Mario and Luigi: Paper Jam -- Part 23: Cartoon Cannons

The bros have destroyed Bowser's papercraft, but Bowser sent the Koopalings after the bros. Before dealing with them, go west. There are dirt walls and Shy Guys here. Climb the dirt wall and Drill Dash through the maze of saws to reach a gondola. Use Trio Hammer on its purple button to send it flying into the spiked rollers blocking your path back east. Go north. Grab the Bob-omb to the right and use it to destroy the Bowser statue ahead. Pull out the bridge and keep going. There are boost pads here. Grab another Bob-omb and use them to reach another Bowser statue. You can get a Bob-omb from the right side. Pull out another bridge. There's another gondola here. Grab it, then use Trio Hammer. There's another statue to the north of the first one that leads to items. Use the pipe to return east quickly. Hit the ! Block to lower the gate.

Go east. Dash across the gaps using the yellow platforms. The platforms ahead won't be in a straight line. Walk towards the back and you'll find a narrow path with saws. To get over them, Trio Glide. It's okay if you land in the middle. The saws will hit you, but won't send you back to solid ground. The next narrow path allows you to Trio Drill underground. Use the Trio Hammer on the gondola to the left. A blue platform will take you back to where you entered from the west. Go north. You'll have to Trio Glide across some gaps, but there are fans blowing periodically. You'll need to have the fan blowing for the last glide. There's a Mechakoopa and a gondola ahead. Use the Trio Hammer on the gondola to form a complete path for the bros. Return west using the pipe ahead.

There will be enemies in the main hallway. At the end of the long path are Morton, Iggy, and Lemmy. Iggy wants to push something. Lemmy says it's his job. Morton notices the bros and tells someone to do it. Iggy pushes the button. Morton says it will destroy Peach's Castle. They're referring to the massive cannon at the front of the castle.

In Peach's Castle, the princesses are thinking of the bros. Back in Neo Bowser Castle, Iggy remembers he was supposed to set a timer. He thinks five minutes is good. The bros have to smash the cannon before time runs out. Enemies will drop in out of the sky for battle. You can't flee the fights, so attack quickly. Using Paper Mario's hammer works well. Go south and dodge the Fuzzies by walking between them. Other enemies will attack you, but you can avoid the battles. Go as far south as possible and you'll find the cannon. The timer will stop here. Press (A) to start the Trio Hammer, which will dent the cannon so it can't fire. Starlow thinks they shouldn't stand directly above the cannon when it's about to fire. The bros leave and the cannon blows itself out. Walk north and take the elevator up.

Mario and Luigi: Paper Jam -- Part 15: Save a New Girl in Pink. Save the Papercrafts.

The bros have reached the pipe the Koopas went through to haul papercrafts. Cross the bridge and a Papercraft Bullet Bill nearly drops on the players. The Kameks appear, along with Papercraft Dry Bones and Papercraft King Boo. Lemmy Koopa and Morton Koopa Jr. control Papercraft King Boo. The Kameks want to settle things and the Koopalings want to stomp the bros. Paper Kamek thinks Papercraft Boo is menacing, but Kamek doesn't think it's the most menacing papercraft ever. Papercraft Kamek is disappointed that they won't get to use it because the bros don't have a papercraft. He starts envisioning it, but Kamek says they've got one ready to go. It's Papercraft Yoshi. The Kameks fall to the ground. Paper Kamek wonders how they snuck it into Bowser's Castle. Toadette says she built it here just now.

Papercraft Yoshi can do a ground pound when (A) is pressed in midair. Use it to hit switches or stun enemies when you land near them. Use (B) to stick out Papercraft Yoshi's tongue to grab things and tow floating enemies. Defeat enemies to make poles appear so you can cross the lava. Use the Starman to clear out the Papercraft Goombas. Make your way around to the largest platform and cross the bridge. Papercraft King Boo appears. There will be three Papercraft Dry Bones that will get in your way, so get rid of them. Papercraft King Boo will ground pound the area. Move out of the way, then attack when it's off it's pedestal. When Papercraft King Boo is at half health, it will summon two more Papercraft Boos. Papercraft King Boo will do a rolling attack. Dodge it and attack.

