Thursday, June 19, 2014

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door -- Chapter 2: The Great Boggly Tree -- Part 2

With the help of Madame Flurrie, Mario, party, and Punio have gained access into the Great Tree. Inside, there's no one there. Some X-Nauts walk through a metal door and recognize Mario. One wants to battle while the other wants to alert Lord Crump. The one who wants a battle convinces the other by saying they'll get the credit for beating Mario. They have 4 HP and 3 attack power. They may drink potions to make themselves huge and increase their attack power. They'll give you 6 SP after you defeat them. The X-Naut who wanted to battle agrees to tell Lord Crump, so they leave and lock the door.

Punio wonders where the other Punies are and sees one scurry behind the statues. He tells them he found an ally who won't eat them. Many of them appear from behind the statues and chime in with comments. Punio introduces Mario. A large Puni named Puniper has her doubts about Mario. Punio wants to fight together to take back their home, but Puniper says they've had a lot of trouble since he left to seek help. Many of the Punies were captured by the X-Nauts, including the Puni elder and Punio's younger sister, Petuni, because they refused to divulge the location of the Crystal Star. Also, the Jabbi tribe has teamed up with the X-Nauts, looking to take the Great Tree for themselves. Puniper thinks Punio is nuts for trying, but if they free the other Punies, she'll join. She and the other Punies go back into hiding.

Go through the pipe to reach a room with a panel in the floor and a place to hold something. Take the pipe in the room up and you'll find X-Nauts and Yuxes. Yuxes are enemies created in the X-Naut lab that have 3 HP and 2 attack power. If a Mini-Yux is on the field, it will surround the Yux in a shield that makes it invincible. The Mini-Yux has 1 HP and does not attack. Defeat it before it splits into more Mini-Yuxes. Check the shrubs for a Power Punch. Go through the pipe to the left, then the pipe on the right.

An X-Naut is waiting for the others to find the Crystal Star and he's getting impatient. The Punies don't know about it, so he thinks they're looking in the wrong place. Someone familiar appears and knocks him out. The pipe Mario just took leads to a couple of cages. The Puni elder is in the red cage and is rather calm, despite the circumstances. She says to save the other Punies first, which are in the blue cage to the left. Even though Mario can slip into the cages easily, the Punies do not suffer the same curse and can't leave. Mario needs to find the keys to the cages. Go west and you'll find the knocked-out X-Naut and Ms. Mowz. As in Hooktail Castle, she's out to steal badges, but she's having a lot of trouble since the X-Nauts took over. After kissing Mario, she informs Mario that the Crystal Star is at the bottom of the tree. She leaves, and the X-Naut wakes up, blaming Mario for knocking him out. Defeat him for the Red Key. The chest in the room has an Ultra Shroom.

Return to the room with the cages and unlock the red one. Punio is happy to have freed the elder, but she grows large and yells at him for running off and leaving his sister. Punio tries to explain, but this infuriates her for having her lecture interrupted. She tells him that the other Punies call him a doofus. Someday, Punio will have to lead the Puni tribe. She lectures Punio for several hours, while Mario and party fall asleep. Punio understands what the elder said. The elder then asks why he's here. Punio explains that it's a rescue, so she leaves the cage. Return to the entrance. The elder's there and Puniper says she didn't expect them to rescue the elder. She still won't accept Punio as their leader, trust Mario, or help them out. The elder yells at her, saying they must stand together to take back their tree. She then asks Mario's name, calling him Marty-o. She tells everyone to help out and Puniper agrees, saying she's not heartless and is worried about Petuni. Now there are 11 Punies in the party. Mario's partner asks about the Crystal Star and the elder says at the bottom of the tree is a funny-colored stone that the Punies guard from evil and are to give to a pure heart. She tells Marty-o that they have to first save all of the Punies to reach the Crystal Star. She gives him the Puni Orb, which can be placed in pedestals. The Punies will gather in front of the orb, so you can gather all of the Punies in one spot. Take the orb with you when you want to move on, or the Punies will just stare at the orb. She also says to come see her to find any lost Punies and she'll whistle to call them back.

