer ready to hit it once more. This will send it back at the Princess. Should you be hit with it, you'll see a nice explosion, and the victim will land on their ass and be in downed status until their turn comes up. -Poison Gas Much like what Swiggler used against you, only these are not deflected with the hammer. Simply jump over these as she spits them out. She'll use this several times in a row, so be ready for them. Jumping onto the clouds themselves works, too. This move is easiest to avoid, and I hardly see it. -Time Hole Again, a swarm of UFOs will enter the top screen, but rather than send them plummeting onto the Bros., the Princess will suck them all into a time hole. Then, once several turns have passed, they'll be fired back out at you; if you can remember the order in which the Princess shot them, and how the ship was damaged, you can avoid them as they come flying out by having your hammer ready to hit them. Remember, the order in which they were SHOT determines the order in which they're sent back through the hole, not how they were sucked in; they're all pulled into the void at the same time, anyway. The most efficient means of clearing everything out of the way and making the head susceptible to damage is the Mix Flower. Open right away with one, and if you've used it most effectively, this will wipe out all of the tentacles and stun the feet in one go. Now, the crown will drop within range of your attacks, so let loose with another Mix Flower, as it's the easiest thing to use that will also get you big damage. With the crown shut off temporarily, the head will finally be open to attack, so unleash any Copy Flowers, Trampolines, Cannonballers; anything you have that can hit the head, deal a lot of damage, and that you can time well, use it. The head will meanwhile be killing a lot of her minions off in an effort to knock you out of your senses; watch the saucers closely to see who will be hit next, and send them flying back at her. Every few rounds, she'll begin reviving all of her parts and turn the crown back on; they'll also use their respective attacks the moment they're resurrected. Any time she does this, even if it's only a single part, use another Mix Flower and nuke it back out of sight. If you're at level 30 for this battle, which you should be if you fought every enemy you saw just once, then this won't be very aggravating. The only time problems really arise is when one of the Bros. is inflicted with an ailment that renders him immobile. Keep in mind that Refreshing Herbs still work even for dizziness and being knocked to the ground. As with just about every boss in this game, as her health drops lower, the attacks will increase in number; five stabs as opposed to two, six UFOs shot down instead of a mere four, and so on. If you must, use your Drop items to keep the group healed, and keep a relentless dosage of Copy Flowers and Mix Flowers flying, whichever is more practical at the time. I've seen many cases of people who claim this battle took them an hour to finish, and sometimes well over that; I frankly have no idea how in the hell that's possible, unless their levels are so bloody low that Mix Flowers do pathetic damage. With everyone at 30, I always dealt at least 500 a pop with mine. My setup: Baby Mario: 100-Point Pants, Lucky Badge Baby Luigi: 100-Point Pants, Lucky Badge Mario: Supreme Slacks, Ulti-Free Badge Luigi: Space Trousers, Lucky Badge A As you can see, I only was able to win one pair of Supreme Slacks from Shroobsworth, and I wasn't going to reset all the monsters to have a second chance. As far as Bros. Items go, I never bought a single one from a shop. Ever. Though with the Treasure Badge on, I always kept my supply of Copy and Mix Flowers the same, as Worths and Rexes drop those respectively, and having the badge equipped guaranteed me at least one of them. Anyways, the attacks are all listed there, with the means to dodge them; it's all left up to your own skill from here. Keep the abuse coming, and she'll be a wilted little piece of fungus in no time! [12.3] Back for More ...WHO is back for more? Beat the "real" final boss, and as you wrap the story up, you'll come across this extra little challenge thrown in there. Except it isn't much of a challenge, as you may only dodge and counter attacks; you won't be given any turns to attack yourself. If their mouth glows while a large fireball is present, it'll be countered with the hammer. As with all of these attacks, it'll move slowly towards you at first, then speed up as the battle draws closer to an end. If a volley of fireballs is spat along the ground in an arc, simply jump them as they get close. Quite simple. Lastly, a very long charge generally means that a bunch of them will be launched into the air; pay attention to the shadows of the fireballs as they fly up; a shadow passing over Mario means it will target him, and a shadow passing over Luigi... well, you know. ...Aw, hell with the secrecy. It's Shrowser, possessed yet again, and this "fight" is a lame one at that. Just get it over with, and you can get on with the ending. Congratulations! You've beaten the game. Wasn't very long, was it? If only the damn guides took half as much time to write as the games take to beat. I have to respect the people that write up walkthroughs for the 40- hour RPGs. Anyways, there are no other little sidequests to complete, so either run through the game a second time, or, well, off to the shelf it goes. OOOOOOOOOOOOOO[13] Frequently Asked Questions OOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Some questions that appear often on the message boards, and their answers. -What is the best equipment in the game? As far as clothing goes, the 100-Point Pants for the babies, and the Supreme Slacks for the adults. Both are rarely dropped items by enemies inside the Shroob Castle. Shroob Rex and Shroobsworth, respectively. The Treasure Badge will increase your chances of winning them. As far as badges go, nothing can top the Ulti-Free badge in terms of cheapness. Though, it doesn't come cheap. -What is the best level to face the final boss? If you fought and destroyed every enemy you came across during the game, then you should be at about level 30, which is just fine. People have reportedly beaten the game in the low 20s, though it takes them much longer. Since every attack can be evaded in some way with no damage taken, you could technically finish the game at level 1. -Where is the best place for leveling up? Shroob Castle. The enemies there all drop a ton of EXP, but if you want to really rake it in, get into a battle with two Soul Bubbles and two Shroob Rexes. Kill off the Rexes, then use an item like the Ice Flower to hit the Bubbles with as many as it takes to have them hit only once apiece. This provokes their healing/resurrection counterattack, and they'll respawn the Rexes at critical HP. Rinse and repeat. To avoid dealing too much damage to the bubbles, equip the Training Badge. Keep in mind that the Rexes will still take their turns after being revived, so kill them the same turn, lest you want to suffer one of their charges, which will be guaranteed impossible to avoid (as you already took your turn and have no time to scrunch them). -What is the highest level you can reach? 100. Someone has already accomplished this feat and posted proof. If you think it's a sham... well, are you willing to waste all that time trying to disprove them? =P -Is Fawful in this game? If so, where is he? Indeedy, they gave the dubber of Fink-Rats a cameo. He runs a Badge Shop in the sewers underneath Peach's Castle in the present, accessible only by the babies. His badges can only be purchased with beans, but he has some pretty nice stuff for sale. -WTF NINTENDO!!!!11 TEH MAEZ IN DARKNEZ SI IMPOSIBEL!!!!111one ICANT BET IT!!!111 HELP PLZ ...unbelievably, some people are really, really, unobservant. Before every one of these mazes is a block the size of a truck, in plain sight, with a Shine Sprite emblazoned on it. It screams "HIT ME! I PRODUCE LIGHT! YEAH, STOP FUMBLING AROUND LIKE A SHMUCK AND GIVE IT A TRY!" Yet people have gone through every one of these things in the game, counting steps, trying to guess everything as best they can, and cursing the developers every time they fall, when there's a solution RIGHT THERE. Your hand is held throughout almost the whole game, too. Just, wow. I wonder if they struggle to dress themselves. -What is the average play length? People say it's anywhere from 10-15; I think that's a little more rushed, but maybe that's just me. I'd probably give it 15-18, if you take the time to explore and enjoy everything. -Is there any replay value to this game? Sadly... no. Not really. Unless you enjoyed this game so much you want to do it all over again, or play while setting challenges for yourself, then this game has nothing left to offer. Bummer. OOOOOOOOOOOOOO[14] Enemy Guide OOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO While they're all listed in the walkthrough itself, in case you just wanted to look for a baddie that's giving you problems, here's a list compiled of them. Please note that I have no way of absolutely guaranteeing their HP values, and when I cross-referenced my own best educated guesses with the official guide made by Nintendo, I noticed a lot of really bad errors. ...On Nintendo's part. Thankfully, I didn't spend money on that POS. Anyways, take the numbers listed as their HP as merely an accurate base; I tried to be as few off as possible. The bosses are far easier, as their HP all seem to be multiples of 50. EXP, Coins, and Item Drops are all exact. ***Bro Flowers and Mix Flowers are NOT considered the same element! There are a few enemies that resist Fire but not Mix, or are weak to Fire, but not Mix. There are also a few enemies that resist the Mix Flower, namely Dark Boo, Wonder Thwacks, and Lethal Bob-ombs. Nonetheless, if an enemy is weak to Fire attacks, then they're also weak to Mix Flowers. Because of the handful of exceptions, though, I have to include Fire and Mix as two different types.