Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Paper Mario: Chapter 2 -- The Mystery of Dry Dry Ruins -- Part 1

After a short train ride to Kalamari Desert music, Mario disembarks at Mt. Rugged. Mario must go over Mt. Rugged and go east to reach Dry Dry Desert. Check out the shrubs at the station for coins and an Egg. Follow the arrows posted on the mountain to find your way through. Go to the top of the hill and try to go east. Mario will bump into a Paratroopa named Parakarry. He recognizes Mario and tells him he lost something. He delivers letters all over the Mushroom Kingdom and lost a letter on Mt. Rugged. He asks Mario to help him find the letter. He'll search this area. Go east.

Go up the hill and slide down the slide for some coins. There are Monty Moles in the area. They have 3 HP and give 2 SP. They'll throw rocks at Mario. Drop down in the area to get a Sleepy Sheep from the item block. Break the yellow block to reach Whacka. Whacka is a blue mole-like creature. Hit him on the head to make a Whacka's bump appear. Take the item as it restores 25 HP and 25 FP. Don't hit it too many times or it will disappear forever. Go east.

There's a Save Block in the area. Stand on the ledge and have Kooper get the first letter. Go east again. You'll find strange rocks that move. They are Clefts, spiked rock enemies with high defense. They have 2HP and give 3 SP. Use a POW Block or Bombette's Bomb to defeat them. Go up the hill and under the rock to the left. Drop down to get a Star Piece. Go west from the top of the hill, slide down the slide, then go west again. Drop down the stairs, grab the Mushroom from the item block, then walk under the rock to the left. This will take you to a chest with the Damage Dodge badge. Spring up to the top of the slide. To the far right, is a Honey Syrup, guarded by a Cleft. Slide down the slide to reach a letter. It seems Parakarry lost more than just one letter here. Drop down, go east, then go down the slide.

Go east, climb to the top of the hill, then go east again. The bridge is out here, so drop down. You'll find a letter and a Cleft. Return to Parakarry and give him a letter. He's thankful for Mario's help. He then admits that he lost letters all over the Mushroom Kingdom. He says that Mario's good at finding letters and he wants to join the party so he can get help finding letters. In return, he can carry Mario over gaps. He can attack enemies in the air with Sky Dive and Shell Shot. Mario can deliver letters to the addressee if Parakarry is by his side when Mario talks to them. Use him to cross the gap to hammer the Quake Hammer badge.

Cross the gap to the east where you first encounter Clefts. You'll find a Bub-ulb here that will give you a Magical Seed. Go back to the west where you used a spring to reach the top of a slide. Cross the gap to the left of the spring to get some coins and a Star Piece. Go to where the bridge is out and cross that gap. On the other side is a bridge that goes past a large nest. There's a vulture in the nest that stops Mario. He checks a piece of paper, saying Mario looks like the Mario on a wanted poster Bowser gave him. He asks his name. You can fool the vulture by saying "Luigi", but if you say "Mario" or "Princess Peach", he'll battle you.

The vulture's name is Buzzar. Buzzar will throw feathers at Mario, attack with its claws, pick up Mario, or flap its wings. When it picks up Mario, repeatedly hit the (A) button to fill the meter. If the Mario icon running around on top of the meter stops on the filled part of the meter, Mario will be let go. Otherwise the attack deals 4 damage. When Buzzar flaps its wings, press (A) repeatedly to fill the meter as much as possibly. This will reduce the number on the meter. The number on the meter represents how much damage Mario will take and how many turns his partner can't attack. Hit him with your best attacks. Parakarry's Shell Shot does a lot of damage. Once you defeat Buzzar, you get 15 SP. Buzzar falls off the cliff.

Go east and down the hill. Heal and save, then go east to the desert. Dry Dry Desert is a large desert where it can be very easy to get lost. In the first area, you'll find a tent. Kolorado is here, looking for the ruins. You can deliver one of the letters to him for a Star Piece. Kooper is excited to be on an adventure  and wants to team up with Kolorado someday. Talk to his assistants and they'll tell you to go due east across the vast desert to reach Dry Dry Outpost. Follow the directions and go east 6 times. Just outside Dry Dry Outpost are many trees. Hit the trees. One of them will drop a letter.

In the desert, you'll find a couple of enemies. Pokeys are moving cacti with spiky heads and sides. They have 4 HP and give 2 SP. They can throw their segments at Mario, fall on top of Mario, or make more Pokeys appear. Use the hammer or Koopers attacks. The other enemy is the Bandit. They'll try to attack Mario to steal a coin. If Mario fails to guard, they'll steal the coin and hold it over their head. They can steal up to 10 coins each. If Mario guards, they get nothing. If you damage them while they have coins, the coins will be returned. They can run away with the coins, so hit them quickly. They have 5 HP and give 2 SP.

In Dry Dry Outpost, the first house you come across has a Toad that will give you some interesting information. If you wind up in a twister, it will blow you to another part of the desert, where you can easily get lost. If you go south three times, then west two times, you'll find something interesting. It's an invisible block with the Attack FX C badge over a rock. If you leave the Outpost, then  south as twice, you'll come across an oasis. Hit the lush trees with the hammer to get a Lemon and a Lime. There's a Super Block in the area. Hit it to upgrade a party member to Super Rank. This will increase their attack power and give them a new attack. I chose Bombette. Back in the Outpost, go behind the Toad House on the right side to find Merlee. She can put a spell on Mario to help him out. The benefits include increasing damage done on an attack, increasing defense for when it's the enemy's turn to attack, doubling Star Points earned in battle, or increasing the amount of coins won from battle. Go for the Special Course, as it lasts the longest.

In the Outpost, many people will talk about Moustafa, the leader of the Outpost. If anyone knows about the Dry Dry Ruins, he might. Go east and talk to the Nomadimouse in robes and a turban. Follow the purple mouse from the shop to him. His name is Sheek and he'll tell Mario that nice people give him things. To speed things along, give him his favorite item, a Lemon. He'll give you the password to finding out about Moustafa's whereabouts. The password is to buy a Dried Shroom, then a Dusty Hammer. The shopkeeper will recognize Mario as a friend of Moustafa and tell Mario that he can be found on the highest part of the Outpost. Go into the house Sheek was standing in front of, then exit to the right. Climb on the crate to reach the roof, then walk and jump across the roof to the left. There's a house up there, where Sheek is. He gets rid of the robes, saying he is also Moustafa. His ancestors watched over the ruins after the kingdom that used to be there fell. He gives Mario the Pulse Stone, which will flash over Mario's head as he gets closer to the site of the ruins.

Leave the outpost and deliver a letter to the Nomadimouse in the desert. He'll give you a Star Piece. Go west three times to reach him. From the Outpost, go west five times, then north three times, as far north as you can go. Place the Pulse Stone on the rock in the center of the area. The sky grows dark all over the desert and in the Outpost. Swirling winds slowly reveal the ruins. Use the Heal Block if you need to, then enter Dry Dry Ruins.

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