After the battle, the Kameks thought that Papercraft Yoshi was so good, they've decided to kidnap Toadette. They're also going to build the best papercraft yet. Go north. The bros enter a long hallway. Flames appear from the floor, preventing the bros from going north. There are Paper Boomerang Bros here, which are particularly dangerous, because the boomerang they carry can be another Paper Boomerang Bro. Go west. There's a Fly Guy holding onto Toadette. He starts to fly away. The bros have to defeat him before he does. Use Trio Glide to cross the lava. Use the fan blocks to turn them on and off. Catch up to the Fly Guy and battle him. Toadette thanks the bros for saving her. She decides to return to Peach's Castle. She looked around the castle and thinks the princesses are on the top floor.

The Bowser Jrs. are bored guarding two cardboard princesses. Paper Bowser Jr. wants them to try to escape to give him something to do. He also wants them to say something different. He tries to tell them Mario's not going to save them. He slowly starts losing it and decides to go outside. Behind the cage, the princesses spy their moment to escape. They decide to leave through a window. Bowser Jr. is sleeping, wondering why it's so cold.

Luigi is worried about Toadette, but she says she can take care of herself, having tracked a treasure or two. Hit the nearby Bowser Block to make one of the eyes in the floor close. Go through the pipe, return to the long hallway, and go east. There's a long path with many fans blowing the bros off of it. Dash at an angle to make it across safely. When you loop around, Trio Glide to left. Hit the Bowser Block and ! Block. This will open the door and make the flames disappear. Return to the long hallway and go up the elevator.

The bros hear Peach's voice. The princesses are outside, on a different part of the castle. They head back. Walk forward. The door is open. The princesses meet the bros inside, but Paper Bowser Jr. grabs them in his clown copter. The Bowser Jrs. lock them behind a door, calling it a dirty trick for them to sneak out when he was sleeping. He's going to tell Bowser. Paper Bowser Jr. wonders if the bros are there for the book or the princesses, giving away the fact that they've been holding it all this time. Bowser Jr. thinks both, but says they're never giving back the book. The Bowser Jrs. realize the bros didn't know they had the book. Starlow wants both the book and the princesses back. They don't want to, so they split up and run away. Go east and west to get some items and coins. The door to the princesses won't budge, so leave them for now.

Mario and Luigi: Paper Jam -- Part 11: Snow Drill

The bros find themselves on Mount Brrr. There are patches of ice the bros will spin across. There are Buzzy Beetles here. You can't hurt them when they're in their shell. Climb up the stairs to find a gap in the rocks. Send in Paper Mario for some items. Try to go east and the bros will hear something loud. Go east. When you try to cross a patch of dirt, the ground rumbles again. Starlow thinks it's coming from above.

On the summit, Big Bob-omb, along with Morton Koopa Jr., Iggy Koopa and Lemmy Koopa, tells minions to fire something. It's a cannon launching cardboard platforms. Another cannon launches paper minions. Some of the cardboard nearly lands on the bros. Unfortunately, the way ahead is now blocked. Paper Mario is inspired by some nearby cardboard. Press (A), (B), then (Y) to use the Trio Drill. Use it to tunnel underground. You can also tunnel under spots marked with "X" to get items like beans without having to pop up each time. Hold (Y) to do a Drill Dash. Use it on the rock under a cardboard platform to destroy it. Starlow notices the question mark on the platform the bros just Drill Dashed under. Trio Drill into it from above to get Heart Boots. Use the Trio Hammer so you can go east into a cave.

Inside the cave are more Buzzy Beetles. There are dirt walls in the cave, so use Drill Dash to climb them. Drill Dash repeatedly into cracked rocks to destroy them. Beware of the saws on the walls. Drill Dash to exit the walls. Higher up is a puzzle. There are spikes in the gaps between the walls to avoid. Move them around by Drill Dashing into the pink ! Block on the wall. There's a crack in the wall near it. Destroy it and move the pink ! Block to the lower position to move forward. There's another crack in the wall on the left side. Cross over to that side and go west.

The bros find themselves outside again. Someone says "Whoooooa." It's Bowser Jr., and he's higher up on the mountain. Paper Bowser Jr. is playing with the papercraft. Bowser Jr. leaves to play with it. Toadette appears, saying she knew there was a new one already. She says they need a new papercraft as well. She's got plenty of ideas, but not as many Paper Toads. She also needs a safe place to work. That cave to the east probably won't work. Luigi says there's no such thing as a safe place in this terrifying world. Toadette says she's heard of a Toad Village to the west, but it's much farther away than the bros anticipated. The path is also a puzzle. Once it is solved (and it can be solved), the bros will have a clear path to the village. Hop in the nearby pipe and hit the ! Block so you can return easily.