*** Blazing Shroob- HP: 100 EXP: 90 Coins: 10 Drop: Copy Flower, Red Pepper Weak: Ice Resist: None Oooh, these guys are NASTY. Once you enter a battle with one of these, if you don't end it right then and there, a UFO will fly in and begin attacking in addition to the Shroobs; you'll also bring forth a counterattack every time you attack one of them, in which the UFO shoots 3-5 shots down onto you; you can jump them, but the saucer fires them off quite rapidly, so you'll need to have jumped immediately, and continue jumping again as soon as you land. You have no room for error. To get rid of the UFO, jump on the Shroob; you'll take damage, but you'll also fly onto the top screen and send the annoying saucer packing. Anyways, their standard attacks involve lobbing fireballs at either brother at a pretty fast rate, and charging into you at high speeds. The former is avoided by jumping immediately as the Shroob tosses the fireball; the latter is dodged by nailing him with the hammer as soon as he approaches. It's much like the attack Kamek used during your battle with him; he moves very quickly, so release the hammer a little early. Lastly, your best way to kill these menaces is to use Ice Flowers, their weakness. If there's only one of them, a Green Shell will suffice. Every attack, including the UFO's shots, can inflict burns, so be careful. Better yet, kill these bastards right off the bat with extreme prejudice. Bob-omb- HP: 35 EXP: 30 Coins: 5 Drop: Pocket Chomp Weak: None Resist: Fire, Ice, Mix These little guys have only two attacks: tackling and exploding. When they run towards you, take a tiny hop, stop, then run again; jump a second after they hop, and they'll run underneath you and be stomped on. If they turn their bodies a little after stopping, though, they'll run towards the other character; I rarely see this, but be ready for it. Now, if they light their fuse before charging, they'll move more quickly and simply explode when they get underneath you. This time, though, you want to jump as they're moving into you, because unless you're at the peak of your jump when they detonate, you'll be hurt. They have another method of exploding on you- moving up and down in front of the Bros., then running in and blowing up. You counter this by having your hammers ready, and whacking it once it's passing in front of you. Don't hesitate, because it won't move that way for long. Boo- HP: 15 Exp: 5 Coins: 4 Drop: Mushroom Weak: None Resist: None These guys are quick. Right before they disappear, they'll uncover an eye, indicating which bro they plan to attack, and then reappear behind them. Jump immediately and they'll pass underneath you. Nothing too crazy; they're pretty easy to hit while doing this, too. Boo Guy- HP: 17 EXP: 8 Coins: 5 Drop: Mushroom, Super Mushroom Weak: Fire Resist: None Little ShyGuy ghosts. They'll hover over and stop between the two of you and point with either hand, indicating who they're going to attack. Once they do that, they'll split into two, and charge forward. The bro being targeted should jump once the Boo Guy is in front of him, and he can be damaged; the fake Guy will simply vanish. Boom Guy- HP: 18 Exp: 8 Coins: 5 Drop: Green Shell Weak: None Resist: None ShyGuys with Bullet Bill cannons on their heads. These guys will approach and stop in front of either brother, and either fire a BB without interruption, or misfire, emitting a puff of smoke... ...followed by a Bullet Bill. Sometimes your jumps will knock the cannon off; in which case, when the ShyGuy begins its turn, it will send out a call to its allies; a prompt delivery of a new cannon will be followed by its attack as normal; a "..." means it spends its turn doing nothing. How to predict a misfire? When it stops in front of you, if it points towards you, don't jump; wait for the smoke. When it holds onto the cannon with both hands, jump immediately. Bully- HP: 46 EXP: 17 Coins: 6 Drop: Ice Flower, Green Pepper Weak: Ice Resist: None These will be fought mainly while the babies are exploring on their own. Their attack is a simple charge towards the babies, continuing off of the screen, and then charging again them from behind, back to their original position. The thing is, though, attacking them fills them with rage and boosts both their speed and attack. Attack them twice, and they'll be furious, hitting with great force and moving extremely fast. The best way to handle them is focusing on one and getting rid of it before it has a chance to move. If they do get into their pissed-off state, though, be ready to jump over them, and immediately jump again after you land, to avoid the second pass. Otherwise, wait a good second or so before jumping again, since they move rather slowly. Coconutter- HP: 43 EXP: 20 Coins: 6 Drop: Green Shell, Ultra Mushroom Weak: None Resist: None These nuisances have the ability to summon rainstorms, which will heal 30 HP of damage to ALL enemies present. An upcoming storm is indicated by the use of their previous turn to merely raise their spear into the air, forcing you to resort to your hammer rather than jumps. Their actual attacks come from behind; they'll throw a spear into the air, out of their side of the screen, and it'll impale one of the Bros. unless you jump as soon as it's out of sight. They'll also appear from behind you and blow a dart into your backside; jump when you see the tube move closer to you after it initially shows up, and the dart should miss. Oh, and the eye that gleams tells you which brother is being targeted for the spear toss. Dark Boo- HP: 63 EXP: 20 Coins: 6 Drop: Trampoline, 1-Up Mushroom Weak: None Resist: Fire, Ice, Mix These guys fight exactly the same way as the original Boo enemies found earlier in the game, only they're now much faster. In addition, when they attack from behind, if you fail to avoid them, they'll steal one of your items, whether it be healing, Bros. or so on. Jump as soon as they appear. Not much else to say about them, though you'll get your item back if you kill, er, exorcise them once they have it. Dr. Shroob- HP: 29 EXP: 18 Coins: 10 Drop: Bro Flower, Mushroom Drop Weak: Ice Resist: None These doctors will attack you at first just like the Shroobs you faced earlier, but once they've taken their shot, they'll pull out one of two mushrooms and hold onto it; attacking them once they've done this will cause them to drop it. If a Dr. is holding a red mushroom, you definitely want him to lose it, or else he'll eat it come his turn and charge at you. Shroobs holding a poisoned shroom are much less of a threat, as they'll shrink and waddle towards you, making themselves easy pickings for your hammer. Their shots are very slow and easy to jump; their charging attacks are stopped with the hammer. Dry Bones- HP: 53 EXP: 32 Coins: 7 Drop: Super Mushroom, 1-Up Mushroom Weak: None Resist: None Their attacks work just like the hammers thrown by the Hammer Bros. you fought earlier- jump as the bones are hitting the ground in front of you, and they should simply bounce underneath you. If it makes a hop before throwing the bone, stand still, and the bone should sail over your head. They'll throw anywhere from 2-3 bones; spinning their head around before attacking means they'll go after Luigi. Chomping their jaws means they'll go after Mario. They won't throw at the same person twice in a row. Elasto-Piranha- HP: 27 EXP: 16 Coins: 6 Drop: Bro Flower, 1-Up Mushroom Weak: Ice Resist: Fire These pipe-dwelling plants rest at the bottom of tree trunks, an unpleasant surprise if you were hoping to find coins. These guys ARE unpleasant, too, because if you screw up an evasive jump, the babies will be nearly killed by just one of its fireballs. Take care when it stretches up and off the screen- the fireball will take longer to come down, so don't jump right away! Otherwise, jump once you see the fireball and you should be fine. If it emerges from the pipe with its head pointed straight up, the fireball will be spit onto Mario. Nice EXP for defeating these guys. Elite Boom Guy- HP: 80 EXP: 40 Coins: 8 Drop: Bro Flower, Blue Pepper Weak: Fire, Mix Resist: Ice Again, these are exactly the same as their weaker version in BB's castle, with the obvious increase in speed and attack. The signal for which kind of shot they'll fire is also the same- both hands up for an immediate shot; one hand pointing for a puff of smoke, then a bullet. Fly Guy- HP: 110 EXP: 150 Coins: 10 Drop: Red Shell, Red Pepper Weak: None Resist: None Another menace. These guys carry time bombs with them, and depending on the number, being hit with one can be very painful. Fly Guys attack two ways; from above, and where they hover. If the attack is from above, the Guy will fly onto the top screen and drop the bomb; you must hit it back with your hammer, and the Fly Guy itself will take damage; when it attacks from the bottom screen, it will swing back and forth multiple times before hurling the bomb at you; jump it immediately upon its release. After every attack, the timers will tick down one number, or a fresh bomb will be grabbed if theirs have already exploded. Obviously, Fly Guys with a timer of "1" are far more dangerous than those with 2 or 3, so kill them first. Better yet, get rid of all of them at once with a Mix Flower. Ghoul Guy- HP: 160 EXP: 100 Coins: 10 Drop: Max Mushroom, Red Pepper Weak: None Resist: None Remember the Boo Guy from Toadwood Forest? This is the upgrade. Again, jump as soon as they split into two and are in front of the Bros.; the target is determined by who the Ghoul Guy points at before attacking. However, if these are in a battle with any enemies besides other Ghoul Guys, they'll sacrifice themselves in order to raise the attack, defense and speed of whomever they possess. You'll still get experience for the Guy that sacrificed itself, but it's best to kill any other enemies first, as a stat upgrade makes Shroobsworths really tough to take down. In a battle where the Shroobsworths outnumber the Guys, get rid of the Guys first... that is, if you aren't using a Mix Flower. Fry everyone with this baby. =P Gnarantula- HP: 30 EXP: 15 Coins: 5 Drop: Smash Egg, 1-Up Mushroom Weak: Fire (green), Ice (red) Resist: None Don't jump on these guys! You never know if they have spikes under those puffs. Some of them do, some don't. The best way to face them is just by using your hammer. For attacks, they'll flutter towards you, and on the second flutter, simply come down on top of you. Be ready with your hammer to wail them as they come overhead; you'll get a feel for the timing. Once you expose their spikes or lack thereof, their jumps will be a little quicker. Goomba- HP: 10 EXP: 3 Coins: 3 Drop: Mushroom, Super Mushroom Weak: None Resist: None As you would expect from such a simple enemy, these guys don't have anything crafty up their sleeve. They'll charge in front of one of you, stop for a second, then try to hit you; a jump after this little second wait is all it takes to dodge and counterattack them. Gold Koopeleon- HP: 10 EXP: 84 Coins: 100 Drop: Ultra Mushroom, Golden Pants Weak: None Resist: None These guys would rather flee than fight, but a few will still take a shot at you before doing so. These guys use the standard approach, fade, then charge, but they also may take a lash or two with their tongues. Both of these kinda hurt, so do your best to avoid them; the standard charge is simple but much faster, and the tongue is dodged by jumping immediately once you see their cheeks throb. Their HP is so low, but your attacks will only be dealing 1-2 apiece to them. If you actually manage to kill one, you'll be nicely rewarded. Guardian Shroob- HP: 81 EXP: 90 Coins: 9 Drop: ? Weak: Ice Resist: None These guys are pretty annoying. They'll appear in large groups, and either shoot at one of the Bros., using the telltale signs as always, OR they'll signal one of their