Super Paper Mario -- Chapter 8-3: Countdown to Destruction

First Bowser and then the fair Princess Peach were lost to the halls of Castle Bleck. Would they ever be seen again? Without his allies, could our hero Mario hope to stand against the evil Count Bleck? The very air in the castle grew heavier and even more ominous with every step. All they could do was plod forward in silence...

In Castle Bleck's Interior, Tippi notes the power of The Void is growing and the Chaos Heart is close. The end is almost here. There are flipping Skellobits here, some with spikes. The item blocks have a Happy Flower, Pal Pills, and a Slow Flower. There are also Cursyas. Go through the doors and you'll find Hogarithms. The door to the right doesn't work, so walk to the left of it and Super Jump up to a Sobarribad, a stronger version of a Barribad. Flip to get past the barrier to attack it. Now the door works.

This leads to a hall of mirrors with Dimentio appearing in them, along with many gaps in the floor. There are Longadiles here. Keep an eye on the mirrors, as one will not have Dimentio's reflection and will not shine. Flip and you'll be able to jump through it, as it's actually a window. There's a chest at either end of this room, one with an Ice Storm and another with a key. Go back through the window and unlock the door on the right. The door leads to some stairs. Flip to find a hallway under the stairs. There are Soopa Strikers in this hallway.

Go through the door at the end to find some Magiblots. There are three blocks at the end. Hit them to make a door appear. In the next room, you'll find three more blocks. Hit the middle one to make a door appear. In the room after that, there's a door and three blocks. Hit the right block to make the door move under the middle block. Go through the middle door to find some Red Chomps and a blue switch that removes the bars on the door. Go through the door on the right to find three more blocks. Hit them in the following order: middle, right, left. They are numbered in 3D. This makes a chestappear with a key. Go back to the stairs and climb up them. At the top are item blocks with a Happy Flower and Zombie Shroom and some Koopatrols. Unlock the door to the right.

The door leads to a small room that's actually a maze. Flip to see the arrows of which path to take to make the door to the right lead forward. You'll have to Super Jump to reach some platforms. The door leads to another hall of mirrors and Longadiles. Look for the window and jump through it to find a room swarming with Dimentios. They won't hurt you, but moving around will be difficult. Use Cudge to clear a path. There are chests and a Super Shroom hidden here. One has a Thunder Rage and another has a key. Go back through the window, then save before unlocking and opening the door.

Someone says they've made it here at last. It's Dimentio, mentioning that the heroes are missing the ravishing princess and the arm flailer. Tippi says they're not here to trade barbs with him and orders him to move out of the way. Dimentio says he will get out of their way and leaves, but later says he'll get out of their way once they defeat him. The heroes were worthy foes in the past, so he won't make it easy. They must come get him first, like it's a game of tag with magic. A space rift appears. Use Fleep's power on it to make a blue switch appear. Hit it to warp.

You warp to somewhere familiar: 1-1. Tippi wonders where they are and they notice Dimentio fly off. Keep an eye on the direction Dimentio goes and follow him. You don't need to finish the level, but to look for another space rift. Listen carefully for it, as it blends in to some areas. The space rift here leads to 2-3, Merlee's Mansion. The space rift is on the safe. Next is 3-2, the Tile Pool. The space rift is to the left of the item block with the Mushroom (Dimentio flies to the left). In 4-2, on Planet Blobule, the space rift is past the tall cliff. Flip to find a path past it. In 5-1, Downtown of Crag, flip and drop down to where you found the Fire Tablet. The space rift is to the left. In the destroyed Chapter 6, run with Dashell or Carrie and listen carefully for the space rift, as it blends into the background well. On the Underwhere Road, 7-2, climb up the area, without lit torches. The space rift is at the top, over a Dorguy.

