Mario has reached Hooktail's Castle. Go through the gate and you'll find that the bridge is broken. Drop down and have Koops get the HP Plus badge. Go back into the gate and spring up to an airplane panel. Fly east to the door. Inside the castle are many piles of Koopa Bones. Go east and you'll find a pile of bones that reminds Koops of his father. The bones are holding a letter. Read it and it says that the writer came to the castle to beat Hooktail, but can't go on. The writer did find out Hooktail's weakness, something that begins with "cr" and ends in "icket". Somewhere in the castle is an item related to this weakness. It must be found in order to defeat Hooktail. If Hooktail is faced with ultimate doom, she'll use any trick to save itself. The writer warns not to fall for it. The writer is proud of and loves his son, Kolorado. Koops is a little embarrassed that he read a letter that wasn't from his father.
There is a key behind some bars, but you can't reach it. Walk towards the east door and you'll wake up a red pile of bones. It says that they don't value their lives if they came to the castle to disturb them. Many Dull Bones rush the area. Clear them out with your hammer to make a path back to Red Bones to battle. Red Bones has 5 HP, 3 attack power, and 1 defense power. He might revive after you drop his HP to zero and create more allies. Get rid of the Dull Bones first. The Dull Bones have 1 HP, 2 attack power, and 1 defense power. They throw bones at Mario and his party and can assemble reinforcements. You'll want to hit them all at once. Power Shell works well here. Once you defeat them, the other Dull Bones clear out. Go east.
On the back wall is a Shine Sprite. Go up the stairs on the right side and drop down towards the front wall. There are some small switches that control blocks of the same color. Hit the purple switch to make the purple block drop. Hold the shell in the path of the purple switch and stand on the purple block. It rises to a doorway with a Star Piece. Drop down to the stone blocks below. While standing on them, break the yellow block. Hit the yellow switch near the purple switch to move the yellow block out of the way, then hit the red switch with Koops. This will make the staircase flip. Go up the stairs to get the Castle Key, then flip them again so you can reach and unlock the east door.
In this room, you'll find a Save Block and a giant green block. Go east. This room looks like a dungeon. There's a badge in one of the cells. On the right side is a red switch. Hold Koops's shell in the path of the switch and stand in front of the right cell. Release the cell to hit the switch, which makes the bars temporarily rise. Go into the cell, then go east. There's a Black Chest in the room. Check it out and whoever's inside admits that it enjoys zinging people with the "If you can me, you must be a legendary hero" line. He wants out and says he won't curse Mario, but help him. Go east into a room filled with holes for spikes. Memorize the layout of where there aren't spikes and the path between the chest and the door. There's a crack in the east wall. Open the chest for the Black Key. Spikes appear from the floor and the ceiling lowers, also filled with spikes. You have 50 seconds to leave the room. The path to the door involves walking a little to the right, then the front, then right, to the back, far to the left, to the front, then left to the door. After the party member says they're thankful to still be alive, open the chest. Whoever's inside calls Mario a fool and says that the castle's traps prevent anyone from leaving. He places a curse on Mario. Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me. When [R] is pressed, he flips sideways and appears paper thin.
Go west and used the new curse to easily slip past vertical bars. Use it to get the Attack FX R badge in the cell. Go west three times to get the Castle Key behind bars. Go back to the Save Block and have Koops hit the green switch while standing on the giant green block to make it go up. This will take you to some stairs up to a locked door. Go west. This will take you to a Heal Block and a blue switch. Hit it to make the floor appear in the gap. Walk to the left and have Koops hit the next switch. There's an open window nearby. Jump through it and walk to the right for a Star Piece, then all the way to the left for another open window. This is the only way to cross the left gap. Go west and up the stairs.
Hit the green switch while standing on the giant green block. Go through the west door, which leads to the armory, and you'll meet a mouse wearing red heels and a mask. She calls Mario a handsome piece of cheese and can't believe there are other thieves here. Her name is Ms. Mowz, a globe-trotting thief who's here to steal a rare, valuable badge. Mario's party member mentions the Crystal Stars, which Ms. Mowz didn't know about. She sounds interested, but will let them have it. Apparently, she's a thief with some honor. She found what she wanted, so she kisses Mario and leaves, saying there's a badge in the castle that will help them defeat Hooktail. In the room, get the Shine Sprite and open the chests for a Castle Key, Honey Syrup, and a Mushroom.
Go east and across the bridge to unlock the door. Walk to the right and go down the stairs. Hold the shell out and stand on the yellow block, then let the shell hit the switch. The block rises to a narrow ledge. Walk to the left, flip to become paper thin, pass through the bars to the other narrow ledge, and go right for a Star Piece. Go back to the airplane panel and fly right to the door. This leads to a staircase. Go downstairs and cross the yellow block to get the Castle Key. Hit the switch to make the block drop down to the Last Stand P badge. Badges marked with the letter "P" mean that they affect Mario's partner. Return to the higher staircase and go upstairs. You'll find a Shine Sprite and a locked door. Go west. This leads you outside. Cross the bridge to the west to a spiral tower. Climb the tower and beware the Spike Goomba at the top. Equip the Attack FX R badge, heal and save.
Go through the door and someone asks who dares approach. It's a large red dragon who asks if Mario is friends with the strange-garbed one who came earlier. She didn't expect more people to come steal the treasure she protects. She thinks Mario and party may make a good snack, so she'll gobble them up. You can attack her head or her food. I recommend the foot because you'll be onscreen at all times and all party members can attack it. Attack her and she'll feel woozy. The Attack FX R badge makes each of Mario's attacks sound like a cricket (more like a frog). She had a bad case of food poisoning after eating a cricket and she hates them. She has 20 HP, 5 attack power, and 1 defense power, which drops to zero when she hears a cricket. She'll stomp and chew for her attacks, and sometimes breathe fire. The Power Bounce attack can be effective here. Once you get her HP down to zero, she'll say she's sorry and she gives up. She asks for forgiveness, and offers 1000 coins. Reject the offer and she'll offer a rare badge. Turn her down and she'll offer to let Mario smell the bottom of her feet. Reject that offer and she'll eat some members of the audience while the rest flee in terror. It restores some HP. If you attack her head, some Toads will escape and run away. Defeat her and she says she wanted to do more with her life and that there are many more meals she wanted to eat. She goes belly up and gives 30 SP.
After the battle, Hooktail is still twitching a little. The party member says to look for the Crystal Star. Hooktail spits up a shell. The Koopa is thankful to finally be out. Koop recognizes him as his father. Koops has grown so much since his father last saw him. He came to deal with Hooktail, but she played a trick and gobbled him. He hid in his shell for 10 years in her stomach, which was disgusting. Koops tells him they were worried and he came to defeat Hooktail and get the Crystal Star. His father has one. He found it in Hooktail's stomach and kept it as a souvenir. It's the diamond Crystal Star. Take it and Mario learns a new move: Earth Tremor. Press (A) with good timing as the star icons light up.
End of Chapter
Mario and friends finally got a Crystal Star in the castle after defeating Hooktail. Koops even reunited with his long-lost father, whom he thought was dead. Yet they were unable to learn anything about the whereabouts of the princess. Where could Princess Peach be? Yes... Mario's adventure has only just begun.
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