allies to team up with them; if they do, the two of them will stop in front of one bro each, then raise their guns up and fire them in unison. Problem is, there's often a delay in the time they fire, so you may jump too early and be shot. Try to spot exactly when they're about to lower the guns, then jump. The shots are fired very quickly, so you have little time to react. I generally use a Trampoline on these guys the first chance I get; that way I can kill all of them before any can take a shot. Handfake- HP: 130 EXP: 155 Coins: 15 Drop: Mix Flower Weak: Fire, Mix Resist: None These guys can be total bastards, so get rid of them ASAP. Their attacks all consist of holding up a cardboard cut-out of a particular Mario- related enemy, then performing some sort of attack with it. Goombas, it'll throw it from behind; jump as soon as it leaves the screen and it should roll underneath you. This one may be done multiple times. Paratroopas will spin anywhere from 1-3 times preceding the attack, then approach; once it stops in front of you, depending on how many spins, it'll rear the cut-out back that number of times, then sweep downwards with it. Jump as soon as it rears back for the final time. If it produces a Bob-omb, it'll throw it in the air; upside-down, it's aimed for Luigi, and straight up, it's aimed at Mario; hit it with the hammer, and it'll fall again, either onto the same person or to the other, depending on how it comes down from the top screen. Hit it back and forth several times, and it'll be destroyed. And lastly is a HUGE cut-out of Bowser, whose attack is a cut-out of a flame flying onto the screen and then towards one of the Bros. extremely quickly. Jump immediately with both Bros. as soon as it passes the Handfake. These attacks all pack a surprising punch, so kill the Handfakes ASAP. Mix Flowers are great, as they have a weakness to fire attacks. Koopeleon- HP: 18 EXP: 6 Coins: 4 Drop: Green Shell Weak: None Resist: None These little guys will approach you, stop, and then make themselves invisible. This will take a second or two, and once they finish, they'll move in and try to bite you. Pretty slow-moving enemies, so they won't give you a lot of problems. Hitting one while it's invisible will bring its color back; otherwise it'll stay blended in. Lakitufo- HP: 26 EXP: 16 Coins: 7 Drop: Cannonballer Weak: None Resist: None These guys can be annoying if not dealt with. They always come with Spiny Shroopas as cohorts, and if you kill one, there's a good chance it'll merely beam a fresh one down from its saucer. Otherwise, it attacks by beaming down a spiny egg, which will bounce at you; be ready to swing your hammer as soon as it materializes, since it will come at you very quickly. These guys also twirl around back and forth between Mario and Luigi, then swirl in front of either for a moment and hurl themselves off of their saucer and at your position. Give them a moment after they move in front of you, then jump. Lastly, the easiest attack to counter: Lakitu will hover over you and try to beam you up into his saucer. Have your hammer charging, and wail him once you get close to the top. These guys are total bastards; by all means get rid of them first. Lethal Bob-omb- HP: 60 EXP: 70 Coins: 10 Drop: Refreshing Herb Weak: None Resist: Fire, Ice, Mix These little guys do one thing and one thing only: explode! No standard charge attack; their fuses are already lit once the battle begins. That said, the only thing to do if you haven't destroyed them all is to have your hammer ready and IMMEDIATELY hit them away when they pass up and down in front of you. If you don't get rid of them right away, you won't be killed outright, but you're in for serious damage. Only the babies will find themselves in battles with these, either in groups or as a cohort to Ghoul Guy. Love Bubble- HP: 95 EXP: 130 Coins: 10 Drop: Smash Egg, Max Mushroom Weak: Fire, Mix Resist: None These little turds have the ability to heal their allies, so get rid of them first. Otherwise, their attacks are easy to spot and easier to dodge- it may fly onto the top screen and poke one of its feet out; when it does this, jump as soon as you hear the little whistle, for it will dive-bomb your location extremely quickly. It will also fly between the two Bros. and poke one of its feet out; if the bubble is low to the ground, jump with the brother it targeted, then jump quickly again with the other, as it will pass through you both in a circle. If it does this but is flying much higher, jump ONLY with the brother it targeted, as it will make a low sweep, then immediately fly above the other. Lastly, it will swirl around the two Bros., picking up speed, then eventually crashing into one of them; simply swat it with the hammer as it passes in front, and the attack will stop. These things are weak to fire attacks. Pidgit- HP: 24 EXP: 18 Coins: 6 Drop: Smash Egg, Mushroom Drop Weak: None Resist: None Remember them? They'll fly into the top screen, then quickly swoop down and make a pass at one of the Bros. If they hop before swooping, they'll stop in mid-air and make some psychotic sort of laugh before going through with the attack. Who will be attacked? If they pause while in front of the group, they'll swoop at Luigi. If they pause behind you, then they'll pass at Mario. They don't swoop towards you at blinding speed or anything, so jumping and countering the move is pretty easy. These guys sometimes carry a sack, and defeating them before they flee will net you 18 extra coins. Piranha Planet- HP: 140 EXP: 170 Coins: 20 Drop: Copy Flower, Ultra Drop Weak: None Resist: None These guys are not only cool-looking, but they're one of the meanest enemies in the game, as their attacks are quite painful. For one, it may teleport to the top screen, and then drop onto one of the Bros.; take note of how it spins and ready that brother's hammer, then be prepared to hit it back AGAIN, as it will fall back onto you twice more. Second, it will draw a laser from either its top or bottom, then fire; sprouting from the top, it'll shoot at Mario, and from the bottom, Luigi. However, give it a good second or two after the gun is drawn, for there's a pretty good delay between the time it pulls it out and when it fires. Be warned that it may shoot a sweeping beam, as well; simply be ready to jump with the opposite bro if necessary. Lastly, it will sprout 8, count 'em, 8 different Piranha heads from the various pipe-craters and spin, launching all of them at either one, depending on their color; once the first has been fired, they'll all be about one second apart; jump with both of them simultaneously, so you need not worry about who's being targeted next. Pokey- HP: 55 EXP: 36 Coins: 10 Drop: Green Shell, 1-Up Super Weak: None Resist: None Unlike other Pokeys, these can be leapt onto and damaged. Their attacks are pretty annoying at first, at least when you haven't learned the timing or what they're capable of. If Pokey spins its lower segments around, you'll be targeted with a rapid-fire needle attack for however many parts that remain; three needles per segment. They're fired in quick succession, and avoided by jumping as soon as the first needle is fired, then again as soon as you land until all shots have missed. An easier attack to deal with is when it bounces all of its parts towards you; they're fired one at a time and overhead, for you to whack away with your hammer. Provided you don't fudge the hammer timing, these are easy to deal with. Their last attack is impossible to avoid if their bodies are complete- a simple charging towards you. You can knock parts of their body away with the Green Shell, or the babies' hammers when they're alone. RC Shroober- HP: 58 EXP: 26 Coins: 8 Drop: Cannonballer, Ultra Mushroom Weak: Ice Resist: None Shroobs that attack you not with lasers, but with remote-controlled toys of sorts. Their attack depends on the number of antennae that sprout from its head; two, and it'll send a UFO over your head, trying to beam you up into it. Charge up the hammer and whack it as you get close. Their second attack, indicated by a single antenna, is a bit trickier; a small robot will appear and rove quickly in circles around the Bros., making anywhere from 1-3 passes. When it begins to glow, it'll explode once it's finished making its pass. If the Shroober hops before summoning the robot, though, the bot will pause in place before zipping at you, so don't jump right away. If they face the screen upon sprouting their antennae, the attack will go for Mario, or Mario first in the case of the robot. Red Coconutter- HP: 85 EXP: 70 Coins: 7 Drop: Red Pepper, Ultra Mushroom Weak: Ice Resist: None These freaks battle exactly the same as their weaker versions, with only one minor tweak to one of their attacks- they now fire their blow guns multiple times from behind the Bros. Jump each time the tube moves towards you, and the darts should miss. Kill these idiots first, as they like to heal everyone with rain. Shroid: HP: 110 EXP: 140 Coins: 15 Drop: Ultra Drop Weak: None Resist: None Another pretty nasty enemy. The Shroids are tankish defensively, so it'll take more than one attack to destroy these guys. Their moves are unlike what any other Shroob has used against you thus far, and are pretty painful; it'll catch a spiked ball dropped from the top screen with an initial on it, indicating the target, and then throw it; quickly have your hammer ready and whack it back at him. Secondly, it'll encase both Mario and Luigi inside crystals, then rove up and down with a large laser gun; jump repeatedly as fast as possible with both characters and break out of the crystals, then be ready to jump the laser. You'll know it's about to fire when the two rays of energy close around it; jump at this point. Lastly, and most difficult to dodge, the Shroid will hold up one or two flags, red and green in color; this is NOT indicating the target, but instead telling you to JUMP with that particular character. Do so, and it will hold up another set of flags; keep this up for 3-7 turns, and the Shroid will back off. Fail, and the brother that erred will be hit with any flags the Shroid was holding. Be warned that it does try to fake you out by lowering a flag as soon as it's raised. The babies will never have to fight these guys on their own. ***If you counter the Shroid's spiked ball and haven't destroyed it completely before its next turn, you'll notice it's in a damage state. Its attacks will now mislead you by targetting the opposite of what they indicate- a spiked ball labelled with an M will now be thrown at Luigi. Even more confusing is its flag attack- jump with Luigi when a red flag is raised, and with Mario when the flag is green. If it holds both of them up, just stay still. Kill them before they attack in this state!