Paper Mario: Sticker Star -- 2-3 Sandshifter Ruins

In Decalburg, a Toad tells us that there's a legend of a staff resting in Sandshifter Ruins. Let's see if the legend is true! The first area has Pokeys, a Sombrero Guy, and Spikes throwing spike balls. At the end of the area is a Heart Block and stairs leading down.

The stairs lead to a 2D underground area. The rising pillars of quicksand lead outside to the first area. The planks of wood that allow you to cross over the gaps will fall after you step on them. There's a door to the bottom left which leads into a room with coffins and a Dry Bones. One of the item blocks has three Hammer stickers: Baahammer, Burnhammer, and Chillhammer. We open the coffin and find what looks like a mummy. In the left coffin, it's actually a 10-Coin. The middle left one has a heart. The middle right one has a Sombrero Guy. The right one has a POW Block. There is a door to the right that leads to a room with more enemies and stickers. The door leads to another room with coffins. The left one has a Hopslipper, the middle left has a heart, the middle right has an HP-Up Heart, and the right has an Eekhammer. The item block in the middle of the room has an invisible block under it on the floor so you can reach it. The door leads back to the 2D maze.

A door to the lower right leads to a room with Bowser tape on the wall. There are invisible blocks below it so we can peel the tape. There's a Frog Suit and other stickers behind the wall. Up the stairs is a drawing of a door. The Secret Door leads to the Lighter. The path leads back to the maze, where our only option is to take the pillar of sand outside. Once back in the maze, I go to the right and through a door on the second lower level. It leads to a room with coffins. The right one has a Dry Bones and the middle right has a heart and leads somewhere. It leads to a small room where we find the Magnifying Glass. This must be the staff Toad was talking about. Towards the left side of the maze, there's a steep drop. This leads to the Jackhammer. The sand pillar takes us outside again. There's a door at the bottom guarded by a Hammer Bro. There's a room with coffins and spikes. One of the coffins has something skinnier than the "mummies" wrapped up. It's the Bat. We can reach the other side of the spikes by climbing over the coffins. The next room is filled with quicksand and Dry Bones will drop in overhead. Fortunately, at the end is a comet piece. This opens the path to 2-5. I think there's something in a door we missed in the maze.

I made it down to the middle door by taking the following falls of sand: right, right, left, left. The door leads to a room with stairs, spikes, and stickers. The comet piece is at the top, but we can't quite reach it. The coffin at the top has a Dry Bones. Drop down on the left side to find a passage in a coffin. It leads to the right side of the room. Drop down the other coffin to a part with three coffins. The left one has a passage, the middle has POW Block, and the right has a Dry Bones. The passage leads up and to the left, near the coffin with the first passage. Go to the right, behind the wall, to drop down. Something's coming out of the other coffin. There's lots of sand, which moves the comet piece to where we can reach it and safely covers up some of the spikes. If you want the other item block, paperize and place a sticker you don't want in the red box. This will make an item block appear so you can reach the top of the item block. Jump to get the Flashy Clone Jump in an invisible block overhead. The block you're standing on has a Shiny Jump. We get the comet piece, which opens the path to 2-4.

New Super Mario Bros. 2: 2-3

This level has item blocks encased in rock, so you can't get them. There are lots of Pokeys in the level. Take the yellow pipe down and you'll find more Pokeys, Buzzy Beetles, and quicksand. Platform on the ferris wheels while avoiding Pokeys to reach the midpoint. Hit the POW block with the Buzzy Beetle shell when you come across two yellow pipes to reach the lower pipe and use another Buzzy Beetle shells to take out the Piranhas to the far left for the first Star Coin. Go through the pipe the arrow is pointing to. Take the Buzzy Beetle shell and go left, using it to hit POW blocks, causing a chain reaction that makes the second Star Coin accessible. You'll find a Red Coin Ring surrounded by infinite elevators. From there, jump onto the blocks in the air and they'll take you to the third Star Coin. Otherwise, below, there's a P-Switch that makes Silver Coins. Either way, at the end is a green pipe cannon. Hop up the stone stairs, avoiding Pokeys, and reach the flag.

