Friday, May 31, 2013

Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time -- Part 1: Gadd, the Suitcase is Talking to Me

Mario and Luigi safely travel through the time hole to the Mushroom Kingdom of the past. Something else makes its way through the time hole, and tells E. Gadd not to shove it. It lands on poor Luigi's back. It recognizes Mario, but can't find Luigi, seeing as it's standing on him. Luigi gets up and it apologizes. This entity is Stuffwell, a suitcase invented by Gadd. For some reason, Gadd thought to give it a voice. It's as annoying as it sounds. Stuffwell claims to be an assistant, containing many sensors and memory apparati for data retention. After the tour, the time hole disappears. We're stuck here, so we might as well move forward.

As you move forward, Stuffwell will teach you how to use the controls and move around the area. There are blocks in the area that are colored either red or green. It should go without saying what to do here, but Stuffwell's going to say it anyway. Hitting all the blocks makes the path ahead accessible. In the next area, a Toad drops out of the sky, hitting Mario on the head. He mentions the village ahead. Spaceships fly overhead and start attacking the village. The Toad mentions dank purple mushrooms. The Toad is picked up by a spaceship's tractor beam.

On the giant mushrooms with the gold, sparkly stems are some purple mushroom-like enemies called Shrooblets. Cue battle tutorial from Stuffwell. Ahead, something speaks in a weird language and a Shrooblet drops on Luigi's head. Stuffwell determines this is a good time to teach the bros about items. Luigi needs the mushroom as the hit dropped him to 1 HP.

Ahead is Holli Jolli Village, looking just as devastated as Beanbean Castle Town when the bros first arrived. The spaceships abduct a Toad before leaving. Check out the houses for items. The mayor of Holli Jolli Village lives in the house east of the one with the Save Book. He's stuck in the chimney. He looks familiar. He calls whatever just attacked the village "Shroobs". Have Mario push him out of the chimney. The mayor is approached by Shroobs and calls for help. The bros leave the house and watch the Shroobs abduct the mayor. The Shroobs battle them.

One Shroob calls in air support in the form of a spaceship with a bomb attached to it. When the number drops to zero, the spaceship will unleash an enormous energy ball. The Shroobs will attack with their laser guns. You're not going to win this fight. The Shroobs will cheer at their victory.

Above Holli Jolli Village, Bowser's Koopa Cruiser flies. Baby Mario, Baby Luigi, and Baby Peach are playing inside the Cruiser when Shroob spaceships attack. You may want to turn the volume down, because the babies will start crying. Toadsworth takes the princess to safety and the baby bros make their way through the cruiser. Koopas explain how the baby bros move: (X) for Baby Mario and (Y) for Baby Luigi. Once on the bridge, Baby Bowser decides to show off the Koopa Cruiser's firepower and takes out all three spaceships in one hit. The Cruiser loses altitude and some Koopas notice Mario and Luigi on the ground. Baby Bowser doesn't want to help them as it's past his snack time, and because he's evil. Peach voices her disapproval of his decision. Baby Bowser fires the Koopa Cannon at the Shroobs to calm her down. He lets the baby bros off at the village to take care of things.

The baby bros approach Mario and Luigi and Shroobs appear from behind the spike ball that the Koopa Cannon fired. Toadsworth provides in-battle instructions on Bros. Items, which replace Bros. Attacks. To start, they get Green Shells. On the top screen, you'll see how the attack is to be executed. Each time you use a Bros. Item, it's number will decrease in your inventory, so you're limited to using how many you have, not how much BP you have. Toadsworth has an unlimited supply, so you can practice until you've got the timing down. After the battle, Toadsworth notices the similarity between the two sets of bros. He suggests taking those two aboard.

Toadsworth explains the invasion from the Shroob planet was a nightmare. The Shroobs want to take everything in the Mushroom Kingdom, including the land and the lives of its citizens. The village and Peach's Castle are in ruins. Baby Bowser called in Kamek and the Koopa Cruiser to get them out of there. The Cruiser is now on it's way to Peach's Castle, which has been redecorated to be Shroob Castle. The leader, Princess Shroob, is there. Mario explains that Peach is being held there. Princess Shroob sends a transmission to the Cruiser, but no one understands the Shroob language. Actions speak louder than words, however, and Shroob Castle launches a missile at them. The Koopa Cannon is out of ammo, so they can't counterattack. They just barely make it to Bowser's Castle, which is still under Baby Bowser's rule.

Mario and Luigi stumble out of the Cruiser and Stuffwell informs them that the others were probably thrown clear of the crash site. Stuffwell's sensors prove to be useful, as he locates a timehole in the castle. Inside the castle are typical enemies, such as Goombas and Boos. You may need to walk on the higher platforms to move to new areas. Soon, you'll hear the babies. They're on a ledge high above. They'll drop down and the bros can continue, after the babies stop feeling abandoned. Stuffwell explains that the bros can carry their baby selves piggyback. The babies can jump off with either (X) or (Y), which can allow them to reach higher ledges. If you see panels on the ground with four spots, you'll need all four bros to activate the panel. The blocks with pipes on them allow the bros to regoup if they've been separated.

Ahead, you'll run into Kamek, looking for Baby Bowser. He mentions kidnapping the babies previously. He sends an enemy to deal with them, which gives Stuffwell an opportunity to explain how to battle as a quartet. Jump on top of the pipe when you reach it. It will take you to a different part of the castle. In some parts, you'll see blocks with four colors. Line up the bros according to how many blocks there are. Hit the solid block to make the other block solid. When you hit all the blocks, something will happen. In one area to the north, you'll throw the babies on to a ledge which leads to a dark room. Have the bros stand under the block with the Shine Sprite and hit it to illuminate the room for the babies. In a retro-styled item block on the other side of the fence is a sparkling blue shard. Stuffwell doesn't know what to do with it, but will hold onto it. Take the pipe to the next part of the castle.

The door ahead has flowers on it. It leads to Baby Bowser's playroom, where Toadsworth and Peach have been waiting. The time hole is here as well. Toadsworth does not plan on jumping into the time hole, but goes to avoid being alone. The time hole takes the bros to the east side of Peach's present castle.

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