*** Shroob Intern- HP: 130 EXP: 180 Coins: 20 Drop: Copy Flower, Supreme Slacks Weak: None Resist: None The Intern will sit still for one turn after Shroobsworth has been slain, and if you fail to kill him then, he'll fully revive the Shroobsworth and you'll have to off the old dude again. Note you receive no EXP for defeating the Shroobsworth; allowing him to be revived over and over will NOT get you more experience or coins. Only the Intern coughs up any spoils. Shroob Rex- HP: 200 EXP: 185 Coins: 12 Drop: Mix Flower, 100-Point Pants Weak: None Resist: None These enemies will never appear on the level layout itself, but they show up in many if not almost all battles with Soul Bubbles, Shroobsworths, and Ghoul Guys, which are quite plentiful and DO show up on the map. Now, Rexes have two different attacks- charging and spitting flaming rocks. The charge is a simple stop in front of the target, then run through them offscreen, then make a return pass; but, when they come back around, they might charge through either of the Bros., so be sure to jump with both. Give them a good two seconds between each charge, and also once they stop in front of you in mid-flight. ***It is impossible to avoid a Rex if it is at its FULL height when it charges. Make sure their head is scrunched down at least one level beforehand; Rexes can be squished at least twice.*** Its flaming rock attack is far more easy to dodge; have both hammers ready, as the rock will either roll towards one bro, then travel towards the other one upon whacking it; or, the rock will split into two and roll towards both, then crumble once hit. This attack not only really hurts, but also burns, so take care not to get hit with it. Lastly, Rex may fly between or near one the two Bros., then flip and do a ground pound, sending out a shockwave at the two of you; jump as soon as he lands, and you should avoid it (jumping with one bro first and then the other when he's making the quake from the top or bottom instead). I'm not sure if he'll produce more than one shockwave; if he does, I've never been on the receiving end of it. These SOBs will do a number on your health if you don't get rid of them immediately, so use a mighty Mix Flower and off them at the start. Shrooba Diver- HP: 70 EXP: 32 Coins: 8 Drop: Super Mushroom, Blue Pepper Weak: Ice Resist: None These guys have a bunch of different attacks, all of which are easy to avoid, once you recognize them and get a feel for the timing. First are its attacks which you can actually counter- swimming towards the brothers quickly, looping around so that it makes a pass under each one; simply jump once it gets close. The other is diving out of the sand and into the air, coming back down on either bro; have your hammer charged and ready as it's shooting up, then swing as it comes down. The other two involve pulling objects out of the sand and throwing them at you quickly. If it brings up a spiked ball, leap when it throws it, and it'll bounce underneath you. If it pulls out a Cheep-Cheep, stand still, as it always bounces overhead. With its swimming attacks, they're always preceded by diving under and are executed quickly; look at what the intended means of dodging are (either the jump or hammer command) to figure out what's coming. Shrooblet- HP: 7 EXP: 2 Coins: 2 Drop: Mushroom Weak: None Resist: None All it does is stop between Mario and Luigi, and then raise one of its feet, indicating which Bro it'll attack. It then makes a spin towards them. Easy to dodge; jumping on it as it does this will deal damage. Shroobsworth- HP: 160 EXP: 0 Coins: Drop: None Weak: None Resist: None Right up there with Rex as an enemy that is best not allowed to ever get an attack in. Shroobsworths carry a little guy on their backs, the Shroob Intern, and work together to pull off some pretty powerful attacks. If he throws the Intern onto the top screen, you'll be shot at by the Intern; jump quickly with both to avoid it. Once Shroobsworth catches the Intern, it'll throw it up again for a 2nd-3rd shot. Now, if the Intern goes offscreen, the Shroobsworth will hold its arm and cane out for a couple seconds, then dash in and slash at both Bros. with it. It's easy enough to catch him as he dashes and jump before he slashes with the cane, so don't let him get a hit in. Lastly, the Intern will produce a large meteorite, and either the Intern or Shroobsworth will hit it at you; if the Intern hits it, it'll launch towards Mario; if Shroobsworth hits it, it'll be launched at Luigi. Once you hit it, though, either one of the pair will hit it back, and it'll go on for several turns picking up speed until you get hit, or the duo does. While the Intern is riding on his back, only Shroobsworth will take damage. Kill him, and the Intern will spin-swat him away, leaving... Skellokey- HP: 84 EXP: 100 Coins: 10 Drop: Red Shell Weak: None Resist: None An enemy just for the babies! Skellokeys won't fire spines at you, but they do breathe fire (from 1-5 times), which will coast along the ground quickly at either baby, or split between them and target both; jump the flame as it comes towards you, and you'll dodge it easily. These guys also three of their segments towards you, much like the regular Pokeys did. Have your hammer ready quickly for each one, and whack it away once it comes. Lastly, it will roll its parts along the ground at you; simply jump as they come near and they'll be dodged easily. These two attacks are always preceded by the restoration of its parts. Your hammer isn't the weapon of choice, here; the Green Shells are. Knock out those segments and bean it in its head until it crumbles! Snifaro- HP: 90 EXP: 50 Coins: 10 Drop: Trampoline, 1-Up Mushroom Weak: None Resist: None More interesting variants of Snifits are back! This time, the sarcophagus dwelling Snifit attacks by sliding open its door and firing two shots, one from its headpiece, and another from the Snifit inside. The order of the shots depends on the way the sarcophagus door slides open; if the door slides right, don't move, and the shot will fly past, then jump; if the door slides left, jump over the shot and you'll avoid the second. These guys also attack by leaping onto the sarcophagus itself and riding it like a rocket, up into the top screen and then looping around to charge at either brother. Jump onto them as they pass under, and they'll take damage. Snoozorb- HP: 150 EXP: 170 Coins: 15 Drop: Red Shell Weak: None Resist: None These guys will sleep soundly until you wake them up. They're defensive tanks and pretty powerful, so try to destroy them in one blow. Before any attack, it will blow steam from its head compartment; if the steam flows to the left, it'll target Mario, and right, it'll target Luigi. It may curl itself into a sphere and roll towards someone; hit it away with your hammer, and be prepared to hit it again, as it may try to plow through you twice more. That's the simple one; these guys have a meaner laser attack, which can fire either above or directly at you, depending on how it charges its energy. If the energy lines swirl around it, the beam will be fired over your head, so don't move. If the lines are straight, be ready to jump. There's no way of telling when it will decide to sweep across the floor with the beam after it's fired, so be ready to jump with the other character. Mix Flower these guys, as your jumps will deal insufficient damage. Soul Bubble- HP: 100 EXP: 175 Coins: 15 Drop: 1-Up Mushroom, 1-Up Super Weak: None Resist: None Not only are these things so much faster than Love Bubbles, but if you attack them and fail to kill them, they'll retaliate by healing or even resurrecting one of its dead allies, if you've destroyed anyone, yet. While this opens the way for more EXP, these guys almost always bring Shroob Rexes with them, and since you used your turn already, you won't be able to do anything if the Rex decides to charge you. Unavoidable pain really sucks, so when you attack these things, make sure it's going to do the job in a single blow. Generally you're best off Mix Flowering these jerks along with their dino cohorts. Spiny Shroopa- HP: 18 EXP: 2 Coins: 2 Drop: Green Shell Weak: None Resist: None These guys will take a few whacks with the hammer once you face them for the first time, but they're not too gifted offensively. They'll hop in front of either brother, and sit still for a good two seconds, and then lunge. You should have your hammer ready as they're waiting to pounce, then release as soon as they do. You'll get a feel for the timing very quickly. Be warned that they sometimes will pause right after being counterattacked, and make a second lunge; have your hammer ready again in case they do. These guys also have the ability to poison you. Why such crappy EXP and coins? You'll soon meet an enemy that'll spawn these things over and over again. Can't give you TOO much per battle, can they? Tanoomba- HP: 90 EXP: 82 Coins: 9 Drop: Pocket Chomp, Green Pepper Weak: Fire, Mix Resist: None The morphing Goombas are back from SSS, this time with three new attacks up their sleeves. Their first and most common involves morphing into a spiny shell and circling around the Bros.; jump with both as the attack begins, then with each person as the shell comes near. It may make anywhere from 1-3 passes before retreating. Its second and third attacks involve jumping into the top screen and morphing into one of two objects- a Thwomp, which falls very quickly, and a balloon, which floats down much more slowly. Have your hammer ready immediately to deal with the Thwomp, as it's a lot harder to dodge, and you can tell whom is about to be squashed or bopped by the manner in which the Tanoomba jumps; straight upright for Mario, and flipping around for Luigi. Tashrooba- HP: 125 EXP: 150 Coins: 10 Drop: Ultra Drop, Max Mushroom Weak: None Resist: None Faster, stronger, much more evil relative of the Tanoomba. Their shell and Thwomp attacks are much faster and stronger, so react to the warning signs immediately. In case you forgot: hop means the shell spins towards Mario first, flip means Luigi; hopping straight up into the air means it'll come down on Mario, while flipping means it'll go for Luigi. Thwack- HP: 54 EXP: 20 Coins: 2 Drop: Super Mushroom, Block Trousers Weak: None Resist: None I LOVE these guys for gaining EXP! All throughout the battle with these things, if they have any allies that have been killed, or any vacant positions, they'll pound the ground and summon more of them. Any summoned Thwack is still given a turn to move, so they are likely to summon even more, if possible. Otherwise, Thwacks have very quick, straightforward attacks; either lifting up and hurtling at either brother quickly, or lifting higher and flying overhead to come down from above. Jump as soon as the Thwack begins to move towards you, and swing your hammer as soon as they're overhead, and they'll be stopped. Their color indicates who they'll be attacking; bear in mind that Thwacks will only stay in battle for so long before turning gold and exploding into boulders, which will roll towards the heroes. Jump the moment they burst apart to