Saturday, January 23, 2016

Mario and Luigi: Paper Jam -- Part 1: Slippery Toads

Now that the Paper Toads in the castle have been found, it's time to go outside and try to find more of them. After you exit the throne room, go to the room to the west. A Toad yells for someone to stop. It's Nabbit. He runs off, dropping a few items on the way. The Toads say he stole a bunch of Bros. Attacks. Without them, they predict doom. Luigi says they'll take the two that were left behind. They are 3D Red Shell and Fire Flower. The Toads ask the bros to get the Bros. Attacks back from Nabbit. The blocks in the room contain coins. The back door leads to the workshop where the Paper Toads are resting. Check out the door and you'll hear them say if there were more of them, they could build something.

Back in the lobby, there's a Toad carrying a sack. He's got a Mushroom delivery route, but he's short one regular Mushroom. Mario offers one up. In return, he gives the bros a 1-up Mushroom. East of the lobby are some shops. The gear's not that great at this point. Towards the southern part of the lobby is Toadette with a Mario doll. She tosses it up in the air. She says it's very versatile. She says she'll make a life-size papercraft doll for the bros later. Someone tells the bros to wait. Some Paper Toads appear and give the bros the Copy Block. They made it out of the stuff in the workshop. They'll going to make more things while the bros go on their adventure. Toadette decides to help them out. One of the Toads by the exit says the arrow will guide the bros if they don't know where to go next.

Outside, cross the moat and you'll see a Lakitu and a rainbow-colored block that restores all HP and BP. The Lakitu was charged by the princess to take notes on the bros, look out for them, and offer assistance. He also reminds the bros to save often. Exit to the east to Sunbeam Plains. Someone notices Mario. Two Paper Goombas appear and notice Mario looks different. Mario, Luigi, and Starlow take an interest in the Paper Goomba and end up crumpling him. He restores himself, but still has a large crease. They're ready to battle.

It's time for the first battle and the battle music is a remix of that from Superstar Saga. Starlow directs the bros' attention to the Battle Guide. These Paper Goombas are level 2. If you execute an attack properly, you may crumple paper enemies. The battle should be pretty simple. Once the battle is over, the Paper Goombas threaten to come back with reinforcements. Starlow reminds them that if Bowser and Paper Bowser team up, things won't be so easy.

Meanwhile, in Bowser's Castle, a magikoopa tells Bowser the plan is going along. Bowser wants things done faster. He wants to get rid of Mario, so he has his minions hunt them down. The magikoopa would like it if Bowser used some manners. A voice behind the magikoopa asks where he is. The magikoopa thinks Bowser has taken up ventriloquism. He looks behind him and sees Paper Bowser. Paper Bowser walks up to Bowser and they both ask who the other is. Bowser wants Paper Bowser out, calling him a flimsy knockoff. Paper Bowser calls Bowser the knockoff. Bowser threatens physical violence, instead of using his flame breath, which would likely be more effective. They get in each other's faces and start fighting. A Goomba appears and they stop fighting, but Paper Bowser is crumpled. He apologizes for interrupting and they get back to fighting. The Goomba explains that Paper Toads and paper minions are raining all over the Mushroom Kingdom. The magikoopa says he's heard of a book that contains a parallel world. He thought it was merely a legend, but now knows it's real. A familiar voice calls someone a copycat. Bowser Jr. has met his paper counterpart. Bowser Jr. checks him out, saying it's like looking in a funhouse mirror. He says it's been boring lately. Paper Bowser Jr. introduces himself and Bowser Jr. wants to get the party started. The whole situation is making the magikoopa's head hurt. Bowser uses his fire breath and the fighting continues. The magikoopa calls for help and gets dragged into the fight.