Drill up the wall and start breaking through the cracks. Toadette calls to them when they approach a puzzle, saying the bros are about halfway to the summit. Fiddle around with the puzzle contraptions to find a path to the village. The sign says to push the blue crescent and pink target stones into the corresponding slots. The stones can only move on the tracks. The blue crescent is close by. Drill Dash to move it up, left, up, left, down, right, then up. This makes corresponding platforms appear out of the mountain. Drop down to Toadette's level and go west. You'll find Bullies and Paper Sombrero Guys here. To reach the top of the middle area, go to the left and climb using the orange springs. Trio Grab to the other side. Go back east.

Hit the ! Block to make the rocks between the puzzles disappear, then go up to the puzzle. Move the pink target stone up, right, down, right, down, left, up, and left. This makes the corresponding platforms appear from the mountain. Go back east into the cave for a puzzle involving dodging saws in the walls. You'll find beans in the walls and get a Paper Speed Bracelet if you clear it. Back outside, take the dirt path as high as you can go to cross to the Toad. Go west into the Toad Village. A Toad welcomes them to the village. Starlow says they need a way to climb the mountain and deal with Bowser Jr., so they'll need to save more Paper Toads.  

New Super Luigi U: Acorn Plains- Castle -- Lemmy's Lights-Out Castle

The castle is dark, but has overhead lights that swing. Some of them move with the pendulums in the castle. The first Star Coin is over a high pendulum that swings over another. There's a Red Coin Ring that makes Red Coins appear over the pendulums swinging over the gap. Collecting them all will give you a 1-up or an Acorn Mushroom. You'll need it to reach the second Star Coin, which is below a pendulum. Drop down to get it, then boost to safety. Over solid ground are a set of three brick blocks. The middle one contains a P-Switch. This will turn the coins into brick blocks so you can safely travel over the Nippers. Drop down into the gap between two sets of Nippers for a pipe. This leads to the third Star Coin, over a pendulum. The boss door is ahead. There's an 8-bit Luigi on the right wall. Going through the boss door will add 100 seconds to your time. Launch from the cannon to the Airship. Lemmy stands on a bouncy ball and tosses bombs. Stomp him three times to defeat him. You'll open the path to Layer-Cake Desert. You'll also get a message saying that you've collected all the Star Coins, which should mean something good. Save your game.

Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga -- Part 14: Mini Bosses Galore

Now that the bros have reached Bowser's Castle, all they have to do is find Bowletta. Bowletta and Fawful are in the throne room. Fawful says, "O Great Bowletta! The Mario Bros. who I hate are coming this way!" Bowletta is confident that the bros will never make it to the throne room. She calls the Koopalings, who appear and go throughout the castle.

Ahead are new enemies, such as Magikoopas, Hammer Bros, and Gunner Guys. They take critical damage from electricity. Boos will also appear. As you level up, you'll want to be sure to increase the bros' speed. You'll understand later. To reach certain platforms, you'll have to Spin Jump around bars overhead. What this means is that you must Spin Jump in a curve away from the platforms, then go to the platform you want to go to, instead of Spin Jumping in a line. The door ahead leads to Iggy's Room.

Iggy will spin around the bros to make them dizzy. This will change the control scheme, so up may move them to the right, for example. There are flames on the floor. If you hit them, you'll have to start over. Run into Iggy to start the battle. He'll spit fireballs, which you can hit back at him. He'll also spin around the bros to make them dizzy and unable to defend. Hit him with a hammer before the bros get dizzy. Once you defeat him, a portal appears, a bridge to the Save Book appears, and a bridge to the next area appears. The portal warps you into the main hallway so you can continue through the castle.

The next area has you jump over spikes. Magikoopas are here. They make rings of fire to jump through and heal allies. In the next room are yellow platforms, like the ones in Stardust Fields. The next room is Morton's. The Save Book is up the stairs to the right.

Morton will create shockwaves to dodge. Once you reach him, the battle will start. He'll flip in the air a number of times equal to the number of shockwaves he'll send out upon landing. He'll also shoot fireballs. Defeating Morton will allow you to progress.

Go up several flights of stairs, then Spin Jump across gaps and lava, using tornados. Lemmy's room is next. He'll spin around the bros, making three copies of himself. Hit the real one to start the battle. Otherwise, he'll spin around them again. In battle, he shoots fireballs and makes copies of himself. Eliminate the copies with Thunder Bros. Defeating him makes a portal appear and starts some water flowing outside. Have Mario drink the water to extinguish the flames.