clear the rocks. Thwack Totem- HP: 152 EXP: 60 Coins: 10 Drop: Super Drop, 1-Up Super Weak: None Resist: None Battles with these will always start at four Thwacks; they'll immediately combine into a single unit, though. They'll attack by either spinning each segment and firing at you, which is deflected by the hammer, or rocketing into the air, then dropping each block onto the ground, forming a shockwave that targets a brother depending on the color of the block that landed. Jump as they land, and you should avoid it. These guys are found at the bottom of holes, for the babies to face alone. Wonder Thwack- HP: 100 EXP: 30 Coins: 4 Drop: 1-Up Mushroom, 1-Up Super Weak: Fire, Mix (green), Ice (reds) Resist: Ice (green) Fire, Mix (red) The standard Thwack, only now glowing with energy. Their attacks remain the same, only they are MUCH faster, and will summon much more of them if they decide to do so. Be warned that their overhead attack cannot be countered immediately once they stop; they'll be too high. Wait the briefest of moments before swinging, and you'll wail them on their descent. Keep in mind they'll still explode if you haven't finished the battle after some time. Reds are weak to ice; greens are weak to fire. OOOOOOOOOOOOOO[15] Boss Guide OOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Now, the bosses. I'm far more certain about the HP values listed for each boss, though some may not be exactly correct; specifically, the Elder Shrooboid, Shrooboid Brat, and Baby Bowser. Still, I'm confident that what I have listed is pretty damn near close, if not dead-on. Once again I'll mention that any value listed in any guide of Nintendo's should not be taken seriously. Also, you win items from some of these battles. Whether that item is scripted into your victory and you always win it, or you win it by chance, I'm not entirely sure; it does seem kinda random. I'd appreciate it if anyone could shed some light on that in an email. BOWSER & BABY BOWSER HP: 1200 (Bowser), 700 (Baby Bowser) Weak: Ice (Bowser) EXP: 820 Coins: 350 Win: Max Mushroom, Ultra Drop You'll want to off Baby Bowser first. Why? Because he'll be healing Bowser after every turn, as well as giving him more opportunities to attack. However, while he's riding on Bowser's back, he's not even a target for attacking, so you'll need to get him by himself. How to do this? Go after Bowser for a few turns while avoiding his attacks; soon, BB will pull out a hammer and Bowser will recede into his shell. BB whacks him at you, and you must whack him back and forth while he builds up speed until he plows through BB and off the screen. He'll stay off for a while, so now is the time to go all-out on Baby Bowser. He's got no weaknesses, but he's not tankish like Bowser, so it won't take more than one or two Copy Flowers, provided you can keep the damage chain going really long. Once he's been defeated, the adult will return, and with a weakness that BB didn't possess: Ice. Use your Ice Flowers on this guy without mercy until he suffers a drop in defense; then, depending on what you're comfortable with, go crazy with Cannonballers, Trampolines, or Copy Flowers. Copy Flowers should get you the most damage and IMO are easier to use than Trampolines, but you'll need very quick fingers to achieve really painful blows with them. If your reflexes are up to par, just use a Copy Flower or two and Bowser's 1200 HP will be gone in no time. Now for their attacks: Bowser may jump up and produce a shockwave upon landing; jump it with both Bros., but be ready with your hammers, because this move often causes Thwacks to fall from the ceiling; red ones will target Mario, and green Luigi, obviously. He'll also take a deep breath and spew flames at you; jump immediately after the gusts of air cease, but if he grins instead, there will be a nice delay before the flames actually come, so don't jump just yet. He'll do this anywhere from 2-5 times in a row. He might toss BB into the air, and upon BB's landing, launch a fireball at either bro; BB will spin counter-clockwise when targeting Mario and clockwise for Luigi, and fly off the screen completely when the fireball will be launched at both. Baby Bowser simply heals Bowser for 100+ HP, whacks his shell back and forth with the Bros., or initiates the BB toss I described above. While he's by himself, he'll simply whack or spit fireballs towards you; hit them back or jump as needed. Bowser is really the only one you have to worry about, here. COMMANDER SHROOB, SUPPORT SHROOB, SHROOB-OMB HP: 1600 (Comm), 170 (Support) --(Bomb) Weak: Ice (Comm and Supports) EXP: 810 Coins: 180 At the start of the battle, Commander Shroob will guide three Support Shroobs to the battlefield, carrying a massive, purple Bob-omb, and then leave. He's the one you want to destroy in order to win this battle, so how do you get him to stay and fight? Easy: take out the middle and rear Support Shroobs, and the front will fall under the weight of the bomb, dropping it so that it rolls back and explodes, bringing out the Commander. Until then, if the Supports are left to attack, they'll throw the Shroob-omb at one or both of the Bros; whack it back to them with the hammer, and they'll toss it right back. Keep this up until it explodes on the Shroobs themselves. Make sure you constantly charge up both hammers, as when it's thrown between you, you'll both need to hit it back or it will explode. They'll also hurl the bomb up, and while it's in mid-air, rush you one at a time; simply jump as they get close, and you can land on them to deliver some damage. Try not to get hit by the explosion, because it often inflicts dizziness, which is an especially bad thing to have in this battle, as counters require both to participate. After the Commander has been brought out, he uses one of two attacks; the standard laser gun, which I pray you've learned how to avoid by now, and by grabbing onto his Supports and spinning or throwing them through the air at you. Avoid these by wailing with the hammer; neither come at you very quickly, so this isn't too hard. While the Commander is present, begin by using Ice Flowers, as it can not only chop his defenses, but he's also weak to ice attacks. Once you get a defense cut, go all out on him with Copy Flowers. After three turns, he'll leave and the Supports will return, so you'll have to repeat the process of destroying the middle and rear. This shouldn't be too difficult. ELDER SHROOBOID HP: 950, then 1150 Weak: Ice EXP: 1500 Coins: 400 Win: Ultra Drop A few things up front: -He can't be jumped on, due to the spikes, obviously, but he'll soon fall over, exposing himself to them. -He's weak to ice attacks. -The HP up there is for his first stage, and then his second, when he increases in size. This guy likes to attack with fireballs, spiked balls, and ball 'n chains. For the ball 'n chain, he'll first trap the two of you inside crystals, then come in swinging the thing; jump constantly as fast as possible to release yourself from the crystals, then be ready as he smacks the ball towards the brother that was indicated by the initial; then, be ready to jump again as he hurls himself towards the opposite brother soon afterwards. He'll blow some steam before smacking the thing, not to mention fall over, so let him finish; this is to give you enough time to break out of the crystals. He'll also approach one of the Bros. and pause for a few moments before twirling through him; constantly wail on him with the hammer until he backs off. This attack, as well as his spiked ball attacks will often make you dizzy, so be careful. The spiked balls he throws will circle around you slowly, much like the Love Bubble's attack; hit it with your hammer to send it flying. For his fireballs, simply jump as they bounce towards you; the target is indicated by the claw he throws them with. After a few turns of bombarding him with Ice Flowers, his weakness, he'll use the spiked ball attack and fall over afterwards; now is the time to bombard him with Copy Flowers. Don't ever hit him with any fire attacks. Once he's taken heavy damage, he'll stand up and double in size, as well as spit out a UFO, which produces a timer. If this timer ticks down to zero, you'll be shot to hell and die instantly, so you can't allow that to happen. How to avoid this? The spiked balls the Elder throws can be deflected with the hammer, where they'll fly onto the top screen; if they hit the UFO buzzing around up there, the timer will reset itself. One thing to remember: Luigi hits the ball straight up, while Mario will send it at an angle. Keep this in mind if trying to hit the UFO. Any drops he sustained from your Ice Flowers will be gone upon the increase, so unleash them against him once more until he falls over again; then, it's back to the Copy Flower treatment. His attacks don't change from this point, though they are now more powerful. Every time he uses the spiked ball attack, he'll fall afterwards, so look forward to it. HAMMER BROS. HP: 100 (each) EXP: 80 Coins: 70 Win: Mushroom Drop These guys may have a huge amount of HP compared to the babies, but you'll be dealing counterattack damage to both of them every turn in addition to your standard attacks, so this battle won't take very long. You can't survive repeated hits from these guys, but the attacks are easy to avoid; as long as both of them are alive, they'll hit the other brother with their hammer to turn them into a ball of sorts, and then strike it again to send it flying towards you. Jump right after they hit it, and you should land on the HB just after it strikes where you would have been. Now, if the head of their hammer flies off before they hit their HB at you, do nothing, and it'll just fly overhead. You should have a plethora of Green Shells now, so how about using some? You can get some nice double-digit damage on these guys, as opposed to your pitifully weak jumps. Single one of the Hammer Bros. out until it's been defeated, and then get ready for a new attack- the hammers themselves. The remaining HB will jump when it's going to throw a hammer at BM, and the bulb on its helmet will glow when BL is the target. You don't have to study him for this, really- just jump when the hammer is about to make contact with the floor in front of you, and the attack will miss. He'll throw anywhere from two to five hammers at the babies in one turn. Since he'll already have taken a fair amount of damage every time you countered his duo attack, just use jumps to finish him off in a few turns. JUNIOR SHROOBOID HP: 13 EXP: 6 Coins: 0 While this is only a warm-up, if anything, we still have the standard boss theme, so I'm classing it as one. As if you've forgotten your timed attacks since you were a baby, Toadsworth will try to teach you how to fight. Again. Just jump on this guy; his only attack is spinning in a cyclone and making a pass at you. It moves pretty slow, so jumping over it and landing on him for counterattack damage is