Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story -- Part 16: Astral Shimmy

Now that we have a new Special Attack, go south to Bumpty Plains, then Dimble Wood. Go east from the north entrance, then go south, then east. The bros will run into Scutlets, smaller than the one they found in Bowser's Flame Pipe. They attack in large numbers, so be careful. To the east is one of the Attack Pieces. Return, then go south for another. Go west, north, then west again for another. There's another one to the south, where you'll find Sockops. Do not use jump attacks on them as they will swallow the bros and drain their HP. Go west twice, then north to reach Blubble Lake. Go west, then northeast for another pipe into Bowser. Return to Dimble Woods, go south twice, then east for a pipe into Bowser. Go northeast, east, south five times, then east, to the southeast corner of the Dimble Wood. Balloon Mario out to get over the ledge, then go north. An Attack Piece will be on the small peninsula. If you'd like, you can talk to Broque Monsieur, but he's not a fan of the bros as they hit blocks, turning them brown, and reducing their collector's value. From the Save Block in the southeast, go west three times, then north. Use the shell to hit a ! Block that rolls away a Wiggler statue. The Attack Piece is across the water. Go south to Plack Beach.

Birdley will tell you that the cliff the sage is on is to the south. Go south, then west to the Sea Pipe Statue, then south. Birdley says that the cliff is west of here. The path the cliff is marked with a couple of statues that look like they're doing yoga. On the east side is a house. This is the house of Kuzzle, the sage who had the Star Cure Bowser stole. He doesn't hear very well and repeats himself frequently. He likes puzzles. He tried making puzzles out of Attack Pieces, but couldn't finish them. Complete his puzzle to get Attack Pieces for a new Special Attack. His puzzles become real when they're completed. The first puzzle turns into Attack Pieces for the Special Attack Spin Pipe. Mario and Luigi will get into a pipe and it will spin around. Keep track of which bro is on the bottom and hit his button when he lands. Kuzzle says his house is empty due to an incident, but wants furniture in the place. His furniture puzzle pieces are scattered all over Plack Beach in puzzle sacks. Retrieve them and solve the puzzles for beans. He'll show the areas on the map where they are. When you return with some puzzles, he'll notice the Star Cure and tell the bros about it. Bowser came in when he was about to solve a puzzle. Bowser tried solving one, gave up quickly, and trashed the place. He left, taking the Star Cure with him. Solve the four new puzzles to replace the furniture, or retry a puzzle to get a perfect score of 100. When you complete all four furniture puzzles, you get ten of each kind of bean.

Go west to find the sage. You'll run into Pendrils and Drillbit Crabs. Don't hit the Pendrils when they attack if they have a rock on their nose. This will release a Bob-omb/ Go west, then climb up the cliffs. Some platforms will rise to help you reach areas. Ahead, you'll be using the air vents and currents a lot. Use them to explore. When you get the chance, save. Go east, then go through the green pipe. This will take you back down to the beach. Be sure to hit the ! Block, then go back up. The sage is up ahead, doing yoga. His name is Chakron and he meditates on the nature of all. (Yes, he's the one who manages the Chakroads and talks to Bowser about them.) Starlow explains the situation while Luigi copies Chakron's yoga pose. He tells them to leave. He is busy absorbing waves from the cosmos in his pose. This is how he gains knowledge and enlightenment. He has been standing this way for a thousand years. Breaking out of this state of perfect balance will be difficult. He'll give the bros the Star Cure if they can break him out of this pose. Luigi tries tickling and poking, but to no avail. The event must be shattering, but the hammer doesn't quite cut it. Starlow says to use their best attack and the bros "battle" Chakron. Don't bother using your best attacks, as they do nothing. Jump or hammer until Chakron gives up. The bros need an attack that shakes the ground. Leave and Chakron mentions the Wood. The attack they need is there. So says outer space.

