Paper Mario: Sticker Star -- 6-3 Bowser's Sky Castle

A storm is brewing and the castle is shooting out flames. We go inside and it's dark and quiet, except for the storm. There's a door at the end of the hallway. Behind it is Kamek. He's impressed that we eventually made it. We shall fight until one of us falls. Once again, he changes our stickers into Flip-flops. This time, we can't easily tell which stickers are shiny. I recommend sorting out your stickers, placing all the ones you don't mind losing on one or two pages and use those. Worn-out stickers here might be best. He then clones himself twice. The clones don't have much HP. He can also make stickers from the album disappear entirely. After a tedious battle, it's clear to him that it was no accident that we've been successful in gathering the Royal Stickers. He says the sticker Bowser has is infinitely stronger than the others. He turns into dust that is blown away.

Through the door is another quiet hallway. In the middle is a red carpet over spikes that starts rolling up while you walk on it. It is ripped and has holes, so pay attention where you walk. Once you make it to the end of the carpet, the rest of the hallway lights up and the carpet carries you to the other side of the gap, then falls. We walk up to a large Bowser symbol on the floor. Someone says, "Mario!" It's Peach, stuck to a chain by Bowser tape. Kersti says we should save her while Bowser isn't around, but that's not the case. Bowser drops in.

Kersti says we're not afraid of him and are going to peel the Royal Sticker from his forehead. Bowser sends Peach down a long hallway. The battle starts, and other enemies appear from windows in the walls. This is the time to break out your most powerful Thing stickers, but start with the small ones first. Bowser has 400 HP. Crumpling or soaking Bowser works well. Bowser will jump, breathe fire, and slide into Mario with his shell. Don't jump on him. After his HP drops below 350, he'll move on and hide behind a large Whomp. Your attacks will only do 1 damage to him, even your Thing stickers. There's a Scissors symbol on his back, which is his weakness. It's very difficult to hit him with scissors that do more than 1 damage, so I just used an Infinijump. He needs to be knocked over with an Eekhammer for the Scissors to work. Once you defeat him, attack Bowser. After a few hits, he'll move on, where the walls will disappear, revealing lava. Once he has 10 HP left, he'll move on after sending Podoboos to attack you.

He runs to the back wall where Peach is. He'll heal and a Chomp will join him. The Chomp will attack you and Bowser will also throw it. He'll also heal more frequently. After a while, Bowser will fall off the cliff and the battle will end. Kersti's upset because he took the Royal Sticker with him. We can't free Peach, so we approach Kersti, when Bowser's giant sparkly arms reach up. He's made of thicker corrugated cardboard. Another battle starts.

Bowser has 500 HP and we have barely any stickers left. He'll smack Mario around the way Mario smacks enemies with the Slaphammer. Kersti says our stickers are useless against the last Royal Sticker and there's only one thing to do: use Kersti as a sticker. The only thing that can match the last Royal Sticker's power is sparkling power originating from the same Sticker Star. With Mario and Kersti's powers combined, they can strike Bowser with the power of a thousand stickers. She goes into the album, warning us she'll never forgive us if we try to sell her in a shop. Her description says, "Sacrifices herself to give Mario all her power, leaving everything to him." No! Kersti, don't go like this!

We don't have much of a choice but to use her. She says, "Thanks for sticking me up, Mario. I give to you all my shine. You must win! Looking back, I realize I kind of forced you to come on this adventure with me. I'm sorry...We went through a lot... but it was fun. And now... Good-bye!" Kersti, Mario would've gone on the adventure regardless, to save Peach. She turns into a Battle Spinner with her face in different expressions. We match all three and get to use 5 stickers, plus get healed some. I set up my best remaining stickers: Lightbulb, Thumbtack, Big Shiny Clone Jump, Megaflash Jump, and Big Shiny Infinijump. The Infinijump finishes off Bowser's left arm. He breathes fire into the album, destroying the stickers on the current page. We still have 5 sticker slots. I ran out of stickers before I could defeat him, so I changed my strategy to use the smaller Thing stickers in the first part of the battle. This led to victory.

Bowser floats in the air and, with an explosion, the sparkle and shine of the Royal Sticker leaves him. The last Royal Sticker appears and lands in the center of the album cover. Bowser lies flat on the ground. We peel the Bowser tape off Peach and she gently floats down a short distance to the ground. She says, "Thank you, Mario. I knew I could count on you, as always. Now that the Royal Stickers's been peeled off, Bowser should come to his senses... eventually. He's been beaten flat, but that's nothing new, so I don't think we need to worry about him. He'll be OK. So this all came about because of the six Royal Stickers that rode in on the comet the night of the Sticker Fest. The power to grant wishes can bring disaster if used without wisdom, huh?" Mario pulls out the album and shows them to her. "Ah, so those are the Royal Sticker.... I bet it was hard gathering all six. But thanks to your hard work, my wish for peace in the kingdom... No wait! It was the wish of everyone throughout the land. And it came true. Now please, use the power of those Royal Stickers to grant your own wish. Mario, what is your wish?" Mario makes his wish and the album gleams with light.

We return to Decalburg on the Sticker Fest grounds with Peach. The comet is in place. The Toads are cheering. The Toad, master of the Enigmansion, is sitting on a bench. The Toad from the Damp Oasis is on another. Peach says, "Citizens of the Mushroom Kingdom! Tonight, at long last, that symbol of peace, the Sticker Fest, has finally been revived. But this glad day did not come to pass through the power of the Sticker Comet. No, it was bought with the bravery of Mario, who returned the Royal Stickers to us... And it was paid for with the power of all you, who wished so fervently for Sticker Fest to return."