In the next area, deal with a Magikoopa, then go into the next room. You'll have to shoot balls of water at Mecha-Koopas to hit them into the electrical circuits. You have 4 attempts to fill all three circuits before the Mecha-Koopas get released from the circuits. This opens the door ahead. There are two Piranha Plant buds in the ground. Have Mario drink some water, then have Luigi use the Thunderhand on him. Make the left Piranha Plant bud grow to produce a ! Block that opens the door ahead to Ludwig's room.

Ludwig crawls into his shell and moves towards the bros. Have the bros jump over him. He'll jump away. Try to leave and he'll drop down and attack you. In battle, he'll spin around in his shell, so jump over him. He'll also spin in front of the bros to make them dizzy. Once he's defeated, some spikes outside will disappear. Four Koopalings down, four to go.

New Super Mario Bros. U: Acorn Plains- Castle -- Lemmy's Swingback Castle

As the name suggests, there are lots of swings in this castle. There's also lots of lava. Get the Acorn Mushroom, then the first Star Coin by transferring swings. Avoid the Podoboos and use the tiered swing to reach the higher swing to the right. When you reach solid footing, you'll find the midpoint nearby. The floor will end and you'll have to deal with more lava. Use the Acorn Mushroom to glide for the second Star Coin. Afterwards is a Red Coin Ring. The swings will be much closer to the lava and some will go into the lava, so jump when they do. There will be more swings, then a pipe in the lava. Carefully drop down to it. It leads to another room with lava with a swing that goes into the lava. The third Star Coin is above the swing, so get on the swing, then jump to get the Star Coin when it goes into the lava, then land when the swing is out of the lava. Return to the main level. You'll be near the boss door. There's a Fire Flower in an invisible block on the right wall. The door leads to an open part of the castle where we can see Lemmy's Airship flying by. At the top of the stairs is a cannon, which will blast you to the Airship. We land inside the Airship where Lemmy is. Lemmy stands on a bouncy ball and throws bombs. Avoid the bombs and stomp Lemmy. He'll go spinning around in his shell, then stop, and stand on another bouncy ball and start throwing bombs again. The best way to deal with the Koopalings is to stomp them as soon as they get out their shell cycle. Three stomps are all you need to defeat him. We win and Mario stomps around on Lemmy's Airship, which flies off and crashes somewhere. We save the game and head to the next area, Layer Cake Desert.

New Super Mario Bros. 2: Flower-Castle

This level features conveyor belts and gray springy mushrooms. There are pipes sending out infinite Goombas, who will bounce up to your level due to the mushrooms. Overhead are two red pipes sending out Bob-ombs. Use one to blow up the stones over the first Star Coin and throw another to get it. Keep going right, avoiding the onslaught of Goombas and Bob-ombs. Under the green pipe are two brick blocks. The left one has a P-Switch that makes Silver Coins to the left on the conveyor belt. To the right is the midpoint. There are more gray mushrooms. Over one is the second Star Coin. Time your drop to avoid the Goombas from the overhead pipes. There is a Gold Block on the left side of the right set of brick blocks over the bouncy balls. Go past the infinite vertically-moving platforms and you'll see blue conveyor belts. Hit the yellow switch above to change the direction. Duck under the spikes and go right to get the third Star Coin. Avoid being bounced out by the bouncy balls until you're ready. Next is the boss door. We have to deal with the last Koopaling here, Lemmy. He stands on a bouncy ball and his wand makes more. We're also on a conveyor belt, but we can change the direction using the switch on the ceiling. Hit him three times to defeat him. He will make another bouncy ball to stand on after each shell cycle, so hit him quickly. He won't fall off the conveyor belt. We can now go to World 5.

Coin Total: 63,675
We get a couple of messages: "A new world is available in the Flower Pack in Coin Rush!" Another one, accompanied by fanfare, tells us, "You've collected every Star Coin in the game!" That brings our total Star Coins to 194 after using some to access levels. But if there aren't any Star Coins left to collect, what's going on in Star World? There are now two sparkling stars on our file.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii: 3- Castle -- Circus on Ice