Take the pipe back down to the beach and go to Dimble Wood. We already have 6 Attack Pieces, so there's only four left to find. Once in Dimble Wood, from the south entrance, go north, then west. Heal and save, then approach Wiggler. The forest has seen too many incidents lately, partly due to Bowser's activities, so he won't let the bros go past. Mario explains they're looking for Attack Pieces. Wiggler's familiar with them, but won't let the bros have them. He thinks they want to cause trouble as well. He'll let the bros proceed if they find six Attack Pieces in Dimble Wood. Since we did that earlier, we're good to go. He lets the bros pass, saying to find them quickly.

Up ahead, send Mini Mario past the fence and hit the ! Block. One appears near Luigi. Luigi freaks out when a bunch of Sockops abduct Mario. Luigi's on his own. Hit the ! Block to open up the path the Sockops took. There are lots of thorns on the ground. Follow the path over the spikes to the west, ignoring the Attack Pieces. Go west to see the Sockop with Mario jump into a large Sockop. The small Sockop soaks in some liquid while the large one starts moving and inhales some Scutlets. After defeating them, Luigi pounds the Sockop to free Mario from the liquid. The Sockop spits Mario out and shrinks around Luigi. He can't get free, so he hops around it, like a Goomba's or Kuribo's Shoe. This allows him to cross spikes with ease and talk to the other Sockops. Take the opportunity to grab the Attack Pieces. The Sockops say he looks like the boss, and talk about chugging things, like blocks and Luigi. Go east over the spikes and hit the ! Block to the right to form a bridge. Go north, then go to the west to see the Sockop that had Mario now has a block with the last Attack Piece. He wants to chug the block. His name is Kuribo and he'll chug just about anything. He releases the block, saying he doesn't like them and wants to chug the bros. Luigi wakes up Mario, which makes the Sockops realize that Luigi's not a Sockop in full command of its body. Mario peels the Sockop off Luigi and it wakes up. Kuribo says it's sick that Luigi hopped around in a knocked-out Sockop. All four rush the bros to chug them. Defeat them and grab the last Attack Piece. This gives the bros the earth-shaking Special Attack Snack Baskets. Snacks will rain down, so move Luigi to eat them. Luigi will get super large, Mario lifts him up by hitting (A) repeatedly, then Luigi slams down to the ground. Return to Chakron.

Use the Special Attack Snack Baskets on Chakron to knock him over. The statues around him crumble. Chakron doesn't like this new pose. He will no longer receive information from the cosmos. He won't give the bros the Star Cure. Starlow reminds him to keep his promise, so he inches off the edge and retrieves the green Star Cure, assuming a new pose. He likes the pose as he receives waves of energy from the earth. He offers to help the bros reach Toad Town more quickly. The bros gaze into outer space, so as not to see Chakron's secret for launching them to Toad Town. Go to the clinic when you land.

Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story -- Part 14: Stop that Train!

Bowser's caught between a rock and a hard place, the Fawful Express. The bros must revive Bowser once again in Rump Command. In the train, the Monty Moles call Bowser a pushover. Flames break the windshield and Bowser looks through. The Monty Moles freak out.

Bowser has to battle the Fawful Express. A long ways away is a rickety bridge that Bowser won't be able to stand on. If the train reaches the bridge, Bowser loses. The distance to the bridge is 100 kilomoles and will count down as the train moves. At various stations, the train can be repaired. The Monty Moles say that Bowser's punch is ineffective, so breathing fire is the only way to go. Some Choombas will run into Bowser, so touch the circles to squash them. When you come to the pointy tunnel, punch it repeatedly to dodge the incoming missile. Use fire on the grassy tunnel and shoot down the clouds with fireballs. Slide the stylus repeatedly to shove it away. You'll have a couple of turns left when the train reaches the bridge station, so use them wisely. It may come down to the wire on this battle. The train will send out jet packs. Punch them back and they explode on the train, doing extra damage. This may take a couple of tries.