Bowser approaches the Sticker Comet, but Kersti tells him off, saying, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! Please tell me you aren't trying to touch the Sticker Comet again! You know what I think? I think you're a troublemaker! And your troublemaking made trouble for everyone! Hmm... Being brought back to life by Mario's wish was definitely nice, but... If it's like this every year at the Sticker Fest, I may have to seriously reconsider my career path." We saved Sticker Fest and wished Kersti back to life.  I think we've done a good job here. Roll credits!

Luigi gets to lead the parade. The parade shows places we've been, like the windmill and Goomba Fortress. Wiggler, the Toads from the Enigmansion, and Birdo appear. The shiny bosses also make a reappearance. Bowser and Bowser Jr. also appear during the parade. As we completed the tasks on the Sticker Fest flags on the Sticker Fest grounds, Toads carry them during the parade. Mario, Peach, and Kersti appear on a float with the Sticker Comet. At the end, the book closes on this tale and the light goes out.  A message tells us a new Toad has appeared on the festival grounds and that we should say hello. It's the Purple Toad from the Enigmansion. Apparently, he helped plan the parade. Talk to him if you want to watch it again.

And with that, we finish Paper Mario: Sticker Star. I had a fun time playing this game. Stay tuned for the next game I cover.

New Super Mario Bros. 2: 6-3

Go down the red pipe to reach the main level. There are pink mushrooms in this level that expand and contract. Take out the Fire Bro surrounded by brick blocks and jump on more mushrooms. There will be another Fire Bro nearby. The first Star Coin is over a mushroom and surrounded by brick blocks. Drop down on the right side of the mushroom when it's expanded and duck. When the mushroom contracts, it will pull you towards the first Star Coin. The midpoint is just past it. There are Red Coins over some mushrooms. The lone brick block can become a Gold Block. Take the next yellow pipe to the second Star Coin. It's guarded by two Fire Bros. Activate the Gold Ring and stand in the center of the lower platform to get the coins they throw. Once you return to the main level, you'll see another Gold Ring and some more Fire Bros. Run on top of the brick blocks and jump over the ceiling and run over it beyond the pipe to reach the third Star Coin. The red pipe will take you to the flag.

Coin Total: 46,548
I completed this level after beating the final boss.

New Super Mario Bros.: 6-3

This level takes us back to the jungle. Some of the item blocks are red now, have spikes, and rotate. Hit them when the spikes are pointed away. Fire Piranhas are also here. After the first set of pipes, there's an item block dangling from a string that's bouncing under the 1st Star Coin. Hit the item block, then jump off it to get the 1st Star Coin. Go down the red pipe to find a log that spins in purple water. It will dump you into the purple water if you stand on it too long, so keep jumping and moving. There are some Red Coins down here. Go up the pipe to the right, avoid the Piranha Plants and go down the second green pipe from the red pipe for the 2nd Star Coin. Come back up the same pipe and go down the last green pipe in the area. Go up the green pipe at the end of that area, which has some coins. You'll soon reach the midpoint. There's a lone coin on the ground, which turns out to be a Moneybag. Chase it down for coins, if you like. Towards the end, go up, over, and left to get the 3rd Star Coin. The flag is nearby.

Super Mario 3D Land: 6-3

It's another Ghost House. We start in a room where a tile keeps warping from the corner closest to the screen to three pictures hiding orange Mystery Boxes. We use the one in the middle picture of a block for the second Star Coin, which floats around an optical illusion cube. You don't have to stand on the cube. Take the Mystery Box in the upper left corner to return to the first room. Next, we use the Mystery Box behind the piano keys picture. This takes us to moving piano keys and a Boo. We pick up the first Star Coin over some musical note blocks and use the Mystery Box at the end. The keys don't make noise. We take the last Mystery Box in the third painting of a book. We end up in a library. The background moves back, revealing a ramp and books to hop over. We go to the back wall and find another Mystery Box hiding behind the background. We hear a chime and warp. We hop over books and cross a tightrope to two flights of stairs. At the top are three clocks. Next, is another tightrope. At the end is a giant Boo. We backtrack and go up the left stairs and down the right stairs to avoid it. We reach the door to the flagpole.
Take 2- We go through the book picture and up the ramp. We find the third Star Coin floating over the area and jump to get it. We go to the hidden Mystery Box and get a 1-up at the flagpole.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii: 6-3 -- Piranha Plant's Home

After 6-1, the path on the map forks into 2 paths. The path to the left has 2 levels, one of which is marked with a fruit bush with the fruit Yoshi likes to eat. This level most likely has Yoshi in it, but I'm taking the path on the right because it should be faster. It has one full level and a Toad Rescue, which should go quickly and easily, and I want to get to the Fort and its save point as soon as possible.

This is a pipe world on the map, but most of the level takes place inside the pipe, which is much more spacious than the width of the pipe from the outside would lead you to believe. I lose my Super Shroom to a giant Piranha Plant in a pot on a rising and lowering pole. I get another Super Shroom and the 1st Star Coin. I kill a Piranha Plant with a Buzzy Beetle shell, but lose my Super Shroom to a Buzzy Beetle and die from a Piranha Plant.

Take 2- I use a Super Shroom and get a Fire Flower, which I lose to a Piranha Plant. I get the 1st and 2nd Star Coins, but lose my Super Shroom to a Buzzy Beetle. I get another Super Shroom and reach the midgate. I get a Fire Flower and find an are with 3 Piranha Plants. There is a secret pipe above them that goes above ground. There is the 3rd Star Coin, which I can't reach from here. I go back down and go through the next tunnel over by wall jumping. I reach the pipe and get the 3rd Star Coin. I later use water to reach an area so I can wall jump above ground and reach the goal.