This is a difficult level, because they incorporated the ice theme into the level. This level has one of the annoying snaking block platforms, made more annoying because they're icy and slippery, as denoted by the subtle fuzzy and crystal appearance. I have to contend with spikes and icicles in this level. I did this level initially multiplayer, but both of us got game overs and had to start over. I will just detail the solo mission. The large icicles fall on the snaking platform, and when done well, make it easier to avoid the spikes in the middle of the level. I reach the end of this area to find large ice cubes blocking my path. Some of them have black spots in them. There is a pipe spewing Bob-ombs, so I use one to clear through the ice (fireballs don't work here). The second time, I blow up an ice cube with a black spot, which sends a chain reaction throughout some of the other ice cubes. There were Bob-ombs frozen in the ice. I get on another snaking block platform. I get the first Star Coin in an area with Donut Lifts. After the red coin ring, I find an area with bouncy balls like the one Lemmy used in the Fort battle. I use them to get the third Star Coin. They nearly bounce me onto the spikes and I nearly miss the snaking platform to the boss door. This time, Kamek makes Lemmy's circus ball grow huge. He uses it to bounce high, then come down on Mario to shove him off the edge. I went off the edge and could not wall jump, so I died. Take 2- Cutting to Lemmy's battle, I gathered enough speed to wall jump high enough to hit Lemmy. I hit him again after the shell cycle and touched him, losing my Fire Flower. I hit him again after the shell cycle, before he could use magic to make his circus ball appear. This world is finally over.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii: 3- Fort Replay -- So Much Easier

I got over the rotating platforms much easier this time. I got an Ice Flower from the 8 red coins. I reached the midgate. I use the Pow Blocks effectively, after the spike balls got rid of the Dry Bones, I took them out 2 at a time. I lost my Ice Flower to a Dry Bones and my Super Shroom to a spike ball. I reached Lemmy. I hit him, and twice more after he got out of the shell cycle, once before he could get on his circus ball again. I saved the game.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii: 3-Fort -- Tower of Terror

Considering this is an ice world, there is surprisingly no ice in this level. I'm noticing that the forts are mainly vertical towers while the castles are horizontal levels. This fort has rotating levels that you must climb. Thankfully, this level doesn't scroll automatically, because this takes some practice to master. Something tells me, however, that there will be a level with similar platforms with automatic scrolling. After getting over the platforms, and obtaining an Ice Flower, I get on a rising platform with Amps. If I touch them, they will zap me. Fortunately, I can freeze them. I reach the midgate and get to another rising platform. I get a 100-coin 1-up. I take care of some of the Dry Bones that come onto the platform, but spike balls come up and they and the Dry Bones kill me. Take 2- I use a Super Shroom and get an Ice Flower. I use a frozen Dry Bones like a shell to take out other Dry Bones. I lose both my Ice Flower and Super Shroom and am killed stuck under an Ice Flower block. Take 3- I start with a Super Shroom and get an Ice Flower. Ice doesn't work on the spike balls, but they get rid of the Dry Bones. A POW block got rid of the spike balls when one hit them. The POW gives me a 1-up. I made it up to the boss door. Lemmy is standing on a circus ball. He uses his wand to produce circus balls. I touch one of them, but they don't hurt me! This could be easy. Unfortunately, it isn't easy, and a ball pushes me over the edge into the void, which I can't escape from with wall jumps.

Take 4- I get a Super Shroom and lose it to Dry Bones. I get a 100-coin 1-up. The POW block brings floating coins down to the ground. I died from a Dry Bones.

Take 5- I use a Super Shroom, get an Ice Flower, and lose them both stuck under a block. I die from a spike ball.

Take 6- I use a Super Shroom and the POW block to get rid of the spike balls. I got a 100-coin 1-up. I made it to Lemmy and got in one hit, but when into the void, with a ball blocking my wall jump.

Before Take 7, I attempted to get more Super Shrooms from the Ice Bros in the Toad Rescue levels. I go back to World 2 to use the 1-up Shroom House, getting one 1-up. I go back to World 1 Toad House to get 1 Super Shroom, Helishroom, Ice Flower and Fire Flower. I get more Super Shrooms from 3- Toad Rescue.

Take 7- I have to start the level over. I make it to the midgate and am good until I reach the spike balls.

Take 8- I try using the Helishroom, thinking it will make my life easier in dodging the spike balls. It didn't work as planned, but I got a 100-coin 1-up.

Take 9- I use a Super Shroom. Super Guide appears. I lose again.

Take 10- I use a Super Shroom and get a 100-coin 1-up. I made it to the boss. Lemmy was difficult, but I got in the 3 hits. I was also hit, and small.

Lemmy hopped away through an icy veil. I followed him to 3-4. This level is right before the castle. This was a short world.