simple. Finishing this battle will automatically get you a level-up. KAMEK HP: 450 EXP: 130 Coins: 50 Kamek's primary means of attack will be producing spiked balls with his wand and then raining them down on your party. As soon as his turn begins, he'll hop onto his broom, then start firing bursts of the transform-o magic his generation of baddies are known for. He'll fly directly in front of the Bros. he plans to hit, so there'll be no confusion as to where the balls will land once they come from the top screen. Hit them away with your hammer before they connect, and they'll sail into Kamek for some damage. He'll also produce mushrooms with his wand, too; if you spot one of these, don't swing your hammer at it; otherwise it'll heal him. Let them fall onto you and they'll replenish your own health! Following every one of his attacks, if he hasn't any in his possession already, he'll create four clones of himself; now, you can try and jump on two of them and see if they're the real deal; the fakes will simply vanish, but you can also use an all-hitting attack like the Bro Flower and rid of all of them at once. I prefer to keep them around, for all five Kameks will attack, meaning the real Magikoopa will suffer a lot of damage from repeated counterattacks, or you'll receive a lot of health recovery. Obviously, the counterattacks will give away the real Kamek, so wail away on him afterwards. If you knock him from his broom, he'll summon up a fireball to travel along the ground at you, starting up by Mario. Jump it with both brothers, then be prepared to swing your hammer- sometimes, the fireball will strike Kamek and set him on fire, rather than simply go offscreen. If this happens, Kamek will charge at you very quickly. You have no time to raise the hammer once he starts running, so be prepared the moment the fireball connects. He has no other attacks in his arsenal, and will climb back onto his broom once he's conjured up the fireball. Use your trusty Cannonballers once again when you're sure you're hitting the real Kamek; four of them, in addition to all the counterattack damage, should be enough to finish him off. MRS. THWOMP HP: 500 EXP: 400 Coins: 0 First things first, damage Mrs. Thwomp takes in her large form does NOT count towards her max HP; only damage dealt while she is split up will deplete her actual health. That said, it takes 150 HP worth of damage to shatter her into four different Thwomps; three are of course fake, with one being real. How to tell the difference? The real madam has perfect teeth (as in none sharp or missing) and no chips or cracks. While she's large, she'll roll several boulders at you very quickly; constantly have your hammer armed and ready to whack them out of the way. Or, she'll hurl herself into the air and come down with a shockwave; depending on how many times she spins while on the top screen, you'll have to jump with one bro before the other, or both at the same time. Three spins, and she'll land between the two of you; jump at the same time. Six spins, and she'll land by Mario, so jump with him and then quickly afterwards with Luigi. A whopping nine spins, and she'll land towards Luigi, so he'll have to make the first jump. She'll soon bust into smaller pieces, as 150 HP is eaten up pretty quickly at this point. While she's broken up, she and her clones will raise an eyebrow and then hurl themselves at either brother; have your hammer ready to whack them away. This attack moves much slower, so you shouldn't have any trouble dealing with it. Trampolines attack every enemy, so don't bother with them; instead, use your good 'ol Cannonballers. Three or four of them to the correct Thwomp while she's divided up should destroy her. If you don't demolish her quickly enough, she'll reform into a large boulder again, and you'll have to repeat the process. This is a pretty easy battle; I recommend opening with a single Trampoline, as that should be enough to bust her apart. Provided that you don't suck with Trampolines... ;) PETEY PIRANHA HP: 1300 Weak: Fire EXP: 360 Coins: 250 I utterly destroyed this guy with only four Trampolines, thus avoiding his somewhat annoying second phase, but I had my Bros. equipped with the Muscle Slacks and POW-Peak badges, so things went a little more quickly for me. His attacks don't vary at all while he's flying, but your means of dodging them do. Petey will leap up to the top screen and dive off of blocks onto the ground below, sending a seed flying at each of your heroes. Depending on how he dives, you'll either jump with one before the other, or at the same time; a forward dive means Mario should jump first and Luigi soon afterwards; a flip (spiraling repeatedly) means both should jump at the same time; and a backwards dive (mouth facing the Bros.) means Luigi should jump first, followed by Mario. As soon as Petey's body makes impact with the ground, the seeds will fly, so that is the time to jump. Eventually, if you haven't killed him yet, Petey will burrow underground, with only his head poking out; He cannot be jumped on in this state. He now uses two different attacks; the first consists of sending a pendulum dangling from a block whipping towards you, which is countered with the hammer, sending it back to the other brother (several times in a row); for the second, he'll burrow completely and attempt to pull the Bros. down with him into a sinkhole. Jump CONSTANTLY, as fast as you can, over and over, and you should avoid this one. That's all there is to Petey. Not a large arsenal, but he likes to attack three times in a row, so be ready for them. Lastly, he has a weakness to Fire, but you're better off saving your Fire Flowers for the times he's burrowed. If he's susceptible to jumps, take advantage of the opportunity and pelt him with Cannonballers or the Trampolines. BOSS: PRINCESS SHROOB HP: 3000 EXP: 0 Coins: 0 Despite what several gamers and Nintendo Power might say, that is not an error; her HP is definitely 3000. But before you can hack away at that, you must first put her throne (temporarily, unfortunately) out of commission. To do this, you must repeatedly attack her shield, to the point the throne can no longer take it, and will crash to the floor. Until then, the throne attacks three different ways: -Lasers Two cannons will appear, and toggle up and down for a few seconds; when they stop, they'll fire a beam in the direction they point. You only have a second to react, so pay close attention and jump with whomever needs to, to avoid taking a hit. The beams will never sweep, so that isn't a problem. She'll fire them 5 times per attack. -Energy Rings The throne will leave the battlefield and return as a walker; once it hops over your party, it will fire rings down at you, which close in once they hit the ground. To make this as easy as possible, jump with both characters as the rings get close to the ground. They trip you, so take care. She'll fire off many of them before finishing with... -Crush Once her ring attack is finished, her walker will get ready to lower itself on top of you. Both Bros. must ready their hammers and release them at the same time once she gets closer. Swing before she'll actually be right above you to ensure a counter. If she cackles, she'll pause mid-way, then come down fast. This attack tends to make you dizzy when it hits. The best way to disable her shield is with a multi-hitting attack, particularly Copy Flowers, as they start off slow and with really easy timing. Try to do this before she even has a chance to attack you with it. Once she's out of the walker, she'll attack one of four ways, but may use them several times in a row; If she produces a star, she'll send it towards you, and if you fail to jump on it (removing it), it will continue past and loop around for another pass. It'll increase in speed each time you dodge it until it hits either of you, or gets stomped out. Obviously, you want to get rid of it as soon as it's launched. Otherwise, she just launches balls of energy three different ways; a single shot in front of you, a single shot from above, or a spread shot between you. The first two are avoided by jumping and using the hammer, respectively (the overhead shots will be fired at Mario from her left hand and Luigi from her right); the spread shot is best dodged by jumping with the brother it will hit first, then the other. If you land on top of the ball, you'll stomp it without taking damage, so that's all right. Nothing else to say about these attacks, though it bears mentioning that they can cause poisoning, and the star attack can reduce your stats. You have three rounds to beat her up before her throne will be back in business, so it'd be best to kill her now. Copy Flowers are your best friend; use them relentlessly. Once you've inflicted over 1500 worth of damage, she'll charge herself with energy and go into what I like to call Psycho ***** Mode. Basically, she'll now launch a good 20 attacks at you in a row, one after the other, always beginning with her star. If she gets back into her walker, she'll pull off a good 5 attacks with that, too. Her damage really adds up, so end this as quickly as possible. If you know you won't be able to kill her in the last turn before she is able to move again, heal whomever needs it to have the best chances of surviving her barrage. Her walker's attacks will give you far more problems as far as dodging goes, so you shouldn't get your ass handed to you. You'll receive a full health replenishment once you've won. BOSS: ELDER PRINCESS SHROOB HP: 3500 EXP: 0 Coins: 0 Once again, I assure you that this form has 3500 HP. Her attacks also have far more variety than seen in the first battle; they basically all rely on the UFOs that fly onto the scene to be executed; the less she has, the less her repertoire can have. How do you decrease the number of UFOs? Peach will toss you a star once per round; use the cursor that appears to aim and take out as many as you can in one shot. Note that there is a tiny delay between when you press the button to fire and when the cursor stops, so take that into account. I'll list her attacks by the number of flying saucers she requires to use it: 0 UFOs: -Shoulder Ram She'll get into a charging position and then quickly run at one of the Bros.; Have your hammer ready, quickly, and swing once she's near. Be warned, though, that she may pause in front of you before charging again, or may jump back upon being struck, then charge again. 