This will take you back to Castle Bleck. Dimentio asks if they enjoyed the game of tag. Luigi tells him to stop messing around and fight them for real. Dimentio says he's not messing around. Magic is no laughing matter and he's always deadly serious. Dimentio's been watching them, saying they're the ones who can stand up to Count Bleck. He asks them a favor: will them help him destroy the count? Luigi asks why he's talking about betraying the count. Dimentio explains that Count Bleck betrayed him when he said he'd destroy all worlds and create new and perfect worlds in their place. Count Bleck was lying: he plans to obliterate all worlds and keeping them in ruin. Tippi is startled. Dimentio says he's always known about Count Bleck's nefarious goal, but he could never hope to stop the count on his own. Instead, he feigned loyalty to him and searched for someone to help him defeat the count. He explains that this is why he rescued the princess from certain brainwashing and sent them all to The Underwhere to fix the Pure Heart. He also a freed a man to be reunited with his brother. Tippi realizes that Dimentio's been helping them all this time. Diemntio asks them to return the favor and he'll give them the power to defeat Count Bleck if they fight side by side. Decline his offer. Dimentio says his offer drips with generosity and that with the Chaos Heart, they can rule every world. Reject the offer and Dimentio says he's wasted his time, so their game ends. He'll start with the green one, as the shag on his lip will make a fine trophy. Luigi is insulted, saying his moustache is not shag, but it's all Luigi. He tells Mario to leave Dimentio to him, as he doesn't have time to fight him when there are worlds to save. He tells Mario not to let Bowser's and Peach's sacrifices be for nothing, or his, either. Plus, it's personal: Dimentio made fun of his moustache, which he's sensitive about. Mario leaves. Dimentio calls the moment tender, saying he squeezed out a tear. He says Mario can run along and if he manages to defeat Count Bleck alone, all the better. He says he'll strike like an unseen dodgeball in an echoing gymnasium.

Dimentio has 80 HP and 4 attack. It only took a few hits with Luigi's attack doubled with his catch card. He'll create an illusion and shoot magic or try to trap Luigi in boxes. Hit the real one with a Super Jump and try to stomp him repeatedly. Once he's defeated, he cries uncle. Luigi asks if he's had enough. He didn't need his superstar brother to defeat him. Dimentio sees that Luigi's power is formidable, so he can't let Luigi fall into Count Bleck's velvet-lined gloves. He creates a box around the both of them. Luigi asks what he's doing and Dimentio says he has him now. They will both taste the agony of game-overing by magic. Luigi screams while Dimentio bids farewell as fireballs go off inside the box. Outside, Tippi calls to Luigi and the castle shakes. The door won't open. Tippi says they must grieve later, even though it's tough and it hurts. They must stop Count Bleck. The star is to the right.

Super Paper Mario -- Chapter 7-2: The Sealed Doors Three

"I sought a prince, but nay! What I found were ancient men of hairy cheek." "'Twas a horror, yea, and one that left my breath stricken in my throat." Luvbi kept up this refrain as she traveled with our heroes. She seemed less than happy. Still, she DID have a lot of energy... "Hasten thy chubby legs! Times waits not for those who slack!" Luigi, on the other hand, was elated that he and his brother were finally reunited. But Peach and Bowser were still nowhere to be found... Were they safe? ... So thought our heroes as they made their way slowly to Underwhere Road.

Luvbi announces that they have reached Underwhere Road, the way out of The Underwhere. Tippi asks if they keep going upward, they'll eventually reach The Overthere. Luvbi says that is obvious. Her heart weeps to return to The Overthere without meeting her true love. She then asks Tippi if she believes in soul mates. Tippi stammers, but doesn't really answer. Luvbi marks her as "undecided" or "unrequited". Tippi stammers some more, but Luvbi says she was only tweaking Luvbi's chain. Luvbi decides to go on ahead, challenging them to catch her if they can. Tippi calls her an entirely unstable walking mood swing.

Go through the door and you'll enter a dark area. Move carefully as you'll be doing some vertical platforming. Luvbi will always be just ahead of you, so follow her. In the darkness, you may encounter Underhands, so be careful. There are a couple of flipping platforms in the area, as well as some Dark Boos, who can flip. About halfway up, drop down to the right to find a chest with a Dark Boo card. On the way, you'll find item blocks with some Mushrooms. At the top is a door that's sealed shut. Use Tippi's power on it and it starts talking. It notes that travelers have come. He informs the heroes that Queen Jaydes demands that he guard the door, as there are many monsters prowling about. He is Dorguy the First and, as a routine check, will ask some questions to determine if they are trustworthy. If all questions are answered correctly, he'll let them through. These are story problems, but you can largely ignore the story.
1. Who is the most powerful person in The Underwhere? Queen Jaydes
2. What is my name? Dorguy the First
3. How many times did I just say the word "apple"? 6 times
After answering the questions correctly, he lets them through.