Once the train is destroyed, Bowser returns to normal size. Private Goomp and the others have the safe out of the treasure. Unfortunately, Bowser forgot the combination. He calls on Chippy to help him out, being completely okay with someone rummaging around in his brain. She, on the other hand, is not okay with his tone of voice. After toning it down and asking nicely, she agrees to help. She says to sit still while she looks for the combination. A new area called the Memory Banks opens up.

Take the elevator down, heal, and save. There are shelves and shelves of memories. There's something on the monitor that scans Starlow and Mario. He calls them viruses of malicious origin and splits into blocky versions of the bros. They will repel the virus. The bros must battle Bowser Memory M and Bowser Memory L. M will get a Starman and charge the bros. It will chase the coin, so don't jump if the coin is overhead. L will slowly retreat and will revive M if it falls. M will get a mushroom and hit color-coded brick blocks. Defend with a hammer. When L returns, it will be chased by a Boo. Jump on the Boo to end the attack. L will jump over the bros. L will also throw a hammer at the bros. Knock it away with a hammer. Once they both fall, the battle is over.

The Memories reform as Princess Peach. It says that it manages the memory banks. After failing to defeat them, it will temporarily observe them. It reformed as Peach to aid in communicating with them, based on Bowser's most carefully preserved memory. Starlow asks for the combination and it searches the memories, pulling out memories of steak, Peach, then the combination. It's shattered into several pieces. Use the stylus to complete the puzzle. The button below the frame will rotate the piece. When the pieces stop moving in the frame, they are in the correct location. When you're done, the combination reads 9898 88241 983. The memory has been restored and is placed back in the banks, and Bowser instantly remembers. He makes up a song to go with the combination. The safe opens, revealing the yellow Star Cure. Private Goomp says something else is in the safe. Bowser looks inside and the minions shove him in. Bowser tries to escape, but the safe is locked. They say the Age of Bowser is over and it is now the Age of Fawful. Traitors. They decide to throw the safe somewhere.

The safe lands somewhere. Bowser wants Chippy to make him a giant again, but she can't. For some reason, Bowser decides to eat the Star Cure, saying it got him into this mess. Go to Gut Check to pick it up, even though it's a little sticky. The bros now have two Star Cures. Starlow says they can't do anything inside while Bowser's stuck, so they should return to Toad Town and ask Dr. Toadley about the third sage.

Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story -- Part 13: Bowser's on Track

Now that Bowser has the ability to body slam, he can hit the pink switch just outside the Tower of Yikk, which forms a bridge across the water. Private Goomp appears. Bowser calls to him, but he walks away without noticing him. Follow him and he notices Bowser. The three of them panicked and took off when Bowser became huge. They got separated in the forest. Bowser explains his mission to collect Star Cures. Private Goomp knows what they look like. He knows because there's a Star Cure in Bowser's Castle. Apparently, a guy named Kuzzle gave him one for completing a puzzle. It's currently in the underground treasure chamber of Bowser's Castle.

A bird appears with a message for the bros and Bowser from Dr. Toadley. He knows that the second sage is a sea Koopa named Kuzzle, living on Plack Beach. He also mentions that the bros got the first Star Cure. Bowser is upset that the bros beat him to the first Star Cure. Private Goomp will look for Sergeant Guy and Corporal Paraplonk, then meet Bowser at his castle. Go north twice, break the blocks, then light the fuse on the yellow platform. This will send Bowser crashing through the rock walls, clearing them out. You can now go to the Tower of Yikk and nearby areas from the part of Blubble Lake just south of Toad Town. Return, then go east. Hit the pink switch to make a rock appear. Slam the pillar next to it to reach a higher level. Go east from there and slam the pink switch to form a bridge. To the east, you'll find the same Chakroad you found earlier near Bumpty Plains. Return to Bowser Path.