1 UFO: -Chain Chomp She'll leave and return with a Chomp, and a UFO will fly down to it, and proceed to fly in circles around the Bros., leaving you in the path of the Chomp. Try and jump onto the Chomp as it first passes underneath you; it will make several trips, quickly, and you're likely to take a lot of damage as it comes back around from behind. Hopping on it once ceases the attack. Note that this attack can inflict poisoning. -Energy Drink Much like what Swiggler drank, a UFO will bring her a glass of fluid. She gulps it down and recovers 120 HP, then graciously swats the saucer away. Nothing else to say about this one. 2 UFOs: -Lasers & Quake She'll hop onto two UFOs and take off to the top screen, then fire several shots at either bro, much like the other saucers do. Just jump them all as quickly as possible. Then, she'll retreat to the background and fire shots from there; if the saucers are flying low, about level with Mario, jump them as they come by, beginning with Mario and Luigi immediately after; if the saucers are flying higher than that, stay still and they'll pass overhead. Once she's finished, she'll leap off of the saucers and land back onto the stage, creating a shockwave a second later; jump it with both. 3 UFOs: -Meteorite Funny that the most costly attack is also the most simple to avoid. Her peons will bring her a huge Meteorite, and she'll slowly lumber towards one of the Bros. to flatten with it; as she comes within hammer-hitting range, simply wail on her as many times as you can, and she'll drop it. Very easy. In my opinion, her shoulder ram is the most troublesome, as I hate any attack with spontaneous lag; her Chomp attack can be a real pain as well, if you don't get rid of it the second it begins chasing the UFO. Still, this should be an easy battle, as there are no shields to bust and no special circumstances to meet before pummeling her. As with the first Princess Shroob, Copy Flowers are the way to go. Don't worry about how many UFOs are buzzing around the skies as much as perfecting the timing on your Bros. Items to inflict the most severe damage possible. If you land any blows over 1000, you did pretty good; if you can nail her for a good 2k and up, you're doing great. As her health drops lower, she'll begin using more attacks during her turn, UFOs providing. Once you finish this lady off, she'll go straight into her ultimate form. You won't recieve a free healing after this one, either. BOSS: ELDER PRINCESS SHROOB HP: 3000(head), 496(Feet), 248(Tentacles, each), 200(Crown) EXP: 0 Coins: 0 Yes, this form has less HP than her previous, but you also have so much more to deal with. First and most important to remember, is that as long as her crown is active, her head will only take 1 point in damage, no matter what you throw at it. And in order to get at the crown, you must first put her foot tentacles out of commission, if only for a short while. Her body parts all have at least one attack they can perform, and the crown does nothing but protect her. Her attacks are as follows: Feet: -Tentacle Cycle Either two, or worse, four tentacles will extend out from underneath the Princess and begin rotating clockwise or counter-clockwise; you must jump over each of them individually as they sweep by. They gradually pick up speed. It pretty much comes down to how quickly you can alternate between jumps with the Bros. If she begins this attack with one of them dizzy or knocked down, that person is basically screwed. Arm Tentacles: -Stab The point on one of the tentacles will glisten, then quickly squirm in and take a stab at one of the Bros. You must jump immediately if this is a tentacle closer to the Bros., as the window to react is very short. If a farther tentacle is going in, you have a sliver of more time to move. These things tend to poison you as a result. Her chin will be quivering rapidly while she's doing this attack, and until she ceases, you can expect more stabbing attempts; also, prior to every stab you'll notice a particular tentacle rear back. Use this as a means of prediction rather than waiting for the tentacle to glisten. -Grab The tentacles will move in and try to grab hold of the Bros. Have your hammer ready, and whack them once they get close. If you happen to be grabbed, you'll be thrown back to your position and possibly made dizzy. Head: -Huge Energy Ball She'll fire a ball of energy above her head, and a number of smaller shots will be launched into it; pay attention to which shots are greater in number; more reds mean it will come down onto Mario, and it will target Luigi if there were more greens. Have your hammer ready to hit it away; then, have the other Bros. hammer ready to hit it once more. This will send it back at the Princess. Should you be hit with it, you'll see a nice explosion, and the victim will land on their ass and be in downed status until their turn comes up. -Poison Gas Much like what Swiggler used against you, only these are not deflected with the hammer. Simply jump over these as she spits them out. She'll use this several times in a row, so be ready for them. Jumping onto the clouds themselves works, too. This move is easiest to avoid, and I hardly see it. -Time Hole Again, a swarm of UFOs will enter the top screen, but rather than send them plummeting onto the Bros., the Princess will suck them all into a time hole. Then, once several turns have passed, they'll be fired back out at you; if you can remember the order in which the Princess shot them, and how the ship was damaged, you can avoid them as they come flying out by having your hammer ready to hit them. Remember, the order in which they were SHOT determines the order in which they're sent back through the hole, not how they were sucked in; they're all pulled into the void at the same time, anyway. The most efficient means of clearing everything out of the way and making the head susceptible to damage is the Mix Flower. Open right away with one, and if you've used it most effectively, this will wipe out all of the tentacles and stun the feet in one go. Now, the crown will drop within range of your attacks, so let loose with another Mix Flower, as it's the easiest thing to use that will also get you big damage. With the crown shut off temporarily, the head will finally be open to attack, so unleash any Copy Flowers, Trampolines, Cannonballers; anything you have that can hit the head, deal a lot of damage, and that you can time well, use it. The head will meanwhile be killing a lot of her minions off in an effort to knock you out of your senses; watch the saucers closely to see who will be hit next, and send them flying back at her. Every few rounds, she'll begin reviving all of her parts and turn the crown back on; they'll also use their respective attacks the moment they're resurrected. Any time she does this, even if it's only a single part, use another Mix Flower and nuke it back out of sight. If you're at level 30 for this battle, which you should be if you fought every enemy you saw just once, then this won't be very aggravating. The only time problems really arise is when one of the Bros. is inflicted with an ailment that renders him immobile. Keep in mind that Refreshing Herbs still work even for dizziness and being knocked to the ground. As with just about every boss in this game, as her health drops lower, the attacks will increase in number; five stabs as opposed to two, six UFOs shot down instead of a mere four, and so on. If you must, use your Drop items to keep the group healed, and keep a relentless dosage of Copy Flowers and Mix Flowers flying, whichever is more practical at the time. I've seen many cases of people who claim this battle took them an hour to finish, and sometimes well over that; I frankly have no idea how in the hell that's possible, unless their levels are so bloody low that Mix Flowers do pathetic damage. With everyone at 30, I always dealt at least 500 a pop with mine. My setup: Baby Mario: 100-Point Pants, Lucky Badge Baby Luigi: 100-Point Pants, Lucky Badge Mario: Supreme Slacks, Ulti-Free Badge Luigi: Space Trousers, Lucky Badge A As you can see, I only was able to win one pair of Supreme Slacks from Shroobsworth, and I wasn't going to reset all the monsters to have a second chance. As far as Bros. Items go, I never bought a single one from a shop. Ever. Though with the Treasure Badge on, I always kept my supply of Copy and Mix Flowers the same, as Worths and Rexes drop those respectively, and having the badge equipped guaranteed me at least one of them. Anyways, the attacks are all listed there, with the means to dodge them; it's all left up to your own skill from here. Keep the abuse coming, and she'll be a wilted little piece of fungus in no time! SHROOBOID BRAT HP: 900 EXP: 180 Coins: 100 This guy has a lot of HP, but if you've gotten the Big-POW badges I told you to, then this will only take a few turns. Open right away with an Ice Flower, and use it until you get a defense-down on him, then wail away with either Pocket Chomps or Cannonballers. You can rack up more damage with the Chomps, provided you've got quick fingers and don't make any mistakes. Otherwise, just wail away to the tune of 180-200 damage a pop with the cannon. If his def-cut wears off, don't worry about using another Ice Flower, since you've still got your strength boost, and he should be at less than half HP by now. Now, his attacks- their targets will always be chosen by the audience of Shroobs, holding up signs with either an M or an L. The initial, NOT the color, will determine who is attacked, as midway through the Shroobs will change their signs to try and confuse you. To avoid his lollipop, which packs a nice wallop, jump as soon as he rears it back to throw. His other attacks involve eating items tossed by the crowd and spitting them out at you- deflect them with the hammer; their timing won't differ per item, so this is easy. If he eats a regular Mushroom, he'll spit out a poisoned one, but if he eats a poison shroom, he'll spit out a normal one. Let these hit you to replenish some HP. These attacks will often inflict the ailments paired with them, so don't screw up with the hammer. Without the loss in defense, your perfect Cannonballers will only deal around 120-150, so the Ice Flowers do make a difference. 