Back outside, Starlow's getting a shivery feeling. She suggests they rescue the Paper Toads. On the nearby ledge is a tri-colored block. It has only coins this time. The path to the north is blocked by a gate. Hit the red and green blocks to the right on the hill to make it drop. There's an island to the southeast, but no way to reach it and a spring platform nearby is out of commission. Go north and you'll find more Goombas, who say this Mario looks like the real one. Sounds like Paper Mario may be nearby. The other Goomba called the flatter Mario real, even though it's weird he floated down from the sky. Either way, it's battle time! Starlow mentions a little circle may appear around the bros' feet when enemies attack. If the circles are dashes, either bro could be attacked. You can turn the Assist feature on and off to let you know which bro will be attacked. These Goombas are level 2. An Expert Challenge appears. This one is "Just Getting Started". The points you get from clearing challenges can be exchanged for gear in the gear shop. Battle all the enemies and the bros should level up. It looks like you must gain five levels to rank up. This time around, you can't select a stat to give bonus points to. Go north.

To the left is a Paper Toad, who says his friends were abducted by weird-looking versions of Bowser's minions. His surroundings are more vivid than normal, so he thinks he's dreaming. Starlow greets him and he freaks out, then runs away incredibly quickly. Starlow suggests they catch him. He runs off when they approach and they lose sight of him. They decide to move forward and they may find him again. Go up the hills and you'll find the east exit. There's a purple block that challenges the bros to volley the block back and forth for coins. There's a heal block near the exit. Go east.

A green Paper Toad asks if anyone can hear him. Starlow wants to talk to him, but he's freaked out by a Goomba. He slips through a narrow gap in some rocks and runs off. The Goomba gives up, Luigi tries to squeeze through, but gets stuck. Exit to the east and you'll find numerous Paper Goombas, including the one the bros creased earlier. It took him a while to iron out the creases in his face. He and his friends activate Super Goomba Super Wheel. One notices they said "super" twice. The battle starts and they form a wheel. They chase the bros. Press (A) and (B) repeatedly to run out of the way. They escape, but the wheel comes back and runs them over, defeated them. The Paper Goombas bet the bros didn't think they could do something that cool. Starlow tells them to get back up. The Paper Goombas says their weakest teammate is a million times stronger than the bros. They think they should report back to Paper Bowser. As they're about to leave, Paper Mario floats in and grabs them. They can't see where they're going, so they run around to shake him off. Starlow freaks out. The Paper Goombas threaten to flatten Paper Mario flatter than he already is. They try to stomp him, but he punches them away. They're surprised it's actually Paper Mario. They prepare the ultra special stomper-roller thingy, muttering under their breath that they should have agreed upon a name ahead of time. They form the wheel again and target Paper Mario. Starlow halts the attack and explains that the bros need his help. Paper Mario demonstrates that by holding (Y), he can jump very high. Use it to dodge or counter the wheel. Starlow hands over the Copy Block. Hit the block with (Y) to make multiple copies of him, six to be exact. The Paper Goombas are upset because stacking was their idea. Paper Mario can make copies anytime he pleases, but it will cost a turn. On the bright side, the copies will take damage for Paper Mario, but aren't as strong as him. If he takes damage, he'll lose at least one copy. Not sure how Starlow knew all this, but it sounds like an awesome ability. When Paper Mario uses a Jump attack, each copy will do an attack, so press (Y) for each one. When using the hammer, all copies must have their hammer raised high for an Excellent attack.

After the battle ends, the Paper Goomba says it's just his luck that there are two Marios. They haven't seen the last of him, however. He runs off and Luigi gives Paper Mario a hug that crumples him a little. He flattens himself out and looks at Luigi, but Starlow corrects him. This is not Paper Luigi, who still hasn't made an appearance. Starlow draws Paper Mario's attention to Mario and they copy each other's moves. Starlow thinks to call him Paper Mario. She explains that there are two Bowsers in this world. Paper Mario agrees to help in his silent way. The team is now a trio. Paper Mario jumps with (Y). Now that he's joined the team, we can track down that Paper Toad that slipped between the rocks.

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