The door leads to a room with two locked doors and a Save Block. The ground is shaking. When you have a decent amount of health, talk to the D-Men guarding one of the doors. They say they're busy. Tippi explains that they must reach The Overthere, but don't know the way. The D-Men say the left door will lead them to The Overthere, but they can't open it for them as they've trapped a raging beast, who escaped its prison, behind the door they're guarding. They've locked both doors down for security. Someone must subdue the beast, and if the heroes do it, they'll unlock the door. Agree and the D-Men say they were only joking, but ask if the bros are nuts when they realize they've agreed. They agree to let them through the door, saying they'll mail the hero's mustache to their next of kin. The predict that the hero's game is about to end and unlock the door.

Go through the door and you'll hear a familiar roar. The torches light up, revealing Bowser wondering where he is, why jerks in shades keep jumping him, and why it's so dark. He complains that Peach isn't here and he's hungry. He wonders what he did to deserve this. He notices that the bros are in the room and asks where everyone else is, including Peach. Tippi explains they don't know and they're looking for her. Bowser definitely doesn't like the fact that Peach isn't here and thinks the bros want to break them up. Tippi denies it, but Bowser decides to stomp the truth out of them. Bowser has 80 HP, 8 attack, and 2 defense. He'll charge at the bros or breathe fire. Don't stomp him without Carrie due to the spikes. Keep attacking and you'll eventually win. Bowser asks why he always loses and what's wrong with him. He says he always gets back up every time, as many times as it takes to send the bros to The Underwhere. Luigi says they're already there. Bowser asks if he looks like a guy who's game is over. Tippi explains that Dimentio's attack sent them here and that she and Merlon didn't know about any of them. Bowser finally realizes that Peach is really lost somewhere and asks why they didn't say so. They could've been searching for her this entire time. He rejoins the party.

The heroes leave the room and the D-Men note that their games aren't over, so they think the heroes ran away from the fight. They're shocked to learn that the beast has been defeated. They thank them, calling the heroes "prime go-getters". They give the heroes the Door Key and the other D-Men leave to take care of other things. The remaining D-Man says to have someone light the torches with fire, but the torches will go out eventually.

Unlock the door and have Bowser out, using Carrie's power to move faster. Use his fire breath to light the torches. The Underhands disappear in the light. This area contains a lot of vertical platforming in a narrow space, so if you fall, you may lose a lot of progress. There are Dry Bones and Dark Boos here to help you to that end. Be sure to light every torch in the vertical area, as they are few and far between. About halfway up, drop down to the right to find a pipe. You'll find many coins in the room, but they'll quickly disappear. Return to the dark room and you'll find a door at the top. Use Tippi's power on it to get Dorguy the Second to talk to you. He'll display colorful shapes on a screen and ask questions about what appears, but he won't tell you if you got a question correct.
1. How many red objects were there? 3
2. How many triangles were there? 2
3. What color were the moving objects? Blue
4. Off the top of your head, what number question is this? 4
5. What shape was the most plentiful? Triangles
Once you answer all the questions, he'll say the heroes have very young brain ages, so they must be good people.

Go through the door to find a locked door and a pink door. The pink door leads to the room of the three women. They each have a favor to ask. The only one you need to do is the pink one's, Hagra's. She'll ask you to get a book she lent a D-Man and she'll warp you to his location. Talk to him to get the Diet Book back. You'll still have to climb your way back up to return it to her. She'll give you the Door Key as a reward. The blue one, Hagnes, will ask you to listen to her story of how she romantically pursued Grambi, but lost to another. The green one, Hagitha, will sent you to a D-Man to check a TV recording. Tell him the correct show and climb back up. She rewards you with information on how to deal with an Underwhere beast called the Underchomp. If it's favorite music is played, it will fall asleep.

Unlock the door and you'll find some rocks and a set of ascending stairs. Light the torches so you can see, then use Mario to climb the stairs, so he can flip to avoid the Spiny Tromps rolling down. Super Jump to reach the door at the top. Dorguy the Third is here and he asks if he can get a little Underchomp. He can and it appears, a set of three Chomps, each a primary color. If the heroes are worthy, they should be able to beat it. Things turn into an Earthbound-style battle. Use Piccolo to put each Underchomp to sleep for a few turns, then attack with Bowser for the most damage. When they wake up, use Piccolo again. You'll get 6,000 points for winning. Dorguy the Third allows them through to reach the star.