Go up the pipe and you'll find a pedestal for the Puni Orb. Place it in the pedestal and the Punies will gather on the panel. You'll need ten Punies to activate the panel. When you do, a pipe appears. Grab the Puni Orb and go through the pipe. There are X-Nauts in the area. Check the panel near the door to unlock it. This will take you back to the tree's entrance. Go through the other pipe in the room and drop below. Cross the water and check the shrub for a Thunder Rage. There's also a Shine Sprite here. Take the pipe back to where the Punies are and place the Puni Orb in the pedestal. Have Flurrie blow on the Punies to push them off the ledge. They'll rise up in bubbles. Move closer and blow them across the gap. Mario can jump across the gap. Go through the pipe.

The pipe takes you to an area with Piders. The Punies are afraid of Piders, so you'll have to defeat them to keep the Punies moving. The Piders change their altitude, so sometimes you can hit them with Koops's shell and your hammer. They have 5 HP and 2 attack power. They shoot web wads, sometimes three in a row. On the left is a vase sitting on an airplane panel. Have Flurrie blow the vase away so you can use it to fly to an airplane panel below, then to a Shine Sprite. The Punies won't go with you when you fly. Take the pipe back up, then go back through it again to take the Punies with you. Go through the pipe on the right.

The pipe takes you to a winding path with more Piders. There's also a Jabbi here, that leaves to the east. The Jabbis and Punies fight a lot, but Punio got along with one of the Jabbis, called Jabble. Go through the nearby pipe and you'll find a Save Block and a Star Piece in a shrub. Walk to the west and blow on the wall to reveal a doorway to a shop. Go to the far left wall and check behind a stump to find Jabble. The shopkeeper freaks out a bit, but won't discipline Jabble. Jabble wants to help, so let him join. Go east, then back through the pipe to the winding path. In the middle is an item block floating over the gap. Have Koops hit the invisible block below it so you can reach it for the Damage Dodge P badge. Defeat the Piders, then go east. An alarm will sound and a 10 Jabbi squad will attack. You'll need all of the Punies with you to fight this battle. The Punies will do all of the fighting, so just run around to make sure they defeat all of them. Even with all 11 Punies on your side, it is still possible to lose. Once the Jabbis have been defeated, some Punies will enter the Jabbi hive and destroy it, revealing a doorway. Go east and you'll see several pedestals, four with the symbols: sun, moon, star, and Puni. There's a wooden panel on the floor and a chest. Open the chest for the Blue Key, then return to the cages.

In the blue cage, the Punies are pessimistic about being rescued. Petuni has been holding onto a Mushroom for Punio, but it's dried out after they were captured. One of the other Punies is sure Punio will return. Unlock the cell and Petuni will give Punio the dried Mushroom. He eats it, but calls it nasty under his breath. He lies and says it was tasty. The remaining Punies  join the party for an army of 101. Go west from the winding path to find another Jabbi hive. This hive contains an army of 100. Once you win and destroy the hive, go west and through the pipe. Once through the pipe, walk behind it for a Star Piece. In this room is a large tree stump with a pipe you can't reach yet. Go east and you'll find a pedestal for the Puni Orb. Place it in the pedestal and a cage drops down. Lord Crump appears, saying he made a fake pedestal after watching Mario place the Puni Orb in other pedestals around the tree. Now he can take his time hunting the Crystal Star. He leaves. Flip sideways to exit the cage, then take the pipe that was revealed when the cage dropped.