3-4 turns of this, and the Shrooboid brat is a goner. SHROOBS HP: 15 (each) EXP: 0 Coins: 0 This isn't a true boss of sorts, but once again we have our good 'ol boss theme, so I'll treat it as one. As soon as the battle starts, one of the aliens pulls out a little transmitter, and soon a UFO flies in with a timer attached to it. As soon as it reaches 0, you'll be blown apart, so just entertain these guys until then. You only have enough time to kill one of the three before the countdown reaches 0, so this battle will be a lost cause no matter what; just stomp one of them and dodge their laser shots. To do this, just wait until they spin or put a gleam in their eye, indicating who they'll shoot at- spin for Luigi, gleam for Mario. Then they whip out the gun and shoot. The shots don't move quickly and are easily jumped over. The timer reaches 0, and a huge shot from the UFO above takes you out. Cue the funny little laugh from our antagonists.. SHROOBS HP: 15 (each) EXP: 21 Coins: 0 They're fought exactly the same way as before. Only now, you'll be given Bros. Items from Toadsworth to help you rack up some damage. That item is the Green Shell, which I have already explained how to use; Toadsworth will keep you supplied with them throughout the battle, so don't worry about wasting them. After they've been destroyed, Toadsworth will have you bring the adults onto Baby Bowser's ship. SUNNYCIDE HP: 500 Weak: Fire EXP: 260 Coins: 150 Win: Super Drop Your first goal is to break open a total of five eggs, which will each release Yoshis, who will climb up to the top screen and try to push a Chomp Rock onto Sunnycide. You can't do anything to him now, so just concentrate on attacking the eggs. While you're doing this, Sunnycide will either grab eggs and lob them at either brother, which can be avoided by jumping as soon as his tentacle lashes at one, or by inhaling one of the Bros. into his mouth. Have your hammer ready, and release when you're close, but not close enough to strike his bandaged uvula (or whatever the hell that thing is). Why? The pull of his inhalation will make up the distance needed to be within striking range; get too close, and you'll be sucked in and lose some HP in order to replenish his. Don't worry if he uses up all his eggs; he'll constantly refresh his supply as they run out. Once the Yoshis nail him with the rock, he'll be knocked onto his side and susceptible to big damage. Here's where you need to be careful, though- a chain will drop down to him, and as soon as he yanks it, a hole will open up and that bro will fall down it. This causes dizziness, so avoid it by jumping as soon as he pulls on the chain; you have about a split second to react after he does so. The area around the targeted bro will throb before opening up; you can tell who will be swallowed up by the tentacle he uses to pull the chain. Otherwise, he'll attack by turning the room dark and sending Boos after you; have your hammer ready and wail them once they're in front of you. Sunnycide has a weakness to fire, but you'll still obtain bigger damage by wailing on him with your Cannonballers. After two turns of wailing on him, he'll jump back to his feet and you'll have to repeat the egg-cracking process. I took him out in 5 Cannonballers and one Fire Flower, though the last CB might've overdone it. SWIGGLER HP: 250 EXP: 196 Coins: 140 First things first, if you ever attack Swiggler while he's in his red and angry state, he'll counter with an earthquake that'll send two or more shockwaves across the ground at both of you; jump quickly in succession to avoid them all. Also, he takes very little damage, even from Cannonballers, in this state. Swiggler begins the battle with two Dr. Shroobs, which will remain with him permanently, and more will join the battle as the existing ones are destroyed. You'll notice Swiggler's drink; every time he drinks from it, he'll power up two UFOs, which will then fire their cannons at your party. When the Dr. Shroobs pull out their shrooms, any attack that hits them will cause them to drop it, and it'll bounce into Swiggler's glass and change the fluid. If a red mushroom is dropped into it, the fluid will become red, and his next drink will heal him for a substantial amount of HP. If a poison shroom is dropped in, he'll drink the gray fluid and be poisoned, thus ending his turn and making him susceptible to heavy damage without countering hits with a shockwave. As far as his attacks go, aside from making earthquakes and healing himself, he'll take a deep breath and spew a poison cloud at you; hit it with the hammer, then be ready to hit it again when it dissipates into a smaller cloud, or you'll be damaged and possibly poisoned. The Dr. Shroobs have no other attacks to add to the fray besides their existing moves, but never, ever hit one while it's holding a red mushroom. Once it's been poisoned, when its turn comes around it'll become pissed again and take another drink; you want to keep a constant supply of bad fluid coming, so it'll not only never heal itself, but also never attack or counter. You can't always guarantee a poison shroom coming up, though, so be prepared to deal with the UFO's cannon shots. Jump as soon as the shots are fired, and you should avoid them. As Swiggler's HP drops further downwards, he'll use his poison cloud attack 4-5 times in a row, so be ready for it. Now is an excellent time to use your Cannonballers; they'll shave off a large chunk of HP per turn, provided you never miss an action command. Three of them while he's in his green and weak state should do it. OOOOOOOOOOOOOO[16] Credits and Special Thanks OOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Various people I deem worthy of praise for their assistance in creating this guide; they reek of badassness. ..Have you noticed I like saying that? =P -First and foremost, GameFAQs. Despite what many would say, there are more than enough knowledgeable people there, knowledgeable people with typing skills I might add, that have helped me with various problems I've had in various games, and especially been able to confirm the many obscure things that developers do a horrible job of explaining in-game. In this case, a good bunch described an attack I had missed, and still have yet to see; and then of course there's CJayC, the man behind GFAQs. Obligatory mention, there. ;) Among those that have offered a tidbit or two are Shining Espeon, Lord Atog, MegaKnuckles777, VGman2, and KupoMaster0907. Thanks, guys. -Andrey Goder, for the max number of hits you can land with the Green Shell. 25, for those that can't be bothered to scroll up and look. -FightABunny, who informed me of the Shroid's attack changes once it's been badly damaged. -Gabriel Myre, for clarifying the second phase of Elder Princess's time hole attack. Finally someone has seen what it does! Thank you! -R Phillip Wines, for providing even more detail on the time hole attack, allowing me to fix a misimpression I had. -luiginut, who pointed out that that Elder Princess's crown has only 200 HP. I had gotten the 350 from Nintendo, and took it for granted because I was always dealing obscene amounts of damage with the Mix Flower. The tentacles and feet look okay. -MaryWndws, who informed me that Support Shroobs have much more than 88 HP. She said it's anywhere from 164-186, but since I'm not going to play through the entire game again just to find out, I rounded it out at 170. -Various people that have alerted me to the douchebag that is Dave of cheatcc. Though I found out for myself, I appreciate the fact that authors are looking out for each other. You guys rock. -Nintendo, for maintaining my impression that they utterly suck at producing competent guides, which made writing this much harder as I had nothing to cross-reference with. Nothing useful or trustworthy, that is. -My buddy Matt, the poor fool that paid for the guide anyway, so at least I could see how far off-base I was with the HP guesstimates. It didn't really help that I was much closer to the exact amount than they were, though. -AlphaDream, for producing not only this game, but the Shroobs, both of which are severely underloved. Lack of character my ass; the Shroobs own the X-Nauts in terms of looks and coolness any day. The fact that they actually speak in words we can understand means nothing as long as they're bumbling dorks in cheesy costumes, with no weapons other than a cardboard robot. ...um, yeah. *cough* -And of course you, the reader, the entire reason I created this guide. I hope you found it extremely helpful and informative, and at the very least an interesting read. ;) Thank you to all who have given me compliments on my work, whether in an email or on the forums. Means a lot to me, it does! OOOOOOOOOOOOOO[17] Contact Info & Legal Stuff OOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO First off, my email. Before sending me ANY email, first make absolutely sure that the question is not already answered somewhere else in this guide. Also, do not send me any emails asking where a badge is, where a piece of clothing is, or how to get a certain treasure block- all of these things can be found by putting your own mind to use. Explaining every miniscule puzzle and the like was enough; I would have given up on writing the thing already if I had decided to provide steps to every single item or coin in the game. Anyways, please do not email me unless you have a question pertaining to this guide only, that is not already covered, or would like to correct an error. If anyone could provide me with HP values from a source OTHER than Nintendo, that would help tremendously. I'd also appreciate any help with even obtaining more accurate values for even one minor enemy, because then that's one less mistake present in this guide. I'm sure I haven't covered all of the item drops as well, at least the ones that only have one drop indicated at the moment. As with any email, please address it with "Mario & Luigi Guide" in the subject line, or I will delete it. Also, be aware that I will not necessarily reply to you, especially if your email is incoherent or in regards to something I explicitly stated not to ask me about. If your email is going to merit an update to this guide, then I shall most definitely reply and thank you. [email protected] is where I may be reached. Sorry, but I don't make public appearances on AIM, or any instant messaging program. This is the only way you may contact me. Now for the official legal bit: No breach of copyright is intended with the production of this guide. Shroobs, all characters and related articles are property of AlphaDream, Inc. And Nintendo, Inc. This guide, however, is property of my own. You may not post my guide on your website(s) without first obtaining my consent. If permission is granted, the guide must be posted in full, UNTOUCHED with proper credit given. I will not alert site Admins to updates in content, so please be sure to check for them from time to time. www.gamefaqs.com should always have the latest version of my work. At present, this guide may be posted only on the following websites: -www.gamefaqs.com -www.neoseeker.com -www.gamerhelp.com -www.gameplayworld.com -www.supercheats.com -www.1Up.com *** www.cheatcc.com, Cheat Code Central, may not under any circumstances post my guide or ANY of my work on their site. They completely disregarded my legal information, and even went so far as to edit it. If this crap happens once more, no sites will be allowed to post my work aside from GameFAQs. *** This guide may only be used for personal, private benefit. You may not reproduce or edit any part of this document at all. This guide especially may not be used for monetary profit, and doing so will result in swift, harsh punishment. If I find that you have posted any portion of my guide and I have not given my approval, I expect you to remove my work promptly upon my ordering. I will handle all copyright violations and failure to comply with my guidelines with immediate legal action. Don't tempt me. Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, FAQ/Walkthrough Ver. 2.5 Copyright 2006 by Dave Baker "Reptobismol"