Coin Total: 11636

New Super Mario Bros.: 2-3

Time to underground! We take a pipe underground into a pipe maze. We walk to the right and wall-jump up for the first Star Coin. To progress, we have to ground pound the brown platforms with Star designs on them. There are bats in the area, so be careful. In the next part of the maze are one-way walls that fold down when you approach them, then close behind you. This can make navigating a little tricky, but just check the arrrows to see how they open. We go left, then down to a maze with a Piranha Plant, where the 2nd Star Coin is. To the right is a new area. We go down for an orange switch, which raises the water level then up for some coins. To the right is a new area with a giant Piranha Plant. If you have a Fire Flower, a few fireballs should take it out. We continue through the maze, going up, left, take the right path up, and then run down across the gap to the third Star Coin. There is a Piranha Plant in the lower left corner here. To the upper right is a red switch that makes blocks to go over the Piranha Plant. This path takes us to the main exit to 2-4. If we go back through this level and raise the water level and swim up, we find another orange switch that briefly raises the water level, allowing us to reach a higher part of the maze. This will lead us to teh Red Goal to 2-A.

Super Mario 3D Land: 2-3

Here's where things really start to look like Galaxy. We land on 8-bit Mario. The Item Block has a Propeller Block. The P-Switches make coins to collect for applause. The higher P-Switch requires the Propeller Block. All we have to do to activate the Propeller Block is to jump and hold down (A) or (B). We jump down to lower platforms, including an 8-Bit Mushroom. We get the second Star Coin by falling through the hoop to it and hold (A) to activate the Propeller to safety. Next is 8-bit Peach. We use the Starman to take out some green enemies for a ring of coins. We take an orange Mystery Box to an 8-bit area. We hop up the stairs and reach the flagpole.
Take 2- We grab a Tanooki Suit from 1-1. We get the musical notes, which play a Super Mario 3 remix, for a 1-up. We spin the gear on the mushroom for Red Coins for a 1-up. The gear on Peach takes us to the third Star Coin. We get two 1-ups at the goal, one for having the Propeller Block.
Take 3- There is a brick block concealing a gear on Mario's right foot. (All of the gears are concealed by brick blocks.) We spin it for a long time, reaching 8-bit Fire Luigi with the first Star Coin. We reach the goal for two 1-ups.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii: 2-3 Replay -- Back Inside the Pyramid

I get a Super Shroom outside the pyramid, even though there is a secret area for Mini Mario because I don't want to be tiny in such a dark level. I get and lose a Fire Flower to a Piranha Plant. I don't get a Starman this time, but I get a Fire Flower. I die in the void. Take 2- I used a Super Shroom, get a Fire Flower, which I lose again to a Piranha Plant. I get another one that I lose to a Fire Snake. I get the first Star Coin and reach the midgate. I lose my Super Shroom from a fireball from a Fire Bro. I kill the Fire Bro by hitting the block under him. I get another Super Shroom and the 2nd Star Coin. I lose the Super Shroom from a fireball. I go above the Piranha Plants to get the 3rd Star Coin and applause. I reach the goal. As a side note, I really like the applause. When I play New Super Mario Bros. on the DS, which does not have applause, I feel let down whenever I do something worthy of applause on the Wii. It's disappointing when you get use to it and switch over and it's not there.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii: 2-3 -- Star Light, Star Bright

It's dark in here! This level is in a pyramid. There is a small halo of light around Mario and any balls of fire shot from Mario or an enemy. I have to proceed slowly as I cannot see what is ahead. I hit a block to get a Fire Flower, but lost my Super Shroom before I could claim the Fire Flower. After getting the Fire Flower, I took a pipe to a better, but not fully, lit room. At the center was a block that gives Mario a random item, which it cycles through until it is hit. I hit the block to release a Starman. Lucky! When I got the Starman, the room filled with light, except at the corners. I went through the pipe to get back to the main level, which was now better lit. I can see now! I decide to take this wonderful opportunity to quickly gain some ground while I can still see. Using knowledge from New Super Mario Bros, I decided to hit one of the ? Blocks, because if you have a Starman when you hit them, some produced more Starman. I was right and keep going, still able to see. I did not receive another one, and when the second one wore off, the light faded away. I continued on at a slow pace, but found a pipe that took me above ground. There are lots of Spinies, so I got rid of them using a P-switch. I then got a 100-coin 1-up. I lost my Fire Flower to a Fire Snake after getting the 1st Star Coin. I used the halo of light around Mario to find an area for Mini Mario, but I doubt I'll take advantage of it, because I do not want to got through this level as Mini Mario- for one thing, my halo of light might be smaller. After that, I reached the midgate, and lost my Super Shroom to a fire ball, then died from the fire ball of a Fire Bro.

Take 2- I started with an Ice Flower, but lost it to the same Fire Bro, which I then stomped. I got another Fire Flower and the 2nd Star Coin, but I was hit by a fire ball trying to defeat a giant Piranha Plant. I went through a pipe to reach the end of the level. Goal!