It takes you to a room with more pillars that Mario's partner recognizes. Memorize the symbols on theses pedestals: sun, moon, Puni, star. Hit the black switch, which makes the tree shake. Go back to the room with the other pedestals and there will be white switches on the floor. Hit them to change the symbol displayed until it is sun, moon, Puni, star. The pedestals are peeled off to reveal a doorway on the back wall. Go through it and open the large chest. It contains the Super Boots. Toadette appears to give Mario information on the boots. They increase Mario's jump power and he can now do Spin Jumps. Press (A) at the right point when in midair to pound the ground. You can smash through wooden panels and use Spin Jumps in battle. Smash through the wooden panel in the room where the pedestals were and you'll drop down to a platform. Jump platform to platform to the left and have Koops get the Charge icon, which is added to your tactics in battle. Go right, then back for a Shine Sprite. Take the pipe back up and return to the Punies. With the Puni Orb in place, Spin Jump onto the panel on the floor, then blow the Punies down to next level. Take them back up through the pipe, then go to where the wooden panel is, above the large tree stump.

Break the wooden panel, then place the Puni Orb into the pedestal. Blow the Punies to the stump below, then drop down to the stump and go through the pipe. There are more X-Nauts here. Go through the pipe in this area  to reach an area with lots of water. Go through the other pipe, which takes you to the room below. Jump over the pedestals to the other side, then take the tall pipe on the other side. This takes you back up, on the other side of the water. Stand on the large blue switch, which makes the switch on the water drop down. Hold Koops's shell out, then step off the switch, wait briefly, then release the shell to hit the switch. The water drains to the room below, revealing a chest. It contains the Shrink Stomp badge. Go back through the pipe and lead the Punies to the right side of the room using the lily pads. Stand on the back lily pads to reach a Shine Sprite. Go through the shorter pipe.

This room has a pedestal for the Puni Orb. With 101 Punies, stand on the panel to make it lower to the base of the tree. A Puni was wondering how to get down here. There's a Heal Block and a Save Block, so take advantage of the opportunity before heading east. Lord Crump is pacing in the room and hears a mob. He leaves. The room is filled with many Puni statues and another pedestal for the Puni Orb. Have the Punies stand on it and the tree shakes and something flashes. The emerald Crystal Star appears from the cup of one of the Puni statues. Lord Crump rushes in and grabs the Crystal Star, calling himself lucky. He says Mario shouldn't have escaped the cell and he has a present for insulting his trap. He pulls out a remote, which is a time-bomb detonator. When the bomb goes off, it will bury Mario and the Punies. He leaves. There are 300 seconds (5 minutes) to escape. Follow him through the pipe that appears. There are X-Nauts here. Try to avoid battling if you can. There's a Star Piece in one of the shrubs. Unlock the door on the left, which leads to a Save Block. Go through the next three pipes to reach the entrance and save. Lord Crump is at the entrance to the tree, but the elder blocks his way. He calls her a geezer and she yells "Elder Power Activate". Unfortunately, she throws out her back. Mario catches up to Lord Crump and he turns off the timer. It's time to battle.

Lord Crump uses a remote to summon a giant robot, Magnus von Grapple. It has 30 HP, 2 attack power, and 1 defense power. His stomp attack is the most powerful, but he can shoot out his fists, which will punch Mario. They have 2 HP and 4 attack power, so take them out quickly. Earth Tremor is a good attack to get them off the field. Keep attacking and you'll eventually beat the robot. It will give you 30 Star Points (or 60, in my case, because Merlee's spell kicked in). Magnus von Grapple explodes and Lord Crump and the Crystal Star fly out. Lord Crump can't believe he lost and will remember this. He and the X-Nauts retreat. The Puni elder gives Mario the emerald Crystal Star, giving him the new Special Move Clock Out.

End of Chapter
And so, after pummeling Lord Crump, Mario obtained the second Crystal Star... With the X-Nauts gone, peace once again prevailed throughout the Great Tree. The Boggly Woods echoed with the Puni songs of joy. But... this may not be the last our her hears from the vile X-Nauts. They will surely continue to stand in Mario's way and try to put a stop to his efforts...

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