Go due north until you reach some wooden planks on the floor. Slam through them. The green pipe to the west leads back upstairs if you want to leave. Go east through a different green pipe. This takes you inside Bowser's Castle. Punch the bridge to lower it. The theater is largely empty. On the west side is a pink switch that opens the door ahead. There's a ramp ahead that leads to part of the floor being covered by metal. This is the passage to the underground and it's blocked, so Bowser can't break through it. In the upper right corner is a Chakroad. Go west and you'll meet new enemies called Jailgoons. They fire cannonballs to punch or dodge. One of them has a Blitty. Use fire on the ones that contain Bob-ombs. You'll also run into Sniffle Thwomps. Vacuum up the hot water bottle to make them catch a fever and drop their health. One of them has a Blitty. At level 20, Bowser reaches Gold Boss Rank, allowing him to equip up to three pieces of gear. Go west, then up the ramp, west, then north. You'll come to the dining room where Bowser ate Fawful's foods. There's still some food left if you want to explore the Flab Zone some more. Go back to the ramp, then go north. Heal and save, then follow the red carpet. Up ahead is Bowser's throne room. Go south, outside, onto the balcony.

There's a large statue of Fawful out here. Check it out. Bowser wants to destroy it initially, but gets a better idea when he realizes that the path to the underground is just below the right side of the balcony and the statue can smash through the metal planks covering it up. He starts pushing the statue and Goombas appear, alarmed. Midbus and Fawful aren't there and Bowser's moving the statue. They call in reinforcements. On the left side of the balcony, the railing's gone, so Bowser will fall if they push him too far. He tells them to open their eyes, but they don't listen. On the inside, the Leg Outpost starts reacting. The bros help Bowser out and they push the statue off the balcony, through the metal planks. Bowser lands on the statue and crushes it. To the south are green platforms Bowser can slam. There's a maze below with items. Take either the middle or left platforms to go west over a green pipe. Bowser will find himself outside where the lava is. Do not walk into it. There's nothing stopping you from doing so. Go west and you'll find Bob-ombs in a cage. Free them to get the Special Attack Bob-omb Blitz. Use the stylus to line up the Bob-ombs so they'll walk into the enemy and explode. Go south, then southwest. Bob-ombs will march towards you. Jump (first part of body slam) to dodge. Use this to go west, north, west, then south. Exit the area to the west. Go south and deal with the marching Bob-ombs on the rollers. Exit to the west, where you'll find a Save Block and a shop block.

Go west. To the north is the Bowser Preservation Society Chamber. Bowser can't go very far. Go west twice to find a green platform. Slam it to make it move in a "U-shape" on its track. Go west at the top. Go northwest to lower a bridge. Return and go north. Save and go north. There's a pink switch with 12 panels below it. Hit the switch and the panels will light up. Memorize the pattern. Ahead are 6 large cannon balls. Punch the cannonballs into the correct spot. Use moving punches for the far spots and regular punches for the closer spots. If you make a mistake, leave the room, then hit the switch, as the pattern changes. When you get the pattern correct, the door ahead opens. This leads to where Bowser keeps his stolen treasures. He thinks Fawful could never break into it.

Inside, he is surprised to find that there are train tracks running through the room. Private Goomp, Sergeant Guy, and Corporal Paraplonk appear. They say the castle is intact, until they see the train tracks. A train arrives, with Fawful's face. The Monty Moles from before are on the train. The secret tunnel Bowser helped them dig was bought out by Fawful. The Fawful Express was added to the tunnel. Bowser calls them traitors, but Private Goomp says it's not wise to make enemies out of them. Corporal Paraplonk reminds them that he's looking for a Star Cure. There's a safe in the room which should hold it. The Fawful Express starts moving. It pushes Bowser through the rocks in the tunnel, then smashes him into a large rock. Bowser is out, unconscious.

Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story -- Part 10: Hospital Showdown

After being blocked by the Dark Star, the bros return to Toad Town, where the shopping mall is open. The construction gates to the west have been cleared away. The bros are shocked to see Toad Town filled with blorbed Toads, the handiwork of Fawful. To the south is the shopping district. A Yellow Toad with a mustache presents the bros with a PR stunt. There are Mushroom Balls hidden around and the bros should find them and bring them back. They get to keep whatever's inside. Some of them are in invisible blocks, in the ground, or behind walls. There are 16 total. Mario gets a question mark over his head when one's nearby. One's underground by the south stairs. One is to the left of the green Mushroom Rank Gear shop and another is behind it. Go east and you'll find a badge shop. The young Blue Toad wants to play hide and seek. Find him a few times and he'll give you a Small Shell you can equip. In front of the south stairs is another Mushroom Ball and there's one behind the item shop, as well as one to the right of it. There's one behind the Badge Shop and another to the left. Another is behind the Toad at the top of the stairs on the east side. One is by the trees next to the PR Toad. Another is to the left of the clinic on the east side and another is west of the Star Rank shop. Behind the Shine Rank shop is another and there's one by its east wall. One is just north of the yellow pipe on the west side. Finally, one is on the west side on the middle level to the right of a Toad. They hold things like coins and items. The gear shops are organized by rank. You must achieve Shine and Star Rank to shop at their respective shops, which have better and more expensive gear.

The pipe leads back into the Toad Town Caves. Use Mini Mario to get a couple of items, one of which lowers the cost of Special Attacks.

When you're done shopping, save and heal, then go to the clinic on the top level of the east side, near the construction gates. Dr. Toadley's intern is dealing with a patient that's leaving. The bros talk to her, saying they both need to speak to Dr. Toadley. She says he can only see one of them at a time, unless they have an appointment. That could take a while with the number of blorbed Toads in town. She asks what health problem they're experiencing, as they both seem quite healthy. Mario acts out that he has a sore throat, which is a symptom of the blorbs. Luigi hams it up, acting out having chest pains that are more like a heart attack. She declares this to be an emergency, as the kingdom would be doomed if the bros get blorbed. She takes them to see Dr. Toadley, who looks more like a magician or fortune teller. Dr. Toadley asks questions, then immediately answers them. He says the bros have a grave illness caused a virus. Dr. Toadley diagnoses patients using a crystal ball imaging system. Inside the crystal ball, the identity of the virus is revealed: Bowseritis. Bowser appears, after regaining consciousness. Bowseritis takes a while to cure and will take ten days' worth of antibiotics. Bowser knocks the doctor away, saying that he will take the Dark Star and Peach's Castle.

The bros have to battle Bowser. He can use all of the Special Attacks he's acquired, punch, and breathe fire. Use Special Attacks. To dodge the flame attack, Starlow will circle the bros. Press and hold each bro's button to get him to safety. Let go when the attack is over. Don't do anything if Bowser snorts before he tries to punch, as he will safely fall over the bros. When he uses Goomba Storm, jump over all the Goombas that appear but do not jump. The flaming Goombas that have their heads pointed to the right are aimed at Mario. For Shy Guy Squad, volley Bowser back into the Shy Guys. Keep attacking until he's defeated.

Bowser says that wasn't his A game, either. After he leaves, the bros explain the situation to Dr. Toadley. He says the barriers in front of the castle cannot be knocked down. The crystal contains a message of Star Cures, three in all. They are held by three sages in the Mushroom Kingdom and can cure all the world's ills, including the blorbs. They should also give the bros the power to break the blockade. One sage is in a forest, which gives Bowser enough of a clue to get going, after calling Starlow just as annoying as Chippy. An image of the sage emerges and it's Durmite, also called Wisdurm. The bros leave and spot Bowser clearing out some barricades. This gives the bros access to the crack in the wall, which conceals a pipe back into Bowser. Go east twice for a couple of items. If you want to explore the kingdom some more before returning to Bowser, go south.

Once you return to Bowser, you wind up in the Pipe Yard. The small sage appears from the red, broken pipe. Mario and Luigi try to sneak up on her, but she gets away. She takes off for the Energy Hold. The bros cross all but the last mucus pool and she escapes under some blocks that have Boo faces. Starlow suggests staying put, as Bowser can't possibly get the first Star Cure anyway. Bowser goes south of Toad Town to Blubble Lake, looking for a way to Dimble Wood.